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Members present: Michael-Ray Jeffreys, Vice Chairman; Todd Dwyer, Jim Marino, Lou
Member not present: Tom Alonzo, Chair
Also Present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager; Richard Letarte, Assessor; Christine Cosgrove
Higdon, Valerio Romano, Priyanka Patel, Yash Patel, Davis Patel; Ray Morin
Vice Chairman Jeffreys called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and 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 and on Facebook Live on
the Public Access Facebook page.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT: There was none at this time.
APPOINTMENTS:
Joint Meeting with Board of Assessors to Appoint Assessor- Christine Cosgrove Higdon, 83
Lancaster Ave.
Mr. Jeffreys invited Assessor Letarte and Ms. Cosgrove Higdon to the front of the meeting room.
Ms. Cosgrove Higdon stated she and her husband have lived here for over 40 years. Mr. Letarte
invited her to apply for the vacancy and she thought with her background as a professor it would
be a good fit. Mr. Franco, former Assessor, thanked her for coming forward.
Motion: T. Dwyer
2nd: L. Franco
To appoint Ms. Cosgrove Higdon as Assessor until the next annual town election
Vote: All in Favor
Meeting with Valerio Romano of Uma Flowers, LLC to hear presentation for Adult Retail
Cannabis License at 43 Summer Street
Attorney Valerio Romano, VGR Law Firm for Uma Flowers, introduced Priyanka Patel, Yash
Patel, and Davis Patel to the board. UMA Flowers has been awarded a special permit, site plan
approval and a provisional license from the Cannabis Control Commission for the operation of
a retail business in Pepperell. They also have a special permit and site plan approval for
cultivation in Athol and have an application in process for a special permit in Waltham.
Ms. Patel, one of the founders, provided her background:
• Education: Northeastern University, Boston, MA (PharmD, 2009)
• Work Experience
• Retail Pharmacist for over 10 Years
• Walgreens & Costco Pharmacy in the Greater Boston Area
• Eaton Apothecary in Southborough, MA
• Complying with federal and state laws
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She noted all of the team members have health care backgrounas, Davis and tash Paler ale
physicians and co-founder Tejal Patel has a Master's Degree in Public Health. Attorney
Romano showed the interior design of the other facilities. The proposed location in
Lunenburg is 43 Summer Street, located in the commercial district, which is currently
operating as Donnelly's Tavern.
• Uma Flowers proposes to renovate the existing building to build ~3000 SF medical and
retail marijuana dispensary
• Will demolish the existing house located on the parcel
• Ample parking spaces
• The location will offer collocated sales to both medical cannabis patients and adult-use
customers
Attorney Romano noted they had to go before the Planning Board for a special permit and
site plan approval. What they are doing tonight is introducing themselves and at some point if
successful in the permitting process, would negotiate a host community agreement with the
Select Board. He has been in consultation with Building Commissioner/Zoning Enforcement
Officer Casey and they have a difference of opinion on his analysis of being within 250 feet
of a residential use structure located at 48 Youngs Road, which has been empty for 2 years.
Ray Morin, owner of 48 Youngs Road, stated the property has been a mixed use
residential/commercial use lot since 1948 when his grandparents bought it. It was their
primary residence. Since 1988 they have had a lease agreement with the company that leases
two rooms for office use. In 2012, his grandmother passed away and the estate was settled in
2019. My aunt had until 2020 to remove the personal belongings of his grandmother but the
pandemic postponed that happening. The house is intended to be rented as a residence once
everything is removed.
The presentation moved on to the security of the facility. Uma Flowers will contract with a
professional security and alarm company to design, implement, and monitor a
comprehensive security plan to ensure that the facility is a safe and secure environment for
employees and the local community and compliant with the Commission's strict security
requirements set forth in 935 CMR 500.110.
Uma Flowers' state-of-the-art security system will consist of a perimeter alarm on all exit
and entry points and perimeter windows, as well as duress, panic, or hold-up alarms
connected to local law enforcement for efficient notification and response in the event of a
security threat. The system will also include a failure notification system that will
immediately alert the executive management team if a system failure occurs. A back-up alarm
system or alternate safeguards will be installed to ensure continuous operation of the security
system.
Interior and exterior HD video surveillance in all areas that contain marijuana, entrances,
exits, and parking lots will be operational 24/7 and available to the Lunenburg Police
Department. These surveillance cameras will remain operational even in the event of a power
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consumers 21 years of age or older with a verified and valid, government-issued photo ID
will be permitted to enter the dispensary and purchase adult-use marijuana. Any patient that is
21 years or older with a valid Massachusetts Medical Card and government-issued ID can
purchase from Uma Flowers or 18 and older, and also accompanied by a registered caregiver
with valid ID.
In the event Uma Flowers discovers any of its agents intentionally or negligently sold
marijuana to an individual under the age of 21, the agent will be immediately terminated and
the CCC will be promptly notified.
Uma Flowers will not engage in any marketing, advertising, or branding practices that are
targeted to, deemed to appeal to, or portray minors under 21 years of age.
Uma Flowers will not manufacture or sell any edible products that resemble a realistic or
fictional human, animal, or fruit, including artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings.
Any marketing, advertising, and branding materials for public viewing will include a warning
stating, "For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children."
Uma Flowers' website will require all online visitors to verify they are 21 years of age or
older prior to accessing the website. Uma Flowers will not hire any individuals who are under
the age of 21 or who have been convicted of distribution of controlled substances to minors.
Plan to Avoid Creating a Nuisance to the Community:
All litter and waste will be properly disposed of to minimize the development of odor and the
potential for attracting pests.
Uma Flowers will not use radios or loud speaker equipment for the advertising of marijuana.
Uma Flowers will not engage in any advertising or marketing practices using public or
private vehicles or public transportation venues.
Uma Flowers will comply with all reasonable special permit conditions required by the town
of Lunenburg and will work diligently and in good faith to address any reasonable nuisance
concerns brought to its attention by members of the community.
No marijuana or marijuana products will be clearly visible to a person from the exterior of
Uma Flowers' facility or delivery vehicles.
Uma Flowers will not install any neon or illuminated signage that does not comply with local
ordinances or is illuminated more than 30 minutes before sundown until closing.
No consumption of marijuana or marijuana products will occur on Uma Flowers' premises
by customers, patients, employees, or visitors.
To the extent practicable, Uma Flowers will pre-package its retail products and use carbon
filtration or other air ventilation procedures to minimize potential odors.
Attorney Valerio presented data from marijuana research and studies on property values,
crime and opioid use, and other concerns about bringing such a business to a community.
Mr. Jeffreys thanked them for coming out this evening. Mr. Valerio thanked the board also.
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next ATE
• Economic Development Committee (1 person recommended by the Open Space Committee,
1 citizen at large, and 1 ex-officio member that is business owner)
• Senior Work Off Program Committee (1 vacancy 1 vacancy)
• Zoning Board of Appeals (1 Associate vacancy)
Interested persons can find application forms on the Town Website and completed forms can be sent to
the Select Board's Office.
Invitation for Bids:
Wereceived general bids for the Public Safety Carport project today. Wereceived two bids; the low
bidder was Elite Construction and Design of Fitchburg for a total cost of the project of $298,750
(includes the low bidder price for roofing/flashing). The total cost for this project is approximately
$164,000 more than the appropriated amount in the capital article and at this time are
recommending not to move forward with this project as this would impact the FY21 and FY22
facilities budget severely.
Flat Hill Culvert Update:
The DP W Director and I received a comparison of the original preliminary construction cost
estimateto the revised construction cost estimate for the Flat Hill Culvert project.
A big factor is the unpredictable material and contractor costs that the engineering firm has
been seeing lately that impacted the estimated cost for demolition of the existing structure and
costs of asphalt, rebar, etc. Dueto COVID and the Texas infrastructure collapse this winter, there
have been shortages for various materials and unusually high prices. This may trend downwards,
depending on timing of the advertisement for the project but the revised cost estimate is based on
today's pricing. This added approximately $67,000 to the estimated costs.
The other big factor is the final design includes longer and taller wingwalls to avoid increased fill
in the lake and to address the bit of discovered scour at the existing culvert. This in turn
required more excavation for the wingwalls and created a closer proximity to abutters, which
resulted in some temporary support of excavation. The temporary support of excavation at two
of the abutters is required so as not to undermine the shed at the southeast corner and the structure
at the south west corner. This added approximately $209,000 to the estimated costs.
Due to the increased total cost of the project, this also impacted the 10% contingency amount and
increased that by approximately $26,000.
As previously stated, the DPW Director and I will work with the engineering firm to submit a Small
Bridge Grant application as soon as MassDOT announces they are accepting applications.
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1. Vote on Extension of Contract Terms for Town Manager and Director of
Municipal Finance until July 31,2021
Mr. Jeffreys reported a request to extend the agreements between the Town Manager and the
Select Board and the Director of Municipal Finance and the Select Board for their employment
agreements until July 31% to allow the parties additional time to negotiate a contract extension.
Motion: J. Marino
2n°: T. Dwyer
To extend both agreements until July 31, 2021
Vote: All in Favor
2. Approval of June 8, 2021 Minutes
Motion: L. Franco
2nd: J. Marino
To approve Minutes of June 8, 2021 as presented
Vote: 3 in favor, 1 abstention (Mr. Dwyer)
3. Warrants/ Action Items: there were none this evening
4. Committee Reports: there were none this evening
OLD BUSINESS
1. Pay As You Throw Bag Fee and Proposed Increase for FY22
Ms. Lemieux reported from her memorandum:
As mentioned in my memorandum to the Board last week, there are two main variables that will
impact the cost of the PAYT bags, the estimated number of cases sold for FY 2022 and offering
free bags to senior citizens for FY 2022. After reviewing the bag sales for the last three years,
the estimate that will be used to project the number of cases sold of the different sized bags for
FY 2022 will be based on FY2020 bag sales. Comparing FY2020 bag sales to FY2021 bag
sales, there was an 8% increase in cases of small bags sold, a 12% increase in cases of large
bags sold, and a 45% increase in cases of extra-large bags sold. Using the more conservative
figures will not negatively impact the Solid Waste Enterprise Account.
The other variable, providing free bags to senior citizens for FY 2022, required determining the
estimated number of senior households in Lunenburg that are not in multi-family complexes
that do not receive collection services through the PAYT bag program. The estimate I am using
is 2,200 households. My recommendation, if the Board does decide to offer free bags to seniors
in Fiscal Year 2022, would be to offer one roll of small bags to each household that is owned or
rented by a senior citizen. In order to track the supply, bags would be picked up at the Senior
Center. The overall projected cost of this provided an estimated 2,200 affected households
would be approximately $40,000 for collection and disposal costs and approximately $5,000
for the bags. The $5,000 could be paid out of the Recycling Dividends Grant funds and the
$40,000 would be covered by the projected surplus at the close of FY 2021.
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a comparison of the current bag prices and the recommended cost increase for PAYT bags
for FY 2022.
FY 22 Estimate - 30%/Roll Increase
7/1/2021-6/30/2022
7/1/2021-6/30/2022
7/1/2021-6/30/2022
Description
Small-13 gallon; 15 Ibs
Free Small Bags to Seniors
Large-33 gallon; 30 lbs
Extra Large-40 gallon; 30 lbs
Cases to Stores
@Retail
400
110
436
11
Retail p/cs
Pricing
$364.00
$364.00
$741.00
$1,133.60
Revenue @
Retail
$145,600.00
$40,040.00
$323,076.00
$12,469.60
Per Cs. Price @
contractricing
Total Fees to W
$42.75
$42.75
$76.50
$104.50
$17,100.00
$4,702.50
$33,354.00
$1,149.50
Total Estimated Revenue
Total Est. Pickup/Disposal
Projected FY22 Surplus/Deficit
Final
Revenue
$128,500.00
$0.00
$289,722.00
$11,320.10
$429,542.10
$419,850.00
$9,692.10
FY22 Proposed Cost Increase for PAYT Bags based on 30% increase per roll
Small Bags (10/roll)
Large Bags (5/roll)
X-Large (5/roll)
$
$
$
Per Bag-Current
1.40
2.85
4.36
Per Bag-w/ Increase Per bag inc. over PFY
1.82
3.71
5.67
$
0.42
0.86
1.31
Per Roll - Current
14.00
14.25
21.80
Per Roll-w/ Increase Increase over PFY
$
18.20
$4.20
18.53
$4.28
$
28.34
$6.54
Once a decision is made, I will provide our bag vendor an update and the bag vendor will work
directly with the retailers to notify them of pricing changes. This transition would take
approximately 30 days.
The Board delayed voting until Mr. Alonzo returns for the next meeting.
Mr. Jeffreys noted their upcoming meetings are July 6, July 13 and July 20.
PUBLIC COMMENT-there was none this evening
Mr. Jeffreys announced the Board would be entering Executive Session and adjourning
afterwards.
Motion: L. Franco
2nd: T. Dwyer
To enter into Executive Session and to adjourn after exiting Executive Session: Pursuant
to MI.G.L. c. 30, Section 21, Paragraph 3, to discuss strategy with respect to litigation,
where an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's litigating
position and the Chair so declares, namely Aldrich, et al. v. Board of Selectmen of the
Town of Lunenburg, et al., Worcester Superior Court Docket No. 1985CV00647,
Lunenburg Bd. of Health v. Gonynor, et al., Central Housing Court Docket No.
04H85CV000229, Massey v. Town of Lunenburg Zoning Bd. of Appeals, Worcester
Superior Court Civil Action No. 1985CV01033; Town of Lunenburg v. Alleva, Central
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The meeting adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
ElaineM. Petetson
Elaine M. Peterson
Executive Assistant to the Town Manager