The Brooks House, a focal point of the meeting, was brought into the spotlight as members expressed frustration over its exclusion from current town discussions and plans. It was pointed out that the decision to sell or lease the Brooks House, made at a prior town meeting, seemed overlooked by town bodies such as the select board and the master plan steering committee. A motion was passed unanimously to allow a representative from the commission to approach the select board to address the Brooks House situation. The master plan steering committee had been discussing the Brooks House, emphasizing its significance and confirming that any deviation from the original decision would require a new town meeting vote. This matter highlighted the town’s need to align its future actions with past decisions, especially given differing opinions on whether the property should be demolished or preserved.

Conversations then shifted to the town’s master plan, a guiding document for addressing issues facing Lunenburg over the next decade. Housing emerged as a particularly contentious topic, with pressures from the state to increase housing availability clashing with local concerns about high living costs driving residents away. The planning board’s role in managing these developments was emphasized, as it is tasked with leading discussions with developers to determine suitable locations and quantities for future housing projects.

Further discussions focused on the Lunenburg Municipal Building Design Committee’s efforts to streamline town operations while preserving historical sites. The committee is considering consolidating town administrative functions at the Ritter building, maintaining Town Hall for meetings and select board activities. The possibility of needing a new building if space constraints at the Ritter building become insurmountable was debated, although the majority expressed a preference for avoiding new construction. The importance of preserving the Ritter building and Town Hall within the architectural preservation district was stressed, alongside plans to modify the 1963 edition of the Ritter building to accommodate space requirements. The addition of an elevator was proposed to replace the current chair lift system, deemed unsuitable for the building’s stature.

In tandem with modernization discussions, the need to transition to digital record-keeping was highlighted. While legal obligations require the town clerk’s office to maintain paper records, there is hope to emulate the Massachusetts state government’s effective digital record maintenance. This shift could potentially pave the way for remote positions within town departments, offering cost savings by reducing physical space needs.

The commission also touched upon the implementation of the master plan, which identifies priority projects such as Town Hall, Ritter, Turkey Hill, and Marshall Park. Concerns were raised about how to effectively present these projects to the community and gain public support, particularly for Marshall Park. The town’s financial capacity to undertake these projects without imposing significant tax increases was discussed, with an analysis of the town’s declining excluded debt levels included in the master plan to provide transparency.