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RECEIVED & FILED
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES
Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall
September 12, 2017
OCT 0 5 2017
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
Board of Selectmen: Jamie Toale, Chairman; Robert Ebersole, Vice Chairman; Paula Bertram, Clerk; Phyllis
Luck, Member; Damon McQuaid, Member
Planning Board Members: Greg Bittner, Chairman; Matthew Allison, Vice Chairman; David Prokowiew,
Member; Michael Ray-Jeffreys, Member
Not present: Ken Chenis, Planning Board Member/Clerk
Also present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager, Adam Burney, Land Use Director
The meeting commenced at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. McQuaid noted he has been misquoted on social media regarding the Village Center. Ms. Bertram
recommended the Board of Selectmen put out a statement as to their vote to go with the TC Passios Building for
the Town offices and encouragement of public involvement regarding municipal building use. Mr. Jeffreys
opined that the citizens have been working together as a team to advance the Town. He noted that he finds the
conversation on Facebook to be distasteful and it discourages citizens from becoming involved in town politics.
Mr. Prokowiew opined that there is a communication gap between Town government and the citizens. He
suggested information be posted to the Town website and be periodically updated. Ms. Lemieux noted that
grant money has been received to update the website, making it more user-friendly.
Heather Bowen, 188 Flat Hill Road, stated the Boards need to be aware of what is being discussed on Facebook.
She noted that she is the current Farmers' Market Manager-in-Training and needs to stay aware of social media
so as to not miss marketing opportunities. She feels that the bylaws are too vague and policies too restrictive,
limiting her ability to open a commercial kitchen in her residence.
Marie Martin, 54 Longwood Drive, expressed her appreciation to the Boards for their work and commitment.
She was concerned with the chance of a 40R development in the Town Center. Mr. Burney responded the
Town Center is not currently zoned for a 40R.
Katey Adams, 45 Williams Drive, feels economic development should be encouraged towards both municipal
and private properties within the Town Center, but open space also needs to be maintained.
Dave Rodgers, 82 Highland Street, asked for clarification on the Village Center District bylaw; is it to afford
residents the opportunity to open small businesses and create a more vibrant Town Center?
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: Economic Development
Mr. Burney noted the presentation which is informational and conceptual is to open up the discussion.
Overview: 1) existing documents, 2) items in process, 3) community desires, 4) available resources, 5)
community needs, and 6) next steps. Slide 8, "Community Desires", will be renamed "Community Comments"
for clarification in the event the presentation is posted to the Town website. Mr. Burney noted that the vacant
commercial/industrial land (all privately owned) on Slide 9, encompasses 78.2 acres, of which 19 acres are two
parcels that are more than 80% wetlands. He noted that there are five parcels under earth removal permits
owned within the Industrial District by two landowners which comprise 85.6 acres.
Mr. Rodgers asked what economic development could be obtained in Lunenburg that would not be available in
both Leominster and Fitchburg? Ms. Bertram noted this will be a discussion item. She noted that she felt two
major items drawing individuals to Lunenburg are eco-tourism, e.g., trail system and land and it being a farming
community. Lunenburg also has a strong artist and craft community.
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Mr. Ebersole stated Lunenburg has gone back and forth wanting development and wanting to restrict it.
The town did not have zoning until 1960. The town worked against the extension of Interstate 190 through
Leominster into Lunenburg and New Hampshire. Going back to the 1800's there were people working against
the railroad coming through Lunenburg successfully and it only comes through the lower part of town. Route
2A used to be Route 2 and then it was moved south to its current location. When you go back to the 2000s when
Lunenburg was going to install sewer through the entire town, the town rose up and said no we don't want
sewer in the entire town for environmental reasons and this instigated a sewer use needs study. He noted the
Town Charter states the Sewer Commissioners shall in conjunction with other land use bodies, assist in
developing a long range strategic plan for guiding town growth and development. We also need to talk about
the high electric cost that Unitil is charging residents and that makes the difference why someone would move
here versus moving to Leominster, which doesn't have Unitil. He stated he personally supports local businesses
based on cost, service, quality and available services.
The lower right hand corner of town where P. J. Keating is located used to be strictly commercial. Now it is
office park/industrial park with the idea that we didn't want traditional commercial zoning. How far do we want
to have commercial to go? He liked that the Planning Board is reviewing their bylaws to make everything
consistent. The zoning map will be the hot button when it goes to town meeting. It takes a 2/3 majority vote to
change zoning bylaws. We need to address both the zoning and the non-zoning parts.
Mr. McQuaid added everything the Planning Board is doing with the Use Table and the Definitions is a great
step forward. He was afraid of trying to redraw the map; there will be tremendous pushback from the public
when you try to take a residential area and make it commercial. Everything we do as far as making decisions
regarding economic developmen is asking what does that econonic development add to the community. Does it
enhance the public realm or promote walkability? It needs to focus on contextually appropriate uses with
appropriate scale and design. A way to do that without redrawing the zoning map is to allow some things by
special permit in residential areas to get back to the organic neighborhood growth through mixed use that the
pause button has been pressed since the 50's post-war exclusionary zoning. We can identify uses that are
acceptable and appropriate that can go into residential areas; bakers, markets, craftspeople, artists, things of that
nature. Part of that can be done by embracing a progressive view and definition of what a home business is.
Greg Bittner suggested surveying residents to identify the wants and needs of the community. We have many
car dealerships and auto repair shops, but no auto parts store. We should look for development that supports
what we already have; the services that people now go to Leominster and Fitchburg to have. Then we can try to
find appropriate places for those things. He noted physically accessing some commercial properties can be
problematic.
Ms. Bertram agreed but we need to define that framework first. What is it that we are hoping to accomplish?
Personally, I want Lunenburg to maintain the open space that we have and improve and enhance it; then put
together businesses that will complement those opportunities.
Mr. Jeffreys noted if you live south of Massachusetts Avenue, you really have no reason to come to the center
of town unless you want to go to the post office. Depending on where you live determines how you use the
town. Who is coming through our town? We should focus more on services to our existing residents, such as
ecotourism. The first step is to poll the community and find out what they want. Maybe we should look into
solar as a form of revenue.
Mr. Prokowiew stated his background is in marketing and when he looks at the town he sees a bunch of issues.
We have a lack of infrastructure. We have to make it easier for people who are looking for someplace to land.
We lack vision and we need to find what we need to do to assist in this area to grow. There seems to be this
expectation that we are going to come up with the right thing for the right spot and make all these things
happen.
Ms. Bertram stated we can guide that vision by determining what type of things we want to encourage.
That is one of the discussions we have to have. I am pushing to support our existing businesses and farms and
finding out what they need. Mr. Prokowiew hoped this will result in existing businesses coming up with ideas to
market themselves and each other.
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Ms. Bertram added if we want to maintain our rural characteristic that doesn't necessarily mean we want to
encourage our commercial industrial growth. We want to be very careful about unintended consequences and
what we want as a community.
Mr. Allison spoke about promoting farmers and their value added products through the Agricultural
Commission and possibly using town property to do that. He noted the recent trend toward smaller farms with
less acreage versus bigger ones. Less than forty years ago we had three active dairy farms. We still have two of
them; one sells exclusively to Garelick, the other sells directly to the public. People could reinvest their money
into the town by buying local food
Mr. Jeffreys stated he has had conversations with Steve Powell of Powell Sand and Gravel, an abutter to his
property. He disclosed according to the rules this is a conflict of interest but Mr. Powell is interested in
swapping land with the town but would also like to take some town land and turn some into park areas.
Mr. Prokowiew asked if there was a possibility to talk to existing landowners and trading properties.
Further discussion ensued about how to proceed for economic development, what the next steps are, what
would it cost, etc. Should there be an economic development committee and what would their charge be?
Mr. Jeffreys asked if we have identified large properties in town that could be buildable? What is their potential
if they follow our bylaws? We should keep that in mind going forward.
Mr. Burney stated we could talk to MRC about doing a buildout analysis of residential property. The ability
for a town to deny subdivision approval is very small especially if they are following our rules and regulations.
Another question asked was how many vacant retail businesses do we have?
Ms. Lemieux stated we need a defined vision: A potential next step is to update the the Master Plan. Our Open
Space Plan needs to be updated. It requires reconvening the Master Plan Committee. The visionary process will
incorporate the community through survey monkey, workshops, etc. Another take away is we need to get
support for our local businesses. Through MRPC we can hold a workshop with the businesses; find out what
concerns they have. We can form an economic development committee.
Suggestion was made to talk to the Conservation Commission to see what they would like to see on the
properties under their jurisdiction. Do they want to be listed on regional trail maps? There were many
recommendations on the 2011 Open Space plan that were never completed. Another suggestion was to look at
large scale solar facilities in town and see how they are structured and how they contribute to the town.
Mr. Allison stated a lot of the talk about economic development is about bringing people into town. We have a
lot of resources through the farmers if we give them the opportunity to flourish. Recreation is a big draw. We
have a golf course which is bringing in a solar facility; we have a driving range and a puppet theater.
We have lost Whalom Park, a BMX track, two drive-in theaters, a roller skating rink, a video arcade and a
bowling alley. Mr. McQuaid noted making the community affordable doesn't just mean price. Does this town
afford opportunity for social and cultural events? Mr. Toale stated we have plenty of food for thought on what
our next steps will be. He would like to invite the Sewer Commission as well as others to the next workshop.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Heather Bowen, 155 Flat Hill Road, thanked the Boards for this brainstorming. She asked them to consider as
going forward the difference between the Stillman Country Fair permitting process and the 3000 people that
they estimated this brought into town under agritourism and the Unifier Festival permitting process which
brought in 500-600 people. They were both on private land and about celebrating the land.
Katey Adams, 45 Willlams Drive, related how the Bolton community combined art with farming and promoted
the local artists' businesses. She suggested looking at other communities to see what they are doing to bring
revenue into their towns.
Ana Lockwood, 91 Main Street, stated as we talk about the Town center and what we can do with what we
have, we need to start thinking about parking.
Mr. Toale recommended coming back with some goals and action items for the next step.
Motion: D. Prokowiew
To adjourn the Planning Board meeting
2"°: M. Allison
Vote: All in Favor
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Minutes/ Warrants/Action File Issues
The Board approved minutes of August 22, 2017. They signed accounts payable warrants in the amounts of
$548,801.48 and $355,960.62 and a school payroll warrant in the amount of $2336.67.
The Board decided to meet with the Nexamp representative on October 3'd to discuss a PILOT agreement.
Mr. Burney stated our Planning Board can request the applicant voluntarily enter a PILOT. If the applicant
agrees, the Planning Board has the ability to place a condition on the special permit stating they requested the
applicant enter into a PILOT and the applicant agreed. It then becomes memorialized as a condition. Once the
20 day appeal period has passed, it becomes legally enforceable as long as the applicant does not appeal the
decision. There are some Conservation-related items that may impact Planning Board items on the September
25 hearing continuation.
Motion: P. Bertram
To adjourn the meeting
2"': R. Ebersole
Vote: All in Favor
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elainem Pelerson
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager