Minutes of Meeting – July 25, 2012; meeting called to order at 6:00pm. Present: John McNinch; Ken Fowler; Ed Lane; Channing Gibson; Dave Roche.
Attorneys Joel Bard and Jonathan Silverstein from Kopelman & Paige came before the Board. The Selectmen are interested in retaining their services to defend the Town in the lawsuit filed against the Town regarding the Kennedy Park Overlook. MOTION by DR, seconded by CG to hire Kopelman & Paige as Special Counsel. 5/0 vote.
By roll call, DR, KF, EL and CG voted to go into Executive Session at 6:05pm to discuss possible litigation, and to return to open session.
Board re-entered in open session at 7:00pm.
Citizen’s Open Forum: Eric Vincelette asked if additional trash receptacles could be placed down at the beach. He also asked if somehow the metal anchors holding down the swimming lines could be covered over so that no one trips over them. Lucy Kennedy mentioned that the town will be celebrating its 250th anniversary in four years, and suggested that a committee be appointed to begin work on it now. The Board suggested that the Historical Commission send a letter to the Board outlining their thoughts and ideas. Clarence Fanto asked for an update on the Kennedy Park litigation. The Board explained that they have been advised not to discuss this case while it is pending.
MOTION by DR, seconded by CG to accept the Minutes of July 11 and 16 and Executive Minutes of July 11 as presented. 5/0 vote.
Marketing and Events: DR and CG have been attending the marketing meetings. CG gave an update on what has been occurring and went over a 7-point plan. It was agreed that the committee should stand as it currently is, but rename it the Events Committee. He encouraged this new committee to communicate with the Chamber of Commerce. It was suggested that a listing of all businesses in Town be placed on the Chamber website. The Town will provide funding for this for the first year. The Board then briefly discussed the Discover Lenox website. It was agreed that we need to keep it, and work something out to have it kept current. MOTION by EL, seconded by CG to authorize the TM to proceed with updating the Discover Lenox website. 5/0 vote. JM was concerned about the capabilities of
the Chambers’ taking on marketing tasks. KF stated that he feels that the Chamber is moving in the right direction and that they would do well to keep the Discover Lenox website current and up to date. Eiran Gazit questioned where the Town was with regard to the Lenoxology campaign. KF stated that the town owns the word and can determine how it can be used. JM stated that he feels that the board has agreed to not continue utilizing Lenoxology, but that it may be used in the future.
Caroling Festival: Richard Wise appeared before the Board, seeking monies to assist in marketing this event. He had requested $7500, but the Marketing and Events Committee recommended $3500; he would like to see a compromise of $5000. MOTION by CG, seconded by JM to concur with the committee’s recommendation, and award $3500 to the Caroling Festival. 5/0 vote. (application)
Long Range Planning Update: Water and sewer are the major issues facing the town. There is a need to reduce the phosphorous, which means a costly upgrade to our sewer plant, or to redirect to the City of Pittsfield. This will result in increases in water and sewer costs in the future. The Board agreed that we need to improve/replace our aging infrastructure, but without federal or state grant funding the needed improvements will be a big challenge.
MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to award a bid for new fire hydrants (30) and related parts to Water Works Supply Corp. in the amount of $76,804.98 and to authorize the TM to sign a contract for same. 5/0 vote. (bid tabulation)
MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to declare a water use restriction in effect immediately due to the lack of rain. 5/0 vote. This is a mandatory ban on all outdoor water use except for hand-held watering of outdoor plants. There is a $50 fine for a first violation and $100 for any subsequent violation.
Economic Development Efforts: CG has met with the Planning Board to begin a dialogue regarding economic development. As things move forward, he will keep the board updated. A joint meeting of the two boards is scheduled for August 14 at 5:30pm.
Librarian Sharon Hawkes updated the Board on activities occurring at the Library. She stated that they closed the year out 1% over budget. As part of her report, she shared some very old records/photos from the Library’s collection that will need to be preserved.
Consent Agenda items: MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to grant permission to the Josh Billings RunAground to utilize town roads for their event in September. 5/0 vote. MOTION by CG, seconded by DR to approve a sandwich board sign at Coffman’s Antiques at 65 Church Street. 5/0 vote. JM brought up the fact that this is a little bit different than the other requests received in that there are multiple tenants at this location that are not fronting the street. MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to appoint Jan Chague to the Historical Commission, replacing Lynn Sutton who resigned. 5/0 vote. KF announced that they are still looking for individuals interested in serving on the Environmental Committee. MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to grant permission for a banner to be installed over Main Street
from 8/6-12 by the Lenox Youth Basketball Association. 5/0 vote. The Board agreed that it was fine to place a few of the Solarize signs up around town. It was mentioned that a letter will be going out to businesses to attend a meeting on 8/2 at 12 noon in the Town Hall and to participate in this program. (letter, applications)
Old/New Business: EL informed the Board that programs are going well at the Community Center, but that the building project is slowing up, and that the architect needs to be reminded to keep this project moving forward. He then went through some of the current DPW projects. CG stated that inspection permits are ahead of last year in numbers. He also mentioned that with a grant obtained through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, permitting will all be done electronically. He stated that the Planning Board is working on a solar bylaw and sign bylaw. He asked the TM to put together a Memorandum of Understanding with the School Department regarding banking the difference in salaries between new hires and retirees into the OPEB account. KF asked that the Chamber deal with the clamps holding the
banners on the street poles. Finally, it was mentioned that we need to bolster customer services and gain new efficiencies in the Land Use/Inspections/Assessors services, and that the TM and Ed Lane will review the options.
Meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Director of Administrative Services Board of Selectmen
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