Lunenburg Select Board Promotes Officer McNamara to Detective, Approves Bridge Easement

Select Board · Meeting of July 7, 2026

Lunenburg Select Board promotes first dedicated detective and weighs $471,000 in new state aid. The board voted unanimously Monday to ratify Town Manager Melissa Richard's appointment of Officer Bradley McNamara as the town's first detective, citing nearly 2,000 hours of training and a landmark cryptocurrency seizure of approximately $110,000 for crime victims. Planning Director Steve Wallace reported that Lunenburg draws only 8 percent of its tax revenue from commercial and industrial sources — below the threshold that distinguishes a bedroom community — and outlined four major zoning amendments targeting senior housing, inclusionary zoning, cluster housing, and streamlined business permitting for next May's annual town meeting.

Richard told the board the legislature's $63.4 billion FY27 budget would net Lunenburg an additional $471,121 if signed by the governor, including $418,056 in new education aid, a $20,000 technology earmark for the schools, and $45,000 for fire department radios; the School Committee has formally requested a special town meeting to appropriate the funds, though Richard questioned the rationale given the committee's stated position that class sizes and teaching positions will not be restored. The Lunenburg Historical Society presented plans for a privately funded 10-foot-4-inch granite obelisk on the Lower Common listing more than 300 Lunenburg residents who served in the Revolution, with a target installation date of late 2027 ahead of the town's 300th anniversary.

In the full story:

• Background and stakes
• The question before the body
• Substantive content
• The deliberation
• Procedural steps and outcome
• Implications and what is next
• The complete report — 3,627 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.