# select-board — 13 documents, concatenated for reading and search # # This is a CONVENIENCE BUNDLE, not a source. Every document below is # published separately and byte-identically; cite the individual file, # whose path is given in each header, rather than this bundle. # Index of all boards: https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/minutes/INDEX.txt # The town's own scanned original is linked per document. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-01-08-agenda-4872.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-01-08 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-01-08-agenda-4872.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_01082013-4872 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-01-08-minutes-4872.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-01-08 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-01-08-minutes-4872.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01082013-4872 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 1/8/13 179673 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting room at Lown Hall as scheduled with David Matthews. Tom Alonzo, Steven M. deBettencourt, Paula Bertram, Carl (Ernie) Sund, and Town ManageRceVE & FILED Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT JAN 2 4 2013 ANNOUNCEMENTS LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE APPOINTMENTS Stanley R. Young, applicant for Constable - Mr. Young came before the BOS and explained his background and reasons for wanting to be appointed as Constable for the Town of Lunenburg Mr. Alonzo moved to approve the appointment of Stanley R. Young to the position of Constable in Lunenburg. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Borrego Solar Landfill Project - Ms. Speidel stated that she would like to update the board on the three solar projects together. Ms. Speidel said that the Borrego Project has been going on close to two years and that it is a Town initiated project at the landfill. In the beginning, the landfill was identified as being a good location to put a solar farm but they have found that although this location is good for aesthetic purposes it is not a good location for economic purposes. Borrego has worked diligently with Unitil and at this point in time they are awaiting the results of an Anti Islanding study, which was due on December 7, 2012, and Unitil has not delivered it to them as of this meeting. Lunenburg's Town Attorney, Rick Holland, has been in contact with Borrego and has reported that Borrego has lost interest in this project. They have put out a tremendous amount of time and money with this project and do not want to walk away from the project but would not object if the Town decided they did not want to move forward with this project The original project was hoped to be approximately 2MW and has been changed to . 75MW which is not economically feasible for anybody. The problem is that the Borrrego project needs to be cleared up before the Town can move forward with the Mass PV1 project. Ms. Speidel reported that back in October the Town had signed a PPA with EPG Solar to purchase credits from this project which is approximately IMW. The credits would be purchased at approximately 11.32 cents per KW which is a savings of about 33% over what is currently paid. The PILOT document has been drafted and the attorney's are in agreement with the document. The PILOT is currently with EPG and the property owner. This property is currently part of a bankruptcy filing and the bankruptcy court has to approve any land lease or purchase of this property which has slowed down this project. Back in December EPG informed Ms. Seidel that they had just completed an appraisal on the property which was required by the bankruptcy court, and the appraisal came back significantly less than what the property owner had expected. Due to the holidays, there has not been much progress made on this project. EPG cannot move forward until the property owner signs off on the PILOT but they believe that they can still meet the May 31, 2013 build out deadline. Ms. Speidel reported on the Mass PV1 project which would be a 2MW facility. On November 13" the BOS met with representatives from Mass PV1 and at that time agreed to purchase the credits from .5MW with the option to purchase up to the full 2MW's. The board has 90 days to act on that action which will expire on February 13, 2013. Ms. Speidel feels that from an economic point of view it would be more advantageous to purchase credits from this project because they are looking to sell at a better rate of .9 cents per KW hour which would save approximately 47%. ===PAGE 2=== Ms. Speidel has had conversations with the Town of Townsend about purchasing credits from this project and they seem to be interested. She also met with the Water District about purchasing credits but they are not interested because they currently have a better rate. Mass PV1 has also been out talking to other communities about the purchase of credits from this project which could be to our benefit as well. Lunenburg has agreed to purchase SMW's but Mass PV1 would like to sell all of the credits to Lunenburg. If Lunenburg does not purchase the remaining 1.5MW's then Mass PV1 will be responsible for selling them elsewhere. Attorney's for the Town and for Mass PV1 have been reviewing the language in both the PPA and the PILOT and are in agreement that it is satisfactory. Board members were in agreement that the Town needs to walk away from the Borrego Project although Mr. Sund felt that he would like Borrego to initiate the conclusion of the project. He would also like to investigate further the cost savings for purchasing more credits from Mass PV1. After lengthy discussion among the Board members Mr. Matthews asked Ms. Speidel to contact Borrego concerning the termination of that project. In regards to the EPG Solar Project, for the time being nothing will be done at this point in time but EPG will be reminded that the PPA is dependent on the PILOT. As for Mass PV1 they still have a month to act on this project and will continue to investigate the purchase and sales of net metering credits. 2. Review and/ or Execute Power Purchase Agreement and PILOT Agreement for Solar and Mass PV1 and/ or PILOT Agreement for EPG Solar - Discussed under Borrego Solar Landfill Project. 3. CORI Administrative Procedures - Ms. Speidel stated Attorney Terry is still in the process of drafting the Administrative Procedures and hopefully she will be in receipt of these sometime next month. Attorney Terry is also in the process of drafting the Health Insurance Regulations which should be received sometime this month. There will be a meeting regarding Health Insurance on January 22° at the regularly scheduled BOS meeting. 4. FY14-18 Financial Forecast - Tabled until 1/15/13 meeting. 5. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: None Warrants: Payroll Payroll Deduction Accounts Payable W#14P13 W# 36-13 W# 37-13 $648,380.05 $158,822.04 $512,307.20 Action File Issues: None 6. Committee Reports - Mr. Sund reported that the Capital Planning Committee will be meeting tomorrow and they will be discussing the Capital Requests. Mr. Sund reported that the Cable Committee met last evening. They are still working on the new studio at the T. C. Passios School Building and are now filming the High School basketball games along with pod casts from the Middle School. Mr. Alonzo reported that the Finance Committees first meeting of the new year will be this Thursday at the Town Hall at 7PM. Mr. Matthews reported that the Superintendent presented her recommended budget at the School Committee meeting last Wednesday and he reviewed the figures with the BOS. Mr. deBettencourt reported that although he has not been to a Sewer Commission meeting he has watched them on the T.V. Some of the recent discussions have been regarding illegal tie-ins and they are working on the contract with the City of Fitchburg. ===PAGE 3=== Ms. Bertram reported that she along with the DPW Director had met with George Snow from MRPC and reviewed the list of roads in Lunenburg that are eligible for Federal funding. She said that it was a very encouraging meeting. 7. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports - Ms. Speidel reported that she along with Mike Mackin, Loxi Calmes and John Londa had attended a meeting in Boston today as the local representatives to the School Building Committee Designer Selection Panel through the MSBA. They solicited proposals from architects for the feasibility and schematic design phase portion of the school building project. They received ten proposals, reviewed them, and identified the top three proposals as, Ai3 Architects LL.C from Wayland, Symmes Maini & Mckee Associates Inc. of Cambridge and Tappe Assoicates Inc. of Boston. All three will be interviewed at a Designer Selection Panel meeting on February 5 in Boston where they will be ranked. Ms. Speidel presented the BOS with two licenses to be signed which were approved at the last meeting, but were not signed at that time. Town Manager Reports- a. Services Available at Townsend Transfer Station - Ms. Speidel reported that the Townsend transfer station, located at 33 Greenville Rd is accepting Christmas trees for disposal. The Townsend Station is open every other Saturday, is open to surrounding communities, and for a fee will take a variety of items. AKS Management Transfer Station in Fitchburg will also accept the trees for a $10 fee. Ms. Speidel reviewed the Executive Summary from the Regional Dispatch District with the BOS. A Director had been hired and began work last week. They are still awaiting decisions on a couple of grants and construction of the building is moving along as planned. Posting of a Dispatch Supervisor and Dispatchers will begin over the next couple of months. Ms. Speidel along with the Lunenburg Fire & Police Chiefs will be meeting to discuss what they will be doing to staff the Lunenburg Public Safety Building when the Dispatch building is complete. Any savings from joining the Regional Dispatch District will be going back into the Public Safety Building. Ms. Speidel updated the BOS on the progress of Eagle Heights. RCAP Solutions has expressed concern that they feel less certain that there will be funding available to them. They would like to pursue some State programs and have set a meeting with Senator Flanagan. Ms. Speidel will review the results of the meeting and report on it at a later date. Ms. Speidel stated that the Town has been presented with an opportunity to take another look at the Right of First Refusal on the Arrows property. Town Counsel had sent a letter to the BOS advising them of this right and the new purchase price is $2.1M. The property is in Chapter and the BOS has a certain time period to act on its First Right of Refusal. Based on when Counsel was notified of this opportunity it was determined that the Town has until March 29, 2013 to act on this matter. Ms. Speidel had prepared a draft of events that would need to happen, assuming the BOS is interested in holding a Special Town Meeting to ask the Town to consider acting on this Right of First Refusal which would need to be scheduled on March 12, 2013. Ms. Speidel reminded the BOS of the two current APR applications which will be going through this process and if this board was interested in participating in the APR they would also need to go to Town Meeting. Ms. Speidel hopes that the appraisals from the State on these two applications will be received this month and when she prepared this schedule to accommodate a Special Town Meeting, she tried to push it as close to this deadline to give as much time possible to prepare for the APR applications as well. After discussion it was determined that the APR applications can wait until Annual Town Meeting in May and the BOS will set a meeting with the Planning Board, and Conservation Commission to see if they feel the Arrow property should be protected, before they bring this item to Special Town Meeting for a vote. OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - Mr. Matthews reminded everyone that there is an opening on the Planning Board and the posting of this opening will run through the 31% of January. PUBLIC COMMENT - None ===PAGE 4=== EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business, Mr. deBettencourt moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Alonzo seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Meeting ended at 8:35PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE January 15, 2013 January 22, 2013 Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-01-15-agenda-4873.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-01-15 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-01-15-agenda-4873.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_01152013-4873 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN January 15, 2013 7:00 PM – Town Hall Bilotta Meeting Room, Second Floor AGENDA 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS CURRENT BUSINESS 1. MRPC Presentation of Priority Development/ Prese rvation Areas Report 2. FY14 – 18 Financial Forecast 3. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 4. Committee Report 5. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE January 22, 2012 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-01-15-minutes-4873.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-01-15 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-01-15-minutes-4873.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01152013-4873 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 1/15/13 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting room at Town Halt as scheduled with David Matthews, Tom Alonzo, Carl (Ernie) Sund, and Town Manager Kerry Speidel. Not Present was Paula Bertram & Steven.M. deBettencourt Regular Meeting opened at 7:01 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT Mir. Sund stated that he had gone to an internment ceremony today for his 98 year old uncle who had recently celebrated his 70* wedding anniversary and was a decorated World War II Veteran. The BOS gave their condolences to Mr. Sund. Mr. Matthews explained to the public about the letters that have been sent out from Colonial Power letting customers know that the Energy Purchase Plan had been put on hold until the market rates have improved. Ms. Speidel mentioned that she had been contacted by Colonial Power and they advised her that the rates are starting to go down and they do expect within the next few weeks that they will be bringing a better alternative to the customers. ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS CURRENT BUSINESS 1. MRPC Presentation of Priority Development/Preservation Areas Report - Representatives from MRPC, John Hume, Planning & Development Director, Renee Marion, GIS Analyst, and Glen Eaton, Executive Director, came before the BOS at the request of the Lunenburg Planning Board to make a presentation on the assist in any future Master Plan efforts. Benson, Lunenburg Planning Director also assisted with this undertaking. This report included the following items: • Population Characteristics • Employment in Lunenburg • Education • Economic Sector Contribution to Local Tax Base • Brownfields • Chapter 43D Sites • Open Space and Recreation • Transportation • Environmental and Development Characteristics of Land by Zoning District MRPC Proposals and Recommendations for the Town of Lunenburg to prosper were as follows: • Establish a Local Economic Development Committee • Work to Foster Redevelopment of Brownfields • Implement the OSRP (Open Space & Recreation Plan) • Develop a Computerized Database of Available Commercial Properties • Work to Facilitate Existing Permitting Process • Strategically Locate Areas for Infrastructure Improvements Consider ways to Guide Development - Perhaps Conduct a Route 2A Corridor Analysis • Coordinate Development Activity with Lane Owners • Support Local Businesses. ===PAGE 2=== MRPC and the Planning Board will schedule a meeting for next week to keep this project moving forward. After the presentation, the BOS thanked MRPC and all who were involved in the development of this report. 2. FY14 - 18 Financial Forecast - Ms. Speidel began her FY14-18 Financial Forecast by thanking all who were in attendance this evening. She mentioned that it was good to have MRPC there to give their presentation earlier this evening because it showed that the Town needs more money and economic development is a way to bring more to the community. It is projected to be going into the budget season with a $226,912 deficit just to maintain the level of services that are in place for the current fiscal year. Ms. Speidel commenced with a Power Point presentation which included the following: Why Forecast? • Best Financial & Management Practices • Required by Town's Charter, Section 4-2 (s) • Bond Rating Agencies look favorably upon communities that annually prepare a forecast document Forecasting.y. Budgeting • Forecast provides a long-term and comprehensive financial perspective on service delivery both known information & hypothesis (assumptions) • Budget is a specific plan detailing service delivery in the coming fiscal year Goals of Forecasting • Gain a Long-term perspective/basis for planning • Determine whether fiscal problems are on the horizon • Time to plan for change, favorable or unfavorable • Reinforce the need for long-range considerations during the annual budget process Forecasting-Key Concepts • Projections are not inalterable prophecies, but merely guidelines which may be adjusted as necessary • Once you develop baseline projections, it's relatively easy to adjust the underlying assumptions to address issues • Forecasted shortfall does imply that some action will be taken, or at least planned, to avoid the financing problem *changes made in FY13 Budget had a dramatic effect on "Current Conditions" Forecast, but what is the cost of continuing at this reduced level? *were those adjustments made just to balance the budget or do they reflect community acceptance of less? Forecasting Guides & Tools • MGL, Town Bylaws, other Generally Accepted Standards • Financial Policies Trends Analysis Debt Service Schedules Union Contracts • Assumptions MGL, Town Bylaws, or other Generally Accepted Standards MGL governs labor, employee benefits, & requires delivery of certain service Town Bylaws require delivery of certain services; enforcement of bylaws GAAP/GASB standards, in. manning standards, etc. • • • Net School Spending Library Certification to receive State Aid What about other services that aren't mandated? Are they any less important? COA Financial Policies Financial Management Policies & Objectives adopted by the Board of Selectmen July 2004 ===PAGE 3=== • Address: *Operating budgets vs. Capital Program *Free Cash *Stabilization Fund *Borrowing Union Contracts • IBPO, Police AFL-CIO, Dispatchers • Various School (Teachers) IAFF, PFFM, Fire • AFSCME, Clerical IUONA, Public Works (2) 2014 2013 2014 2014 2014 2012, 2013 Assumptions for Financial Forecast-FY14-FY18 Service Levels Future of the local economy • • Revenue structure Cost of Services Assumptions - Service Levels Forecast document will adhere to adopted financial policies - Stabilization Fund & Capital Expenditures (inc. debt service) Mr. Matthews interjected at this point and stated that the Stabilization fund is often referred to as the "rainy day" fund but this fund is more of a financial tool that shows the lending companies that we have a basic idea of running a stable government here. Keeping it at the 5% has saved us thousands of dollars in borrowing costs because we end up with a better credit rating which we work very hard to get to. It is significantly important that we maintain this good credit rating. • Forecast document will honor all contractual obligations, such as debt service schedules and union contracts • Current Conditions Forecast • Needs Forecast Assumptions - Revenue • Revenues Prop ry 0 crease a 1, manding exemp co down lakes, is forecaon.com settlement; casino licenses *Available Funds - no use of Stabilization Fund to fund operating costs; Free Cash to increase Stabilization Fund *Local Receipts - assumes 2.5 % growth; MVX *Enterprise Revenue- will continue to fully fund enterprise operations Assumptions - Cost of Services • Two Scenarios - Current Conditions & Needs • Even after all the "cutting" in FY13, still projecting a shortfall • Current Conditions • FY2014 = (226.912) • FY2015 = (308,522) • FY2016 = (306,752) • FY2017 = (298,158) • FY2018 = (250,084) Needs (2,069,277) (2,884,504) (2,820,137) (4,074,667) (4,819,718) ===PAGE 4=== Assumptions - Current Conditions • All Administrative/Land use Offices continue to operate on a four day work week. • Council on Aging on a 4 day schedule: additional funding for either Outreach or transportation. $7k • Increase Library funding in order to maintain its certification. $9k • LPS funding up 3.8% to account for loss of Shirley Tuition, Increased SPED Tuitions: Insurances. $587k • Monty Tech Assessment up 3.5% to account for Insurances & Transportation. Assumes level enrollment. $24l • Solid Waste Removal, Municipal Buildings $13k Additional Research on Cost of Recycling Progran • Lower Personnel Cost in LPD due to retirements • NVRDD Assessment savings used to cover Lobby and/or enhancements • No funding for Pavement Management System, other than Ch. 90, but $50k for Crack Seal Program • Reduce Unemployment to $25k, historic level • Health Insurance, premium increase of 3% offset by reduced enrollment & reduced penalty for Medicare Part B, overall net reduction or $67k, further cost savings measures to be proposed 1/22/13 • Fund Sick Leave Buyback benefit, first funded in FY13, overall liability $200k, consider early buyback • Increase General Reserve Fund from $50k to $75k, represents 0.25% of exp. • Increase Stabilization Fund to required 5% minimum, $287k • CIP funded at $500k; can't maintain this level moving forward, unless we borrow for Fire Trucks & Other Equipment • Retirement Assessment 9% increase Assumptions - Needs Forecast • FY14 Resources Coordinator. $40k (restore in different form) • FY14 Police Sergeant. $68k • FY14 Laborer, DPW. $38k (restore) • FY15 Police Officer. $54.5k • FY15 Laborer, DPW. $39k (restore) • FY17 Police Officer. $57k • Increase Fire Dept. funding $50k per year to cover station at times not currently covered • FY14, increase Snow & Ice Account closer to historic spending levels. $50k • LPS, Use Superintendent's Recommended Budget & Forecast • Increase Health Insurance for restored/new positions • Additional funding for CIP for Fire Trucks • Pavement Management Plan. $800k Making the Case for Needs A slide was shown showing a residential road in Lunenburg which is in significant need of repair. Ms. Speidel felt that she did not need to add words to this slide. A Snow & Ice Budget graph slide was shown representing a 10-year History of Snow & Ice Removal • Capital Improvement Plan FY14 - Street Sweeper, Ambulance $395k FY15 - Engine 1 (1991), $550k FY16 - FY17 - Pumper Truck (1995), E4, $650k FY 18 - Ladder Truck (1988), L-1 $850k • Can haggle over when these items need to be replaced, but not that they need to be replace • Fire Department coverage is M-F, 6AM-6PM only • Increased funding for Fire Department, $50k per year • Up to $50k - Summer Weekend Day coverage plus all holidays & holiday weekends • Up to $150k - Full Weekend Coverage + holidays • Up to $200k - 24 hour/7 day per week coverage with Per Diem @ 2 Personnel ===PAGE 5=== A slide was shown depicting Non-School Department FTE's (based upon a 40 hour work week) • LPS, refer to Superintendent's Proposal • Human Resources Coordinator, restore in a different form, a position funded up until FY13 • Police Staffing Levels Forecast - Next Steps • Detailed discussions of Assumptions • Investigate & Finalize Cost Savings Measures *Health Insurance Plan Changes *Net Metering Tax Credits *Other Mr. Matthews re-capped the Forecast and said that it's not an attempt to make residents or department heads fearful but instead to give an accurate description of what is going on with the Town's finances. He stressed that it's easy to balance the budget and make cuts, until you see the impacts of them. We want to live within our means, which we can do, but it comes with a price, and our goal is to make people understand how we get to the place that we make these decisions. Mr. Sund thanked Ms. Speidel for coming up with this Forecast along with all of the other departments for their work on their budgets. Mr. Alonzo would like to see discussions started among the BOS concerning the assumptions regarding whether or not we agree with them, if they are taking the Town in the right direction financially, and what would need to be changed to take the Town in a positive direction. He believes that the department's "Needs Forecast" is not a "Wants Forecast" and they are truly what the Town needs to perform the services that people expect. Mark Ericson, Chair of the Finance Committee spoke to the BOS and thanked the Town Manager for pulling of this intormation together. He said that it you look at the currant conditions summary we have a challenge getting to : balanced budget. It will be painful again this year, everyone needs to understand that and they look forward to th deliberations and we need as much public input as we can get to solve this problem. Mr. Matthews thanked the Town Manager for all of her work and said that he appreciates the effort. 3. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 12/11/12 Executive Session 12/11/12 1/8/13 7/12/11 Warrants: Payroll Accounts Payable Payroll Deduction 15P13 38-13 39-13 $615,924.96 $311,892.51 $543,395.04 Action File Issues: None 4. Committee Reports - Mr. Sund reported that the Capital Planning Committee will be meeting tomorrow at the Public Safety Building and they will be inspecting potential new vehicles for the Police Department. 5. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports - None OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - ===PAGE 6=== PUBLIC COMMENT - Mr. Sund reminded everyone again about the Capital Planning meeting at the Public Safety Building tomorrow. Mr. Alonzo thanked all of the people from the different departments in attendance at this evening meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business, Mr. Alonzo moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote motion carried, 3 in favor, 0 opposed. Meeting ended at 8:41PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE January 22, 2013 Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-01-22-agenda-4874.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-01-22 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-01-22-agenda-4874.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_01222013-4874 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN January 22, 2013 7:00 PM – Town Hall Bilotta Meeting Room, Second Floor AGENDA 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Consider Execising Right of First Refusal, Aro P roperty 2. Consider setting a date for a Special Town Meeti ng & Special Town Election 3. Discussion of Health Insurance issues with Advis or & MIIA Account Manager 4. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 5. Committee Report 6. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1. Appoint Shelley McCaie, Treasurer-Collector, to Senior Tax Workoff Committee 2. Appoint Jean M. Larkin to Senior Tax Workoff Com mittee EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE February 5, 2013 February 12, 2013 February 19, 2013 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-01-22-minutes-4874.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-01-22 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-01-22-minutes-4874.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01222013-4874 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== : BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 1/22/13 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting room at Town Hal Tom Alonzo, Carl (Ernie) Sund, Paula Bertram, Steven M. deBettencourt and Town Manager Kerry Speidel. Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Consider Exercising Right of First Refusal, Aro Property - Ms. Speidel informed the Board that the Conservation Commission and Planning Board have both submitted their recommendations on the Aro property as follows: The Planning Board recommends that the town acquire the property, due to the financial impact on the town for developing in that part of town, and the impact on town services and infrastructure. The Conservation Commission stated that this property is at the head waters of Mulpus Brook and any disturbance in the flow of or pollution of this water would have a devastating affect on anything downstream. This would include but not limited to vegetation, wild life, and areas that feed off of the brook that includes Hickory Hills Lake. Any disturbance in the flow could result in stagnant waters in the lake and would also reflect in the condition of the area and the values of homes that are there. Acquisition of this land would give the Conservation Commission access to a now land locked parcel and would allow the land to stay in its natural state to be used by the residents of Lunenburg for passive recreation. Mr. Matthews reminded everyone that this property had been before the BOS several years ago to exercise First Right of Refusal and it was passed on due to the cost of the property. The developer has negotiated a new price with the property owner which is $2.1m for 147 acres of land. After due and diligent discussion among the BOS members they were in agreement that although there is much value in acquiring this property the Town cannot afford to purchase this property at this time. They felt that this matter should be brought to a Special Town Meeting to let the residents of Lunenburg decide whether or not the town should exercise right of first refusal on the Ato property. Ms. Speidel informed the board that the cost to hold both the Special Town Meeting and Special Town Election would be between $4k and $5k. Rennie Shattuck, 396 Howard St. spoke to the BOS and stated that he lives in the middle of the property which is being discussed. He said that 5 years ago the debate was whether or not to buy 50 acres of conservation land and now the debate is if the town can afford to buy over 100 acres. Mr. Shattuck asked if the town can afford not to purchase this property. He believes that if this property is sold to a developer it would triple the number of properties in the area and the current residents of Howard St. would be severely inconvenienced by the building of this development. He also questioned how the town could afford the maintenance of roads, sewerage, etc. Ms. Bertram made a motion to move forward with the Special Town Meeting to consider exercising the Towns Right of First Refusal on the Aro property. Mr. Alonzo seconded. On vote motion carried, 3 in favor, 2 opposed (Sund & deBettencourt). Mr. Matthews reminded everyone that setting the date for the Special Town Meeting does not mean that the BOS agrees to purchase this property but rather it opens it up for the Townspeople to make that decision. ===PAGE 2=== 2. Consider setting a date for a Special Town Meeting & Special Town Election- Mr. Alonzo moved to set the dates of March 12, 2013 for the Special Town Meeting and March 16, 2013 for the Special Town Election. Mr. deBettencourt seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Mr. deBettencourt moved to open the warrant for the Special Town Meeting this evening to be closed at the close of business on Tuesday January 29, 2013. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. 3. Discussion of Health Insurance issues with Advisor & MIIA Account Manager- Ms. Speidel introduced Sue Shillue, Health Insurance Advisor from Cook & Co. and Larry Tereso, MIIA Account Manager who came before the BOS to make a power point presentation concerning the Health Insurance Overview. Ms. Speidel began the presentation which covered the following topics: Basic Concepts Section 19-Public Employee Committee (PEC) Health Insurance ReformFY13 Estimated Costs Maximum Possible Savings Health Insurance Reform Health Insurance Reform Available Options Plans for Active Employees Plans for Retirees Next Steps Projected Census Mr. Tereso made available to this evenings meeting participants a spreadsheet handout depicting the MILA Smart Choice Active Plans / Available Options and reviewed it with them. At the end of the presentation Mr. Matthews spoke and said that we do not want to lose sight of the positive working relationship that we have with the employees, PEC, and the Town but we also need to look ahead as to how to better serve he residents of the town and manage costs and not at the expense of positions. He looks forward to having this discussior and would like it to be an agenda item for the next BOS meeting. 4. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 12/18/12 12/11/12 Executive Session 12/11/12 1/8/13 7/12/11 Warrants: 1/22/13 W#40-13 $502,439.64 Action File Issues: Mr. Sund mentioned that the flag at the Upper Common has been removed and that the flag at Lower Common is still flying unlit. He also mentioned that the service flag at Veteran's Memorial Park is missing and would like something done with the rest of the flags so that they are not damaged in the winter. 5. Committee Reports - Mr. Sund stated that the Capital Planning Committee will be meeting tomorrow at the DPW bulding. They have reviewed the Departments requests but have not finalized anything yet. The viewing of the nev police cruisers has been rescheduled to January 30"h at the Public Safety Building at 9:30AM 6. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports - Ms. Speidel presented the BOS with a previously approved license that needed to be signed. OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - 1. Appoint Shelley McCaie, Treasurer-Collector, to Senior Tax Workoff Committee 2. Appoint Jean M. Larkin to Senior Tax Workoff Committee ===PAGE 3=== Ms. Speidel stated that Ms. McCaie, as the Treasurer-Collector, needs to be appointed to the Senior Tax Workoff Committee and that the Committee has also approved the appointment of Jean Larkin. Ms. Bertram moved to appoint Shelley McCaie and Jean M. Larkin to the Senior Tax Workoff Committee. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. PUBLIC COMMENT - EXECUTIVE SESSION - Mr. Matthews stated that the BOS will be going into Executive Session not to return citing MGL Chapter 30A Section 21a Subsection 5 to investigate charges of criminal misconduct or to consider the filing of criminal complaints. Mr. Alonzo moved to go into Executive Session. Ms. Bertram seconded. The Chair called for a roll call vote, Ms. Bertram, aye; Mr. deBettencourt, aye; Mr. Sund, aye; Mr. Alonzo, aye; and Mr. Matthews, aye. Meeting ended at 8:15PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE February 5, 2013 ebruary 12, 201 ebruary 19, 201 Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-02-05-agenda-4875.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-02-05 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-02-05-agenda-4875.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02052013-4875 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-02-05-minutes-4875.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-02-05 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-02-05-minutes-4875.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02052013-4875 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== : BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 2/5/13 Ai751l Sad The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting roon at Town Hall as scheduled with David Matthews, Tom Alonzo, Cari (Ernie) Sund, Paula Bertram, Steven M. deBettereourt and Town Manager Kerry Speide Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS Tom Alonzo announced that the Boys & Girls Club of Lunenburg will be holding a fundraiser at Lunenburg High School on March 7* at 7PM called "Are You Smarter Than a 6 Grader" and encouraged the public to attend APPOINTMENTS 1. 7:00 p.m. - Request for Gasoline Storage Permit, 134 Leominster/Shirley Road/SMD Development LLC - Mr. Matthews read into record the Public Hearing Notice to Abutters on the application of SMD Development, LLC for keeping, storing and selling 35,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel underground on the property located at 134 Leominster/Shirley Road. Carolynn Parker, representing SMD Development, LLC came before the BOS to make the request for a gasoline storage permit for 134 Leominster/Shirley Road. She stated that they have already been approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Planning Board, and the Conservation Commission. A Fire Suppression plan has been submitted to the Fire Department which has been signed off on by the Fire Department but in order to gain approval by the State Fire Marshall a permit for underground storage must be approved by the BOS. She went on to explain the construction of the tanks and commented on the good reputation of the developer Ms. Parker made a request from the developer asking for 40,000 gallons rather than the 35,000 which was previously applied for. Ms. Speidel stated that if there were to be a change in the application then the abutters would need to be notified and the process would need to be done again for applying. Ms. Parker responded that the 35,000 application would be sufficient. Ms. Bertram mentioned that she thought the Planning Board had made a requirement as part of this permit that the applicant would be required to acquire a bond which would protect the Town financially in the event that the business should go under and the tanks needed to be removed. Ms. Parker stated that it was a State Law that if a gas station goes out of business the tanks must be removed within six months and if there was a bond discussed as part of this permit it would be taken care of by the owner. Mr. Alonzo moved that with the added stipulation of a bond requirement the application for in ground gasoline storage be approved. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Review and/or Execute Power Purchase Agreement and PILOT Agreement for Solar for Mass PV1 and/or PILOT for EPG Solar - Ms. Speidel explained that since the last discussion with the BOS the States Net Metering Queue has gone into effect. As of January 24#* any of these projects that would be producing solar credits are now required to submit their applications to the DPU queue for review. ===PAGE 2=== Ms. Speidel updated the BOS on the state of the current solar projects which the Town is currently involved with as follows: EPG Solar - EPG has submitted their project to DPU and it is in the queue. EPG and the land owner have come to an agreement on the land lease, which has been approved by the Bankruptcy Court. The written agreement is being prepared and both parties will be able to sign the PILOT this month. EPG anticipates beginning construction in March and concluding by May 31, 2013. Because the project is just under 1 MW, it will be classified as a Class 2 rather than a Class 3 facility and therefore Unitil does not have the ability to issue a check, and can only issue credits. The Town would need to file a Schedule Z and Unitil will decide whether they will be issuing a check or credits. Ms. Bertram mentioned that MART is now a Net Metering facility. They received a grant and have installed a small solar array on top of their building which only produces 7k KW. She said that they were having problems with the snow load on the panels and that they were also approved by Unitil to be Net Metering. Borrego Solar - Borrego Solar has been tied up with studies and have been waiting on results of an Anti-Islanding Study from Unitil, which they have not received yet. Ms. Speidel contacted Borrego on their status, explained the Town's dilemma and asked if they wished to continue with the project. The Project Manager from Borrego emailed Ms. Speidel saying that they are committed to the project and would like to wait to see what Unitil tells them. They also understand that the Town has other projects going and may miss out on other opportunities if they continue with the Borrego project. Although Borrego did not agree to end this project with the Town, they do understand if the Town wishes to do so as to not miss out on other opportunities. Mass PV1- The Attorney's have agreed to conclude the negotiations on the PPA by the end of this week. This project will be a Class 3 facility and as such, Unitil will have the ability to issue credits or a check at their discretion. They will not make this determination until the Town files a Schedule Z, which cannot be done until it is sure that project will be moving forward. Mass PV1 has yet to file an application to get into the DPU Queue, which Ms. Speidel has asked them to do. Ms. Speidel has contacted other communities, Ashby, Fitchburg, and Townsend, about purchasing credits from the Town. To date, she has received a response from Townsend indicating interest. Ms. Speidel has also been contacted by an agent for an eligible buyer, but does not know who this buyer is. The Lunenburg Water District is not interested because they already have a better deal. It does not appear that the Town will have any difficulty in selling any excess credits. 2. Vote to include Debt Exclusion Question on Special Election Ballot, 03/16/13- Ms. Speidel explained to the board that at the last BOS meeting the board voted to have the Special Town meeting and Special Town Election. The Board must now vote the specific question for the ballot. Because the question is a Debt Exclusion, MGL requires that the board must vote by a 2/3rds majority to include the question on the ballot (MGL Chapter 59, Section 21C, 1 ½, J and K). This would mean that at least 4 members must vote in favor of placing the question on the ballot. The Board must also vote the question exactly as it will appear on the ballot as follows: Question No. 1. Shall the Town of Lunenburg be allowed to exempt from provisions of Proposition Two and One-Half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to purchase a 147 acre property, known as the Aro Farm, located at 400 Howard Street, Lunenburg, MA, Map 6, Lot 21, for conservation purposes? Ms. Speidel also noted that the Town Clerk has also asked that the BOS vote to authorize the use of paper ballots, as opposed to the printed/programmed ballots, in order to save time and money. Mr. Matthews spoke and said that at last weeks BOS meeting, the vote to hold a Special Town Meeting was a 3-2 vote and opened it up this evening for discussion to the board. Although the board agreed that the Town could not afford to make this purchase, they remained at a standstill. Mr. Alonzo said that he was in favor of bringing this question forward because it is a decision that should be made by the whole Town. Ms. Bertram spoke and said that it is a decision for the Town to make and not by us as five individuals. Mr. Sund said that although he agrees with the fact that the other board members would like to have the entire Town vote on this, he voted against this because he does not think it is a good use of our funds, the Town can't afford it, and he has not changed his mind on that. ===PAGE 3=== Mr. Matthews said that's really not the question, and he would probably agree with him if it was. The question is if it is up to us to make this decision for the 10,000 people who live in this community. It's a question of do the people who pay the taxes have a voice to what happens to this town or do they hand that over to five people to make that decision for them. Ms. Bertram spoke and said that she does not know how she will vote on this issue and struggles with how it will be paid for. The question that is before us is whether or not we allow the people to decide. It is not whether or not the board recommends it but whether or not we bring it to the people. Mr. Sund responded that he understands those questions however he does not know if they will get an approval on this. He went on to say that after the last meeting he has heard from a number of people who asked him why the BOS doing this, and those people are are not for this purchase. He understands that it is not the entire Town but these people he spoke with said that he would be foolish for putting this article on Town Meeting. Mr. Matthews stated that he understands the mind set and outlook but he does not appreciate or respect it. He believes that for a few people to get together and decide what a Town is going to do is counter to what Town Meeting, Elections and Democracy is all about. The most basic right for the citizens of this Town and Country have is to vote and to take that away because some people have the forgone conclusion that it's not going to pass is not an open way to run the Town. If people are concerned about the cost of running this election, then can we afford to have Town Meetings and Elections every year? What value do you put on Democracy? Ms. Bertram stated that she shares concerns about the budget but also shares concerns about the Watershed and infrastructure. She has also spoken to people who are in favor of having the election. She feels that before they make a recommendation they have to look at the numbers. She feels that to take away the opportunity for a vote by a Democratic system is wrong. We are not elected to make the entire decisions for the town but to make recommendations. At the last Town Meeting where we recommended an Override, which was not unanimous by the board, the people as a whole voted no. We are just looking to bring this to the people. Mr. Alonzo spoke and said that to not put this question to the Town would be a complete break down of what the whole concept of Open Meeting represents. The outcome of the votes is secondary to the fact that people will be able to voice their opinion on it. The last time a property in this area came up for Right of First Refusal it lost by 7 votes on a sparsely attended Town Meeting and that angered people. This is an issue that the Town in looking at Conservation properties has taken seriously in the past so it's not a foregone conclusion that it's going to go one way or the other. In my criteria of judging whether to put this to the Town at Town Meeting or Ballot, is the recommendations that we ask for of the two other Boards. It has been our practice in the past that in the times that they say no we have bypassed it as a board and When they say that it is important for what ever reasons, we have taken those boards opinions with serious considerations and followed their requests. By not bringing this forward, when the Planning Board and Conservation Committee recommend that we do is a break down of the whole procedure and how this should work. Mr. deBettencourt spoke in saying that as a Selectmen for the past 23 years he has had to make decisions on a variety of things that some people liked and some didn't. He said that this one here does not work for him, the property is too far out, the value is way off, and it just doesn't serve the purpose. We are just trying to buy up developable land for what? Because we are afraid of a developer? He threw a blanket square out there and said we are going to put houses everywhere on that. We have Zoning and Conservation controls on restrictions for development. Lunenburg is pretty restrictive to all concerns. We are elected as Selectmen and the people expect us to make tough decisions. They don't know all the ins and outs about all the stuff we deal with and they expect us to make tough decisions. I did not last 23 years for no reason and this is one of those decisions I'm going to make. People are looking to you for leadership and we have to start leading. Ms. Bertram stated that there is a difference between leadership and dictatorship. To make these decisions and to bring forward recommendations is the role of the BOS. It is not to unilaterally decide on behalf of the people what is right. You are talking about taking away their rights. The Planning Board and Conservation Commission feel strongly that this piece of property should be protected. The Nashua River Watershed said this property should be protected when it originally came forward. The reality is that you are completely discounting the opinions of those people who are trained ===PAGE 4=== and are responsible for putting the restrictions on the properties that you spoke about and these entities are telling us we should bring this to the people. This is a Right of First Refusal by the people of this Town not by five individuals. Mr. deBettencourt felt that a Debt Exclusion is a raise in property taxes which, is comparable to a 2 ½ Override. He said that the BOS has the first shot at whether or not to bring it to the people. If it passes in front of the BOS it moves onto the people. He stated that he did not want to bring a 2½ Override in front of the people. Ms. Bertram explained that a 2 ½ Override and a Debt Exclusion are two different things. A 2 ½ Override is permanent and a Debt Exclusion only lasts for a period of time for the note. She went on to say that once this land is gone we cannot get it back. At this time Mr. deBettencourt asked the Chair to move the question. Ms. Bertram made the motion to move forward with putting this ballot question before the people of Lunenburg to make the decision as to whether or not to purchase this property. Mr. Alonzo seconded. Mr. Alonzo spoke and said that this is not a difficult decision to be making and that the BOS is not asked to make unilateral decisions that strip people of their ability to engage in Town Government. He felt that the equivalent to not letting the people vote on this, is comparable to not letting them vote on the budget at Town Meeting where their money also goes. He stated that there have been a lot of embarrassing votes on this board but this may top a lot of them. He stated that he is embarrassed to be on a board that will not let people make choices for themselves. Ms. Bertram spoke and said that if the two board members who are against this attended the Planning Board meeting where this was discussed and saw the individuals who would be impacted by this development and heard their concerns along with the Planning Board and Conservation Commissions, then you would understand. She feels that they need to let the people exercise their right to vote and for the BOS to take that away, when it is a hot issue in this community which will significantly impact this community, is unconscionable. She will be absolutely ashamed if this is not brought before the people. On vote motion failed, 3 in favor, 2 opposed (Sund & deBettencourt) (A minimum of 4 votes was needed to pass the question due to the 2/3rds majority requirement). Mr. Alonzo moved to rescind holding the Special Town Meeting. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Mr. Matthews said that this is not about whether or not the money is worth spending but rather whether or not the people in this Town should have control over their own town or whether or not they are conceding their control to five people with varying levels of knowledge, background and experience to make this decision. This is supposed to be a Democratic system and we're supposed to have a Democratic structure in this Town. To take that away from the people, everyone should be horrified, up in arms and disgusted that you as voters and adults are being told that you are not worthy of making this decision and that it needs to be made here by five people. Ms. Bertram added that she echoed the Chairpersons statement and said that everybody out there should be outraged that two individuals have made this decision rather than the community as a whole. Ms. Speidel noted that they thought there may have been two additional warrant items with the APR concerning Lanni Orchards and the Pierce Tree Farm but the State is still reviewing the appraisal. She spoke to Michelle Padula, Area Kepresentative to the state Department of Agriculture, and she said that the May Annual Town Meeting time schedule looks to be more reasonable in order to meet their process so those two projects will not be in jeopardy at this point in time. 3. Review Revenue & Expenditure Assumptions for 5 Year Forecast, FY14-18 - Ms. Speidel reviewed her Revenue & Expenditure Assumptions for 5 Year Forecast, FY14-18 which included the following: FY2014 Revenue Assumptions: Property Tax increases 2.5% per year $466,543 FY2015 5484,457 FY2016 $502,818 FY2017 FY2018 $521,639 ] $540,930 ===PAGE 5=== 5. 6. 7. New Growth, assume steady increase crease or decrease to account for Exempt Borrowing Assume no growth in State Aid in FY14, Ch. 70 held harmless; 2.5% increase each year thereafter Assume a 2.5% increase in all Local Receipts Available Funds are budgeted as needed (Free Cash; Borrowing) & as required No draw on Stabilization Fund Net: Note in Needs Forecast Summary, Revenue has been increased by an additional $31,790 to reflect increased draw on Free Cash to bring Stabilization Fund up to required Policy Minimum Expenditure Assumptions: Current Conditions Expenditure Assumptions Maintain FY13 Service Levels, including 4 day schedule for Administrative & Land Use Maintain Council on Aging on 4 day schedule, but offer either increased Outreach 3. Worker hours or Friday Transportation Assume mandatory 2.5% increase in Library Budget in order to maintain certification Assume an increase in LPS Budget of 3.8% to account for loss of Shirley Tuition, Increased SPED Costs & Insurance 5. Assume 3.5% increase in Monty Tech Assessment to account for additional costs paid including Insurances & Transportation 6. Fully fund Rubbish Removal costs for Town Buildings in Central Purchasing, previously spilt & accidently eliminated from FY13 Budget Lower overall cost in Police Department due to retirements in FY13 8. Assume savings from joining NVRDD will be used to enhance Public Safety, including DPW- Include funding for Crack Seal Program to prolong road life, $50k Solid Waste - General Fund to cover Municipal Buildings & Recycling Program increased to reflect actual costs. Needs more investigation 11. BOH - increased appropriation to match adjustment after last ATM. FY13 Budget Adjustment will need to made as well Increase Veteran's Benefits from $5k to $10k to reflect benefits granted Debt Service - fund existing debt service schedules. Unclassified- reduce Unemployment to $25k, which has been historic funding level. 15. Insurance, premium increase at 3%, offset by reduced enrollment & reduces Medicare Part B Premium Penalties, - 2% 16. Unclassified - Salary Reserve Fund, maintain funding for Retirement Sick Leave Buyback Benefit, first funding in FY13, consider early buyback 17. Unclassified - General Reserve Fund, increase from $50k to $75k, represents 0.25% 19. 20. Other - Fund Stabilization Fund at 5% minimum as required by policy. Transfer from Free Cash. Other - Fund CIP at $500k, will be impossible to maintain that reduced level going forward as Fire Trucks are coming up for replacement. All Utilities, except telephone, to increase at 5%. Telephone to increase at 2.5%, less All other expenses, except where noted, are projected to increase 2%. All Personnel Expenses, except where noted, will increase in accordance with approved contracts. Retirement Assessment to increase at 9% per year in accordance with information provided by WRRS. State Assessments: Assume 2.5% increase; doesn't take into account any major fluctuations Projected Deficit: Forecast Needs Expenditure Assumptions: The following assumptions are in addition to everything listed above. General Government: Add Human Resource Coordinator, plus health insurance, 3. 4. 5. 6. Nico 9. Fire: Add funding for Per Diem Coverage in $50k increments DPW: Add Laborer position in order to maintain two 3-person work crews, health DPW: Increase Snow & Ice Account closer to historic spending levels S: Use Superintendent's FY14 Recommended Budget & Forecast Recommendatic classified: Increase Health Insurance to Account for new positions. 3 in FY14: 2 FY15; 0 inFY16: 1 in FY17; 0 in FY18 Other Capital: Increase CIP to account for large equipment purchases Comprehensive Road Management Plan Funding Increase Stabilization Fund to account for 5% of new total expenditures. Projected Additional Deficit: Add: Contribution from Free Cash to fund Stabilization Fund Deposit Total: Projected Deficit from Needs Forecast $250,000 $(42,320) $60,816 S(631,834) $- $103,206 $250,000 $ (15.487) $167,969 $62,337 $(282,495) $- $666,781 $250,000 $ (14,298) $172,168 $63,895 $(5083) $- $969,500 $250,000 $(20,583) $176,472 $65,492 $1,792 $- $994,813 $250,000 $(85,516) 180,884 $67,130 $6,523 $- $959,951 $226,912 FY2014 $40,000 $68,000 $50,000 $38,000 $49,364 $368,001 $34,000 $395,000 $800,000 $31,790 51,874,155 $(31,790) S2,069,277 FY2015 $54,500 $50,000 $39,000 $752,983 $550,000 $800,000 FY2016 $50,000 $1,182,137 $800,000 FY2017 $57,270 $50,000 52,185,871 $650,000 $800,000 FY2018 $50,000 $850,000 $800.000 ===PAGE 6=== Discussion ensued among the Board members after review of the Town Managers Assumptions. Mr. Alonzo said that going through these Assumptions can't be just an academic exercise and would like to know the thoughts of all on what we are going to do with these Assumptions. Mr. Matthews asked the Board if there was agreement with these Assumptions. Mr. deBettencourt said that reality shows up when you realize what you really have to spend and that we should live within our means. If we can find ways of saving money then maybe we can include some of the Assumptions in the budget and until that happens, it's just there. Ms. Bertram stated that it is easy to say live within your means, we all understand that we have limited revenues and expenditures, but as someone who has thwarted the process at the very end, we are giving you the opportunity at the early stages and even if you take the future needs off we are still looking at a deficit. We need to have this discussion now because we are already looking at a deficit and if you have some creative ways of saving money please bring them to the table because we need that kind of thinking. We have a huge financial dilemma ahead and what are we as a Board going to recommend and bring forth to the people now, and not two weeks before the Town Meeting. Mr. Matthews said that if we look at the Assumptions and we agree that it's what we should be achieving, and that those should be our goals then you're saying they are valid. If you don't think there is a goal that we should be achieving then you're saying that the Assumptions aren't valid. As far as the money it's easy to say live within your means and find ways not to spend money, you just don't budget it. But what's difficult is the realty that it then brings. People all of a sudden say what do you mean the Library is not going to be certified or there will be no Meals on Wheels on Fridays for the seniors, how can you do that it's not right or fair. Mr. deBettencourt suggested looking at other Towns in the area to see what they are doing, we are all in the same boat and it seems like every year they solve their problems. Mr. Matthews said that we should look at other Towns but argued the fact that other Towns are different considering size and available funding. Mr. Alonzo said that if you make no action plan to decide on how to get some of the things that you need, then what is the don't have these needs, or make a plan to get them. Without any additional revenues nothing on these needs will happen complete waste of time. Mr. Sund commented that a couple of years ago our DPW Director did a fantastic job in addressing a Road Management Program which came up with a figure of $880k per year. He said that we are never going to get to that $800k to start with and suggested that they start adding in increments to get to that. He thinks that $800k is a lot to take in and it will not get approved in a lump sum. If we start with $50k this year, $100k next year and increment it up till we can get to the point we're doing something it would make more sense. Ms. Bertram commented that while looking at a reduced number makes sense, she would have to take issue with $50k because it completely throws out the whole Pavement Management Plan. If you start picking and choosing apart the plan, what's the sense of having the plan. Mr. Sund said to get the $800k per year you will be looking at an Override and he will not propose an Override. Mr. Matthews stated that we proposed a solution last year. to the problem which was a lot of money and not popular and was resoundingly rejected. He understands that but does not agree with it. Do we break it down and say we want to talk to you this year about the roads, and the reality is that we are never going to have the money in the budget to pay for them to get them up to snuff. If you put a number in front of people for example it's going to cost you another $50 per year to fix your roads, is it worth it to you? Identifying the problem of the shortfall is an important exercise, refusing to address it is incredibly frustrating. Just saying no and we should live within our means is not a solution to all our funding needs. ===PAGE 7=== Ms. Bertram suggested that this be an ongoing item on the agenda. If people have creative thoughts on how to live within our means we need discuss it and revisit it on a consistent basis. If board members want to look at other communities they should be doing that and bringing the information back for discussion now. Mis. Speidel stated that she does not get out to Association meetings as much as she would like to but when she does they are asking what the Town of Lunenburg is doing. To pat everyone up here on the back, we are doing a lot of things that other communities are looking at what we are doing. There are other things in other communities that we can learn from, but we are always looking and it's an exchange of information. A lot of communities immolate what we are doing. Ms. Speidel stated that we made a lot of change in FY13 and endured a lot of pain. We can't even sustain, we need to cut more. What are we going to cut just to maintain? Every year we put together a balanced budget and we live within our means. After due and diligent discussion Mr. Matthews stated that we would talk about this item at next weeks meeting. 4. Open Warrant for Annual Town Meeting, 05/04/13 - Mr. Alonzo moved to open the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting to be held on 05/04/13. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Ms. Speidel stated that the Warrant for ATM will remain open until 3/25/13. 5. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 1/15/13 1/22/13 Warrants: 1/30 1/28 2/5 W41-13 W16 P13 W42-13 $557,942.99 $612,164.05 $511,253.35 Action File Issues: Mr. Matthews mentioned that the light on the flag pole on the Upper Common has been replaced. The bulletin board in front of Town Hall was damaged due to a usage accident and is in the process of being replaced. 5. Committee Reports - Ms. Bertram attended the Planning Board Public Hearing last Thursday for Aro Estates and reported that it has been continued to 2/13/13. A number of concerns were raised at this meeting mainly about drainage calculations which are in the process of being reviewed. There is also a concern with when the proponent's timeline began which is associated with this project. The proponent's attorney will only discuss this matter offline. Ms. Bertram reported that the MPO will meet on 2/13/13 where they will begin reviewing the next TIP process. Ms. Bertram and Jack Rodriquenz have identified some intersections in Lunenburg (Mulpus/Townsend Harbor & Goodrich/Lancaster) and are working with MRPC along with the Police Dept. to accumulate crash data from those sites. Ms. Bertram feels that this will be a 1-2 year process, if the projects are deemed worthy to be included, but she does not feel that they will be included in the next TIP process, although she has seen it happen before. Ms. Bertram will also be meeting with MassDOT about this issue. She feels that lobbying is key to getting these projects funded. Ms. Speidel thanked Ms. Bertram for ali the work she is doing. Ms. Speidel reviewed the TIP and was amazed at some of the smaller communities and number of projects that are in the TIP. She believes that having applications ready to go on some of these smaller projects are to our benefit because there has been available State money ready in the past for completed applications. Mr. Sund also thanked Ms. Bertram for all the work she has been doing. He reported that the Capital Planning Committee will be meeting this Thursday. They had met last week and have prioritized down to a little bit more than what the Town Manager had been looking for. Mr. Sund reported that the Cable Committee is still trying to complete their new studio at the Passios School Building but are having problems with internet connections which are supposed to be resolved this week. Hopefully they will be able to begin use of the studio in March. He also stated that the local cable programming is up to 69% local programming. ===PAGE 8=== Mr. Matthews requested that scheduling of interviews for candidates for the Planning Board begin and should be on the BOS agenda for next week. Ms. Speidel will check with the Planning Board Director on where the scheduling of interviews stands. Ms. Bertram updated the board that the Montachusett Regional Trails Coalition. They have funding from MassDOT for a developing a Regional Trails Map, are currently working on updating a trail inventory for the region, and are seeking input from the community. They would like to build on these Trails Maps Eco-Tourism to stimulate the economy in these communities. MRPC communities can meet with them on March 7" at the Fitchburg Public Library and Ms. Bertram hopes that someone from Lunenburg can attend to learn more about what they can offer. Mr. Alonzo recommended that whatever information gathers from them be forwarded to the Conservation Commission. Ms. Bertram will forward all information to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Open Space Committee. Mr. deBettencourt reported that the Sewer Commission has changed their meeting schedule to Tuesday evenings so as the Director will be able to attend more meetings. They are still working through some protocols for illegal "tap ins", coverage for their pump stations, and are also still working on their budget. Ms. Bertram mentioned that both she and Mr. Alonzo were given a draft of the IMA back in December and she requested that it be circulated to the entire BOS. 6. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports - Eagle Heights Project - Ms. Speidel has been in communication with Jon Juhl and they are still unclear about the availability of funding through the HUD 202 program given the state of the Federal Budget. Paul Texiara from RCAP Solutions is going to Washington D.C. next week to meet with the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation to inquire about the availability of that funding through HUD. They have met with Senator Flanagan and are feeling pretty good about the availability of some State money. Ms. Speidel will be meeting with them the week after next to figure out how to proceed. There is a Bond Bill that is currently in place for housing and DHCD recently received an additional $10m in funding from the Legislature this past summer, the Governor has set a new goal of 10,000 units of housing a year vs. 5000 which was the previous goal. Federal funding limited the size of the units and State funding allows the units to be a little larger which would make them more appealing to people. Another new Bill was filed in the House recently which would replenish $1.4b in the State Housing Program and Ms. Speidel has contacted Representative Benson and Representative DiNatalie and asked them to consider supporting it. Mr. Matthews requested that it be mentioned that this State funding be restricted to only Senior Housing. Ms. Bertram questioned the previous discussion of Mr. Juhls request of fee waivers. Ms. Speidel replied that she is firming that up with him and then will revisit the idea of perhaps donating the building to him for this project because it would save them $100k and they would be able to count the full value of the building when applying for funds. Ms. Speidel mentioned that they are still looking for a PILOT but the Lunenburg Assessor is adamant that this project does not qualify for one. Ms. Bertram cautioned the Town Manager about the fees, given the state of the Sewer Enterprise fund. She did not think it would be fair for the tax payers to have to foot this bill and she would not support it. Summer Street Project - Ms. Speidel mentioned that there is some forward movement on Summer St and our Engineer will be at the 2/19/13 BOS meeting to give more detailed information on this project. Leominster has made their appropriation and they have signed the contract. Yesterday they considered the notice to proceed date to move forward with the project. From yesterday, Field Reconnaissance will begin which will take 8 weeks, Preliminary Engineering on the project will be completed around October 5, 2013, Preliminary Right of Way Plans will be completed around November 5, 2013, and the project to be submitted to DOT sometime in December of 2013. They still need to finalize which option they are going to and the Engineer suggested that the BOS may want to take this to Town Meeting for a non- binding vote. Ms. Speidel mentioned that she still receives phone calls concerning the Municipal Aggregation Plan. Unitil's basic service rate as a whole increased. She spoke with their consultant today and as soon as the market rates get better he will bring this back to the Town. Currently Unitil's rates are 7.23 cents per kw and currently the market is at 7.5 cents per kw. ===PAGE 9=== OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - None PUBLIC COMMENT - None EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business Ms. Bertram motioned to end the meeting. Mr. deBettencourt seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Meeting ended at 9:50PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE February 12, 2013 February 19, 2013 Thursday February 28, 2013 - Presentation of Town Manager's FY14 Recommended Budget Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-02-12-agenda-4833.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-02-12 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-02-12-agenda-4833.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02122013-4833 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-02-12-minutes-4833.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-02-12 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-02-12-minutes-4833.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02122013-4833 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== • BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES (Ernie) Sund, Paula Bertram, Steven M. deBettencourt and Town Manager Kerry Speidel. Not present was David Matthews Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT Betty McDonald, Island Road spoke to the BOS concerning the public's right to vote being taken away at last weeks meeting. Ms. McDonald stated that she was outraged and disgusted and directed her statement to Mr. deBettencourt who in turn asked her to address her statement to the entire board and not him personally. Ms. McDonald said that Mr. deBettencourt boasted about being elected for 23 years and stated that he was not elected to steal our right to vote. She then addressed Mr. Sund and said that regardless of the number of people he had heard from, he was elected to represent all of the people in town, not just a select few. She then thanked Mr. Matthews, Mr. Alonzo, and Ms. Bertram for defending the people's right to vote and for putting their trust in the people of Lunenburg to make their own decisions for the future of Lunenburg. Dave McDonald, Island Road, spoke to the BOS concerning last weeks meeting. He said that concerning last weeks meeting he was amazed at what happened. He stated that this was not about the purchase of the land but rather the right to vote being taken away from the people. He asked Mr. Sund, as a Veteran and an American, why won't you let this go to vote for the people of Lunenburg? Mr. Sund replied that it's not a matter of letting this go to a vote. He voted on the previous agenda to not approve the purchase of the land and he will not change his mind. He went on to say that as a Veteran and a servant to his Town and Country that's what he is doing. Mr. McDonald remained concerned about taking away the towns people right to vote on this decision and stated that what happened last week scares him for the future because now you can do this, and anything you want, and that's not right. He asked the BOS to please let this go out to vote. He then asked Mr. Sund again why he will not let the Town vote on this. Mr. Sund replied that he was elected to serve this board and to express the opinion of the majority of the people that he serves and that's what they indicated to him. Mr. McDonald asked if he had over 3000 people tell him not to go to Town Meeting? Mr. Sund replied it was the majority of the people that he polled. Mr. McDonald went on to say that the basic fabric of America is the right to vote and he had sent Mr. Sund an email which took him 3.5 hours to compose which Mr. Sund did not reply to. Mr. deBettencourt spoke to say that this is a Government process and if you can't gain the muster of the BOS it will not get that far. This is a process of Government and if you want to try to change it for the people to vote on everything that is out there then you have to start at the Legislature. If you can't get 2/3rds of the vote from the BOS the Legislation says that it tails. Mr. McDonald questioned what the reasoning was not to let this go to Town Meeting asking if it was the cost and that they did not give a reason for this but were just beating around the bush. Mr. deBettencourt stated that he did not think it was the right purchase for the Town. It's up to the BUS tirst, we voted on it and it did not pass. Mr. McDonald asked Mr. Alonzo (acting Chairperson) if this could be reconsidered to let this go out for the people to vote on. By you taking away that little vote is going to be the start of something bigger and we need to do something about this today. John Whalen, 526 West Townsend Road, spoke to the BOS saying that he agrees with Mir. McDonald. He said that Town Meeting is the most American form of Government that there is and to have the vote taken away from them offends him. If you believe we shouldn't be doing this that's fine, make your case to the Town and let the Town decide. When you bring things up to Town Meeting you may or may not win but you let the Town decided what is in the best interest of the Town. He mentioned that he has brought things up to Town Meeting and members of this board indicated that we were ===PAGE 2=== militant in the fact that we spoke up when we saw our rights being trod on. These same people chose to vote down the opportunity to vote on this at Town Meeting and he is not impressed with that. He urged the BOS to reconsider this vote. He said that other boards voted in favor of this and he believes that the Finance Committee was also in agreement with it. He stated that with all these other boards, you two think you're more important then all of them and that their opinions don't matter, and you are going to override it instead of taking it to Town Meeting and making your case there. Mr. Whalen asked how much has been spent in the last couple of years with this particular developer and parcel of land in legal fees. Ms. Speidel replied roughly between $60k and $70k. Mr. Whalen said that its money that's wasted and did they consider that when they made their vote. He also asked how much more revenue would 165 more properties bring in over a 10 year period? Ms. Speidel responded that the average tax bill is around $4k per year and the average spending on education is probably over $10k. Mr. Whalen said that this is short sighted decision making and that taxes may have to go up. He does not want to pay them either but it may be the right thing for this Town. He questioned what the impact would be on the water table with all of the new houses being built and what would be needed with sewerage and street lights. He asked the BOS to reconsider their vote. Lars Widstrand, Sunnyhill Road, spoke to the BOS and stated that he witnessed something last week that never in his wildest dreams thought he would witness. He went on to say that being an engineer he is use to people backing up their ideas and positions with facts. This "knee jerk" reaction to say no to anything and everything just doesn't fly. At last weeks meeting two of the Selectmen took away the Towns people rights to analyze, discuss, and vote on land acquisition. He stated that they had no platform to stand on and that the term is "we the people" not "we the elected officials." Mr. Alonzo spoke to the requests of reconsidering the votes. He said there was not a full board tonight and unless there is any motion from the people who voted against it they cannot do anything, although he personally would welcome the reconsideration of that vote. Mr. Alonzo commented that technically what Mir. deBettencourt said is correct. The Legislature put this mechanism in place and those are the rules and he does not disagree with that. Mr. Alonzo went on to say that to use the reasoning that you vote against it because you could, not because you should or have real reasons for it was his big objection. When you do something because you can, you don't need to explain yourself, and you supercede your opinions for the opinions and discussion of the voters, that to him constitutes abuse of power. He said that he was embarrassed by the vote but feels more embarrassed that the two members who voted against it don't feel any embarrassment about what they've done and can't make the nuance that voting against people voting on it is not the same as voting against the question itself. Ms. Bertram spoke in agreement with Mr. Alonzo's sentiments and thanked the people who came out tonight to speak. She said that in all the years that she has served this community I have never left a meeting so disheartened. She went on to say that she wanted to be clear with something that was said by one of the members that he voted against the purchase of the property. This board did not make a vote on the purchase of the property. The only vote that this board made was that three members voted to bring it to the people and it was not a vote to recommend the purchase. The basis for making this decision was based on the experts in Conservation and Planning who have made recommendation that we should look at this piece of property because of the importance of it. Last week two members of this board took away the peoples right to vote, that is not what we were elected to do, and I would welcome it if they would reconsider. Mr. Sund thanked the people who came out to speak this evening. He apologized if his vote doesn't go their way but he still will not change his vote. The reason for this is the economy, we don't have the funds. Ms. Bertram spoke and said it is not up to this board whether or not we have the funds, it is up to the people to decide. There are a number of issues facing this community. We are already facing a $226k shortfall in our budget and wẹ talked about creative ways of raising funds which I am for. The reality is we have a number of issues facing this community and to say that you don't feel we have the funds and not to bring it to the people scares me. Does that mean that you as one individual of a 5 member board are going to make those kinds of decisions and take them away from the people? We are here to make recommendations to the people and to put forth what we think makes sense but ultimately it is up to the Jane Denike, 347 Highland Street, spoke to the BOS in support of the Mr. Sund and Mr. deBettencourt. She said that each member was elected to make decisions for this Town and we do not have a direct Democracy in this country, we have a ===PAGE 3=== Representative Democracy. This Town put their trust through an election and elections have consequences. The people we elect have our trust and represent different views of this community therefore what you did is according to regulations. You have voted on Right of First Refusals many times in the past without going to Special Town Meeting, you made the decision that you have been entrusted to do. Ms. Denike went on to say that $2.1m in a Debt Exclusion is essentially an Override except that there is an end to it after how many ever years we have borrowed it for. She feels that a $2.1m purchase would impact the tax payers of this Town essentially the same way as an Override would do. She stated that a previous Override was defeated by an overwhelming margin. She said that she does not expect to go to Town Meeting over every big issue that comes before the BOS, that's why they were elected, they did what they were supposed to do and the vote came out the way it was. A Representative Democracy has worked. She feels that Town Meeting is becoming "Special Interest" and people come to vote on just what they are concerned with then leave without participating in the entire meeting. Mr. Alonzo spoke and said that the amount is very different then the amount of the Override that failed last year. He said that a Representative Government is true on the State and Federal levels and in the Town of Lunenburg the Executive body would be this board. The Legislative body in this Town is open Town Meeting and it is a true Democracy and its one of the reasons that I live in this Town. Everybody as a registered voter has the right to attend and as a Legislative body we bypassed that. This is the first time in my history that the BOS have preempted what other Boards have recommended. Ms. Denike spoke her concerns of the Town buying up developable land which she feels holds back the Town in moving forward with building its tax base. Mr. Alonzo replied that he did not disagree with that and this would be an argument you could have on Town Meeting floor but this could be part of a discussion that we are not going to have because of the vote. Ms. Denike stated that she believes that everything was done the way it was supposed to be done, there's always issues where some are not going to be happy and she does not think that the Board has assumed the role of a Dictatorship and to be badgered and have terms thrown at you is not right. Ms. Bertram stated that she was the one who used the term Dictatorship and her issue is that we have a 5 member elected did not have the funds. They did not argue against what the Planning Board or Conservation Board said with facts or concise arguments. They just made the decision because they did not feel it was appropriate and we were not going to bring it to the people. Ms. Bertram stated that she does not feel that this is what Government is about and Town Meeting is our form of Government. Never in her years on the BOS have they disregarded the other Boards recommendations because of our own personal opinions. Ms. Denike said that the Conservation and Planning boards look at things with their particular expertise and that's fine She feels that Mr. Sund and Mr. deBettencourt, as citizens that have been elected, also have the right to take into account their own considerations of the community as a whole. She believes that the statement of "they just disregarded everything" is not correct and that they may have a good feel for the pulse of the community which brought about the decision of their votes. They have a right to that consideration also. She believes that was done, was done properly, and therefore we live with it as a community. Ms. Bertram spoke and said that to take away the right of the people to vote on something that will impact this community is wrong and unless you've spoken to 3000 people in this community you do not have the pulse of the community. Mr. Whalen spoke and mentioned the Levite property, which was similar to the Aro property, that lost by 7 votes at a previous Town Meeting. He stated that you say you know the pulse of the community when a very similar property almost past at Town Meeting and he feels that this Board has not given a good reason for voting the way they did. ANNOUNCEMENTS Tom Alonzo announced that the Boys & Girls Club of Lunenburg will be holding a fundraiser at Lunenburg High School on March 7' at 7PM called "Are You Smarter Than a 6" Grader" and encouraged the public to attend. APPOINTMENTS ===PAGE 4=== 7:00 p.m. - Transfer of Liquor License, Bangkok Hill to PP Group LLC d/b/a Bangkok Hill - Mr. Alonzo read into record the Notice of Public Hearing for the Transfer of Liquor License, Bangkok Hill to PP Group LLC d/b/a Bangkok Hill. Mr. Robert Bowen, representing the applicant, explained that this is a transfer of the Liquor License at the present Bangkok Hill to PP Group LLC who is under contract to purchase Bangkok Hill. Other than changing the names of the corporations and the people that own them nothing else will be changing. The BOS interviewed the applicant on his restaurant experience and asked when the TIP training would be taking place. Khamphet Savanpanyadeth, representing PP Group LLC said that this is his first time applying for a Liquor License and that the TIP training is in progress which he hopes to have completed a few weeks before the closing on the property. Mr. Bowen spoke and said that the current P & S calls for a March 1" transfer date which is all contingent on the ABCC approving the license. If the license is not approved by then the parties will have to discuss extending the term. He is currently certitied in New Jersey where he had been working and Mr. Bowen assumes that this will not be carried over into Massachusetts and stated that he will have to be Til certified before the license can transfer, but it is all in progress right now. Mr. Alonzo asked the applicant if he had an eating establishment with a liquor license before? Mr. Savanpanyadeth replied that he had worked in a restaurant a few years ago in Massachusetts where alcohol was served but never owned Ms. Bertram questioned the timing of the transfer of the Liquor License. It was determined that they are just voting on the transfer approval then it will be voted on by the ABCC. After the ABCC approves, it will return to the BOS for the issuing of the license. Mr. Sund moved to authorize the transfer of Liquor License from Bangkok Hill to PP Group LLC d/b/a Bangkok Hill. Mr. deBettencourt seconded. On vote motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Review and/or Execute Power Purchase Agreement and PILOT Agreement for Solar for Mass PV1 and/or PILOT Agreement for EPG Solar - Ms. Speidel updated the BOS on both projects as follows: EPG Solar project is moving forward. The Twin City Baptist property is currently up for auction and when contacted by Ms. Speidel, EPG said that they believe it is just the property that the church is located on and the property that the solar farm will be on is not included. The developer told her that if it is included in the auction, they are willing to purchase the property at auction. If they do need to purchase this property it will delay the project by a few weeks. Mass PV1 is no longer willing to sell the credits at the previously specified price of $0.9 kW and sent a new proposal which included an offer to buy the credits at $0.154. This new rate would apply to anything over 0.5 M. The first 500 kW would be sold at $0.09. Mass PV1 has pointed out that the value of the credit had increased from $0.171 to $0.1989. because the price of electricity has increased. This was verified by John Londa, Director of Facilities for the Town of Lunenburg. Ms. Speidel has directed Town Counsel to advise Mass PV1 that we are willing to purchase 100% at the original price of The Attorney for Mass PV1, advised Town Counsel that unless the Town was willing to take 100% of the credits at the new rate, there would be no deal. Ms. Speidel believes that based upon the change in the offer, it does not make sense for the Town to purchase the additional credits as the opportunity for resale is more difficult due to the price increase and risk. Ms. Speidel reviewed the Calculation of Value Credits with the BOS regarding the 1 MW EPG Project stating the following: Value of Credit is $0.1989 per kWh. Initial Credit Purchase Price is $0.1132, a savings of $0.0578 per kWh Credit purchase to increase 1.8% per year Annual Savings in year 1 per IMW is $85,700 or 23% PILOT payment is $18,018 Total Revenue/Savings generated is $103,718 Ms. Speidel said that she will first assume that Mass PV1 will sell the Town the 500 kW at $0.09 which will save the Town $S4,450. If we just bought that they would still be building a 2 MW facility and they would still be receiving a PILOT on 2 MW. The total Revenue/Savings generated would be $90,486. ===PAGE 5=== If the Town were to buy another 5 MW the additional savings would be $22,450 but we would have the added responsibility of reselling credits which would be hard to do. If the credit value went back to the original amount of $0.171, the annual savings to the Town would be $8500. Ms. Speidel stated that she does not think that Mass PV1 has a buyer at $0.171 and believes that they are trying to "strong arm" the Town. Ms. Bertram spoke to say that she is not willing to enter into a PILOT. One of our conditions was that a PILOT would only be applicable for a Net Metering project for Lunenburg and if that is not the case then there will not be a PILOT. Ms. Speidel stated that even with out this, there is still significant savings and she feels very comfortable with the EPG Project going forward. Ms. Bertram stated that for Mass PV1 to come back at this point and to change the price is wrong and to move forward doing business with this kind of moving target does not make any sense. She emphasized that if they do move forward that any offer/agreement made was to be made in writing. 2. Further Discussion, Revenue & Expenditure Assumptions for 5 Year Forecast, FY1418- Ms. Speidel informed the Board that she is aware of the totals of the Capital Planning Recommendation and is currently awaiting the hard copy to arrive at her office. Ms. Speidel's said that her budget recommendation is due out on February 15t* ». She will be putting the spread sheets together along with the narrative and they will be handed out at the Presentation of Town Manager's FY14 Recommended Budget at the FinCom meeting on February 28'h. Ms. Bertram reminded the board that at last weeks meeting a point was made to say whether or not we agree with the assumptions and until she gets some clarification on some of the Assumptions she cannot say that she agrees with them. Mr. Alonzo reminded the board that since the Budget Working Group is no longer, they should be actively discussing the budget so they will be ready for it when it is presented. Mir. deBettencourt asked Ms. Speidel if it was fair to assume that her numbers were close for FY14? Ms. Speidel replied that it is very close. Setting aside the school, the Superintendents recommended budget is somewhat higher than what the Town Manager's recommendation was. There is only a slight variation with what the rest of the Departments came in with. 3. Policies & Procedures: CORI - Ms. Speidel stated that back in December the BOS met with Labor Counsel, reviewed, and approved the CORI Policy. Counsel suggested that there would be further Administrative Regulations that would be adopted on an Administrative level by the Town Manager which are included in the handout to the BOS this evening. Ms. Speidel informed the Board that this is the process which they will be following when CORI checks are conducted. The Administrative procedures are to be implemented by the Town Manager and do not need approval by the BOS. Board members will review the handout and it will remain on the agenda for the next meeting for further discussion. 4. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 2/5/13 Warrants: 17 P 43-13 44-13 $635,302.66 $248,015.50 $308,078.72 Action File Issues: None 5. Committee Reports - Mr. Sund reported that the Capital Planning Committee met last Thursday and has submitted all information to the Town Manager for Capital Plan Requests. Mr bono re pried that he received correspond are from the is are band inside stating that the pedeto set the ===PAGE 6=== for companies that will do the "last mile". These companies will be hooking up from the backbone by renting or buying bandwidth from the project to supply to residences, businesses etc. We will need to get the Town's IT Director involved with this in order to connect Municipal Buildings. The only Town Building that is not included will be the DPW Building and it's too soon for an estimate as to what the cost would be to connect that building. 6. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports - Ms. Speidel reported that there will be a Special State Election to fill Senator Kerry's seat. The Primary will be held on April 30, 2013 and the General Election will be in June. The State Legislature passed a law which allows Cities and Towns to move their Annual Elections to either the State Primary or State General Election date. The Board of Registrars met today and discussed suggesting to the BOS that the Annual Town Election be moved from the middle of May to the April 30* date. This would require a vote by the BOS and will be on next weeks BOS agenda. If changed, it would impact the date of the Town Caucus and Ms. Speidel would like a decision by the BOS at next weeks meeting on this matter. Mr. Alonzo questioned if we have the Town Election earlier, can we make it so you do not effectively take office until when the original election date would have been so as not to disrupt the terms? Ms. Speidel will check into this matter for clarification. Ms. Bertram was concerned that if the date is moved up, do we want to go through the process of interviewing the Planning Board Candidates? Ms. Speidel replied that the Planning Board had scheduled their own interviews for last evening, but the meeting was cancelled due to weather and has not been rescheduled yet. Mr. Alonzo thought that it didn't make sense to appoint someone for 6 weeks and it would be better to just let them run for the position. OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - 1. Reserve Police Officers: Stan Barney, Peter Lekaditis - Ms. Speidel stated that Chief Marino requested that thệ Town Manager Appoint Stan Barney and Peter Lekaditis as Reserve Police Officers. Mr. Barney is currently retired from the Lunenburg Police Force and Mr. Lekaditis has just finished the Reserve Police Academy. Mr. Lekaditis was unable to attend tonight's BOS meeting due to the fact that his graduation from the Academy was this evening but will be able to attend next weeks meeting to introduce himself. Mr. Alonzo stated that the Town Manager makes these Appointments under Section 4-2 ( c) of the Town Charter and they will become effective on the fifteenth day following this notice, unless we move to ratify sooner. Ms. Bertram moved to ratify the Appointments of Stan Barney and Peter Lekaditis to Reserve Police Officers. Mr. deBettencourt seconded. On vote motion carried, 4 in favor, O opposed. 2. Council on Aging: Whitney Lacka - Ms. Speidel informed the Board that the Council on Aging has asked to hold on this Appointment. PUBLIC COMMENT- Mr. deBettencourt thanked the DPW workers for their dedicated work during the recent snow storm and Mr. Sund also thanked the public for staying off of the roads during that time. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business Mr. deBettencourt moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed. Meeting ended at 8:37PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE February 19, 2013 ===PAGE 7=== Thursday February 28, 2013 - Presentation of Town Manager's FY14 Recommended Budget Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-02-19-agenda-4834.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-02-19 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-02-19-agenda-4834.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02192013-4834 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN February 19, 2013 7:00 PM – Town Hall Bilotta Meeting Room, Second Floor AGENDA 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM- Weekday Entertainment License, Bootlegger Restaurant 7:00 PM- Introduction of Reserve Officer Peter Leka ditis 7:30 PM- Update on Summer Street Project, Trish Dom igan, VHB Engineering CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Establishment of Stabilization Fund, Monty Tech Vocational School District 2. Request from Board of Registrars to move the dat e of the Annual Town Election 3. Update on School Building Committee Activities 4. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 5. Committee Report 6. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE Thursday, February 28, 2013- Presentation of Town M anager’s FY14 Recommended Budget March 5, 2013 March 12, 2013 March 19, 2013 ===PAGE 2=== ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-02-19-minutes-4834.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-02-19 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-02-19-minutes-4834.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02192013-4834 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 2/19/13 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting room at Town Hall a s scheduled with Dave Matthews, Tom Alonzo, Carl (Ernie)Sund, Paula Bertram, Steven M. deBettencourt and Town Manager Kerry Speidel. Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Alonzo started the meeting with a public comment from the board inregards to the Boys and Girls Club of Lunenburg having a game show fundraiser in the high school auditorium called "Are You Smarter Than Our Sixth Graders?" Admission is by donation at the door. Mr. Sund continued the public comments from the board by referencing the previous week's discussion regarding the Aro Farm property and why he chose to vote no to buying the property. Mr. Sund stated that he did not have a compiled list of reasons why he voted against the purchase of the farm prepared and ready to show the public during the previous week but he had compiled a list since the last meeting. Mr. Sund continued by reading his reasons for voting against acquiring the property which included the property being very complex and cannot be commented on without a recent review; the property is assessed by the Town as being valued at $1.1 million dollars and we would not want to spend $2.1 million to purchase it. There are 13 sheds, a barn, 2 commercial structures and one residence that the Town would be responsible to remove. The property may have contaminated substances or soil that the Town would be responsible to remove and all additional costs of cleanup would fall on the Town of Lunenburg. Additionally Mr. Sund cited the Jones House that the Town had owned which despite being appraised at $250,000.00, the Town sold it at only $10,000.00. Mr. Matthews responded to Mr. Sund by thanking him for the information but stating the board's vote was whether or not the issue should go to the townspeople at Town Meeting to vote on and that the information he presented would have been good information for the townspeople to know if the issue went to Town Meeting. Ms. Bertram responded by echoing Mr. Matthews statement. Ms. Bertram spoke specifically to the issue of contamination on the property stating she had attended all the Planning Board meetings regarding the property and had met with the Board of Health that day to discuss it. Ms. Bertram stated that there had been extensive testing of the soil on the property including perk rates and ground water and no contamination has been found. This is the first time any concern of contamination had been heard. Ms. Bertram said that Board of Health agent Jim Gariffy has visited the property several times over the past couple of years and has not brought forth any concern of contamination on the property to the Planning Board. Carl Luck, 50 Sunset Lane, spoke to the BOS concerning last week's vote. Mr. Luck respectfully requested that the two members of the board who voted against allowing the issue to go to Town Meeting reverse their vote and allow the board to again vote to send the issue to Town Meeting. Mr. Luck requested that each Selectmen explain why they decided to vote against sending the issue to Town Meeting and not the reasons they had for not wanting to acquire the property. Mr. Luck stated that the information provided by Mr. deBettencourt and Mr. Sund in regards to why they did not want to purchase the land was good information, but that it was not relevant to why they voted against letting the issue go tọ Town Meeting to allow the people to make a decision on the matter themselves. Mr. Luck finished his public comments by stating the Town's Conservation Committee and Planning Board support purchasing the property and that the two Selectmen who prevented this issue from going in front of the townspeople had abused their powers. ===PAGE 2=== Mr. Sund replied that he was not trying to deny anyone the vote. Other members of the board wanted to purchase the property, and he was voting not to acquire the property through excluded borrowing. Mr. Sund apologized to anyone who was offended by this but he was not going to be hypocritical and go back to change his vote. Mr. Matthews reminded Mr. Sund and the public that no one on the board had ever voted for or against purchasing the land but that the vote Mir. Sund was referring to was whether or not to send the issue to Town Meeting for the people to decide. Dave MacDonald, Island Road, started his comments to the BOS by extending his condolences to the people of Ashby and particularly their Fire Department for the tragic death of two of their members this past week. Mr. MacDonald: continued by reading a quote of Mr. Sund's from the paper where Mr. Sund was quoted as not wanting to lose his vote on the issue of acquiring the Aro Farm property. Mr. MacDonald asked Mr. Sund again why he was denying the people the right to vote on the issue of Aro Farm at Town Meeting. Phyllis Luck, 50 Sunset Lane, spoke to the BOS concerning her deep concern regarding the fact that two members of the BOS took it upon themselves to deny Lunenburg citizens the right to vote on the acquisition of the Aro Farm property. Ms. Luck implored Mr. Sund and Mr. deBettencourt to reverse their votes and allow the citizens of Lunenburg to vote for themselves on this issue. Jane Denike, 347 Highland Street, spoke to the BOS in defense of Mr. Sund stating that the citizens of the Town elected Mr. Sund and that he along with Mr. deBettencourt reflect different opinions in our community. She felt that regarding the Aro Farm property issue, they had every right to vote the way that they did. Ms. Denike suggested that in the future we should have a firm policy for what issues should be brought to Town Meeting regardless of what the BOS chooses to do. Mr. Matthews responded to Ms. Denike by thanking her for her comments and explained that State Laws supersede Municipal Laws making her suggestion of having a firm policy in place for similar issues in the future moot. Mr. Alonzo responded by saying that the two Selectmen who voted against this either stayed silent or misstated what the issue they were voting on was. Mr. Alonzo stated that in misstating what they were voting on clearly represented a misunderstanding by the Selectmen of what their vote was meant to accomplish. Mr. Alonzo continued by saying that nothing Mr. deBettencourt or Mr. Sund did was illegal, but that all the reasons that Mr. Sund provided were only done in the past week and were not reasons espoused in the original vote. Mr. Alonzo stated that the reasons for Mr. deBettencourt and Mr. Sund to keep the vote from going to Town Meeting was unconscionable. APPOINTMENTS 7:00 p.m. - Introduction of Reserve Office Peter Lekaditis by Lunenburg Police Chief Marino- Chief Marino introduced Mr. Lekaditis to the BOS. The BOS welcomed Mr. Lekaditis to the police force. 7:00 p.m.- Weekday Entertainment License, Bootlegger Restaurant - Pam French spoke to represent Alex Cosimi, owner of The Bootlegger. Ms. French explained that the restaurant was looking to have more music at the restaurant including live musicians, karaoke, etc. on Saturday nights. In the future the restaurant might also try to have outdoor entertainment on Fridays and Sundays. Ms. Speidel pointed out that the paperwork in front of the BOS was for a weekday license, not a weekend license, and that the Bootlegger already had a license for weekend entertainment. Ms. French moved forward to talk about having a weekday license for entertainment at the restaurant both in and outside during the week. Ms. Speidel informed Ms. French that the license was only for inside the restaurant, not outside which would need to be separate. Ms. French responded by stating that Mr. Cosimi of the Bootlegger might have been confused about what was needed ===PAGE 3=== Ms. French asked if there would have to be a third process for requesting an outdoor weekday license. Ms. Spediel stated that we they would have to go back and see what the restaurant was licensed for outside. Ms. Bertram added in that it would be under the Zoning Board of Appeals to what was needed for the license. Ms. French said that it was discussed at the initial meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the board felt that if there were no immediate objections from the neighbors they saw no initial concerns with allowing the entertainment at the restaurant. Mr. Alonzo stated that volume would be the big issue with outdoor entertainment as well as the hours that the entertainment played. Ms. French agreed and said that the restaurant would be very conscious of that. Mr. Matthews said they would have to circle back to the issue of outdoor weekday licensing later and they should just focus on weekday license. Mr. Alonzo moved to approve the indoor weekday entertainment license for the Cosimi Corporation d/b/a as the Bootlegger Restaurant. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. 7:30 p.m.- Update on Summer Street Project, Trish Domigan, VHB Engineering- Ms. Domigan began by addressing the BOS with an update that all three communities of Lunenburg, Leominster and Fitchburg have signed off on the Summer Street Project. The next step in the process would be to do field reconnaissance but the snow prevents that from happening immediately. Once the surveyors are able to check out the premises it should be about a month until all the proper data has been collected and the Ms. Domigan could come back and discuss the different options for the project. Once that happens it would take 6-8 months to go over the preliminary design. Once the preliminary design is completed it will be submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation at which point a 6 week notice needs to go out before MassDot can schedule a design public hearing for the winter of 2014. Ms Bertram questioned the timing of the project asking what year Ms. Domigan thought the year could start. Ms. Domigan responded by stating there was a lot of that needed to happen and that she was waiting to hear from Senator Flanagan's office on whether bond money would be released for the project. Ms. Domigan believed it would be a couple years before the project could start, specifically 2015-2016. Ms. Bertram stated that she was the MPO Representative for Sub Region 3 and mentioned that she had a meeting 2 weeks ago, this project was moving forward and Arthur Frost at MassDot was aware of that. Ms. Domigan stated that Ms. Bertram should push for a specific TIP year to get the project moving faster. MassDot was very busy and that if a TIP year was established MassDot would work fast on it. Mr. Matthews asked whether there would be more public forums and discussions once the design was submitted for the project. Ms. Domigan said there could be as many meetings and forums as the BOS wanted. She stated that transparency for projects like this was very important and that it would be good for this project so that the public would support it and not question it. Ms. Domigan also suggested that the three communities involved have working sessions so that the designs for Summer Street matched what each community was trying to accomplish. Mr. deBettencourt asked what was happening with the Summer Street intersection. Ms. Domigan responded by saying there was a lot of work and research regarding how many lanes could be added but that the space was tight and the options were few for immediate changes. Ms. Domigan stated she would be back once the snow melted, hopefully by April, to discuss the project further. Ms. Bertram encouraged Ms. Domigan to inform everyone she could to push for an early TIP year so that they project could be started faster. ===PAGE 4=== Ms. Speidel said that the BOS meeting at the beginning of April shouldbe the time to bring in property owners and townspeople to discuss the project. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Establishment of Stabilization Fund, Monty Tech Vocational School District- Ms. Speidel informed the BOS that she had received a letter from the Superintendent of Monty Tech and followed up with a meeting with Barbara Reynolds, Lunenburg's Representative on the Monty Tech School Board. Monty Tech is interested in establishing a Stabilization Fund and needs member communities to vote on and approve the establishment of it. Ms. Speidel suggested that a Monty Tech representative come and explain that situation for the Stabilization Fund. Ms. Speidel stated that Monty Tech wants to establish the fund so that they could set money aside to maintain capital items. Monty Tech is looking to establish the fund this year but not looking to put anything into it immediately. This is an issue that would have to be voted on at Town Meeting. 2. Request from Board of Registrars to Move the Date of the Annual Town Meeting- Ms. Speidel informed the BOS that with the appointment of former Senator John Kerry to Secretary of State the Commonwealth is holding Primary Elections on April 30th to start the process of replacing Secretary Kerry's Senate seat. The Board of Registrars recommends that the Annual Town Elections be moved up to April 30th date from the third Saturday in May for cost saving reasons as well as convenience reasons. Mr. Alonzo stated that he posed the question last week to the Town Manager regarding when newly elected officials would be sworn in since the elections would be held early. Mr. Matthews stated that he was not sure but he did not view it as a problem and it could be worked through. Ms. Speidel informed the BOS that the Board of Registrars would like the decision made this evening. Ms. Bertram motioned to move the elections to April 30". Mr. deBettencourt seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. 3. Update on the School Building Committee Activities - Mike Mackin 26 Cortland Circle, updated the BOS on where the School Building Committee was with the Feasibility Study on new schools. Mr. Mackin stated that last fall after review of almost a dozen firms the committee chose Joslin Lesser as the Project Manager. Working with the Project Manager, a request was sent out for design services in December and 14 proposals were returned. The Massachusetts School Building Authority Design Selection Panel and the Lunenburg School Building Committee then met to recommend an architect for hiring. Mr. Mackin stated that the Lunenburg School Building Committee did not have final say on the architect but was one of 15 votes on a panel to choose the final architect. The two groups reviewed 10 groups and 3 finalists were identified. The two groups met again on Feb. 2nd to interview the three finalists. Tappe Associates was designated as the designer. The LSBC met with Tappe last week to discuss the groups approach and design. Mr. Mackin stated that they were in the very beginning stages of the Feasibility Study. The study will look at options that will provide the most educationally sound and cost effective solutions which included renovating the High School, renovating and expanding the High School into a Middle/High School, construct a new High School, construct a new Middle/High School and also what grade combinations would be best for the schools. The whole process must be finished with preliminary designs by September 2013 to go to the MSBA for their approval and then to the voters of Lunenburg in a Special Town Meeting for their approval. Mr. Mackin said that a series of meetings would be set up with the firm's Educational Consultant for educational vision and planning. These meetings would include interviews with current students, parents, teachers, administrators, local officials, & townspeople, on March 6th, 7th and 13th 9-3 at the Thomas C. Passios School. Mr. Mackin stated that the new school should not be considered just school buildings but rather community buildings. 4. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues ===PAGE 5=== : : Minutes: 2/5/13 Warrants: 2/19/13 W 45-13 $16,370.41 Quarterly Water commissioners water usage billing in the amount of $4,540.74 Action File Issues: None 5. Committee Reports -Ms. Bertram stated that the Planning Board held public meetings on the Aro Farm propeity that were continued until February 27th and that the Planning Board was awaiting the drainage calculations for the property. Town Counsel was able to obtain an agreement in writing from the developer of the Aro Farm property to extend a deadline for the Planning Board to make a decision until the end of April. No interviews have been scheduled for prospective Planning Board members. Mr. Alonzo reminded all that the Town Manager would be presenting the FY2014 budget at the Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, February 28th. Mr. Matthews stated that he had invited State Representatives Benson and DiNatale as well as Senator Flanagan to attend a BOS meeting on either March 5th or 12th. 6. Town Manager Report or Department Reports- Ms. Speidel said that the Mass Municipal Association is hosting a series of spring Legislative Breakfast Meetings. The one closest to Lunenburg was scheduled in Pepperell at the Pepperell Town Hall on Friday March Ist with the topic of discussion being the Governor's budget. Another series of meetings will happen in Andover on March 8th and Acton on March 15th. Ms. Speidel stated she would be happy to register any BOS member who wished to attend Ms. Speidel also noted that the Planning Department/Board will be submitting a District Local Technical Assistance grant application to MRPC to look for funding to investigate and research a Mixed Use Village District Bylaw in the downtown area in Lunenburg. APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - None PUBLIC COMMENT - Ms. Bertram asked that the board members who voted against sending the Aro Farm acquisition to Town Meeting, to reconsider bringing it to a vote of the people at Town Meeting Mir. deBettencourt stated that he would not change his vote. Mr. Matthews stated that it would be too tight a window to squeeze in the property acquisition vote into Town Meeting and that the issue is moot. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business Mr. deBettencourt moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Alonzo seconded. On vote motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed Meeting ended at 8:12 PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE Thursday February 28, 2013 - Presentation of Town Manager's FY14 Recommended Budget March 5, 2013 March 12, 2013 ===PAGE 6=== March 19, 2013 Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-03-05-agenda-4835.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-03-05 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-03-05-agenda-4835.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03052013-4835 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN March 5, 2013 7:00 PM – Town Hall Bilotta Meeting Room, Second Floor AGENDA 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM- Common Victualer License for Bangkok Hill Restaurant 7:15 PM- Request for Permit to Ride on Whalom Lake CURRENT BUSINESS 1. FY2014 Budget Discussion 2. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 3. Committee Report 4. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE March 12, 2013 March 19, 2013