===PAGE 1=== SELECT BOARD MINUTES April 11, 2023 Town Hall, 17 Main Street and via ZOOM Members present: Michael-Ray Jeffreys, Chairman; Tom Alonzo, Vice Chairman; Lou Franco, Clerk Member not present: Heather Sroka Also Present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager; Rob Robinson, Mark Capedona; Fire Chief Patrick Sullivan, Ashley York-Aronovich, Ana Lockwood, Dave Passios, Karin Menard Chairman Jeffreys called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Jeffreys announced in accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast live over the Lunenburg public access channel and Facebook Live and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg public access YouTube channel within 24 hours after the meeting. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at this meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by the Open Meeting Law. PUBLIC COMMENT: Ms. Lemieux read aloud a press release: IMPORTANT UPDATES RELATED TO FY 2023 REAL ESTATE TAXES On January 17, 2023, the Lunenburg Select Board voted to initiate an investigation as authorized by Section 3-2(e) of the Lunenburg Town Charter into the process that contributed to the FY23 property valuation and tax assessments. During this process the date the tax bills were mailed was investigated due to reports it may have been mailed after December 31, 2022. Due to documentation from the Postal Service that contradicts the Affidavit of Mailing from company that handles the mailing of the Town’s tax bills and their associated postage statements, it has been determined there is enough doubt for town officials to determine that tax bills may have been mailed after December 31, 2022. Based on this information it has been determined the Town will rely on the Postal Service date of processing, January 6, 2023, as the date of mailing for the third and fourth quarter tax bills. Following this determination, and per M.G.L. c. 59, Section 57C, the due date for the third and fourth quarter tax bills will be May 1, 2023 and no interest is due on the third quarter taxes between the period of February 1, 2023 and May 1, 2023. The Tax Collector will be adjusting any interest amounts or interest paid on tax payments that were made after the original February 1, 2023 deadline. Any interest on 3rd quarter tax bills paid after February 1, 2023 will be applied as a partial payment towards the fourth quarter tax payments. If both the third and fourth quarters have been paid and the adjustment of interest results in an overpayment based on the total amount due for the fiscal year, the Collector’s Office will initiate refunds after June 30, 2023. If you have questions related to your FY 2023 property tax bills, please contact the Tax Collector’s Office at (978) 582-4130. Under M.G.L. c. 59, Section 59, the Lunenburg Board of Assessors has voted that based on the reliance of a tax bill mailing that is later than December 31, 2022, the deadline for anyone who has not already submitted a tax abatement application is now May 1, 2023. Tax abatement applications can be found on the town website at: https://www.lunenburgma.gov/departments/assessors-office/real-estatepersonal-property-abatement-forms-procedure For anyone who has previously submitted a tax abatement application to the Board of Assessors and is approaching the 90-day deadline, the Assessor’s Office has mailed out extension form letters. The Board of Assessors, and the consultant the Town has hired to assist the Town in conducting all the necessary inspections and valuation recommendations to the Board of Assessors, is making all efforts to meet the 90-day deadline from the date the applicant filed the tax abatement request to the Assessors, but due to the sheer volume of applications, applications may require an extension in order not to be deemed denied. Written consent from property owners is required for extensions and the length of the extension is at the discretion of the property owner. The property owner also has the right to request more than one extension if the length of the first extension is not sufficient. Extension forms can be found on the town website at: https://www.lunenburgma.gov/departments/assessors-office/real-estatepersonal- property-abatement-forms-procedure Questions related to tax bill amounts due or interest amount adjustments should be directed to the Tax Collector’s ===PAGE 2=== Office at (978) 582-4130 x 2. Questions related to filing an abatement and extension requests should be directed to the Assessor’s Office at (978) 582-4130 x 5. APPOINTMENTS PJ Keating: Amendment to Earth Removal Permit #16 & discuss future development of the land involving current earth removal permits Rob Robinson, VP of Aggregates at P J Keating, stated the parcel was under Keating Land Holdings and the land was sold through them. The land was sold for construction of a distribution center located on Reservoir Road. We're looking to take that section out and you have the as-builts here as well, so we're looking to take that out of the actual permit but keep the surrounding permit in place. Motion: T. Alonzo 2nd: L. Franco To amend Earth removal permit #16 as presented by removing the land that was sold for the Lunenburg Central warehouse, ~34 acres, and keeping the remainder of the property under the Earth removal Permit Vote: All in Favor Meeting with Municipal Aggregation Broker Colonial Power Group re Municipal Aggregation Rate Amendment due to Clean Energy Standard Expansion Mark Capedona of Colonial Power Group was here to speak about a small increase coming to the program. As the result of a change in law, the Town of Lunenburg’s current aggregation rate will increase by $0.00128 per kWh effective with the May 2023 meter reads. The new rate (increasing from $0.11740 per kWh to $0.11868 per kWh) will be fixed through the remainder of the term, ending November 2024. Mr. Alonzo stated it’s been great working with your company and this partnership has been productive for our residents. Given the average usage of 600 kWh per month, the new aggregation rate represents an increase of $0.77 per month versus the current rate per customer. Mr. Capedona stated this increase will go into effect with the May meter readings and will be seen on the June bills. Mr. Jeffreys asked what percentage of the power is from renewable sources of energy. Mr. Capedona stated starting in 2023 the required renewables are 59.2%. The board thanked Mr. Capedona for coming in tonight. Meeting with the Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Patrick Sullivan re: updated Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Chief Sullivan reported this plan was updated last May that you accepted. Tonight is a smaller update. The Town had gotten support from the UMass Collins Center to develop a continuity of operations plan for a major disaster. We started that in January of 2020 and like a lot of other things in life that went off the rails fairly quickly. A few months later after we had developed this plan, they reached back out to us. We reconnected and developed that plan and their suggestion was to add that plan into the comprehensive emergency management plan, so that's now section 21. It is basically a plan for if something affected a lot of department heads, management personnel, how we would keep things operating in town; what the chains are through each department stuff like that. We also added a little bit of language in the sheltering section that they suggested. On the update page, section three, there's a couple of typos that I found in there that I updated and changed also. Motion: T. Alonzo 2nd: L. Franco To accept the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan as presented Vote: All in Favor INTERVIEWS/APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS Appointment to Agricultural Commission as Associate- Ashley York-Aronovich- term to expire June 30, 2023 Ms. York-Aronovich stated she has already had an interest in agriculture. She is market farm manager and has attended an Agricultural Commission meeting. This appointment is only good until June when she will have to apply to be reappointed. Motion: T. Alonzo 2nd: L. Franco To appoint Ashley York-Aronovich to the Agricultural Commission with a term to expire June 30, 2023 ===PAGE 3=== Vote: All in Favor Ratification of the Town Manager’s Appointment of Heavy Equipment Operator Alex Page Ms. Lemieux noted Alex is from Lunenburg. He comes to us from the Town of Boxborough where he worked as a skilled laborer for about a year and a half prior to that his relatable experience was with the Town of Harvard where he worked for a year as a truck driver laborer. He was a graduate of Monty Tech from their automotive program and he comes fully licensed and with excellent recommendations. Motion: L. Franco 2nd: T. Alonzo To ratify the Town Manager’s appointment of Alex Page as Heavy Equipment Operator Vote: All in Favor Ratification of the Town Manager’s Appointment of Public Access Production Technician Eric Foster The second Town Manager appointment is of Public Access Production Technician Eric Foster. Eric is currently a videographer for public access and he is being recommended to be promoted to the production technician position because of his knowledge and experience in video production. The PAC Coordinator described him as an expert trainer and having keen camera skills, experience with the program server and the videographer meeting procedures. He also lives locally so he is available as situations arise which they sometimes do. Motion: L. Franco 2nd: T. Alonzo To ratify the Town Manager’s appointment of Eric Foster as Public Access Production Technician Vote: All in Favor Ms. Lemieux informed the board of the resignation of Building Commissioner Casey Burlingame. His last day will be the end of this week. There is an alternate covering temporarily while the position is being advertised. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Warrants The board signed an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $681,570.09; a payroll deductions warrant in the amount of $975,455.36 and a payroll warrant in the amount of $975,455.36. 2. Committee Reports Mr. Alonzo reported the Finance Committee met last week and voted on the remaining warrant articles. That had a financial impact. The senior tax relief article got an affirmative vote of approval. Mr. Franco reported the Council on Aging met this morning. Facilities Director Chris Ruth attended that meeting to discuss various projects relative to the buildings and grounds over there. Mr. Franco presented the senior tax relief warrant article to those attending. There will be a Covid vaccination clinic on Friday. The Eagle House Supporters’ clothing drive in conjunction with the Epilepsy Foundation is still going on at TC Passios Building on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to Noon. They have collected around 792 bags to date. This collection will end on April 28th. Mr. Jeffreys reported he and Mr. Franco met with some 8th grade civics classes at the middle/high school on Friday to go over how local government works. It appeared to go well as the students appeared engaged. After this Mr. Jeffreys met with School Supt. Kate Burnham and School Committee Chair Carol Archambault about initiatives they are taking with the school district. Meeting with Parks Commission on Funding Plan and ARPA Funding Request for Marshall Park Ana Lockwood called the Parks Commission meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. Ms. Lockwood presented a PowerPoint presentation that was given at town meeting but has since been updated. ARPA Funds & the Success of Marshall Park Renovation Project Select Board questions from the December meeting with Parks Commission: 1) How far will ARPA funds get the project? 2) Sources of funding for the remainder of the project • Combination of Public & Private Grants • ARPA Funds ===PAGE 4=== • General Fund Regular Debt 3) Grant information and deadlines Town General Fund Debt Policy: Cap of 4% for Net Regular Debt to Levy • If the Marshall Park renovation construction is fully debt funded by the town, $5.2 M, it would represent 1.68% of the levy • Our Policy: Cap of 14% for Aggregate Debt Service Costs to Total Levy • If the Marshall Park renovation construction is fully debt funded by the town, $5.2 M, it would represent 1.53% of total levy If ARPA and grant funds are used, these numbers will be lower. Cost Timeline The conceptual design has been created and paid for in the amount of $36,000. The property survey of about $18,000 has been completed. The schematic design, costing $45,000, has just begun and was funded at the last town meeting. We got a rough estimate for the next phase from the group that's doing this work, it'll probably be about the same amount which would be 50 000. There will be another phase in between which is the bidding and bid management that's not quoted here but we should have enough from what was funded last time at the fall town meeting. The last part of the presentation is the breakdown of the phases and what they are, but the way it was conceptualized was the first phase would be cost about $3.3 million and that's the bulk of the construction. That's where we are going to build a pavilion, two pickle ball courts, a basketball court, the playground and the biggest part of the parking which will be the entrance off Mass. Ave. Also within the pavilion there will be bathrooms. The second phase would be the 90 foot diamond along with the softball field and that's $1.5 million. The third phase would be the dog park with the path that's going through the woods through Marshall Pond with the overlook. The last little phase will be the overlook on Highland Street; kind of a little pocket park there and that's estimated at $86,000. As we go through the schematic design and start doing the engineering, the phases might get shifted around a little based on what's the best decision for engineering. Detailed Grant Information What makes a grant funding application attractive? • ARPA give us the funding needed to apply for matching grants without obstacles or delays • Project Merits: Multi-generational, accessible for all, adds multiple uses to a centrally located public park • Project Readiness: Shovel-ready projects receive higher marks • Community Support: Ability to show community support also receives higher marks • Having an approved Open Space and Recreation Plan Available Grants • Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Program (LWCF) January 2024- Up to $1M for projects that have a significant impact on climate resiliency • Parkland Acquisitions & Renovations for Communities (PARC) Grant- June 2023-Up to $400K for communities that are larger than $35,000 residents or projects with more than 100 parking spaces, cannot be applied to same project as the LWCF grant • AARP Community Challenge-($15-$25K) January 20240 we would apply for this to fund the pickle ball courts • Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act Improvement- August 2023 - (Up to $250K) - playground, walking path, parking lot • MassTrails Grant-November 2023- (Up to $60K)- Trails leading to a viewing dock at Marshall Pond • The Stanton Foundation-(open timeline) – ($100K- $250K)- Dog Park • USDA Loans & Grants (open timeline) - (No Maximum amount) Bathrooms, Water & Sewer Connections ===PAGE 5=== Phases & Costs PHASE 1 $3.3 million • Parking for 94 vehicles with lot wide enough for emergency vehicles • ADA compliant walkway to park • Basketball Court • Pickle ball Courts • Pavilion • Bathrooms • Concession Stand / Restroom Building • Universally accessible playground PHASE 2 $1.48 million • Parking for 38 cars off Chestnut Street • Upgrades and reorientation of the 90' Baseball field and Softball field • ADA compliant walking paths PHASE 3 $270,000 • Dog Park • 4 foot wide walking path to Marshall Pond • Overlook/Platform toward southern end of Marshall Pond PHASE 4 $86,000 • Pocket park along Highland St. • Overlook/Platform on northern end of Marshall Pond • Small Parking lot for a couple of cars The board thanked Ms. Lockwood for the presentation. Mr. Alonzo asked what amount of ARPA funding is uncommitted. Ms. Lemieux stated $2.3 million. ARPA funds must be committed by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026. Ms. Lockwood stated her best case scenario would be breaking ground next summer after baseball season. Construction to completion would take 18 months; breaking ground by 2024 and completion by 2026. Discussion about the grant application process and deadlines for applying. Ms. Menard noted that their April 19th meeting is a community meeting with WOLA via ZOOM and we are starting the schematic phase. This will be the first of two or three community meetings. The Parks Commission reported they are continuing on with their Earth Day projects and it's been very successful so far. Last week the Cub Scouts helped work on Veterans Park; we had two groups working at the Lane Property (Holman Street) removing invasive plants. This coming weekend we have more projects, we're going to be cleaning up around the Town Pound, then the week after is Wallace Park. More information is on the town website, Town Facebook page and also the Parks and Recreation page. The Parks Commission adjourned their meeting at 8:14 P.M. TOWN MANAGER REPORT Announcement on Existing Vacancies The following is a list of current vacancies on the following committees: • Lunenburg 300th Anniversary Committee (1 vacancy) • Finance Committee (1 vacancy) • Green Communities Committee ( 1 Associate vacancy) • Open Space Committee (1 member at large) • Personnel Committee (1 vacancy) • Zoning Board of Appeals (1 Associate vacancy) • Interested persons can find Volunteer Forms on the town website and completed forms can be sent to the Select Board office. Anyone that has any questions on volunteer opportunities can contact the Select Board's Office at (978) 582-4130 x 144. ===PAGE 6=== Ms. Lemieux reported on the Historical Commission membership; the way the bylaw reads is membership is up to seven member positions and they've always operated at five. They have contacted me about this because they don't want a seven member person committee, they operate well at the five members, so I think the best thing to do is a bylaw change to make it five members. The other two positions will not be advertised at this point. Current Employment Opportunities with the Town The following is a list of current employment opportunities with the Town: • Assistant to the Sewer Business Manager (24 hrs./wk) • Building Commissioner (36 hrs/wk) • Asst. Town Accountant (32 hrs/wk) • Digital Services Staff Librarian (20 hours/week) • Library Assistant (19 hours/week) • Police Offi cer (40 hours/week) • Seasonal Lifeguards (Seasonal) • Beach Director (Seasonal) • Videographer (2-10 hours/week) Status on Becoming "Age Friendly" Community Similar to becoming a Dementia Friendly Community, the COA Director, Land Use Director, Parks Chair, Library Director, Police Chief, and I have been working towards becoming Age Friendly. Our regional planning agency was assisting us this fall and where we left off with them has required the COA Director and me to regroup and try to get this over the finish line. The COA Director is working on the application and I will put together our commitment letter that accompanies the application to AARP. We hope to get this submitted over the next couple of weeks. Town Website Updates and Social Media: The new IT Administrative Assistant, Kara McCarthy, has been cleaning up the town website pages to make them more uniform. She has completed all the individual department pages and is now going through the Board/Committee pages. Kara and Casey from Suzor IT will be leading the migration to our new website through CivicPlus, which should take approximately 4-6 months. Kara also has been added to the Town Facebook page as an editor and has created a new town Instagram account called townoflunenburgma . 30 School Street Hazardous Abatement and Demolition The 30 School Street project has been progressing and the hazardous abatement is complete. Today the architect let the Facilities Director know that the Board of Health has put a hold on the demolition permit due to the old septic system. The BOH wants the town to remove it before they let the permit go through. The Facilities Director will be speaking to the BOH agent tomorrow. Ms. Lemieux provided an update related to Facilities/Grounds and Parks. The Facilities Director has been working on getting quotes to replace the water heater at the public safety building that is leaking. He will be proceeding with a contractor and that total project will be under $10,000. The Senior Center patio project will be put out to bid starting tomorrow and bids will be due on May 1st. The backstop at Marshall Park was damaged due to the last snowstorm and he's already had a contractor in place, I think maybe installed already and will include a pulley system so it'll be able to be taken down every season. The second floor of the building at McNally was demolished and there are some small minor repairs being made to the remaining structure. At 30 School Street all the utilities have been disconnected, the hazardous abatement has been completed and there were records that were still remaining in the building that the Town Clerk wanted to preserve so the Facilities Director worked with a contractor and those records were removed and they're cleaning them and we'll be storing them at our location at TCP. Meetings, Events, and Other Announcements: • The Finance Committee has a public hearing on the budget and articles on the ATM warrant on April 20, 2023 at 7 PM at Town Hall. • The Annual Town Meeting is Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 9 AM at the Lunenburg Middle/High School. • The Annual Town Election is Saturday, May 20, 2023 7 AM-5 PM at TCP. ===PAGE 7=== Ms. Lemieux reported the Assistant Town Manager, Payroll Coordinator, MIIA and I have all been working on doing a benefit and health seminar for all Town employees which includes school employees as well. That is going to be May 9th at the Middle/High school cafeteria. We are looking forward to that because I don't think the town has done one before. Status update on Capital Plan Projects from FY23 and prior Ms. Lemieux began with FY21; the highlighted yellow projects are all the projects that tally up to the unexpended capital amount being applied to the fiscal 24 Capital plan. Those are all projects closing out; there are some remaining amounts that there's a little bit of work that needs to be done around the fuel tanks, a little paving work that needs to be done, so the DPW has asked to retain that amount. The master plan amount of $50,000 is fully committed towards the Master Plan. The portable radio amount is being retained for now. It is our policy with amounts within the same fiscal year that if a project is over, we could use that remaining balance towards another project. We are going to going out to bid again on the carport reconfiguration project. Last time it was put out was during Covid, so prices were astronomical during that time; it came in at almost $300 000. We will try again and see what the market is like now. If we need to we can apply any of that portable radio money towards that. That's why it's being retained. The kitchen remodel project at the Senior Center is slated for the fall with Monty Tech. The remodel project at the Ritter Building is complete, so that's the balance of that project. FY2005-FY21 CP Fiscal year Dept. Project Name Appropriation Current Balance Notes FY 2005 Sewer Engineer and Construct Sewers $ 1,215,000.00 $ 440.17 Original vote was borrowing; closing out as unexpended borrowing FY 2014 Historical Chimney Repair - Town Hall - Historical Commission $ 5,575.00 $ 5,575.00 Advertising 1/11/23, Bids Due 2/23/23 FY 2016 Infrastructure Intersection Reconfiguration, Plan & Implementation $ 40,850.00 $ 8,800.26 Closing out and will be available for FY24 Capital Plan at ATM FY 2017 Police Police Department - Bullet Proof Vests $ 17,500.00 $ 17.67 Closing out and will be available for FY24 Capital Plan at ATM FY 2017 DPW Townsend Harbor Bridge $ 15,000.00 $ 5,100.00 Closing out and will be available for FY24 Capital Plan at ATM FY 2020 Police Patrol Rifles & Shotguns - Police Department $ 16,000.00 $ 1,034.00 Closing out and will be available for FY24 Capital Plan at ATM FY 2020 DPW Fuel Tanks $ 220,000.00 $ 1,887.00 FY 2020 Planning Master Plan $ 50,000.00 Will be used in conjunction with the additional FY23 CP funding for Masterplan to complete all chapters. Total project $153K, using all of th e $43,090 FY 2021 Police Portable Radios $ 45,000.00 $ 16,132.90 Project complete; either available towards other capital in FY21 or available for FY24 Capital Plan at ATM FY 2021 Facilities Carport Reconfiguration - Public Safety Building $ 135,000.00 $ 135,000.00 When bid in FY21 low bid was $298,750. Decided to hold off due to market. Now that Chiller is complete, Asst TM & Facilities Director will be rebidding soon. FY 2021 Facilities Kitchen Remodel - Senior Center $ 22,000.00 $ 20,615.00 Monty Tech will be making the new cabinets for this project but due to their schedule cannot begin until next school year. FY 2021 Facilities Kitchen Remodel - Ritter Building $ 12,000.00 $ 320.70 Project complete. $ 1,793,925.00 $ 194,922.70 11% Unexpended Capital to be Reappropriated $ 14,951.93 Ms. Lemieux moved on to the FY22 Capital Project Status. FY2022 Capital Plan CIP# Dept. Project Name Appropriati on Balanc e Status FD21- 01 Fire Turnout Gear 100,000.00 - Complete PD16- 07 Police Bulletproof Vests, 29 Officers 17,500.00 1,594.98 Complete; reserving for Ritter and Town Hall projects on FY22 Capital DPW17 -07 Highw ay 6-Wheel Dump, plow & sand/Repl.2005 International 211,000.00 1,164.00 Ordered 9/22; Est Delivery changed from fall of 2023 to Jan. 2024 FM17- 05 Town Faciliti es PSB, Chiller Replacement 150,000.00 5,954.00 Installation of Chiller complete; remaining invoice to be processed NFRA2 0-0 Highw ay Flat Hill Culvert Construction 428,500.00 394,210. 00 DPW/Engineer working on securing all easements. Will be put out to bid in spring 2023, Construction Fall of 2023 PD17- 02- B Police Police Vehicle, Marked Replacement 66,950.00 2,259.72 Complete; reserving for Ritter and Town Hall projects on FY22 Capital LPS20- 01 School s THES Exterior Envelope Repairs 67,000.00 - Complete; reserving for Ritter and Town Hall projects on FY22 Capital FM20- 03 Town Faciliti es Ritter, ADA Ramp Construction 127,500.00 127,500. 00 Facilities Director secured architect to update specifications, represent before APDC. Drawings estimated to be done by end o f April. FM21- 02 Town Faciliti es Town Hall Repairs- Vertex Year Items 2,3,5,6 69,425.00 59,975.0 0 Received 1 bid on 2/23/23 for approximately $300K ===PAGE 8=== NFRA2 1-0 Highw ay Page Street Survey/Design/Pe rmit 20,000.00 - Final Design plans and contract specs 90% complete FM21- 03 Town Faciliti es Ritter, Envelope Repair Projects in Vertex#6-12 120,000.00 115,910. 00 Facilities Director secured architect to update specifications, represent before APDC. Drawings estimated to be done by end o f April. PD20- 02 Police Police Vehicle, Marked Replacement 66,950.00 2,259.72 Complete; reserving for Ritter and Town Hall projects on FY22 Capital FM16- 05 Town Faciliti es PSB, Replace Carpet 1st Floor 55,000.00 55,000.0 0 Facilities Director secured architect to draw up specs Will put out to bid as soon as complete. FM21- 08 Town Faciliti es Marshall Park Masterplan 50,000.00 Conceptual Design Complete; $13,377 left from phase 1 will be used on schematic DPW21 -02 Highw ay 3/4 Ton Pickup with Plow 48,000.00 - Received Jan 2023 and now on the road. Total Capital Plan 1,597,825.0 0 765,827. 42 48% The highlighted projects are ones that are completed and those amounts could go towards any expended amounts. The chiller project minus about $1200 is complete, so that balance can go towards other projects. For the Flat Hill culvert construction project, right now we're working on all the easements with those abutting property owners and as soon as those are signed off on that can be put out to bid. Those specifications have been completed by our engineer. The Facility Director has secured an architect for the Ritter ADA ramp construction project, also related to the Ritter envelope repair project and the window project. The drawings are expected to be complete by the end of the month. The Town Hall repair project that we received one bid on February 23rd and was it approximately $300,000 for all the work for that project. That is on hold and will be reassessed by the Facilities Director and how to move forward. The Public Safety carpet project will be going out to bid shortly. The Facilities Director has secured architect for that project as well. Ms. Lemieux moved on to the Status of Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Projects: s FY2023 Capital Plan CIP# Dept. Project Name Appropriation Balance Notes INFRA21- 02 Infrastructure Page Street Culvert Construction $ 150,000.00 $ 146,289.37 Anticipated to be put out to bid in spring 2023; Construction to start summer 2023 DPW17- 08 DPW 10-Wheel, plow & sand Repl. 1994 Mack $ 250,000.00 $ - Ordered 9/22; Est. Delivery changed from fall of 2023 to March 2024 FM22-01 Infrastructure PSB Engineering Design for Drainage $ 25,000.00 $ 25,000.00 New Facilities Director will need to assess and whether concurs with previous that not needed. FM22-04 Facilities Senior Center, HVAC Upgrades $ 25,000.00 $ 25,000.00 New Facilities Director will need to assess GG22-01 Planning Boar Master Plan $ 110,000.00 $ 90.00 Contract awarded for $153K, using all but $90 of the $110K from this capital article DPW22- 03 DPW Two Way Radio System $ 35,000.00 $ 3,715.54 Ordered; Est. Delivery April 2023. PD22-01 Police Canine Replacement $ 24,250.00 $ 24,250.00 Officer Jack Wagner will be new K-9 handler; beginning process of procuring K-9 PD20-03 Police Police Marked Ford Interceptor Hybrid - Addition to Fleet $ 62,000.00 $ 13,388.00 Ordered 9/22; Delivered in March and needs to be upfitted. FM19-05 Facilities Town Hall Repairs- Vertex Year 2 Items 7-11 & 13 $ 96,000.00 $ 96,000.00 Need specifications drawn up by architect/engineering firm INFRA21- 05 Infrastructure Flat Hill Road Drainage Study $ 45,000.00 $ 40,197.00 McCarty Engineering submitted report of drainage study findings; Rec'd Village Trustees response to McCarty recommendations LPS19-05 Schools One Ton Dump Truck with Plow $ 58,833.00 $ - Ordered; Est. Delivery January 2023 GG22-02 Town Manage Records Retention $ 62,500.00 $ 62,500.00 Working on RFP DPW21- 01 DPW Utility Tractor/Rotary Mower Combo $ 170,000.00 $ - Ordered 9/22; Est. Delivery changed from May/June 2023 to April/May 2023 INFRA22- 03 Facilities Marshall Park Survey $ 25,000.00 $ 7,300.00 Project complete ===PAGE 9=== FM21-05 Facilities Senior Center, Vertex Items #4, 7 (1998 Roof Replacement) $ 35,661.00 $ 35,661.00 Need specifications drawn up by architect/engineering firm DPW17- 09 DPW One Ton Dump Truck with Plow $ 58,000.00 $ - Ordered 8/22; Est. Delivery end of April 2023 LPS19-10 Schools Mower $ 45,000.00 $ - Ordered FM21-06 Facilities Brooks House-Vertex Items #3, #4 Foundation $ 24,000.00 $ 24,000.00 New Facilities Director will need to assess PD16-14- 2 Police Police Marked Ford 150 Responder - Addition to fleet $ 67,805.00 $ 14,978.00 Ordered 9/22; Rec'd 4/6/23 and being upfitted. FM19- 08A Facilities Old Primary- Vertex Haz. Matls Abatement $ 371,000.00 $ 371,000.00 Awarded bid to Costello Dismantling; work expected to be complete by 5/8/23 FM17- 16B Facilities Senior Center, Install Generator $ 90,000.00 $ 90,000.00 Facilities Director working with electrical engineer and getting quotes. FM22-03 Facilities Senior Center, Outdoor ADA Patio $ 100,000.00 $ 100,000.00 Out to bid 4/12/23 due 5/1/23 LPS19-3- B Schools AC for Classrooms at Primary School $ 232,800.00 $ 232,800.00 On hold; School reassessing project after new estimates $ 2,162,849.00 $ 1,312,168.91 61% Ms. Lemieux began with the Page Street culvert construction; that is close to being complete as far as the specifications. The DPW director has been going back and forth with McCarty Engineering on those specifications, so that's getting closer. For the Public Safety building engineering design project, the Facilities Director still needs to assess whether that's needed; it was the assessment of the last Facilities Director that it wasn't needed, so I’d like his input as well before we abandon that. The Senior Center HVAC upgrades; the Facilities Director will need to work on that. He's been getting a lot done. For the Master Plan project, the balance remaining is $90.00. The two-way radio system for the DPW was ordered and the estimated delivery is April, so it should be any time now. There is no update on the canine replacement; Officer Jack Wagner is a new canine handler. The Ford Hybrid Cruiser is in and that's being upfitted. The other Town Hall repairs project needs specifications drawn up by an architect. We have a meeting on the 25th with all the stakeholders concerning the Flat Hill Road drainage study. The 1 ton dump truck for the schools was ordered and delivered. For the records retention, I'm working on an Request for Proposals (RFP). The utility tractor/rotary mower combo was ordered in September and the estimated delivery has been moved to April/May. The Marshall Park survey is complete and those funds will be used towards the work that WOLA and Meridian will do, so those are committed. The Senior Center roof replacement will need specifications, so the Facilities Director has that on his list. The 1 ton dump truck with plow was ordered and delivered in April and the mower for the schools was ordered. I don’t know if that was delivered yet. The Facilities Director will need to assess the Brooks House project as well for the foundation work. I was happened to be at the public safety building the day the Police Ford F-150 was delivered, so I got to see it first hand and Sergeant Tocci is working on the upfitting for that vehicle. The old Primary School hazardous materials abatement project was awarded to Costello Dismantling and that's expected to be done by no later than May 8th. The Facilities Director had an electrical engineer come in for the Senior Center generator project and that will be going out to bid shortly. I gave an update on the ADA patio tonight and those bids are due May 1st, and the AC at the classrooms for the Primary school we should be receiving correspondence from the schools on that. They would like to proceed with kind of like an alteration of that original plan. Discussion ensued about deviating from the original plan. Discussion on Fiscal Year 2024 Budget, Capital Plan, Annual Town Meeting Warrant articles, and Consent Calendar Ms. Lemieux reported there was an unpaid bill of $4000 from last fiscal year received today from Central Mass Storm water Coalition that has to be added to the warrant; this will come from free cash. This will increase the ===PAGE 10=== amount of free cash that we are using towards the budget which includes overlay, the capital plan stabilization, special purpose stabilization, OPEB, that prior year expense and the Historical Commission warrant article. Ms. Lemieux noted she has put together a list of non-controversial articles for the Consent Calendar. Article 1 we typically include in the consent calendar, but this year the Finance Committee didn't submit a report in the Town Meeting booklet. They discussed that their report would go into the Annual Report but the Annual Report is a one-year delay. So the thought I had today was maybe they could discuss the report under Article 1 which we typically just pass over. Articles that I am recommending to put in the Consent Calendar are: Article 2 - Revolving Funds article Article 3- the prior year expense as long as both Finance and Select Board think that's not an issue. Article 10- Stabilization Fund article Article 11- Special Purpose Stabilization Fund article Article 12- Town and Sewer OPEB deposits Article 15- Sewer Capital Reserve Stabilization Article 16- Solid Waste Disposal Program Enterprise Account Article 17- Water Enterprise Article 18- Public Access Enterprise Article 19- Cemetery Lots Sales of Cemetery lots account for $10,000 Article 20 - the Historical Commission's historic homes survey of $25,000 The board members had no issues with these articles being in the Consent Calendar. Mr. Jeffreys noted the upcoming meetings: April 25, May 2, May 6t (ATM), May 9, May 16, May 20 (ATE), May 23. PUBLIC COMMENT: Ms. Lemieux stated the goal of my public comment tonight is that I hope it will clear up some misinformation that has been mentioned both publicly and what I have been told. Comments have been made that I put a gag order on employees and that this was construed as I am either not being helpful or not allowing employees to do their job or that I was covering up something. I believe this stems from an email that I sent back on Thursday January 19th after the January 17th meeting held on the tax assessment issue at the middle/high school. I am aware that email that I sent to town employees was circulated to people who are not Town employees. I will read from that email for the rest of the public who has not seen it. “Good afternoon, at the Select Board’s meeting on January17th, the board addressed concerns related to the tax assessments at length and ultimately voted to proceed with the inquiry into an investigation of the matter pursuant to section 3-2, section e of the Town Charter. This email was to notify employees that the Town is not presently in a position to comment substantially due to the pending investigation. Employees are to direct all questions to the Chairman of the Select Board, Michael Ray Jeffreys and I and are not to comment on the matter. The Town through the Select Board will make every effort to share new information with the public as it becomes available. Sincerely, Heather” This was not a gag order for employees not to continue to do their jobs, but it was intended to notify employees that there was an investigation into this matter and communications about the investigation would be channeled through the principal investigator Chairman Jeffreys and myself. Just to add some more context to the situation at that time in the days following the January 17th meeting, we had the media calling our offices, approaching employees outside of Town Hall, including employees that didn't even work in the Assessor's Office. This was in no way intended that employees could not continue to do their jobs. I also want to clear up the misinformation that I directed the Board of Assessors that they could not handle the abatements. I had no such conversations with the Assessors individually or collectively. It has been known early on that due to the number of abatement applications expected that we would need to hire an outside consultant to conduct inspections and provide recommendations on abatement applications. This was discussed publicly at Select Board meetings. The board voted publicly to allocate funding from ARPA towards ===PAGE 11=== the investigation which included the cost to hire this consultant. It has also been stated publicly that requests for proposals were sent out once with no response and it was re-advertised. This was all done to support the Board of Assessors and getting through the over 400 abatement applications. I never stated nor insinuated or had a conversation with any of the assessors or staff that the assessors could not handle abatements. I've also said publicly that I have no jurisdiction over the Board of Assessors nor does the Principal Assessor nor does the Select Board; they are an elected body accountable to the voters. As I stated at the January 10th meeting I am sympathetic to the affected taxpayers and that I would help guide taxpayers through the process by relaying important information and seeking answers to your questions. To say this has been a difficult last three months is an understatement; a constant flow of foot traffic, emails, phone calls and follow-up was required of the Assessor's office, especially during those first few weeks. Our office was inundated with emails, various public records requests, countless hours have been spent assisting with the investigation, working with the relevant staff that is constantly being asked to provide answers to questions. All of this in addition to the normal daily/weekly/ annual responsibilities. My staff and I understand the urgency of the situation in individual situations. I ask the public to understand that we want to provide accurate, good information to questions and any important updates that may need to be addressed. This may not meet the expectations that information should be immediately available, it takes staff time and other competing priorities. Mr. Alonzo announced on Friday, April 28th at the Lunenburg Middle/High School auditorium it will be the Ninth Annual “Are You Smarter than a Sixth Grader,” Fundraiser for the Lunenburg Boys and Girls Club. I am absolutely thrilled to be back as host for this for the ninth year in this role. He encouraged everyone to attend this fun event. Mr. Jeffreys announced the board would be entering Executive Session. Motion: M. Jeffreys 2nd: T. Alonzo To enter into Executive Session and adjourn immediately following pursuant to MGL c. 30, Section 21, Paragraph 3, to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining, where an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government’s bargaining position and the Chair so declares. (Fire Union) Vote: Mr. Franco-aye, Mr. Alonzo-aye, Mr. Franco- aye *******************EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES ARE SEPARATE****************** The meeting adjourned at 8:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elaine M. Peterson Executive Assistant to the Town Manager