About Town: Town Manager's Report

The meeting was pretty interesting last night. Maybe that’s because I was in the for the first hour.

Yes, I wanted the Town Manager’s Report, but I was also there as a member of the 300th Anniversary Committee, a subcommittee of the Town Celebrations Committee. I’m saving that story for tomorrow.

Now, I’ll backtrack and tell you about the first portion of the meeting, which included a bit more than Town Manager Carl Valente’s report.

Selectman Chair Hank Manz, not to be outdone by the Bruins, arrived wearing a brilliant yellow jersey from Lexington and Bedford Youth Hockey. He opened the meeting with a picture of the 170 hockey players he manages.

Congratulations Hank, but that shirt – it’s blinding.

Hank then talked about the agenda -- you know the one posted on the town website -- due to cyber glitches, some of the numbers and bullet points don’t always show up correctly. Even worse still the bottom of the page is missing.

That is what Hank addressed last night -- and it’s a message we're putting out there. On the bottom of the page, in bold italics, it states the times listed are approximate and subject to change.

The Selectmen’s Office is fixing the problem, but until then we should all try and remember, while it may say 8 p.m. for a hearing, earlier hearings could run long, pushing the agenda item back a bit closer to 8:30 p.m.

Now on to my usual Tuesday Morning Town Manager’s Report, which Suzie Barry (Chair of the Town Celebrations Committee) dubbed the TMT Report.

Carl said he meant to comment on a consent agenda item passed last week when the Selectmen voted to broaden the Jackie Smith Memorial Fund. Carl reminded everyone that Jackie was a Selectwoman from 1986 to 1993, and served on the Planning Board before that stint.

“She was instrumental in seeing that town had professional staff and professional development,” Carl said.

When she died, the memorial fund was established, its intent being to bring professional development to management.

With the Selectmen’s approval, Jackie Smith’s Memorial now has a broader scope and can be used for interns, college graduates and others.

Most importantly, it can help young professional women in town management, which was very important to Jackie.

Carl told the Selectman that his new intern, Michelle Stevens, started yesterday. She’s getting her masters in public administration from the University of Kansas.

Congratulations Michelle. Have fun!

Carl also gave an update on offices moving to and from , which Patch wrote about last week. He said everyone is excited, but it is disruptive – for them and for residents.

“We ask for people’s patience – in some cases just finding us,” Carl said.

Does that mean they are hiding from us or just hanging out in Cary Hall. Don’t worry Carl, we’ll find you!