TM Monday at LMS
Published in the October 11, 2017 edition By DAN TOMASELLO LYNNFIELD — The fall session of Town Meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 16, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium. After a barn burning session of April Town Meeting that lasted just over four-and-a-half hours, October Town Meeting will be a quieter affair with just 14 articles appearing on the warrant. Town Meeting will need a quorum of 175 voters in order to conduct the town’s business. Community Schools will be providing daycare to local families in the LMS auditorium. Article 1 seeks to allocate funds in order to pay unpaid bills from fiscal year 2017. Article 2 seeks to appropriate funds to “supplement certain accounts in the current 2018 fiscal year for various purposes.” During last week’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Administrator Jim Boudreau said the town is still finalizing the numbers for Articles 1 and 2. As a result, the selectmen voted to defer issuing a recommendation on the two articles until the night of Town Meeting. Last week, the selectmen voted unanimously to indefinitely postpone Article 3. The warrant article would have sought to allocate funds in order to construct a clubhouse and equipment storage building at the King Rail Reserve Golf Course. Article 4 seeks to appropriate $25,000 for engineering work related to the Beaver Dam Brook culvert removal project, which was unanimously endorsed by the selectmen. Boudreau said recently the MBTA informed local officials if the town hires an engineer to design the project, the MBTA would remove the culverts in order to alleviate flooding issues in the Perry Avenue area. According to the warrant, Article 5 seeks to allocate $260,000 in order to purchase and equip a new ambulance for the Fire Department. Boudreau said purchasing the ambulance was originally included as part of the town’s FY’18 capital budget, but was put on hold because the town did not have enough retained earnings in order to buy the emergency vehicle. “What Town Accountant Julie McCarthy and I are recommending is that the town leave $50,000 in retained earnings and take the balance from retained earnings and put it towards the ambulance,” said Boudreau. “We would use town funds for the rest and next year once retained the retained earnings are certified, we will pay the town back what we are borrowing.” The selectmen voted unanimously to recommend Article 5. Article 6 will ask Town Meeting to approve revising the town’s Personnel Bylaw, which would revamp an existing policy that was last updated in 2005. Personnel Board member Mike Griffin said recently the bylaw pertains to recruitment, training development, promotions, job classification, compensation plans, performance reviews and employment conditions. Boudreau said Town Counsel Tom Mullen is currently reviewing the Personnel Bylaw article. As a result, the selectmen voted to delay issuing a recommendation on Article 6. The Planning Board submitted Articles 7, 8 and 9. Article 7 will ask voters to approve a recodification of the Zoning Bylaw by deleting sections 1-15 in the existing bylaw, which would be replaced by the recodified bylaw. Additionally, Article 8 asks Town Meeting to “amend the re-codified Zoning Bylaw by amending the section entitled “commence of construction or operation by changing the words six months to 12 months.” Article 9 will...
read moreElectronic voting, check-in coming to TM
Published in the October 11, 2017 edition By DAN TOMASELLO LYNNFIELD — A new feature will be coming to Town Meeting on Oct. 16. During last week’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Clerk Trudy Reid announced Turning Technologies will be demonstrating electronic voting at Town Meeting. “As voters check in, they will be given a clicker which will allow them to vote electronically on warrant articles,” said Reid. “No name is linked to the device. The device is a single event use clicker keypad designed specifically for a meeting. The device uses reliable radio frequency technology. The vendor will be assisting with the process.” In response to a question from Selectmen Chairman Chris Barrett, Reid said residents will be able to see the results of the 14 warrant articles on a screen. She noted Town Moderator Arthur Bourque was not in favor of electronic voting at Town Meeting until observing it at Rockport’s Town Meeting recently. “It does speed it up a little bit,” said Reid. Reid also said there will be an electronic check-in demonstrated by LHS Associates. She noted the company showed the product to town clerks from around the North Shore at an event held in Lynnfield recently. She said North Reading’s October Town Meeting used an electronic check-in process last week. “The product has also been used by many Massachusetts town and city clerks for their spring Town Meeting check-in as well as check-in for early voting last year,” said Reid. “The vendor will use the same voter list provided by the town clerk as would be used if a paper report was used for check-in. The check-in list will be electronic, which will allow the voter to check in at any station, eliminating the need for alphabetical lines.” As part of the check-in process, Reid said, “Each time a resident is checked in, the voter’s list will automatically update on all stations in real time.” Reid said residents will be able to check in using their driver’s license as well. “This is one way to accelerate the check-in process,” said Reid. If people choose to use their driver’s license, Reid said residents should have their license “ready to hold up in front of the poll pad.” Reid also said residents can still check in by stating their name and address. “Either way, checking into Town Meeting will be faster and easier,” said Reid. Reid noted the start time for October Town Meeting is 7 p.m. at Lynnfield Middle School on Monday, Oct. 16. She encouraged residents to arrive between 6-6:45 p.m. in order to ensure Town Meeting will be able to reach the 175 voter quorum. Selectman Phil Crawford expressed his support for the initiative. “The report I got on the electronic voting that was observed is it would have saved us an hour at our last Town Meeting,” said Crawford. “It was a meeting that was certainly longer than normal, but this is something that would certainly be welcome by anyone who goes to Town Meeting. This is probably a good one to try it out because it will probably be a fairly light Town Meeting. I think it is a great idea.” Patrice Lane resident Pat Campbell asked Reid if there is going to be a trial run before townspeople begin voting on the...
read moreDonovan property sold to Herb Chambers group
Published in the October 11, 2017 edition By MARK SARDELLA LYNNFIELD — Big changes are coming to the former Donovan properties at the corner of Salem Street and Broadway (Route 1) in Lynnfield. The prime piece of commercial real estate consists of five parcels that have been purchased by Broadway Lynnfield Properties, LLC, which is controlled by Herb Chambers, one of the largest car dealers in the region, with 55 dealerships in the Boston area. One of those dealerships, Herb Chambers Cadillac on Route 1 North, is right next door to the property in question. The properties involved in the sale include 801 Salem Street ($938,100), 807 Salem Street ($622,800), 421R Broadway ($300,000), 445 Broadway ($975,500) and 449 Broadway ($1.9 million). The Chambers group is playing its cards close to the vest with respect to its future plans for the site. Wakefield attorney Ted Regnante, who represents the LLC, would only say that plans “have not been finalized. We’re working on various scenarios but nothing has been finalized as of yet.” The changes will be felt most immediately by several longtime business tenants on the property. Those include Donovan’s Liquors, Bay State Jewelry Exchange, the Western Barber Shop, Photography by Corinna, a dry cleaner and an e-cigarette store. Ron Cerra’s Lynnfield Meat & Deli moved several months ago and is now doing business on Route 1 in Saugus as Cerra’s Market. Tom Holland of Bay State Jewelry Exchange said he is in the process of trying to find a new location for his business. He is philosophical about the change. “It’s not a big surprise that it’s happened,” he said, noting that it was common knowledge that the property was for sale. He’s been told that he has to be out by Oct. 31. “They’ve been pretty good about communicating with us,” Holland said. “I’m just doing what I need to do to move on with my business as best I can.” Corinna Cole has been a professional photographer for 22 years. Her business, Photography by Corrina, has been a tenant at 451 Broadway for over 10 years. Cole said that she has found a new location for her business on Old Route 1 in Ipswich, but leaving Lynnfield is still bittersweet. “This location has always worked out for everybody,” she said. “I’ve never had any clients complain about the location. I’m just disappointed that I have to move and that it’s happening so quickly.” She said that when she received the initial letter informing her that the property had been sold, she talked to the other business tenants. They believed at the time that they probably would have until at least until the end of this year at their present locations. A short time later, Cole received a second letter saying that she needed to vacate by Oct 31. She said that her busiest time of the year is between now and the holidays. “It’s not a good time at all to move,” she said. The new location in Ipswich looks like a good fit, she admitted, but it’s a lot further away than she would like. Her 15-minute commute to her studio will soon turn into 40 minutes. She’s not sure how it’s going to impact her business come mid to late October, when she has to move. “I...
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