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Selectmen's Meeting Minutes January 8, 2001 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, January 8, 2001 in the Selectmen's Meeting Room at 7:30 p.m. Chairman Krieger, Mr. Enrich, Mrs. Abbott, Mrs. McKenna; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk were present. Public Comments Mrs. Krieger opened the meeting stating that the first ten minutes are reserved for citizens wishing to raise questions or bring up matters for open session. These ten minutes are provided at the discretion of the Chair with the support of the Board, who believe in responsible expression of public opinion. Each speaker will be limited to three minutes and Ms. Smith, the Executive Clerk, will help with the timing. Comments should be addressed to issues not to individuals. Mrs. Krieger commented on the loss Lexington suffered by the tragic shooting in Wakefield on December 26. Lexington lost two neighbors and friends. Rose Manfreidi was a resident of Lexington and Cheryl Troy was a former resident. Their shocking deaths leave Lexington stunned by this senseless act of violence. At times like this we realize how close a community we truly are and how much our lives are intertwined. Their presence will be missed. Lexington Center Store Owner Dick Michelson reminded the Board of recent store closings and rumors of more closings in the center and asked the Board to reconsider the recently imposed parking meter violation increases. Mrs. McKenna expressed concern and felt the economic development officer should talk to the business owners. Mr. Enrich felt the store closings are a testament as to why the Town has an economic development officer in place. The economic development officer is dealing with potential tenants and pursuing parking and other issues in the Center. Mr. Enrich indicated he feels better enforcement is a better measure to insure that parking is available. Resident Byron Blanchard asked the Board for clarification on a public records request he had made two years ago. He was concerned that the Boards Executive Clerk had denied his request and that his request of two years ago is still pending and the case has been settled and therefore there are more executive session minutes that he has not received. Town Counsel Norman Cohen responded that the Selectmen's Executive Clerk has handled his request exactly as the law requires. During the time that the litigation was pending, the executive session minutes were not public. You received all of the records that were public at the time of your request. Affordable Housing Conference Affordable Housing and Human Relations Committee members Tom Montanari and Florence Baturin talked about an Affordable Housing Conference they are sponsoring in partnership with the Bedford Housing Partnership and Middlesex Community College on March 17. They also reviewed the planned agenda and asked the Board to endorse their sponsorship.