Minutes of Meeting – May 13, 2009; meeting called to order at 7:00 pm.
Present: L Messana; KR Flynn; J McNinch; RN Sandlin; D Trancynger.
Reorganization: MOTION by KRF, seconded by DT to appoint LM as chairperson. 5/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to appoint KRF as clerk. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by RNS, seconded by KRF to accept the Minutes of April 29 as presented. 4/0 vote with DT abstaining.
MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to grant a one-day A/A license to Robin Gerson Wong/Seven Hills Inn for June 12 from 8-10pm at Seven Hills Inn. 4/0 vote. (KRF recused herself from all votes pertaining to the Seven Hills). MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to grant a one-day A/A license to Robin Gerson Wong/Seven Hills Inn for June 13 from 5-midnight at Seven Hills Inn. 4/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to grant a one-day A/A license to Robin Gerson Wong/Seven Hills Inn for June 19 from 7-midnight at Seven Hills Inn. 4/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to grant a one-day A/A license to Robin Gerson Wong/Seven Hills Inn for June 20 from 6-11pm at Seven Hills Inn. 4/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to grant a one-day A/A license to Belvoir Terrace for June 13 from 10am-3pm.
5/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by KRF to grant a one-day A/A license to Belvoir Terrace for August 29 from 5-11pm. 5/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by KRF to grant a one-day W&M License to St. Ann Church for May 31 from 4-8pm at the Family Center. 5/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to grant a one-day A/A license to Dan Zunitch for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berkshire County for May 14 from 5pm-midnight at Eastover Resort. 5/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by DT to grant a one-day W&M to the Lenox Chamber for May 23 from 8-10:30pm at the Lenox Library Reading Park. 5/0 vote.
Event Planner Susan Olshuff updated the Board on the upcoming events planned for the summer season. She explained that she is mainly working on new events rather than those that are already established and have a history. She is looking for help, and is thrilled with the idea of a Lenox Community Events Board. Both LM and KRF offered to serve on the board. There will be a Green Expo on Saturday, and she asked for permission to allow six vendors to set up on the front edge of Lilac Park from noon-6pm. MOTION by KRF, seconded by RNS to grant said permission. 5/0 vote. MOTION by RNS, seconded by KRF to grant permission to erect a temporary sign announcing Memorial Day activities in Town in Lilac Park. 5/0 vote. The Board expressed their strong support for the work Susan is doing.
MOTION by JM, seconded by RNS to grant permission to the Church on the Hill to erect a temporary sign in front of their chapel for one week prior to their fair on 7/25-26 announcing their craft fair. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by RNS, seconded by JM to deny permission for MASSPIRG to canvas within the Town. 5/0 vote.
The Chairman announced that Carole Schwimmer has resigned from the Cable Advisory Board and asked that anyone interested in serving on this commission submit a letter of interest to the Board. MED to send a letter of thanks to Carole. Also, individuals on file interested in this board to be contacted.
Church Street Update: The new water line is in and should be functional by tomorrow. The Change Order for the lights is all set. The work itself is moving slower than hoped, and beginning tomorrow, the contractor will be working from 6am-6pm. KRF questioned if we could look at working during July and August and just getting the job completed. It was agreed to reevaluate the situation in June.
The Chairman announced that Jeff Vincent has resigned from the Transportation Advisory Committee and asked if any of the other members of the Board would be interested in serving in his place. MOTION by RNS, seconded by KRF to appoint JM as the Town’s representative. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by KRF to appoint RNS as alternate. 5/0 vote.
Bike Path: MOTION by KRF, seconded by DT to support the efforts to create a north-south county path and to endorse funding requests and be active participants in the process. 5/0 vote.
Annual Town Meeting Review: LM felt that the Selectmen were ill-prepared, and that too many articles were tabled or were amended. She felt that the meeting did not go as smoothly as it could have. KRF questioned if the day of town meeting could be changed to Saturday afternoon, or if we should look at having a “baby town meeting” like Lee and Stockbridge hold. JM stated that he was embarrassed that the Board did not “sell” the articles to the people. The townspeople seem to feel that the Board hides things, and being unable to answer questions just emphasizes that feeling. It was agreed to give a summary of all workshops at the beginning of the regular Selectmen’s meetings. KRF brought up the article on the Charter Review Committee and felt that it had become very
political. She feels, however, that we need to pursue the idea, and suggested that the Town utilize graduate students to review the Town charter. In addition, she would still like to meet with representatives of Barnstable and Tom Scanlon (our current auditor) regarding a Finance Director. LM would like an update regarding this at the May 27 BOS meeting.
Old/New Business: RNS asked if anyone had heard any comments on the Farmer’s Market; no complaints, things seemed to run smoothly. LM went through the employee anniversaries.
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 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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