===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 27, 2022 Location: In-person at Lunenburg Town Hall and broadcast on Zoom Present: Chairperson Peter Beardmore, Jay Simeone, Evan Watters, Tom Balish, Tom Gray, Dave Passios via Zoom (for first hour of meeting) Guests: Town Manager Heather Lemieux, Town Accountant Karen Brochu, School Committee Chairperson Carol Archambault 1. Call to Order Mr. 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/6E3z38z9SBI 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements: A consultant from Capital Strategic Solutions will give a special presentation concerning ARPA funds at the February 1, 2022 Select Board meeting, State Legislative delegates will be in attendance. 4. Public Comment: Ms. Archambault expressed the school committee’s disappointment in the Capital Planning Committee’s capital plan for FY23, as it doesn’t list the air conditioning project for the Primary School as a high priority, and inquired whether the project could be eligible for ARPA funds. Mr. Beardmore expressed his continuing reservations about the capital plan, and his disappointment that the meetings of the Capital Planning Committee were not recorded. Mr. Beardmore pointed out that the Finance Committee and the Select Board have a right to weigh in on the plan, and should do so moving forward. 5. Town Manager/Finance Director Report: Ms. Lemieux also informed the committee on Governor Baker’s proposal on the cherry sheet, which came in at $983,000 more from state aid, including an 11 percent increase in Chapter 70 funds. Ms. Lemieux also had an update on the gas station at 925 Mass Ave. She has been in contact with the EPA, and anticipates funds from a federal infrastructure bill in the summer. Though the town does not own the property, the EPA will assist in navigating through the process of cleaning up the property. Ms. Lemieux informed the committee that Townsend is withdrawing from the regional dispatch program, and has been assured that the town will not see a financial impact for FY23 or FY24. Ms. Lemieux said she spoke with the Lunenburg Central project manager, and the project should be finished in 2023, and is expected to bring at least 200 new jobs to town. The Tax Lien Auction has been rescheduled to March 17, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. ===PAGE 2=== 6. Annual Town Meeting Updates: none 7. Update on streetlights project: Ms. Lemieux informed the committee of her last discussion with the Select Board concerning the conversion of street lights to LED. Town Counsel has contacted the Department of Public Utilities, and were advised to correspond with Unitil. 8. Legislative priorities, follow up on Legislators visit: The committee agreed to include 40B on their list of priorities as well as possible state aid or grant opportunities for 30 School St. Mr. Gray suggested there should be some kind of resource on the state level to help municipalities find options when it comes to aging municipal buildings as the issue is not unique to Lunenburg. Mr. Beardmore also brought up legislation that’s been filed on fees paid by Comcast which support the town’s public access channel. With more households disconnecting their cable subscriptions, the fees being paid by Comcast will decrease, which would have a financial impact on Lunenburg’s public access cable channel. 9. Capital Plan Presentation and Discussion: Ms. Lemieux talked about how the Capital Plan is created, and what is on the plan. There were 31 capital requests. One project was removed due to not receiving a cost estimate. The remaining 30 capital requests total $4,043,049 for FY 2023 Mr. Watters pointed out that four of the twenty recommendations are vehicles and asked whether there’s any concern about the availability of those vehicles. Ms. Lemieux said she ===PAGE 3=== realizes there are challenges, but those challenges don’t mean the need goes away, and the funds need to be appropriated to order the vehicles. Mr. Watters also questioned why records retention was a higher priority than air conditioning at the Primary School. Mr. Watters also asked how ARPA funds fit into the capital plan. Ms. Lemieux responded that there will be a prioritization process to fund projects with those funds, and added that the spending is under the discretion of the Select Board, and therefore, won’t have to go before Town Meeting. Mr. Beardmore commented that the Finance Committee can request a joint meeting with the Capital Planning Committee to discuss their decision, and also pointed out that Ms. Lemieux was presenting her recommendations. Ms. Lemieux added that the Capital Planning Committee does put a lot of time and effort into developing their list of recommendations. Mr. Beardmore recognized the significant amount of money being put toward facilities maintenance, and pointed out that there have been many discussions about the town’s lack of maintaining their buildings, and suggested designating capital funds each year to keep up with the maintenance of town facilities. Ms. Lemieux suggested the committee put the conversation into context, and pointed out that there was $4 million in requests, 66 percent of which had to do with town facilities as a result of the past Vertex studies. Mr. Beardmore questioned the prioritization of replacing the HVAC at the senior center, or fixing the furnaces at Town Hall over installing air conditioning at the Primary School, which was designed with windows that cannot be opened. Mr. Simeone asked why buildings with HVAC or furnace issues have not considered the Green Communities Committee for possibilities in funding. 10. Five-Year Financial Forecast: Ms. Lemieux described the required five-year financial forecast, which is a living document, subject to change as more information becomes available. Mr. Watters inquired about the increase in health insurance costs for FY23, and whether the Health Insurance Stabilization Fund would account for that increase. Ms. Lemieux explained that the fund would serve as revenue in her preliminary budget, and would be used to supplement the cost. Mr. Balish inquired about the school’s five year staffing plan expenditures. Ms. Lemieux responded that a long-term staffing plan was developed in the past, similar to the police and fire departments. Ms. Lemieux explained that some expenses are covered via grant money, but the plan has been put in place to fund those expenses when grant funding dries up. Mr. Balish suggested using percentages to describe increases and decreases on the forecast as the information could be easier to digest when presented. Both the Five -Year Financial Forecast and the FY2023 Capital Plan Recommendation presentations can be found at Lunenburg Town Hall in the Town Manager’s Office as well as online at https://www.lunenburgma.gov/news-announcements/fy-2023-fy-2027- financial-forecast-and-fy-2023-capital-plan-presentations. ===PAGE 4=== 11. Municipal Building Design Committee update: The committee discussed the role of the representative on the Municipal Design Committee, and decided to bring a more proactive financial approach with the new charge. Mr. Balish moved to appoint Mr. Beardmore to represent the Finance Committee on the Municipal Building Design Committee, Mr. Gray seconded. On vote, motion passes 4-1. 12. Minutes none 13. Committee Reports: Committee members updated each other on their respective liaison assignments. 14. Public Comment Lunenburg resident David Rogers phoned in to express his concern over the town projecting deficits, and the possibility of an override of Prop 2 ½. 15. Items for Future Meetings Department heads will present their budgets 16. Next Meetings Feb 17 17. Adjourn At 9:54 p.m. Mr. Watters motioned to adjourn, Mr. Balish seconded. On vote, motion carried unanimously.