Appointment of Cole Lepler, 34 Frances Street, to the Conservation Commission

Transcript (~5 min @ 11:06)

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▶ 10:36 Kimberly Vandiver: Um, and do we have me minutes to approve? Yes. Uh, at this time, I'll motion by unanimous consent to approve the meetings of our prior meeting, uh, August 18th. Um, seeing no objection, that's approved. Um, so tonight we have, uh, one appointment and one reappointment before us. The first, uh, item is the appointment of Cole LOLer. Um, ID number 1 2 8 8 3, the appointment of Cole LOLer, 34 Frances Street to the Conservation Commission. Uh, so if Mr. LOLer would like to come up, as well as the current mayor.

▶ 11:10 Speaker 4: Thank you. I was full of mayors tonight.

▶ 11:15 Jen Grigoraitis: Good evening, Madam Chair and counselors. Thank you for having us tonight. Um, as you heard in public comment from former Mayor Broder, I'm pleased to present Cole LOLer for your consideration to be appointed as an associate member of the Conservation Commission. Mr. LOLer is a lifelong resident of Melrose, a graduate of Melrose High School. He's currently pursuing a master's degree in environmental policy and planning, and has substantial research sustainability and conflict resolution experience, which all three of those can be relevant when on the Con com. Um, and he's voluntarily attended con com meetings to get an understanding of the work of the commission, and I'm really thrilled at his willingness to serve Melrose and to also hopefully advance his own professional skills and expertise in the process.

▶ 12:01 Kimberly Vandiver: Thank you. Um, and would the nominee like to say a few words as well, or if not, it'll open up for questions.

▶ 12:07 Speaker 5: Well, I'd like to thank both of you guys'. Recommendations is very nice. Um, um, yeah, I've been here all my life and, uh, I've had a, um, a long road to, to really get, um, a type of experience that I'd like to give back to Melrose, and I feel like it would be best suited in this position, um, to start for of course. And, um, yeah, I'm just, I'm just, I'm just happy to, to get the, get the No speak before you guys.

▶ 12:40 Kimberly Vandiver: Thank you. Uh, any members of the committee of Vice Chair Carrum Shady?

▶ 12:44 Speaker 6: Uh, thank you so much for offering your experience

▶ 12:46 Manjula Karamcheti: and wisdom to the commission. Um, just curious, just are there particular areas that you're most passionate about when it comes to the work of the Conservation Commission? Um, There's no right answer, just definitely curious.

▶ 13:03 Speaker 5: So, I, I actually had the opportunity to, to, um, have experience on both sides of the Wetlands Protection Act. I got to intern for, um, Mia McDonald, uh, who is the, uh, the, um, um, she's, she's the head honcho in charge of, uh, um, training and outreach at Mass DEP. So I got to see how, uh, the Wetlands Protection Act is, is enforced and kind of how she helps, uh, conservation commissions, uh, commissioners or, um, members of the public kind of deal with, um, different issues that arise when, when you're filling out an NOI or, or you're going through any of those processes. And I've also, um, more recently got to submit an NOI myself. So I, I I, I've seen both, both sides of, of, of, of what it takes to, to, uh, file a permit and get, and get work done in a, um, in a, a positive direction. And, um, one of my favorite lessons that I learned from Mia at DEP was that their, um, goal is, is to say yes and all that they want to, to, to make sure is that the environment has a seat at the table, the decision making table. So that's, that's what I was really drawn to in the Conservation Commission, being able to be that voice for, um, wetlands, waterways, and the environment as a whole in my, uh, in my hometown.

▶ 14:31 Manjula Karamcheti: Wonderful. Thank you. I really appreciate that. Thoughtful answer. All set.

▶ 14:35 Kimberly Vandiver: Thank you. Uh, are there any other, uh, committee members who'd like to, uh, ask a question? Uh, councilor Stewart.

▶ 14:42 Robb Stewart: Thank you, Madam Chairman, chair, I don't have any questions. I just, uh, would like to, um, thank the mayor for bringing this candidate forward to us. Uh, I look forward to supporting, and I think it's great to have, uh, a different, uh, perspective on the commission. So I think it's great. Thank you. Mad chair.

▶ 14:58 Speaker 6: Um, I'll make a motion to recommend Second. Great.

▶ 15:01 Kimberly Vandiver: So we have a motion to recommend, uh, from Counselor Carm Shady and a second counselor Pinocchio, um, anyone on discussion, and I'll just say myself, I, I'm also really excited to see your resume, what you, you offer, um, that you're joining and contributing so young, and that you are very close to my house, actually. You're a Ward Five resident, and I'm thrilled to see that as well. Um, so, uh, all in favor? Aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? So that will go back to the full council with a recommendation for passage. Uh, you don't need to attend the full council meeting, although you're welcome to. And thank you again for coming and, uh, your willingness to serve Melrose.

▶ 15:41 Speaker 1: Thank you all. Thank you. Uh,

▶ 15:44 Kimberly Vandiver: the second item on our agenda is IAD number 1, 2 8 8 8 9 9, the reappointment of Charles Ek 14 Country Club Road to the Melrose Housing Authority for a three year term, said term to end on the first Monday of March, 2028. Um, and this is a reappointment. Uh, and we do have, uh, attached to the agenda item a statement, including some, um, some thoughts on accomplishments, um, which I'm pleased to see that was a change we made this year. So, um, with that in mind, is there anything that, uh, any discussion, questions, or motions from the committee?