Minutes of Meeting – May 29, 2013; meeting called to order at 7:00pm. Present: Ken Fowler; Ed Lane; Channing Gibson; Dave Roche; John McNinch.
Citizen’s Open Forum: Olga Weiss and Katie McNulty-Vaughn, members of the Affordable Housing Trust, announced a new Mortgage Program being offered to persons interested in purchasing a home in Lenox. Ruth Wheeler asked to read the annual town report from the Kennedy Park Committee. DR asked that they plan to have it in time to include in the printed book next year. Ralph Petillo stated that the Rhubarb Festival was a great success, with 350 in attendance. Chair Suzanne Pelton stated that she spent $680 of the $1000 requested from the Town, and that May 24, 2014 will be next year’s date for this event. Librarian Sharon Hawkes stated that the digitization project now has many documents on line for viewing.
MOTION by CG, seconded by JM to accept the Minutes and Executive Minutes of May 15 as presented. 5/0 vote.
Water/Sewer Rate Hearing: KF read the notice as it appeared in the newspaper. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to open the public hearing. 5/0 vote. DPW Superintendent Sean Van Deusen gave a brief overview of operations. EL explained that the Town needs to bank some money to build up funds to address major problems coming up. KF stated that people can control this expense somewhat by their use. MOTION by JM, seconded by KF to close the public hearing. 5/0 vote. After some discussion, MOTION by EL, seconded by KF to increase the water and sewer rates by 7%. 5/0 vote.
TM Search Update: MRI is getting underway with the process of hiring a new town manager. We continue to receive names of people interested in serving on the search committee, and we now have a sufficient number of applicants. It was agreed that the Board would meet on 6/5 at 6pm to interview those interested in serving.
Marketing: Kevin Sprague came before the Board, and went through statistics with regard to the Town’s advertising with BVB and Google. The results of the Google ads are impressive, especially in light of the low cost. It is costing approximately $10/day for advertising, and he feels that it is going very well. DR suggested advertising during non-peak months. The Board requested that Kevin develop a new proposal for going forward.
Parking: DR is continuing to look at the process and problems. He suggested having a sign at the major intersections stating that village parking is for two hours only. In addition, he feels that we need to designate where employees can park – behind the bank, behind Town Hall, at Center School. It was suggested that the Town hire a part-time person to warn cars about parking too long. JM suggested that letters be sent to the businesses about their employees parking. KF stated that two-hour parking is what the by-laws state, and we need to enforce it. He asked that this item be placed on the 6/5 agenda for further discussion.
ADA: CG stated that the Town needs to determine what is and is not in compliance with ADA guidelines. The TM stated that in the 90’s the Town had an ADA committee that reviewed all buildings with regard to access. It is not a requirement to have a committee, but that the Town needs an ADA Coordinator. The Coordinator’s focus is on ensuring Town practices and policies and programs do not discriminate those with disabilities. MOTION by KF, seconded by EL to appoint Mary Ellen Deming as ADA Coordinator for the Town of Lenox. 5/0 vote.
Consent Agenda: MOTION by JM, seconded by KF to approve of the consent agenda items as presented, except for the Lenox Motorcar Classic Request and the Common Victualler and Entertainment License Request from Bagel & Brew. 5/0 vote. (Sandwich Board Sign Permit/Café Lucia, Temporary Banner Requests for Church on the Hill Craft Fair and for the streetlight banners, including Town financial contribution, Farm-Winery Special Seasonal License, Street Paving Bid Award to LB Corp. in the amount of $1,450,064.35, One-Day W&M License for The Mount for 6/2, Lilac Park Use requests for the PTO Apple Squeeze weekend and for yoga classes by Rachael Plaine). With regard to the Motorcar Classic event, MOTION by KF, seconded by JM to grant permission for a banner to be hung for two weeks, beginning on the Friday,
to close Main Street from Franklin Street to the Curtis, same as last year, and that they utilize Roche Reading Park from 6-9pm on 6/14. 5/0 vote. MOTION by CG, seconded by JM to amend the above motion to grant permission for a banner to be hung for only one week, unless no one else needs a banner for the earlier week, per a previous decision made by the Board. 5/0 vote. MOTION by EL, seconded by JM to grant a Common Victualler and Entertainment license for Radio and CD to Bagel & Brew once they receive their Certificate of Inspection. 5/0 vote.
BOS Reports: JM stated that the Open Space Plan is back from the printers, and looks great. CG stated that we still need another member for the Planning Board to fill a vacancy. This will be a joint appointment of the Selectmen and Planning Board. EL stated that LB Corp. received the bid for paving, and should begin work soon. KF mentioned that volunteers are needed for the cycling event on 6/9. DR mentioned that Bill Akroyd, a member of the New Lenox Fire Company, passed away recently. He thanked Sean Ward for all his hard work on Memorial Day activities.
Meeting adjourned at 8:35pm
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Director of Administrative Services Board of Selectmen
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