April 14 Select Board: Milton 360 Tree Initiative, Memorial Day and More

Covid-19 update

Town Administrator, Michael Dennehey, opened up with a special thank you to the members of the Health Department for all of their hard work. Now that local vaccinations are over, the only option is to visit mass vaccinations sites. He asked that we continue to mask up, social distance, wash hands, and follow CDC guidelines. The next free Covid-19 testing site date will take place on April 25, from 10-3 at the DPW Yard.

Asian American Pacific Islander Action Group

Members of the Asian American Pacific Islander Action Group group joined for a discussion regarding a walk for peace they are proposing to take place at the end of the summer. Their messages include actions speak louder than words, love overpowers hate, and the overall theme would be to build meaningful relationships with each other. The Select Board is very much in favor of this proposal and when a date is set will provide more information.

Milton 360 Tree Initiative

Members of the Shade Tree Advisory Committee joined to discuss their Milton 360 Tree Initiative. They presented a slideshow proposal.

Their mission is to ensure a healthy tree canopy in town by planning ahead and thinking of the future. Their current budgets suggests that they can plant 50 trees in 2021 and another 50 in 2022. They are looking for donations from town residents, area businesses, and local foundations. They provided logistics information and are asking for residents participation. They will institute sponsor categories for recognition purposes. The Conservation Commission invited them to present at their next meeting and they also mentioned that they have a tree bank and would like to discuss possibilities that might be available to them. The Shade Tree Advisory Committee also intends to look into federal money, and grants, where they have a few leads already.

To learn more about this initiative please visit the Shade Tree Advisory Committee | Milton MA (townofmilton.org)

Municipal Broadband Committee update

Members of the Municipal Broadband Committee provided a presentation update regarding the implementation of a new internet infrastructure in town. The presentation mentioned that the town would see a low fiscal impact because the implementation of the access does not allocate or spend any money. There is no liability and also no obligation for the town. Their vision is for internet access to be utilized by residents and businesses, and they plan to look into federal funding under the American Recovery Plan to cover some costs incurred. For more information please visit: Municipal Broadband Committee | Milton MA (townofmilton.org)

Runway 4R update

Thomas Dougherty of the Massport Community Advisory Committee joined to provide an update regarding Runway 4R and process approval follow up actions. This is a key moment as it relates to the FAA, Massport and the MIT study concerning the potential dispersion of flight paths. MIT has presented it’s final recommendations as it relates to all of the paths with a potential resolution to be announced on June 10. The objective is to increase equity by dispersing flight tracks, and providing, flyable alternatives. Unfortunately this is a tough time to share the burden as Milton takes the brunt of the flight path noise. This item will be discussed in the next town meeting as an agenda item.

Memorial Day event

Kevin Cook, Veterans Services Director, joined to discuss the annual Memorial Day event. He would like to propose the start of the event as 11am, as a theme for the event is to show people what Memorial Day was in years past and the significance of all of the different groups coming together. Vietnam veteran, Rod Fritz, will be the guest speaker, Rod Fritz – Director Of Media Relations – AfriMedNetwork | LinkedIn.

Farmers Market and Soofa updates

Allyson Quinn, Assistant Town Planner, joined to discuss the reimplementation of the farmers market, They would need a $5,000 stipend for a 1 year pilot program to be managed by Milton Parks and Recreation and would need to hire someone by May 1 in order to get this program up and running. This item will defer to the next meeting.

She also provided a presentation on Soofa sign, which in essence, is street furniture for the purpose of advertising.

The signs are solar powered and require very little maintenance. They can provide information for residents on upcoming events, public works, city updates, and push out psas and updates during times of emergency. Benefits include, real time data insights, maintenance and install covered, and sponsored by trusted local business partners.

She has been tasked to come up with some location ideas and to map out the next steps. Once the written recommendation is complete and after follow up with the Select Board, a decision will be made on moving forward.

To learn more about Soofa, you can visit their website here: Soofa

Additional items of discussion

The abutters of 145 and 167 Lyman Rd., are looking to purchase the parcel of land. The Select Board has to decide if they want to offer the parcel as surplus and put out an RFP for sale, or if it should remain as a leased parcel of land.

The Select Board will request presentations on upcoming 40B projects, as a Project Eligibility Letter (PEL) application has been submitted to MA Housing for 728 Randolph Ave., which is a parcel of land that abuts the dump access road.

The next regular meetings are scheduled for April 21 and 28.