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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-07-BOS-minSelectmen's Meeting July 11, 2005 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held Monday, July 11, 2005, at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. Chairman Krieger, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Pagett, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Manz; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Manning, Clerk were present. Selectmen Concerns and Liaisons Acting Town Manager /Town Manager Each member of the Board said a few words of thanks and commended Ms. Vine for the work she did while holding the position of Acting Town Manager. Next each member of the Board welcomed Carl Valente, Town Manager, and expressed how they each look forward to working with him. Tree Committee Grant Mrs. Krieger told the Board she has been contacted by members of the Tree Committee. The committee is requesting that the Board support the Tree Committee's application for a grant from the Urban Forestry Administration. The grant would enable the committee to continue the tree inventory program. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Tree Committee to support the committee's application to the Urban Forestry Administration. LexFest Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to support LexFest by taking out a full -page ad in the LexFest brochure. Consent Agenda Hanscom -BRAC Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to ratify the poll vote of June 29, 2005, to approve and authorize the Chair to sign a letter to Anthony Principi, Chairman, Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Letter of Support — Freedom's Way Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to ratify the poll vote authorizing the Chair to sign and send a letter of support to the Freedom's Way Heritage Association. Waiver of Noise By -Law Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to ratify the poll vote taken on Friday, July 1, 2005 waiving the Noise By -Law in the area of Clarke Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. during the week of July 5. Selectmen's Meeting — July 11, 2005 2004 Flag Day Recipient Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Town Celebrations Committee to sign a letter to present the 2004 Flag Day flag to Ms. Doherty. Mr. Pagett thanked the Town staff for getting the Water /Sewer Report posted on the Town's web site in such a timely fashion. He also thanked David Kaufman for setting up a link from the TMMA site to this report. Commitments and Adjustments of Water and Sewer Charges for Consent Agenda Bill Hadley, Director of Public Works Department, informed the Board that while preparing documentation for the auditors his staff discovered that the Board had not signed the Commitments and Adjustments of Water /Sewer Charges from February 2005. He is asking the Board to sign them tonight. Mr. Hadley also explained that some of the adjustments are for 2003 and 2004 water bills. At this time he is unable to determine what portion of the commitments /adjustments are for 2005. However, DPW staff along with finance department staff is working on answering that question for the auditors. Mr. Pagett asked for time line on when Mr. Hadley would report back to the Board with clarification on this. Mr. Hadley hopes to have an answer for the Board at its August 1, 2005 meeting. Mr. Pagett said he would like the Board to have this information before the Board sets water and sewer rates for the next year. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following water/ sewer adjustments and commitments: Commitment of Water /Sewer Charges from 11/1/04 to 11/30/04 (Cycle 9) $167,369.78 Adjustments of Water /Sewer Charges for the period from 1/1/05 to 1/31/05 - $509,156.45 Adjustments of Water /Sewer Charges for the period from 2/1/05 to 2/28/05 - $551,951.37 Waltham Street and Marrett Road Traffic Signals Mr. Hadley introduced representatives from Mass Highway and its consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) who are here tonight to present their strategy for Public Participation regarding Mass Highway's proposal to replace the signals and to upgrade the geometrics of the intersection of Marrett Road and Waltham Street. Marilyn Scheffler, from Mass Highway, began the presentation by saying that tonight she and representatives from VHB are here seeking input from the Board on the public process and to help develop a game plan to present to Mass Highway that gives some assurances that abutters will let the project go forward. Selectmen's Meeting — July 11, 2005 Ms. Scheffler introduced John Bouchard, from VHB, who gave an overview of the conceptual plan Mass Highway would like to develop. The changes to the intersection include widening the two roads, which would include the taking of land from the gas stations at the intersection, dedicated left turn lanes in three directions, and prohibiting backing out of the Marrett Square parking lot. Doing this will eliminate five parking spaces from in front of the strip of stores on Marrett Road. At the end of the presentation the Board discussed the proposal. Concerns raised during the discussion were impact to businesses at the intersection, the entrance and exit pattern for Dunkin Donuts, and the absence of a left lane turn lane in one direction. VHB representatives responded to these concerns and took questions from the audience. Lisa Baci asked about pedestrian crossing at the intersection. David Greenberg, VHB, said there would be 120 - second cycle that will fluctuate depending on traffic volume. Mr. Lazarus asked if anything would be done to prohibit traffic from cutting through the gas station to avoid the traffic light. Mr. Greenberg said the gas station is currently planning a reconstruction project and suggests that the Planning Board address that issue with the business owner. Mrs. McKenna suggested that Mass Highway coordinate with the group currently working on the Marrett Road /Spring Street intersection. She also asked if Mass Highway would be offering any funding for signage at the intersection. Ms. Scheffler responded by saying she has already been contacted by the consultant working on the Spring Street intersection and funding for signs could be available if the signage conforms to Mass Highway standards. Mrs. Krieger said the real subject tonight was the one of public process. Her understanding is that the process Mass Highway is proposing involves two stages. First a meeting with the abutters and secondly to hold a more broad based hearing. Mrs. Krieger suggested that depending on how the abutters meeting goes there may be a need for the design team to come back before either the Board of Selectmen or the Planning Board. Ms. Scheffler said although some of the businesses will suffer some negative impact, the overall goal of the proposal is to maximize the health, safety and welfare of those that use this intersection. Ms. Scheffler said Mass Highway is hoping to solicit some help from the Board regarding the most effective way to meet with abutters. Mr. Kelley suggested that Mass Highway contact each abutter and invite then to a workshop to discuss Mass Highways plans. Mr. Kelley believes these meetings would give Mass Highway the opportunity to understand the individual needs of each business. Selectmen's Meeting — July 11, 2005 Ms. Scheffler asked if they could expect the support of the Department of Public Works and the Engineering Department. Would these departments be willing to work as a team with the consultants? Mrs. Krieger said that the Town would commit the support of those departments. LexMedia FY05 Appropriation Ms. Vine, Assistant Town Manager, told the Board that Town Meeting established a revolving account to fund local access public educational, and governmental (PEG) programming. This action authorizes the Communications Advisory Committee, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to spend up to $400,000 annually. The revolving account is funded by payments to the Town under licensing agreements with cable television companies. The limitation on funds makes it difficult to get the endeavor off the ground during its first year. As a result, Ms. Vine has encumbered $150,000 from FY05 for the base operating and start up costs. This money will be used for replacing aging production equipment and possible build up of studio space. Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to appropriate $150,000 from the FY05 PEG account for the base operating and start up costs for LexMedia. Appoint Assistant Manager — Not Your Average Joes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Garrett Williams as an Assistant Manager at Not Your Average Joes. Appoint Acting Comptroller Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Laurie Dell' Olio as Acting Comptroller. FY 07 Street Acceptance Schedule Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the FY 07 Street Acceptance Schedule as drafted by the Engineering Department. Appointment of Election Officers Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the Election Officers as shown on the list of Election Officers as provided by the Town Clerk for the period beginning September 1, 2005. Selectmen's Ad Hoc Financial Policy Committee Mrs. Krieger has not been able to collect resumes from all of the proposed members and hopes that the Board will be able to appoint the members at the Board's August 1, 2005 meeting. Selectmen's Meeting — July 11, 2005 Compensation Increase — Selectmen's Office Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to offer a 4% step increase and 2% cost of living increase to the Executive Clerk and to offer a 2% cost of living increase to the Administrative Assistant. Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the June 27, 2005 as corrected. Executive Session Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of April 25, 2005, May 2, 2005, and May 16, 2005. Mr. Pagett had a question regarding the minutes of the April 13, 2005, that will be discussed during executive session. David Kanter, Appropriations Committee, asked what the process was for making Selectmen's meeting minutes available to the public in electronic form. Mrs. Krieger said at this point there is no process in place. However, currently Town staff is working on putting the minutes on the Town web site and hopefully this will begin shortly after Labor Day. Mr. Kanter asked that in the meantime these minutes be made available to his committee electronically as soon as possible. Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by roll call Mr. Cohen, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Pagett, Mr. Manz and Mrs. Krieger to go into executive session for the purpose of potential litigation, with no intent to return to open session. A true record, Attest: Lori Manning Clerk