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D
RECEIVED & FILED
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES
Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall
October 10, 2017
NOV 1 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
Also present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager
Board/Committee Members attending: Terri Burchfield (Finance Committee), Peter Lincoln (Council on
Aging), Jim La Veck (APDC/School Committee), Greg Bittner (Planning Board/ Green Community Task
Force), Jane Rabbitt (Council on Aging), Steve Walker (Public Access Cable Committee (PACC)/Cable
Advisory Committee), Richard Mailloux (Library Trustee), Al Gravelle (Zoning Board of Appeals), Brian
Corcoran (APDC), Hans Wentrup, (Zoning Board of Appeals), Erik Arnold (Personnel Committee), Ken
Chenis (Planning Board), Richard McGrath (APDC), Lou Franco (Board of Assessors), Matthew Allison
(Planning Board/Storm Water Task Force), Michael-Ray Jeffreys (Planning Board/ Charter Review
Committee), Katey Adams (Charter Review Committee), John Henshaw (Finance Committee/Capital
Planning); Karin Menard (Parks Commission), Jack Rodriquenz (Storm Water Task Force)
The meeting commenced with the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Ms. Luck announced the Lions Club Pancake breakfast tomorrow morning from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the Senior
Center.
Dave Rodgers, 82 Highland Street, hoped every board and committee would hold a public comment period at
the beginning and end of their meetings so that attendees can comment on the agenda items. He also hoped
recording every meeting would become standard practice.
Mr. Toale reviewed the list of committees; see the attendance list above. Boards and committees not represented
tonight were the Agricultural Commission, Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Sewer Commission,
Housing Authority and the Historical Commission.
Mr. Toale reviewed the Board of Selectmen goals for the current year:
• Identify desire for and type of Economic Development for Lunenburg
• Develop an Infrastructure Plan (including Roads, Buildings and Equipment)
• Improve Public Satisfaction through Community Involvement and Public Outreach
Mr. Toale asked those present to expand on what were their committee's goals, if any.
Finance Committee Chair Burchfield stated for the last couple of years they have been working on the financial
policies of the town and this past year they have been focusing on debt policy as it relates to capital planning
and infrastructure. She echoed Mr. Rodgers' comments about minutes noting it is hard to participate in the
meeting and record minutes. She would like to get a good sense of what the town is looking for going into the
budget season. Ms. Luck asked are you suggesting that the Finance Committee should have someone to record
their minutes. Ms. Burchfield stated yes it would be nice if we were recording the meeting, to have someone
transcribe them and then we would vote on their acceptance at the next meeting.
Karin Menard (Parks Commission) echoed Ms. Burchfield's comments stating it is extremely difficult to record
minutes and be able to participate. She added it would be good if everyone's minutes were similar too.
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Menard stated we are a three person commission and all are relatively new to Parks Commission, having only
been on it for about a year. This year they had a lot to address because there were some things that had been
overlooked in the past. We found our town beach coordinator and lifeguard positions needed to be added to the
salary administration plan. We spent a lot of time looking at the town fields and working on usage and fee
policies. We don't have any goals currently because we are still trying to find out what has been done and what
hasn't. Another item is communicating with the public. Right now we have a great volunteer Chris Letarte who
spearheaded the cleanup at Wallis Park in the Whalom area. We would like to get more people involved; there
is always something that needs to be done. We would like to know what everyone wants to do at our parks.
Ms. Luck asked Ms. Menard if they had an inventory of all the parks and are they in good shape? Ms. Menard
responded that DPW Director Rodriquenz does and all of the parks need improvement. Most of the equipment
is thirty years old and out of date and code. Most of it has been removed. She clarified she was not speaking
about the three playgrounds. Parks has nothing to do with those; they fall under the school department. Mr.
Ebersole asked if the Open Space plan covers the park property. Menard stated she did not know. Ms. Bertram
noted the Open Space plan makes a reference to them but does not specifically address them.
Ms. Bertram asked if the Parks Commission had created an overall financial plan of what kind of investment is
needed when discussing the fee schedule and what are the fees going to do to upgrade the Parks' needs? Menard
stated when she came on nothing was in place so there was a push to at least get something in place. They spent
time researching what other towns did. Over the past year they have slowly been getting information on what it
costs to maintain those fields. For almost ten years we haven't seen an increase in the fees for town beach
passes and swim lessons. We will continue to evaluate what the fees are going forward.
Ms. Bertram asked about the artificial turf field. Menard stated there has been a lot of discussion on who
actually oversees the turf field. We hope to work that out issue over the next couple of weeks.
Lou Franco, Board of Assessors Chairman, stated they discover, list and value all Lunenburg properties; real
estate and personal property. They just contracted with a company to uncover and identify personal property
valuations. We believe there is a lot of potential revenue out there. People are unaware they are supposed to be
paying taxes on personal property. We are continuing to build our Geographical Information System (GIS)
mapping capabilities. We continue our periodic inspections which are on a nine year cycle. We want to
improve our efficiency with data collection and return rates of necessary assessment data. We want to have
more information on the website for people to view so they understand the assessment and taxation process. We
hold abatement hearings on a monthly basis. We also grant exemptions under different categories of eligibility.
Greg Bittner, Planning Board Chairman, reported one of their goals is working on the bylaw. We are currently
working on the use table and definitions for each district. Increased communication with other boards and the
public is another goal.
Dick Mailloux, Chairman of the Trustees of the Public Library, reported their goal is to continue to provide
services to the community. Summer programs were very well attended. In addition, Project Bread used our
facility to offer lunch to anyone under the age of eighteen years old on Mondays and Wednesdays during the
summer program. We continue to offer programs to all ages. We want to bring in more community to the
Library.
Matt Allison stated he believed public comment on the beginning and end of every meeting would be beneficial.
He believed all documents, such as agendas and minutes should be standardized. He recommended digitally
recording the meeting and doing the minutes later. He also recommended standardized signage for events.
Michael-Ray Jeffreys, representing the Charter Review Committee, echoed previous comments. As clerk for the
Charter Review Committee, he had viewed other Boards' agendas and formats and stated the Planning Board
sets the standard. He believed the Board of Selectmen's minutes are the most thorough with more of a transcript
format. He uses the Planning Board minutes as his model, keeping to detail and key points. The Charter Review
Committee is taking a four-phased approach. The first phase is community outreach and collecting information.
Each committee member is a liaison to a Town board or committee. The second phase is creating work groups
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based on specialized ideas. The third phase is to draft the legislation language for proposed changes. The fourth
phase is community outreach. We have decided to maintain a 2/3rd majority as a committee going through
everything we do. Our goal is to present at Annual Town Meeting in May 2018.
Steve Walker, PACC Chairman, reported there are two public access channels for Lunenburg. Their mission is
to serve the community through the creation of broadcast media programming for and about Lunenburg. We
provide residents, students and organizations with access to and training on some of the equipment. It's possible
to borrow a camera if you want to record a Lunenburg function. We can assist with editing to make your event
into a program. We have a new high definition server in our studio. We are trying to increase our community
interactions. The high school STEP program is ongoing with us. Any committee members who want to inform
the public about your committee should contact them.
For the future, we are seeking a permanent studio location of 2600 square feet, We are looking to increase our
present staffing and we are planning a mobile production unit. We are negotiating with Comcast for the renewal
of the cable license. We are looking for two types of volunteers; two PACC committee members and people to
run equipment in the studio and at events. Mr. Ebersole asked if they have capacity to record more committee
meetings. Walker stated there are a couple of issues, lack of enough volunteers and storage capacity.
Moving on to the Cable Advisory Committee, Walker reported they are still negotiating for the license renewal.
Some of the items the Cable Committee is requesting are an increase in the cable fee, access to a high definition
feed while maintaining the standard definition for those who need it, and access to the electronic program guide.
We are also requesting an education channel be added. Ms. Luck asked how much of what you get from
Comcast is paid by the cable subscriber. Walker reported it's basically a pass through. At this moment, it's
about $2.70 per subscriber per month.
Jane Rabbitt, Council on Aging member, showed their monthly newsletter, noting they are now the Eagle
House Senior Community Center. They are now open on Fridays thanks to the Eagle House supporters and
without increasing the budget. There have been some improvements to the kitchen. A washer and dryer have
been added to the Senior Center. The center was painted recently. They have a bocce and shuffleboard court.
Recently a billiards table was donated to the center. Unduplicated visits to the center rose by 15% this year.
Future goals and needs are increasing staffing funding for Fridays and evening programming. They are also
seeking to hold indoor pickleball at the Passios Building. We would also like to expand adult learning classes
through the ALPHA program in Fitchburg to the Lunenburg Senior Center.
Richard McGrath, APDC Chairman, reported they have been working over the past year to create the
Architectural Preservation District guidelines with input from the Board of Selectmen, the Land Use Director
and the public. Going forward we are ready to present changes to our most recent draft. Following that we will
hold a public hearing before the Board of Selectmen and then vote to approve them. Once completed, we
become a functioning body. We are down to three members with two vacancies.
Al Gravelle, Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman, reported their purpose is to interpret and enforce the
protective bylaw of Lunenburg on a case by case basis. The board hears and decides petitions for appeals and
enforcement of the Building Commissioner who is also the Zoning Enforcement Officer, Special Permits as
allowed under the bylaw, variances from the requirement of the protective bylaw and comprehensive permits
under Chapter 40B (Affordable Housing) of Massachusetts General Law. We hold public hearings on all and
we meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, as needed. Most cases are heard, deliberated on
and voted on the night of the hearing. We do allow public comment at the end of each meeting due to the
amount of material addressed during the hearing. We are five members with five year terms and two alternates
with three year terms. We just reviewed 40B several months ago and revised it.
Matt Allison returned to ask if there were any questions. He added the Storm Water Task Force also has a
vacancy. They meet monthly.
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Damon McQuaid reported on Capital Planning Committee. He noted John Henshaw's tireless work on
improving the request forms for departments. The forms will be digitized and standardized. He added recording
minutes is a lot of work and there should be some way we can assist people in recording them.
Mr. Ebersole stated taking minutes is an art. He had to learn how to do minutes years ago as a committee clerk.
The Open Meeting law has expanded on what we are supposed to record. It is more than just recording votes.
The public should be able to understand what occurred at the meeting without having attended it. This is not
something the town trains volunteers to do and this is something we need to do, or do it differently. He was
impressed by the professionalism of the various boards and commissions this evening.
He noted some of the themes he heard tonight:
• a need for technical support
• agenda and minutes
• GIS website
• planning
• updating data
• tools
• information
• maintenance
• is there a fee for maintenance and capital improvements
• communication
• demands of day to day operation versus planning for the future
• services and duties: how to improve and expand them in hours or people served
• need for improved funding, facilities and equipment
• volunteers to support operations
• volunteers for boards
Mr. Toale asked how can we increase the communication within boards, between Boards and the Selectmen.
What assistance do other boards need from the Selectmen? Does the role of liaison assist in any way? Should it
be different, improved or changed? Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
Ms. Bertram stated the committee overview form that was sent out to the boards is to assist the public in
understanding what their committees do. Ms. Burchfield believed educating the public on the various
committees and how they work is important. Is there a way to use our website better to get some of that stuff
out there or do video streaming from the site? Discussion about the logistics of using social media ensued. A
suggestion made to improve communication amongst all the committees was to meet more often than annually.
Ms. Lemieux reported we are going to be overhauling the town website through Community Compact grant
funding. It will be less cumbersome and easier to navigate while providing more information.
Discussion ensued about how to proceed further. Several suggestions and ideas were discussed such as
scheduling quarterly committee reports at Selectmen meetings and printing semiannual newsletters of
committee reports that include descriptions of their responsibilities and what they are working on or writing a
column for The Lunenburg Ledger on the town activities. How do we engage the public more and encourage
more attendance at town meetings?
Mr. Toale thanked everyone for coming in this evening. It was decided to fill out the board overview worksheet
and make it available on the website for the public. Each board was requested to submit the form back to the
Selectmen office. The visiting board and committee members began exiting the meeting at 9:05 p.m.
The Board signed an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $518,957.94. There were no action file issues.
The Board discussed their October meeting schedule. The Board will meet on Monday, October 23rd due to
them attending an opioid informational forum on their regular meeting night. Ms. Lemieux reported the School
Superintendent had informed her that the School Committee can meet with this Board for a workshop on either
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November 7"h or 14"h regarding their long-term plans for Turkey Hill Elementary School. It will coincide with a
discussion on town buildings. Mr. Toale requested a motion to enter Executive Session.
Motion: R. Ebersole
2^d: P. Bertram
To enter Executive Session under M.G.L. c. 30A, 821, reason #2, to conduct contract negotiations with
non-union personnel, if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining
position and the Chair declares so. (Town Manager Contract) and then to enter Executive Session under
M.G.L. c. 30A, §21, reason #3, to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining, if an open meeting
may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining position and the Chair declares so.
(Professional Firefighters DFFM Local 4358A and AFSCME Council 93, Municipal Employees Union
contract negotiations) and to adjourn afterwards.
MIr. McQuaid-aye, Mis. Luck- aye, Ms. Bertram-aye, Mr. Ebersole-aye, Mr. Toale-aye;
Ms. Bertram stated she would be recusing herself from the second executive session. Ms. Lemieux exited the
meeting.
*****************************Executive Session Minutes are Separate************************
The meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elairem Peterson
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager