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Members present: Tom Alonzo, Chairman; Phyllis Luck, Vice Chairman; Katey Adams, Michael-..Ray
Jeffreys
Not Present: Damon McQuaid, Clerk;
Others present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager; Jack Rodriquenz, DPW Director
The meeting commenced at 7:00 p.m. 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:
Ms. Luck congratulated the Senior Tax Workoff Program Committee for implementing changes to the
program. Qualified seniors can now work up to 125 hours annually at $12 per hour to receive a $1,500
abatement on their property taxes. The income eligibility for one person is $50,000 and $75,000 for a
two person household. Applications are available at the Council on Aging office at Eagle House Senior
Community Center on Memorial Drive.
Ms. Luck announced the Storm Water Task Force has a survey for residents. It can be filled out on the
Town website or you can pick up a spare copy at Town Hall, the Public Library and Eagle House.
The Town needs to know how it can help citizens learn what they can do to help control stormwater
runoff to prevent erosion as well as pollution of Lunenburg's drinking water, lakes, ponds and streams.
Mr. Alonzo thanked Teri Burchfield and the Finance Committee for hosting the symposium on October
29th about the outlook for Lunenburg financials, budget, schools, etc. as well as the three presenters;
School Supt. Dr. Kate Burnham, Land Use Director Adam Burney and Town Manager Heather
Lemieux. They gave excellent presentations. The symposium will be replayed on public access tv.
APPOINTMENIS
Tollbooth/Boot Drive Permits Request for Dec. 14; 9 AM to 3 PM; Salvation Army
Dave MacDonald, Island Road, and Envoy Lynnette Valentine of the Salvation Army presented for the
request. Ms. Valentine thanked the Town for the outpouring of support for their Angels Program last
holiday season. It made Christmas very special for so many families. She was hoping it could be done
again this year. She announced they have been taking applications for Thanksgiving baskets for this
year. So far they have 350 families from Fitchburg, Leominster and Lunenburg. Distribution will take
place on November 26". Christmas distribution for the Angels program will take place on December
23rd. There will also be a free Veterans' Dinner for Lunenburg veterans on November 13th at 5:30 p.m
at Devens. The theme is " Back Where We Started."
The tollbooth fundraiser will be in two locations; one at the intersection of Electric Ave. and Whalom
Road and the other in the Town Center on Main Street. They have talked with DP W and Police.
This is a tough year and the need is out there. Mr. Alonzo thanked them both for the community work
they do all year.
Motion: M. Jeffreys
2nd: P. Luck
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vacancies)
• Americans with Disabilities Act Commission (1 vacancy)
• ArchitecturalPreservation District Commission (1 designprofessional; 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)
• Planning Board (1 position appointed by theremaining membersofthe Planning Board and the
Board of Selectmen until the next Annual Town Election in May)
• 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.
Summer Street Reconstruction Project
The project signage will be installed this week. After the signage is installed, there are only minor punch list items
remaining. There will be very little activity on site after this week, as the project will be substantially complete.
Architectural Preservation District Bylaw from May 2, 2015 ATM (Article 26) Update:
Asa follow-up to the discussion regarding the two definitions that are not in the General Code version ofthe
APDC Bylaw as voted at the May 2, 2015 Annual Town Meeting in Article 26.
Back in2015, the version that the Town Clerk's Office submitted to the Attorney General's office forapproval in
2015 was different than what Town Meeting approved and did not include the last two definitions in the
definition section. The Town Clerk resubmitted the version that was voted at the town meeting to the Attorney
Generaland the Attorney General hasapproved. Itwasposted on October 22ndaccordingto G.L. 40 s. 32.
MRPC Walkability and Parking Study Update:
I received a draft Walkability and Parking Study from Sheri Bean of Montachusett Regional Planning
Commission today and will be reviewing it with the appropriate department heads. This will be a future agenda
item for discussion.
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program:
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has grant funding available through the Municipal
Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, which provides support for cities and towns to plan for climate
change and implement key adaptation actions for resiliency. I will be working with our consultant that we use for
stormwater engineering related services on submitting an application for a planning grant. The planning grant will
allow us to complete vulnerability assessments and develop an action oriented resiliency plan. Communities that
complete the MVP program become certified as an MVP community and are eligible for MVP Action Grant
funding, which is up to $2 million per project. We will be submitting an application by the deadline, which is
January 15th.
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will be for $6,600.
925 Mass Ave Update (TM Goal #1, i, ii, iii):
We have successfully received an Administrative Search Warrant from the District Court to enter 925
Massachusetts Avenue to perform a Phase I site assessment. This had to be served on the owner and the property by
the Sheriff's Office and this was done last week. I have lined up an Environmental Consultant to perform the
Phase I site assessment and this should begin sometime in November and will take 60-90 days.
I am also in the process of filing the nomination forms to be one of the communities to be part of the Brownfields
Site Assessment Grant program through Montachusett Regional Planning Commission. MRPC was awarded this
grant in June of 2019 and are just beginning the process of accepting applications as they have finalized the
selection of the firm that will perform the work. If our application was accepted, this would beto conductthe
Phase Il site assessment, which isthe more costly of the two assessments.
Development of FY21-FY25 Capital Plan:
Departments received the Google Sheets being used to fill in their FY21 through FY25 capital requests and I have
met with the Police, Fire, and DPW individually so far to review the additional categories that will be used by the
Capital Planning Committee to evaluate projects. The Capital Planning Committee met with the Police and Fire
Chiefs today and will be meeting with the School on November 19th and the DPW Director on December 3, 2019.
FY21 Budget Process:
TheFY21 budget process has begun with preliminary budget discussions with various department heads. This
year we willbe implementinga new budgeting toolthrough ClearGov. Departments willbe ableto input above
target budget requests and track the status of their requests as we move through the budget process. This will
allow us to easily see the different iterations and be more efficient than the previous Excel budget worksheets.
Upcoming Meetings, Events and Other Announcements:
• IwillbeattendingaPersonnel Committeemeetingat5:30p.m. and the Finance Committee meeting at
6:30 p.m. this Thursday.
• Town Offices are closed in observance of Veterans Day on November 11th and Thanksgiving on November
28th.
• The annual tree lighting ceremony at the Gazebo will take place on Thursday, December Sth at 6 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Discussion on November 12, 2019 Special Town Meeting articles
Ms. Lemieux pointed out Article 2 may change between now and town meeting. New growth has been submitted,
but we haven't received the certification back yet. We expect it will be this week. it may be higher than originally
estimated due to new growth captured at the new Unitil for personal property. The recommendation would still be
to deposit into the Special Purpose Stabilization Fund. There are no other changes to the budget or transfers.
She directed the Board to an Excel spreadsheet that further explained the Sewer Enterprise Fund amendment
under Article 3.
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found that the soil does not pass a percolation test. Discussion ensued about the property, the owner's intentions
and possible future development.
The next article discussed was Article 12, the acceptance of Butterfly Lane as a public way. Mr. Rodriquenz
stated it cost the developer $32,000 to pave in 2019 and no work would be needed for a few years. The
stormceptor annual cleaning costs $650.00 due to the use of a specialized truck with a four hour minimum. There
are two retention ponds that will have to be cleaned out periodically.
Mr. Jeffreys pointed out that the Planning Board should consider what a new development would cost the Town
when these projects come before them.
Article 13 was next. Mr. Alonzo asked who would make the presentation of the article. Ms. Adams suggested
Town Manager. Mr. Jeffreys stated he was comfortable presenting it. After discussion, it was decided Ms. Adams
would present the slide show with Mr. Jeffreys.
CURRENT BUSINESS
1. Discussion on Survey for reuse of the old Primary Building/Land
Mr. Jeffreys stated he formatted the list in alphabetical order and formatted the descriptions o be the same. He
also provided a description of what would be involved in the decision.
He read the list aloud for the meeting:
Parking Lot with Green Space - primary purpose would be to serve as a parking area for community events in
town center and provide parking for future uses of the Ritter Building. A small green space would be erected behind
the footprint of the existing building. This will require demolishing the building and conducting site workto regrade,
plant grass and shrubs/trees, and building an expanded parking lot.
_Senior Housing - primary purpose would be to provide affordable housing to seniors. This will require leasing
the property and land to a developer for thedeveloper to modernize, sublet, and maintain. This option is subject to the
conditions of the market.
Small Business Building - primary purpose would be to serve as office space for small businesses and local
artists. This will require leasing the property and land to a developer for the developer to modernize, sublet, and
maintain. This option is subjectto the conditions of the market.
Town Green - primary purpose would be as a new Town Green and/or park for community events. This will
require demolishing the building and conducting sitework to regrade, plant grass and shrubs/trees, and repaving the
parking lot.
_Town Hall - primary purpose would be to function as a new Town Hall and eliminate the need for town
offices in the Ritter Building. This will require demolishing the building and constructing a new Town Hall with an
expanded parking lot.
Town Hall Conversion - primary purpose would be to function as a new Town Hall and eliminate the need
for town offices in the Ritter Building. This will require modernizing and adding onto the existing building and
repaving the parking lot.
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..........
Mr. Alonzo suggested adding more space between each category.
2. Discussion on Symposium held on October 29th
Ms. Luck asked about the Land Use Director's use of the population number of 11,000. Ms. Lemieux
noted the number comes from the American Community Survey census. Overall, the Board thought the
presentations and numbers given were helpful for future planning.
3. Minutes/Warrants/ Action Items
Minutes of September 3, 2019 were approved. The Board signed an accounts payable warrant in the
amount of $579,454.27, a deductions warrant in the amount of $281,396.88, and a payroll warrant in the
amount of $795,126.41. The FY20 2nd Quarter Water Commitment in the amount of $6998.88 was
signed
Mr. Alonzo thanked the DPW Director for beginning the line painting, adding it makes the road lanes
much more visible.
4. Committee Reports
Ms. Luck reported the Storm Water Task Force met on October 24. They are asking people to fill out
their survey. There is an informative leaf litter flyer on the website and there are paper copies at the
Town Hall, Library and Senior Center. We can all help by keeping leaves clear of all the storm drains.
The Central MA Stormwater Regional Coalition will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, November
13. This meeting will feature presentations from several communities that have instituted stormwater
utilities or enterprise funds as mechanisms for funding compliance with the Ms4 permitting outside of
the town budget by implementing a separate fee for all property owners. Ms. Adams thanked Ms. Luck
for all her and the task force members' work on the Storm Water Task Force.
Mr. Jeffreys reported he would be at the Council on Aging meeting next Tuesday. He will also be
meeting with the Superintendent next Tuesday morning. On November 18, he and Ms. Luck will be
attending a Cub Scouts meeting.
Mr. Alonzo stated there was no Selectboard meeting next week due to the Special Town Meeting at 7:00
p.m. at Lunenburg Middle/High School auditorium. This Board's next meeting is on November 19.
PUBLIC COMMENT: There was none.
Motion: P. Luck
2n: M. Jeffreys
To enter into Executive Session Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, § 21, Reason #3, to discuss strategy
with respect to collective bargaining and the Chair so declares that an open meeting may have a
detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the governmental body and to re-enter Open
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2.5% increase and years 2 and 3 will have a 2% increase. It also addresses increases between Patrol
officer steps to correct a 5% gap.
language has been amended to be consistent with other union agreements regarding military leave, union
dues and grievance procedures. Based on the appropriation approved at the annual town meeting, there
will be no need for additional funds for the FY20 budget to cover the first year's cost of this agreement.
This is partly due to attrition in the Police Department. We will be able to pass over that warrant article
at special town meeting due to no need for further appropriation. Year two increases are estimated at
$81,000 and year three are estimated at $74,000, bringing the cost of the total cost of the agreement to
around $139,000.
Motion: K. Adams
To adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m.
2n°: P. Luck
Vote: All in Favor
Respectfully submitted,
Elaire m. Peters on
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager