Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-12-15-ART40-min APPROVED Article 40 ad hoc Committee December 15, 2004, Minutes of Meeting Attendance Tony Galaitsis Wendy Heiger-Bernays Tom Diaz Jim Sheehy Judy Crocker Sheryl Mason Jeanne Krieger Jim Wilson Derek Fullerton Guests Molly Crockett, MPH candidate, BU School of Public Health David Eagle, President of Arlex Oil Co John Hamsch, Consultant to Arlex Oil Co Mr Galaitsis called the meeting to order at 7 30 a.m. in the Selectmen's meeting room. Mr Hamsch gave a 15-minute presentation on an analytical model he used to estimate emissions at the bike path and at the house nearest the C&W site on Bedford Street. The model made certain assumption about the dispersion of gases with distance from the emissions source to predict the concentration of gas pollutants produced by 20 buses In his opinion, the diesel bus warm up operations at the C&W site have no significant health effects at the nearest home Mr Galaitsis referenced documents (e-mailed earlier to committee members) with anti- idling by-laws from California and other states He also presented hardcopies of information he obtained from Caterpillar's website (following a conversation with a Caterpillar engineer) specifying that their recent engines need not be idled more than five minutes Specifically, the information available at Caterpillar's website (http.//www cattruckengines com/ACERT/index.htm) a) Directs operators to shut engines down, if they plan to park a vehicle for more than 5 minutes, and, b) Recommends limiting the engine start-up idling to the time needed for a"walk- around inspection" Mr Sheehy distributed a 1-page list of other towns that (like Lexington) have enacted noise by-laws He indicated that Lexington is not at the cutting edge on noise issues, as some may think. He stated that there are differences between the by-laws of different towns Some are general, citing existing federal and state laws, and some are more specific on periods that the noise by-law applies, and on enforcement or exemptions He also brought a 3-ring binder containing the full text of several noise by-laws, which he offered for anyone's review APPROVED 1 APPROVED Ms Crockett gave a presentation on activities of other towns regarding engine idling. She interviewed officials, including police officials, in several other towns including Lenox, Medford, and Mississauga (Canada), about the educational work done in those towns She presented several concrete and specific programs that had been successful in some of these towns and had been replicated by the others Ms M. Crockett also had surveyed Billerica, Newton, Waltham, Woburn, and the state association of Health Boards to gauge the awareness in towns (e g., police stations) of local noise by-laws and local anti-idling laws This survey showed that in some towns, like Woburn and Waltham, police officials said they were unaware of local laws even though we have other evidence that the towns do in fact have such laws (It is possible they are aware of local anti-noise ordinances but do not associate those with a question about engine idling.) Ms Crockett's recommendations were that at a minimum, we should conduct the awareness/education campaign. She also recommended that we collect baseline data that could be used at a later date to evaluate such a program. Ms J Crocker presented a draft outline of an education program, which she had prepared with Ms Klimoff She identified several issues that would need to be addressed including Securing volunteers that will implement the education program, Funding for printing material such as the Lenox flyer provided to her by Ms Klimoff, which may require a few thousand dollars a year; Funding for permanent signage It was suggested that the DPW be consulted about cost of making and installing signs The possibility of applying for a grant was brought up by the 1/15/05 deadline was also discussed. Mr Diaz reported his conversation with Lt Mark Corr about whether a local by-law would improve enforcement practices Lt Corr assured him that the Lexington Police would carry out their duty in any event He believes that "99 9%" of the benefits could be had with a serious campaign of education. He believes there is a permanent need for signage and other forms of education, partly because (for instance) there are people that are chronic idlers and new parents every year who need to hear the message He said that if we have a by-law he believes it should have a range of penalties (civil violations) so that officers have some enforcement options less severe than Concord court. He also said this is a problem that affects only a limited number of businesses, schools, the depot square, and Lexpress buses Mr Diaz concluded that we should enact an education campaign first and, in some way, measure whether that makes a difference„ before we do the additional legal work of a by-law Ms Heiger-Bernays reported that the town attorney urges us to get warrant language together soon and to think carefully about "unintended consequences" of a by-law He says it is appropriate to recommend an education campaign while continuing to evaluate the need for a by-law in the future The committee considered Mr Galartsis's question "have we considered all side-effects of a by-law9" Six members voted No, with Mr Sheehy abstaining. APPROVED 2 APPROVED Ms Krieger made a motion "I move that we commit to having the Committee's term extended, that the education program be defined and initiated, that the committee continue evaluating issues related to an anti-idling by-law, and that the committee determine whether such a by-law be presented at the spring 2006 Town Meeting." The motion was seconded by Mr Sheehy Discussion followed the motion. The intervening time would be for drafting of the by-law and implementation and assessment of the education program. Mr Sheehy stated that the committee is not trying to be anti-business, however, are trying to achieve a win-win solution for the entire town. Mr Wilson expressed his reasons for opposing the motion. As a business representative, he found the material presented very valuable, and believed the education campaign would work. However, what he saw was neighbors or neighborhood groups commonly accosting businesses because someone has an ax to grind, it happened to Wilson Farms, and it's happening to Arlex Oil Co In Mr Wilson's view, the strategy seems to be that they [neighbors] gather as many charges as they possibly can, whether valid or invalid, and then they throw them upon the businesses to defend themselves This [by-law] is another rock to throw at the local businesses From his perspective, the education campaign offers the "best bang for the buck" In his mind, the committee was appointed because of a neighbor's dispute with Arlex Oil" He reiterated that education should be the beginning and the end of this whole thing. In response to Mrs Heiger-Bernays' question about his position about the [anti-idling] State law, Mr Wilson cited a recent example of a truck driver that had to keep his engine on to stay warm. He stated that he did not see the need for a [town] by-law given that there is a state law; and considered the education campaign a bonus He said his concerns were one of the side effects that the committee has not considered. Ms Heiger-Bernays asked Mr Wilson whether he informed the driver about the state law Mr Wilson said that he tells all of his drivers that he is able to contact He asks them to deliver only between the hours of 7 00 [am] and 7 00 [pm] For years he tried to divert them, but there is occasionally the guy that ignores the instructions, and he comes in [early], and in 20 degrees temperature he idles Mr Wilson discourages it, as best as he can, but cannot be 100% successful. [Punishing such a driver] would be one of the unintended consequences of the by-law Mr Galartsis commented that when he volunteered for the Noise By-Law committee he never thought about Arlex, the Arlex issues came after the Noise By-law Furthermore, the by-law provided the Selectmen the means for granting exemptions in cases of hardship The noise by-law does not go after the one-time offender but seeks to punish the habitual violators that won't get educated. Article 40 was simply intended to correct an oversight, by bringing the anti-idling wording of the Lexington Noise By-law in line with the state by-law Mr Galartsis indicated that the initially proposed Article 40 anti- idling wording was meant to help the Lexington Police like the remaining part of the noise by-law He supported this argument by recalling that during his tenure on the Noise APPROVED 3 APPROVED By-law committee, Lt Mark Corr had welcomed the noise by-law and had stated that if we wanted the Lexington Police to enforce the State Noise law, we should adopt it as a town by-law Ms Krieger pointed out that, if we have a by-law, we would have a year to draft it and draft it in a way would consider potential impact to businesses, and in some cases it may even be a tool that would provide them protection, if we did it right With post-motion discussion completed, Mr Galaitsis called for a vote The vote was five in favor, Mr Wilson and Mr Diaz opposed. Following the vote, Mr Diaz 2006 requested that the committee's report to the Town Meeting states that the committee is advocating a warrant article in 2006 but it may in fact indefinitely postpone it pending the information it gathers from the education campaign. He added that he would move in 2006 to take it off the warrant if he does not see any more information about the benefits of a local by-law than he has seen so far Mr Galaitsis suggested that one way to proceed is to prepare a majority and a minority report, and then see if they can be fused together Mr Diaz stated he'd be glad to do that Mr Krieger indicated that it will be necessary to get a cost estimate and look for grants for the education campaign because it is unlikely that there would be any funds from the Lexington School department, Mr Tom Diaz agreed with that assessment Ms Crocker, Ms Klimoff, and Ms Krieger, Ms Heiger-Bernays, and Mr Diaz offered to work on the estimate of the education campaign costs and on a description of the program. Mr Fullerton will ask the DPW about signage costs One of the grant deadlines that might be relevant is January 15, 2005 Meeting was adjourned at approximately 9 a.m. Thomas R. Diaz APPROVED 4