LONGMEADOW – The Longmeadow Select Board met for a regularly scheduled remote meeting on May 18 to interview a candidate for the Cultural Council, to discuss the Tennessee Gas pipeline and the Fall Town Meeting.

During his regular COVID-19 report, Fire Chief John Dearborn explained that the Town is currently in the demobilization phase in its fight against the virus. “The Fire Department staffing and operations returned to pre-COVID-19 models. The emergency operations center which has been operating 24 hours a day was closed on Friday. We are currently working to increase our normal supply of personal protective equipment by three times,” he said.

The board then interviewed its one candidate for the Cultural Council, Peter Thomsen. During the interview he explained why he wanted to keep his position on the Cultural Council. He said, “I think we’ve made a lot of progress; we’ve been able to give a lot of grants for people in the arts each year, we’ve had a couple of good fundraisers. It’s been enjoyable and I think it’s a very worthwhile thing.”

The board will vote on Thomsen’s interview at its next meeting on June 1.

During her regular report, Town Manager Lyn Simmons gave an update on the town reopening the recycling center on May 23. She said, “The recycling center is going to open for bulky and household items beginning Saturday, May 23. That includes wood, metal, TVs, tires and propane. There’s a full listing on the town website but at this time we are not able to accept mattresses.”

She added that residents can only pay with a check when bringing in recyclables to the station.

Simmons then gave an update on the Tennessee Gas pipeline situation. She said that the situation was currently in limbo because of a lack of communication between Columbia Gas and Tennessee gas as a result of COVID-19. “We’re not sure who is going to do something first, but it’s something that we’re monitoring right now. But it did seem like they haven’t been communicating closely,” she said.

The board also approved a motion to reappoint Sandy Metts to the Board of Registrars for a three-year term ahead of the upcoming town election on June 16.

To close the meeting the board briefly discussed the Fall Town Meeting and possible dates. Much of the discussion was based around having one meeting as opposed to two in the Fall after Town Finance Directot Paul Pasterczyk said the town would likely need to host two if they went with a September date to avoid a COVID-19 resurgence in the Fall. He said, “If there’s a September Town Meeting, there are going to be a number of financial things not completed. Depending on the timing, we will not have our free cash certified potentially, and we definitely won’t have our new growth certified at that time.”

While Board Chair Marie Angelides had initially suggested a September date, the entire board said that it would be easier to hold one single meeting later in October or November. The board also agreed to allow citizen’s petitions to be pushed from the Annual Town Meeting to the Fall Town meeting without getting any additional signatures.

The Longmeadow Select Board next meets on June 1.