===PAGE 1=== Select Board Minutes October 17, 2023 7:00 PM Present: Michael-Ray Jeffreys, Lou Franco, Tom Alonzo, Caesar Nuzzolo (via Zoom), Heather Lemieux Absent: Renee Emkey Chairman Jeffreys called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. He asked everyone to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. He 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, Facebook Live and the Public Access Facebook page and will be uploaded to the 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 - None ANNOUNCEMENTS Lunenburg Business Association hosting Annual Trunk or Treat Saturday October 28th 12 Noon – 3:00 PM at Lunenburg High School Upper Parking Lot. Registration is required. Halloween trick or treating will be October 31st from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Yard waste started last Saturday and will continue every Saturday until November 18th 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Youngs Road. Planning Board and Agricultural Commission will hold Public Hearing for the Special Meeting Articles on Monday October 30th at 6:00 PM in the Bilotta Meeting Room in Town Hall. Special Town Meeting is on November 14th at 7:00 PM in the Middle School High School Auditorium Finance Committee held their public hearing last week COMMUNICATION FROM OTHER BOARDS APPOINTMENTS 7:10PM One Day Entertainment License for American Graffiti, 113 Summer Street for 11/22/23 from 7:30 PM – 11:00 PM Todd Jennison, 129 Sunnyhill Rd is the Applicant requesting One Day Entertainment License for a three person band. Tom Alonzo made Motion to Approve the One-Day Entertainment License for American Graffiti at 1113 Summer Street for November 22,2023 from 7:30 PM to 11:00 PM. Seconded by Lou Franco. Roll call vote: Tom Alonzo, aye; Caesar Nuzzolo, aye; Lou Franco, aye; Michael-Ray Jeffreys, aye. ===PAGE 2=== INTERVIEWS / APPOINTMENTS / REAPPOINTMENTS / RESIGNATIONS Ratification of the Town Manager’s Appointment of Interim Conservation Administrators Charlotte Steeves and Bryanna Weigel Bryanna Weigel is currently the Conservation Agent for Sterling – 19 hours, and Rutland – 12 hours. She has her Master’s in Science and Geography and dual Bachelor’s degree in Geography Outdoor Recreation Planning and Spanish and is a Certified Storm water Inspector and has experience as a ecological technician providing support in Wetland delineations and updating bylaws and regulations. She is available 10 hours a week for Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Charlotte Steeves is currently full-time Conservation Agent and Assistant Town Planner for Lancaster. She has a Master’s in Biology and a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science and Management. Charlotte has received many scholarships and awards as well as participated in a handful of presentations and publications. She was employed by the US Geological Survey New England Water Science Center as a hydraulic technician and co-founded an environmental education platform. She is available to commit to remote work on Friday afternoons and attend Conservation meetings on 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. Both are temporary positions. Lou Franco inquired about both positions having coordinating meetings to streamline communication and yes there will be coordination efforts. Tom Alonzo made Motion to ratify the Town Manager’s Appointment as Interim Conservation Administrators Charlotte Steeves and Bryanna Weigel. Seconded by Lou Franco. Roll call vote: Tom Alonzo, aye; Caesar Nuzzolo, aye; Lou Franco, aye; Michael-Ray Jeffreys, aye. CURRENT BUSINESS Town Manager Report on Staffing: (Agenda items are out of order of meeting) Report on Staffing Shortages – Topics of discussion include how short staffed we are, causes, organization, current strategies, what more we can do and conclusion and next steps. Current vacant positions include - Principal Assessor (40hrs) - Assistant Meal Site Manager (19.5 hrs) - 2 Seasonal Cemetery Laborers (35hrs) - 2 Heavy Equipment Operators - Assistant to Sewer Business Manager (19 hrs) - Finance Director/Town Accountant (40 hrs) - Assistant Town Accountant (32 hrs) - Land Use Director (40 hrs) - Conservation Administrator (36 hrs) - Digital Services Librarian (20 hrs) - Library Outreach Assistant (14 hrs) - Police Sergeant (40 hrs) - 2 Videographers for Public Access ===PAGE 3=== Departments Subsidized by Consultants/Interim Appointments: Assessing Department (Interim Principal Assessor); Finance Department (Interim Finance Director); Interim Planning Consultant; Interim Conservation Administrators – total hours short of being fully staffed is 200 hours a week. Causes: Significant increase in retirements vs. people entering into municipal careers, employee turnover and current pay rates. Pay rates are confined by collective bargaining agreements and the salary administration plan. Changes to pay scales requires town meeting votes or collective bargaining negotiations. Staying within the budget is crucial, and current employers are counter-offering wages that exceed the town’s pay scale. The strong labor market and inflation reduce the number of applicants for public services jobs. There is a need to maintain pay equity among existing staff. Impact: Staffing shortages lead to decreased productivity, backlog of work, increased possibility of missed deadlines, and decreased quality of work. Financial implications include town board, resident, and business dissatisfaction. Overworked employees experience burnout, reducing morale and the ability to take on new programs and services. Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Recruitment efforts include advertising on various platforms: MMA website, Mass Hite, professional association websites, Indeed, town website, town bulletin boards, Facebook, Instagram, the Ledger, North Central Chamber of Commerce website, and job fairs. Consultants are contacted to fill gaps when necessary. Networking and cold calls are used to attract candidates. Retention Efforts: Town administration conducts wage studies to ensure competitive pay. Employee engagement surveys are conducted to understand and improve morale. Training programs are provided to develop skills. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and health and wellness programs are available. Efforts to improve work-life balance are prioritized. Future Steps: Address wages to offer competitive compensation. Define organizational mission and vision to enhance employee engagement. Create training and mentorship programs. Examine current staffing structure and budgeted positions. Build pathways for future employees by partnering with local schools and higher education institutions. Advocate for state programs and funding to support these initiatives. Board members expressed gratitude for the detailed report and acknowledged the significant efforts made to address staffing issues. Discussions included the importance of competitive pay, flexibility in training, and potential incentives for longevity and retention. C. Nuzzolo emphasized the importance of competitive wages and shared concerns about the financial well-being of town employees. L. Franco agreed. M. Jeffreys made concerns about pay structure for key positions, particularly those identified as undercompensated. Consider increasing hours for part-time positions to attract more qualified candidates. M. Jeffreys commented regarding the Cemetery Department being 53% understaffed. M. Jeffreys calculated the hours it takes yearly to mow the cemetery lawns and it takes 7.5 days to cut the North and South Cemeteries which equates to 600 hours of time cutting grass and we have structured ourselves to have 3,952 hours for the cemetery department to spend 600 hours cutting grass. M. Jeffreys questioned why we might need almost 4,000 hours to get 600 hours of work done. M Jeffreys continued to explore structural changes including assess the feasibility of separating the procurement function from HR responsibilities and consider the option of a full time procurement specialist. It was also mentioned to advocate for municipal workforce development by partnering with local schools and higher education ===PAGE 4=== institutions to create pathways for future municipal employees as well as, work with state representatives to advocate for funding and programs to support municipal workforce development. T. Alonzo commented there has never been a time where Lunenburg has had such a need for employees but external circumstances has caused a shortage as well as the need for balance in paying salaries and tax payers paying for these increases. H. Lemieux responded to Board comments to encourage managing expectations. Many other communities will allow a job posting to lapse to give the impression the position has not been vacant for extended periods of time and it takes a lot of effort to keep track of every job posting on every platform. Another component was engagement recognition – there have been comments from other committee meetings regarding employees not feeling appreciated and speaking with other department heads that issue is town wide. Board comments concluded to consider the presentation from the Town Manager and to start getting items scheduled to increase procurement efforts and increase current employee pay and morale. Select Board final recommendation votes on Special Town Meeting warrant articles and vote to sign warrants for posting Article 1: Related to budget adjustments. Board asked if there are final numbers. No, but H. Lemeiux received confirmation that the Town is able to amend the estimate for state aid at this town meeting so that increases our available surplus $120,000 and estimated increase in New Growth as well. There are 10 more properties the interim principal assessor is working on but looks like we could increase that estimate from 200 to 400. Board agreed until they get final numbers recommend to Defer. Article 2: Refer to prior year expenses. Defer until final numbers come in. Article 3: Refer to funds raised for the Collective Bargaining Unit for Municipal Employees. Defer until numbers come in. Article 4: Related to the special purpose stabilization fund. Michael-Ray attended the presentation before the Finance Committee and committee recommended to not approve the request 3 to 2. One member did not vocalize concerns but voted against it; another member had concerns in wanting to align ARPA funding with the capital plan and had specific objections to funds allocated for the Artisan schools which accounts for 7% of the funding. Another member expressed concern about the ARPA legislation itself which is an executive appropriation. Article 5: Refers to the transfer of $80,000 in opioid settlement stabilization fund; contingent upon the Town of Lancaster’s approval of 50% of the program and did get confirmation that Lancaster did approve that 50%. Tom Alonzo made Motion to approve Article 5; Seconded by Lou Franco. Roll call vote: T. Alonzo, aye; C. Nuzzolo, aye; L. Franco, aye; M. Jeffreys, aye. Article 6: Refers to the school’s request to transfer $232,800 from the Capital Plan to the Lunenburg School District to install ductless split climate control systems at the Lunenburg Primary School. Recommend approval 3 to 1. M. Jeffreys was looking for T. Alonzo to a vote for recommendation. T. Alonzo commented that votes are not cumulative. Article 7: Recommend Approval Article 8: Recommend Approval ===PAGE 5=== Article 9: Deferred Public Comment: Joan Pease, 11 Winter Green Ct, the water protection district warrant article has a procedural irregularity/inconsistency. For the purpose of this bylaw there are hereby established within the town of Lunenburg certain groundwater supply protection areas consisting of aquafers or recharge area zone 2 and certain protected areas beyond Zone 2 and area 3. These areas are delineated on a map entitled Lunenburg Water District Aquifer Protection Zones dated July 2021 which is hereby made part of the water supply protection district bylaw and is on file at the Town Clerk’s office. I am requesting that map be made part of the warrant article so that the government is transparent and all voters have an opportunity at home to see what the map references. Article 10: Recommend Approval Article 11: Refers to repairs on TC Passios roof. Recommend Approval Article 12: Recommend Approval Article 13: Recommend Approval Article 14: Recommend Approval Article 15: Deferred Article 16: Recommend Approval M. Jeffreys made Motion for the Board to accept and sign the warrant posting with the modifications discussed. T. Alonzo Seconded. Roll Call vote: T. Alonzo, aye; C. Nuzzolo, aye; L. Franco, aye; M. Jeffreys, aye. Approval of Minutes of August 15, 2023: L. Franco made Motion to accept the minutes for the meeting of August 15, 2023. Seconded by T. Alonzo. Roll call vote: T. Alonzo, aye; C.Nuzzolo, aye; L. Franco, aye; M. Jeffreys, aye. Warrants / Action Items Accounts Payable Warrant: $1,256,239.82 Committee Reports: Municipal Building Design Committee: Joint Meeting with the School Committee - Met Monday 10/16/23. The discussion primarily focused on the phased plan for the municipal building design, with particular emphasis on accommodating school offices in the Ritter building and constructing a new town hall at its site in phase one. Phase 2 involves renovating the Old Town Hall to include meeting rooms and office relocations. Phase 3 pertains to the TC Passios Community Center addressing structural and code-related issues. There was extensive discussion on the potential overlap between TC Passios and Turkey Hill in phase three. Considerations included building conditions, community needs, and financial implications of renovating versus building new. The School Committee expressed interest in potentially using TC Passios for a future school site, while exploring the suitability of Turkey Hill for community services. The board acknowledged the need for further community input and detailed analysis regarding the functionality and cost-effectiveness of TC Pasio and Turkey Hill for their respective roles. The discussion highlighted the importance of integrating community feedback and assessing building ===PAGE 6=== conditions comprehensively before finalizing plans. It was agreed that phase one and phase two should proceed first, with detailed planning and cost estimation. Further exploration of TC Pasio and Turkey Hill's roles will continue in subsequent meetings to refine the project scope and timelines. OLD BUSINESS UPCOMING MEETING / EVENTS SCHEDULE October 24th November 14th Special Town Meeting at 7 PM, LMSHS Auditorium L. Franco made Motion to adjourn. Seconded by T. Alonzo. Meeting adjourned 8:37 PM