Select Board — June 15, 2026
Lexington Select Board approved cafe early hours without notifying other merchants and sought cannabis delivery waiver pending survey
The meeting featured standard updates and approvals with minimal public comment and no internal disagreement.
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At the June 15 Select Board meeting, members approved a common victualler's license for Commune All Day Cafe permitting 5 AM operations. The discussion revealed that other merchants in the center had not received prior notice of the zoning change that made these hours possible. Staff was asked to confirm whether notifications would now be sent.
The board also voted unanimously to request a one-year temporary waiver from the Cannabis Control Commission prohibiting retail recreational marijuana deliveries. A community survey is planned during that period to gather input before any longer-term policy is set.
Separately, the board approved a plan to auction three of the seven decorated horses from the Writing Through History exhibit and relocate the illuminated horse to the Community Center. One resident expressed disappointment over the loss of a prominent public location and raised vandalism concerns, though the board cited lighting and cameras at the new site.
Topics discussed
Board introductions, approval of consent agenda items including one-day liquor license and Historical Commission appointment; discussion and approval of common victualler's license for Commune All Day Cafe at 5 AM start time.
Consent items 1 and 3 approved unanimously by roll call; cafe license approved unanimously after discussion, with request for staff to check on outreach to other businesses.
Staff to verify and possibly issue notifications to other center merchants about zoning change allowing earlier hours.
Town Manager Steve Bartha provided status update on union contracts, noting most settled with COLAs and market adjustments targeting 75th percentile compensation.
Board received update with no formal action; Pato clarified JLMC as Joint Labor Management Commission with next hearing July 13.
Ongoing negotiations with patrol and dispatch; fire JLMC process continues.
Discussion and approval of plan to retain four of seven decorated horses, auction three, and relocate the 'Illuminated' horse to the Community Center.
Unanimous roll-call approval of proposal to extend installations, relocate lantern horse to Community Center (first-choice location), and authorize Town Manager to pursue auction of remaining three.
Town Manager to administer auction process (possibly via third-party) before October HDC/license expirations; temporary HDC extension may be sought if needed; History Museum sign-off required for Community Center site.
Board voted to request a one-year temporary waiver from the Cannabis Control Commission to prohibit retail recreational marijuana deliveries.
Unanimous roll-call vote to request one-year waiver prohibiting retail recreational marijuana delivery; Town Manager authorized to submit letter.
Staff to develop community survey/input plan with Public Information Officer; decision to be made by end of waiver period.
Board discussed logistics for a half-day organizational retreat focused on communications and internal operations, to be held midweek in summer.
Agreement to identify dates; Chair and Clerk to propose options after members submit unavailable weeks.
Dates to be circulated; self-facilitated format planned.
Controversy & dissent
Potentially controversial issues
Writing Through History horse relocation
Cannabis delivery opt-out waiver
Community vs. board tension
Public comment
Decisions logged
Action items
Member positions
Positions marked ~ are inferred from context and may not reflect the member's explicitly stated position. UNCLEAR means the vote was split but the record did not name how this member voted — it is not a “yes.”
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grok-4.3, grok-4.20-0309-reasoning · analyzed 2026-06-22.
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