[Massplanners] [EXTERNAL] Planning board minutes

[Michael McCarthy]

Hi Al,

Directly from the state's open meeting guidance: "While the minutes must include a summary of the discussions on each subject, a
transcript is not required." Here's the guide: https://www.mass.gov/doc/open-meeting-law-guide-and-educational-materials-0/download#:~:text=The%20Open%20Meeting%20Law%20requires,good%20cause%20for%20further%20delay.

 We have a professional stenographer do all our minutes for the Planning Board. She keeps them very broad. Often, she winnows down 15-20 minutes of discussion to a simple sentence that identifies the topic of discussion and the ultimate outcome. For example: "The Board and the applicant discussed site circulation and agreed that additional pavement markings would be necessary for pedestrian safety." Each page includes a disclaimer that these are minutes and the full audio is available online to review. 

Here's an example from our November meeting, which was about 4 hour long: https://s3.amazonaws.com/newbedford-ma/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/20220407123537/11_PB-Minutes_November-10-2021.pdf. 


Mike McCarthy
Asst. City Planner
New Bedford


-----Original Message-----
From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Alvin Blake via MassPlanners
Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 1:04 PM
To: massplanners at masscptc.org
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Massplanners] Planning board minutes

Hello - does anyone know if there are guidelines for planning board minutes. We have been having some contentious very long zoom meetings lately and our administrative assistant, who has resigned, had been attempting to include very detailed minutes while I notice other boards but only give recap and refer to recordings for details. 
Appreciate comments 
Al Blake
Becket planning board

Sent from my iPhone

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