===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, May 19, 2022 Location: In-person at Lunenburg Town Hall and broadcast on Zoom Present: Chairperson Peter Beardmore, Chris Menard, Dave Passios, attended in person. Jay Simeone, and Evan Watters attended remotely. Guests: Town Manager Heather Lemieux attended remotely. 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. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Announcements: Mr. Beardmore announced the Memorial Day Ceremony to be held at Veterans Memorial Park on Memorial Day, May 30, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. 4. Public Comment: Mr. Beardmore informed the board and the audience that he will seek reappointment to his seat on the Finance Committee. 5. Chair Report: Mr. Beardmore asked members to think about topics for discussion and how the committee should convene over the summer. 6. Town Manager/Finance Director Report: Ms. Lemieux reported that the Green Communities grant for $187,000 has been submitted, and that the town is accepting proposals for the LED streetlight project, which should be a turn-key operation. Ms. Lemieux also informed the committee that the town has received $68,000 from the state in reimbursement for Emergency Paid Sick Leave. Ms. Lemieux also reported the town has received a $18,000 grant for the high school score board, and a Winter Recovery Assistance Program grant in the amount of $262,678, which is to be spent on roadways and sidewalks by June 2023. Ms. Lemieux reported the chiller for the public safety building will not be delivered until August. The town will not receive federal funding toward the Flat Hill Rd Culvert project, according to Ms. Lemieux. 7. Town Meeting Review: The committee discussed the way Article 6 (Capital Plan) and Article 19 (30 School St) were decided, and most agreed the Salary Administration Plan article needed more time before it was presented at Town Meeting. The committee agreed that they are in favor of the new electronic voting procedure. According to Mr. Beardmore the FY23 Capital Plan is the most expensive capital plan to date, and opined that the Finance Committee should play a larger role in the development of the capital plan, and that the article should be reworded in the future to allow for line item adjustments. Mr. Passios added the Town Charter, M.G.L.s, and the town’s fiscal policies are inconsistent in regard to the capital plan. Mr. Menard suggested the Finance Committee have access to the same documents as the Capital Planning Committee, and that their meetings ===PAGE 2=== should be recorded. Mr. Menard also pointed out that projects on the plan were inadequately scoped, and that estimates were inaccurate. Mr. Simeone added that the new Facilities Director should be able to assist in getting accurate quotes for projects after he or she is hired. On Article 19, concerning 30 School St., Mr. Beardmore pointed out that with the article’s amendment, the charge of the direction of the project could be foreseen as unknown. Mr. Passios added that the original article as written should not have combined the demolition of the Old Primary School with the design plans for a park. 8. Review of FY22 Goals and Procedures: The committee agreed that they’d like to see the actual budget of the departments that come before them. Mr. Beardmore proposed formulating a sample document, on which the department presentations should be based. On quarterly reports, Mr. Beardmore suggested to improve the facilitation of discussion. On Chapter 70, the committee agreed the discussion was helpful in terms of discovering how much more money Lunenburg spends on education in general, as well as Monty Tech, in comparison to its municipal counterparts. The committee agreed to hold workshops over the summer to develop their goals and procedures for FY23. 9. Topics and Goals for Summer: • Role of Finance Committee in Capital Planning process • Policies and Procedures • Budget Presentations • Debt and Debt Capacity 10. Minutes: Mr. Menard motioned to approve the minutes from the March 31, April 14, and April 28, 2022 meetings. Mr. Watters seconded. On vote, motion carried. (4-0-1) 11. Committee Reports: Committee members updated each other on their respective liaison assignments. 12. Public Comment: none 13. Items for Future Meetings: Mr. Passios expressed his concern over the Primary School and Turkey Hill Elementary School, and suggested that if the town is neglecting these buildings because they are being replaced, they need to be honest about that. 14. Next Meetings: June 9 –remote, June 23 (maybe) 15. Adjourn At 8:44 p.m., Mr. Passios motioned to adjourn, Mr. Menard seconded. On vote, motion carried unanimously.