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Record of Proceedings

Lee Select Board Regular Meeting Summary - November 3, 2026

Selectboard & Town Boards — Tuesday, November 3, 2026
BodyLee, Massachusetts
SessionSelectboard & Town Boards
DateTuesday, November 3, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

0:00

We'll

Speaker 1

0:01

call the meeting to order.

0:02

Welcome to the November 3rd meeting of the Lee Select Ward.

0:07

Pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 38, Section 20.

0:11

I'm hereby informing all attendees that a video and audio recording is being made at this meeting.

0:18

First order of business uh minutes from uh open session minutes of uh October 20th.

0:26

If we had time to go over them, I'd entertain a motion to approve those minutes or

Speaker 2

0:32

Mr.

0:32

Chair.

0:33

I would be uh happy to move the approval of the uh open session minutes from October 20th.

0:43

Do

Speaker 1

0:43

we have any discussion?

0:45

Hearing none.

0:48

I will second it.

0:49

Uh and if there's no further discussion, uh all those in favor say aye.

0:54

Aye.

0:55

Aye.

0:55

It's unanimous.

0:57

Uh public comment.

1:00

Do we have any anybody here?

1:02

Anybody with a hand up?

1:05

No.

1:06

No, no public comment.

1:08

And moving to general business, a discussion of uh to set fines pursuant to fiscal year 2027 annual town meeting bylaw amendments.

1:19

I think

Speaker 2

1:20

Mr.

1:20

Chair, this was uh kind of a result of some of the changes that we made uh to our bylaws.

1:27

Now that we it's not just the set fee, we kind of we have the authority to manipulate these and it's really alcoholic beverage, animal rabies, just kind of miscellaneous boat fees and uh other stuff.

1:43

Um

Speaker 3

1:43

yeah, the only one that the AG didn't approve to be set by the elect board was the scenic roads.

1:50

So we're that has to stay the way it was, but the other four that was proposed.

1:55

Um and so the ones that you have on here were based on sort of the the state average.

2:01

So most of them have gone up.

2:03

Um

Speaker 2

2:04

it's and it's we're talking 200 100, you know, $50 fees, not like we're all right.

2:11

But uh Mr.

2:12

Chair, I would make a motion to approve the uh fines uh in front of us here as listed.

Speaker 1

2:23

Okay, uh is there any further discussion?

2:26

Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.

2:29

Aye aye.

2:30

It's unanimous.

2:31

Uh we now have uh some appointments.

2:36

We have uh Jean Brown for the Greener Gateway Committee.

2:42

We have uh I don't want to pronounce mispronounce his name, see a bur see a burrito,

Unassigned speaker

2:48

for

Speaker 1

2:48

the Lee Youth Commission, Edie Kirk for the Appalachian Trail Committee, and Meg Sanders for the 250 anniversary committee, the cultural council representative.

2:59

Um and we have uh some correspondence from everybody appreciate their willingness to uh step up.

3:08

Very helpful.

3:10

Uh with that, if there's no further discussion, I'd undertain a motion to uh approve the appointments of the aforementioned individuals.

Speaker 2

3:19

Mr.

3:19

Chair, I would move the approval of the listed uh uh the listed appointments, people to be appointed.

3:30

Okay, and I will second that.

Speaker 1

3:32

Do we have any further discussion?

3:34

Hearing none, all those in favor, aye.

3:37

Aye.

3:37

Aye.

3:38

Unanimous.

3:39

Uh and now we have to uh discuss the signing of a letter of support for Governor Healy regarding inclusion of an intermediate passenger rail station in the east and the west east corridor.

3:51

And uh we I think believe we received uh a uh a request for a letter of approval.

Speaker 3

3:57

Yeah, this was um spear-added by um the town of Chester.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Personnel Matters███████████████████23%
Transportation Safety███████████13%
Public Safety████████10%
Summary of Proceedings

Lee Select Board Regular Meeting - November 3, 2026

The Lee Select Board convened on November 3, 2026. The meeting included the approval of prior meeting minutes, setting fines for FY2027 bylaw amendments, appointing members to town committees, signing a letter of support for an east-west passenger rail station, and initiating the open search process for a new Fire Chief. All votes taken during the meeting were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • The Board unanimously approved the Open Session Minutes from the October 20, 2026 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public offered comments.

Discussion Items

  • FY2027 Fine Schedule: The Board discussed setting fines for bylaw amendments approved at Town Meeting, including those for alcoholic beverage violations, animal rabies, and boat fees. The Chair noted that the proposed fines were based on state averages and were modest in scale (citing examples of $50, $100, and $200 fines). The Scenic Roads fine was noted as remaining outside the Board's new authority and was not set.
  • Appointments: The Board approved the appointment of Jean Brown to the Greener Gateway Committee, a new member to the Lee Youth Commission (name unclear in the transcription), Edie Kirk to the Appalachian Trail Committee, and Meg Sanders as the Cultural Council representative to the 250th Anniversary Committee.
  • Letter of Support for East-West Passenger Rail: The Board considered a request from the Town of Chester to sign a letter to Governor Healey supporting an intermediate passenger rail station in the East-West Corridor. The Chair expressed strong support for the East-West corridor while also advocating for the development of a North-South corridor through Lee, tying the project to economic and environmental revitalization along the river corridor and referencing state climate platforms.
  • Fire Chief Hiring Process: Board member Sean presented a timeline for an open search to hire a new Fire Chief. The plan includes posting the vacancy on the town website, MMA, and job boards. A Search Committee will be formed, comprising representatives from the career firefighters union, call firefighters, the police department, the Town Administrator, the HR Administrator, the Building Commissioner, and a member of the public. The Board set a goal of December 1st to formally appoint this committee.

Key Outcomes

  • October 20th Minutes: Approved.
  • FY2027 Fines: Approved as presented.
  • Town Appointments: Jean Brown, Edie Kirk, Meg Sanders, and a representative for the Lee Youth Commission were appointed.
  • East-West Rail Letter: Approved. The letter will be submitted to Governor Healey.
  • Fire Chief Search: Initiated. Search committee formation targeted for December 1st.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for November 17, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

We'll call the meeting to order. Welcome to the November 3rd meeting of the Lee Select Ward. Pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 38, Section 20. I'm hereby informing all attendees that a video and audio recording is being made at this meeting. First order of business uh minutes from uh open session minutes of uh October 20th. If we had time to go over them, I'd entertain a motion to approve those minutes or Mr. Chair. I would be uh happy to move the approval of the uh open session minutes from October 20th. Do we have any discussion? Hearing none. I will second it. Uh and if there's no further discussion, uh all those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. It's unanimous. Uh public comment. Do we have any anybody here? Anybody with a hand up? No. No, no public comment. And moving to general business, a discussion of uh to set fines pursuant to fiscal year 2027 annual town meeting bylaw amendments. I think Mr. Chair, this was uh kind of a result of some of the changes that we made uh to our bylaws. Now that we it's not just the set fee, we kind of we have the authority to manipulate these and it's really alcoholic beverage, animal rabies, just kind of miscellaneous boat fees and uh other stuff. Um yeah, the only one that the AG didn't approve to be set by the elect board was the scenic roads. So we're that has to stay the way it was, but the other four that was proposed. Um and so the ones that you have on here were based on sort of the the state average. So most of them have gone up. Um it's and it's we're talking 200 100, you know, $50 fees, not like we're all right. But uh Mr. Chair, I would make a motion to approve the uh fines uh in front of us here as listed. Okay, uh is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye aye. It's unanimous. Uh we now have uh some appointments. We have uh Jean Brown for the Greener Gateway Committee. We have uh I don't want to pronounce mispronounce his name, see a bur see a burrito, for the Lee Youth Commission, Edie Kirk for the Appalachian Trail Committee, and Meg Sanders for the 250 anniversary committee, the cultural council representative. Um and we have uh some correspondence from everybody appreciate their willingness to uh step up. Very helpful. Uh with that, if there's no further discussion, I'd undertain a motion to uh approve the appointments of the aforementioned individuals. Mr.

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