Minutes of Meeting – May 14, 2008; meeting called to order at 5:30 pm.
Present: S Pavlosky; L Messana; RN Sandlin; KR Flynn; J McNinch.
MOTION by SP, seconded by LM to change the meeting time for open workshops from 4pm to 5:30pm and regular meetings from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. 5/0 vote. MOTION by LM, seconded by KRF to appoint Steve Pavlosky as chairman. 5/0 vote. MOTION by LM, seconded by JM to appoint Roscoe Sandlin as clerk. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by RNS, seconded by LM to accept the Minutes of April 30 as presented. 5/0 vote.
It was agreed to table the annual appointments until the May 28 meeting. SP asked the TM to announce the vacancies should anyone be interested in applying for same. In addition, he mentioned that Kim would be stepping down from the Planning Board and that a joint meeting would be scheduled to appoint someone to fill that position. MOTION by JM, seconded by LM to appoint Kim Flynn to replace Janet Pumphrey as the Selectmen on the Library Board. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by RNS, seconded by LM to grant a one-day W&M license to Ventfort Hall for 5/24 from
4-8pm. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by RNS, seconded by LM to ratify the ATM meeting vote and declare that elected officials work less than 20 hours a week and are not eligible to received subsidized health insurance coverage through the Town pursuant to their authority under MGL Chapter 32B, Section 2d. The Board discussed whether this prohibition applied to retired vested elected officials as well. JM and SP stated that they believed it was the voters’ intent to not provide health insurance to current and past elected officials. Recent case law (Shay) clearly stated that the Board of Selectmen could discontinue providing health insurance to elected officials who worked less than 20 hours a week even if the benefits had been provided in the past. The Board agreed that their motion includes both active and retired elected officials.
5/0 vote.
Rest of River Update: The Board agreed that a letter needs to be sent to the EPA stating the Town’s concerns regarding their proposed work to clean up the river. In particular, the points we need to stress include 1) minimization of disruptions; 2) the need to be part of the process in determining the remedial activities; 3) state our strong position against the disposal of any PCB material in Lenox; 4) leave the door open for new technology to be used.
MOTION by LM, seconded by KRF to utilize BXBS as the available group dental plan for Town employees. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by LM, seconded by JM to award a contract to Foresight Engineering in the amount of $25,300 for construction oversight on the Ore Bed/Housatonic Street drainage project and to authorize the TM to sign a contract for same. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by JM, seconded by KRF to award a contract to Delray Contracting in the amount of $471,281 for the Crystal Street Water Treatment Solids Processing Upgrades project and to authorize the TM to sign a contract for same. 5/0 vote.
DPW Superintendent Jeff Vincent updated the Board on the work occurring currently at the cannon in Lilac Park. He stated that the work should be completed within two weeks. He informed the Board that he is currently interviewing four engineering firms for a master plan of the village area, and that he will bring a recommendation forward shortly.
The Board was asked to ratify a staffing change at the Community Center. With the retirement of our Senior Services Coordination, MOTION by LM, seconded by KRF to ratify the 28-hour per week appointment of Sue Holmes as both the senior coordinator and outreach coordinator. 5/0 vote. SP mentioned that the Town is working with the library to put together a community calendar so that there is no duplication of activities between the Community Center and the library.
Old/New Business: LM mentioned that she now serves on the Salvation Army Outreach Board, and that there are many benefits available to those in need. She also went through the two employee anniversaries. SP welcomed the two new members to the Board. He asked that the topic of an economic development plan be placed on the 5/28 agenda for discussion, and that the board members be thinking about what ideas they have in mind that they would like to see implemented. KRF brought up that in the past there were discussions regarding parking, round-abouts and one-way streets in the village area. It was suggested that a Land Use/Selectmen All Boards meeting should be scheduled in the near future to discuss some of these items.
Meeting adjourned at 6:15 pm.
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Assistant to Town Manager Board of Selectmen
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Mary Ellen Deming
Town of Lenox
Town Hall - 6 Walker Street
Lenox, MA 01240
phone: (413) 637-5500
fax: (413) 637-5518
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