# select-board — 7 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 : 2016-04-19-minutes-4965.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-04-19 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-04-19-minutes-4965.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04192016-4965 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== Jill files lint BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall April 19, 2016 The Board of Selectmen met in the Lunenburg Town Hall, Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, as scheduled with Jamie Toale, Chairman; Robert Ebersole, Vice Chairman; Tom Alonzo, Clerk; Paula Bertram, Member; Phyllis Luck, Member and Kerry Lafleur, Town Manager The meeting opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment: Mr. Toale announced a joint public announcement from Unitil and MassSave that stated residential electric customers of Unitil in Lunenburg are eligible to receive $30 for recycling an old, working residential (30-70 pint) dehumidifier. This will take place at Devens Regional HHW Center, 9 Cook Street, Devens, on May 7* from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mr. Toale announced the Lunenburg Lions Club will be holding a pancake breakfast on Sunday, May 29t from 7:00 to 10:30 a.m. at Eagle House Senior Center with a suggested donation of $5/adults, $3/children with a cap of $20 per family. He also announced plans for a Memorial Day ceremony in Veteran's Park are underway. Anyone interested in helping out for this event are welcome to contact the Selectmen's office. Ms. Luck announced the Massachusetts Department of Revenue tax amnesty program began on April 1st and will run through May 315!. The opportunity to catch up on back taxes and avoid penalties is available to both individuals and businesses. The goal of the tax amnesty program is to bring those taxpayers who have failed to file returns or have underreported their taxes into compliance. Ms. Luck announced rain barrels and compost bins are for sale at the DPW between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Payments can be made with cash or check. Compost bins are $43 and rain barrels are $56. Mr. Alonzo announced the local Montachusett Chapter of the Salvation Army Corps is holding a 2016 benefit auction on Saturday, April 30* from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It will be televised on FATV and LTV and streamed live on the Internet at www.redkettleauction.com. You can phone in bids at 978-343-0834. All kinds of gift certificates, food packages, golf packages, jewelry etc, are up for bidding. You need to preregister at the website to get a bidding number before participating. Mr. Ebersole read from the Town Charter, "The Board of Selectmen shall serve as the chief policy-making agency of the town. The BOS shall be responsible for the formulation and promulgation of policy directives and guidelines to be followed by all town agencies serving under it and in conjunction with elected multiple member bodies, to develop and promulgate policy guidelines designed to coordinate the operation of all town agencies." He stated he brought this up because he has heard from several people about what the Selectmen are doing. One question was why were we acting as liaisons on various committees. This is part of the reason, so there is communication. We now have a Town Manager who is responsible for those departments and reports to us regularly. In the past, the Selectmen were responsible for communicating with town departments such as the fire and police departments. Therefore we are trying to step up to the higher level policy making process. He also heard a comment about the Selectmen trying to take over various committees and trying to run the town in places they shouldn't. We are charged with trying to make sure we coordinate things for policy development. ===PAGE 2=== Debbie and Pete Lincoln, 46 Hemlock Drive, updated the Board on the Uptown Stroll event occuring on Saturday, May 21" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It involves four public buildings in the center to which you will be issued a "Stroll Passport," which if you get it checked off at each of the buildings, you will be entered into a raffle at the end of the day. We hope to hold it at the lower common with some music hopefully from the High School. The raffle is for a gift basket donated by Eagle House Supporters that will contain 10 gift certificates from area businesses. The Lions Club will be holding a tollbooth fundraiser that day so there will be a lot of people in the center. Elena's Gourmet Grocery, Zeda's and Lunenburg Gifts & Flowers are holding Stroll specials. The library will be open an extra hour that day. The Historical Society will be hosting how to build a butterfly feeder event as well as other events. Firefly's BBQ will be serving food. Chris Letarte will be doing chainsaw sculpting. The Farmers' Market will be open that day. The Lions Club will be selling hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hot dogs at Eagle House. Eagle House Supporters will be selling snacks and desserts. Inside there will be vendors and agencies offering various services. Sheriff Lew Evangelidis will have his mobile unit available for retinal screenings. The Teen Center will be selling maps to the town wide yard sale. There will be face painting and a number of giveaways. Mr. Lincoln has spoken to Police Chief Marino and an officer will be available for street crossing. Police canine officer, Jerry, will be around too. The Fire Department will have a pumper for viewing. The event has a Facebook page, items are posted daily, under Lunenburg Uptown Stroll. Mr. Lincoln encouraged everyone to please come out and vote on Election Day and then come stroll uptown. Mr. Alonzo thanked the Lincolns for doing such a great job and bringing their enthusiasm here tonight. Mark Bursch, newly appointed Chairman of the Lunenburg Water Commission, requested to be on the May 3'd agenda to discuss the article that proposes bringing the Water District under the Town. APPOINTMENTS: Sewer Commission ATM Articles Carl Luck, Chairman, presented for the Sewer Commission. He recognized the work of the Sewer Commissioners, Business Manager Barb Lefebvre, DPW Director Jack Rodriquenz, Small Water Systems Service (systems operator and maintenance contractor, Weston and Sampson (primary engineering consultants) and the firm of Wright & Pierce (betterment project engineering/special projects). Mr. Luck stated there was a vacancy on the Sewer Commission. He referred to their Mission: • Provide sewer service to areas of need as identified in the 2010 Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP) • With approval at Town Meeting, update the CWMP as conditions and needs change • Assist residents in expanding the sewer system through Betterments or Private Extensions consistent with the CWMP • Define and implement regulations, policies, procedures consistent with Lunenburg's needs and State Law • Oversee the Management and Operations of the Lunenburg Sewer System and Enterprise Fund to assure reliable and cost-effective operations with no direct impact to the Lunenburg Town Budget • Work with the Lunenburg BOS and our neighboring cities, Leominster and Fitchburg, to secure and maintain Inter-Municipal Agreements (IMA) for wastewater disposal that are fair, reasonable and meet the needs of the community Article 21 requests to create an Inflow/Infiltration Stabilization Fund and to raise and appropriate the sum of $14,520 into the fund. • As a flow down requirement of our IMA with Leominster, we initiated a fee to be charged at the time of connection to the sewer system to fund efforts to reduce the amount of "clean" water entering the system • The tee is $2.00 per gallon (based on Title V flows) • As I/I reduction is an important issue from both a cost and environmental point of view, we have been aggressively pursuing efforts (~$30,000/year) ===PAGE 3=== • In prior years we have spent more on this activity than has been collected in any one year through these fees • As such, no money needed to be carried over so a stabilization account was not needed • This year, due to the timing of our manhole inspection project and a successful grant application for $30,000, 1s it unlikely that we will be able to spend all of this year's allocation, therefore the need to now establish an I/l stabilization Fund currently estimated at $14,520 • It is fully expected that the funds will be fully used in 2017 plus additional funding allocated in the FY 17 Budget Proposal ($30,000) Ms. Bertram asked if they expect to fully expend the funds in 2017 or always have a balance in that account. Mr. Luck stated he didn't know; it depends on the timing and what is collected. She questioned the term stabilization fund and asked if it should be a revolving fund. Ms. Lafleur stated it could be designated as a stabilization account but reminded that a 2/3rd majority vote at town meeting is required to take funding out of it. Mr. Luck stated they would probably come to fall town meeting to request to expend the funds. Ms. Bertram noted that we don't always have a fall town meeting. Ms. Lafleur stated she expected to have a fall town meeting. Further discussion about revolving versus stabilization funds ensued. Mr. Luck stated at this time the stabilization fund is the way they will be proceeding. Motion: R. Ebersole To recommend approval of Article 21 2nd: P. Bertram Vote: All in Favor Article 22 requests to transfer available funds into a Reserve Capacity Stabilization Fund. • This Stabilization Fund was set up several years ago to assure that fees charged to support future capacity needs costs like those required in Fitchburg IMA, are kept separate and accountable for this use only • These fees, due at connection, are only charged to units that have not been previously Bettered as their capacity has been reserved via prior IMA agreements • When Fitchburg completes the work that includes the John Fitch Highway upgrade, we will start paying part of this debt service as part of the recent IMA with these funds • We know from growth projections that we will exceed the capacity limit we now have with Leominster before 2036 and it is highly likely that new capacity will come at additional cost • Currently we project that we will collect $8,433 in these fees in FY'16 but the final number will be determined at Town Meeting. Motion: P. Bertram To recommend approval of Article 22 2nd: T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor Article 35 requests to update the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan. • Original CWMP was finalized and released in 2010 and approved at Town Meeting • Any changes to the plan require approval at Town Meeting including areas to potentially be sewered, Sewer Service Area (SSA) • To date only minor changes to SSA have been proposed and accepted • Serves as roadmap for all Sewer Commission decisions and actions • Key Aspects of Plan • Established methodology to define needs areas resulting in identification and approval of Sewer Service Area (SSA) • Provides options for providing service with recommended implementation strategies and costs, including where to send wastewater for treatment and disposal, Leominster or Fitchburg • Provides 20 year look ahead for sewer needs based on growth CWMP: Areas of Proposed Change • Modify infrastructure plan to send all or designated Needs Areas wastewater to Leominster • Redirects flow from area 4 (Lower Mass Ave.) and 10F (Mass Ave./ Beal St.) from Fitchburg to Leominster • Reduced operating costs due to current rate difference between Leominster and Fitchburg (60%) ===PAGE 4=== • Reduced additional capacity capital costs with Fitchburg to fund John Fitch upgrade • Consistent with new IMA with Fitchburg Revised plan does not exceed 2013 IMA capacity to Fitchburg or 151,000 gallons/day through 2036 CWMP: Revised New Extension Cost Estimates • Cost estimates in current plan are over 6 year old • Cost models have been updated to reflect current estimating parameters and recent actual quotes for ongoing Betterments, as well as other projects that Wright Pierce is aware of • New costs are signiticantly higher with betterment projections in excess of $35,000 before other resident costs that could range from $11,000 to $16,000 or more for unique situations • All estimates now also assume full pavement overlay within betterment • Depending on actual usage of allocated Fitchburg capacity per IMA and cost/ability to purchase additional capacity from Fitchburg, a major line upgrade of several million dollars might be required to sewer area 4, Lower Mass Ave. • Sewer Commission to meet with Wright Pierce next week to better understand cost estimates before approval of updates CWMP: Updated Project Cost Estimates PROJECT DESIGNATION CAPITAL COST® PARCEL UNITS Project A (Areas 6 & 9) $10,618,000 TOTAL PRESENT WORTH COST $13,584,000 318 BETTERMENT (COST/UNIT) $34,000 Project B (Area 4) $10,581,000 $12,164,000 - New Sewer Users $7,317,000 110 $67,000 Sewer/PS replacement Project C (Areas 10, 12 & 15) $3,264,000 $13,587,000 $16,503,000 285 $48,000 Project D $6,672,000 $7,582,000 28 1. Costs were completed in February 2016 at an ENR of 10181 CWMP: Other Changes of Note • Updated to reflect current policy for homeowners to be responsible for ownership, construction and maintenance of low pressure pump systems on their property • Inflow and infiltration estimates updated Based on engineering work and measurements done in last 4 years, new estimates have been included • Peak I/I flows exceed DEP guidelines in 5 of the 6 sewer areas, hence the focus on I/I reduction and the I/I fee • Updated 20 year capacity projections through 2036 • Took into account all ongoing and projected new development from Planning Board • Assumes all sewer service areas are on line and built out • Used updated University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute Model with 5% growth verses prior model of 16% growth ===PAGE 5=== • Projected Capacity needs do not exceed current IMA agreements with Fitchburg • Total projection in 2036 would require additional capacity from Leominster (796,000 gal./day vs 500,000 available today) CWMP Recommendations • The updated CWMP is currently in review by the Sewer Commission • There will be an open hearing next Tuesday with Wright Pierce where all questions both by Sewer Commission and public will be discussed • At the end of this hearing, the Commission will deliberate and vote as to recommendation approval at Town Meeting or to pass over this article • We therefore would not expect the BOS to make a recommendation on this article this evening Motion: R. Ebersole To make a recommendation at Town Meeting on Article 35 2'd: T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor Article 36 requests to amend Article XXIV of the Town Bylaws, entitled "Sewer Bylaw" by adding Section 9.0, "Regulation Changes." • Regulations can have significant impact on residents and business establishments and currently can happen at any posted open meeting with only a majority vote of the Commission • This is the case with most town boards/commissions • This potential issue, and direction, was first identified by the Conservation Commission Chairman as their regulations can have a big impact on residents' ability to fully utilize their property or the value of it • Improve public awareness of and participation in regulation change process • Better notification via two separate notices in local paper • Five versus two working day notice of public meeting/hearings • Make part of bylaw so that changes to the regulation change process would need to come before and be approved by Town Meeting vote Regulation Change Process • Sewer Commission drafts change proposal during regular open meetings • Schedule a hearing to be held over two televised meetings • Advertise hearings in local paper at least 5 working days in advance • Send notices of hearings directly to current grease trap users to encourage participation and input (not required but good practice when change effects specific users like grease traps) • After hearing is closed, deliberate and draft final regulation • Approve changes and publish notice of change in local paper • New regulation takes effect at the time of publication UPDATE TO SEWER BYLAW ARTICLE: • To see if the Town will vote to amend Article XXIV of the Town Bylaws, entitled "Sewer Bylaw," by adding the following • Section 9.0 "Regulation Changes" • "The Sewer Commission will establish a draft of proposed changes during regular, properly posted open meetings. Once there is consensus on the proposed changes, a formal hearing will be scheduled and will take place over 2 regularly scheduled meetings. Both hearings will be televised. A notice of the hearing will be put in a local newspaper at least 5 business days prior to the hearing dates. At the discretion of the Sewer Commission, the hearing may be continued to the next consecutive open, regularly scheduled meeting. Once the hearing is closed, the final changes will be drafted and voted on. The proposed and approved changes will be posted on the Commission's Town website." ===PAGE 6=== Mr. Ebersole stated he supports this article. He thought this ought to be eventually adopted by all boards that adopt regulations. Motion: R. Ebersole To make a recommendation at Town Meeting on Article 36 2": P. Bertram Vote: All in Favor Mr. Luck thanked the Board, DPW, Barb Lefebvre and the public before exiting the podium. The next article presentation was Article 43- to amend General Wetlands Protection Bylaw XXI. Conservation Commission Chairman Richard Bursch came forward. He stated under Section 2. Jurisdiction, they are looking to add the following sentence: "Lands within 100 feet of aforesaid resource areas and within 200 feet of rivers or perennial streams located within the corporate boundary of Lunenburg shall be protected regardless of the location of the wetland with respect to municipal corporate boundary. " Right now the bylaw does not have jurisdiction if the wetland itself is over the town boundary but the buffer zone extends into Lunenburg. This would allow us to apply our bylaw to buffer zones in Lunenburg. This was on recommendation of our conservation agent, Matt Marro. The next change is Section 5. Notice of Hearings; we are looking to add "certificate of mail," that would pertain to notices to abutters. Right now our bylaw only allows written notice by certified/ return receipt mail or hand delivery and that is expensive. The state does now recognize certificate of mail which makes it more economical. Another change in this section is as follows in bolded italic, "The Commission shall have authority to continue the hearing, with the applicant's consent written or granted verbally on the record during the course of the public hearing or meeting, to a certain date announced at the hearing, for reasons stated at the hearing, which may include receipt of additional information from the applicant or others deemed necessary by the Commission in its discretion, or comments and recommendations of boards and officials listed in Section 6. Mr. Bursch stated the commission cannot continue a hearing without an applicant's consent. The commission is also changing RFD (request for determination) to RDA (request for determination of applicability). The next change is under SECTION 7: PERMITS AND CONDITIONS; (CHANGE TO PARAGRAPH 6) A permit shall expire three years from the date of issuance. Notwithstanding the above, the Commission in its discretion may issue a permit expiring five years from the date of issuance for recurring or continuous maintenance work, provided that annual notification of time and location of work is given to the Commission. (ADD) The Commission may extend a permit or a previous extension for an additional period of no greater than three years per extension. This is to realign with state regulations. A question on the line after the italicized section arose; if it was being deleted. Mr. Bursch confirmed it was. The phrase "any permit may be renewed once for an additional one year period," should have been deleted but was not. SECTION 8. REGULATIONS~ After public notice and public hearing, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this bylaw. Failure by the Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations or a legal declaration of their invalidity by a court of law shall not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this bylaw. At a minimum these regulations shall define key terms in this bylaw not inconsistent with the bylaw and procedures governing the amount and filing of fees. (ADD THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH) The Conservation Commission will establish a draft of proposed changes during regular, properly posted open meetings. Once there is consensus on the proposed changes, a formal hearing will be scheduled and will take place over 2 regularly scheduled meetings. Both hearings will be televised. A notice of the hearings will be put in a local newspaper at least 10 business days prior to the hearing dates. At the discretion of the Conservation Commission, the hearing may be continued to the next consecutive open, regularly scheduled meeting. Once the hearing is closed, the final changes will be drafted and voted on. The proposed and approved changes will be posted on the Commission's Town website. Mr. Bursch stated they were going to amend 10 business days to 5 business days on the town meeting floor. ===PAGE 7=== Motion: R. Ebersole To recommend approval of Article 43 as presented 2nd: P. Bertram Vote: All in Favor Mr. Bursch wanted the Board to be aware that there is state statute independent of different permissions for regulation updates. He thanked the Board Land Use Director Adam Burney presented for the Planning Board ATM articles. Article 37 and 38 are simple word changes. Article 37 amends the Table of Contents by deleting the words "Development Plan Review" and inserting the words "Site Plan Approval". Article 38 corrects the number of districts in Section 3.0, Establishment of Districts (3.1 Types of Districts), by deleting the word fourteen (14) and inserting the word fifteen (15): Article 39 amends the Zoning Bylaw, Section 6.0, General Provisions Affecting All Districts, by deleting Sections 6.1.2 Design of Off Street Parking and Loading Spaces and 6.4.3 Design Requirements and adding a new Section 6.4.3 Off Street Parking Design Standards. Discussion about #7, Surfacing and drainage ensued. Ms. Bertram believed recommending concrete or asphalt was detrimental to best practices of storm water runoff prevention. She believed this goes against what is the preferred practice. Mr. Burney stated the aim was for a durable, dustless material; packed gravel could be used or anything that is permeable and inhibits materials from washing into the roads. Ms. Bertram questioned the prohibition of parking in the front yard. What if someone is holding a party? Mr. Burney stated this is to protect oil and gas runoff to existing wells and is addressed to long term parking in the front yard. Mr. Ebersole had a concern with the requirement of the entire length of the driveway having to have a durable, dustless, all-weather surface. He stated to replace an existing long driveway would be very expensive. He wanted to see the comparison of what the town had for parking requirements now compared to this proposal. Ms. Bertram also did not agree with the requirement. Mr. Ebersole also did not agree with screening for driveways. Mr. Burney believed the intent was for commercial driveways and lots. He will take that back and clarify with the Planning Board. Motion: R. Ebersole To make recommendation on Article 39 at Town Meeting 2nd: P. Bertram Vote: All in Favor Article 40 amends the Zoning Bylaw, Section 8.4, Development Plan Review, by deleting the entirety of the existing wording and inserting a new Section 8.4 Site Plan Approval. Mr. Burney stated the Planning Board is using a special permit model for the procedure. They used similar criteria to what they have now with a couple of additions for the use that applies. They added design principles and outlined what the review criteria are under 8.4.5 Standards for Site Plan Review. The Board is currently working to revise development plan review rules and regulations. They are reviewing the second draft and are close to final detail. Most of what is in here are things that are discussed and reviewed currently without being written down anywhere. Mr. Ebersole commented about 8.4.2.1 Projects Requiring Site Plan Review (f) Any change of use within an existing building or site. He stated it seemed very broad to him. Mr. Burney stated the Board did include a waiver revision as far as filing goes. There are going to be instances where the Planning Board is seeing projects and where there is no need for site plan review. He cited a recent application from WalMart to place an outdoor sales display. All they did was place racks outside to hang plants, hoses, sprinklers, etc. There was no physical change yet they had to go through the special permit process. There was no provision for them to get out of the application process. Mr. Ebersole asked if by changing the use are you going to have to comply with these requirements. Mr. Burney stated if there is no change to preexisting conditions, then no. Motion: R. Ebersole To make recommendation on Article 40 at Town Meeting 2nd: P. Bertram Vote: All in Favor Motion; R. Ebersole To recommend approval of Article 37 and 38 2'°: T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor ===PAGE 8=== The Board moved on to Article 41. Agricultural Commission Chairman Jeff Mendoza stated the commission was looking at what they believe will improve and diversify some of the economic opportunities as Agriculture becomes more "micro. " The commission wants to make amendments to bring the Lunenburg Protective Bylaw in conformity with the state. Article 41 amends the following Town of Lunenburg Protective Bylaw sections as follows (changes are bolded italic): Under Section 2.0 DEFINITIONS, 2.1.1.16 Farming and Agriculture a) Farm: A parcel of land as defined by M.G.L. Ch. 40A § 3, used for commercial production of agricultural products, livestock, (including the keeping of horses), poultry, dairy products, viticulture, horticulture and floriculture. It includes necessary farm structures and the storage of equipment used. Mr. Ebersole asked what the current requirements are under zoning regarding keeping horses. Commissioner Renee Trakimas reported right now we are under "stable" designation which requires 5 acres. The state now requires only 2 acres for a horse farm. Ms. Bertram asked about the commercial production aspect of horses. Ms. Trakimas stated horse riding lesson programs, stabling, equine recreation, breeding, summer camps, 4H programs and pleasure riding. Mr. Mendoza stated the intent was if someone decides to have farm classification they are actually generating an income there. Mr. Ebersole stated he wasn't sure the wording "keeping of horses" included everything they had just stated. b) Agriculture: Farming as defined by M.G.L. 128 Ch. SIA and Under Section 4.0 USE REGULATIONS, Remove entire wording in 4.1.3 b) and replace with 4.1.3. b) Farming as defined in Section 2.0 Definitions, 2.1.1.16 Farming and Agriculture and Under Section 5.0 DIMENSIONAL REGULATIONS, 5.1.2.1. Lot Area, Width, Shape and Frontage, remove the following entire section: (e) In case of a farm exempted from the provisions of the zoning by Statute, the minimum lot area, width and frontage requirements shall be in addition to the five acres as required under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40A, Section 3 and Chapter 61A. (Submitted by Agricultural Commission) Discussion ensued about the format of the article. A suggestion was made to present the original version and the amended version at town meeting so as not to confuse the voters. Another suggestion was made to strike "the keeping of horse" and define it elsewhere in the bylaw. Mr. Ebersole asked if Town Counsel would know whether state law classifying a 2 acre parcel as a farm would supersede the town bylaw classification of five acres. Ms. Bertram was concerned about the number of animals that could be allowed on two acres. Ms. Trakimas stated there is no limit on the number of animals currently. Mr. Mendoza stated the Board of Health would regulate that aspect. Mr. Ebersole stated reading the bylaw you have to have the minimum lot size for the building plus the five acres for the farm. He stated by removing section e, the commission was altering the zoning requirements for a farm. Mr. Mendoza stated the Planning Board liaison had advised them that the section was unclear and redundant. He added the last section was tax code referring to Chapter 61A. He added the reason the state change to the smaller acreage was because of the increase of micro-farming ventures in the state. Further discussion occurred on the number of animals per acre. Mr. Burney stated livestock is regulated through the state via annual barn/farm inspections performed by the Animal Inspector. There are housing, feed and space requirements. It is not a zoning issue. Filing is done through the MA Department of Agriculture. Motion: R. Ebersole 2"d: P. Bertram To make recommendation on Article 41 at Town Meeting Vote: All in Favor INTERVIEWS/APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS Architectural Preservation District Commission-Matthew Kehrer, 311 Pleasant Street, presented to request to be appointed to the commission. Mr. Kehrer stated he just moved to town last fall. He is a construction superintendent with historical renovation experience. He wanted to get involved. The Board thanked him for coming forward. Mr. Toale stated Mr. Kehrer qualifies for the last vacant seat; the term expires June 30, 2019. Motion: R. Ebersole 2^%: P. Bertram To appoint Matthew Kehrer to the APDC with term to expire June 30, 2019 Vote: All in Favor ===PAGE 9=== Mr. Toale recognized Greg Bittner, 129 Pleasant Street, who has applied to be appointed to the Green Community Task Force. Mr. Bittner stated he was elected to the Planning Board a year ago and is their liaison to the Green Community Task Force. He has been attending their meetings and they have had difficulty in getting quorums. He felt his participation is needed so they can use the grant funds to do good things for the town. He is looking forward to helping them fulfill their goals. Motion: P. Bertram 2°°: T. Alonzo To appoint Greg Bittner to the Green Community Task Force Vote: All in Favor Animal Inspector Nomination Ms. Lafluer reported that on an annual basis the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) requests the Board to nominate for state approval an Animal Inspector for the town. Two main duties of the Animal Inspector are 1) to perform barn inspections in town and 2) to deal with rabies control issues. She did verify with MDAR that all reports of the Animal Inspector are up to date and in good standing. Ms. Lafleur reported Ms. Comeau who also serves as the Animal Control Officer for Lunenburg, has informed her that she intends to retire from the ACO position at the end of this fiscal year. She will stay on until the Town finds a replacement. She is interested in contining to provide animal shelter and quarantine services to the Town on a contract basis and remaining the Animal Inspector. Motion: T. Alonzo 2n°: P. Luck That the Board approve Town Manager's recommendation to nominate Kathleen Comeau as Animal Inspector Discussion: Mr. Ebersole stated he would be voting against this. He was contacted by two farms who stated the barn inspections were done by telephone and not in person. If she is approved, he hoped there would be some discussion about how that is handled in the future. Ms. Bertram stated this was concerning to her and she hoped the Town Manager would have a conversation with the Animal Inspector. Ms. Lafleur stated she did contact the state and was told the inspections were done in accordance with their requirements. If she could have the name of the complainants she would be happy to follow up with them directly. Mr. Ebersole stated he could not do that because they are afraid of reprisal. Ms. Lafleur stated then all she could do is contact the agency that oversees the Animal Inspector's work. Mr. Ebersole stated Ms. Lafleur could discuss with the Animal Inspector the dates that she actually went out to inspect. Ms. Bertram agreed with that but added perhaps understanding the process of how the barn inspections take place would be helpful to the Board. Based on the fact that the barn book was submitted to the state and Town Manager's recommendation, she did not have a problem with the nomination. Mr. Alonzo asked if state law requires the barn inspections, but we can't see them because they are not public documents, how do we know the person in this position is doing the job? Ms. Lafleur stated she would follow up and find out how the inspections are conducted. Mr. Toale asked if the group wanted to go forward with the motion. Ms. Luck believed the Board should hold off. Mr. Alonzo stated if people aren't willing to make a formal complaint, by definition, it is hearsay. He didn't want to hold up a nomination due to that. Ms. Bertram agreed but stated going forward the Board needs to know the process and criteria. Mr. Ebersole stated we need to do the same for kennel inspections when we get to the Animal Control Officer process. Similar situations have happened with that one. Vote: 3 in favor, 2 against CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Teacher, School Nurse and Bus Driver Appreciation Days Mr. Toale read aloud each of the resolutions. The first was for Teacher Appreciation week; May 2- 6, 2016. Motion: P. Bertram 2nd. T. Alonzo To authorize the Chair to sign the resolution recognizing Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-6, 2016 Vote: All in Favor The second was for School Bus Driver Appreciation Day; May 2, 2016. Motion: T. Alonzo 2nd. P. Luck To adopt the resolution honoring the school bus drivers of the district and authorize the Chair to sign Vote: All in Favor ===PAGE 10=== The final resolution was for School Nurse Appreciation Day; May 11, 2016. Motion: T. Alonzo 2"d: P. Bertram To adopt the resolution honoring School Nurses and authorize the Chair to sign the resolution Vote: All in Favor Mr. Toale expressed congratulations to all the hard working teachers, school nurses and bus drivers. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues Minutes of March 22, 2016 were approved. The Board signed an accounts payable (school construction) warrant in the amount of $1,215,739.87; an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $104,606.27; a payroll warrant in the amount of $683,012.49 and a deductions warrant in the amount of $160,197.23. Committee Reports: Mr. Ebersole reported the Sewer Commission is holding a public hearing on the 26" for grease trap regulation changes, sewer bylaw regulation changes and the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan update. Mr. Alonzo reported the next Cable Advisory meeting will be in June. School Building Committee met last week to go over the latest overview of the school construction. Everything is proceeding right on time. Ms. Bertram received an email from Brad Harris of MRPC stating MASSDOT wanted to push the Summer Street construction project off until 2018. There are concerns about rights of way (temporary and permanent easements) on Summer Street. The MPO meeting is tomorrow and she is sure one of the items will be the start of the review of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). There could be a lively conversation concerning Summer Street. Any information she can get prior to the meeting would be helpful. Ms. Lafleur reported the town was right on track on its timetable. What was concerning to her was the inference that the town was not meeting their timetables, which is not true. Town meeting has an article to give the Board permission to acquire the easements. If approved, the town will go forward in the process of acquiring the easements. We can't do that until the environmental review of the project is completed. That should be completed over the summer. An appraisal will be required and the appraiser needs to have the environmental review results to do it. Ms. Bertram stated she would attempt to keep the project in the 2017 TIP. She added if Ms. Lafleur, DPW Director Rodriquenz and the project engineer could attend that meeting also, it would be helpful. Ms. Luck reported School Committee will meet tomorrow night. Zoning Board of Appeals will meet the 27" MART Advisory met this morning. Ms. Lafleur and Ms. Luck both attended. The Board approved a 2% increase in salary. Their pay had been frozen for two years. They authorized a new retirement plan for employees which is subject to annual review and adjustments. There was a vote to accept an ambubus. It is to be used for transporting injured people in times of emergency. There are several that the state is distributing to each district and they can be used for emergency situation drills. It will cost under $10,000 per year for maintenance and housing. It was voted affirmatively to authorize that. Another item was that towns are going to have to insure their COA MART vans starting in 2017, but there is opportunity for reimbursement from MART. The Storm Water Task Force has met twice since her last report. Sara Cammer and Ms. Luck met with Jane Pierce, Mass DEP 319 Program Coordinator. Ms. Luck attended a Proposals for Cleaner Water grant writing workshop sponsored by DEP. Matt Allison, Adam Burney and Ms. Luck visited Leominster to look at their stormwater remedies and other work around storm water. Leominster provided them a copy of their stormwater and erosion control regulations. The Storm Water Task Force is planning a small community clean up day for May 14". They are planning to bring a rain barrel and compost bin to town meeting so people can see them. They voted to join the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition as a river protector. The membership fee is $100. They also voted to join the Central Mass Storm Water Coalition. They will bring their request to join this on May 10™. ". Their next meeting is April 28"i ===PAGE 11=== Town Manager Report Ms. Lafleur directed the Board to the 3'd Quarter Financial Report prepared by Finance Director Karen Brochu. Revenues collected to date are 77.10% of FY16 estimates; $26,773,495.73. Local receipts collected are at 91.50% of the fY16 estimates. Several categories are running over target; motor vehicle excise tax, local option meals tax (68.30%) and investment income. All estimates are at or above target with the exception of Licenses and Permits. This should pick up with building projects beginning. The other area of concern is the Meadow Woods water betterment; to date nothing has been received. There is a potential sale of that property and through the sale any back payments/betterments would be cleared. This needs to be watched. The property is still under receivership. Taxes are running slightly higher, state aid should be received by the end of the year. Expenditures are at 70.9%. To date there has been no draw from the Reserve Fund. The available balance is $89,116. We will probably be looking to draw from that at town meeting to pay for the market analysis and for a supplemental appropriation for legal expenses. Town Reports are running higher, there will be a small deficit, but it can be covered from other appropriations within the General Government Unclassified. Wiring Inspector Will require an additional appropriation of $7,200. This is estimated in the budget process on what we think will be expended. We expect to have a $5,600 surplus in principal and interest loans and about $10,000 in interest/loans appropriation. There were no unemployment compensation claims this year, so we expect $10,000 o remain in there at the end of the year. Veterans' Benefits has appeared to level off. We expect to have surplus of $15,000 at the end of the year. We also expect to have a slight surplus in liability insurance. We expect to have a surplus in Health Insurance of around $80,000. Our enrollment is a little bit less than expected. Overall FY' 16 is looking good, we should have more free cash than last year. Mr. Toale announced the next meeting is May 3*d, where the remainder of the ATM articles should be covered. Motion: P. Bertram To adjourn the meeting at 9:43 p.m. 2"d:R. Ebersole Vote: All in Favor Respectfully submitted, blaine ne M. Peterso In Pitcase Executive Assistant to the Town Manager ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2016-05-03-minutes-4966.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-05-03 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-05-03-minutes-4966.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05032016-4966 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall May 3, 2016 The Board of Selectmen met in the Lunenburg Town Hall, Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, as scheduled with Jamie Toale, Chairman; Robert Ebersole, Vice Chairman; Tom Alonzo, Clerk; Paula Bertram, Member; Phyllis Luck, Member and Kerry Lafleur, Town Manager The meeting opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment: Mr. Alonzo reported that Kinder Morgan and its subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, has suspended further work on the Northeast Energy Direct project. He wanted to thank everyone who participated in making it very clear the pipeline was not desired. Ms. Luck stated this week is Teacher Appreciation Week and thanked all the teachers in Lunenburg who work with our children. She added, when Lunenburg counts its blessings, we count our teachers twice. Hazardous waste collection at Devens Regional Collection Center, 9 Cook Street, is the first Wednesday and the following Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to Noon. They take many types of hazardous products and she hoped Lunenburg residents would use the service. Mr. Toale reported the Town Clerk has announced annual town election ballots are now available at the Town Clerk's office for the May 21, 2016 Annual Town Election; polls open at the T.C. Passios Building, 1025 Mass. Ave. at 7:00 a.m. and close at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, May 19'h , 12 Noon, is the last day and hour to vote on an absentee ballot at the Town Clerk office. If you have not returned your 2016 census or returned a phone call from the Town Clerk office, please do so as soon as possible. Anyone not doing so will be put on an inactive voting list by the state and at any future elections you will be required to get out of line and fill out paperwork before being allowed to vote. Renewal of dog licenses was due on or before March 31, 2016. If you have not updated your dog license, please do so by Wednesday, May 11, after which all delinquent accounts will be referred to the Police Department for Turther processing. Hours are Monday and Wednesday trom 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information call 978-582-4130. Mr. Toale read aloud the list of on committee vacancies; Finance Committee, Sewer Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Public Access Cable Committee, Cable Advisory Committee, Personnel Committee, Storm Water Task Force and the Memorial Day Committee. There is also a vacancy on the Board of Health and the Sewer Commission which are elected positions by which a person can be appointed to until the next annual election. Anyone interested can fill out a talent bank form at town hall or get one off the town website. APPOINTMENTS: Request to relocate a gate at 171 Lancaster Avenue-no one presented for this item. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues Minutes of April 5, April 12, April 19, 2016 were approved. The Board signed an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $2,121,180.95; two payroll warrants, the first in the amount of $941.49 and second in the amount of $654,206.33; and a payroll deduction warrant in the amount of $439,549. ===PAGE 2=== Committee Reports: Ms. Luck reported the School Committee met on April 27'h. . Facilities Director John Londa reported on work to be considered on for school buildings and properties over the summer. The disposal of the T. C. Passios trailer will go out for bid. Turkey Hill Middle School may have $30,000 in ceiling and facia work and the Primary School entrance may be painted. At Turkey Hill Middle School, the Industrial Arts room has been divided into two individual spaces by Monty Tech students. One half is a computer lab; the other half will be transformed into a heated maintenance garage at the cost of around $30,000. This will also go out for bid. The heated maintenance garage will be close in proximity to the new unheated school maintenance garage. The School Committee meets again tomorrow night. The Storm Water Task Force (SWTF) met on April 28'h, • Jim Auge has informed Ms. Luck that due to personal reasons he will not be able to serve on the task force. He has informed the BOH Chairman, who will ask for another member to serve as the BOH representative. Ms. Luck and Land Use Director Adam Burney attended an informative workshop in Salem on April 26" on "Creating a Revenue Stream for Storm Water Management." SWTF member Sarah Cammer continues to work on the 319 Nonpoint Source Grant application. They are finalizing plans for a volunteer cleanup of a designated area in town on May 14*"* • It was announced that Massachusetts along with 46 other states is going to apply to take over enforcement of MS4 permits from the Environmental Protection Agency. The next SWTF meeting is May 12* Ms. Bertram reported Conservation Commission met on April 20th. The public hearing for 101 Pleasant Street continued; wetlands have been flagged and the excavated area has been filled in. They discussed not removing the culvert through the roadway but instead properly sizing it and considering it temporary while the forest cutting plan is in effect. The engineer did indicate they are willing to address the wetlands violations on town property. They need to complete remediation on 101 Pleasant Street prior to doing other work on the property. They are going to present a remediation plan at the next meeting. Conservation Commission did a site visit there last Saturday. The Lake Shirley management plan was presented. They requested to continue with the lake drawdown and chemical herbicide application. Conservation indicated they needed more data and the item was continued to the May 4*' meeting. Conservation held a workshop on Lake Shirley management and regulations on April 27th . Conservation also reviewed a punch list of items remaining for Stone Farm. A letter will be sent to the property owner concerning catch basin cleaning, maintenance, as builts and a number of other items. Street sweeping was discussed and their role in that activity due to stormwater and wetlands issues. An auditing program was discussed. The Cowdry Lot Trails property has a number of areas being flooded and damaged by beaver activity. The commission is looking into remediating this damage. A meeting attendee asked if the Conservation Commission would televise their meetings. This will be done for their second meeting of the month beginning in June. Planning Board met on April 25t '. They approved a plan for a drive up area for grocery pick-up at Hannaford's, 301 Massachusetts Avenue. There was lengthy discussion on the proposed bylaw changes. Planning Board is planning to remove the front yard parking restriction other than on designated parking areas from the proposed changes. There was also discussion of exempting single family homes from the paving requirement for driveways except for the first twelve feet. The MPO meeting had discussion on the Summer Street construction project. The projected cost exceeds the $6.9 million cost originally projected. It is now estimated to be $10 million and with revisions and escalation factors as much as $13 million, which exceeds the target funds for the entire region. Due to the complexity of the project, it is anticipated it will take two, maybe three construction seasons to complete. MPO agreed it needs to be categorized as an advanced construction project and requested additional scenarios for the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) be developed in order for the funding to be allotted over multiple years. Federal Highway Administration requested Lunenburg supply a projected timeline that includes the construction schedule so it could be granted the advanced construction status. Mass DOT is looking for Lunenburg to continue obtaining temporary and permanent easement acquisition. The other Lunenburg project discussed was the Chase Road project which is at the 75% design phase. This may be eligible for safety funding. More information will be available at the MPO May 25* meeting concerning this project. Mr. Ebersole reported the Sewer Commission held their second hearing on the updated grease trap regulations. They did vote to adopt the revised regulations. ===PAGE 3=== Lori Lehtinen- ATM Article # 44 (yard waste curbside pickup) Resident Lori Lehtinen appeared regarding the annual town meeting article #44 regarding curbside yard waste pickup. She wanted to reiterate why she wanted this article on the town meeting warrant. Lunenburg does not offer this service while other communities do. The Youngs Road facility is open only four Saturdays in the spring and again in the fall. This proposal will need funding. She stated she believed many folks will find this to be cost effective and have more of a constructive approach for residents' time management. In order to provide this service for all residents we have to look for cost saving methods while keeping to our commitments for curbside services. We should also consider the town's commitment to being a Green Community. Ms. Lehtinen contacted six service providers. She presented three quotes for the service to the Board members. She thought it was enough information to get a basic understanding of what is required. She also contacted the City of Fitchburg and learned the Town could negotiate with them for a closer yard waste disposal site. Ms. Lehtinen reported that from her research it would come to around $20.00 per year per household for this service. She added that not everyone may use it at first but everyone would be paying for it. She stated she does not have children but she is happy to pay for the new school for the benefit of those who do need it. She thanked all the people who helped her in her research as well.A suggestion to keep the Youngs Road facility open more often for residents via a permiting system arose as an option to the curbside pickup. Ms. Lehtinen stated that would only work for residents who were able to transport their yard waste there. Ms. Bertram thanked Ms. Lehtinen for her research but noted it was very late in the budget schedule to fit this in. She asked Ms. Lehtinen if she was proposing a financial based article, where would the funding come from? Ms. Lehtinen stated she understood it was late in the budget season and would assume this could be put into motion for fiscal year 2018. Ms. Bertram stated she would like to get a feel from the community on what they want. She added she personally did not want the recycling curbside pickup to go to an every other week schedule. Some options for motions at town meeting were suggested. It was also suggested to discuss this with the Town Moderator before the meeting. Ms. Lehtinen was agreeable to the suggestion to get a non-binding vote at town meeting and to postpone such services until fiscal year 2018. Another suggestion was to do a survey monkey to get more feedback. Vaness, Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) - Summer Street project re: ATM Article #29 Trish Domigan, Project Manager, presented a status update on the Summer Street project. She stated she had spoken with Arthur Frost at Mass DOT/District 3 about the construction time duration. This defines what materials and labor is required for a project. He referred her to the Boston office and they told her it doesn't warrant a comprehensive schedule. Arthur Frost then stated to her that he would defend the advanced construction status of the project with the Federal Highway Administration. Ms. Domigan believed it will probably take three construction seasons to complete due to the complexity of the project. Due to comments from the Mass DOT, sidewalks must be placed on both sides of the street rather than just one. Extensive drainage requirements will also escalate the cost of the project. By reviewing all the different design components, VHB has been able to reduce the price of the project down to $8.5 million. This does not include utility poles, MassDOT construction administration costs and police details bringing it up to $10 million. All construction costs are covered within the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). If approved, it will go out for public review on May 25th . Ms. Domigan will be submitting the cost estimate to MassDOT this Friday. 75% percent of final design phase plans were completed in April. They are now in the process of filing a Notice of Intent with the three Conservation Commissions involved; the first public hearing in Lunenburg will be on June 1St • National Environmental Policy Administration (NEPA) is the entity for the EPA to file its own documents for the environmental impact of the project. The right of way process can't be started until the NEPA process is complete. For the right of way, there are 37 temporary and 2 permanent easements required. Temporary easements are just for regrading the roadway and blending on to the property, reseeding grass and reconstruction of driveway aprons and some parking lots entries. There will be a few neighborhood meetings for information on individual properties and easement acquisition in late summer/fall. The Board thanked Ms. Domigan and she exited the meeting. ===PAGE 4=== CURRENT BUSINESS 1. AIM Warrant Articles 9 - FY16 Budget Adjustment 18 - FY17 Solid Waste Enterprise Fund 27 - Authorize Cell Tower Lease 28 - Replacement of Existing Artificial Turf Field 30 - Transfer of Brooks House from School Committee to BOS 31 - Transfer of T.C. Passios Elementary from School Committee to BOS 44 - Curbside Yard Waste Pick Up 45 - Lunenburg Water District Study Committee Article #45 (Lunenburg Water District Study Committee) was discussed first. Mark Bursch, Water Commissioner, asked who sponsored this article. Mr. Toale stated the Selectmen placed the article on the warrant. Mr. Bursch asked why? What is the intent of the article? Mr. Alonzo stated he brought it forward because the water district is a separate municipal entity that has separate elections and meetings that for the most part goes under the radar of most townspeople. For the purpose of public involvement, participation, awareness, visibility, voting participation, voter franchisement, and representation, he believed it would be better served under the Town because visibility issues would be resolved. There would be one place where information could be obtained for all town services. All the election and town meeting days would be the same. Mr. Bursch asked what benefits this would give the members of the Lunenburg Water District. Mr. Toale reminded all that the article only calls for a study committee. Mr. Toale believed the intent of the article was to get a feeling from the townspeople if this would be something they would want to consider. Mr. Bursch stated the commissioners are fiscally responsible and DEP compliant. They currently work with the Fire and Police Departments, DPW, Planning Board and Town Manager flawlessly. There have been no precedents that he can see where a municipality takes over a water district or merged with one without conflict. He personally did not see a need for a study. Since 1939 they have been fiscally responsible. The members have an efficient means to communicate and participate in district business. They have a responsive, professional staff that works well with the district members and the Town professionals. The Water Commissioners and its professional staff do not support this article in any way, shape or form. Ms. Bertram asked if there was a cost associated with this article and if so, was it in the budget. Ms. Lafleur stated it did not. Mr. Toale stated it was his understanding this would be voluntary fact-finding committee with no funding. Ms. Luck stated we are just looking at the issue to see if it makes sense to continue as is or place the water district under the umbrella of the Town. She asked how many members attended the water district annual meeting. Mr. Ebersole stated there were eighty-two members who voted at the annual election and around twenty who attended the annual meeting. They chose officers, voted on the annual budget, authorized temporary borrowing and the borrowing for the new maintenance garage. Mr. Bursch stated they authorized borrowing $1.4 million for the garage. Mr. Toale stated he attended that meeting and wanted to remind all that this article was in no way an attempt to discredit anyone or to say the water district isn't doing a fine job. It is just to see if there is a better way and to look at the pluses and minuses of whether the town would like us to do that study. Mr. Bursch added there weren't as many people there as at the Town meeting but it went much quicker than town meeting because they are focusing on water. Mr. Alonzo asked if there was a quorum requirement for their annual meeting. Mr. Bursch replied no. Mr. Alonzo stated he thought last year it was just between ten and fifteen people that voted to increase the district. That was his point, stating the need for full member participation. Mr. Bursch stated if you look at the efficiency of our meetings, it's just about water. He saw additional layers with the water district coming under the town. The people who want to talk about water come to our meetings. Change at some point is going to come at a cost. Further discussion ensued about notices and election times. Ms. Luck asked why you wouldn't be willing or interested at looking at it. She added maybe it would be to your advantage and asked how narrow-minded can you be? Ms. Bertram stated she did believe one reason this was brought up was the vote taken last year by the members to expand the district. At that time there wasn't as much communication as there is now. She wanted to applaud ===PAGE 5=== the commissioners for making some changes in how they notify members. The annual meeting notice was published in the newspaper. It was advertised on Facebook, and on the water district website. She stated she disagreed with this article because she did not believe they had enough information to make a decision. She did not believe it would be a seamless transition. There are costs associated with absorbing another district. Ms. Bertram stated the decisions that are made for the water district are paid for by members of the water district. As a paying customer she did not want people who are not in the district to make decisions that affect her. Mr. Ebersole stated he supported the study committee because water is a Lunenburg resource. He was concerned with the fact that the Water Commissioners are negotiating an Intermunicipal Agreement with the Town of Lancaster to provide water for economic development. He was concerned that Shirley is talking about putting a well in the same aquifer. He didn't know the amount of water that Lunenburg is going to need in the future. He believed that as a water taker, this is better for the whole purposes of protecting Lunenburg water. He thought the Town of Lunenburg should be voting if the water should go to Lancaster not just the Water District. He stated the study committee will raise any concerns or may come up with a recommendation to keep it separate or they may come up with something in between. Mr. Alonzo stated the intent of this is not to be adversarial. The article only commits to a study committee. He hoped they could work in communion with the Water District. He did not see any difference between this and the Sewer Commission. The townspeople will decide at the town meeting. John Esposito, Water Commissioner, stated he did not believe that Mr. Alonzo didn't know anything about the annual meeting. It was posted all over town. He then addressed Ms. Luck stating that she can't understand why the commissioners don't want a study. Why have a study to try to take over the Water District when it is an absolute perfectly run department? What do the Selectmen know about running a water district? Ms. Luck stated they don't know anything about running it and they don't need to know. They are just wondering if it would be a good idea for the water district to move under the umbrella of the town as it would be if they were establishing a water district out of the gate today. They just want to take a look at the issues. What would be good or bad about it? They would like some volunteers to put their heads together and investigate the issue. Mr. Esposito asked what would be good about it. You must have some idea, you want to take it over. Ms. Luck corrected him stating they just want to take a look. They don't want to take it over. She added she was flabbergasted that the thought of looking at something is so objectionable. It's like you are afraid of the answer. Mr. Esposito stated he was not afraid of anything. We are just wondering why the Selectman want to take over the water district which is a perfectly run entity since 1939. You want to step in in and put in under the umbrella of the town. Mr. Alonzo stated he was sure it was well run, but not perfectly run because nothing is perfectly run. Mr. Esposito replied they have not gotten any complaints from anybody. Mr. Alonzo also objected to the wording the Selectmen are "taking over." He stated we are asking the townspeople if they want the water district to be part of the town. There is not any power play that you (Mr. Esposito) keep presenting. Mr. Esposito stated he completely disagreed with what the Board is trying to do. Ms. Lafleur reported Article 27 and 28 had to do with the replacement of existing artificial turf field which is on the school complex. The Parks Commission is putting forward both of these articles. The Board asked the Parks Commission years ago if they would look at a funding mechanism for the replacement of the existing artificial turf field because it was coming to the end of its existing life and there was no funding to replace it. The Parks Commission has looked at this item and we think we have a viable solution for the funding. Article 27 authorizes a cell tower lease. This lease will be part of the funding scenario. There is an existing 60 foot high lighting tower adjacent to this field. We would be looking for authorization to replace this light pole with a cell tower and there is a funding stream that comes with that. She invited Facilities Director John Londa to explain further. Mr. Londa reported he did receive multiple proposals and he was recommending the Verizon proposal after reviewing all of them. The funding stream would be $30,000 annually with a 3% annual escalator. Monthly payments would commence once a building permit is issued. The current pole would be replaced with a seventy foot monopole with the antenna array on the top. The original lighting array from the old pole would be placed on it so it could continue to light the field. The initial term of the contract would be ten years with an option of four additional five year terms coming to a total of thirty years. If Verizon chooses not to renew after ===PAGE 6=== ten years, they will replace the monopole with a sixty foot light tower. The School Committee has voted to support this article. The article authorizes the long term lease and allows an easement for utilities access to the pole. The cell tower will require a special permit application which has not been filed to date. The first ten years would generate revenue of $343,000. Ms. Luck asked if the Town doesn't vote to approve the replacement turf field where would the cell tower revenues be placed. Ms. Lafleur stated it would be placed in the General Fund. Mr. Ebersole recommended the Board of Selectmen be the authority that enters into the lease agreement. Ms. Bertram agreed. DP W Director Rodriquenz and Athletic Director Peter McCauliff came to the podium regarding Article 28. Mr. Rodriquenz reported they have worked on a rate schedule for user fees for the fields. Mr. McCauliff clarified this would be for replacement of the artificial turf field and resurfacing of the surrounding track as they were both installed at the same time eleven years ago. The school through the athletic budget will contribute $25,000 to this replacement plan. Lunenburg Youth Soccer Association will contribute $15,000. The Lunenburg Bengals Association will contribute $7,500 which brings the total contributions to $77,500 annually, including the cell tower revenue, to achieve the goal of paying for the field/track over its lifetime. The field has issues due to age. The artificial turf fibers have worn down to the bottom of the surface. Numerous seams have been repaired over the past eleven years and are now unrepairable. Ms. Bertram asked if it will be replaced with the same type of material. Mr. McCauliff stated the track will be refurbished with the same material and that will make it thicker and better. The artificial turf field material has advanced several generations beyond what they had previously. The life expectancy is the same as the current one, about eight years. But they had gotten around eleven years out of the current field. He did expect to get a longer life expectancy from what he has seen. It is a different system; a dual fiber system versus the current crumb rubber material. Recent developments in the artificial turf industry are new systems that have simulated blades of grass supported by an infill material so the "grass" does not compact. This system also has a pad under the field which allows for a shorter pile on the surface. The infill material is EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer). This should survive through the life of the field and make the next replacement less expensive and a safer product. Ms. Bertram asked if the revenue stream being generated for this new field will be expected to supplement the next field in another ten years. He replied yes and they will also look at other sources of revenue such as user fees. Also with the addition of other fields there will be less usage of that one field. Ms. Bertram asked if there were other groups that could contribute to the revenue stream. Mr. McCauliff replied yes. Once the replacement field is paid for the user fees and agreements will be banked to go toward the next field. Ms. Luck stated at the school committee meeting she attended there were safety concerns expressed regarding the crumb rubber material. Why would we not go back to grass? Mr. McCauliff stated they were not using crumb rubber, which comes from recycled automobile tires; that was being removed. The EPDM infill does not have the chemicals associated with crumb rubber. EPDM was developed a few years ago as an alternative to crumb rubber and there are no adverse reports regarding its use to date. Ms. Luck inquired about the turf material getting too hot in the summer. Mr. McCauliff stated he has never had to wet the turf to cool it in any season. He does ensure the athletes are hydrated. Ms. Luck inquired about the material having to be replaced every three years in order to prevent concussions. Mr. McCauliff stated the company comes out twice a year and cleans it with a machine to remove any loose pellets and then respreads them. The maintenance is $1500 per year and comes from his budget. Mr. Ebersole stated the original financing proposed by the Town Manager was over twelve years based on income that was less than what was described this evening. He recommended that a funding plan to match the revenue as closely as possible to shorten the term of the borrowing be created so that it more closely matches the warranty and the ability to build up funds for the future. Ms. Bertram agreed. Ms. Lafleur stated she thought that was a good recommendation and as with any borrowing the terms are agreed upon by the Town Treasurer and the Board at the time that they do the borrowing. Mr. Alonzo thanked all the parties involved with this project to come up with a feasible funding plan. He was glad to see the town take this step. Mr. Toale as a Capital Planning Committee member added to Mr. Alonzo's thanks and thought it was a good solution and supported it wholeheartedly. Mr. Ebersole also supported both articles adding there may need to be an amendment to the article wording at town meeting regarding the Selectmen doing the lease negotiations and making the motion to borrow the funding. ===PAGE 7=== Motion: P. Bertram To recommend approval of Article 27 and 28 with the Board of Selectmen negotiating the lease 2"°: T. Alonzo Vote: 4 in favor, 1 against Ms. Lafleur stated Articles 30 and 31 are requests to authorize the transfer of school properties from the School Committee to the Board of Selectmen. Article 30 is for Brooks House disposition and Article 31 is for T.C. Passios for general municipal purposes. Currently, the Brooks House is used for an office for the Facilities Director and some rental space for The Lunenburg Ledger. The rental fee roughly covers the cost of operating that building. She proposed going forward to continue the same arrangement in this transition period until the market analysis. In terms of the T.C. Passios, she identified the current uses of each of the spaces. FLLAC currently rents the back wing of the building; they would like to continue in that space for an additional year and are willing to increase their rent to fully cover their cost of using that part of the building. Most of the building is occupied by Lunenburg Public Schools administrative offices as well as extended day care, the special education Achieve program and there is one classroom occupied by P.A.C.C. P.A.C.C. is interested in additional space. They may be interested in renting an additional classroom for the same fee as they are paying for the other classroom. She presented proposed costs for operating the building in FY 2017. Utilities costs are just under $50,000, building maintenance costs are $6,100, maintenance supplies cost $8,500 and labor is just under $70,000. There is a full-time custodian that is assigned to that building. Going forward we either could continue with a full-time custodian or we would make some other arrangement. But the cost would be about the same. The current custodian will be needed in the new school building. We are trying to figure out whether we need a town/school employee or a contracted service. The total operational costs are projected at $134,328. FLLAC has agreed to an annual rental fee of $95,000 for the same space. If they need to provide their own custodian, adjustments will need to be made. We are also looking to charge rents to three other entities; $15,000 per year to Lunenburg Public Schools, $20,000 for extended day program, and P.A.C.C. rental at $10,000 per year, if they rent the additional space (they currently pay $6,000). That would leave us with a reserve of just under $6,000 in case of unanticipated expenses. There's also one item, a reinspection expense of $2,750 once every three years. It was just done this current year. This brings just under $10,000 for unanticipated costs. The building is 63 years old. If the roof falls in, that is not covered but general maintenance should be covered. There is not a long term scenario but it will work while we figure out what we are going to do with the building. Ms. Lafleur stated this would be a new building for our facilities department. The School Facilities Director would still be overseeing the building for the next couple of years. Mr. Ebersole stated the heat comes from the Passios School to the old high school; does the demolition include the underground steam pipes? Mr. Londa stated all the disconnections will be made at the Passios School. The heating plant is at the Passios and will stay there. Mr. Ebersole asked about the parcel plan, will it be the plan we will be accepting as land. Ms. Lafleur stated she and legal counsel put the attached map together for general reference. It could change a little. Lot A for the Passios would be approximately 4.1 acres and Lot B for Brooks House would be approximately 1.1 acres. Motion: P. Bertram To recommend approval of Article 30 and 31 2"°: T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor Ms. Lafluer reported on Article 8 that authorizes payment of prior year bills. There are none presently. Article 9 is the FY 2016 budget adjustment article. Typically we are trying to account for an ice and snow deficit that we try to carry forward. Since we didn't have that this year, we are in a much better position. She presented the proposed changes to the budget. The first is a deficit of $60,000 in Legal Expenses. This is due primarily to our two big lawsuits with Hollis Hills and O'Brien Homes. We have spent $73,000 on the O' Brien Homes case out of our $111,000 budget. The second item is the Wiring Inspector, this comes up every year. His compensation is based on a percentage of the permit fees collected. We have to estimate annually what we expect to receive for revenue. Electrical permits are higher than we expected, so this is a deficit in the appropriation. But we have revenue to make the $10,000 adjustment to pay out to the Wiring Inspector. The last adjustment is to the Salary Reserve account. We need to add $15,000 to fund the settlement for the Fire Collective Bargaining Contract for FY'15 and FY'16 and for the settlement on the Police Chief's contract. She also added in the $10,000 for the ===PAGE 8=== market analysis of the municipal buildings since the funding is available in this budget year. A total of $95,000 of adjustments for Article 9 is required. There are two sources for the funding of Article 9. The Reserve Fund has around $87,000 in it. We would be looking to take $85,000 from there. Unemployment Compensation has $10,000 in it so we would use the entire amount. Motion: P. Bertram To recommend approval of Article 9 2'd. T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor There are still no contract settlements on Article 12, the DPW collective bargaining agreement and on Article 13, IBPO, Police Officers bargaining agreements. The last remaining article to consider is Article 18, the FY 2017 Solid Waste Disposal Enterprise Fund. Ms. Lafleur kept this one aside because there was a contract dispute with Casella Waste over their interest in increasing a service fee. She did not believe they had the ability to increase. They billed us in January, February and March with the increase. We did not pay it. In April they did not bill us the increased amount, so she believes that dispute is resolved. The current year budget is $265,000. Ms. Lafleur would like to bump that up to $275,000 in case there is an increase of users of the program. This is fully funded through the Pay as You Throw program. Motion: R. Ebersole To recommend approval of Article 18 in the amount of $275,000 2°: T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor Funding for Pavement Management Plan-Article 26 Ms. Lafleur moved to discussion of the sewer betterment district roads. The Board had a request from a Rennie Street resident recently for consideration of Pratt Street, Rennie Street, Lakeview Avenue, Cross Road, Pine Grove Road and Pleasant View Avenue. She requested that the paving of these roads come from this pavement management plan rather than betterment because those residents would be paying by both betterment and debt exclusion and this did not seem fair. Ms. Lafleur found the costs of paving Pine Grove Road, Lakeview Avenue and Pleasant View Avenue were already contained in the $4 million pavement management plan. In the pavement management plan that was updated last fall, it was assumed re-pavement of Pratt Street, Rennie Street and Cross Road would be paid for in the betterment. At the time the plan was put together we knew we were going to do the betterment but not the debt exclusion for the pavement management plan. Rennie and Cross Roads are classified as local roads and have been included in the $4 million pavement management plan. However, Pratt Street is classified as a collector road. Pratt Street needs to be paid for separately. She proposed either paying for Pratt Street out of Chapter 90 or the existing fiscal 2017 authorization. Mr. Toale commended the creative solution for the request. Ms. Lafleur stated the second question would be how we would fund the $4 million debt exclusion for the pavement management plan. She was not proposing anything new this evening. She noted we have the same five scenarios that the Board had already looked at that would finance this over a period of seven to twelve years. The annual impact for the average homeowner over the term would be anywhere from $2.57 to $139 per year. Ms. Luck inquired about keeping the debt payments more even over the term. Ms. Lafleur explained that the Town needs to comply with legal requirements and pay a certain amount off at certain times during the borrowing term. Motion: R. Ebersole 2™: P. Bertram To borrow according to the scenario 1.1 schedule for the pavement management plan Vote: All in Favor Mr. Ebersole asked if the pavement management plan was on the town website. Ms. Lafleur believed it was. She cautioned that even though certain roads are listed on the schedule, the timing of the plan is subject to change due to extenuating circumstances such as storm water drainage installation etc. Discussion about coordinating with other local and state agencies while working on the roads ensued. Ms. Lafleur referred the Board to the motion sheet for town meeting. There will be a meeting tomorrow with Town Counsel, Town Moderator, Town Clerk, Town Accountant and herself to review the motions for accurac• ===PAGE 9=== Town Manager Report: Ms. Lafleur presented the 2015 Annual Report to the Board and stated it was also on the town website for viewing as well. There will be copies of the report available at town meeting for the first time in five years. She thanked Executive Assistant Elaine Peterson for spearheading this and having it ready in a timely manner. INTERVIEWS/APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS Mr. Toale read Donald Bowen's resignation letter from the Zoning Board of Appeals effective April 26, 2016. Mr. Bowen served thirty years and found it educational and rewarding. He enjoyed working with a great group of people. In closing, Mr. Bowen added that he enjoyed his friendships on the Zoning Board and thanked Lisa Normandin for being a great and loyal administrative assistant. Mr. Toale acknowledged his length of service to the town and appreciated Mr. Bowen's contributions. Mr. Ebersole echoed that with the fact that Mr. Bowen was a wealth of information; he always made sure he had visited the site beforehand and talked to the proponents and opponents. Ms. Bertram stated when she worked for the Board of Health; she shared an office with the ZBA Administrative Assistant and got to know Mr. Bowen very well. His commitment and dedication to being a ZBA member was very apparent. He always knew what the issues were beforehand. She wished him well. Mr. Alonzo agreed with all the sentiments already expressed. He added Mr. Bowen was passionate about knowing all the rules of the ZBA and serving. We need more people like him to come forward and serve on committees. Motion: T. Alonzo 2nd: R. Ebersole To accept Donald Bowen's resignation from Zoning Board of Appeals effective April 26, 2016 Vote: All in Favor Mr. Toale announced the next Board meeting was May 10'" but he hoped to see everybody at town meeting on May 7*. There was no further public comment. Motion: P. Bertram To adjourn the meeting at 9:41 p.m. 2nd: T. Alonzo Vote: All in Favor Respectfully submitted, Canensm Peterson . Peterson Executive Assistant to the Town Manager ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2016-05-10-agenda-5007.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-05-10 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-05-10-agenda-5007.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05102016-5007 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Select Board Meeting- Executive Session1. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2016-05-10-minutes-4968.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-05-10 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-05-10-minutes-4968.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05102016-4968 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== defa BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall May 10, 2016 Board of Selectmen: Jamie Toale, Chairman; Robert Ebersole, Vice Chairman; Tom Alonzo, Clerk; Paula Bertram, Member, Phyllis Luck, Member Others in attendance: Kerry Lafleur, Town Manager The meeting commenced at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Toale stated the reason for meeting in Executive Session. "Chapter 30A, § 21A (9), to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining or litigating position, and the Chair so declares, to review IBPO Local 453 AFL-CIO and Public Employee Committee Negotiations." Motion: R. Ebersole 2nd, P. Luck To enter Executive Session and upon adjournment to enter into Open Session Vote: Mr. Ebersole-aye, Ms. Luck-aye, Mr. Toale-aye ********* *****************Executive Session Minutes Are Separate******************** The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. Public Comment: Ms. Luck stated May 11" is National School Nurse Day, She thanked the Lunenburg School Nurses for all they do for the children of Lunenburg. Mr. Alonzo wanted to remind everyone that Saturday, May 21 is the day of the Uptown Stroll from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It involves four public buildings in the center: Eagle House Senior Center, Public Library, Boys and Girls Club Teen Center and Lunenburg Historical Society. There will be activities going on in those buildings throughout the day. Uptown Strollers will be issued a "Stroll Passport, "which if checked off at each of the buildings, you will be entered into a raffle at the end of the day. The raffle is for a gift basket donated by Eagle House Supporters that will contain 10 gift certificates from area businesses. Mr. Alonzo announced with deep sadness the passing of Jean Hobbs. She was a mainstay in this town for many years. He read excerpts from her obituary aloud. He wanted to thank her for her service and her family for sharing her with us. Mr. Ebersole noted her daughter has every single news column she wrote for the town. Mr. Toale stated there will be a volunteer booth for town committees/boards set up at the Historical Society during the Uptown Stroll. Anyone interested in finding out more about any of the boards should come by. Talent bank forms shall be available to fill out. He also has a call out to members of committees to take a shift to give information about their committee to any interested people. May 215 is also Election Day for Lunenburg. Polls are open at the T.C. Passios Building from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Absentee ballots are available until Noon on May 19# at the Town Clerk office. Tomorrow is the Lunenburg Turkey Hill pancake breakfast at Eagle House Senior Center from 8:00-11:00 AM The price is $2 per person for pancakes, sausage, tater crowns, fruit, pastry, juice and coffee. Take out is available. Pole Petition Public Hearing for Oak Avenue Mr. Toale read the pole petition hearing notice: To All Interested Parties: In conformity with the requirements of Section 22 of Chapter 166 of the General Laws (Ter. Ed.), you are hereby notified that a public hearing will be held at the Town Hall, 17 Main Street, 2"d Floor, in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg, MA, on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 7:00 PM upon petition of VERIZON NEW ENGLAND INC. and UNITIL ===PAGE 2=== PITCHBURG GAS & ELECTRIC for permission to erect or construct, and a location for, a line of wires, poles and such other fixtures as may be necessary to sustain or protect the wires of the line, for the transmission of electricity, upon, along, across, or under the following public ways of said Town: Location: Oak Avenue: Place one (1) jointly owned pole numbered T.10 ¼ 11A on the northwesterly side of Oak Avenue at a point approximately five hundred and ninety-five feet southwesterly from the center line on Northfield Road. Verizon representative Bill Oz came forward in regards to the pole petition. He stated there is new construction on Oak Avenue and the span between pole 11 and pole 12 is so long that the cables sag between them. This is a petition to place a pole mid-span to alleviate that situation. Mr. Ebersole stated he drove by that site and noticed that cable was propped up by a branch. Ms. Bertram asked Mr. Oz if he knew where the new driveways were going in relation to the pole placement. He said he personally has not but the engineer should be touching base with the developer. Mr. Toale asked for public comment; there was none. Motion: T. Alonzo 2id: P. Bertram To approve the pole petition as presented Vote: All in Favor Tollbooth Fundraiser request- Boys and Girls Club- May 14" Mark Souza presented for the tollbooth request. They are looking for approval for their tollbooth fundraiser for this Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Motion: R. Ebersole 2nª. P. Bertram To approve the request for the tollbooth fundraiser this Saturday between 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and to note the special conditions listed on the request form Vote: All in Favor Mr. Souza thanked the Board and exited the meeting. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Memorial Day Resolution Mr. Toale wanted to have a discussion in advance of the day. The planning group is arranging to have their ceremony on Sunday, May 29'* at 9:30 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. They are still pulling together the program. He would like to create a resolution declaring Sunday, May 29 as the day of observance in Lunenburg and that the flags will be lowered to half-staff at the ceremony and remaining at half-staff throughout Monday, May 30* . The Board will sign it at their next meeting. Motion: R. Ebersole 2'': P. Bertram To create a resolution for Memorial Day Vote: All in Favor Mr. Toale also invited a Board member to read the resolution at the ceremony on the 29". Ms. Bertram asked if all of the flags flown in town are properly illuminated. If they are not, arrangements should be made to have them illuminated or taken down before daily. Ms. Lafleur will follow up on this matter. 2. Request to Join Central Mass Regional Stormwater Coalition Ms. Luck reported the Storm Water Task Force recently discussed joining this coalition at one of their meetings. She has been at presentations given by this coalition and has been impressed by their work. She referred to a presentation given by them on April 15, 2015 on "What's Next" and read aloud the accomplishments the group has achieved. They included developing a partnership with Mass DEP, USEPA, DCR and other groups, serving as a role model for four other new coalitions in MA, providing a forum for collaboration between towns, submitting comment on the 2014 draft MA Ms4 permitting and more. They are also working with towns to help understand actual expenditures for a stormwater program and project into a new permit, spending one on one time to help towns to get what they need most out of the coalition, providing ideas about how to fund stormwater programs and working with the EPA to identify grants appropriate for their work. They are currently limiting the coalition to 30 member communities. They just received a $50,000 MAEPA grant to help comply with upcoming federal requirements for managing stormwater. It will used for training and technical assistance for the member communities. The task force believes the coalition's assistance would be very helpful since the task force is just getting started and they are ===PAGE 3=== comprised of volunteers not engineers. She also presented a copy of the intermunicipal agreement with the coalition and noted the agreement if signed would become effective on July 1, 2016 and runs through 2020. The annual membership fee is $4,000. Ms. Bertram stated it was a great idea but noted looking at the map of the member communities that none of them border Lunenburg. Under the section "Who We Are", it states as neighbors, our 30 communities share stormwater systems, surface water resources and the need to endure the long-term protection of these resources. Lunenburg has resources to protect as well. Her hope would be if Lunenburg does join, they could encourage some of their neighbor communities to join as well. She asked if the member limit was in fact just 30 communities. Ms. Bertram added it was important the town look at stormwater as a regional issue. Mr. Toale stated he was thinking similar to Ms. Bertram as this is more of a central MA regional group. He asked if we should try to get a north central group organized or should we lobby for our neighbors to be able to join at some time in the future? Ms. Luck stated there was a group in Lowell but they were not at the caliber of the Central MA Regional Stormwater Coalition. She thought their resources would be helpful even if just for one year. Mr. Alonzo noted that Lunenburg was only one town away from the member group similar to Harwick being one town away from the central group. He thought they would have good information to share. Mr. Ebersole added there is a clause to withdraw from the coalition with a 60 day notice if there is another regional group that would make more sense to join. Ms. Lafleur reported there is $40,000 in the budget this year and $50,000 for fiscal 2017 for stormwater activities. The Board took no action as they wanted to review the agreement. They will review again at the May 17 meeting. Facilities Director John Londa presented an update on a project that has been in development for about two years. Last June he applied for a Department of Energy Resource grant to hire a solar technical advisor. The grant awarded $12,500 to bring on an advisor. Robert W. Patterson & Associates of Arlington, MA was selected. They put together a Request for Proposals (RFP) and advertised it in February 2016. He received two proposals for placing solar equipment on the Lunenburg middle/high school roof and the DPW garage roof. One bid was from Solect Energy Development LLC and the other was from Ecasolar. Solect Energy is the preferred bidder with more favorable pricing. Both projects were contingent on using SREC II (solar renewable energy credits). Solect Energy proposed placing a 361 kilowatt system on the new middle/high school and a 35 kilowatt system on the new DPW garage. It would be a 20 year contract for the middle/high school at 8.3 cents/kw hour and 13.5 cents/kw hour for the DPW, both at fixed rates. They guaranteed 85% of their performance; 400 kw hours for the middle/high school and 35,000 kw hours for the DPW garage. It was determined that it will require 850,000 kw/year for the middle/high school and around 35,000 kw/year to run the DPW garage. Also included is a lease payment of $1000/month for the middle/high school; there was no lease payment for the DP W. Annual savings would be $62,080 for the middle/high school and $3,472 for the DPW garage. He recommended sending a letter to Solect Energy informing them that they were awarded the bid and request a copy of their proposed lease. He stated one thing they need to get resolved was that the Board had informed special town meeting that even though they were authorized to enter into long-term alternative energy power purchase agreements, they would return to town meeting to inform the voters. He proposed that they resolve that hurdle. Additionally the School Committee wanted to be kept informed on the project and were concerned about the location and appearance of the panels on the new buildings. Solect Energy will be placing the conduit going to the flat rooves that affords over 13,000 square feet for solar panel space. Mr. Londa believed the School Committee was concerned about whether the panels should be visible or not. Mr. Londa stated they would probably rediscuss this issue after town election. All of this hinges on the developer finishing the work before the end of the calendar year due to the SREC II time limit. Mr. Alonzo asked about the school roof warranty being affected by placing solar panels on them. Mr. Londa stated flat rooves have a polyvinyl chloride membrane on them and they come with requirements that the vendor has to meet, he provided those requirements in the RFP. The solar panel vendor has to warranty the roof for two years from the completion of the project. On the flat roof, the panels would not penetrate the roof, they would be ballistered. Mir. Toale asked if the Board were to bring forward the agreement at a fall special town meeting, would there be enough time to execute the project. Mr. Londa did not believe so. Discussion ensued what was actually said at ===PAGE 4=== town meeting to the voters concerning long-term contracts. The meeting recording will be reviewed for what was actually said. It was suggested to hold a public hearing for the voters to be informed of the project. The Board thought this was a great project and thanked Mr. Londa for his work. He exited the meeting. 3. License Application Processing Cost Ms. Lafleur reported that Executive Assistant Peterson had provided an analysis of what tasks and time is involved in processing a license. Ms. Lafleur proposed reexamining annual license fees and charging a fee for a transfer. Transfers require the same amount of and sometimes even more time as new applications. She will bring this back to the Board in the beginning of June. 4. Proclamation Signatures for Eagle Scout Ceremonies The Board signed two proclamations for upcoming Eagle Scout ceremonies. 5. Annual Town Meeting Follow up Mr. Ebersole wanted to thank everyone who came out and stayed for the entire town meeting so a quorum could be maintained. Mr. Toale wanted to thank Town Manager Lafleur and her staff for coordinating the annual town meeting. It was a very efficient meeting. Mr. Ebersole appreciated that amendments made on town meeting floor were shown on the screen for all to view. 6. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues The Board signed an Accounts Payable warrant in the amount of $99,851.72. The Board signed the 4* Quarter Water Commitment of FY 2016 in the amount of $8,791.20. Action File: Ms. Bertram stated she would like to resolve the parking lot situation at the Teen Center. Tonight she went to pull in to the parking lot and it was blocked off with cones. At 6:00 p.m. at night we have such limited parking in the center that we cannot to afford to lose all those parking spaces. Ms. Lafleur stated she would have something for the Board by their next meeting. There has been discussion between the Senior Center and the Boys and Girls Club but she was waiting until after town meeting. Mr. Alonzo asked about the larger size trash bags status for the Pay As You Throw program. Ms. Lafleur stated that would also be on the next agenda. She will look at the contract to see if there is a weight limit in the contract. 7. Committee Reports Mr. Ebersole reported he had no reports other than the Sewer Commission is meeting tonight. Mr. Alonzo reported School Building Committee and Cable Advisory will meet in June. Finance Committee meets this Thursday. Ms. Bertram reported the Planning Board continues to work on their bylaws. They talked about the site plan component. They are planning to forward a draft to the Board of Selectmen, the engineers they work with on a regular basis and peer review engineers. They are hoping to hold a public hearing in June. Planning Board member Allison reported the Town of Acton has a sidewalk fund. If there is a subdivision in a remote location where the sidewalks don't connect to anything, sometimes a waiver is granted. They still collect the funding for the sidewalks and deposit it into the fund for sidewalks in areas that are walkable elsewhere. The Planning Board is going to research the concept further. The next bylaw change they are looking at would be the use table. They did endorse the changes on the Unitil plan which was the addition of the storm scepter that Conservation Commission had requested. The Conservation Commission met and discussed 101 Pleasant Street. The engineer had returned for guidance on the remediation. There will be another site visit. She requested an update from Ms. Lafleur on the town side. Ms. Lafleur stated she had asked Land Use Director Burney to be prepared to present an update to the Board following town meeting. She will have an update for the next meeting. Ms. Bertram stated Kinder Morgan also wants remediation because it affects their property. The property owner at 171 Lancaster Road came in due to an enforcement order. There is a drainage issue and they will be working with DPW to alleviate that. The property owner at 338 Sunset Lane also appeared in response to an enforcement order for a wall. The commission is looking at ways to remediate that with the owner. ===PAGE 5=== Ms. Luck reported the School Committee met on May 4*. . High School teacher Mary Foyle presented a community service learning project that is planned for next year. She would like to present it to the Board of Selectmen to get feedback on opportunities the seniors could use for community service work. There is movement on eliminating bus fees by offering adult education classes. This could cover the $30,000 for bus fees. The Storm Water Task Force is working on a potential 319 Nonpoint Source grant application which is due June 1st • They reached out to the Hickory Hills Lake Management Association to see if they are interested in working on Mulpus Brook above the lake that runs through the town forest. They have also reached out to the Lake Shirley Improvement Corporation to see if they would like to work together to make improvements in the watershed to reduce nutrient loading of the lake. The grant offers up to $600,000 but it requires a 40% match, half in cash, half in kind The task force is conducting a small scale cleanup of the area where Route 70 and Leominster-Shirley Road meet on Saturday morning. DPW Director Rodriquenz thought that was an area that needed the most attention. DPW will provide bags and gloves for the cleanup crew. They hope this is the beginning of a much larger effort and that they can learn from this experience. They are seeking volunteers. Their next meeting is Thursday, May Ms. Bertram noted that the outlet leaving Hickory Hills is the issue due to high water temperatures. There are different creative options to try to decrease the temperature. Ms. Bertram stated she had looked at the 319 grant application and did not see a request for a cash match, only an in kind contribution. Ms. Luck noted the chances of getting a grant awarded if a cash match is indicated. Mr. Toale reported Capital Planning's recommendations were approved at annual town meeting. They agreed to meet to continue discussion for the future. Building Reuse Committee also received approval for the market analysis at town meeting. Town Manager Report- Ms. Lafleur reported the town had been notified on March 29th of a proposed acquisition by MDAR of Lanni Orchards for agricultural preservation restriction. The state has done an appraisal and we awaiting that. She explained the town is expected to make a match of 5% or 10% depending on certain factors. More information will be coming at a later date. Mr. Toale stated their next meeting will be May 17th Motion: P. Bertram To adjourn the meeting at 8:24 p.m. 2": P. Luck Vote: All in Favor Respectfully submitted, Elaine M. Peterson Executive Assistant to the Town Manager ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2016-05-10-minutes-5007.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-05-10 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-05-10-minutes-5007.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05102016-5007 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== The meeting commenced at 6:00 p.m. Ms. Lafleur reported on the history of negotiations with the Public Employee Committee. The Town adopted M.G.L. Chapter 32B, §19, which states a contract with a health insurance carrier shall be in conformity with an agreement reached by the Town and a Public Employee Committee (PEC). The PEC is composed of one representative from each union, one non-union representative and a retiree representative. Each collective bargaining unit represented on the PEC shall have a vote equal to the proportion of employees eligible for health insurance employed in the collective bargaining unit. The non-union representative does not have a vote. The retiree representative gets a ten percent vote. The first agreement was negotiated by the Selectmen and the PEC. The current contract went into effect in FY 2009. The two subsequent amendments were negotiated by Ms. Lafleur. Ms. Lafleur stated the big issue coming up for the Town will be the Cadillac Tax; a levy on high-cost health-benefit plans provided by employers to their employees. It imposes an excise tax of 40%, starting in 2018, on health plans whose value is more than $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for a family. She stated there may be a need to reduce benefits or town contributions to avoid paying it. Suggestion was made to go for a three year contract with language that considers the cadillac tax, if/when it arises. Ms. Lafleur stated there has been an increase in retiree enrollment for health insurance benefits. Currently the Town reimburses 75% of the Medicare Part B premium incurred by subscribers enrolled in it. The agreement language is unclear on whether this applies to the retiree or the retiree and their spouse. Past practice has been to reimburse for both. The agreement needs to be more clear on who is covered. The Town reimburses retirees around $200,000 annually for the Medicare Part B and also pays a Medicare penalty of around $30,000 annually, but this amount is decreasing over time. Suggestion was made to decrease the amount of employer contribution towards health insurance by a percentage every three years. It was also suggested to research what other towns' contributions are for their employee's health insurance Ms. Lafleur was seeking feedback on how to proceed with negotiations. It was decided she will proceed with negotiations and report back to the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Lafleur will meet with the PEC next week to review the claims report. This agreement expires June 30t" but negotiations will continue until agreement is reached. The Board moved on to the next Executive Session. Respectfully submitted, Clairem. Peleison Elaine M. Peterson Executive Assistant to the Town Manager RECEIVED & FILED JUN 05 2019 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2016-05-17-minutes-4969.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-05-17 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-05-17-minutes-4969.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05172016-4969 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== Sill P BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall May 17, 2016 The Board of Selectmen met in the Lunenburg Town Hall, Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, as scheduled with Jamie Toale, Chairman; Paula Bertram, Member; Phyllis Luck, Member and Kerry Lafleur, Town Manager Not present: Robert Ebersole, Vice Chairman and Tom Alonzo, Clerk The meeting opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment: Ms. Luck announced the Lunenburg Turkey Hill Lions Club is holding a pancake breakfast on Sunday, May 29t from 7:00- 9:30 a.m. at the Eagle House Senior Center. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children with a cap of $20.00 per family. Following the Memorial Day service ceremonies at 9:30 a.m., there will be coffee and pastry available at Eagle House. The Lions Club will be holding their annual spring tollbooth fundraiser on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. They Will also be collecting used car seats, clothing, linens, curtains, etc. at the Boys and Girls Club during the Uptown Stroll. They will have a tent set up. Donations can be left in a box on the Teen Center porch anytime between now and May 21St Mr. Toale announced polls will be open at T.C. Passios for the Annual Town Election on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. He wanted to remind everyone that Saturday is also the day of the Uptown Stroll from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It involves four public buildings in the center: Eagle House Senior Center, Public Library, Boys and Girls Club Teen Center and Lunenburg Historical Society. There will be activities going on in those buildings throughout the day. Mr. Toale stated there will be a volunteer booth for town committees/boards set up at the Historical Society during the Uptown Stroll. Anyone interested in finding out more about any of the boards should come by. Talent bank forms shall be available to fill out. APPOINTMENT Lunenburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame Darlene Steele, 1234 Mass. Avenue, Chairperson of the Lunenburg Hall of Fame, presented tonight to request a permanent location for their (2) 4' x 8' trophy cases as they have been informed that there is not sufficient space in the new high school for them. While searching for a new accessible and visible public location for them, they thought of the I.C. Passios Building. They believed the lobby would serve as a suitable location for their inductee plaques. They currently have 30 individual inductee plaques and 16 others. They have contacted a moving company who will either move the cases to a new location or pack the contents to be placed into storage. Ms. Bertram asked if they were provided a reason why they could not move them to the new school. Ms. Steele stated they were told there would be no place for them in the new school. Ms. Bertram stated she did not have a problem with storing them and eventually displaying them at TC. Passios Building. She added given they don't know the fate of that building yet, she was not sure making them a permanent display would make a lot of sense. Mr. Toale stated the current status is that the Selectmen are pursuing a potential plan to convert the Passios Building to a Town Hall so he was also reluctant to make a long term commitment. Richard Brockelman, 56 Cross Street, referred to the photos he distributed to the Board. He stated he measured the glassed-in display cabinet at T.C. Passios and they should be able to store their plaques in there for now. The five current ones from this year will not fit. Ms. Bertram stated she was disappointed to hear that they could not find room in the new school for such an important part of athletics. Ms. Steele added they were informed by the athletic director that there is space in one case to display only the current inductees in the high school with a ===PAGE 2=== perpetual plaque that will have the past inductees information on it. But they still don't know the size of that space. Mr. Toale stated he agreed the most logical place was the high school but he also thought the Historical Society might be able to display some. Mr. Brockelman said he was familiar with the Historical Society and did not believe they would have room for the cases as they exist right now. He believed there was enough room in both display cases to take them through year 2025. Ms. Bertram stated she did not have a problem with temporary storage but thought they should still seek a permanent location for everything. Ms. Steele asked if there was any space at the Passios to store the trophy cases. Ms. Lafleur stated she assumed there was some storage space in the building. Ms. Steele will let Ms. Lafleur know when they are going to move everything so she could coordinate a room. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Request to join Central MA Regional Stormwater Coalition (continued) Mr. Toale referred the Board to the intermunicipal agreement. Ms. Bertram stated she felt this was a good idea and it would benefit the Town. Motion: P. Bertram 2°°: P. Luck To enter into the agreement with the Central MA Regional Stormwater Coalition Discussion: Mr. Toale stated he did not find anything objectionable in the agreement but wanted to reiterate that they should encourage surrounding towns to join as well and encourage Central MA to allow their surrounding towns to also join. Ms. Bertram agreed. Vote: All in Favor 2. Request to adopt Montachusett Regional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan 2015 Update Ms. Lafleur stated she did not expect the Board to adopt this tonight. She did want to advise the Board that MRPC has advised the town that FEMA Region 1 has completed its review of the plan for the jurisdictions in our area and found them approvable pending adoption. They provided us a copy of the full report which is around 200 pages. Ms. Bertram wanted to review it before voting on it. Ms. Lafleur will provide a link to the document for viewing and this will be placed on an agenda in early June. INTERVIEWS/APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1. Ratify Town Manager Appointment of John M. Welch III as Heavy Equipment Operator, DPW Ms. Lafluer reported her appointment fills the last opening at DPW. She did meet with Mr. Welch a couple of weeks ago. He has quite a bit of experience with trucks and plowing as well as maintenance work. Motion: P. Bertram 2'': P. Luck To ratify the appointment of John Welch, Illas heavy equipment operator at DPW Vote: All in Favor 2. Paul Doherty, Associate ZBA Member, to position of ZBA Member-term to expire 6/30/2017 Motion: P. Bertram 2"d P. Luck To appoint Paul Doherty to Zoning Board of Appeals with a term to expire June 30, 2017 Vote: All in Favor Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues Minutes of May 3, 2016 were approved. An accounts payable warrant in the amount of $1,249,901.85, an accounts payable warrant in the amount of $263,872.70, a payroll warrant in the amount of $720,191.64, a payroll warrant in the amount of $764.27 and a payroll deduction warrant in the amount of $151,193.12 were signed. Mr. Toale presented the Memorial Day resolution that was discussed last week for signatures. Motion: P. Bertram To sign the Memorial Day resolution 2": P. Luck Vote: All in Favor Committee Reports: Ms. Luck reported the Zoning Board of Appeals approved Peter Kelly's request for a proposed addition to the existing building at 36 Summer Street. The School Committee will be meeting tomorrow. The Storm Water Task Force did not have a quorum for its May 12" meeting. Ed Himlin, Executive Director of the MA ===PAGE 3=== Watershed Coalition attended and presented a proposal to assist the task force. The task force will meet again on May 26# to discuss further. Mr. Toale wanted to thank the people who attended town meeting and approved the Capital Plan on behalf of the Capital Planning Committee. He also wanted to thank them for approving the market analysis on behalf of the Building Reuse Committee. Town Manager Report: 101 Pleasant Street: Ms. Lafleur requested Land Use Director Adam Burney provide an update. Mr. Burney reported he and Conservation Agent Matt Marro have met with MA DEP, Army Corps of Engineers, and Kinder Morgan and determined the owner of 101 Pleasant Street was in fact the cause of alterations on Kinder Morgan's property and the 225 Pleasant Street town property. Kinder Morgan was able to provide a 2007 existing conditions plan detailing the elevations and the extent of the wetlands in the alteration area for comparison to the current conditions. The Conservation Commission, as part of their Enforcement Order, has requested the 101 Pleasant Street and 190 Electric Avenue property owner have his wetlands scientist/engineer use the 2007 existing conditions plan to assess the violations and prepare a replication/restoration plan for the town property as well. The engineer has indicated he is willing to do the work but the property owner has not committed the funds. Ms. Bertram asked if the Town has communicated with the property owner directly. Mr. Burney suggested he would follow up and find out if anything has been sent in writing from the Conservation Commission. Ms. Bertram believed correspondence should come directly from the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Lafleur stated the only notification they have provided to the property owner was a cease and desist order. Mr. Toale asked if the Town had responded to the Conservation Commission regarding the Town's enforcement order. Mr. Burney stated no. Further discussion ensued about how to remediate the Town property. Ms. Bertram suggested sending a letter to the 101 Pleasant Street property owner outlining the circumstances of the town property and that the Town has received an enforcement order as a result of alleged work performed on his property; noting that since he has to remediate the violations on his property, at the same time he can do the same on the town property. She suggested requesting an extension from the Conservation Commission for additional time for the remediation on the Town property. Mr. Burney will work with Ms. Lafleur on the tasks. Greg Bittner, 129 Pleasant Street, presented a document that indicated the owner of 101 Pleasant Street was not licensed by the state to operate the equipment he was using on his property. Boys & Girls Club Request to use Parking Lot Ms. Lafleur reported this issue arose more than a month ago where there was an evening the Teen Center parking lot was closed off with cones again. It has come up several times over the years. Ms. Lafleur met with the Director, the Chair of their Board as well as Boys and Girls Club Board member Tom Alonzo. A request was made by the Teen Center Director for exclusive use of that parking lot from 3 - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Ms. Lafleur suggested using the lower parking lot instead, leaving the municipal parking lot available for use during nighttime meetings. The Council on Aging had discussed this at their meeting as they share that parking lot. They sent a letter supporting the Teen Center's use of their parking lot for safety reasons and the lower lot for municipal parking. Ms. Lafleur stated at this point she did not see any solution other than letting them use their parking lot due to their limited space. Ms. Bertram appreciated the work the Teen Center does but the town has limited parking in the center. She stated she was opposed to exclusive use of the municipal parking lot for the Teen Center from 3 - 5 p.m., especially on nights the Town Hall is open. She stated they need to find a different solution. Mr. Toale stated clearly the town has parking space problems. He believed the ultimate result is to find a new Town Hall with accessible parking spots. Further discussion ensued. Suggestion was made to advise employees not to park in front of Town Hall and to use the lower parking lot. Another suggestion was made to inform those who run tollbooth fundraisers not to park in the Town Hall spots while running the tollbooth. Ms. Bertram suggested posting no parking signs from 3- 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the municipal lot in front of the Teen Center. ===PAGE 4=== MIlA Credits Ms. Lafleur reported Massachusett Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) has announced the distribution of participation credits to their members. The Town will receive $8,497 in participation credits. The Town will also receive a 4% credit for early payment in the amount of $7910.16 and will receive $7,262.29 in other estimated rewards credits bringing the total in credits to $23,669.45. PAYT bags discussion will be continued to another meeting. Ms. Lafleur presented some information on health insurance such as current costs for individual and family coverage, costs of plans by employee groups etc. She will be using this to start her meeting with the Public Employee Committee tomorrow. PUBLIC COMMENT Greg Bittner suggested designating another handicapped parking spot in front of Town Hall and posting a two hour parking limit in front of Town Hall to eliminate employees parking there. He asked if the Teen Center has access to the gym at Passios for the winter time. Mr. Toale stated another group uses it but he does not know the schedule. He added there is not enough supervision from the Teen Center to cover that activity regardless. Motion: P. Bertram To adjourn the meeting at 8:21 p.m. 2nd.P. Luck Vote: All in Favor Respectfully submitted, Elaine Peterson Elaine M. Peterson Executive Assistant to the Town Manager ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2016-06-07-agenda-5015.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2016-06-07 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2016-06-07-agenda-5015.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06072016-5015 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Select Board Meeting- Executive Session1.