CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Voters will be asked to fill the vacant seat on the Select Board in a special election this December.
Board member Ronald Boucher submitted his letter of resignation two weeks ago with nearly 2 1/2 years left on his term. The board on Wednesday morning set a date of Tuesday, Dec. 7, to elect his replacement.
"I want to thank him for his service to the community for the last three years, he's done a lot of really good stuff to get us moving in the right direction here with the school," Chairwoman Danielle Luchi said of Boucher. "He was a very, very active board member, and we appreciate everything he did for us."
Luchi said the winner in the special election will serve until the annual town election in May, when the final two years of the term will be on the ballot.
The three-person board has frequently had only two members in the past because of resignations. Seven years ago, a two-person board was at a stalemate over hiring a town administrator until the annual town election brought the board back up to three.
Luchi and board member Allen Arnold said they did not want to get into a position of not being able to make a decision.
"We all discuss things and work well together but we can always go into a deadlock and it's just good to have that third person," said Luchi.
Luchi, as vice chairman, had been sworn in as chairman last week but the board formally reorganized on Wednesday morning. She said town counsel had advised it was automatic for the vice chair to step up but "because there was concern from some community members," it was decided to take a vote Wednesday.
The board also went into executive session to discuss negotiations with the town administrator. Rebecca Stone's three-year contract is up in October 2022. Boucher had given her a verbal warning at the last meeting prior to his resignation.
The session on the contract was preceded by another executive session on the "reputation, character, physical condition, or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual." No one else was in attendance other than the board and administrative assistant when the executive sessions started. The board said it would not be taking a vote when it came out of the executive sessions.
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Lanesborough Select Board Votes to Expand Tow List
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Select Board members want to even the playing field for towing.
In a 2-1 vote with Chair Michael Murphy in opposition, the board last week voted to allow businesses outside of Lanesborough to be on the towing list. Current towers will work with the town on a formal policy, as there is currently not one.
"Frankly, I think it's premature," Murphy said about the motion made by Select Board member Deborah Maynard.
Two years ago, Police Chief Robert Derksen was contacted by a local tow agency that wanted to be put on the rotation. He brought a sample policy to the board in March 2023 and returned with the same one at Monday's meeting.
"I think the kind of consensus at that time with the Select Board at that time was that we would limit it to businesses in the town of Lanesborough for tow agencies," he said.
"However, it was also mentioned that we really should have a written — it's almost like a procurement policy as far as vendors. In this case, tow agencies."
Select Board member Timothy Sorrell said it was "kind of hanging in the air" and wanted to revisit it. The job is done by two town companies: Village Truck Sales and Sayers' Auto Wrecking.
"It seems to be the tow service is the only monopoly in town," he said. "That's kind of what we question is, why is that the only one where other out-of-town services aren't allowed to do business here?"
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