Lynnfield Selectmen deal with speeding, budget issues

LYNNFIELD – To address the speeding issue in a section of downtown Lynnfield, Police Chief David Breen went before the Board of Selectmen Monday night to request a speed limit posting in that area.Breen asked that a 20-MPH sign be put in the spot of Summer Street between Main and South Common streets, a stretch that contains places such as the Lynnfield Library and a post office.?There?s a stop sign but, as you know, people fly right by there,” Breen said.Since there is a 25-MPH speed limit on Main Street, the board asked Breen to partner with Department of Public Works Director Dennis Roy to recommend a uniform speed limit for the downtown area to avoid any confusion.Lynnfield resident Richard Sokolow followed Breen and petitioned that the $360,000 from the town?s cable PEG access account be used to set up a headquarters for local access programming and add more content. The account, where PEG stands for public, educational and government, is a special revenue fund that is not part of the town budget. It is made up of money from Comcast and Verizon to make improvements to local stations and cover their operating costs.The board, in addition to Town Administrator William Gustus, seemed in favor of the project and told Sokolow to form an advisory committee to assess the potential costs and necessary steps for the project to move forward.Monday?s meeting also marked the start of budget reviews for town departments, as operating budgets were due on Dec. 30.Roy went through a summary of the public works budget categories, including street lights and school maintenance and buses, detailing what would make up the 4.79 percent increase in the budget from the last fiscal year.The board had no questions after Roy?s budget presentation.?I think the budget?s well-prepared and it always is,” said board chairman Arthur Bourque.The Board of Selectmen will meet again on Jan. 23.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].