12/11/2023 CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE Minutes

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2 *Monday, December 11, 2023 Charter Review Committee Minutes* Greg McKelvey likes draft #1 but the first sentence in paragraph one could be worked on. Paragraph two should have more inclusive language. We want all of the community to be heard. Don Myers referred to draft #1 paragraph two, the third sentence crosses the line between the charter and the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). John Miller said it was his recollection that the consensus was that the IGA would be left out of the preamble. David Weeden said the intention of the preamble is to recognize a unique history and not to incorporate the IGA. Cathy Lewis recommended changing "this unique community" to "our unique community". John Miller suggested removing "Through this preamble" and beginning the sentence with "We affirm". The Committee discussed removing the word sovereign. The word sovereign encapsulates that the Tribe is still here and that they are sovereign. David Weeden said he failed to see where the sovereignty and cultural significance of the Tribe is acknowledged in the charter. John Miller said that the charter is meant to address the sovereignty of both the Town and Tribe. David Weeden said if there was more inclusive language throughout the charter referring to the Tribes sovereignty he would agree. He doesn't necessarily agree with removing "through this preamble". Don Meyers said that the charter applies to all citizens of Mashpee including tribal members as they are also citizens of the Town. The Committee continued discussing the lack of duality mentioned in the charter regarding two sovereign nations. The Committee further discussed the representation of the sovereignty of tribal citizens/ the Tribe in the Charter. Greg McKelvey suggest adding "we as a united people" or " we the people". David Weeden said to his point the preamble is a new addition to the Charter but nowhere else in the document is there mention of the duality of tribal citizens therefore "through this preamble" should be included. Cathy Lewis also elaborated Mr. Weeden's point about the lack of reference to the tribe's sovereignty and that the tribe or duality of it's citizens is not mentioned anywhere else except in the preamble. David Weeden also said that the Town and Tribe have shared goals and initiatives, so how do you encourage that type of collaboration? Also one issue he has with draft #1 is that there is no mention of environment.