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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 J./13 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 2, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Tuesday, January 2, 1979 at 7 30 P M. Chairman Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr. Kent and Mr Crain, Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, Selectmen, were present Chairman Battin opened the meeting by reading a request from Stephen MBTA L Delaney, Administrative Assistant to DPW Director of the Town of Dan- Chairman vers to write to Governor Elect King supporting the retention of Robert R. Kiley Kiley as Chairman of the MBTA After discussion, the Board agreed that it would not be appropriate to write such a letter as a Board, but each member, as an individual, could, if he chose to, write to express his wishes A request For Approval of Location of Chapter 180 Non-Profit Cor- Certifi- poration for Cooperative Elder Services, Inc , c/o Minuteman Home Care cate of Corporation, 365 Waltham Street was read by the Chairman Inc Information given to Miss Casey by Susan Rothbaum of Minuteman Home Coopera- Care Corporation was not specific regarding the function of Cooperative tive Elder Services, Inc at the location There was also some concern ex- Elder pressed by the Selectmen that there might be some duplication of services Services with other agencies Mrs Banks is to check into the matter and report back to the Board The Chairman referred the Board to their copies of a status report Minuteman from Ron Fitzgerald, Superintendent/Director of the Minuteman Regional VOTEC Vocational School regarding an invitation to the Selectmen to have a rep- Meeting resentative at the Minuteman School Committee meeting on January 9 rela- tive to a forthcoming hearing on proposed changes in State aid Regulations Mrs Battin is to write to Mr Robert C Jackson to request him to attend the hearing and testify as necessary on behalf of the town Mr Hutchinson is to prepare written testimony on behalf of the Selectmen, a copy of which will be sent to Mr Jackson The Chairman referred the Board to its copies of a letter from Dean Request H Curtin requesting "No Parking" signs at the intersection of Lincoln For and School Streets where he is constructing an office building "No Park- A report from the Traffic Safety Committee indicated that there was ing" Signs no need for such signs at the present time The Committee indicated in Dean its report that, upon completion of the building, the location will again Curtin be observed and should there be a problem or a potential problem, a course of corrective action will be recommended Mr Curtin is to be so informed I 31 - 2 - Selectmen's Meeting January 2, 1979 Merriam Hill The Chairman read the Traffic Safety Committee's report regarding a Assoc request from the Merriam Hill Association for regular snow removal to the Meriam St / curbs on both sides of Meriam St from Mass Ave to Oakland St and Mass Aven Patriots Drive, stop signs in Oakland Street and Patriots Drive at Meriam Traffic Street, construction of a bulge in the curbing on Mass Avenue or place- ment of a green crosswalk across Mass Avenue or a combination of the buige and crosswalk After a lengthy discussion of the problem, it was agreed that the re- port of the Committee would be accepted as presented which stated that the request for "Stop" signs was being referred to the Engineering Divi- sion for further study; request for bulge in curbing be denied; unguarded crosswalks be denied The question of snow removal and parking conditions in the area was discussed again in detail and it was brought out that snow removal in that particular area is often impeded by parked cars The matter will be referred again to the Traffic Safety Committee to consider the feasi- bility of extending the "No Parking" up to Patriots Drive on the north side of Meriam Street Mr Page will be informed as to the Traffic Safety Committee's recommendations when the report has been received The whole problem of snow removal in the center was discussed at length and the Manager brought out that the Chamber of Commerce has fully supported the enforcement of the By-Law relative to snow removal He suggested, subject to the approval of the Selectmen, a new By-Law cover- ing the whole town There was some question as to how far out on the sidewalk the merchants are responsible for and what the town is respon- sible for The whole question is to be reviewed including other areas besides the center area Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meetings of December 6 and December 13, 1978 Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the renewal licenses for the following Lexington Chalet, Inc (Inndeeper) Pierce Transit Co (Common Carrier) Bedford Local Transit (Common Carrier) The Chairman referred the Board to the copies of a letter from Weiant Wathen-Dunn regarding a bicycle by-law The Traffic Safety Committee felt that no change was warranted, but they are responding and it will be submitted to Town Meeting Reports The Chairman informed the Board that four very thoughtful reports had been received from sub-committees and Whitman & Howard that should be discussed at a later date and acknowledged They were reports from the Senior Center Site Committee, Human Services, Housing report and the Solid Waste report from Whitman & Howard regarding the landfill W/3 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 2, 1979 Mrs Miley informed the Board that the School Sites Conversion Parker Committee has scheduled a meeting on January 11 to interview the School prospective buyers of the Parker School She posed the question of eliminating one interview by combining the interview by the Selectmen and the Committee As of this date the Committee had interviewed twelve and the final interviews would be with four It was agreed that the Board would not interview all of the de- velopers, but would leave it up to the Committee to weed it down to the finalists The Board of Selectmen would then make the final se- lection of developer There will be a joint meeting on January 17th with the Selectmen and the Committee and the developers on January 24 The Board and the Manager discussed the Town Warrant and Mr Hutchin- Warrant son informed the Board that the warrant should be ready for the Selectmen by the end of January It was agreed that the general revenue sharing hearing would be held on January 22 The Manager requested and received approval of the Board for the Appoint- following appointments ments James Dhimos to the Recreation Committee to April 30, 1980 Mrs Bebe Fallick to the Historical Commission to April 30, 1980 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that we have had additional re- Sewers quests concerning the sewer program some of which were recommended by the Board of Health He is to update all of the information for the Board by the loth The Manager informed the Board that bids had been received for the Audit audit and recommended that Arthur Anderson be designated for $9200 for 1979 and $9900 for 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the bid for the audit to Arthur Anderson in the amount of $9200 for 1979 and $9900 for 1980 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Data Processing Advisory Data Task Force would like to meet with the Board sometime in February to Process- review their report ing The Manager reported that Gene Molloy is retiring from the town Gene after 42 years of service and he would like to bring Mr Molloy before Molloy the Board to acknowledge his long years of service Dick Spiers, Retire- Superintendent of the Cemetery, will be replacing Mr Molloy effective ment January 15 I /d Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 2, 1979 Fire Dis- The Manager referred the Board to its report from the Personnel patchers Advisory Board relative to the request to review the Fire Dispatcher Salary In- salary increase The Personnel Advisory Board approved the increase crease Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant four fire dispatchers an increase of $500 00 each to be effective January 2 A transfer from Article 5 is authorized to implement this increase Jere Frick The Manager informed the Board that, subject to its approval, he Appt to plans to reappoint Jere Frick to the MAPC as she is willing to serve MAPC again for three years The Board gave its approval Reports Other items that the Manager reported to the Board were that the From B C interns had filed their human service report and it will be dis- Manager tributed to interested Boards on Tuesday Joan Tuttle of D E P informed Mr Hutchinson that Mrs Murphy is ex- pected to sign the authorizations for our grants this week. He expects the final report of the Sewer Advisory Committee next week Administrative Public Hearing regarding Chapter 90, Adams Street will be held on January 10 and the Selectmen's hearing will be held on January 22 Capital During a discussion of the capital budget, it was brought out that Budget several pieces of road machinery will need to be replaced at an approxi- mate cost of $165,700 Included in this figure was $80,000 for a new compactor at the landfill It was felt that it would be more cost effective to replace the old one rather than repair it The new machine could be utilized until the closing of the landfill about 1981 Cemetery equipment replacement was a major consideration as it was felt that better equipment would help to continue the expansion program and produce better maintenance Mr Busa asked the Manager to look into the possibility of drilling a 100 foot well to provide water for cemetery uses Mr Hutchinson said that he would look into it and come back with a report An additional $10,000 is needed for a sewer line for the center pool There was some discussion as to whether or not this amount should be in- cluded in the sewer program or the pool project The Manager recommended an additional $140,000 for revaluation and $200,000 for the reserve fund Conservation expenditures are covered by available money The Chairman thanked the Manager for these preliminary figures and the meeting adjourned Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 00 P.M A true record, Attest Principal Clerk, Selectmen 31/7 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 8, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, January 8, 1979 at 7 30 P.M Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain, Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Chief Corr, Police Department; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, Selectmen The Board met with Temple Scanlan and Mary Shunney of the Lexington HUD Housing Authority to discuss the notification from the Department of Section Housing and Urban Development that the Massachusetts Department of Com- 8 munity Affairs had applied to administer 1500 units of the 1900 units Applica- to be allocated by HUD under Section 8 Existing Housing Program in tion Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex Counties Both Mrs Shunney and By DCA Mr Scanlan informed the Board that the Housing Authority was opposed to this because they felt that the Housing Authority knows the needs of the community and have been doing a good job Mr Scanlan explained the process of certification of eligibility to the Board and he felt that the DCA farmed out the administration to sub-contractors who administer the program poorly and inflates the present rental structure The Board assured Mrs Shunney and Mr Scanlan that they felt that the Housing Authority has done an excellent job and would write to the Area Manager of HUD, Mr Marvin Siflinger, opposing the application of the DCA for reasons cited by the Lexington Housing Authority Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to have the Chair- man write to the Department of Housing and Urban Development opposing the application of the DCA for the authority to administer 1500 units under HUD's Section 8 Existing Housing Program The Chairman thanked Mrs Shunney and Mr Scanlan for their presentation The Manager and the Board discussed the listing of articles to be 1979 inserted in the 1979 Warrant The Manager reminded the Board that Town they can delete some at a later date if they so desire prior to send- Meeting ing to the printer Articles Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to insert the articles in the Warrant for the 1979 Annual Town Meeting The Chairman read a request from Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director Abatement of Public Works/Engineering for an abatement in the amount of $318 64 Hancock of a sidewalk betterment against the Hancock School site School Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the Sidewalk sidewalk betterment against the Hancock School site in the amount of Bettermeni $318 64 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Pole following pole locations Loca- 111 Tucker Avenue on the northerly side, approximately 78'+ (feet) tions west of Tarbell Avenue, one (1) Pole 140/1 Cushing Street on the easterly side, approximately 94'+ (feet) north of Sullivan Street, four (4) Poles 338/1-2-3-4 Lf/8 Selectmen's Meeting January 8, 1979 Banks Avenue on the southerly side, approximately 86'+ (feet) west of Baker Avenue, four (4) Poles 144/2-3-5-6 111 Snow Plowing The Board met with Mr Empey and Chief Corr relative to the en- and forcement of the By-laws relating to the clearing of sidewalks in the Removal center of Town. Policy During a lengthy discussion of the Town's policy regarding the re- moval of snow from the sidewalks in the center of Town, it was brought out that the By-law seems to be rather ambiguous Due to the fact that the sidewalk on one side of the center is much wider than the other, there was a question as to how far the merchants are required to clear Chief Corr feels that the By-law is very restrictive at this time The Manager explained that there has been no change in the plowing and snow removal policy except that the removing of the snow is not done on overtime, and, therefore, takes longer to clear the area The Mana- ger is to find out how many man hours it takes to remove the snow and whether it would be most cost effective to have this work done on over- time or during the day at regular_hours. After further discussion, it was agreed to defer a decision on the snow removal and plowing policy until further information from the Manager and Mr Cohen is received so that it may be decided what policy to adhere to Mr Empey and Chief Corr retired from the meeting Lay Out Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted the, intent to lay Powers Court out and sign the warrant to the Town Constable to notify all abutters of the intention of the Board of Selectmen to accept Powers Court as a town way and notice of street hearing to be held on Monday, January 29, 1979 as follows Powers Court - from Paul Revere Road 300'+ southerly to end Tax Title The Chairman read a request from Town Counsel to sign the deed to transferring three small tax title lots to the Conservation Commission Cons Comm Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed transferring the following tax title lots to the Conservation Commission Avon Street Map 79 Lot 11 Moreland Avenue Map 15 Lot 54A Bowker Street Map 13 Lot 316 Recycling The Manager referred the Board to the recycling report that was Program prepared by one of the intersn Although the tonnage has increased, revenue has not and a major portion of households in the Town do not participate in the recycling program He pointed out that unless there is a mandatory program instituted, which can be discussed in the coming months, the program has not been cost effective The program has cost about $50,000 and we are getting back approximately $9,000 Bleachers Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Appropriation Committee High School had rejected a transfer for completing the bleachers at the High Sohool He said that he had spoken to Otis Brown, Chairman of the School Com- mittee, who will speak to Dr Lawson and work with him to see if there111 are any monies that might be available from the school budget that could be integrated with the $4,000 that is now available /9 Selectmen's Meeting January 8, 1979 Mr Busa suggested that it might be feasible to transfer some money from the Recreation funds for the bleachers and delay some of the improvements in the playgrounds It was suggested that chairs could be rented for graduation be- cause even if Town Meeting did appropriate the money, it would not be available as quickly as needed Mr Hutchinson feels that delay will cost the Town more money as the cost of materials is rising steadily Mr Hutchinson is to get figures on the cost of materials and the cost of renting chairs for graduation and the matter will be dis- cussed again on Wednesday The Manager informed the Board that the Town of Bedford has re- Town of ceived additional authorization to continue to draw water from the MDC Bedford as their water system is still in unsatisfactory condition They can Water now draw up to 1,000,000 gallons per day subject to their executing an agreement with the Town of Lexington They are now drawing water through the temporary connection that was authorized on a temporary basis via Hanscom Field and have put in a permanent connection on Great Road Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Millbrook Valley re- Millbrook lief sewer project is continuing (that is the alternate line for the Valley Town of Bedford) He stated that the MDC is going to put the line in Relief and that interations is beginning with their engineers who are working Sewer with the MDC He feels that it will take some time, but will monitor it very closely for long range implications with problems in our sanitary sewer system and will try to get an idea as to where the line is going to be established The School Committee feels that Bowman School would be a better Precinct location than Clarke Junior High for a polling place for Precinct 3 3 The Manager is to talk with Town Meeting Members and the Precinct 3 Polling Chairman regarding this change Location The Chairman read an application for a certificate of incorpora- Certifi- tion from "Cooperative Elder Services, Inc " for a location at 365 cate of Waltham Street, Lexington Inc Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the "Coopera- application of "Cooperative Elder Services, Inc " for a location tive Elder c/o Minuteman Home Care Coproration, 365 Waltham St , Lexington for Services" a mail drop only The Board and the Manager discussed personal services The Manager informed the Board that there are 304 full time employees and 165 part time of which 176 positions are covered by collective bargaining At the present time, he is still negotiating with the firemen and policemen He stated that the collective bargaining talks are going better than was expected He is proposing a per- sonal services budget of $5,304,579 which reflects a $300,000 in- crease over the actual appropriation of last year He is recom- )Yza mending in Article 5 $280,000 of which in excess of $10,000 is pention costs There is a continuing decline in the number of employees and he expects to turn back to E & D $45-50,000 It is his suggestion that the landfill be hun 40 hours per week rather than six days and close it on Sundays This would eliminate two positions in the pub- lic works department There was some discussion regarding the feasibility of closing the landfill ,on Sundays as it had been tried before and met with citizen protest Mr Hutchinson is going to have a survey made of surrounding towns to determine how many hours per week they are open and on what days Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Workmen's compensation con- tinues to be a problem for the Town The Public Works Department and the School Department continue to be the biggest problem It is his suggestion that the Town look into self-insuring The three-year sick leave figures were reviewed The Board felt that the over-all figures were good and was getting better Executive Upon motion duly made and- seconded, it was voted by Mrs Battin, Session Mr. Buss, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain, in a 5-0 roll call vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property After discussion, it was voted to adjourn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 930PM. A true record, Attest d)?6,_ tt,c: 22? 07 Principal Clerk Selectmen I SELECTMEN'S MEETING JANUARY 10, 1979 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, January 10, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board discussed the Governor's cappi%g proposal and agreed Gov 's to talk with our legislators at the joint meeting scheduled for Cap Prop January 16 and to urge Senator Rotondi and Representative Cole to be as persuasive as possible during deliberations in the legislature in support of the best interests of Lexington Mr Hutchinson and Mr Coscia updated the Board on the need Bleachers for repairs to the remaining 1300 bleacher seats at the High School field The Appropriation Committee had not approved the previous request for a $15,000 transfer from E & D Later on, the Appropriation Committee came into the meeting and the Board pointed out the necessity of affirmative action due to insufficient seating capacity for the upcoming graduation cere- monies The Appropriation Committee would not commit itself and it was left that reconsideration would be given to the request The Board reviewed a list of questions generated by the Ap- FY 80 propriation Committee on budget accounts for the Selectmen, Manager, Budgets Fire, Police, D.P W , etc and Mr Hutchinson is to prepare answers for the committee Members of the Appropriation Committee and the Capital Expenditures Committee came into the meeting for a preliminary review of the budgets After discussion, Mr White said that the Appropriation Committee is not necessarily saying we don't agree with the budgets submitted but we would like to be aware of the rationale and justification of questionable items Mr Hutchinson agreed to submit an information sheet for joint dis- cussion at the next meeting Upon moi'ion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 45 p.m A true record, Attest ;07 14/hg & iv1erlSelectm& ' 5Z SELECTMEN'S MEETING JANUARY 16, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Tuesday, January 16, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Legislators- Chairman Battin welcomed Senator Rotondi and Representative Cole Tax Caps for a joint discussion on the Governor's tax capping proposal Mr Brown, Chairman, and members of the School Committee, Dr Lawson, Superintendent of Schools, Mr Silverman, Chairman of the A.p- ' prPpFiation Committee, and representatives of theCkp Expenditures Committee were also present Chairman Battin said that, as of now, the Mass Municipal Associations do not have a posture regarding tax limitations and are waiting to see what the Governor proposes We now have a coalition of not only the Managers, Mayors and Selectmen but also with School Superintendents and School Committees This group will work to preserve the rights of the taxpayers to make the decisions concerning governments at the local level Mrs Battin turned the meeting over to Mr Kent, our Legislative Liaison Mr Kent said that the School Committee has asked that we devote the first segment to matters of interest and concern to them, and the School Aid picture is of concern to us Senator Rotondi said that Governor King was talking about a position on School Aid which would guarantee that communities would get at least 10 percent of what they received the prior fiscal year Many of the people who supported the legislation decided they wanted 15 percent; in the Senate, it was reduced to 7 percent He was co-sponsor of a bill for reimbursement to the level of FY 79, and then we hope to add the cost of inflation. It is important that municipal associa- tions get together with us to put a guaranteed percentage factor into that He will be dealing with that issue directly and has also been made Chairman of the Public Service Committee, which deals with the issues of collective bargaining, binding arbitration, and the impact of these types of programs on municipalities Mr Brown said that you don't know exactly what the percentage would be; if you follow Boston's cost of living index, it would not be fair to the rest of the state Representative Cole stated his position on the subject of caps He did not see how the state can mandate programs on municipalities and then say we are going to put a cap on what you spend There is no possibility of balancing the budget the way you would like to do it He had difficulty accepting caps unless the mandatee programs are state funded If caps are imposed on municipalities, he expected that both school and general govern- ment would be lumped together 2.3 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 16, 1979 1I III Senator Rotondi hoped the state would turn to itself and talk about the way in which it operates its shop and runs its budget; about agencies and their growth, welfare fraud; that's part of the whole deal The municipal association is going to have a special obligation this year to make sure they are monitoring the situation and getting input from every- body Chairman Battin said that she is a member of the Governor's Local Advisory Committee and, at a recent meeting, he said that all monies cities and towns receive from new development was going to be mandated to be applied to reduce the tax rate We could not use it to pay for services, and this narrows the amounts we can work with Mr Hoffman, School Committee, stated that when you talk about cap- ping school expenditures, you are flying in the face of the concept of fiscal autonomy Mrs Battin added that there are two bills filed both by the Special Commission on State Mandated programs and the Local Government Caucus about full funding of mandates Board members expressed concern about the impact on Lexington and Mr Crain said that the concept assumes everything has been done as it should in the past and the future is controllable. When we confront the horrendous situation on unfunded pensions, liabilities on the state level and the local level, solid waste, energy costs that are completely out of control, we are beginning to understand the implications of it The III philosophy and basic concept of capping just doesn't make sense Mr Hutchinson agreed and hope that some freedom is given to those at the local level to decide how much they want to spend, and capping is not the answer Depending upon the way legislation is written, there could be an effect'of approximately $1 million on the FY 80 budget The sanitary landfill was discussed and Mr Hutchinson said there will be a broad article in the warrant enabling the Selectmen to commit the tonnage, and Northeast seems to be the one. This seems to be the only longterm viable solution and we are planning to be out of the landfill fusiness in the next couple of years or a little longer Eventually, it would seem that resource recovery is the way to go and the private sector is geared to handle this Mr Busa felt that some of the landfills could be extended and this could mean a substantial savings for some of the municipalities Maybe some of the leachate could be filtered or cleaned up Chairman Battin said that there other bills were important to the Municipal Associations, (1) Review and comment on human services projects if a project is going to come into a local community, the chief executive would be notified and there would be the opportunity, if desired, to re- view and comment on it (2) The sick pay buy-back has been filed, and that is something they feel strongly about Mr Hutchinson said there has been a legal ruling that sick pay - and I believe it relates to the school system - can now be computed as part of your retirement level It does have an effect on retirement benefits, so there is a long-term cost as well Mrs Battin said the bill would correct that (3) Binding III and compulsory arbitration This bill would be coming before Senator Rotondi. Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 16, 1979 Senator Rotondi said he had filed a bill which would have the MBTA deed back to the respective communities the road rights of the right-of- way that runs through Arlington and Lexington, subject to reconveyance at a time when the MBTA decided what they wanted to do with it He had also filed a bill to authorize the Department of Public Works to install a direction light at Bedford and Eldred Streets This will allow people coming from Eldred Street to take a left turn He had in- vestigated it with John Carroll and would let the Selectmen know the hearing dates Mr Busa said the Commonwealth was going to enlarge Bedford Street in 1975 and that would probably have been the solution. Senator Rotondi said they didn't do it years ago because they didn't want to interrupt the flow of traffic; now, there is no flow and it is stopped up to 128 anyway There could be a 25 second triplight to allow them to intercede during those stalled periods He said that another issue going on now is dealing with the Burlington tract of land and MAPC is considering being involved in that question There is no legislation involved Chairman Battin said there was one bill filed by the Middlesex County Association that changed the way of filling vacancies on the County Com- missioners They must now choose from three nominees recommended by the County Advisory Board, and that gives us more control Mr Kent thanked Senator Rotondi and Representative Cole not only for meeting with the Board this evening but for the help always given when asked for Both agreed to work in the interests of Lexington and to keep the Selectmen informed They retired from the meeting Mr George Silverman informed the Board that the Appropriation Committee would not meet with them until next week because of the need for additional information on unresolved questions Bldg Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board's approval of building fees Fees Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve a fee of $10 00 for a Certificate of Zoning Compliance, in accordance with Section 11 5 of the Building Code Also, to approve a fee under Mechanical Permits for $5.00 for the first fixture and $1 50 for each additional fixture Trustees Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a request to the Trustees of Public Public Trusts for the expenditure of $384 00 for temporary financial Trusts assistance to enable a Lexington man and wife to continue with meals on wheels at $32 00/week until May 4, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the ap- proval of the Trustees of Public Trusts for the expenditure of $384 00 from an appropriate trust fund for a deserving Lexington couple Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 16, 1979 Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board sign the agreement between g Bedford the Town of Bedford and the Town of Lexington concerning the construction Water of a water line from Bedford's meter pit to Lexington's water line in Agreement Bedford Street, Lexington The Town of Bedford has received all re- quired approvals for the connection and the supply of system water to Bedford from the Metropolitan District Commission and all required state agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering, and has deliveredlevidence of su&h'approvals to the Town of Lexington The Bedford Board of Selectmen has signed the agreement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the agree- ment between the Town of Bedford and the Town of Lexington as follows 1 The Town of Lexington authorizes the Town of Bedford to lay and maintain a water line from the Town of Bedford's meter pit located in the Great Road, Bedford, to the Town of Lexington's water line located in Bedford Street, Lexington. 2 The Town of Bedford grants to the Town of Lexington th a right of in- dependent access to the meter pit and agrees to provide suitable means for such independent access at all times for the purpose of inspecting the equipment and reading the meter 3 The Town of Bedford agrees to release and hold harmless the Town of Lexington from any and all claims for injury, death or property damage arising out of said activity including, but not limited to, the construc- tion, installation or operation of said water line or meter pit The Town of Bedford specifically agrees to indemnify the Town of Lexington against any and all losses due to or related to any loss of water caused by leaks or other caus4s in said water line or meter pit or in any part of the Bedford water distribution system, at the least by paying for all water used or lost on the Bedford side of the said connection regardless of whether the cause or source of the water loss has been determined 4 The Town of Lexington may terminate water service to the Town of Bedford at any time when, in the sole judgment of said Town of Lexington, it de- termines that it is in its best interests so to terminate Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9:45 ppm A true record, Attest g/Idetft,* 7h • Executive Clerk, Selectmen 14 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 17, 1979 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, January 17, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, were preset Mr Hutchinson submitted a list of 25 streets for FY 80 sewer FY 80 construction, consisting of three categories Group X-generally Sewers agreed upon during previous discussion; Group Y-areas where design changes have taken place or areas of limited controversy; Group Z- the most controversial streets GROUP X GROUP Y 1 *Wellington Lane Ave $36,025 13 *Lowell Street $126,500 *Meadow Brook Ave 10,000 *North Street 82,500 2 *Rockville Ave 46,750 14 *Grant Street 44,000 3 *Bird Hill Road 45,925 ' Davis Road 18,700 15 *Stratham Road 59,000 4 *Maple Street 51,000 To Woodberry Rd 6,000 5 *Allen Street 196,350 16 *Oakland Street 4 950 6 *Pitcairn Place 22,000 ' 7 *Middleby Road 14,500 17 *Meriam Street 11,242 8 *Somerset Road 27,560 18 *Abbott Road 18,150 9 *Edgewood Road 5,500 19 *Glen Road South 35,750 $474,310 $388,092 10 *Warren Street 25,000 11 *Chandler Street 9,350 20 *Round Hill Road 6,500 12 *Follen Road 16,500 $ 50,850 $ 6,500 GROUP Z 21 Fair Oaks Terrace $ 30,000 22 Wachusett Drive 31,900 23 *King Street 17,500 24 * Carville Ave 19,875 25 *Robinson Road 77,000 $176,275 *Sewer Advisory Committee concurs with D P W recommendations Messrs Chalpin and Leahy, Engineers; Mrs Fricker, Chairman, and Mr Code, member, of the Sewer Advisory Committee were present After discussion, it was agreed - III GROUP X (a) To delete Warren Street, Chandler Street, and Follen Road, as previously recommended by D P W (b) To approve the construction of sewers in the re- maining 9 streets However, Mr Hutchinson is to confer with the Planning Board for further review of the Allen Street project and submit additional information to the Board 1712 7 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 17, 1979 GROUP Y 1 (a) To delete Woodberry Street (off Stratham Road) The owner of the one house involved had previously expressed his opposition to the betterment charge and a long service connection (b) Mr Hutchinson is to confer with the Planning Board regarding their concern about Glen Road South being an adequate road to provide frontage under the subdivision control law Also, to allay their concern about the Grant Street sewer effectuating a back-up in the Saddle Club Road area (c) According to Engineering, the Meriam Street sewer proposal would in no way affect the water table of Granny's Pond; Conservation is to be so advised (d) Mr Hutchinson is to investigate the possibility of providing service to #25 Oakland Street, owned by Janet Page GROUP Z (a) Mr Hutchinson is to make arrangements for a meeting with the residents of Wachusett Drive, who are opposed to the proposal, and the residents of Fair Oaks Drive, who requested that there be more dialogue with the neighbors (b) Although a majority of the residents on King Street are opposed to the project, Engineering recommended sewering the entire area (c) A decision on Carville Avenue was deferred until one of the three proposals is submitted for final consideration by the Board (d) Mr Hutchinson is to make arrangements for a hearing to be held on the Robinson Road sewer proposal A final decision on the FY 80 sewer program is to be made by the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, February 20, 1979 Powder A brief discussion was held on the request from the developer of Horn the Powder Horn Golf Course, located on Walnut Street, for the Board's Develop- consideration of sewer service being provided by the Concord Avenue ment sewer It was agreed that Mr Hutchinson is to come back with more information Art 13 In response to Chairman Battin's request, Mrs Fricker agreed to talk with members of the Sewer Advisory Committee relative to working with the Board and the Manager if Article 13 is approved by the 1979 Town Meeting This article requests a report from the Board of Select- men on Sewer Policy and Plans I 9.L8 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 17, 1979 The Board discussed snowplowing costs and Mr Busa recommended that Snow they stay with the policy we have always had on snow removal, to pick it Removal up when it is necessary to be picked up, day or night Mr Hutchinson Policy said there is a contractural problem that provides for a 6-hour break before bringing them back in, but we have had times when we brought them right back in because of the work in front of us and we continued to pay time and a half We have also spoken about bringing them in a little later and putting them on straight time He takes the position that we can do that The Board agreed to continue with the current policy on removing snow as necessary, even if it involves overtime The sidewalk snow removal By-Law was discussed and Mr Hutchinson Sidewalk said that the Chamber of Commerce has agreed to go along with the By-Law Snow Ninety-five percent of the people shovel their walks but some have not Removal been as active as they should Mr Crain suggested the way to handle By-Law it is to strike dialogue with the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club to talk about the exceptional incidents and develop a way to com- municate through their system. If there are exaggerated instances, a letter from the Board of Selectmen would get their attention If it doesn't, we could decide the next step Mr Kent said the next step is by-law enforcement Mr Busa pointed out that the by-law does not cover all the business areas in town; so noted by Mr Hutchinson Mr Hutchinson is to continue to monitor the sidewalk situation in the Center Mrs Uhrig, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, and Mr Rogers, Center Architect, met with the Board to discuss the Center Pool Mrs Touart, Pool Chairman, and members of the Permanent Building Committee were also present. Mr Rogers said that, as of December 6, 1978, the estimated cost is $669,050 The changes from last year are the refinement and better judgment of what things would cost in 1979 On individual items, the gross change is estimated to be a $25,000 increase in the project The bathhouse is more than it was a year ago because of escalated costs; a year ago, we had not done the final design, construction to occupancy, of the bathhouse Mr Crain said that a 35 percent increase from last year is extraordinary, and Mr Rogers replied that it is not if you take the bottom figure Mr Kent felt that $16,000 for a tennis back- board was high and suggested they consider something for a fraction of that cost Mrs Touart said that the Permanent Building Committee wants to bid it both ways as building costs go up at the rate of 10 percent a month We are going to ask our contractors to bid for May and for September to see if there is an appreciable difference in costs; in which case, Town Meeting will have the opportunity to decide whether it wants to close the pool for the summer There are many contractors who aren't as busy throughout the summer and we might get a better price So, to close the pool for the summer, build it over the summer, and we may get an appreciable saving Mr Hutchinson said we can bid on the dates but he would have to review some of the implications of debts incurred prior to July 1, 1979 as being part of any tax cap program. The Governor said if any debt is not in place before July, 1979, you won't be able to incur 'that debt 412'7 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 17, 1979 In response to Mrs Miley's question of what the Board of Health is going to do about whether the pool stays open or to close it, Mrs Uhrig said they are essentially saying they have been keeping this pool open because they realize we were coming up with another one Should the plan be turned down by Town Meeting, the Board of Health will require a plan to be submitted that will provide for the closing of the existing facility or will provide for complete rehabilitation of the existing complex The Board of Health indicated to us they will close it as of the summer without a complete plan. Mr Busa asked if they had an alternative plan and Mrs Uhrig said they did not as Town Meeting gave them the go-ahead for a plan. Mr Busa said if it is approved and bid in May to construct July 1, you have an impact on the Reservoir Ms Halverson, Recreation Coordinator, said she had looked into other facilities in terms of relocating swimming lessons and we might be able to rent the Minuteman School facilities a couple of days a week and have the remainder of the lessons at the Res; we could keep all lessons at the Res if we had floats In terms of not having facili- ties this summer, it would not wipe out the total cost of the pool operation The cost for lessons is approximately $5,000 and, anticipating some increase in attendance there, we also might have to increase the staff; so you wouldn't wipe out the total pool budget She saw problems with conducting swim team program at the Res this summer The question is if the Res can handle the increase Mr Busa asked if they had looked into the pollution problem and Mr Prentiss, Recreation Director, said that both the pool and the Res fail seasonally in the summer and every year we are at the verge of closing when we get a break in the weather The Res would not take the additional impact over a long period of warm temperatures, and we would have to augment the water supply, which we have monies for, and possibly treat the water, and reduce the bather load Bandstant Mrs Touart discussed the proposed location of the bandstand The Location Historic Districts Commission has voted 4-1 against the Buckman Tavern grounds and the Bandstand Committee has requested another hearing and it looks as if we probably will go to Hastings Park The Committee will meet tomorrow and would like to come back to the Selectmen next Monday Mr Kent was in favor of the Buckman Tavern grounds and questioned whether it is within the statutory function of HDC to judge merely on arthitectural plans and not on the use of the land The Board will ask Town Counsel's opinion It was agreed that Mrs Touart will request an appointment with the Board for next Monday's meeting to present the Committee's recommenda- tion Recreation Mrs. Uhrig said that the Manager had deleted Tot Lots-$30,000; Bike- Tot Lots & ways-$15,000; Athletic Lighting-$7,000 There was a development going in Playgrounds the area we were considering for bikeways and we will go along the existing roadways to connect Bowman to Franklin and Clarke, so there was no need for the money Athletic lighting was not a priority item for us We requested tot lots and playgrounds as this was supposed to be an ongoing program. The play area we would like to do this year is in the Southerland Road area lfio Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - January 17, 1979 We have had numerous complaints as to why nothing had been done in this area. We plan to open it up by cleaning out the undergrowth, upgrade the basketball court and the baseball diamond and put in play apparatus, and clear a small pond for skating If we do this and police it, we hope to decrease vandalism. Mr Hutchinson said he was still not in favor of the project as he felt they should not jeopardize their chances with the pool Chairman Battin said that the Board will not decide this evening and will take it under advisement Mrs Uhrig asked if the Board had discussed the Conservation Revolving Fund Article and Mr Hutchinson said that it will be a self-supporting program for adoption of enabling legislation to allow them to set up a revolving fund so they can have a number of programs, i e , ballroom danc- ing or some specialized program This is going to save the town money in the long run There is no money involved Mrs Uhrig said there is a problem as the state law reads there is a $5,000 upper limit The Recreation Committee retired from the meeting The Board discussed expense budgets and capital items Mr Hutchinson Budgets is to submit information on answers to the Appropriation Committee's questions He had met with them last evening and the Appropriation Com- mittee had voted to set a goal of keeping expense budgets at last year's level. He had reminded them that at a joint meeting with them, this Board of Selectmen had said that the Appropriation Committee is not saying to freeze all spending at last year's levels and we will look carefully and explore expenses Mr Hutchinson said their posture now is to get back to last year's level He reminded them of $100,000 for people actively re- tired, $100,000 to start to meet our obligation to meet an unfunded liabil- ity and $80,000 for the overlay program He is recommending $280,000 for Article 5 , which includes $10,000 for active pensioners if there is a cost of living adjustment Now, we have about $60,000 in Article 5 to return to E & D It was agreed to continue budget discussions at future meetings t was also agreed that Chairman Battin and Mr Hutchinson are to meet with the Chairmen of the Personnel Advisory Board and the Appropriation Committee for an understanding of the Personnel Advisory Board's role and relationship in the areas of personal services/Article 5 and the affirmative action program Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 45 p m Respectfully submitted from a tape recording, jOri Executive Clerk, Selectme 4131 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 22, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, January 22, 1979 at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Battin, Mr. Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin opened the hearing on the Wood Street sidewalk and Wood St read the notice sent to all abutters Mr Hutchinson reviewed the Sidewalk administrative hearing held on January 10, 1979 in Cary Memorial Hall He informed the Board that after working with the citizens, we anticipate we could save $20,000 of the $50,000 sidewalk construction estimate; if so, we could extend the sidewalk all the way to Bates Road The pro- posal is for that portion of Wood Street between Conestoga Road and Bates Road, a distance of approximately 1200 feet Mr Peter Chalpin, Senior Engineer, said the original plans called for constructing stone masonry walls but the abutters at 135, 137 and 139 Wood Street will be submitting a letter to the Board indicating their willingness to permit sloping of the land in the front of their respective properties Sloping in this 111 area, and along the Boston Edison property, will eliminate the necessity of constructing retaining walls and will result in very significant dollar savings; however, planting of trees to replace those removed in the sloping process will reduce that savings to approximately $25,000 We will be working with the owners and we do not anticipate any problPmc Mr Rosenberg, 165 Wood Street, Mr Kennedy, 135 Wood Street, and Mr. Sacco, 139 Wood Street, discussed the trees/sidewalk and Mr Chalpin said we would like to take the sidewalk in back of the layout and we are proposing to keep the sidewalk compatible with the grade of the street We recommend, in this area, that the sidewalk be along the layout line Mr Sacco said for safety sake, the trees form a hazard because of no visibility and the tree should come out Mrs Whitman said that the Bicycle Subcommittee is urging the widest possible dimension and curb cuts Mrs Caviness, 149 Wood Street, said she endorsed the program and would like to make a plea for the trees Mr Russian, 2 Conestoga Road, asked if two pine trees could possibly be saved Mr Chalpin said that it has been the practice of DPW, where possible, to re- locate shrubs on the property Mr Crain commented that the attitude of the abutters is commendable Mr Hutchinson stated that the portion of the sidewalk to be extended to Bates Road will require that another hearing be held; it will be scheduled No further questions being asked, Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed All involved persons retired from the meeting Later in the meeting, the Board agreed to the added portion of the sidewalk Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to leave the article in the warrant for the construction of a sidewalk from Holton Road to Bates Road /J2 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 22, 1979 Chapter 90- Chairman Battin opened the hearing on Chapter 90 construction of Adams St Adams Street, and read the notice of the hearing sent to abutters Mr Hutchinson said the administrative hearing was held on January 10 and the objection against the total repairing of Adams Street was substantial, if not almost unanimous There was concern within the neighborhood that it become a safe road in a number of areas and, in that context, the Engineering Department has recommended, and he supports, certain spot corrections, such as the intersection of North and Adams Street, which continues to be a problem In the light of the almost unanimous objections to any other rewidening, at this point in time we would recommend that it be withdrawn from Town Meet- ing consideration and that we work to the idea of correcting those areas where we can, i e , the intersection of North and Adams Street We had excellent cooperation from the neighborhood and quite a bit of interaction as well, looking at all kinds of alternates It certainly gives us a better feeling of how people feel in that area Mr. Chalpin, Engineering Department, said he had presented a plan at the January 10 administrative hearing showing a 26 ft wide pavement with vertical curbing on both sides, sidewalk on one side and the road- way to vary and not be centered within the layout; to minimize tree damage The project is $300,000 and would include revitalization of and new drainage Trees to be removed would be 24 definitely, 9 possibly North Street will be addressed and included in this project and guardrails There were 21 residents against and 1 for this proposal Mr Hutchinson pointed out that there are no provisions in the current budget for correcting problems in the North Street area Mr Kent asked what might we do about the guardrail, and Mr Chalpin said he had discussed, basically, one alternative, to cut the slope down in front of Adams Street, which would increase visi- bility around that curve and, in itself, would be a great improvement. Mr Chalpin informed Mr Kent that there were no administrative figures on doing something on the blind corner at North Street Mr Kent questioned Mr Chalpin's statement at the administrative hearing that the speed limit should remain at 30 mph, that he saw no reason for it to increase, and that the chances of it being decreased are nil Mr Chalpin replied that the posted speed zones are established by the cooperation of the town, the Mass D P W and the Registry of Motor Vehicles They send a special unit of two men with a radar-equipped automobile and clock 100 vehicles in each direction at every quarter of a mile along the proposal for speed zoning They tabulate the figures and arrive at an 85 percentile for that speed below which 85 percent of the vehicles that pass that particular point are travel- ing It is that speed which is established as the speed limit The chances of it going down anywhere today are non-existent The town cannot lower the speed limit; the process is that the Board of Selectmen can request the state to do this Mrs Miley asked when the tests were done and Mr Chalpin said that we do not know when they come into town as they use an unmarked car Mrs Miley said she uses that corner a 111lot and at the end of the work day the traffic goes through pretty fast Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 22, 1979 Mrs Margaret Brook, 26 Hancock Street, suggested a blinking light at the North Street intersection Mr Chalpin said it would have to be requested by the Board of Selectmen to the state We have discussed this in the Traffic Safety Committee and currently there are two stop signs on North Street which are plainly visible and we do not feel the expenditure for flashing red light would improve the situation Nnastatements .were made in favor of the proposal When asked for statements in opposition, one resident said that he would like to keep Adams Street as a country road; the surface is acceptable; he would like consideration of correcting the visibility, and North Street is the tough one Chairman Battin said that we do have a sense of the abutters, taken from the hearing , that everyone is in essence against the pro- posal The administration now is recommending to the Board that we withdraw it, that we consider spot improvements, which we aren't going to be able to do during this budget cycle but to think them through very carefully If the Board agrees with the administration, it would be a year before we could do that Mr Kent said that the condition at the North Street corner is a very serious business and his enthusiasm for the Chapter 90 project related to doing something at that corner If the department and the residents have reached this position, he was comfortable with it save for one aspect and that is the delay If it were not for what Mr Chalpin said that the department is not ready to proceed with this corner, he would be pushy about doing something about it It has to be done right and if the department feels it needs more time with respect to this, so be it But he hoped they would make it a high priority item in presenting to the Board a concrete proposal with respect to do something about the corner In the meantime, he would plead with D P W to be ever vigilant about keeping the grass cut back because during the summer months the height of the grass is a substan- tial contributor to the blindness that exists at that particular corner Mr Charles Code agreed with Mr Kent's sense of urgency He said that a blinking light would be no good at all as it would be invisible unless it is at the top of the hill Mr Edward Orange, 82 Adams Street, said that if the North Street intersection is taken care of with town money rather than Chapter 90, it could be done next year There were no further questions and Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed Later in the evening, the Board agreed to withdraw Adams Street and delete the article Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to withdraw the proposal for Chapter 90 reconstruction of Adams Street and delete the article from the warrant Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 22, 1979 Hearing - Chairman Battin opened the hearing on General Revenue Sharing Funds. General She said that Lexington's proposed budget this year is $29,119,826- Revenue $12,392,622 for general purpose government and $16,727,204 for educa- Sharing tion General Revenue Sharing Funds coming to us are $492,290, and the Funds Manager has his recommendations to the Board. Mr Hutchinson said these are only estimates of what we would be receiving and we had estimated $108,000 a quarter but we have been ad- vised we would get $93,000 for this next fiscal year, which is approxi- mately $60,000 less than we had anticipated In other words, from $432,000 to $372 00 There was an administrative hearing held and the Senior Center Cite Committee had requested that money be provided for the Munroe School but he had not provided any money in this recom- mendation as the town is not in a position to commit itself to drawings or a study of the Munroe School for a Senior Citizen Center Other requests were made from the Youth Commission regarding a youth service directory and summer employment service but we feel those can be ab- sorbed in the existing current operating budget We have recommended the expenses to be supported by this budget, and there will be some modifications, - Council on Aging Expenses-$26,820; Mystic Valley Mental Health Expense-$30,853; Community Services-$34,617; Police Motor Vehicles-$25,000; Street Lights-$250,000; DPW Equipment-$125,000 We have tried to blend some form of commitment to human services as well as what we consider basic operations within municipal government The Selectmen have the right to designate the money in a rather wide range of categorical areas and there are very few limitations on how you choose to allocate that money Mr Rooney, Chairman of the Senior Citizens Site Committee, said the Selectmen have a copy of the committee's report We have come to the point where we have to recognize our senior citizens We have taken 28 locations within the town and have decided on the Munroe School as it has excellent possibilities There is a lack of space in the present facilities We came to the Revenue Sharing hearing to ask for $38,000 and we can cut that figure down to $17,500 .it .eras potate4 aut _thatthe Selectmen had just received notification from the School Committee on the Munroe School and it was premature to have dialogue on the possible use of the school Mr Hutchinson agreed and said that he could not possibly recommend $18,000 or $19,000 Chairman Battin said we have heard Mr Rooney and the Manager and we will have to take it under ad- visement Mr Roy Hebert, 18 Bowker Street, asked if it would be more appropriate to ask for $5,000 from revenue sharing rather than the citizens' article submitted? The Board agreed that the article would stay in the warrant as it was reluctant to introduce something of a new character (The article requests $5,000 for the Central Middlesex Association for Retarded Citizens ) Mrs Judy Zabin commented that the League of Women Voters is not making a specific request on the use of GRS funds this year but we applaud the use of them for human services over the past few years and hope in the future you will consider allocating GRS funds for other human services, some of which have been funded previously in the town budget Mrs Jackie Davison said that personally she was concerned that the commitment of GRS funds to human services continue as it appears there will be cutbacks at the state and federal levels Also, to put a real effort forth next year to increase human services allocations and put street lights and D P W in the town budget Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed 1/35 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - January 22, 1979 I Mrs. Touart, Mr Burnell and Mr Grossimon met with the Board Mrs Bandstand Touart said that the committee had met and decided on recommending Hastings Location Park as the site for the location of the bandstand They had advised th6 Historic Districts Commission and a meeting will be arranged to discuss approval The Board agreed to unanimous support of the proposed new location The committee retired from the meeting The Board approved applications for idecevses:. Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Com- mon Carrier license for Boston Tours, 89 Arcadia Street, Waltham, for Common the transportation of passengers for hire by motor vehicle along Pleasant Carrier Street and Massachusetts Avenue to the Battle Green to Route 2A to Concord; One stop at the Battle Green License expiring December 31, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue an Auctioneer Auctioneer's license to William G Marley, 22 Phinney Road, expiring March 31, 1979 Mrs Miley asked if the Bus Companies could be requested to move Tour Buses their buses out of the tenter of town and not keep the motors running Fumes Mr Hutchinson agreed to contact the bus companies Chairman Battin read a letter from the Lexington School Committee Munroe stating that the committee had unanimously voted at its meeting on School January 16, 1979 "To authorize the Chairman of the School Committee to send a letter to the Board of Selectmen informing them that the School Committee will no longer need Munroe School and the land site for school purposes from and after July 31, 1979, and furthermore the School Committee requests the Board of Selectmen to assume responsibil- ity for the building and grounds no later than July 31, 1979 " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the responsibility of the Munroe School Members of the Board of Health and Mr Smith, Health Director, Bd Hlth met with the Board to discuss a proposed by-law- "No person shall Article- throw, dump or cause to be deposited in any brook, stream, water Brooks, course or drainage facility within the town any trash, rubbish, Debris debris, refuse or other material such as grass clippings, brush, tree limbs or similar items which will obstruct or impede the free flow of water The penalty for violation shall be $100 for each offense. " Mr Smithsaid that throughout the year, we have a lot of trouble with people dumping and causing a lot of nuisance problems The idea is to give someone other than the Board of Health the authority to enforce it Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to support the by-law article proposed by the Board of Health dumping debris in brooks, streams, water course or drainage facility within the town gf3b Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - January 22, 1979 Bicycle The Recreation Committee and Mr Wathen-Dunn met with the Board to By-Law discuss the proposed bicycle by-law Chairman Battin said the state statute does say bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks outside business districts when necessary in the interests of safety unless otherwise directed by local ordinance Our by-law says that no person unless authorized by regulation shall use or oerate on any sidewalk any bicycle or vehicle unless propelled by hand except on such as are designated by the Selectmen and marked as bicycle paths or routes So, they are ex- cluded in Lexington unless otherwise specified, and the state allows the reverse to happen, that they are permitted everywhere unless it is specifically excluded, As background information, the Town Meeting directed the Recreation Committee to come in with a proposed by-law about bicycles Mr Wathen-Dunn presented the following "No person unless authorized by regulation shall use or operate on any sidewalk or independent bicycle path any vehicle, except a wheelchair, not being propelled by hand Non-motorized bicycles may be ridden on independent bicycle paths, designated by the Selectmen and marked as bike paths or bike routes, and when necessary in the interest of public safety, non- motorized bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks except within business districts and within such other areas as may be designated by the Selectmen Otherwise, bicycles shall be operated according to Chap 85, Section 11B, of the General Laws of Massachusetts " Discussion was held and Mr Busa asked who determines it is in the best interest of public safety? Mr Wathen-Dunn said that it should be the Police Department Mrs Hinkle, Recreation Committee, said they would be working with the Traffic Safety Committee and we hope to publicize and educate the people Mr Busa suggested that they look at the areas around schools The Board agreed to insert the Article and would take a position later The Recreation Committee retired from the meeting Bleachers Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a transfer request of $10,500 -Transfer for the bleachers He said that he was asked to further refine the estimate Request for the materials needed based upon anticipated price increases, and the Appropriation Committee said it would look at the request again Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request approval of the Appropriation Committee of a transfer in the amount of $10,500 to Account #6000-Parks for the High School bleachers Appts - Mr Hutchinson requested the Board's approval of his appointment'of Youth members of the Youth Commission Commsn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's appointment of Steven Doran, 16 Village Circle, and Alan Corman, 9 Vine Brook Road, as members of the Youth Commission for terms expiring in 1981 Town Report- Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the low bidders on the Warrant printing of the Town Report and the Town Warrant Printing Upon motion duly mdde and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to Rene Press, Fitchburg, in the amount of $4,806 50 for printing the 1978 Town Report Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to Semline, Inc , Braintree, far':printing the 1979 Annual Town Meeting Warrant 48 pages and cover-$3,245;$67 60/page; 56 pages and cover-$3,799;$67 84/page 137 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - January 22, 1979 Mrs Banks recommended approval of a Certificate of Incorporation Cert of location Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Incorp the address at 330 Bedford Street, Lexington as a mail drop for the Address Friends of the Lexington Council on Aging, Inc The Board agreed to schedd't'p a meeting wit/1h the Chairmen of Meetings Committees on Friday, February 16, 1979, at 7 30 a.m in the Select- men's meeting room. Also, to schedule a Selectmen's meeting at the Diamond Junior High School on February 26, 1979, at 7 30 p m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent,Mr Crain - to go Session into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation and a matter involving the sale of real estate After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 40 p.m r A true record, Attest 4,41 4A4LiCoe, l e Executive Clerk, Selectmen e *3 8 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 24, 1979 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, January 24, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Lloyd Gilson, President of the North Lexington Association, MAPC and Mrs Angela Frick, Lexington's representative to MAPC, met with Burlington Board Mrs Miley said that Mr Gilson is here to discuss a study Study being made by MAPC at the request of a member of the Planning Board of Burlington, who is also on the executive council of the MAPC and Burlington's representative, and to ask this Board to take a stand Mrs Miley said it is her understanding when the report is completed, it will be sent to Peter Murphy, State DPW, and he will report to the federal government to see what their feeling is about any change in Route 3 regarding that Burlington industrial land Mrs Miley, Mr DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, Mr Prentiss, Conservation Director, and Mr Gilson had attended a meeting to discuss this before MAPC started the study The last time this Board discussed it, they did voice their opinions that they felt MAPC should not be doing the study At that time, Mrs Frick did communicate that sense of the Board to MAPC. Since then, we have received a copy of a report which was sent by Mr Gilson to MAPC Mr Gilson, as a member of the North Lexington Association, has had a meeting with MAPC Our Planning Board discussed the MAPC study last Monday night and plans to write a letter that they had not been notified of a study being undertaken and such a study should be areawide and have the participation of all affected towns Mie Gilson said the Bedford Selectmen and the Planning Board have taken a stand that MAPC should not become involved in a study because it serves a private interest; also, they oppose development because of traffic, water problems, and citizens not being given protection because of current zoning by-laws The legislators are aware of our position The point is the State DPW can give the developers per- mission for curb cuts without permission of the legislators; curb cuts mean access to Route 3 It was his understanding that the draft will come out the first or second week in February and we should get our comments in before the report is written The Board agreed to get input from the Planning Board and draft a letter to MAPC, which will be discussed at the next meeting Mr Hutchinson discussed the following accounts I 139 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 24, 1979 Budgets #1080-Office Furniture & Fixtures-$1,000; Appropriation Committee-$500 Mr Hutchinson said that $1,000 is not unreasonable. The Police Department has requested $775 and $225 to be used as a contingency fund The leval of replacement within the last three years has been in excess of $1,000 Board agreed. #1200-Town Clerk-$8,727; Appropriation Committee-$5,000 Mr Hutchinson said the Appropriation Committee recommends not doing all the micro- filming now Board agreed to talk with the Appropriation Committee #1700-Group Insurance-$762,000 Board had no objection Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board set up a committee to investigate self- insurance Mr Crain suggested George Silverman be approached, and to make an effort by the newspaper to elicit knowledgeable people Board agreed #1750-Municipal Property & Workmen's Compensation-$306,503 Under in- vestigation #5250-Town Office Building Maintenance-Enclosed office space for Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager Kent, Crain, Miley, Battin supported; Mr Busa had reservations #5850-Sanitary Landfill-$77,000 Mr Hutchinson recommended deducting $9,000 from the $55,000 for fill vs $80,000 last year; new figure $46,000 If we shut down the landfill on Sunday, we could go to a 40-hour work week. He quoted landfill hours in surrounding towns - 4 to 6 days, none open on Sundays We could open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 to 5 and save $9,000 in cover- ing material and a minimum of $21,000 in labor costs; we will be reducing by two positions Board agreed to new figure of $68,290 by deducting $9,000 #4150-Fire Expenses Mr Hutchinson said the Appropriation Committee is questioning the use of the study on the building Board agreed to defer discussion until meeting with the Appropriation Committee Mr Hutchinson recommended a revised Personal Services figure of $1,028,000, reducing DPW $21,190 by cutting out two positions Mr Hutchinson discussed the Capital budget items and said that he would submit copies to the Board of the Capital Expenditures Com- mittee's recommendations The Board agreed to meet with the Appropriation Committee on Saturday morning at 8 00 a.m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjouri at 10 15 p.m A true record, Attest 07• G xecutive Clerk, Selectmen I SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 27, 1979 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Saturday, January 27, 1979, at 8 12 a m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Hutchinson reviewed budgets with the Board until the App Com Appropriation Committee arrived at 9 15 a.m. Mr White said the - Budgets committee had looked at 24 different accounts, with a net reduc- tion of $66,693 This is indicative of how we looked at the budgets in the light of our concerns, taxpayers' concerns, and the new Governor's concerns We don't feel it is a mandate but we have to deal with realities; essentially, we have gone back to last year's level and we felt our differences would not hurt the function of these departments Agreement was reached on the following accounts reduced by the Appropriation Committee 1141-Tuition and Training-$12,200 (reduced from $14,000) 1148-Safety Program-$770 ($1,000) 3000-Assessors-$8,300-$8,425) 3300-Board of Health-$10,000($10,575) 3550-Animal Control Officer-$4,875 ($4,975) 4350-Local Disaster Services-$500 ($1,000) 2480-Recreation Committee-$21,000 ($24,400) Agreement was not reached on 1050-Selectmen's Expenses-$7,473 (Selectmen);$6,500 (App Com ) 1065-Town Manager-$6,600 (Selectmen) ;$6,000 (App Com.) 1080-Office Furniture & Fixtures-$1,000 (Selectmen); $500 (App Com ) 1090-Professional Services-$15,000 (Selectmen) ; $9,200 App Com.) 1135 Out-of-State Travel & Training-$6,000 (Selectmen) ; $4,500 (App Com ) 1200 Town Clerk & Vital Statistics-$11,600 (Selectmen) ; $5,000 (App Com ) 2380 Council on Aging-$26,820 (Selectmen) ; Hold (App Com ) pending more information from Town Manager on Minuteman Care) 3800-Police-$143,000 (Selectmen);$140,525 (App Com ) 4150-Fire & Ambulance Maintenance-$75,650 (Sel ); $71,475 (App Com.) 4500-Inspection-$1,295 (Selectmen); $1,213 (App Com ) 5150-Engineering-$4,800 (Selectmen); $4,550 (App Com ) 5250-Town Bldg Maintenance-$178,143 (Sel ); $152,700 (App Com.) 5450-Road Machinery-$124,500 (Selectmen) ; $145,300 (App Com cut out compactor in capital budget and added approx $20,000 to repair current machine ) 5550-Traffic Regs & Street Signs-$24,300 (Selectmen); $23,500-App Com ) 11/ 5700-Sewer Maint & Water Sery -$63,338 (Sel ); $60,000 (App Com ) 5850-Sanitary Landfill-$65,290 (Selectmen); $62,290 (App Com ) 6000-Park-$46 600 (Selectmen); $46,600 (App Com.) X41/ Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 27, 1979 Discussion was held on capital budget items and Mr Hutchinson 1 will submit an updated report to the Appropriation Committee The Appropriation Committee retired from the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 12.00 Noon A true record, Attest 4141e4,1„.) .7)2, 727c Executive Clerk, Selectmen I I Y2 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 29, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, Jan- uary 29, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr. Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin opened the hearing on Powers Court, a sub divisdon Powers street Notices of the hearing had been sent to the abutters Mrs Court Battin read a letter from the Planning Board recommending that the Lay Out street be laid out Mrs Gabrielson, 3 Powers Court, said that due to the heavy snow and recent heavy rain, she had experienced diffi- culty caused by the drainage system at the Paul Revere Road catch basins; within an hour, two catch basins had overflowed into her yard, going to the back of her lot and the street behind her Two other residents stated that the catch basins are not adequate Mr Hutchinson said there have been problems throughout the town because of the heavy rain but he assured the residents they should call his office and he would get a report for the Selectmen He pointed out that the developer had obligations to conform to the specifications and the subdivision had been approved by the Planning Boards theft Conservation Commission and the Engineering Department The Board noted the residents' concerns and agreed that the Manager would in- vestigate the drainage system and the catch basins in the area Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed The residents retired from the meeting A group of high school students met with the Board regarding the High School bleachers at the high school field They urged the Selectmen to stress Bleachers this need to the Appropriation Committee, and they were informed that the Appropriation Committee had again denied the request for a transfer Mr Hutchinson said that bth&dre being received on lumber and steel in order to get an idea of the costs involved. The Board assured the students that every effort will be made to have the bleachers ready in time for graduation The students retired from the meeting A discussion was held on mosquito control Dr Cosgrove, Chairman Mosquito of the Planning Board, spoke in favor because of children being bitten, Control and the comfort value Dr Jere Downing, Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts, said that, in his professional opinion, the overall health benefits and enhanced stand- ard of living for the community provided by comprehensive regional con- trol vastly outweigh the criticisms that opponents often bring forward. There are 40 different types _in Massachusetts and we do not know what species of mosquito transmits the virus from birds and horses to humans Routine mosquito control can reduce bites that cause annoyance and discomfort, secondary infection and allergic response A water man- agement program and the use of safe insecticides help0 reduce the population Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 29, 1979 Dr Manfred Friedman said he couldn't imagine being exposed to 111 things that destroy life can be beneficial There is concern that malaria is on the increase in the world because mosquitoes have become immune He recommended to the Board of Health that a con- trol program be funded for ditching and flood control work Three Selectmen were not ready to take a position but would vote to leave the money in the budget Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that $9,000 would remain in the budget for mosquito control All persons involved in the discussion retired from the meeting Master Mr Albert Zabin, Chairman, and Mrs Laura Nichols, Planning Housing Board, and Mrs Mary Shunney, Chairman of the Housing Authority and Plan member of the Master Housing Plan Subcommittee, met with the Board to discuss the Report of the Joint Government and Citizen Report on Housing Policy Mr Busa raised objections to the report being written without the input of the subcommittee, a meeting being held when he was told it was cancelled, and he had no knowledge of the committee being disbanded Mr Zabin said there was no circumventing; Mr Busa had missed the meeting when the reports were voted unanimously by those present Mrs Nichols agreed and said there was a misunderstanding about the meeting Mr Busa mentioned. Mrs Shunney said technically the report is correct but she had problems with some areas and was interested in submitting a minority report for Town Meeting We were not concerned with seeking funds for subsidized housing and we felt we should try and work within the zoning by-laws She had a problem with the emphasis on Chapter 774 as we would lose home rule Mr Busa said that his subcommittee had discussed methods of being able to create low and moderate housing and to encourage private builders We at no time were looking for subsidized housing Chairman Battin said the committees established four criteria to determine Lexington's housing needs (1) Town objectives; (2) State and federal requirements; (3) Local needs; (4) Regional needs Under town objectives, the committee concluded that a heterogeneous population mix can be maintained only if there is low and moderate cost housing Preservation of the character of the town precludes any large high rise housing project but scattered site single family or duplex houses on individual lots Under state and federal requirements, one fact is if we don't work with them, we will lose federal housing Mrs Shunney said there was a problem as to whether we were addressing ourselves to regional or local needs, but she did realize we can't remove outselves from the region Chairman Battin found the report on local needs very helpful. The Board agreed to an on-going discussion and another meeting is to be scheduled to discuss the warrant article on the resolution relating to a housing policy plan for the town. TMMA Members of the TMMA met with the Board to discuss Article 4 and Article 5 and it was agreed to have a detailed presentation by Mr Hutchinson at a TMMA informational meeting 34 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 29, 1979 III Mr Nyles Barnert informed the Board that theCapital Expenditures Cap Expend Committee agrees with the recommendations of the Manager, with two ex- Committee ceptions - the compactor for the landfill and the Westview Cemetery building At Chairman Battin' ggestioh, hetiakreed to make arrange- ments for an inspection of theilding at Westview Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Transportation Management Licenses- limousine licenses be renewed to May 1, 1979 Since the last time Limousine they were in, everything has been going well We are looking at the details of all the other permits there and will have a report for the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the ten limousine licenses for Transportation Management Corporation until May 1, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Abatements recommendation of the Acting Director of Public Works to abate water bills in the total amount of $1,362 70 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Acting Director of Public Works to abate the sewer betterment assessment of Peter Sowkow, 64 Valleyfield Street, in the amount of $777 00; land acquired by the Conservation Com- mission IIIUpon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's meetings of October 30, 1978 and January 2, 1979 i Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve bonds Bonds of $5,000, each, for Deputy Collectors Paul E Kelley, Patrick J Moynihan, Arthur W Degnin, subject to review of the bonds by Town Counsel and the Town Manager Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Warrant Warrant for 79 Articles for the 1979 Annual Town Meeting to be held on March 19 1979 Town The Board agreed to send a letter to the Metropolitan Area Planning MAPC - Council expressing concern relative to the MAPC study being conducted Burlington on the Burlington parcel at the Lexington/Bedford lines It is the Land position of the Board that development not take place until all con- cerns are answered to the satisfaction of all Lexington boards MAPC is requested to keep our MAPC representative and the Planning Board informed of the progress of this study Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to declare the Proclamation week of February 4 - 10 as Lexington Rotary Club Week III Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1045pm A true record, Attest _:\,klY 4404,4601r, 74)1. ;?%14m Executive Clerk, Selectmen '9 31s SPECIAL SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 31, 1979 A special meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in Estabrook Hall at 7 30 p m. and adjourned to Cary Memorial Hall at 8 15 p m. on Wednesday, January 31, 1979 Chairman Battin, Mr. Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Also present were members of the Lexington Housing Authority, Mrs Shunney, Chairman, Mr Sullivan, Mr Rooney, Mr Spencer, Mr Beamon Chairman Battin opened the hearing on scattered sites and said Scattered that the purpose is to help the Board of Selectmen determine which Sites tax title lots to transfer to the Housing Authority for scattered Hearing sites purposes She read the following request, dated January 1, 1979, from the Housing Authority "The Lexington Housing Authority duly created pursuant to the authority of the Constitution and Statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including, particularly, Chapter 121B, duly organized on the 10th day of February 1964 and, since the date of its organiza- tion, has continued to exist without interruption in the performance of its public corporate purposes, hereby petitions the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Lexington to convey to said Authority the following properties Lot 145 Tarbell; Lot 24 Valleyfield; Lot 50 Grapevine; Lot 204 Balfour; Lot 31 Earl at Ash; Lots 36, 37 Garfield; Lots 422, 423, 424 Avon; Lot 80 Rangeway; Lot 82 Skyview; Lot 63 Moreland at Buckman; Lot 45 Avon; Lot 60 Marrett Road; Lot 33 Earl at Ward; Lot 21 Grassland; Lot 14 Rockville at Davis; Lots 48A, 49A Wood at Alpine; Lots 27, 28, 32 Alpine; Lots 184, 185 Reed; Lot 161 Spring Street, and the three lots LHA Site Numbers 4, 24 and 26 known as a parcel of land located on the northerly side of North Street Sites 8 and 9, Assessors' map 59, Lots 56B and 56C are now owned by the Authority and therefore require no action under this petition by the Board of Selectmen The Authority will construct or cause to be constructed on these sites 25 single family dwellings for families of low income pursuant to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Contract Reservation Mass 067-001 dated Sept 16, 1977; Regulations 7417 1, dated March, 1977; pursuant to Sections 4 and 5 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and the Cooperation Agreement entered into the 23rd day of May, 1977 by and between the Lexington Housing Authority and the Town of Lexington " Chairman Battin said that notices of the hearing were sent to the abutters by the Town Manager She outlined the procedure to be followed by the .Selectmen and Housing Authority, and announced that a final decision would be made by the Board of Selectmen on 111 February 5, 1979 TT" Special Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 31, 1979 Mr Spencer of the Housing Authority gave the background information. Article 87 of 1970 created RH subsidized housing zone; Article g$ of 1970 authorized the Planning Board to engage a consultant to do a study on housing needs; in 1971, unsuccessful attempts were made at two Town Meetings to zone land in Meagherville for subsidized housing and then the Lexington Commission on Suburban Responsibilities undertook a study on housing needs; Article 99 of 1972 gave the Housing Authority $500 to develop a scattered sites' plan; Article 83 of 1972 was an authorization to the Selectmen to sell and convey to any public agency non-profit corporation or cooperative certain lots within the town Article 78 of 1974 appropriated $21,000 seed money to implement the scattered sites program Since that time, the Housing Authority has applied for funding from state and federal agencies and finally in September, 1977 did receive a grant from HUD to construct 25 homes for low and moderate income families To develop a plan, the Authority engaged Hammer, Keefer and Todd and Mr William Hammer, a Lexington resident, is our principal contact within that firm. For civil engin- eering, we relied upon Roger Corbin of Joseph Moore Co of Bedford, and legal support comes from Attorney William Dailey and Attorney Frederic DeAngelis These people helped develop a packet and our concerns were for the design of the units and compatibility with the neighborhoods and the town Mr Hammer said that the proposal is well done and is particularly favorable to the natural contour of the lands Of the 25 sites, there are only two which will require a variance and we have two that will have to go to the Conservation Commission for wetlands hearings Slides were shown of all the lots and Mr Hammer described the location of the house on the site At 8.15 p.m , the Selectmen and the Housing Authority agreed to adjourn to Cary Hall in order to accommodate the overflow of abutters and residents present at the hearing Chairman Battin continued the hearing and announced that each lot would be discussed Mr Ephraim Weiss, Lowell Street, requested that Assessors' maps be made available, showing the complete site, the location of streets and neighborhoods Mrs Shunney explained that the purpose of the hearing was to ask the Selectmen to turn these lots over to the Housing Authority and it was their feeling that the people present this evening would be abutters and therefore familiar with the houses and the streets People who were interested had come to the Housing Authority office and they did work with them from the Assessors' maps Those maps were not available tonight but anyone interested has the opportunity to go to the Housing Authority office or the Board of Assessors for additional information I 'fy7 Special Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 31, 1979 Chairman Battin read each lot listed on the Housing Authority's request Site #1, Map 13, Lot 145 Tarbell Avenue No comments or statements; no one in favor or opposition Site #3, Map 24, Lot 24 Valleyfield Street Site #19, Map 24, Lot 21 Grassland Street Mrs Mary Masciulli, 59 Valleyfield Street; Mr George Kahaly, 54 Grassland Street; Mrs Dolan, 68 Grassland Street were concerned about the existing problem of flooding and the effect iof news construction in the area, plus a brook which has never been dug out Mr Hammer said that, to his knowledge, the Valleyfield site is not in a wetlands area; if it is, we will have to go to Conservation There is a headwall at the lower left with a culvert to drain the water through Now, there is a catch basin in the street for the water and perhaps Public Works could take a look at it Mrs Susan Solomon, Conservation Commission, said that Lot 21 Grassland Street will come to Conservation for a wetlands hearing and we will respond on Lot 24 Valleyfield Street to see if any restrictions should be put on Site #4 North Street No comments or statements; no one in favor or opposition Site #5, Map 32, Lot 50 Grapevine Avenue Site #17, Map 32, Lot 60 Marrett Road Mr Peter Agnes; Mr and Mrs George Nichols, 303 Marrett Road, expressed their concern, (1) Not tax title lots-acquired by the town for installation of drain and sewer; (2) would homes be compatible with neighborhood, (3) effect of surface water on abutters; (4) would banking be cut down? Mr Hammer replied that the design and color of house would be compatible with neighborhood; the construction wouldn't worsen the existing situation, and he couldn't answer on whether the banking would be cut down The Board of Selectmen agreed to check the purpose for which the above lots were acquired by the town Site #7, Map 58, Lot 204 Balfour Street Mr Hammer said that this will require a variance Mr Benjamin Golini, 35 Balfour Street, said that he has tried for years to buy this lot He read a letter from the Planning Board dated January 4, 1968, "After due consideration, the Planning Board recommends against the sale of this tax title lot for the purpose of re-subdivision and the creation of an additional substandard building lot The Planning Board would be in favor of conveying this tax title lot to one or both of 11/ the adjacent owners for a nominal sum, with a restriction against theuse of this land for additional houses Subsequent to this letter, the Planning Board indicated that this is a substandard lot and could not be built upon, now, we find that this lot will be built upon He was opposed to this lot and all other lots which are substandard, and he asked anyone else in opposition to stand A majority of the audience stood up There was no one in favor y�98 Special Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 31, 1979 Site #10, Map 72, Lot 31 Earl at Ash Streets Site #11, Map 72, Lots 36 and 37 Garfield Street Mrs Eleanor Yasaitis, 20 Ward Street; Mr Bruce Neale, Ward St spoke of high concentration of low and moderate income housing in the area Mr Neale spoke on the change in the water table and the effect on his abutting property by new construction RitaHe1commented that his2s2 mootherddwas unable to purchase the lots Site iLt -BM and 716C;'orMap479,4Lota4D AvonA treetreet Mr David Lavender, 20 Avon Street, said that these homes will double the population on the street He did not speak in favor or in opposition but was concerned about Garfield, Ward and Ash Streets, which are unaccepted streets The traffic, no matter how light, will become an impossible situation; will the town upgrade the streets? Mr Hammer said that the agreement with the town is to improve all unaccepted ways in conformance with town engineering standards; it will be a gravel road Site #13, Map 90, Lot 80 Rangeway Mr Hammer said that this lot will require a variance Mr Riley Hayford, 32 James Street, was in opposition because of the proximity of the houses and the grade No one else commented or was in in favor or in opposition Site #14, Map 90, Lot 84 Skyview Road Mrs Elaine Marcus, 32 Skyview Road, asked about the location of the house Her neighbor had tried to buy the lot and had been told by the town that it was not a buildable lot Chairman Battin said that the Selectmen will note her comment, and Mr Hammer explained the site and location of the house Site #15, Map 15, Lot 63 Moreland Avenue at Buckman Drive No comments; no one present in favor or in opposition Site #20, Map 15, Lot 14 Rockville Ave at Davis Road No comments; no one present in favor or in opposition Site #21, Map 59, Lots 48A and 49A Wood Street at Alpine Street Site #22, Map 59, Lots 27, 28, 32 Alpine Street Mr Donald Lindsay, 47 Wood Street, questioned whether considera- tion had ever been given to traffic access for these lots by going through Haywood Street (paper street) to Fairview Street instead of Alpine Street and thence to Wood Street? Mr Hammer replied that the cost would be prohibitive; it was considered and rejected I Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - January 31, 1979 Site #23, Map 72, lots 184 and 185 Reed Street Mr Harry Mackay, 122 Reed Street, stated that one is a 24 ft lot and the other is 25 ft Mr Hammer explained that there was an error on the plan and the combined lots would be 50 feet He suggested that Mr Mackay talk with Mr Scanlon for clarification of the plan Mr Scanlon said that title to Lot 184 is held by the town and Lot 185 was owned by the Curtin Realty The question was raised on how the town acquired the lot from Curtin, and Mr Hutchinson explained that the Board of Select- men had received a request from the Housing Authority for a transfer of land to Mr Curtin in order to come up with a buildable lot on Reed Street to be considered for scattered site housing That proposal was considered by the Board of Selectmen and the transfer was authorized Mr Curtin is proposing to build another house on Spring Street We had independent appraisal of values and it was a financially solvent thing for the town He added that he would pursue the reference to the 49 ft for both lots Site #25, Map 25, Lot 161 Spring Street Mrs A Flynn, 35 Spring Street, said that there was a severe water problem with that lot In 1972, you passed an order not to have more than 30,000 sq ft lot for this purpose; this particular lot has more Mr Hammer said that the rear of the lot is in wetlands zone and will have to go to Conservation Mr Hutchinson added that Town Counsel has prepared a provision for Town Meeting approval of more than 30,000 sq ft ; an en- gineering report will be requested for that,lot In response to the question of the responsibility, Mrs Shunney responded that the Housing Authority will do the reviewing and will administer the program; the Authority will decide who will go into the sites, and we do have the right to have Lexington people first Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10: 25 p.m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen 1 .527 SELECTMEN'S MEETING III February 5, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 9, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin conducted two hearings on petitions from the Boston Boston Edsn Edison Company for the installation of underground conduit in North Conduit - Street and Concord Avenue. Abutters had been notified of the hearings and notices were filed with the Public Works Department Ms Carol Clinton, representative of the Boston Edison Company, in- formed the Board that approval was requested for 10 feet of conduit in North Street to provide electric service for two homes The installa- tion of 36 feet of conduit in Concord Avenue would provide service to 14 lots in a new subdivision Reports from the Public Works Department recommended that permission be granted for the two conduit locations No one appeared in favor or in opposition Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission North Street to the Boston Edison Company for the installation of underground conduit in the following locations North Street, northeasterly, approximately 2,340 feet south of Burlington Street, a distance of 10 feet, -- conduit Concord Avenue, opposite and westerly of Blossom Street, Concord Ave a distance of about 36 feet, -- conduit Chairman Battin announced that the Board of Selectmen would not be Scattered able tb make a thoughtful and informed decision on the scattered sites this evening and will schedule it for the February 20 meeting Mr Kenneth Skinner, President, Mr Herbert Grossimon and members Lions Club of the Lions Club presented a gift to the town of a new public address Gift - system to be used for ceremonies held on the Green There were two Public Ad- microphones and stands, four large outdoor horns and stands, and an dress System amplifier Funds to purchase the equipment were raised at the July 4th carnival and the equipment is to be assigned to the care of the Public Works Department On behalf of the town, Chairman Battin accepted the gift and thanked the members of the Lions Club for their generosity in re- placing the worn equipment Members of the Lions Club and the Recreation Committee discussed Lions Club a new site for the July 4th carnival Objections had been raised Carnival by the Recreation Committee and abutters concerning the previous location at Parker Field, which had been reseeded last year T 61 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - February 5, 1979 Lions Club Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board grant permission to Carnival the Lions Club for the use of the 3-acre site located opposite Parker (cont'd ) Field and closer to Worthen Mr Dhimos, Recreation Committee, said that the committee is fully cognizant of the worthwhile fundraising efforts of the Lions Club and their contributions to the Town There are many recrea- tional activities taking place during that time of year and we must be concerned with them; there would be damage done to the surface and recreational activities would have to be suspended because of field conditions after the carnival We discussed sites and discarded Parker Field because it was resurfaced last year; fields #1 and #2 were also discarded because many organizations use that area during the summer recreational period We are recommending the Lincoln Street area and field #5, the site used before the carnival was moved to Parker Field, as being the least disruptive areas to be used during the 7 or 8 days the carnival would be held * During discussion, the question was raised about people walking through the reseeded area during carnival time and Mr Hutchinson assured the Board that he will talk with the Lions Club about pos- sible solutions and the details will be worked out Mr Kent recommended that the Board look at the condition of the grounds after the carnival has left in order to determine a future de- cision concerning land which is used for recreational purposes Chairman Battin shared his concern and said that she will walk it within two weeks after the carnival has ended * Mr Skinner, President of the Lions Club, said that the Town Manager has kept us informed that we may not be in the same area as last year, and the new site would be accessible to the facilities and utilities needed to hold the carnival Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Town Manager's recommendation to grant permission to the Lions Club to conduct a carnival on the evening of June 30 through July 4, 1979 on the 3-acre site located between Center field #1 and #2 Powers Crt Discussion was held on voting to lay out Powers Court, a sub- Layout division street Mr Hutchinson recommended deferment until he has received answers to questions raised at the street hearing held on January 29, 1979 relative to drainage problems in the area Mr Cohen advised the Board to vote to lay out Powers Court and he explained the time sequence necessary for laying out streets Prior .to the .final 'vote at Town Meeting, more detailed information will be sought as to whether the street and the drainage system were put in properly and functioning properly Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to lay out Powers Court as shown on a plan entitled "Plan of Powers Court in Lexington, Mass , January 4, 1979, Whitman & Howard, Inc , Engineers & Architects, 45 Williams Street, Wellesley, Mass " which plan is on file in the Town Clerk's Office in the Town Office Building and a copy of which will be recorded with the Middlesex South District Registry of Deeds with a copy of this Order And said Board having considered the question of damages sustained by the owners of lands across and through which said way hereby determines that no damages are sustained and no damages are awarded Powers Court, a distance of 300 feet, from Paul Revere Road to the end Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - February 5, 1979 The Board approved the following requests Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Battle mission to the Lexington High School Bank to use the Battle Green on Green Sunday, May 27, 1979, at 3.00 p.m for a concert Concert Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the One-Day Liquor license for St Brigid's Couples Club for Friday, February 16, 1979 , from 7 00 p m to 12 00 M Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Bonds the amounts set by the State Commissioner of Revenue for bonds for the Treasurer-$170,000; Collector of Taxes-$160,000; Town Clerk- $6,500 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Abatement- the recommendation of Mr. Empey, Acting Director of Public Works, Bos Gas Co to abate the amount of $40 00 which had been previously paid by the Boston Gas Company for street opening permits No questions were raised by members of the Board concerning Town Counsel's Annual Report Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Rotary Club the proclamation declaring February 4 to February 10 as Rotary Proclamation Club Week No action was taken by the Board on the request from the American Citizens for Honesty in Government to review and endorse the Code of Ethics for Government Service The Board agreed to schedule a meeting with representatives Town of Arthur Andersen & Co , Boston, to discuss the Town Audit from Audit July 1, 1978 to June 30, 1979 The Board discussed the extension to October 13, 1979 of Express Bus- the Vocell Bus Co Common Carrier license for express bus service Vocell Bus to Boston Mrs Banks said that the participation has been heavy Company at times and we hope to add another bus Mr Crain emphasized that there is a need for constant maintenance Mr Michelson, Center businessman, asked if the police could encourage the bus patrons to use the parking areas at the Grace Chapel, etc rather than park all day in the Meriam Street lot Mrs Miley commented that she had been saying since 1973 that there shiiuld• be meters in there The whole area ought to be studied Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Common Carrier license to the Vocell Bus Company, Cambridge, for services to be provided as part of express bus service between Lexington and Boston between the hours of 6 00-9 00 a m. and 4 00- 6:30 p.m along routes mutually agreed upon with the Town Manager's office; license to expire October 13, 1979 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - February 5, 1979 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 - Chairman Session Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs. Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - by roll call vote to go into Executive Session, with the intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation and real estate After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Parker Mrs Miley publicly announced that the Board-and €he-School. Sites School Conversion Committee- have met with two developers to discuss proposals for the Parker School The Board of Selectmen voted to accept the proposal submitted by Urban Design, Newton Center, for the develop- ment of the Parker School, with modifications to the existing building, and the 311 acres of land adjoining, for 28 to 30 condominium units, 7 of which are to be given to the Lexington Housing Authority, at an estimated cost of under $60,000 for the units; the purchase price of the building and the land to be negotiated The developer plans to use a substantial part of the property as open space Mr Peter 1 Conant of Urban Design has attended neighborhood meetings and will be working with them on this proposal Plans will be filed with the Planning Board on February 12, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1035 p m A true record, Attest 44,04,0 �j4, Xablew- 1 � xecutive Clerk, Selectmen 1/.(h SELECTMEN'S MEETING FEBRUARY 12, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 12, 1979, at 7 30 P.M. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin opened the hearing upon the petition of the Boston Conduit Edison Company to install underground conduit in Summer Street Notices Bos Edsn of the hearing were sent to abutters and also filed with the Public Summer St Works Department Mr Stephen Kane, representative of the Boston Edison Company, in- formed the Board that this installation was requested by the Metropolitan District Commission to provide electric service to a water meter A report from Mr Empey, Acting Director of Public Works/Engineering, recommended that the petition be approved No one appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Boston Edison Company for the following location of conduit Summer Street, westerly approximately 88 feet northwest of the Lexington-Arlington town line, a distance of about 4 feet - conduit Chief Corr introduced four new Police Cadets Paul Jenkins, Police George W McCravy of Bedford, John Gregory Smith, and John Richard Cadets Sullivan The Board welcomed the cadets and wished them success as new members of the Police Department Mr James Reilly, Chairman of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Articles met with the Board Landfill- Chairman Battin said that we have four problems that we will have Recyclables to act on 'eventually; collection, transfer, hauling, and final disposal Mr Hutchinson said that it is our intent to continue to pursue the Northeast project, and they are in a position at this time of waiting for towns to commit their tonnage or allowing the governing bodies to do that We have received correspondence from Commissioner Kendall strongly urging communities to move forward on resolution of their solid waste problems We are in the process of completing specifications regarding mandatory recycling/trash collection and, before we go out for bid, we will list all the options in the speci- fications to get a broad range of comments The Article permits the capability to commit the town's tonnage to an appropriate resource recovery facility; Northeast is the only one that ties in with our timetables As for a transfer station, a lot of towns are in our posi- tion and, once you know the tonnage of the town, then it can be decided •Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - February 12, 1979 where transfer stations are going to be built We have $40,000 ap- propriated for the design, plans and specifications towards a trans- fer station and it still remains possible that that money would have to be utilized once a decision is made or, if possible, it could be returned to E & D if there is going to be a transfer station built somewhere else Chairman Battin said that the Article would not be a commitment to Northeast but would be an enabling act By the time Hartwell Avenue closes, if that is not open, we could go into the Newton/Wellesley transfer station for a year or so Mr Reilly said that, in the coming year, we hope to produce alternatives in case we have six months to a year hiatus between the closing of the dump and the Northeast project In terms of curbside recycling, we have had 20% participation in 1978 and we need 75% We recommend an educational program and, if higher participation, we are at least beginning even with the recovery costs; if 75%, it would be cheaper He sees growth and response to the educational program. Mr Crain talked about the Governor's capping proposal and the effect on the town, and he did not think we could afford it Mr Busa agreed He questioned an analysis by the Solid Waste Committee that the figures would be increased when those presented show less than 23% participation Mr Kent commented that the existing program has turned out to be an expensive business He asked Mr Hutchinson if consideration is being given to the possibility of not permitting the indiscriminate mixing at the landfill of recyclables and non-recyclables; Mr Hutchin- son agreed to investigate it Mrs Miley expressed her disappointment in the Selectmen's non- participation in the recycling program as they had not pushed it to be successful Chairman Battin said that she will be responsible for the landfill Article;. Mrs Miley the recyclable Ard*c1m, and reports will be pre- sented to Town Meeting She thanked Mr Reilly for the work involved in the Committee's excellent study, and Mr Reilly retired from the meeting Abatements The Board approved a request to sign abatements Street- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the Sewer - following betterment assessments on land acquired by the Conservation Water Commission. Street. Moreland Avenue, owned by Daisy Wilson, $373 80 Sewer MealOw Brook Avenue-,: owned by Frank J & Charlotte Sanderson, Lot 298-$321 48; Lot 299-$687 97 Blossomcrest Road, Lot 289-$436 14; Lot 290-$356 03; Lot 291-$169 10; Lot 292-$338 20; Lot 293-$338 20. Blossomcrest Road, owned by Richard Johnson, Lot 283- $213 60; Lot 284-$213 60; Lot 285-$104 40; Pt Lot 286- $184 68; Pt Lot 287-$140 88; Pt Lot 288-$176 16 4456 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - February 12, 1979 Water Blossomcrest Road, owned by Frank J & Charlotte Sanderson, Lot 289-$169 50; Lot 290-$90 00; Lot 292-$66 00; Lot 293- $66 00 Blossomcrest Road, owned by Richard Johnson, Lot 288-$30 18 Mr Kent recommended approval of a resolution, prepared by the Mass County Municipal Association, for local control over County budget expenditures Budget Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the resolu- Resolution tion that municipal officials urge the members of the General Court to enact legislation in this session to grant control over County budgets to County Advisory Boards made up of local officials A copy of the signed resolution is to be sent to the Governor and the Mass Municipal Association Chairman battin urged Board members to attend the joint legislative Mass Munic conference of the Mass Municipal Association to be in Boston on Assoc Confer Saturday, March 10 Seh recommended that Representative Cole and Senator Rotondi be invited as guests of Lexington The registration fee is $22 for Selectmen and $15 for guests Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to invite Representa- tive Cole and Senator Rotondi to attend the joint legislative conference of the Mass Municipal Association on March 10, 1979 Mrs Battin is to contact Arlington and Winchester relative to sharing the registration fee for Senator Rotondi The Board accepted Mr Hutchinson's recommendation not to consider Precinct 3 changing the Precinct 3 polling place from the Bridge School until after Polling the Town Election on March. Place Mr Hutchinson discussed the original and alternative designs of the Waltham St sewer on Waltham Street between Grapevine and Wachusett Drive and it was Sewer Design agreed that representatives of the Engineering Department meet with the Board to present additional information on the cost differences Mr Temple Scanlon, Director of the Lexington Housing Authority, met Hous Auth with the Board to request formal support of LHA's application to HUD for Application assistance for sixty units under the Public Housing Program to HUD Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the follow- ing resolution 1 That there exists in the Town of Lexington a need for such low-rent housing which is not being met by private enterprise; 2 That the application of the Lexington Housing Authority to the Government for a preliminary loan in an amount not to exceed $12,000 for surveys and planning in connection with low-rent housing projects not to exceed approximately 60 dwelling units is hereby approved Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - February 12, 1979 Human The Board discussed the Human Services Report submitted by the Boston Serv- College Interns ices Chairman Battin said that there are four issues to be acted upon by the Town Meeting that are addressed in this report - transportation, services to the elderly, housing, and the funding of existing human serv- ices We have to provide a broad overview, ensure an ongoing needs assessment, and provide for coordination and evaluation of services as well as planning and policy development Mrs Banks suggested one committee to look at broader issues and determine one answer Now, we have the Senior Center Site Committee looking at the issue of developing a senior center, an Ad Hoc Committee looking at the Forum on Aging recommendations; the Council on Aging, and the Youth Commission Regarding the methodology used by the B C Interns, Mrs Swanson stated that the School Committee's problem was that we disagree on how the report was handled; we had no input at all Dr Cosgrove, Chairman of the Board of Health, felt that the Mystic Valley Mental Health Center and Re-Place show an overlapping of services Mrs Friedman of the Human Services Advisory Committee urged the Selectmen to act to appoint a formal group with a clear charge (1) looking at town policies for the consideration of the Board of Selectmen, Town Meeting and the public in general; (2) writing an annual report - the committee to review the previous year and budgets of last year; (3) make recommendations on the human services article As it begins, it should focus on beginning a process of evaluating services Mr Rosenberg said that the committee should be a broad committee to the Board of Selectmen; the Transportation Advisory Committee would like to have some central place to get information After much discussion, including the lack of agreement on a defi- nition of human services, it was agreed that Chairman Battu} an$$1� Mr. Crain are to work on the development of a Human Services Advisory oc I` e?to be well mapped out); define the human services problems as the Selectmen see it; look at the town's role, which may be carried out by the committee, and what the town's goals should be Powder Mr W. Francis Smith, potential developer of the Powder Horn Golf Course Horn located on Walnut Street, met with the Board to request consideration of Condo- an extension of the sewer line from Concord Avenue to service the develop- miniums/ ment A citizens' article is to be presented to Town Meeting for a zoning Sewer change to permit condominiums Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that the Concord Avenue sewer project is now scheduled for FY 81 and, in his opinion, it should be considered for that year After discussion, it was agreed that Mr Hutchinson is to ask the Planning Board whether any other proposal coming into this year's Town Meeting requires a sewer It was decided not to hold any hearings prior to Town Meeting as this could be misconstrued It was the sense of the Board that there would be further considera- tion of Mr Smith's sewer request if the Powder Horn proposal passed Town Meeting *.(8 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - February 12, 1979 The Board discussed the proposed tax limitations and the effect on the town, and the loss of home rule Mr Hutchinson commented that it is inconsistent if the state budget is going to increase while everyone else is frozen Chairman Battin recommended further discussion with our legislators Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Buss, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to Session go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to liti- gation and collective bargaining After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 45 P.M A true record, Attest �/ III )j Executive Clerk, Selectmen si I 459 Minutes of Breakfast Meeting Board of Selectmen February 16, 1979 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Battin at 7 35 a.m. Those present included Mrs. Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs. Miley, Mr. Kent, Mr. Crain, Mr. Hutchinson, Mrs. Banks and guests Mr Otis Brown, Chairman of School Committee, Mr. Albert Zabin, Chairman of Planning Board, Mrs. Mary Shunney, Chairman Housing Authority, Mrs. Ruth Morey, Vice Chairman Board of Appeals, Mr. David Williams, Chairman of Conservation Commission, Mrs. Judith Uhrig, Recreation Committee, Dr. William Cosgrove, Chairman of Board of Health, Mr. William Sen, Chairman of Council on Aging, Mrs. Marcia Feakes, Chairman of Youth Commission. Mrs. Battin opened the meeting and asked for comments on the minutes. It was moved to accept the minutes as seconded. Voted. Mrs. Battin briefly outlined the meeting of the Local Government Advisory Committee with the Governor on Thursday, February 15th. One of the major concerns of the LGAC is the use of other revenue sources to offset increased cost This was discussed at length Thursday. LGAC members also discussed how to handle the scheduling of Town Meetings while this legislation is pending. Presently no meetings are being rescheduled but some Town officials are planning not to dissolve the meeting pending passage of this bill Mr. Brown informed the Selectmen that the School Committee is making contingency plans pending passage. The Board also noted that each Department Head as part of this year's budget submission include a budget with a 10% reduction. Mr. Hutchinson noted that while it is premature to discuss this, these proposals will be used to determine possible cuts if necessary. Mrs. Battin noted that the bill also includes $1 million for management assistance. She noted that it is most important to insist on a provision to allow Town Meetings to override the cap and not a State Appeals Board Committee Chairmen discussed some of the alternates being looked at, parti- cularly those which may be more logical for Lexington. It was agreed that these should in some manner be brought to the Governor. Because of the amount of information being funneled to him, it was suggested that the Board of Selectmen focus on 3 or 4 critical issues. Mr. Crain commented that it is imperative as we approach this issue that all committees and boards work together and not become devisive. Mr. Williams asked about this year's budget and the chance of tax stabilization in future years. Mr. Hutchinson responded that this year's budget is in good shape because of E & D, which has been helped particularly by monies returned from the Schools, Town Department, and Conservation purchases. We anticipate that E & D will be in good shape for several more years and will in fact continue to serve as a tax stabilization fund. 1I 460 Minutes of Breakfast Meeting (Continued-2) Board of Selectmen February 16, 1979 All committee• chairmen were asked by Mrs Battin to submit their concerns about the legislation to Bob by Tuesday so these can be put together for the Governor Mrs Battin then moved the discussion to the Warrant Mr Morey raised a question to Mr Zabin about the term SPGA in the planning Board's proposed amendments to the Zoning By-Law Mrs Morey felt SPGA should be clarified so it is understood that this refers to the Board of Appeals Mr. Busa raised questions about the Planning Board's proposed revision to the parking requirements He noted that the requirement does not affect the central business district and is not based on realistice economic considerations Mr Zabin responded that these were based on acceptable planning practices The question was raised as to whether these require- ments could be reduced if public transit were increased The discussion turned to the Housing Authority's Scattered Site program and the pending decision by the Board to transfer the tax title lots Mrs Uhrig briefly discussed Article 39 to establish a revolving fund for the Recreation Department Because their budget request in Article 4 may change, she questioned how the order of the articles should be handled. It was suggested that the Recreation Committee discuss this with the Moderator Dr Cosgrove noted that the Appropriation Committee cut the Board of Health $500 and did not touch the Mystic Valley Mental Health Center, even after the Center had agreed to a 10% cut Mr Hutchinson responded saying that he had not been formally told about this cut. His own office had looked at the services provided and number of people served. The numbers did not seem to indicate that a cut was warranted this year. The Manager, however, did say he would look into the 10% cut A question was raised on the Housing Policy article The work on this is still not final, pending submission of a minority report The Selectmen and other concerned Boards will discuss it at their respective Board meetings and then meet with the Planning Board to resolve differences prior to drafting the final motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9 00 a.m. It was agreed to schedule another meeting in a couple of months. Respectfully submitted, 3/6" Nancy Banks Assistant to the Town Manager SELECTMEN'S MEETING FEBRUARY 20, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in Cary Memorial Hall on Tuesday, February 20, 1979, at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Battin, Mr Buss, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr John Butler, Chairman, and Mr Frank Hazel, Personnel Advisory Personnel Board, met with the Selectmen Chairman Battin read the existing charge Advisory - to the Personnel Advisory Board, dated January 21, 1974 Mr Butler's Board comments were related to a policy statement of the Personnel Advisory Board, filed with the Town Clerk on October 10, 1974 The current mem- bers of the Board of Selectmen were not aware of this 1974 document and copies were available for reference Mr Butler said that, on all matters, the PAB reports to and ad- vises the Board of Selectmen If requested by the Appropriation Com- mittee, PAB would be available to them; we are not a decision-making group and being available is part of our function Regarding the role of PAB, we, the Selectmen and the Appropriation Committee have been consistent but there has not always been agreement as to the responsi- bility of PAB In the October, 1974 document, accountability is not a question; we are appointed by the Board of Selectmen and advise the Board of Selectmen and we interact with the Town Manager The people (users) who interact with the Personnel Advisory Board have the fol- lowing concerns the Board of Selectmen in the personnel area having to do with long-range planning and, as kind of a feedback source, we are available for advice and counsel. From the Town Manager's per- spective, he feels that we would focus more on technical assistance in specific areas that might come along, i e , wage and salary administra- tion - specific focuses that are highly technical The taxpayers ' and Town Meeting's interest is they want to be sure they are getting good value for dollars expended for the large personal services com- ponent of budgets At Town Meeting, PAB has been asked to indicate some position on something the Selectmen are proposing We think that the employees are interested in having positive working conditions in the town and interested in having an apolitical system for deal with personnel affairs where fairness is paramount vs. a system that might be oriented toward other ways that other towns have handled personnel matters We think that other Boards, Appropriation Committee, are concerned about operational control as a way in which we might be useful If there is, in the statements just made, a reasonable posi- tion taken by various users, there is quite a divergence in what other people want from the Personnel Advisory Board, and we feel that clarity is important in order for the Personnel Advisory Board to be most effective Rather than an annual PAB report, Mr Butler suggested a 5-year assessment He said that a lot has happened in five years, and three major accomplishments of the Personnel Advisory Board were (1) Meeting the requirements that were on the list indicated in the spring of 1974, .and seeing that the Arthur D Little study had not begun, to move forward on the salaries and the plan itself; (2) The process by { Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - February 204 1979 which the Town Manager was seledted and the contributions made to bringing this about; (3) The development of an affirmative action program, which we have developed as a personnel policy We think it important for direction to be established for what the Selectmen and the Town Manager want in the next five years, and the charge Mr Hazel said that what Mr Butler stated as his personal views pretty much represents the consensus of the Personnel Advisory Board; many of those items have been discussed as individuals and as members of our Board Chairman Battin summarized the possible roles of the Personnel Advisory Board as seen by other segments of the town they would be involved in long-range planning - personnel planning; technical assist- ance to the Manager as needed on different personnel problems; the taxpayers' and the Town Meeting's concern for getting good services for the personnel monies spent; the employees want positive working conditions; the Appropriation Committee wants operational control A brief discussion followed concerning the relationship of the Board, the Manager, and the Personnel Advisory Board, and it was agreed that the Selectmen would explore the history of the Personnel Advisory Board before determining the direction it is to take. Also, the Per- sonnel Advisory Board was requested to submit a memorandum stating the position it wished to follow, and a joint meeting will be arranged in the future Chairman Battin thanked Mr Butler and he and Mr Hazel retired from the meeting FY 80 Mr Peter Chalpin and Mr Frank Leahy, Engineers; representatives Sewer of the Board of Health, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Program the Sewer Advisory Committee were present at the meeting. Chairman Battin announced that a decision would be made this even- ing by the Board of Selectmen on the FY 80 sewer program. She said that a commitment had been made to Town Meeting last year for a com- plete sewer package at a total cost of $2 5 million to be done in six installments Parcel #1 will be done this year; parcels #2 and #3 will be agreed upon tonight; next year, we will be asking for par- cels #4 and #5, and the third year we would be asking for parcel #6 They are in the order we previously proposed to Town Meeting, and we did say that conditions could escalate and we might propose to, do it in three rather than five years, depending on considerations of the health factor and the construction and financial market We did say that the town can comfortably assume $800,000 to $1 million new debt a year, and the proposal we are looking at is approximately $1,005,000, to be perma- nently bonded over a 2-year period At the Selectmen's meeting on January 17, 1979, Warren Street, Chandler Street, Follen Road, and the Stratham Road connection to Woodberry Road were deleted; questions were raised on several other streets The Selectmen agreed on January 17 to include Wellington Lane Avenue/Meadow Brook Avenue, Rockville Avenue, Bird Hill Road, Davis Road, Maple Street, Allen Street, Pitcairn Place, Middleby Road, and Edgewood Road I Y-4/ SELECTMEN'S MEETING, FEBRUARY 20, 1979 "iv A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in Cary Memorial Hall on Tuesday, February 20, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present11) Mr John Butler, Chairma , an Vranctz Personnel Advisory Personnel Board, met with the Selectmen Chairman Batt'ih ;lithe existing charge Advisory to the Personnel Advisory Board, dated January 21, 1974 Mr Butler's Board comments were related to a policy statement of the Personnel Advisory Board, filed with the Town Clerk on October 10, 1974 The current mem- bers of the Board of Selectmen were not aware of this 1974 document and copies were unavilable for reference Mr Butler said that, on all matters, the PAB reports to and ad- vises the Board of Selectmen If requested by the Appropriation Com- mittee, PAB would be available to them; we are not a decision-making group and being available is part of our function. Regarding the role of PAB, we, the Selectmen and the Appropriation Committee have been consistent but there has not always been agreement as to the responsi- bility of PAB In the October 1974 document, accountability is not a question; we are appointed by the Board of Selectmen and advise the Board of Selectmen and we interact with the Town Manager The people (users) who interact with the Personnel Advisory Board have the fol- lowing concerns the Board of Selectmen in the personnel area having to do with long-range planning and, as kind of a feedback source, we are available for advice and counsel From the Town Manager's per- spective, he feels that d,Ae would focus more on technical assistance in specific areas that might come along, i e , wage and salary adminis- tration - specific focuses that are highly technical The taxpayers' and Town Meeting's interest is they want to be sure they are getting good value for dollars expended for the large personal services com- ponent of budgets At Town Meeting, PAB has been asked to indicate some position on something the Selectmen are proposing We think that the employees are interested in having positive working conditions in the town and interested in having an apolitical system for dealing with personnel affairs where fairness is paramount vs a system that might be oriented toward other ways that other towns have handled personnel matters We think that other Boards, Appropriation Committee, are concerned about operational control as a way in which we might be useful If there is, in the statements just made, a reasonable posi- tion taken by various users, there is quite a divergence in what other people want from the Personnel Advisory Board, and we feel that clarity is important in order for the Personnel Advisory Board to be most effective Rather than an annual PAB report, Mr Butler suggested a 5-year assessment He said that a lot has happened in five years and three 1/42. Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - February 20, 1979 major accomplishments of the Personnel Advisory Board were (1) Meeting the requirements that were on the list indicated in the spring of 1974 and, seeing that the Arthur D Little study had not begun, to move forward on the salaries and the plan itself; (2) The process by which the Town Manager was selected and the contributions made to bringing this about; (3) The development of an affirmative action program, which we have developed as a personnel policy We think it important for direction to be established for what the Selectmen and the Town Manager want in he t e years, and the charge Mr Hazel sai a at r ler stated as his personal views pretty much repres t con ensus of the Personnel Advisory Board; many of those items Zi ave been discussed as individuals and as members of our Board Chairman Battin summarized the possible roles of the Personnel Advisory Board as seen by other segments of the town. they would be involved in long-range planning - personnel planning; technical assist- ance to the Manager as needed on different personnel problems; the taxpayers' and the Town Meeting's concern for getting good services for the personnel monies spent; the employees want positive working conditions; the Appropriation Committee wants operational control A brief discussion followed concerning the relationship of the Board, the Manager, and the Personnel Advisory Board, and it was agreed that the Selectmen would explore the history of the Personnel Advisory Board before determining the direction it is to take Also, the Personnel ADvisory Board was requested to submit a memorandum stating the position it wished to follow, and a joint meeting will be arranged in the future. Chairman Battin thanked Mr Butler and he and Mr Hazel retired from the meeting F Y 80 Mr Peter Chalpin and Mr Frank Leahy, Engineers, and representa- Sewer tives of the Board of Health, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Program and the Sewer ADvisory Committee were present at the meeting Chairman Battin announced that a decision would be made this evening by the Board of Selectmen on the FY 80 sewer program. She said that a commitment had been made to Town Meeting last year for a complete sewer package at a total cost of $2 5 million to be done in six installments Parcel #1 will be done this year; parcels #2 and #3 will be agreed upon tonight; next year, we will be asking for parcels #4 and #5, and the third year we would be asking for parcel #6 They are in the order we previously proposed to Town Meeting, and we did say that conditions could escalate and we might _ propose to do it in three rather than five years, depending on con- siderations of the health factor and the construction and financial market We did say that the town can comfortably assume $800,000 to $1 million new debt a year, and the proposal we are looking at is approximately $1,005,000, to be permanently bonded over a 2-year period At the Selectmen's meeting on January 17, 1979, Warren Street, Chandler Street, Pollen Road, and the Stratham Road connection to Woodberry Road were deleted; questions were raised on several other streets The Selectmen agreed on January 17 to include Wellington Lane Avenue/Meadow Brook Avenue, Rockville Avenue, Bird Hill Road, Davis Road, Maple Street, Allen Street, Pitcairn Place, Middleby Road, and Edgewood Road Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - February 20, 1979 Chairman Battin read each remaining street on the FY 80 list of Sewers sewers During discussion, Mr Busa reiterated his objections to (cont'd) Lowell Street because of hardship to the majority of residents who are retired and statements made at the hearing that there were no problems with existing systems Mrs Miley abstained from discussion and taking a position on Robinson Road Mr Busa was not in favor of moving up Robinson Road from the FY 81 list He stated that there were other streets - a section of North Street, Amherst Street and Concord Avenue - with problems which had not been given consideration The Board agreed to include the following streets, in addition to those agreed upon at the January 17 meeting Stratham Road, Meriam Street, Abbott Road, King Street, Fair Oaks Terrace, Wachusett Drive, Lowell Street, North Street, Carville Avenue (through an easement to Trotting Horse Drive), Robinson Road, Round Hill Road (lower end) Thed upppeir end ofd Lound Hill Road waa deetted, byn tl� Boatrd. ec on was a erred on Oa an rat free , and Glen Road South pending a meeting on March 5 with the Planning Board for clarification of recommendations in its report Mr Zabin, Chairman of the Planning Board, was requested to submit documentary material to the Selectmen prior to the March 5 meeting The Lexington Housing Authority, Mr Chalpin and Mr Leahy, Scattered Engineers, and representatives of the Planning Board, Conservation Sites Commission, and Mr DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, were present at the meeting Chairman Battin announced that the purpose of the meeting is for a decision to be made by the Board of Selectmen on the convey- ance of tax title lots to the Housing Authority for the scattered sites program Public hearings have been held for citizen input and reports have been received from Public Works, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and the Building Commissioner Mrs Shunney, Chairman of the Housing Authority, gave a brief history of background information (covered in 1/31/79 minutes) We were awarded a grant from HUD for twenty-five single family homes and no charges will be levied against the town for support of this program In our developers' instructions, heavy emphasis was placed on the design of the unit and compatibility with the neighborhood We have not been able to obtain a minimum number from HUD but we are anxious to go forward with the project and are looking to the Select- men to convey the lots they find appropriate to do so. After looking at the Planning Board report, there are some problems of great cost to the developer The Housing Authority voted tonight to turn back to the Board of Selectmen whatever lots we are unable to use and cannot go forward on; we will return those lots Y4?)'9 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - February 20, 1979 Planning Mr Zabin, Chairman of the Planning Board, said that the Planning Board Board has visited almost all the sites and has held the public hear- Report - ing Under Article VI, s 11, of the Town By-Law, the Planning Board Scattered report is based on the following criteria (1) All lots to be con- Sites veyed will have a frontage of not less than 45 feet (2) All lots to be conveyed shall meet the requirements of the Lexington Zoning- By-Law for buildability under Section 26 5 of the By-Law (3) The sale of such lots shall be consistent with local policies concerned with housing and land use and the lots shall be suitable for develop- ment with regardtothe surrounding area All lots with the exception of Site 18, Earl Street have 45 feet of frontage; therefore, Site 18 will have to be conveyed with the condition that Earl Street (at that point is a paper street) be constructed with actual frontage of not less than 45 feet Our conclusions are that all the lots meet the zoning requirements of Section 26 5 All the lots are consistent with the local policies concerned with housing and land Of the 17 sites requiring variances, 14 are minor and can be obviated by moving the homes a few feet or relocating utility rooms All sites, with the exception of 5, 14, 15, 17 and 19 are suitable in the sense of the Town By-Law for the development of low and moderate income housing under the scattered sites program and should be conveyed to the Housing Authority Sites 1, 8 and 13 have existing grading problems and the Town should review site plans Sites 3, 13 and 26 will require Conservation approval and all sites should be reviewed by Conservation for applicability of the Wetlands Protection Act In future planning, other areas of the Town should receive a proportionate number of subsidized units The 1972 Town Meeting approval of the Scattered Sites Program con- stituted a reversal of prior Planning Board policy that tax title lots which did not meet current zoning standards were not to be developed Therefore, the opinions previously rendered by the Planning Board in support of that policy no longer had validity It is consistent with the mandate of Town Meeting to recommend conveyance of these lots Several are not tax title and cannot be conveyed under this program but it is hoped that the Selectmen will consider the possibility of acquiring these lots under another scattered sites' program, rezoning. to include some low/moderate income housing, and to keep that option open The issue was raised as to whether or not the style of archi- tecture was comptaible with neighborhoods and our conclusion was that the stule of the building proposed is compatible - no better or worse than houses built over the years in Lexington Conservation Mr David Williams, Chairman of the Conservation Commission, re- Report ported that Conservation had looked at each lot from the point of how the lot related to the Wetlands Act; we have questions on five lots, four of which will have to have a Hatch Act Hearing, and we have serious reservations on one lot We concur with the Planning Board report Building Reports had been received from Mr Empey, Acting Director of Public Com. - Works, and Mr DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, who responded to all D P W pertinent questions raised on particular sites Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - February 20, 1979 The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendation that the follow- ing sites are not tax title lots and, therefore, should not be conveyed Site #5, Assessors' Man 32, Lot 50, Grapevine Avenue Site ##17, Assessors' Map 32, Lot 60, Marrett Road Taken for sewer purposes Site #15 Assessors' Man 15 Lot 32, Moreland Ave Taken for street purposes It was agreed to hold the following site in abeyance until the title is clarified. Site #14, Assessors' Map 90 Lot 82 Skvview Road Discussion was held on Site #3 on Valleyfield Street, Site #7 on Balfour Street, and Site #19 on Grassland Street The reports indicated that there were problems with these lots, which are wet with poor drain- age, and the Board voted as follows Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3 - 2 (Battin/Miley in the minority) against conveyance to the Housing Authority of the fol- lowing sites Site #3, Assessors Map 24, Lot 24. Valleyfield Street Site #7, Assessors Map 58, Lot 204 Balfour Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously against conveyance to the Housing Authority of the following site. Site #19, Assessors' Map 24, Lot 21 Grassland Street The complete list having been discussed, the Board agreed on the lots to be conveyed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to convey the following sites to the Housing Authority for the scattered sites program. Site #1, Assessors' Map 13, Lot 145, Tarbell Avenue Site #10, Assessors' Map 72. Lot 31. Earl Street (house to be relocated) Site#11, Assessors' Map 72, Lots 36 and 37 Garfield Street (unaccepted private way) Site #12, Assessors' Map 72, Lots 422 423 424 Avon Street (Town to construct and funds reimbursed by HUD) Site #13, Assessors' Map 90, Lot 80 Rangeway Road, subject to Planning Board/ Conservation requirements Sites #16-B and 16-C, Assessors' Mao 79 Lot 45, Avon Street, subject to Planning Board requirements Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - February 20, 1979 Site #18, Assessors' Map 72, Lot 33, Earl Street at Ward Street, subject to provisions for construction of an adequate road being met (paper street) Planning Board requirements Site #20, Assessors' Map 15, Lot 40, Rockville Avenue at Davis Street Site #21, Assessors' Map 59, Lots 48A and 49A Wood Street at Alpine Street Site #22, Assessors' Map 59, Lots 27, 28, 32 Alpine Street Site #23, Assessors' Map 72. Lots 184 and 185 Reed Street, subject to Planning Board requirements (move house) Site #26, Assessors' Map 25, Lot 161 Spring Street, subject to Conserva- tion/Planning Board requirements and the three lots LHA Site Numbers 4 - 24 - 25 known as a parcel of land located on the northerly side of North Street, Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts being shown as lots 1, 2, 3 on Proposed Subdivision Plan of Land in Lexington, Massachusetts dated March 1, 1978, Joseph W Moore Co , Surveyors -Civil Engineers Mrs Shunney thanked the Board for conveying the tax title lots and stated that the Housing Authority intends to do a job that everyone will be proud of The Housing Authority and others involved retired from the meeting Traffic Chairman Battin read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee Safety - stating that the petition submitted by Karen Williams and Sharon Dike requesting a traffic and pedestrian signal installation at the installa- Bedford/ tion at the intersection of Bedford and Hill Streets has been discussed Hill Sts by the committee and referred to the Engineering Division for study relative to conformance with the applicable traffic signal warrants The Board will await a report from Engineering Traffic Chairman Battin read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee Safety relative to a request from William M Redpath, 29 Barberry Road, for Barberry/ the installation of traffic signs on Concord Avenue Concord Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Avenue recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee for (1) a single Stop yellow center line to be painted on Barberry Road approximately Sign 50 to 75 feet long, beginning at Concord Avenue; (2) the installa- tion of a Stop sign on Barberry Road at Concord Avenue Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the Traffic Rules and Orders of the Town of Lexington to include the following Stop Street, subject to the approval of the Mass Department of Safety• Street Location Regulation Barberry Road Northbound at Concord Avenue Stop Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meetings held on January 8, 1979, January 31, 1979, and February 5, 1979 (Executive) YL 7 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - February 20, 1979 Chairman Battin read a request from Mr Winston Flynn, 32 Water- Youth town Street, to award a medal on each Patriots' Day to the most out- Recognition- standing youth of Lexington. Patriots' Upon moiton duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Day mission to the Lexington Youth Recognition Committee, a subcommittee of the Lexington Youth Commission, to strike the Paul Revere side of the Lexington Bicentennial medal with silver, imprint the appropriate inscription, and award the medal to the most outstanding youth of Lexington at a ceremony to be conducted on each Patriots' Day Chairman Battin read a request from Mr Cohen, Town Counsel, to Conserva sign a deed transferring land to the Conservation Commission Land Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed transferring the following parcels to the Conservation Com- o mission to be held under its care, custody, management and control for conservation purposes including outdoor recreation as provided by section 8C of Chapter 40 of the General Laws: Parcel One, unregistered land shown on Assessors' Map No 23, Lot 27; Parcel Two, unregistered land shown on Assessors' Map No 23, Lot 28; Parcel Three, unregistered land shown on Assessors' Map No 31, Lot 54B; Parcel Four, unregistered land shown on Assessors' Map No 31, Lot 80; Parcel Five, unregistered land shown on Assessors' Map No 31, Lot 81; Parcel Six, registered land shown on Assessors' Map No 15, Lot 68 Mrs Miley discussed the bill filed by Senator Rotondi for a Bedford St traffic light at Bedford and Eldred Streets In 1974, a proposal Eldred St to widen Bedford Street to a 6-lane highway with a traffic light Light was rejected In 1977, through the efforts of Senator Carol Amick after we had contacted her, it was proposed to widen the jughandle at Harwell Avenue; Plans were brought to the Selectmen and this proposal was rejected by the town. Early this year, Senator Rotondi recommended that we go to the State DPW and try again Senator Rotondi was asked by a Precinct 7 Town Meeting member to file a bill on a light at Bedford and Eldred Streets, and in our last request to the State DPW, we asked them to include a light in their study in order to come up with a possible solution The Committee on Transportation was concerned that there has not been a formal letter sent by this board supporting Senator Rotondi's bill Mrs Miley hoped there could be come consensus of what we would like to be done The Board agreed to request the Traffic Safety Committee to study the area again and come back in two weeks with a report Mrs Nancy Banks recommended approval of the locations for Cert of Certificates of Incorporation, as requested by the Secretary of Incorp the Commonwealth Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve, as a mail drop, the following locations oflincorporations New England Coalition of Educational Leaders, Inc , 1620 Mass. Ave Professional Equipment for the Needy, Inc , 73 Laconia Street *b 8 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - February 20, 1979 Bleachers Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a transfer request for the High School bleachers Because of the $1,458 increase in the cost of lumber, and be- cause of the 45 days it takes to get delivery of the lumber, the Board voted unanimously to request the approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #6000-Parks to construct 1300 seats at the High School; the amount requested is $10,000 Capping A brief discussion was held on proposed legislation on capping Levels and it was agreed to discuss the matter further, and the possibility of a dialogue with the citizens at the meeting at the Diamond Junior High School on February 26, 1979 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5 - 0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Crain and Mr Kent - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to union negotiations and a personnel matter After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 05 p m A true record, Attest ‘1-` ' 4! ;(.4e444.,.1 :;), R Executive Clerk, Selectmen 469 $OARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING February 26, 1979 Chairman Battin called the meeting to order at 7 30 p.m. Members present include Mr Busa, Mrs. Miley, Mr Kent, Mr Crain, Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager, Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel and Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager Mrs Battin opened the meeting and asked Mr Hutchinson to introduce the Data Processing Advisory Committee consisting of Mr Robert Leone, Chairman, Mr Lewis Werlin, Mr Robert Monaco, Mr William Rabkin and Mr Richard Perry Mr Leone presented the Committee's report at the conclusion of Mr Leone's presentation. Mrs. Battin thanked the Committee for their excellent report and hard work, which was concurred with by the other Board members Mrs Battin asked the Manager if there would be any problem preparing the manage- ment report recommended in the report Mr Hutchinson said this would be no problem Mrs Miley then asked about the use of computers in revaluation Mr Leone described some of the techniques used with computers in revaluation and subsequent updates Mr William Page asked if any of the recommendations in the report would appear as capital items in future budgets Mr Hutchinson responded that revaluation includes a component for automatically updating property assess- ments through a computer system, but in other areas, we do not foresee any capital expenses in the immediate future. Mrs Battin turned to the Town Manager's agenda Mr Hutchinson briefly discussed a meeting he attended Friday on tax caps A major concern is that while the thrust is to control spending, MBTA assessments and county charges may be exempt from the cap He also noted that the proposed capping legislation raises a question about the scheduling of Town Meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Town go ahead with Town Meeting and recess as it is unlikely the legislation will be in place even when we are ready to dissolve Mr Kent concurred noting that any form of cap seems a long way away and we should do business as well as we can We can't an- ticipate state actions. Mrs Battin asked the Board members to think about Town Meeting for discussion at a later time Mrs Battin moved to the citizens' questions She briefly outlined the format Mr William Spencer asked when Hancock Street will be built and what streets under Chapter 90 considered. Mr Hutchinson noted that the Town is running out of streets meeting political and community acceptability, as well as state warrants.. Mr Ed Jervis asked if this meant East Street and Adams Street will not become annual Chapter 90 request Mr Hutchinson responded that we cannot say never as regula- tions may change Mr Kent added that he hoped that the Town would not let absence of State funds deter community action on the North Street intersection on Adams St Mr. William Page asked about the level of funding to maintain the road overlay program and expressed concern about recurring pot holes Mr Hutchinson noted that this year $100,000 has been recommended and approved by the Board Mr Jack Downey raised a concern about the overhead in the Town Engineering Depart- ments as Town looks to 100% sewerage, and a completed road building program When will Town begin to start cutting back? Mr Hutchinson responded that the Town has cut out some positions and is looking at cutting out more Mr Busa noted that 470 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - February 26, 1979 an engineer staff is also needed to maintain systems. Mr Charles Code asked if the Town has any intention to hire a licensed engineer. He is concerned about costs we are paying for consulting fees for professional engineer services Mr. Hutchinson responded that we have hired a consultant on an hourly basis to pro- vide professional engineer's services In our recruiting for a DPW Director, we are looking for a professional engineer Mt Crain noted his concern about the proposed capping because of the temptation to curtail maintenance He expressed the need to build up as much influence as we can in legislation to limit capping Mr. Ephraim Weiss asked where the Town is going on sewer program and expressed concern abour rezoning which may increase sewer flow Mr. Hutchinson responded that Phase I - analysis of system - was completed and shows level of inflow and infiltration. We also did smoke testing Study was sent to Federal Government with request for funds for these problems. Funds are based on cost benefit of repair Based on that, we propose to deal with inflow during this upcoming year. As a general rule contribution of additional sewerage from development has little impact on the system. Mr Charles Code asked how the Town legally gets into areas where you suspect an illegal connection Mr Crain responded that first we con- centrate on what we can get done within our present limits Mr Cohen responded that each instance must be looked at on a case by case basis. Mrs Ruth Nablo asked about the plans for Hanscom Field in light of Governor's King's proposal to change th autonomy of Massport Mrs. Battin noted that the Board has referred this to Mr. Bailey, Lexington's Hanscom Field Advisory Com- mittee representative who would get back to her on this issue Mr Ephriam Weiss asked what the status was on assessments and if it would in- clude provision to automate future assessments Mr Hutchinson gave Mr Weiss a brief summary about the status and noted the proposal would include provision for automation of future assessments. Mr. Bill Spencer asked about the by-law to allow accessory apartments Mr Caain noted that it deserves consideration as an alternative because of limited land available Mr Busa discussed proposed by-law from Housing Sub-Committee's point of view Mr Alan Bedford also asked about accessory by-law noting that is more than just providing low income housing It will also discourage people from ex- panding homes illegally He also expressed concern that Boards operate indepen- dently of each other and that there is a need for a unified way of expressing how the Town feels about property Mr Cohen noted that Town has no obligation to give legal opinion• on true value of property Mr Hutchinson agreed, but noted that the problem of centralized information is one we are trying to correct Mr Ephriam Weiss asked about the by-law noting that he does not feel we should treat violators of the law by legalizing what they are doing He is concerned that en- forcement is inadequate and any over utilization of property costs the Town money Mr Crain said that if he could be shown that a new inspector will increase rev- enue to offset the cost, he would consider such a position even this year X71 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - February 26, 1979 Mr William Page expressed concern about Meriam Street and parked cars and poor visibility going to Mass Ave. It was pointed out the Selectmen had referred the question of eliminating all Meriam St parking to the Traffic Safety Committee. It appears to be tied with larger issue as to how we revitalize the center, and how we live Mr. Jack Downey asked about Civil Defense and if the Town could save this $1500 and put it back in Fire Department Mr Hutchinson responded that the money is used to pay one employee and also to qualify for Federal and State grants A final question was asked about the conservation easement along the Vine Brook at East Street and whether this has been acquired There was a question as to what Mr. Mark Moore was proposing to do in this area Mr. Buse asked Mr Zabin, Chairman of the Planning Board, if there are any plans to extend Emerson Road. Mr Zabin responded that there was no intent to do this at this time Chairman Battin then turned to the Housing Policy Plan Mr Crain asked how the Planning Board Chairman, Mr Zabin, expects to meet the goals of 35 housing units each year in light of the Town's available land and current housing stock. Mr Zabin noted that there are 18 scattered sites units anticipated in 1980 The Board is also looking at land bought for school purposes for housing and school conversion Chairman Battin asked if in fact the goals could not be viewed as an average of 35 units per year over X number of years Concern was also raised about the language "the Town shall use its best efforts to provide not less than 35 newly constructed or rehabilitated family units for low and moderate income families and 15 new units for elderly each year over the next six years" The Board asked if wording could be changed to better reflect Town role"to try to provide 35 units" It was agreed to drop the following clause "the exclusion of people simply because of economic status is harmful to diversity" In the fifth paragraph a concern was raised by the use of the term"urging" with respect to the Housing Authority's use of Chapter 774 The Board felt the language was inappropriate and suggested that it be included as one type of option, or urging use of all appropriate legislation rather than singling our Chapter 774 as one option The Board also expressed concern about the second reference to Chapter 774 in the eighth paragraph and felt that it should be revised Mr Zabin noted that the references were placed in the policy to emphasize its role in housing and provide Housing Authority with understanding that Town Meeting is approving use of Chapter 744 Mrs Battin suggestedthat she and the Chairmen of. the Planning Board and Board of Appeals meet to begin to revise the resolution in light of the Board's comments and discuss the revision with the Board March 12 472 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - February 26, 1979 Mrs Battin moved to the Middlesex County Advisory Board meeting It was voted to designate the Town Manager, or his designee to attend the Advisory Board Meeting as the Town's official representative Wednesday, February 28, 1979 The meeting adjourned at 10 30 p m Respectfully submitted, r F Nancy H. HAnks Assistant to the Town Manager 111 111 X73 SELECTMEN'S MEETING March 5, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 5, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Man- ager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Kent was absent Mr Ephraim Weiss met with the Board to discuss three citizens ' Energy articles on energy conservation (1) Article to authorize the Board Articles of Selectmen to appoint an energy committee Mr Weiss said the cora- 1 mittee could be comprised of engineers, architects, and some adminis- trative employees; $200 requested (2) Article to authorize the Board of Selectmen to conduct energy audits in public buildings; $5,000 requested to do a minimum of three or four buildings, i e. Bridge, Bowman schools (3) Article to authorize the Board of Selectmen to create the position of Energy Manager Mr Weiss sug- gested an appropriation of $18,000, with a starting salary of $15,000 Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board support the first and second articles, with provisions for an amount of money in professional serv- ices for the energy audit The Board members indicated support of the first article Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley would support the second; Mr Crain would take it under advisement Chairman Battin and Mr Crain were not in support of the third article Mr Busa requested more information Mrs Miley ,.suggebtea_.that a person With expertise in sthe,energy field might be willing to solunteer his services at no cost to the town Mr Cohen asked Mr Weiss to submit the motions for the three articles Mr Weiss agreed and retired from the meeting Chairman Battin requested the Board's position on proposed legisla- Legislation tion to reorganize the Mass Port Authority A letter :had.;been received Massport from Senator Amick asking for input on the four bills which had been Authority filed, with hearings to be held on March 12 The matter was referred to Fred Bailey, Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee, who reported back that the relationship between the Authority and the Committee is very good and the Committee would have no basis for recommending changes The proposed legislation gives the Governor a chance to appoint all of the members of a reorganized Authority or, in one case, replace up to three of the incumbents This seems to be an obvious attempt to place the Authority under the thumb of the Governor and clearly jeopardizes the political independence of the Authority Mr Bailey recommended that Senator Amick be advised to do all she can to kill House Bills 725, 727, 2464 and 2659 Mr Busa felt the Board could not take a stand without hearing the full debate on the bills Mr Crain disagreed as it would be too late when the bills are on the floor of the legislature In light of Mr Bailey's long experience on this board and his professional competencies, he.fdund Mr. Bailey's poiitidn p rsuasitrev ppon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to write to Sen Amick, outlining Mr Bailey's recommendations, copies to Rep Cole and Sen Rotondi Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 5, 1979 Poles- Chairman Battin read a request from the New England Telephone Curve St Company and the Boston Edison Company for a joint pole relocation in Curve Street A report from the Public Works Department recom- mended approval Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the New England Telephone Company and the Boston Edison Company for the following location Mr Crain abstained Curve Street, on the southerly side approximately 346 feet more or less, north of Mass Avenue, one pole 25/4; one pole to be removed Auction- The Board approved the following agenda items eers Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the renewal of Auctioneerh' licenses, expiring March 31, 1980, for William G Marley, 22 Phinney Street; Robert N Cann, 5 Castle Road Abatement- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Water Bet recommendation of Mr Wenham, Town Assessor, to rescind the vote of February 12, 1979 for an abatement of the water betterment assessment on Lot 288, Blossomcrest Road, to Richard Johnson, 2 Meadowbrook Avenue, in the amount of $30 18; amount was paid on January 24, 1968111 Permit- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Road to the Cambridge Greek Orthodox Church to conduct a 10-mile rade, with Race police cruiser escort, from the Minute Man statue to the Arlington line on Sunday, March 18, 1979, at 1 00 p m MAPC Mrs Angela Frick, Lexington's representative to the Metropolitan Exec Area Planning Council, met with the Board Chairman Battin discussed the Com list submitted by the MAPC Nominating Committee for selection of candidates for MAPC's Executive Committee, and recommended Mrs Frick, Bill Sawyer, Acton; Alan McClennon, Jr , Arlington; Genevra Counihan, Concord Mrs Frick informed the Board she was not interested in the nomination; she would have to check with the other three persons to see if they were interested Mr Hutchinson strongly recommended that MAPC remain strictly an advisory agency that studies issues, prepares reports, and recommends policies, and not seek to implement the regional policies endorsed by its members The Board and Mrs Frick agreed Mrs Frick agreed to work with Mr Hutchinson on answers to questions relating to the role of candidates Chairman Battin read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee regarding Bedford Street/Eldred Street/Hartwell Avenue The report stated that the committee did not have the opportunity at its meeting on February 27 to review questions posed at the Selectmen's meeting 1�c76 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - Mardh 5, 1979 of February 20, 1979 but, after reviewing the history, agreed that a written review would be beneficial during the deliberations of the Board with regard to any proposals before it The committee will address questions concerning this intersection as soon as they are received and a chronological report will be prepared Also, the committee recommends that the State DPW be re- quested to perform a volume analysis of Bedford Street in this area and to update the equipment in their signal installation at the Hartwell Avenue Mr Hutchinson said one of the questions raised on February 20 concerned the signs and turns at Bedford/Eldred Streets and the committee felt they should wait until they get the full details and, once again, to regenerate the request the request to the State DPW They felt it an appropriate time to put together a cronology for this Board Chairman Battin said the minutes of February 20 will be approved next Monday and Board members should let us know if there is anything missing in the minutes The Board agreed to Mrs Battin's suggestion that the Transportation Advisory Committee work with the Traffic Safety Committee on this matter Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had met with the Mass Housing Commission Against Discrimination regarding the Housing Policy, which is Policy - still under review by the Board It was a productive meeting and they MCAD were impressed by the work done so far We must complete a number of administrative details after the Board votes on the policy; these are referenced in a memo of understanding that he had signed, on behalf of the Board, some time ago Lexington is not interested in established goals they cannot meet, and there are more variables than employment Chairman Battin said the Board will continue the discussion on the Housing Policy on Monday as we have to have something we agree to and present to Town Meeting Mr Hutchinson discussed the memo of February, 26 from the Appropria- Budgets tion Committee regarding budget items He had met with the committee last Tuesday and there was a suggestion that Article 4 be presented as in the past to include all authorized personnel at the current salary level but reflecting one additional day's pay in 1980; that has been done Also, Article 5 to include money for settled and unsettled union contracts and anticipated merit changes only, that has been done Article 5 to be con- sidered at the end of Town Meeting to allow time to settle our contracts; we fully concur with that recommendation Mr Hutchinson updated the Board and submitted recommendations on the differences between the Appropriation Committee and the Selectmen/ Manager in the expense accounts It was agreed that Mr Hutchinson is to respond by memo to the Appropriation Committee on the differences, and invite the committee to meet with the Board on March 12 I Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - March 5, 1979 Waltham Mr Chalpin and Mr Leahy, Engineering Department, met with the Street Board. Mr Hutchinson said that a request has been received from En- Sewer gineering regarding the Waltham Street sewer, a previously approved project that called for different cost parameters to essentially sewer at a certain level vs. going in a deeper cut The original design called for full basement service and the alternate design would just serve theupper .fixtures; a majority of the residents were in accord with the alternate Based on the economic impact on the town and the assessment against the homeowners, we recommend that the alternative design be constructed Mr Buse raised the question on February 12 if there is ledge in the area, and there is Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the DPW/Engineering Department to go forward with the alternative design to construct the sewer on Waltham Street, which would provide for a shallow cut Warren Mr Hutchinson said we have had a proposal come in on Warren Street Street from a developer who had the legal right to construct the sewer and as Sewer long as he meets our specifications, with the Board's approval he can go forward Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Town Manager's recommendation that the developer on Warren Street go forward with the construction of the sewer, subject to meeting the Town's specifications Boulder Mr Chalpin said that Boulder Road is in our contract going out to Road bid on March 29 Boulder Road was a subdivision done originally by Sewer & Whitman & Howard some years ago and there were two catch basins on the Drain Burlington Street end of Boulder Road, which are dry wells In our Easement sewer proposal, we are proposing to bring the sewer down to the existing sewer in Burlington Street. When we found out that these two basins were in fact dry wells, it seemed to make good sense that we should also take a drain easement and run the drain down to Boulder Road There have been over the years, while not serious, aggravating problems to the people be- low Boulder Road and one gentleman, Mr Fletcher, on Burlington Street Unfortunately, we do not have money to construct this drain under the sewer article; however, there is money in Article 17 of 1973-drain con- struction and we would ask the Board to use this to install the drain in the easement for Boulder Road to Burlington Street The rough estimate is $5,000 and we have $5,100+ in that article In response to Mr Busa's question if the land owners are in agreement, Mr Chalpin said all land owners were notified and all of them have been into the engineering office. Appraisals have been received from Mr Lyon regarding the easement and everyone seems satisfied to this point Basically at this point, it is a matter of constructing methods We will do whatever we can to accommo- date people, particularly Mr Fletcher who has nothing to gain by this project We request the Board to vote the intent to take that easement as a sewer and drain easement I 1/77 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - March 5, 1979 IUpon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted the intent to take Boulder Rd a sewer and drain easement for the construction of the Boulder Road to Sewer & Burlington Street sewer and drain, with an award of no damages Authoriza- Drain tion for sewer construction is contained in Article 19 of 1977 Authoriza- Easement tion is hereby granted for the drain construction under the appropriation for Article 17 of 1973-Drain Construction Mrs Miley retired from the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Battin, Mr. Busa, Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session, Session with the intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Mrs Nichols and Mr Sandy, members of the Planning Board; Messrs Chalpin and Leahy met with the Board Mr Leahy said in order to do two houses on Oakland Street, we would Sewers - have to extend the sewer up further on Glen Road South We would be taking Glen Road an easement behind the houses; one gentleman was opposed and the other did South not come back; we tried to contact him two or three times So, it is '.)a'-_and111 probably one opposed and one for Chairman Battin said there were two sewers the Planning Board dis- agreed with us and the Sewer Advisory Committee, and we would like further information from the Planning Board Mr Sandy said if a developer wanted to build on those lots, we would require that he upgrade Glen Road South All we want to make sure of is that the town in the process of building the sewer does not upgrade Glen Road South at the town's expense, when it should be at the developer's expense That 's our primary objection Mr Hutchin- son said the only obligation the town has is to leave the road essentially in the same condition as it is now; we do not intend to improve it Mr Sandy added that if the abutters want to pay for it, it might make sense at the same time to do some upgrading Chairman Battin commented that the Planning Board's concern was about upgrading the road not the sewer per se Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that Glen Road South would be included, in ,the sewer package- Mr Sandy discussed the Grant Street sewer and expressed two concerns Grant St of the Planning Board, (1) total sewage going into the moratorium area Sewer from any new sewers in that area Any one of those sewers which flows through the Saddle Club area would equally contribute to the problem there; (2) since these areas are very low and very comparable to Saddle Club, that the basements of the houses on Grant Street would be subject to the same problem. Without detailed engineering, we couldn't say whether that is a very likely occurrence or very unlikely So that needs to be looked into before a decision to allow a house on Grant Street to connect into that sewer Mr Sandy believed Engineering could run an elevation check from Grant Street to Saddle Club, and it could be higher The Board agreed to table the matter until next week; elevation checks are to be made Y78 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - March 5, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 45 p m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen I I f 177 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 12, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 12, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchin- son, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Members of the Town Report Committee presented copies of the 1978 1978 Town Annual Town Report to the Board On behalf of the Board, Chairman Report Battin thanked Mr Sam Nablo, Chairman, and his committee for an ex- cellent and impressive report Mrs Mary Shunney, Mr Woodruff Brodhead, and Mr Albert Zabin Housing met with the Board for a continuation of the discussion on Article 74- Minority Housing Resolution, and the presentation of a minority report on housing Report - Mrs Shunney said that she thought they were going to adopt a master Housing housing plan and she sees Article 74 as not being totally descriptive Resolution of the master housing plan for the town There was a lack of reporting and eoihmunication of what went on at separate committee meetings, and there was a lack of the full boards together She had not heard at any meeting that there was going to be a resolution such as this, which was going to be drafted for town meeting Mrs Shunney, Mr Busa and Mr Brodhead had served aS members of the master housing plan committee and had drafted the minority report They had concerns about the ap- proach to local needs and how the community handled those local needs and they also had difficulty with the suggestion of using Chapter 774 There are ways of providing housing through the zoning by-laws and we are suggesting that town boards give consideration to seeking ways of providing housing under the zoning by-laws She would not want a town board to go to 774 because it will be faster, easier, and less com- plicated. The minority report states that we believe there are alterna- tives to the use of Chapter 774 which are compatible with both the physical character of the town and desires of the majority of its citizens Mr Busa said that we stated in our report we should be tak- ing care of the needs of Lexington We have an obligation to Lexington and the state but the standards of Lexington should be met first We realize that while it is not a complete solution, it is one that a majority of the residents would fully support Mr Crain said he had investigated the use of Chapter 774 in other communities and the re- port he had received reenforced his grave concern about any directive indicating a board should purposely and aggressively use 774 Mr Kent said that what Mr Crain has suggested basically accords with his point of view, with one nuance which may be a little different He agreed with the notion that 774 ought to be resorted to only after an attempt to use the normal processes of the town, and therefore to that degree he would agree that our statement ought not to include the suggestion that that '/80 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 12, 1979 section be a primary device for achievement of low and moderate hen-fining However, not in terms of its use elsewhere but in terms of its use here, Chapter 774 furnishes a useful purpose as a safety valve Our own handling of 774 in the past leaves something to be desired but he felt that's the role it ought to take. He did not want to leave the im- pression that we regard 774 as a bad thing and not to be resorted to by anybody in this community - he could not subscribe to that Mr Crain said, as he understands it, 774 is a proviso that is avail- able if a builder comes in and conceives a way and wants to invoke the use of 774 That is an existing statute that is available. In no way would he suggest changing what exists as a statute, but he was concerned with any suggestion that we should underscore or encourage the use of something that is quite as traumatic as 774 It does exist; it is available Mr Kent agreed Mr Zabin said he was positively impressed with the minority report and thought it less of a minority report that the title indicates The difference between this and the majority report is primarily one of emphasis The minority report contains language which might be suitable and he thought the Planning Board could accept the language that the Housing Authority should use provisions under Ch 774 as a last resort Mr Crain was concerned that specific urging and reference to 774 would stimulate an unusual use of that measure, with the result that potentially even the Appeals Board would be superseded by a decision well beyond this community and, therefore, he was unalter- ably opposed to any specific reference to 774, singling it out The statute exists and everyone knows it exists We should make a strong statement of our desire to increase low and moderate income housing by the use of all provisions, but he was strongly opposed to any singling out of 774 as a specific reference Mrs Miley said she was willing to leave out the reference to Chapter 774 as long as down the line, a year or two from now or whenever, it is not thrown back that since that report did not use 774, therefore the town did not want to use 774 She wanted that to be clear for the record Mr Kent shared Mrs Miley's concern. Chairman Battin said she agreed with Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; we would want an open option that people will look at fairly and not give an automatic "no " Mr Brodhead said as a member of the Board of Appeals, that board would consider each particular case purely on the merits of the situation as it existed at that time. We had two instances on 774 and most people would agree there were very difficult decisions to make; St Brigid's had already bee; turned down by Town Meeting on re- zoning, and the other one (Interfaith) on Garfield Street was on an un- accepted street and there was rather a dense development, and the Board of Appeals was justified in making the decision it did, and not because 774 was rearing its ugly head. Those are the only two cases we've had and he wished to assure everyone that in the future if 774 comes up, it will be considered impartially and the way it should be Mr Crain understood and could identify with Mr Kent's emphasis but he would be equally troubled if any action this board took seemed to presume that any 774 proposal that went to the Board of Appeals should get endorsement by the Board of Appeals The picture and process is established and tends that body to give a fair-reason judgment regarding the quality of the proposal He has every confidence in the individuals on that board to do that Chairman Battin said she hears everyone saying, and Mr Brodhead underscoring, that they would look at it fairly and openly and there would not be an automatic yes or no because it is 774 - that the process really doesn't matter, it is the proposal 181 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - March 12, 1979 Mr Zahin said he accepted the assurance of the attitude the Board of Appeals would take; some members of the Planning Board are troubled that the fees for a special permit application under 774 to the Board of Appeals is $250 vs $25/50 for other applications Mrs Shunney set forth arguments on the housing report vs the resolution anr� Mr. Kent said, as he hears it, regardless of how worded, the briefalioes not represent in Mrs Shunspy?s view an adequate response to Lexington's need for a master plan. He was more than willing to pursue within this board both the majority and minor- ity reports that have been filed by that committee, with a view to having this board adopt as its own view a master housing plan, presumably drawn out of portions of both of these after some hammering has been done He understood the concern and felt the Board ought to be responsive to it Mrs Shunney and Mr Busa were disturbed that a housing plan had been { submitted to the state Chairman Battin said in order to meet our affirma- tive action plan, every town in the Commonwealth has to file a fair housing plan. We do have to have a specific one which ought to be done in concert with Housing, the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen, but an overall policy has to be established by Town Meeting We sent a draft to the state Goals were discussed and Mr Crain and Mr Busa were not in favor of 35 units; "that the Town shall use its best efforts to provide not less than an average of 35 newly constructed or rehabilitated family units for low and moderate income families and 15 new units for the elderly, each year over the next six years " Mr. Crain said it has taken six years to come up with 16 or 17 units of scattered sites, and he would be more comfortable with 25 units He was concerned about setting the figure much too high and then not having people identify with it because it's not realistic Mr Kent agreed because of a lack of a basis for a higher figure Mr Busa said that we might fall short and it might take 10 to 15 years to get the number of units we need If we are all sincere in what we are supposed to do and say we are going to make a concerted effort to continue to provide homes for low/moderate income people, to me, I can accept that. If you put a higher figure there, they can say you didn't even come close and we are not going to give you conservation or recreation money Mrs Miley and Chairman Battin felt comfortable with 25 units Board members agreed to maintain the 15 units for the elderly. Mrs Shunney said that 35 was, the MAPC figure; her committee had recommended 25 but the report came out with 35 Mr Brodhead suggested that references to the Board of Appeals be eliminated from Article 74 as the Board of Appeals has no control over what matters come before it and they cannot give priority to something they have no control over The Board of Selectmen agreed to support deletion of references to the Board of Appeals, to change from 35 units to 25 units for low/moderate income families, and the figure of 15 units for the elderly is to remain. Mr Zabin said he felt the Planning Board would have no objection and the changes in Article 74 would be made for the motion. Mrs Shunney, Mr Zabin and Mr. Brodhead retired from the meeting. I #82 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - March 12, 1979 Town Mr James Russell and Mr John Mackay, auditors of Arthur Andersen Audit and Co of Boston presented a financial statement and management letter Mr Russell said that Lexington has increased its net asset position by more than $1 million in the last fiscalyear, from $4 6 to $5 7 million.. The debt decreased from $7 4 million to $6 5 million The growth in a net asset position from June 30, 1977 to June 30, 1978 resulted from an excess of operating budgetary revenues over budgetary expenses of in excess of $800,000 The primary factor accounting for it was re- ceiving over $500,000 more in motor vehicle excise taxes than had been forecast by the town We noted no violations with revenue shar- ing regulations and therefore the town complies with the Bureau of Account regulations, federal regulations, and has a set of financial statements which it can and has included in its bond offerings The town is making progress toward funding its pension fund A year ago we pointed out that the town's funding falls considerably short of what we consider to be a sound actuary practice Mr Mackay said the management letter is the result of the audit not a detailed system review We do try to come up with a number of business suggestions and internal control systems The administration has already prepared a report sum- marizing the progress of the town in these areas and it is succinct but accurate The primary areas we wish to cover are integrated systems planning which the town has recently completed an initial study on; that is progressing well It is a summary of the present condition. Within the next year and a half, municipalities in Massachusetts will be moving to a statutory system of acccounting from the present Mass system. 111 The town is_.monitoring the Bureau of Accounts' information available to assist them in moving towards generally accepted accounting principles_ The Bureau of Accounts is in a learning process themselves and things will progress over a time period We feel it is necessary for the town to continue to monitor this and at some point in time to take progressive steps The town, in the past, had not performed certain reconciliation procedures primarily related to revenue on a monthly basis The town is now performing these procedures monthly The other area that ties into some of the recent announcements by the Governor is the Enterprise Fund Accounting situation with regard to the water department Under this, the theory is that the specific activity (water dept ) be on a break-even basis in terms of recovering its costs, and we refer not only to the variab le cost for providing the service but also to the cost of replac- ing fixed plant - retirements, debt that exist, etc - to identify all of the costs of providing water service We point out in our management letter the internal control suggestions that are new this past year are presented in a different format We feel it presents a capsule picture of our obligations Mr. Busa retired from the meeting at 8 45 p m. Mr Crain asked when they had finished the audit? Mr Mackay responded that it was in the early part of September on field work; then went through approximately two months' process of drafting financial statements and recommendations This was submitted to the administration of the town in a draft form and then we got together with the administration We go111 around once with the Comptroller and once we have his comments, then with the Town Manager We had included a caption of the town's comments in the back of the management letter but we reached the agreement that we would delete that 4'83 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - March 12, 1979 Mr Crain suggested group meetings with department heads for feedback on major points in order to get an immediate reaction He was very con- cerned that the end results of the audit were some inaccuracies that he had noted ; initial impressions are very hard to change and some of the department heads were put in the position of things being reported in writing that proved not to be accurate; any process that allows that to happen is a negative process Mr Mackay apologized for the unfortun- ate experience which was the result of a breakdown of communiciation be- tween the auditors and the town They did not have group meetings but there is no reason why they couldn't have them. Mr Crain said he was interested in their proposal for this year as to what the timeline would be for completion of the audit and a specific commitment on the date we will receive the management letter Mr Mackay said he hoped to get a draft of the financial statement to the town before the end of September Mr Crain said he would underscore,whatever the process is, it is absolutely imperative that the major points, particularly the critical, be reviewed with department heads so, if there is misunder- standing, they be ironed out before the Board sees them Mr Mackay agreed Mr Hutchinson said he will address the fixed assets ledger this summer, working with summer help for ufi tiro put .ih.ftogether We do maintain an insurance listing now Chairman Battin thanked the auditors and they retired from the meeting Mr Lincoln Cole, Lexington's representative on the MBTA Advisory Board, met with the Board Mr Crain expressed his concern about the MBTA supple- mentary budget; he was bothered that an operation that ran a $5.6 million MBTA Sup deficit could categorize that 1978 was a good year An operation that Budget spends more than its budget should have a process built in that makes it impossible Mr Cole said that a system is being designed now and Mr Foster has assured me they will be adhered to He agreed to monitor the situation Mr Cole retired from the meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve a transfer of Transfer $5,000 to Account #4150-Fire Department, he said this essentially re- Fire fleets underbudgeting in building maintenance and energy expenses. Dept Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #4150-Fire Department in the amount of $5,000 Also recommended were transfers of $1,600 to Account #4500- Bldg Building Inspection because of changes in state mandated procedures Inspection for forms, applications and permits for building, plumbing, gas, electrical and mechanical; $1,500 to Account #1125-Fire & Police Fire & Medical because work-related injuries have been above average this year Police Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Medical Appropriation Committee transfers from the Reserve Fund to Account #4500-Building Inspection in the amount of $1,600, and Account #1125- Fire & Police Medical in the amount of $1,500 Selectmen's Meeting -6 - March 12, 1979 Mr William Page met with the Board to discuss the Ad hoc Task Force report on the establishment of a Community Health Committee Mr Page said that a Human Services Council would be in existence as an umbrella under which some relationship would be established As he understood, an ad hoc council exists but there has been no formal appointment Chairman Battin said the Board of Selectmen is now contemplating set- ting up an advisory human services committee to us and the and Mr Crain are charged with developing a charge,of which this might well be too many single focus committees Mr Jacob Gardner said the American Association of Retired Persons voted to support the establishment of a Lexington community health committee and it is our hope the Selectmen will act favorably on implementing Resolution 8. The committee will help coordinate efforts to promote improved community health Mrs Martha Wood said to establish a subcommittee before the committee is established seems to be out of order She felt the Board of Health should be more definitely spelled out and be stronger, and perhaps it is appropriate to consider even enlarging the Board of Health She was also concerned with this sort of a committeethat is tied in too clo.yely with the schools, the elderly or one profession or agency It coesn't include a comment about a Health Educator or Health Planr.er or community organizer to start the planning process The original com- mittee should be a smaller committee rather than a 15 member board There should be a more definite idea of the direction this committee ought to go Ms Sue Rogowitz, a former health nurse, said she saw it as a clearing house, a way to get into foc.s what is available in town in relation to health By working together to arrange health programs applicable for all age groups; in the school:, there is no definite program for kids on health teaching There is no one place you could go to find out about health Chairman Battin agreed there is no one place for either human services or health, and this is sort of a com- ponent of human services; perhaps we should consider it Mr Kent un- derstood this and-Mrs Wood's concerns but it is a question of structure The data which has grown out of the forum on aging is very relevant and points to a specif community need that needs attention There is a tremendous amount of information that people in a community ought to have which needs to be organized and needs to be disseminated This Board has at the moment a certain reluctance to relate new bodies in the field of human services, which bodies are going to be torn apart He had talked with Mr Page and there is a regular momentum involved in this and if we simply put this on the shelf until such time as we finish with our human services structure, not only is time lost but for want of any serious input because it's not already in the ground He agreed with Mrs Wood's suggestion of a committee of five, appointed. by the Board of Selectmen, with its make-up to be determined after con- sultation with the forum on aging; a committee of five to further elabor- ate just what it is we would like this committee to do and what its potential relationship is with the Board of Health, and whether or not it ought to be served through an expansion of the Board of Health Chairman Battin said that Dr Erdos thinks the Board of Health should have input The Board of Selectmen agreed S Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - March 12, 1979 iMr. Hutchinson suggested a meeting with some of the groups who would interact with this agency; to hear their perceptions of what form this committee might take, recognizing that we have some input from the Board of Health We could also ask the School Committee to come in The Board agreed Chairman Battin read a letter of resignation from Mr Allan Kenney Appt - as a member of the Hanscom Community Council Hanscom Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with Community regret, the resignation of Mr Allan Kenney as a member of the Hanscom Council Community Council Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Selectman Alfred S Busa as Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Community Council Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings of November 6, 1978; February 16, February 20 and February 26, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- Water mendation of Mr Warren Empey to abate water bills totaling $243 75 Abatements Mr Hutchinson reported that the inward elevation on the sewer Grant St manhale_on .Grant Street is 186 feet; the sewer elevations of the houses Sewer on Grant Street dre 195, 193, and 192, respectively; the connection Elevations to a proposed sewer to an existing manhole is 182 feet Assuming the services of the outlets which would go into the houses would be 8` feet below the sills, there is still no problem in connecting these sewerb to the sewer system This more than adequately serves them. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to include Grant Street in the sewer package for FY 80 Mr Kent said that Town Counsel has indicated we do not yet have a Senior motion or our position with respect to the Selectmen's Article to act Center Art on a report of the Senior Center Site Committee Mr Kent proposed that under that article the Board support a motion to instruct us to consider, as part of our consideration as to the uses of the Munroe School, its potential use as a Senior Center - that that be one use to which we direct our attention The Manager said we don't need money at this point in order to do that Mr Crain wanted clarification that they are not committing it to be "a" use Chairman Battin said dio; we could seriously consider it as a possible use and we do not need money to make that in- formal decision. The Board agreed Mr Donald White, Chairman, and members ,of the Appropriation Committee App met with the Board Mr Hutchinson said that the Solid Waste Committee re- Com. port is being completed.and will be ready tomorrow Article 5 will be taken up at the end of Town Meeting because we are waiting for settlements We have no additional information on Inflow/Filtration article 14 We have been dealing with the state and some confusion developed with them over whether they would allow us to go forward and just go with the inflow por- tion. If that's the case, we can pull back the $25,000 we have in and X86 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - March 12, 1979 allow for the next year If they require us to show an appropriation to handle the total inflow/infiltration program, which is a 2-year program, then we would be required to bring in another $75,000 beyond last year's appropriation of $25,000, and it would be another $50,000 as presented on the levy right now We have been trying to get a judgment determination Mr Hutchinson informed the Appropriation Committee that informa- tion is being developed on Article 47-$750,000 available funds Chairman Battin discussed the Energy articles and said the Board agreed an energy committee made sense by putting more technical people on the School's energy committee; to expand the School's committee and make it a joint committee; the Board felt there should be no manager Mr White asked if they would go after available funds and Chairman Battin said that the people in place can pursue that Mr Hutchinson discussed the Fire Department and said that there have been revised estimates of approximately $1,000 for repairing the wall, assuming we use our own equipment for digging, etc We have al- lowed up to $2,000 for additional work if necessary We have estimates on the generator, Chief Bergeron has asked for more time to study the box alarm area Mr White said that the Appropriation Committee is supportive of an expanded maintenance program within the Fire Department; we think the Central Station needs a lot of work on it We ought to get into the box alarms at Town Meeting and point out that we have an obsolete system Mr White said that theyyhave made Cuts, of .$55,000 in Article 4 and it is their goal to maintain at current funding levels We voted to recom- mend that the School Budget be carried at the present level, and we will meet with them on Monday night The Appropriation Committee retired from the meeting The Board had a short discussion on other articles and agreed to go into executive session Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 540 by roll call Session vote - Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into executive session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 p m A true record, Attest 4,14,4440441 .41/4 Executive Clerk, Selectmen I 4187 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 19, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 19, 1979, at 7 00 p m. Chairman Battin, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Busa and Mr Crain were absent Mr Zehner made a thorough and comprehensive report of the town's Treasurer debt picture He stressed that the 5-year bonding period had worked extremely well for the town. Chairman Battin read a letter from the Department of Urban De- Housing velopment requesting comments on the Housing Authority's application Authority for 60 units at Countryside and 25 single family units by acquisition without rehabilitation and/or new construction turnkey Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to write a letter to the Department of Urban Development supporting the Housing Authority's application for 60 units at Countryside It was agreed to defer a decision on the 25 single family units pending a meeting with the Housing Authority for additional information Chairman Battin read a letter from Mr David Reiner, Chairman of Registrar the Democratic Town Committee, recommending, in accordance with G L of Voters Chapter 50, s 15, three nominees for the appointment of a Registrar of Voters Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Mrs Lilah H Grossier, 510 Concord Avenue, a Registrar of Voters for a three year term expiring March 31, 1982 The Board approved the following agenda items Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Abatement- recommendation of Fire Chief Bergeron to abate ambulance bill X49 for Ambulance Mr Peter Woodsun in the amount of $15 OOy which was issued in error Bill Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meeting of February 12, 1979 Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the LWV - Town request of the League of Women Voters to set up a table in the foyer Meeting of Cary Hall for the sale of League publications Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Bond - bond for Mary R McDonough, Town Clerk, in the amount of $6,500 Town Clerk Approval of the State Department of Corporations and Taxation will be requested 4468 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 19, 1979 Town Meeting Because of Passover on Wednesday, April 11, the Board agreed to 111 recommend to Town Meeting that only one session be held that week on Monday, April 9 Mosquito Chairman Battin read a letter from the Citizens for Lexington Control Conservation recommending withdrawal from the East Middlesex Mosquito Control project and, if approved by Town Meeting, CLC plans to ask the Selectmen to consider the appointment of an insect control ad- visory group It was agreed that although a majority of the Selectmen voted to include, but not necessarily support, the line item under Article 4, it is the responsibility of the Board of Heal for the presentation and support of the mosquito control project at Town Meeting School Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the School Committee has Budget adjusted their budget $60,000; $50,000 in the expense area and $10,000 of additional revenue, which further brings the tax rate down to $89 85 (in the beginning of Town Meeting) Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Battin, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the pur- pose of discussing litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 755pm A true record, Attest: xecu�erk Selectmen I 4189 V1 k.1 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 21, 1979 A regular meeting of te Boa d o eleectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, T Oflice`Building, on Wednesday, March 21, 1979, at 7 37 p m Chairman Battin, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Busa and Mr Kent were absent Mrs Angela Frick, Lexington's representative an the MAPC Metropolitan Area Planning Council, met with the Board and Executive it was agreed to write to Representative Cole and Senator Committee Rotondi urging their support of MAPC reorganization bill H3544, which aims to increase cities and towns' representa- tion on the MAPC Executive Committee and concurrently de- crease the number of ex-officio and gubernatdrial appointees on that committee IIIMr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mr Peter Conant Parker of Urban Design will attend the meeting on March 28 to dis- cuss School the Parker School Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7.45 pm A true record, Attest 04 e:A.,,,,,....., A. 04644r Executive Clerk, Selectmen I L 3190 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 26, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 26, 1979 at 7 00 P.M Chairman Battin, Mr,,,,Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; , 1r Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; "Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin recommended that the Board amend the minutes of Powder February 12, 1979 which were approved at the meeting on March 19 when Horn Mr Busa and Mr Crain were absent The amendment provides additional Condo- information on the Board's discussion with the developer of the Powder miniums/ Horn Condaminiums for consideration of an extension of the sewer line Sewer from Concord Avenue to service the development Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting held on February 12, 1979 by add- ing the following to that portion of the minutes concerning the Powder Horn Condominiums/sewer extension request "After discussion, it was agreed that Mr Hutchinson is to ask the Planning Board whether any other proposal coming into this year's Town Meeting requires a sewer III It was decided not to hold any hearings prior to Town Meeting as this could be misconstrued It was the sense of the Board that there would be further consideration of Mr Smith's sewer request if the Powder Hornro p posal passed Town Meeting Mr Temple Scanlon, Director of the Lexington Housing Authority, Housing met with the Board to request approval of amending the Cooperative Authority Agreement between the Town and the Housing Authority by adding fifty Agreement additional units of low-rent housing, thereby changing the number Amendment from 85 to 135 units The present agreement covers twenty-five scattered site units, which have been funded, and sixty units of elderly/handicapped for which an application is pending On February 28, the Authority had applied for an additional twenty-five units of Family, "Acquisition W/O Rehab," and twenty-five units "Family New Construction Turnkey " In these February 28 applica- tions, we stated that the manner by which these would be made available to us by the condominium developers is uncertain at this time and we were submitting applications for fifty units of which only twenty-five would be utilized We were advised by HUD Counsel that, while they understand our intent, each ap- plication must stand on its own Therefore, we are requesting that our cooperation agreement be amended to include the fifty additional units Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously 111 to amend the Cooperation Agreement between the Town of Lexington and the Lexington Housing Authority, dated May 23, 1977, to in- clude fifty additional units; therefore, Page 1, Paragraph 2, is amended by striking "85 units of low-rent housing" and inserting "135 units of low-rent housing " 31 ?/ Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 26, 1979 The Board approved the following agenda items Wild Acre Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the: License Lodging House linense to 12/31/79 f©f Wi1d:Acre Inn, 50rPeroy Road, subject to periodic inspections by the Board of Health It was agreed to recommend to the owner, Dr Yudowitz, that he continue to take corrective measures to upgrade the facility Utility Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Poles - petition of the N E T &T Co and the Boston Edison Co for the fol- Mason St lowing location of poles Mason Street, westerly side, from a point approximately 400 feet south of White Pine Lane, Two poles; guy wire and anchor on first pole Bonds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the bonds for Mrs Doris E Barclay, Collector of Taxes, in the amount of $160,000; for Mr Louis A. Zehner, Town Treasurer, in the amount of $170,000 Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of Selectmen's meetings held on November 13, 1978-Open and Executive; February 5, 1979-Open and Amended Executive; February 20- Amended Open; March 19-Open and Executive Auctioneer Upon motion duly made and seocnded, it was voted to sign the 111 renewal of an Auctioneer's license for Mr William Sennott, 10 Douglas Road, expiring March 31, 1980 Bonds Mr Hutchinson requested approval of bonds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the bond for Robert M Hutchinson, Jr , Town Manager, in the amount of $50,000 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the bonds for ConstablesJohn J Shine, Jr and Roy J Murphy in the amount of $3,000, each Gift - Mr Hutchinson requested approval of a gift to the town Refresh- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept a ment check from the William E Maloney Foundation in the amount of Stand $14,820 to be used for a refreshment stand at the High School football field Revenue Mr Hutchinson and the Board discussed reports received that the Sharing Congress is considering cutting out the General Revenue Sharing Program Funds At the present time, this represents $1.50 on Lexington's tax rate Mr Kent, our Legislative Liaison, agreed to write to Congressman Shannon to exert his best effort towards a continuation of state and federal governments receiving General Revenue Sharing Funds I 3472, III - 3 - Selectmen's Meeting March 26, 1979 The Board discussed with Mr Silverman, representative of the Town Meet- Appropriation Committee, the question of a tax cap and the ramifica- ing Vote tions of the Moderator taking /3 vote on money articles if the vote was not unanimous Later n, Moderator Cole came into the meeting Mr Silverman said that the Appropriation Committee is in favor of tax caps and, personally, he did not recommend the tak- ing of a 2/3 vote, and money articles should not be left open At this point, Mr Cole, having been unavoidably detained at 1 the State House, a majority of the Board agreed to recommend to the Moderator that he not ask for a 2/3 vote when the vote was not unanimous and they preferred not to attempt to have reconsidera- tion of money articles When Mr Cole came into the meeting, he said that, as the Moderator, he felt the basic approach to it was, that with a tax cap, in all probability it would require a 2/3 vote of Town Meet- ing, Therefore, he decided to ask if the vote was not unanimous, a standing vote should be taken so there would be a recorded vote Chairman Battin explained the position of the Board, and added that we felt we should proceed as usual and call a Special Town Meeting when we know what the caps are Then, we would come in with priorities and ask for a 2/3 vote; we would be dealing with a known situation It was agreed that the decision is to be made by the Moderator Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 52 P M. A true record, Attest ZA„,........ iii. .-0 ,,e 401601(7. Executive Clerk, Selectmen I X93 61 6 i4 ' 111 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 28, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, March 28, 1979, at 7 00 p m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board discussed the expiration on March 31, 1979 of the mora- Tax Title torium on the sale of tax title lots A letter from the Housing Moratorium Authority recommended a one year extension to 1980, and the Planning Board had informed the Selectmen that, for now, it would go along with the Housing Authority Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the moratorium on the sale of tax title lots until May 1, 1979, pending further discussion by the Selectmen, the Housing Authority, and the Planning Board The Board received and noted the list of nominees, submitted by Hanscom Mr Fred C Bailey, for future appointment of an alternate on the Adv Com Hanscom Advisory Committee It was agreed to add Mrs Jacqueline Alternate Smith, as suggested by Mrs Miley A proclamation to be presented at Town Meeting next Monday Bantam was approved Hockey Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Champions Proclamation in recognition of the Lexington Bantam AA Youth Hockey Team as the State Champions for the Bantam Division Chairman Battin read a letter from the Chairman of the High Sr High School Fund Raising Committee for the Senior Prom requesting a Fund special permit for a beauty salon to be opened on Sunday, April 1, Raising from 9 00 a m. to 1 00 p m All proceeds were to be given to the Sunday prom fund Mrs Miley cited a similar request from another organize- Project tion which had been advised, after a ruling by Town Counsel, not to open a shop for fund-raising on a Sunday It was the general consensus of the Board to request the opinion of Town Counsel as to whether either of these activities falls within the scope of the statute or whether the Board of Selectmen has any function in relation thereto Mr Hutchinson is to advise the Senior Prom Committee not to hold the fund-raising project on Sunday, April 1 However, they will be contacted again when a decision is made on Town Counsel's recom- mendation Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 28, 1979 Housing A brief discussion was held on the Planning Board's motion under Policy Article 74-Housing Policy Plan. Mr Busa raised objections and said Plan that he did not concur with the concept or the written word The other four members of the Board support the motion, as written Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing real estate, with no intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 55 p m. A true record, 46, ?h /)'h7 Clerk, Selectmen Executive 198 SPECIAL SELECTMEN'S MEETING March 29, 1978 A special meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, March 29, 1978, at 7 06 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Mana er; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel, Mrs Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Bond- Chairman Battin requested approval of the Town Manager's bond Town Manager Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the bond for Mr Robert M Hutchinson, Jr , Town Manager, in the amount of $50,000 Special Chairman Battin read a recommendation from Police Chief Corr for Police the appointment of Special Officers for a term of two years Officers Mr Hutchinson said that he had talked with Chief Corr and some on the list are special officers, in some cases it is an honorary position, and others are used in the April 19th parade Chief Corr is now reviewing a statute which calls for a certain level of train- ing and, until we have a ruling on whether this applies to Special Police Officers, it is recommended that appointments be made for one year Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following as Special Police Officers for the Town of Lexington for a term expiring March 31, 1979 NOTE COMPLETE LIST TO BE TYPED INTO SELECTMEN'S RECORDS Auctioneer Chairman Battin read an application for renewal of an Autioneer's license Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Auctioneer's license for Mr Arnold Clickstein, 318 Lincoln Street, to expire March 31, 1979 Cemetery Lots- Mr Hutchinson agreed to come back to the Board with additional Abatements information on the request from Mr McSweeney to abate the balance due on the sale of two Westview Cemetery lots Cary Hall Chairman Battin read a letter from Ms Laura C Stein, 9 Kendall Permit Road, submitting additional information on the previously tabled re- quest for the use of Cary Hall by the Sacred Harp singing group on September 30, 1978 The letter states that they are prepared to pay the $35 00 rental fee, custodial fee and any necessary fees for police and fire details Buses will be coming from many states and arrange- ments have been made with the First Parish Church for parking and having luncheon there There will be no admission charge and the public is invited to attend SPECIAL POLICE OFFICERS 1978 199 ACHESON, Eugene A. 2634 Massachusetts Resident II BAILEY, Fred C 48 Coolidge Avenue Citizen BALLOU, Sidney R. 38 Highland Avenue Resident BARNES, Raymond B 59 Gleason Road Resident BARRETT, Elliott J 2 Bushnell Drive Resident BARRY, George C 36 Forest Street Resident BARRY, James E 241 Worthen Road Resident BARRY, John M. 34 Forest Street Resident BATTIN, Margery M. 15 Paul Revere Road Selectwoman BERGERON, John 20 Walnut Street Fire Chief BERMAN, Joel G 10 Crescent Hill Ave Resident BRIGGS, Kenneth G 100 Blossomcrest Road Town Planner BROWN, Otis S Jr 3 Bond Road Resident BRUCCHI, John W 31 Duren Avenue, Woburn Firefighter BUSA, Alfred S 38 Circle Road Selectman BUSA, William A. 38 Circle Road Resident CATALDO, James 43 Rindge Avenue Firefighter CATALDO, Robert 1970 Massachsuetts Avenue Resident CHALPIN, Peter M 11 Freedom Road, Woburn Traffic Engineer COLE, Lincoln P 16 Hill Street State Representative CONNOLLY, Charles E Jr 67 Cedar Street Resident CORAZZINI, Richard M. 40 Phillip Road Police Dispatcher CORR, James F 111 8 Park Street Resident I COSCIA, Emanuele, Jr 6 Millbrook Road Public Works COSTELLO, James T 34 Allen Street Police Cadet COSTELLO, Thomas F 36 Allen Street Resident CRAIN, James F 68 Ashbury Street Selectman DeFLICE, Dominic J 17 Larchmont Lane Resident DOOLEY, Henry W 77 Baker Avenue Resident DOUGHTY, George Jr 75 Paul Revere Road School Dept EMERY, Alan 441 Lowell Street Firefighter EMPEY, Warren A. 3 Eldred Street Public Works ERNST, Karl 37 Eldred Street Resident /Bail Commissioner/ FOSS, Robert N 8 Spencer Street Town Employee FREEMAN, George 13 Grant St , Concord Police employee GILMAN, Edward M 56 Bloomfield Street Firefighter GILMAN, Philip 129 Burlington Street Resident GRENIER, Louis F 147 Maple Street Town Employee 200 SPECIAL POLICE OFFICERS 1978 HUTCHINSON, Robert M. Jr 51 Dexter Road Town Manager JACKSON, Lee B 62 Bow Street Resident I JEFFERSON, Charles E 8 Alcott Road Civil Defense JONES, Leonard N 71 Lowell Street Town Employee KELLEY, Kenneth P Jr 54 Ward Street Firefighter KENNEY, Allan F 10 Frost Road Resident KENNEY, Walter T Jr 16 Dane Road Resident KENT, Robert B 15 Patriots Drive Selectman LaROSE, Eric A. 17 Lockwood Road Police Cadet LITTLETON, Barry W 40 Cold Spring Rd Westford Dog Officer MacARTHUR, Lillian 33 Charles Street Resident MacLEAN, Ralph D 9 Spring Street Resident MARTIN, William J 31 Babicz Road, Tewksbury Public Works MARTINEZ, Daniel C 4 Macintosh Road, Bedford Citizen MAZERALL, Paul 20 Wilson Road Park Superintendent McCARRON, Francis 5 Hillside Terr Firefighter McSWEENEY, John 9 Tucker Avenue Dir , Public Works MERCER, Charles R. 6 Park Street Resident MICHELSON, Richard 54 Asbury Street Resident MULLER, Eugene T 24 Ewell Avenue Firefighter MULLER, Leonard E 19 Fairbanks Road Firefighter I MALONEY, William E Jr 59 Albermarle Avenue Citizen MANFREDI, Vincent A. 28 Taft Avenue Resident MALONEY, John W 157 Emerson Road Citizen MILEY, Mary W . 29 Robinson Road Selectwoman MULLINS, Donna C 156 Woburn Street Police Cadet ORMISTON, Stephen W 38 Charles St School Dept PAYNE, Robert M 15 Chase Avenue Resident PEKINS, George 28 Chase Avenue Firefighter PEZZULO, Michael 247 Marrett Road School Dept PERRY, Richard M. 16 Ellison Road Comptroller REDMOND, James F 9 Utica Street Firefighter ROONEY, Joseph 0 222 Waltham Street Resident SAMUEL, Frank T 8 Burnham Road Resident SAUNDERS, Robert W 295 Marrett Road Resident SAVAGE, David T 9 Manley Court Firefighter SCIGLIANO, Anne R. 3 Augustus Road Resident SILVA, Richard J 500 Lowell Street Resident SIMMONS, Robert G 82 North Street Police Cadet c SPECIAL POLICE OFFICERS 1978 _ 1 SMITH, Howard A 16 Childs Road Resident STEVENS, Edward P 4 Chandler St , Salem School Dept STUCKE, Alden F 31 Hancock Street Resident SWAN, Duncan F 24 Bedford Street School Dept SWAN, Robert J 18 Bedford Street Police Cadet SWANSON, Patricia A 36 Charles Street Resident SWEET, Frederick B 133 Russell Street, Waltham Town Employee TRANI, Joseph A. 11 Slocum Road Resident TWOMBLY, Charles A 24 Woodcliffe Road Resident WEISINGER, Wallace 193 Bedford Street Resident WENHAM, Thomas 1 Frances Road Town Employee WHITING, William 341 Lowell Street Firefighter WRIGHT, Glenn 67 Simonds Road Resident YEWELL, Paul G 6 Leeland Terrace Resident ZUPPE, Joseph 12 Albermarle Ave , Waltham Library Custodian Ill 2o2 Special Selectmen's Meeting -2- March 29, 1978 Mr Buse suggested that a policy be established regarding the responsibility of fees involved in the rental of Cary Hall Also, to inform the applicant that with such a large group attending, a monitor should be stationed outside to make sure there is no impact on traffic and parking in the immediate area Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Sacred Harp singing group to use Cary Hall on Saturday, September 30, 1978, from 9 00 a m to 4 00 p m , subject to the under- standing that parking be monitored in the immediate area Transfer- Mr Hutchinson requested approval of a request from the Public Acct 5450 Works for a transfer of $30,000 from the Reserve Fund to Account DPW #5450-Road Machinery Unexpected expenditures were incurred during the severe snowstorms and we have estimated DPW needs of $30,000 for the remainder of the year For the information of the Board, fuel costs from January 21 to February 6 were $6,223; February 6 to 21- $7,253; Chain repairs-$2,786, and repairs to equipment from January 21 to 28 $16,514 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request approval of the Appropriation Committee of a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #5450 in the amount of $30,000 Girl Scouts The Board had no objection to the Camp Fire Girls selling stickers Permit to encourage residents to recycle, provided Mr Hutchinson investigates the possibility of a By-Law prohibiting the sale on the streets Hartwell Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had met with Palmer & Landfill Dodge on the landfill and had told them that the Board generally approved the timetable involved with Whitman & Howard A letter with supporting information on the timetable, will be sent to the State Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 20 p m. A true record, Attest t' Executive Clerk, Selec en SELECTMEN'S MEETING APRIL 2, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, April 2, 1979, at 7 00 p m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel (7 30 p m ); Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Crain was absent Chairman Battin announced that the Executive Office of Transportation Bikeways - and Construction has approved the construction of a bikeway in Lexington State in the amount of $66,000, subject to the town providing 25 percent of the Funding total cost Article 36 of the 1978 Annual Town Meeting approved the appropriation of the town's share of $22,000 Also, the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction has Clean nominated the town to the American Lung Association of Massachusetts Air for a 1979 Clean Air Award in recognition of Lexington's environmentally Award conscious transportation activities Mr Clifford Prentiss, Recreation/Conservation Director, met with Article - the Board to discuss Article 41-Sutherland Park to be presented to Town Sutherland Meeting at $15,000 Originally planned at $30,000, the basic concept is Park the same at $15,000 The items cut back included the deletion of (1) parking, which was not received favorably by the residents; (2) the amount of fencing involved with parking; (3) the amount of underbrush to be cut and less grading to be done It is proposed to install 600 ft of fencing along the Arlington line with gate openings and footpaths; to clean out the pond; to install one standard light at the tot lot with a floodlight on it at night; to utilize some play equipment from closed schools, plus a backstop from the Hancock School The 4 Selectmen agreed to support the Article at Town Meeting The Solid Waste Advisory Commi-ftee met with the Board Mr Hutchin- Solid son introdu6ed Bruce Pollock, Management Intern, who had prepared the draft Waste Report of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee to be submitted to Town Meeting to provide Town Meeting Members with an account of the history of the solid waste disposal issue and information on the implications of the alternatives that are being considered for future refuse dis- posal Mr Hutchinson said that five bids for the collection and disposal of solid waste and recyclables were received on March 29, and the two lowest bidders were Miller and Roketenetz He answered questions on the complicated list of alternative and combined bids, and informed the Board that the program is still being reviewed and a revised report will be submitted as soon as possible. During discussion, a citizen suggested that an information meeting be held by the Board; this was taken under advisement It was agreed to schedule further discussion as soon as the Manager's report is submitted Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - April 2, 1979 Chairman Battin read a request from Mr. John McGovern, New Jersey World War II Veteran, for a photograph of the Minute Man Statue to be used as arm insignia at reunions Mr Busa said that the Board has no jurisdiction over photographs of the Minute Man and, as a courtesy, we should send one to Mr McGovern The Board agreed Transport Chairman Battin read a letter from Transportation Management Corp Mangmnt informing the Board that, effective April 1, the rates for limousine Limo service between Lexington and Logan Airport would be increased from Rates $9 00 to $11.00 for the first person to be transported; the $4 00 additional person fee would remain unchanged Mr Cohen came into the meeting at 7 30 p m. Mr Hutchinson advised that Town Counsel is looking into the mat- ter of whether the Board sets the fees Mr Kent said that pending Town Counsel's opinion of what our powers are, he would suggest that a communication, at least inform- ally, should go to Transportation Management that the Board's initial reaction is not very favorable, in particular about the timing Mr Kent moved conditionally, seconded by Mrs Miley, and it was voted if the Board does have control over the rates of the Transporta- tion Management limousines licensed by the Town of Lexington, that the increase from $9 00 to $11 00 for the first person to be transported should be suspended until further order of the Board of Selectmen Mr Hutchinson agreed to contact Transportation Management Corp to inform them of the Board's feeling Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meetings of December 11, 1978 and March 28, 1979 open session Plumbing Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board's approval of upgrading the Inspector position held by John Byrne as part-time Plumbing Inspector by adding the gas and mechanical inspection duties, with an increase in salary to $6,687 00, annually To implement this recommendation, the Gas Inspector would be moved to Civil Service status as, under Chapter 142, s 11, all Gas Inspectors appointed after July 1, 1978 must be appointed from a Civil Service list Since Mr Byrne is already on the Civil Service list, we can request his promotion and ask for an unassembled examination which provides for a title change if the person meets all minimum requirements The Classification Review Board concurs with this recommendation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Town Manager's recommendation to upgrade the position held by John Byrne as • part-time Plumbing Inspector by adding the gas and mechanical inspection duties, at an annual salary of $6,687 00 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call vote - Session Mrs Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, for the purpose of discussing a real estate matter and collective bargaining After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 750pm. A true record, Attest 4/44.„„,, C7 e Executive Clerk, Selectmen #97 A\sv S :TMEN'S MEETING APRIL 4, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, April 4, 1979, at 7 38 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Crain was absent Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had contacted Limousine Transportation Management Corporation and they had held up Fees on raising their fees for limousine service between Lexington and Logan Airport It was agreed to invite Transportation Management to meetuwith the Board on April 9 Mr Busa requested more information and clarification of Art 57- Article 57-Drainage By-Law and will meet with the Manager and Drainage the Building Commissioner for answers to his questions By-Law Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to ad- journ at 7 52 p m A true record, Attest; eh,444.07 ;i0. 0he Executive Clerk, Selectmen 3198 SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 8, 1979 A special meeting of the Beard of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Bi+1Qding, on. Suntlay, April 8, 1979 at 4 00 p m Chairman Battin, Mr Bush, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain, Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Town Counsel, Palmer & Dodge represented by Mr Cohen and Mr Howe Chairman Battin convened the meeting at 4 00 P.M Motion was made by Selectman Kent and seconded by Selectman Miley to McSweeney go into Executive Session for purposes of discussing strategy relating to litigation It was voted 5 - 0 by roll call vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain voting in the affirmative - to go into Executive Session It was announced that the meeting would not reconvene in open session Meeting adjourned I Respectfully submitted Robert M. Hutchinson, Jr Town Manager I II ap -Y99' SELECTMEN'S MEETING APRIL 9, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, April 9, 1979, at 7 00 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin opened the hearing on the petition of the New England Jt Pole Telephone Company and the Boston Edison Company for a joint pole location Hillcrest on Hillcrest Avenue north of Circle Road Notices of the hearing were Avenue sent to the abutters and filed with the Public Works Department Mr Roland Pinault, representing the Telephone Company, and Ms Carol Clinton, representing the Boston Edison Company, were present Mr Pinault said that they are in the process of doing new work in the entire area and this pole is necessary to eliminate excessive cable span Chairman Battin read a report from Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director of Public Works, recommending approval of the petition. No one appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 to _grant permission to the New England Telephone Company and the Boston Edison Company for the following joint pole location - Mr Crain abstained because of conflict of interest Hillcrest Avenue on the easterly side, approximately 125+ feet north of Circle Road, one (1) Pole 112/8A Chairman Battin opened the hearing on the petition of the New England Pedestal Telephone Company for the installation of conduit on Bow Street and Cliffe Conduit Avenue, and pedestal terminal and manhole on Bow Street Notices of the Bow St hearing were sent to the abutters and filed with the Public Works Depart- Cliffe ment Mr Roland Pinault, representing the Telephone Company, was present Avenue and informed the Board that they will be running a conduit from the first pole in off Massachusetts Avenue, will go underground from that location, under the railroad tracks to the pedestal location at the intersection From this intersection, we will be running two sections up on Cliffe Ave and across the street and, across the street, two sections on Bow Street When all of the new cables are in and the work is completed, the aerial portion from the Mass Ave. pole to both of those poles on Cliffe and Bow Street will come down The distribution will be through the underground system in through the pedestal and the terminal facility, which we will be placing on town property at the intersection We have reviewed this with the Public Works Department Chairman Battin read a report from Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director of Public Works, stating this is a serving area concept necessary to establish a feeder route and eventually eliminate overhead wires within the area The pedestal terminal box shall be approximately 4'8" in height and landscaped to the satisfaction of the Lexington Tree Warden Since the petition appears to be in order, we recommend it be approved Mrs Miley asked about the width and Mr Pinault showed a picture of a 40" wide x 54" high pedestal .5a0 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - April 9, 1979 Mr Busa said this would eliminate some Telephone Company overhead P P Y wiring and he wondered if Boston Edison had plans to go underground 331 the.#utzirEt? Ms Carol Clinton, Boston Edison representative, was present and said she would check it out No one appeared in favor of the petition.. Mr Anthony Marques, 22 Bow Street, said the pedestal is not going to be on his property but he would like to see a plan. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to recess the hearing until later in the evening after Mr Pinault had discussed the plan with Mr Marques The Board voted to approve the following agenda items Elks Club Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve an Hours earlier opening at 11 30 a m under the Elks Club liquor license on Wednesday, May 9, for a function to be held from 11 30 a m to 2 00 p m (approved opening is 5 00 p m.) Permits- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Bike-a- to the Arlington High School and the Lexington Educational Association Thons to conduct Bike-a-Thons on Sunday, April 29, 1979 at 1 00 p.m Permit- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Parade for the Youth Baseball parade on Saturday, April 28, 1979 Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of Selectmen's meetings of April 2, 1979 and March 28, 1979 Board members were unable to attend a meeting of the Newton Ad Hoc Committee on Middlesex County on April 10, 1979 to be held in Newton Cary Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Hall to the Senior Scout Troop 844 to sell cookies in the lobby of Cary Hall Lobby before and during the Town Meeting on April 9, 1979 Art 56- The Board briefly discussed Article 56-Burglar Alarm By-Law amendment Burglar and it was agreed that more information is necessary If notice for recon- Alarms sideration is made at Town Meeting, the recommendation will be to refer back to the Board of Selectmen. Art 57- The Board agreed to invite the Building Commissioner to the:rme&t±ng Drainage on April 17 for a report on Article 57-Drainage By-Law By-Law Chairman Battin said that she would be out of town for the Patriots ' Acting Day weekend and recommended that the Board vote an Acting Chairman for Chairman that period Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Selectman Alfred S Busa as the Acting Chairman of the Board from 9 00 a.m on Friday, April 13, to 4 00 p.m on Tuesday, April 17, 1979 Solid The Board agreed to schedule a meeting on Wednesday, April 18, at Waste 7 30 p m to discuss the Solid Waste Committee Report with the Appropria- Report tion Committee, the Capital Expenditures Committee, and the Solid Waste Committee. It was also agreed to recommend to the Moderator that a recess be declared at the Town Meeting session of April 23 in order to conduct an informational meeting on solid waste .501 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - April 9, 1979 Attorney Frederick Conroy and Mr Paul Sullivan, Vice President of Transporta- Transportation Management Corporation, met with the Board Mr Hutchinson tion said that the fitm had notified the Board of Selectmen on March 23 of a Management change in the rate structure, effective April 1, from $9 00 to $11 00 Limousines for the first person transported from €ach .atop by limousine between Lexington and Logan Airport The Board would like information in order to give approval or disapproval of the structure Mr Cohen said that the regulations say that a reasonable rate may be charged, and the Board felt when that approval was originally given ($9.00) they were reshanahie .rates:, Mr Busa said it would be nice if we could all have an increase of 221 percent every threemonths; it is a little extraordinary for the Board to approve The Board agreed Mr Busa asked Mr Conroy if he could substantiate the increase? Mr Conroy said that since Transportation Management started the linousine service, Massport is charging them 5 percent of their taxicab fare; 5 percent is levied by Massport against Transportation Management, which Taas not an expense they had when they initiated the business nor had they anticipating having Five percent alons is now going to Massport under the contractural agreement that they have had to sign with them Gasoline costs have increased 12 cents a gallon since Transportation Management started the service, which is a 20 percent increase. The average taxicab fare from Logan to Lexington right now is about $17 00, depending on what part of Lexington you come from So the increase they notified the Board about was based upon their increased costs, and it is not an attempt to increase income just to line the pockets of the operator; it is reflecting an actual increase in costs Town Counsel refers to the rules and regulations with respect to rates of fares on limousines, and what it does say is "the rates shall be fair " It doesn't say who is going to set the rates or how you determine whether they are fair or not The notice from Transportation Management to you of their proposed increase was done so you would be informed He did not know who decides what is fair and what is not fair but he thought if we can agree it is fair, fine, that ends the problem right there Mr Crain asked if the 5 percent from Massport was a new tax levy that was just instituted that no one else had ever had? Mr Conroy said in order to have any kind of parking facilities at the airport for the vehicles, you have to sign a contract with the Massport Authority and they are levying 5 percent of the fare Mr Crain said his question is how long have they had that procedure? Mr Conroy didn't know; they didn't have it with Transportation Management when the limousine service was approved or when they started the operation it must have occurred subsequent to that Chairman Battin said that Mr Crain is asking if other companies have it so you knew it was likely to be imposed? Mr Conroy asked Mr Sullivan, who said they didn't have any vehicles at the airport._, Mr Crain said that his point is in the research of this concept, it would seem that one should have uncovered that this levy would occur It doesn't seem to be information that would be hard to ferret out as a known business expense Sot Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - April 9, 1979 Mr Conroy said they didn't know about it. You could say they should have known about it; in that event, they would have had a higher rate when they were starting up and it wouldn't have been reflected as an increase as it does now Mr Busa said he was led -to believe that Transportation Management is now parking at Logan Airport as a standby situation or is it a phone call service from the Town of Lexington into Logan and vice versa Mr Sullivan said if we have to go in and pick up somebody at Logan, if we park there without a parking permit - say your flight was delayed for a half hour, we actually have a choice of whether we receive a $7 00 ticket from the state police or to park in the signed parking place at the terminal; the $7 00 tickets are outweighing the 5 percent to be quite honest with you Mr Busa asked if it is still by reservation service, and Mr Sullivan said it was Mrs Miley said that as a business person, it seems unbelieveable to her You are not new at this business as Transportation Managerment has been doing a big business for quite a while now It seems incredible, to continue what Mr Crain and Mr Busa said, that it never occurred to you that a cost you might have Mr Sullivan said this was our first dealing with Massport Chairman Battin said that in business you anticipate what the costs are going to be and you find out what is involved and this is what is bothering the Board In terms of who determines what is fair, it is apparently that this is a decision of the Board of Selectmen If so, fil what is the Board's pleasure? Mr Busa said the only solution to what is fair - if they feel what is fair and they impose such an increase, then the licenses are renewed on May 1 and, at that time, we can make the determination of what is fair Chairman Battin asked if the Board wants to take it under advisement now, not do anything about it now and wait until the licenses come up for renewal on May 1? Mr Busa said we do not have any jurisdiction to determine what is fair at this point in time Chairman Battin said that there are rules and regula- tions Mr Cohen said he had misunderstood; he thought the Board was suggesting that the fare increase go in and when the renewal came up, a determination could be made from the reaction of people to it You are the licensing authority and at that point when they come back, pins could determine then It is not a taxi service, it is a reservation, which seems to be different than a taxi When the rules and regulations were written, nobody had this particular type of service Mr Kent asked about the 5 percent item. In the light of a sometime necessity of parking in terms of meeting reservations, that Massport im- poses an across-the-board 5 percent requirement so that coming either say the company is required to report regularly to Massport as to the dollar volume, and is charged a 5 percent figure based upon that report, i e a tax report? Mr Sullivan said that it was; it is a tax to be able to go in there 503 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - April 9, 1979 Mrs Miley said she preferred to make a decision within a month; to look at it uhtil then Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Town Manager to look into the matter more fully and by May 1 to make a decision to grant the increase or amend the regulations Mr Kent added that there is nothing of an authoratative character from the Board tonight Mr. Conroy and Mr Sullivan retired from the meeting Mr Pinault and Mr Marques came into the meeting to ddntdnndtthe N E T &T Co discussion of the Bow Street pedestal terminal Mr Marques said he Bow Street was in opposition, based on the photographs of the pedestal They Pedestal have moved it into a more residential area and if it ware moved to (cont'd from the other side of the street, it would be more in keeping with the Page 2) area It is going to be 4 feet back from the road; there are 10 feet of grass that is mowed by the town, and no trees Chairman Battin said that it was her understanding it would be landscaped to the satisfaction of the tree warden Mr Kent said in the light of the opposition to it, he would be more comfortable with the opportunity to look at it The Board agreed and will inspect the area before another hearing is set up Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the petition of the New England Telephone Company to install a pedestal terminal at the intersection of Bow Street and Cliffe Avenue Mr. Hutchinson recommended that the Board execute the agreement Auditors- with Arthur Andersen & Co for an audit of the Town of Lexington's Arthur accounts Andersen Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the agreement with Arthur Andersen & Co , 100 Federal Street, Boston, Mass , to :have the Town of Lexington's accounts audited for the period of July 1, 1978 through June 30, 1979 Mr Crain said that Arthur Andersen made a commitment on the date the audit would be finished and that the Management letter would be available He was very interested that this happens Mr Hutchinson said that he will notify them of the commitment and would state we would expect those dates to be met Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board execute the lease Hinchey Rd for the Hinchey Road property, which the Board had approved Lease Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to execute a ten year lease between MBZ-Lexington Trust and the Town for the Hinchey Road property Mr Cohen said the Board had already voted to convey to the Hous- Scattered ing Authority the lots on the scattered sites program, and he requested Sites Deeds Board members to come in during the week to sign the deeds The Board agreed faq Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - April 9„ 1979 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5+-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 758pm. 1111) A true record, Attest ExgEutive Clerk, Selectmen 1 , Ill Sod SELECTMEN'S MEETING APRIL 18, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's meeting room on Wednesday, April 18, 1979, at 7 30 p m Chairman Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs. Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Solid Waste Advisory Committee, the Appropriation Committee, Solid the Capital Expenditures Committee, and Mr Bruce Pollock, Manager's Waste staff, met with the Board Report Mr Hutchinson said that the report on solid waste has been filed and constructive questions have been raised by various interest groups who are conducting independent studies by running their own figures about budget costs vs economic costs, and recycling vs non-recycling Looking at the costs we have received regarding a "mandatory recycling program," which he envisioned as viable only through trash collection, he recommended the Board's consideration of including $244,000 in the budget, based on the bids received In this report, we have the over- riding issue of giving the Board of Selectmen the right to make a com- mitment of its tonnage to a resource recovery facility, and the only immediate economic alternative is going to be the Northeast facility proposed for construction by UOP, Inc in North Andover At this time, there is only one existing resource recovery facility in the State and that is in Saugus; UOP is the next proposal, which is based on a com- mitment of tonnage; 128 West has just received proposals and as the information comes in, we can make that available to the Selectmen The long-range solution would give the Selectmen the right to commit the town's tonnage to whatever facility is in the best interests of the town in the near future, based on the deadlines placed upon us by the State, and in our opinion that decision would be for UOP and the Northeast facility Certain decisions have to be made about mandatory recycling because the Town Meeting requested that a mandatory recycling proposal be brought forward Mr Hutchinson recommended not having mandatory recycling as he felt that people are not ready to participate in it, but to continue with a recycling program under the trash collection system There are economic and budget costs addressed in the report re- lating to that He would strongly counsel against a recycling program as recommended by people at the last Town Meeting, which calls for the administration literally stopping people at the landfill and having them open their trash; this is not enforceable and almost impossible to admin- istrate I scdi Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - April 18, 1979 Mr Hutchinson said that the recommendation is predicated on the continued operation of the landfill and we are working on an operating closure plan with Whitman & Howard to look at how much time we have left at the landfill From where we are now and working out to the shed, we have 1+ year left; going out to Hartwell Avenue, consistent with state guidelines, we would hopefully have two to three years and tie in with any long range solution the town embarks upon Tomorrow evening, we are going to a meeting in North Andover on costs and al+.neview of progress with other communities Mr Buse said he realized we would have to go to trash pickup and at some point in time the dump would be closed, but we should not do it until we have a time certain to go to North Andover and close the dump If we have three years, we -ehouldk_have €hxge years of the same participation as it would cost the town money It would not be cost effective. A figure not in the report was the "buy back" of the garbage contratract, which is 15 percent of the contract for the first year and 10 percent for the following year Also, there is no provision for businessmen's trash; they are a large part of the tax- payers ax- a ers and some cansidezation should be P Y given to them. He would not c support it this year, and next year he would look at it again cti Mr Hutchinson's answers to Mr Kent's questions were ✓ Ji °` 1 The low bidder proposed pickup on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday If people miss the pickup, they may go to the landfill 2 Solid waste in one bag or in three separate compart- ments; it is assumed garbage would be wrapped; up to six bags curbside 3 Garbage containers are not to be serviced 4 The program is designed to keep the landfill open five days a week Mr Hutchinson gave information on UOP The main plant is in Chicago, with other plants in Harrisburg, Europe and Japan Itnis a German system called the Martin System, which is a conversion of steam to electricity Mr Bailey, Solid Waste Committee, said that the one thing that convinced him was that the UOP process has no intermediate stage; it goes from trash to electricity out UOP has demonstrated in the European plants that they can do it and can do it here by transferring the technology and causing it to come off successfully by making allowances for the quite different heat values in the trash we generate here Resco was not recommended by the Manager and the Solid Waste Committee, (a) the plant is not prepared to handle American waste or the high intensity of the heat which is generated; (b) It is too expensive-$15/ton just to take the rubbish; Lexington would have transportation costs; non-controllable escalation factor; Mr Reilly, Chairman of Solid Waste Committee, said that the basic point of discussion is the commitment to the resource recov- ery facility r 597 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - April 18, 1979 I Mr Hutchinson said that UOP would build a plant for 1800-3000 tans a day and they are talking about dealing with towns in New Hampshire, this region, and others Mr White, Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, said that it would take about 32 towns besides Lexington to support it if you fig- ure 56 tons a day from Lexington. If 6 towns were reasonably, close and others were considering the proposal, how realistic is the June 30 deadline? Mr Hutchinson replied that it isn't that realistic and he could not tell him they are going to have 32 towns by July 1 We are recom- mending that we be one of the first and the Selectmen be given the capacity to make that decision It is a very complex issue and we are going to give Town Meeting eerything that we can before you give that decision Titiaths-that are ready to sign would have 350-400 tons; towns with warrant articles for commitment would add another 950 tons, and the hard cell towns would bring it over the top The agreement would be for a 20-year commitment with a guarantee of a certain tonnage, with a fixed cost tied to the consumer price index Mr Busa said that the consumer price index would be over 8 percent this year and can escalate as much as 15 percent We should come up with a 1-year contract with some means of escalation other than the 111 consumer price index Mr Crain said that the consumer price index is broken into com- ponents and, in negotiations, he hoped we could agree on the relation- ship of a reasonable lead time to components related to the facility, not the total index Mr Hutchinson said this is one of the issues that is being ad- dressed right now and could be pursued further with UOP at Town Meeting Mr White said that the major concern is net costs and we don't have a handle on net costs for FY 80 We are trying to see what the realistic impact on the tax rate will be, and it looks like $159,000 Mr Hutchinson said this is the only proven technology at this time and nobody has come up with anything In the interim, you have a problem that has to be resolved Mr. Bailey added that they don't see anything happening for the next 10-15 years Ta_answer Mr White's question if an escape clause could be built in, the key thing is in order for financing to be re- ceived, UOP has to have some long term commitments; if you have leaky agreements, they are going to have trouble getting financing Discussion was held on the $80,000 piece of DPW equipment in- cluded in the budget figures and the garbage collection figure of $72,000 Mr Hutchinson said that the proposal is to pick up garbage as part of curbside collection His recommendation to the Board is to put in $244,000 (new money) and he did not touch the $72,000 because of the variable of whether this would even be approved by the Town Meeting ‘d8 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - April 18, 1979 Mr Cataldo, Appropriation Committee, asked questions about the difference in the present operation and the proposal, and Mr Pollock answered his questions by a breakdown of FY 79 costs for the solid waste disposal program-$325,170, and future disposal system options and cost estimates-$258,000 ($244,000 plus $14,000 penalty), which did not include $72,000 for garbage collection. The proposal in- cludes all residential dwellings of 4 units or below; does not in- clude apartments or condominiums; once a week mixed garbage pickup. Housing for the elderly/public facilities are referenced for pickup and the Manager has the right under the contract to expand services to certain areas,with the approval of the Board of Selectmen In response to Mr Cataldo's question if any bids were taken including commercial pickup, Mr Hutchinson said there were none; we designed the specifications based on practice in most communities Mr Cataldo said that businesses would pay 24 percent and get nothing They would be willing to pay their share to have it picked up like everybody else; commercial people should not be excluded The Manager is to get a figure for including commercials and information on what other communities do Mr Busa asked for figures to pick up trash in Lexington as long as the landfill is open Mr Karsten Sorenson, Vinebrook Road, presented alternate pro- posals and requested that the Board seriously consider a program of dropping the curbside pickup of recyclables and go into a mandatory separation system at the sanitary landfill If the article is voted, 111 you are locked in for 20 years He did not agree with the Town Manager and said that people realize there is a real savings of $300,000 if you get BO percent participation, as Marblehead does Mrs Miley painted out that Marblehead is saying they have 50 per- cent participation She did not agree with Mr Sorenson's recommenda- tion for individual companies that pick up around the town to be charged an extra fee if they chose not to recycle; if so, it would be expected that any citizen who did not choose to recycle would be charged Then, it would almost get out of hand The Board agreed to discuss with the Town Moderator the possibility of recessing a Town Meeting session for an informal dialogue, and then vote on solid waste at the next session The Solid Waste Committee, Appropriation Committee, Capital Expendi- tures Committee, and Mr Pollock retired from the meeting Mr Peter DiMatteo, .Btii±dingttComAdssioner, met with the Board to discuss Article 57-Drainage By-Law Mr Busa expressed his reservations about the Article, (1) the authority giving the Building Commissioner the latitude to come up with a solution for drainage for each individual, whether builder or resident of the town, is too broad and, in his opinion, would only create problems for the town and the Building Commissioner, as he is the person making the judgment of how the drainage would be solved on each individual parcel of land or subdivision in the town; (2) there is no cut specification of what the drainage program would be He knew of other towns that have a similar by-law and it becomes very sticky and 111 very argumentative, and the only solution for the homeowner dr developer is the court or the Board of Appeals In talking with Town Counsel, the possibility is to go to the Board of Appeals He had full faith in Mr DiMatteo but if he should leave we might have one who is not sensitive to the problems Once an alteration is made in a piece of property, X09 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - April 18, 1979 a situation for to solve a drainage robkem. teat n the Building Commissioner g p In the construction of a home, you should have X number of degrees of runoff from the foundation to the property line. If you are near a catch basin, you can run off to a catch basis If a slope is greater than a certain percentage, dry wells of some size should be constructed or a swale should be constructed to run into a catch basin, to the edge of the road, to something There is nothing specific and there should be specifications for people to look at Mr DiMatteo said that the telephone calls on water problems with faulty basements, improper grading, etc are quite substantial and there is nothing I can do as it is a civil matter and the great expense to tax- payers can be a problem. The building code is limiting to me in the jurisdiction of what I can do During the construction procedures, I can regulate how water is affecting the abutters but as soon as that construction is finished and they put in the lawn and seed, I have no control over how they grade the property, what they do to the abutters, etc Mr Busa's concerns are well taken but I keep getting calls to protect the homeowners I think the by-law could be workable, and if my.'successor is not reasonable, then the by-law could always be revoked Mr Crain asked for information on other communities; whether there was such an article and whether it had been withdrawn Mr DiMatteo said that he couldn't find communities that did have it but he would work on it and get the information to the Board Mr Busa felt that something could be worked into an article to give the guidelines Mr Hutchinson agreed that todhave the information for the Board Mr DiMatteo retired from the meeting The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendations, as follows Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted4to award Contract Contract 478-5-E to the lowest bidder, Crowlet Associates, Inc of Leominster #78-5-E for sanitary sewer construction in the amount of $346,910 00, subject Sewer to the approval of Town Counsel as to bid form Mr Crain abstained because of a personal relationship Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve an Contract increase from $409,750 00 to $455,000 00 for Contract #77-5-E, awarded #77-5-E to JFP Construction, Inc , Littleton, for sanitary sewer construction in various locations, as authorized under Article 19 of 1978-sewer bonding Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Symmes request of the Symmes Hospital Community Relations Department to con- Road Race duct "Run for Symmes" races on Saturday, May 12, 1979, with a rain date of May 13, from the Arlington Heights line to Tower Park from 9 00 a.m to 3 00 p.m , as outlined in a letter of April 12, subject to the regulations of the Police, Public Works Department, and the Fire Department Sf4 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - April 18, 1979 motion duly y made and seconded, it was voted 5e0 by roll call vote eMrs Bastin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing real estate negotiations and litigation. After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 26 pm A true record, Attest E ecutive Clerk, Selectmen I SELECTMEN'S MEETING APRIL 23, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, April 23, 1979, at 7 00 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assist- ant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board discussed the appointment of an alternate on the Hanscom Fld Hanscom Field Advisory Committee and approved Mrs Miley's recom- Advisory Com mendation of Mrs Jacqueline Smith, 49 North Hancock Street Alternate Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Member Ars Jacqueline Smith as an alternate representative of the Town of Lexington on the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee The Board appointed members of the Town Celebrations Committee Town Celeb Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Com Appts Ms Dawn Brenchick, 48 Lincoln Street, a member of the Town Cele- brations Committee for a term expiring April 30, 1982; to re- l. appoint Ms Karen M. Gaughan, 32 Liberty Avenue, and Mr Paul W Jenkins, 19 Childs Road, for ,iterma expiring April 30, 1982 The Board approved the following agenda items Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Road Race the request of the Lexington High Student Leaders to sponsor the Run for Life race on May 19, 1979 td raise funds for the American Heart Association. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Bike-a-Thou the change in date from April 29 to May 20, 1979 for the Lexington Education Association Ride-a-Bike race Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Buckman mission to the Lexington Field & Garden Club to use the Buckman Grounds Tavern lawn for the annual plant sale on May 30 from 10 00 a m to 12.00 Noon The Board had no objection to the Masterworks Chorale conduct- ing an auction at the First Baptist Church on Saturday, May 19, 1979 Flyers would be distributed and a member would walk with a sandwich type sign through the business district on Saturday Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings of November 20, November 27, 1978; March 21, March 26, April 4, 1979 ic/2 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - April 23, 1979 Auctioneer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Auctioneer licenses for Allen C Lannom, 35 Webster Road; 'Arnold Clickstein, 318 Lincoln Street Taxi Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Taxi Licenses licenses for nine taxicabs owned by the Arlex Taxi Corporation d b a Lexington Cab Company, expiring May 1, 1980; inspections had been made by the Police Department Abatement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Acting Director of Public Works to abate the water bill sent in error to J T Hourihan, 22 Butler Avenue, $11 25 1-Day Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the 1-Day Liquor liquor license for an employee party at W R Grace on April 26, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept Mr Hutchinson's recommendation to execute the Hancock Street Chapter 90 agreements, subject to review by Town Counsel Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing the sale of real estate After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session. Uponmotionduly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8.05 p.m A true record, Attest 84404, :02. Executive Clerk, Selectmen SELECTMEN'S MEETING APRIL 29, 1979 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, April 25, 1979, at 7 00 p.m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent; /4r. Hutch- inson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Crain was absent Mr Kent discussed Article 24-road machinery The original motion Art 24 read $79,500 to be.,raised in the tax levy and it was changed to $69,200 Motion with $10,200 from the Gilmore Trust Fund He agreed with the Tovkn Treasurer that trust funds should not be used for a piece of equipment for the cemetery Therefore, Mr Kent recommended that the motion -re- to the original figure of $79,500 After discussion, it was agreed to table the matter pending a re- port from Mr Busa The Board agreed to defer discussion on Article 57-Drainage By- Art 57- Law until Mr Crain returns Drainage Mr Grush, Chairman, and Mr McWeeney of the Board of Assessors, Art 33 Mr Wenham, Town Assessors, Mr White, Chairman, Mr Perry, Mr Hall, Revaluation Mr Cataldo of the Appropriation Committee met with the Board on Revaluation Mr Grush said that four bids were received for doing the revalua- tion of the town. Systems Technology; Cole-Layer-Trumble, with an alternate bid; McGee & Magane; Patten Associates, with an alternate bid Systems Technology was the low bidder; it is a small concern relatively untried Cole-Layer-Trumble is a national concern owned by United Appraisal; they did the revaluation of the town in 1961 and we were satisfied with the job they did. McGee & Magane is well known in Mass and has done a lot of towns Patten Associates is a new company created by the corordinator in charge of Cole-Layer- Trumble work We need time to explore the bids and evaluate them carefully; therefore, we do not feel comfortable making a recom- mendation at this time Chairman Battin said that in essence we will not be voting a firm we will be voting an amount at Town Meeting and it will cover the most promising of these bids; as we look at them, that figure ought to be $240,000 ($236,00 plus $3,000 for personal property) Mr Grush agreed and said that the Board of Assessors will be submitting a complete report to the Selectmen Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - April 25, 1979 Art 43- Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a settlement had been Conserve made this morning, consistent with the conservation bonding authori- zation, in the amount of $200,000 for 1215 acres of land on Revere Street owned by Mr Tropeano Mr Busa said that he had questions to be answered; Mr White thought the price was high at $16,000 an acre, but the Appropriation Committee must submit a report The Board agreed not to bring up this Article at Town Meeting tonight Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 55 p.m A true record, Attest ilLigic.." 'As • °)C. ‘toloodoido,0, ecutive Clerk, Selectmen 1 I 5/5 SELECTMEN'S MEETING APRIL 30, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, April 30, 1979, at 7 00 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr.o Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mrs Mary Shunney, Chairman, and Mr Temple Scanlon, Director Moratorium of the Housing Authority; Mrs Iris Wheaton, representing the Tax Title Planning Board, met with the Selectmen Mrs. Shunney recommended an extension of the moratorium on the sale of tax title lots to enable the Authority to complete all trans- actions on the scattered sites lots Mrs Wheaton informed the Board that the Planning Board feels that the list of tax title lots located throughout the town should be reviewed, particularly the individual lots which may be buildable and, in some cases, those which may be com- bined with an abutting town-owned lot to provide an area suitable for building The Board agreed that the list should be reviewed and a joint meeting will be held prior to June 15 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the moratorium on the sale of tax title lots from May 1, 1979 to June 15, 1979 Mr Cohen requested the Board to sign the deed on the Curtin lot Curtin Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed Lot - conveying Lot 225 Spring Street to Dean H Curtin, Trustee et als Spring St for $5,000, subject to easements and restrictions of record, if any, only insofar as the same are now in force and applicable The Board briefly discussed nominees for appointments as Trustees Appts Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Trustees Frank T Parrish, Jr , 5 Juniper Place, a Trustee of Public Trusts to fill an unexpired 6-year term to May 31, 1982; to appoint Mr Parrish a Trustee of the Bridge Charitable Fund for a 3-year term expiring May 31, 1982 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings held on April 8, April 18, and April 23, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Bike Ride request for a Bike Ride for Diabetes on Sunday, May 20, 11 00-4 00 p m. 111 with a rain date of June 3 ,S/G Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - April 30, 1979 Art 43 - Chairman Battin asked for the Board's position on Article 43- Tropeano acquisition of land for conservation purposes on Revere Street, Conserve owned by Mr Tropeano Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously to support Article 43 Patricia Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board vote an intent to Terrace take a sewer easement Sewer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted an intent to take a sewer easement off Patricia Terrace to service the property owned by Mr DiBacco, 5 Patricia Terrace, with an award of no damages Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, for the purpose of discussing a real estate transaction After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 750 p.m A true record, Attest 31, 44,,,,,„„,. °A . 1aI Executive Clerk, Selectmen O r .1"/7 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MAY 1, 1979 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Tuesday, May 1, 1979 at 8 00 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board discussed Article 57-Drainage By-Law Mr Busa recom- Art 57- mended indefinite postponement at Town Meeting until guidelines are Drainage received from the Manager's office; then, it can be addressed again By-Law next year Questions were raised and it was agreed to defer until the May 7 meeting, pending additional information from the Building Commissioner The Board discussed the solid waste proposal Mr Reilly, Solid Chairman of the Solid Waste Committee, said that the committee Waste felt strongly that pickup and recycling were necessary and would help with the tonnage; in addition, there has to be an educational process to go forward Mr Otis Brown, 1 Militia Drive, requested consideration of including the pickup of business trash with a charge to each; this would mean a return to the town. Mr Hutchinson reported that the cost to include 354 apartments and 267 condominiums would be approximately $7,000-apartments and $6,000-condominiums He recommended that $13,000 be added to the base contract of $244,000, total of $257,000 He informed the Board that the bidders have said it would be at least double the base bid, or another $1 00 on the tax rate, to do the business community Their experience has shown that it is on a separate fee system where they do business The Board agreed that this wouldrequire separate specifications Questions were raised and Mr Hutchinson said that $257,000 will mean 80 cents on the tax rate Chairman Battin and Mrs Miley were in favor of Article 38 and Mr Busa, Mr Crain were opposed; Mr Kent was undecided at this point and would listen Mr Hutchinson is to write a memo to the Board with information on using $750,000 from .E & D to reduce the tax rate Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the Session open meeting, for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 15 p m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen S/8 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MAY 7, 1979 1 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 7, 1979, at 6 00 p m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager, were present Motion Wasrinade and seconded and ib.was voted 5-.0 by roll call vote - Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session for the pur- pose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation, with the intention of resuming the open meeting At 7 00 p m. , Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present N E.T &T.Co Chairman Battin opened the hearing on the New England Telephone Co Conduit petition to install underground conduit and manhole work on Waltham Street, Forest Street and Farmcrest Road Notices of the hearing had been sent to the abutters and filed with the Public Works Department Mr Roland Pinault was present as the representative of the Tele- phone Company and informed the Board that this project is necessary to provide a new feeder route system in the area Chairman Battin read a report from the Public Works Department recommending approval of the petition, with all excavations near existing trees on Farmcrest Avenue to be done by hand, with prior notice being given to the Town Tree Warden. No one appearing in favor or in opposition, the hearing was declared closed permission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grantp to the New England Telephone Company for the following location of conduit and one manhole. Mr Crain abstained because of conflict of interest Waltham Street on the easterly side, opposite Forest Street, one manhole Forest Street #54/220; also, on the easterly side, from existing man- hole #54/211 located approximately 315+ feet north of Forest Street, southerly 315+ feet to new manhole #54/220, thence southerly 180+ feet to Point (A) where conduit will be dead-ended for future use; also, from said new manhole, westerly 60+ feet to existing manhole #54/72, thence 30+ feet to Point (B) Forest Street where conduit will be dead-ended for future use; also, on the Waltham Street southerly side, from existing conduit at Point (D) south- Farmcrest Rd erly 227+ feet to existing pole 91/2 Farmcreat Road Masspool Mrs Joyce Hals, Transportation Advisory Committee, submitted a draft letter on ride-sharing strategies Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to support the Masspool Program/Ride Sharing Proposal and to write to the Mass Secretary of Trans- portation urging the application for National Ride Sharing Demonstration Program Funds 519 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - May 7, 1979 1 III Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings of April 25 and April 30, 1979 Chairman Battin announced that the Board had voted in Executive McSweeney Session 4-1 by roll call vote - Mr Crain, Mrs., Miley, Mrs Battin and Mr Kent in the affirmative, Mr Busa in the negative - that Town Counsel be directed to proceed with an appeal in the case of McSweeney vs Hutchinson, et als , and petition the Supreme Judicial Court for direct review of judgment of the Superior ,Court Mr Hutchinson recommended indefinite postponement at Town Art 57- Meeting this evening on Article 57-Drainage By-Law After talking Drainage with the Building Commissioner, he does have some room within the By-Law code if he chooses to exercise it The Board concurred with the recommendation The Board agreed to defer until Wednesday evening a decision do Tax Caps use $750,000 from E & D to reduce the tax rate, pending the Governor's decision on tax capping The Board agreed to make the annual appointments on Monday, Annual June 4, when a full Board would be present A letter of appreciation Appts is to be sent to Mr George Wadsworth, Chairman of the Board of Appeals, who would not be reappointed in accordance with the Appointment Criteria Bd of Committee recommendation (adopted 1977) that a full member of the Board Appeals of Appeals who has served consecutively for the equivalent of two full terms (10 years), or more, shall not be reappointed until after a lapse of at least one year The Board agreed to meet briefly on Wednesday, May 9, immediately Date for following the Town Meeting Session, for the purpose of reorganization Reorganiza and election of a Chairman of Board Mr Hutchinson requested the Board to sign a sewer contract Sewer Contr which was awarded on April 18, 1979 78-5-E Upon motion duly made and seconded,it was voted 4-0 - Mr Crain abstaining because of a perdonal relationship - to sign Contract 78-5-E awarded to Crowley Associates, Inc of Leominster for sanitary sewer construction in the amount of $346,910 00; Lowell Street from East Street to Thoreau Road, Waltham Street from Grapevine Avenue to Worthen Road, Wadman Circle, Allen Street from Waltham Street to Stedman Road, Boulder Road, Patricia Terrace and Pleasant Street Authorization is contained in Article 19-1978; Article 19-1977; Article 20-1976 Mr Hutchinson requested approval of the use of the Visitors' Visitors' Center Lawn Center Lawn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Permit mission to the Lexington-based New England Wood Carvers Organization to conduct the annual exhibit on the Visitors' Center lawn on June 23 and June 24, 1979 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - May 7, 1979 Revalue- Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Board of Assessors is tion meeting with the Appropriation Committee this evening to discuss the Article recommended figure of $240,000 for revaluation of the town The Assessors did not accept the lowest bidder because there was no demonstrated track record of that firm and it would not be in the best interests of the town. Transp Mr Hutchinson recommended that that the Board sign the ten Manage- limousine licenses for the Transportation Management Corp for a ment period of 30 days, and arrangements will be made to invite TMC to Limousines meet with the Board for a discussion of fees for transporting passengers to and from Lexington and Logan Airport The Board agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign ten limousine licenses for Transportation Management Corp , 1668 Mass Avenue, to transport passengers between Lexington and Logan Airport, in accordance with an application filed with the Board of Selectmen on October 30, 1978; licenses expiring June 7, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 40 p m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen 1 1�_ 521. Minutes of Board of Selectmen Organizational Meeting- May 9, 1979 The meeting was called to order by Mr. Hutchinson serving as acting Clerk at 11 08 P.M. Those present included Mrs. Battin, Mr. Busa, Mrs. Miley, Mr. Kent, Mr. Crain, Mr Hutchinson, Mr. Cohen, and Mrs. Banks. Mr Hutchinson opened the meeting and asked for nominations for Chairman. Mr. Kent nominated Mrs. Miley. It• was -moved to close the nominations and voted Mr. Hutchinson called fo]� a vote of the nominations. Mr. Miley was elected 4 to 1, with Mrs. Battin,-Ars. Miley, Mrs Kent and Mr. Crain voting in the affirmative, Mr. Busa in the negative. The meeting adjourned at 11 10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 4.1 Nancy H. Ba s Assistant to the Town Manager 523 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MAY 14, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 14, 1979, at 7 00 p.m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager;t. Mrs. Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board welcomed Mrs Miley as the new Chairman. The Board discussed and approved the application from the Lexington Elks Club Lodge of Elks #2203 to conduct Beano games on Tuesday evenings at 959 Beano Lic Waltham Street, pending clarification by Town Counsel of the Elks Club qualification under the statute Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Elks Club to conduct Beano at 959 Waltham Street on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 p m. to 11 00 p m. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes of Selectmen's meetings held on December 18, 20, 1978; January 10; May 1, 1979 111 Chairman Miley read a letter of resignation from Mr Sam Nablo Resignation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with Town Report regret, the resignation of Mr Sam Nablo as Chairman of the Town Report Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the fol- lowing reqests The Krebs School Foundation for One-Day liquor license for benefit 1-Day Liquor dance at 453 Concord Avenue on Saturday, June 9 from 8 30 p m to 12 30 a m Elks Lodge for the use of the Battle Freen for Flag Day cememonies Flag Day- on June 14, 1979 Mr Busa is to represent the Board Battle Green Lexington Bicentennial Band concerts on the Battle Green on Band Concerts Thursday evenings, June 28 through August 23; Wednesday, July 4, 7 00 p m. Mr. John E. Osborn D B.A. Colonial Tours, Concord, for Common Carrier Com.Carrier license to conduct tours in Lexington. License The Board had no objection to St Brigid's Youth Group conducting Car Wash a car wash at Depot Square on Saturday, May 19 or May 26 from 11 00 - 4 00 p m., subject to permission being given for the use of private property Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - May 14, 1979 The Board approved the Town Manager's recommendations for the following requests Permit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Lexington Drama Club to set up a sandwich-type sign on May 18 and May 19 at Waltham S'treetentrance to the High School, subject to the signs being removed before sunset each day Permit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- VFW - mission to the Veterans of Foreign Wars to sell poppies through the Poppies town on May 17, 18, 19, 1979, subject to the provision that the Board's approval is necessary EDCO Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Lease - extension of the EDCO lease of the Parker School until July 1, 1979 Perker Also, to authorize the Manager to negotiate with EDCO regarding con- School tinned occupancy of the building Transfer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of Fire Chief Bergeron for a transfer, and to request approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account 4150-Fire Department in the amount of $3,900 Conserve / The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendation that no action Sun Valley be taken on the Conservation Commission's request for support of Sun Farm Valley Farm's application under the agriculture preservation restriction program, pending additional information from the Conservation Commission. Sewer Mr Hutchinson ififormed the Board that the developers of Kiln Brook Charge- Office Park are prepared to go forward with the construction on Hartwell Abatement Avenue and he recommended the approval of the abatement of sewer charges Kiln Brk in lieu of betterments as the developer will be paying for the con- Off.Park struction of the sewer main, with no cost to the town Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the abate- ment of a sewer charge in lieu of betterments in the amount of $7,296 83 to Mr Thomas Dupree, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Mass , for the Kiln Brook Office Park located on Hartwell Avenue, Lexington Storm Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Drain request of Mr Thomas J Allen to connect his driveway storm drain Downing Rd at 27 Downing Road to the storm sewer in Downing Road, subject to the approval of the Public Works Department Moon Hill Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he is reviewing with the Sewer Engineering Department the letter from Mrs Elise Morehouse concerning Connection a sewer connection to service her home at 37 Moon Hill Road I Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - May 14, 1979 Mr Hutchinson discussed a letter from Mr William Spencer, 32 Hancock Traffic Street, stating "he understands from the Planning Director that the Traffic Safety Safety Committee has been discussing the possible opening of the Hancock Committe Avenue-Camelia Place railroad crossing," and he requested information -Camelia relative to the matter for discussion at a future meeting of the neighbor- Place hood Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he would have to research it more with the Traffic Safety Committee, but he pointed out that we have made no provisions in this budget for any work that would bring that street up to standards allowing it to be opened - and he would be opposed to doing so The Board agreed that, in accordance with accepted policy, no request had been generated from the Chairman or the full Board of Selectmen to the Traffic Safety Committee for any investigation or recommendation in this area Therefore, as an advisory committee to the Selectmen, the Traffic Safety Committee has no reason to undertake this project at this or any other time unless so requested by the Board of Selectmen Chairman Miley informed the Board that she and Mr. Fred Rosenberg, Lex Chairman of the Transportation Advisory Committee, had attended a luncheon Clean in Sturbridge to accept, on behalf of the Town of Lexington, a Clean Air Air Award from the Massachusetts American Lung Association Lexington was Award nominated for the award by the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction for a series of transportation programs to provide alterna- tives to private automobiles and thus improve air quality, express bus ' service to downtown Boston; suburban bus system between town and nearby activity centers, partially subsidized by MBTA with town share approximately $90,000; extensive bikeway planning to be shared locally between MDPW and town; strong promotion of MBTA services and MASSPOOL, resulting in increased ridership and ridesharing opportunities for local residents Mrs Shunney, Chairman, and Mr Scanlon, Director, of the Lexington Housing Housing Authority met with the Board to request a vote authorizing Chair- Authority man Miley to sign the amendment to Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments HUD Program Annual Contributions Contract The Housing Authority held a Contract special meeting on May 9 to execute this contract This will take care of Section 8 funding of the additional fifteen units which have been awarded to the Authority At that time, the Board of Selectmen had voted to support the application and this is the last step Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Chairman Miley to sign the amendment to the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program Annual Contributions Contract between the Lexington Housing Authority and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Mr Buse asked about the recent notice from the Mass Department of Rte 3 Public Works abandoning the State's interests in a parcel of land taken Land - in Lexington for the construction of Route 3 Mass Mr Hutchinson said that the land was taken for public purposes and, D P W in his opinion, it is being given back to the town; there was no obliga- tion to give it back to the owners The law provides for this and we applied for the use of three lots for public purposes for the Housing Authority's scattered sites program. Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - May 14, 1979. Route 3 Mr Busa added that the former owner of part of the land claims Land when the town took it from him for $1.00, if the land was not to be (cont'd) used as a state highway, it would revert to him or his heirs Mr Busa had asked him to produce such a letter Chairman Miley said that when the letter is received, we will refer it to Town Counsel. Because the Housing Authority is involved, Mr Hutchinson offered to investigate the matter and report back to the Board Treasurer Mr Zehner met with the Board to request approval of renewing two notes with the Old-Colony Bank and Trust Company Also, for approval of a $795,000 bond issue for a 5-year term. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Mr Zehner, Town Treasurer, to renew notes for $70,000 and $274,000 with the Old Colony Bank and Trust Company at the existing rate of 5 04 percent, notes to mature on June 18, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve a 5-year term for the bond issue in the amount of $795,000 On behalf of the Board, Chairman Miley thanked Mr Zehner for his astute financial negotiations which have benefited the town and placed it in an advantageous rating position Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 - Mrs Miley, Session Mr Busa, Mrs Battin and Mr Kent - by roll call vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing real property and matters of possible litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 50 p.m A true record, Attest e.14,40646.197 ;)P.44' 14:4;104111for ecutive Clerk, Selectmen I -5"z7 6.11Art; ,�%� SELECTMEN'S MEETING MAY 21, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 21, 1979, at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Crain was absent Chairman Miley read a letter of resignation from Ms Frayda T Cooper Resigna Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with re- gret, the resignation of Ms Frayda T Cooper, 50 Asbury Street, as a member of the Transportation Advisory Committee A letter of appreciation is to be sent to Ms Cooper, who has moved to Australia, thanking her for her many contributions in behalf of the town while serving as a member of the committee Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Roger Trudeau expressing his Traffic- concern about potential traffic problems at Hartwell Avenue and Westview Hartwell Street due to the development of a rezoned parcel of land in the area Ave Area He requested the Selectmen, through the Traffic Safety Committee, to study the present traffic situation and begin to take appropriate action to re- solve not only the present congestion but also the increased congestion which will occur during and after construction of the bank building Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Traffic Safety Committee for preliminary consideration of potential traffic problems which may arise in the Hartwell Avenue/Westview Street area Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's Meetings held on January 16, 17; May 7 (Execu- tive), May 9, 1979 The Board approved the following requests for the use of the Permits - Visitors' Center grounds Visitors' Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Center mission to the Pilgrim Congregational Church to conduct a bake sale Grounds on June 8 from 10 00 a m to 2 00 p m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Painters' Guild of the Arts and Crafts Society to conduct an art exhibit on September 29 from 10 00 a m to 4 00 p m with a rain date of October 6, 1979 Chairman Miley informed the Board that calls are being received Patriots' as to whether the town will celebrate Patriots' Day in 1980 on Day, 1980 Saturday, April 19, or the state holiday on Monday, April 21 It was agreed to discuss the matter with the Town Celebrations Committee and also be receptive to sentiment expressed by residents before consideration is given to a celebration on Saturday Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - May 21, 1979 Committees Chairman Miley asked the Board to give consideration to the establish- ment of a charge to committees to be formed as a result of Town Meeting actiong Board membersMMagreed to workoon the following committees Insurance Lo ittee K rtAlfi /Mana/ger sgu3rficeffice Human Services Mrs Battin/Mr Crain Ad hoc Health Committee Mr Kent/Mr Page/Board of Health; Mr Kent informed the Board that plans are already underway and he has met with Mr Page; arrangements will be made to set up a meeting with the Board of Health within the next ten days Chairman Miley said that the Selectmen's annual appointments will be made at the meeting on June 4 and nominees could be recommended on that eveningfor ointment to the Mrs Battin added that pp new committees. appointments must also be made to an Energy Committee Mental Mr Busa commented that the full Board of Selectmen had not been Health notified of plans for the Commissioner of Mental Health to visit Lex- Commr ington He asked for more information on the date, etc Mrs Banks said that Lexington was one of the communities suggested by the League of Cities and Towns for the Commissioner to visit and meet with local government to see how we addressed human services and to what extent we are involved in the services She was contacted by the League and, after meeting with a group of towns in the Mystic Valley area, it was thought to be a good idea to have an elected official and one staff member meet with the Commissioner At that time, Mrs Battin was Chairman and now we would be working with Chairman Miley Mrs Battin added that Mrs Banks was notified as Lexington's repre- sentative to coordinate human services; it is not to be an official visit to meet all town officials but to look at a facility in each of the five towns It was felt there would not be the dialogue if there were too many people there Because of the pressures of Town Meeting, Mrs Battin had not sent a memo to Board members Mrs Banks said that the date of the Commissioner's visit to Lexington was just changed to June 22 Mr Kent said that the visit is not until June and there is ample time for Mrs Banks and the Manager to work out the details Chairman Miley agreed and said there are communication difficulties at every town meeting time Pool Chairman Miley announced that a petition with approximately 1600 Referen- signatures for a referendum on the pool has been received When we have dum a full Board, we will have to set a date for the election and to sign the warrant Mr Cohen advised that within ten days of the filing of the petition, the Selectmen shall call a special meeting which shall be held within fourteen days after the issuance of the call Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the preparation of notices calling for the referendum on the pool on Tuesday, June 12, with a view to formally issuing that notice at a meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 29, 1979, at 8 00 a.m Costs were discussed and Mr Hutchinson estimated $7,000, including the Town Clerk and the Selectmen's expenses 11. L *f.2. ? Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - May 21, 1979 Fire Chief Bergeron met with the Board Mr Hutchinson requested a Transfer- transfer of $1,800 in addition to the $3,900 transfer to the Fire Depart- Fire Dept ment authorized by the Board on May 14 These transfers are for problems 4150 with fire equipment Chief Bergeron said that Engine 2 has front end, brake and steering problems; Engine 3 needs a new brake job; Engine 4 a water tank. Mr Busa recommended approval because of the safety factor involved Mr Kent said that we ought to be on top of this during the budget process and not have them appear at the end at the time of the standard motor vehicle inspection period Mr Hutchinson said there is a safety and operational dimension here and while we think we would be in better shape next year because of better equipment, these things can happen, especially with fire trucks Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account 4150-Fire Department Expenses in the amount of $1,800 Mr Hutchinson requested a transfer of $8,000 to the DPW Road Transfer- Machinery account due to the increased cost of fuel for vehicles and DPW 5450 the installation of back-up alarms and dump alarms in all motor trucks, which were mandated by the Registry of Motor Vehicles for this in- spection period Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account 5450-Road Machinery in the amount of $8,000 Mr Clifford Prentiss, Lexington Conservation/Recreation Director, Conserve met with the Board to discuss the application by Sun Valley Farm, located Sun Valley on Lowell Street, under the new agricultural preservation restriction Farm program, which is funded by the Mass Department of Food and Agriculture The intent of the program is to maintain land in its natural state for a period of "x" number of years, and the fee would be paid to the owners for giving up development rights They have $5 million and applications for over $19 million have been received The Conservation Commission supports this program and this particular application as being part of their land use plan for the community and in the best interests of the town and regional agriculture The Planning Board also supports the program and the application Mr Dennis Busa was present and said it is not an outright sale to the state He asked Mr Prentiss to explain the ownership rights to the Board Mr Prentiss said the owner is still Sun Valley Farm and we simply have a restriction upon the land The Conservation Commission would be willing, with the Selectmen's support, to use Town'Counsel's services in closing on this easement We would be co holders of this As it stands now, the state pays the restriction costs for the easement and they oversee the restriction Some towns are now putting money in for Town Counsel services, which is not a great deal of money, so we can be co-holders of it and can also monitor it The owner can still operate the farm, he can exclude the public and can erect fences or do anything that is suitable under agricultural use He can sell the land to another individual or corporation, but the easement goes with the land The owner still pays taxes to the town so there is no loss of tax revenue Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - May 21, 1979 Mr Kent asked about the advantage of Lexington being co holder of the easement, and Mr Prentiss said that some people have said they are unhappy with the state exerting so much power at the local level, by holding an easement over local farmlands, and the Commission felt it is best to have the town also be a party to this Mr Kent said if the state holds it and the town holds it, then as a practical matter, the state has the control and one cannot make a change without the approval of the co-holders If there is some concrete advantage to have it, he was not averse to a modest expenditure out of our legal fees' budget but would like to have some indication of the value of that to the town. Mr Hutchinson said the form calls for negotiating what our level of participation will be; whether we provide counsel or not - looking at cost exposure - that is a subject of negotiation Mr Prentiss said it is an open-ended form if we choose not to be a part Mr Kent said that we would still have the option available not to be part of the process even if we indicate our support of the project In response to Mrs Battin's question of whether there is a definite benefit to the town, Mr Cohen said he would be glad to look into it Mr Hutch- inson added that the endorsement can actually stipulate that the Board is exploring our involvement further Mr Kent moved to support the application; seconded by Mrs Battin; Mr Busa said he wholeheartedly supports the concept but he would not sign because of conflict of interest Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 to acknowledge and endorse the application by Sun Valley Farm under the new agricultural preservation restriction program, subject to Town Counsel 's review Mr Busa abstained Moon Mr Hutchinson reported on the letter from Mrs Morehouse, 37 Moon Hill Hill Road, regarding a sewer connection. He said that Engineering ad- Sewer vises that it would be possible to extend the sewer in that area but hearings should be held The Board agreed that administrative hearings should be scheduled Abate- Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the abatement of a sewer ment charge to the Burroughs Corp as they have installed their own line Burroughs to correct a long-standing problem. Sewer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the abatement of a sewer charge of $9,384 10 for the Burroughs Corp , 92 Hayden Avenue, as the work is to be done at no cost to the town •Fld & Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Field and Garden Club 's Garden request regarding the building occupied by the Red Cross is still under Club - review as the Red Cross has not vacated the property A letter to that Red Cross effect will be sent to the Garden Club Bldg .5.91 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - May 21, 1979 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a request has been received Oxbow Rd - from DPW/Engineering to go forward under Article 22 of 1976 to recon- Constitu- struct a trunk sewer from Oxbow Road to Constitution Road, a distance tion Rd of 350 feet There has been settlemen of the existing sewer line, Sewer which has been verified, and back-up problems experienced in the Oxbow Road area Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the reconstruction of a trunk sewer from Oxbow Road to Constitution Road, a distance of 350 feet Work to be done by Great Northern Construction under the appropriation of Article 22 of the 1976 Annual Town Meeting Mr Hutchinson said that he is interviewing people for re-appoint- ment to existing town agencies and will request the Board's approval soon Mr Cohen informed the Board that the Elks Club meets the statue Beano - for application for a Beano license; the statute states, "any fraternal Elks Club organization having chapters or branches in at least one other New England state. desiring..to i:operate:ar conduct the game commonly called beano may upon application to the state lottery commission be granted a license to conduct said game in a city or town, approved by the board of selectmen " The Board agreed to sign the Elks Club application to the State Lottery Commission, under the vote of the Board on May 14, 1979 Mrs Miley said that the application also says to sell lottery tickets Mr. Cohen advised that the statute says the Director of the Mass Lottery Commission may license any organization licensed to conduct the game of Beano to sell lottery tickets, providing such lottery tickets are sold in conjunction with the license called Beano and the funds shall be used exclusively for educational, charitable or religious purposes The Board had no problem with that Mrs Battin said that people have been asking for clarification on Pool the pool opening this summer Mr Hutchinson said there are no monies budgeted; the pool has been ruled to be closed by the Board of Health The Director of Public Health has said that it will not only remain closed this year but other years Mr Busa urged the Manager to see what expenditures it would take to open the pool in the same manner as last summer and if not too great perhaps it could be opened up with some modifications that would meet state standards Mr Hutchinson said that we can't open it unless we rehabilitate or correct or recon- struct the pool, and rehabilitate could mean a number of things There is money-.far sameestaffing but it wouldhdepend on the scope of the staff- ing involved They are trying to work out something with Hayden and we would be providing a certain level of staff Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent - to go into Executive Session Session for the purpose of discussing litigation, with no intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it�/was voted to adjourn at 9 30 p m A true record, Attest fk ,. Executive Clerk, Selectmen , Ill SELECTMEN'S MEETING MAY 29, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Tuesday, May 29, 1979, at 8 00 a m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board met to call the referendum on the pool Pool Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to call the Referendum referendum on the Center pool for Tuesday, June 12, 1979, with polling hours of 7 00 a m to 8 00 p.m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Warrant warrant for the referendum on June 12, 1979, to be mailed to resi- dents under the requirements of the statute for 14 days notice The Board agreed to schedule a seminar in Marlborough and requested Mr Crain to make arrangements for a convenient date during the week of June 18 Mr Hutchinson is to work on a list of items to be discussed at the seminar, including evaluations of the Executive Clerk, Town Manager, Comptroller (with .lnb description) and Town Counsel The question was posed as to whether there should be one or two Sch Sites committees involved now that we have two schools, Parker and Munroe, Conv Com. to deal with Mr Hutchinson recommended expanding the current com- mittee by neighborhood representation, and not start the process again on Parker All agreed the charge on both buildings is impor= taut. The matter is to be discussed in more detail A meeting is to be scheduled with the Personal Advisory Board Personnel to discuss personal services and the role of PAB Adv Bd Mr Hutchinson said that we have received notification of Conservation approval of funding for our Conservation land and will try to Self-Help get it by June 30 Funding Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8 35 a m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selector �d, .5.13 t SELECTMEN'S MEETING JUNE 4, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, June 4, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager (9 14 p m ); Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board removed from the table, as voted on April 9, 1979, the N E T &T petition of the New England Telephone Company to install conduit, man- Pedestal hole, and pedestal terminal on Bow Street; conduit and manhole on Bow St / Cliffe Avenue Notices of the continued hearing were sent to abutters Cliffe Ave and filed with the Public Works Department Mr. Pinault, representative of the Telephone Company, informed the Board that he had met with Mr Marques, an abutter at 22 Bow Street, and explained that it is a service-area concept pedestal, 56" high, 40" wide, 12" deep, to be located at the corner of Bow Street and Cliffe Avenue This is a new distribution-type cabinet, which would eliminate some of the overhead wires in the area Chairman Miley read a report from Mr Empey, Acting Director of 111 Public Works, recommending approval of the petition Mr Busa, as a resident of the area, was in favor of the petitioned location of the pedestal which would eliminate the visible pollution from the wires and poles This particular intersection has quite a bit of overgrowth and debris, and after the installation the Telephone Company has agreed to landscape around the pedestal; this should enhance the location Mr Anthony Marques, 22 Bow Street, asked to be recorded in opposi- tion as his home was situated across the street from the proposed pedestal and he would look directly out on it He suggested an alternate location between the railroad right-of-way and one of the trees, and it would be set back so that it would not encumber his property Mr Pinault was not aware that this proposal would be pre- sented and it was agreed to table the petition for one week, pending meetings between the Telephone Company Engineer, Mr Marques, and the Public Works Department At Chairman Miley's suggestion, Mr Marques agreed to look at pedestal installations in Lexington and surrounding towns Upon notion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the New England Telephone Company petition for a pedestal terminal until June 11, 1979 Reverend Handley, Director of Guides, met with the Board to recom- Guides mend the appointment of Official Lexington Guides All new candidates had successfully passed the examination given by Reverend Handley L.(39' Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - June 4, 1979 Guides Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following Guides for a term expiring June 1, 1980 Appointments Ted Ford 4 Grove Street David Hamburger 18 Cooke Road Melissa Hart 69 Bloomfield Street John Nordhal 13 Meriam Street Nat Taylor 9 Washington Street Peter Wasserman 188 Waltham Street Re-appointments Stephen Bertolini 9 Brown Street Charles V. Ford 4 Grove Street David Harrington 240 Worthen Road John Hayden 4 Davis Road Richard John 19 Saddle Club Road Judd Levingston 350 No Emerson Road James Lyons 12 Chase Avenue Peter Ostrow 7 Castle Road Charles Soparkar 12 Saddle Club Road David A Wasserman 188 Waltham Street Deborah Zeltzer 5A Eliot Road Bruce Baron 236 Worthen Road Chairman Miley, on behalf of the Board, congratulated the Guides and thanked them for giving their time to conduct tours They have quite a responsibility as, many times, they are the only persons the visitors have contact with in our town The Board discussed the list of annual appointments and agreed to the following: Board of Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Appeals Natalie H Riffin a member of the Board of Appeals for a five year term Member expiring May 31, 1984 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappnint Assoc Robert A Bowyer, Eric T Clarke, Robert M Gary, William J Scouler, Members Clarence D Turner as Associate Members of the Board of Appeals for one year terms expiring May 31, 1980. Also, to appoint Robert V Whitman an Associate Member of the Board of Appeals for a one year term expiring May 31, 1980 Personnel Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Adv Bd Frank Hazel a member of the Personnel Advisory Board for a three year term of office expiring May 31, 1982 Mr Crain agreed to come back to the Board with a recommendation for one more appointment to P.A B I 3,sSe6-345- Selectmen's lectmen's Meeting - 3 - June 4, 1979 Upon motion dulymade and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Town Erna S Greene, Raymond J Culler, Rev Harold T Handley, Robert B. Report Sawyer, and Louis A Zehner as members of the Town Report Committee Committee for one year terms expiring May 31, 1980 Also, to appoint Phil Blampied and Frederick C Frick members of the Town Report Committee for one-year terms expiring May 31, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Fence Louis A. Zehner and Rev Harold T Handley as Fence Viewers for one Viewers year terms expiring May 31, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reap pint Police Robert B Kent, Alexander J Cella, Hugh M Chapin, James F Corr, Manual William C Hays, Irving H Mabee as members of the Police Manual Policy Policy Committee for one year terms of office expiring May 31, 1980 Committee Also, to appoint Gerald L. McLeod a member of the Police Manual Policy Committee for a one year term of office expiring May 31, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Sewer Katherine G Fricker, Gordon E Barnes, Jr., Charles J Code, Jr , Advisory George F McCormack, Kenneth W Nill, Richard J Rycroft as members Committee of the Sewer Advisory Committee for one year terms of office expiring May 31, 1980 Mr Crain agreed to come back to the Board with a recommendation for one more appointment to the Sewer Advisory Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Charles L MacManus the Youth Counselor for the Town of Lexington for a one year term expiring May 31, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Eleanor M. McCurdy the Executive Clerk to the Board of Selectmen for a one year term expiring May 31, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Gamel Helena R Butters and Leona W Martin as Trustees of the Gamel Legacy Legacy Income for one year terms expiring May 31, 1980 Income Mrs Battin brought to the attention of the Board that this is Trustees a small trust with a principal of $500 00 and an income accumulation of $485 00 In the past, we have received requests from people for funds and we should be using these trusts more actively Mr. Hutchinson agreed to review the trusts to have them available as sources of need. The Board agreed to defer for a short time the appointments to School the School Sites Conversion Committee Sites Com. Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - June 4, 1979 Limousine Mr Paul Sullivan, Vice President of Transportation Management, P g v Licenses- and Attorney Conroy met with the Board to discuss the rate structure Transporta and the renewal of ten limousine licenses, which expire June 7, 1979 Management The Board had been informed by letter from Transprotation Management, dated March 23, 1979, that the rates for limousine service between Lexington and Logan Airport would be increased from $9 00 to $11 00 for the first person transported from each stop; $4 00 for each addi- tional person would remain the same Mr Cohen advised that, as the licensing authority, it is the Board's responsibility to set the rates for limousine service Mr. Kent asked Mr Sullivan how long did he foresee operating under the revised rate structure before coming back to the Board requesting an increase? Mr Sullivan couldn't say; it depended on the anticipated increase in the cost of gasoline to approximately 95 cents a gallon, and how long he could afford to absorb increased costs We want to make it go and hope the volume will take care of the increase Chairman Miley brought up the question raised at the meeting with Transportation Management on December 20, 1978 relative to three businesses operating at this one location, and the effect upon the traffic flow Mr. Hutchinson said a report is being compiled and will be completed shortly The Police Department has received only one com- plaint recently regarding congestion in the area The Board agreed to discuss the matter when the Manager's report is submitted Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve ten limousine licenses for Transportation Management Corporation, 1668 Massachusetts Avenue, for public vehicles for hire, specifically limousine service to Logan Airport, in accordance with a letter filed with the Board of Selectmen and dated March 23, 1979 The rates shall be as specified by the Board of Selectmen, $11.00 for the first person transported from each stop, and $4 00 for each additional person Licenses shall expire May 1, 1980 The Board approved the following agenda items Cert. of Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Incorp request of Secretary Connolly for a change in address on Certificate of Incorporation for Middlesex Tennis & Swim Club, Inc from 114 Waltham Street to 475 Bedford Street Bike-a- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Thon change in the date for Ride-a-Bike for Retarded Citizens from May 20 to Sunday, June 10, from 1 00-4 00 p m. Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the I minutes of Selectmen's meetings held on May 7, 14, 21, 1979 "'Art 52 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Peking request of Town Counsel to sign the release of a land easement held Gardens by the town and given to Lexington Enterprises, Inc (Peking Gardens) Easement as voted under Article 52 of the 1979 Annual Town Meeting X37 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - June 4, 1979 Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve the abatement of Colangelo a sewer charge for Mr Michael Colangelo for property at 125 Hartwell Sewer Avenue in the amount of $4,211 48 as the installation is to be done at Abatement Mr Colangelo's expense and at no expense to the town Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the sewer betterment charge for Mr Michael Colangelo for the property at 125 Hartwell Avenue in the amount of $4,211 48 Mr Hutchinson requested approval of transfers of $1,000 to the Transfers Town Clerk's Election Account and $650 00 to the Selectmen's Election Town Clk Account to cover additional expenses resulting from the upcoming Selectmen Referendum on June 12, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee for approval of a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account 1950-Town Clerk Elections in the amount of $1,000 00; also, a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account 1900-Selectmen's Elections in the amount of $650 00 Mr Hutchinson discussed the Morehouse sewer connection and recom- Morehouse mended that the Board schedule an administrative hearing, inviting Sewer members of the Sewer Advisory Committee, to decide whether it would be advisable to include this with the Bird Hill sewer program to be completed in FY 80 TWe-will include Other homes .lo be serticed and Engineering is working up cost estimates of including them with the FY 80 program The Board agreed to schedule the hearing at the Selectmen's meeting on June 25 Mr Hutchinson discussed the letter from the Recreation Committee Recreation requesting outside engineering help be hired to do whatever has been Bicycle requested by the state to get the bicycle path project underway It Path is Recreation's understanding that the town engineering department Engineer- has too much else to deal with and cannot perform these services at ing this time. Mr Hutchinson said that engineering has commitments for the sewer program, road construction, the sanitary landfill, etc and people should be aware it is a matter of prioritising It was agreed we would provide certain engineering services before we got the grant for the bicycle path project and we will check with the state to see exactly what is required. Mr Kent recommended that every effort be made to do the engineering work this fall;otherwise, the practical impact would be a year's delay Mr Hutchinson said he would file a report with the Board Mr Hutchinson requested the Board toapprovEhe technical agreement Patricia between Arlington and Lexington for the Patricia Terrace Sewer; also to Terrace vote an intent to take an easement on Lot "F" in Lexington The re- Sewer mainder of the easement is in Arlington and therefore may have to be Agreement taken by Arlington's Board of Selectmen Intent to Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Take Ease- technical agreement between Arlington and Lexington for the Patricia ment Terrace sewer Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted an intent to take a sewer easement on Lot "F" in Lexington for the Patricia Terrace sewer, with an award of no damages .53a Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - June 4, 1979 Summit Rd Mr Hutchinson discussed the letter from Mr Douglas Allred of Sewer 38 Summit Road stating that the roadway was damaged during sewer Project construction and should have been replaced with a road surface equivalent to its prior condition A report from Mr Empey, Acting Director of Public Works/Engineering, stated that the Engineering Division had looked closely at this location and it was determined that since this project was intended only to provide sanitary sewer to Summit Road and funds are not available to relandscape or repave private property, or to reconstruct the street, the town should re- store the roadway as it does on nearly all sewer projects, i e , to patch the trench to the original grade of the street and not to over- lay the roadway By doing this, we have met our obligations with respect to restoration and have eliminated the possibility of water puddling on the abutting lawns and driveways Mr Hutchinson agreed to respond to Mr Allred that the town does not have an obligation to totally resurface the road on the sewer project; however, the current work does address protecting the lawns and driveways in the area Sewer Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that requests for sewer extensions Requests to North Street, Amherst Street, Hayward Avenue area, and Concord Avenue from Chadbourne Road to the Belmont line will be considered as part of our bond authorization and the normal budget process, and the appropriate hearings will be held We would support moving as much into the FY 80 budget as we can handle within our financial capacity Tax Title Mrs Mary Shunney, Chairman of the Housing Authority, and Mrs Moratorium Iris Wheaton, Planning Board representative, met with the Board Chairman Miley said it was agreed_ at our last joint meeting on April 30 to extend the moratorium on the sale of tax title lots from May 1, 1979 to June 15, 1979 The minutes of that meeting recorded the recommendation of the Housing Authority for an exten- sion of the moratorium to enable the authority to complete all trans- actions on the scattered sites lots Also, Mrs Wheaton had informed the Board that the Planning Board feels that the list of tax title lots located throughout the town should be reviewed, particularly the individual lots which may be buildable and, in some cases, those which may be combined with an abutting town-owned lot to provide an area suitable for building. Mrs Shunney said that it is not the intention of the Housing Authority to ask for a further extension of the moratorium as the scattered sites program has been presented to HUD and we do not see the possibility of adding more. It is our understanding that as these tax title lots come up, if someone else wants to purchase them or take some sort of action on the lots, that the major boards be in- formed of such requests; that is the Housing Authority's concern We We have been advised informally that we are going to get our Country- side and our 25 family units, which will be used for the developers of condominiums We feel we have done as much as we could under scattered sites; we do have a few problems we are trying to iron out with HUD but we are going to be able to go forward with the program and, hopefully, the contract is going to be signed by June 15 X39 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - June 4, 1979 Mrs Wheaton said that the Planning Board feels the town should keep Tax Title all of the tax title lots that might be combined with other tax title lots Moratorium that might be used for the Housing program. The Housing Authority has (cont'd ) worked hard in getting this one underway but in five years they may be able to undertake another such venture, and if we don't have the land available to us, if it is sold, then we have lost out We feel that we don't always know when the tax title lots are coming up; most of the time, we realize we do get notices but at one of our meetings it was brought up that a 13,700 sq ft lot with 50 ft frontage located on North Street opposite Carl Road was apparently sold last November, and none of us remembered hearing about it She had no idea of whether it was a tax title lot or not and if it could possibly have gone for a scattered sites program We don't know when an isolated request comes in if there is tax title land adjacent to is and it could be incorporated with it If there is a potential for it to be used by itself or in con- junction with another piece of land, we feel that the town should save it; otherwise, if it is obviously too small and obviously cannot be combined with other town land, then the town should dispense with it Mr Cohen said that when Mr O'Connell was the Town Manager, he had his assistant go through every single tax title lot and he came up with 38 lots throughout the whole town, and that was the basis of the scattered sites project The only lots that have come on the market that the town has acquired within the last 16 years were all of low value and were small lots The North Street lot mentioned was of low value and, under the statute, you must have an auction when you foreclose any property of low value We have had two auctions since he has been Town Counsel, and all of those lots were in the paper, with an announcement of an auction. The lots were checked out very carefully before the town made the decision to foreclose There were some on tax title that had never been foreclosed and all of those had been reviewed as to which were not buildable and could not be used for scattered sites, and so they could go on this low value process. After a lengthy discussion, Mr Hutchinson agreed to get the list of tax title lots, noting the lots that have been deleted, update the list, provide all interested boards with the list, which will be consulted when individual requests to purchase lots are received. Mr Cohen agreed to meet with Mrs Wheaton to explain the process of the town acquiring tax title lots Mrs Wheaton retired from the meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board'a approval of the request of the Town of Bedford for 700,000 gallons of water to be provided through the Lexington system. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Bedford Town Manager to draw up the appropriate agreement to provide the Town Water of Bedford with 700,000 gallons of water through the Lexington system, Agreement subject to the approval of the Metropolitan District Commission .5310 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - June 4, 1979 Mr Hutchinson requested approval of his appointments to committees Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's appointments to the following commissions Sara Chase to the Historical Commission for the period April 1, 1979 through March 31, 1982 Frank Fields to the Conservation Commission for the period April 1, 1979 through March 31, 1982 Drainage Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that corrective action has been Leaks taken on Mr Frank Sandy's letter concerning a street drain in Hayes Lane, and a small gasoline leak into the Vine Brook culvert under Mass Avenue in the vicinity of the former Colonial Garage Center Chairman Miley said the Board has a mandate from Town Meeting re- Traffic garding the center of town and Mr Busa has been asked for his assistance on traffic and businesses, and in forming a committee to get the ball rolling Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5r0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining, litigation, and a land item After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 00 p m A true record, Attest Alke640"--d•" Executive Clerk, Selectmen 1 SELECTMEN'S MEETING JUNE 11, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, June 11, 1979, at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley read a letter from the New England Telephone Company NET&T requesting a "leave to withdraw" the petition for the installation of Manholes- ' two manholes on Massachusetts Avenue near School Street and Paul Revere Mass.Ave Road The Board agreed to approve the request, thereby cancelling the School St scheduled hearing at 7 30 p.m. No abutters were present in favor or in opposition Mr Pinault, Telephone Company representative, was present Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the New England Telephone Company for a "leave to withdraw" the petition for the installation of two manholes on Massachusetts Avenue. Chairman Miley read a request from the New England Telephone Company J/0 Pole for permission to relocate one pole on Fletcher Avenue near Sherman Street Fletcher Mr Pinault, Telephone Company representative, said that this relocation Avenue is necessary due to the construction of a new driveway A report from the Public Works Department recommended approval of the request Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the New England Telephone Company and the Boston Edison Company for the following location. Fletcher Avenue, on the northerly side, approximately 91+ feet west of Sherman Street, one pole 33/4; one pole to be removed. The Board removed from the table, as voted on June 4, 1979, the NET&T petition of the New England Telephone Company to install conduit, Pedestal manhole and pedestal terminal on Bow Street; conduit and manhole on Bow St / Cliffe Avenue Cliffe Ave Mr Pinault, Telephone Company representative, was present and informed the Board that the location had been reviewed by Mr Marques, 22 Bow Street, the Telephone Company Engineer, and Mr Coscia of the Department of Public Works They came up with an alternate location of the manhole within 5 feet of the original request, and a difference of 20 feet for the location of the pedestal If approved, the Telephone Company will submit an "as built" plan after it has been completed We are in agreement with the shrubbery requirements that have been suggested to us Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - June 11, 1979 Mr Marques thanked the Board for its sensitivity and consideration of the matter He approved of Mr Coscia's suggestion of putting the pedestal in a grove of trees, which will hide it in the summer and the winter; also, Mr Mazerall's agreement to put evergreens in to hide it from view No one else appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Miley declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the New England Telephone Company for the following location. Bow Street, on the westerly side, from existing telephone conduit located approximately 10+ feet north of Massachusetts Avenue in a northerly direction approximately 300+ feet of conduit to a new manhole #54/39, thence sweeping northeasterly approximately 150+ feet of conduit to existing pole #13/5, also Cliffe Ave , from new manhole #54/39 northerly approximately 179+ feet of conduit to existing pole #120/2, approximately 629+ feet of conduit, also Bow Street, on the westerly side approximately 300+ feet north of Massachusetts Avenue, one manhole and one pedestal terminal Street Chairman Miley recommended that the Board sign the Order of Acceptance Acceptance of Powers Court, a subdivision street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order of Acceptance of Powers Court, as authorized under Article 19 of the 1979 Annual Town Meeting The Board approved the following agenda items Permit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission ROTC- for the Northeastern University Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony on the Green Green on June 16, 1979 from 10 00 a m to 11 00 a m. License Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Enter- Chadwick's tainment license for Chadwick's Ice Cream Parlor, 903 Waltham Street, for a 4-piece band on June 21, 22 and 23, 1979 from 7 00 p.m. to 11.00 p m., subject to monitoring by the Police Department Permits- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Block requests for block parties on Parties York Street from Woodland Road to Grant Street on June 16 from 6 30 p.m to 12 00 M Bloomfield Street on June 20 from 6 00 p m to 10 00 p m. raindate of June 21 Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of Selectmen's meetings of January 22 and April 9, 1979(open 111 meeting) Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the executive session minutes of April 9, 1979 X313 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - June 11, 1979 Chairman Miley recommended that Mrs Battin be appointed as Appointment Lexington's voting representative at the Massachusetts League of Lex 's Rep Cities and Towns meeting on June 27, 1979 Mass League Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Margery M Battin as Lexington's voting representative at the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns meeting on June 27, 1979 The Board discussed and agreed to the request that a letter be Depositors sent to the Board of Banks concerning the petition of approval sub- Trust Bank mitted to them by the Depositors Trust Company for an additional bank structure to be located at Hartwell Avenue and Westview Street in Lexington. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that a letter be sent to the Board of Banks, Incorporated stating that the Board of Selectmen had no objection to the Board of Banks, Incorporated granting the petition of the Depositors Trust Company, and it is hoped it will improve the tax base of the Town of Lexington The Board agreed to adjourn the meeting and attend the Planning Planning Bd Board's meeting and discussion of a Carr/Lynch draft plan for Hanscom Hanscom Report Field and its neighbors 111 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7 48 p m. A true record, Attest 4/40.44,41 7727 >1)C r Executive Clerk, Selectmen I y SELECTMEN'S MEETING JUNE 18, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, June 18, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs. Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Transp Mr Fred Rosenberg, Chairman of the Transportation Advisory Committee, Adv Com.- met with the Board He said that the minibus will start in September and Minibus - one of the problems we saw all along was that we have no service to MBTA Hartwell Avenue as (1) it is at the edge of town; (2) it is difficult to Hartwell include in a half-hour minibus route. At Town Meeting's suggestion, we looked into how to service Hartwell Avenue and suggested to the MBTA the possibility of re-routing the Five Forks bus to operate from Lexington Center to Bedford Street to Hartwell Avenue, thereby eliminating service to Five Forks We received a letter from the MBTA with the proposal of still running the bus to Five Forks but instead of running it directly to Five Forks, to run it down from the Center, up Bedford Street, up Hartwell Avenue to Wood Street and around to Five Forks and back into town again; in the evening, to run the reverse loop This would mean about. $3,000 111 more on our MBTA assessment We also had the possibility of changing the Bedford bus to go down Hartwell Avenue but the committee didn't think it was a good idea because of turning the bus around at the end and also be- cause of the time factor; this would cost us less money To serve Hartwell Avenue with a minibus, it would just about make it to go Bedford Street and back; the estimated annual cost would be about $15,000 for that number of hours, probably a little less In response to the suggestion that the Transportation Advisory Com- mittee investigate the possibility of increasing the minibus loop from 30 to 45 minutes to serve commuters in some of the industrial areas, Mr Rosenberg said that there are about 200 Lexington residents that work in, the area and it is not optimistic that they would use the service We had taught about trying some special service for the commuters in the Spring Street area On Hartwell Avenue, we could do it in the morning but the problem is getting them home in the afternoon During the afternoon, the regular routes would be necessary, where we really expect the highest levels of travel, so we felt that wouldn't be a possibility. Chairman Miley said the intent of Town Meeting was for commuters to use the minibus not only to go to the express bus but also to get to work within the town She felt the committee was right in trying to work out a commuter ride for people within the town, and suggested the committee keep trying to get the people back and forth to work in the morning and afternoon. Mr Rosenberg said he didn't see how they could get extra buses into an area they wouldn't normally be serving Mr Kent said that Town Meeting's very positive response to the busing program and the amendment, increasing it so substantially, did directly relate to the use of the buses for commuter purposes, and that is one reason why you are addressing the Hartwell Avenue problem If it can be solved L. Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - June 18, 1979 more effectively through the tie-in with the MBTA rather than the use of Minibus the minibus, that is fine, but he felt that in the formulation of our (cont'd ) est minibus routes, consideration be given to some service into the area. Mr. Hutchinson said that Lexington's MBTA assessment is in excess of $500,000, before the adjustment of a $26 million deficit The operating deficit was $264 million, certified by the MBTA, of which one-half is picked up by the town; if the news is correct about the $26 million we will have to pick up one-half of that He was concerned about making a commitment at this time as we do not have the experience of the minibus program. Assuming there will be successes and failures, and one is a dismal failure, you might want to change one route to go into an area such as Hartwell Avenue There is that flexibility before we pick up another $3,000 assessment Mr Rosenberg said that if we were going to readjust the routes, he thought it would be more cost effective to let the MBTA pick this up for actually what we think is a very low figure than if we picked it up If we just eliminated one group, we would be saving more than $3,000 Mr. Hutchinson said it would be premature to make a commitment to increasing the assessment in any fashion to the MBTA, including serving Hartwell Avenue Mr Busa agreed with the Manager,v.and:isaid we should have some history and experience with the minibus Mr. Hutchinson recommended that the Transportation Advisory Committee work with the MBTA on what might be done in the interim about getting into Hartwell Avenue The Board agreed to Mr Kent's recom- I mendation that the committee take another look at its route structure to see if there is any possibility of working out another route to go to Hartwell Avenue Mr Rosenberg informed the Board that a very qualified person has been hired by the Manager to coordinate the minibus program Also, bids for the minibus transportation service will come in next Friday Mr Louis Zehner, Town Treasurer, informed the Board that Smith Treasurer- Barney, Harris Upham and Co Inc of Boston, with its bid of 4 85 per- Bond Sale cent, was the low bidder on the June 14 sale of Lexington's $795,000 bond issue. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following certifications prepared by Bond Counsel a Sale to Smith Barney, Harris Upham Co Inc of the $795,000 issue dated June 18, 1979 as outlined in the Proposal of Sale dated May 30, 1979 b. Authorized use of the facsimile signatures of the Selectmen to be engraved on the bonds e. Approved the "Signature and No Litigation" certificate identified as SRH/RPV, Rev May 24, 1977 d Approved the "No Arbitrage" certificate idendified as Rev. March 22, 1979 Copies of the certificates are on file in the Selectmen's Office. Mr. Zehner stated that he and Mr Perry would sign a joint official statement certifying to the complete disclosure in the Proposal of Sale of all rele- vant facts of the sale. Mr Zehner and Mrs. McCurdy, as Clerk of the Selectmen, would sign a joint statement certifying to the complete ob- servance of all aspects of the so-called "Sunshine Law " Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - June 18, 1979 Appt Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Fred Bailey requesting Hanscom the Board to reverse his and Mrs Jacqueline Smith's roles on the Adv Com. Hanscom Advisory Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Jacqueline Smith as Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Advisory Committee, and to appoint Mr Fred C Bailey as the alternate member representing Lexington. Abatement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the Water Bill water bill submitted to Berman's Package Store Inc , 55 Mass Avenue, in the amount of $2,739 60, defective register on meter, as re- quested by Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director of Public Works Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of Selectmen's meetings held on January 24, 27, 29; March 5, April 9, 1979 (Executive) Sewer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Orders Orders for Construction of Sewer on the following streets Allen Street, Boulder Road, Lowell Street, Patricia Terrace, Pleasant Street, Waltham Street ALso,sigu Order of Sewer Taking on Wadman Circle; Mr Kent did not participate and abstained from voting The Board approved Town Counsel's requests for the following Conserve- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed tion Land to transfer 20 lots of land to the Conservation Commission, as authorized under Article 48 of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order of Taking, by eminent domain, of four lots for Conservation purposes subject to receiving the request of the Conservation Commission; as authorized under Article 48 of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Easements- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the taking Sewer & of sewer and drain easements from Burlington Street to Boulder Road, as Drain - authorized under Article 19-Sewers of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting, and Boulder Rd Article 17-Drains of the 1973 Annual Town Patricia Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order Terrace of taking of sewer and drain easements on land located in Lexington on Patricia Terrace Wadman Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order Circle of taking of sewer and drain easements on Wadman Circle Mr Kent did not participate and abstained from voting I Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - June 18, 1979 Ms Martha Wood, Mr William Page, Chairman, Ms Sandra Small and Mr Howard Cravis, CATV Com. members of the Cable Television Advisory Committee met with the Board Mr Page said the last decision of the Board was to give the committee permission to talk with cable television companies, not to start the offi- cial franchising program but to get some idea about the match between what Lexington would expect from cable television and what the companies would be willing to provide The Board also asked us to sound out the town again with a questionnaire The results of the 250 questionnaires received were 87% would like cable television; 11 5%-No; 1%-undecided 70 5% would pay $2-10 more per month for movies uncut by commercials; 15 5%-No; 14%-unde- cided We talked with five companies and three of the five are interested in a franchise in Lexington; the fourth is interested in a regional ar- rangement with adjacent towns There are some people who are very in- terested in getting cable television in Lexington, and once in town about 40% would subscribe and 80% of those would pay more The committee's recommendation is that you ask us to come back to you in late August for a proposal for starting the franchising process You will still be deciding at that time whether you want to proceed or not but what you would have before you at that time is what it means to start the franchising at that time; how long it takes to complete it; what ex- penses would be if you did start it; what the advantages would be to the town of starting it The town would be in more control of the process as it could put the request out for franchise proposal submissions and get a much wider choice of companies coming in to look us over and make proposals It takes between nine and eleven months for a typical town to start the licensing franchising process, to come to the point of public hearings, two sets of submissions, and then to the point of making deci- sions The town, after all this, is not obligated to choose the cable company The company has the legal right to request further considera- tion but there is not a decision needed With all the work which has gone into this for several years, we think we are in good shape for your recom- mendation to start as we feel a significant proportion of residents are interested in cable television We have written specifications and have reviewed them with you. He submitted to the Board eopies of an abbreviated procedural set of regulations, showing the licensing process as it now operates Mr Page said that 10 months from the time that request for submistion of proposals, the time st is then You officially put out a .request for proposals,that's 0 on 10 ino�tths, so if°q�Ve roughly June or July of 1980 when you could have made a decision; then the clock starts running on the 15 months Mr Busa did not see the need for cable television as only 250, of the 4,000 homes receiving the newspaper, had returned the question- naire and 211 showed interest in having it There has been no growth in CATV since 1972 and for us to get the ball rolling too soon, we might in the distant future be tied to a company that would be obsolete In the area, Woburn has had it the longest and still has only 40% subscription There are parents who are having problems with their children watching movies when they are not at home He saw no benefit to the town other than recreational II Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - June 18, 1979 Mr Crain said that while he shared Mr Busa's concerns, he sees it 111 differently The time line is extended from the period that we suggested interest and the potential of selecting someone for a franchise is a year away He was concerned that we drag our feet in the natural building blocks that are required to reach that point -- then he thought the Board should consider every aspect He felt the implications of the energy crisis carry with it significant impacts on the potential of television, and par- ticularly interactive He would like to see them progress along the build- ing block approach to reach that point where the Board could make the hard decision, and not lose any time to reach that Mrs Battin said she understood Mr Busa's concern that the Board not proceed too hastily The committee has worked very carefully and thought- fully and she agreed with Mr Crain that the process is important and that by starting it ourselves, we control it in essence - and it's a year before we make the decision As Mr Crain said, the importance is the interactive; it's more than recreational It would be useful when people can't get to town hall She hoped the Board would proceed as the committee had recom- mended Mr Kent moved, Mrs Battin seconded the motion, and it was voted to request the Cable Television Committee to proceed with the formulation as outlined by the committee this evening The committee is to meet with the Board in late August Mr Kent temporarily left the meeting to attend the Board of Health meeting Hinchey Rd Mr Hutchinson requested that he be authorized to act as the Board's Property - agent in entering into an agreement to sublet property on Hinchey Road Sublease Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to enter into an agreement for the subleasing of the Hinchey Road property that is currently the subject of a lease between the Town and MBZ-Lex Trust Tax Mr Hutchinson requested authorization to negotiate with Mrs Erin Title - O'Brien, 34 Homestead Street, on an appropriate price dealing with the O'Brien conveyance of the property she had asked to purchase from the town This land is located on Edna Street and abuts her home Chairman Miley requested that this item be tabled for one week as the Planning Board is discussing this evening some further criteria that they may be interested in or considering for tax title lots This is as a result of a meeting between Mr Cohen and Mrs. Wheaton of the Planning Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table for one week the matter of the Erin O'Brien request to purchase land on Edna Street Mr Hutchinson agreed to Mr Busa's request that he pursue the request of an abutter to purchase land at Laconia and Woburn Streets I s�9 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - June 18, 1979 Mr Hutchinson requested authorization for replacement of a 30" cor- Drain rugated metal pipe across Massachusetts Avenue at #40 in East Lexington Project - The Highway Division of DPW has reported that this aged pipe has rotted Mass Ave and begun to collapse, creating a potential hazard and drainage problems during moderate and heavy rains Engineering has designed a replacement culvert and Great Northern Constructors has •gudted a price of $5000 to complete this work, exclusive of any ledge which may be encountered Ledge would be paid at the Crescent Road Area Contract unit price of $20 00 per cubic yard Approval is requested for an extra work order in an amount not to exceed $5,500, which will cover replacement of 60 feet of pipe, two catch basins and any ledge excavation. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize an extra work order to Great Northern Constructors, in an amount not to exceed $5,500, for the drain pipe project across Massachusetts Avenue at #40 in East Lexington Mr Hutchinson recommended awarding the contract to Boston Mutual, Employees' the lowest bidder on the ,$2,000 life insurance policy for employees Insurance and retirees. The town would continue to contribute one-half the premium cost We may look into the expansion of the policy up to $5,000 at a later time, subject to the Board's direction and working with the appropriate committees, i e., the Personnel Advisory Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award a 3-year ' contract to the Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company in the amount of $19,272+ per year covering the employee/retiree insurance policy Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the amount of 73 cents per month per $1,000 life insurance for emiiloyees. and retirees Mr Hutchinson requested approval of appointments Appointments Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Town Mgr 's Manager'ls, re-appointment of the following members Roy Weinstein and Shirley Goodwin from June 1, 1979 to May 31, 1982 as members of the Council on Aging Alice Hinkle dud Judith Uhrig from April 1, 1979 to March 31, 1982 as members of the Recreation Committee Paul Rif fin from April 1, 1979 to March 31, 1982 as a member of the Conservation Commission Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had re-appointed James Scanlon a member of the Permanent Building Committee for a term ex- pring April 30, 1982; also, Mr John J McWeeney a member of the Board of Assessors for a term expiring April 1, 1982 Mr Hutchinson recommended that Boston Edison ,be:,audhorized :to Pole Re- relocate one pole and install one new pole in the Waltham Street park- location ing lot, as requested by the town. This work will be done at no cost Waltham St to the town, and removal of the street light will constitute an annual Parking Lot saving of $50 52 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to_autborize the Boston Edison Company (1) to remove a pole and street light in the sidewalk at Peking Garden; (2) to relocate the overhead cable which currently is supported by this pole Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - June 18, 1979 Sewer Mr Hutchinson requested approval of the request from Mr Santosuosso Washington for an extension of the sewer in Washington Street, at his expense, to ser- Street- vice his vacant lot on Washington Street (future home to be built) A Santosuosso report from the Engineering Division states that the plan has been re- viewed and, as designed, meets Engineering's requirements for sewer construction. However, prior to the start of construction and the is- suaince by DPW of a street opening permit, the contractor who will be doing the work must meet the approval of Mr Warren A. Empey, Acting Director of Public Works The amount of surety necessary to guarantee completion of this project has been estimated by the Engineering Division to be $5,550 00 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to Mr Santosuosso for an extension of the Washington Street sewer, at his expense and at no expense to the town, subject to Mr Empey's approval of the complete project July 4th Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Lions Club permits for the Carnival July 4th carnival be signed Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Chairman to sign the Sunday lidensesofor .concessions at the Lions Club carnival; licenses to be forwarded to the State Department of Public Safety for approval Center Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had executed the agreement Pool with the swimming pool contractor, who expects to start construction within the next two weeks and complete by June 30, 1980 111 Woburn St Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a letter had been received Barclay from Mr Robert L Barclay, 295 Woburn Street, requesting that the Town-owned dirt road between 295 and 303 Woburn Street be closed off In 1974 and 1976, the town had authorized the road to be closed off but it had not been done Mr Hutchinson said that Public Works has now blocked off the road but we are not sure how it will work out Town Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Board of Assessors had Revalue- voted on June 11, 1979 to recommend that the revaluation job for the tion Town of Lexington be awarded to Patten Appraisal Associates, Inc , Contract 160 Fox Street, Portland, Maine, subject to finalization of a satis- factory contract Mr Hutchinson said that the Assessors are com- pleting the ocntract and more information will be given in the future Stop Chairman Miley read a letter from State Department of Public Works Signs requesting that every signalized intersection in the town be inspected Signalzd and any stop signs found are to be removed as these signs are superfluous Inter- and confusing Mr Hutchinson said there are number of stop signs at sections intersections and we are moving forward as part of the work program to to review them and take them down Some question was raised on right-on- red turns and none of our lights that are under control of the town apply; they all have pedestrian walks with them as well Also, all of the state lights are limited in the sense that they can't have a right-on-red 111 Mr Hutchinson agreed to pursue Chairman Miley's request to in- vestigate the possibility of having 4-way stop signs,. i a Adams and North Streets 651 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - June 18, 1979 Mrs Battin discussed suggestions which Mrs Joyce Hals is drafting Gasoline for the state concerning the gasoline situation, by limiting the hours of gas sales; stations in the same general area staggering the days they are closed; minimum/maximum volume or dollar limitations; adoption of the flag system; establishing a local telephone number for information on staticuns that are open and the availability of gasoline, and identifi- cation of the person who would coordinate efforts The state is starting to put a plan in action in case it is needed, and Mrs Hals thought the Board and the Manager might like to make suggestions Some of the towns are getting in touch with the gas station operators, by sending someone out or telephone from the Manager's office on options of handling the situation Mrs Battin said that she was not suggesting the Board try to regulate the hours but to have a central place to pull it all together Mr Hutchinson said that he would work with the retailers on gas and there might be something the Chamber of Commerce would be interested in. The Board agreed that the Chamber of Commerce should be contacted The Board and Mr Hutchinson agreed to review the Carr Lynch report Pln Bd / on Hanscom Field and Its Neighbors for input to be submitted to the Carr Lynch Planning Board Regarding the parking problem in the Center, Mr Busa informed the Center Board that he had talked with one person and will meet with her and other Traffic interested groups He recommended that another committee not be established as the Planning Board has a committee studying the situation, and he would talk with the groups and then coordinate the information with the Planning Board The Board agreed Mr Kent came back into the meeting at 9 05 p.m. Mr John Butler, Chairman, Ms Joanne Small, Mr Frank Hazel met with Personnel the Board to discuss the role of the Personnel Advisory Board A state- Adv Bd went, dated May 30, 1979, summarized the view of PAB; that the time had come for an evaluation of performance and reaffirmation or revision of the charter We are a creation of the Board of Selectmen and have a prdmary relationship with that body; but we also are a resource to the Town Manager when it seems to be useful We consult with other Town Com- mittees as requested, notably the Appropriation Committee A potential relationship with the School Committee remains problematical From our perspective, a drifting has occurred within the last few months and the purpose for the PAB is less and less clear to us We seem to be becoming a vehicle for displacement of concerns rather than effective catalyst or contributor to their being confronted and resolved Little of our energy is now directed to long-term personnel issues relating to human resource planning and development Our view of the functions of the PAB can best be described as a three-level role (1) Advice on maintenance/ operational questions as brought to the PAB by the Town Manager's Office/ Board of Selectmen (2) Advice and/or technical assistance on specific tasks or issues (3) Advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen in conceptualizing the philosophical and policy issues inherent in a personnal system. SSS Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - June 18, 1979 Mr Butler said that the statement has been discussed in full mem- bership and reached this point of common understanding as to what seems to be the current expectations with respect to the PAB There have been concerns by individual PABrmembetra whether or not the immediate past is indicative of the kind of role and responsibility that best utilizes their talents as they see them What we have presented to you is an attempt to analyze the situation and to look at the various ways which we feel different groups within town government and the town look to PAB, and the different levels of functions of the board which, from time to time, we are called upon to render Mr Busa said that he had no problem with Mr Butler's statement He was ampmber of the Board at the inception of the Personnel Advisory Board and he thought it was to be an advisory board, to review and give information when the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager requested it. There had been some reference to getting into negotiation and col- lective bargaining Mr Butler said there was some reference in the early history The sense of the current board is not one of looking at the past or the evolution of the body, but what is the role of the PAB? We are advisory to the Selectmen and the Manager, and what is the charter, the role you wish fulfilled? The other body that was party fo those original negotiations between the Board of Selectmen that created the PAB, the Appropriation Committee,has a different view of what role we should be playing There has to be clarity in instructions if what we kind of sense in the way in which the PAB has moved is not consistent with the direction you wish The PAB had a 5-year history with an unusual beginning and whatever it is you wish to have, let's say for the next 5 years, it should be rather clear Based on that, individual members of the PAB can determine whether or not it is something they feel at this time they can participate in effectively, or if there are others who can more effectively do that Mr Crain said his impression was that the PAB felt they were seem as a body which should be responsible to the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager Appendix A captures what he understood to be, and what he would encourage to continue to be, the charge That specific activi- ties with the number of action phrases like, "review," "Initiate studies of, or review and make appropriate recommendations " That is the way he would identify with the proper role of the committee, in addition to being responsive and available as a resource to us. With this ap- pendix, to be able to determine its priorities where it would take actions, obviously subject to the Board of Selectmen's review, and make conclusions Mrs Battin agreed That the PAB review when something is brought to their attention, but they also initiate where they see a need exists Initiating doesn't mean that you proceed on the review but you propose to us that you undertake something Being lay people, we often don't know enough about it to come to you; you probably see, where we don't, where you ought to be involved %IS:3 Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - June 18, 1979 ' Chairman Miley said that the Personal Advisory Board's initiative in the affirmative action program is a perfect example of how well they brought that to us and how well they dealt with it It was adopted by the town and, as a result, we are one of the few towns that really got going on this, and people are copying it Ms. Small said she would like some help on the question of agenda set- ting. Now, we have a professional in the Town Manager but the professional management of the town is different than it was 5 years ago when the charge was written It becomes a question of what do we initiate, what do we re- view, and how does the process happen? Within what parameters do we initiate? Affirmative action and the way we set our agenda several years ago was based on some very clear needs and mandates All of these would have to be re- viewed, and is it still important to do all of these things? How do you and the Manager feel about it, and where are we in it? Mr. Crain said that he sees it as a committee of resource, a committee rich in professional background; that in addition to responding to specific directions and requests, they might seize upon something like an area of employee total communications and say in your priorities you are going to spend some time analyzing where the town is on total employee communica- tions, conceiving what you would recommend and improve that process Making that available with the Manager and then reviewing with us. (We might just say, thank you but it's too sophisticated) Mr Crain said that he would like to see the PAB working calmly on some priority that's not a response to a minor crisis or an immediate focus Mr Kent asked if, therefore, there is a need for the Board to outline in the charge, at least in general terms, the areas in which the Board would hope the PAB would do that? As he heard Mr Butler, there is essentially a pleas for the Board to delineate anew the charge to this Board. Mr Butler said the PAB needs clarity as to wheh you want us to move on You have used us in a response mechanism; therefore, we understand that is what you would like, and that's part of the frustration One other point is, if the expectation of the Town Manager is not the same as the Board of Selectmen, then there is further conflict We are trying to respond We can initiate but our purpose isn't to initiate He would not want to initiate something, put effort into it, and then hear that it was a good idea but the Board of Selectmen didn't want to do it Mrs. Battin said that we have used you to respond to things when we had a crisis. We did think that if you saw a need to initiate, you would do so- and if you hadn't then there was nothing you saw particularly necessary and needed at the time There are areas that we and the Manager don't know about and we'd like to have you come in and say you would like to work on a particular thing What we need to do, with all of us agreeing, is to re-write the charge Mr Hutchinson said that his concept is similar to the Board's There is one area he felt is inappropriate at this time, and it is not necessary to have a member of the PAB costing out fringe benefit demands. However, looking at all of the contracts is something he would welcome; if someone is interested in working on that or making suggestions to him or the Board, fine, but not to become part of the bargaining process itself He would like to see some of the initiation that has been raised by the Board, and the PAB did raise it to him about training. We have a very limited capability in training and we are not doing what we should be doing r 0 Selectman's Meeting - 11 - June 18, 1979 Mr Crain asked if Mr Hutchinson saw the PAB as a natural and con- tinuing resource with whom he would interface as he approached final stages of bargaining? Mr Hutchinson said he did, and he had akked about the wage policy Mr Butler said the way in which we can be helpful is in the policy areas, not on a day-to-day basis We can't be a substitute for a per- sonnel department in the town Mr Kent said that only one person can conduct collective bargain- ing negotiations The Manager conducts (according to thecstatute), and he was perfectly content to have him do that Is there any utility in the PAB - someone knowledgeable in collective bargaining - is there an advisory relationship to the board in regard to the board's general assessment of the Manager's conduct of this particular aspect of per- sonnel work where the PAB could be useful? Mr Crain said it is suggested to be evaluative, he would have a concern because unless one sits at the table (he was not recommending anyone sit there other than the key person), one really doesn't know except if the treatment is harsh or unfavorable But, in terms of a resource available to us in addition to the Manager - advisory as to strategy - he could see that PAB It was agreed that Mr Hutchinson, Mr Buse, and Mr Butler would Revised work on a draft of a revised charge to the Personnel Advisory Board, Charge to be submitted by the first part of August Mr. Htttthinsan,:saidlhe. felt that Items 1 and 2 of the PAB state- went are agreed upon, but Item 3-Advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen in conceptualizing the philosophical and policy issues inher- ent in a personnel system, these are addressed perhaps not as well as we might Mrs Battin recommended that this area be spelled out as part of the charge - as to how it gets started, how it gets done, and what it entails Ms Small supported this recommendation. When Nancy Banks was re- writing the personnel policy and brought it to the PAB, some of us had a lot of difficulty because we didn't know what the philosophy behind is the policy was The Board noted Mrs Battin's recommendation. Mr Kent said that one important aspect to this re-draft is that we have clear indications of the relationship between the Per- sonnel Advisory Board and the Appropriation Committee, and at some point to have some discussion with Dick Perry and Don White He requested that this subject be specifically and thoroughly addressed The Board agreed Mrs Miley thanked the Personnel Advisory Board members and they agreed. te-meet,wimh the-Board in Executive Session this evening .r$.S" Selectmen's Meeting - 12 - June 18, 1979 IIIThe Board discussed the communication from the League of Cities and Mass League- Towns requesting the Board to sign the proxy for the special meeting on Mass.Municp June 27 regarding the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc The Assoc , Inc letter stated that, based on the advice of counsel, it has been decided to retain the existing articles of organization of the League of Cities and Towns, and to change its name and structure The special meeting is to be held to go through a formal voting and meeting process in order to change the name to the Massachuset Mun$cipal Association, Inc and to permit the Board of Directors to e t blip and ame the new by-laws During discussion, the Board agree to go on record as strongly opposing Article II, section 1(b)-Participating Members, in the proposed by-laws, which allows a county government to become a voting member of the Associa- tion The Board felt it inappropriate to involve as voting members another level of government whose interests may often be at variance with municipalities Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request Mrs Battin to convey to the appropriate Directors of the Massachusetts League ,af Citd.ea add-.Tovins the view of this Board that county govern- ment should not be a voting member of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the proxy for the special meeting of the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns on June 27, 1979 to vote (1) For amendment of Articles of Organization; (2) For amendment of the Articles of Organization to authorize the IIIDirectors to make, amend or repeal the By-Laws Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5..0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go Session into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining, with no intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 45 p.m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen l 554 SELECTMEN'S MEETING III JUNE 22, 1979 A special meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Telephone Training Center in Marlboro, Mass., on Friday, June 22, 1979 at 9 30 a.m. Chairman Miley, Mr. Buse, Mrs. Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr. Hutchinson, Town Manager were present. The Board conducted a wide ranging discussion involving the following areas A. FINANCE AND TAXATION POLICY - The Manager advised the Board he would be working on during the summer an update of a five-year tax projection once State aid and Cherry Sheets are available. The Board advised the Manager that it had reservations about raising fees such as the water rate to assist in efforts towards property tax stabilization, requesting more information on how the water system could be more self-supporting. The Manager said that data was being developed now for an enterprise system approach consistent with the audit recommendations, yet also recommended that rates go up on a gradual basis if necessary rather than inconsistent fluctuations in the rate. Use: fees will be addressed in the five year tax projection. The Board advised the Manager that they wanted periodic reports III from the Board of Assessors about the status of revaluation: so that this sensitive matter could be closely monitored The Manger said he would design an appropriate reporting system and report back to the Board. It was pointed out that the utilization of E&D should be con- sidered closely as it relates to next year's budget and the budget after that which would involve the new tax rate under revaluation B. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Sanitary Sewer Program - The sewer program seemed to be functioning well The Manager did say that he would have a recommended revised ass sment policy within 30 days. The Sewer Advisory Committee has worked out well as a structure to interact with citizens and the Board on 4 proposed sewer program. Solid Waste - The Manager said that the Solid Waste Advisory Committee would have a report ready by September 30 reviewing tonnage commitments, legal questions and any alternates other than NESWC This would give the Board 60 days for review. Conservation/Development - The Board raised concerns about the level of maintenance that the Town was expected to provide for its growing conservation property and lands in general The Board '$7 Selectmen's Meeting -2- June 22, 1979 felt that this should be a matter for discussion dealing with groups such as Conservation and Recreation. The general reaction was that the appearance of our public lands should be improved but that the development of new items such as trails in conservation properties should be a development matter rather than a maintenance matter. C. HOUSING - Mr. Buse pointed out that the minority report regarding the housing policy statment had never been officially accepted It was agreed that Mr. Zabin should be contacted to convene the housing group again to reaffirm its position on the majority and minority reports and that the Board should clarify whether it is accepting and adopting the report as part of its housing assis- tance plan. It was agreed that the Town is moving in the right direction on housing and that the Board as a whole will try to cooperate with efforts towards balanced housing while sometimes possibly disagreeing on the approach to that balance. D SCHOOL CONVERSION - The Board stated that it felt that Parker School should remain with its original concept with up to 30 units being allowed for development confined to the existing structure with 25% to be committed to low and moderate income housing. The Board said to continue the process with Munroe School with a particular emphasis on investigation of the viability of a senior citizen center The Board said it would continue to work for a balance on the School Conversion Committee while utilizing appropriate neighborhood interests as resource groups within the decision making process. It was agreed that a single committee should be maintained with appropriate involve- ment in each school, e.g., neighborhoods, in the process. The Board asked Mrs. Miley, the Chairman of the Board, to contact the developers of Hancock School to clean up remaining problems there. The Manager was requested to contact the Hancock School condominium owners regard- ing their feelings about the paint. E. HUMAN SERVICES - Mrs. Battin advised the Board that she and Mr. Crain would have a draft of a charge for a Human Services Committee during August or September The Board agreed it did not want to have duplicating committees in this area. Mrs. Battin further agreed to continue to work on the goal setting process, specifically re scheduling dates because of the delay of a long Town Meeting. The Board indica- ted to the Manager that they wanted to assure that the Traffic Safety Committee was working through the Board rather than responding to specialized requests. F. PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION - Salaries - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adopt the pay plan as submitted by the Manager, with the understanding that the Building Commissioner's position should be reviewed under a reclassification process prior Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - June 22, 1979 to any additional adjustments beyond the range. It was agreed that Mrs. Miley will continue as a member of the School Sites Conversion Committee The Manager left the meeting at this time in order that the Board could discuss his evaluation and that of Mrs. McCurdy Upon motion duly made and 1ise6onded, "it wa; !'voted to grant a 6% adjustment for the Executive`"th erk and the 2$6wn Manager Employees would be advised of their performance evaluations by the Chairman It was agreed that it had been a productive year and that the Board would continue to address the wide range of goals discussed at this meeting and continue to test how these goals were being addressed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 2 45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, fi,44*(1.01Z14 ...„, dy; Robert M Hutchinson, Jr. Town Manager I s 11 V' 'o f ytl SELECTMEN'S MEETING June 25, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, June 25, 1979 at 7 30 P.M. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Mana- ger and Mrs Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, Selectmen were present The Chairman opened the meeting with an administrative and Selectmen's Moon Hill hearing regarding the request of Mr & Mrs Richard S Morehouse to extend the Sewer proposed sewer at Davis and Bird Hill Roads through an easement in order to service their house at #37 Moon Hill Road Mr Frank Leahy of the Engineering Department informed the Board that the time schedule calls for the construction of a sewer in Davis and Bird Hill Roads in the fall This makes it possible to service the four homes on Moon Hill Road by extending the sewer from this intersection southwesterly 85 feet, then going southeasterly with a sewer eastment of 180 feet to service the Morehouse property From this point it is possible to service the other three houses on Moon Hill Road via a sewer easement behind the three homes During the discussion it was brought out that for several years there has been considerable opposition to this project from the people living in the area Mr Chalpin, Senior Engineer, stated that plans have been gone through with the neighbors, step by step, and the present plan arrived at is the final of five There will be four houses assessed for the project, one of which is Mrs Thompson's who was not at the hearing and who had previously objected to the project Mr Arthur Dempster, #39 Moon Hill Rd , Mrs Louis Quagliata, 38 Moon Hill Rd and Mrs Richard Morehouse were in attendance and expressed concern relative to the destruction of trees and shrubs in the area but were in agreement that the project go forward Mr George Smith of our Board of Health and Mr Charles Code of our Sewer Advisory Committee agreed that the sewer should be constructed because there is so much ledge in the area and any failure of septic systems at the top of the hill would create a health problem in the lower areas The Town Manager informed the Board that a report will be filed on the estimated bettermentassessments and that he will try to contact Mrs Thomp- son with the intent of trying to resolve any problems so that the Engineering Department can proceed with the project As the contractbidsgo out in August, he will stay in contact with the neighbors and keep them informed The Chairman thanked the residents, Sewer Advisory Committee and Mr Smith of the Board of Health for being present and declared the hearing closed The Manager requested the Board to authorize additional funding in the Additional amount of $26,457 52 against the $2 5 million dollar bond issue to complete Funding the Moon Hill Sewer Project bringing the total project cost to $308,400 00. Moon Hill Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize additional Sewer funding in the amount of $26,457.52 against the $2 5 million dollar bond issue to complete the Moon Hill Sewer Project The Manager requested the Board to authorize the transfer of $6,775 00 Transfer to Account #1775 (Legal Fees) to cover unanticipated costs of the Dennis Requests and Hall cases and a transfer of $1,837 16 to Account #1800 (Legal Expenses) S.Co - 2 - to cover the cost of the Dennis case and the cost of having Zorka Engineer- ing testify on the Town's behalf. He also informed the Board that the Public Works Department came to him today and requested a transfer in Account #5700 (Sewer Maintenance) for a complete overhaul of the North Street pumping station and an overhaul of the main pumping station on Bed- ford Street and a court judgement by Middlesex District Court The total request was $4,000 00 The Board expressed concern that there was no time to review the figures and present any questions concerning the transfers Mr Hutchinson is to file a complete report regarding the requested transfers Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the trans- fer of $6,775 00 to Account #1775 (Legal Fees) , $1,837 16 to Account #1800 (Legal Expenses) and $4,000 00 to Account #5700 (Sewer Maintenance ) Life Insurance The Manager requested the Board to table the award of any commissions Commissions or binders fees on the life infurance policy awarded last week to the Boston Mutual subject to his getting additional information from the Boston Mutual Mr. Crain asked whether or not it was normal for the Board to be in a posi- tion of having to select the broker Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that it had been before the Board before and he will check with Town Counsel and find out who the appropriate awarding authority is Mr Kent expressed the same concern and Mr Hutchinson is to get a report for the Board Public Offic- The Manager requested authorization of the Board to obtain a formal ial Ins quote from Unimark McDonald of Dallas, Texas and enter into an agreement on the Public Official Liability insurance for the period July 1, 1979 to July 1, 1980 so the Town would be covered as of July 1 To Mr Kent's question, the Manager stated that the policy had not been reviewed by Town Counsel, but would be this week He had reviewed the policy administratively checking the coverage and details without legal advice Mr Kent stated that he felt that Town Counsel should review the policy coverages and its soundness before acting on it Mr Busa felt that a quote and coverages should be obtained before en- tering into any agreement The Manager informed the Board that the present policy expires on July 1 and that it was very difficult to obtain this type of coverage He stated that he had obtained quotes on the phone and was trying to get them formalized Mr Crain stated that something should be obtained in writing prior to July 1 that assures that there is coverage as this is a critical official and personal area He requested that the procedure be tightened up and that the advice of counsel be obtained The Board agreed to table the matter along the lines indicated by Mr Crain and the Manager is to get a binder on the coverages Kendall Rd The Manager informed the Board that he had received a peition from some Street of the residents of Kendall for street acceptance of Kendall Road It will Acceptance be in the budget considerations for next year's street construction Apptdint- The Manager requested the approval of the Board for the appointment of ments Mr Joseph Rooney and Mr Louis Tropeano to the Council on Aging Council on Upon motion made and seconded, it was voted to approve the appointment Aging of Mr Joseph Rooney and Mr Louis Tropeano to the Council on Aging for terms to expire April 1, 1982 541 - 3 - Selectmen's Meeting June 25, 1979 The Manager requested the approval of the Board in the reclassifica- Reclassi- tion of the clerk in the Inspection Department Under Mr DiMatteo's ad- fication ministration, he has reassigned the Inspectors so that they are out of the Clerk office 75% of the time and are no longer available in the office to assist Insp Dept the Clerk As a result, the clerk must work more independently responding to inquiries and overseeing the permit process The Classification Review Board has approved this reclassification Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reclassify the position of the clerk in the Inspection Department from Class 3 to Class 4 Mrs Banks informed the Board that a group called the "Friends of the Friends Lexington Council on Aging" which was incorporated last year wish to embark of the on a fund raising campaign to raise funds for a senior center They wish to Lexing- prepare the legal documents so that contributions can be tax deductible ton They wanted to inform the Board so that if there were any concerns they Council would like to know before starting the fund raising process on The Manager informed the Board that this would be a private agency and Aging the Town would have no part in it Mr Busa expressed concern regarding whether or not there would be two groups going in different directions to establish a senior center -- or would this group be coordinated with the Council on Aging Mr Hutchinson stated that, as he understood it, it would be a joint venture in the sense of monies being made available and there would be rep- resentation on it of the Council on Aging Mr Crain pointed out, and the Board agreed, that it would be in no position to formally recognize such an undertaking and should not get in- volved Mr. Kent agreed and stated that such a group has no obligation to obtain the permission or blessing of the Board of Selectmen It is strictly a private enterprise It is private activity and really cannot have and does not need the official sanction of the Board Mr Hutchinson will reply to Steve Clark who had contacted him and articulate the position that what they do is on their own and the town does not endorse the venture but appreciates being informed The Transportation Committee met with the Board to discuss the winner Mini- in the "Name the Mini-Bus" contest Mrs Sally Castleman and Mr Fred Rosen- bus berg were present Mrs Castleman requested the approval of the Board rela- Name tive to the selection of the name which they felt met the criteria they had Contest set forth. The first choice was LEXPRESS Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the name "LEXPRESS" for the mini-bus The Chairman thanked the committee for its hard work on the mini-bus proposal and Mrs Castleman and Mr Rosenberg retired from the meeting The Manager brought to the attention of the Board a letter that had Gas been received from the Governor on his proposed gasoline control program that Short- was received today He asked the Board of Selection working through its age administration, specifically the police department to coordinate the opening 111 and closing of retail gasoline stations in order to be sure that one or more retail gasoline stations would be open and selling gasoline from 7 00 a m. to 10 00 p m. seven days per week It was requested that the local police departments make this information available to local residents as well as to communicate the names, addresses, telephone numbers and opening and closing .562_ - 4 - hours of the stations to the State Energy Phone each Friday morning for week- end dissemination to the public Certain amounts of state set-aside gasoline would be available and may be used to supply stations willing to remain open on Sundays and holidays Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he would like to work with the Chamber of Commerce, who had told him previously that it would be willing to glad to work with him. He felt that by outlining the Governor's set- aside program to the retail dealers there may be some who would be willing to stay open on week-ends Mr Kent pointed out that the Governor specifically requested that the police as the local agency to handle this and he felt that Mr Hutchinson feels that it is an administrative function within his office Mr Kent feels that the Manager should handle it The Board agreed and Mr Hutchinson feels that the Governor would be comfortable with this arrangement MAPC Grant The Board discussed at length the request of the Manager for approval of Application an application to MAPC for a grant in the amount of $5,000 The funds to be used to hire a part-time management analyst who would work with Mr DiMatteo, the building commissioner, in the creation of an "Office of Community De- velopment " The town, as part of the grant, must provide matching funds for the project The Manager stated that $3,000 may be allotted for personnel compensation from budget #1070 (temporary and part-time personnel) and the remaining $2,000 will be contributed through in-kind services He stated that temporary help is a budget the manager controls, but the grant requires the the elected officials' approval of the petition It would be a one- year project the objective to coordinate and bring under one head the plan- ning, building and conservation areas To questions posed by the Board, the Manager stated that the individual would report on a day to day basis to the building commissioner and report back to the manager's office and a report would be filed with the Board as well He pointed out that the intent is to look at the whole permit process and the overlaps that are in existence now as there are separate filing systems in all areas and separate permits in all areas He feels that there should be a way to centralize the systems He informed the Board that specific skills for the job had not been established but a job description had been and what was required was some management experience, administra- tive experience and knowledge of the building area He stated that the process was to investigate the current procedures and also that of an office of community development, if that is desirable in the process Mr Kent expressed concern for the need for the creation of an Office of Community Development He stated that if the grant presentsan opportunity to obtain some outside funding to enable the manager's office to attempt a coordination of all the permit procedures in the community with a view of making the whole structure within the office of the building inspector and related departments smoother or more effective it was fine His concern was the seeming permanent structural addition to the town of an Office of Community Development and he did not want to endorse that Mr Busa felt that it was another step in the bureauracy of town government and he would like to see the money used for part time help Mr Crain stated that he felt that the points were well taken but he felt that it was an appropriate use of 14% of part time funds with the proviso that the Board would have a report by the July 23 meeting contain- ing the specific objectives of the use of the position and what specifi- cally the building blocks are that are intended to lead to those objectives so that periodically, after once understanding the process that will be employed, the Board could have check points wehreby it could see what progress is being made He requested that the specific skills that are .4463 - 5 - Selectmen's Meeting June 25, 1979 envisioned be well delineated so that as the position is advertised and candidates come in they can be candled against them. To Mr Kent's question, the Manager assured the Board that it could withdraw the application or decline the grant at any time Mrs. Banks informed the Board that Mrs Frick, Lexington's repre- sentative to the MAPC had discussed the application with her and had two concerns that she would like cleared up before she would endorse the application The application requires the endorsement of the MAPC rep- resentative Mrs Frick requested a change in the definition of what the Conservation Commission does to expand its administration of the Wetlands Protection Act and some small language changes Mrs Banks stated that the changes would be made Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- quest to apply to the MAPC for a grant in the amount of $5,000, and the Town to provide matching funds with the proviso that a report would be filed with the Board by July 23 outlining the specific objectives, what the building blocks are that are intended to lead to the objectives, and the check-points to monitor the progress and the specific, well delinea- ted skills of the candidates The Board voted to approve the following agenda items Sign an additional Order of Taking for sewer easements in Patricia Easement Terrace Town Counsel advised the Board that the Order of Taking Patricia approved at the meeting on June 18, 1979 would not be recorded Terr Request from the Conservation Commission to sign Exercise of E A T Realty option to purchase E A T Realty Trust land for conservation Trust Option purposes Sign Warrant to Animal Control Officer re 841 unlicensed dogs Unlicesed Dogs Approve addresses for Certificate of Incorporation as follows Tri Community Health Services, Inc 353 Mass Ave Cert of Lexington Chamber of Commerce 1875 Mass Ave Inc Approve minutes of Meetings of March 12 and May 29, 1979 Minutes Accept resignation of Mr Theldon E. Phinney as a member of the Resignation Board of Registrars, effective June 30, 1979 Theldon E Phinney Appoint the following guides Andrew S Macey 359 No Emerson Road Guides David Marin 68 Old Colony Road The Board discussed the charge to the newly formed Community Health Community Committee that was drafted by Mr Page and the appointment of the members Health to the Committee Mr Kent stated that Mr Page expressed a preference Committee to hold one appointment pending as he would like to have someone related directly to the committee to be formed on the human services structure organization The Board agreed d'j/ - 6 - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the follow- ing charge to the Committee 11/ 1 To participate with the Human Services Council in drawing up a charter for a permanent Community Health Committee struc- tured appropriately under the Human Services Council umbrella 2 Collect information on medical and other health services available to the citizens of Lexington as suggested by Dr Michael S Erdos and reviewed with the Board of Health at its June 18, 1979 meeting 3 In defining a charter, this Ad Hoc Committee will take into account the proposed charter contained in the January 10, 1979 memorandum to the Board of Selectmen as endorsed by the American Association of Retired Persons Executive Committee, The Lexington Council on Aging and the Health Legislation Sub-Committee of the Lexington Forum on Aging Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the follow- ing people to the Community Health Committee William R. Page 25 Oakland Street Jacob B Gardner 17 Normandy Road Jacquelyn H. Ward 15 Robinson Road Lore Jean Kern 43 Circle Road - 2111 The Board discussed the formation of the Burglar Alarm Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the follow- ing charge to the Burglar Alarm Committee 1 The Committee is charged with reviewing and recommending appro- priate solutions, including by-law adoption if desirable, to communication problems at the Police and Fire Departments 2 These studies should further involve investigation of alternate communications systems and the apporpriate processes for in- stalling alternate systems to resolve the problem of communica- tion overload during certain periods at the Police and Fire Departments 3 A preliminary report shall be filed by September 1 and a com- pleted report with recommendations by October 1 The dissolu- tion of this Committee is scheduled for October 1, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the follow- ing members to the Burglar Alarm Committee Fred C Bailey 48 Coolidge Avenue Daniel L. McCabe 225 Waltham Street Howard Cravis 6 Rogers Road Chief James F Corr Police Department Chief John D Bergeron Fire Department - 7 - Selectmen's Meeting June 25', 1979 The Chairman requested the Board's approval of the charge to the Charge School Sites Conversion Committee School Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Sites charge to the School Sites Conversion Committee as follows Conversion Committee 1 Determine the best short term handling of Parker and Munroe Schools 2 Determine the best possible development of Parker School with the use being 25-30 condominiums, 25% given to the Town of Lex- ington for family housing as described by HUD 3 Determine the most advisable disposition of Munroe School build- ing and site, the Committee to cinsider fully the possibility of use for a senior citizen center The Chairman informed the Board that the Planning Board was to dis- Request ctiss the request of Mrs Erin O'Brien to obtain the land that abuts #34 to Obtain Homestead Street at its meeting this evening and come up with a report Land to the Selectmen before their meeting adjourned Erin The Manager stated that he had talked to Mrs O'Brien and informed O'Brien her that any land that would be conveyed would not be allowed to be built upon She said that she was unaware of this restriction Mr Busa informed the Board that, if at sometime in the future, they petition Town Meeting these restrictions could be lifted U Mr Kent stated that there seemed to be no clear cut definition of what was intended by the restriction -- adding on to a present structure or a whole new structure He felt, and the Board agreed, that in the future restrictions will have to be very carefully drawn to describe just what is intended As no information had come from the Planning Board, the Chairman adjourned the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call vote, Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining and a matter of possible litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 30 p m. A true record, Attest rincip‘a/Z4:‹AC7/77 Clerk, Selectme @OA +' r IIISELECTMEN'S MEETING JULY 9, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's meeting room, Town Office Building, on Monday, July 9, 1979, at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Miley, Mr. Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cahen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr George H Pierce, Jr., 63 Valleyfield Street, and his Attorney, Pierce- Mr Whittemore, met with the Board Masciulli Chairman Miley said that Mr Pierce had requested an appointment Land with the Board to discuss a .piece of land which was purchased in 1976 by Mr Ralph J Masciulli, 59 Valleyfield Street; tax title lot 26, Assessors' Map 24, located on Valleyfield Street The Board has copies of the..minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting held on June 7, 1976, when the matter was discussed Also, a letter from Mrs Battin, then Chair- man of the Board, responding to Mr Pierce's letter of July 20, 1977, stating that the Board had discussed the letter on August 8 and before any further discussion could be held, we would need a copy of the legal agreement with Mr Masciulli and a sketch plan showing the proposed loca- l!' tion of the building Mr Pierce wished to construct on the lot Atty Whittemore said there was an agreement between the two abutting neighbors, Pierce and Masciulli, to apply for this tax title land in the name of Masciulli and they would then divide it for the purpose of both parties adding a garage to their homes There was no problem and the land was sold to the Masciullis The kicker came when we found the re- striction in the deed from the town to Mr and Mrs Masciulli that, "This conveyance is made subject also to the restriction that said lot shall be combined with the adjacent lot owned by the grantee (Masciulli) and that for a period of ninety-nine years from the date hereof no build- ing shall take place on said lot except for the construction of a garage attached to the existing dwelling on the adjacent, such garage to extend onto such lot no more than fourteen feet plus any overhang therefrom " Atty Whittemore said this leaves out totally any shot Mr.. .and.Mra_ Pierce have;of being able to put on their proposed garage We don't know what to do first as we have not had a deed from the Masciullis, basically because we don't know whether we can get this restriction amended to cover one situation, namely to put on a garage Mr Cohen said the agreement had no date, and Mr Whittemore agreed He said it was approximately March of 1976 and it followed a notice to the abutters in February or March that the town would put the low value land up for sale only to those two parties, and it was at that time they agreed they would both go in on the cost for the purpose of both agreeing on a garage Mr Cohen said on June 7, when Mr Buse was Acting Chairman, there wasn't anything in the minutes about an agreement, and he assumed the town didn't know anything about an agreement at that time Mr Whittemore said that is probably correct We are not trying to represent to you that it was brought out at that meeting What we are trying to do is get this thing worded or amended in such a way that we would be allowed to put a garage on SA 7 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - July 9, 1979 Mr Cohen asked if there is any litigation on this? Mr Whittemore said there had been some suggested but he had just come into it this weekend; there might have been There is still a sale price on this property right now and what he is trying to determine is whether or not it would be worthwhile to purchase it or not Mr Cohen said his advice to the Board is that the agreement doesn't concern the Board, and Mr. Whittemore's question is if he did purchase half of the lot, would the Board be willing to review and support it as Town Meeting The Board agreed that research is required before any decision could be made When the questions are answered, it will again be. scheduled ;as an agenda item for further discussion In the meantime, the Building Commiisi.thner would .consulted -arid Town :Counsel would advise as to whether it could be taken to Town Meeting Mr Pierce and Attorney Whittemore retired from the meeting MAPC - Chairman Miley read a draft of a letter recommended by Mr Tom Minuteman Fortmann, Chairman of the Lexington Bicycle Committee, to be sent to Bicycle MAPC supporting the MAPC application for EPA funds to study the poten- Highway tial impact on air quality of the proposed Minuteman Bicycle Highway, which would follow the B & M right-of-way through Bedford, Lexington, Arlington, Cambridge and Somerville to Boston "This route is so ideal that its potential for luring both commuters and local shoppers out of their automobiles is enormous Significant improvements in air quality, noise, traffic congestion, and parking problems can be expected if this project comes to fruition " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to send a letter to MAPC supporting the MAPC application for EPA funds to study the potential impact on air quality of the proposed Minuteman Bicycle Highway, as such a study would be an appropriate and beneficial use of air quality funds The Board voted to approve the following agenda items Cert Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve 11 Muzzey of Street as a mail drop for the Massachusetts Consortium for Alcohol Educa- Incorp tion, Inc Also, to approve 5 Patterson Road as a mail drop for the Assemblies of God Christian Center, Inc Resigna Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Solid resignation of Mrs Iris G Wheaton as a member of the Selectmen's Waste Solid Waste Advisory Committee Com Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's meetings of June 4 (open), June 11 (open) , June 25 (open and executive) Guide Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Guide license for Kamala Soparkar, 12 Saddle Club Road, designating her an Official Guide of the Town of Lexington Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - July 9, 1979 Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Clifford Porter, President of Registrar the Republican Town Committee, submitting three nominees for an appoint- Voters ment to the Board of Registrars to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna- tion of Mr Thelden Phinney Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr William Simmons, 82 North Street, a Registrar of Voters to fill an un- expired term of office from June 30 to March 31, 1980 Chairman Miley read a request from Mr Edward Tippett, President Taxicabs of Arlex Taxi Corp to increase the fleet of taxicabs from nine to twelve in order to service the needs of the town Mr Busa said he had no problem with the request but he would like to know where Mr Tippett is going to park the extra vehicles We do have a problem in the Depot Square area and some arrangements should be made for him to park those vehicles and not be in the business section of the town Are we going to give up three more parking spaces in Depot Square or is Mr Tippett going to move them to other sections of town. He has a taxi stand in East Lexington and Mr Busa had never seen a taxi there Mr Hutchinson agreed to talk with Mr Tippett and come back to the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the re- quest Mr Tippett's request to increase the fleet of taxicabs Chairman Miley read a request from Attorney John Devine for a con- Devine- nection of the Baptiste property at 140 Marrett Road to the Bacon Street Baptiste sewer main Apparently, this has been discussed with the Engineering Sewer Req Division, and Mrs Miley and Mr Busa felt it should be brought to the Board but to be referred back to Engineering for additional information Mr. Busa said that Mr Devine had been asked to write the letter and we have to determine whether we have the right to grant him a sewer connection or whether it is a private way that he has no rights to Before we can make a decision, it should be referred to the Engineering Division and Town Counsel for a recommendation Mrs Miley said in the future she would suggest that people send a letter to the Board and we will refer it to the proper departments for recommendations; this will expedite matters Chairman Miley said that at our last meeting we did bring forth the School charge for the School Sites Conversion Committee, one charge for both Sites Parker and Munroe Schools, and we are ready to make the appointments Cony Com. Mr Busa nominated, seconded by Mrs Battin, Arthur C Smith, James C Appts Wood, Jr , Francis G Fuery Mr Crain nominated, seconded by Mrs Battin, William T Spencer, Roland B Greeley, Joseph 0 Rooney, Robert M. Hutchinson, Jr Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following members of the School Sites Conversion Committee for terms expiring May 31, 1980 Arthur C Smith, James C Wood, Jr , Francis G Fuery, William T Spencer, Roland B Greeley, Joseph 0 Rooney, and Robert M. Hutchinson, Jr 9 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - July 9, 1979 Appts Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of his re-appointment of Bd Hlth Dr Michael Erdos and the appointment of Mrs Barbara Ruben Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's re-rgpointment of Dr Michael Erdos as a member of the Board of Health for a 3-year term expiring April 30, 1982 Also, to CoA appoint Mrs Barbara Rubin a member of the Council on Aging to fill a term of office expiring June 1, 1980 Parker Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the extension of the Edco lease. School- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the exten- Edco sion of the lease with Edco for space in the Parker School until August 1, Lease 1979 Mr Martin Hagerty came into the meeting and nominated Mr David Fine of Simonds Road for appointment to the School Sites Conversion Committee Mr Hagerty was informed that board members had gone through the talent file and the appointments had been made in order to have a balance on the com- mittee Mr Wood had been appointed and would represent the Parker School neighborhood It was felt that a small, working committee would be more effective but, in the future, the Board might consider additional appoint- ments Transporta- Mr Paul Sullivan, Vice President of Transportation Management Corp , tion Man- Attorney Conroy, and Mr Peter DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, met with 111 agement the Board to discuss the licenses issued for the premises at 1668 Mass Licenses Avenue Mr DiMatteo said that Rowe Chevrolet has a Class I license for the sale of automobiles Transportation Management has a license for limousine services; the question is, .areithey licensed to operate a fleet towing service or for the school buses that are there In talking with Attorney Conroy, they are based in Medford and they aren't really operating out of there; although they use the colonial garage for repair of school buses and the fueling up of the cars which operate in this area This is a little bit of a gray area because their administrative offices are in Medford - whether the cars that are based or operating out of there are part of the license Mr Sullivan can give more information on the actual basis of operation Rowe Chevrolet and the limousine ser- vice are licensed from the Colonial Garage Mr Hutchinson asked if that addressed the towing operation as well? Mr DiMatteo replied that's the fleet auto, and is part of the maintenance and repair service; it is a sub-function Mr Hutchinson said that everything's fine, except for the interpretation of how this operation meets that Mr DiMatteo said it was our assumption that the school buses and the fleet auto were based there The way to answer that would be whether the cars were registered in Lexington Chairman Miley asked if the excise taxes are paid to Lexington? 7'0 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - July 9, 1979 Attorney Conroy said there are about 800 vehicles registered in Lexington that are owned by Transportation Management; 800 out of 1100 to 1200 that they own TMC makes an effort to register all of their vehicles in Lexington if they can; they do register some out of Lexington There are about 800 cars or buses that are registered in Lexington for 1979 and the auto excise tax on those vehicles would be about $175,000 Probably 500 or 600, or all of those vehicles, would be in Lexington one day a month for maintenance and repairs Mrs Miley said that obviously you aren't garaging 800 over there Mr Crain said that Mr DiMatteo had referred to a gray area and he wondered if the Board would need the advice of Counsel on that Mr DiMatteo added that the Winchester minibus is also operating out of there and has been there for whatever reason, and that throws a little more into the gray area Counsel could answer what constitutes operating out of their' facility Mr Crain requested clarification in order to resolve the matter Attorney Conroy said TMC has approximately 60 employees in Medford who handle operations of the business, i e , dispatching, signing contracts, safety Repairs and garaging do not occur at that office but do occur in Lexington Under our zoning by-law, there may be a requirement that if you operate a bus out of a garage, you may require licenses or permits, or both. Nobody knows the answer to this We are trying to bring the facts out for you to make a decision on special permits or licenses that are required, and he thought Town Counsel would agree in terms of zoning that if you've had a use that predates the Lexington zoning code, it may be considered a non-conforming use Mr Conroy added that he had been re- quested to tell the Board that Transportation Management is trying to be a good neighbor in the Town It is responsive to the requests of the town and is trying to run an operation that the Board will be satisfied with Mr Crain said that based on the lack of any negative impressions that have been forwarded to him since the last discussion with Transporta- tion Management, he was confident that remains the case He was also im- pressed with the significant tax revenue that TMC is bringing 4a-the town He,zecommended clarification in order to resolve the gray area Mr Hutchinson agreed to submit a report to the Board on the gray area Mr Conroy asked about the status of the minibus contract, and Mr Hutchinson said it is stilluesikriTtwdeTitand Transportation Management is the apparent low bidder He will attempt to award the contract this week, subject to additional review of that contract Mr Sullivan and Attorney Conroy thanked the Board and retired from the meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board vote an intent to take Temporary temporary construction easements relating to street and sidewalk con- Construction struction. Appraisals are being obtained and will be submitted soon Easements Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted an intent to take temporary construction easements on Cushing Street-Authorized under Article 51 of 1978; Banks Avenue-Authorized under Article 52 of 1978; Tucker Avenue-Article under Article 53 of 1978; Wood Street-Authority 111 in Article 22 of 1979 S- 1 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - July 9, 1979 Mills Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Planning Board and the 111 Req for Conservation Commission recommend against selling the land at the Land corner of Lee and Avon Streets, as requested by Mr and Mrs Kenneth A. Mills, 33 Cedar Street Mr Hutchinson will write a letter to Mr Mills and inform them that the land is not for sale Masciulli- Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that the Masciulli property Pierce Req will require additional investigation Ms Joanne Bluestone, Executive Director of the Greater Boston (-/e44-7-4 Health Planning Council, Ms Sherry Liebovitz, and Mr William Sawyer, Northwest Metropolitan Health Council, met with the Board Chairman 104/9-n N/4,C- Miley welcomed them and said they have the report of the human services, Coo/Ye-14- which they may have used as a reference for discussion this evening Ms Bluestone said she had read the report and would address it In 1974, Congress passed the National Health Planning legislation estab- lishing, among other things, that there would be a network of health planning agencies throughout the country There are 205 agencies, funded by HEW, and the Boston agency covers major urban center, near and far suburban areas, and they are the regional planner for applica- tions and the determining factor for recommendations HEW places greater stress on costs and the major impetus now is in trying to put the system together and reduce duplication We see ourselves as a catalyst Lexington is one of the highest per capita income communities; has one of the lowest infant mortality rates, which would indicate the quality of pre-natal care; it is clear there is good access to good health care providers If we were to dig out some of the areas we would express concern about, it would be problems of the elderly and transportation - and you have already thought about them Looking at some of the health problems in other areas similar to Lexington, we would raise some questions and wonder if some exist in Lexington and just didn't come out as a result of the questionnaire Your unemployment rate is about the national average and you must have some pockets of poor in the area Particularly in affluent areas, there is a tendency not to identify the needs of the poor in quite the same way as in populations that are larger We frequently find that medical indigency is something that is slow to be picked up - people who are unemployed and health benefits have lapsed; people who may be elderly but not quite old enough to receive medicare benefits Very frequently we find they are simply going along and only seeing their physician or going to the hospital only when they have an ab- normally acute situation They just aren't getting the kind of care to keep them well Alcoholism is another thing; your report states your community doesn't feel there is a problem with If that is the case, Lexington is somewhat different than our other cities and town. Massachusetts has the second highest rating, and that is a problem facing us It is a hidden disease and we would be surprised if Lexington didn't have some need for alcoholism treatment We might want to probe drinking problems with adolescents An issue you might want to look at is the number of groups that tend to be isolated, particularly the elderly, and some of the problems that portend to poor transportation services in the town increase that .5Zt Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - July 9, 1979 Ms. Bluestone said the situation with adolescents is acute; there is a virtual epidemic of teenage pregnancy; increased use of alcohol; some of the drugs used today are more dangerous than in the past In going from town to town, we hear about the discontent with the adolescent population on the part of townspeople and this nationwide problem could be relieved by providing youth with increased outlets That may not be the case in Lexington One of the things the report does not address is health/hospital service Symmes-Arlington, Winchester Hospital, and Choate-Woburn are talking consolidation and merger, and this should be of great interest to Lexington There has to be a reasonable relation- ship between the consolidation and the Leahy Clinic We brought out a report on this and have put it in limbo until the three hospitals get themselves closer together, but we will continue to play an active role Ms. Bluestone said Mrs .Battin had written her ,that one of the things that you.ere. struggling withis a notion,. What is it :iteasonable for a town to provide? She didn't know; it depends on the town and what they are willing to pay per family to provide for people It depends on some of the differences in the population in that town. As an individual, she suggested that what towns have a responsibility to do is to try to make certain there is some coordination of existing services; that doesn't mean that the town has to provide those but perhaps it means that the town has to take some leadership in the coordination and in letting citizens know what is available Even people who are quite skillful in taking care of themselves can have a difficult time One needs to look at one's own population to seek out how much of a vulnerable population you have and what do you perceive with the elderly? She did a lot of advocating for the elderly, and it is getting increasingly difficult for the elderly to stay in the towns they have been living in all their lives One thing her agency is actively interested in is to try to add to services to keep people at home Research has been done as to what happens to them when they leave their homes and become institution- alized To hold the line on nursing homes and try to keep them at home; in their own community to have congregate housing Mrs Battin said one of the problems we are going to have to define is human services that the town ought to have any involvement in which ought to be coordinated or not There are various ways of doing it, to just help those who have an economic need - to the very broad one, the United Way Any activity which promotes, improves or maintains better living conditions for people, which is everything we do practically, and the Boston College report used just what you do which appealed to me, was looking at the vulnerable population; that we determine ourselves what we think are vulnerable and in looking to i at what services are needed to take care of the ways they are vulnerable This seemed a valid way to start Mr. Crain said we have to start somewhere and then present it to the Board There is a lot of argument in looking at their report - should the library be included, 766, etc He was trying to decide which human services we ought to be considering that the town has some role to play What Ms Bluestone said had helped him Ms Bluestone is one of the problems is cities and towns tend to add on and add on; one of the things you really need to do is to just stop from time to time and really look at what you have been doing and say, "Is this viable, is this valuable?" She encouraged more than a community exercise X73 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - July 9, 1979 Technical assistance is one of the roles the agency plays and they would be happy to be of help In mental health service, you are fortunate in having Mystic Valley Mental Health We're finding cities and towns are reluctant to establish community-based services We are trying to get our Metropolitan Council working closer together with the area mental health coordinator in and around the issue of community residence Mrs Battin said reports that have been done for the Planning Board it was suggested that conversations begin with M V.M.H We have just passed at Town Meeting congregate housing for the elderly and perhaps the next thing will be the handicapped in various ways, and this is being talked about favorably at Town Meeting and by. interested boards and committees Lexington is well down the road to being aware of the responsibility, and thinking about how to meet it Ms Bluestone said maybe you could share some concerns with me Mr Crain said Ms Bluestone has hit upon several critical areas, one of which is the elderly situation. There can be a tendency in a town like ours to assume that elderly people don't have problems that they do in other towns His own experience is, in addition to financial concerns, loneliness is a major factor and he would applaud Ms Bluestone's reference that our challenge would be how to prioritize as we determine needs that we have that presently aren't being sufficiently addressed; to eliminate some things that used to be high priorities that perhaps now in the current spectrum shouldn't be That is a tough job and one we are going to have to address as he didn't believe we can add money for everything we are going to be persuaded we should do111 Mr Busa concurred with Mr Crain. He was concerned on where the poor problems are in Lexington. He knew some of the families that the affluent do not think we have He is a Trustee of Symmes Hospital and that project is going smoothly; also, he is on the committee to make use of Symmes if and when they do merge into one main hospital - sites have already been selected and they are going forward Mr Hutchinson said he was curious about work done on resource allocation and manning We never talk about school nurses and we are talking about spending money on highly trained, capable people on probably the healthiest part of our population, our school children, and only in the big cities do you find community health nursing services under the Board of Health and it seems that we are failing as communities in towns by not addressing the issue The system has been designed this way and, at the same time, with the growing elderly population it is inconsistent to maintain a nursing staff for healthy people Ms Bluestone agreed Committees she has sat on have come up with the recommendation that school health needs to be put under a health related agency; each time it becomes such an enormous, political question. It needs to be put together with a better approach to prevention, health education, etc and historically the educational facilities have not done it Mrs Battin thanked Ms Bluestone for a splendid job She agreed with Mr Crain that it has been an enormous help She and Mr Crain have to come in with a draft of what an advisory human services council to the Board of Selectmen might do She particularly liked the suggestion of going back to the beginning and see what we are doing now that we111 don't need to continue, and what might be added This certainly should be one of their charges Also, the fact that the report did not bring 57� Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - July 9, 1979 up_all of the problems Ms Bluestone touched on alcoholism; we did that from the perspective of people who treat alcoholics, not the people who see the problem themselves, and it is much greater in Lexington than was pointed out Also, the problem of isolation She agreed with Mr Buse that we do have poverty pockets and we tend to forget about the medically indigent That is something that hasn't been tapped Regarding the hospital merger, perhaps Mr Fred Bailey, Mr Busa and Linda could have a community dialogue for some kind of input Dr Cosgrove, Chairman of the Board of Health, thought all bases were touched, and some do not affect thetlocal Board of Health Lexington has a unique situation in the health problem, we touch all the bases but strictly with the health needs of the community, starting with the premature baby to death certificates We have run immunization clinics for years; school nurses have done a good job; we have started a blood pressure clinic, sponsored by the Rotary Club, and a glaucoma clinic sponsored by the Lions Club We have wonderful cooperation with Symmes Hospital on cancer and diabetic clinics; we have clinics at Greeley Village, Vynebrooke Village, and East Lexington Our Director works with the Housing Director on lead paint problems Mr Jacob Gardner, Forum on Aging, said he had a problem in communica- tion with the Health Council when he had asked for assistance on a Forum on Aging Resolution The matter was resolved, and the Board accepted Mr Sawyer's recommendation that one person be designated by the Board and one from the Health Council as communication contacts Mrs Banks is to represent Lexington and Ms Liebovitz as the Council's representative Chairman Miley thanked Ms Bluestone and Ms Liebovitz and they retired from the meeting Mr DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, met with the Board regarding a Bldg letter from Mr Ralph Hall, Building, concerning the issuance of a build- Commr ing permit Mr Busa said he would like the Board and the Building Com- missioner to sit down and go over the procedure openly so that regardless of what it says in the rules and regulations, everyone would know what is happening and what has changed in the construction field of the issuance of permits in the town of Lexington There have been changes since the Commissioner has come to the town and people should understand how long it should take, how long he can hold before a permit can be issued Mr Busa wanted to know why the issuance of a permit had been delayed in such a manner that has changed the policy of the town and the Building Com- missioner's office Previously, samepermitshad been issued within 48 hours; now, they are taking much longer Mr DiMatteo said he had instituted the system that applications be numbered The law is pretty specific but, across the state, procedures in various offices differ He had tried to follow the law, not to the point of being an obstri�ctionist or delaying, but to assure himself and the eventual homeowned,Swhom he is trying to protect, that what is being constructed is sound and is a quality structure To that extent, it takes some time to review a set of plans �7s Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - July 9, 1979 Mr Crain agtded with Mr Busa's proposal When something comes to this board, that is the time for us to learn about that subject He asked that the Building Commissioner look over the operation and come back proposing parameters to enable the board to understand what the process will be; then, we can publicly make it known to people who will appreciate what they will expect It was agreed to schedule a meeting with Mr DiMatteo In the meantime, Mr Hutchinson said he will write to Mr Hall Executive Upon motion duly made and secanded, it was voted 4-0 by roll Session call vote a Mrs.. Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session, with the intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing matters of litigation and collective bargaining After .diacussinn, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Part-time Mr Hutchinson said we have completed our review of our part-time Pay Plan employees recommended for an increase In general, our part-time salaries have to be upgraded substantially to make them more competitive or, in some case, meet prevailing wage rate guidelines He requested approval of the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the proposed pay plan for part-time employees, as presented by the Manager 111 Gasoline Mr Hutchinson reported that a productive, positive meeting had Stations been held with the owners of gas stations The Chamber of Commerce representatives had arrived late but arrangements are being worked out on hours of operation Four came forward to open on Sunday and two will be open from 9 00 a m to 3 00 p m A representative of the Department of Energy was also present Mrs Battin said that the Municipal Associations have set up a task force on state and local coordination on the impact of the energy crisis, and the names of Selectmen/Managers that are involved are in- cluded in the energy packet in case you want to talk with them Also, a copy of the Governor 's Executive Order She informed Mr Hutchinson that any input he had regarding our municipal problems should go to them Millbrook Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mr Peter Chalpin has been Valley appointed to the Millbrook Valley sewer project with the technical Sewer representative, we have contacted; Mr Charles Code and Mr George McCormick are to serve on the citizens' public advisory group MBTA Mr Hutchinson asked for the Board's comments on the proposed in- Add'l crease of $92,000 in the MBTA assessment Mr Crain said that the Board should register strong opposition to that deficiency budget Chairman Assess- Miley said she had talked with Mr Lincoln on three different occasions ment since the Board's last discussion, and had told him the Board feels very strongly that we want a "no" vote on the increase in the MBTA budget, which wauld mean $92,000 additional for the town - a 16 percent increase - and we are opposed to this and hope that many other communities will fol" low suit There will be a vote on Thursday morning and she and Mr Cole will be there. Mr Crain said consideration should be given to making the point that it is a lame excuse to lay all the blame on the former MBTA Director; the Advisory Board is the same .57B Selectmen's Meeting - 11 - July 9, 1979 The Board discussed the annual membership fee of $2,751 00 for the Dues - Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the Home Rule Legal Defense Mass Fund payment of 10 percent per year, optional. Municipal It was agreed that Mrs Battin is to submit additional information Assoc to the Board on the Legal Defense Fund Mr Hutchinson requested that authorization be given to him and Concord Town Counsel to come back with a proposed agreement with Mr F William Ave Sewer- Smith regarding the construction of a sewer ejection station required Potter for the Concord Avenue sewer line in advance of constructing the sewer Condomin- line to service the Potter Pond Condominiums iums Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Manager and Town Counsel to proceed and come back to the Board with an agreement between the Town and the developer of Potter Pond Condo- miniums regarding sewer service Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he did not believe Mrs Tax Title Erin O'Brien would be interested in purchasing the land abutting O'Brien her property at 34 Homestead Street if no building is to be allowed, as recommended by the Planning Board He will pursue the matter with Mrs O'Brien Mrs Battin said that three resumes have been received, and one Additions more is expected, on possible nominees for appointment to the Energy To Energy Committee Mr Hutchinson agreed to review the resumes and interview Committee the candidates Mrs Battin said that the Board has received the proposed legis- Mass lative packet for Municipal Associations for the year These are Municipal items we have been interested in for a year; they are really broad Assoc policy issues and the Legislative Committee (for which Bob Kent sits) Legislation has approved it She asked Board members to let her know if they have anything they want changed Chairman Miley informed the Board that the Governor's Property Gov 's Tax Rebate Proposal will come before the Taxation Committee on July 11 Property regarding the new $166 million which will be sent back - a 6 percent Tax reduction in every person's tax bill; they will receive a check as Rebate well as their tax bill Mrs Battin said that Municipal Associations Proposal are apposing anything that reduces increased state aid Chairman Miley is to attend the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 56 P.M A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen -577 SELECTMEN'S MEETING JULY 23, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, July 23, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Man- ager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Kent was absent Taxicabs- Mr Edward Tippett , owner of Arlex Taxi Corp , met with the Board to Fare & request an increase in the fare structure, to add three taxis to their Fleet fleet of nine, and to discuss taxicab parking Increase Mr Tippett said the request for the fare adjustment is for economic reasons in order to survive; everyone know the escalated cost of gasoline The increase would amount to 20 cents a mile We would like approval of three additional taxis as our business has increased 30 percent in the summertime. Service is slow because we do not have enough cabs available The surrounding towns have rates that are so high that the people of Lexington would rather ride with us; with an increase in fares, we would still not be on a level with them. One or two cabs would be added daily in September and the other would be held back in case of accidents or breakdown. If you are worried about parking the nine taxis, none would be parked more than 15 minutes a day We have seven spots allocated by the town, six in Depot Square and one in East Lexington. The town has has three motels that desire our services to park also We also have a contract with Home Care and would need more taxis to service these people Mr Busa asked if the cabs, when not used, would back up on the public metered parking area, or do they double park? Mr Tippett replied that they are not supposed to and if he had any complaints from the Police Department, they would be removed immediately He added that he had been here three years and never had a problem with the Police Taxicab Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the Town Regs of Lexington Rules and Regulations Governing Hackney Carriages, Taxicabs, and Other Public Vehicles for the Carrying of Passengers for Hire, effective immediately, as follows VI RATES OR FARES METERS a For public vehicles for hire, the rates within the limits of the Town of Lexington shall be 80 for the first one-sixth of a mile 20 for each one-sixth mile thereafter $10 00 per hour waiting time Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of Mr Edward Tippett, owner of Arlex Taxi Corp , to increase the fleet from nine to twelve taxicabs 578 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - July 23, 1979 Mr Crain discussed the request from Public Works to abate water bills Water totaling $4,803 50 He asked if the rather high number of misreadings could Abate- be attributed to, and focused on, individuals in the water department? Mr ments Hutchinson said there were many errors, which will not happen again. The method of meter-reading has been changed and all of the men are being used instead of two men. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate water bills in the amount of $4,803 50, due to wrong readings recorded by meter readers, billing errors, and wrong readings submitted by owners Chairman Miley read a request from the Sheraton-Lexington Motor Inn Liquor - requesting approval of anew Manager, Mr Jeff Brown, under the Innholder Sheraton liquor license Manager Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Mr. Jeff Brown as the new Manager of the Sheraton-Lexington Motor Inn under the Innholder liquor license The approval of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission is to be requested by the Board Chairman Miley read a request from the Town Clerk for approval of a Bond bond Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the bond for Mrs. Barbara A. Smith, Assistant Town Clerk, in the amount of $2,000 II/ Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings of June 4-Executive Session, June 18- Open and Executive Session, June 22-Open (no Executive) , July 9-Open meeting The Board agreed to defer the vote on the July 9 Executive minutes until Mr Kent's return Mr Busa discussed the dog hearings he had conducted on July 18 Dog concerning written complaints by two residents against two dogs in town; Hearings (1) Mrs Florence Sullivan, 6 Ross Road, that a German Doberman Pinscher owned by Mr William Corbett, 8 Ross Road, is a nuisance by reason of excessive barking; (2) Mr Jonathan Brand, 271 Marrett Road, that a German She pherd owned by J R Jenkins, 45 Grapevine Avenue, is a nuisance by reason of excessive barking Mr Busa said the problem is more of a neighborhood nuisance than it is to society itself When a dog is on a leash for long periods of time, he is tormented by persons in the street Mr. Busa recommended that an area be fenced off at the rear of the houses; the dogs be muzzled for a short period of time, or the dogs wear an anti-barking collar Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to be the determina- tion of the Board of Selectmen that the dogs owned by J R. Jenkins, 45 Grapevine Avenue, and William Corbett, 8 Ross Road, are each declared a nuisance by reason of excessive barking and it is ordered that, within 14 days of the date of said order, the dogs are to be kept under the following restraints (1) Erect a pen for the dog to roam in and do to be brought into the house at 9 00 p m or (2) Equip the dog with an electronic 111 Bark-Training Collar, dog to be brought into the house at 9 00 p.m or (3) Equip the dog with a muzzle and dog to be brought into the house at 9 00 p.m '79 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - July 23, 1979 Mini-bus Mr Fred Rosenberg, Chairman, members of the Transportation Advisory Committee, and Mrs Sara Arnold, Mini-bus Coordinator, met with the Board Mr Rosenberg said there are problems with the East Lexington to Arlington Heights routes, and the MBTA union claims that mini-buses are usurping routes that the MBTA would normally be riding The union has asked that the route not go to Arlington Heights and that it be taken off Mass Ave as much as possible In making up the routes, we tried to avoid duplica- tion as much as possible as we would rather service as many other streets as possible There is really no alternative to going down Mass Ave as there are no decent parallel roads The Transportation Coordinator re- worked the routes and tried to put something down Marrett Road, getting off Mass Ave and avoiding the Arlington Heights connection. We would like the Board's input on how the town should respond to the problem The MBTA Board of Directors will meet in two weeks to approve the con- tracts for the town. The MBTA Community Affairs Department is getting pgopie to interface between the MBTA and us in putting up $60,000 in- st4ad of $50,000; they have already approved $60,000 for Natick. The grievance will be discussed at this meeting by MBTA management and the union and if they cannot arrive at a solution, it will go to arbitration, and that might take weeks or months Mr Hutchinson said the MBTA staff has been responsive to us in saying this is an issue with the union It is important, in whatever decision you may make, that perhaps we should ask for more from the MBTA; maybe the answer is submitting our desired routes, and even alternative routes, subject to that grievance It seems inappropriate to have the service cut before we even start, based upon a potential union grievance that hasn't even been arbitrated yet Mr Rosenberg said there was one possible way of doing it, in that we could say in advance that we want these routes, you give us the license to operate over those routes, but we recognize your power to take us off those routes Mr Crain said that, obviously, the MBTA knows its authority and if we feel at this time we would like to retain those routes, we would in- dicate that i5 our desire and it would be up to them whether or not they contemplate it He would not want to suggest to the MBTA that they have the authority not to grant them. Mr Rosenberg said we certainly should not let this hold up sign- ing the contract Chairman Miley and Mrs Battin agreed Mr Busa questioned the rationale in cutting back the East Lexington route in the Bow Street area, originally planned from Mass Ave to Lowell Street, to service only Cliffe Ave to Pottier Ave and back onto Mass Ave ; this is the most heavily populated area in the town. Mr Rosenberg said they are still worrying about the routes and there is a problem with the bus getting up the Bow Street hill and back down again. Mr Busa commented that he lives in the area and trucks and snowplows are operated there and they had never had a grade difficulty; it is a lot less in degree than the Taft Ave /Oak Street area Mrs Arnold said she had made recommendations and had cut some of the areas as we wanted to make sure these routes can run in a half hour It is very important to have an efficient route that runs on schedule; then, if we can add streets, we will do so The question is, if one route is con- sistently late, do the other drivers wait for them to meet up at the Center? There have been other neighborhoods that have been slightly cut from the original proposal 38D Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - July 23, 1979 Mr Rosenberg said we might be able to pick up a few minutes and go up and around the hill at Bow Street There are a couple of other places that the map is slightly changed from the original one On Reed Street, there were changes in the Middle Street area and also at Freemont Street - to try to .go , in at least down Reed Street a little bit In North Lex- ington, if time will allow, we would like to go down Eldred Street, Bed- ford Street, up Winter Street and then Turning Mill Road, but we feel that for now we shouldn't try that because of timing There is one of two possible solutions, (1) to serve Turning Mill and Grove Street; (2) to serve Eldred Street and Winter Street You can't serve both Mr Busa said if 100 percent of the people are going to foot the bill, they should have some kind of service whether it is late, early, or whatnot Mr Rosenberg said that we are going to have some people walk a few blocks more than they would have in order to be able to serve the outskirts as much as possible We have deleted places where we would have gone in a few blocks and come out again. Mr Busa asked if the routes, as laid out, are not made in a half-hour's time, they will be further condensed? Mr. Rosenbert said the committee feels that what we have is a very con- servative thing that we're sure we can satisfy at lunch time when the traffic is at its maximum. Mr Busa was troubled with Volunteer Way From Winter Street to the nearest terminal is quite a walk Mr Rosenberg said originally the service went all the way up The alternative is, you can take away the service from Turning Mill and could put it on, Eldred/Winter Street which comes out by Volunteer Way In response to Mrs Battin's question, Mr Rosenberg said that Wood Street was deleted because the MBTA goes there, and part of the service is from Bedford Street and Hanscom Field He agreed with Mrs Miley that they didn't accept the recommendation on Eldred, Bedford Street and down Grove Street instead of Turn Mill Road because Bedford Street was serviced by the MBTA. Chairman Miley said that What Mr Busa mentioned about the hills is correct, in that we all travel these roads all the time and we don't know of any cases where hills can't be passed in the wintertime DPW does a great job and get us through; therefore, she didn't feel that was a con- sideration. Actually, there would be good reason to have a bus on a route like that because it is a difficult hill for people to walk, especially older people For cars, trucks, buses, she saw no problem with them. The heavy traffic situation on Bedford Street/Hartwell Avenue was dis- cussed and Chairman Miley said it is probably due to people coming in from New Hampshire at Route 3, over 128 and up Bedford Street to Hartwell Avenue at peak hours and they go back the same way There are not too many cars that come in Eldred Street and down Robinson Road Mr Busa said that the purpose for us to get into the transportation business is (1) to service the people of Lexington; (2) to minimize the use of vehicles and energy If the traffic flow is heavy in given areas and there is the possibility of picking up riders in those areas during peak hours, then that's enough criteria for even trying What he heard was, too much traffic here, the hills are too steep, we don't want to service 111 that section as it would go over the 30 minutes, and we just want to run a neat loop into Lexington Center - and then run a deficit on top of that, he becomes very disturbed with that JB1 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - July 23, 1979 Mr Crain said the intent of tonight's process is specifically for discussion, and the input from Mr Busa and Mrs Miley is invaluable to the Committee They have been working very hard on this and now they have the opportunity to ventilate; he was sure the committee would consider the paints that are being made and would see what arrangements can be made Mr Rosenbert said we realize we can't really serve 100 percent of the 0 population We've seen the areas of the town where people need it most An attempt was made to go halfway down Reed Street, which we recognize is a difficult problem In North Lexington, people would have the choice of either walking up to Grove Street or Bedford Street We realize there is a problem and there would still be people in that area who would have to walk a long way; we could change that loop to go the other way, leaving Turning Mill Road out as this has a lower population The Transportation Advisory Committee agreed to meet and come back to the Board on August 6 Mini-bus Mr Rosenberg said the committee recommends the four mini-buses using Parking- six parking spaces on the right side of Depot Square in front of the Depot Sq Yangtzee Restaurant and the Village Decorator. The businesses should like this as four buses will be dropping people off Mr Busa asked if the committee had considered creating the terminal behind the Depositors Trust in the municipal lot off Meriam Street, where there would not be a congestion of people on the sidewalk waiting for buses Mr Rosenberg said there is a problem of visibility; the young kids would be near the111 street where they couldn't cross safely if they wanted to go to the library, etc The buses would be taking up just as many spaces in the Meriam Street lot The other alternative would be at Buckman Tavern, but that would be a very dangerous location Mrs Miley was concerned about children getting off the buses in back of Depot Square where the cars are coming in and turning around At Depot Square, they would be getting off at the sidewalk. Mr Ernest Giroux said that his prime tenant, Yangtzee Restaurant, was very upset as this would become a bus terminal People would be coming in and asking to use the telephone, restrooms, and to change money As the owner of the building, Mr Giroux was not happy about the situation as the sidewalk would have to be policed daily because of the litter problem He was not against the buses but his tenants feel it would not help their businesses He did not feel the taxicabs belong there either He asked that consideration be given that the business not be located in that particular area, and mentioned that the Meriam Street lot is used by the banks and the Adams Building and by the time his tenants get there, there are no available spots Mr Crain said it would be helpful to him if someone could provide the whole history of cab parking, how long it has been established, and the basis for parking Mr Rosenberg pointed out that there is the problem of a timetable and we would like to start service on September 8; if the Depot Square spaces are approved, we would need approval of the state, also The Board agreed to postpone a decision until the Transportation Committee meets on Thursday evening and comes back to the Board on August 6 with possible alternatives for parking the four mini-buses Mr Busa is to work with the business groups on alternative areas and the Chamber of Commerce will also be involved X82 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - July 23, 1979 Mr Rosenberg said that bids on the mini-buses came in higher than Mini-bus anticipated at an annual cost of $15,625 28 per vehicle; $15 44 per Rate vehicle hour; total annual costs of $228, 695 52 Lexington has Structure appropriated $90,000 and the "T" $50,000, with the possibility of $60,000, and with chaircar fares and advertising revenues, this would leave us with a net cost to be raised of a little over $87,000 The committee feels with the projected amount of people tiding the- bus at 25 cents a ride would not provide that amount of revenue, and after looking into the Westport, Connecticut pass system, we estimate that if we offered passes at $30 00 per year, we could sell over 3,000 passes The committee has recommended that we have an introductory pass of $25.00 per year, maximum per family $100 00 This breaks down oto 25 cents if using the bus once a week, and people who are going to use it even once a week would probably buy the pass Revenues from 3300 passes would be $87,195 52 and we will still be getting revenue from the fare boxes Mr Crain hoped the introductory $25 00 pass would be for a short period of time and then raised to $30 00 The Board agreed to defer a decision on the mini-bus rate structure until further discussion on August 6 Also, a system will be established on a method of depositing monies collected from the sale of passes The Board approved Mr Rosenberg's recommendation of a minor change MBTA in the regular MBTA Hanscom bus route, which would be to continue on Hanscom Bus Marrett Road, turn right onto Old Mass Ave and left to Wood Street This would avoid a turn at the intersection of Mass Ave and Route 2A in front of the Minuteman High School There would not be an additional MBTA charge as the distance seems to be the same Mr Rosenberg and the Transportation Committee retired from the meeting Mrs Alice Hinkle and Mr Steven Groves of the Recreation Bicycle Sub- Hartwell committee met with the Board regarding a proposed bicycle lane and the Ave. - town's plan for resurfacing Hartwell Avenue Bike Lane/ Mrs Hinkle said the Recreation Committee has some preliminary plans Resurfacing that might have some bearing on the town resurfacing Hartwell Avenue, and there may be something for the 1980 warrant on our bike proposal We have had many people express a great interest in it, and it was in the master plan Mr Groves said Hartwell Avenue is a complicated sub- ject; it was built as a 2-lane road which is being used as a 4-lane road in a substandard fashion, with temporary signs encouraging this but it is not lined. This has been hard on cars and expecially bicycles Now, more people are eager to use bicycles to get to work, expecially those who live within 5 miles; a conservative calculation is that 400 people are making this trip - there are probably 600-700 people, including Bedford and the northwest part of Lexington like Hanscom, Lincoln Lab, and industries along Hartwell Avenue Those going from this part of Lexington to Lincoln Lab use Wood Street and you get 10-20 percent of the people using their bikes about 60 percent of the year A similar group coming from the other direction is frustrated by the bad condition on Hartwell because of the sub- standard use of the road during peak hours A bike route down Hartwell 111 would satisfy bicycle riders, help out with pedestrian traffic, and safety and convenience, assuming the road is widened 5 ft on either side or twice that on one side with the center line of the road shifted 4"83 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - July 23, 1979 Mrs Battin said the Transportation Advisory Committee had decided they couldn't have the route on Hartwell Avenue, and had talked about 157 Lexingtonians workinganswer g in the area; this could be an to getting many of those people there She applauded the industries on Hartwell Avenue for working on it when we brought the whole problem of transportation and energy to their attention Are they willing to foot part of the cost? Mr Groves said this has not been put to them as there is a renter/owner situation, but he would try to get their feeling when he attends a meeting with them on Thursday His feeling was to get a lot of help from the state, 75-percent, and perhaps the industries would help out on the 25 percent Discussion was held on the possibility of delaying the resurfacing of Hartwell Avenue, which was included in a bid package, and Mr Empey, Acting Director of Public Works/Engineering, informed the Board that the bids are coming in the first of August and the only area to be resurfaced an Hartwell Avenue is from the railroad tracks to Bedford Street Mr Hutchinson recommended the resurfacing not be delayed as the town has the liability of themaintenance of toads, and Hartwell Avenue is one of the primary streets in that area However, it would not be incompatible to work on the bike paths while repaving The Board agreed and recommended that the committee go forward as quickly as possible with their plans Mrs Hinkle said the committee will not meet formally until September but will be meeting with Hartwell Avenue groups to gather information Mrs Battin added that Recreation should let the Board know as soon as they think of streets so they may be chalked aside; also, to let Engineering know, and all will be able to work together 111 Mrs Hinkle and Mr Groves retired from the meeting Affirmative Mr Albert Zabin, Planning Board, met with the Board Mr Hutchinson Action - said we are dealing with the Affirmative Action Plan and the Fair Housing Fair Element Representatives of the Housing Authority could not be here to- Housing night and, at the appropriate time, we will be able to meet with them. We had requested an extension until June 30 for completion of our Fair Housing element, and most of the work is completed but we need guidance He had pointed out to MCAD staff people today that had we known some of what we considered the complexities, we would have asked for a longer amount of time We are prepared to make a submission in draft form on the housing situation, referencing the commitment of Town Meeting on condominiums at Potters Pond, Morrow Crossing, and things of that nature but the issue of quantitative goals on housing is something we are not prepared to address as administrators, and that type of decision should come from this Board and other interests The suggestion is made for the following (1) The establishment of a Fair Housing Committee to monitor goals regarding equal access to housing; (2) Establishment of an individual to be a contact point regarding this aspect between the Committee and MCAD; (3) Establishing goals of affirmative action for future low and moderate income housing residents, e g , scattered sites, elderly housing, Section 8; (4) Reviewing the methodology to determine if there are structural barriers to access to equal housing 385 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - July 23, 1979 Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board appoint a Task Force for a short term to address these questions and bring back to the Board a com- pleted plan for submission to MCAD It would seem appropriate to designate member of the Board of Selectmen, Housing Authority, Planning Board, and perhaps some of the people involved before, to get those major agencies identified that have been dealing with the issue Mr Crain questioned the review of methodology being completed by August 30 as that would be very tight Mr Hutchinson said this is something that would be addressed as part of the work program within the plan; that various areas would be investigated for looking at that He did not see how that could be ad- dressed now and he didn't think MCAD expects that; we would say we recognize it and it would be done Mr Busa said before we get into the suggestion of forming a Fair Housing Committee, we should see if the date of August 30 could be extended The Governor is going to come out with his own affirmative action program sometime within the next 10 days to two weeks He had talked with the Governor's office and this is what was indicated to him. If we come out with an affirmative action program that is contrary to what the executive order is, we will be running into a financial problem. Also, the MCAD is now working under the affirmative action policies from the Governor and nothing has been changed to this point, but under the new executive order, MCAD would change their guide- lines He pointed out that the original date had been extended from June 30 to August 30 and, in dealing with the Commonwealth, dates have been extended and extended Mr Busa agreed to the suggestion that he contact the proper author- ity at the proper level for clarification of the August 30 date and the possibility of it being extended Mrs Miley added that this has nothing to do with the Executive Order, only our deadline It was agreed that Mr Busa and the Town Manager will work together and come back to the Board Mrs Battin said at some point we are going to have such a task force no matter when the deadline is, and probably one or two Selectmen should be named She asked Board members to think about it as they should be prepared Mr Hutchinson said Mr Zabin has indicated a continued in- terest in the housing area. Mr Zabin said we should know where the responsibility is going to lie in carrying through the quantitative goals set by Town Meeting HUD is anxious to have a meeting with the Housing Authority people or somebody from the Manager's Office and the Planning Board for clarification, i e what the acquisition of these units in the condominiums involves on fund- ing; additional funding is available for other units but we just can't wait around If we don't do something fairly rapidly, we are going to lose that It might be worthwhile when you consider a task force to think of the function somewhat more broadly than merely one aspect of fair housing Mr Busa said the Housing Authority is working on both the Morrow and Potter's Pond condominiums, scattered sites, and the Woburn Street housing for the elderly That is their quthority and they know what the quantitative goals are that were set down Mr Zabin said the general agency that involves money wants the kind of involvement and we ought to give serious thought to do that Saf Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - July 23, 1979 Mr Buse said the Housing Authority is a separate entity from town government; they have jurisdiction over housing and how to spend the HUD money and under the guidelines that HUD sets out It has absolutely nothing to do with the Planning Board other than the Planning Board setting up the goals for them in the areas of housing for them to implement Mr Zabin said that is a matter of administration but the Selectmen and the Planning Board are responsible for quantitative goals When it comes to the administration of governmental subsidies, the Housing Authority has the only authority to deal with it That is a different question. Mr Zabin retired from the meeting. Youth The Board discussed and agreed to refer the Lexington Youth Com- Com - mission's request for consideration of a youth center in the town Youth to the Recreation Committee and the School Sites Conversion Committee Center for their input Chairman Miley said this subject has been discussed by these two committees in the past but bears consideration again. Conserve Chairman Miley read a request from the Conservation Commission and Land - Town Counsel regarding land taking Buckley Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- quest of the Conservation Committee to acquire, by eminent domain, .a 7+ acre parcel of land from the Buckley estate at an agreed price of $82,500 Also, to approve the request of Town Counsel to sign the order of taking for the Buckley land, as authorized under Article 43 of the 1978 Town Meeting 200th Chairman Miley read a memorandum from the Senate and House Chairmen Anniv stating that the Mass Legislature has established a Special Commission Mass to help prepare and coordinate plans for the 200th Anniversary of the Constitu- Massachusetts Constitution to be held in 1980, and suggesting a committee tion be formed in Lexington to formulate plans for a community celebration The Board agreed not to establish a new committee but to request the Town Celebrations Committee to mark in concert with the Historical Society and come back to the Board with recommendations as to what our level of participation should be in commemorating this event Appt Chairman Miley nominated Mr William P Kennedy as a member of the SSCC School Sites Conversion Committee; one recent appointee was unable to accept Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr William P Kennedy, 135 Wood Street, a member of the School Sites Conversion Committee, effective immediately, for a term of office expiring May 31, 1980 Bldgs - Mr Peter DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, met with the Board MAPC Mr Hutchinson said he had outlined what we expect for the qualifications Grant of the person to work as the part-time management analyist under the MAPC grant He requested the endorsement of the Board for that applica- tion and he hoped to get someone who has been involved in the business world who has an organizational orientation in the system. There was a suggestion made internally for one working in planning and building but he didn't consider that relevant We would see where we are and if there are duplications we can combine permits He and Mr Dimatteo L__ Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - July 23, 1979 II III getting someone who would be interested in doing this as a service to the town, possibly a retired executive He added that there are many towns involited in- the grant application and we may not even get it Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to endorse the MAPC grant application Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the request for a sewer con- Sewer Con- nection to the Bacon Street sewer, subject to DPW conditions nection Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Bacon St request of Attorney John Devine for a connection into the Bacon Street Baptiste sewer to service the property of Mr Manuel Baptiste at 140 Marrett, subject to all conditions of DPW/Engineering, including the submission of an easement plan. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Walk-a-Thon to the National Organization for Women to conduct a walk-a-thon on August 26, 1979 beginning at 10 00 a m. Also, to approve the request of the American Cancer Society to change the date of the Bike-a-Thon from October 7 to October 14, 1979 Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board sign the forms accepting State Aid State Aid for Highways Highways Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the forms for accepting State Aid for Highways, in an amount to be determined by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works State Aid Office, District #4, in_.accordance with Chapter 497 of the Acts of 1971 Mr Hutchinson asked for authorization to negotiate a lease with Minuteman Minuteman Home Care on a temporary basis for space utilization within Home Care Munroe School They will have to ask for a variance to rent there and Munroe Sch they are also pursuing the Grey Nuns' property Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to negotiate with the Minuteman Home Care on a lease in the Munroe School tdr Hutchinson discussed the Vocell Bus commuter service and Mr Vocell Bus Crain commented on problems with maintenance and the exceptional number Commuter of standees; it was his understanding that an extra bus was to be put Service into service The Board agreed to invite Mri. Goodman of the Vocell Bus Company to the meeting on August 6. Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the City of Woburn Superin- Woburn tendent of Public Works has written a letter to the Selectmen requesting Req for water being made available to them Water It was agreed that Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director of Public Works, would write a letter to the Woburn Superintendent of DPW re- I III questing further details 487 Selectmen's Meeting - 11 - July 23, 1979 Mr Cohen recommended that the Board sign the deed for Conveying two lots to the Housing Authority Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed conveying t0701 lots to the Lexington Housing Authority Treasurer fir Hutchinson requested approval of the sale of a note for $15,000, as requested by the Town Treasurer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Treasurer to negotiate the sale of a $15,000 note with the New England Merchants Bank at 4 95 percent Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining and litigation. After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session at 1100 pm Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1100 p m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen * Mr Cohen refommended that the Board sign the deed transferring town-owned land to the Conservation Commission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed transferring three parcels of land to the Conservation Commission, Assessors' Map 47, Lot 61A; Assessors Map 76, Lot 61; Assessors Map 79, Lot 35, as approved by the 1979 Annual Town Meeting under Article 45 11 5 acres off Utica Street; 31,532 sq ft of land off Utica Street; 8,300 sq ft of land on Brook Street 1 SELECTMEN'S MEETING -111 AUGUST 6, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, August 6, 1979, at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mrs Banks, Acting Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive, were .p present Mr Hutchinson and Mr Cohen were absent x� Chairman Miley asked for confirmation of the vote to appoint the Acting Town Acting Town Manager Manager Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's appointment of Mrs Nancy H. Banks as the Acting Town * Manager during his vacation period of August 3 at 4 30 p.m. through Sunday, August 19, 1979 Mr Butler, Chairman, and Mr Hazel of the Personnel Advisory Personnel Board met with the Selectmen to discuss the draft of the purpose of, Adv Bd - k and charge to, the Personnel Advisory Board Charge Mr Butler said Mr Busa, Mr Hutchinson and he had met to review some general statements; Mr Hutchinson and Mrs Banks put together a statement and sent it to the three of them; Mr Butler had made changes, additions, and incorporated two items The Board of Selectmen agreed with Mr Butler's suggested item, "(The Personnel Advisory Board shall) submit annually an agenda of suggested policy proposals and projects, which it is prepared to initiate, for the Board of Selectmen's approval " Mr Crain commented that the expertise that is available to the town on the PAB would be enhanced if they feel, through their analysis, there are areas they would like to recommend to the Board; they would initiate action, and that is probably one of the best ways we can utilize the talent on PAB Mrs Battin said the proposed draft had said, "to provide advice and assistance to the Board on policy issues inherent in a personnel system," and ft is really keeping the Board educated or informing us about the philosophy behind personnel, etc and it could be one of the things PAB suggests to us annually in order for us to be more informed She liked the fact that PAB initiates because the Selectmen do not know enough about policy issues that are involved and the PAB could keep the Selectmen informed It would help if that were kept in Mr Kent said the revision a strengthens and clarifies the charge, and he was very happy with Mr Butler's changes Mr Butler said the members of the PAB are aware of the history of the origin of PAB and we are now looking to develop a charter for the future It is particularly important that the Selectmen clearly state how they feel about PAB being available as individuals or as a board to offer opinions, advice and counsel to any groups other than the Board of Selectmen The item Mr Butler referred to is as follows "(The Personnel Advisory Board shall) be available individually and as a group as requested by the Board of Selectmen, Town Manager and appropriate Town agencies and Committees to share opinions, advice and counsel " Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - August 6, 1979 Mr Kent said it does raise one question which is perhaps worthy of an addi1111- tion that it be clearly understood to the extent this occurs with the PAB giving advice to other agencies, that the Board of Selectmen be kept in- formed as to the nature and content of that advice He would request that the advice given to other boards who have a relationship with the Board of Selectmen be transmitted to the Board of Selectmen as well Mr Crain said he sees the function of the PAB as a resource available to everyone in the town very much like the personnel resource in corporate or large organization structure, and he suggested PAB operate in a manner that if individually or as a group they are requested to be involved in something, to ensure the Manager's office knows what that is In terms of individually, he would hope the individual would only act within the context of the glossar,r, of the full committee In his opinion, there could be a problem if an in- dividual begins to work as a separate resource rather than within the context of the committee Mr Butler suggested the words individually and as a board be struck and insert, "be available as requested " We would be operating more as a board and if anybody would be available individually, it would be because of the board deciding that the person who has expertise can. do it; it would not be that the individual would have freedom to do that on his or her own Mrs Miley said perhaps it could be done as it is done now through most of the boards and committees; usually, the Chairman re- ceives word first and then the members Mr Busa said he and the Manager had discussed this and they felt if this portion of it has broadened the magnitude - if the PAB wishes to have it extended - it would lead to the complications that we have had in the past where some committee or person N , - would call at the last minute and ask the PAB to come to their meeting that evening; then, there would be a lack of communication with the Manager and the Town Manager He felt very strongly that the policy be adopted that if any other committee s appropriation, recreation, etc - wants the advice and knowledge of the PAB, they should come to the Manager who would say he would set up an appointment for them at their next meeting We would at least know who they are talking to and on what subject, and we would not get into the situation we -ran .into last year when the PAB was requested by the Appropriation Committee to come down and speak with them and we knew nothing about it until a week later There was a conflict of communication with the Appropriation Committee and the PAB Mr Crain said he saw it differently; he saw the PAB, particularly in light of individuals in the background, as an unusual resource that's available in their area of expertise He would be bothered if they were operative and no one knew about dt, so rather than put it in the context of getting approval from anyone, it's rather with the caution that the PAB has been requested to be involved and the Manager would let us know about it - and there would be no surprises Mr Busa said then we should redefine the title of the Personnel Advisory Board to the town and not the Personnel Advisory Board to the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager Mr Kent said he had no difficulty with Mr Crain's approach to this He felt that being in an advisory capacity to the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager to assist the town government is broad enough to encompass that He recommended additional language along these lines, "through the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen should be kept informed as to all such activity " He felt that is important We have pinpointed A Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - August 6, 1979 Illa minor issue which shouldn't be too difficult to resolve; namely, whether advance approval from the Board should be necessary, and he would tend to think not. Mrs Battin shared Mr Crain's and Mr Kent's view that we ought to be informed but our approval is not necessary Mr Busa thought the Board ought to define the PAB's obligation to the town government itself and not as an advisory board to the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager Mr Busa said he would like to have the Town Manager's input on this issue Mr Kent concurred, and said the one area of tre- mendous concern to him is bargaining and he was sure the people on the PAB are sensitive that if they were summoned into a heated situation on bargaining to get counsel and advice, they would put the brakes on, particularly individually, and deal through the Manager's office It is extremely important that this particular function be orchestrated con- sistently through that one source Mr Busa said we discussed that very thoroughly, and the Town Manager would ask advice from them but they would not be taken into the negotiations Mr Crain agreed Mr Butler said he was not sure the language would solve all the problems but he suggested a change in the wording, "Be available as re- quested by the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager to share opinions, advice and counsel and, through them, to other town agencies and com- mittees for similar purposes " The problem he had with "through them" is that the committee might have problems knowing you have to get permission in advance If people understand they come to you and say that they would like to talk with somebody about something, then it's through you He thought that this language might reach them. Mr Butler stated that the PAB has no interest in being other than a resource in ways in which it can be helpful, and in those areas you mention, we would not Mrs Battin said that does help She shared Mr Busa's concern and, in some cases, how to handle this as opposed to other committees that advise only us, i e , the Traffic Safety Committee, in which other people don't go directly On most of our advisory committee matters, the only action taken is by the Board of Selectmen There are personnel issues that are acted on by other boards and committees, such as Board of Health, Recreation, School Committee, so the advice that deals with them we do not take action on and we shouldn't necessarily know It is somewhat different from our other committees and if we could somehow clarify in the wording "advice on matters in which they have the primary responsibility " There is no reason for the Recreation Com- mittee to come and ask us to use the PAB to deal with something in their department but if it is something we had to ask for ourselves, that would be something different Mrs Banks said that, generally, the personnel functions under the Town Manager Act are centrally lodged in the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager, except for the School Committee and the Planning Board; the Planning Board must approve the appointment of the Planning Director; also, the Selectmen appoint the Executive Clerk Personnel decisions are made by the Town Manager or the Board of Select- men for the town and no personnel functions are taken by other committees Mr Butler and the Board agreed that the Manager's input is important and the Personnel Advisory Committee is to come back on August 20 Chairman Miley thanked Mr Butler and Mr Hazel and they retired from the meeting Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - August 6, 1979 Conserve Mr Prentiss and Mrs Frick of the Conservation Commission met with Farm Land the Board to discuss the letter from Mr John Proakis, 256 Emerson Road, concerning the Conservation leasing of the 2-acre tract of land, located behind his house, to Mr Guy Doran for farming purposes Mr Prentiss showed a plan of the land and explained that it is a customary practice in the state to lease Conservation land for farming, and this keeps local agriculture busy in the towns We are proposing to lease the land and did not feel it has a major impact on the neighborhood as the land had been farmed for years Mr Buse said he had developed that section and had put the two acres into Planned Use Development The neighbors are upset as they were not aware that the land was to be leased for farm- ing, and it should be worked out so the land being used should not be offensive because of the dust, noise, etc The homeowners understood when they purchased the propertyitthat it would be PUD land They were never notified and feel they have some rights This is an unusual situation as Conservation asked Town Meeting to turn it over to them. Mrs Frick said that once it was turned over by Town Meeting to Con- servation jurisdiction, we knew we were within our legal rights and we were renting out the land to farmers and getting tax money back We made a tactical error by not notifying the people, but we have been doing this for two years; however, from now on, we will notify people Mr Proakis was present and said he felt there was a breach of contract on that par- ticular issue He pointed out that a majority of the neighbors are strongly opposed to commercial farming on this piece of property He asked if reconsideration could be given by the Conservation Commission, or perhaps give him the opportunity of leasing it Mr Prentiss said if be could meet the criteria and had the equipment, he could lease it if he had the knowledge to farm it He added that with the practiceof farming today, he doubted if the Commission would accept that The Board agreed the decision lies within the jurisdiction of the Con- servation Commission, but stressed the matter +.of good public relations by giving notice to the abutters concerning the proposed change in the use of land by the Conservation Commission Mr Proakis said he wasn't sure of what the outcome would be this evening and he was happy to see it turn into this discussion He retired from the meeting Recreation Mr Prentiss, Mr Wells, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, and Mr Center Tot Coscia, Acting Director of Public Works, met with the Board to discuss the Lot/Tree petition received from citizens concerning the removal of a tree at the Center tot-lot Chairman Miley said there were two separate issues brought up; the Recreation Committee had their hearing on the tot lot, which has nothing to do with the Board of Selectmen, but somehow became intertwined with a tree There was a hearing last week on the tree in the area where the tennis backboard was to be put up and the citizens met with the Recreation Committee and agreement was reached to move the tot lot to another area in the playground We heard from some , but not everyone, withdrawing the protest Chairman Miley asked if anyone wished to comment I Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - August 6, 1979 1 III A woman spoke in favor of saving the tree, clipping the limbs, and black- topping around it Mr Coscia said the tree would be a hazard as it is in the tennis court area, and there would be a liability of someone backing into it Mr Wells said the location of the backboard has been an integral part of the plan and we knew the tree was coming down He shared the con- cerns but the Recreation Committee felt we couldn't do without the back- board; the tree would be removed for safety measures There are many trees in the area and others would be planted Regretfully, the Board agreed the tree should be removed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- mendation of the Recreation Committee to proceed with the plan to remove the tree at the Center Playground in the tennis backboard area Messrs Robert and Benjamin Goodman of the Vocell Bus Company, Inc Vocell Bus met with the Board to discuss commuter bus service between Lexington Commuter and Boston Chairman Miley read a letter from Attorney Arthur White, Service representing the Vocell Bus Co , stating the company has been providing bus service on a regular basis for more than one year There is cur- rently a contract with the town to provide service through October 13, 1979, and it is requested that permanent rights be granted by the town to the Vocell Bus Co for this service Presently, the company has perma- nent operating rights from each city and town through which the service is conducted, except for Lexington The company has already made a substantial investment of time, money and equipment in performing this operation. All reports indicate the service is being well received and performed, and the need for-the service should escalate as the consumer's cost of operating a motor vehicle escalates The granting of a license would enable the company to go forward on a petition to the MBTA for a Certificate for the operation. The granting of permanent rights to the company would lead to increased expenditure of funds and utilization of equipment in providing the service Without such permanency, it would be burdensome for the company to make such moves without the certainty of continuity in operations Chairman Miley said we are happy to have the bus service but there are problems Mr Crain questioned the statement in the letter, "all reports indicate the service is being well received and performed " Also, the number of standees is quite measurable In the contract, it says the fre- quency of the routes to be set so there are no standees We expect what the contract calls for, and the concern expressed to him was that the bus was so packed, people were left at the stops You should build in some control so you know there will be no standees The back seats are in- operable, which could be discerned by walking through the bus You made a commitment that you expected to meet the standards Mr Goodman replied that they have heard a number of people say the service is good We ran at a loss and have had a gradual build-up of passengers, and all of a sudden there were so many people It is unfortunate there were standees but now this is being corrected and we are running a back-up bus We think we have done an excellent job Mr Kent asked about the implications of granting permanent authority with respect to continuing control of the com- munity over the types of problems and situations which Mr Crain had been III referencing, and the rates Also, what award of permanent authority would do with respect to the town's influence over the rates t, Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - August 6, 1979 Mrs Banks said if you have permanent authority, the rates are set by the DPW and possibly the MBTA as they have certain regulatory authority; there is also a hearing process Mr Kent said that, at the present time, the town has more control over the rates under the arrangement with the MBTA; the town is the operator and then makes its arrangements with the bus company to furnish service on behalf of the community He asked if the j Mgr 's Manager had a positiion with respect to the request for permanent rights? Recom Mrs Banks replied that we are opposed at this time to granting permanent rights When problems were brought to our attention, we were concerned about the time frame for corrective action, and it was her understanding the problems had been faced We had talked about having a fifth bus in place and some of the time frames have slipped; it has been a concern to us because when citizens call us it is very frustrating not to know exactly when the corrective action is going to take place At this point, we would feel that the existing contract that the bus company has will expire on October 13 and we don't feel we are ready to make a recommendation for action at October 13 We may recommend to the Board that you go with a 90-day period and see if the level of service is what you would like, and then make a de- cision Mr Kent said then the Manager does contemplate making a recommenda- tion to the Board in respect to this prior to October 13 Mrs Banks said the recommendation at that time would be not to grant permanent rights for the coming year, beginning October 13 Mr Ben Goodman said this is like a circle; you are asking for certain things to be done yet at the same time you are withholding the possibility or the ability to do so New or used equipment is very expensive and you have to come up with a pretty good story to get a bank to invest in you; so you are withholding that means of us increasing the service which we had intended and hoped with the Lowell run, and the only way we can do it is to hook up with Lexington and run from Lowell to Lexington to Burlington to Boston and to do both commuter runs and some local runs You say to put on vehicles, put on the service, but we won't give you the chance to in- crease it so that you can make the money to do so If the MBTA does close down, you are going to be at a loss Mr Kent said this indicates a rather substantial gorund which needs to be negotiated twixt the company and the town, and the Manager's office is the agent for the town for the purposes of carrying on that negotiation - although the Manager would have to satisfy us with respect to any conclusion that he ultimately comes to From the Board's standpoint at this moment, action on a request of this character would seem to be premature, _in the light of what apparently is the need for rather considerable, further negotiations twixt the Manager's office and the company Mrs Banks said one of the issues is that the decision to grant the bus company permanent rights lies with the MBTA, not Lexington The MBTA has Made it clear that they do not want to grant permanent rights because once the company has permanent rights, control over the service lies with the company Now, it is felt that there is more control needed by us Mr Busa said that Mr Crain rides the bus and from what he read to us, the conditions of the contract are what govern the service and that service was not provided Before he would even grant a 90-day contract, he would put it out to bid and see what other companies would do in that situation Mr Robert Goodman asked if, originally, it was a bid, and Mrs Banks said it was a written proposal I Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - August 6, 1979 Mr Crain pointed out that Mr Goodman had made some very specific commit- ments, which he had signed How it had been tracked to ensure that those commitments were met mystified Mr Crain, and he didn't know how they could have allowed those conditions to continue It is not encumbent upon this Board to make sure they provide the service Mr Robert Goodman said he believed they had provided the service and provided it well There might have been broken seats but there were very few; he agreed there might be a case of standees but it happened in a hurry and it has been permanently rectified Chairman Miley asked for comments from the audience, and Mrs Ann Reimer said the problem of standees has been corrected for about two weeks; it has been a problem about six months, and she was not satisfied with the situation Mr Goodman has said he has solved the problem in the morning but he has not solved it at night Mr David Cravitz said he had started taking the bus in April and was initially satisfied and will continue to take the bus into Boston Personally, there was no problem but in June there were standees every day He would like to be able to get an earlier and a later bus At one time, there were 76 people on a bus which seats 52 people Mr Ralph Packard spoke in behalf of the service and said in spite of the problem of standees, which will be corrected, he felt the service is excellent Mrs Elaine Dratch said the gas crisis caused a great impact on every bus company The bus company is attempting to meet these needs and we should keep in mind the kind of service that is provided, and work at it constantly Mr Norman Davidson said he was satisfied to an extent with the service, and there is a lot more the company could do He had talked with Mr Goodman, who had told him that the only way he is going to be successful is if we are truly satisfied The problems are, standees, broken seats, air conditioned buses being taken off, some times the buses didn't show; buses are unsafe and there are no handles for standees; people were left standing and had to find other means of transportation He urged the Board and the town to encourage Mr Goodman to make every effort to provide the service he had agreed to, and if we get the extra effort from him, maybe we could satisfy him with a reasonable contract Chairman Miley said from what she had heard, people are happy with the service as far as the fact that we can get into town quickly; there are some drawbacks and there have been problems, and she hoped the Board will come to some conclusions as to how long we should renew this in time Perhaps the Goodmans could work with the town to correct the problems since they know where they are, and by working together we can make this service, which is definitely a plus for the town, to serve as it should Mr Goodman said we are trying to get the increase :in service and to get the right to go from Lowell to Lexington to Boston He did not know whether permanent service is required or not, and he would check that out Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter and to inform Messrs Goodman when it will be scheduled as an agenda item Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - August 6, 1979 111 Mini-bus Mr Fred Rosenberg, Chairman, and members of the Transportation Rates Advisory Committee met with the Board to submit recommendations on the Routes rate structure, routes, and parking the mini-buses in Lexington Mr Parking Rosenberg said the committee recommends a rate structure of: Individual ride-25 cents; elderly and children under 8 years-10 cents; chaircar- 50 cents In terms of marketing, the committee felt we ought to have an introductory offer of annual passes at $25 00 for up to one month or less, and $30.00 thereafter; $100 00 annually for families Mr Crain said the proposal on rates is the product of extensive, careful consideration and the best advice available from people who have ad- vised other communities on setting up their system, and it is intended to front end the cash flow He highly recommended the committee be given the flexibility of the $25 00 for up to one month Mr Busa said he fully supports the initiation of this mini-bus service; how- ever, he would comment that at some point in time we have to be realistic and try to have it as close to cost effective as possible The Board is upset with the MBTA constantly running on a deficit budget and it would be adverse for us to run a deficit on the mini-bus service. At some point we have got to raise more money than the $2,000 that is anticipated. If we only raise the senior citizens to 20 or 25 cents and 35 cents for students, this will help to make it more viable. Rate Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- Vote mendation of the Transportation Advisory Committee as follows Farebox Structure Individual ride-25 cents; elderly and children under 6 years-10 cents; Chaircar-50 cents. Annual Passes-$25.00 for one month, or less, introductory offer; $30 00 thereafter. Annual Family Fee-$100.00 Mr Rosenberg discussed the routes and said there have been a few changes made since the last meeting; the coordinator and the interns have gone over them very carefully and the routes run from 7 to 9 miles Addition- ally, we have talked to the MBTA regarding taking the service off the Arlington Heights bus route, and we have two alternatives that we may be able to present to them, (1) to delete the service to Arlington Heights and basically leave everything else the same; (2) the MBTA in- sists on getting the mini-bus off Massachusetts Avenue and we would have to run it through Follen Hill Because of the extra time there, instead of being able to go up Pleasant Street, Mason Street and Peacock Farm Road, we would go straight up Oak Street to that section of East Lexington, al- though it would not be as beneficial to the people in that area we would be forced to do it on the time limitation We had hoped we would get a letter from the MBTA but we have learned they are not going to write one The MBTA Board of Directors may not get to sign a contract with the town next week and they have been told we want to sign a definite contract as soon as possible We would like approval of the routes as the routes go down as part of the contract. 111Route Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the routes Vote as submitted and to authorize the Transportation Advisory Committee to pro- ceed, as necessary, with Option 1 (to cut out the trip into the MBTA at Arlington Heights but include Pleasant Street, Mason Street, Peacock Farm Road and Massachusetts Avenue, if possible.) Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - August 6, 1979 Mr Rosenberg said the committee had discussed the mini bus transfer station at the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting last Thursday; Mr Buse, 'Mr. Crain, and some of the interested merchants were there We made a list of objectives and criteria, and the primary factor was the safety of passengers; we also wanted to minimize any congestion that would be caused by the buses We still feel the original proposal at Yangtsee Restaurant was the best, and we understand the concern of the owner The committee recommends the opposite of Depot Square at Colpitts, the Bank, and Ski and Sports Shop We have not been able to get in touch with the Manager of the Bank or the Manager of Ski and Sports but we did speak with the Manager of Colpitts, and they are indifferent This location would eliminate three metered parking spaces and about two spaces that are in a "no parking" area Mr Grain _said -unlike 'the. other side of .Depot Square wherewefirst focused -because of. the high necessity of the vehicles, there is parking across the street and parking behind the Ski and Sport, which there is not in the other locations; this is a fair compromise to accommodate not further restricting the other side of Depot Square and yet attaining the visibility that is critical to the service It strikes the best bargaining when given all the factors Mr Kent shared Mr Crain's view of the desirability of staying in Depot Square rather than going out back; we could make it clear at the outset to the potentially affected people that we would monitor this very closely and if there are problems unforeseen which arise in connection with this, we will act with speed to make alternative arrangements if that turns out to be necessary Chairman Miley said we did refer it to the Traffic Safety Committee and their basic comment was they needed more time to look at all the alterna- tives; unfortunately, we don't have that much time because this should be established before the buses She asked if there had been any considera- tion of the taxi parking spaces as we are losing some spaces in front of those three stores Mr Crain said he questioned the allocation of that number of taxi spaces (7) and wondered if there is a way of analyzing the situation to provide fewer spaces and let the taxi company queue up its taxis behind the depot Mr Buse said the worst place is in Depot Square He mentioned the conditions at the bus stop at the Colonial Garage and felt there would be the same adverse effects on Colpitts, etc Mr Giroux was recognized and said that sometimes there are only one or two cabs at the taxi stand, with the rest of the spaces vacant He was concerned because his tenants are going to be affected by problems of litter, loitering, and traffic coming in at great speed He felt the buses would be better off in back of Depositors Trust; it involves shoveling in the winter and it is something for the Board to consider Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recom- Vote- mendation of the Transportation Advisory Committee, on a temporary basis, Mini-bus for the use of the three metered and two "No Parking" spaces on the right- Parking hand side of the Depot Square entrance for a transfer station for four mini-buses Mrs Banks said the Manager's office has been doing some research on the taxi spaces; in 1945, the Selectmen voted the use of four spaces and there are references in the minutes between 1950 to 1959 about six spaces The matter will be brought up again The Board agreed to table the Transportation Advisory Committee's suggestion of inserting a mini-bus schedule in the tax bill mailing Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - August 6, 1979 Moon Hill Mr Peter Chalpin, Assistant Town Engineer, met with the Board to Easement discuss the letter from Mrs Thompson and Mrs Dempster concerning the Moon Hill easement Chairman Miley said this has been going on since 1976 and the question is if the sewer goes up to Moon Hill, do the individuals have to connect to it now? Mr Chalpin said they do not; the betterment can be deferred Mr Busa added, for a time certain and then renewed. He recommended that the project go forward Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Assistant Town Engineer to go forward on the Moon Hill easement project Mrs Thompson is to be informed that she does not have to connect to the sewer until she so desires P B C Mr Busa said the question had been raised to him over the weekend Pool as to who has authorization over the expenditures from the contingency Contin- fund for the pool Mr Coscia, DPW Manager, replied that the Town gency Managlir. Chad left it up to him.. Mr Busa said .he did not wantithe Permanent Building Committee spending money without letting the elected officials know Mrs Banks said we are aware of the problem and we are getting an opinion from Town Counsel Other members of the Board agreed that if discussion is to be held, a member of the Permanent Building Com- mittee should be present Drain Mrs Banks requested approval of a drainage project on Mass Avenue Project in East Lexington Work was being done in the area and they found a pipe which had rotted out and must be replaced Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the project to Great Northern Constructors, in the amount of $9,500, for the replace- ment of a drain located off Mass Avenue in East Lexington; authorization is contained in Article 16 of 1977 Chairman Miley read a letter from Mrs Ruth Morey, Chairman of the Board of Appeals, stating that her board had conducted hearings and had granted petitions for the Westbridge School and the Minuteman Home Care Services to occupy the Grey Nuns' School on Pelham Road for a period of two years In granting these petitions, the Board of Appeals felt the flow of traffic question should be referred to the Board of Selectmen and the Traffic Safety Committee Mrs Miley said that letters have also been received from Mr and Mrs Lawrence Miller and Mrs Angela Frick of Tavern Lane stating their concern about the total projected traffic count for the proposed use of the school, the 51 parking spaces appear to be inadequate, and an increase of five times the present traffic on streets which are unable to handle this increase Mrs Battin said that, two years ago, the Board met with the Traffic Safety Committee to define their role They talked about cases where the Planning Board and the Board of Appeals often need planning studies done for proposed developments or to make informed decisions Mrs Battin quoted from the agreement reached at that meeting, "All present at the meeting (Mr Zabin, Planning Board Chairman; Mr Wadsworth, Board of Appeals Chairman; Mr McSweeney, Traffic Safety Committee Chairman; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; all members of the Board of Selectmen) appeared to agree that in-depth studies are properly the privince of the Planning Board and should be regularly addressed to them. If necessary, Selectmen's Meeting - 11 - August 6, 1979 III the Planning Board can require the developer to contract for in-depth studies The Selectmen could then, if requested, have such studies critically reviewed by the Traffic Safety Committee " Mrs Battin said the feeling is that the official town members of the Traffic Safety Committee are available to the Planning Board to use in this capacity, but the Traffic Safety Committee themselves felt that this was too much for them to have to do She wondered if the Board ought to be looking at these larger traffic issues and thinking some better way of addressing them. Mr Kent shared Mrs Battin's concern about assignment of the appropriateness of this particular type of problem to the Traffic Safety Committee This is really a matter of attempting to anticipate, from a planning standpoint, the impact of particular projected activities There is a reference to a projected traffic count and he did not know whether there has been one made, and he presumed there had not been What we are being asked to do now is to anticipate a problem and he felt there is not a facility in the Traffic Safety Committee fully equipped to do that Mrs Battin said it is potentially a serious problem, and suggested that perhaps the Planning Board could set up a process so that the proper kind of participatory work gets done, not only in this case but in other cases such as Depot Square, which is an anticipatory thing These are major issues which are really the province of the Plan- ning Board and they ought to be involved in Mr. Buse said the only problem he could see is the use of Tavern Lane, and is this where the problem seems to lie? Mrs Frick said she wanted somebody to recognize that the total III traffic should have been considered and this is part of the Planning Board's function We in the neighborhood are concerned and someone with expertise should study it; we expect buses, vans, taxis, etc and there will be at least five times the traffic there was with the school When you have de- velopments in the town, there are figures given out Mr William Sen was present and said he had attended the Board of Appeals hearings and they have figures - guestimate numbers He personally felt there could be bad accidents at Mass. Avenue and Pelham Road The Board agreed not to refer the matter to the Traffic Safety Committee and to suggest to the Board of Appeals that they contact the Planning Board The Board briefly discussed the draft of the Selectmen's Statement on HUMAN Human Services, including the charge to the Human Services Advisory Committee, SERVICES and it was agreed that Board members are to submit written questions and com- ments to Mrs Battin Time will be scheduled at the meeting on August 27 for a lengthy discussion of the complete statement, charge and membership ofthe committee to be appointed on September 10 The Board voted to approve the following agenda items Lexington Minute Men request for the use of the Green on August 12, 26; Permit September 16; October 7 for Living History Exercises Minutes of the Selectmen's meeting held on July 23, 1979 Minutes Guide License for Daniel McGrath, 35 Reed Street Guide IIIRe-appoint Mr David Laredo a member of the Sewer Advisory Committee Sewer Adu for a term expiring May 31, 1980 Appt 1 L Selectmen's Meeting - 12 - August 6, 1979 Election Appointment of thirty-five Democratic and twenty-one Republican Officers Election Officers for terms of office expiring September 1, 1980 The Town Clerk is to be requested to notify each officer Appts The Board agreed to appoint three members to the Energy Committee, Energy as directed by the 1979 Annual Town Meeting under Article 49 These Com. appointments will be added to the membership of the School Committee Energy Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Daniel Harwood, 14 Whittier Road, Jerome J Green, 28 Winchester Drive, Eric M Olson, 3 Brigham Road, for 3-year terms of office expiring May 31, 1982 Dues The Board discussed the Mass Municipal Association's Home Rule Legal Fund fee of $275 10 and agreed not to participate, with the understanding if an issue arises involving the interests of the town, reconsideration would be given Permits Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve block parties on Manning Street on August 26 from 12 00 Noon to 6 00 p m ; Oak Park Circle on September 9 from 2 00 p m to 8 00 p m Elks Mrs Banks discussed the request from the Elks Club to hold a Flea flea market on their property on Sunday, September 16 from 9 00 a.m Market to 4 00 p m She informed the Board that Town Counsel has advised that flea markets are not permissable within Lexington The Board agreed to so inform the,,Elks Club Insurance The Board agreed to adopt the charge to the Insurance Committee, Committee and to make the appointments at a later meeting Charge Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adopt the Select- men's charge to the Insurance Committee, as follows The purpose of this committee is to review the Town's insurance programs, particularly the workmen's compensation policy and prepare recommendations about the future administration of these policies 1 Review and evaluate current workmen's compensation insurance policy and program. 2 Prepare a report and submit to the Selectmen by December 1, 1979 a recommendation for future insurance coverage and program admin- istration The report should include, but not be limited to a Evaluation of current costs b Feasibility of self-insurance program. c Recommendations for local administrative responsibilities d Estimated cost of recommendation 3 Review and evaluate current Town insurance program excluding employee benefit programs 4 Prepare a report and submit to the Selectmen by December 1, 1979 a recommendation for appropriate insurance levels, and recommenda- tions for future bid specifications A Selectmen's Meeting - 13 - August 6, 1979 Mrs Banks discussed a copy of a letter from the Manager to the Chair- MCAD - man of the MCAD, stating the town has filed a draft of the fair housing Fair portion of its Affirmative Action Plan but some elements of that plan have Housing yet to be completed. After discussion with John Ahearn, we are requesting Plan an extension for completion of the remaining elements of this plan in this order 1 Appointment of an individual as a contact point between the Fair Housing Committee and MCAD by August 21 2 Establishment of a Fair Housing Committee by the Lexington Board of Selectmen by September 11 3 Establishment of goals for affirmative action for future residents of low and moderate income housing by October 15 Because of the length of our Town Meeting and the need to involve ap- propriate groups in the establishment of any goals, we would ask that these timetables be approved and that an extension be granted. We believe that citizen involvement is worth taking the time to get these goals established; timetables are being reviewed with the Board of Selectmen on August 6 and my office will confirm these with you early next week. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to endorse the ex- tension for completing the remaining elements of the fair housing portion of the Affirmative Action Plan of the Town of Lexington II/ Mrs Banks recommended that the Board authorize the Town Manager to Town Land- negotiate with Mr and Mrs Lail for an appropriate price dealing with Lowell St - the conveyance of the piece of property at the corner of Lowell and Bryant Rd Bryant Road at 258 Lowell Street Conservation, Planning, Recreation, Housing Authority and Building Commissioner have no objections to this property being conveyed to the Lails Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to negotiate with Mr and Mrs Lail for the convenance of town- owned land at the corner of Lowell and Bryant Road, and the Town Manager is to proceed with arrangements for an appraisal of the land Mrs Banks informed the Board that Edco will vacate the premises at Parker the Parker School as of September 15, and requests are now being reviewed School - to get our buildings occupied; otherwise, we will be boarding them up Edco Mrs Banks informed the Board that Mrs Alice Hinkle has resigned Recreation as a member of the Recreation Committee The Board agreed to publicize Resignation the vacancy on the committee Mrs Banks said a report will be submitted to the Board on Hancock Hancock Street It appears :that pit idll net be done this year as there are Street problems with the design of the street and communications with the state are incomplete Selectmen's Meeting - 14 - August 6, 1979 Mass Mr Crain requested additional information on the Manager's agenda Municipal item indicating our interest in participating with the Mass Municipal Assoc - Associations in a cooperative approach to collective bargaining, which Collective would cost the Town $350 00 Bargaining Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation, with no intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 30 p m A true record, Attest e.:40,49 • 21,'g :. Executive Clerk, Selectmen I I SELECTMEN'S MEETING August 20, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, August 20, 1979 at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Messrs Kent and Crain, Mr Hutchin- son, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, Miss Casey Principal Clerk, Selectmen were present The Board, Town Manager, Assistant to the Town Manager, Mr Coscia of Hartwell the Public Works Department, and members of the Engineering firm of Whitman Ave & Howard met at the sanitary land fill at 7 00 p m to discuss the permanent Landfill closing of the landfill Mrs Miley stated that the Board had come to the conclusion that it will be very costly to fulfill the state standards Mr Reilly of the Solid Waste Committee informed the Board that his com- mittee had been having a series of meetings in the latter part of July and will continue to meet every two weeks to get all the information needed and will be reporting to the Board by September 26 and a final report will be ready by October 10 He stated that they will need to know within a 5% to 10% margin of error the amount of refuse tonnage that the town is generating per day at the land- fill, as tonnage is the basis of payment to the North Andover facility Mr Reilly stated that the committee is considering two proposals and at its last meeting on July 29 it voted to support the proposal to scale down from the initial build of a 3,000 ton per day plant to a stage called "phased construction" of a plant with 4 incenerators and a 1500 ton per day plant The second proposal is the modification of the transportation sharing plan whereby each town involved handles its own transportation costs to the door the committee does not favor this concept and supports the original proposal of NESWC and requested the opinion of the Board as to whether or not they should go forward with the original proposal or not Mr Hutchinson explained that the committee would like to have the support of the Board so that at the meeting on September 6 they can say they have no problems with the Board of Selectmen who are the granting authority He stated that the transportation system will be continued to be investiga- ted The Board gave its approval to the committee to go forward on the origi- nal proposal The Chairman thanked the representatives of Whitman & Howard and they retired from the meeting The Chairman informed the Board that the Bureau of Solid Waste Dis- 128 West posal has requested an update of delegated representatives to the 128 West Resource Resource Council Recovery Mr Hutchinson, who is the designee from Lexington, informed the Board Designee that his attendance at meetings has been less than desirable as he had been pursuing other alternatives He suggested that Mr Reilly, who has agree, to be designated as an alternate The Board agreed and the Bureau of Solid Waste Disposal and 128 West Resource Recovery will be notified Mr Reilly retired from the meeting - z - Personnel The Board met with Mr Butler and Mrs Small of the Personnel Advisory Advisory Board to discuss the charge to the committee Board Mr Hutchinson stated that there had been some questions raised specifi- II/Charge cally relating to the relationship of the Personnel Advisory Board with other agencies He said that he and Mr Busa had talked about it and had come up with some language that might be acceptable to both groups Mr Busa stated that the reason for the redraft was to ensure that the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen will know what topics are to be discussed and when The Personnel Advisory Board will coordinate and ad- vise the Town Manager of meetings with other public agencies and boards and the subject matter being reviewed to enable the manager to give notice to the Board of Selectmen Mrs Battin stated that, while it was not stated specifically in the charge, it was the intent to also provide advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen on policy issues inherent in the personnel system. Mr Butler agreed Mr Crain requested that the final part of the charge be amended by the insertion of the words "submitted annually by October 15 " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following charge to the Personnel Advisory Board with the provision that the Personnel Advisory Board coordinate and advise the Manager's Office of meetings with other public agencies and boards and the subject matter to be reviewed to enable the Manager to provide appropriate notice to the Board of Selectmen; and that it be understood that the intent of the first part of the charge include the availability of the Personnel Advisory Board to provide advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen on policy issues inherent in the personnel system The Personnel Advisory Board shall be available individually and as a group as requested by the Board of Selectmen, Town Manager and appropriate Town agencies and Com- mitees to share opinions, provide advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen on policy issues inherent in the personnel system; review proposed personnel policies and practices and recommend changes for consideration by the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen; review proposed changes in compensation and fringe benefit policies and/or practices and make recommendations regarding appropriate actions or policy positions to be taken by the Town; review and comment on annual personnel services budget and proposed salary adjustments submitted by Town Manager to Board of Selectmen; review and respond to proposed organizational changes made by the Town Manager to the Board of Selectmen; propose and submitted annually by October 15 an agenda of suggested policy proposals and projects for the Board of Selectmen's considera- tion, which it is prepared to initiate The Chairman tanked Mr Butler and Mrs Small and they retired from the meeting - 3 - Selectmen's Meeting August 20, 1979 The Board met with the Cable Television Advisory Committee to discuss CATV the initiation of the franchising process to choose the calbe television cam- Committee pany that might serve Lexington Mr Page informed the Board that the committee would meet with the Secretary of the Massachusetts Cable Television Commission to get an update of the licensing procedure By State law, a public hearing must be held prior to initiating the franchising procedure He recommended, and the Board approved, that a hearing be held in Estabrook Hall on September 20 This hearing will be an opportunity for Lexington organizations and individuals to state their opinions regarding cable television. The committee recommended that the system be maintained through a com- munity access center funded 1/3 by the cable company, 1/3 by the town and 1/3 by private donations from citizens and organizations The estimated expense of operating the center would be about $75,000 per year This access center would televise such community activities as town meetings, Selectmen's meet- ings, educational programs etc Mr Busa raised the question as to when does it have to be established that the $75,000 would it have to be available as this would have to be written into the contract Mr Page stated that the committee would try to make it part of the negotiations of the contract It can be left as a proviso. He stated that the main thing would be to get a commitment from the cable company to pro- vide its part and later on it would be up to the town to decide its share would be Mr Page stated that the cable companies would be more interested in Lexington as a customer for cable television without the provision of providing a community access center and the company would be providing a ser- vice over and above what they could provide as a minimum He said that the committee would be looking for those companies that would be willing to pro- vide this service Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Com- mitee's suggestion to hold an open meeting Mrs Miley thanked the Committee and they retired from the meeting Meetings Mrs Battin reported to the Board regarding the meeting with the Mass Directors of the Mass Municipal Association and the Deputy Commissioner Municipal of Revenue She stated that the cherry sheets had planned to be out on Assoc Friday and that at the same time we will receive voluminous forms to fill & out in order for them to certify the tax rate The reports were being typed LGAC up and they wanted to send them out at the same time as the cherry sheets but didn't think they would be ready to go out Friday They will be ready to go out and should be received by Wednesday Mrs Battin also reported regarding the LGAC meeting regarding classi- fication She stated that regarding the Andover case, there was a very strong court decision All those not in compliance are being turned over to the Attorney General and are being ordered to have contracts signed and the monies appropriated by September 4 They will have to call special town meet- ings in those particular towns or the Judge said that he would give the State the power to hire outsiders to do it for those communities and take it off the cherry sheets This does not apply to Lexington The courts did resolve 11/ the issues that were challenged regarding classification satisfactorily so - Classification I is not optional and every community is going to have - 4 - to go to it and it can be instituted on a piecemeal basis Eighteen towns have been certified to proceed this year and they are being ordered to __ The other 70 are going to be met with during the fall Mrs Battin also reported regarding the meeting with Governor King and stated that he had said that he understood municipalities concerns with State mandates He urged the municipal associations to put lists of man- dates in order of priority, including the administrative mandates, rules and regulations that impose requirements relative to staffing money, etc and send them to Ken Shaw at the League quickly so that they could be reviewed Acting The Chairman asked for a nomination for acting chairman from August Chairman 21 through August 26 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Busa as acting chairman from August 21 through August 26 Street The Manager requested approval of the awarding of the contract for Resurfacing resurfacing of Massachusetts Avenue from Pelham Road to Wilburn Street, Contract Hartwell Avenue from Bedford Street to the railroaf tracks, Forest Street and Middle Street to Sarao Bros, Inc , 97 Beaver St , Waltham, Mass in the amount of $98,290 00 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the con- tract #80-3-E for street resurfacing to Sarao Bros , Inc in the amount of $98,290 00 Street, The Manager requested approval of the awarding of the contract for Drain and street, drain and sidewalk construct #78-6-E to J J O'Brien & Sons, Inc Sidewalk Waltham, Mass, on the basis of their being the lowest qualified bidder, Const subjecto to Town Counsel approval as to bid form for Banks Avenue, Cushing Street, Tucker Avenue and Wood Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the con- tract #78-6-E, street, drain and sidewalk construction to J J O'Brien & Sons, Inc , Waltham, Mass in the amount of $157,367 00 subject to Town Counsel approval as to bid form Mini Bus Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve a six Fares month pass structure for the mini bus at $20 00 for six months, $15 00 for three months and $30 00 yearly pass with 25C single fare ride Executive Upon mOtion duly made and seconded, it was voted by roll call vote Session 5-0 -- Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain -- to go into Executive Session, with the intention of resuming open session, to discuss matters of possible litigation and real estate negotiations After discussion it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting The Board voted on the following requests from the Acting Director Public Works/Engineering Wood St Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order Sidewalk for Sidewalk Construction for Wood Street from Holton Road a distance of 2471 feet westerly to Bates, Road Abatement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate water Water Bills bills in total amount of $109,597 45 ($108,693 00 -- wrong billing to Navy Raytheon MFG, 78 Westview Street - 5 - Selectmen's Meeting August 20, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the J/0 Poles request of the N E Tel & Tel and Boston Edison for the following follow- Muzzey ing joint pole locations Street Muzzey Street on the westerly side, approximately 19'+ (feet) and south of Massachusetts Avenue, one (1) Pole 69/1 Hartwell Hartwell Avenue on the southerly side, approximately 1584'+ Avenue (feet) west of Maguire Road, one (1) Pole 411/43 The Board discussed the request of The United Cancer Institute to United have citizens contact congressional members to enact September 8 National Cancer Cancer Day into law Institute During discussion of the request, it was brought out that The United Cancer Institute is not affiliated with the National Cancer Insti- tute or the American Cancer Society and Mr Buse requested that the matter be tabled Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request of the United Cancer Institute to contact congressional members to enact September 8 as National Cancer Day into law Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Sunday Theatre and Weekday licenses for Lex-Mil Theatres Cinema I and II Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the bond Asst Treas for Doris Barclay, Assistant Town Treasurer in the amount of $43,000 00 Bond Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting of Autust 6, 1979 The Board met with the Housing Authority and the Planning Board to Fair discuss the fair housing plan requested by MCAD Housing The Manager informed the Board that he had filed, in behalf of the Plan Town, an affirmative action plan and a component of that is the fair hous- ing plan He stated that MCAD is asking what the Town is doing in regard to housing and that much of the efforts are tied in with the Housing Authority who are moving forward on it MCAD is specifically asking the Town about the establishment of a fair housing committee or a designation of a fair housing committee and what characteristics it would have and have asked with what public housing is coming in line what efforts within the affirmative action component are being made by the Town to meet affirmative action goals This means affirmative action recruiting for applicants for housing in scattered sites, elderly housing or Section 8 housing Mr Hutchinson stated that he has tried to outline a series of steps relative to the appointment of a liaison with MCAD to work with them in articulat- ing the Town's position in fair housing He stated that the Board would have to decide what makeup any fair housing should take looking at the goals that are supposed to be outlined to MCAD The Manager stated that he felt that, HUD having recognized that the Housing Authority had filed an affir- mative action plan with them, he wanted to make sure that we wind up reason- ably consistent with the plans we have now and prevent any inconsistencies II[— in the future MCAD is working closely with cities and towns and a number of cities and towns are involved in law suits about their selection process of applicants to the point of jeopardizing funds, not only for fu- ture programs but existing ones MCAD wanted to know if goals were going - 6 - to be established or an effort was going to be made for X number of housing to be for minority families Mrs Shunney, of the Housing Authority informed the Board regarding the different processes that they are going through with HUD and DCA in order to get a contract signed and that each agency seems to be working independently of the other which makes it very difficult for the Authority She stated that there are different requirements to every project that comes up and that any agency that is dispensing money has a lot of influ- ence regarding requirements Mrs Shunney also stated that the Housing Authority had filed an affirmative action plan. Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the MCAD is enforcement arm within the state for the Federal Agency administering Federal funds They have not taken a position as part of Federal policy on the numerical question but they go to the state agencies involved He stated that goals must be set regarding this Mrs Shunney explained that the Housing Authority has no jurisdic- tion about who applies for housing and that minorities simply do not apply She felt that no one was discriminated against and that they have taken the people that have applied During further discussion, it was brought out that a Fair Housing Committee must be established and appoint an individual to be a contact between the committee and the MCAD The committee would establish goals of affirmative action for future residents of low and moderate income housing in Lexington and establish a methodology to determine if there are structural barriers to equal access to housing Mr Scanlon of the Housing Authority explained that on the scattered sites housing, under HUD regulations which have been filed and approved, first preference will be given to Lexington residents regardless of the length of residence and persons who are employed or about to be employed in Lexington, the tenants selection plan will be to accept applications from everyone, and they also have utilization which means for a two bedroom you have a minimum and maximum number of individuals who can live there and also for two, three and four bedroom units He stated that they try to fill on first priority basis those in that category then its all others This a part of the HUD regulations under the low income housing program. Mrs Shunney explained that this policy is adaptable to "need" also and is not mandatory and if there was a person a more serious housing need than a Lexington resident, the Housing Authority could place them first Interviews are conducted to determine the needs and requirements of all applicants The Manager suggested that it would be beneficial to get a HUD person and an MCAD person together with our representatives and sit down and get some of the questions ironed out and present the programs that we already have The Chairman thanked the members of the Housing Authority and the Planning Board for all the information given and they retired from the meeting The Chairman requested recommendations be sent in to the Manager's office during the week relative to the formation of a Fair Housing Com- mitee which will be appointed at next week's meeting The Chairman reminded the Board that one of the agenda items was to appoint a liaison to work with MCAD in development of the Town's Fair Housing Plan and Mr Kent suggested that Mr Crain be designated to ful- fill that function, at least for the time being to get the committee off on the right foot relative to what is expected and required of us - 7 - Selectmen's Meeting August 20, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Crain to be the liaison to work with MCAD in the development of the Town's Fair Housing Plan The Board met with the School Sites Conversion to discuss the proposed Parker guidelines for the conversion of Parker School School During the discussion, Mr Kent requested clarification of the refer- ence to a safe _access to and from Bedford Street Mr Smith explained that the idea was to widen the current cut into Bedford Street at the right hand of the school and construct a driveway then which would allow crossings at the front of the school It doesn't mean a roadway where the steps are It was also brought out that the reference to a "living fence" of 15-20 foot hemlock trees was just a suggestion and that the developer and the abutters, Mr and Mrs Frank Byrnes would get together and come to some de- cision that would be mutually agreeable Mr Kent suggested that an alternative be that a living fence be pro- vided on the right hand side and the abutters be consulted Mrs Miley referred to the section referring to sound transmission, Mr Busa pointed out to the Board that to comply with this section would be very costly to the developer, and he considered it unrealistic to have that building the only one in the entire area to have to comply with this regu- lation Mrs Banks stated that it had been discussed with Mr DeMatteo, Build- ing Commissioner, and that it was consistent with building requirement cokes which will be in effect in January, 1980 Mr Busa questioned whether or not this referred to a footprint of the area or statewide Mr Hutchinson said that he would get the question clarified and report back to the Board The Chairman informed the Board that Mr Greeley, a representative from the Munroe School area is putting together a meeting with the neighbors on September 11 in Estabrook Hall and a letter is being sent out to about 200 houses Mrs Miley thanked the Committee and they retired from the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the proposed guidelines for to conversion of Parker School as follows Proposed Guidelines - Parker School Written. 1) The use of the Parker School shall be 25-30 condominiums, 25% of which will be given to the Town of Lexington for family housing as described by HUD Two types of proposals will be considered 1) development of existing building 2) development of existing building plus additions thereto The maximum number of units for the existing building with additions thereto will be 30 condominiums It is understood that there will be fewer units if only the original shell is developed 2) Safe access to and from Bedford Street is a major point to be considered and at least 1 alternative plan should be submitted which uses the ex- isting access, widened, for a road going in front of the school leading to the parking area J - 8 _ 3) After final approval of a developer's plan has been granted by the Board of Selectmen, there shall be no changes in the plan unless recommended by the Planning Board and/or Town Meeting III 4) Family subsidized units should be randomly spaced among all units 5) Walls, partitions and floor-ceiling constructions separating tenant units from each other or from public or service areas shall have a sound transmission class (STC) of not less than forty-five (45) for airborne noise (sec 522 2, State Building Code, third section) Verbal 1) The neighborhood has expressed concern about the height of the building and the possible addition of another story 2) The developer should furnish a complete landscaping plan as required by the Planning Board 3) The 3 finalists will have to work out a living fence with the abutters on the right hand side 4) Final approval of a development plan is subject to Town Meeting vote in accordance with Section 28 of the Zoning By-Laws (copies of Section 28 will be made available in the development package) These guidelines are accepted subject to clarification of the noise question and the "living fence" issue Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by roll call vote Session 5-0 -- Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain -- to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming open session, to dis- cuss complaints brought against a public employee After discussion it was voted to adjourn IIIUpon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 p m. A true record, Attest 9a ,,,,,:uz.L-727 0 Principal Clerk, Selectmen SELECTMEN'S MEETING IIIAugust 27, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, August 27, 1989 at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain, Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager, Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, Mr Cohen, Town Counsel and Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, Selectmen were present The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7 30 p m and the Town Reed Manager explained to the Board that he had met on Friday afternoon with Street some of the people who live in the Reed Street area to discuss briefly Mystic their concern about impacting the neighborhood with institutionally sup- Valley ported housing He asked the Board's indulgence in hearing some members of the neighborhood who were present to explain their concerns He introduced Mr Robert French who spoke for the group He ex- pressed the concerns of the neighborhood regarding the scattered sites housing stating that one-third seems to come into the Reed Street neigh- borhood The other concern was the opening of another emergency adoles- cent shelter without benefit of a neighborhood hearing or special permit He pointed out that there are now seven independently funded programs affecting dwellings in the neighborhood He stated that the group had U met with the Director of Mystic Valley Health Center and was informed that over the next few years there will be the need for the establishment of similar settings Mr French expressed his view that "under the um- brella of public education it is now possible to introduce a wide variety of shelter programs into any residential area without special permits or a neighborhood hearing " He requested a more formal meeting with the Board of Selectmen and representatives of the Mystic Valley Health Center to discuss the overall question of coordinating this program Mrs Battin explained that the Massachusetts Municipal Association has been working on the problem but the most recent rulings in the courts are that half-way houses have been deemed public education and have the right to go in anywhere The Mass Municipal Association filed legisla- tion last year which is up for review, requiring that the town be noti- fied when any human service agency or program intends to introduce a pro- gram into a particular neighborhood The Board agreed to meet again with the residents of the Reed Street neighborhood and representatives of Mystic Valley Mr Hutchinson is to make the arrangements relative to a specific date and contact the in- terested parties The Board discussed and reviewed at length the Human Services State- Human ment for the Town of Lexington, and after making agreed upon changes of Services the draft voted to accept the statement Statement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the and following Human Services Statement for the Town of Lexington and the Committee creation of a Human Services Committee and purpose and charge be adopted (See attached) - 2 - a Lex Fire The Chairman read a request from the Lexington Fire Fighters for Fighters the use of Emery Park on August 31, 1979 from 10 00 a m until 4 00 p m. Emery to hold their annual "fill the boot" fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy Park Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Lexington Fire Fighters for the use of Emery Park on August 31 from 10 00 a m. until 4 00 p m to hold their annual "fill the boot" fund- raiser for Muscular Dystrophy Brand/ The Chairman read a letter from Jonathan Brand stating that the Jenkins order issued by the Board of Selectmen on July 24, 1979 to J R Jenkins Dog as the result of the dog hearing on July 18, 1979 has not been obeyed by Hearing the Jenkins' After a brief discussion, the Board agreed to take criminal action against J R jenkins Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to take criminal action against Mr J R Jenkins regarding the lack of cooperation in obeying the order of the Board of Selectmen issued July 24, 1979 Tax Rate Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that there probably would be a decrease of about $2 00 or $3 00 on the tax rate this year He also stated that he was notified this week that our tax bills cannot be ready for mailing until approximately October The State office of Revenue must approve the format and they claim that the Legislature, which had been considering raising the interest on unpaid tax bills from 8% to 14% did not give them its decision until recently The Manager informed the Board that this delay will necesitate the town borrowing as much as $2,000,000 00 and it will mean that our tax bills cannot be printed in time for an earlier mailing Mr Crain suggested that the the Town should spearhead the Municipal Association to develop specifically what this means in dollars and confront the legislators and state government with exactly how much money this means as it is revenue that can never be recouped The Manager will give Mrs Battin the figures and she is to take it to the Municipal Association As was done last year, the tax bills will contain a memo outlining where the money goes and where it comes from. Fire Fight- Mr Hutchinson requested the approval of the Selectmen regarding the ing agree- mutual aid agreement between the Towns of Winchester and Lexington ment Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the mu- Winchester/ tual agreement between the Towns of Winchester and Lexington relating to Lexington fire fighting services Intent to The Manager informed the Board that he had a request from the De- take sewer partment of Public Works for a vote of intent to take the sewer ease- easements ments on Moon Hill Road and Carville Avenue Moon Hill Rd Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted the intent to take Carville Ave sewer easements on Moon Hill Road and Carville Avenue All America The Manager requested the Board to authorize him to file for the All- City Award America City Award Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to authorize the Manager to file for the All-America City Award with the National Munici- pal League, New York, N Y - 3 - Selectmen's Meeting August 27, 1979 The Manager informed the Board that he has scheduled a contract sign- Contract ing with Patten Appraisal Associates of Portland, Maine for the revaluation Revalue- of the Town on Friday, August 31 at 11 00 a m. He stated that he felt that tion it would be nice to have Selectmen representatives at the signing, as well as, the Board of Assessors to give it appropriate publicity A publicity campaign is being designed now and will be reviewed with the Board in September The Manager requested approval of the Board for the following block Block parties Party Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to Nancy Rempfer, 8 Stevens Road, to hold a block party at Stevens Road/ Sutherland Road/Taft Avenue on September 3, 1979 from 4 00 p m until 8 00 p m. subject to coordination with appropriate departments Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Block to Mrs Stephen Berry, 29 Woodland Road, to hold a block party and block Party off the area from Hayes Avenue to Colony Road on September 9, 1979 from 5 30 p m. until 7 30 p m subject to coordination with appropriate depart- ments The Board discussed the request of Dr David F Clune, Principal of Munroe the High School and Ralph V Lord, Jr , Coordinator of Physical Education, School Health and Athletics for the transfer of the outdoor basketball standards Equipment and kickboard at the Munroe School to the Senior High School The use of the equipment would be to develop a controlled outdoor play area in the immediate area of the school for use by the students during and after school It was agreed to have the Manager write to Dr Clune and explain that some of the neighbors had requested that the equipment be retained for a neighborhood play area The Board would like to keep the option of a neighborhood play area open until a decision is made concerning the final disposition of the building and if it was decided not to retain the play area, the Board would be happy to transfer the equipment The Manager requested the approval of the Board for a Common Carrier Boston License for Boston Tours, 89 Arcadia St , Waltham to operate a common Tours carrier over routes in Lexington including pick-ups and drop-offs at License the Lexington Sheraton and Catch-Penny Inns Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant approval to Boston Tours for the operation of a common carrier for the transporta- tion of passengers for hire by motor vehicle over the routes specified Mr Cohen requested the Board to sign Orders of Taking for the Orders temporary construction easements for Banks Avenue, Cushing Street and of Taking Tucker Avenue and the sewer easement for the new swimming pool Banks Ave Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Cushing St Orders of Taking for the temporary-construction easements for Banks Ave , Tucker Ave Cushing Sty- and Tucker Avenue Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order Order of of Taking for the sewer easement incconnection with the new swimming Taking pool Swimming Pool °i14 - 4 - 014 Mini-bus The Manager informed the Board that permission of the Burlington Board Burlington of Selectmen must be obtained before the proposed mini-bus service to the Selectmen Burlington Mall can be initiated The Chairman will write to the Burlington Board of Selectmen requesting such permission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote -- Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain -- to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing matters of liti- gation, with no intention of resuming the open session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 30 p.m A true record, Attest Lt4AR-‘)770;7-• Principal Clerk Selectmen I I SELECTMEN'S MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, September 10, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assist- ant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley opened a hearing on the N.E T &T Co petition for NET&T Co two manholes on Massachusetts Avenue, one 80+ west of School Street, Manholes- and one 20+ west of Paul Revere Road Notices of the hearing had been Mass Ave. sent to the abutters, and filed with the Public Works Department Mr Pinault, Telephone Company representative, said that this revised petition had been reviewed on location with Mr Coscia, DPW Manager, and he has no objections. Chairman Miley read a report from Mr Empey, Acting Director of DPW/Engineering, stating this work is necessary to consolidate two existing telephone conduits and approval is recommended Mr Thomas Anthony, 2561 Massachusetts Avenue, spoke in opposition as an abutter He said there are two existing manholes within 18 feet of the center of his driveway and he questioned the need for an additional man- hole. There is the problem of blocking off two driveways during in- "' plus a safety factor when repairs are made on an existing terminal located on a pole in the immediate area Mr Pinault said the new manhole will accomplish a .separate, system and we are in the process of recabling the whole area In the immediate future, there is going to be some work done to eliminate that particular box No one else appearing in favor or in opposition, the Board voted to table the petition pending further investigation and information from the Telephone Company Chairman Miley opened a hearing on the Boston Edison Company Bos Edison petition to install 6 feet of conduit in Liberty Avenue Notices of Conduit - the hearing had been sent to the abutters, and filed with the Public Liberty Ave Works Department Mr Robert Malice, Boston Edison representative, said this work is necessary to provide service to 90 Hancock Street Chairman Miley read a recommendation from Mr Empey that approval be granted. No one else appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Miley declared the hearing closed. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Boston Edison Company for the following location Liberty Avenue, easterly approximately 720 feet north of Revere Street a distance of about 6 feet - conduit I Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - September 10, 1979 NET&T Co Chairman Miley opened a hearing on the N E T.&T Co petition to in- Conduit- stall 495 feet of conduit and one manhole in Hartwell Avenue west of Hartwell Maguire Road Notices of the hearinghad been sent to the abutters and � Avenue filed with the Public Works Department Mr Pinault, Telephone Company representative, said this request had been reviewed on site with Mr Coscia and he had no objection as this work is necessary to service a new building presently under construction. Chairman Miley read a recom- mendation from Mr Empey that approval be granted. No one appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Miley declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the New England Telephone Company for the following location Hartwell Avenue, on the northerly side, approximately 1085+ feet west of Maguire Road, one manhole 54/128; also, on the southerly side from existing manhole 54/300 located approximately 650+ feet west of Maguire Road, westerly approximately 400+ feet, thence sweeping to the northerly side approximately 75+ feet to new manhole 54/128, thence northerly approximately 20+ feet to private property, a total of approximately 495+ feet of conduit Public Mr Gaynor Rutherford, Chairman of the Trustees of Public Trusts, Trust met with the Board regarding an accumulation of monies in the trusts Funds administered by the Trustees A summary of the trusts and available funds had been submitted and Mr Rutherford recommended that the Selectmen request the Trustees for expenditures from the appropriate trusts as some had not been used for some time The Board agreed that the Manager is to consider the available re- sources and requirements and make recommendations for future requests for the use of trust funds Better- Chairman Miley read a request from Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director ments - of Public Works/Engineering, to sign the lists of betterment assessments Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the follow- Sewer ing betterment assessments STREET Briggs Road, Crescent Road, Great Rock Road SEWER Crescent Road, Barnes Place, Bennington Road, Eliot Road, Briggs Road, Garfield Street, Stedman Road, Gibson Road, Great Rock Road, Green Lane, Marrett Road Cert Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the re- Incorp quest from the State Secretary to approve 37 Grove Street for a Certificate of Incorporation for Lexington Child Care Cooperative, Inc Traf Saf Chairman Miley read a request from the Traffic Safety Committee re- Com - garding a stop sign at Preston/Simonds Road Preston/ Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer to the Simonds Traffic Safety Committee the request from Mr Bruce Adams , 12 Linmoor Rd Sign Terrace, for consideration of the stop sign at Preston and Simonds Road being converted into a yield sign Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - September 10, 1979 Chairman Miley read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee re- Wood St garding requests to reduce the speed limit to 30 MPH, and to prohibit Traffic through truck traffic on Wood Street The report stated that the cur- rent speed limit on Wood Street is 35 MPH in both directions from Old Mass Avenue to Hartwell Avenue; the process by which speed zones are established under Chapter 90 of the General Laws involves radar speed studies conducted by the Registry of Motor Vehicles and Mass D P W to determine the _85th Percentile Speed, and that speed becomes the posted speed From past experience, it is a fact that where speed studies have been performed on already posted roadways, the 85th Per- centile Speed has increased, and if the roadway were to be re-posted, the new speed limit would be increased, as required by law Therefore, the Committee recommends not seeking to re-zone Wood Street to a lower speed since in all likelihood the current 35 MPH would be increased. To institute a through truck ban on Wood Street, Mass D.P W must issue a permit to the Town, subject to the most important condition that the Town provide a suitable alternate route (1) which must not be circuitous and more than slightly longer than the original route; (2) must not force the truck traffic to leave the confines of the Town to reach its destination A suitable alternative to Wood Street does not exist at this time and, for this reason, the committee finds it highly unlikely that Mass D P W would issue a permit Therefore, the Traffic Safety Committee recommends that the request be denied Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendations of the Traffic Safety Committee concerning the speed limit and through truck traffic on Wood Street The Board discussed a request from the Minuteman Regional School Min.Man for immediate consideration of the use of red/green lights at the inter- School section of Marrett Road, Mass Avenue, and the current school entrance Intersec- Mr Hutchinson said he had discussed the matter with the Police Chief tion and the Traffic Safety Committee and we all agree it is a very difficult intersection The new entrance/egress should provide some assistance, and impact of that assistance should be assessed during the school year We support the widening of Marrett Road between Route 128 and the bluff to allow for better traffic flow, and we will work with State officials on any reasonable alternative. The town is not going to support solu- tions that present problems, especially when we counseled against the current entrance/egress and it was put in despite our recommendations The lights were apparently approved by the state in error and have been remanded to a flashing status by the state as traffic problems are considerable when the light is on He pointed out that the light serves the school but also thousands of motorists Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Town Manager, and to inform the Minuteman Regional High School that the Board supports the widening of Marrett Road, to assess the impact of the alternate road on the accident situation, and to work with state officials on any reasonable alternative. 3° Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - September 10, 1979 Gasoline Chairman Miley read an application from the Mobil Oil Co for increased Hearing gasoline storage of 4,000 gallons at 269-277 Bedford Street, and the Board voted to set the hearing date for September 24, 1979 Abatements Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Water request of the Acting Director of Public Works for abatement of water bills in the amount of $424 35 Fair The Board discussed nominees for appointment to the Fair Housing Housing Committee and agreed to appoint six members Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the Appts following members of the Fair Housing Committee. Robert Pressman, 22 Locust Avenue; Natalie Miller, 18 Liberty Avenue; Albert Zabin (Planning Board Member), 1 Page Road; William Sullivan (Housing Authority Member), 6 Ross Road; Leona Martin, 468 Lowell Street; Jonathan Doran, 153 Grant Street Sanitary Mr Hutchinson recommended an amendment of the sanitary landfill Landfill regulations by approval of closing the landfill on Sundays This would Regs be consistent with the proposal at Town Meeting for a reduction of hours at the landfill The Board agreed, with the understanding that the Town Manager maintain a record of pertinent data; also, to investigate the possibility of the landfill being open on Veterans' Day, November 12, to accommodate the citizens for fall clean-up Mr Hutchinson agreed to report back within sixty days Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the Sanitary Landfill Regulations by closing the landfill on Sundays Sewer Mr Hutchinson discussed the formula used in calculating sewer better- Assessment ment assessments, and recommended that the property owner be assessed based Formula upon the average of the last three years ' construction costs rather than the last five years' costs This makes it more current, especially during an inflationary period and what is going on in the marketplace Ideally, the Town would wind up picking ,up 50 percent of the costs with the home- owners bearing the other 50 percent; it does not always wind up that way, and the Town ends up bearing the heavy costs The homeowners are still in very good shape under these proposals, depending on the type of con- struction involved An assessment is a matter of benefit to the property and, as a practical matter, the remaining 5 percent to be sewered are the most difficult to serve because of ledge, etc The change would allow for this modest increase of about 15 percent and we hope you will favorably consider using the three years rather than five years Mr Peter Chalpin, Acting Town Engineer, briefed the Board on the current system and recom- mended a change in the formula In response to a question posed by Mr Kent, Mr Chalpin said that sewer construction costs could drop in the next fiscal year because contractors will be anxious for the work and could submit lower bids Mrs Battin and Mr Crain were in favor of the Manager's recommenda- tion; Mr Busa and Mr Kent were opposed; Mrs Miley voted in favor Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-2, Mr Busa and Mr Kent in the negative, to change the sewer betterment formula; specific- ally within that formula, to change the method of arriving at the average construction cost by using the previous three years' construction costs for the purpose of calculating the betterment rate Up to the present time, the average of the previous five years' construction costs were used as a base 3/ Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - September 10, 1979 Mr Hutchinson asked for direction on the designation of a Precinct 3 Prec 3 polling place, The Board agreed to arrange a meeting with TMMA members Polling P1 and residents of precinct 3 for their input on the possibility of chang- ing from the Bridge School to Clarke Junior High School Mr Hutchinson discussed the letter from the State D.P W concerning Traffic the Right Turn on Red Lights, which will go into effect on January 1, 1980 Light Based on the warrants set forth, none of our signalized intersections will Signs permit the Right Turn on Red provision to be used in Lexington Mr Hutchinson recommended an amendment to the Traffic Rules and Orders, with a request to the State D P W for the necessary signs to prohibit the turns Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Traffic Rules and Orders of Lexington, adopted by the Board of Selectmen November 13, 1967, are hereby amended as follows By deleting Sub-section (d) of Section 9, Article VII, which refers to obedience to traffic control signals, and in- serting in its place the following d) (1) RED - Traffic facing a steady CIRCULAR. RED signal alone shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, or if none before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or if none before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown except as allowed by Chapter 89, Section 8 of the General Laws (2) No driver of a vehicle facing a CIRCULAR RED signal indication shall make a right turn where official traffic signs are installed and main- tained prohibiting such turn at the following intersections East Street, Eastbound-Westbound at intersection with Lowell Street Lowell Street, Nortlbound-Southbound at intersection with East Street Worthen Road, Northeastbound at intersection with Bedford Street Camelia Place, Southeastbound at intersection with Bedford Street Bedford Street, Northwestbound-Southeastbound at Worthen Road Waltham Street, Northbound-Southbound at Concord Avenue Concord Avenue, Eastbound-Westbound at Waltham Street Mass Avenue, Eastbound-Westbound at Worthen Road. Worthen Road, Northbound-Southbound at Massachusetts Avenue Worthen Road, Northwestbound-Southeastbound at Waltham Street Waltham Street, Northeastbound-Southwestbound at Worthen Road Waltham Street, Northeastbound at Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue, Northwestbound-Southeastbound at Waltham Street Locust Avenue, Northeastbound at Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue, Southeastbound at Locust Avenue The Board approved the following recommendations of the Town Manager Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Contract Contract 78-6-E, awarded on August 20, 1979 to J J O'Brien & Sons, Inc , Waltham 78-6-E for Street, Drain and Sidewalk Construction on Banks Avenue, Cushing St , Tucker Avenue, and Wood Street, in the amount of $157,367 00 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - September 10, 1979 Contract Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Contract 80-3-E 80-3-E, awarded on August 20, 1979 to Sarao Bros Inc in the amount of $98,290 00 for resurfacing Massachusetts Avenue from Pelham Road to Woburn Street; Hartwell Avenue from Bedford Street to the Railroad tracks; Forest Street; Middle Street Block Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve block Parties parties being held on Dewey Road on September 15 from 4 00-8 00 p m with a rain date of September 16; Longfellow Road at Hawthorne Street on September 14 at 6 00 0 m with a rain date of September 15 Bond Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the bond for Constable John J Shine, Jr in the amount of $5,000 Appts Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the Insurance following members of the Insurance Committee Paul W Marshall, Committee 6 Chandler Road; John H Dyer, 24 Oakland Street; Daniel Lucas, 3 Tower Road; Elaine M Sullivan, 34 Baker Avenue. Drainage Mr Hutchinson and Mr Chalpin, Acting Town Engineer, discussed a Project - drainage problem on Laconia Street, and recommended the extension of an Laconia St existing drain approximately 100 feet to beyond the property line at #92 Laconia Street and the construction of a manhole; estimated cost is $3,000-3,100 under available funds in Article 16 of 1977 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to proceed with the drainage project on Laconia Street Mini-buses Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve the rules and Taxicab regulations for LEXPRESS, which would establish standards for the Spaces in contractor's performance Mrs Banks reported that mini-bus passes Depot Sq went on sale this week, and the buses will start to run after the opening ceremony on Saturday, September 15, at 10 00 a.m Mr Crain asked about the taxicab parking spaces in Depot Square, which are not always occupied by the taxicabs Mr Hutchinson is to have a recom- mendation next week. Vandalism Mr Hutchinson discussed vandalism to public property and informed the Board that there has been considerable window damage to Parker and Munroe Schools He suggested that the Board encourage citizens to work with us in reporting violators, and that parents should be re- minded that they share financial responsibility for the action of children who cause damage to our buildings The Board agreed, and Mr Crain said we should watch the situation closely and be ready to board those buildings New Members of the Board agreed to attend the ceremony on September 16, Bandstand 1979 dedicating the new bandstand at Hastings Park 3. Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - September 10, 1979 Mr Cohen requested the Board to sign the order of taking for slope Easements- easements on land abutting Wbod Street Wood St Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order of taking for slope easements for the sidewalk to be constructed within the location of Wood Street as shown on a plan entitled "Plan of Temporary Construction Easements in Wood Street, Lexington, Mass. May 1, 1979, Whitman & Howard, Inc , Engineers & Architects, Wellesley, Mass " Members of the Board agreed to attend the hearing on cable tele- CATV vision to be held on September 20, 1979 at 8 00 p.m. in Estabrook Hall, Hearing to be chaired by Selectman Busa A brief discussion was held on the composition of the Traffic Traf Saf. Safety Committee, and it was agreed to schedule a meeting in a few Committee weeks with the committee to discuss the matter. The Board approved advance payment of fees for Chairman Miley and MMA Meeting Mrs Battin to attend the first annual meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association to be held in Danvers on October 26 to 28, 1979; $30 00 registration fee and $10.00-lunch for Mrs Miley; $30 00 regis- tration fee for Mrs Battin The Board discussed an invitation from the State Ethics Commission Ethics for the Board's comments on proposals for financial disclosure by municipal officials. Mr Kent said he would be willing to draft a statement and submit it to the Board for discussion at the next meeting Mr Busa said that some months ago he was assigned to study methods Center of relieving traffic congestion in the Center He had received a call Traffic today that Representative Shannon is going to look into the possibility of the postal employees using the parking lot behind the Post Office, and to investigate the feasibility of the Postal Department leasing and surfacing the piece of land behind the Boston Edison Building. Rep Shannon will also look into a 1976 or 1977 proposal by the Post Office for one distribution center for Waltham, Belmont and Lexington, to be located on Lexington Street and Waltham Street near Route 2. This required rezoning, which was not approved. Perhaps this project could be regenerated as this would relieve traffic congestion in the Center Rep Shannon will have more details for us after he has talked with the Postal Department Mr Hutchinson reported to the Board on the tax rate, the upcoming Manager's 1981 budget, and the demographics of the town. The 1978 tax rate was Report $88 40, 1979-$90 20, and the Assessors have filed a rate of $87 60 for the approval of the Office of Revenue We have $1,576,000 in free cash for next year's budget By the end of September or the middle of October, he hoped to have data on refined numbers for the Board The tax base looks relatively stable for the next couple of years, and looking at the character of our population, we are reflect- ive of the national trend. We have the issue of social concerns from Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - September 10, 1979 the human services studies, and our ability to pay for them; we are still working on housing and affirmative action. We have the closing of the landfill and the solid waste solution, the whole issue of tax reform, and the financial matter of unfunded pensions The Board agreed to schedule a joint meeting next week with the Appropriation Committee, Board of Assessors, Capital Expenditures Com- mittee, and the School Committee to review where we are and where we are going It was also agreed that each Board member is to submit four or five of the Town's most pressing needs and problems Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into executive session, with no intention of resuming the open meet- ing, to discuss strategy with respect to matters of litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 05 p.m A true record, Attest xecutive Clerk, Selectmen I � r SELECTMEN'S MEETING SEPTEMBER 17, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, September 17, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr. Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present The Board voted to approve the following agenda items One-Day liquor license for W R Grace Recreation Association on Liquor September 20, 1979. Pilgrim Congregational Church annual bake sale on the Visitors' Bake Sale Center lawn on Friday, September 28, 10 00 a m. to 2 00 p m. 37 Grove Street as mail drop for Certificate of Incorporation for Certof the Lexington Child Care Cooperative, Inc Lexington Minute Men to use the Battle Green for installation Battle ceremony and cannon salute on Sunday, October 21, at 2 00 p m Green Three additional taxicab licenses for the Arlex Taxi Corporation Taxicab d b a Lexington Cab Company, making a total of twelve taxicabs now Licenses servicing Lexington. Licenses expire May 1, 1980 The Board noted the contents of a memorandum from the Town Clerk 1980 regarding the Town Election to be held on Monday, March 3, 1980, and Elections the Presidential Primary on Tuesday, March 4, 1980 The Board discussed the procedure for appointments to the Human Human Services Committee and Mrs Banks agreed to submit a list of candi- Services dates and their resumes to the Board Interviews will be conducted Committee at a special meeting of the Board on Tuesday, September 24, and at future scheduled meetings The report of the Burglar Alarm Committee was accepted and the Burglar committee is to be invited to meet with the Board in a few weeks to Alarm discuss the report Report In response to an invitation from the State Ethics Commission to Financial comment on proposals for financial disclosure by minicipal officials, Disclosure the Board voted to adopt the following statement to be submitted to Municipal the Commission Officials Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - September 17, 1979 "Disclosure represents but one aspect of the ethics involved in municipal employment and office holding Disclosure should be addressed as part of the broader problem, along with regulation of potential conflicts of interest We do not believe that Chapter 268B of the General Laws mandating dis- closure bystate and countyofficials should be made applicable at the PP local level We recommend that communities be required to adopt their own codes of ethics subject to approval of the State Ethics Commission on the basis of minimum standards legislatively prescribed These standards might well include disclosure of the following by elected officials, executive or administrative heads, and their spouses 1 The individual's business or profession and employer, if any 2 Identification of all parcels of land within the community in which the individual has a legal or beneficial interest 3 Identification of any business operating within the community in which the individual has an interest, and positions held by the individual in such business Disclosure of ownership of stock in corporations listed on the New York, American, or Boston stock exchanges need not be required even though the company may be said to be doing business in the community, unless the in- dividual holds some position with such company We do not believe that unpaid or nominally paid officials should be re- quired to report amounts of income, even by category, nor the value of interests required to be disclosed We strongly believe that requirement of disclosure of amount of income and value of assets will seriously deter participation in local government " Traffic Chairman Miley read a letter from the Board of Appeals stating that a Saf Com special permit had been granted to Gerard Farms Deli-Kitchen, 53 Bedford Street, with the condition that signs acceptable to the Traffic Safety Com- mittee be installed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request a recom- mendation of the Traffic Safety Committee on the installation of appropriate Enter-Exit signs, at least 3 feet in height, in the parking area at 53 Bedford Street Manager's Members of the Appropriation Committee, Board of Assessors, Capital Report - Expenditures Committee, and the School Committee met with the Board Tax Rate- Mr Hutchinson said that the tax rate of $87 60 has been filed with Revalua- the Office of Revenue for certification He gave credit to the boards, tion committees and town departments for the favorable situation we now enjoy but pointed out that the real issue is one of long-range implications The tax rate is a reflection of the considerable efforts by the school committee within the last few years, and we are reaping some dividends because of the fortitude to shut down schools and the sustained impact of not having so many positions on the payroll; also, cost-cutting de- vices within municipal government The Board of Assessors could comment on some economic growth The immediate profile of the town is very good Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - September 17, 1979 We have had certified $1,576,000 in free cash that is available to town meeting for consideration of its appropriate disposition, and it appears that this will grow; we can expect to be in a reasonably favorable posi- tion by the time town meeting comes about Looking at the area of free cash, we recommend that it continue to be built upon or by utilizing some of it for tax stabilization. As we look at the tax rate, there are cer- tain things that show some consistencies and others that are inconsistent For example, the problem with the cherry sheet Last year, we received County charges of $598,000; we paid $522,000 This year, we have re- ceived County charges in excess of $700,000; depending on the numbers used, it could be a 16 percent increase or a 40 percent increase As we look at the cherry sheet charges - we can talk about aid to the town as well - it is difficult for us to manage; at a subsequent meeting with our legislators, we can talk about this Last year, the MBTA charges were $537,000; this year, they are supposed to be $485,000 or approximately $50,000 less Mr Hutchinson asked Mr Grush, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, to comment on revaluation and on classifica- tion, which would have a significant impact on the community unless the statutes change Mr Grush introduced Mr Robert Patten, President of Patten Appraisal Associates, Inc of Portland, Maine An agreement has been signed with this firm to update an estimate of current market value of all taxable properties in the community and also provide the necessary computer in- gredients to maintain assessments more readily at current levels in the future Mr Grush said that in order to assess residential, industrial and commercial properties according to their classifications, we have to start with market value estimates of all property classes In response to Mr Busa's question, Mr Patten said that field work will begin in October of this year and by contract agreement would end in May of 1981; new valuations would be used as a base for 1982 assess- ments The first step, which they are now doing, is to work with the Assessors to design a property record card; when the card is designed and printed, with the ownership record on the card, they then begin the field work At that time, appropriate news releases will be given with respect to what the program is about and where they plan to begin. As we go from door-to-door, we will hand out an informational flier Also, we will have on file with the Police Department and the Assessors' Office the names of our people, the make, model and license number of cars, so that citizens' calls can be referred to the Assessors or Police Department If you have any complaints about our work, there will be a field complaint form, which we would like to have documented as much as possible If unable to gain access, we will make every effort to go back During daylight saving, we will work four days a week, ten hours a day; then go to a five day week Field work will begin with appraisals of random properties that were re- cently sold, and this will establish a basis of value comparison for Lexington. Personal property valuation is to be done early in 1981; this would include furniture, fixtures, inventory, machinery and equipment in the professional establishments of the town, the non-corporate manufacturing companies, if any Corporations are exempt in many areas from local taxation Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - September 17, 1979 111 Mr Patten pointed out that under classification the houses of the lower 100 percent valuation are going to enjoy a much bigger tax benefit than those in the $80-90-100,000 category; if there is any change in the town, it will be in the residential property, particularly those in the lower value Mr Kent added, with the lower value properties gaining some benefit which, in turn, is going to have to be borne by the higher value property Mr Hutchinson said that it is the type of legislation we should watch over the next year Mr Hutchinson said he is reviewing the proposed FY 81 budget and there are some constraints on the town; we have one major labor settle- ment, which is in the process of negotiation, and another union contract expires in 1980 It is extremely important as you look at budgets to see who is going to be impacted not only by revaluation but under the budgets we pass Mr Crain mentioned the demographics of the town and the shift in age groups, especially those in the older group, which would have some very significant implications for the town and services Mr Donald White, Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, said they were very pleased to see the Selectmen addressing a source of con- cern for all on the long-range planning, and in the, aiea of human services they are anxious to see some of the recommendations to make sure there is minimal duplication He suggested the funds be broken down within a single human services budget as it would make it easier to deal with in addressing that problem. It was explained that the Board is in the process of establishing a Human Services Committee, which would critically analyze requests for human services funding and advise the Selectmen; decisionsiwill be baked oft the committee's analyses Mr Nyles Barnert, Chairman of the Capital Expenditures Committee, urged the use of E & D as a means of giving stability in the face of unexpected charges Chairman Miley thanked the Boards and Committees for coming to this joint meeting, and said she has taken every opportunity of telling people how well Lexington and its Boards have been managing and how well,.we have done with the cap; it means a compliment for everyone who has work hard over the past year to keep us there, and we are doing a lot better than other communities and very much better than a lot of other levels of government Members of the boards and committees retired from the meeting Mass Mrs Battin gave a report on the Massachusetts Municipal Associations Municipal and the Local Governor's Advisory Committee In terms of the tax bill Assoc - delay, the 18 towns that were certified were told they had to go to L G.A C classification right away Because of the enormous delay before they Certifica- could send out their bills and the,astronomical costs, they asked that we file special legislation giving them the option of delaying a year tion So the Municipal Association is filing such legislation for delaying a year Gov 's Mrs Battin said there is a Governor's Commission to simplify rules Commission and regulations, and it calls for it to make inquiry and recommendations regarding regulationto procedures that are justifiably delayed or other- wise increase the cost to providing needed residential, commercial and industrial facilities to the citizens of the Commonwealth The Commission Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - September 17, 1979 Ill is supposed to be reviewing local permitting and regulatory processes to see what holds up construction for various things, with an idea of either filing legislation or at least informing local communities of those things causing hindrances We were concerned that the Governor did not choose to appoint any local officials; however, we did receive a report from the Commission Chairman that allayed some of our concerns On the state level, they are putting together a permit. directory about the permitting require- ments of the federal government, which would help someone who wants to know where he must go and what he must do They are just starting phase 2 for local permitting and the regulatory process; they are going to pinpoint problems and refer them to localities to make their own remedies Much of the local regulation seems to be okay but it is the layering - the public notice and hearing after hearing process - and they are consider- ing filing legislation which would mean one comprehensive hearing We pointed out that it is not as easy to schedule hearings when boards can meet as members are volunteers Because they were not aware of our processes, they would like help and asked for an advisory task force from the municipal associations and LGAC So, while we do not have representation of this com- mission, at least they have asked for our help with an advisory committee and perhaps you might make recommendations or would want to serve on the advisory committee Mrs Battin discussed the delay in printing of tax bills and what it would cost the Town Mr Zehner had prepared a summary sheet on the con- sequences and she had reported at the LGAC meeting that it would cost us $50,000 for the delay Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Housing Authority has re- Housing quested the execution of the annual contributions contract, which must also Authority be approved by the Department of Community Affairs Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Chairman Miley to sign the Housing Authority's Annual Contributions Contract Mr Hutchinson recommended an appointment to the Insurance Committee Appt Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Insurance John Mackey, 11 Middleby Road, a member of the Insurance Committee Committee Mr Hutchinson agreed to continue negotiations on leasing the Munroe School The Board voted to approve the request of the Trinity Covenant Church Permit to conduct a walk for world relief on Sunday, September 30, 1979, 4.:.00 p m Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board approve the suggested schedule Cemetery of fee changes for the cemetery Fees Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the list of fee charges for the cemetery, as recommended by the Town Manager e4 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - September 17, 1979 Traffic - Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board's approval of the revision High of the parking regulations and traffic patterns at the Senior High School School Parking Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the revision of the parking regulations and traffic patterns at the Senior High School, to be enforced by the Lexington Police Department Goals Each member of the Board had submitted four or five goals, and it was agreed to discussion at a meeting two weeks hence. Mr Hutchinson is to develop a matrix for the Board SSCC - Chairman Miley informed the Board that the School Sites Conversion Munroe Committee met at 4 30 p m today and voted to recommend to the Selectmen School that Munroe School be made available for a human services center Mr Busa commented that this would involve very expensive renovations and someone should come up with the costs Mrs Miley said that the SSCC will be on a future agenda to ask the Board of Selectmen to make a de- cision At that time, additional information will be submitted to the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing land matters After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session111 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1000 p m (j /1. 1A true record, ATtest Executive Clerk, Selectmen I 41 0))111SELECTMEN'S MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, September 24, 1979, at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley opened the hearing on the application of the Mobil Gasoline Oil Company for increased underground gasoline storage of 4,000 gallons, Hearing - from 20,000 to 24,000 gallons, on the premises at 269-277 Bedford Street Mobil Oil The hearing had been advertised in the September 13, 1979 issue of the Bedford St Lexington Minute-man and notices had been sent by the petitioner to the abutters by registered mail Fire Chief Bergeron had inspected the premises and approved the location of the tanks Mr Dominic Taverna, Mobil Oil representative, was present and informed the Board that a 5,000 gallon tank would be removed and replaced with a 10,000 gallon tank; we would have more gasoline on hand and it would facilitate truck traffic No one appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Miley deklared the hearing closed II/ Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission and to sign the license to the Mobil Oil Company for increased underground storage of gasoline from 20,000 gallons to 24,000 gallons, to be stored in 6,000, 8,000, and 10,000 gallon tanks Residents of Reed Street, representatives of the Planning Board, Youth Reed St Commission, and Mystic Valley Mental Health Center met with the Board to Residents discuss human service facilities in the neighborhood Mr Robert French, Emergency spokesman for the residents, said they have a number of independent programs Shelters in the neighborhood and now MVMH is entering into one more program We met with MVMH last week and thanks to their cooperation their board passed a resolution "Recognizing the -high- relative concentration of public funded programs in the 8th precinct, the board hereby resolves to make every effort that the securing of an ultimate suitable location to the emergency shelter program currently housed at 75 Reed Street, and further to place a moratorium on the location of future program elements in the 8th precinct until such time as the other neighborhoods of Lexington have had an approximately com- parable concentration of public funded programs " Mr French said that they believe the opportunity exists now to head off such entanglements by providing the means to ensure that programs entering any neighborhood are properly coordinated with others already existing and those planned We now have the evidence to show that independently funded aid programs are not required to coordinate with any other program being funded by the same funding source There were seven different cases in the court which were being used to establish an umbrella of public education under which 111 those programs can enter a neighborhood under the zoning category and can open without Planning Board or Board of Appeals public hearings Also, W'k Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - September 24, 1979 the Housing Authority programs in the area when they g t ity did not consider other p g spaced out the scattered sites program We believe this privilege has been abused in our neighborhood and we feel it is a Town issue We feel a per- mit granting authority is required on the subject of coordination if not on the subject of zoning, (1) To serve advance notice of programs planning to enter the Town and to provide the Town time for coordination; (2) To ensure that plans set forth for any program are properly carried out; (3) To ensure that a reasonable balance of distribution of those programs throughout the Town is being sought without regard for other factors, such as immediate property available; (4) To see that proper disposition of property is assured following termination of a program We also feel that a coordinating and approving authority is required to review private informa- tion and seek public opinion for the purpose of coordinating site locations for aid programs and to carry out any action aimed at achieving a balance of distribution of those programs throughout Lexington We are prepared to assist in the formation of such authority and in the development of proper operating procedures Regarding the IVMH :petition to the Board of Appeals for an addition of space to the MVMH administration building on Bedford Street, we would have to speak as individuals I would hope that since the Town is already moving on the human services' problem and as the disposition of the Munroe School is not yet established, there has been a strong leaning toward locating a number of human services there; I would hope that opportunities to locate in such space have been properly explored Mr Busa said that MVMH had been asked at budget time to let the Board know what the level of expansion would be, and they had not He had a problem with MVMH expanding under the Haverhill case; applying under our by-laws, they have to specifically state what they are coming in for but under 25-2-1 neither the Board of Appeals nor Planning Board approval is needed for them to go out and operate Mrs Battin said that the Municipal Associations have just filed legislation to keep local government informed and to aid, not stop, the programs to succeed (1) A bill to establish a special permit procedure whereby local governments could regulate community-based residential facilities (2) Local review of human services; this bill essentially would provide manda- tory information of all new human services programs or substantial changes in the present programs to local officials and allow them input before such programs are instituted or changed; this would not provide a veto to local officials Mr Jackson of Reed Street said that they should start with a permitting process and deal directly with the issues Chairman Miley re- sponded that even if we can pudt together some sort of a program, we still operate as a Town under the state statute Mr French said the residents had come to the meeting tonight to offer what they thought is something to be examined as a possible solution; that this board should charge some- body with the responsibility of finding what the scope of the problem is It needs to be defined and we came to offer our services _add to examine what the problem is, and come up with a workable solution Chairman Miley aaked Mr French for .a copy Of theproposal to".b.e .distributed to boards and committees throughout the town;_ we would work with you to come up with some sort of a possible um- brella whereby we could deal with this Mr Kent said he was comfortable with Mr French's last remarks and what he is asking us to do It is very clear at the moment that we do not know precisely what our powers are and are not Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - September 24, 1979 It is very apparent we now need to ascertain what they are and what our options are in this direction as well as with respect to others One thing he was not interested in doing is asking Town Meeting to enact permit granting pracedures which we have good advice of counsel are be- yond the scope of this body under state law He was interested in what Mrs Battin had suggested in terms of our powers may be greater in the near future, particularly if we work to make them greater, than they are at the present time Following up of that legislation is important It doesn't remotely exhaust our possibilities of acting in a coordinat- ing capacity here; we have .a:_lot o.f leverage, if we exercise it, from the standpoint of persuading people to go through the kind of process that has now been gone through after the fact to the success of your (residents) working out the particular problem with Mystic Valley (He understood that this is an example and not the problem.) The Board is establishing a Human Services Committee and in the human services' statement, one of the clearly perceived needs that the Board recognizes in the whole area is the subject of coordination of separate and distinct activities running around the community We do have a coordination problem with this and, at the very least, as soon as this committee is in place, that we ask them to take this problem up as an initial order of business We can do a lot of coordinating without a lot of permit withholding authority You are asking us to do that and Chairman Miley has made it clear that we are willing to accept that challenge if you have concrete proposals that are already written out Coordination includes that Mr Kent hoped they were not asking the Board to set up a mechanism whereby the lowest of any particular proposals are debated and decided solely in terms of balance; this should not be done as balance suddenly is going to become everything If they are asking the Board to address it, the Board couldiaccept :that Mrs Shuney, Chairman of Housing Authority, said that balance is im- portant but, realistically, we are talking about subsidized housing; part of the:package isi.that in order to get funding for other programs, we have to do work in other areas MAPC has come up with specific suggestions on what the. Housing Authority ought to do Pressure has been brought to bear in order to receive federal funding for Conservation, etc Mrs Battin agreed and said that balance is something we have to consider but there are so many other things to consider; we can't say to cut out federal funds and all the programs Regarding coordination, we have scheduled a breakfast meeting with the Chairmen of Boards and Committees and we could ask for their input to develop mechanisms Mr Zabin, Planning Board member, said that both the Planning Board and the Housing Authority are aware of the problem and we don't minimize it; we know it will go on in the community Chairman Miley thanked the residents for coming and assured them the Board will work with the neighborhood, and the Human Services Committee will work out something so there will be a combination of the needs and requirements of the townspeople in all respects Mr French agreed to de- liver the proposal to the Manager's office for distribution to boards and committees The residents retired from the meeting Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - September 24, 1979 Hanscom Mr Fred Bailey, Mrs Jere Frick, and Mr Manfred Friedman met with Advisory the Board to discuss the status of Massport/Hanscom Field Chairman Miley Committee/ read a report from Mrs Jacqueline Smith, Lexington's representative on Massport the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee, stating that the lack of communica- tion between Massport/HFAC has been a major problem during the past year, and this has resulted in new services, new development and airfield im- provements at Hanscom being initiated without input from the communities being sought by the Massport Board In the case of the helicopter service and hangar construction, the MAPC A-95 review process was the first notifica- tion the abutting towns had that such changes were proposed This is dis- turbing since the MPA Board's stated policy in the 1978 master plan is that the Authority will work with the Advisory Committee to review facility needs, noise abatement procedures, service changes and land use planning The rapport built during the master planning process has been lost during changes in MPA personnel, and the HFAC has not been aggressive in its re- lations with MPA. Both bodies are now aware of the problems brought about by this communication loss and are taking steps to correct it The situa- tion at present is as follows (1) On October 9, HFAC will meet to work out a system of communication between HFAC and MPA which will provide adequate information to the communities so that town responses can reach MPA Board before decisions relative to Hanscom are made; (2) MPA has prepared a draft of a proposed communication process which would notify town MAPC representatives, HFAC members, Conservation and Planning Board members of any proposals for which environmental review were being sought; (3) in August, the Lincoln Planning Board, concerned about the question of whether MPA authority supersedes local zoning and permitting authority, circulated a letter asking for responses from the other towns on these changes and questioning whether the towns should seek joint legal counsel on these issues The Concord Selectmen voiced concern but expressed a wish to work out a solution with MPA The Lexington Planning Board re- sponded, listing current proposals which cause them concern because there is no overall plan against which impacts can be evaluated They also asked the Selectmen and Town Counsel to work with the other towns on the zoning and permitting issue At the last HFAC meeting, the MPA Planning Director stated that their counsel was looking into the jurisdictional question and will report; currently, the issue relates to Lincoln and Bedford The situation should be monitored for now in case there is need at a future date for joint town action; (4) Other towns in Massachusetts, except those run by MPA, have airport commissions, but under MPA's enabling legislation, one could not be formed around Hanscom However, an advisory body could be formed Last year, Senator Amick's bill - making HFAC a permanent body charged with giving community viewpoints on proposed actions at Hanscom - was defeated It is recommended that we pursue this legislation again and to solicit the views of Concord, Lincoln and Bedford as well as our representatives in the legislature on this matter Mr Bailey, Lexington's alternate representative to HFAC, said the re- port is an excellent summary of the status of the situation. The meeting on October 9 was designed to make sure there is effective and consistent communication between HFAC and Massport Mrs Frick, Lexington's MAPC representative, said no one had heard about trees being cut down and the expansion of four hangars It seemed there was a need for action Mr Friedman, Lexington Planning Board Chairman, said that Massport does not understand the time involved with communications with the town; the f{h Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - September 24, 1979 Planning Board was notified two days before the Massport meeting, and we need two months The effort is to get some status for the HFAC and Massport is reluctant to recognize it, and that is the purpose for sub- mitting legislation Mr Kent recommended that the Board pursue the matter Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted in favor of Vote - pursuing the matter of legislation being re-filed to make the Hanscom HFAC Field Advisory Committee a permanent official body Mr Kent said that he would talk with our Senator and Representa- tive tomorrow morning The Board agreed with Mrs Battin's suggestion that Mrs Smith and Town Counsel talk with the Town of Lincoln to see what is in- volved in the zoning and permitting issue Chairman Miley thanked them for meeting with the Board and Mr Bailey, Mrs Frick and Mr. Friedman retired from the meeting Mr Rosenberg, Chairman, and members of the Transportation Ad- LEXPRESS visory Committee, and Mr Sacco, President of the Chamber of Commerce met with the Board to discuss the present location of the Lexpress mini-bus terminal in the Center Mr Rosenberg said the service started September 15 and the ridership is much higher than expected He asked for approval of a change in the route which comes out at North Hancock Street onto Bedford Street, which is a dangerous in- tersection Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the change in the North Lexington mini-bus route, which would now travel down Bertwell Road to Fuller Road to Gleason Road to Simonds Road Mr Rosenberg said the committee is considering, (1) Raising the fare to 50 cents for the mini-bus to the Burlington Mall, with an extra bus; (2) Complaints from the Old Colony Bank and the Ski Shop Resolution of the problem of the volume of people congregating at the bank and the Ski Shop,accumulation of litter on sidewalks Possibility of policeman giving assistance, (3) Reversing the traffic pattern and buses using taxi stands Mr Sacco informed the Board that the merchants in the town were not in favor of increasing traffic to the Burlington Mall, and he would like to know the number of people using the bus During the discussion, Mr Hutchinson said that we are not geared to have a uniformed person enforcing at the terminal as it would in- volve a considerable amount of money We will provide some assistance from the police officer on duty but the next step would be to have someone there and pay him overtime The Board agreed that the present location of the mini-bus terminal is to remain at the Bank and the Ski Shop pending further experience In the meantime, Mr Hutchinson is to work with the Transportation Com- mittee on the safety factor of people waiting for the mini-buses, and an alternative location of the terminal /I/ The Transportation Advisory Committee and Mr Sacco retired from the meeting Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - September 24, 1979 Munroe Reverend Meppelink met with the Board to discuss leasing space in School the Munroe School Mr Hutchinson said that Rev Meppelink has offered Lease in behalf of the Assemblies of God Church, to lease the top floor for one year at $2,000, plus utility costs The maintenance of the build- ing is our responsibility, and we don't see that as a major problem. In the past, we have plowed the lot and shoveled the sidewalks but he would pursue that with Rev Meppelink; also, access to the playground can be worked out Rev Meppelink said the utility costs could be pro- rated according to the number of rentals in the building We would be alleviating some of the severe costs by maintaining the interior of the building in good order Mr Hutchinson said he is interested in renting more space in the building and he asked to be authorized to work with Rev Meppelink in behalf of the Board All responsibilities will be spelled out in the lease Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to work out the details with Rev Meppelink on a lease for the top floor of the Munroe School Abatements- Mrs Mary Shunney, Chairman of the Housing Authority, met with the Scattered Board to request the abatement of betterment assessments on lots to be Sites used by the Housing Authority for the Scattered Sites Project HUD MA 067-001 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Housing Authority's request for abatement of betterment assessments on the following lots to be used by the Housing Authority for Scattered Sites Project HUD MA 067-001 Site No Map/Lot No Sewer Water Street 1 M 13 Lt 145 $286 01 $ 90.00 $600 00 26 M 25 Lt 161 192 21 - - 21 M 59 Lt 49A 171 90 - - 10 M 72 Lt 31 271 25 150 00 - 11 M 72 Lt 36 386 60 - - 12 M 72 Lt 422 41 15 Bal - - 12 M 72 Lt 423 87 50 - - 12 M 72 Lt 424 87 50 - - 13 M 90 Lt 80 624 10 - 44 90 16 M 79 Lt 45 962 50 - - 18 M 72 Lt 3 (Lts 35-38) 350 00 - - (Lts 39-40) 368 18 - - Express Mr Benjamin Goodwin, owner of the Vocell Bus Company, met with the Commuter Board to discuss renewal of the Common Carrier license Mr Hutchinson Bus requested authorization to continue the agreement bor six months, with another report to the Board on the status of the commuter bus before the license expires The Board discussed the unchanged condition of the seats and broken springs, and Mrs Hals commented on tires being flat Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - September 24, 1979 Mr Goodman said there was only one bus that had broken springs and it is difficult to fix them without an additional bus He had told the Board there were four buses on order since the beginning of the year and de- livery will not be until next year We have bought used buses but it takes four to six months to get them; we are working in the garage for twelve hours a day Tires on the rear are recaps and they have a dif- ferent type of cut and sometimes they look flat Mr Hutchinson said we recognize that there are problems and that is the reason for the recommendation of six months. This allows for the new bus and we are not going to jeopardize the safety of our citizens In the interim, we will continue a valuable service for the town but we need more data During discussion, it was pointed out that the buses had been monitored for the timetable, and they are running on schedule. The Board agreed that a questionnaire is to be developed for distribution among the riders, and the Manager is to submit a report on the status of the buses within a period of two to three months Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the Com- mon Carrier license to the Vocell Bus Company, Cambridge, for a period of six months, expiring April 30, 1980, for express bus service between Lexington and Boston between the hours of 6 00 and 9 00 a m. and 4 00 and 6:30 p m. along routes mutually agreed upon with the Town Manager's Office Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the tax rate had been certi- fied at $87 60 Chairman Miley read a request from the Chairman of the Committee on Washington Washington Portraits requesting approval of a proclamation. Portraits Upon mstion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue a proclama- tion, similar to the Governor's, declaring that the 100 days from September 20 to December 28 be a time for enlisting financial support to keep the portraits of George and Martha Washington in the Commonwealth Chairman Miley read a letter from the Executive Office of Communities HUD and Development stating that in addition to the planning technical assist- Grant ance program available to local governments, $45,000 in HUD 701 funds is now available to be passed through to communities Mr. Hutchinson recom- mended not filing for a grant at this time but consideration will be given to filing for a subsequent grant in the area of the Planning Board The Board agreed with Mr. Hutchinson's recommendation. The Board discussed attendance at the public hearing on municipal Ethics disclosure to be held by the State Ethics Commission on September 28 and Mr. Kent offered to attend as the representative of the Board. The Board tabled the matter of an appointment to the Community Health Committee V\ Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - September 24, 1979 Housing Mr Cohen recommended that the Board sign the deed conveying land Auth on North Street to the Lexington Housing Authority Deed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Town Counsel's recommendation to sign the deed for the following three par- cels of land to be conveyed to the Lexington Housing Authority for the sum of One Dollar ($1 00) subject to easements, restrictions and covenants and agreements if any of record so far as now in force and applicable Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call Session vote _ Mrs Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent - to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation, land negotiations, and one matter of personal reputation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 p.m A true record, Attest 7,7 , c. 3I Executive Clerk, Selectmen 1 SELECTMEN'S MEETING OCTOBER 12, 1979 Chairman Miley Balled the meeting to seder at 7:40 a.m. Those present included Mrs. Miley, Mrs. Margery Battin, Mr. Robert Kent, Mr. Jim Crain, Mr. Robert Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs. Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Man- ager; Mr. Otis Brown, Chairman School Committee; Mr. Manfred Friedman, Chair- man Planning Board; Mr. David Williams, Chairman Conservation Committee; Mr. William Sen, Chairman Cokncil on Aging; Mrs. Marcia e;reakes, Chairman Youth Commission; Mr. David Wells, Chairman Recreation Committee; Mrs. Ruth Morey, Chairman Board of Appeals; and Dr. William Cosgrove, Chairman Board of Health. Cahirman Miley briefly outlined the purpose of the meeting as a give and take. Ibis group she noted is not a decision making body. Mr. Williams intradused the first subject. The Conservation Commission is concerned about the number of trees being lost due to dutch elm and old age of Maples. The commission would like to see the amount budgeted for tree replacement increased for one or three years to approximately $35,000 and Cons. Com parkland set aside for an nursery. Mr. Crain suggested that we look at the Trees public trusts and private funds for this purpose. It was noted that this type of program would also have manpower requirements which needs to be reviewed. Mr. G. Friedman raised the issue of traffic studies in light of the re- cent questions raised by the new tenants at Grey Nuns. After the Board of Appeals review, a question was raised about limiting the use of Pelham Road. Planning The Planning Board does not have the capability of doing traffic studies Bd. - and feels it should have been done by the traffic safety committee. It Grey Mugu was agreed that responsibilities in this area should be clarified. A question was raised about traffic safety in the Center. It was suggested that this town better mark the crosswalks, increase posting, expend enforcement and do some public information. The Manager was asked to pursue these sugges- tions. Mr. Wells updated the meeting on the pool construction noting that they expect to have water in them by Thanksgiving; and that there have been Rec./Pool no cost overruns as of this time. Mr. Kent told the meeting that the Library was beginning its FY 81 budget preparation and they are very concerned about fuel costs. He sug- gested that instead of each department developing their own fuel cost Library - projections, a single Town projection be set,for all departments. The Energy Manager was asked to look at this. Mr. Hutchinson said that he has started Costs the budget process among Town Departments. He has told the Department heads to budget realistically within 4% cap, but also will be working to meet Mgr. goals established last year and for next year's. Each department will be Budget asked to list goals and prioritise them. On the subject of energy he noted Goals Selectmen's Meeting -2- October 12, 1979 1 that half the last staff meeting was spent on this subject. A lot is being done particularly in the schools, which is the largest user, in terms of delamping and reducing temperatures. Another area we are working on is providing shelter if people are unable to get fuel. Mr. Wells added that in terms of rising costs, we should address the RBC. - issue of vandalism. Mr. Brown said the echools�, do require children caught Vandalism vandalising or their parents to pay for damages and this has helped reduce the level of vandalism. It is a continuing problem, with each new group of students. Mr. Friedman reminded everyone that the Housing policy passed by the Town Meeting requires a housing report to be submitted. Mrs. Feakes also stressed the need for work in Human Services. Mrs. Battin noted that Human Harv. Selectmen are in the process of interviewing for the Human Services Committee and hope to make appointments shortly. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Nancy H. Banks Assistant to the Town Manager I III SELECTMEN'S MEETING OCTOBER 15, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, October 15, 1979 at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley welcomed members of the League of Women Voters who were present at the meeting Mr Fred C Bailey, Chairman, and members of the Burglar Alarm Com- Burglar mittee met with the Board to discuss the report submitted bythe committee Alarm P Mr Bailey gave an overview and said that after town meeting it was appar- Committee ent to everybody there were three areas giving difficulty, (1) technical Report understanding, (2) what the legal implications were, what the town should or should not do, and how should the town approach it; (3) the political overtones, how does it affect town meeting, the town as a whole, town departments, and is it fair to charge for the use of the services? Howard Cravis summarized the report and we had help from Palmer & Dodge on the legal implications The route to go is to have a simple by-law, follow that up with regulations, and then require permits, a 3-stage operation instead of trying to cram all of it into either a longer by-law or to go only to the regulation of permits The committee members didn't feel they had any difficulty at all by levying fees on the people that want to use this service The town has to inspect and there should be a fee assessment but if a person wants to be tied into a town telephone that there should be no reason why they should have to pay a fee to do this After going through all three areas, the committee came up with a total of ten recommendations To have a modified version of the by-law that was on the warrant last year; we suggest if anyone has a device in his home, it should be inspected; we suggest the current voice tape should be permitted after the by-law goes into effect, but only after they have been inspected and only after they have been adjusted to dial new numbers, not any of the emergency numbers We think those should be kept virgin clean for people to use when they want to call the police or fire departments, but any other devices that go on should go to new and separately designated numbers; this would be part of the new regula- tory process After the by-law is adopted, we suggest that all of the new devices going in cannot be of the voice type They should then switch over immediately and have a high speed digital dialing system which requires a new kind of receiver equipment at the fire or police department Mr Bailey said the only item remaining, and we pass it along to the board, is how long after you adopt the by-law do you let the old voice dialers continue to operate? A number of the members of the committee wanted them to be blocked out after six months; others said they should never be forced to switch over to high speed devices We thought to let it go until after the by-law is adopted and you and the department heads then decide; then you can set a timetable It may not become a burden Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - October 15, 1979 as it will become apparent to most people that using a digital high speed device is going to be far more effective in getting attention at either station than is the old voice type, and there will be in- centives for them to switch over If the voice dial continues to be a problem after the by-law we propose, then you can set a timetable for phasing those out, requiring people to switch over Our suggestion is that the town should seek bids for installing equipment at both the police and fire stations and maintaining telephone lines into this equipment and into a special phone to receive both the dedicated line type of device, whether a phone line from your business to the station or the new digital dialer types of device or another telephone number(s) which would be utilized only for the remaining voice type dialers; this would provide for all kinds of signals to come in completely independently of 862-1212 or 0270 series of numbers The basis for evaluation of these bids is going to have to be on what somebody perceives as the ultimate cost to the users of the service because all of this will be done at no cost to the town. We expect there will be an addition to the hookup charge of $40 00 for a $34 to $60 per year service fee, to be payable to the contractor selected by the town. The final point was how do you deal with chronic offenders? If you inspect these systems and establish that they have the technical devices which can insure you are going to have the minimum number of false alarms, what do you do with the people who one way or another are still sending false alarms? There was some feeling that maybe we ought to a recommended system of fines, but we backed off on that; perhaps there could be an administrative procedure sending out notes, as the police do now, saying your system is con- tinuing to send us false alarms Mr Roy Weinstein objected to the costs involved to approximately 1,000 users of voice dialers, and Mr Kent explained that the committee's position is open as to whether those currently having voice dialing would be required to convert after a period of time or not be required to convert As he understands the report, the committee's unanimous view is that any connection from this point forward ought to be required on the high speed digital arrangement Mr Bailey agreed Mr Kent discussed the proposed By-Law, "No person shall install, maintain or use a mechanical protection device that is automatically keyed to or activates the telephone numbers or lines controlled by or listed to the Police Department or Fire Department, without written approval of the Department Head All such devices shall be removed, or appropriate written approval obtained within 60 days of the effective date of this by-law " Mr Kent felt there should be some reference in the By-Law as to the regulations; there is a question as to whether those regulations should be promulgated by the department heads and, if so, he would like it to be at least subject to the approval of the Manager or, if not, subject to the Board of Selectmen - whether the Manager should be the promulgator or the Board of Selectmen should be she promulgator of the regulations In the Committee's report, it wasstatfiat this should be in the unguided and unreviewable control of the department head in question Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - October 15, 1979 Mr Hutchinson said that any regulations proposed by department heads would come to his office and be filed with the Board as a matter of information. The department heads would be willing to work with him and approved by his 1 office The Board agreed that the Manager is to submit additional information within the next two weeks Chairman Miley thanked the Burglar Alarm Com- mittee and the members retired from the meeting The Board discussed a change in the Precinct 3 polling place from Prec 3 the Bridge School to the Clarke Junior High School Mrs Martha Wood, Polling Chairman, and members of the Executive Board of the Town Meeting Members Place Association were present and were unanimously in favor of the change Mrs Erna Greene, Precinct 3 Town Meeting member, stated that the residents were also in favor Mr Hutchinson said the only problems to be resolved were parking and the storage of the voting machines at Clarke Miss McDonough, Town Clerk, had submitted a recommendation on the change and informed the Board that if approved the Selectmen must notify each registered voter by mail Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to change the location of the Precinct 3 voting place from the Bridge School to the Clarke Junior High School, subject to a request to the School Committee for permission to store six voting machines permanently at the Clarke Junior High School Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request Lex Golf of the Lexington Golf Club for further deferment of sewer betterment assess- Club Sewer ments pending receipt of a letter from the Golf Club regarding litigation Bttrmnt against the Town Chairman Miley read a request from the New England Telephone Company J/0 Poles and the Boston Edison Company for the relocation of joint-owned poles due Carville- to road construction. Baker - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- Banks Ave location of joint-owned poles on the following streets Carville Avenue on the southeasterly side, approx 4+ feet east of Banks Avenue, one pole; one pole to be removed Baker Avenue on the northwesterly side, approx 5+ feet west of Banks Avenue, one pole Banks Avenue on the southwesterly side, approximately 300+ feet east of Carville Avenue, one pole Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting held on August 20, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to confirm the Community appointment of Dr Martin K. White, 50 Bloomfield Street, as a member Health of the Community Health Committee for a term expiring May 31, 1980 Committee Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - October 15, 1979 DPW Con- Mr Hutchinson recommended awarding the contract for miscellaneous tract work on Earl and Avon Streets in connection with the Lexington Housing 80-5-E Authority's scattered sites project Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award Contract 80-5-E to the lowest bidder, Somerset Paving Corp , Somerset, Mass , in the amount of $27,875 00, for construction work on Earl and Avon Streets Woodpark Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a petition was filed with the Circle Planning Board by the residents of Woodpark Circle area concerning problems Subdivi- with rodents in the area, specifically asking that the ditch or brook running sion through the subdivision be considered a health hazard because of stagnant water, mosquitoes, and rats A $61,000 bond is being held and Mr Lane, the developer, agreed to do some additional work at the brook. We will not conduct a program of rodent control on private property but will do so on a one-time basis There have been recommendations from some of the citizens to pipe the brook but we do not feel it should be done We are prepared to give the residents all the technical assistance we can on the extermination of rodents Mr Williams, Chairman of the Conservation Commission, said that the problem is the pond as it has a very slow pitch. We had a Hatch Act hearing and the developer complied with the conditions Mr Hutchinson stated that we ought not to be in the position of redesigning subdivisions Mr Crain recommended that the Manager research the whole question with the advice of Town Counsel Mrs Battin agreed and added that Conservation or the Planning Board could give relevant opinions Mr Hutchinson said that we would encourage the residents to deal with the exterminator the town is doing business with. Residents of the area were present and expressed their concern about the problems Gift of Mr David Williams, Chairman of the Conservation Commission, informed Land the Board of a gift from an anonymous donor to the town of a 1-acre parcel of land off Hancock Street near Coolidge Avenue for recreation/conservation purposes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept on behalf of the town the gift of a 1-acre parcel of land off Hancock Street near Coolidge Avenue for recreation/conservation purposes Conserve Mr Williams informed the Board that the Conservation Commission is going Land Pur- to use the Conservation Fund to purchase a 1-1/2 acre parcel of land located chase near the Bowman School at an agreed upon price of $4,000; this transaction does not require Town Meeting approval Conserve Mr.. Williams announced publicly that the Conservation Commission has re- Reimburse- ceived a reimbursement check for $560,417 ment Funds Chairman Miley thanked Mr Williams for meeting with the Board and he retired from the meeting Hanscom Mrs Jacqueline Smith and Mr Fred Bailey of the Hanscom Field Advisory Field Committee; Mrs Angela Frick, Lexington's MAPC representative, met with the Board to discuss Hanscom Field Mrs Smith said there was a meeting on Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - October 15, 1979 I IIIOctober 9 of the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee at which Massport and Cosmopolitan Airlines and Great American Commuter Services gave a pre- sentation on a commuter service which Cosmopolitan was asking Massport to permit at Hanscom Field with service between 7 00 a m and 9 00 p m ; consisting of four round trips to Newark daily This means ten operations of the airplanes because they will be based in Farmington, New York They will be using a Convair 440, which is the noisest airplane in this category There are fourteen jet operations at Hanscom per day now and adding these ten operations would essentially double the noise Everyone from Massport agrees that we will indeed notice the change in the noise structure at Hanscom if this service begins Should this ser- vice be successful, it would mean approximately 350 vehicle trips per day Massport, in this permitting, has to go through an environmental process; it will be published in the newspapers and Massport will decide at their November 15 meeting whether to give the permit There is a great deal of pressure coming from the PAB and the FAA to get the smaller services out of hub airports like Logan, and the best equipped, smaller airport in this area is Hanscom Since Lexington's policy was instituted in 1977 and the Hanscom Field Master Planning process was completed in 1978, there has been an increase in noise around the airport If we don't have standards for noise on noisier planes, it is time to ask Massport and perhaps we should be looking at our own policy to see whether we want to leave our own policy of just no certificated air carriers or whether we want to include commuter service If we have standards for noise on various planes and say these noisier planes can- not come into Hanscom, then you won't have to worry about the policy on the types of services use the airport Mrs Smith recommended on the Cosmopolitan proposal that Lexington inform MEPA and the Massport Authority that we are in opposition to any such service going in until such standards are in place Also, to recom- mend that Lexington take legislative action to ensure Town involvement in Massport decisions by making the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee not just a gentlemen's agreement between the Town and Massport but make it a legislative body on an advisory level; we need to be part of a decision making process Mrs Frick said she had noticed on the MAPC environmental form that they did not check the long-range traffic impact; on the MAPC A-95 review form, they did not think noise was a problem. It was agreed that Mrs Frick is to work with Mrs Smith and return the forms to MAPC stating that Lexington is interested in MAPC doing more studies Mr Hutchinson said the Planning Board is also concerned about noisier planes It was pointed out by Massport that there are no regulations cur- rently regulating Hanscom and they, in fact, were going to work on those themselves It does seem that substantive proposals that impact on the region should not be allowed to take place until logical regulations can be put in place Massport is going to work on information meetings at some subsequent time They further indicated they would work with the Hanscom Advisory Committee at an information session about current and III future plans, but the whole impact on regulations was referenced in effect that there are none That is something this Board and others should be concerned about Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - October 15, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following recommendations submitted by Mrs Jacqueline Smith, Lexington's representative to the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee 1 To inform the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Mass Environmental Protection Agency that Lexington is in opposition to the proposal of the Cosmopolitan Airlines primarily on the basis of the noise which will be generated by the service; secondarily, by the impact on our ground transportation problem of an additional 352 vehicle trips per day Also, to request MPA to defer a decision on this service or any others until noise emission standards and a redefinition of acceptable services at Hanscom are set, and that these be done in cooperation with the com- munities To request that a more in-depth environmental report be done by the MEPA Unit of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs on the commuter service being proposed by Cosmopolitan Airlines, Inc and the Great American Com- muter Service for Hanscom Field 2 That Lexington take legislative action to insure Town involve- ment in the MPA decision making process for Hanscom Field Mr Kent, as legislative liaison, volunteered to contact one of our legislators relative to introducing the bill 1 LEXPRESS Mr Rosenberg, Chairman, and members of the Transportation Advisory Terminal Committee; Mr Sacco, President of the Chamber of Commerce; Police Captain Lima met with the Board to discuss the LEXPRESS mini-bus transfer station Alternate locations were discussed and decided against the area on Edison Way behind the Harvard Trust Co , the Visitors' Center, and the Town Office Building Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to move the LEXPRESS mini-bus terminal to the left side of Depot Square adjacent to Emery Park on a temporary basis until experience is gained Mr Hutchinson requested time to work out the details of marking the street and placing barriers for the protection of the passengers Mr Rosenberg said the committee is considering a long-term location by using a piece of the railroad right-of-way, and he pointed out that legalroceedin s are involved P g Fare Mr Rosenberg recommended approval of operating an extra mini-bus on Increase Saturdays and an increase from 25 cents to 50 cents for the trip to the Burlington Mall; however, passengers who travel only in Lexington will continue to pay 25 cents Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to increase the fare on the LEXPRESS mini-bus to the Burlington Mall to 50 cents, and to add :a bus to this route on Saturdays Mr Rosenberg said the committee is investigating ways to increase ridership and additional information will be submitted in two weeks The Transportation Advisory Committee, retired from the meeting 5 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - October 15, 1979 Mr Robert Sacco, President of the Chamber of Commerce, and Mr 1980 William Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Town Celebrations Committee, met Patriots' with the Board to discuss the 1980 Patriots' Day celebration The Day State holiday is to be observed on Monday, April 21, and April 19 falls on Saturday The Board wished to have the views of both groups as to the preference of which day to schedule activities Mr Fitzgerald said his committee favored a town celebration on Saturday; however, the committee realized that Saturday is usually a busy day for the merchants and they would like an opinion from them. Mr Sacco said he had polled some merchants, who were opposed to Saturday, but he was unable to contact the majority of the merchants The Board agreed to table the matter pending a further report from Mr Sacco A later meeting will be scheduled for a decision The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendation to defer Wilson Rd discussion of the petition from the Wilson Road residents for two Traffic weeks Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the Permit request of Mrs Bagy of 11 Castle Road for permission to hold a Request crafts sale in her home, pending a report from Town Counsel re- garding the zoning by-law Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Preclama Proclamation declaring the week of October 29, 1979 as United Way United Way Week. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Appt - the recommendation of the Town Manager that he appoint Mrs Carolyn Recreation Wilson, 23 Pleasant Street, a member of the Recreation Committee for Committee a three year term expiring April 1, 1982 Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the request from the West- Recreation bridge School to use the Adams School field,with payment of a user fee Permit - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Westbridge request of the Westbridge School to use the Adams School field during the fall of 1979, subject to payment of a user fee of $5 00 per day and $10 00 per day when lines are required on the field Mr Hutchinson submitted additional material to the Board on the All American Cities Award Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to Session go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, for the purpose of discussing matters of litigation and real estate Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 10 p m A true record, Attest 4i2cG_Cy Executive Clerk, Selectmen V} SELECTMEN'S MEETING October 22, 1979 , A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Adams School auditorium on Monday, October 22, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Retire- Chairman Miley recommended that the Board accept the State Retire- ment meet audit Audit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the report of the examination of the Town of Lexington Contributory Re- tirement System, as of December 31, 1978, by the State Retirement Division MBTA Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Paul Means, MBTA Director, regarding the establishment of a Consumer Advisory Panel for suburban transit riders The Board agreed that an advisory panel might accomplish MBTA goals but Lexington would rather concentrate on the larger issues of budget, management problems, etc We would continue to keep a close watch on the MBTA Advisory Committee's role and our part in it A letter to this effect is to be sent to Mr Means 1-Day Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the 1-day Liquor liquor licenses for W R Grace Employees Association retirement parties on October 24 and October 25 1980 Mr Robert Sacco, President of the Chamber of Commerce, informed the Patriots' Board that the merchants in town were in favor of celebrating Patriots' Day on the State-designated holiday on Monday, April 21, 1980, according to a circulated questionnaire Celebrating on Saturday, April 19, would cause hardship to both large and small businessmen Mr Raymond Flynn of the Town Celebrations Committee said they would accept the merchants' decision However, the committee will come back to the Board to discuss finances as they had anticipated coordinating efforts with Arlington and splitting the costs of the bands for the celebration on Saturday It was agreed that Lexington is to celebrate Patriots' Day on Monday, April 21, 1980 Chairman Miley read a request from Mr John Carson, Chelmsford Select- man, to bring in more revenue to the town by the registration of automobiles illegally registered out-of-state The Board agreed to urge the citizens of Lexington to communicate with eith er the Police Department or the Registry of Motor Vehicles if they knew of out-of-state cars apparently registered to local residents 5 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - October 22, 1979 III Mr Hutchinson recommended the execution of the contract for mis- Contract cellaneous water and street construction 80-5-E Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Contract 80-5-E awarded on October 15, 1979 to Somerset Paving Corp , Somerset, Mass in the amount of $27,875 00, for water and street construction on Earl and Avon Streets in connection with the Housing Authority's scattered sites program Payments will be made by the Housing Authority subject to acceptance of work by the Town Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a Common Carrier license Com.Carrier for Hospital Transportation Service Hosp Transp Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Common Carrier license for Hospital Transportation Service, Inc , 161 Charles Street, Cambridge, for the carriage of passengers for hire over Lexington ways; license expiring December 31, 1979 Mr Hutchinson said it was his understanding the service is from Hanscom Field to Logan Airport, and industrial pick-up as well Mr Hutchinson discussed the parking spaces occupied by the Arlex Depot Sq Taxi Company at Depot Square, and it was agreed to reduce the number Taxi Spaces o€:spaced. from six. to two Further discussion will be held next week on the possibility of reducing it to one taxicab parking space Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a letter has been received Hancock St from District #4, State D P W , stating that a majority of the con- Chapter 90 struction items on the Hancock Street project will be completed by Project the fall of 1980 We have had money appropriated by the town, reim- bursed under Chapter 90, and now have a commitment that it will be done in the spring of 1980 and completed in the fall of 1980 In response to a request, the Board agreed to write to the Police President of the Police Union informing him that Mr Robert M Negotiations Hutchinson, Town Manager, is, as in the past, bargaining agent for contract negotiations with all unions Mr Hutchinson discussed solid waste and said that the committee Solid has been meeting during the summer months The North Andover proposal, Waste which is still our primary alternate, has been extended to January 31, 1980 The Town Meeting authorized the Selectmen, subject to any dramatic change being brought back to Town Meeting, to proceed on a long-term solution Mr Hutchinson and Mr Cohen had attended a meeting concerning legal questions and there are still many unre- solved questions We think EOP is the type of plant the town should be participating in and the committee has been pursuing the proposal An updated report will be given to the Board of Selectmen I Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - October 22, 1979 Traffic- The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendation that he respond to Itek the letter from the Director of Itek Corporation, 10 Maguire Road, stating Maguire/ that consideration is being given to the possibility of the installation of Hartwell a traffic light at Maguire Road and Hartwell Avenue Also, the town will continue to provide a police officer subject to manpower availability, and the policy will be reviewed as to whether we should be providing a police officer at the town's expense Fire Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Fire Department has Dept withdrawn the prohibited practice charge against the town and the Phone Fire Chief is reviewing the telephone system, with an additional System extension to be provided to deal with emergency calls In response to questions from the Board, Mr Hutchinson said that the Chief felt the new system would save the town money and, as part of that, he de- leted the Police and Fire line From a public safety standpoint, no one is jeopardized as the Police have access to Extension 78, which goes right through to the Fire Department The Board agreed to meet at the Central Fire Station next Monday, October 29, at 7 30 p m. for a review of the telephone system with Mr Hutchinson and Chief Bergeron LEXPRESS Mr Hutchinson said that the Police Department has asked that the Bus Stop Board approve the new location of debarkation of LEXPRESS passengers Depot Sq at Depot Square Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to designate the II/area north of Emery Park as the LEXPRESS bus stop Better- Mr Cohen discussed the request from the Lexington Golf Club for ments- deferment of sewer betterment assessments, and it was agreed to again Lex Golf table the matter Club Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter of the Lexington Golf Club's request for deferment of sewer betterment assessments pending receipt of a letter from the Board of Directors concerning litigation against the town Real Chairman Miley announced that the tax bills were mailed last Estate Friday, October 19, and she pointed out that the delay had nothing Taxes to do with the town Mr Hutchinson added that payment is due within thirty days of the postmark and we encourage people to come forward earlier; we are in a favorable position and may not have to borrow money, which saves you tax money Meeting Chairman Miley opened the meeting with residents of the with area of Precincts 1 and 2, and said that this is the third time the Prects Selectmen have been in different sections of the town; we have found 1 & 2 that people are very comfortable talking to us about their problems Residents Residents of the Harrington School area and the school custodian asked for assistance in resolving the problem with dogs on the school grounds Mr Busa said that a similar situation at the playground on Rindge Avenue Dogs on had been brought to the attention of the Board and, upon the recommendation School of the Animal Control Officer, the Board had voted unanimously on Grounds August 14, 1978 to have all playgrounds posted so there would be no dogs running loose, subject to Town Counsel looking into the legal aspects of posting. Perhaps we could have school grounds so posted Mr Hutchinson said arrangements will be made to have the grounds posted and, in the interim, the Dog Warden will be operating under this regulation L Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - October 22, 1979 Mr Fred Perry, 678 Massachusetts Avenue, asked to be recorded in Mass Ave / opposition to the installation of traffic lights at the intersection of Pleasant St Massachusetts Avenue and Pleasant Street He lives within 20 yards of Rotary the rotary circle and lights would not stop the thousands of cars coming through there, and if traffic were diverted, there would be more dangerous conditions As far as pedestrian traffic, children going to Adams School are handled by Policewomen; there is a policeman there for services at Sacred Heart and the Follen Church, aesthetically, the area would be adversely affected This would generate other lights as the police favor lights there in tandem with Maple Street He did not think it a good idea Mr Hutchinson said there were 26 accidents in the area in 1976 and 17 in 1978, a modest decline, and there is no guarantee they would be lower with the lights He had written to the Sacred Heart Church in re- sponse to their letter and had pointed out that from an engineering view there are staff restrictions on manpower and workload It is our inten- tion to have the Engineering Division bring it up to the Board for review and a decision on whether to institute a program or to look at other viable alternatives for safety In 1976-77, there was a proposal under TOPICS and there were not a lot of people at the hearings at that time The Historic Districts Commission and the Chairman of the Planning Board raised concerns about the proposal and it was put on the back burner A member of the Adams School PTA said she was concerned about the safety of children coming down from Liberty Heights, and suggested that this is something to be considered in the future Mr Hutchinson said we can look at it again and what the alternatives might be Chairman Miley added that we will not do an expensive study but the Manager will review what's there Also, my understanding of the TOPICS program is that you accept the whole thing or nothing In response to a question from Mr Arthur Smith, Mrs Swanson of the School Committee said a report on the closing of Adams School will be sub- mitted by the School Superintendent on November 1, or thereabouts Chairman Miley explained the process involved when Town Meeting votes to close and accept a school Mr Arthur Smith raised the question of the possibility of a mini-bus Mini-bus/ route continuing to Arlington Heights, and it was explained that this was Arl Hts a grievance with the MBTA union and it was not in the town's best interests to pursue it The town was anxious to have the papers signed, get the funding, and put LEXPRESS into service Chairman Miley thanked the residents for attending the meeting with the Board and assured them that the Selectmen are always available for discussion of any problems which may arise 1 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - October 22, 1979 Select- The Board discussed goals and Mrs Battin said it is a long-range men's process The last time we discussed them, we brought in what we thought Goals were our most pressing problems and we should decide the three or four that are really the most important Obviously, we all agreed on Center Revitalization; the two others that stood out to me were the town finances, and that seemed to break down into two of them - the whole question of sources of revenue, the need to decrease our reliance on the property tax, which would include tax reform and how to increase sources of revenue, like broadening our tax base, school conversion, etc The other financial one - the one Mr Crain stressed - was the whole problem of financial management and the need to achieve tax stabilization and the rate of inflation and dealing with the consequences of it; how we manage our monies in the budgets Sources of revenue and the actual financial management were the two largest areas Mr Crain said all we are trying to do is create a focus for the immediate future and our top priorities, which is dynamic and probably will change as time goes on It has been found to result in more progress if groups like this focus on a few top priorities and get some work projects going on underneath them, and then maybe the next time we take a photograph it is entirely different He hoped that the hidden time bomb like unfunded pensions would be included in the financial area Mr Kent said he agreed completely with Mrs Battin and Mr Crain to the extent that we are here to talk about areas of concern with long- range planning He would like to start with Center Revitalization and the four items under financial structure On Center Revitalization and giving particular emphasis on short-term parking, he was not sure he wanted that in the long-planning goal process That happens to be an item, of which there are many before this board, which we simply have to deal with before the next Town Meeting because we told the Town Meeting we were going to do so Center vitalization as a topic for this long-term treatment is somewhat different from this emphasis on short-term solutions to parking, which he would simply put in the category of a near- term agenda item of the board to be handled on an incremental basis Mrs Battin agreed For long-range planning purposes, he was in accord with what was said about Center Revitalization and the Financial Structure of the Town Mr Crain agreed and offered another one on employee development - because of the importance of the human resource we have invested in the community and our employee body, and the need to give the Manager and the department heads more assistance in providing some development opportunities to maximize the potential of that very costly and very important resource Mrs Battin summarized the major problem areas in which to set goals (1) Center Revitalization; (2) Source of Revenue, to include the need to decrease reliance on the property tax and increase sources of revenue; (3) Financial Management; the need to achieve tax stabilization and deal- ing with the consequences of inflation; (4) Employee Development Mrs Battin said the problem areas have been identified and each member should come in with a suggested goal The goal doesn't necessarily have to be a new service; it must directly relate to the previously identified concern or problem Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - October 22, 1979 III Mr Crain said (1) a goal is defined as something that is clearly measurable; (2) Usually, there are several goals associated with an area of focus Each of us might find we would want to come in with one, and it is important that we come in with a timetable Mr Hutchinson said that on financial issues we have identified revenues as economic growth and that might be something that we can fix a little more by tracking how much land we have left and looking at just the existing system we have The second issue is one that the Selectmen have been particularly active in that we don't have a grasp on yet, and that is the whole issue of tax reform, a 3 to 5 year issue The political activity of your legislators in the sense of getting into a program that the Lexington Board of Selectmen would endorse a coherent tax program that they think would impact on the resources of the town and the commonwealth The Managers do not have a position at this time Mrs Battin said she would like to see the board push very hard to have the municipal associations on their own reconstitute their tax reform committee, and we .come out with our proposal It doesn't have a prayer of getting through the legislature but again at least we have something that is carefully thought through from a municipal point of view towards reliance on the property tax; that we, as a board, take the initiative on that Presidents of municipal associations are III meeting with staff of municipal associations to look at all the tax limitation proposals that have been filed, and then we are meeting with legislators to talk about it Mrs Battin would bring this back to the board She added that maybe the goal ought to be a definite study and when it ought to be reported back in Mrs Battin and Mr Hutchinson are to meet and submit a draft of the agreed upon major problem areas for discussion at the Selectmen's meeting on November 5 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - Session to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing matters of litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 20 p m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen III { SELECTMEN'S MEETING OCTOBER 29, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, October 29, 1979 The meeting was convened at 7 30 p m at the Central Fire Station, adjourned at 7 50 p m , and reconvened at 8 10 p m in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Fire Sta At 7 30 p m , the Board met with Chief John Bergeron at the Central Fire Station for a review of the new telephone system At 8 10 p m , the meeting was reconvened at the Selectmen's Meeting Executive Room, and it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Session Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - to go into executive session for the pur- pose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation, with the intention of resuming the open meeting. After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session and resume the open meeting at 9 25 p m Arlex Mr Tippett, President of the Arlex Taxi Corp , met with the Board to Taxicab discuss the Board's decision on October 22, 1979 to reduce the number of Stand taxicab spaces at Depot Square from six to two spaces Chairman Miley said that she and members of the Board had noted, in general, that only one or two taxis occupied the spaces; therefore, the decision was made to reduce to two Mr Tippett asked for three spaces as many people get off the MBTA bus and require a taxicab Mr Kent preferred to give it a try with two spaces and if in the operation Mr Tippett finds it hurtful, he was willing, given a brief experience with two, to listen again It was mutually agreed to reserve the two front spaces at Depot Square and Mass Avenue for the Arlex taxicab stand Hr Hutchinson is to work I out the details with Mr Tippett Mr Tippett thanked the Board and retired from the meeting. Bd.Apls Mr Cohen informed the Board that drafts from the Planning Board and Pln Bd the Board of Appeals on the proposed procedure on repetitive petitions for Repetitive special permits are not consistent, and he is working with both boards on Petitions a final procedure The Board agreed that Mr Cohen is to resolve the dif- ference of opinion on the proper procedure to be followed; if any problems, Mr Cohen is to come back to the Board Minute- Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Sen, CoA Chairman, to Mr Perry, man Home Comptroller, relative to a request from the Minuteman Home Care for payment Care of the local community share of FY 78/80 expenses The letter stated that Funds Minuteman is a not-for-profit organization chartered by Massachusetts and endorsed by the Department of Elder Affairs for the purpose of pro- viding home care to elders It is in receipt of $1 7 million of HES/DEA funds which it uses to service 16 minuteman towns Mr Sen had received a MHCC report which itemized services rendered to the elderly residing in Lexington and the bottom line showed that for our annual contribution Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - October 29 , 1979 111 of $2,244, a total of $46,409 service dollars were spent on Lexingtonians In Mr Sen's opinion, Lexington's contribution is worthwhile and a cost- effective expenditure. Also, that the human services office should have, as a function, the monitoring and evaluation of the quality and quantity of care provided to clients by such service providers like MHCC; the Board agreed to pursue this suggestion. Chairman Miley that a copy of the MHCC report be obtained for the Board's information Mr Hutchinson agreed to Chairman Miley's recommendation that he Traffic send a letter to Instrumentation Laboratory, Inc , 113 Hartwell Avenue, stating that he was investigating the possibility of a traffic light Hartwell/ at Hartwell Avenue and Maguire Road, and is also reviewing the traffic Maguire situation in the area In response to Mr. Kent's question, Mr Hutchinson said that arrange- ments are being made for Mr Bibbo to meet with the Traffic Safety Committee Wilson Rd to discuss traffic in the Wilson Road area Upon motion dulymade and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes Po PP minutes of September 10, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Cert of 23 Farmcrest Avenue as a mail drop for Certificate of Incorporation Incorp for Families of America, Inc The Board agreed to schedule a meeting with Rep Cole and Sen Legisla- Rotondi at the regular meeting on Monday, November 19, and invite the tors Planning Board, Conservation Commission and the School Committee Meeting The Board agreed to schedule a meeting on Wednesday evening to Human interview a candidate for the Human Services Committee; 16 candidates Services have been interviewed Committee Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of deferment of the sewer Monahan betterment assessment against property on Summer Street Sewer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to defer pay- Better- ment of the sewer betterment assessment levied against the property ments on Summer Street owned by Robert P Monahan and Agnes B Allen, in the amount of $2,685.39, without interest, until such land or any part thereof is built upon, sold or until the expiration of three years from this date, whichever event occurs first; provided, how- ever, that this extension of time shall terminate immediately if said land or any portion thereof is built upon or sold Also, it was voted to abate the amount of $761 81 of the existing sewer betterment on the Summer Street property Duringdiscussion of the above, it was brought to the attention g of the Board of Selectmen that Alyce Monahan had indicated to the Town Counsel that all betterments and taxes previously billed and now due would be paid in full Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - October 29, 1979 Cataldo Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he will review with Town Sewer Counsel the request from Mr Robert Cataldo for deferment of sewer Bettmnts betterment assessment on his property on Marrett Road Center Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a request has been received Public for a public telephone in the Center near Colpitts Travel Agency, and Phone he requested authorization to proceed by going to the Historic Districts Commission for approval The Board authorized the Town Manager to proceed Mr Hutchinson requested and received authorization to go forward on the request from Mr David Lail, 246 Lowell Street, to purchase tax title land on Lowell Street, and the request from Mr Benjamin Golini, 35 Balfour Street, to purchase tax title land on Balfour Street Mr Hutchinson is to work with the Board of Assessors in obtaininglrurrent market value rates for the land and the deed for the Balfour Street land will include the restriction that the land could not be built upon All information and documents will then be submitted for the vote of the Board for conveyance. Orders Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Orders Water of Water Taking for Avon and Earl Street, as recommended by the Town Taking Manager CoA - Mr Hutchinson reported that the Council on Aging is working with Emergency private groups to set up an emergency assistance fund for people who Fuel Fund are short of money for fuel 111 Solid Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he is to attend a meeting in Waste the Governor's office to review with him the solid waste situation, Meeting as part of a delegation from the Northeast Solid Waste Council School Mr Hutchinson said he had filed a brief report with the Board on Closings school conversion, and recommended that the Board meet with the School Sites Conversion Committee and a representative of the School Committee to discuss school closings It was agreed to meet with a representative of the School Committee to discuss immediate and long-range plans Baptiste- Mr Cohen recommended that the Board sign an order of taking in Easement connection with the Baptiste request for sewer on land located on Marrett Road This would be a town easement over town land, as requested by the Engineering Division Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order of taking for a town easement over town-owned land located on Marrett Road Hartwell Mr Hutchinson discussed a proposal received from the Depositors Avenue- Trust regarding a proposed bicycle sidewalk path in front of the bank Depositors being constructed on the corner of Bedford Street and Hartwell Avenue, Trust and a suggestion that the bank would put up a fieldstone wall on the Proposal rear of the property that would tie in with our cemetery Additional information is to be submitted to the Board after a meeting with Town Counsel 1 4 ) Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - October 29, 1979 Mrs Banks said she had received a telephone call from Mystic Valley MVMH - Mental Health informing her that MVMH had a request for another group-home Group to come into Lexington, to be located on Massachusetts Avenue in East Homes Lexington MVMH has asked, prior to giving their approval, that the people who are running the home make contact with the Board of Selectmen and arrange to meet with appropriate groups and abutters This would be a home for children who have been institutionalized for a period of time The Department of Mental Health program will license and supervise them Additional information is to be submitted by Mrs Banks and the Human Services Committee relative to staffing, funding, etc Mr Hutchinson added that, consistent with this, a note has been sent to the Building Commissioner advising him that if these institu- tions come in, he should encourage them to contact the neighborhood There have been agencies that have not made these arrangements In the interim, Mr Hutchinson sa a �i ul. F )rk�jwj,.th appropriate parties in response to Mr French's co esponkien.+- an 414e Reed Street home as to how we might address some permit granting authority of pro- visional controls at a later time in each neighborhood Problem areas in which to set goals are to be discussed at next Goals week's meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - to go Session into executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy with re- spect to litigation, with no intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 35 p m A true record, Attest 4g4.41,14_e7 Executive Clerk, Selectmen , 1 N 1 I VOID I 1 SELECTMEN'S MEETING NOVEMBER 5, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, November 5, 1979 at 7:30 p.m. Chairman Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr. Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs. McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the re- Cert. of quest for approval of 83 Reed Street as the address for the Bridge Incorp School Extended Day Program, Inc pending recommendation of the School Committee The Transportation Advisory Committee report regarding the diff i- Wheelchair culty in obtaining MBTA approval of the proposed chair van was dis- Van cussed In October, 1978, the MBTA agreed to donate a wheelchair lift- equipped vehicle to the Town of Lexington as part of the suburban ex- periment This vehicle was to be shared with neighboring towns and funds were appropriated by Lexington, Bedford, Winchester, and the Minuteman Home Care Corporation. The wheelchair contract has been de- layed as there is some debate at the MBTA as to whether or not the Lexington vehicle is involved in the decision in favor or the MBTA union against the META operating the Boston elderly and handicapped vans The vehicle is ready to be painted with the Share-a-Van logo and an expenditure of $200 00 is to be divided among the four par- ticipants The Committee asked for the Board's assistance in ex- pediting the matter of MBTA approval. After discussion, Mr Hutchinson agreed to write to Mr Foster of the MBTA expressing our concern about the status of the implementa- tion of our proposed chaircar, and our understanding that the MBTA has brought legal action to assist in getting the system going The town would work with him on any problems which are delaying the proposal Also, Senator Rotondi, Chairman of the Legislative Transportation Com- mittee, and Representative Cole are to be made aware of the situation and asked for their assistance Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of August 20 Executive Session, September 17, October 12, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Water recommendation of the DPW Acting Director to abate the water bill of Abatement Keith Kline, 29 Winchester Drive, $262 80; meter reader error Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Sewer orders of taking for sewer easements off Moon Hill Road to Bird Hill Easements- Road, and Carville Avenue to Trotting Horse Drive, with awards of no Moon Hill damages, with the following exceptions $2,000 to Harriet Simpson, Carville Ave. 8 Trotting Horse Drive, $2,000 to George F & Anne A Grady, 10 Trotting Horse Drive Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - November 5, 1979 Bedford Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Common request of the Town of Bedford to amend the current Common Carrier Carrier license to the Bedford Local Transit to allow the pick-up and dis- charge of passengers on Lexington town ways in the Hanscom Field area Breakfast The Board agreed to meet on December 7 at 7 30 a m with the Meeting Chairmen of Boards and Committees Human The Board discussed appointments to the Human Service Committee Service Mr Crain said that the Board interviewed nineteen people who demon- Committee strated an interest in being appointed to the committee As always Appointments in this town, they were a highly diversified and qualified group of people. One question asked of each of them was whether they could dedicate at least one might a week between now and January, and those who remain on the list all indicated they could Having had these in-depth interviews and the benefit of resumes which were avail- able to us before the interviews, we then thought to relay our reactions to the individuals we have listed before us with an alphabetic symbol beside the name, and then we ranked them 1 through 10 It had already been determined by the Board that the committee would be comprised of seven people Based on the compilation of results, the Board agreed to appoint seven members Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following members of the Human Service Committee Stephen Baran, 19 Mason Street; Ruth Burler, 8 Captain Parker Arms; Howard Levingston, , 358 N Emerson Road; Barry Marshall, Four Taft Avenue; Ruth Nablo, 6 Brigham Road; Adelaide N Osborne, 17 Shade Street; Carol Perez, 3 Westwood Road Mrs Perez is to convene the first committee meeting Parade Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a parade permit Permit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve a parade permit for the high school homecoming on November 10, 1979, subject to coordination with the police and fire departments Hartwell Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a proposal from the Depositors Avenue Trust Company for the construction of a sidewalk at the bank site on Sidewalk - Hartwell Avenue The proposal is for the town to lay out, grade and gravel Depotitors to grade the sidewalk; also make the necessary curb cuts for the handicapped Trust ramps, loam and seed the strip between the sidewalk and curb line Deposi- tors Trust would pave the sidewalk per town specifications, and would also construct a dry, fieldstone wall at the end of old Westview Street if the town desires The area between the proposed wall and Bedford Street will be graded and landscaped Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that, if approved, the only thing the town would provide is the labor Therefore, in order to take advantage of the good weather, he requested authorization to proceed with the side- walk It would not impinge upon any part of the study of a bicycle route Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the con- struction of a sidewalk on Hartwell Avenue at the proposed site of the Depositors Trust Company, as outlined by the Town Manager, subject to Town Counsel's review and satisfaction that the Town either owns or has an easement over the land upon which the sidewalk is to be located Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - November 5, 1979 The School Sites Conversion Committee, School Committee, Dr Lawson, Munroe Superintendent of Schools, Mrs Shunney, Chairman of Housing Authority, School Mr Sen, Chairman of Council on Aging, met with the Board Chairman Miley said that they had been invited to meet with the board to ask for their assistance and input regarding the Munroe School The Manager's office has been receiving requests from different groups in town to use the Munroe School. We would think of it in terms of its future, with a component being thoughts of a human services center including the Council on Aging and a senior center We don't know what the future will be as far as schools as they come up and we need input from the School Committee or administration to help us Mr Busa said he had raised the question as to whether we should go forward with any great speed on the Munroe School because we would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars even knowing who will be in Munroe We should see if the School Committee or Housing Authority have any long- range program of what will be necessary and what will become available in the immediate future Thinking on the long-range, if the Munroe School is the one we should be targeting to do some of these projects or housing some of these services that we have been talking about If some other schools are going to come in the immediate future, maybe it will be a lot less costwise to move some of these services into these buildings If they are not going to come immediately to the town, the information we should have is when they are going to be ome available, and then we won't have this type of expenditure We migtt find some other long-term tenant from 3 to 5 years who would want to use Munroe School and let them make their own improvements until we make some of these decisions Chairman Miley said we have never had a request from one who wanted to use the entire building, just a small segment The improvements might not have anything to do with what the town might want to do with it later; we would limit it in that respect Mr Brown, Chairman of the School Committee, said the school closing schedule would next include consideration of Adams School this fall The question has come up on Muzzey Junior High and, at the present time, we are not really feelingthe decliningnumbers at the secondarylevel but it is on its way up His best comment on Muzzey would be, not this year and marginal whether it would close next year; the following year, it would be very seriously considered to close it. Beyond that, until we see the numbers and take each school with the numbers as projected by the Superintendent, there isn' t much we can offer Personally speaking, per- haps consideration could begiven to the use ofpublic buildings for human p g services and perhaps this might be more appropriate in the long run that Munroe because of the size of the structure, or mix the use for the housing for the elderly At the moment, the declining numbers are continuing and the possibility of both of them closing probably would be good For many years, the School Committee has been considering using Munroe for adminis- tration offices As of the moment, we can survive in our building Look- ing further down the road, the decline may hit the Senior High School, and the thought is at this point in time that it might be the place to locate the school administration -- perhaps in the order of five years from now Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - November 5, 1979 Dr Lawson said the School Committee policy requires the administration on the first of December of each to update projections and bring them for- ward for five more years We have been doing it for three years so we are now going to a projection for an 8-year period If the figures for the 1980-81 school year show that we could within the policy close Adams and it met all the requirements, the committee would then have open hearings and ask for other information, and the committee would make a recommenda- tion. The same process would occur for Muzzey Mr Kent asked to what extent are we going to have more definite in- formation, and specifically about Muzzey, as a result of this report that is going to be made to the School Committee in the very near future Dr Lawson said that no one would be able to answer that until the specifics are available to the School Committee on November 20 The recom- mendation may be that we did not meet the criteria to recommend a closing at that time and we will have to go over to the next year to make another review and another projection. Mrs Battin spoke to the question of deferring the use of Munroe School for human services to another school, and said she gathered there is some sense of urgency for those people who want it and if they don't get it now, presumably they would go and find space elsewhere if they have to wait for two years; we might not have takerstwo years from now Chairman Miley said that urgent requests have been received from anyone interested in a human service building Usually, people want immediate consideration Mr Crain said that other influences are the regular inflation and con- struction costs. If we have a real need that's expressed in square footage by people who would like to utilize such space, he saw no indication that current escalation and construction costs are going to decrease Mr Kent asked to what extent has the School Sites Conversion Committee analyzed the available square footage at Munroe in light of such information you have been able to gather concerning possible projected human service uses of the building? Mr Hutchinson said we have had groups approach the town - Minuteman Home Care, which now leases the Grey Nuns property, the Council on Aging, which has looked at the idea of getting into a more permanent structure, the Housing Authority is looking for office space, and a number of others such as the senior citizens who are looking for 5-6,000 sq ft (that would have to be refined) The Minuteman Home Care was of a similar magnitude, and would be on another floor, and we had the idea of the Housing Authority and other groups being put into another floor Mgr 's Mr Hutchinson said that whatever direction you give us, we looked at Recom.- our costs and made a recommendation that we be able to retain somebody to Munroe give us a better isea on costs, making certain assumptions such as a senior citizens' facility and certain offices that could probably be broken down and moved around. So, there are about 18,000 sq ft of net usable space in the building, and we have requests that exceed that Mr Arthur Smith, SSCC, had a personal comment From what we have seen of the town's needs, it is unrealistic to anticipate filling Muzzey with those needs at this time We would not in any case want to retain a property of the size and value of Muzzey if we were only thinking of human services Munroe is of a much better scale to be used for that purpose; in terms of town agencies, Munroe is the right size and we will not be unduly crowded Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - November 5, 1979 Mr Busa said that Munroe is an ancient building and would require thousands of dollars to accommodate the senior citizens It would be a lot more convenient for the senior citizens to get in and out of Muzzey, and the availability of the recreation area and the size of the lunchroom on the first floor would make it ideal; then, the rest of the building could be used for something else Mr Sen said the Town Meeting asked that Munroe School be looked at for human services and other applicable uses such as the senior center The next thing he had looked at was what the neighbors said; the sense he got was they would like to see it as a human services building. If the School Sites Committee also thought it should be, he did not know whey they were thinking about a delay Even using Munroe as a staging area, it would be at least five years before we can have any kind of a senior center The way things are going now, there will be in town in 1982 about 5,000 seniors; in other words, we will have 1 for 1 with all the school kids and he would like to push towards a decision actually applying to the building He mentioned vandalism and suggested it ought to be boarded up Mr Crain asked about the reference to 5,000 seniors in 1985 and if those were 65 and older; our projection shows 4,011 in 1985 Mr Sen said they have been using age 60 and they are moving up about 30Q ayear; there are- over 4,000 -now: We-are above-the-.national average of about 11 percent Mr Crain said he was particularly concerned about the 45 to 60 surge in town and what inflation is doing to our seniors and what it is doing to their nutrition As he recalled, the Church of Our Redeemer was a stop gap Mr Michaelson, School Committee, said the School Committee has on several past occasions explored the ramifications of an elementary school closing and what's involved, what conditions to be met, but we never have had to explore the closing of a senior high school He would find it difficult to consider for the first time the possibility of a junior high closing if the circum- stances were such that another town agency had made it clear that it had some rather Specific designs on that school Mr Weinstein said that by the time the senior center is in place, we will be glad to have a nutritional center; there is a need for one Mrs Shunney asked about the percentage of senior citizens who would be using the facilities; from Housing experience, some want privacy and independence and are too proud to ask for anything, and some want everything Mr Sen said it would be about 400 people, about 10 to 15, percent Mr Crain added that in addition to the needy in the sense of money, there is a high correlation between nutrition and sociability He was in- terested in a nutrition center in the hopes that people who are alone and are not eating properly, because they just don't do it; if they had a place to go and had some sociability, they would do better Mr Smith said the intention of being here tonight was to ask you to authorize us or the Manager to get some professional help, someone to make a design based on the possible uses and the costs involved It's a longer process to approve the use of Munroe School if it involves the kinds of expenditures you have been talking about Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - November 5, 1980 111 Mr Hutchinson said it would be about $1,500 for an architectural firm to make preliminary plans We would receive proposals and would expect to retain services very promptly and have something back to the Board within 30 days Mr Kent said that Mr Sen suggested that the short term and long term needs may not be identical The message is getting the most pre- liminary of designs, the working in of the potential for flexibility for initially perhaps renting facilities which nevertheless will be readily and inexpensively converted to more senior citizens' use at a later date is an important of this planning process so that initial construction doesn't lock us in to uses; the means with respect to uses will change as time goes by The Board agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the School Sites Conversion Committee to acquire professional services for preliminary estimates on a plan for the Munroe School Chairman Miley thanked all involved for meeting with the Board and they retired from the meeting Goals/ The Board discussed goals and objectives Mrs Battin said that the Objectives goals are for long-range planning and the objectives are the steps to achieve the goals Mr Crain recommended that the board focus on the Metcalf & Eddy Center Re- report on an analysis of the center, which was done in the 1960s Some vitalize- of the recommendations have been implemented and have contributed to the tion viability of the center but those relative to parking have not been followed He would like the board to reconsider the possibility of specifically relieving the parking problem by increasing parking avail- ability in the center Mr Busa said that he is working with the Central Business District Committee, a subcommittee of the Planning Board, and they have been dis- cussing the problems, and consideration is being given to investigate the possibility of the location of a one-story parking garage in the Meriam Street municipal lot and the best possible way to implement the con- struction for sound investment Communications have been established with the federal government in an attempt to resolve some of the problems by requesting cooperation of the -employees of the Post Office in alleviating the all-day parking problems on Massachusetts Avenue In appearance, the town could not be any more revitalized that it is but the reason we do not have a variety is that it has been so attractive to large corporations that they simply move the small business and owner-occupied businesses out of town. But the revitalization of the parking areas and increased parking would generate a new enthusiasm of people wanting to come back into the center and operate a service store One important facet would be to invite the absentee landlords as they have the most at stake and would give other ideas of what their costs would be and what they could swing Also, to involve the Chamber of Commerce for their input Mrs Battin said that recognizing the need for a vital center as the community's civic, commercial, social and cultural focus, a plan for re- vitalizating the center shall be prepared by the Town, the Chamber of Commerce, Lexington banking and lending institutions, Lexington indus- tries, with the advice and assistance of the Executive Office Communities and Development Such a plan shall be completed by November 1, 1981 and submitted to the appropriate Town Boards, Town Meeting Members, Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - November 5, 1979 commercial interests and citizen groups for action It shall include but not be limited to methods of achieving commercial diversity, increased social and cultural activity, improved traffic flow and increased parking Mr Kent said that he had some suggestions in terms of maximizing parking available for shoppers in Lexington center which involves a correlative downgrading of all-day parking This, in part, involves the situation along Masts Avenue but it also involves the way in which we treat a substantial segment of the lot in back of Depot Square He would hope with our institution of the bus service, we would have more justification rather than less for devotion of more parking spaces to transients and less to permanent all-day parking in that particular area of town Chairman Miley said she sees people still feeding meters and still parking for half of the days by meters that have expired Chairman Miley said the goal that has always been important to her is bring forward better communication; we are working toward it but we need communication between towns and cities as well as communication among ourselves. We have had meetings in the quadrants of the town, our meetings with the different boards and committees, and with Mrs Battin as president of the Mass Selectmen's Association perhaps we will be able to keep in even closer touch; we are keeping in closer touch than ever with our legislators Regarding center revitalization, Chairman Miley said there was another study done by the Planning Board in connection with the League of Women Voters and perhaps we could refer to that She suggested that a program be put together, with input from DCA as Mrs Battin suggested The Board agreed The Board discussed the goal to increase sources of revenue - de- Tax crease reliance on property tax Mrs Battin recommended that Lexington Reform should take the lead in initiating and maintaining a sustained effort through the Mass Municipal Associations and related municipal organiza- Revenue tions or, if necessary alone, a tax reform study with a view to filing Source comprehensive legislation no later than December, 1982 The Manager's office shall study and report to the Selectmen no later than December, 1980 all ways of increasing non tax revenues This study and recom- mendations for action should include but not be limited to the develop- ment of an administrative process for seeking out and aggressively pur- suing available federal and state funds for all town services and sug- gestions for institutinguIees and increasing town fees for licenses, permits, etc The Lt Governor's office is trying to make sure that people learn, especially small towns, what state and federal funds are available The big thing is tax reform and we may be doing it slightly alone as she had brought it up at the Mass Selectmen's Association and they seemed to think that tax reform was a dead issue; that this legislature was never going to shift the burden of taxes to some other than. There was no re- sponse from them about doing anything but we might think about writing a letter to them and formally ask them to reconstitute the tax reform study 111 If not, we could think about another way of doing it 5; Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - November 5, 1980 Mr Kent said Mrs Battin's timing is good and a comprehensive study can't be produced any more quickly than that and it is a case of finding somebody who is willing to do it; it has to be a professional effort The timing of 1982 isn' t bad, and it then becomes a political issue in the context of a political campaign of that year Mr Busa said that if we are going to look at the tax base increase and tax reform in the sense of taxing industry and businesses to relieve the tax burden on homeowners, you can't have your cake and eat it too. We are trying to revitalize Lexington Center and to increase a tax base in Lexington, you have to have a tax base of equal benefit to everyone We have to look at the overall picture If we end up taxing industry, we might end up like Lowell The tax burden would be so high that the only ones to survive in Lexington would be the large corporations We want to encourage people to come to Lexington center or rezone other areas Chairman Miley said that when revaluations come through, maybe there are some businesses we don' t even know are here Mr Crain said that this is a difficult area, and asked if there would be value in seeking volunteers from people who have the interest and qualification to take a look at our situation and suggest some alternatives as to action that might be taken to increase the tax base rather than having it grow as it is Chairman Miley said there are people who are interested in tax re- form who would come forward Mrs Battin said to increase the tax base, the town should make a thorough analysis of the consequences of a limited expansion of commer- cial and industrial land and study the suitability of establishing an economic development commission to encourage and control the use of such property These would be just routine things but as Mr Crain says, to really look at the whole thing whether it is commercial or more intensive uses Again, these are areas in which the study - in one place, we do our own internal one and the other one we urge others to join us in doing tax reform Chairman Miley said the call is out Financial The Board discussed the goal of financial management Mr Crain said Management the ultimate goal is to achieve tax stabilization but when one considers the solid waste, unquestionably in the 5-year period we are focusing on it is going to be more costly The rate of inflation is the highest we've ever seen Unfunded pension liability pension costs just on a cost needs basis are going to increase about 77 percent in the five years we are talking about, $1 million to $1 9 million We should face up to that The Manager, Comptroller and Treasurer have done an excellent job in providing projections of what we are confronted with, and he did not know that a study or a citizens' committee is going to do much for us Mr Hutchinson goals were to continue cost containment and consolidate where possible Specifically, investigating items such as making civilian dispatchers in the fire department, closing the schools; also, to expand on what the School Committee raised to the Board the idea of centralized maintenance division for the schools and the town, and this should be addressed And to look at a centralized management system; we do have duplicate systems by law with the school and the town but there is a possibility over a period of time that we do something there It is a "7a Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - November 5, 1979 111 difficult area but a task force might be worthwhile for the Selectmen and the School Committee to appoint jointly, and require that the Superintendent and the Manager be on that committee; to try to come up with something com- prehensive this year or within a couple of years We have done some modest work with the School Committee on the data processing system The inflation rate is important; to recognize inflation as it relates to the employees' incomes The idea of a continued political dialogue with our federal and state legislators is important to any financial stabilization of the com- munities within the Commonwealth This board has addressed them about general revenue sharing and it was Mr Hutchinson's understanding that it may be in trouble at the state level and if it is cut back on revenues, you can be sure it is going to take a look at other areas that distribute monies including cities and towns So there is a whole cyclical effect here and it is important that the style ought to be sustained at all levels The point Mr Busa raised on revenue, he had covered by recommending to re- view zoning and other compatible land in order that a compatible development can take place On center revitalization, Mr Hutchinson's goals agreed with the Board's; however, there may be zoning or Historic Districts Com- mission constrictions that may compromise them. The Board discussed the goal for employee development capacity Mrs Battin offered. expanded commitment to employee development at all levels to allow for career growth, more competitive opportunities and greater identification of responsibilities Also, by December, 1980, expanded educa- tional and in-service training programs shall be instituted to upgrade em- ployees ' techincal, managerial and interpersonal skills Mr Crain said he feels very strongly about this area, and offered the following (1) By January 1 to create a procedure to identify town employees who demonstrate the capacity for growth and promotion; (2) By March 1, 1980, to determine in conjunction with those individuals a desirable career path and a target job; (3) To establish a plan to develop the skills required through a combination of job and educational experiences - that to be done by June 1; (4) Continue to update this The individuals may change but the objective is to develop a conscious program to identify employees with potentials and to provide them with maximum opportunity to develop, with an objective of creating a pool of internal available resources to be considered as significant job openings occur Eventually, we would always have a viable internal candidate to consider in addition to anyone from outside Mr Kent said that Mrs Battin used the term "interpersonal skills" and Mr Crain does not focus on that one aspect, namely, the subject of employee relationship with citizens in the community Mr Crain would like to include that The Board agreed The Manager's office is to draft a set of objectives for further discussion at a later meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Acting Nancy Banks as the Acting Town Manager for the period of November 11 Manager - through November 14, 1979 Acting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Chairman Robert B Kent as the Acting Chairman of the Board for the period of November 10 through November 12, 1979 I1•1 Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - November 5, 1979 Sewer Con- Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a sewer connection to nection - 26 Saddle Club Road 26 Saddle Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Club Rd the Manager to proceed with the implementation of the connection of the property at 26 Saddle Club Road to the sanitary sewer system, with a betterment assessment in the amount of $1,352 88 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of the Manager to sign the proclamation declaring the week of November 12 - 18, 1979 as Emergency Medical Services Week in recognition of our EMTs New Town Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mr Michael Hanlon, a project Engineer engineer with Metcalf & Eddy since 1971, has accepted the position of Town Engineer and will assume his responsibilities on November 19 He has a B S in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University and is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut Mr Hanlon has had extensive experience in the designing of trunk and lateral sewers and pumping stations; experience with all phases of highway design; considerable experience dealing with citizen groups and public employees in his private sector capacity Betterment In response to Mr Crain's request, Mr Hutchinson agreed to contact Deferment surrounding towns and submit information on their policy of deferring Policy payment of betterments with or without interest Lexington defers without interest Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing concerning land and litigation, with no intention of resuming the open session. After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session. • Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 10 p m A true record, Attest 272 Executive Clerk, Selectmen SELECTMEN'S MEETING NOVEMBER 19, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, November 19, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mrs Martha Wood, Chairman, and Mr Robert Bowyer, TMMA Executive TMMA - Committee, met with the Board regarding changes in the warrant format Warrant Among the recommendations were (1) The operating budget to be placed Format in logical sequence and henceforth not to be know specifically as Article 4 (2) Development of guidelines for proponents to follow on submission of citizens articles (3) Print the complete reworded relevant sections of amended by-laws (4) Additional comments by boards, committees other than the Appropriation and Capital Expendi- tures Committees (5) Include an explanation if a 2/3 vote is re- quired (5) Prior to December 1, the Board of Selectmen should send a letter to all town boards, etc informing them of the closing date of the warrant and soliciting further suggestions for improving the warrant After discussion, the Board agreed to take the recommendations under advisement and to schedule a later meeting with TMMA members Chairman Miley said it will be an agenda item for the breakfast meet- ing on December 7 with the Chairmen of Town Boards and Committees The Board approved the following agenda items Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Certificate 113 Hartwell Avenue as the mailing address for IL Charitable Founda- of Incorp tion, Inc Also, 55 Middleby Road as the mailing address for the Bridge School Extended Day Program, Inc It was voted to table the Wayside Square Condominium Associa- tion, Inc pending further information on the location Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve 1-Day 1-Day liquor licenses for W R Grace Company Employees Association Liquor Lic retirement parties on November 29 and November 30, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Proclama- Proclamation declaring that the time, from this date to December 28, tion 1979 shall be a time for enlisting financial support from the citi- zens to keep the portraits of Martha and George Washington in New England Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's meetings of August 27 and September 24, 1979 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - November 19, 1979 Resigna- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept with tion regret the resignation of Mrs Joyce Hals as a member of the Trans- ' portation Advisory Committee 1980 Liq Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Licenses Package Goods liquor licenses for Berman's Market, Inc ; 1775 Wine & Package Spirits Shop, Inc Stores Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Club liquor license for the Lexington Council #94 Knights of Columbus Build- Club ing Association, Inc Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Com- Common mon Victualler liquor license for Yangtze River Restaurant Vict The Board deliberated on the application from Peking Gardens for renewal of its liquor license A health problem on the premises had recently been reported by the Health Director Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the owner had taken steps to correct the problem and he will contact the owner again to express the Board's concern that the conditions be rectified and completely under control Mr Crain stated that they should do their own policing and it should be made very clear that he would be completely intolerant of recurring conditions Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Com- mon Victualler liquor license for Peking Gardens Restaurant Sewer Mr Cohen recommended that the Board approve the request of the Bettermnt Lexington Golf Club for further deferment of sewer betterment assess- Deferment ments; they have withdrawn litigation against the town Lex Golf Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to again defer Club payment of sewer betterment assessments against property owned by the Lexington Golf Club located on Lot 27, Map 58, Hill Street, in the amounts of $3,061 68 and $1,331 41, without interest, until said land or any part thereof is built upon, sold or until the expiration of three years from this date, whichever event occurs first; provided, however, that this extension of time shall terminate immediately if said land or any portion thereof is built upon or sold Dog Mr Busa discussed the dog hearing he conducted on October 31 on the Hearing written complaint of Patricia C Maddox, 64 Paul Revere Road, that a dog owned by Scott Douglas, 60 Paul Revere Road, is a nuisance by reason of Douglas/ excessive barking Mr Busa said it appears to be a situation between Maddox two neighbors who live on small lots He recommended that the dog be equipped with an anti bark training collar while it is out during the day, and the dog is to be brought into the house by 8 00 p.m. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept Mr Busa's recommendations and to issue an order to Ms Hilda Douglas, 60 Paul Revere Road, that the Board of Selectmen has determined that the German Shepherd dog licensed to and kept by her at 60 Paul Revere Road is a nuisance by reason of excessive barking and within fourteen days shall be kept under the following restraints 1 Equip the dog with an anti-bark training collar while it is out during the day 2 Bring the dog into the house by 8 00 p m. each evening. -�o Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - November 19, 1979 Representative Lincoln P Cole, Jr and Senator Samuel Rotondi met Meeting eting with the Board Chairman Miley welcomed them and said we would like to With discuss a list of policy questions Legislators "Can we remove the legislature and defer to the Advisory Board in the county budget process?" Mrs Miley said the county budget is some- thing she was concerned about and she was very distressed after the Ad- visory Board having voted against the $18,000 position on tourism, it was voted anyway Now, we have one more job in the county and there will be other people to staff that Senator Rotondi said the informa- tion given the Senate was by statute that position had to be in place prior to about $100,000 coming to Middlesex County The state was the one really behind the statute to begin with and the commerce group in- fluenced the passing in order to have the position in place to be able to dispense the money when it was sent down Mrs Miley said the argu- ment of the Advisory Board was that this was a duplication of the state "What is the status of state absorption of all court related costs, particularly rent?" Mr Kent said that Senator Rotondi sent us a letter suggesting that the problem went back to the limitations that were in- cluded in the 1980 budget and then a provision that it was up to the County Commissioners to negotiate that rent with the appropriate state agency but for not more than an amount which was set in the '79 or '80 budget Letters from County Commissioners suggested we needed to talk with our representatives in the legislature about this Senator Rotondi's letter indicated that it was up to the commissioners to negotiate Mr Kent felt the letter indicated that the state people with whom the com- missioners were to negotiate rent had such a low limit placed upon their authority that without additional authority by law from the legislature, as a practical matter, these costs of operating those courthouses are going to continue toj$ehabsorbed by the counties, and thus by the com- munities Mr Ken 1iiad (rouble with this in the light of the enthusiastic support that both we and you gave to the court reorganization bill Senator Rotondi said it doesn't necessarily have to follow that we are going to absorb it all at the county level Back when the court was recommending an adequate amount of money per sq ft for court facilities, the Governor wouldn't hear of it and his Administration & Finance group cut it down substantially to the point now where $5 7 million put into that budget last year represents about $1 40 per sq ft , which is totally inadequate The cutting by A & F was so severe that they began to cut the square footage of the hallways in the courts, and that is not included in our fiscal budget this year We have set in place in the statute a committee that will look into the very issue of court facilities, their space, appropriate rental fees, and even the look down the road of taking them over A study will be done by June and we should wait and see what the report says Also, it makes sense for the County Commissioners to exercise the power they have under Chapter 29 to get the processes going so we can finally take a look at what we've got and fund it accordingly I Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - November 19, 1979 "MBTA - The Advisory Board should be supported as an organization so that municipal concerns are addressed " Chairman Miley said we included this as there is some talk around the state house to do away with the MBTA Advisory Board or at least diminish its role. Representative Cole said he had no objection to doing away with the Advisory Board if the state assumes all costs of the MBTA. Mr Crain expressed his concern about the monitoring and control functions The current advisory function is providing very penetratingly, critical monitoring of the MBTA. META assessments were discussed and Mr Hutchinson said we have problems explaining to people what they are getting for that money In his opinion, the receivership argument has real merit "Massport Authority - What are the facts on a permanent Hanscom Advisory Committee?" Chairman Miley said that over the years the com- mittee seems to be losing its strength, and she asked about the legis- lation that is being filed again? Representative Cole said he had talked to Mr Kent about filing a bill Senator Rotondi said he would join them. He added that Mr Davis of Massport has shown a great deal of respect for the Advisory Committee and the hope for its future "What is the status of a pension reform bill?" Mrs Battin said the Massachusetts Municipal Associations will file legislation to set up a blue ribbon study commission similar to the civil service reform com- mission, to study pension reform and include representatives of the municipal side also We wondered what your feeling is about the chances of the legislation passing? Senator Rotondi said this will come before his committee, the Pension Subcommittee, and they are looking into areas not only on pension liability but investment of pension capital As far as what is going on in the meantime, the state has done a pretty good job of reaching the goal of 100% funding at least on a 40-year amortized basis Mr Crain said we are keenly aware in this town that our 5-year projection of $1 1 million dollars currently being absorbed out of operating expense is going to become $1 9 million We have to face up to unfunded liability Representative Cole said that some towns do not want to appropriate money and put it on the tax rate Mr Crain said they are going to have to pay double downstream "Tax reform - Would you support legislation that continues to providde sharing of state revenues with the cities and towns?" Mr Hutchinson asked what they see happening with the property tax taking so much? There is a real concern and petitions will be coming out Representative Cole said that any petition going around to cut taxes is going to appear on a ballot, and chances are very good that it will pass The real problem is that the programs you will want to have, the public is not going to concern themselves with when they make their vote. If a tax limitation proposal is approved, state and local governments are going to face dilemmas as cutbacks will be mandated If anything ever needed to be addressed, it is tax reform He had filed a bill for the state to take over the cost of public education up to a level, so there is a uniform level across the state; if the city or town wants to go above that level, they do so at their own risk At least you would have a minimum education which would be equal across the state. Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - November 19, 1980 Mrs Battin said the Massachusetts Municipal Associations Board of Directors voted unanimously that we constitute a tax reform coma mittee to seriously look at tax reform that we could support decreas- ing reliance on the property tax; the committee will be formed this year We will file legislation a couple of years from now Senator Rotondi said the position is going to be difficult The 2 5 is one that responsible people are going to have to beat back by any way they can; it should be opposed and he will do that An alterna- tive to the property tax vis-a-vis educational costs is simply not in the future with the type of objections we have with the revenues going down this year He didn't see the federal and state governments par- ticipating in any greater amount in local educational costs On binding arbitration, several years ago, Senator Rotondi was opposed to it and was on the side of the Massachusetts Municipal Associations Now, he finds himself in a strange position of opposing them because of their support of police and fire attempts to do away with written opinions regarding binding arbitration awards Mr Hutchinson asked if there is any chance of the expansion of the sales tax, which is a legitimate source of revenue? Rep Cole did not see this happening, at least in the coming year Sen. Rotondi said with the revenues projected the way they are now, we could be forced into a situation where we would have no choice The idea of the sales tax was that it was go ing to local aid Representative Cole discussed the state audit and said that over the years it has been a combination of MBTA management and the advisory board not facing the problems that existed at the time, and they did not put in enough money for maintenance Mr Crain said the problems are very com- plicated, very diverse, covering the way revenue_is To ntrolled - covering the way new equipment is ordered and front-ended, paid for and not received; labor policies to allow overtime in the case of one individual of $22,000 a year As he read the audit, it is going to require some extraordinary measures and a lot of very professional management Municipal Financial Disclosure was discussed and the legislators were informed that Mr Kent had put together a position to be submitted to the State Ethics Commission Fiscal Notes - Rep Cole and Sen Rotondi would support legislation Mrs Battin said the Municipal Associations will file a bill Administrative Procedures - The Board is to receive a bulletin giving the dates of hearings Chairman Miley added if something important comes up, we would appreciate a call Tenure for the position of Building Inspector Senator Rotondi said the original bill gave unlimited tenure to all Building Inspectors and we said no to that, but recognizing in some communities there was a difficult g g practice going on where he had difficult decisions to make, we thought a 2-year period and every two years would be a sufficient one Mr Kent said the surprising aspect of that bill is the municipal associations didn't pick up its existence until it was on the Governor's desk on the first go- around The point is, for the legislature to mandate for all of us - taking tenure for Building Inspectors away from the decision-making process of Boards and Town Meeting - I have trouble with it r3 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - November 19, 1979 Senator Rotondi said the bill only impacted certain communities who were non-civil service communities; Building Inspectors in com- munities with civil service have tenure anyway Mr Kent said that is the point Who should say whether a comp- munity is going to be civil service on a matter of this character? That is a matter for the community itself to determine Senator Rotondi said he wished that opposing view was brought before the committee The facts they got were that ever since the imposition of our new building code, the numbers of firings throughout the state were staggering. The_State Building Inspectors ' group came in with evidence and no one contested it Support for Middlesex Community College's capital improvements program. Chairman Miley asked if there were any recommendations Representative Cole said the part he could become involved in is the operational budget, and each year he works on that As far as build- ings are concerned, the Advisory Board must write letters and make telephone calls If you want some action of a particular problem, quote how well the other community colleges seem to be making out Senator Rotondi said no one had approached him Chairman ,Miley asked for their support Chairman Miley thanked Representative Cole and Senator Rotondi for meeting with the Board and hoped they would come in on a more regular basis Historical Mrs Anne Grady, Chairman of the Historical Commission, met with Commission the Board to discuss listing Lexington properties for the National Register of Historic Places Mrs Grady said they would finish a survey of the town and then prepare a preservation plan The in- formation would be sent to the state and used by them Mr Busa asked if they were going to get into personal property, and it was agreed that research should be done on the ramifications of in- cluding more buildings and properties Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter pending a meeting of Mr Busa and Mr Cohen to discuss the legal ramifications of adding to the Historical Commission's list Chairman Miley said the Board would find it useful if we could get some experience of other communities, and the Historical Com- mission should get that information to us Mr Kent did not participate in the discussion or the vote. Hanscom Chairman Miley read a recommendation from Mrs Jacqueline Smith Field that Lexington support the Town of Concord's request that we join with them in endorsing their proposal that Massport designate a 101-acre parcel of land at the end of one of the runways at Hanscom for con- servation-recreation use In reviewing the map, no pieces of Massport property within Lexington boundaries are affected by this Mr Busa raised questions and said that if used for other than conservation purposes, people could be in an area that would be hazardous if it is near a runway Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter pending further information submitted by Mrs Smith at the next meeting Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - November 19, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to call the Town Town Elect Election Day on Monday, March 3, 1980 with polling hours of 7 00 a.m Presidential to 8 00 p m. It was voted to set the polling hours of 7 00 a m to primary 8 00 p m. for the Presidential Primary on Tuesday, March 4, 1980 It was voted to call the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, March 17, 1980, Town Meeting at 8 00 p m. in Cary Memorial Hall Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to close the war- Close rant on Friday, December 28, 1979, at 4 30 p m. for the submission oaf Warrant Articles for the 1980 Annual Town Meeting Mr Nyles Barnert, Chairman of the Capital Expenditures Committee, Cap Expend met with the Board, and said that his committee is concerned that the Committee - policies used as a basis for determining the level of expenditures for Policies on capital items for the Department of Public Works are no longer applicable DPW Capital or adequate In particular, we feel, (1) A policy is needed for sewer Items construction beyond the sewer master plan approved by Town Meeting; (2) Policy updates are needed with regard to street acceptance procedures; (3) A policy must be formulated to utilize the result of the Comprehensive Drainage Study for capital expenditures for drains; (4) Policy clarifica- tions are required regarding use of non-town manpower for sidewalk, curb, and water main construction Mr Barnert said the committee needs direction and ybur decision to come up with a capital plan Chairman Miley thanked Mr Barnert for bringing these changes to the Board's attention, and consideration will be given to coming up with a plan The Board voted to approve the following items on the Manager's Contract agenda. The request of the senior class of the High School for a 80-1-E road race on December 9, 1979, subject to the regulations of the Sewers Police Department. To approve an increase in the amount of the bond for Constable Roy Murphy from $3,000 to $5,000 To sign Contract Constable's 80-1-E, awarded on October 4, 1979 to Great Northern Construction, Inc Bond in the amount of $297,570 64 for sanitary sewer construction in Carville Avenue, Winship Road, Round Hill Road, Middleby Road, King Street, Moon Hill, Wellington Lane Avenue, Robinson Road, Rockville Avenue, David Road, and Bird Hill Road Authorization under Article 19 of 1979 Mr Cohen discussed the recommendation of the Town Assessor to Monahan revise the vote of October 29, 1979 to defer $2,685 39 in sewer better- Sewer Bet ment assessments levied on the property on Summer Street owned by Deferment Robert P Monahan and Agnes B Allen, and to vote a deferment of $2,168 31 Betterments of $517 08 must be paid as they have been committed by the Tax Collector Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter pending additional information from Mr Cohen I C ') Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - November 19, 1979 Sewer Bet Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of Mr Robert Cataldo's request Deferment for deferment of sewer betterment assessment levied on his property Cataldo Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted under the pro- visions of Chapter 159 of the Acts of 1950 to defer payment of the sewer betterment assessment on Lot 31/60A, owned by Mr Robert Cataldo and located on Marrett Road, in the amount of $4,112 69, without interest, until said land or any part thereof is built upon, sold or until the expiration of three years from the date hereof, whichever event occurs first; provided however that this extension of time shall terminate immediately if said land or any portion thereof is built upon or sold Land Mr Hutchinson recommended that the property requested by Mrs Purchase Laura L Persily be conveyed to her, subject to an appraisal being Persily made Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sell and convey Lot 18, Map 59, Heyward Avenue to Mrs Laura L Persily, 19 Heywood Avenue, subject to fair market value being established by an appraisal made by the Board of Assessors LEXPRESS Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the reduction in price of PASS the unlimited pass for LEXPRESS Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of the Transportation Advisory Committee and the Town Manager for a reduction in the price of the unlimited pass for LEXPRESS from $30 00 to $25 00 per year, effective December 1, 1979 and expiring I in August, 1980 Tax The Board agreed with Mr Hutchinson's recommendation to establish Policy a Tax Policy Committee to assess the impact of the initiative petition Com proposals that are scheduled to be on the ballot in November, 1980 With the talent and expertise in our community, a local committee could prepare a report for the Board and Town Meeting on the impact of pro- posed taxing legislation and even generate some suggested alternatives Mrs Battin applauded the Manager's recommendation as it is very im- portant - both the impact and the initiative petitions and how they will affect us We are looking for documentation for the municipal associations to fight these as to how it will affect the sample number of communities She had brought it up at the meeting of the full Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and it was voted unanimously to reconstitute the Tax Reform Committee, and perhaps in 1982 to file a tax reform proposal Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5*+0 by roll call vote - Session Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation and the purchase of land, with no intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 35 p m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen SELECTMEN'S MEETING NOVEMBER 26, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, November 26, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Execu- tive Clerk. Mr William Page, Chairman, Mrs Martha Wood and Mr Howard Cravis of the Cable Television Advisory Committee met with the Board Mr Page submitted the proposed calendar for the CATV franchising process and said that if approval is granted this evening to initiate the pro- cedure, the timespan will be from January 2, 1980, to advertise for proposals for a CATV system, to November 26, 1980 when the Board of -ri ( Selectmen will make a decision on each application and grant a pro- visional license if they choose, and provide a written public state- ment of the basis for their decisions This schedule will approximately parallel the Boston process The option is to proceed under the old regulations or to apply for a waiver, which would eliminate the second set of solicitations and would save several hundreds of dollars The committee discussed the possibility of having a warrant article for Illdiscussion of community access but decided not to propose it but to have it in the report; we would put strong emphasis on that in nego- tiations with the cable companies We would be able to come in a year from March with a specific dollar proposal about support for this in negotiations about how much the cable company will provide and how much the town would support We don't have the basis now but it won't be this year The committee recommends applying for a change from operat- ing under the old regulations to operating under the new licensing regulations Mr Busa felt that the committee is correct in going with the new rules The old rules, in his interpretation, would give a false impression as to what cable companies would be giving you, and then when they realize what the town wants and what other com- panies are proposing in their contract, they would revise their con- tracts the second time around We have been talking about CATV for 9 to 11 years, and we should proceed with caution and great care as we are the pioneers Mr Busa moved that the town proceed with the process Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to proceed with the State mandated licensing process for cable television The Board discussed the format for the 1980 warrant with Mrs Wood, 1980 TMMA Executive Board Mrs Wood said that they have suggested putting Warrant - the articles in some sort of logical sequence, which would then change TMMA Article 4 from being standard to a floating article to be known as the operating budget After discussion, the Board agreed not to change this year Other TMMA suggestions were not supported by the Board be- cause of the expense involved Mrs Wood said that she and TMMA members would assist the Manager's office in the final compilation of the warrant Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - November 26, 1979 Arthur Mr James Russell, Mr John Mackey, and Mr William Qwon of Arthur Andersen- Andersen & Co met with the Board to discuss the financial statements Town of the Town of Lexington as of June 30, 1979, together with an auditors' Audit report Mr Russell said that the Board was provided with a copy of the financial statements and the management letter was submitted to the town on September 30 The outline which accompanies the financial statement was something new this year and the type of data contained in this is the type of output that we would like to see from an interim or internal financial management system We alluded to this two years ago in our management letter Lexington stacks up well with other towns but it is important to establish benchmarks for performance in terms of evalu- ating progress or lack of progress in financial areas, and we hope that the outline is helpful in moving the town in that direction As part of our conduct of audits of our clients as of June 30, 1979, the firm of Arthur Andersen attempted to develop productivity data and we undertook to accomplish the completion of a municipal productivity checklist, (..As part of the audit of each one of our towns , the audit team visited four of the town departments, fire, water, assessors and sanitation, and we obtained data which related to the input within the department - people, equipment and dollars We also attempted to derive output of each department, i e , the number of calls, water meters read per day, number of real estate bills processed, etc ; statistical data related to the services rendered by these departments This data was compiled on a computer and we submitted a re- port to the Town Manager on the comparison of these productivity measures on a per capita basis We compared the output measures of the Town of Lexington to other towns The message is not so much what that particular report indicates but rather the importance of the finance committees focus- ing on departmental output as an integral part of the budgetary process We believe that you can only evaluate the budgetary requests in their proper perspective when you have an appreciation of the quantities of the services rendered by these departments More importantly, a process such as that would enable the town to refute any criticism that is leveled against it on the part of perhaps the beleaguered taxpayer who would contend that perhaps there is a lack of productivity or there is a lack of services of a lack of opportunities for cost reduction What each town needs to bring into the process is an enlightened process whereby you would focus on these outputs It is an attempt on our part to develop a dialogue as part of the budgetary process to look at what we believe is a very important factor Mr Crain said that if the universe that one compares against, if that data is on a selective basis, it is not necessarily relevant to this town There is a real danger Your strong point about finance committees could be misconstrued if one did not understand the importance of interpretation Some towns may have certain functions done so that the broad guage indicator of water bills for employees may not be indicative of anything He had a problem with the suggestion that a finance committee can look at a universe Mr Russell said that it is for establishing a benchmark for what you think your water department should be doing, and that's the basic misunderstanding Mr Crain said that his problem is with providing material which one doesn't understand what the process of the method is - whether an agent does that or whether the town employee. He would caution that you have to be very careful where that material is used Chairman Miley said that finance committees vary a great deal in towns The role of the Appropriation Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - November 26, 1979 Committee and the Capital Expenditures Committee is to recommend to the Town Meeting certain issues on the budget In other towns, finance com- mittees act on a budget as it is brought up Different towns need finance committees differently Mr Russell said the focus of the in- formation is to help the administration of the town to manage their business in the town. Mr Hutchinson said that he did emphasize Mr Crain's comments when he looked at the data Municipal productivity, no matter how much is written on it, is really in its infancy, and it is very difficult Mr Crain said that whenever one uses productivity bases, it is extremely important to make sure you are comparing appl6s with apples; it is very difficult to do when you are presented with a universe that is not identified It may be useful as a broad guage indicator but he would underscore that people do their best to under- stand what they are dealing with before they jump into it Mr Hutchin- son said that we are looking at it as another information resource Mr Russell expressed his appreciation of the complete cooperation of Mr Hutchinson and Mr Perry He said that they have completed their third year of an audit and the process is becoming a more expeditious one. Mr Busa temporarily left the meeting during the discussion of the following liquor licenses Vinebrook Bottle Shop, 55 Bedford Street, 8 00 a m. to 11 00 1980 p m. Monday through Saturday Mr Kent asked Mr Hutchinson if he Liquor had any general or specific observations with respect to renewal or Licenses with respect to the hours of all applicants Mr Hutchinson said that he had not received objections to any of the items Mr William Spencer said with respect to Vinebrook, the Board will recall that there was a discussion of the opening of Hancock Avenue which may or may not have related to the Vinebrook situation, and he asked if the Board was aware of any further discussion, rumors, etc Mr Hutchinson replied that we said at that time we had no intention of dealing with that matter and we have not done so Chairman Miley said that she had heard no one bring it up again as a question to come before this board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 to renew the Package Stores liquor license to Vinebrook Bottle Shop with the hours o f 8 00 a m. to 11 00 p m. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 t _renew the liquor licenses for the following Busa Bros Liquors, Inc 131 Massachusetts Avenue, 8 00 a.m to 11 00 p m Monday through Saturday Lexington Liquor Mart, Inc , 58 Bedford Street, 8 00 a m. to 11 00 p m. Monday through Saturday Lexington Golf Club, 55 Hill Street, 11 30 a m. to 8 30 p m. Monday through Thursday; 11 30 a m. to 12 00 Midnight Friday and Saturday; 12 00 Noon to 10 00 p m. Sunday; Holidays by special permission of the Board of Selectmen. 611 Selectmen's Meeting - November 4 26, 1979 Sheraton Lexington Motor Inn, 727 Marrett Road, 11.00 a m. to 12:00 Midnight 7 days; DiningRoom service to 12 00 Midnight ' Lee Ann's Restaurant, Inc 1720 Massachusetts Avenue, 11.00 a.m to 12.00 Midnight Weekdays; 11 00 a.m. to 12.00 Midnight Sundays as long as the dining room is open but not later than 12 00 Midnight Berkhout Corp d b a LeBellecour, 10-12 Muzzey Street, 11.00 a m. to 11 00 p m. Monday through Saturday; 12 00 Noon to 11 00 p m. Sunday Lexington Lodge of Elks, 959 Waltham Street, 5 00 p m. to 12 00 Midnight, Monday through Friday; 1 00 p m. to 12 00 Midnight Saturday; 1 00 p m. to 11 00 p m. Sunday Bora Bora Mr Cohen informed the Board that there is a new owner of Bora Bora, Hearing Inc and application has been made for a new license; this will require a Date hearing, which could be held on December 17 They have to go before the Board of Appeals on December 20 and if the Board grants approval, it could be subject to the decision of the Board of Appeals Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 to set the hearing date of December 17 for Bora Bora, Inc Mr. Buse returned:, to the .meet.ing. Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call Session vote to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing a real estate negotiation, with the intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of :executive session and resume the open meeting Town Mr William Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Town Celebrations Committee, Celeb - and Brig General Calvin Chapman, Commander of the Massachusetts Council Battle of Minutemen and Militia, met with the Board to discuss permission for Reenact the reenactment of the British retreat to be conducted on Sunday, April 20, 1980 Gen. Chapman said that the two groups had met and agreement had been reached on final plans However, funds would be needed for police control and D P W involvement The Board agreed to vote formal approval at the next meeting MVMH Chairman Miley read a letter from the Mystic Valley Mental Health Center regarding the availability of school properties, perhaps- Parker After discussion, the Board agreed it did not want to change the use which was voted last year MVMH is to be informed by letter of the Board's decision Hanscom/ The Board discussed the request from Concord that Lexington join Massport with them in endorsing the proposal that Massport designate a 101-acre Concord parcel of land at the end of one of the runways for conservation- recreation use Mr Cohen recommended that the Board approve the re- quest as it was included in the master Massport plan. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- quest that Lexington endorse Concord's proposal that Massport designate a 101-acre parcel of land at the end of one of the runways for conserve- tion-recreation onserva-tion-recreation use. 4, Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - November 26, 1979 IMr Cohen recommended approval of a request, through an attorney, to Tax purchase a small parcel of tax title land of low value located on Sunny Title Knoll Avenue. There are some title problems and the title is cloudy The property is of low value and would be sold for back taxes Mr.) Kent asked if other potentially interested people have been informed? Mr Cohen said that all the people on the street are from the same family and they are not interested Mr Kent added that a portion of the legal expenses should be borne by the party acquiring the land The Board agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Town Counsel to negotiate the sale of a small parcel of tax title land located on Sunny Knoll Avenue Mr Hutchinson said tha ef m the Reed Street residents Reed St regarding institutionalizatifesiu eei tiaieighborhoods appears to be Human an appropriate subject for the Human Se is Committee to work on with Servs these residents He recommended that this be referred to the Committee Committee and that Mr French be notified of this Mr Hutchinson said that he has notified the Building Commissioner to contact appropriate parties involved in these types of proposals to contact neighborhood residents The Board agreed that the Human Services Committee should first address their previously established priorities Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the re- ' quest of the _ReedoStreet residents concerning institutionalization of residential neighborhoods to bhe, Human Services Committee, subject to the understanding that the Committee address previously established priorities Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board sign the test boring contract Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Contract Test 80-4-E awarded on September 24, 1979 to Soil Exploration Corporation Borings in the amount of $6,200 Authority is contained in Article 19 of Contract 1978-Sewer Mains Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Cert 2160 Massachusetts Avenue as the mail drop for Wayside Square Condo- Incorp minium Association, Inc Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the School Department has Dogs authorized the posting of signs prohibiting dogs on school grounds Schools and arrangements are being made to post the signs We are looking Parks at rules regulating the parks and playgrounds and will discuss them next week Mr Busa informed the Board that the Depositors Trust is concerned Depositor about the operation of Lexpress as they feel that their customers have Trust to get out of the cars in the middle of traffic They may take steps Lexpress to put in a sidewalk if the town leases part of the land for $1 00 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the matter I III to the Town Manager for a recommendation from the Transportation Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 05 p.m. A true record, Attest � / 7 fil C xecutive Clerk, Selectmen 4 I VOID q/ SELECTMEN'S MEETING December 3, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, December 3, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley opened the hearing on sewers for consideration in FY 81 F.Y 1981 She said an administrative hearing was held in Cary Hall Sewers on November 1, 1979 and abutters were invited to attend The Sewer Advisory Committee participated and then reviewed and submitted com- ments to the Board by December 3 Comments were received from the Board of Health, Conservation Commission, and Planning Board by December 3 The Sewer Advisory Committee is present this evening and will ask questions and comment as requested by the Board Before making their final decision, the Selectmen agree to have the specific recommendations of the Board of Health; petition re- sults-number of proponents and opponents; the construction cost per house and the betterment to be assessed per house and, from the Planning Board, the potential development of adjacent land if a sewer is installed Mr. Hutchinson said the Town Meeting had approved $2 5 million in 1978 to finish those areas of the town that would need sanitary sewers now or in the future We have been continuing with that pro- gram since the authorization, and we have a Sewer Advisory Committee He introduced Michael Hanlon, the new Town Engineer, Peter Chalpin, Assistant Town Engineer, and Frank Leahy, Senior Engineer Mr Hanlon said we have completed one contract of $375,000, another for $300,000 is under construction, and we also have two contracts under design for $750,000; tonight, we will propose another $1 million for work which will come up at the next Town Meeting There is still some additional work which will have to come after that, and that will be about $230,000 This represents a total of $2 6 million If past history holds true, our estimates are conservation as we have overestimated, and the future work will be the same. In all likelihood, we will be able to do the work within the $2 5 million authorization Mr Leahy made the presentation of the following streets for the construction of sewers Waltham Street from Concord Avenue to the Waltham Town Line, 800 feet, 8 houses involved and 1 vacant lot; responses to questionnaire were 6 for and 1 undecided It is recommended by the Board of Health and the Sewer Advisory Committee $58,400 estimated cost II I� Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - December 3, 1979 Clelland Road in East Lexington, 120 feet, 2 houses and 1 vacant lot; g response was 1 for; recommended by Sewer Advisory Committee $8,760 The Planning Board recommended construction to the last house, and Mr Leahy said that Engineering recommends this, and not service the vacant lots Mr Spagnulo was present and said he was speaking in behalf of the Kingston Builders Corp and Max Kantor, another property owner, and potentially there are 5 additional building sites and we are very definitely in favor of any sewer service that would be put in on Clelland Road Mrs Battin read the Planning Board recommendation that it does not consider Clelland Road a street of adequate grade and construction; there, in accordance with the definition of a street in the Zoning By-Law and Subdivision Control Act, it can- not be used as frontage for any new houses The Building Com- missioner has therefore denied building permits for any new houses The sewer construction should be shortened and not serve to the vacant lots which cannot be used unless and until the road is improved Pearl Street off Bartlett Avenue, 150 feet, 1 house and 1 vacant lot involved; $10,950; sewer construction to finish up the area; recommended by the Sewer Advisory Committee Questionnaire was not returned The owner of the house involved was present and was not in favor of the sewer. She asked which side 'of the street the sewer would be, whether it would go on top of a deep drain in the street, and whether construction could be at some future time? Mr Leahy responded that the final design as to which side of the street has not been done Mr Code, Sewer Advisory Committee, said the committee was not aware there was any objection, and thought it would be completed as part of the whole package Mrs Fricker, Chairman of the Sewer Advisory Com- mittee, asked about the policy on sewering, and of they are not put into the package at this time, would they be permanently crossed off the list? Mr Hutchinson said it is very relevant to those people who are opposing sewers right now that the general policy of this Board right now - and each Board can change its policies - in holding these hearings, if people do not want sewers extended that while the Board will always listen to the public if people want them cut out, it is very difficult for the Board to extend them a wait of time and as part of our commitment to the Board and others was that we wouldn't be bringing them up again, certainly through the administrative process if in fact they are being turned down One of the dangers you get into is when people oppose sanitary sewers because they have no interest in bearing the cost or may be in the process of selling their property to somebody else, and if sold, we wind up with a request from the new owner It was agreed that the owner of the one house involved could contact the Engineering Division relative to any further questions she may have Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - December 3, 1979 James Street, 755 feet, 11 houses, 2 vacant lots; 6 for and 1 against, $55,115 Recommended by the Board of Health and the Sewer Advisory Committee Mr Ralph Buker, 28 James Street, was present and said he had no objection to the sewer but asked about the condition of the street after construction Mr Hutchinson said we will leave the street (unaccepted) in the same or better condition; there are no provisions to upgrade the street Mr Sargent, 29 James Street, and one other resident discussed the existence of ledge and mud Mr Chalpin said when we leave, there will be gravel on the road and we will be eliminating the bumps and ledge that stick out; in some degree, that will improve the travel on the road The resident of 31 James Street was in favor of the sewer; she had not received questionnaire. Hazel Road, 320 feet, 2 houses and 4 vacant lots, 2 for the sewer, $23,360 This falls in the same category as Clelland Road and we are going to go as far as the last house and provide sewer to a couple of vacant lots; there are vacant lots beyond that We will provide service to the houses that are there Recommended by the Sewer Advisory Committee Grove Street, 425 feet, 2 houses involved, 2 for, $31,025; Health problem reported by the Board of Health Redcoat Lane, involves a gravity sewer of 110 feet, $8,000; force main, 160 feet, with small pumping station, $11,700; 4 houses involved, 1 for, 1 against Recommended by the Sewer Advisory Committee David Weaver, 5 Redcoat Lane, asked how the situation would be improved? Mr Leahy said by providing the sewer in the area, it would eliminate existing pumps in two basements, and would service the other two houses in the low spots - #3 and #5 You will be able to put your system into the town services without a pump Whittier Road, 390 feet, 4 hour s in olved, 4 against the sewer, $28,470 The Sewer Advisory Committeepstated that the committee was reluctant to recommend building a sewer where no one wants it, though the committee thinks a sewer may eventually be needed on this street Residents should understand that they are permanently crossed off the list if they opt now for no sewer Pleasant Street, Wilson Farm end, 620 feet, 6 houses and 1 vacant lot, at the time of the questionnaire, 2 were undecided; $45,260 Recommended by the Sewer Advisory Committee Pleasant Street, from Worthen Road up towards Watertown Street, 1300 feet, 5 houses and 1 vacant lot involved; 4 for, 2 against, $94,900 Mr Ralph Dinunzio, 91 Pleasant Street, said he was not in favor of the sewer; he has lived there 29 years without problems Mr James Storer, 69 Pleasant Street, asked questions about damage to trees, the depth of the sewer, where it would be located, and the cost Mr Leahy said the sewer basically would be down the middle of the street; he did not see damage to trees; the sewer would be 6 feet deep Also, we have betterments available if anyone wants to call the Engineering office Mr Karl Strauch, 81 Pleasant Street, said he voted against it as most of the houses on the street are very far from the sewer, and Mr Dinunzio and .Mr Storer had voted against it Chairman Miley said many people who do live a distance from the street feel that although they plan not to hook up themselves that someone at a future date who would own the house might like to hook up Ms Kay Demeno said she was in favor of sewer for future purposes Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - December 3, 1979 Lee Avenue, which will require an easement; 200 feet, 3 houses involved, 2 for, 1 against, $14,600 North Street, from Lowell Street to the Burlington line, 775 feet, 8 houses and 2 vacant lots, 3 for, 2 against, $56,575 Recommended by the Sewer Advisory Committee North Street, along Willards Woods, 2340 feet, 20 houses and 4 vacant lots, 3 for, 2 against, 3 undecided; Board of Health recommendation; $170,820 John Goldman, 79 Lowell Street, said his major concern is with the long row of old trees on his property, and he suggested that the possibility of putting the sewer on the other side of the street should be explored as there are no significant trees there He sub- mitted a letter from Frost & Higgins regarding his trees Mt Alan Millner, 48 North Street, said he was in favor but asked if the proposed sewer would be adequate for the number of homes; how many of those 20 homes are occupied, how many are under construction, and likely to be built within the next year Mr Leahy said the pro- posed sewer is definitely adequate for the 20 homes; there are 3 new houses that aren't occupied Mr Millner said there are quite a few of those homes in a subdivision and would sewers be provided to them? Mr Leahy replied, "Yes " There are possibly two of the new houses under construction we might not be able to sewer because they are too low Amherst Street, an easement, Hayward Avenue, and Fairview Avenue are inter- mingled Recommended by the Sewer Advisory Committee and Bd of Health Amherst Street,250 feet, 3 houses involved, at the time of the questionnaire 2 were against, and today received a letter that the other house is in favor; Board of Health and Sewer Advisory Committee recommendation $18,250 In conjunction with this, we will have to construct a trunk sewer via an easement of 670 feet at an estimated cost of $48,910 Dr Hormell, 35 Hayward Avenue, expressed concern about the easement which goes thru a screen of trees on the park side; also where the easement would be going He said this is an area of sandy soil and we all have adequate drainage for our systems Mr Leahy replied that we will have to take down some trees but we would be very selective and not remove them indiscriminately As far as the sandy soil, there is a definite health problem at #5, as reported by the Board of Health in 1976, and recently by the new resident Mr Robert Nash, Minuteman Park, was concerned about where the easement is going to be; Mr Leahy said it would begin at the end of Amherst Street and go down into Woodpark Circle Ms Francine Stieglitz, 3 Amherst Street, said she and others had sent a letter to the Board asking if there were any other way to readjust the route other than through the woods to Woodpark Estates Mr Busa said the question was asked where the property is that the easement is to be on Mr Leahy said there is an existing easement at Woor- park Circle and the land between there and Amherst is also owned by A J Lane, and we see no problem with an easement Mrs Frick, Conservation Commission, said she had read the Planning Board recom- mendation and agrees with it She wondered why the town can't allow the developer to put the sewer in Mr Leahy said it has been two years and A J Lane hasn't done anything about it Mrs Frick felt it needed more study; also, the Board should look into what the Planning Board is saying In response to Mr Crain's and Mr Kent's questions, Mr Hutchinson said there was no basis for us to force the developer, and we are not doing anything more than we absolutely have to ?$- Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - December 3, 1979 Mr Luce said he was the new owner of #5 Amherst Street and the only one asking for the sewer He expressed concern about damage to the trees and the environment, and would like a statement that minimum damage would be done Hr Hutchinson said that the town is environ- , mentally sensitive Hayward Avenue, 550 feet of sewer, 10 houses, 8 for, 1 against, $40,150 The construction on Haywood Avenue is divided into two sections, one by constructing 250 feet of sewer flowing down into our Amherst Street proposal and the other end of Hayward Avenue will be con- nected into our proposed sewer in Fairview Avenue In response to a question from a resident, Mr Leahy said that construction is going to be in the street at the Hayward Avenue end; down at the Fairview Avenue end, it is possible that construction could be by an easement behind those houses Engineering is in favor of the easement but we are in contact with the residents in order to get the best possible solution for everyone involved Mr Donahue, #4 Hayward Avenue, was concerned about what is going to happen when you put the sewers behind the houses, and what will happen to the paper streets? What plans would the town have for the paper streets and are they going to be developed? Mr Leahy replied that the question of land development should be addressed to the Planning Board Mr Busa said he was positive there would be no development on that parcel of land owned by the town Paper streets cannot be built upon only under subdivision control laws, and the owners would have to get together and combine their lots and present them to the Planning Board as a subdivision With the restrictions now imposed by the Planning Board on developers, it is most unlikely Discussion was held on questions from residents regarding accepted/ unaccepted streets; also, if the town-owned land in the area could be given to the Conservation Commission Mrs Frick commented that Conservation had brought this town-owned land to the attention of the Housing Authority Town Counsel advised that the residents could talk with Conservation regarding the possibility of having an article in the warrant for the land to be transferred for conservation pur- poses Residents may consider sending a letter to the Conservation Commission to this effect Fairview Avenue, 430 feet of sewer, 2 houses and 1 vacant lot, 8 for, 1 against; $31,390 Part of Hayward Avenue would flow down to Fairview Avenue Chadbourne Road, 1,000 feet of sewer, 12 houses involved, 6 for, 1 unde- cided; $73,000 Each end of Chadbourne would flow to the middle and come down to the existing sewer on Concord Avenue Concord Avenue, gravity proposal of 1,325 feet, $96,725; force main of 945 feet, $68,985; 15 houses and 2 vacant lots; 4 for, 3 against Recommended by the Board of Health and Sewer Advisory Committee Mr Sydney Rosenthal, representing the Belmont Country Club, asked questions regarding the location of their land, and the Engineers agreed to meet with Mr Rosenthal after the hearing to answer his questions Mr Michael Smiddy, 144 Concord Avenue, was recorded in favor of the sewer Mr Leahy said this completes the presentation of the F Y 81 sewer proposals Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - December 3, 1979 Concord Mrs Battin asked if the question raised by the Planning Board about Avenue the number of pumping stations and, if there is one, who pays the costs Sewer for constructing it or maintaining it? Has this been resolved? Mr Hutchinson said it has not been resolved and will be reviewed with the Board of Selectmen Mrs Frick said she had read the Inflow/Infiltration Report and wondered if the Selectmen have been briefed on it It says there are two major areas of problems with sewers; one is in Tophet Swamp, which she did not know about and is concerned about because Conservation is having more and more wetlands hearings in the area The other area, which she knew about, is at Brookwood Road A number of people wonder why we aren' t correcting problems we now have before we go ahead on new sewers The I & I Report has to be studied Mr Crain said the process we set up was that as soon as the new Town Engineer got on board that he have a chance to digest the latest input on the I and I study and come before this Board and give us his interpretation of that material The Board agreed to invite the Conservation Committee to the meeting when Mr Hanlon, Town Engineer, briefs the Board on the Inflow/Infiltra- tion study All involved persons retired from the meeting Battle Mr Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Town Celebrations Committee, and Reenact- Mr Zann, representing the Massachusetts Council of Minutemen and Militia, ment - met with the Board Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had checked April, out the details regarding the route, police control, and D P W involve- 1980 ment and town forces will provide the necessary assistance on April 20, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- mendation of the Town Celebrations Committee for approval of final plans for the battle reenactment on Sunday, April 20, 1980, as submitted by Brigadier General Chapman of the Massachusetts Council of Minutemen and Militia; subject to assistance being provided by the Police Department and the Public Works Department Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Busa - to go into executive session, with the intention of resuming the open meeting, to discuss strategy with respect to litigation. After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session and resume the open meeting at 9 15 p.m MAPC 208 Chairman Miley read a memo from Mrs Laura Nichols of the Planning Water Board stating there has been no indication from the comments on the MAPC Study 208 Final Areawide Waste Treatment Management Plan that they corrected the incorrect watershed delineation in Lexington Their watershed in- cludes the North and South Branches of the upper Vine Brook, which do not flow into the Charles River watershed Chairman Miley said we did send some corrections and apparently they still haven't corrected them The Manager's office had pursued it before and we would appreciate it if he would pursue it again Mr Hutchinson agreed Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - December 3, 1979 I IIIThe memo from the Planning Board also suggested that the Town should Salt adopt an ordinance requiring all salt stored out-of-doors to be stored in Sheds a covered shed with a concrete bottom, and if DPW funding was available for construction of municipal salt storage sheds The town and Emerson Gardens store in Mr Hutchinson said the Board has the right to consider a by-law the open recommendation regarding salt sheds Emerson Gardens evidently stores salt in a manner similar to the town, and the question has been raised by Mr Crain if the town can require Emerson Gardens to do that Mr Cohen said from what he had heard, you can, and if the town should adopt some kind of by-law, you might have to give some period in which to do it Chairman Miley said the point is, you can't do it now; you have to pass a by-law Mr Crain said therefore we have no basis upon which to take any action now The Board agreed Chairman Miley read a notice from Senator Rotondi reminding the town Legisla- of the December 5 deadline for filing legislation under the right of free tion petition Mr Kent said there will be some legislation filed by the Deadline Mass Selectmen's Association but he was not aware of any legislation that the Board would be interested in filing by December 5 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's meeting of October 15, 1979 Mr Hutchinson agreed to send a staff member to the MDC meeting MDC Water on December 11 in Newton for discussion of a water system management Forum program. Chairman Miley read a request for an extension of hours of opera- Liquor tion on New Year's Eve Sheraton- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the New request of the Sheraton Lexington Motor Inn for an extension of hours Year's on New Year's Eve to 1 00 a m under the Innholder Liquor License. Eve Chairman Miley read a request from the Carlisle Board of Selectmen HFAC for representation on the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee Chairman Hanscom Miley said that Mrs Jacqueline Smith, Chairman of HFAC, has suggested that no action be taken at this time as HFAC has heard that the towns of Acton and Burlington are also interested in representation; if ac- cepted, it was suggested that they be members at a different level than the four members from the communities contiguous to Hanscom Also, HFAC has recommended that a request be made to the Board of Directors of Mass- port that a subcommittee be formed to address the problems of Hanscom Mr Kent said Mrs Smith hoped we would wait until the four town board comes back and tells us how it feels we ought to respond to either a partial or a total membership on the part of these neighboring communities Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the letter from Carlisle re representation on HFAC pending a recommendation from HFAC Patricia Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Town Counsel's Ter- recommendation to sign the Patricia Terrace Sewer Agreement between Lexington race and Arlington Agree- ment G0 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - December 3, 1979 Gen'l Mr Hutchinson reported that he had conducted the Manager's hearing Revenue on the proposed use of General Revenue Sharing Funds in the Selectmen's Sharing Meeting Room at 6 30 this evening; consistent with the regulations, ap- Funds propriate groups dealing with the elderly were contacted It is im- portant to remember that Congress has this program under consideration and the Board has indicated its concern to our Senators and Representa- tive; the town has been receiving in excess of $400,000 a year and right now this program is up for grabs in the sense of reenactment What is amounts to is that we would receive in excess of $400,000 or in excess of $200,000 next year, subject to the ultimate disposition of this legis- lation A letter was submitted on the proposed use of FY 81 General Revenue Sharing Funds, signed by Mr Tropeano-Senior Citizens Club, Mrs Shunney-Housing Authority, Rev Goodwin-Minuteman Home Care Corp , Mr Sen-Council on Aging, and Mr Webster-Cooperative Elderly Services Representatives of the Association fret Retixed Persons were present and supported the letter which stated, in part, that using the assumption as to tenancy of the Munroe School by the Housing Authority and the Council on Aging, any use of the building must comply with federal standards with regard to being barrier free, and it is requested that $100,000 be identified in the 1981 General Revenue Sharing Funds for the renovation of the Munroe School with barrier free access for the disabled and the elderly by ramps, installation of barrier free toilets, and elevator Mr Hutchinson said he had explained to them at the hearing that the Board is waiting for receipt of the Manager's budget which addressed con- siderations, and the Board would be holding a hearing on a subsequent date. Any consideration of monies like this would be part of the General Revenue Sharing hearing process and the budget process as well Mrs Battin said she had just returned from the National League of Cities annual meeting and a Congressman from California had talked with them about the future for General Revenue Sharing Funds; he was quite confident that direct grants to cities and towns would go through next year but it would take very diligent efforts on our part to see that our interests and needs are represented in the final version. The feeling is the current level of funding will not increase; it is likely to be the same for the next four years The format for distribution may be altered so that more dis- tressed areas really get more money, which means we are going to suffer What is in real jeopardy is the state revenue sha�ring_and if the state loses its money, it is going to make it up through oca s an It is important that we let our representatives and senators know bow we feel, that we actually cite what Lexington has nsPd it for, and what will happen if we don't get it, if the state loses theirs, what will happen in the de- crease from the local aid We should remember that this is election year, that the entire house, a third of the Senate, and the President are all up, and that they are listening to us and it is very important we talk to them. We should do whatever we can to document what would happen to us if we lose it; either the change in the formula for distribution or losing the state aid, or even maintaining the current level of funding I 9f Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - December 3, 1979 Mr Hutchinson said the Board has been discussing the problem with Dogs- dogs on school grounds, and he recommended an amendment to the regula- Park tions to prohibit dogs on school grounds, this has been approved by the Regs School Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the Park and. Recreational Facilities Regulations by adding to Regulation No 5 "provided, however, that no dogs shall be allowed on school grounds " Regulation No 5 now reads, "(It is forbidden) to allow any animal, other than a dog, to go upon these grounds unless such animals be used for pleasure travel on a way or place provided therefor; provided however, that no dogs shall be allowed on school grounds " Arrangements are being made by the Manager for the posting of signs stating, "No Dogs Allowed Per Order of the Board of Selectmen" at the following schools Adams, Bowman, Bridge, Clarke Jr High, Diamond Jr High, Estabrook, Muzzey, Fiske, Franklin, Harrington, Hastings, Lexington High, and Munroe The Board agreed to refer to, and work with, the Recreation Committee Dogs- in terms of requirements for people with dogs using recreation areas Also, Recreation to discuss the conservation regulations with the Conservation Commission, Conserve with the understanding that large conservation areas would not be taken Areas into consideration Town Counsel would make recommendations on any possible amendments Regulations No 1 and No la of the Park and Recreational Facilities Park Regulations were discussed with respect to the hours in which persons may Hours be on park property, and it was agreed to review both regulations with Town Counsel Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he will submit the F Y 1981 FY 81 operating budget to them on December 7 He pointed out that there are Budgets problem areas, and inflation is very visible For informational purposes, Chairman Miley read a notice of a hear- Burlington ing to be held by the Burlington Planning Board on a petition for approval Movie of a special permit and site plan for the operation of a movie theatre at Petition the Burlington Village Mall (Caldor area) Mi Busa commented that the only impact on Lexington would be if more traffic would be generated by having the movie theatre there Chairman Miley informed the Board that a notice has been received META sup- from the MBTA Advisory Board that hearings on the supplementary budget plementary are to be held on December 5 and 6 Budget Mr Busa said he had discussed with Town Counsel the recent letter Historical from the Historical Commission concerning options involved in the com- Commission pletion of the Commission's project to identify all significant historic properties in Lexington 1 Hiring of professionals with the aid of a Mass Historical Commission 50% matching Survey and Planning grant 2 Hiring of a graduate student intern. 3 The attempt to persuade a university to make Lexington the site of graduate field work in Preservation The third option appears the most feasible at this time and the Director of the Preservation program at B U has indicated that Lexington could be considered as a potential site K Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - December 3, 1979 Mr Busa said that Mr Cohen is researching the impact if someone's home is placed on the Commission's list - whether the person would be informed or whether he could object to having it on the list However, the Board of Selectmen has the final decision on what properties or homes would be placed on the National Register Problems could develop if it is on the National Register as to what the restrictions are on the build- ing, whether it could be removed, destroyed, painted, etc Before we become more involved, the Board needs more information Chairman Miley said it was her understanding when working on the Hancock School, that the the Historical Commission's role is to make a list of the buildings in the town to be put on the National Register, and the only limitation that she knew of if a building is on the National Register is that it cannot he torn down with federal funds but that other funding can be used So, it is a much narrower criteria than we had thought Mr Hutchinson said there are some other budget proposals in the letter and the Commission is going to have to wait to get through a process The Board agreed that more information is required, and Mr Busa, Mr Cohen and Mr Hutchinson are to come back to the Board Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote - Session Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into executive session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing real estate After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 00 p m. A true record, Attest ://C ecutive Clerk, Selectmen I / /' SELECTMEN'S MEETING December 7, 1979 Chairman Miley called the meeting to order at 7 40 a m. Those present included Mrs Mary Miley, Mr Al Busa, Mrs Margery Battin, Mr Robert Kent, Mr Jim Crain, Mrs Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mr David Williams, Chairman of Conservation Commission; Mr David Wells, Chairman of Recreation Committee; Mr Manfred Fried- man, Chairman of Planning Board; Dr Allen Korman, Youth Commission Representative; Dr William Cosgrove, Chairman Board of Health; Mr Woodruff Brodhead, Board of Appeals Representative; Mr William Sen, Chairman Council on Aging and Mrs Mary Shunney, Chairman of Housing Authority Chairman Miley briefly outlined the budget which the Town Manager would be submitting to the Board later in the day She noted that total spending is up 6 2% in the proposed budget which would result in some increases in taxes Reading from the Town Manager's message, she noted that 13% inflation, insta- bility in the energy area, increased pension costs, mandated assessments for state and county government, collective bargaining settlements existing and anticipated, are all major factors in our increases The necessity to embark upon a long overdue solution to the solid waste problem is provided for in this budget and must be recognized in the continuing costs Mrs Battin then outlined the goal process that the Board is undertaking To date the Board has identified four major problem areas Center Revitaliz- ation; Source of revenue for the Town looking specifically at reducing the re- liance on the property tax and increasing the tax base; Financial Management - looking at tax stabilization; and Employee Development/Capacity - with an ex- panded commitment to employee development at all levels to allow for career growth, more competitive opportunities and greater identification of responsi- bilities The next step, Mrs Battin noted, is the development of specific objectives in each area Mr Busa reported on the work of the Center Committee Currently, the committee is looking at a revised parking plan which would allow for smaller parking spaces and reduced lane widths, thereby increasing the number of spaces The committee has not yet looked at revitalization, but will be addressing that issue There was some discussion about the impact of Lexpress on the Center While a large number of people go to the Mall, the system appears to have in- creased the number of people in the Center Mr Crain hoped the Chamber would be able to provide some specific data on the impact of the system Mrs Shunney updated the group on recent projects of the Housing Authority She expressed concern about the level of federal money which may be available for future housing programs, because of some proposed cutbacks Mr Kent raised some concerns about Town Meeting, regarding the length, people not being ready for their articles, articles being taken out of order, - 2 - Selectmen's Meeting December 7, 1979 r and the time for reconsideration The TMMA Executive Committee is review- ing the rules for reconsideration, looking particularly at the time limit allowed, and limiting the areas of discussion Mr Kent felt limiting the areas of discussion may be difficult for the moderator to administer and he asked for the groups' reaction to requesting a 2/3 vote on reconsidera- tion Generally, the reaction was favorable although Mr Crain suggested that the Board get data on the percentage of times a vote is overturned on reconsideration The meeting briefly discussed Town Meeting and agreed to prepare a list for distribution of articles for this year's warrant Chairman Miley adjourned the meeting at 8 30 a m Respectfully submitted, Nancy H Bks Assistant to the Town Manager /c 3 SELECTMEN'S MEETING DECEMBER 10, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, December 10, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Hutchinson discussed the list of streets and pointed out that FY 81 he had recommended $100,000 for Kendall Road and Rockville Avenue, and Streets would not consider putting in $340,000 for all the streets He recom- mended that the Board vote the intent to lay out the six streets, subject to other considerations to withdraw streets at some time Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted the intent to lay out the following streets Garfield Street, Sunny Knoll Avenue, Kendall Road, Rockville Avenue, Sherburne Road, and Tower Road Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he will draft a letter in DPW response to the communication from the Capital Expenditures Committee Policies - regarding DPW policies on sewers, drainage, and the Inflow/Infiltration Capital study Mr Hanlon, Town Engineer, would meet with the Board soon to Expend. explain the I/I study, and the Sewer Advisory Committee, Planning Board Committee and Conservation Commission would be invited to attend that meeting Chairman Miley read a request from Mr Hanlon, Town Engineer, to Banks Ave sign an order for construction of a water main Water Main Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order for construction of a water main in Banks Avenue Chairman Miley read an invitation from Senator Rotondi, Senate Civil Chairman-Special Commission on Civil Service, to attend a hearing in Service Arlington on December 13 Mr Hutchinson said that Mrs Banks will Meeting be our representative at the meeting Chairman Miley said that Sen Arlington Rotondi has said that 60% of the people working under civil service are not actually appointed civil service people, and he has feelings on moving tbese people over so they would be permanent civil service people; that worried her and she would like Mrs Banks to listen to that Chairman Miley recommended that the Board take a stand on whether County we should go along with Newton and others who feel they do not want to Assess- pay the county assessments and take the consequences Mr Robert Bond, ments 6 Demar Road, was present as he had sent newspaper clippings to the Board concerning Newton's refusal to pay the county taxes Mrs Battin said that thishas come up before and there is no way you cannot have 11/ them get the money Winchester did it and they were fined, and the money was just deducted from the cherry sheet She hoped we would not necessarily pay the money but it would initiate some protests about the way the money is being spent Chairman Miley said we are protesting all electmen's Meeting - 2 - December 10, 1979 the time There are meetings at the state house and as Vice Chairman of the Middlesex County Advisory Board, we will be in there pitching She hoped the local newspapers will be hammering away with us as the problem with county government is that it is buried and no one knows what is going on We do send word to our representatives and senators, and Senator Rotondi is now on the committee on counties and we hope that maybe his presence there will help Our assessment is about $728,000 Mr Busa said that through the democratic policy we are getting more and more legislators on the bandwagon to abolish some form of county govern- ment or to revise the process of expenditure, and probably that is the only route we could take But not to pay the taxes for the Town of Lexington at 14%, we would be in trouble Chairman Miley said that in listening to people in other parts of the state, she had believed that the people in the western part of the state felt it was very im- portant as a regional type of thing. However, she had received a copy of an editorial in the Berkshire Eagle in which the editor disagreed with the selectman from Lexington because they didn't need county govern- ment either She asked the newspapers to spread the word and the Board will do the same Chairman Miley read the list of applications for licenses to be re- newed for 1980 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew Common Licenses Victualler licenses for the following Common Sheraton-Lexington Inn; Peking Gardens; Chadwicks; Brighams at Vict Bedford Street and Mass Avenue, and Pine Meadows County Club The Board agreed to hold the license for Christo's pending further discussion. Entertain- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the ment Entertainment license for the Sheraton Lexington Inn Common Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Carrier Common Carrier license for the Bedford Local Transit, Bedford, Mass Class I Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Class I license of the following Lexington Toyota Motor Sales 409 Massachusetts Avenue Auto Engineering, Inc 436 Marrett Road Rowe Chevrolet, Inc 33 Bedford Street Liquor Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 to renew the Common Bora Bora Victualler All Alcoholic Beverages liquor license for Bora Bora, Inc , 177 Massachusetts Avenue, under the present corporation The hearing for the new corporation is scheduled for December 17 and consideration will be given to the issuance of a license for the new corporation Mr Busa abstained from voting Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - December 10, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue a new Common Common Victualler license to Ruth Benoit d b a The Kitchen (formerly Victualler Rosin's Kitchen) , 363a Massachusetts Avenue, with hours of l0.00 a m. to 7 00 p m ; closed on Sundays The Appropriation Committee met with the Board Mr Hutchinson pre- Manager's sented a proposed municipal budget that calls for total spending and pay- Budget - ments of $34,850,035 or a 6 2% increase Primarily, we are dealing with App Com a tax rate of $91 90 or an increase of $4 30, 4 9% on the existing tax rate of $87 60 He had tried to address some of the goals that the Selectmen, Town Meeting, Appropriation Committee and the Capital Expendi- tures Committee had outlined to the administration This is in light of a 13% inflationary rate that we are all experiencing The Board is familiar with the traditional problems of collective bargaining settle- ments and if we are unable to conclude negotiations, he would recommend not to provide any money and to have a special town meeting to review the collective bargaining agreements that affect those groups We are ready to bargain now and would not recommend allowing an estimate for the next year's budget unless we have the completed settlements The long range is bleak With the issue of tax reform and the long range issue of dealing with the County Government, it is difficult to him as the Manager to recommend paying $700,000+ to the County and $535,000 to the MBTA - they are giving us support on Lexpress He has recommended a substantial commitment of available cash to offset any increases that we have, and the increases we are facing are not one-time experiences We must continue to move forward on issues like school closings and cost reduction efforts in every area, including municipal budgets More importantly, the Legislature is going to have to address issues like County Government by working with us On a more positive note we have maintained stability There is a commitment to continue Lexpress, and a commitment to the senior citizens of the town for when you want to embark upon a human services center for the elderly and other appropriate interest groups Mr White, Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, said that the com- mittee will meet with the Manager tomorrow evening and we are going to work hard at the significant increase Mrs Battin said that the first meeting of the Municipal Associations with the Tax Policy Committee was this evening, and one of the things brought up was initiative petitions The one that has definitely made it is the teachers' petitions; Associated Industries made it with only 300 signatures and people are going to challenge that 300 signatures are not valid So, rather than three or four horrendous initiative petitions , we may end up with just one Mr Hutchinson said that the Board has authorized me to get :appropriate citizens to work on a tax policy committee to assess whatever is going to come out on the ballot in November, and people are going to be asking what does it mean to Lexington? We would hope that any committee we have would have the support from the Appropriation Committee or even recommendations for this because in the long range we have to come up with a system that doesn't look to the property tax We have an 11% increase in the taxable growth and our projections show it won't be any more than 2% over the next 5 years Your expenditures are growing on either side of the budget at dramatic rates even with cost containment, so this is important information as to what is going to be out there II)V Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - December 10, 1979 Mrs Battin said that the committee is going to work very hard and will meet every other week, and we are gding to address the whole issue of tax reform, expenditure control, etc Chairman Miley said that, last Monday, we were asked to send to Senator Rotondi any legislation we may wish to have As a Board, we did not come up with anything but, as an individual, she did make a call on having a 4% cap on all other governmental bodies in the state as well as the towns and cities; also , the open meeting law for all branches of the state government, including executive legislators as well as what the municipalities have Those two bills will be filed Appts, Chairman Miley dig:cussed appointments to the Personnel Advisory Board P.A B There are two openidgs and we are adding one member; to reappoint Neil Chapman, Elmer Guilmartin to fill Harold Page's term, and Gary Paulson Mr White, Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, said that it was not his iimtentionhto change his views about the action in his dis- cussions with the Board and the Manager about these appointments; we do not know these gentlemen. Going back to January 21, 1974, certain things were agreed to at that time, among which was that the appointments would be made from a slate of candidates submitted by the Appropriation Committee It may be that somewhere along the line, interpretations have changed and he asked for consideration of the original intent, and the committee would appreciate it if in the future they were given this op- portunity Mr Hutchinson said that the Appropriation Committee has always had the opportunity to submit candidates to this Board, and that opportunity still exists Mr Kent said that he hoped we would shortly distribute the complete final, revised charter for the Personnel Advisory Committee which we worked out last spring There is no question that there has inevitably been some movement of feeling regarding the nature, scope, and function of the PAB His recollection was that we don't have it in that charter that we would do our appointing only from such a slate, but he concurred with the Manager that not only wouldwe welcome such input but indeed if there was an interest in giving it to us, we ought to be sure that we don't do it without according that express opportunity We worked very hard to see that the PAB was put in place and we felt it had certain responsibilities, and we felt it should be comprised of certain people If you now feel differently, you ,should clarify it As we dis- tribute to you the revised charter - none of us believe it is written in concrete and like all our prophesies it is an evolving thing - we would hope it is certainly an indication of writing up where we think we are right now Mr Crain said that when we worked on that charter, to my knowledge, we in no way reflected on any change on the original approach; that the Appropriation Committee, if they had candidates, would make them available Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the follow- ing members of the Personnel Advisory Board Mr Neil Chapman, 6 Patriots Drive, for a term of office to May 31, 1982; Mr Elmer G Guilmartin, 16 Constitution Road, to fill an unexpired term of office to May 31, 1981; Mr Gary D Paulson, 29 Colony Road, for a term of office to May 31, 1982 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - December 10, 1979 Upon motion dulymade and seconded, it was voted toapprove the Liquor q request of the Lexington Knights of Columbus for an extension of hours K of C of operation under their Club liquor license to 1 00 a.m on December 15 and New Year's Eve The Board discussed the request of Mr and Mrs Ronald Goldner, 27 Rockville Rockville Avenue, to purchase Lot #40 Rockville Avenue The Board agreed Ave Lot that the lot has been conveyed to the Housing Authority and, therefore, is not available Mr and Mrs Goldman are to be so notified by letter Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had sent a letter to Human Mr French, 40 Reed Street, advising him that the Human Services Com- Services mittee will be working on the concerns he has outlined on the institu- Committee/ tionalization of neighborhoods Reed St Mr Hutchinson discussed the letteLi rrom McCarthy Municipal Leas- ing Company requesting the opportunity to present the advantages of municipal leasing and municipal lease/purchase of equipment Mr Hutchinson said that we have pursued this before and it is not ad- visable, but he will review it with Mr McCarthy Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing matters Session of real estate negotiation and litigation, with the intention of re- suming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Common Common Victualler license for 1980 to Christo's Restaurant, 1 Meriam Viet Street It was agreed that there would be no announcement on the developer Parker of the Parker School but, hopefully, a decision would be given by the School next meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 00 p.m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Se =ctmz, 1 VOID g SELECTMEN'S MEETING December 17, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, December 17, 1979 at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley opened the hearing on the application for the transfer Liquor- of a Common Victualler license to sell all alcoholic beverages, to be drunk Bora- on the premises, from Bora-Bora, Inc to new owners operating under the Bora title of Bora-Bora, Inc at 177 Massachusetts Avenue The hearing had been advertised in the December 6, 1979 issue of the Lexington Minute-man newspaper, and copies had been sent by the applicant to the abutters by certified mail Attorney William Chin, representing Bora-Bora, Jue Bow Fong aka Joe B Fong, Manager, and Sally D Hsu, President and Clerk, were present Mr Chin said that Mr Fong will be the new Manager; he has been a restaurant manager for 46 years We have applied for a permit from the Board of Appeals and the hearing is to be next week In response to Mr Kent's question regarding stockholders and a new board, Mr Chin said there will be two sole shareholders and a new Board of Directors Mr Kent asked if any inquiries had been made on behalf of the Board of Selectmen in terms of the suitability of the proposed licensee? Mr Hutchinson said that he was not aware of it being done in the three years he had been here No one appearing in favor or in opposition, Chairman Miley declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the trans- fer of the 1980 Common Victualler All Alcoholic Beverages license to new owners operating under the title of Bora - Bora, Inc , 177 Massachusetts Avenue, with new Manager Jue Bow Fong, and to transfer the regular Com- mon Victualler license for 1980; both subject to a favorable decision of the Board of Appeals at its scheduled hearing on Bora-Bora, Inc Approval of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission is to be requested The Board continued the discussion held on November 19 regarding the Historical Historical Commission's request for consideration of an expenditure of Commission money to take advantage of the Boston University graduate program for the historic preservation study Mr Hutchinson recommended that he work with the Historical Commission as there is the capacity within the budgets for technical support as well as using temporary help from our intern pro- gram to assist them As the Commission pointed out in their report, twelve towns used volunteers, so with a certain degree of support and volunteer effort, they should be able to get this done; also, by utilizing existing budget monies as well as budget monies for next year Mr Hutchinson did not recommend approval of the Commission's request for money for other items relating to historical preservation Mr Busa said he had no objection to the Commission listing property for the register of historic places but he strongly urged that the Commission get in touch with the owners of the property involved It is mandated that the Commission come back to the Selectmen with the proposed list but they should contact the owners Mr Hutchinson said the Commission will be asked to file a draft report with the Board and appropriate agencies so that we will be able to look at it Chairman Miley added that it is important to us to expect the Commission to deal with people in a fair way The Manager is to work with the Commission. I, 1 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - December 17, 1980 Traffic- Chairman Miley read a letter from Ms Lois Brubeck, 12 Adams Street, Brubeck expressing concern about traffic problems, the lack of stop signs and reflectors in certain areas of the town Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer Mrs Brubeck's requests to the Town Manager for a report I Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meeting held on December 3, 1979 Dog Mr Busa discussed the hearing he had conducted on November 6, 1979 Hearing - at 9 00 a m in the Selectmen's Meeting Room on the written complaint of Robinson/ David Robinson, 17 Red Coat Lane, that a German Shepherd dog owned by Culhane Thomas Culhane, 19 Red Coat Lane, is a nuisance by reason of a vicious disposition Mr Busa said it is a serious situation in the neighborhood, and he recommended that the Culhane dog be restricted to a leash at all times, whether in the yard or walking Mr Kent recommended the addition of the word, "physically" (restrained) The Board agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Board of Selectmen has determined that the German Shepherd dog owned by Thomas Culhane of 19 Red Coat Lane is a nuisance by reason of a vicious dis- position and hereby orders that within fourteen days of notification, said dog is to restricted to a leash, and shall be physically restrained on the leash at all times whether in the yard or walking 1-Day Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve 1-Day Liquor liquor licenses for the following W R Grace Associates on December 18, Licenses and St Brigid's Couples Club on New Year's Eve from 9 00 p m to 1 00 a m 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Com- Common mon Victualler licenses for the following for 1980 Vi ct Lexington House of Pizza Lee Ann's Restaurant, Inc Arno's Deli Howard Johnson's Yangtze River Restaurant Friendly Ice Cream Corp -Waltham St Mario's Friendly Ice Cream Corp -Bedford St Baskin-Robbins Store #1723 Bellino's Bakery, Inc Pewter Pot Kentucky Fried Chicken Lexington Golf Club Denny's LeBellecour Dunkin Donuts Alexander's Pizza The Kitchen 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Class I Class I license for Lawless Mawhinney Motors, Inc License 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Class III Class III license for John P Carroll Co , Inc Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the warrant to Notice the Town Counstable to deliver written notice to abutters of the vote of the on Board on December 10, 1979 of the intent to lay out Garfield Street, Sunny Street Knoll Avenue, Kendall Road, Rockville Avenue, Sherburne Road, Tower Road and Layout Sanderson Road //© Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - December 17, 1979 Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a transfer of $1,500 from Transfer the Reserve Fund to Account #1090-Professional Services . This request Acct 1090 is necessary due to the unforeseen vacancy in the Planning Director's position and the retention of planning services Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request ap- proval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #1090-Professional Services in the amount of $1,500 Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board hold the Revenue Sharing Revenue hearing on January 14, 1980 The Board agreed Sharing Mr Louis Zehner, Town Treasurer, met with the Board, to recom- Treasurer mend approval of borrowing $160,000 for the swimming pool and $40,000 for sewer construction from the lowest bidder, Shawmut County Bank ;of Cambridge at 5.50 percent interest Nine bids were submitted and ranged from 5.50 to 6.96 percent Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of the Town Treasurer to borrow $200,000 from the Shawmut County Bank of Cambridge at 5.50 percent interest Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the Vocell Bus Company's Vocell Bus request for an increase in fares on the Lexington to Boston commuter Lex/Boston bus service for• single run tickets from $1 35 to $1 60; 12-ticket book from $15 00 to $18 00 per book, $1 50 per ticket; 20-ticket book from $22.00 to $25 00 per book, $1 25 per ticket Mr. Benjamin Goodwin, Vocell Bus Company, said that they had added a couple of extra runs and we are thinking of taking another survey We are also making applications to one or two other towns and this may enable us to have weekend runs and will give us an opportunity for fur- ther expansion We wanted to have a Christmas bus to Boston during December but the contract was limited as to hours; unfortunately, we should habe read the specifications better. Even though it is a com- muter bus, perhapsyou should review the time restrictions as that was the thing that prevented us from doing it Mr Crain said that since our last meeting and the concerns he had underscored, there has been evidence of considerable follow-through and the equipment problems he had cited had been resolved Also, Mr Goodman had personally been in evidence a number of times He would like to underscore his own impression and that of the other riders about the obvious commitment to affirmative action and his employees and the excellent people that they are; they are a very un- usual group of people The Selectmen have all received calls from people who :rbde -the buses Mr. Goodman said that his son owns the company and he is doing additional things like buying some radios and, if we do have the expansion, the radios will allow us to do a lot of work that perhaps we have been unable to do, and to have a spare bus One of the problems has been financing as we can't go to a bank because we don't have a long- term contract. Mr Kent asked if, as he is currently constituted, he could respond in equipment and service terms to an increase in patronage? Mr. Goodman said that the answer is simple; even a bank reaches out to help somebody that is making quite a profit There isn't any question if you are going to go loaded both ways that you can get equipment if we had to, but patronage at the moment doesn't make that feasible There are six runs and at the moment they are about maximum However, we are all aware I! Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - December 17, 1979 that things are going to happen If fuel is going to rise in cost, the government is going to take steps to make sure that single riders get out of the car At one time, Mr Goodman had counted cars and of ap- proximately 200 cars there were only five with more than one passenger Mr Goodman said that according to the contract, a commuter run is for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon If we had no limit, we would have advertised and at least run buses on Sundays Mr Crain said that several people had asked him if there is a prospect of a bus from Lowell to the Mall to Lexington, then directly to Boston He asked Mr Goodman if he was still interested in that run? Mr Goodman said that he was and had hoped to get that at the same that they had the financing set up; that would have given us at least one additional bus, which could also be used as an extra and, at the same time, with the Lowell run we thought we could run a weekend bus as well Chairman Miley said that people had told her it would be nice to have a bus that went into Boston one morning a week other than the peak hours to do their shopping and business Mr Goodman said that his son is quite a gambler and he would take the chance to see what the testing would be If the expansion comes about a little bit more, he will try it Mr Kent asked if he would be interested in extending the run from Copley Square to Kenmore Square? Mr Goodman said that it was surprising but South Station seems to be most asked for; we do have South Station Mr Kent asked Mr Hutchinson if there is any reason why we have some relationships elsewhere that require us to retain as a matter of policy these time limits, which don't seem to serve any useful purpose from our point of view? Mr Hutchinson said that he was not aware of it Mr Crain said he would like to return to the Manager several issues to be worked out with Mr Goodman. As he recalled, we are work- ing on a 6-months' extension of the contract to April 13, 1980, and in light of the improvements that have occurred, he would suggest that the Board consider changing that to a longer term agreement as soon as possible. Also, to considdr the Lowell run; to consider the change of the restriction of hours Vote Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the following to the Town Manager to work with Mr Goodman on (1) consideration of a longer term agreement on the bus contract; (2) consideration of the Lowell route; (3) consideration of a change in the restriction of hours of operation Mr Hutchinson commented that the only thing in the servey where there was a split reaction was the overcrowding of buses; this is the major com- plaint that has been received at his office, but that has been alleviated somewhat Mr Goodman said it is difficult to anticipate riders, and an extension of service will resolve that Vote Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Vocell Bus Company, Inc , Cambridge, for an increase in fares for the Lexington/Boston express bus as follows Single run tickets from $1 35 to $1 60; 12-ticket book from $15 00 to $18 00 per book, $1 50 per ticket; 20-ticket book from $22 00 to $25 00 per book, $1 25 per ticket Mrs Banks said that a letter will now go to the MBTA petitioning them for approval of the increase With a monthly pass, riders would be able to get a discount on their auto insurance and we are trying to develop some kind of cost for a monthly pass Mr Hutchinson said he will bring that back to the Board along with the other items tol Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - December 17, 1979 Mr Hutchinson said that Jane Edmunds, MCAD Commissioner, is willing Fair to come out to Lexington to meet with our Fair Housing Committee Nancy Housing - Banks and Al Zabin will be coordinating this effort and arranging for MCAD appropriate committees to be invited Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Hammer, Kiefer and Todd, Inc Munroe has been retained as consultant for the Munroe School to prepare a cost School estimate, which will be ready the last week in January Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of an increase in the sewer con- Contract tract previously awarded to Crowley Associates for $346,910 The total 978-5-E price of $374,537 39 is due primarily to an increase in the size, depth, Sewers and lehgth of the pipe on Lowell Street and an unusually thick wearing surface on Lowell Street, necessitating a trench patch thickness of six inches rather than the customary three inches In order to meet our obligations, an increase of $27,627 39 is recommended. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the M anger's recommendation to increase the authorization for Contract #78-5-E in the amount of $27,627 39 Contract was previously awarded to Crowley Associates in the amount of $346,910, and the new total is $374,537 39;authorizatidn contained under Article 19 or 1978 Mr Hutchinson said that we are releasing the $25,000 performance Hancock bond of Sydney and Noyes held by the town Mr Kent was troubled that Condohinium the owners of the condominiums were not aware of this Mr Hutchinson Bond said that, in his opinion, much of what the developers have done is be- yond what is within the bond. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter of releasing the bond of the developer of the Hancock condo- miniums until the meeting on Wednesday evening Condominium owners are to be informed of the request to release the bond The Board agreed to re-appoint Mr Hutchinson as the Town Manager Manager Chairman Miley said that some of our reasons for re-appointing Mr Re-appt Hutchinson are because of his vigorous pursuit of developing sound management methods within the town government, the development of personnel policies , including sensitivity and support for our hiring obligation in minority areas, forthrightness in dealing with the Board, and a highly professional relationship with the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously to appoint Mr Robert M. Hutchinson, Jr the Manager of the Town of Lexington for a three year term beginning January 1, 1980 and expiring December 31, 1982 The Board approved Mr Kent's suggestion to save a space in the Warrant Warrant for an article on a two-thirds vote on reconsideration Article Chairman Miley informed the Board that she had attended the MBTA MBTA Sup budget hearing and the Advisory Board hearing today and on the supple- Budget mental budget, Lexington along with 84% of the cities and towns voted no more money; basically, because we have a cap to worry about As for the Governor taking over on an emergency basis, that will unfold within the next few days 13 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - December 17, 1979 Police Police Chief Corr met with the Board to discuss the police budget Budget Account #3800 - $155,425; last year, $143,000; $12,425 or 8 7% increase Major areas of increase #525 automotive from $34,500 to $42,500 Last year, we replaced only six cruisers; that was primarily because we had one replaced at the end of the fiscal year because of an accident; that was effectively almost new and therefore we deferred on buying the normal complement of seven We will replace six of our cruisers and we have one car that rotates through the inspection and command officer divisions We have provided a modest increase in #262-gas, oil and lubrication of $1,000, primarily because our experience in the police department has been more favorable than other areas based upon the energy efficiency of the vehicles we are dealing with This is the operating budget of the department and it is really geared to replacement of the cars and energy and some increased supply Mrs Miley questioned line items 208 and 305 regarding printing, and Mr Hutchinson explained that the 200 series is what we buy outselves and the 300 series is what we contract for; dif- ferent kinds of printing Mr Crain was concerned that we are dealing with this before we have summed up our goals, because some of the goals in the financial area would relate to our approach to this budget As he recalled in goal setting in terms of centralized purchasing supplies, is that done in one place for everybody? Mr Hutchinson said it is done in DPW Printing is individually contracted on bulk purchasing in DPW Things such as fuel and energy are done in bulk purchasing with the schools; we also hook up with the school system on paper items which they bid on; there are items such as those referenced in this budget that are more discretionary What you have is centralized accountability through the Manager's office; de facto centralized purchasing on most items through public works and the school system Much of the printing is in- dividually contracted for On vehicle supplies, the bulk of our material is through DEW Mr Crain said he hoped we can get into centralized maintenance Mr Hutchinson said he will bring it back in the goals and update the financial information so the Board can look at what kind of position it wishes to take. He had spoken to Chief Corr and Fire Chief Bergeron about centralized maintenance and there are some reservations A report will be prepared for the Board and information will be provided based on last year's bids if we go into a regional consortium Chief Corr said they are already in the Boston Police Council and we have found that through bids from local dealers our figures are lower than Greater Boston's Mr Crain asked for an explanation of the tuition for cadets at $9,000 vs internship Chief Corr said that up to 1965, the police department could have only those from Lexington and couldn't get persons to take the exam- ination Through the efforts of Linc Cole, we were allowed to go to other communities ' lists, and we put on eight men. When we devised the police cadet program, we went into the High School and offered thaw a fully paid tuition About a year after that, a bill was passed and Congress didn't fully fund the Act; only about 50%, and we instituted paying for half with the idea of stimulating youngsters to get their degree Six of the seven we put on were Lexington residents and they all have their degrees - Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - December 17 , 1979 111 Chief Corr still thinks there is merit in our funding the cadet program; for ten years, it has worked out We have six cadets and we intend to fill three vacancies Mr Hutchinson said that under the affirmative action program we address the education incentive we have Mrs Miley asked how many policemen are now on the force through the program? Chief .©nrr said there were nine. Mrs Banks said that we have 22 cadets, 15 have graduated and 9 are on the force Three are still on board; two were dismissed and one looked for another job Mr Crain asked for Chief Corr's point of view on the communication system. Mr Hutchinson said that the system is 15 or 16 years old and Chief Corr recommended $120,000 in the capital budget The Capital Expenditures Committee has asked for an article in the warrant Chief Corr has assured us that deferring it would cost us more money Chief Corr said that recognizing it would cost us $131,000 as we found that we would be able to handle response to riots such as the Cambridge riot of 1970 Thirty-two to thirty-three communities now encompass the circumferential highway and Lexington now is almost isolated It is estimated to go as high as $150,000 to $160,000 next year Mrs Miley asked if there is any way a component of that could be put into operation? Could Lexington be in communication with the towns contiguous to it? chief Corr said that a group of eight towns did band together but now want to become part of the council There is no way for us to participate 111 with one or two towns There would be an interchange between communities that does make sense with this system Mr Hutchinson said that, looking at the expense area, it is a little more than 10 percent on the direct payroll, which is in the order of $1 million Lexington remains in a favorable position on costs We have personnel of 54 including the Chief; 5 Sergeants, 5 Lieutenants, 2 Captains The budget is $155,425, and most of it is in cars and energy Mr Crain asked about the size of cars and the use of cars, and Mr Hutchinson said that he will file some updated material with the Board Chief Corr retired from the meeting Fire Chief Bergeron met with the Board to discuss the Fire Department Fire budget of $95,800 He said that fuel was up, repairs and maintenance of Dept our buildings, storm windows on headquarters estimated at $5,000 and we Budget compoeted half of the windows in E Lexington; oil alone was 15,000 gal- long and we are having problems with our system at headquarters As far as outside repairs for equipment, we have $1500 in body work that has been deferred for two years, and we did need more money in that area We have inflation in automobile parts and medical suppplies and first aid supplies increased As far as the alarm system, we are finishing a re- port on what our plans are. The maintenance differed over the years; it is tested frequently and we have a system to connect the stations We may reduce it in the area of street alarm boxes We have a program and a report will show what direction to go to improve main lines by cabling and that system would be in a lot better shape The Planning Board is not putting boxes in subdivisions We would maintain what we have Mr Busa asked if it has been proven that it is not needed to upgrade those that are not working? Mr Hutchinson said that we would want direction on that Mr Kent said that we could get in trouble if the boxes are not going into new subdivisions Chief Bergeron said that lis Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - December 17, 1979 the new building codes are a lot stricter and the homes now have smoke alarm detectors, etc In a six year period, we have had 41 calls from boxes Mr Busa said that the Energy Committee went to the headquarters building and he hoped that somebody would address the zoning as it is pumping heat when it is not needed Mr Kent asked if $1 04 was across the board for the amount of fuel? Mr Hutchinson said that it was not Mr Kent said that we ought to arrive at what gallons you can get for one single price acroets the board, and he hoped it would include schools Mr Hutchinson agreed to check on it Mr Kent added that it should also apply to gallonage of gasoline and not have it vary from department to department Mr Hutchinson said that the Appropriation Committee has spoken to us in the area of maintenance of plant, and this ties into the whole idea of centralizing, and we are going to be proposing to you at a subsequent meeting to take a lot of these maintenance items and move them into the public works budget because a lot of people feel it is easier to focus in that way on what all of our maintenance costs are The Chief is using much of our technical help in the public works department on much of this and it would be easier to give them the responsibility to let them provide their technical skills to the Chief via the public works' budget We haven't done it at this point in time but we plan to change it, and you will see some of the transfers over the next 30 to 60 days Mr Hutchinson said that Chief Bergeron has proposed in the capital budget $32,000 for a new ambulance; we would get $6,000 for our 1976 am- bulance At $6,000, Mr Hutchinson did not think it was worth it to turn in an ambulance that doesn't need a great deal of maintenance if we keep it as a back-up for the times that our ambulance is down The ambulance business as part of the fire department operation is becoming a growing portion of our business, and we do have periods of times when we have to call for additional ambulance help; we will continue our inter-town arrange- ment Mr Busa asked if there was a garage for it? Chief Bergeron said there are two bays at East Lexington We reduced our engine fleet from six to five Chis year, the down time for our ambulance is the equiva- lent of 10 days out of the year for maintenance and repairs During those periods, we use our neighboring fire departments on a mutual aid basis, and we reciprocate Presently, we are using out-of-town ambulances on the average of 6 or 7 days Last week, we had to use Bedford's ambulance as our men and the ambulance were at a fire on York Street Ambulance de- mands have increased 10% and we see it going up in the future Chairman Miley said that the history of the ambulance is that it was bought in 1973 and at that time it was a module type, and Town Meeting voted that when the mechanical part of it needed to be replaced then the other part could be used. Then, the new codes came in that made that type of an ambulance not right and we had to go to this other one Chief Bergeron said the vehicle you mention was purchased in 1976 and it was sold to the town on the basis that the rear end could be put onto a truck chassis We have found in our experience and others that have had this type of vehicle that this does not seem to work out unless the vehicle is all aluminum; unfortunately, our is steel and we have had problems with „L Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - December 17, 1979 U the compartment, doors, rusting at the hinges, alignment, etc We have one door that won't open right now So, the feasibility of putting that box onto a new chassis. it just won't work What we are saying is to keep that vehicle as a spare and we can get by with it on that basis; it does meet all the state specifications Chairman Miley said she had some problem with the fact that the door doesn't work Her idea is to get it to work, and you can't just say the door doesn't work so let's buy a new one Why won't it open? You should go back to the manufacturer Mrs. Hutchinson said that additional information will be submitted in a report on the ambulance Chief Bergeron retired from the meeting Chairman Miley said that with the problems with the postal workers Traffic parking out front, perhaps we could meter and that might be a solution P 0 to keep this part of Mass Avenue if we want customers for our businesses Mass.Ave Mr Busa said that we are too far from the shopping area, and they are only going to move to Forest Street, Merial Street, etc Mr Kent said that there are various devices to use for all day parking Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy Session with respect to collective bargaining and personnel, with the intention of resuming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session and resume the open meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Salary Manager's recommendations for salary adjustments effective January 1, Adjustments 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 20 p m. A true record, Attest. 7-20 c Executive Clerk, Selectmen 1 I VOID SELECTMEN'S MEETING DECEMBER 19, 1979 Those present were: Mrs. Miley, Chairman, Mr. Kent, Mr. Busa, Mrs. Battin and Mr. Crain. Also present was Mr. Hutchinson, Town Manager and Mr. Empey, Acting Director of Public Works The following accounts were reviewed by the Board. 5000 DPW Office - Question was raised about the provision of safety shoes to employees. Manager pointed out that this was a contractual item. Mr. Kent asked if this might apply to Library personnel. 5150 Engineering - Increase for registration. 5250 Town Building Miintence - 320-06 and 320-07 - energy accounts Board members flagged these areas to insure that they might be enough. The Manager pointed out that a 20% increase had been estimated in the electricity area (4$9,000) and that an estimate of 90% had been utilized in anti- cipating a $ 23,000 increase for heating costs. 373-10 Repairs and maintenance to buildings and structures..The Manager reviewed the following items for proposed maintenance: $8,000 for replacement of windows in Cary Hall utilizing insulated glass; $4,350 for roofing at the Visitor's Center; $1,000 for storm windows on 22 windows at the Visitor's Center; $2,300 for a number of other maintenance items. The Board asked for the detailed sheets in this area so that they could better assess the maintenance cos- potents. The Manager did advise the Board that this account would be increased because of maintenance items listed in the Fire, Library and other public budgets being moved into this area. Selectmen Busa asked if the replacemnt of the Town Hall windows was the full window. The Manager stated that he did not know and would find out. The Board asked for a review of some of the energy data that the Maintenance Department has put together. The Manager pointed out that it was considerable and he would provide that infor- mation to them. 5400 Highway Maintenance - Selectmen Crain questioned the reduction in 375-15, paving program, to $100,000 as this means that the program is reduced because of the impact of inflation and the recognition of asphalt as anoil derivitive The Manager pointed out that he had recognized this but it was one of numerous areas cut back in order to find a balanced tax rate. 5450 Road Machinery - 262-03 energy increased $35,000. Board members asked if this was enough in light of current and anticipated increases. The Manager said that he had allowed for an increase to $1.04 a gallon for disel and gasoline. Current price was 850/gallon. These accounts may have to be revised further upward because of the iastablity of fuel prices. 261-02 Vehicle supplies The Manager referenced cost of parts and past experience. Ii -2- 371-10 Proposed $50,000 increase - $35,000. His involved the pro- posed rebuilding of a sweeper, dump truck, Huff engine and our dozers. The Manager said he would provide the detail sheets sub- mitted by DPW in this area The Manager advised the Board that he would be asking for an additional $13,000 in this area as estimates have just come in for a computerised gasoline system which would provide additional contrels for vehicles operated from the DPW barn. 5500 Snow removal - No snow this year. 5550 Traffic Bags. and Street Signs - No comments. 5640 Street Lights - The Manager pointed out this area is currently in good shape and could absorb a modest increase. Recommended no change in the $250,000 appropriation. 5700 Sewer maintenance - The Manager pointed out increased costs, energy and parts for 9 pumping stations. 5800 Garbage collection - The Manager reviewed recommended deletions as program isn't cost effective and he was once again recommending combined garbage/trash collection for the Town as part of our solid waste program. 5850 Sanitary Landfill - Th Manager pointed out costs stable with *ajar increase in 515-08 for additional trainage work that would have to be accomplished as part of the sloes out program. Mr. Espey[ pointed out that substantial sums of money have been saved by fill being brought into the landfill from various contracted jobs. 5900 Water Maintenance and Water Services 274-09 meters. The Manager reviewed expected increase of $20,000 based upon an assumption of about 350 new units of housing and development demands on the Town. The Manager pointed out that the whole meter area and program was u under review by the new Sewer and Water Superintendent, Mr. Spiers Mr.Empey noted that bids have been opened for meters and the cost of a meter was now $95.00. 299-18= The Manager pointed out that this was now being carried in capital as proposal for completer refurbishing of two water towers was now deemed to be a capital item because of the magnitude of expense and frequency of occurence. Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that proposals have just been received for an automated water billing system that would involve another $20,000 on top of the $64,347 requested. Board members asked for an update on the falser meter program after the manager reviews this with Mr. Empey.and Mr. Spiers. 6000 Parks 320-12 -energy. Increase estimated because of opening of new pool. 6050 Ensect Suppression - The Manager advised that he had deleted money for mosquito control feeling that this could be the focus of a separate article based upon past debates. Board members stated that they wanted to insure that debate could take place but questioned whether this might not even be done under the existing operating budget rather than a separate article. Mr. Hutchinson stated that ha believed that it could and would review it with Counsel. / 7 -3- 6100 Shade Trees - The Manager pointed out that major increases were for replacement of the tank on a hydraulic sprayer, planting of larger trees and an estimated $1,000 in account 281-04 for additional plantings beyond the current lanscaping proposed for the swimming pool. Landscaping is not as comprehensive as it might be in the pool proposal and the contingency fund is limited. Board members questioned the practice of providing additional monies for land- scaping that should have been in the pool project and flagged this area for additional consideration. The Manager reminded the Board that heavy typsy moth infestation is expected this year necessitating additional use of chemicals. Board members noted some dialogue about types of chemicals that are utilized. The Manager stated he would review this with the Parks division. The Board raised the question about why there are not more monies for trees because of heavy losses consistent with the request of Mr. Williams, the Conservation Commission Chairman, at one of their meetings. The Manager said he would review this with Mr. Mazzerall of DPW again but felt that the Town'S planting program remained adequate. 6150 Dutch Elm Disease - No Comments. 6400 Cemetery Division - The Manager renewed again energy costs and the cost of minor operating equipment was now carried in this area, particularly for items such as sharpening movers, chain saw repairs, to expedite repairs. Beard members asked how the progress was going on the addition to the Cemetery building. The Manager and Mr. Empey advised that specifications were complete and it was scheduled to go out for bid in the near future. The Manager stated he would give an updated report of the timetable for the addition as Board members considered it unfortunate that the facility was not underway prior to winter. Board members concluded the meeting with a re-emphasis of concentration of enerty estimates recognizing the Major escalating factors in this area and asking the Manager to summarize some of the cuts that he had made in the interests of a stable tax rate recognizing that some of these items are a deferral and will cost more later. The Manager said he would prepare that list. The Board agreed that it would review its goals at the next meeting of the Selectmen concentrating on overall goals for the Board integrated with immediate and long-range financial planning. The meeting concluded at 10100 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Robert M Hutchinson, Jr. Town Manager