HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-17-LEX250-minSemiquincentennial Commission (Lex250)
May 17,2023 Meeting Minutes
Pursuant to notice duly filed with the Town Clerk,the Semiquincentennial Commission
(Lex250)convened in a hybrid meeting in person in the Parker Room of the Town Office
Building and via Zoom video conference on Wednesday,May 17 at 4:33 pm by Ms.Barry as
allowed by legislation (S.2475)extending the suspension of certain provisions of the
Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.
Present in person:
Suzie Barry,Select Board Member,Chair
Jillian Tung,Music &Arts Representative,Clerk
Julie O’Leary,Civic Representative
Steve Conners,Reenactment Community Representative
Noah Michaelson,Community Representative
Cerise Jalelian,Town Celebrations Committee Representative
Bebe Fallick,Tourism Committee Representative
Mona Roy,Community Representative,Vice Chair
Multiple staff members from town departments:Public Safety,including Fire,Police,Public
Works;Town Manager Jim Malloy;Select Board Member Doug Lucente;Senior Staff from the
Town and National Park Service (NPS)
●The meeting was called to order at 4:33 pm by Ms.Barry
●Scheduling of events during Patriots’Day weekend was discussed
●Ms.Barry pointed out that the weekend coincides with multiple religious holidays,
including Easter and Passover
●Mr.Malloy indicated that town staff have a strong preference for events to be held on
Saturday,April 19
●Public Safety leadership discussed the following:
○Concerns about staffing on Monday due to the Boston Marathon
○Better chance of getting statewide help on Saturday than on Monday as there
would be less competition for resources on Saturday
○Extra police (at least double the assets)would need to be on hand for large scale
events,which would be more feasible to arrange for Saturday
○Logistics and clean-up are resource-intensive and Saturday would be favorable
●Possible scenarios for scheduling events on Saturday were discussed
●The possibility of having some events during the weekend before was raised,and of
having some of less resource-intensive events on Monday
●The parade schedule was reviewed and possible changes were discussed
●Simone Monteleone,NPS (remote):Pointed out that transportation between towns for
Battle Road events could be difficult if multiple events coincide
●Doug Lucente asked where would morning ceremonies fit in and whether we would miss
opportunities for economic development if everything took palace on Saturday.
●Sarah McDonough (Historical Society):Concern for participants being stretched thin if
everything is on one day,and need to figure out parking for spectators
●Mr.Conners:If we move Paul Revere’s ride to earlier on that Friday,it would give
participants a chance to rest before the events of Saturday
●Police:Staffing is not as much of a problem as resources
●Fire:We can’t predict the number,so we need to plan for beyond what you might
anticipate.On Monday,it’s extremely difficult to pull resources from the Boston
Marathon.
●Dr.Tung:It would be of interest to the community and out of town visitors to provide
music and arts opportunities such as the Bicentennial Band performance
●The possibility of combining 2 parades into one was discussed
●Ms.O’Leary pointed out that the DAR does a wreath laying at the obelisk and asked
where that would fit in
●A motion was made by Ms.Barry to enter into an intermunicipal agreement that includes
Lexington,Concord,Arlington,and Lincoln to engage professional marketing services
for the mutual benefit of the municipalities.The cost will be $50 K for one year of
services.The motion passed unanimously.
●A motion to enter into a 3-year partnership with Rev 250 for $1500 per year was made by
Ms.Barry and passed unanimously.
●A motion to engage with MAPC for services related to Lex 250 monument planning for
$34K was made by Ms.Barry and passed unanimously.
●A motion to request $500K of ARPA funding at the upcoming Select Board meeting on
June 5 was made by Ms.Barry and passed unanimously.
●Tent
○The group discussed the possible purchase of a tent or canopy for the purpose of
having a booth to connect with the community and publicize Lex 250 initiatives at
public events such as outdoor summer concerts.
○Mr.Michaelson presented different models of tents with options for colors and
sizes.
○The group discussed different possibilities for placement of text and agreed to
think about different options for taglines that could be included on the canopy.
○The group will revisit tent options at our next meeting.
●Upcoming meetings
○June 1st,Concord Library 6:30 -8:30 pm
○May 31,Town Hall/hybrid,4:30 pm
●Minutes
○A motion was made by Ms.Barry to accept the minutes of the 4/26/2023 meeting.
Seconded by Dr.Cunha,and approved by roll call vote.
●A motion to adjourn the meeting was made at 6:14 pm and approved by roll call vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Jillian Tung