# select-board — 5 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 : 2013-11-12-agenda-4865.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-11-12 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-11-12-agenda-4865.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11122013-4865 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN November 12, 2013 7:00 PM – Town Hall Bilotta Meeting Room, Second Floor AGENDA In accordance with the requirements of the Open Mee tings Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over Lunenburg Public Access. 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS Board & Committee Vacancies APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM – Public Hearing on General on Premises All Alcohol License for MLMR, Inc. d/b/a Primetime Pub, 5 Summer Street, Unit 10 7:15 PM – FY2014 Tax Classification Hearing, Board of Assessors CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Review of Tax Exemption & Deferral Programs with Regional Assessor 2. Request from DPW Director to establish Road Clos ure Date, 11/29/13 3. Accept/ Approve Consultant Agreement, Colonia Po wer Group 4. Open Warrant for STM; set closing date; review d raft Ballot Question 5. Accept/ Approve BOS Policies & Procedures 6. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 7. Committee Report: Board of Health; Building Reu se Committee; Capital Planning Committee; Finance Committee; Library Board of Trus tees; MPO; Planning Board; PACC; School Committee; School Building Committee; Sewer Commission; MA Broadband 8. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE November 19, 2013 December 3, 2013 December 10, 2013 December 17, 2013 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-11-12-minutes-4865.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-11-12 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-11-12-minutes-4865.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11122013-4865 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 11/12/2013 - The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting room at Town Halyas scheduled with Chair Person Tom Alonzo, Vice Chairperson Paula Bertram, Dave Matthews, Jamie Toale, Robert Ebersole and Town Manager Kerry Speidel. Regular Meeting opened at 7:02 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT Ms. Bertram spoke and thanked all of the Veteran's who have served, and those who are currently serving. She said that it is a huge sacrifice that they are making and that this country would not be where it is without the sacrifices of these ANNOUNCEMENTS Board & Committee Vacancies (Discussed after Action File Issues): Mr. Alonzo announced that there are vacancies on the following boards/committees: Public Access Cable Committee - 3 vacancies and on the Personnel Committee - 2 vacancies. APPOINTMENTS 7:00PM Public Hearing on General on Premises All Alcohol License for MLMR, Inc. d/b/a Primetime Pub, 5 Summer Street, Unit 10: Mr. Alonzo read into record the Notice of Public Hearing and invited the applicant to speak to the board about the application and business. Mark LaPrade, representing MLMR spoke to the board saying that he would like to be open by the beginning of the new year and explained the type of establishment he would be running along with the hours of operation. Primetime Pub would be open during weekdays from 12 Noon - 1AM and on weekends from 12 Noon - 2AM. Entertainment will be kept "light" with acoustical type music and the only food to be served will be those of a snack type nature. He will be seeking to employee TIP certified staff for this enterprise after all required approvals are received Mr. LaPrade has no prior experience as an owner but has bartended and has been an acting manager in these types of establishments for many years. Mr. LaPrade would be acting as a working Owner/Manager at this business. Ms. Bertram questioned if the manager is required to be on duty during the hours of operation of such a business Ms. Speidel replied that they are not required to be on duty all of the time. Mr. Ebersole added that the Towns regulations state that the Manager must be there at least 50% of the time that the business is open. Ms. Bertram moved to approve the General on Premise All Alcohol License for MLMR, Inc. d/b/a Primetime Pub, 5 Summer Street, Unit 10. Mr. Matthews seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. 7:15PM FY2014 Tax Classification Hearing, Board of Assessors: Harald Scheid, Regional Assessor reported to the board concerning the FY2014 Tax Classification. He explained that this hearing is for the BOS to determine if they will levy a single tax rate across all classes of real estate and personal property or move to a split rate. Mr. Scheid stated that Lunenburg has a small commercial and industrial tax base and the Board of Assessors recommends to the BOS the adoption of a uniform or single tax rate. Mr. Scheid went on to say that it would take a significant increase in the industrial/commercial tax base to yield a modest reduction to residential property taxes. (See attached Tax Rate Options spread sheet) Mr. Scheid commented on valuations saying that they believe that they have reached the bottom of the market and evidence points to a stabilized real estate market. They are making some minor valuation changes that overall will result in very small value reductions at similar levels that were seen in FY2013. Earlier in the year there was some strong activity in the real estate market and if this continues we may see some price appreciation. RECEIVED & FILED Mr. Alonzo asked what the overall decrease was. Mr. Scheid replied overall it was 30%, which is very typical of Central Mass. DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ===PAGE 2=== Mir. Matthews commented to say that it's important for people to remember that discussions are held about tax rates. When values are down, tax rates are up and when values are up, tax rates are down. People need to look at the total picture, from both sides of the equation, to understand the tax burden. As far as our discussion this evening our goal is to encourage more commercial/industrial investment in Town and we don't want to hamper that by putting a higher burden on development. Mr. Matthews would like to keep it as we've been doing it. Mr. Matthews moved to maintain the single uniform tax rate in the Town of Lunenburg. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Review of Tax Exemption & Deferral Programs with Regional Assessor (Taken out of order before the 7:15PM Appointment): Harald Scheid, Regional Assessor, explained to the board the available Statutory Tax Exemptions and Deferrals which are available to qualifying Lunenburg residents for FY2014. These included exemptions and deferrals for the elderly, Veterans, and the blind. He mentioned that approximately $80,000 is granted in tax relief in a given year but reiterated the fact that you must meet certain qualifications in order to receive benefits, which sometimes can be difficult to do. If a person is qualified for a tax deferral, their taxes would be deferred with simple interest as a lien on the property until the property owner passes or the home is sold Complete information can be received at the Lunenburg Assessors office, the Eagle House Senior Center or they can be downloaded at the Assessors section on the Town web site. (See Attached Property Tax Exemptions and Deferrals sheet) Also mentioned was the State Circuit Breaker Bill which is a reduction off of qualified individual's income tax, related to information on this particular tax refund. Mr. Ebersole added that the Circuit Breaker refund is in the amount of up to $1000, there is an income limit along with an asset limit which is based on assessed value. This also looks at taxes that are paid in a person's water and sewer bill. Even if a person does not pay taxes, if qualified, they can still receive money back from the State. 2. Request from DPW Director to establish Road Closure Date, 11/29/13: Tabled until next meeting Ms. Bertram asked for clarification on if the road closure would be for a specific street or will it be a policy in general Ms. Speidel replied that the request is for a policy in general. The DPW typically sets a date for when roads cannot be opened for utilities installation due to weather. The BOS serves as Road Commissioners and there is no documentation that shows that the BOS has delegated this over to the DPW Director before. Ms. Speidel had previously discussed this with the DPW Director and they felt that this is something that the BOS should make into a policy. Ms. Bertram would like to see something presented to the board as an actual policy which would include timelines and recommendations from the DPW Director. Mr. Alonzo clarified that the DPW Director ultimately would like to have a date for road closures that all agree in. 3. Accept/ Approve Consultant Agreement, Colonial Power Group: Brian Murphy, President of Colonial Power Group, came before the board to ask for an extension of the existing contract, which if it hasn't already, will expire shortly. Mr. Murphy gave a brief history of the Colonial Power Groups affiliation/purpose with the Town, which has been in existence for approximately 3 years now. He explained that from 1/2012 - 12/2012 the participating consumer's power supplier was ConEdison Solutions, who was the low bidder, and they did two 6 month contracts with the Town. At the end of 12/2012 the power markets were such that Unitil's default service was the best price available and at that time a recommendation was made to suspend the program until the market became favorable again. The suspension was lifted in June when the Town selected Dominion Resources for a 1 year contract that would be installed in a two 6 month installment process. The first installment was from 6/2013 to 12/2013 and under the terms of the contract the supplier had the right to serve the participating consumers from 12/2013 to 6/2014 providing it can be beat Unitil's basic service offering. They feel they can an accomplish this and also are offering an extension through 11/2014, which the Town Manager has accepted. Colonial Power Group is asking for the opportunity to continue to manage this process for the Town, as long as it sees fit. Mr. Murphy continued on to say that they would like to try to get another power company into the mix. A particular company that they are looking at is Hampshire Power. The Town of Lancaster is currently using them and if it is successful there, Mr. Murphy hopes that they will become one of the bidders. To date the current program in Lunenburg has saved residents and businesses $183,301.72, which is a cumulative total since the programs inception in 1/2012. The bulk of the savings came in 1/2012 but since then the market has tightened and the margin of savings now is much slimmer than it was which comes at no cost to consumers. Consumers can opt out of this program at anytime they choose. ===PAGE 3=== Commission payments for Colonial Power Group since 11/2010 have amounted to $54,031.13. These payments do not come from any Town funding, but come directly from the energy providers that Colonial Power Group works with. In essence, the rate payer in town pays the commission through a "per Kwh fee" (1cent per Kwh) that's embedded in the rate that the supplier has to include. Ms.Speidel mentioned that she had researched other consultant company's commissions and the rate that Colonial Power Group receives is a standard rate. Ms. Speidel is very pleased with the amount of savings that have been seen to Mr. Murphy mentioned that it was also important for people to know that prices are going up. The current rate that the Town's participating consumers have is 7.75 cents per Kwh and will be increasing to 9.2 cents per Kwh. This is reflective of a broad rate increase that all rate payers will be absorbing across the State as well as across New England. This is due to market rules that are put in place by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address fuel shortages that occurred last January. We did not feel this because the independent system operator that manages the grid in New England was able to keep power flowing, but because of the shortage of natural gas coming into New England on a very thin pipeline, some power generators were unable to obtain the gas to turn on their generating units. This happened during a cold snap and created situations that were close to a "brown out". During cold snaps gas becomes more difficult to transport through pipelines and when it's in limited availability, certain facilities have first rights to it such as homes, hospitals etc...and power plants need to wait. To address this, the International Standards Organization (ISO) and FERC have offered incentive payments to generators who can run on both natural gas and oil and have directed these generators to stock pile oil for the winter. Companies have gone out and spent $78M on oil to have on hand in case this happens again. That cost, by FERC's order, is immediately put onto consumers. These prices should moderate after the winter is over. Although there are improvements being made to the size of the natural gas pipeline, they are not slated to be initiated until Ms. Bertram moved to approve the Consultant Agreement with Colonial Power Group as contained in the packet. Mr. Matthews seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed 4. Open Warrant for STM; set closing date; review draft Ballot Question: Ms. Speidel informed the board that there is a Special Town Meeting (STM) and Special Town Election (STE) schedule included in their packets and reviewed it with them. (See Attached) She mentioned that the dates were set at last weeks BOS meeting but were not on the agenda and asked the BOS to officially open them this evening. She explained that in order to meet the requirements of the Charter and/or Bylaw the warrant needs to remain open until 4PM n 11/25/2013. The Massachusetts School Building Association (MSBA) is very particular concerning language for the warrant article and the ballot question. Copies of the draft article and draft ballot question have been sent to the School Superintendent for further information to be added to them. When the drafts are completed they will be sent to Town Counsel and the MSBA for final approval. The Town's Bond Counsel will also receive copies to ensure that all their requirements are met. Discussion: Mr. Matthews stated that if the MSBA is not giving their final commitment until 11/20/2013, he was not sure how the BOS will be able to review and submit opinions by 11/19/2013. Ms. Speidel replied that she feels that neither the BOS nor Finance Committee should plan to have a recommendation included in the warrant. If they choose to do so, then they should look at holding a special meeting. Mr. Alonzo spoke to say that he felt that there would be no major changes between the time that the MSBA votes on this matter and when STM and the STE are held. Ms. Bertram voiced concern over wording in the MSBA Bulletin which states that "A city or town must vote to appropriate and authorize the full amount of a Project's cost, including both the local share and the MSBA's share, if any." Mr. Ebersole replied that the actual article says that "the amount of borrowing authorized shall be reduced by any grant set forth in the project funding agreement." You still have to appropriate the entire amount but you are only going to borrow what's left over after MISBA gives to you, so technically you're buying the whole project. Ms. Bertram stated that typically when you we go to town meeting we say that we will "go up to" a certain amount. We are asking for full authorization for the total project and this concerns her. She realizes that the expectation is that the grant will be received from the MSBA but what we are asking people to do at the STM and the STE is to fund the whole project. Mr. Matthews replied that we are only going to borrow our share, not the whole thing, and at any time we can stop the whole project. ===PAGE 4=== Mr. Ebersole added that the reality is that we will not go forward with out the MSBA. What's good is that the School Building Committee has been putting out what the Town's share and the MSBA's share will be and we just need to educate people that we have to appropriate the entire amount, but the only thing we will be responsible for is our share. Ms. Bertram stated that she wished this could be added to the article, we are going to have to do everything we can to make that clear, and this will be difficult. Ms. Speidel said that we can ask about including that information in the article. Mr. Matthews moved to open the warrant for the Special Town Meeting and Special Town Election effective November 12, 2013 to close on November 25, 2013 at 4PM. Mr. Ebersole seconded Discussion: Ms. Bertram said that it was indicated that the warrant had to be opened for a specific amount of time. By moving the date back to 11/12 are we still within that time period? Ms. Speidel replied that it's specific to a certain number of days prior to the meeting and that the closing date is the On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed Ms. Speidel stated that she had been asked if there will be a snow date for STM and STE if needed. She had discussed this with the Town Clerk and they determined that the BOS should identify what the snow date would be. If the meeting cannot be held due to weather the Town Clerk and the Town Moderator will post the building. Seeing that this is not an agenda item this evening, it will be added to next weeks meeting. Mr. Toale asked about a snow date for the STE Mr. Ebersole said that the Town Clerk indicated that it would have to be a State of Emergency, state wide, in order for it to not happen. Mr. Alonzo reminded the public that the last day to register to vote for the STE is 12/21/2013 at 8PM and the last day to register to vote for STM is 12/28/2013 at 8PM. The Town Clerk's office on those dates will be open from 9AM-8PM The review of the ballot question will be added again to next weeks BOS agenda. 5. Accept BOS Policies & Procedures: Mr. Alonzo stated the BOS Policies & Procedures are ready to be adopted but will continue to be a "work in progress". The board recognized and thanked Ms. Bertram on her work in organizing and editing all of the changes to the BOS policies & procedures. Mr. Ebersole noted that there was one item on page 55, Section 7.08 and mentioned that they had deleted the last 2 paragraphs (A & B) and these should be taken out. Ms. Bertram noted that on page 7 there is a numbering issue that also needs correction. Mr. Matthews moved to adopt the Board of Selectmen Policies & Procedures with the understanding that on page 55, Section 7.08 paragraphs A & B will be deleted and on page 7 the numbering issue will be corrected. Mr. Toale seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Ms. Bertram reminded the board that there is an outline available that charts the things that the board will continue to review which also includes some new policies that will be put forth. 6. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 11/5/2013 Warrants: Ms. Speidel noted that the Water Commitment page which was signed at last weeks meeting needed more signatures and submitted it to the board again for signing. 11/12/2013 #25-14 $514,549.17 Action File Issues: None 7.Committee Report: Board of Health; Building Reuse Committee; Capital Planning Committee; Finance Committee; Library Board of Trustees; MPO; Planning Board; PACC; School Committee; School Building Committee; Sewer Commission; MA Broadband: Board of Health - No Report RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ===PAGE 5=== Building Reuse Committee - Mr. Toale reported that there will be a Workshop on 11/18/2013 to finalize findings and recommendations. They will meet again on 12/2/2013 and should be ready on either 12/3/2013 or 12/10/2013 to present their findings to the BOS. Capital Planning Committee - Mr. Toale reported that the last of the input meetings will be held tomorrow morning after which they will work on establishing priorities and reporting to the Town Manager. Finance Committee - No Report Library Board of Trustees- No Report MPO- No Report Planning Board- No Report PACC- No Report School Committee- No Report School Building Committee. Mr. Matthews reported that there will be a "Coffee" at the Library on Saturday from 10AM- 2PM the purpose of which to answer questions and view plans of the proposed Middle/High School building project. Sewer Commission- Mr. Ebersole reported that they met with the Small Water System Services, are happy with the work they have done and they are within budget. They have proposed various capital improvements, some of which have been implemented The Lunenburg Village 40b status is with the Zoning Board of Appeals for review. They stayed firm on not waiving the privilege fee for additional affordable housing units, which had been done previously for others due to a quid pro quo exchange of improvement of Pleasantview Ave, and there was no such recommendation from the developer at that point. They went with the lower, prior connection fee that was in place when the original development went into place. They waived the inflow added fee that has come in since the other time. Lancaster Ave is waiting for the final acceptance and conveyances of various easements as done by Town Counsel Grease Trap Compliance reports from various restaurants have been coming in as a result of the communications that were sent to the property owners. MA Broadband- No Report 8. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports: Ms. Speidel reported that the online survey asking what the Towns people preferred for financing of the Middle/High School Building project. Since last BOS meeting 42 people have responded, 27 of those responding prefer a 30 year financing term, and 15 prefer a 20 year financing term. • This survey is available on the front page of the Town of Lunenburg Website. APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: None Being no further business Ms. Bertram moved to adjourn the BOS meeting. Mr. Matthews seconded. On vote motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Regular Scheduled Meeting adjourned at 8:15PM UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE November 19, 2013 December 3, 2013 Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ===PAGE 6=== HARALD SCHEiD REGiONAL ASSESSOR PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS AND DEFERRALS AVAILABLE TO QUALIFYING LUNENBURG RESIDENTS - FY 14 ALL ELIGIBILTY REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET AS OF JULY 1 OF THE TAX YEAR CLAUSE 41 C - E2 DOMICILED IN MA FOR PRECEDING 10 YEARS PRIOR TO JULY 1st: OWNED & OCCUPIED HOME IN MA FOR'S YRS PRIOR TO JULY 1st SURVIVING SPOUSE INHERITING PROPERTY • MUST HAVE OCCUPIED "PROPERTY FOR S YEARS PRIOR TO JULY Ist CLAUSE 17D - ED OWNED SAME HOME IN LUNENBURG FOR S CONSECUTIVE YEARS PRIOR TO JULY 'Ist ELDERLY Age 70 by July 1 Own and occupy Real Estate - 5 years Exemption Amount: $750.00 Income*: Single Person No more than Married Persons (Joint. Ownership) No more than $28,300.00 $35,600.00 Assets* : Single Person No more than $47,400.00 Married Persons No more thạn $65,300.00 *Note: Income from all sources: Wages, Social Security, Pensions, Interest, Dividends, Rent, etc. Documentation must be provided for income received: W-2, 1099-INT., 1099-DIV, etc. Assets=Whole Estate, Whole Estate means ALL assets to which you have legal title and access as Sole; Joint Owners or Trustee that contribute to your TOTAL worth. Assets include bank accounts, checking accounts, stocks, bonds, 401K's, IRA's, savings certificates; motor vehicles, boats, RV's, real estate, etc. (Value of domicile up to a 3 unit dwelling unit is exempt) Documentation must be provided to support all assets. Surviving spouse (V) or persons over 70 who are ! eligible for Clause 41C (E2). July 1 qualification date. Exemption Amount: $298.00 income*: Not. considered Assets*: $59,200.00 "Note: See description of assets for Clause 41C VETERANS* DOMSCHED IN MA FOR: 6 MOS PRIOR TO SERVICE. DOMICILED IN MA FOR 5 CONSECUTIVE YRS PRIOR TO JULY 1st MUST OCCUPY HOME AS DOMICILE AS OF JULY 1st V1 Clause 2 10% Service Connected Disability Exemption Amount: V2 Clause 2 Loss of Use- Service Connected V3 Clause 2: 100% Service Connected Disability ** Clause 22l Service Related Death $400.00 $750.00 $1,000.00 Full Exempt for 5 yrs $2,500.00 thereafter * Note: Disability Certificates must be provided from the Veteran's Administration July 1st qualification date Disability Certificates must be provided from the Veteran's Administration yearly dated or or before July 1st BLIND * - B Clause 37A Registered with Division of the Blind * Note: Certificate must be provided yearly. July 1st qualification date. Exemption Amount: $500.00 RECEIVED & FILED RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE NOV 2 1 2013 LUNENDURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ===PAGE 7=== TAX DEFERRALS* Clause 41A Financial Hardship- Elderly Persons Exemption Amount: Age 65 by July 1. Own and occupy Real Estate - 5 years Income: Assets: *Note: No more than $20,000 Not Considered Taxes are deferred with simple interest at 4% as a lien on the property until the property owner passes, or the home is sold Clause 18A Temporary Financial Hardship Exemption Amount: No age qualification Own and occupy Real Estate on 7/1 and lived continually in MA for 10 yrs Must meet financial hardship qualifications as determined by the Assessors Can defer for 3 years maximum, paid off over 5 year period following *Note: Taxes are deferred with simple interest at 8% as a lien on the property until. paid in full within 5 years of deferral period. If the property owner dies or home is sold, interest accrues at 16% from that point forward until payment is made. Up to Full Tax Up to Full Tax Exemption Qualtication Requirements 13,4s RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE RECEIVED & FILED NOV 2 1 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLEK OFFICE ===PAGE 8=== Tax Rate Options CLASS Residential Open Space Commercial Industrial Personal Prop Total VALUE PERCENTAGE 1,013,879,421 89.9122%) 0.0000% 63,717,379 20,091,700 29,944,552 1,127,633,052 5.6505% 1.7818% 2.6555% 100:0000% LEVY 20,286,119 Estimated Levy 17.99 Single Tax Rate CIP Shift 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1:10 1:11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 Res Factor 100.0000 99.8878 99.7756 99.6634 99.5512 99.4390 99:3268 99.2146 99:1024 98.9902 98.8780 98.7658 98.6536 98.5414 98.4293 98.3171 98.2049 98.0927 97.9805 978683 97.7561 97.6439 97.5317 97.4195 97.3073 971951 Res 89.9122 89.8113 89.7104 89.6095 89:5087 89.4078 89.3069 89.2060 89.1052 89.0043 88.9034 .88.8025 88 7016 88.6008 88.4999 88.3990 88.2981 88.1972 88.0964 87.9955 87.8946 87.7937 87.6929 87.5920 87.4911 87.3902 R & 0% 89.9122% CIP % 10.0878% OS Share Percentages Com 5.6505 5.7070 5.7636 5.8201 5.8766 S.9331 5.9896 6.0461 6.1026 6.1591 6.2156 6.2721 6.3286 6.3851 6 4416 6.4981 6.5546 6:6111 6.6676 6.7241 6.7807 6.8372 6.8937 6.9502 7.0067 7.0632 Ind 1.7818 1.7996 1.8174 1.8352 1:8530 1.8708 1.8887 1 9065 1.9243 1 9421 1.9599 1:9778 1.9956 2 0134 2.0312 2.0490 2.0668 2.0847 2.1025 2.1203 21381 2.1559 2.1737 > 1916 2.2272 PP 2.6555 2.6821 2.7086 2.7352 2.7617 2.7883 2.8149 2.8414 2.8680 2.8945 2.9211 2.9476 2.9742 3.0007 3.0273 3.0539 3.0804 3.1070 3.1335 3.1601 3.1866 3.2132 3.2397 3 2663 3.2928 3.3194 Total Res: 100 18,239,691 100 18,219,227 100 18,198,763 100 18,178,298 100 18,157,834 100 18,137,370 100% 18,116,905 100| 18,096,441 100 18,075,977 100 18,055,513 100 18,035,048 100 18,014,584 100. 17,994,120 100 17,973,656 100 17,953,191 100 17,932,727 100 17,912,263 100 17,891,798 100 17,871,334 100 17,850,870 100 17,830,406 100 17,809,941 100 17,789,477 100 17,769,013 100 17,748,548 100 17,728;084 O.S Lunenburg Board of Assessors Fiscal Year 2014 RECEIVED & FILED RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 NOV 2 1 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE CLERK OFFICE Levy Amounts Com Ind pP. Total 1,146,276 361,450 538,703 20,286,119 1,157,738 365,064 544,090 20,286,119 O 1,169,201 368,679 549,477 20,286,119 01,180,664 372,293 554,864 20,286,119 1,192,127 375,908 560,251 20.286,119 1,203,589 379,522 565.638 20,286,119 • 1,215,052 383 137 571,025 20,286,119 1,226,515 386,751 576,412 20,286,119 0 ' 1,237,978 390,366 581,799 20,286,119 01,249,440 393,980 587,186 20,286,119 1,260,903 397,595 592,573 20,286,119 0 1,272,366 401,209 597,960 20,286,119 0 1,283,829 404,824 603,347 20,286,119 1,295,292 408,438 608,734 20,286,119 1,306,754 412,053 614,121 20,286,119 0 1,318,217 415,667 619,508 20.286,119 1,329,680 419,282 624,895 20,286,119 1,341,143 422,896 620 282 20,286,119 0 1,352,605 426511 635,669 20.286,119 O 1,364,068 430,125 641,056 20,286,119 1,375,531 433,740 646,443 20,286,119 1,386,994 437,354 651,830 20,286,119 1,398,456 440,969 657,217 20,286,119 1,409,919 444 583 662,604 20,286,119 1,421,382 448,198 667.991 20.286,119 1,432,845 451,812 673,378 20,286,119 Res 17.99 17.97 17.95 17:93 17.91 17.89 17.87 17.85 17.83 17.81 17.79 17.77 17.75 17.73 17.71 17,69 17.67 17.65 17.63 17.61 17.59 17.57 17.55 17.53 17.51 17.49 Estimated Tax Rates O-S Com Ind 17.99 17.99 18.17 18.17 0l 18.35 18.35 18.53 18.53 18.71 18.71 18:89 18.89 0 19:07 19.07 19.25 19.25 19.43 19.43 19.61 19.61 19,79 19.79 19.97 19.97 20.15 20.15 20:33 20.33 20.51 20.51 20:69 20.69 20.87 20.87 0 0 21.05 21.05 21.23 21.23 21.41 21.41 21.59 21.59 21.77 21.77 21.95 21.95 22:13 22.13 22 31 22.31 22:49 22.49 pP 17:99 18:17 18.35 18.53 18.71 18:89 19.07 19.25 19.43 19.61 19.79 19.97 20.15 20.33 20.51 20.69 20.87 21.05 21.23 21.41 21.59 21.77 21.95 22.13 22.31 22.49 ===PAGE 9=== CIP Shift.. 1.26 1.27 1:28 1.29 1,30 1.31 1.32 1.33: 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1,43 1:44 1.45 1:46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 Res Factor .97.0829 96.9707 96.8585 96.7463 96:6341 96.5219 96.4097 96.2975 96.1853 96.0731 95.9609 95.8487 95.7365 95.6243 95.5121 95.3999 95.2878 95.1756 95.0634 94.9512 94:8390 94.7268 94.6146 .94.5024 94.3902 Res: 87.2893 87.1885 87.0876. 86.9867 86.8858 86.7850 86.6841 86.5832 86.4823 86.3814 86.2806 86.1797 86.0788 85.9779 85.8770 85.7762 85.6753 85.5744 85:4735 85.3727 85:2718 85.1709 85.0700 84.9591 84.8683 OS Share Percentages Com 7.1197 7.1762 7.2327 7.2892 7.3457 7:4022 7.4587 7.5152 7.5717 7.6282 7.6847 7.7412 7.7977 7.8543 7.9108 7.9673 8.0238 8.0803 8.1368 8.1933 8.2498 8.3063 8.3628 8.4193 8.4758 Ind 2.2450 2.2628 2:2807 2.2985 23163 2.3341 2.3519 2.3697 2.3876 2.4054 2.4232 2.4410 24588 2,4766 2.4945 2,5123 2.5301 2.5479 2.5657 2.5836 2.6014 2.6192 2.6370 2.6548 2.6726 PP 3.3460 3.3725 3.3991 3.4256 3,4522 3.4787 3.5053 3.5318 3.5584 3.5850 3.6115 3.6381 3.6646 3.6912 3.7177 3.7443 3.7708 3.7974 3.8240 3.8505 3.8771 39036 3.9302 3.9567 3.9833 Total Res 100 17,707,620 100 17,687,156 100 17,666,691 100 17,646,227 100 17,625,763 100 17,605,299 100 17,584,834 100 17,564,370 100 17,543,906 100 17,523,441 100 17,502,977 100 17,482,513 100 17,462,049 100 17,441,584 100 17,421,120 100 17,400,656 100 17,380,191 100 17,359,727 100 17,339,263 100 17,318,799 100 17;298,334 100 17,277,870 100 17,257,406 100 17,236,941 100|17,216,477 Levy Amounts O S Com Ind PP 1,444,307 455,427 678,765 1,455,770 459,041| 684,152 0 0 1,467.233 462,656 689,539 1,478,696 466,270 694,926 1,490,158 469,885l 700,313 1,501,621 473,499 705,700 1,513,084 477,114 711,087 1,524,547 480,728 716,474 1,536,009 484,343 721. 861 0 1,547,472 487,957 727,248 1,558,935 491,572 732,635 1,570,398 495,186 738,022 1,581,860 498,801 743,409 1,593,323 502,415 748,796 1,604,786 506,030 754,184 O) 1,616,249 509,644 759,571 1,627,711 513,259 764,958 1,639,174 516,873) 770,345 1,650,637 520,488 775,732 1,662,100 524,102 781,119 0 1,673,562 527,717 786,506 1,685,025 531,331 791,893 1,696,488 534,946 797,280 1,707,951 538,560 802,667 • 1,719,414 542,175L 808,054 Total 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286;119 20,286:119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20.286.119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 20,286,119 Res 17,47 17.45 17:42 17.4 17.38 17,36 17.34 17.32 17.3 17.28 17.26 17.24 17.22 17.2 17.18 17.16 17.14 17.12 17.1 17.08 17.06 17.04 17.02 17 16.98 Estimated Tax Rates OS Com Ind 22.67 22:67 22.85 22.85 23:03 23.03 23.21 23.21 23.39 23.39 23.57 23.57 23.75 23.75 23.93 23.93 24.11 24.11 24:29 24.29 0 24.47 24.47 24.65 24.65 24.83 24,83 0 25.01 25.01 25.19 25.19 25.37 25.37 25.55 25.55 25.73 25.73 25:91 25.91 26.09 26.09 26.27 26.27 26.45 26.45 26.63 26.63 26.81 26.81 26.99 26.99 PP 22.67 22.85 23.03 23.21 23.39 23.57 23.75 23.93 24.11 24:29 24.47 24:65 24.83 25.01 25.19 25:37 25.55 25.73 25:91 26.09 26.27 26.45 26:63 26.81 26.99 RECEIVED & FILED DEC 0 5 2013 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERA OFFICE RECEIVED & FILED NOV 2 1 2013 LUNENBURG TOWY CLERK OFFICE ===PAGE 10=== SPECIAL TOWN MEETING TUESDAY - 01/07/14 - 7:00P.M @ LUNENBURG HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM SPECIAL TOWN ELECTION SATURDAY - 01/11/14 - 7AM-5PM - TC PASSIOS SCHOOL SCHEDULE Wednesday, November 15"h (Lunenburg Ledger) Tuesday, November 5th, Tuesday, November 25"* 4:00 P.M. Tuesday, November 19t, thri Thursday, November 21st Advertise per Charter Section 2-7(c) Warrant Open/Set Date Special Election Warrant Closed Town Manager/Selectmen/Finance Committee/Town Counsel review Articles, BOS, FinCom submit recommendations on articles-BOS set sequence of articles. Friday, November 29th Warrants Printed/Meeting & Election Monday, December 2nd Advertise for FinCom Public Hearing Tuesday, December 10th Five copies of Warrant for Selectmen's signatures. Then to Town Clerk for posting. Must be posted 14 days prior to meeting; Election must be posted 7 days prior to election. (No later than 12/24/13) londay, December 16 deadline 12/24/13 meeting 1/4/14 electio Warrants Posted and Mailed to Residents Thursday, December 19th- 7PM FinCom Public Hearing on Warrant Articles Saturday, December 21st, 9 am-8 pm Last Day to Register to Vote for Election (20"h day prior) Saturday, December 28*, 9 am-8 pm Last Day to Register to Vote for Meeting (10" day prior) Week of December 30t* Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 7PM Friday, January 10** Noon Saturday, January 11, 2014 7AM - 5PM Prepare Motion Sheet Special Town Meeting-LHS AUDITORIUM Last day and hour to vote at Town Hall Special Town Election - TC PASSIOS ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-11-19-agenda-4866.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-11-19 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-11-19-agenda-4866.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11192013-4866 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-11-19-minutes-4866.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-11-19 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-11-19-minutes-4866.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11192013-4866 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 11/19/2013 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta meeting room at Town Hall as scheduled with Chair Person Tom Alonzo, Vice Chairperson Paula Bertram, Jamie Toale, Robert Ebersole and Town Manager Kerry Speidel. Not present was David Matthews. Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Alonzo commented on the recent act of racial graffiti along with other questionable acts which were reported that participated in the vigil which was held in support of the student and to stand up against racial intolerance. The allegations from previous games is also under way. Mr. Alonzo said that he hopes that the person who committed this act can be brought to justice hopes that we can recommit ourselves to the principles that he believes are the core values of the school and the community at large, which are the principles of inclusion, of mutual respect, of tolerance and diversity. He mentioned that the school has made a commitment to reassert themselves in programs such as anti bullying and diversity and we as town's people should do this on our own. Hopefully we can begin the healing process with the student and the family to who this was directed against. We ask that if anyone has any information they contact the Lunenburg Police Dept. Mr. Ebersole spoke to say that he supports the Chairs statement and he looks forward to a speedy resolution to this so that the town can move ahead to heal and move forward Ms. Bertram spoke to say that she echo's the Chairs sentiments and added that it was heartening to see everyone at the vigil. We all need to come together as a community, which she thinks that we are. We are an inclusive community and this is what we need to be. She also encouraged anyone with information on this crime to come forward. Mr. Toale spoke to support the Chair's comments. He went on to say that he is very proud of the town and community, continues to be so, and expects to be so in the future. Les Szabady, 920 Mass Ave, spoke to the BOS and said that it was a terrible thing that happened last week. He feels that the healing process for all would be to reconsider and let the team play the Thanksgiving Game. He feels that the actions of one person can not be blamed on the entire team and you need to take into consideration the players, the band, the cheerleaders and all of their families. This is a tradition in the town, we would like the support of the town and would like for the BOS to reconsider to let them play. Mr. Alonzo responded to clarify the separation of the powers and authorities within the town. The decision to cancel the game lies with the School Committee and the School Administration. They have an elected board which determines that He advised that this group present this case to them. Mr. Alonzo went on to say that as a resident/official of this town who has no authority in that decision, he would like to publicly say that he supports their decision. He understands Mr. Szabady's point's, he believes that it's not an assessment against the team or any of the other groups. This comes down to a safety issue and we do not want another incident happening, when the ones that are before us are no where near a resolution. It is unfortunate that the people who had nothing to do with this will pay a price, and he does not want this to be looked at as an assessment of blame and suggested again that this be taken up with the School Committee and School Administration. Mary Ulf, Autumn Rd. Spoke to the BOS to say that she understood what the Chair had just said and that she will speak to the School Committee. She has a daughter who is a senior at Lunenburg High School and she herself is a substitute teacher there. She does not believe that the seniors or anyone else on the Football team should be penalized for à crime that we do not know has occurred. It's not fair to assume that it was a student or athlete of our High School. Steve Powell, Winterhill Rd. spoke to the BOS to say that the media spins information. The team truly stands behind the victim, they are friends with him, and everyone on the team want him back on the team. We hope that whoever did this ===PAGE 2=== comes forward to get help so you don't affect the rest of the kids. Lunenburg is a great town and to see this stuff written in the paper and to watch the news you wouldn't think that. Contrary to what the media says they were all at the vigil. This stuff goes on everywhere, no one is exempt from that, they fully support Isaac and we all want him back. Mr. Alonzo spoke to say that he's sorry that the broadcasting media is not here tonight because it was a glaring omission on their part to report that the entire football team along with the coaching staff, were not present. A lot of what the media is reporting are inaccuracies at best along with hear say and third party speculation. Greg Berthiaume, Chair of the Lunenburg School Committee, read a statement from the School Committee which stated their support of the victim and his family and that they will continue to work to show that hate has no place in our schools. It reminded people that there are two ongoing investigations. The first is being investigated by the School Department which concerns an incident at both the Lunenburg vs. Worcester South football varsity and junior varsity games that alleged that racist statements were used against the Worcester South players by Lunenburg athletes. The second is being investigated by the Lunenburg Police and it concerns a racial slur which was scrawled on the Phillips home. This investigation is focused broadly and is not limited to just the football players. They expect a thorough and swift investigation into both of these matters. The letter stated support for the students, football team, faculty, coaches and administration for their efforts over the last tew days along with their support for each other and for Mr. Phillips and his family. The recommendation of the coaches, school administration, and Superintendent was to postpone and then cancel the Oakmont game. Although the coaches were hopeful the Thanksgiving game could be played they support the decision of the administration and the Superintendent to suspend that game. This recommendation was based on the safety and well being of our students, players and fans in the emotionally charged environment that has been generated by these most recent acts. They also believe it would be highly inappropriate to play the remaining games while there is an ongoing investigation. They asked for the community to continue to support the students, athletes, coaches, faculty, administration and each other through these challenging times Mr. Berthiaume said that this was unanimously approved by the 5 members of the School Committee. Lisa Connors, Lunenburg, spoke to say that she was confused because they are saying it might not be the football team and then they are taking it out on them by not letting them play. Tammy Reynolds, 101 Stonefence Rd. spoke to say that by this decision we have just empowered the person who committed this crime. We have gentlemen here who have worked very hard and we have seniors who will leave this school tarnished because we make a decision to allow that person, likely an immature teenager, to dictate to us the program that we as a town should be supporting. Ms. Reynolds is confused as well. Ms. Bertram spoke and reiterated that this not a decision of the BOS and is a decision of the School Committee. She encouraged the people in attendance to establish a dialog with them. This board does not have that authority. Ms. Ulf spoke again to say that there is a poll going around via Facebook and the Sentinel & Enterprise on whether or not you agree with this decision. She asked what would happen if there were enough votes, would this be reversible. Mr. Alonzo replied that he does not want to speak for the School Committee, a poll is certainly popular opinion and does not carry the weight of a Town election and is not binding. It may guide or influence their decision but he did not want to speak for them. Rick Hill, Oak Ave., stated that he believes that the School Committee made a hasty decision by canceling the Thanksgiving game. What is happening right now is not only effecting Lunenburg but St. Bernards as well. Mr. Hill believes that this is not a safety issue. He said that the Worcester issue was not an issue that day. We understand how bad this issue is but if the Worcester issue was such a major problem then why wasn't it an issue then. Mr. Hill said that the Worcester team were the ones using the language and maybe one or two of our kids retaliated. It's High School kids, kids cleats get thrown into the trash can and tires being flat happens across America. You're going to punish all these kids because of hear say. The problem that happened at the Phillips house is very sad but keep in mind if we find out it was any of our kids that did that, no matter if they play sports or not, we need to protect those kids, let them come forward without the vigil, without the media and the lynch mob to say I'm sorry | screwed up. At the end of the day they are teenage kids and all of these kids here deserve to be playing football on Thanksgiving. Mr. Hill asked if the BOS could supercede the School Committee. Mr. Alonzo replied no. Dave Ulf, Autumn Rd. spoke to say that he thinks the BOS and the Town Manager are giving everyone lip service. All these people here are looking for support and you say that it is up to the School Committee. You are elected officials of this town and we expect you to run this town. He does not see this as being viable and the School Committee needs to be up here to listen to this. He asked why are we here and why do we elect you people. ===PAGE 3=== Mir. Alonzo replied that it would be helpful for everyone if people understood who has what authority in town. To know that the School Committee as a 5 member elected body has the authority over the School Department by State Law, not by my decision, and not by anyone in this rooms decision, our State Law gives them that authority. You elect them to run the school. I understand your anger and frustration but it should be directed at the places where you can say make that change. I'm trying to be honest with you and I'm sorry I'm getting agitated. I don't want to be accused that I'm not doing something I could do to help you when I don't have that authority, which I made clear at the beginning of this meeting. don't have that authority not because I choose not to exercise it, but because the law does not give it to me. I you're asking why you're here tonight I assume it's because you want to voice your opinions and they are important to me. I'm sorry that we can't do all the things you want us to do, and we may not even agree with the things that you want to do, but you need to respect the fact that we are hear to listen and | understand both sides. It's not something that I take lightly and I'm sure that it's not something that the School Committee takes lightly. It is a very difficult decision but the decision rests with them. Robin Corbett Sunset Ave. spoke to say that she went to the School Committee meeting tonight and she feels that the decision was made before she got into the room and she doesn't feel like she had a say. She has been the team mom for the Juniors and Seniors for years, it breaks her heart, and she's not going to stop until Thanksgiving is over. They deserve to play and she will remain behind them until she can't anymore. Anne Nash, 1790 Mass Ave spoke and asked why the School Committee was here with a prepared statement, it this is a town meeting. Mr. Alonzo replied that this is a regularly scheduled Selectmen meeting. Mr. Berthiaume spoke to say that this was a public opportunity on TV for us to explain our justification behind what we did We do have a meeting tomorrow and I hope that people will come and we invite you to share your concerns at the public speaking section of our meeting. Given the short time available we wanted to get the information out as early as we possibly could. Ms. Nash spoke to say that when you have children who have been on the team for all these years, it's heartbreaking and it's unfortunate that this one incident can ruin it and it's unfair to these kids. My heart goes out to this boy and his family but to blame all these kids, we don't know who did this. She went on to say that hopefully the School Committee will hear the people out and change their minds because it means a lot to a lot of people. Mr. Szabady spoke and asked the School Committee Chair if they went to the meeting tomorrow is there a chance that they would change their minds Mr. Berthiaume replied that the decision is made by a 5 member board and we cannot talk about that outside of a meeting. We just held an emergency meeting that was duly posted and we will be able to talk about those things in an open meeting tomorrow night. Due to the Open Meeting Law, we cannot talk about that tonight. Laura McGrath, Cushing Lane, spoke to say that in addition to it not being fair to punish the whole team there is something bigger here and that's that we live in America and we are innocent until proven guilty. She feels that the entire team is being held in a cell until the investigation is completed and you don't even know if it was somebody from Lunenburg. I'm not saying that the act wasn't disgraceful but we salute the flag every day, we have sons and daughters in the military, and in America you are innocent until proven guilty, or at least I thought you were. Stuart Leinson, 494 West Townsend Rd. spoke to say that he knew the vigil was supposed to be about peace but all it was about was persecuting the coaches and asking for resignations. It was actually disgusting. Why make the decision to cancel the game until all interviews are done. All the kids have been interviewed by FBI and State Police and they are not cracking these kids down. Mr. Leinson went on to say that this should be reconsidered, they have worked too hard, and if nobody in this town has done this act then they should absolutely be allowed to play. Tom Johnson, 11 White Tail Crossing spoke and asked if someone on the School Committee does something wrong do you blame the whole committee. Ms. Ulf spoke to say that we owe an apology to all of the BOS. We are here to get answers, you can't provide them and we need to understand that. You have to understand that all of us here are anxious and as a community we want to know who did this. I'm a tutor at the High School and I have that student in class and I feel badly for the family. There is a lot of tension and pain and kids don't know how to deal with this. The staff is busy trying to keep things as normal as possible at the High School. Unfortunately tonight the BOS are the "skape goats" and we have to understand that you don't know anything we don't know. I'm sorry that you're subjected to this, I think we are all just anxious and we want answers. As a community we should thank you for your efforts and appreciate the fact that we have to wait until we know what went on and who is responsible for this. ===PAGE 4=== Mr. Alonzo thanked Ms. Ulf for her comments and said that the BOS does not need or ask for an apology. We knew coming in here tonight that there would be a lot of heated things said. I will reverse it and apologize for myself getting agitated at some of the things that were said about what authority we have or didn't have. It is a wound that causes lots of turmoil between a lot of competing ideas and a lot of people who have different views on how things should be treated and there is no need for anybody here to apologize for that. He went on to say that there is a belief out there that somehow we know more than what we are letting you know. I am here to unequivocally say that is not true. We have nothing to report because nothing has been presented to us to report The Police are under strict guidelines as to what they can say with the investigation and we are not privy to any information. Ms. Bertram thanked Ms. Ulf for those comments and thanked all for coming tonight for this issue. This has affected our community, families and children. I understand your passion and anger. I encourage you to go to the School Committee and hope you all understand that this is not a decision that this board made or can influence. Talking about it as a community, regardless on how we fall on the issue, we need to come together, this is the start of that, and there is no need for an apology. Mr. Ebersole spoke to say that we don't make the decision because we don't have the legal authority to do that. He supports the School Administration for doing what it needs to do under statutory authority. He does not know what they know and trusts that the elected officials in the School Administration are doing the right thing and would like to state that he supports them in doing their statutory duties. Not to negate any of the comments that you all made, and I understand the disappointment but the town's people elect people to do their job and he expects them to do so. Mr. Toale spoke to say that while he agrees that we don't have the authority by State Law to make these decisions he welcomes the fact that everyone took the time to come and express their feelings to the BOS. It helps him to understand the town and his job in the town. He thinks it's important to understand that what ever decision is made by the people who are making the decision, this is not a punishment to the team, regardless to what decision is made, that's the wrong frame of mind, and he can't accept that as a citizen. It's a decision that will be made for safety reasons and he does not want anyone on the team to feel that the decision was made as a punishment to the team or to members of the community. Ms. Corbett spoke again to say that 4 words were written on that house. The first word was Knights and to her that's the first bad word that was used. If that name wasn't on there these kids would be playing. I take offense to what you just said because it is a punishment. If that word wasn't on there, we wouldn't be here. Carol Landers, Shirley MA, spoke to say that her son is a senior at the High School and asked the School Committee to keep an open mind before we go in tomorrow. She is worried if this issue is a public relations issue and if the media wasn't all over it would the same decision have been made. Her son has played his heart out for 4 years and he has read all the comments that have been written in the paper about his friends and team mates and it saddens him and all of us. She just wants the kids to be given a fair chance tomorrow and for the School Committee to keep an open mind Kate Carigan, Leominster MA, spoke to say that although she is not a member of the football team, she is a member of other sports at the school. She got to finish her season and she just can't imagine how the football team must be teeling right now. She does not believe its fair for them to be punished because she is a Blue Knight, and she was not punished Mr. Alonzo encouraged all to attend the School Committee meeting tomorrow evening to voice the opinions. They are elected officials and he understands the position that they are in and he knows that they will be there to listen tomorrow. Mr. Hill spoke and asked if the team could practice tomorrow. Mr. Berthiaume replied that decision is not a School Committee decision and that it's up to the Administration and coaches. Mr. Alonzo thanked everyone who came tonight and for sharing their views with the BOS. ANNOUNCEMENTS Board & Committee Vacancies: Mr. Alonzo announced that there are still vacancies on the Personnel Committee and on the Public Access Cable Committee (PACC). APPOINTMENTS : None CURRENT BUSINESS ===PAGE 5=== 1. Request for Voluntary Toll from LHS Music Program, 12/7/13 and/or 12/21/14: Jenny Whitcomb, Houghton's Mill Rd. came before the BOS representing the Lunenburg Music Aiders to request permission to hold a voluntary toll in the center of Town and on the corner of Rt. 13 & Whalom Rd. on either 12/7/13 or 12/21/14. This toll will benefit the Lunenburg High School music program's trip to New York City in the spring. Ms. Whitcomb assured the board that if approved she would contact the Chief of Police and the DPW for proper equipment/instructions on how to conduct the toll and said that it would be only adults collecting in the roadway. Mr. Toale moved to approve the request for the Voluntary Toll for the LHS Music Program to be held on December 21, 2013 from 8AM-12 Noon in the center of Town and on the corner of Rt. 13 & Whalom Rd. subject to discussion with the Chief of Police. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed. 2. Request from DPW Director to establish Road Closure Date, 11/29/13: Tabled by request of the DPW Director. 3. Review transition to Regional Dispatch with Fire Chief & Police Chief: Fire Chief Patrick Sullivan and Police Chief James Marino came before the BOS to give an update on the transition to the Regional Dispatch Center in Devens from the Public Safety building in Lunenburg. Chief Sullivan spoke to say that there had been some technology issues such as internet connections, difficulty sending EMS reports to the hospitals, and the station alerting system. All issues, if they haven't been resolved already, are being corrected as they move forward. The rapport between the staff at the Dispatch Center and the Fire Department is good and when there are problems they are addressed by the Director at the Dispatch Center in a timely manner. Mr. Alonzo asked if the transfer of the servers over to the Regional Dispatch had freed up anything in the Town's Information Technology (IT) budget. Ms. Speidel replied no because the Towns IT staff is still very involved with the IT at the Regional Dispatch. This may lessen but this transition has required a lot of their time and when they are finished they will take on other tasks. Mr. Alonzo clarified his question by asking who was responsible for maintenance to the equipment and if that frees up the Towns IT time. Ms. Speidel replied that we are still months away from that time. Mr. Ebersole added that the Lunenburg Public Safety building is the back up in the event that Regional Dispatch should happen to go down. Chief Marino said that they still maintain 4-5 servers at the Public Safety building, which has nothing to do with Devens and it was just the records management software that was transferred to the Regional Dispatch servers. Mr. Alonzo asked about the incoming mandate for Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) and if it has been used yet Chief Sullivan replied that Lunenburg was using this for 1 year prior to the when the Regional Dispatch was, which was challenging due to the fact that they were using only 1 dispatcher. The advantage to having this software is that the second dispatcher can get the call processed quicker which meets the mandate. Now that they are getting into their work flow, they are seeing information coming in quicker to emergency personnel over the radio. Mr. Ebersole asked if Lunenburg's Town building data shows up on the software also. Chief Sullivan replied yes. The computer data base from Lunenburg Police & Fire formed the core of the new system which was created at Devens. All of the other community's data was merged into that and nothing was lost. Mr. Ebersole mentioned that 70% of calls are now coming through mobile phones and asked if there was anything that can be done as far as triangulating caller ID Chief Sullivan replied that there is a system in place and the Director at Regional Dispatch is looking into getting set up to receive those calls directly. Currently they go through the State Police then they are forwarded out to the local dispatch center. It would be a function of time and money to be able to do that. Chief Marino spoke to say that there have been a few bumps in the road, they are making a lot of progress, and most of it is technology issues. Initially there was an issue with the phone system which was resolved. Lunenburg does not have a Voiceover IP and Regional Dispatch does. It would work better if Lunenburg had this but it is very expensive and is not being asked for in this year's Capital Plan. There were issues with technology concerning a vendor who was slow in installing/moving equipment which was badly needed and most of that has been resolved. They are still working on a few issues such as if an outside agency is trying to communicate to someone inside the lock up after hours and there is no desk person, they do not have a transponder to get into the building. The vendor is working on a system at Regional Dispatch to deal with opening some doors at the Public Safety building by pushing a button from that location. Another issue is that if there is a problem in the lock up there is a button that is pushed which enables a camera to swing around in that area which will notify the dispatcher with a tone. None of this equipment has worked since June 28 and Chief Marino was not aware of this problem until 2-3 weeks ago. The vendor is also currently working on that problem. ===PAGE 6=== The Citrix connection is still not 100% stable. There was a large issue with the booking camera which was that it wouldn't work because the software resides in a different location. The Town's IT along with Regional Dispatch and the manufacturer have managed to make it work which only amounts to about 60% of the time but they continue to work on that problem. Chief Marino would like to have the dispatchers from Regional Dispatch ride along with the patrol people so they can familiarize themselves with Lunenburg's procedures and policies. His hope is that this will accomplish a team concept. Chief Marino went on to say that it this is a growing pains issue which they are starting to get over but this takes time, and his staff understands that. He remains concerned that there is still 12 hours per day along with weekends that the Public Safety Building is not manned. He would like to see this changed and has discussed it with the Town Manager. The Desk Officer maintains a phone log and there is a sign in log in the lobby also, but this cannot be done after hours. It's a very busy place from 7AM-7PM and he's not sure how they can maintain this without staff. Chief Sullivan agreed with Chief Marino's staffing concerns and said that there was at least one episode where an unknown person was walking around the building at night knocking on doors after hours. There was one member of the Fire Dept. on duty but when he looked, he could not find the person and this is a concern. Ms. Speidel reminded everyone that with the savings that were realized by going to the district were left in Public Safety. This is being used to fill the position of Desk Officer who also is monitoring the lock up. As we work on the budget we will have to justify the need for additional funding within Public Safety. We have a very small Police & Fire department for the number of calls and activity that happens there and this issue is not going away. There are a number of other communities who are interested in joining the Regional Dispatch District which would further reduce Lunenburg's assessment which could be used to supplement our Police & Fire Dept. With the addition of more communities comes other challenges and Ms. Speidel believes that more time is needed to become familiar with existing issues before this can be done. She believes that all the staff at the Regional Dispatch has handled the change very well, which has been challenging at times, and complimented both the Police and Fire Chiefs for the work they have done. Mr. Alonzo stated that the issue of the Public Safety building being unmanned should be a priority. He asked if there were any other "red flags" that have not been addressed yet. Chief Marino replied no, other than the issues that the vendor is still working on they are on the road to getting things taken care of. Mr. Alonzo asked about when a call comes in after hours and it rolls over to the dispatch is the call recorded separately on their side of what comes in to the Lunenburg Police Dept. number as opposed to the 911 calls. Chief Marino replied yes it is. Mr. Alonzo said that this could be a good way to track the calls when the station is unmanned. Chief Marino added that they are having a radio issue which is worsening. There is a 118' radio antenna in Devens and there is a city north of Boston that is on the same frequency as us which interferes with us. They have been cooperative with turning their power down. Chief Marino applied 1 year ago for a new frequency and they are difficult to get. He did obtain one but there were a lot of restrictions on it and when they did go to program they were told it would cost approximately $15,000 - $20,000 to do so. They continue to work to resolve this issue. There is a repeater tower on Leominster Shirley Rd. and they installed an antenna on it for the Police & Fire Dept! Chief Marino asked for Capital Plan funds to purchase a receiver for that which he believes should be a priority. He also asked for a stand by generator for the Sunny Hill Rd. repeater site. Ms. Bertram asked if they were requesting additional funding for the Voiceover IP. Chief Marino replied that the phone system is antiquated but stable. Chief Sullivan added that it works but it is a challenge for it to come into our station then go back down to dispatch then back again to us. The BOS thanked Chief Marino and Chief Sullivan for their updates this evening. 4. Review draft Ballot Question; Establish Snow Date for STM; Other STM Issues: Ms. Speidel stated that in terms of both the warrant and ballot questions we are in the same place that we were at the last meeting. The only thing needed is a description of the project which has been requested from the School Superintendent. Ms. Speidel will obtain the necessary description at the School Building Committee meeting on Thursday evening then circulate it to the BOS. The warrant article will be submitted by the School Building Committee and they will approve that at their meeting. The BOS will have everything in hand at the next scheduled meeting on 12/3/2013. Ms. Speidel added that they will need to move out the printing of the warrant until just after the 12/3 meeting. ===PAGE 7=== Mr. Alonzo stated that the BOS will have the description of the project at their 12/3 meeting and at that meeting we can discuss if we want to make a recommendation before the printing. Ms. Bertram expressed her concern that the requirement is that the BOS vote that we fund the entire amount and she had asked that some additional language be put in concerning that. She would like to have this done before the next BOS meeting Ms. Speidel replied that she is still waiting for an answer on that. Ms. Speidel mentioned that there is a concern of inclement weather seeing that the STM & STE are being held in January. The Town Clerk and the Moderator suggested that 1/9/2014 would be the snow date for the STM. The High School auditorium is being held open on this day if it is needed. Mr. Ebersole moved to make the snow date for the Special Town Meeting for Thursday January 9, 2014. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed. Ms. Speidel reminded the board that if the meeting needs to be called because of weather, both the Town Clerk and the Moderator will go to the meeting at the posted time, the Moderator opens the meeting then adjourns it to 1/9/2014 Mr. Alonzo asked if the weather is so bad that they cannot do this, what then? Mr. Ebersole replied that it would be a State of Emergency and either the Police or Fire Dept. would need to transport them there to do this. 5. IMA with Town of Townsend for Sale of Net Metering Credits: Ms. Speidel explained that this is the same document that the BOS had reviewed several months ago. The board had expressed a concern that Lunenburg is only interested in selling excess credits and not a percentage of what is produced. This document has been modified to say that only excess credits are sold at the same price that we are purchasing at. Mr. Toale asked if there is any administrative burden or does it go directly from NuGen to Townsend. Ms. Speidel replied that she thought the administrative burden is very minimal because our only administrative burden would be if we modified Schedule Z so that the utility distributes the credits. We did not include any administrative fee that the Town would have to do because we felt that it was very minimal. Ms. Bertram stated that the billing is done directly through the utility and there will be no billing responsibility for the Town of Lunenburg Ms. Speidel agreed with Ms. Bertram's statement. Mir. Alonzo spoke to say that the actual properties have been removed from this document so it will be the aggregate of what we will have available. Ms. Speidel replied that this is true but the only municipal credits are coming from the Chase Rd. project now. She went on to say that the Townsend BOS will be taking this matter up at their 12/3/2013 meeting. Mr. Alonzo asked if our Town Counsel along with the Town Manager is OK with this to which Ms. Speidel replied yes. Mr. Alonzo asked if the board had any comments or questions. Ms. Bertram spoke to say that she was comfortable with this but would like the feedback from Townsend before moving forward. Ms. Speidel added that there was no need to act on it this evening. The status of the project is that the builder is in the process of pulling building permits. He has met with both the Planning Director and the Building Inspector several times ir the last couple of weeks and is currently putting together the sureties that he needs to provide to the Town. We are looking at the project up and running and producing credits by the end of the fiscal year. 6. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 11/12/2013 Warrants: 11/20/2013 11/18/2013 11/19/2013 #27-14 #11P-14 #26-14 $263,561.15 $656,620.25 $132,887.80 Action File Issues: Mr. Alonzo spoke to say that at Sunday's vigil he was handed a request from a student who is proposing that a youth summit called "No Bullies No Hate" be held on Wednesday November 15". He stated that this is in the realm of the School Committee and Administration and asked the board for their comments about this request. ===PAGE 8=== Mr. Ebersole spoke to say that the school does have an "Anti Bullying" program in place and his concern was that this should be consistent with that. He has no opinion of that because he does not know what the specific text of what the education would be and would be fine with asking the School Administration to consider this but he is not ready to vote in favor or against it. Mr. Alonzo responded by saying that we are not looking for a vote but just what our opinions may be. He agreed with Mr. Ebersole's comments and believes that this could be useful but it is intended to be student driven as opposed to adult driven. It sends a good message and is encouraging that someone from our community would propose this. ! would suggest that the School Committee take this seriously and consider this to see if it fits in and can be done. Ms. Bertram agreed and said that this is a well written and ultimately it is the decision of the School Committee & Administration. Ms. Bertram stated that she was supportive of this effort. Mr. Toale stated that he was supportive as well. Mr. Alonzo stated that with the boards OK he will contact the School Committee to say that the BOS is in support of this and encourage them to take this up. Ms. Bertram added to the Action File issues by saying that she had attended a meeting of the Open Space Committee where they talked about guidelines that they had created for disposition of Chapter land. They indicated that they had sent this to BOS some time ago and she would like it distributed to the board. They voiced concern with other criteria such as planning, proximity for economic development along with other standards that the Planning Board and Conservation Committee would look at. They looked at it strictly from an Open Space stand point and they did a phenomenal job of determining what criteria to look at when evaluating land. They basically said that if a piece of land meets 3 of their criteria the recommendation would be to bring it to the Town for a vote. They strongly recommended that we seek input from the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission, have them go through that same exercise, then take all of that information to create a robust criteria to evaluate land. Ms. Bertram requested that this be placed on a future BOS agenda. Mr. Ebersole stated that when the Open Space Committee had met with the BOS they had not recommended specific guidelines because they did not want to "tip the hand" for a person to get more money in the future. Ms. Alonzo clarified that we had asked them to identify properties and they said they felt it was not a good idea to determine or pre-determine properties we were interested in but rather criteria that we were interested in. 8.Committee Report: Board of Health; Building Reuse Committee; Capital Planning Committee; Finance Committee; Library Board of Trustees; MPO; Planning Board; PACC; School Committee; School Building Committee; Sewer Commission; MA Broadband: Board of Health - Mr. Ebersole stated that the BOH met last night where they continued their discussions of the difficulties of Title 5 regarding any small properties around a lake. If you own one of these properties you end up having waivers rather than tearing down the house. They are doing a good job of balancing these issues. The BOH voted to allow Dippin Donuts on Mass Ave to now have a standing counter with 4 stools. It was not allowed before because of their concern of the volume of water that may go into the septic system. They have tracked the water usage since they've opened and determined that a lot of the water goes out of the building in coffee cups and it's not going into the septic system. They will review this again in 1 year to make sure that the usage of the water hasn't gone The BOH reviewed the DEP report on the Woodlands where they had issues with the sewerage treatment plant which is being resolved. Also discussed were "grandfathered" septic systems with multiple houses on one system. They were dealing with one that had passed inspection and the property has been sold. They wanted to communicate with the people that are not on that property that they need to be aware of their responsibility of having it pumped every 3 years and inspected. They have no jurisdiction until it fails. Building Reuse Committee - Mr. Toale reported that this committee met last night, they are wrapping up their deliberations and are ready to make recommendations. They are putting them together in a presentation form and would like to be added to the BOS 12/3/2013 agenda. Capital Planning Committee - Mr. Toale reported that they will meet tomorrow morning, all of the Town Dept. requests are in, and they will start prioritizing them tomorrow with the objective of presenting to the Town Manager by 12/18/2013. Finance Committee - Mr. Toale was unable to make this meeting but was informed that they continue to work on their policy updates. ===PAGE 9=== Library Board of Trustees- No Report MPO- Ms. Bertram reported that their 11/13/2013 meeting focused on a demonstration of the new and improved Mr. Mapper program which MRPC has developed. There was a lot of good information and Ms. Bertram recommended that the DPW Director get in touch with the GIS staff there. There is a lot of tools which have been incorporated that allow drawing and calculations along with a lot of work that can be done on their site which can be saved locally and exported easily to various formats. Additionally they have updated the crash data on their site as well as identifying all of the Federal Aid eligible roads over the last year and have identified all of the pavement conditions which are all available online. For a minimal fee MRPC will update all of the pavement management for Lunenburg. They are unveiling some new mobile applications that will be able to be used with this software and these are targeted specifically towards DPW's and they are willing to come up to do some training. Planning Board- No Report PACC- Mr. Ebersole reported that their meeting needed to be rescheduled due to a quorum issue. School Committee- Mr. Alonzo reminded all that this committee is meeting tomorrow at the Passios building at 7PM. School Building Committee Ms. Speidel mentioned that this committee will be meeting on Thursday evening and tomorrow the School Superintendent, Chair of the School Building Committee, Architect, OPM, and herself will be going to the MSBA meeting where they will be finalizing the budget on the project. . The results of this meeting will be reported at the School Building Committee meeting on Thursday at 7PM at the Passios building. Sewer Commission- Mr. Ebersole reported that the sewer line on Lancaster Ave, which was privately funded by the Lancaster Ave residents group, was accepted by the DPW Director and the Sewer Commission so the project is complete. MA Broadband- Mr. Alonzo reported that there was a conference call with the member towns. As we near the close of the initial project, which is scheduled for the end of 12/2013, they are still on track. At the end of that the backbone will be lit and everything will be active. They will then meet with Mr. Alonzo, the IT Director and Town Manager about the anchor institutions in town and what steps need to be done to connect those to the fiber connection. The Governor has proposed the secondary funding of what's called the "Last Mile". Everyone's question now is once it's here and the community anchor institutions are connected how will businesses and residents get connected. There is a bond bill before them to cover not all but most of it. They will try to leverage this against Federal money to get the full amount which is estimated to be around $100M to do the last mile. Mr. Alonzo said that basically people want to know, now that its here, how do we get connected. Mr. Toale asked if the last mile will be your standard ISP's such as Comcast and Verizon or will it be a different group of providers. Mr. Alonzo replied that the last mile designation means how you get from the backbone to your house. Who runs that is open and there is criteria that has been employed to get people to apply it they are interested in providing that service. They are also trying to keep open discussions with the larger ISP's on this matter. 9.Town Manager Reports or Department Reports: No Report APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: None Mr. Alonzo spoke to say that he wishes all a Happy Thanksgiving. Given the times and the situation that we are in, in Lunenburg, he hopes we can redefine what we are thankful for in our community and there is plenty to be thankful for. Those things that don't fit that, all of us together work to correct them and to the best of our ability make sure and insure that everyone here is well respected and well protected. Being no further business Ms. Bertram moved to adjourn the BOS meeting. Mr. Toale seconded. On vote motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed. Regular Scheduled Meeting adjourned at 9:06PM UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE December 3, 2013 ===PAGE 10=== Respectfully Submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2013-12-03-agenda-4867.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2013-12-03 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2013-12-03-agenda-4867.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12032013-4867 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN December 3, 2013 7:00 PM – Town Hall Bilotta Meeting Room, Second Floor Revised AGENDA In accordance with the requirements of the Open Mee tings Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast over Lunenburg Public Access. 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS Board & Committee Vacancies APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM Review Sewer IMA w/ City of Fitchburg; Carl Luck, Chair, Sewer Commission 7:15 PM Review Land Donation Policy & Pleasant Street Property Proposal w/ Conservation Commission 7:30 PM Status Update from Building Reuse Committe e CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Review & Approve Ballot Question 2. Review & Order Warrant Articles; Make Recommenda tions on Warrant Articles 3. IMA with Town of Townsend for Sale of Net Meteri ng Credits 4. BOS Appointment to (School Committee’s) Advisory Committee for Tolerance & Diversity 5. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 6. Committee Report: Board of Health; Building Reu se Committee; Capital Planning Committee; Finance Committee; Library Board of Trus tees; MPO; Planning Board; PACC; School Committee; School Building Committee; Sewer Commission; MA Broadband 7. Town Manager Reports or Department Reports APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE December 10, 2013 December 17, 2013