Select Board, June 3, 2025

The town published minutes (text) and an agenda for this meeting. Those minutes are the record; what follows is a guide to the recording.

budgetbudget fy27chapter 70contracts and unionseconomic developmentexecutive sessionfacilitieshiringlegallibrarypersonnelplanning and zoningpolicypublic commentrecreationroads and dpwseniorsstaffingstate aidtown departmentstown meetingwater sewer

Present: Caesar Nolo (also heard as "Mr. Nola") (chair); Brian Leighton (also heard as "Brian Lightning") (member); Missy (member); Jen (town manager). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 17:17Move for the town to raise the progress pride flag on Saturday, June 7th, to be taken down Monday, June 30th.passed unanimously
2. ▶ 23:37Appoint Mr. Laxo (Lassco/Yasco) to the Historical Commission, term to expire June 30, 2028.passed unanimously
3. ▶ 39:24Reappoint Jacqueline Chabat and Cara Mlen to the Agricultural Commission, terms to expire June 30, 2028.passed unanimously
4. ▶ 40:14Reappoint Anthony Scullenbriny and William Lloyd to the APDC, term to expire June 30, 2028.passed unanimously
5. ▶ 43:20Appoint Matthew Snyder to the Green Communities Committee, term to expire June 30, 2028.passed unanimously
6. ▶ 44:13Reappoint Alfred Grall, Donald Gurnie (associate), and Anthony Niccastro (associate) to the Zoning Board of Appeals, term to expire June 30, 2028.passed unanimously
7. ▶ 47:18Appoint Jen Duffy to the Bylaw Review Committee.passed unanimously
8. ▶ 47:48Appoint Caesar Nolo to the Bylaw Review Committee.passed unanimously
9. ▶ 51:26Appoint all individuals as presented by the town manager (annual department head, board and police appointments).passed unanimously
10. ▶ 51:45Ratify the town manager's appointment of Michael Gail as administrative assistant to conservation.passed unanimously
11. ▶ 53:04Ratify the town manager's appointment of Briana Bowser as seasonal lifeguard.passed unanimously
12. ▶ 53:47Ratify the town manager's appointment of Anthony Sessi as board clerk/secretary for the Parks Commission.passed unanimously
13. ▶ 1:06:19Approve the cash gifts from the women's club and the friendly seniors for the Lunenburg Adult Activity Center.passed unanimously
14. ▶ 1:06:49Declare 36 police department phones as surplus.passed unanimously
15. ▶ 1:08:50Authorize the chairman to execute the consent to sublease for New Cingular Wireless PCS LLC/AT&T under the Celco/Verizon tower lease.passed unanimously
16. ▶ 1:11:41Move not to recharge/recreate the budget task force for FY27.passed unanimously

And 1 procedural: enter executive session under mgl c.30 s.21a(3) to discuss collective bargaining strategy (ibpo local 353) and not reconvene in open session afterward. (▶ 1:33:13).

Against the town’s minutes

The town published minutes (text) for this meeting; ours were compared item by item. 9 agree, 10 caption errors resolved by the official reading, 3 substantive differences. The town’s minutes are a full record.

1. differsGreen Communities Committee: appointment or reappointment▶ 43:20

   recording Appoint Matthew Snyder to the Green Communities Committee, term to expire June 30, 2028. — passed unanimously

   town’s minutes “Motion by Member Lehtinen to reappoint Matthew Snyder to the Green Communities”

   Ours says appoint and the official minutes say reappoint; check the recording to see which word the motion used.

2. differsBudget Task Force: fiscal year▶ 1:11:41

   recording Move not to recharge/recreate the budget task force for FY27. — passed unanimously

   town’s minutes “Motion by Clerk Emkey to not recharge the Budget Task Force for FY26.”

   Both record the same passed vote but name different fiscal years (FY27 vs FY26); check the recording and the agenda title.

3. differsAttendee: 'Missy' as third member

   recording Missy (member)

   town’s minutes “Clerk Renee Emkey”

   Our minutes name a member only as 'Missy' and the official minutes name Renee Emkey as the third member present; check the recording to confirm the speaker is Emkey and not someone else.

Compared 2026-10-06. Neither record is treated as the referee: a caption error is the same fact heard badly; a difference is for a person to check at the timestamp.

The money

1. ▶ 10:19Friends of the Library annual sale and gift

   Announcement of the book/bake sale and preview membership, and that the Friends' proceeds annually give the library a sizeable gift.

   as heard:$25$40 to $50,000

2. ▶ 21:39Historical Commission survey grant (past work)

   An applicant described writing and securing a reimbursable state survey grant for the town, later approved by town meeting.

   as heard:$25,000

3. ▶ 55:49FY27 budget planning / tri-board meetings

   The town manager described a proposed schedule of joint select board, school committee, and finance committee meetings from July to January to build a three-year forecast and find efficiencies ahead of the FY27 budget.

4. ▶ 1:05:36Cash gifts to the Adult Activity Center

   The board accepted the annual cash gifts to the Council on Aging from the Women's Club and the Friendly Seniors, after clarifying which group gave which amount.

   as heard:$400500

5. ▶ 1:07:20Cell tower sublease consent

   The board consented, on counsel's advice that it had no standing to withhold consent, to Verizon subleasing tower space to Vertical Bridge for AT&T's equipment.

6. ▶ 1:11:41Budget task force for FY27

   The board decided not to recreate a budget task force, relying instead on joint tri-board meetings with staff to build the FY27 budget.

7. ▶ 1:14:56Board of Assessors FY26 growth and assessed values

   A committee report relayed the assessors' FY26 new-growth and assessed-value figures from their May 19 meeting.

   as heard:30 $333,84223 million400,000

8. ▶ 1:15:36Storm water utility fee structure

   The storm water task force reported it is still developing a tiered fee structure for a proposed utility and is awaiting further input from its consultant.

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 30:31Applicant Brian Venu will be connected with current committee members before returning June 17 to help him choose between Public Access Cable Committee and Historical Commission.
• ▶ 35:05Applicants Mark and Kim Muzzy will be connected with the storm water task force and agricultural commission chairs before deciding placement, returning June 17.
• ▶ 40:55Conservation Commission's four candidates for three seats will all be interviewed together on June 17 rather than split across two meetings.
• ▶ 39:54The board declined to consider a Leominster resident's interest in the APDC since they are not a Lunenburg resident.
• ▶ 41:58Cultural Council reappointments held off pending receipt of interest forms from the two current members.
• ▶ 1:04:55Town manager will check on the timing/status of sewer bill mailings and follow up with the board by email.
• ▶ 1:12:32Town manager will look into writing a letter to legislators regarding the Job Corps/Devens closing and the board may consider it further.
• ▶ 1:29:59Town manager will post the farmers market schedule to the town website.

Public comment

1. ▶ 6:15Urged the board to adopt a flag/religious-display ordinance and to decline the pride flag request until one exists, citing viewpoint neutrality concerns. — John Bowen, as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
2. ▶ 9:38Thanked the prior speaker and welcomed the two new select board members. — John Bowen Jr., as heard, resident, 162 Highland Street
3. ▶ 11:00Requested board approval to raise the progress pride flag at the town center flagpole for Pride Month. — Maryanne Mascary, as heard, resident, 54 Chestnut Street; Parks Commission member
4. ▶ 1:17:37Praised the cemetery committee's Memorial Day work, raised a possible storm water seepage concern near Towns Harbor Road/Hickory Hills, and asked about the land use/economic development director restructuring. — Dave Rogers, as heard, resident, 82 Highland Street
5. ▶ 1:28:57Announced the 2025 monthly farmers market schedule (Fridays, June-September) on the green by the library. — Jen Duffy, as heard, resident, 684 Flat Hill Road; Agricultural Commission (Adcom)
6. ▶ 1:30:45Flagged discrepancies in posted committee member term-expiration dates on the town website and confusion between "alternate" and "associate" member designations. — Dave Pacios, as heard, vice chair, Green Communities Committee

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• personnel36 min · 39%
• hiring33 min · 35%
• public comment31 min · 33%
• policy18 min · 19%
• budget fy2713 min · 13%
• staffing10 min · 11%
• planning and zoning9 min · 10%
• water sewer5 min · 5%
• legal4 min · 4%
• facilities3 min · 4%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:36Opening, pledge of allegiance, open meeting law noticeprocedural · 1:05 long
2. ▶ 1:41Chair's and public's opening comments (Memorial Day, town cleanup, Lake Shirley bigotry incident; Bowen on flag ordinance)informational, no vote · 8:17 long · public comment, policy
3. ▶ 9:58Announcements: Friends of the Library sale; communications from other boardsinformational · 1:02 long · library
4. ▶ 11:00Democratic Town Committee request to raise the progress pride flag for Pride Monthvoted, passed unanimously · 6:39 long · policy, public comment
5. ▶ 17:39New applicant interviews for boards/committees (Laxo, Venu, Mark and Kim Muzzy)one appointed (Laxo); others continued to June 17 · 20:52 long · personnel, hiring
6. ▶ 38:31Annual reappointment review across boards/committees (Agriculture, APDC, Conservation, COA, Cultural Council, Green Communities, ZBA, Bylaw Review, 300th Committee)several reappointed by vote; several deferred to June 17 · 10:19 long · personnel, staffing
7. ▶ 48:50Town manager's FY2026 annual appointments (department heads, police roster, etc.)voted, passed unanimously · 2:46 long · personnel, town departments
8. ▶ 51:36Ratification of town manager appointments (conservation admin assistant, lifeguard, parks clerk)voted, passed unanimously each · 2:32 long · personnel, hiring
9. ▶ 54:08Town manager's report: memorial ceremonies, Munis cloud conversion, FY27 tri-board budget schedule, ch.61B land notice, licensing software, training, Nashoba health clinics pause, goals workshop, recruitment updatesinformational · 9:24 long · budget fy27, hiring, planning and zoning
10. ▶ 1:03:32Board questions to town manager: Flat Hill bridge legal dispute and Munis/sewer billinginformational, no resolution · 1:43 long · legal, water sewer, roads and dpw
11. ▶ 1:05:15Acceptance of cash gifts for the Adult Activity Centervoted, passed unanimously · 1:24 long · seniors
12. ▶ 1:06:39Declaration of 36 surplus police department phonesvoted, passed unanimously · 0:20 long · town departments
13. ▶ 1:06:59Consent to cell tower sublease (Verizon/Vertical Bridge/AT&T)voted, passed unanimously · 2:06 long · contracts and unions, legal
14. ▶ 1:09:05Old business: sick bank policy, gift acceptance policy, tax investigation report, 56 Cara Sella parcel, and FY27 budget task forcebudget task force vote passed; other items deferred to full board · 3:06 long · budget, budget fy27, policy
15. ▶ 1:12:11Minutes, warrants, action items (Job Corps/Devens closing letter)no vote; town manager to look into it · 1:01 long
16. ▶ 1:13:12Committee reports: Municipal Building Design, School Committee, Board of Assessors, Storm Water Task Forceinformational · 3:24 long · facilities, chapter 70, water sewer
17. ▶ 1:16:36Upcoming meetings (goals workshop June 9, next meeting June 17)informational · 0:20 long
18. ▶ 1:16:56Closing public comment: town manager on the Lake Shirley incident; Rogers on cemetery, storm water, land use director; Duffy on farmers market; Pacios on committee roster discrepanciesinformational, no vote · 16:17 long · public comment
19. ▶ 1:33:13Vote to enter executive session for police union collective bargaining strategyvoted, passed 3-0, board entered executive session · 0:41 long · executive session, contracts and unions

What the captions could not carry

• Chair's surname rendered inconsistently as "Nola" and "Nolo"
• New board members' names rendered inconsistently: "Leton"/"Leighton"/"Lightning" and "Mcclair"/"Mccleair"/"Gavin Mloud"/"Glenn Mloud"
• The second roll-call voter's name heard only as "Missy", identity uncertain
• Applicant surname heard as both "Lassco" and "Yasco"/"Laxo"
• Several police roster names garbled (e.g., "Sergeant Paul The dulu", "Officer Anthony Kabuchi")
• Board of Assessors FY26 growth figures garbled ("30 $333,842", "23 million", "400,000") - relationship between the figures unclear
• Exact amount and recipient of the two Adult Activity Center gifts required on-the-record clarification during the meeting itself

Written 2026-09-27 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/select-board/2025-06-03-esXb-953bjA.json — 2,190 caption segments, sha256 b030ed8b86c6…. All recorded meetings.