2019-10-07 BOS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Selectmen’s Meeting October 7, 2019 A meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen was called to order at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 7, 2019 in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Office Building. Mr. Lucente, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Barry, Ms. Hai and Mr. Sandeen were present as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. EXECUTIVE SESSION Ms. Barry recused herself from the Executive Session as her husband is an employee of the Town. Upon a motion duly made and seconded by roll call vote, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to enter into Executive Session at 6:01 p.m. under Exemption 3 Collective Bargaining Update: Fire Union IAFF Local 1491 and to reconvene in Open Session. Further, it was declared that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town. The Board of Selectmen returned to Open Session at 6:27 p.m. at which time Ms. Barry rejoined the meeting. Mr. Lucente made the following statement: “For the last two meetings, during the public comment part of our agenda, I have allowed for our Department of Public Works Employees to comment on ongoing labor negotiations. On the advice of the Town’s Labor Counsel and on behalf of the Board, I want to make it clear that this is not how labor negotiations are undertaken in Lexington. Our negotiation team has kept us informed and we support their positions and believe the contract that has been offered is fair. I will remind the audience that we are limiting, as we always limit, the public comment section of the agenda to ten minutes.” PUBLIC COMMENTS DPW employees Nick Burke, 66 Richardson Road, Belmont; and Ronald Lochiatto, 1 Turner Road, Maynard made comments that supported fair, competitive compensation; expressed concern for loss of employees to higher-paying municipalities; and supported the community expectation of mutual respect between Town and staff. SELECTMAN CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Hai said she and Mr. Lucente attended the Bridge School playground ribbon cutting. She, Mr. Lucente, Mr. Pato and Mr. Sandeen attended the new Minuteman High School ribbon cutting. Ms. Hai stated that on October 8, 2019, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) held its 2019 Annual Statewide Conference for Municipal Officials and Staff, co-hosted by the Division of Local Services titled “21st Century Municipalities – Challenges & Opportunities”. Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito spoke and there was also a panel discussion on the economic 1