Lunenburg COA Nominates Lou Franco for Chair as Override Vote Looms

LUNENBURG -- May 12, 2026, Lunenburg Council on Aging nominates new officers and hears emotional letter about override's impact on homebound seniors. At its May 12 meeting, the board voted unanimously to nominate Lou Franco for chair and a current member for vice chair, with the slate to take formal effect July 1. The chair read an edited letter from a COA staff member and former Meals on Wheels driver who described disabled homeowners sitting "in their homes, often falling apart around them," invisible in override discussions, urging the board to "fight for us just as high, just as low, just as determined as you do for the schools." A board member recapped two Annual Town Meeting votes: Article 32, changing how the town notifies residents of town meetings and allowing residents to opt into receiving the full warrant by mail rather than receiving it automatically, and Article 33, transferring Kids' Kingdom playground from the School Committee to the Select Board to clear the way for a planned senior center parking expansion. The board also heard that new outreach coordinator John Francis started May 7, and that three upcoming COA trips, to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Tall Ships, and LaBelle Winery, are already fully booked.