===OCR macOS Vision===
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Members present: Tom Alonzo, Chairman; Phyllis Luck, Vice Chairman, Katey Adams,
Michael-Ray Jeffreys
Member not present: Damon McQuaid, Clerk
Others present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager
The meeting opened at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Alonzo announced in
accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting
is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. Alonzo stated, "Per Policy, Public comment is limited to 15 minutes, with no more than 3
minutes per speaker except at the discretion of the Chairperson.
Greg Burns and Yanina Fusaro, 13 Oak Avenue, wanted to thank the community for supporting
the Farmers Market every Sunday this year. Mr. Alonzo thanked them amd all the people who
worked with them on the Farmers Market. Ms. Adams stated it was lovely thing to do on
Sundays and thanked them.
Ron Dionne, 131 White Street, thanked the Board for approving the in-house repairs to the old
Primary School Building. He referred to Ms. Adams' comment at the another meeting about
standing water in the basement, stating the two pumps were needed to remove it due to the water
table. Lastly, he stated he left a newspaper clipping with Executive Assistant Peterson this week
that stated the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is awarding funding to
refurbish old schools. He has called into Boston for more information.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. Alonzo announced next Tuesday from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. there will be an informational
symposium on the state of the town at the Middle/High School auditorium. Participants will
include the Fiance Committee, the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee. There will be
presentations from Land Use Director Adam Burney, Dr. Kathleen Burnham, School
Superintendent and Town Manager Lemieux. Following the presentations there will be a
question and answer session with the speakers and then a question and answer session with the
public. This is an informational session only. The purpose is to provide food for thought for later
meetings.
This coming Saturday the 26th the Lunenburg Boys and Girls Club will hold their annual Shrieks
and Krieks Halloween Festival on Memorial Drive from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Trick or Treat hours for Lunenburg will be on October 31st from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
There is Back Where We Started Program for Veterans at Devens, sponsored by the Salvation
Army on November 13th
. RSVP is required by November 2nd
He noted another successful fundraiser, the Miles for Myles Run last weekend.
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The following is a list of vacancies on the following committees:
• Agricultural Commission (1 regularmemberand 3 alternate vacancies)
• Americans with Disabilities Act Commission (1 vacancy)
• Architectural Preservation District Commission (1 design professional; craftsperson or
building contractor familiar with historic renovation)
• Finance Committee (1 position appointed by the Finance Committee Appointing
Committee)
• Open Space Committee (1 vacancy-citizen at large)
• Zoning Board of Appeals (1 regular member and 2 associate vacancies)
Talent bank forms can be obtained on the Town Website and forwarded to the Board of
Selectmen's Office.
Mr. Alonzo noted if anyone is interested in the Finance Committee position, this is the time to
get involved because the Finance Committee is going to be gearing up for budget season.
Certification of Free Cash by MA Department of Revenue:
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue notified us on Friday, October 1 8th that our free
cashhas been certified at $1,107,694 as of July 1, 2019. During the FY21 budget •
development, a recommendation for the use of free cash will be a component of the budget to be
recommended at the Annual Town Meeting.
Firefighters Collective Bargaining Negotiations:
Ireceived a lettertoday from the Firefighters Union requesting we begin negotiations for a new
contract, as the current agreement expires on June 30, 2020. Wewillneed to schedulea future
Executive Session to prepare for negotiations.
Eagle House HVAC Invitation for Bids:
The Invitation for Bids for the Eagle HVAC project is currently being advertised and bids are due
on November 12th at 2 p.m. This project is being funded by a FY20 State budget earmark.
Upcoming Meetings, Events and Other Announcements:
• Town Counsel Office Hours will be October 23rd from noon until 4 p.m.
• I will be attending the TC Passios Building Design Committee tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., the
Personnel Committee meeting on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and the Finance
Committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
• Halloween Trick or Treat Hours will be Thursday, October 31st, 6-8 p.m.
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scheduled as well. Mr. Alonzo suggested DPW provide details about the process in the pavement
ring periad following new paving when paint should not alize painting. There is usually a
2. Committee Reports
Ms. Luck reported Stormwater Task Force is meeting this Thursday.
Discussion ensued about setting up a meeting with the Planning Board regarding the Unitil
Storm Resiliency Program and five trees recommended by Unitil to be removed, but would not
be, that could pose a liability for the Town. Ms. Adams and Mr. Jeffreys preferred to send a letter
to the Planning Board rather than meeting face to face. Ms. Luck would like to understand what
the Town's liability would be by not removing the trees. Ms. Lemieux reported she had met with
Town Counsel and the Town would be liable and this is why a meeting with Planning Board was
preferred. Mr. Alonzo requested a written legal opinion from Town counsel be sent to the BOS
and Planning Board.
Motion: K. Adams
To communicate with the Planning Board through Town counsel directly to them and not
through the Board of Selectmen
There was no second on the motion.
After further discussion, it was decided to receive the legal opinion and then send a letter from
the BOS asking for this to be an agenda item.
WORKSHOP
Selectmen Objective 2:
To identify, define and propose at least one project to the 2020 Annual Town Meeting
regarding the use and/or re-use of the Old Primary School building, and/or the land on
which it sits.
i. Action: Review the various paid studies that were performed that included that
building with special attention being paid to its structural analysis, potential suggested
uses and all applicable costs.
ii. Action: Overlay the results of the previous action with the short- and long-term needs
of the Town, viewing those through the lens of an established list of prioritized criteria
through which to evaluate them (as determined in the previous Objective). Establish
options (more than one but no more than four) to be examined more closely.
ili. Action: Have open sessions with other boards, committees and commissions as well
as with the general public in discussing the options defined from Action ii. Evaluate the
pros, cons and costs for each option, potential variations as well as possible timelines.
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Ms. Luck referring to Leominster and Fitchburg stated they have refurbished old schools, how
were they able to do that? Has anyone reached out to them to find out what they did? This is a
problem all over the state. Can we get someone to come in and make it affordable senior
housing? We definitely have those needs.
Ms. Adams preferred looking at it as a municipal parcel. It's a great piece of land in town center.
Mr. Jeffreys stated another option could be a Town Hall or a school site. Ms. Adams reminded
about the easement granted to the Historical Society. Mr. Jeffreys did note that parking for any
business in the Ritter Building would have to be considered as well.
Ms. Adams proposed removing the building and using the land for a municipal park.
Ms. Lemieux thought Ms. Luck brought up a good point about senior housing as we have an
aging population that is growing very fast and not have enough housing. This will be something
we will have to look at in the future. Ms. Adams did not believe the vote for conveyance would
pass at town meeting, as it has not in the past. Ms. Lemieux noted that vote failed by four votes
as it required a 2/3 majority vote. Mr. Jeffreys agreed that senior housing is an issue. When he
talks to seniors this is an issue that continually comes up. A vote that failed by four votes means
that 65% of voters did support it. The location is good for seniors as it is the center of town.
Ms. Luck attended a workshop on revitalizing town centers and it was noted that you couldn't
have a vital town center unless people live there. Making that senior housing would be a boon to
all the businesses and it's not far from the public safety building or the senior center.
Mr. Alonzo summarized the discussion:
• Demolish the building and keep the land
• Demolish the building and sell the land
• Lease the building for renovation by someone
• Lease the building and the land
Mr. Alonzo stated in a few years one third of the population of the town will be 60 years and
older. If the building is renovated, do we do it or seek RFPs? That has its own issues.
Mr. Jeffreys believed another school was not an option because the school has no interest in the
building. Ms. Adams was interested in a Town Hall there because we could put everyone under
one roof, get green space and parking.
Mr. Jeffreys asked if it was within the purview of the TCP Building Committee to explore senior
housing there. Ms. Lemieux stated that is not what was presented at town meeting. It was
presented that we went through the conceptual design phase and had three options. The study
was based on concept one which would be school, town and community.
Mr. Alonzo moved on to ili. Action, stating we should plan to meet with other boards and the
public. Mr. Jeffreys noted there was no discussion about reuse of the current building for
commercial ventures for small businesses. Ms. Adams stated an RFP was posted in 2016 for
commercial ventures there and there was no interest. She asked how the Board would feel about
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Mr. Alonzo summarizing the private options for the old Primary, they had a small business
building or senior housing; both would need conveyance awarded to go out for RFPS. Ms.
Lemieux looking back at 2017, stated the RFPS were all contingent on Town meeting vote. Mr.
Alonzo stated businesses won't take that risk when the decision by the Town to offer the land is
not available.
Public options would be a Town Hall conversion, a Town green space/park, which would
involve hazardous waste removal, site work and paving of the parking lot. Mr. Alonzo stated one
other option is just selling the property.
The next workshop on this will be the first week of December. Suggestion was made to do a
survey on options for the old Primary School building at Special Town Meeting in November to
get a sense of what residents would want. Further discussion ensued about the details of the
survey. Mr. Jeffreys offered to work on the draft survey. Discussion turned to the format of the
open sessions with boards and the public.
Mr. Alonzo reviewed the upcoming meeting schedule. Next Tuesday on the 29th
there is the
informational symposium from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. on the state of the town at the Middle/High
School auditorium. Special Town Meeting is Tuesday, November 12"
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There was none.
Motion: P. Luck
To adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m.
2nd: M. Jeffreys
Vote:
All in Favor
Respectfully submitted,
Elainem. Peterson
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager