2023-05-04-MMC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Monuments & Memorials Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, May 4, 2023 7:00 p.m. Parker Room, Town Office Building, and by Zoom Members Present in Person: Linda Dixon, Chair; Avram Baskin, Chuck French, George Gamota, Leslie Masson Present Via Zoom: Glen Bassett, Bebe Fallick Members Absent: Charlie Price, Danjun Pu Business:  Linda convened the meeting at 7:10 after enough members had arrived to constitute a quorum. She read the Town notice regarding the conduct of public virtual meetings, and declared that a quorum was present.  The committee approved the minutes of its meeting of April 13, 2023 by roll call vote. Proposed Archaeological Survey – Jeff Howry Jeff Howry is advocating for Lexington to join 10 other New England communities in commissioning an archaeological survey to search for ancient habitat and farming sites. He presented slides showing open fields, small ponds, and stone walls that are prime indicators of ancient sites. His proposal for such a survey at the recent Town Meeting was unsuccessful. Jeff described the benefits of such a survey as a search tool. The M&M Committee could use it to identify potential new sites for markers, for example. Survey work is undertaken quietly with little publicity to protect the sites from looters. Time is of the essence because precious sites are continually being destroyed and developed. Massachusetts does have laws to protect historic resources, but these laws are not always enforced. In discussion, Bebe asked if the construction taking place downtown posed a risk. Jeff confirmed that some fragile sites will be put at great risk by this activity. Avram felt that the M&M Committee should take the lead in trying to get this survey approved. Jeff suggested that calling it a “cultural resource survey” would have made it easier to understand. Update on Building the Database Chuck reported that the database now contains 281 entries in various stages of completion. About 75% of these are memorials inside public buildings. Chuck plans to visit the Lexington Historical Society and the Masonic Lodge this coming month. Fortunately, all the entries so far are in good condition. For the coming year, he suggests that the committee website be a project for the Heroes team, recommending improvements and specifications.