Minutes of Meeting – August 8, 2012; meeting called to order at 7:00pm. Present: John McNinch; Ken Fowler; Ed Lane; Dave Roche. Absent: Channing Gibson.
Citizen’s Open Forum: Cynthia Wilde asked if the naming and placement guide was in place yet. KF stated that the Board had approved it a few meetings ago. She then questioned the placement of a stone surrounded by human ashes that recently showed up in Kennedy Park. The Board was not aware of this and will contact the party involved.
Ellen Marshall, 26 Sunset Avenue, had four items to discuss with the Board. 1) She asked that the enforcement of crosswalks be in compliance with the state statutes. 2) She is concerned about the speeding occurring on her street, especially when the shifts change at Kimball Farms. She asked that a speed limit sign be posted and offered to meet with someone from the facility and Chief O’Brien. 3) She doesn’t feel comfortable with exiting Sunset due to the fact that you have to inch out so far to see. She doesn’t know how to rectify this situation other than to eliminate parking spaces. 4) She is very upset with the parking that occurs during events in the park, and questioned why there is no enforcement.
Ruth Wheeler thanked Ken for the public parking sign in front of the Berkshire Bank. She would like to see employees not park in the lot next to the Heritage Tavern and be turned into a public parking lot also.
MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to accept the Minutes and Executive Minutes of July 25 and Minutes of July 30 as presented. 4/0 vote.
Hazard Mitigation Plan: Chief Clifford appeared before the Board to update them on a Hazard Mitigation Plan that has been put together with the help of Berkshire Regional Planning. Acceptance of this plan makes Lenox eligible for grant funding. MOTION by DR, seconded by JM to approve the Hazard Mitigation Plan as presented. 4/0 vote. (plan)
The Board held a brief discussion regarding how to determine who can use the “lenoxology” concept. It was agreed that since the Town owns the trademark, anyone interested in using lenoxology should provide the Town with a copy of what they are going to do so that the Town is kept informed as to who is using it and how. It was agreed that it is the viral component of the word that is important. DR then updated the Board on how the Events Committee is progressing. They have aggressively taken to their new charge to focus on events, and are looking to put together a new event in May before the “season” begins.
Long range planning: Lucy Kennedy is putting together all of the information gathered during the workshops and putting it into a spreadsheet. EL stated that it is great that the FinCom is so involved in this process. DR stated that we need to remember that the funding only goes so far and that we need to look at regionalization also. KF mentioned that the two schools will be needing roof replacements and better controls for the HVAC systems. He suggested that we consider including a solar component when the roofs are done. DR stated that we also need to look at where revenue will be generated from.
Solar projects update: KF stated that he went on a site visit in Pittsfield to view a WMECO solar project. It was remarkable and very educational. EL stated that there are questions/concerns with connectivity for the utility companies since this is somewhat new to them. KF feels that since WMECO built this project themselves, it must work. He asked that Broadway Electric be invited to attend the next meeting to update the Board on the project. Getting the interconnect agreement between Broadway and the utilities has significantly slowed our project. He then briefly updated everyone on the Solarize effort. Many residents have taken advantage of the $2000 mini-grants toward a residential installation. The deadline is the end of September. He encouraged people to take advantage of free
home energy audits which is a prerequisite for participation in the Town’s solar mini-grant program.
Kennedy Park Entrance Improvements: The TM briefed the Board on the planned improvements to the entrance to the park near the water tank. KF asked if the Board should hold a public forum meeting and test run the new policy. JM questioned the idea of a handicapped trail up higher, but the TM stated that it never went anywhere although it could be revisited. It was agreed that the Board would like to see more detailed diagrams of the planned improvements.
Consent Agenda items: With regard to banners, KF questioned how the Board should deal with multiple requests for the same week. EL suggested first come, first served, limiting to one week only. However, if second week is available, allow it to go up earlier. KF asked if we should consider a specific design, such as the Town seal, etc. be on all banners. JM agreed that he would like to see Lenox added to all banners if possible. DR suggested erecting a Town banner when no one else has one up.
KF then went through the consent items one by one. It was agreed to have CG research further the issue of multiple banner requests, and to place this item on a future agenda.
MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to grant permission to St. Ann Church to erect a banner on Main Street one week prior to their event (July 7-14, 2013), two weeks if available; approve providing free rides on the BRTA between Lee and Lenox on 9/22 (Founder’s Day and Apple Squeeze) and grant a one-day W&M license to Deborah Prew for the Lenox Dale Block Dance on 8/18 from 6-11:30pm in the St. Vincent DePaul parking lot. 4/0 vote. KF stated that we have received four letters of interest from individuals wanting to serve on the Environmental Committee. This will be a five-person committee, so we are still looking for someone. He also mentioned that Jeremiah Ames has resigned from the School Committee and that anyone interested in this position should submit a letter of interest by August 24. The Board received a
request from Eastover seeking permission to have a state directional sign installed. EL questioned if the Town had a policy so that a directional sign is not an advertising sign. JM suggested that directional signs be added to the Planning Board’s review of signage for a new sign by-law. It was agreed to approve the directional sign not as pictured but as described, one that looks the same as the State Highway directional signs, and conditioned upon viewing the final design with actual dimensions. (applications, letters)
Old/New Business: EL stated that he will be meeting with Bradley Architects on 8/14 regarding the Community Center; all DPW projects are moving along smoothly. JM questioned why sidewalks on Cliffwood were not included in paving work. DR reminded everyone about the VFW lobster bake. He stated that he felt that some of Ellen Marshall’s concerns about the craft fairs were justified, and that we need to enforce the policy.
By roll call, DR, KF, EL and JM voted to go into Executive Session at 8:50pm to discuss personnel issues, and to not return to open session. JM then exited meeting.
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Director of Administrative Services Board of Selectmen
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