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Also Present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager
The meeting commenced at 6:30 p.m.
Motion: D. McQuaid
2nd: K. Adams
To enter Executive Session, pursuant to G.L c. 30A, §21, to discuss strategy with respect to litigation,
namely Town of Lunenburg v. Settler's Solar, et al., Worcester Superior Court Docket No.
1785CV01959-D, and Settlers Solar LLC, et al. v. Town of Lunenburg et al., Land Court Docket No. 17
MISC 000690 (HPS), where an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's
litigating position of Town and to return to regular session upon adjournment
Vote: Ms. Adams-aye, Mr. McQuaid-aye, Mr. Ebersole-aye
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**********Executive Session Minutes are Separate*************************
The meeting resumed at 6:35 p.m.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Ms. Luck entered the meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Ms. Lemieux reported she received an invitation to the Town officials to attend a Green Communities
Competitive Grant Award announcement this Friday. We don't know the exact amount of the grant until they
make the press release. Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Secretary of Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs, Matthew Beaton and Commissioner of Department of Energy Resources Judith Judson will be
attending. It will be at the Robert Deleo Senior Center, 35 Harvard Street, Winthrop, MA at 1:45 p.m. Facilities
Director John Londa will be attending.
There was no public comment at this time.
MINUTES/WARRANTS
The Board signed Minutes of June 19, 2018. The Board signed an accounts payable warrant in the amount of
$6,534.52, another accounts payable warrant in the amount of $144,460.88 and an accounts payable warrant in
the amount of $1,328,455.83.
APPOINTMENTS
Ms. Lemieux requested the Board ratify her appointments of Acting Police Lieutenant, Thomas Gammel
and Acting Police Sergeant, Joshua Tocci. Chief Marino reported these are to fill the vacancies created by Lt.
Luth going to work in Groton and Sgt. Gammel being appointed to Acting Lieutenant tonight.
Motion: D. McQuaid
2nd.P. Luck
To ratify the Town manager's appointment of Thomas Gammel to Acting Police Lieutenant
Vote: All in Favor
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The Boara was relentea to ine boara of selecimen toucies & frocedures with Ms. Lemieux s edits/comments.
They began with Article I. Procedural Policies Purpose; which states this document addresses topics not dealt
with elsewhere. Ms. Luck noted there was redundancy in this such as the Personnel Policy or Social Media
Policy and stated some of them probably shouldn't be under the BOS policies. Mr. Ebersole asked her to point
out the particular ones as they go through them. Ms. Lemieux agreed stating Personnel Policies should have its
own handbook.
Section 1.02 Establishment of Policies and Procedures- Mr. Ebersole read aloud the section. He asked if the
Policy handbook was also listed under the Bylaws/General Code on the website. Ms. Lemieux stated no, there is
only one listed under it; Remote Participation.
Section 1.03 Authority (for Board of Selectmen) and Section 1.04 Authority of the Town Manager are self
explanatory.
Section 1.05 Duties & Responsibilities - Standards of Conduct
A member of the Board, in relation to his/her responsibility to the community, shall recognize that his/her primary role is
to set policy, with responsibility for administration delegated to the Town Manager;
• recognize that he/she is a member of a team, and shall abide by all Board decisions once they are made;
• be well informed concerning the duties of a Board member on both state and local levels;
• remember that he/she represents the entire community at all times;
• accept the Office of the Selectmen as a means of unselfish public service, not to benefit personally or
professionally from his/her Board activities;
• in all appointments, avoid political patronage by judging all candidates on merit, experience and qualifications
only; and
• abide by the provisions established by the Commonwealth in M.G.L.,c. 28A as they apply to municipal officials.
As a member of the Board, a Selectman shall:
• endeavor to establish sound, clearly defined policies which will direct and support the administration for the
benefit of the people of the Town;
• recognize and support the administrative chain of command and refuse to act on complaints as an individual
outside the administrations;
• give the lown Manager full responsibility for discharging his/her decisions and solutions;
• not make statements or promises of how he/she will vote on matters that will come before the Board until he/she
has had an opportunity to hear the pros and cons of the issue at a Board meeting;
• make decisions only after all facts on a question have been presented or discussed;
• uphold the intent of executive session and respect the privileged communication that exists therein and;
• treat with respect the rights of all members of the Board despite differences of opinion.
Ms. Luck stated board members, as adults, should not have to be told how to behave. Mr. Ebersole stated it has
been needed in the past. In the event a member was not acting appropriately and we chose to have a vote of
censure; we could not do so without a rule to say what the member was doing inappropriately. Ms. Lemieux
noted MGL c. 28A was repealed in 2008. Ms. Luck referring to "make decisions only after all facts on a
question have been presented or discussed," pointed out last week when we voted on the permit technology fee,
there was no research done to see what other communities charge. The vote was taken on very little
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• sign official documents that require the signature of the Chairman, following a vote of the Board;
• call special meetings of the Board in accordance with the Open Meeting Law;
• prepare meeting agendas with the Town Manager;
• represent the Board at meetings, conferences, and other gatherings unless otherwise determined by the Board or
delegated by the Chairman;
• serve as spokesman of the Board at Town Meetings and present the Board's position unless otherwise determined
by the Board or delegated by the Chairman;
• make liaison assignments, as appropriate, and assign overview responsibilities for projects and tasks to Board
members unless otherwise determined by the Board, and;
• arrange for the orientation of new members, unless otherwise noted
• ensure that the Board maintains a legal and open level of communication.
The Chairman shall have the same rights as other members to offer and second motions and resolutions, to discuss
questions, and to vote thereon.
The Vice Chairman shall act in the place of the Chairman during his/her absence at Board meetings. Should the
Chairman leave office, the Vice Chairman shall assume the duties of the Chairman until the Board elects a new
Chairman.
The Clerk shall sign all official documents requiring the signature of the Clerk, with the authorization of the Board and
shall be responsible for recording minutes of any portion of meetings held in executive session for which the Town
Manager is not present.
Section 1.08 Meeting Procedures
One change that Ms. Lemieux suggested was to add "discussion" to the following wording:
"A quorum shall consist of three members of the Board. As a practical courtesy, action on critical or controversial
matters, the adoption of policy or appointments shall be taken whenever practicable with the full Board in attendance.
Actions and decisions shall be by motion, second, discussion, and vote."
"Regular meetings of the Board shall be held in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room as scheduled by the Board. Typically
meetings shall be televised on the local cable access channel. Meetings falling on a legal holiday are usually canceled or
rescheduled at the discretion of the Board."
Mr. Ebersole noted Open Meeting Law states you should not meet on a legal holiday unless for an emergency
situation. He suggested changing the wording. Discussion about the wording for location of regular meetings
ensued. Suggestion was made to change "shall be held in the Joseph Bilotta Room" to "will be held... unless
otherwise noted."
Last paragraph: The Board will post notices and record minutes of all meetings are required by MGL c.39.
"are" should be changed to "as."
Section 1.09 Agenda
"Members of the Board, Staff, Town Manager or others who prepare background materials for a meeting
should have such materials available by the close of business the week prior to the scheduled meeting date."
Question was asked if this was a Tuesday or Thursday. Ms. Lemieux clarified close of business on the Thursday
the week before.
"With private/commercial property specific requests, the applicant will be required to notify direct abutters directly
adjacent to the property, including owners of land directly opposite within 300 feet including abutters of abutters, at least
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Section 2.01 Access to Town Counsel-Mr. Ebersole suggested adding in wording about the monthly office
hours.
Section 2.02 Remote Participation (Adopted on 05/22/2013)
9. The chair of any committee for which a request is received to participate remotely shall provide to the Board of
Selectmen, no later than December 31 of each year, a report that indicates the date(s) of any meetings for which remote
participation was requested, the name(s) of the individuals making the request, and a summary of any logistical, technical
and compliance issues related to remote participation.
Suggestion was made to contact Boards and Committees and ask them what has been their experience for
remote participation; have you used it?; have you had technical issues?; what percentage of time do you use it?
Also, is it state law to require a report annually? If there is no issue, we could drop #9.
Section 2.03 Use of Information Technology Resources Policy for Appointed and Elected
Board/Committee Members
All communications regarding Town procedure and administration or which may affect the Town or its personnel as a
whole, will either originate from or be approved by the Town prior to distribution. No individual in the Town is to send or
distribute any communication to "All Personnel" or "All Users" without prior authorization from the Town. Individual
Boards and Committees, through their Chair or the Chair's designee, are authorized to send or distribute
communications regarding their Board or Committee's area of responsibility.
"Bulletin Boards" section needs to be clarified.
Ms. Lemieux suggested the section title needs to be renamed. Mr. Ebersole suggested cleaning up the Privacy
Notice and reorganizing some of the items listed under pertaining to electronic versus paper communications,
etc.
Section 2.05 Smoking- Ms. Lemieux noted this is also included in the Personnel Policy. Ms. Lemieux stated it
might be good to keep in there for visitors to the Town. Suggestion was made to move it somewhere else in the
document.
Section 2.06 Vehicle Use "Policy" (Policy was added to the title) - this section would only apply to
employees except for the reimbursement for travel section, which could apply to board and committee
members.
Section 2.07 Appointments -discussion ensued about the reappointment process.
"Each committee must report in writing at least annually to the Selectmen, and meet with the Board at
least once a year. " The question was asked what the goal of the report is, what are we asking for? Ms. Lemieux
noted this past year the Board held a workshop with all the Boards and Committees, which sort of
accomplished that goal. Ms. Luck suggested attending their meetings rather than them coming to ours. Also, if
we are asking people to come in, to schedule them at the beginning of the meeting so they don't have to sit
through the entire meeting.
"As Board-appointed vacancies occur, the Town Manager will ensure that local newspapers are advised of the vacancies,
and that vacancy notices are posted on Town bulletin boards and advertised on the town's website and local cable access
television channel. Vacancies shall be so advertised for no less than fifteen (15) days. The chairman of the board on
which a vacancy occurs will seek talent bank forms, and nomination recommendations from a majority of the relevant
committee."
Mr. Ebersole asked is it a vacancy when someone resigns or when the term ends. Suggestion made to rewrite
how vacancies and reappointments are defined. This section needs to be rewritten in a respectful manner and
keeping the appointment process open to the public. Ms. Lemieux stated it's important how the policy is written
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Ms. Luck suggested changing the wording to plus an increase no greater than allowed by prop 2 112.
Ms. Lemieux noted the current wording was a definition provided by the Department of Revenue.
Ms. Luck stated as it is written it assumes you are always increasing it by 2 ½. Mr. Ebersole stated this is a
good way to phrase the question that you have been raising, and we could put that on the agenda to
discuss.
Section 3.03 Free Cash (Amended 09/02/2014) Ms. Lemieux stated this policy was adopted before the
Pavement Management Plan was finalized. See her comments below.
C. Priorities for Applying Free Cash:
1. The highest priority use of Free Cash should be to increase the balance of the Stabilization
Account if necessary to a level of at least five percent of the current fiscal year omnibus budget.
(deleted)
2. The next highest priority use of Free Cash is to fund purchases of materials needed to repair and/or
replace town roads and signage. (deleted) These purchases should be limited to the amount of monies
remaining in the Free Cash Account or the amount of materials that the Dept. of Public Works [DPW]
personnel and equipment can realistically be expected to utilize in the current fiscal year.
towards Town Roads.
3. Any monies that remain in Free Cash may be used to fund one-time expenditures for specific
departments and/or special projects at the discretion of the Town Manager, subject to appropriation by
Town Meeting. (deleted)
D. Because Free Cash is non-recurring revenue, it should not be used to fund any personnel, program, or
initiative that would require expenditures in subsequent fiscal years. (deleted)
Comment: Add the Special Purpose Stabilization Fund as another prioritized use of Free Cash as well
as the OPEB Trust Fund to reflect the OPEB Trust Fund Policy.
Section 3.06 Investment Policy Statement (Approved 10/06/2015)
Suggestion was made to send to the Financial Department for review and amending. Is there a simpler
policy that would meet the requirements? This may be something the auditors required.
Section 3.07 OPEB FUNDING POLICY (Approved 01/02/18) (Other Post Employment Benefits)
Ms. Luck would like to see a policy that reduces the amount of the Town's OPEB obligation, by reducing the
OPEB awarded to new hires. Mr. Ebersole suggested adding that topic to our list. Ms. Lemieux noted the policy
we just did reduced the Town's liability by $8 million.
Mr. Ebersole stated this Board should be adopting policy and the departments should be adopting procedure.
That is how we can simplify a lot of these. We still want to have procedures but not in here.
Article IV. Regulatory
Section 4.01 Liquor License
Mr. Ebersole suggested holding a general workshop on liquor license regulations. We need to clarify some of
the language on who is allowed in the premises (employees, patrons, guests) after closing and on lighting and
while open.
Section 4.02 Bring Your Own Bottle
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section 3.04 Koad Acceptance
Suggestion was made to consult with Town Counsel on legal requirements for what is needed to lay out a road
and accept it. Also to add "Discontinuance of Roads" to the title.
Section 5.03 Use of Public Ways
This section was proposed to be added:
5.04 Signage on Town Property
No person shall place any signage, temporary or permanent, on town property without permission from the
Town. A sign permit must be first granted by the Building Commissioner conforming to the requirements set
forth in the Code of Lunenburg, Zoning Chapter 250 Section 6.5 and then sent to the Town Manager for final
approval.
Discussion about establishing a procedure to enhance communication about charitable events ensued.
Section 5.05 Toll Booth/Boot Drive Policy
Ms. Luck asked about a previous discussion on this policy that wording would include a requirement that funds
collected would be used locally.
Section 5.06 Disturbances of Newly Paved Roads
Ms. Luck recalled a log being required to be kept by DPW on all requests to disturb the road and if it was
allowed or not. Suggestion made to address emergencies and criteria for an emergency (i.e. water main break)
Mr. Ebersole noted under the section titled Severability, the word "regulations" appears and shouldn't.
Article VI. Public Relations
Section 6.01 Boston Post Cane (Approved by Board of Selectmen on 5/26/98)
Suggestion was made to add a paragraph why the Board issues the Boston Post Cane.
Article VII. Personnel
All these policies should be in separate policy book except for Sexual Harassment, Protected Class
Harrassment, Alcohol & Drug Policy for Employees with a Commercial Driver's License, Equal Opportunity,
Drug Free Workplace, Conflict of Interest/Financial Disclosure, Americans with Disabilities and Standards of
Conduct, which will be in this document as well. Section 7.10 Social Media Policy will be reviewed again.
Ms. Lemieux inserted language into B. Employees Personal Use of Social Media Sites Outside of Work:
While employees maintain and use personal web pages and websites, blogs, microblogs, social networking sites
and other forms of social media while off-duty, their status as employees of the Town requires that the content
of any postings on those social media sites or other web pages not be in violation of existing Town by-laws,
policies, directives, rules or regulations. The Town's image as a professional organization comprised of
professional employees is critical to maintaining the respect of its constituents. Although the Town recognizes
that employees may choose to express themselves by posting personal information upon electronic media sites
through personal websites, social networking sites, blogs, microblogs, chat rooms, or other electronic means or
by making comments upon electronic sites hosted by other persons, groups or organizations, this right of
expression is not free from limitation. That is, while the Town acknowledges its employees have the First
Amendment right to free speech, that right is not absolute and extends only to matters of public concern. The
term "public concern" is a legal one, but generally refers to matters of concern to the community rather than
the individual. Employees must exercise caution with respect to comments they post in general, and in
particular those concerning the Town, a particular department of the Town, and/or the Town's employees.
Mr. Ebersole stated theoretically this would also apply to appointed officials. We should have a definition of
who is an employee.
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to the Board
Ms. Lemieux referred the Board to the 2 draft policies in their packet; Flag Policy (from the action item list) and
MGL c. 61, 61A, 61B, Right of Refusal Procedure.
TOWN OF LUNENBURG
FLAG POLICY
I. Statement of policy:
The purpose of this policy is to establish uniform guidelines for the lowering of the United States Flag to half-
staff flown over municipal property.
II. Policy:
1. The United States Flag at town buildings and the cemeteries will be flown at half-staff according to the
federal and state mandate.
2. The United States Flag will not be lowered to half-staff for any other purpose not listed in this policy, other
than for individuals, by declaration of the Board of Selectmen.
3. The Town Facilities staff shall monitor the compliance of this policy at the Town Buildings and the Cemetery
Superintendent shall monitor the compliance of this policy at the Town Cemeteries.
Ms. Luck suggested changing the wording on #2 to "The United States Flag may be lowered to half-staff
......by declaration of the Board of Selectmen." Mr. Ebersole suggested adding "s" to mandate in #1.
He also noted on the Right of First Refusal that if it is a procedure we don't have to adopt it.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Ms. Luck thought this was a great working session and she appreciated everyone's input.
Mr. Ebersole reviewed upcoming meeting dates: July 24, August 7, August 14, 2018. He noted August 1st is
Lunenburg's 290* anniversary. Ms.Adams commented on the buntings at Town Hall and how it was nice to see
them.
Motion: P. Luck
To adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m.
2nd: K. Adams
Vote: All in Favor
Respectfully submitted,
Elaurem Peters on
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager