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Lunenburg Finance Committee 
Meeting Minutes 
Thursday, January 13, 2022 
 
Location: In-person at Lunenburg Town Hall and broadcast on Zoom 
 
Present: Chairperson Peter Beardmore, Chris Menard, Even Watters, Thomas Balish, Jay Simeone via 
Zoom, Dave Passios via Zoom (for a portion of the meeting) 
 
Guests: Town Manager Heather Lemieux, State Senator John Cronin, State Representatives Mike 
Kushmerek, and Dan Sena, School Committee Chairperson Carol Archambault. 
1. Call to Order 
Peter Beardmore called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and read a statement 
concerning the Open Meeting Law, and how all public meetings are legally being held 
remotely. 
This meeting was recorded and is viewable on YouTube at https://youtu.be/TMmBa6ueRGI 
2. Pledge of Allegiance 
 
3. Announcements: Mr. Beardmore informed the committee that Massachusetts Municipal 
Association of Finance Committees would be held remotely, and the fee to attend has been 
waived.  
 
4. Public Comment: Ms. Archambault thanked Senator Cronin, and State Representatives 
Kushmerek and Sena for attending the meeting, and highlighted that the Student Opportunity 
Act has created funding challenges for towns like Lunenburg.  
Mr. Beardmore expressed his concern about the town’s capital plan, and pointed out that last 
year the town spent more available funds on capital than ever before, and none of the capital 
plan funded any school projects, and that this year’s plan intends to spend even more, but lists 
school projects as numbers 12, 14, and 27 on the list of priorities. Mr. Beardmore also drew 
attention to the fact that meetings of the Capital Planning Committee have not been recorded, 
and minutes have not been made available.  
 
5. Town Manager Legislative Budget Priorities Requests: Ms. Lemieux explained that she and the 
Select Board discussed last year’s legislative budget requests on January 4, 2022. The town 
requested $127,000 for a fire alarm upgrade at the Lunenburg Primary School, and received 
$25,000, and requested $40,000 for LED lighting at the library, and received $40,000 from the 
state. $180,000 for firefighter turnout gear was funded by the FY22 capital plan and the fire 
department’s annual budget, and $355,000 was requested for hazardous material abatement at 
the Old Primary School.  Ms. Lemieux requested the Select Board go for projects not funded by 
bond bills, such as $330,000 for the Flat Hill Rd culvert, $371,000 (updated cost) for hazardous 
material abatement at the Old Primary School, $300,000 for 955 Massachusetts Ave (former gas 
station), $100,000 for improvements at the senior center, $250,000 for a commercial kitchen, 
and $450,000 for street scape projects.  Ms. Lemieux said the Select Board asked the Parks 
Department if they have upcoming costs to include in the FY23 capital plan, which could also be 
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covered by ARPA funds. Ms. Lemieux has hired a consultant to wade through the possible 
stipulations concerning local ARPA funding.  
 
6. Discussion with Legislative Delegation: Mr. Beardmore read a letter he wrote to members of 
the legislative delegation listing the finance committee’s major concerns including: Chapter 70 
funding, ARPA funds, the cost of the Police Reform Act, reporting requirements, records 
retention, and municipal building projects. Senator Cronin drew attention to neighboring 
communities that do benefit from Chapter 70, but also acknowledged that Lunenburg faces its 
own challenges with the program. Senator Cronin suggested Lunenburg find a way to grow its 
base budget. Senator Cronin said he could advocate for the town when it comes to per pupil 
reimbursement. On ARPA funding, Senator Cronin said the town would have a lot of flexibility in 
spending the $3 million, and suggested the town appoint a committee to recommend how those 
funds should be spent.  
Senator Cronin also commented on the Police Reform Act, and said he’d be happy to advocate 
that the 800 hour training mandate be funded by the state.  
Representative Kushmerek agreed with Mr. Beardmore’s letter that the Student Opportunity 
Act did fall short for Lunenburg. Rep. Kushmerek informed the committee that there is a caucus 
of rural districts that are facing the same types of challenges, and questioned whether there 
would be enough of those districts to make some noise. 
Representative Kushmerek pointed out that ARPA funds do need to be appropriated by 2024 
but don’t have to be spent until 2026, and said that it would be tough to find projects that aren’t 
eligible for the funds.  
On the Police Reform Act, Rep. Kushmerek pointed out that the police force would be phasing in 
their 800 hours of training over three years, but also acknowledged the challenge the 
department faces when it comes to retaining their officers after the training is complete.  
On municipal buildings, Rep. Kushmerek addressed projects happening in surrounding 
communities, and informed the committee that those projects are either tax-payer funded, or 
have been funded by private investors, which was made possible via incentives such as tax 
credits to those investors. Rep. Kushmerek pointed out that relying on tax credit programs can 
take decades before a shovel hits the ground.  
Representative Sena suggested that Chapter 70 has helped the state, as a whole, and that the 
formula for how funds are distributed needed to be updated, but that it could also be modified 
to assist towns like Lunenburg. Rep. Sena also said the town has to get creative when it comes 
to affording education, and mentioned the discussion to consider an increase in property taxes. 
Rep Sena said that he realizes the Police Reform Act is expensive. Rep. Sena also asked the 
committee what the town’s priorities are. 
 
Mr. Menard asked for a push toward electronic storage of records, and pointed out not only the 
amount of room storing physical documents take, but the energy expended to control the 
climate of the storage room as well. Mr. Menard also reminded those in attendance of 
Montachusett Regional Technical School and pointed out that Lunenburg pays substantially 
more per student than any other municipality in the region. Mr. Menard mentioned the town’s 
senior citizen population, and opined that where there is a discussion about education, there 
should also be a discussion about senior citizens, who have made it possible for the town to be 
where it is. Mr. Menard also talked about the challenge the town faces with 40B, and the impact 
it has on the town’s infrastructure and resources.  
 
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Mr. Beardmore added that the utility companies the town has to deal with are unsatisfactory, 
and there are no alternate services.  
 
Rep. Kushmerek brought up the recent re-filing of the Muni-choice bill, which has been filed 
several times over several years, and has yet to be passed. Mr. Beardmore commented that the 
town needs feasibility just as much as legality when it comes to dealing with utilities.  
 
Mr. Beardmore suggested the committee make the town’s financial priorities an agenda topic to 
discuss at the next meeting.  
 
7. Town Manager/Finance Director Reports: Ms. Lemieux reported that the Ritter Building and 
Town Hall envelope projects will be going before the Architecture Preservation District 
Committee, that bids for work on the Public Safety Building have come in below projected 
project costs, and that the electrical work that’s taken place at Town Hall brought out 200 
pounds of old wiring. Ms. Lemieux also reported that the town has received 36 responses to the 
survey concerning 30 School St, and that two conceptual designs for the lot will be released 
January 18, 2022. A contract for cleaning the town’s municipal buildings has been put out for bid 
since the current cleaning company cannot keep up with the current scope of work. 
Ms. Lemieux also reported that she’s hired consulting firm Capital Strategic Solutions to navigate 
ARPA spending. The consultant will give a presentation at the February 1, 2022 meeting of the 
Select Board. 
 
8. Annual Town Meeting Warrant and related updates:  Ms. Lemieux informed the board that 
Town Warrant closes March 21, 2022. 
 
9. New Municipal Building Design Committee charge: Mr. Beardmore suggested formerly 
revisiting who should serve as the finance committee representative as the charge of the 
former T.C. Passios Design Committee has changed.  
 
10. Minutes: Mr. Watters motioned to approve the minutes of the October 28, 2021, November 4, 
2021, November 16, 2021, and December 9, 2021 meetings. Mr. Menard seconded. Vote passes 
4, 0, 1.  
 
11. Committee Reports Committee members updated each other on their respective liaison 
assignments. 
 
12. Public Comment 
Lunenburg resident David Rodgers phoned in to say that the issue of busing students needs to 
be addressed, and the town should be prepared to do something about it, and in regard to 
members of the state legislature, Mr. Rodgers opined that there is no way the town can afford 
to address all the issues it faces, and advised to prioritize what reasonably can be tackled.  
 
13. Items for Future Meetings: Priority list for Rep Sena, Green Communities Committee. 
 
14. Next Meetings: Jan. 27, Feb. 17 
 
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15. Adjourn: At 9:26 p.m. Mr. Watters motioned to adjourn, Mr. Menard seconded. On vote, 
motion carried unanimously.