Lanesborough Select Board Approves Licenses, Warrants, and Joint Budget Meeting Plan

LANESBOROUGH -- January 12, 2026, Lanesborough Select Board approves licenses, warrants, and a joint March budget review with the Finance Committee. The two-member board, Chair Debra Maynard and member Michael Murphy, with Jason Brielle absent, unanimously approved a Class II used car dealership license renewal for R.A. Marine LLC, the 2026 liquor license annual report, five financial warrants totaling $1,237,141.63, and a plan to hold joint departmental budget sessions with the Finance Committee on March 2 and March 16, coordinated with Finance Committee member Lyndon Moores. The meeting's most substantive exchange came during public comment, when Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Mark Steepers appeared to defend the cease-and-desist process amid social media criticism, telling residents that if a neighbor is violating the same rule, "report them, because if you get dinged for it, they should get dinged for it." Resident Barb Davis-Hasson of 660 North Main Street pushed back, arguing the town's own bylaws define short-term rentals, set parking requirements for them, and collect a 5.7 percent Commonwealth tax and community impact fee, and asked that further cease-and-desist notices be paused while the Planning Board finalizes a draft short-term rental amendment modeled on a Williamstown proposal.