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Home My WebLink About1988-05-05-HATSII-min.pdf HATS II MEETING May 5, 1988 PRESENT Lexington Hanscom Air Force Base Jack Eddison Colonel CharlesSeifert Judy Uhrig Edward Shamon Jack Taylor Susan Dreibond Lincoln Robert Nash, National Historic Park John Caswell Larry Smith, Cranberry Hill Associates Liz Corcoran Paul Delphia, Lincoln Lab Rich Theriault Kathy Linhares , Senator Kraus staff Terry Fenton Bedford Michelle Matteo Bob Dorer Betsey Anderson Patricia White Concord Bill Sullivan John Hollywood Jim Waggett Jack Eddison opened the meeting of HATS II in the Selectmen 's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, Lexington, at 7 30 p m The minutes of the HATS II meeting on January 21st were accepted as presented H F.A.B DEVELOPMENT PLANS Mr Eddison introduced Colonel Charles Seifert and Ed Shamon of Hanscom Air Force Base who were present to review existing and current development plans at the Base and plans proposed for future expansion Colonel Seifert, Base Commander, spoke of Air Force efforts toward in- creased communication and cooperation with area towns to keep them informed of any proposed development plans and to work with the towns on such issues as traffic and the road system Mr Shamon displayed slides and reported on construction in the recent past such as Patriots Village housing for on-base workers which, in addition to stag- gered hours for workers housed off-base, he felt had helped to reduce peak-hour traffic volume on area roads A site plan of the Field was shown and various facilities located within the four towns were pointed out and uses described Mr Sharron spoke of a Traffic Abatement lan under which improvements to intersections and construction of new roads had been implemented He noted that in the three office buildings or "Systems Management Engineer- ing Facilities (SMEFs) " built since 1982, car pooling is encouraged Resultant industry-related traffic volume information on area roads was reviewed Hanscom AFB traffic patterns from 1972-1988 were explained, showing major reductions in a m and p.m traffic peaks at various Hanscom access points 5/5/88 - 2 - HATS II Funds have been approved for a K - Grade 8 Elementary School, and approval of plans for a children 's center is now underway Construction plans for SMEF #4 are new being processed for approval Colonel Seifert promised closer contact and communication with area towns to ensure "no surprises" regarding proposed construction, refurbishing and updat- ing of facilities which he felt necessary for ongoing operation of the Air Base A Base Comprehensive Plan, which is being updated after 20 years, should be ready for comments in September ' 88 Mr Shamon pointed out that in addition to those working in SMEFs 1 , 2, and 3, there are still approximately 1 ,000 persons in the Air Force work force work- ing off-site at various leased facilities Locating these operations on the Field would be economically advantageous as well as a means to decrease traffic volume off-base Mr Shamon outlined long-range construction plans now being developed for SMEF #5 (150,000 sq ft ) ; expansion of Lincoln Lab facilities ( 500 ,000 sq ft plus and 800 car garage He also discussed a feasibility study being conducted regard- ing Mitre on-base facilities (225-265,000 sq ft plus garage) probably to be loca- ted in the Lincoln sector of the Base A Traffic Impact Study relative to the new facilities is planned and Hanscom is exploring how best to contribute to regional traffic improvements, possibly through Defense Access Highways appropriations John Caswell referred to current Route 128 traffic congestion and felt that Hanscom should be aware of it and should address that issue as well as the impact on local roads of new construction He urged efforts to obtain Dept of Defense funding for road improvements Mr Caswell asked that the Air Force trnasmit the concerns expressed by HATS II to State and Federal officials and agencies regarding upgrading of major regional highways Colonel Seifert acknowledged that validity of this request and reported on Air Force efforts in that direction He saw Hanscom' s plans closely tied to coopera- tion with area towns Mr Eddison thanked Colonel Seifert and Mr Shamon for their comprehensive presentations of information He noted that he will be meeting with the North Lexington Traffic Improvement Committee in the near future in the near future for discussion of Air Force development plans and felt that the Committee would strongly oppose any expanded use at the Air Base which would impact North Lexington roads It was suggested that following the completion of other agenda items, discus- sion of the Hanscom plans be resumed UPDATE, STATUS OF HANSCOM RELATED LEGISLATION Mr Eddison reported on the status of bills filed by Senator Amick relating to Hanscom Field operations S1226 - Jet Fuel Tax -- engrossed in the Senate S1225 - Payments by Hanscom in Lieu of Taxes -- referred to study committee of Taxation Committee 5/5/88 - 3 - HATS II 51392 - An Act relative to non-aircraft development at Hanscom -- referred to Ways & Means Committee for study of revenue impli- cations 51391 - Night time operations -- adverse report by Transportation Committee UPDATE, 4-TOWN MAJOR DEVELOPMENT Mr Eddison noted that a May 11 meeting has been arranged by Senator Amick for discussion of the Burlington landlocked parcel which borders on Bedford and Lexington He reported that Francis X Bellotti had been engaged by Burlington to lead the discussion Mr Sullivan reported that Concord Selectmen had voted by a 5 - 1 vote for a retention of industrial land on Route 62, rather than conversion to residentially zoned land Mr Caswell reported on the County Commissioner' s April hearing on the pro- posal of Boston Properties for widening of Old County Road to accommodate new development He thanked HATS II 4-town members for support of Lincoln 's position in opposition to the proposal It was reported that plans for improvements of Route 2 in Lincoln and at Crosby's Corners are going forward It is hoped that in discussions with Secre- tary Salvucci , attention will be given to addressing Route 128 problems H F.A B DEVELOPMENTS (cont'd) Mr Eddison asked for return to discussion of development plans at Hanscom to gain a sense of what steps should be taken fy the four towns with respect to the proposed 1 ,000,000 sq ft expansion and the resultant impact on area roads Mr Dorer suggested that a letter be sent by HATS to State Officials , inform- ing them that the four towns are approaching grid-lock and asking for direction on procedures Mr Theriault felt that the matter should be worked at from a grass roots standpoint Mr Smith agreed that action by the four towns at this point is important Mr Eddison summarized the sense of the Commitee to be that the Selectmen of the four towns should be asked to meet and formulate recommendations on policies and procedures to be followed Mr Faramelli suggested that relief from traffic congestion meigh be best obtained by adjustments to transportation times by workers and by car pooling He felt that employers could exert major influence in this area Mr Theriault felt that resistance by workers to cooperate in this way would make any such program ineffective Ms Corcoran proposed that a sub-committee be formed to confer with each Board of Selectmen on its recommendations which woul be then brought back to HATS It was agreed that a sub-committee of the Selectmen members of HATS be formed that evening and that it should meet within two weeks to prepare recommen- dations to be submitted to the next meeting of HATS The meeting was adjourned at 10 13 p.m