Minutes of Meeting – June 22, 2011; meeting called to order at 7:00 pm.
Present: L Messana; J McNinch; D Trancynger; D Roche; K Fowler.
Citizen’s Participation: Joe Kellogg stated that overall, the economic development effort is good; marketing of a Town can be difficult. As for “Lenoxology”, he sees this as creating a division among the town. He feels that we need to build a consensus and take the time to get it right. Money is important, but you need to support this fully to make it work. Mark Shapp thinks that “Lenoxology” is horrible, and concurred that he feels that the town is divided over “Lenoxology”. He feels that there are many infrastructure needs that the town should take care before spending money on “Lenoxology”. Ralph Petillo commented on what a wonderful weekend the Town had with the concert on Friday night, followed by the car show over the weekend.
MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to accept the Minutes of June 8 as presented. 5/0 vote.
Economic Development Steering Committee Update: Scott Laugenour stated that the committee is moving forward with executing the ED plan that the Board approved on October 10. They have held fourteen meetings to date, and have worked on a number of items. They are currently working on village wi-fi, and should have a recommendation within the next several weeks. The plantings have been done around town and look great. There has been a snag in the trolley in that there have been problems with the management of scheduling drivers. Work continues on way-finding signs and maps; once a clear branding is decided upon, they will move forward with this project. The marketing plan is moving forward nicely, with a formal launch planned for sometime in August. Off-season efforts will be the focus. The
Visitor’s Center is now open in the Welles Gallery at the Library. JM thanked him for the update, and reminded him that the committee was appointed by the Board, and created to aid the Selectmen with economic development.
Annual Appointments: MOTION by DT, seconded by KF to make the following appointments: 4/0 with DR abstaining.
Police Department Thomas Harmon, Reserve
Phil Smits, Reserve
Royanne Hammond, Reserve
Thomas Scherben, Reserve
Eric Kirby, Reserve
Special Police Officer Anthony J. Salvatore, Jr.
Shain T. Bosworth
Traffic Officers Richard Celli Michael Snyder
Scott Sibley Kyle Lanoue
Tyler Bosworth Robert Fuore
Helmuth Scharf B. Jake Stringer
Mike Jezak Gerald Borgo
Chris Stechmann Timothy S. Face Jr.
Matthew Lagarce David Lucaroni
Brian Rice Tyler Miller
Fire Chief Daniel W. Clifford
Deputy Chief Christopher O’Brien, Central
William Colvin, Lenox Dale
John Gaherty, New Lenox
Captain Jason Saunders
Robert Casucci
James Terry
Lieutenant Jason Miller
Michael Zinchuk
Michael Lane
Daniel Piretti
Emergency Management Director Daniel W. Clifford
Building/Sign Inspector William Thornton
Wire Inspector Robert J. Pensivy
Plumbing/Gas Inspector Mark Smith
Sealer, Weights & Measures Paul Vacchina
Academy Building Trustees Harvey M. Steuerwald
Victoria Salvatore
Timothy Face
Kennedy Park Committee Robert Coakley Susan McNinch
Rob Akroyd Terry P. Weaver
Ruth H. Wheeler Ray Kirby
Richard C. Houdek Joseph H. Nolan
Luke Martin
Constable Timothy P. Sheehan
Constable Timothy S. Face (Deputy/Collector)
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Rep. L. Scott Laugenour
Berkshire Regional Planning Comm. Delegate Mark Smith
Alternate Gary Schiff
Cable Advisory Committee Joseph Kellogg
Scholarship Committee Linda Messana
Jim Sorrentino
Christopher Ryan
Edward Costa II
Diana Kirby
William Parsley
Village Improvement Committee Lynn Sutton Jim Terry
Kelly Wickliff Debbie Prew
Barbara Sims
MOTION by DT, seconded by KF to make the following appointments: 5/0 vote.
Affordable Housing Trustees 2013 Olga Weiss
JoAnne Magee
Deborah Ferro Burke
Capital Improvement Committee 2014 Ed Lane
Neal Carpenter
Linda Messana/
John McNinch
Community Center Board 2014 Jim Sorrentino
Shirley Benson
Community Preservation Committee 2014 Joe Strauch
Suzanne Pelton
Conservation Commission 2014 Richard Ferren
Neal Carpenter
Cultural Council 2016 Felicity McClenachan
Renee Far
Historic District Commission 2014 Claire Cantone
Historical Commission 2014 James Jurney
Registrar of Voter 2014 Percival Williams
Zoning Board of Appeals 2016 Robert Fuster
DT then read the current vacancies for those interested in applying.
Jamie Cahillane appeared before the Board to ask for their support for a proposed expansion of the MA bottle bill – the inclusion of non-carbonated beverages, i.e., bottled water, power drinks, etc. MOTION by LM, seconded by DR to support an expansion of the MA bottle bill. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to approve a Reserve Fund Transfer for the Overlay account to cover unexpected abatements the Assessors gave out; $6500 to the Highway Department for leave time buy back on a retiring employee, $2500 to the School Department for additional outplacement vocational educational expenses and $2000 to the Veterans Department for additional veteran benefit payments. 4/0 vote with KF abstaining.
Outdoor Dining Request, Loeb’s Foodtown: There was some discussion as to who should pay the $100 sewer fee imposed for outside dining. Since in this situation, they will not be offering public restrooms, dishes or silverware or any type of dining service, it was determined that this situation could be compared to simply offering a place to sit and eat, similar to a park bench. In addition, LM reminded everyone that each Outdoor Dining application was to be looked at on its own merits. Jeff Vincent stated that perhaps this should not be viewed as outdoor dining and thus no application should have been filed. It was agreed that an application should still be filed, but that this applicant will have no impact upon the sewer system, and thus not required to pay the $100 fee. MOTION by DR, seconded by LM
to grant the outdoor dining/seating for Loeb’s Foodtown without the $100 fee. 5/0 vote.
Recap of British Motorcar Show: LM stated what a wonderful weekend it was in town. KF stated that it was a major event never before done, and that everything seemed to go very smoothly, including the parking of all of the cars. He thanked everyone who worked so hard to make it such a successful event. He stated that at one point there were approximately 120 cars parked along Main and Housatonic Streets.
MOTION by LM, seconded by KF to ratify the appointment of Marge Pero as Interim Town Accountant, effective July 5, 2011. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by LM, seconded by KF to approve a one-year contract with the Fire Department providing a 2% pay increase and a 76/24 health insurance premium split as presented. 5/0 vote. MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to approve a one-year contract with the Police Department as presented. 4/0 vote with DR abstaining. MOTION by LM, seconded by DR to approve a one-year contract with the DPW as presented. 5/0 vote. MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to approve a one-year contract with the Police Chief as presented. 4/0 vote with DR abstaining. MOTION by KF, seconded by DR to approve a one-year contract with the Town Manager as presented. 4/1 vote with LM opposed. She felt that the Board should hold his evaluation prior to approving his contract.
Regionalization Efforts: The Town of Lee’s police chief will be retiring, and the two town’s are trying to decide if utilizing one chief would make sense. Lee has appointed a committee to look into the merits, with the hope of making their recommendation at their 8/2 Selectmen’s meeting. DT and LM both stated that they are against this idea. DR felt that we should look at it and let the committee make a recommendation. KF stated that he felt that it was worth pursuing. JM will be the Board’s rep
At this point, DT brought up the fact that she didn’t understand why if the Board had appointed the TM as interim accountant, why the former accountant was back working for the Town until the new accountant came on board. LM stated that the Board had previously agreed that the Town’s auditing firm would be used to perform any outstanding tasks. The Board agreed that they did not want Angela Cook performing any more accounting work, and asked MED to notify her of this and ask that she return her office key.
Consent Agenda: MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to approve the following: Innholder’s license for Eastover Hotel and Resort; One-Day A/A license to Eastover Hotel and Resort for 7/2 from 4-7pm; One-Day W&M license requests for Ventfort Hall on 7/9 from 7-11pm, 7/10 from 6-11pm, 7/18 from 7:30-10:30pm, 7/14 from 7-11pm, 7/25 from 7:30-11pm and 8/8 from 7-10pm; One-Day W&M license for Edith Wharton Restoration on 7/9 from 5-7pm; permission for the PTO to use Lilac Park and the abutting section of Sunset Street for the “Kids Park” event during Apple Squeeze. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to approve a temporary banner only over the Welles Gallery from July 7-20 for the Kent Mikalsen art show and 8/7-20 for the Community Access to the Arts exhibit. 3/2 vote with KF and DR opposed. They both felt that the addition of a sandwich board sign would be appropriate as well. MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to approve a temporary banner at the Academy Building from July 1-14. 5/0 vote. MOTION by LM, seconded by DR to deny a request for a temporary sandwich board received from The Scoop. 4/1 vote with DT opposed. MOTION by LM, seconded by KF to approve a temporary sign for one week prior to their craft fair on 7/30-31. 5/0 vote. MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to grant 29 one-day A/A licenses to the Cornell Inn. 5/0 vote. It was noted that they will
be applying for an annual license, but that they need these one-day licenses to get them through the summer.
Old/New Business: DR asked if the Board simply monitors the Economic Development Plan, or if it could be revisited at any time. LM stated that Rep. Pignatelli is hawking the Berkshires by hosting a Berkshire’s Day and having those from Boston come to visit. JM mentioned that MED would like to order the new phone system and asked the Board to vote their preference. MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to award the contract to Valley Communications in the amount of $8479.77. 5/0 vote. He also mentioned that we are now leasing an ambulance while ours is being repaired. The Board asked MED to send a thank you letter to County Ambulance for their assistance during this time.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10pm.
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Director of Administrative Services Board of Selectmen
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Mary Ellen Deming
Director of Administrative Services
Town Hall - 6 Walker Street
Lenox, MA 01240
phone: (413) 637-5500
fax: (413) 637-5518
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