[MassHistPres] MassHistPres Digest, Vol 46, Issue 4

[D. Mauch]

As a former selectman, I used to vehemently oppose my colleagues use  
of so-called informal meetings prior to the on-camera ones.  I used to  
call them the "meeting before the meeting."  Nevertheless, any time  
there is a quorum of selectmen present to discuss any type of official  
business (excluding of course "executive sessions,") whether in a bar,  
restaurant, town hall or brothel, it's location, date, and time has to  
be posted and the minutes recorded.  PERIOD!





On Dec 3, 2009, at 12:00 PM, masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu wrote:

> Send MassHistPres mailing list submissions to
> 	masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> 	http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> 	masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> 	masshistpres-owner at cs.umb.edu
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of MassHistPres digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: 1857 House in Historic District Slated for Demolition
>      (Suzanne W Pelton)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:19:54 -0500
> From: Suzanne W Pelton <sw.pelton at verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] 1857 House in Historic District Slated for
> 	Demolition
> To: "Kathryn M. Greenfield" <kgreenfield at comcast.net>
> Cc: LHC at cs.umb.edu, MassHistPres MA <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> Message-ID: <072391B2-AE45-4C06-9F53-6BB613443F50 at verizon.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; Format="flowed";
> 	DelSp="yes"
>
> Selects agenda says 6 pm Workshop -no description
> 7 pm all the subjects to be discussed including "Dilapidated Building
> Status, Church Street"
> During the 7 pm portion the announcement was made that the house
> would be demolished, no comments from the floor were sought.
>
> Suzanne
> Lenox
>
> On Dec 3, 2009, at 11:12 AM, Kathryn M. Greenfield wrote:
>
>> It sounds like the Selectmen's meeting was not duly posted (if it
>> began before their posted time), and therefore any decision that
>> came out of it is not valid.  They have to have a public
>> discussion.  They can't meet, unposted, then advise you the next
>> day of what happened.  That is ludicrous.
>>
>> K. Greenfield
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Suzanne W Pelton"
>> <sw.pelton at verizon.net>
>> To: "MassHistPres MA" <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Cc: <LHC at cs.umb.edu>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 10:43 AM
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] 1857 House in Historic District Slated for
>> Demolition
>>
>>
>>> I hope someone has a last minute effort to suggest for this
>>> unexpected development:
>>>
>>> A month ago the Lenox HDC denied a permit for demolition for an
>>> 1857 house in the Historic District and we breathed a sign of
>>> relief. Now,  all of a sudden today, chairs of the HDC and HC were
>>> advised of a  "workshop" (off-camera, no minutes) the Select Board
>>> held last night  before their regularly scheduled meeting, to
>>> "discuss" the house. The  owner refuses to make repairs. An
>>> independent engineer reported the  house was unsafe and it has
>>> been boarded up. Now the building  inspector says the house must
>>> be demolished--probably within 24  hours. I've been given til a
>>> brief respite to see if there is  anything we are missing to
>>> prevent its demolition. Lenox does not  have a Minimum Maintenance
>>> Ordinance or a Demolition Delay Bylaw but  it seems we're also not
>>> to be given any time to see if anyone would  like to dismantle or
>>> move the house.
>>>
>>> When I asked how it was unsafe, I was told no one could live in
>>> it. Agreed but that's not the issue, I said. When I asked if it
>>> was in  danger of falling on anyone, all I got was "it's unsafe."
>>>
>>> Any ideas you can give us will be most welcome.
>>>
>>> Suzanne Pelton
>>> Lenox Historical Commission
>>>
>>> ******************************
>>> For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact
>>> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly.  PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO
>>> THE WHOLE LIST.
>>> MassHistPres mailing list
>>> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
>>> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
>>> ********************************
>>
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/private/masshistpres/attachments/20091203/b435bc4a/attachment.html 
> >
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
>
>
> End of MassHistPres Digest, Vol 46, Issue 4
> *******************************************