===OCR macOS Vision===
===PAGE 1===
Members present: om Alonzo, Chairman; Michael-Kay Jettreys, Vice Chairman; Katey
Adams, Clerk; Todd Dwyer, Jim Marino
Also Present: Town Manager Heather Lemieux; Dr. Kate Burnham, School Superintendent;
Mike Cassidy, School Business Manager; Adam Costa, Town Counsel; Cor Van Dyke, Chief
Financial Officer Van Pool Transportation John McCarthy, CEO of NRT/Van Pool
Transportation; Lisa Alterisio, Vice President of Van Pool Transportation; Sandra Martin, Owner
of Dee Bus Service
Chairman Alonzo called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. and announced in accordance with
the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting will be
recorded and unfortunately to technical difficulties, it is not being broadcast live over the
Lunenburg public access channel or Facebook Live. The recording will be broadcast on the
Lunenburg public access channel within 24 hours of its conclusion.
Mr. Alonzo read the remote meeting information and asked if everyone was present and could be
heard. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance that was recited by Ms. Adams.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Ms. Adams was thinking of all the school teachers, students and parents and wishing them luck
in transitioning to a different way of starting out the school year.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ms. Lemieux announced there was an error printed in the Sentinel stating the Town Clerk's
elected position was changed to appointed in the Town Charter. She has contacted the reporter
who corrected the misprint.
From Acting Chief of Police Tom Gammel; the Police have received several speeding and traffic
complaints for Highland Street. In anticipation of increased pedestrian traffic and to help resolve
this issue, we will be posting a 25 mph speed limit which is in accordance with the acceptance of
MGL c.90 817. It will be posted in the thickly settled area from the Chestnut Street intersection
to approximately #285 Highland Street. The road will be posted by the DPW upon acquiring the
signs. This general law was accepted at town meeting in 2017.
Ill.
APPOINTMENTS
4" Quarter Financial Report from Finance Director
Ms. Lemieux reported Ms. Brochu contacted her and was unable to connect to the meeting as her
computer was running an upgrade.
===PAGE 2===
telephone and email. Most of his experience when it comes to facilities has come from outside of
the military service where he managed a meat packing plant in Boston and a food processing
plant in Wilmington. In those jobs, he had to deal with regulations and town codes.
Motion: K. Adams
2nd: M. Jeffreys
To appoint Antony Nicastro as ZBA Associate with a term to expire June 30, 2022 and the
APDC with a term to expire June 30, 2023
Vote: Ms. Adams-aye, Mr. Dwyer-aye, Mr. Jeffreys-aye, Mr. Marino-aye, Mr. Alonzo-aye
Mr. Nicastro thanked the Board for the opportunity.
APDC-Member at Large, Cullen Dwyer, 76 Main Street
Mr. Dwyer stated he let his appointment expire as he did not realize his term was up. He was the
Historical Commission representative to the APDC but has not requested being reappointed to
the Historical Commission. He was involved in drafting the APDC bylaw. He served for four
years and helped draft the guidelines for the commission.
Motion: T. Dwyer
2nd: J. Marino
To appoint Cullen Dwyer to the APDC with a term to expire June 30, 2023
Vote: Ms. Adams-aye, Mr. Dwyer-aye, Mr. Jeffreys-aye, Mr. Marino-aye, Mr. Alonzo-aye
Jennifer Sanderson could not unmute her phone so Mr. Alonzo moved on to the next
appointment.
Historical Commission- Kevin Boussom, 48 Robbs Hill Rd. - term to expire June 30, 2023
Mr. Boussom was not present for the meeting so this appointment was passed over.
Ms. Brochu was unable to reconnect to the meeting for her quarterly report due to lack of audio.
7:30 PM Meeting with School and School Transportation Companies to discuss FY 2020
School Transportation Payment Request
School Business Manager Cassidy stated in June the School Committee authorized payments to
Dee Bus Service and Van Pool Transportation as there was new legislation that permits
payments to vendors for service contracts that weren't allowable under previous law for services
that were not rendered. Once a fee was determined, it had to be approved by the School
Committee, Finance Director and Board of Selectmen. The two transportation companies had
requested payment from the town based on costs that they had to incur during the shutdown. Out
of the thirteen districts that Dee Bus Service is contracted with, all have paid except Lunenburg.
The bus company representatives are here to discuss the request and answer questions.
Ms. Lemieux stated there were several questions regarding this request. Details relative to grants,
loans and any other stimulus-related reimbursements already received to offset their expenses
were requested as well as a breakdown of the expenses related to the Lunenburg contract, such as
===PAGE 3===
Mr. Van Dyke thanked Ms. Lemieux for the questions in advance. When you think back to
March we were closed for only two weeks and then it was extended to April and finally the rest
of the year. We continued to run the business as usual, to pay our employees, drivers, monitors,
mechanics, transportation coordinators and operations managers so we could stand ready and
have those drivers when school reopened. We were able to earn employee retention credits under
a provision of the CARES Act; part of that is a deferral of taxes and part is a credit amounting to
$18,967. We were able to cut some of our auto insurance. We continued to pay our rent, utilities,
IT hardware/software fees, payroll and audit service and the principal and interest on our vehicle
loan payments. We stand ready to provide services. The impact of our customers not supporting
us is we would not be able to pay our expenses.
Sandra Martin stated although we are contracted for 180 days we are actually working 365 days
a year. We did not get the tax credit and took a Paycheck Protection Program loan. We were
ready, willing and able to go when Lunenburg wanted us to start. We are looking to figure this
out and come to an agreement.
Mr. Jeffreys asked what happens if we pay this amount and then on October 15"h, schools are
closed again? To both companies, what is your plan if that happens?
Mr. McCarthy responded if October 15"" came, we would sit, wait and stand ready. We make a
3% profit generally but we lost the athletics and field trips and this eats up our profit. The driver
is just one portion of the service. We are trying to work out so we can stay here, ready and able
to take your kids to school. We project our costs over the school year, this has never happened
before, never had anything like this. If it wasn't for the support of the towns...I would hope the
Lunenburg Selectmen would do what they could for the students. I do believe we will get back to
normal, this is going to end. But I can't promise we won't have this conversation again.
Ms. Martin added we lost so much money this year with the loss of extra-curricular and sporting
events, so three or four percent is about where we are at this time. It's not a huge margin.
Mr. Marino, stated he was the one who wanted to continue this discussion because he wanted to
do more research. He read the contract and all the accompanying documents and stated he was in
favor of supporting the bus companies. Ms. Adams was worried about setting precedent by
paying the bus companies, what happens if schools close down again? She could not justify
supporting one small business and not others.
Mr. Dwyer stated we are in a pandemic and it hasn't happened in over 100 years. It has thrown
the entire country in a loop. I think the request is reasonable and I support it.
Mr. Alonzo stated obviously no one could expect what could happen. The Town is in a unique
situation in that we gain our money from local and state taxes. Since the majority of the contract
was paid for and you did stay on standby, I think the proposal before us is reasonable for the last
part of this year, but I will not be in support of anything of the same thing going forward.
Mr. Jeffreys thanked them for the additional information but was not able to support the request.
===PAGE 4===
companies. Dave Rodgers, 82 Highland Street, wanted to know what the dollar amount would be
in savings if a forbearance agreement had been set up for both companies. What would happen if
Unitil came in and said the town didn't use all of the electricity they usually do and we want you
to make up the difference, what would we do then?
Mr. Van Dyke stated it would be roughly around $18,000. He need to buy new buses every five
years. We are in the process of buying several new buses for some other districts and that was
over $30,000. If we had put our loans in forbearance there isn't any way that we would have
been able to procure the buses we needed to start this year. That was not an option.
Ms. Adams asked if there was a liability risk if they voted not to pay the companies.
Attorney Costa stated there is no legal obligation or liability. He could not foresee what the
future would hold. With respect to the special legislation, the wording uses terms like "may, not
"shall."
Mr. Jeffreys asked both companies how they have paid the operating costs so far. Mr. Van Dyke
stated we were able to get through it on some reserves. Had the other customers not supported us
we would have absolutely gone bankrupt months ago. Ms. Martin stated she also used the funds
from the other districts to pay their costs. Both companies stated they lost money this year. This
was a big hit.
Motion: K. Adams
To not approve payment to the Dee Bus Service and Van Pool Transportation
There was no second to the motion.
Motion: T. Dwyer
To approve payment of $94,000 to Dee Bus Company and $41,112 to Van Pool
Transportation
2nd: J. Marino
Vote: Ms. Adams-nay, Mr. Dwyer-aye, Mr. Marino-aye, Mr. Jeffreys-nay, Mr. Alonzo-aye
Mr. Alonzo thanked all concerned for attending the meeting and their participation. Mr.
McCarthy and Ms. Martin thanked the Board.
The 1s' Quarter FY21 Financial report from Ms. Brochu will be tabled until the next meeting due
to lack of audio capabilities.
Historical Commission- Jennifer Sanderson, 848 Northfield Rd.-term to expire June 30,
Ms. Sanderson entered the meeting via telephone. Ms. Sanderson was requesting to be
reappointed to the Historical Commission. She has enjoyed her appointment there. She is all
about the history of this town and has a passion for it.
Motion: K. Adams
2nd: J. Marino
To appoint Ms. Sanderson to the Historical Commission with a term to expire June 30,
2023
===PAGE 5===
of the Governor on Friday, August21st to notify her the bill (S.2754)to revise the Town Charterwas
received by the Governor. Their office asked us to review the Act and to let them know if the Townwas
alright with the language. After ourreview, I was told we had three options, 1) the Governor would sign as
it was drafted, 2) Governor could veto the bill, or 3) returnto the legislature with amendments, which would
be highlyunpredictable and would only makesense if therewere major issues with the language
passed by the legislature. Since Town Counsel had painstakingly gone through the tedioustaskto draft the
submission to the legislature in a format that would be acceptable, I forwarded it to Attorney Costa to doa
compareand contrastbased on the version he submitted. On Monday, August24th Attorney Costa
concluded hisreview and denoted a few inconsistencies from what he had submitted and the language the
legislature passed. They are:
• Article 1, Section 6: The Town voted to replace commonwealth with Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and this was not incorporated;
• Section 3-7 (b): The Town voted the second sentence to begin with "The Library Board of
Trustees" and it says "The Library";
• Section 3-14: Missed replacing Board of Selectmen with Select Board. This was done everywhere
else in the document though.
Attorney Costa and I had a conference call with the Governor'slegal team on Wednesday, August 26th and
afterreviewing our options and hearing that it would be highly unlikely that the Governor would return to
the legislature with the changesthat were identified as they were not substantive in nature, if we wished to
havehim veto the bill it would likely take another 6 months orlongerto have an approved Charter.
Ultimately we agreed to proceed with the Governor signing the version that was before him so as not to
cause significant delays in a bill where the identified inconsistencies would be manageable.
I was notified on Friday, August 28th that the Governor signed the bill.
Mr. Alonzo asked if the Town was contacted by our legislative delegation before the bill was
sent to the Governor to see who made the edits. Ms. Lemieux reported no, we were not contacted
by anyone that the changes were made. She stated she would contact both offices to see if they
were aware of who made the changes. Mr. Alonzo stated these were ridiculous changes we could
have changed if anybody had reached out to us and we are lucky they are not substantive.
Ms. Lemieux reported the revised Charter now constitutes a five member Parks Commission.
The question now is whether to hold a special election or wait until the next annual election or
we can have a joint meeting with the Parks Commissioners to mutually appoint until the next
election. Attorney Costa opined that options one and two are the safest options, but that means
you fund a special election or leave two seats vacant until the next annual election. Option 3
requires some interpretation of the Charter called the filling of vacancies for multi-member
parties. Further discussion ensued
Dave Passios, Parks Commissioner, speaking on behalf of the commission, stated one of their
biggest challenges is that two of us cannot speak about business outside of a posted meeting. We
need the additional two bodies for the work we are doing now.
===PAGE 6===
I LINe clu
Ms. Lemieux directed the Board to a proposed schedule leading up to a Special Town Meeting
on November 17h
. The proposal is to open the warrant today and close it at 5:00 p.m. on
Tuesday, September 29th
Motion: M. Jeffreys
2nd: T. Dwyer
To accept the proposed schedule for Special Town Meeting and to open the warrant for the
STM on Wednesday September 2nd
Vote: Ms. Adams-aye, Mr. Dwyer-aye, Mr. Marino-aye, Mr. Jeffreys-aye, Mr. Alonzo-aye
The safety plan for Special Town Meeting (STM) will be modeled off of the plan for Annual
Town Meeting. Mr. Alonzo noted there will be a separate room designated for those who are not
wearing masks. Discussion about what worked and did not work at the annual meeting ensued.
2. Discussion on FY2021 budget and Special Town Meeting articles that amend FY21
appropriations
Ms. Lemieux requested to table this until the next meeting.
3. Vote on Naming of Tributary off of Mulpus Brook as Balish Brook
Ms. Alonzo read the email from Matthew O'Connell:
"The U.S. Board on Geographic Names {BGN) has received a proposal from a resident of
Lunenburg to apply the new name Balish Brook to an officially unnamed stream that flows into
Mulpus Brook in Cowdrey Nature Center. The BGN is responsible by law for standardizing
geographic names for use by the Federal Government and accepts proposals to name unnamed
geographic features or change the names of already named geographic features. Because the
BGN places importance on local opinion when it votes on these proposals, the staff asks for
input from local governments who are elected to represent its citizens who might have an
interest. The stream currently has no name that is official for Federal use. Please see the
Balish {1915-1980), who was born in Pennsylvania and died in Oregon; Mr. Balish has no
connection to Lunenburg or Massachusetts. He had a long military career, serving in World War
11 and the Korean War and was stationed in New Mexico, San Francisco, German, and Turkey.
The proponent acknowledged that Mr. Balish had no connection to the area but believes that he
should be commemorated for his military service. Please see the attached BGN Commemorative
Names Policy and please consider the proposal in light of the policy. We would like to know
whether your office supports or opposes the proposal to officially name Balish Brook. We ask
that you coordinated your response with the Lunenburg Conservation Commission, copied on
this email. We will also be asking for a recommendation from the Massachusetts State Names
Authority. Federally recognized Tribes will also have an opportunity to provide comments."
Mr. Alonzo read the Conservation Commission's response: "The Conservation Commission
voted unanimously to recommend the brook at the Cowdery not be named after Mr. Balish.
===PAGE 7===
4. Approval of 2020 Minutes of June 9, June 16, June 23 and July 7, 2020
Motion: M. Jeffreys
2nd: T. Dwyer
To approve the minutes as presented
Vote: Ms. Adams-aye, Mr. Dwyer-aye, Mr. Marino-aye, Mr. Jeffreys-aye, Mr. Alonzo-aye
5. Warrant
Mr. Alonzo reported he signed the following warrants last week.
• Accounts Payable Warrant # 9 21, dated 8/18/2020, in the amount of $657,588.86
• Payroll Deduction Warrant # 10 21, dated 8/19/2020, in the amount of $672,284.86
• Payroll Warrant # 4P21, dated 8/20/2020, in the amount of $631,887.93
6. Action Items
Ms. Adams inquired about the lane needing line painting at the intersection of Electric Avenue
and Massachusetts Avenue. Mr. Marino stated it was most likely on a schedule. The Interim
Police Chief will be advised to inquire.
7. Committee Reports
Mr. Jeffreys reported the Library Trustees met on August 20th. They wanted to thank Asst. Town
Manager Belliveau for her assistance in posting the job opening at the Library. They have had
some difficulty getting qualified applicants. The Summer Reading Program was a huge success.
There was a total of 179 readers from June 25th to July 27# totaling 108,000 minutes. Staff are
working on a fall reading challenge in September. They are looking to open for 2 hours a day
and have timed slots with a total of 100 slots per week Reservations can be made online for
certain times. Books that are handled will be quarantined and all patrons will be required to use
hand sanitizer upon entering the library. Curbside pickup will continue as well. There are
changes in the children's section to lessen the risk of virus transmission. Some bundled materials
are available for home schooling. Donations are always welcome.
Mr. Marino attended the MRC meeting last month. He will be attending again next week.
VII.TOWN MANAGER REPORT AND COVID-19 UPDATE
Announcement on Existing Vacancies:
The following isa list of vacancies on the following committees:
• Americans with DisabilitiesAct Commission (1 vacancy)
• ArchitecturalPreservation District Commission (1 vacancy)
• Historical Commission (1 vacancy)
• Senior Center Property Tax Work Off PogramCommittee (1 vacancy)
• Zoning Board of Appeals (1 Associate vacancy)
===PAGE 8===
Ms. Lemieux will follow up on the other alcohol license that was requested.
Continuity of Operations Plan
The kick-off meeting for the Continuity of Operations plan was held today with all department
heads in attendance. This is a document that ensures the primary essential functions of the agency (town
government) continued to be performed during a wide range of emergencies, including localized acts of nature,
accident and technological or attack related emergencies or pandemic. This plan will identify such things as
essential functions, orders of succession, delegations of authority, continuity of facilities and continuity of
communications. This project is funded through a grant through the Community Compact program and the
UMass Collins Center is our consultant.
Green Community Grant Award:
Wewerenotified on August27th by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Divisionwe
wereawardedourrequestof $69,361 for our Green Communities CompetitiveGrant application.
The approved funded projects include:
•
$15,092, Turkey Hill Elementary School-Kitchen appliance replacement
• $2,780, Middle/ High School - LED lighting
•
$9,500, Primary School - Hot water boiler replacement
$7,065, Senior Center - Appliance replacement
$725, Ritter Memorial Administration Building-Appliance replacement
• $725, Public Library-Appliancereplacement
• $725, DPW -Appliance replacement
• $1,450, Public Safety Building - Appliance replacement (not range)
• $450, Town Hall-Appliance replacement
• $1,629, Teen Center -Appliance replacement
• $3,200, Teen Center -Hot water heater replacement
• $2,200, Teen Center -Mechanical insulation
• $10,000, Town of Lunenburg- Hybrid police vehicle purchase (2)
• '$4,460, Public Safety Building - Retro-commissioning
• $4,360, Town of Lunenburg- Building operator certification training
• $5,000, Town of Lunenburg- Administrative assistance
Fuel Tank Removal and Replacement Project:
TheFuel Tank Removaland Replacement Project is currently outto bid and bids will bedueon September 21st.
Meetings, Events and Other Announcements:
• The Conservation Commission has a meeting on Zoom on Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:00 p.m.
• TheSchoolCommitteehas a meeting on Zoomon Wednesday, September 2nd at 6:30 p.m.
• TheBoardofAssessorshasameetingonZoomon Thursday, September3rdat 1 p.m.
• The Sewer Commission has a meeting on Zoom on Tuesday, September 8th at 5 p.m.
===PAGE 9===
programs. Mondays are weekly reservation days and can be made by calling (978) 582-4166 to sign up
for that week's events. Once per month programs can be reserved at any time. All COVID-19 Protocols
will be followed for indoor activities including wearing a mask and having temperatures taken. Starting
in September will be some events under the tent. On September 11' at 1 p.m. there will be Sea Songs
and Stories and on September 25" at 1 p.m. there will be live music with Dan Kirouac.
Starting Tuesday, September 1, the Lunenburg Library will be open for limited browsing by
appointment only. Patrons will be able to reserve one of a limited number of appointments for 30
minutes of browsing in the library building. Reservations can be made through the library website's
calendar at lunenburglibrary.org.
There will be two blocks of appointments for up to 10 visitors each day Mondays through Thursdays and
on Saturdays. The first set of appointments each day is reserved for high-risk and vulnerable patrons.
COVID-19 in Massachusetts (as of 8/27/20):
As of August 13th there are 117,450 COVID-19 cases and 8,777 deaths and 1,649,836 patients have been
tested to date by the MA State Public Health Laboratory, hospitals and commercial laboratories.
Current Status: Step One of Phase II:
Due to the recent increase in positive cases, step two of phase III of the Commonwealth's reopening
plan has been postponed indefinitely.
Flu Mandate:
State public health officials announced on August 19* that influenza immunization will be required for
all children 6 months of age or older who are attending Massachusetts child care, pre-school,
kindergarten, K-12, and colleges and universities. Students will be expected to have received a flu
vaccine by December 31, 2020 for the 2020-2021 influenza season, unless either a medical or religious
exemption is provided. Also exempted are K-12 students who are homeschooled and higher education
students who are completely off-campus and engaged in remote learning only. This new flu
immunization requirement to enter school in January is in addition to existing vaceine requirements for
all those attending child care, preschool, K-12, and colleges and universities in Massachusetts.
Elementary and secondary students in districts and schools that are using a remote education model are
not exempt.
Executive Order to Increase Child Care Options:
Gov. Charlie Baker has issued an executive order to increase child care options for families with
students in hybrid or remote learning when schools reopen in September, some of which adds a new
municipal responsibility to inspect and approve remote learning enrichment programs.
The governor's order provides three new options to increase child care settings for school-aged children.
Stop the Spread Initiative:
===PAGE 10===
Dave Passios, so Whiting street, reminded the public the next two meetings 9/10 and 9l21 at
6:00 PM) are for community groups to come forward regarding space at the TC Passios
Building.
Id Discussion od h021 be Perator & cal love Me, Historical manamend Fintment
appropriations will be moved to the next agenda.
Motion: T. Dwyer
2nd: K. Adams
To adjourn the meeting at 10:31 p.m.
Vote: Ms. Adams-aye, Mr. Dwyer-aye, Mr. Marino-aye, Mr. Jeffreys-aye, Mr. Alonzo-aye
Respectfully submitted,
Elaire M. Peterson
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager