HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-05-MMC-min.docx
Monuments & Memorials Committee
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, June 5, 2025, 4:00 p.m.by Zoom
Members Present: Linda Dixon, Chair; Avram Baskin, Glen Bassett, George Gamota, Leslie
Masson, Regina Sutton, Nick Wong
Members Absent: Liz Huttner, Mirela Vaso.
Guests: Bill Poole.
Business:
Linda convened the meeting at 4:05 pm, read the Town notice regarding the conduct of
public virtual meetings, and declared that a quorum was present.
Approval of Minutes
The committee approved the minutes of its meeting of May 1, 2025 by roll call vote.
Report on Meeting with Dave Pinsonneault, Director, DPW
Nick and Avram visited with DPW Director Dave Pinsonneault on (date) to discuss modifications
and enhancements to our database, and work policies adopted by DPW, that could be helpful to
both sides in DPW’s ongoing monument repair and restoration work. Some suggestions were:
Provide a list view in addition to a map
Integrate with a third-party system to manage all their projects
Provide a unique address with GPS coordinates for lesser-known monuments
Indicate whether monument is current or pending
Include a line for “completed by” and date
For M&M Committee’s process improvement, make sure feedback is provided
M&M reps should meet the people actually doing the field work
Update on Monument Database
Nick has talked with Judy Baldasaro from the Town IT staff. Some enhancements we could
provide to our database include :
Providing the type and material for each monument
Providing an interface on top of the database (need Judy’s help with this)
May have to rethink the filters we are currently using
May need to reconsider how we categorize the monuments in the database.
DPW will gradually build its own database, transfer our data over, and learn to service it.
Election of Officers for 2025-2026
Chair Linda Dixon is stepping down after four-plus years as Committee Chair. The positions of
Chair and Secretary need to be filled. The Committee decided to add the position of Vice Chair
for this term as well. On a roll call vote, the following were unanimously elected for a one-year
term:
Chair Nicholas Wong
Vice Chair Avram Baskin
Secretary Linda Dixon
George Gamota, on behalf of the Committee, thanked Linda Dixon for her years of leadership
and service.
Change of Meeting Hour
A survey of members indicated that they are flexible regarding holding our meeting at 4:00 pm
or switching to 7:00 pm to make things easier for our employed members. Of the three
employed members, one (Vaso) has resigned from the committee, one (Wong) can meet at
either time, and one (Huttner) did not attend the meeting. Chair Linda felt a conversation with
Liz Huttner was necessary, so no action was taken.
Other Business
Over the summer, the Chair encouraged members to take photos of their assigned memorials if
needed, and to send any existing photos of poor quality to Leslie, who will work to improve their
appearance. Members should continue sending their stories to Linda for editing and polishing
and transmitting to Nick. Nick will continue adding monument entries to the database. Avram
may investigate whether LHS still offers classes in “Usability Assessment Methods” and
“Usability Testing”. George seeks members’ help by identifying the most appropriate liaison in
each town and community group with whom we plan to share our database.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda J. Dixon, Chair