HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-09-15-HATSII-min.pdf HATS II MEETING
September 15 1988 7.30 PM
Selectmen s Meeting Room, Lexington, Mass.
The Chairman, Jack Eddison, opened the meeting by reviewing the
proposed agenda and asking the attendees to read the attached
memorandum entitled 'Expansion of Hanscom Air Force Base and Associated
Area Development. He explained that the memo was the product of the
HATS II Working Group, as pulled together by the Lexington Town Manager,
Richard White The Working Group, composed of a selectman, a town
manager/administrator and a planner from each HATS II town, had
identified the questions to be asked and the impacts to be anticipated in
connection with the proposed construction at the Base.
The Chairman asked the meeting members for comments on the
memo, with the intent that its content, with revisions as needed, be
incorporated into a letter from HATS II to the Base Commander He also
expressed appreciation to the Working Group for its enthusiastic
involvement in the four town effort, for its analytical contribution and for its
demonstration of the value of close cooperation between the towns. The
comments of the meeting members on the Working Group memo were along
the following lines.
The memo was well received and was felt to provide a solid basis for
the proposed letter to the Base Commander In that letter the request for
traffic studies should specify that they take into account, not only the traffic
to be generated by the new Air Force facilities but also that which would
{ result from projects being planned or implemented by Massport, the
Minuteman National Historic Park and private developers. There was also
some discussion as to whether use could be made of the CTAS computer
model of Hanscom area traffic that was completed several years ago.
It was not clear whether the Air Force would be required to complete
an Environmental Impact Report on the proposed construction but it was
recommended that the letter to the Base Commander make reference to the
environmental concerns of the HATS towns.
It was agreed that we should get our message to the Air Force as
quickly as possible. The letter to the Base Commander should propose an
early meeting between four selectmen (one from each town) and the
representatives of the Air Base, the ESD, Lincoln Labs and Mitre To improve
future communication with the Air Force we should ask that they designate
a liaison person to receive HATS II notices and attend our meetings.
A consulting firm named the Benham Group is doing a site study for
the proposed Mitre building(s) in a new approach to that proposal. It was
reported that a new Mitre complex at Hanscom could entail as much as
500,000 sq. ft. of new construction. They are considering three possible sites
on Air Force land and one on Massport land. They believe that the Air Force
is exempt from local zoning restrictions It was also reported that the HAFB
Master Plan was to be presented at the 35% completion stage on September
20 with a one year target for final completion.
The second item on the agenda concerned the role of HATS II in
coordinating communication between the towns and the National Park
Service. Robert Nash of the NPS reminded the meeting that the Park Service
was asking for written comments on its draft Master Plan by November 1
Judy Uhrig of the Lexington Planning Board offered to take the lead and to
work with Concord and Lincoln counterparts in preparing a HATS II
commentary on the Plan.
On a more general note, the Chairman called attention to the fact that
HATS II had become involved in an increasing number of ongoing issues and
responsibilities over the course of the current year Having started out in
January with its primary focus being on the planned developments at the
Massport administered airport facility, HATS II soon found itself confronted
with the need to address complex questions posed by the plans and activities
of other large organizations. These have included the proposed construction
at HAFB the changes in the National Historic Park and adjoining lands and
road systems implicit in the draft Master Plan of the Park Service: and major
developments proposed by private developers. They have also included
recommendations that HATS II become involved in regional traffic studies
and especially those relating totraffic management on Route 128
For HATS II to be at all effective in addressing these issues, it
probably needs to meet more often and to have more analytical and
operational capabilities than can be provided by the town officials and
volunteers who attend its meetings. A partial solution can be provided by
working groups of town employees, but they are already fully occupied with
activities in their respective towns. An alternative solution of hiring a staff
person for HATS was turned down by the towns last fall. The meeting was
asked for its views on the best way of dealing with this problem.
There was a sense that the towns should give serious consideration to
putting some money for HATS II into their budgets for the next fiscal year
It was suggested that the business community might be asked to help There
was also a suggestion that Sen. Amick be asked to hunt up some state
money It was felt that the towns would probably not favor funding
additional staff positions but that they might well be willing to earmark
funding on the order of $10,000 each for the use of consultants. For the
towns to agree to the release of that money they would want to know what
the specific targets were for its use.
Under the third agenda item, there was a brief discussion of other
major Hanscom area projects. It was reported that Massport had issued RFPs
for studies of ways to alleviate Logan Airport s traffic problems through
better use of regional airports. The Chairman was requested to ask Massport
to keep HATS advised of any new proposals along such lines.
Under Agenda Item 4, it was agreed that the annual transfer of the
HATS II chairmanship (from Lexington to Lincoln) would take place at the
end of the calendar year
The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday October 19, at 7.30
PM, at the Lexington Town Offices.
Respectfully submitted,
/,ac 'ddison
II,