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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-06 SB-min Select Board Meeting November 6, 2023 A meeting of the Lexington Select Board was called to order at 6:30p.m. on Monday, November 6, 2023, via a remote meeting platform. Mr. Pato, Chair; Ms. Barry, Mr. Lucente, Mr. Sandeen, and Ms. Hai were present, as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk; and Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager. PUBLIC COMMENTS None at this time. SELECT BOARD MEMBER CONCERNS AND LIAISON REPORTS 1. Select Board Member Concerns and Liaison Reports Mr. Pato noted that, last week, several Board members attended a ceremony at Hastings School, where Lexington teacher De’Shawn Washington received the 2024 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Also last week, LexHAB signed a purchase and sales agreement for a two-family home in East Lexington to be added to their inventory of affordable rental properties. Funding for this purchase was made possible through a combination of sources including funds from the Affordable Housing Trust, and from the Community Preservation Fund, as appropriated by Town Meeting. Ms. Hai stated that the Board was recently alerted to the fact that Mass DOT will be awarding Lexpress a $200,000 operating grant under the 2024 Community Transit grant program. TOWN MANAGER REPORT 1. Town Manager Weekly Update Mr. Malloy explained that he recently gave the Board some information on the number of immigrant families staying in hotels in Town. As of today, the number is at its max of 30 families, +/- 90 people. The Town is working to make sure that any of the children attending schools are immunized and that the schools are aware of how many children will be attending, the languages they speak, etc. A State liaison is working with the Town and the National Guard is on site to provide assistance to the families. Mr. Malloy noted that the Town's electric rate for residents will be changing this year. The Basic will be increasing from $9.94 per kilowatt hour to $13.08. The 100% Green plan will be increasing from $10.80 to $13.99 per kilowatt hour. The New England Green plan will be increasing from $13.22 to $15.65 per kilowatt hour. These rates are still substantially lower than Eversource’s current rates. DOCUMENTS: 10-27-23 Weekly Update, 11-3-23 Weekly Update CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve and Sign Proclamation – Employee Recognition Day To approve and sign a proclamation for Employee Recognition Day to honor all Town employees and to recognize those employees with 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 years of service. DOCUMENTS: 2023 Employee Recognition Day Proclamation 2. Approve Select Board Meeting Minutes - October 16, 2023 Select Board, October 18, 2023 FY2025 Financial Summit I, October 23, 2023 Select Board To approve and release the following minutes: October 16, 2023 Select Board, October 18, 2023 FY2025 Financial Summit I, October 23, 2023 Select Board DOCUMENTS: DRAFT 10162023 Select Board minutes, DRAFT 10182023-Financial Summit I, DRAFT 10232023 Select Board minutes 3. Approve and Sign Water and Sewer Adjustments To approve and sign the attached Water and Sewer Adjustments as recommended by the Water and Sewer Abatement Board on September 28, 2023. DOCUMENTS: Interest Only 9-28-23 WSAB VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted by roll call 5-0 to approve the Consent Agenda. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Accept FY2025 Street Acceptance Schedule & Vote Intent to Layout Tucker Avenue as Public Way Matt Weisman, Senior Civil Engineer, explained that the request is for the Board to sign a Notice of Intent to Lay Out a Public Way (Tucker Avenue). This is the first formal step in the street acceptance process. David Fairman, 5 Tucker Avenue, thanked the Board for considering the request. He noted that the abutters are willing to pay a cost for the betterment. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted by roll call 5-0 that the Select Board Intent to layout as a public way, Tucker Avenue from Carville Avenue southeasterly to the accepted portion of Tucker Avenue, a distance of 300 feet more or less; and further to approve the attached Notice of Intent to Lay Out Tucker Avenue. DOCUMENTS: Notice of Intention to Lay Out - Tucker Avenue, Memore:TuckerAve, Tucker Ave Unaccepted Limits 7. Review and Approve 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington Intermunicipal Agreement Between the Towns of Lexington, Arlington, Concord, and Lincoln – The Board took up this item at this time. Mr. Malloy explained that the Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) between Lexington, Arlington, Lincoln, and Concord has been negotiated over the past several months to provide various cooperative services related to the 250th celebrations for all four towns. This IMA provides $200,000 for these services, th divided evenly among the four Towns at $50,000 each. Lincoln approved this IMA on October 30. This will allow the towns the ability to hire a single event coordinator that would be coordinated through Concord, along with work on crisis communications and a website, which will be coordinated by the Town of Lexington. Lexington has funding available through ARPA and the earmark that was approved by the legislature. In total, the Lex250 Committee has $600,000 of available funding to spend. This IMA also establishes an eight-member committee to review RFPs, especially for the event coordinator, and also an eight-member advisory committee. The Board discussed the details of the IMA with legal counsel. There was no public comment at this time. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted by roll call 5-0 to approve the intermunicipal agreement as attached, with the amendment for an eight-member advisory committee, and further to authorize the Select Board to execute said intermunicipal agreement. DOCUMENTS: IMA Clean Final 2. Update and Design Options for Intersections  Adams Street/Hancock Street Intersection  Adams Street/East Street Intersection  Paul Revere Road/Cedar Street/Hill Street Intersection Ross Morrow, Assistant Town Engineer, explained to the Board that they will be hearing a presentation regarding the Hancock Street at Adams Street and Adams Street at East Street Intersection Improvements. Also, a presentation regarding the Cedar Street at Hill Street and Paul Revere Road Intersection improvements project. The Jacobs Design Team presented on these proposed intersection projects to the Board. Mr. Sandeen requested a picture of the scale of the proposed roundabouts compared to ones that already exist in Town. Mr. Morrow explained that this is only the first of many public outreach sessions and these are very draft preliminary designs. These roundabouts are proposed to be much smaller in scale than others in Town. Mr. Sandeen stated that he would like the design team to take into account the proximity to Fiske Elementary School and an existing pedestrian crossing in this area. He noted that he would also like to see all of the plans show the location of existing utility poles. He would like to make sure bike/pedestrian safety is adequately addressed within the Adams and Hancock concepts. He stated that the recommended concept is actually his least favorite, when making other considerations. Ms. Barry noted that Adams Street is free-flowing. She does not support the proposed recommendation made for this intersection at this time and does not understand why preference is being given to traffic on Adams Street. She asked if recent data has been collected for these intersections. Both intersections deal with nearby streets, and this should be taken into consideration. She suggested the design team consider teeing up East Street with Hathaway Street. Ms. Hai also noted that she is not a fan of the recommended proposal at Hancock and Adams. This is a very heavily pedestrian utilized intersection. She leaned toward presented option 1. For the Adams and East intersection, she would also lean toward stop signs. Mr. Lucente stated that he is not a fan of the signalization option at Hancock and Adams. He hopes for additional feedback and other potential design options. Mr. Pato stated that, for the Hancock and Adams Street design, he feels most comfortable with the teed- up stop sign direction. He would like to make sure there is adequate accommodation for multimodal transports and is not inclined to make sure throughput is very high in that area. Tim Wright, 55B Hancock Street, stated that the recommended proposal is the worst possible solution. It greatly increases pedestrian danger at this junction, and it makes life far more hazardous for abutters. The stated objective for this project was to improve overall safety, and the recommended proposal is the only one without improved safety as one of its pros. He echoed the comments made by Ms. Barry and Mr. Sandeen. Bryan Clark, 58 Hancock Street, stated that he would like to learn more about past issues with the intersection, including traffic volume, and pedestrian issues. He would like a higher level of transparency regarding this project and would like to be included in the discussion of this project as an abutter. Manuel Navia, 55 Hancock Street, stated that he would like information regarding traffic flow in all-stop situations, as this would be his preference. He noted that there is only one pedestrian crossing proposed and slowing cars down in additional ways would be a small price to pay for increased safety. He echoed Mr. Clark’s comments regarding being notified as an abutter of meetings on this topic. Tad Dickinson, 48 Hancock Street, stated that residents along Hancock Street are interested in reducing speed along the street. He is against the recommended solution, as it creates a speedway from Adams Street onto Hancock Street toward the Center. In the morning, cars already travel 40mph-45mph as there is nothing to slow them. While all-way stops would slow traffic the most, they are also the noisiest and most polluting. He would like to see more information regarding a minor regrading of this area in order to create an effective roundabout. Bertina Norford, 56 Hancock Steet, agreed that the recommended proposal would increase speeds and would be more dangerous. She believes a roundabout would keep traffic moving and be a better solution. Bernard Gunther, 26 Brent Road, stated that all of these intersections are heavily traveled. He suggested that the Board give the instruction to the designers to maximize pedestrian and bike safety, over traffic speed. He expressed concern regarding the diagrams for the roundabouts not being very clear on the pedestrian crosswalks. People cross these interchanges all the time, and it needs to be clear how these will work. Also, when dealing with the Adams Street to East Street connection, there is an existing school crosswalk with the school crossing guard which needs to be brought into the discussion. He asked if this could be an area for a raised crosswalk. Mr. Morrow discussed four potential Cedar Street project options with the Board. This project is related to the upcoming sidewalk construction along this street, and so is further along in the design process. Mr. Lucente stated that he believes the project should slow traffic and discourage cut-through traffic. Ms. Hai stated that the whole point of this sidewalk is to improve pedestrian safety. She expressed concern regarding how a traffic circle would work for larger vehicles, and the location of a stop sign leading directly into a roundabout. Ms. Barry asked if there is a preferred concept for this project. Mr. Morrow stated that each option has its benefits and drawbacks. The consultant currently prefers Cedar Street as a straight through and the Hill Street and Paul Revere Road intersection teed up. Mr. Morrow stated that he is more in favor of a roundabout. Ms. Barry stated that she does not believe the Town wants to encourage flowing through traffic. Mr. Sandeen stated that is a fan of roundabouts, but echoed Ms. Hai’s concerns regarding large 18- wheelers accessing a roundabout, and the free-flowing traffic on Cedar Street blowing through the intersection off Hill Street. Mr. Pato stated that he prefers roundabouts in general, as long as adequate pedestrian treatments are provided in the area. Tad Dickinson, 48 Hancock Street, thanked the Town for putting sidewalks on Hill Street. There are many children that access this area. The intention should be to slow down traffic at this intersection. He noted that he very rarely saw 18-wheelers come down this street when he lived in the area. Mr. Morrow stated that Staff will be back before the Board in about a month to discuss the options again. DOCUMENTS: Cedar Street Memo, Cedar Street Presentation, Adams - Hancock Memo, Adams - Hancock Presentation 3. Discuss Fossil Fuel Free Waiver Maggie Peard, Sustainability & Resiliency Officer, reviewed the Fossil Fuel Free Bylaw (adopted by the 2023 Annual Town Meeting). Section 106-5 of the Bylaw is specific to the process of waivers and the Board, under Section 106-5(F) is authorized to issue guidance to Staff on granting waivers. Staff have developed recommendations to the Board for this guidance for discussion purposes. Mr. Pato stated that his concern is that projects would be granted this waiver for a commercial viability at a level that is less significant than the Board might want. He would like guidance regarding what could be nonviable differences versus gray areas. Ms. Barry suggested including language that all information must be received from an application within a certain number of days in order for the application to be considered complete. Mr. Sandeen echoed Mr. Pato’s comments regarding lack of guideline for what financial or commercial viability means. Ms. Peard stated that Staff would take the comments given and revise the bylaw. The Board can review language at a future meeting for final guidance. DOCUMENTS: Fossil Fuel Free Bylaw, Staff Recommendations 4. Approve Planting of Replacement Tree on Battle Green Dave Pinnsoneault, Director of Public Works, requested Board approval for the planting of one new tree on the Battle Green. This tree will replace a declining tree being removed due to its failure. The replacement tree will also continue to serve as a memorial tree. The new tree will be selected from the Battle Green Master Plan Tree selection. Installation of this new tree would be slated for late fall, along with other Town fall tree plantings. Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock Street, explained that trees on the Battle Green, especially ones installed in memorial, are supposed to be based on veteran status. This is under the purview of the Board, and she requested this item be tabled for more information. Mr. Pato asked Mr. Pinnsoneault if he could move ahead with installation of the tree, while addressing the memorial at a later time. Mr. Pinnsoneault agreed that this would a possibility. Mr. Pato stated that the Board would later review and potentially vote on a memorial for this tree. DOCUMENTS: 2023.11.01 Memo - Battle Green Tree Planting request 5. Special Town Meeting 2023-1  Revised Motion - STM 2023-1 Article 7: Appropriate Housing Resale and Rental Monitoring Fees Ms. Axtell explained that the Affordable Housing Trust Board of Trustees recommending Article 7 for indefinite postponement at this time.  Select Board Article Discussion, Presenters and Positions The Board reviewed its positions. The Board was unanimously in favor of indefinite postponement of Article 7 - Appropriate for Housing Resale and Rental Monitoring Fees at this time. The Board discussed its positions for Article 9 - Authorize Home Rule Petition for Special Legislation – Establishing the Election of Town Offices using Ranked Choice Voting (Citizens’ Petition). Mr. Pato, Mr. Sandeen, and Ms. Hai were yeses. Ms. Barry was a no. Mr. Lucente remained a wait.  Motion - STM 2023-1 Article 12: Amend Zoning By-Law - 2013-2027 Massachusetts Avenue (Owner Petition) The Board discussed Article 12. Mr. Sandeen remained a wait. Mr. Lucente, Ms. Barry, Ms. Hai, and Mr. Pato were yeses.  Discuss Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between AB Holdings, LLC and the Town of Lexington, Massachusetts The Select Board discussed the Memorandum of Understanding between AB Holdings, LLC and the Town of Lexington, Massachusetts. Mr. Sandeen noted that there is a proposal within the MOU to delete a couple of reporting requirements that the owner is currently obligated to inform the Board or Staff of any written complaints of any motor vehicle accidents on site. This item has worked well for some number of years and has given the Board comfort. He would like to see this valid reporting continue. Mr. Pato echoed Mr. Sandeen’s concern. Trisha Kennealy, owner, explained why the proposal within the MOU is being made. She noted that she does not envision large parties of approximately 120 people arriving regularly. The Board reviewed Article 8 - Appropriate for Speed Hump Pilot Program. Chief Sencabaugh stated that the Fire Department is against speed humps, due to a concern for response time. Speed bumps can traditionally attribute up to 10 seconds in delay per speed bump when responding. Typically, a fire doubles in size every 60 seconds. Mr. Pinnsoneault expressed concern with storage of temporary speed humps and plowing if the speed humps are proposed to remain in place. Surveying would be needed to find appropriate placement. Chief McLean stated that he has concerns regarding this pilot program. People may start to avoid areas where these speed humps are installed, increasing traffic in other areas, or people may accelerate faster after the speed humps. Mr. Pato noted that this pilot is proposed for a street for which there are not alternatives for access. The pilot is intended to understand what the consequences are of installation and where are the appropriate locations. Mr. Lucente explained that, while he hears the concerns from the public safety officials, this seems to be a data-driven approach to give the Board extra information in order to find an appropriate solution. DOCUMENTS: Article 7 IP motion, Article 12 motion, Article 12 - Draft MOU, Article 12 - Original 2012 MOU PSDUP, Moderator's proposed schedule of articles, Select Board Working Document - Positions STM 2023 -1 6. Review and Approve American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Requests Mr. Malloy explained that there are three ARPA requests. The first is a $10,490 request from the Recreation Department for therapeutic recreation safety & supplies for non-violent intervention training and supplies. The second is a $15,300 request from the Town Clerk for high-speed scanning equipment to better facilitate mail-in voting tabulation. The third is a $6,250 request from a Select Board member seeking funding for 1/4 of the local cost of a study of particulate matter created by Hanscom Field. The $50,000 study has $25,000 coming from Massport CAC; $25,000 from four adjacent communities; and the other 3/4 coming from three other abutting towns. As shown in the ARPA Spreadsheet, the total amount that has been approved to date is $8,313,868 of the Town's $9,903,381 allocation. The most recent requests total $32,040 which, if all are approved, would leave a balance of $1,557,473. The Board was unanimously in favor of the first and second requests. The Board discussed the third request. Ms. Barry asked for additional information on this item and questioned why there is not funding for this item elsewhere than through ARPA. She noted that this item did not come before the Board through the normal format with the supporting materials. Barbara Katzenberg, 37 Moon Hill Road, stated that the group would like to get the study done as soon as possible. The intention is to get as much data as possible while the project is going through an environmental review. Mr. Pato stated that he would like to pull this item from further consideration tonight. He requested information for the full proposal, along with consideration of alternate sources of funding. He will work with the proponents on this item. The Board agreed and expressed interest in hearing more about this item in the future. Dawn McKenna, 9 Hancock Street, stated that she is concerned that there is not ARPA funding being put toward tourism in Town. She asked the Board to make it a priority to request items of this type to be presented by the Town Manager. VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted by roll call 5-0 to approve the following ARPA Requests: $10,490 for Therapeutic Recreation Safety & Supplies; and $15,300 for Election Modernization. DOCUMENTS: ARPA Spreadsheet for 11-6-23 (3rd Quarter), Therapeutic Recreation Safety & Supplies, Election Modernization, Hanscom Field Emissions Study, Prevailing Winds KBED yearly, Hanscomand Lexington Google Map View 7. Review and Approve 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington Intermunicipal Agreement Between the Towns of Lexington, Arlington, Concord, and Lincoln This item was previously addressed. ADJOURN VOTE: Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Select Board voted by roll call 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 9:17pm. A true record; Attest: Kristan Patenaude Recording Secretary