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BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
July 14, 2015
The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall, as scheduled with Jamie
Toale, Chair; Robert Ebersole, Vice Chair; Thomas Alonzo, Clerk; Paula Bertram, Member and Town Manager
Kerry Speidel. Phyllis Luck, Member was not present. The meeting opened at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Public Comment:
Mr. Alonzo reminded those present that the Lunenburg Water District is hosting a special meeting, requested by
citizen petition, on Wednesday, July 29'; 7:00 p.m. at the Lunenburg High School to discuss the extension of
the water district to encompass the northwest area of Lancaster. He encouraged all registered voters within the
LWD to attend that meeting.
Ms. Bertram announced there is an informational meeting regarding the Summer St. construction project on
Wednesday, July 22, at 7:00 PM at the Lunenburg High School.
Failure to Elect Vacancies on Library Board of Trustees
The Board moved on to the meeting with the Board of Library Trustees to fill two vacancies due to failure to
elect. Library Trustee Chairman Richard Mailloux called their meeting to order and came forward to report they
had met with the three applicants last week. The first candidate was Donna Saiia of 32 Sandy Cove Road. She
is passionate about reading and has her own business. For these purposes, she stated circulation and getting
people into the Library is critical; she believed her background was suited for the position.
The second applicant was Kiirja Paananen of 35 Meadow Lane. She stated she was approached by Library staff
who asked if she was interested in serving on the Board. She has a degree in comparative literature and believes
it is important to have a variety of materials available to the public. She has participated in many events at the
Library and intends to run for reelection next May. The third applicant was Joy Ruth Cohen of 64 Great Pond
Road. She moved here in February. She has served on other Boards before and she enjoys reading in various
forms; aloud to children and seniors. She believes the library can be the hub of the community and needs to
serve all members of the community, including seniors. She was not aware this position will be up for reelection
in May and stated "we'll see," regarding running for election next year.
Mr. Alonzo thanked all three applicants for coming forward. He motioned to nominate Ms. Cohen to one of the
vacancies. Mr. Toale echoed Mr. Alonzo's statement and added that before taking any other motions that there
are other committee positions open for all citizens to volunteer. Mr. Mailloux stated it was wonderful that three
people came forward and all are well qualified. He nominated Ms. Paananen for a position. Ms. Bertram then
nominated Ms. Saiia for a position. Mr. Toale stated there will be a combined vote of the two Boards in the
order of the nominations given. He began the vote with Ms. Cohen who received votes of 5 for and 4 opposed
and Ms. Paananen, whose received 6 votes for and 2 votes opposed. There was ensuing discussion on the voting
procedure due to some confusion. Mr. Toale stated he was willing to revote again in order of nominations made.
Mr. Alonzo motioned to rescind the previous votes due to confusion over the process. Ms. Bertram seconded.
Vote was unanimous. Mr. Alonzo motioned to appoint Joy Ruth Cohen to the Board of Library Trustees. Ms.
Bertram motioned to appoint Donna Saiia. A motion was made from the floor by a Library Trustee to nominate
Ms. Paananen. Votes resulted in Ms. Saiia (8 for, 1 abstention) and Ms. Paananen (5 for, 4 opposed) to be
mutually elected to the vacancies. Mr. Toale asked both newly elected trustees to see the Town Clerk to be
sworn in and thanked Ms. Cohen as well. Mr. Toale thanked the Library Trustees as they exited the meeting.
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Appointments:
Jane Rabbitt of Townsend Harbor Road presented to request to be appointed to the Council on Aging. She
stated she likes working with the elderly and wants to give back to the community. She attended a COA
meeting and has some ideas for the council; specifically bringing in "younger" seniors to participate in
activities.
Motion: R. Ebersole
2°°: P. Bertram
To appoint Jane Rabbitt to the Council on Aging with a term to expire June 30, 2016
Vote: All in Favor
Kenneth Jones, of 38 Upland Avenue presented to request to be appointed to the Conservation Commission. He
is familiar with land management practices and has previously served on the commission. The Commission
does support his appointment although they did not get a chance to formally interview him.
Motion: R. Ebersole
2'°: T. Alonzo
To appoint Kenneth Jones to the Conservation Commission with a term to expire June 30, 2018
Vote: All in Favor
Current Business:
Unitil Filings: Ms. Speidel reported on a meeting she had with Unitil representatives, John DiNapoli and Cindy
Carol, concerning two filings. The first petition to the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) was for a gas and
electric distribution standard rate increase. If approved, the average electric bill will increase by $4.99 and the
average gas bill will increase $13.68 per month. She did mention to the Unitil representatives that the number
one complaint received from residents was the high rates. They obviously receive those complaints as well.
This typically takes ten months for review by both the DPU and Attorney General's Office.
The second filing was for grid modernization plans; this is something that DPU has required all four of the
electric utilities to file. Unitil is planning on filing August 15t
' DU asks these utilities to look at specific
objectives such as reducing the effects of electrical outages, enabling the integration of solar power and other
distributed energy resources, optimizing the demand for electricity by sending better price signals, improving
workforce and infrastructure productivity and to provide for smart meters that can support prices that vary by
the time of the demand. Unitil will be addressing those five items. The Board can ask other items to consider in
their plan. Ms. Speidel did request that street lights have some sort of self-reporting system that signals to the
utility company that the light is out. The Board provided some questions to Ms. Speidel to ask Unitil regarding
grid modernization, time of use rates, and associated costs. She asked if the Board wanted to file as an
intervener in the rate case. The Board did. The topic will be continued at the next meeting.
Municipal Community Compact
Ms. Speidel reported the Governor and Lt. Governor recently announced a Community Compact Cabinet which
would allow the governor to work more closely with leaders from all municipalities. The Cabinet champions
municipal interests across all executive secretariats and agencies, and develops, in consultation with cities and
towns, mutual standards and best practices for both the state and municipalities. In addition, the Commonwealth
will offer incentives to communities for entering into a Community Compact, including prioritizing
Commonwealth technical assistance resources to help reach your chosen best practice(s). Extra points on
certain grants and a grant program specifically for Compact communities are also incentives included for
participation in the program. Ms. Speidel asked the Board to consider some of the items included in the compact
literature while looking at their own goals. Some cities and towns have already joined, including the City of
Gardner. The Board was hesitant to apply at this time and wanted to research further. Ms. Speidel noted there is
no deadline to apply.
Warrants
The following warrants were presented for signatures: (2) FY' 15 Accounts Payables of $123,136.29 and
$140,412.86; Payroll in the amount of $501,463.86 and Payroll deductions in the amount of $14,332.63.
Action File Issues; Mr. Ebersole reminded that a bylaw review committee needed to be organized.
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Committee Reports:
Board of Health - no report; Building Reuse Committee- no report; Cable Advisory Committee- no report;
Capital Planning Committee- no report; Conservation Commission- no report; Finance Committee-no
report; Library Board of Trustees- no report MART Advisory- no report MPO- no report; Planning Board-
met last night and approved Hannaford Supermarket to have an outside seasonal display area, there was also an
application approved by ZBA for 10 Mass Ave for an used car lot containing 8 cars; more information is needed
and the hearing was continued to July 27".
'. The Planning Board voted last night not to exercise the Right of
First Refusal on the White Street property.
On another topic, Ms. Bertram stated Ken Chenis of MJTC had talked about under the UPWP that Lunenburg is
partnering with them on locating storm water structures with a GPS mobile device. The town already has this
from 2007, so she is not quite sure what we are having MJTC doing now. Ms. Speidel will follow up on this.
PACC-no report; School Committee-no report School Building Committee - no report; Sewer
Commission-- no report ZBA - no report
Town Manager/Department Reports- Ms. Speidel requested the Board sign the White Tail Crossing road
plan that was previously approved.
School Building Committee Appointments:
Motion; B. Ebersole
To appoint Mike Mackin and tom Alonzo to the School Building Committee
2nd: P. Bertram
Vote: All in Favor
Public Comment:
Maryellen Ramstack of 44 Cortland Circle asked if there was any more information regarding Unitil and the
residential solar system installation dilemma. She added there is a rumor circulating that another megawatt
solar system is being installed. She expressed concern as she has neighbors and friends who want to hook up
residential solar systems into the Unitil system and this is still not resolved. She stated Lunenburg is unique as
having this problem and it is Unitil that is causing these problems. Now Unitil is going to increase rates. They
have had an incredible profit this year and we are getting nothing. She also stated she heard a Green Community
Task Force member is involved somehow with the megawatt installation and this concerns her. Mr. Alonzo
stated the Green Community Task Force only makes recommendations. Unitil is not involved in any solar
installation. Anyone who has to install solar systems has to work with Unitil. He added that the two previous
megawatt installations certainly did influence capacity but a third one would be a onetime upgrade that allows
others to join in the system. There would be no more cap or denials of residential solar systems after that.
Ms. Ramstack expressed there could be a conflict of interest with this Green Task Force member. Mr. Ebersole
explained the Conflict of Interest Law details to Mrs. Ramstack. She thanked the Board and exited the podium.
Mr. Toale announced the next meeting is July 21st.
Motion: B. Ebersole
To adjourn the meeting at 8:26 p.m.
2":P. Bertram
Vote: All in Favor
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager