PUBLIC COMMENT

Transcript (~3 min @ 0:41)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 0:39 Devin Romanul: Seeing no objection, those minutes are now approved. I'll now motion by unanimous consent to open the floor for public comment. Seeing no objections, we are now open for public comment. This is the portion of the meeting where members of the public may speak on any items on tonight's agenda. Comments expressing other items are also welcome, and I'll note for members of the public, we also have a full council meeting at 7:45 where we're considering various parking items. So feel free to comment during that meeting. Thank you so much. And when you comment, please feel free to state your name and address for the record. Good evening.

▶ 1:11 Speaker 3: Hi, my name's Susan Caon. I'm Chairman of the Cemetery Commission. I live at 123 East Foster Street. I'm here to talk tonight with regard to the Ripley School parcel. I want to say that personally, I am in favor of the recommendation. The commission and I do have three caveats. The first is that there'd be a 10 foot, the city would own 10 feet from the cemetery

▶ 1:42 Speaker 3: to allow us to be able to repair the wall if necessary in future, and the 10 feet would allow us to bring equipment in as needed. The second is whenever there, while construction might be going on the site, if there is a funeral, that the contractor be notified that there could be no work conducted that day if it's in that section that abuts the wall. We do have several services that go on in that section. And the third caveat is that you'll see there's two pieces of land. There's a little pie-shaped piece that is in the Ripley parking lot that is actually cemetery property, and there's a kind of a half-moon crescent piece in the cemetery that's actually Ripley property. I support the swap as long as the square footage is the same, and my understanding is it is. In the presentation you'll see tonight, it's kind of an optical illusion. It doesn't look like it is, but the square footage is the same. And the cemetery's been maintaining that piece of land that's in the cemetery. Right now it's used for things like memorial benches. In the future, we're thinking that it might be a location for a columbarium. But more to come on the future of the cemetery. We have a lot of exciting things that we're be coming to tell you in the fall.

▶ 3:06 Speaker 2: So, thank you.

▶ 3:07 Devin Romanul: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Do any other members of the public wish to speak?

▶ 3:14 Devin Romanul: Going once, going twice. Some exciting stuff on the agenda. No. All right. Do we have any folks online? No one online. All right. No one online. Unless we have any other members of the public who wish to speak, on that motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. Seeing no objection, we are now closed for public comment. Item one on our agenda, and only on our agenda, order number 20261376, report on the results of the municipal surplus building study for the police station and the Ripley School sites. Joining us this evening is Lori Massa from the Planning Department. And I'll note for members of the committee and members of the public, we do have a full city council meeting at 7:45, so we're gonna try to start that on time given we're anticipating some non-trivial public comment. So plan your questions accordingly, and we're happy to follow up with any written questions afterwards. So, thank you so much.