Minutes of Meeting – March 23, 2011; meeting called to order at 7:00 pm.
Present: L Messana; KR Flynn; D Trancynger; K Fowler. Absent: J McNinch.
Citizen’s Participation: Nancy Armstrong appeared before the Board to speak against allowing the Farmer’s Market to again be located at Triangle Park. KF stated that the Board is working on relocating the Market to a private location. LM stated that she purchased the tape from CTSB airing last year’s meeting where this discussion occurred, and that the individual board members had stated then that that was to be the last year at Triangle Park. The manager of the Farmer’s Market is out of the country, but the Board stated that hopefully there would be a decision made by April 13 as to the location for this year. And, if it turns out that the various alternate sites in the works do not work out and we are still at Triangle Park, the Board will reopen the issue.
MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to accept the Minutes of March 2 as presented. 4/0 vote.
Economic Action Plan Steering Committee: The Board discussed the role of the committee, which is to assist the Selectmen in making sure that the economic action plan is implemented. The committee reviews, monitors progress of projects and makes recommendations to the Board. Scott Laugenour stated that the committee quickly went to work reviewing and interviewing the marketing/events firms. He sees the committee as providing guidance to the consultant, recommending other actions to be taken in the plan and serves as the liaison with regard to the action plan. KF stated that the committee does its charge and then returns everything back over to the Town. KRF stated that she feels that certain decisions should be brought before the Town for a decision, and not just the Selectmen or the Steering Committee. Eiran Gazit stated that he wants to make sure that everything is done out in the open, with no hidden agendas. KF stated that we have begun the process by hiring an
out-of-town firm to market Lenox; it is now time to move on.
BRTA: Scott Laugenour asked the Board to continue the no fares ride program that was in place last year. He is proposing including Saturdays as well as Fridays this year. Last year there were approximately 205 no fares, and he is projecting that we could see upwards of 600 this year with the inclusion of Saturdays and a full day on Friday. The Board agreed that it would be a good idea to add Saturdays. MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to authorize no fare BRTA rides on Fridays and Saturdays from April 22 through Columbus Day. 4/0 vote. Scott then requested permission to ask the BRTA to change their policy from offering a no fare ride on your birthday to offering a no fare ride on Earth Day (April 22). MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to agree to suggest the new policy as stated above
to the BRTA. 4/0 vote.
Hazard Mitigation Plan: Mackenzie Greer from BRPC and Fire Chief Clifford appeared before the Board to update them on the hazard mitigation plan being put together for the region. This is an update to the 2005 plan. Comments are due by March 31. They asked the board members to send them any edits they may have for incorporation into the final document.
CTSB Contract Renewal: MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to renew the agreement with CTSB to be our public cable provider, and to sign a two-year, renewable agreement with them. 4/0 vote. It was noted that there are two vacancies on the Cable Advisory Board should anyone be interested in serving.
Laurel Lake House: There was a brief discussion with a member of the Lee Conservation Commission regarding the house located at Laurel Lake that is owned jointly by both communities, as well as what to do with the open land on the west side of Laurel Lake. It was agreed that members from both ConComs should meet to discuss further.
MA DOT: A representative from MA Highway made a brief presentation regarding a project to improve a drainage ditch off of Route 7 & 20 near the Wheeler/Heller and Coakley properties. This was simply to make the Board aware of the project, and to let them know that the property owners are in full support and anxious for work to begin.
Special Town Meeting: The Board reviewed the proposed warrant articles, and a MOTION by LM, seconded by DT was made to hold the meeting on Thursday, April 14 at 7:30pm in the Town Hall auditorium. 4/0 vote. MOTION by LM, seconded by KF to amend the Minutes to reflect that warrant articles were approved, along with the date of the meeting. 4/0 vote with JM abstaining. (3/30 meeting).
FY12 Budget: The TM briefly hit on some specific expenditures: Health insurance was anticipated to increase approximately 8%, but we are now looking at 5.2% (for the HMO); FinCom removed $13,000 from the Planning budget earmarked for consultants and kept the Snow & Ice budget $20,000 lower; the Town needs to begin putting monies into an Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) Account. The suggested amount is $100,000. We could find this money as follows: $50,000 additional funding in Chapter 90 monies is anticipated, state aid decrease should be less than anticipated which should net $25,000, the $13,000 from the Planning budget and $12,000 from the health insurance.
He also mentioned that the Board needs to review how we deal with the health insurance for retirees. Currently, the Town pays 70% for any plan for retirees. He is suggesting that we continue on with the 70% toward an HMO, with an equivalent dollar amount toward a more expensive plan. This is how the insurance plans are handled for active employees. It would affect approximately 13-14 individuals. The Board asked to have the Treasurer reach out to the affected individuals to explain the proposed change.
MOTION by DT, seconded by LM to approve a 10-hour per week clerk in the Building Inspection Department budget for FY12. 4/0 vote.
Consent Agenda items: MOTION by LM, seconded by DT to approve the following items: Use of Lilac Park on 4/23 at 11am for an Easter Egg Hunt; grant approval to the Historical Commission to submit a grant application to the MA Historical Commission for funding to conduct an analysis of the Church on the Hill Cemetery and develop a plan of action to preserve the old headstones; One-Day W&M License to Ventfort Hall for 4/9 from 7-11pm; accept the resignation of Margaret O’Brien from the Scholarship Committee, Nancy Armstrong from the ADA Committee and Tracy Reis from the Finance Committee. MED to send thank you letters for service to the Town. 4/0 vote. KRF also announced that in addition to the vacancy on the Scholarship Committee, there is also one on the Community Center and there will be one effective
with the new reappointments in June on the Finance Committee as Bob LaChance does not wish to be reappointed. Also, the Board has received a letter of Resignation from Jay Carberry from the School Committee. The Board asked anyone interested in serving this one-year, unexpired term to submit a letter of interest to the office by April 15. Interviews of interested candidates will then be held, with a joint meeting scheduled with the Selectmen and School Committee for appointment to this opening.
Old/New Business: KF mentioned a program he saw on TV that was referring to the Happiest Town in America. The items they mentioned that helped make people happier and friendlier there included bump-outs, sidewalk dining and wider sidewalks – something we did in the downtown area. KRF reminded everyone about the Moving Forward forum on Monday, 3/28 at Cranwell. LM went through the March anniversaries; she asked if she could submit to the Kennedy Park Committee the idea of naming a trail after Laura Specter. All agreed that it was a great idea. She updated Robert on the several items that the students brought forward – the basketball poles will be straightened out as soon as the weather breaks, she is still trying to locate a space for them to call their own. Something may materialize
within the next three months. And she is working with the Lee Kiwanis as to how to go about building a skate board park. She asked Robert to go back to the students and try to get some ideas for fundraising efforts. KF agreed to work to get the decorations removed around the downtown area.
By roll call, LM, DT, KRF and KF voted to go into Executive Session at 9:10 p.m. to discuss negotiations, and to not return to open session.
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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