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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-04-13-BOS-min II Q4\;\;\ SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 13, 1981 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, April 13, 1981 at 7 30 p m. Chairman Buse, Mrs Battin, Mrs Miley, Mr Crain and Mr Politi; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks Assistant to the Town Manager and Miss Casey, Executive Clerk, were present Mrs, Jacquie Smith of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission met with Hanscom the Board to discuss legislation before the House and Senate pertaining to Field Logan Airport which might, eventually, affect Hanscom Field Mrs Smith referenced H 1058/S 1598 which would repeal the law which currently prohibits Mass Port from implementing its regulations on towing The original bill was passed in 1979 and since then them have been bills in the Legislature to get it repealed Mrs Smith felt that this was a case of the Legislature abrogating a State Agency when it has acted in good faith and in a public way H. 4814 is a bill to repeal the current minimum charge of $20 00 im- posed from 8 00 a m. until 8 00 p m at Logan to discourage small planes from using the airport. This bill is being supported by groups of corpor- 111 ate and small plane owners Mrs Smith felt that, if this bill is passed, the groups will then turn to the Noise Rules at Hanscom which are as annoying to them as the $20 00 minimum charge She stated that for the above reasons, as well as for general good government reasons she requested the Board to contact our legislators for their support Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to have the Chairman Write to Representative Doran and Senator Rotondi to vote in favor of H.1058/S 1598 and in opposition to H. 4814 The Board met with Messrs Goodman of the Hub Bus Lines relative to a Hub Bus petition for a fare increase and change in schedule for the Lexington/ Lines Boston Commutter Service. The Chairman referenced a petition from regular commuters who com- plained about the overcrowding, service and condition of some of the older busses Mrs Miley and Mr Crain both felt that "standees" should have straps or some other measure to hold onto for safety reasons Mrs Miley also brought out that the Bedford riders have been parking near the Parker School along Harding Road and the neighbors have been upset about this Mr Crain stated that last year during contract discussions, Mr Good- man had said that new equipment was to be added to the line which has not been done Mr Goodman responded that three busses in the fleet aren't even a year old and while frequently used for long-distance charter service, are used on the Lexington run three or four times a week Responding to the complaint regarding exhaust fumes in the busses, Mr Goodman stated that he has had Registry men come with their equipment and test the busses and they were found to be 0 K - 2 - a5 The problem of "standees" was addressed by Mr Goodman who said that it was planned to add two additional daily runs to the Great Road Shopping Center, but it was not anticipated that this could be done until the fall During further discussion, it was brought out by Mr Crain that the bus drivers were always courteous and drive safely despite the overcrowed con- ditions on the busses The Manager suggested that Mr Goodman meet with our Transportation Ad- visory Board to get its input into the situation and submit a report ad- dressing the problems brought up at this meeting Mr Hutchinson is to report back to the Board on the 27th MAPC Project Mrs Frick met with the Board regarding the reply to the Environmental #ENF-81-71 Notification Form on the Colangelo Property She stated that she felt that Colangelo it was a good time to re-emphasize the traffic problem on Hartwell Avenue/ Bedford Street and suggested that the developer be required to provide specific information showing the projected impact of the traffic from the de- velopment and what commitments he is prepared to make to reduce the impact of the additional traffic She stated that the wetlands questions have been re- solved to the satisfaction of the Conservation Commission and the order of conditions has been written Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Mrs Frick's suggested reply to the Environmental Notification Form MMA Mr James Segel, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Associa- Mr James tion met with the Board relative to his communication of March 10 in which he Segel referenced the roll call vote of the House on the issue of increasing local aid by $300 million dollars Representative Doran had written to the Board on March 25 expressing his discouragement by "misleading public statements made by the MMA to local officials concerning the recent vote to suspend House rules for introduction of a resolution*. Mr Doran felt that the implication was that those in the Legislature that had opposed to rules suspension for in- troduction of a resolution were also opposed to increased local aid Mr Segel explained that in issuing their comments on the vote, the MMA did not intend to insult Rep. Doran or any of the Legislators He stated that the Town was well represented in the Legislature and was glad to have the opportunity to resolve the misunderstanding He stated that the MMA had supported the resolution as nothing had been done at the state level to counter the affects of Proposition 2 1/2 The MMA is taking the stand that no State budget is acceptable which does not include at least $300 million in addi- tional local aid He noted that Govenor King's budget proposed an increase of $8 million in aid to cities and towns facing deficits under the tax-limit statute which he felt was not enough because of the loss of $600 million in the first 18 months The $300 million proposed by the MMA would be 50% of the anticipated shortfall The Board and the Manager had several questions for Mr Segel regarding his opinion as to which way the Legislature would go relative to excise tax, anti-growth provision He stated that he felt that the excise tax would not be increased but that it would not be abolished It was his opinioi9 that the Legislature must be made aware that more money must be given back to the cities and towns and that no matter what happens with 2 1/2 the property tax will go up again one way or another He felt that some reasonable override of the growth cap should be made The Manager stated that everyone is concerned about the affects of 2 1/2 on a multi-year basis and that the Town has made a lot of cuts to get where is right now and provide essential services - 3 - L a /0 Selectmen's Meeting April 13, 1981 l After further discussion, the Chairman thanked Mr Segel for coming and giving the Board his thoughts on the affects of Proposition 2 1/2 on the communities and where he thought the Legislature might make changes Mr. Segel expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to come before the Board and retired from the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, Mr. Politi abstaining, the Board voted to issue the following One Day Liquor Licenses: Moses Michael Hays Lodge, A F & A.M for April 16, 1981 at the One Day Museum of Our National Heritage Liq Lic St Brigid's Parish for May 3, 1981 at Kielty Hall, 2001 Mass Ave One Day Liq Lic Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Common renewal of the Common Carrier License for the Hudson Bus Lines. , 20 Union Carrier Street, Medford. Lie. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the min- Minutes utes of the Selectmen's Meeting of March 2, 1981. Mr Politi abstained The Chairman read a request from Sallyann W Maclntosh, Chairman of Middlesex 111 the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen requesting support for legislation which Cty Adv would allow the Middlesex County Advisory Board to limit and control the Board Middlesex County budget Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to circulate a peti- tion to be sent to our legislators requesting support for legislation which will allow the Middlesex County Advisory Board to limit and control the Middlesex County budget The Chairman read a request from Arlex Taxi Corp for renewal of its Arlex taxicab licenses for 1981. A report of Capt Lima indicated that all the Taxi listed vehicles had been inspected and found qualified for renewal except Lic. taxi #24 which had been in an accident recently This cab would not qualify for renewal until repairs have been made Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the licenses of the Arlex Taxi Corp on the following vehicles Taxi # Year Make Model ID # Plate 8 1978 Ply Sedan HL41DSF119653 9098 10 1978 Ply St Wgn HL45D8B196598 9097 12 1978 Ply St Wgn HL45D8B196600 9096 14 1980 Ply Sedan HL41CAF145760 625A 16 1980 Ply Sedan HL41CAF145757 6848 18 1980 Ply Sedan HL41CAF145758 6849 20 1980 Ply Sedan HL41CAF145761 6881 The Chairman read a request from Peking Garden Restaurant for permission to use its downstairs banquet room on Patriots Day prior to the parade to serve lunch to the United States Coast Guard Band and the United States Army Band members - 4 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of Peking Garden Restaurant for permission to use its downstairs banquet room on Patriots Day prior to the parade to serve lunch to the United States Coast Guard Band and the United States Army Band members Committees The Manager submitted a list of his committee appointments for 1981 and requested the press to give some coverage to these upcoming appointments so that people who might be interested in serving on a committee could come in and fill out a Talent Bank Questionnaire He requested the cooperation of the press in publishing the list due to the fact that the Town Report was not delivered to each home this year Adams The Manager informed the Board that the charge to the School Sites Conver- School sion Committee for Muzzey and Adams will be ready shortly The Board dis- cussed the feasibility of having another community meeting with the people in the Adams area and it was decided to have a meeting in Estabrook Hall early in May Tax Levy The Manager referred the Board to its copies of his letter to Commissioner Under L Joyce Hampers requesting clarification of the tax levy under Proposition Proposition 2 1/2 His question to Commissioner Hampers was whether the communities 2 1/2 that are currently under the 2 1/2 levy limit and in the process of completing revaluation would be restricted to a 2 1/2% increase of the existing levy or 2 1/2% of the new value. He will report to the Board when he has received an answer from the Commissioner Center The Manager reported that Center Pool is scheduled to open on June 13 in- Pool stead of Memorial Day weekend as it did last year. He felt that Mr... Prentiss and Miss Halverson would need direction from the Board prior to Memorial Day because of staffing details if the financial situation warranted an earlier opening It will be discussed again early in May Budget The Board and d the Manager briefly discussed the budget and Mr Hutchinson pointed out that cuts have already been made where possible and the budget, as it now stands, seems pretty firm. Mr Crain requested the Manager to get an analysis of the Town's cost for electricity and suggested that a committee be formed for this purpose Mr Busa commented that perhaps the Energy Committee could do this Mr $ut- chinson will come back to the Board with a report, Constable The Manager requested the Board's approval of the Constable's Bond for Bond John J Shine, Jr John J Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Constable• Shine Bond in the amount of $5,000 for John J Shine, Jr There was no Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 05 P.M A true record, Attest (-1-12 Executive Clerk ,,`