October 2 2023 meeting

Present:            Joseph Connell, Chair

                        Richard Dalton

                        Philip Crawford

Vice Chair Dalton called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. He noted that Chair Connell is participating via telephone in accordance with the Board’s remote participation policy. He stated that the meeting is being recorded for cable television transmission. He asked those in attendance to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1. Application for a lodging house license, The Lords of Lynnfield LLC, 597 Broadway

Assistant Town Administrator Robert Curtin explained that this existing lodging house has been acquired by the Palumbo family of Blue Jay Way. While a representative of the business is not available, the building has passed the necessary inspections. He said the Palumbos have appeared before the Board on other matters.

Mr. Crawford said that he knows the Palumbos and added they are planning on renovating this building.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board grant a lodging house license to The Lords of Lynnfield, LLC for 597 Broadway. Vote was unanimous.

2.         Review of town meeting warrant articles

Assistant Town Administrator Bob Curtin reviewed the warrant articles.

ARTICLE 1. Payment of overdue bills – Town Accountant Julianne McCarthy is working with department heads on this.

ARTICLE 2. Amendments to current budget – Town Administrator Robert Dolan, Ms. McCarthy and department heads will be finalizing the numbers in the next two weeks.

Mr. Dalton said the Board would vote its recommendations on these articles at the meeting on the night of fall town meeting.

ARTICLE 3. Right now, because the state has not provided for another solution, the funds from the opioid settlements the Town is participating in are falling into free cash. As these funds can only be used for certain purposes stipulated in the agreement, the town accountant has recommended appropriating them for that use.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board recommend passage of Article 3. Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 4. For some reason, the regulation promulgated by the Board of Health were incorporated into the bylaws, which require town meeting action to amend. As the state empowers the Board of Health to promulgate these regulations without additional approval, we are stripping them out except for the fines portion, which requires town meeting approval.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board recommend passage of Article 4. Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 5. This article will accept a local-option state law that would allow our call firefighters how become full-time firefighters to gain credit toward their pensions for time served on the call force. The Essex Regional Retirement System, of which Lynnfield is a member, is requiring that communities adopt this law in order to continue the practice of allowing employees to purchase this time.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board recommend passage of Article 5. Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 6. This would authorize the filing of special legislation that would allow Fire Chief Glenn Davis to continue in his current role beyond the mandatory retirement age of 65. This has been done by other communities, and the Town Administrator and the Board are extremely happy with Chief Davis’s performance.

Mr. Dalton called this a win/win for the Town and Chief Davis. Mr. Crawford said he would like to see Chief Davis stay for as long as he is willing.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board recommend passage of Article 6. Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 7: The Planning Board submitted this article to clear up ambiguities regarding when a project is required to go before the Board of Appeals for site plan approval. The ambiguity was created when the zoning bylaw went its recent total revision.

Mr. Crawford said this would continue the work of correcting issues that arose with the recodification effort. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board recommend passage of Article 7.

ARTICLE 8. This will provide for a further appropriation from golf course retained earnings to address environmental and site issues related to the golf course that have arisen during the design process.

Mr. Crawford said he is glad to see this moving forward.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board recommend passage of Article 8. Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 9. This would allow the Town to purchase a historical preservation restriction on the property at 618 Main Street (the Kimball house), a historical home part of the historic Lynnfield Center common area. It would also appropriate funds from the Sale of Real Estate account for that purchase Farm property

Mr. Dalton said asked if there was a firm figure for the proposed appropriation. Mr. Curtin said the Town is still awaiting the appraisal of the restriction’s value. He said the Board could either defer its recommendation or vote to support the article in concept, with the figure being approved at the meeting preceding fall town meeting. Mr. Crawford said he would prefer the latter course.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board defer its recommendation on Article 9 to the meeting of October 16.  Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 10. This article would appropriate funds for the library project, reviewed at a recent meeting.

Mr. Connell said he made his statements about this proposal at a previous meeting. He said the Town has to consider other expenses it will face, including the cost of addressing fire staffing and cemetery expansion.

Mr. Crawford said this matter has been in front of the Town for years, and that the situation has changed over the years. He has concerns about it, mostly financial. They include the large tax burdens coming before taxpayers for existing projects; in addition, residents of the Lynnfield Center Water District are seeing increased costs due to projects to address water quality and supply. He said at this time he is not prepared to support a project that would add $300 to that average homeowner’s annual tax bill and which could result in demands on the operating budget that would create a structural deficit.

Mr. Dalton said he agrees with Mr. Crawford and said it is a lot to ask residents, as it is not the pressing need that the school expansion and public safety building projects were. He said with library space doubling due to the proposed project, and outside spaces also provided it is unrealistic to believe this would not have an impact on staffing and the operating budget, and could put the Town in a situation where an override would be needed for operating costs.

He said that with the existing tax burden on residents, the Board must be careful; about adding to them, especially for seniors on fixed incomes. He said he also thinks the design in not in keeping with the Town’s character. While proponents say that design could be changed, it should have taken place before bringing the matter to town meeting.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board not recommend page of Article 10.  Vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 11. This article would turn over the proportion of the golf course required for the library project to the Board of Library Trustees, conditioned on passage of the funding and debt exclusion.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board defer its recommendation on Article 11 to the meeting of October 16.  Vote was unanimous.

3.         Use of Facilities requests

a. Use of common, Girl Scout ceremony, October 9

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the Board vote to approve the use of facilities requests subject to any conditions imposed by the Chief of Police and Public Works Director. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Mr. Crawford, duly seconded by Mr. Connell: I move that the meeting be adjourned.  Vote was unanimous.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:16 p.m.