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Malandrinos, IT Director; John Londa, Facilities Director
The meeting opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mr. Toale announced the public is invited to the presentation of the Boston Post Cane to Clarence Goguen, 100
years old, on Saturday, March 24th at 2:00 p.m. at Eagle House Community Senior Center. Refreshments will
follow the presentation.
Ms. Bertram noted she did not participate in the Executive Session earlier due to a potential conflict of interest
because it was for Public Employees Union contract negotiations.
Mr. Ebersole announced the Charter Review Committee has completed their draft charter. Their report and draft
charter are on the town website and their televised public hearing is Thursday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. in Town
Hall. They encourage everyone to review it.
PUBLIC COMMENT: there was none at this time
APPOINTMENTS:
Update from Representative Jennifer Benson
Representative Benson reported at the end of July 2017 she was appointed as Chair to the Joint Committee on
State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. Part of that work includes any kind of local home rule petitions
except alcohol licenses; land swaps, town charter changes etc. She is Chair of the new Public Records Law
Commission and a member of the Open Meeting Law Commission. Basically anything that has to do with
government functioning and trying to make government work better falls under her committee. Currently we are
heavily into budget season. The House is working on the process. She has met with House Chairman Sanchez
and talked about her priorities which always include local aid, Chapter 70 aid, circuit breaker funding; all of
those line items that directly touch the Town.
Governor Baker has included in his budget about a 3% increase in Chapter 70 funding for Lunenburg and about
a 3.5% increase in unrestricted general government aid. She believed that is a very safe number to use. She is
the lead sponsor of an amendment to increase the circuit breaker line item for the schools. She has also been
working to increase circuit breaker funding for this fiscal year as part of our additional revenues.
She moved on to the Governor's housing bill (4075) and the changes to zoning and how changes to zoning are
voted at town meeting. This week's session has been moved to Thursday and we will be looking at the Airbnb
and the potential for revenue from that, as well as the impact it has on residential neighborhoods. Ms. Luck
asked what the status of the housing bill is. Benson reported it came out of Housing and was redrafted and is in
Ways and Means Committee. The new bill is H4290. She stated one of the concerns she had was changing the
23rds vote to a simple majority. That is still in the bill. Mr. Ebersole noted this Board sent a letter to both Chairs
of Housing stating they were not in support of the bill. Mr. Toale added our primary concern also was the
change of vote. Benson asked for a copy of the letter sent to the chairs so she can compare it to what the redraft
was.
Ms. Bertram stated there are a lot of people on social media that are extremely concerned about the increase in
their energy bills from Unitil. She asked Rep. Benson to comment for those who did not see what she wrote
earlier today on Facebook. Benson stated she and her aide Josh Bedarian have worked with several constituents
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Benson for coming in this evening.
Middle/High School Building Project Closeout
Ms. Calmes stated we are responding back to you to answer your questions as we near closing out the building
project. She asked Mr. Malandrinos to address the issue with shaky projector screens. He stated this was in
several rooms in the building. Some were shaking even when there was no activity around. Everything was
installed to specifications but we did go through them with all the involved companies, who helped quite a bit.
We have remedies in place in most of the rooms where they are mounted via a rod to the ceiling instead of to
the wall. We did notice A130 does shake when the door in that room is closed with force or adjacent doors are
closed.
Mr. Londa stated we noticed staining on one of the tiles in a HS collaborative room. We don't see any active
leaks there. He believed it is attributed to the roof leak from last February due to sliding snow that broke the
roof membrane. To remedy that we had snow guards on the pitched roof over the area installed this past
summer. He was assuming they missed some water that spread at that time and the tile was stained then. We
replaced all the tiles in the hallway and probably overlooked the stained tile you saw. We haven't had any
staining since we replaced the tiles. We had a couple of small spots that appeared that were in a different part of
the same room and in the science lab near the exhaust pipes. We had some wild weather in December and we
found snow in places you wouldn't believe; but nothing since then. In February we replaced the ceiling tiles
when we had a lift available to install banners in the gym. Discussion ensued on possible solutions to prevent
any more leaking or water getting into the school from the roof.
Mr. Londa addressed the HVAC system next. We have been working on issues with it since fall of 2016 when
the temperature fell below 20 degrees. We were seeing two roof top units start up at the beginning of the day
and then fail later on. The protection mode was shutting them down. We had a manufacturer representative
come out through the warranty process. They looked at the unit and said it was performing correctly. We went
back to the engineers and they came up with a solution. They gave a recommendation and for some reason, it
was not tollowed up on. As we moved into this season we were seeing the same problem. Representatives
came out again; they made some adjustments to the damper settings on January 8". We held a conference call
with all the involved parties and came back with a recommendation to install reset curves. They came out last
week and did that. There is still one unit that has some issues and we are trying to resolve that.
Ms. Bertram stated she remains concerned and based on information it appears we have spent $5000 so far
trying to resolve problems with this system. She believed there was a problem with the initial design because to
have snow come in through the roof is problematic. Secondly we live in New England and we have an HVAC
system that is not operating the way it should be. She did not agree with legal counsel's opinion that it was not
covered under warranty and wondered what intormation it was based on. She believed everything should be
right before they sign the payment warrant. We are looking for the building to function as it was designed. She
believed issues were corrected because of an incorrect design in the first place. Discussion ensued on who was
responsible for the design process and the errors and omissions.
Motion: R. Ebersole
2": P. Bertram
To authorize the final payment to Shawmut and authorize the Chair to sign the closeout and to pursue
further investigations with the engineer responsible for designing the heating system and the engineer
responsible relating to the roof
Discussion: Mr. Toale agreed with the motion but wondered whose responsibility would be to follow up with
the investigations: School Committee or School Building Committee?
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explain. Mr. Londa stated he was assuming this is flooding near the athletic fields as there was no flooding
inside the building near the elevators. In the fall of 2016 we were seeing water coming off the fields and
ponding near the entry driveway up to the student parking lot and running across the sidewalk into the roadway
before going into a drain. It was a lot of water. We also saw it up at the other end of the parking lot near the
flagpole. We had the landscape architect come out. As a result, they put in additional drainage and subsurface
drainage along the field edges near the roadway and that has stopped that activity on both ends. We do get water
that drains from under the bleachers towards the stone wall but the ponding issue is resolved.
APPOINTMENTS
Town Manager Appointment: Jacob Lachance- Full-time Police Officer
Chief Marino introduced Officer Lachance. He was chosen from a pool of ten applicants that included an
application and prescreening component and an oral board in the spring of 2017. He served as a reserve officer
with the department. Lachance, who grew up in Lunenburg, will fill a vacancy created by the resignation of
Deven O'Brien. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Fitchburg State University and completed
the Reserve Intermittent Police Academy in 2013. He has served as an intern and as a reserve officer since
August 2014. The Chief highly recommended Lachance for the position of full-time police officer. He will
enroll him in the first available Police Academy, hopefully in April. The appointment will be effective on
March 30, which is the week before academy.
Motion: P. Bertram
2nd: R.Ebersole
To ratify the Town Manager appointment of Jacob Lachance as Full-time Police officer effective March
30, 2018
Vote: All in Favor
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Earth Day Event: At the March 6th meeting I reported that the Earth Day Event organized by Kim Mayhew of
the local 4H would be on April 22nd from 1 - 4 p.m., utilizing Memorial Drive. Ms. Mayhew decided to request
the use of the basketball court area at Wallis Park, which the Park Commission approved on March 15". Ms.
Mayhew asked for participation for a volunteer booth to hand out talent bank forms and the Stormwater
Task Force to sell their compost bins and rain barrels. Discussion ensued about need for bathroom facilities. Mr.
Toale will set up the Talent Bank booth.
Business-Town Partnership Meeting:
Last evening we held a Business Town Partnership meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Library. The first half of this
meeting was a discussion amongst the Lunenburg business owners on ways to promote local businesses,
including a presentation by one business owner on a proposal to have the group host an event the day after
Homecoming. There was also a discussion on the level of involvement needed by various business owners to
form an association. I have reached out to the Groton and Townsend business associations and hope to have
them lined up as guest speakers for the April meeting, date to be determined. Although formal approval for the
District Local Technical Assistance request has not been formally approved yet, Montachusett Regional
Principal Planner Karen Chapman was present to discuss with the group the development of a business brochure
that will link back to the town website business directory and other relevant information such as recreational
areas and events in Lunenburg. The DLTA requests that I submitted for a permitting guidebook and brochure
were approved at the MRPC Commission meeting on March 1st and are before the MA Dept. of Housing and
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be Thursday, March 29 and the Finance Committee will vote their recommendations that evening. The
Selectmen will meet and vote their recommendations on Tuesday, April 3rd and the warrant will be sent to the
printer that week to be mailed to every household.
RFP for Architectural & Engineering Conceptual Design Services for Regional AC
Facility:
A Request for Proposals was sent out on March 2nd with a deadline for submission of March 19th. We received
one proposal from Roy S. Brown Architects of Wilbraham. The proposal will need to be reviewed to evaluate
that they met the criteria outlined in the RFP and that they can perform the services requested. Upon awarded, I
will work with the Police Chief, Townsend Town Administrator and Townsend Police Chief and the
architectural firm to complete a feasibility study, conceptual design, and cost estimate for a new regional
Animal Control Facility. An area behind the Public Safety Building has been reviewed after consulting with
several departments.
OLD BUSINESS
Update on Plowing of Sidewalk on Massachusetts Ave.
Due to lack of information from MassDOT, Ms. Lemieux will report at a later date.
Discussion on Economic Development Survey and Next Steps
Ms. Lemieux reported we received 202 responses. Some highlights of the survey are that a majority of the
respondents were between the ages of 35 and 49 years old. They feel that the small town feel and education
system were the most important qualities of Lunenburg. Almost 72% were in favor of modest business growth
in town, prefer focus on a farmers market and agricultural development and prefer to see development in the
Village District, Summer Street and Massachusetts area from the Fitchburg line to Chase Road. A number of
comments would like the sidewalks addressed as well as rising taxes.
Discussion ensued on next steps. It was suggested to hold a workshop with the Agricultural Commission or
farmers and the Conservation Commission to discuss what kind of things they would like to see and how we
could help. Further discussion ensued. Ms. Lemieux recommended focusing on one thing rather than multiple
goals.
CURRENT BUSINESS:
1. Discussion on Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles
Ms. Lemieux reported these are warrant articles we have received to date.
Article 1. To see if the Town will vote to hear and/or accept the regular written reports of the Town
Officers and Committees; or take any other action relative thereto.
Article 2. To see if the Town will vote to authorize revolving funds for the Fire Department,
Conservation Commission, the School Committee, the Library, and the Council on Aging pursuant to
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44, Section 53E 12 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018; or take
any other action relative thereto.
Article 3. To see if the Town will vote to amend the general by-laws of Town by adding a new section to
establish and authorize revolving funds for use by certain town departments, boards, committees,
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Article 6. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available
funds a sum of money for the FY 2019 Capital Plan, as appearing in the Capital Planning Committee
Report, or take any action relative thereto.
Article 7. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds, a
sum of money to defray the charges and expenses of the Town for FY 2019 and to fix the salaries and
compensation of all elected officials of the Town and any other items included in the budget of the Town
Manager; or take any other action thereto.
Article 8. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds, a
sum of money to the Stabilization Fund; or take any action relative thereto.
Article 9. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds, a
sum of money into the Special Purpose Stabilization Fund; or take any action relative thereto.
Article 10. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, or transfer from available funds, a
sum of money into the OPEB Trust Fund that was created at the November 10, 2010 Special Town
Meeting; or take any action relative thereto.
Article 11. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds, a
sum of money to operate the Sewer Enterprise Fund for FY 2019; or take any action relative thereto.
Article 12. To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds a sum of money into the
Sewer Capital Reserve Stabilization Fund; or take any other action relative thereto.
Article 13. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds a
sum of money to operate the Solid Waste Disposal Program Enterprise Fund for FY 2019; or take any
other action relative thereto.
Article 14. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds a
sum of money to operate the Water Department/Water Enterprise Fund for FY 2019; or take any other
action relative thereto.
Article 15. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate from Public Educational Governmental (PEG)
Access and Cable Related Fund Revenues, a sum of money to fund the FY 2019 PEG Access Committee
operating budget and capital budget; or take any other action relative thereto.
Article 16. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money from the Sale of Cemetery
lots account to be used for the care and improvement and embellishment of the Town Cemeteries; or take
any other action relative thereto.
Article 17. To see if the Town will vote to rescind the sum of $838,675, the remaining borrowing
authorization, from Article 25 of the May 3, 2014 Annual Town Meeting for sewer construction; or take
any other action relative thereto.
Article 18. To see if the Town will vote to rescind the sum of $300,000, the remaining borrowing
authorization, from Article 38 of the May 2, 2015 Annual Town Meeting for sewer construction; or take
any other action relative thereto.
Article 19. To see if the Town will vote to rescind the sum of $256,000, the remaining borrowing
authorization, from Article 15 of the May 3, 2014 Annual Town Meeting for the purchase of the Lane
Property; or take any other action relative thereto.
Article 20. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to convey the building
known as the Brooks House, located at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, shown on Assessor's Map 060, Lot
055 from the Board of Selectmen for general purposes to the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of
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Selectmen may determine. This is a citizen petition.
Article 22. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to convey the property
located at 161 Gilehrest Street, shown on Assessor's Map 031 Parcel 0010 from the Board of Selectmen
for general purposes to the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of conveyance and to authorize the Board
of Selectmen to transfer the property situated thereon, and take any legal action necessary to effectuate
the transfer of said property situated thereon in exchange for a portion of property located at 171
Gilchrest Street, shown on Assessor's Map 031 Parcel 0011 for the purpose of conservation land; or take
any action relative thereto. This is a citizen petition.
Article 23. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to convey the property
located at 174 Northfield Road, shown on Assessor's Map 041 Parcel 0003 from the Board of Selectmen
for general purposes to the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of conveyance, and to authorize the
Board of Selectmen to sell the property situated thereon, and take any legal action necessary to effectuate
the sale of said property situated thereon. This is a citizen petition.
Article 24. PLACEHOLDER FOR CHARTER REVIEW ARTICLE
Article 25. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Code of Lunenburg, Chapter 81 ("Town
Meetings"), Article I, Section 2 by inserting: "There shall be a Special Town Meeting held annually in
October or November on a date and time decided by the Select Board"
Article 26. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Code of Lunenburg, Chapter 70 entitled
"Salary Administration Plan" as follows: the position of Outreach Coordinator be added and assigned
Grade 7; amend the title of Outreach Worker, Grade 6, to Outreach Assistant
Article 27. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Code of Lunenburg, Chapter 12, Article VIII,
812-22 by inserting the bold text as follows:
Article VIII Agricultural Commission
Section 12-22 Membership and appointment; terms
"The Commission shall consist of five members, and two (2) alternate members, appointed by the
Board of Selectmen at the recommendation of the Town Manager. A majority of the membership shall be
substantially engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. Members shall be appointed to serve three-year terms, except
that the initial terms of office shall be staggered at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen, so that
the approximately 1/3 of the terms shall expire each year. The appointing authority shall fill any vacancy
based on the unexpired term being vacated at the recommendations of the standing Commission."
Articles 28 - 32 are Planning Board articles amending the zoning bylaw and map. The full wording is over 60
pages and will be available for viewing at the Town Hall. Suggestion was made to expand on the intent of the
zoning articles in the ATM warrant so residents can decide whether they need to read the entire articles at Town
Hall offices.
Ms. Bertram asked about the article that allows selling the Brooks House. Ms. Lemieux stated she drafted this
article. Ms. McQuaid stated this would be the first step in a demolition delay; advertising it for sale to see if
there is interest in the building.
Ms. Bertram asked about her ability to vote as a Selectman on Article 21 as she is also a member of the Hickory
Hills Landowners, Inc. (a member of the Dam Committee). There are 3 members on this Board that are
members of Hickory Hills. Could Ms. Lemieux check for any conflict with Town Counsel and the Rule of
Necessity? Mr. Ebersole also suggested the Board not take a position on this article.
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pregnancy or a condition related to pregnancy including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express
breast milk for a nursing child. Consistent with this policy of nondiscrimination, the Town will provide
reasonable accommodation for an employee's pregnancy or any condition related to the employee's pregnancy,
unless such an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the Town.
PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING AN ACCOMMODATION
Employees who believe they need a reasonable accommodation for their pregnancy or a
condition related to pregnancy, including but not limited to, lactation or the need to express
breast milk for a nursing child, should contact the Town Manager. The Town encourages such
employees to come forward and request reasonable accommodation. If you have any questions
regarding this policy, please contact the Town Manager."
Motion: R. Ebersole
2"*: P. Bertram
To adopt the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Policy
Discussion: Ms. Bertram asked where the above wording originated from. Ms. Lemieux stated labor counsel.
Vote: All in Favor
3. Seasonal renewal signatures for Alcohol Beverages Control Commission
The Board signed the seasonal alcohol license renewal form. The form lists any licenses that are disapproved or
not renewed of which there are none.
4. Discussion whether Social Media should be a Workshop or Agenda Item
Ms. Lemieux stated we have a policy in place. Presently there is only one question about the policy and she was
unsure it would need an entire workshop. The question is can town employees post to a website as a town
employee on social media sites not used by the Town? After some discussion it was decided to keep it as an
agenda item allowing 20 minutes. It was also decided to invite the Agricultural Commission for discussion as it
relates to Economic Development that night as well as the Planning Board.
5. Minutes/ Warrants/Action File Issues
The Board signed an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $373,684.73; a payroll warrant in the amount of
$777,903.06 and a payroll deductions warrant in the amount of $160,526.45. The Board also signed the final
payment warrant for the Middle/High school project in the amount of $172, 455.23. Minutes of March 6, 2018
were approved. There were no action items.
Ms. Lemieux asked Land Use Director Adam Burney to speak to the Planning Board articles. He stated they are
divided into five articles because they address different sections.
Section 250-4 (allowable uses in different town districts) of the code is being completely revamped. The
Planning Board is proposing to add a standardized set of definitions in 4.1 that applies to any use anywhere in
town. This covers more contemporary definitions. There is a table with all the uses defined in each district.
In addition, the Planning Board reviewed all the accessory uses and special design conditions in each of the
districts and made changes for consistency.
The second article addresses overlay districts. They are proposing to strike the retail commercial district which
covers three parcels located on the corner of W. Townsend Road and Massachusetts Avenue.
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Committee Reports:
Ms. Luck reported the Zoning Board of Appeals is meting on the 28th. School Committee meets on the 215t.
They have a vacant seat due to a resignation. Anyone interested in the position should send a letter of interest to
Liz Petersen in the School Superintendent office. This is a joint appointment for the School Committee and the
Board of Selectmen. Today, Ms. Luck, Adam Burney and Ed Himlan met at the Dept. of Environmental
Protection regarding a possible Nonpoint Source Management Program Section 319 grant application for the
Upper Mulpus and cold water fisheries. We will be looking for public support
Mr. Ebersole announced the Charter Review Committee has completed their draft charter. Their report and draft
charter are on the town website and their public hearing is Thursday, April S at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall and it
will be televised
Mr. Toale announced the Finance Committee meets this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with a full agenda due to
cancelling a previous meeting because of snow.
Mr. Toale reported this Board's next meeting is April 3rd.
! We will work on a workshop proposal for April 10th
and will have regular business on April 17'h
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Dave Passios, 56 Whiting Street, asked with the relocation of the Earth Day event, have all the appropriate
boards been contacted with the change? Mr. Ebersole noted the event is now under Parks Commission purview
being at Wallis Park. Ms. Lemieux will let the coordinator of the event know.
Katey Adams, 45 Williams Drive, stated she has attended all the meetings and charrettes and there are some
common themes rising from them. She agreed with Ms. Lemieux's advice to focus on one thing.
Greg Bitter, 129 Pleasant Street, Planning Board Chair, voiced frustration that he wasn't called on to
participate in the discussion about economic development. He believed this Board had meetings that were
productive but believed the momentum has stopped. The Planning Board would like to continue participating in
the process. The Planning Board is planning on putting out economic surveys on solar and marijuana because
these issues are coming up.
Motion: R. Ebersole
2": P. Bertram
To enter Executive Session under M.G.L. c. 30 §21, Reason #3; To discuss strategy with respect to
collective bargaining or litigation, if an open meting may have a detrimental effect on the goverment's
bargaining or litigating position, and the Chair declares so. (Public Employees Local Union 39, DPW
Employees) and to adjourn afterwards
Vote: Ms. McQuaid- aye, Ms. Luck-aye, Ms. Bertram-aye, Mr. Ebersole- aye, Mr. Toale- aye
*************************Executive Session MinutesAreSeprte****************************
The meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaie. Peterson
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager
RECEIVED & FILED
APR 04 2018
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE