Lenox Select Board Regular Meeting - February 25, 2026

The Lenox Select Board met on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, for a regular meeting that included an electric-rate announcement, a citizens' open forum, routine consent items, a park use request for the Alzheimer's walk, a BRTA delegate update, an initial discussion of a proposed historic demolition-by-neglect bylaw, and a public hearing and vote on FY27 water and sewer rates. The meeting concluded with unanimous approval of the proposed enterprise rates.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes of January 14 and January 28 as presented.
• Approved a one-day all-alcoholic beverage license request from Berkshire Art Center for Benford Hall, 104 Walker Street, on May 16 from 6 to 10 p.m., with a certified bartender present.
• Approved a facility use request from Berkshire Lyric for the auditorium on March 13-14 for its annual concert celebrating America's 250th anniversary.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Kate McNelty Vaughn, chair of the Lenox Affordable Housing Trust, invited residents to a housing listening session on Monday, March 16 at 6 p.m. at the Lenox Community Center. She said the trust is working with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to update Lenox's Housing Production Plan and wants broad community input on housing for first-time homebuyers, renters, and seniors downsizing, describing the effort as a response to the housing crisis affecting the region.
• Virginia O'Leary, chair of the Berkshire County Walk to End Alzheimer's community engagement committee, requested use of Lilac Park for the 2026 walk on Saturday, October 17. She said Lenox is a good mid-county location and that the event, finishing around noon, would benefit local restaurants and shops. She cited statistics: about 130,000 people in Massachusetts live with Alzheimer's or related dementia, approximately twice that many are family members or paid caregivers, and an estimated one in three people will have Alzheimer's or another dementia by age 85. Board members voiced support for the request and the mid-county location. The transcription includes one garbled reference to October 7, but the stated request was for October 17.

Discussion Items

• Electric Service Aggregation Rate Update: Jay reported that Lenox participates in a roughly 30-town municipal aggregation plan designed to stabilize electricity rates. A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Electric Service Contract provision, triggered by ISO New England grid pricing during extreme cold, will raise the aggregation rate. For National Grid customers, the rate increases to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, while National Grid's basic service rate is 15.372 cents, so enrolled customers will still save. For Eversource customers, the aggregation rate rises to 14 cents per kilowatt-hour, above the current 13-cent floating basic service rate; the board advised Eversource customers to watch their bills and compare rates after the fixed service period ends in July. At 600 kilowatt-hours of monthly usage, the new rate would add about $7.50 per month. Information will be posted on the town's Community Choice Power webpage. Jay also cautioned residents to research unsolicited mailers from alternative energy suppliers before switching.
• BRTA Delegate Update: Lenox's BRTA delegate, Mindy Moran (introduced as Mindy Moore in the transcript), reported that longtime administrator Robert is retiring after 23 years and Kathleen Lambert started on December 1. Lenox gained additional BRTA stops because of housing near the hotel, and Lenox's voting share rose from 4.42% to 4.90%. The BRTA is looking for space for vehicle training simulators and CDL training classrooms, since similar training now requires travel to Albany. She also noted the Council on Aging van capacity was increased in prior years and a larger vehicle is being considered, although a larger vehicle could require a different license type and make it harder to find a driver. A board member suggested the new public safety complex as a possible training site and suggested coordinating with MassHire on CDL training grants.
• Historical Commission Bylaw Discussion: The board postponed formal consideration of the draft demolition-by-neglect/historic preservation bylaw to a later select board meeting so that the full Historical Commission and staff could participate. During the preliminary discussion, board members offered guidance: one member favored incentive-based approaches such as grants or no-interest loans over penalties, citing earlier success with demolition-delay incentives; another objected to broad language that would allow neighbors to complain about conditions and trigger enforcement, warning about neighbor disputes. Others noted the bylaw lacks clear criteria for designating additional historically significant buildings and suggested updating a townwide historic inventory, possibly with Community Preservation Act funds, although a previous CPC request for such an inventory was turned down. Historical Commission representatives said the bylaw has been worked on for months and aims to prevent demolition by neglect; one participant observed that neglect is often tied to property owners wanting a better use of the land rather than a lack of funds, so financial incentives may not address the most common cases. Staff, town counsel, and the building inspector were said to have concerns about enforcement and application. The board asked for a more complete joint discussion later, with the building inspector present and with confidentiality for affected property owners.
• Water and Sewer Rates Public Hearing: The board opened the public hearing for fiscal year 2027 water and sewer rates. The proposal was a 1% water rate increase, the first in about five years, bringing the new water rate to $8.30; for an average 25,000-gallon usage, the water bill would be about $207.50. The water enterprise fund has roughly $1 million in reserves, but consumption trends are declining and reserve use is part of the annual budget, so some increase was recommended to protect the fund. The proposal also included a 10% sewer rate increase, which would add about $70,000 to the sewer reserve (currently about $350,000). The sewer enterprise fund is partly supported by a $400,000 general fund contribution, and the increase is intended to build reserves ahead of debt-service changes projected around fiscal 2030. The wastewater plant operator said the 10% sewer increase aligns with the commitment made when the town approved the $45 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade.

Key Outcomes

• Unanimously approved minutes of January 14 and 28, 2026.
• Unanimously approved the consent calendar items for Berkshire Art Center and Berkshire Lyric.
• Unanimously approved the Lilac Park use request for the Berkshire County Walk to End Alzheimer's on Saturday, October 17, 2026.
• Agreed to postpone the Historical Commission bylaw discussion to a later select board meeting with fuller participation.
• Closed the public hearing and unanimously approved the FY27 water and sewer rates: 1% water increase and 10% sewer increase.
• Set the next regular select board meeting for March 11, 2026, then adjourned.