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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-11-23-BOS-min 3" SELECTMEN'S MEETING November 24, 1980 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in Estabrook Hall on Monday, November 24, 1980 at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager and Miss Casey, Executive Clerk were present Chairman Miley opened the hearing on the petition of the Gulf Oil Com- Gulf Oil pany for permission and license to remove existing six (6) 3,000 gallon Gasoline underground gasoline storage tanks and the installation of fear (4) 10,000 Hearing gallon underground gasoline storage tanks and one (1) 10,000 gallon under- ground diesel storage tank on the premises at Marrett Road and Waltham St The Chairman read a report from the Fire Chief stating that an in- spection had been made of the premises and all regulations had been met and recommended approval by the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Gulf Oil Company to remove existing six (6) 3,000 gallon underground gasoline storage tanks and install four 10,000 gallon fiberglass under- ground gasoline storage tanks and one (1) 10,000 gallon underground diesel storage tank on the premises at Marrett Road and Waltham Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, Mr Busa abstaining, it was voted Liquor to renew the following liquor licenses for the year 1981 Licenses Renewals PACKAGE GOODS STORES Berman's Market, Incorporated 1775 Wine & Spirit Shop, Inc Vinebrook Corporation Busa Bros Liquors, Inc Lexington Liquor Mart, Inc RESTAURANTS Bora-Bora, Inc Peking Gardens LeBellecour Yangtze River Restaurant INNHOLDER Sheraton-Lexington Motor Inn CLUBS Lexington Golf Club Lexington Lodge #2204 Elks Knights of Columbus Council No 94 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the Entertain- Enter- ment License for the Sheraton-Lexington Motor Inn for the year 1981 tainment License Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's Meetings of August 18, 1980 (open and Executive Session)and Executive`Session of September 8, 1980 (as corrected) J .) - 2 - Traffic Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the recom- Safety mendations of the Traffic Safety Committee relative to complaints from citi- zens on safety problems on Bow Street, Walnut Street and Lawrence Lane CATV Upon motion duly made and seconded, Mr Kent abstaining, it was voted to close the CATV hearings on December 1, 1980 at 4 30 p m. Auctioneer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the issuance License of an Auctioneer License for one day, December 4, 1980, to Robert J Virtue Boston Chairman Miley opened the hearings on the petition of the Boston Edison Edison to install 8 feet of conduit in Walnut Street and 54 feet of conduit in Con- cord Avenue Notices of the hearings were sent to the abutters Mr Robert Malis addressed the Board explaining the necessity for the conduit The Chairman read the report from the Director of Public Works/Eningeering which recommended approval of the requests Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the petition of the Boston Edison Company for permission to install 8 feet of conduit in Walnut Street, southerly, approximately 1,230 feet southwest of Concord Avenue Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the petition of the Boston Edison Company for permission to install 54 feet of conduit in Concord Avenue, southwesterly, approximately 1,725 feet southeast of Chad- bourne Road Hearing was opened on the petition of the Boston Edison for the reloca- tion of pole 110/12 in Walnut Street Notices were sent to the abutters Mr Malis explained that the work was necessary to clear driveway of new house Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the petition of the Boston Edison Company for permission to relocate pole 110/12 in Walnut Street N E Tel & Hearing was opened on the petition of the Boston Edison and N E Tel Telephone & Telegraph Company for joint pole location on Washington Street Boston Notices were sent to the abutters Edison Mr Robert Boudreau represented the Telephone Company and Mr Robert Malis represented the Boston Edison It was explained that the proposed pole was needed as owner of new home requested removal of wires across property, consequently said pole was needed to properly service several other customers Upon motion duly made and seconded, Mr Crain abstaining, it was voted to approve the petition of the Boston Edison Company and the N E Telephone Company for a joint pole location on Washington Street, one pole 108/lA The Chairman declared the hearings closed and Mr Malis and Mr Boudreau retired from the meeting Revenue The Manager informed the Board that he had received a letter from Rep Sharing Shannon stating that H R 7112, General Revenue Sharing bill, had been passed H R 7112 by the House of Representatives Under the bill cities and town will be eligible for $4 6 billion a year in revenue sharing funds for the next three years It also authorized $2 3 billion for state participation in revenue sharing c/ ' — 3 — Selectmen's Meeting November 24, 1980 The Manager informed the Board on the following items The Massachusetts Firefighter's Academy will be using a vacant house Manager's at 76 Concord Avenue for training firefighters The house is boarded up, Items vacant and has been vandalized It is owned by the State and Met State Hospital Training has been scheduled for November 24, 25, 28 and 29 and all neighbors have been notified It will be burned as part of the training Representative Doran has contacted the Manager and he suggested that Rep Doran be requested to consider filing legislation that calls for The abolishment of Middlesex County Government or enabling legislation to allow towns to decide whether or not they want to participate in County Government The Manager feels that the Governor's legislation relative to the META does not provide managerial rights that are necessary to run the MBTA. He feels that the Cohen/Barrett bill does not address binding arbitration for the Carmen and_should be changed Under Chapter 41, Section 111F -- Off Duty Pay for Work Related In- juries -- he feels that this statute has become a matter of abuse by many He referenced recent incident with two firefighters It is his opinion that if the town pays the money, it should be the one to determine the level of incapacitation He would like the statute amended, not to com- promise legitimate injuries, but to provide the capacity to question the ' injuries and encourage people to go back to work The Mass Municipal Association has taken a stand on Local Aid/Tax Reform and he feels that its position of getting off the property tax and allowing for expansion of local aid, cost constraints should be supported Mrs Battin informed the Board that a meeting of over 300 selectmen, managers and mayors and the Mass Municipal Association was held on Satur- day The Tax Policy Committee, which she chaired, had been directed by the Board of Directors to come up technical corrections to Proposition 2 1/2 to make it possible to work administratively She stated that the Municipal Association is trying to help the communities deal with 2 1/2 rationally and responsibly and has printed a booklet givingideas for dealing with the problem A long range tax reform property tax relief proposal was adopted by the Association and legislation is going to be filed Mr Kent reopened the question of off duty pay for woxk_related in- juries to public employees and suggested that the Manager be authorized to contact Sen Rotondi and Rep Elect Doran regarding the Board's position in this matter The Board agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the G_b. Ch 14 Manager to communicate with Sen Rotondi and Rep elect Doran the Board's Sec 111F desire that a bill be filed to enable the Legislature to deal with the question of determination of injuries of public employees under Chapter 41, Section 111F The Board met with Mr George Wadsworth, Chairman of the Appropria- Appropria- tion Committee regarding the Committee's report in the town warrant It tion was the opinion of the Committee that this procedure, as has been followed Committee in the past two years, was unsatisfactory because of incomplete financial L _ 3u - information for. Committee members to vote on due to the fact that the :Se- lectmen determined what they will request by the middle of January when the warrant must go to be printed They take a Committee vote before the report goes out and then have to vote again on items possibly two or three times more He felt that it was unfair to ask a Committee member to vote on specific item without knowing what, in general, the budget is going to be The Board discussed the matter and the Chairman informed Mr Wads- worth that they would take it under further advisement and inform him of its decision. The Chairman thanked Mr Wadsworth for bring the matter to the Board's attention and he retired from the meeting Police The Manager informed the Board that he had concluded an agreement with Contract the police union and that the law provides that within 30 days of the sign- ing of the contract (which has not been signed yet) and he would request that the Board call for a special town meeting in January He recommended the week of January 12 for Town Meeting to pass on the contract Prop 2 1/2 The Board met with Town Boards and Committees and citizens of the town Meeting to discuss the impact of Proposition 2 1/2 on the town budget The Manager addressed the Board and the audience and presented a pre- liminary budget and explained that the figures were only projections and subject to change He explained that the immediate problem is an estimated loss of $900,000 in revenue during the year He suggested appropriate measures to absorb some of the loss including cutting back on non-essential costs and controlling overtime and delaying capital construction He pointed out that State and County assessments were unpredictable He also stated. that he anticipated about a $400,000 loss in receipts area but has been made up somewhat in the expense area because Clarke Jr High is now paid for Offsetting expenses will be experienced but there is a revenue loss in the sense of the Cherry Sheet because it is made in the expense area He feels that overall it will be a help Further reductions presented by the Manager for consideration were the periodically closing of the East Lexington fire house based upon avail- ability of manning, cutting of the detail rate for Itek, cutting out the afternoon parade on Patriots day, deletion of private contractors for snow removal, and reduction in printing of the town report, if legally possible He pointed out that the Board of Selectmen are the major fee setting authority in the town including sewer, rubbish and water fees and can be adjusted to generate revenue He stated that based upon a 55%/45% sharing of the schools tax, he hoped that Dr Lawson and he would have some direction, for addi- tional planning purposes, that they could go forward on the assumption that if there has to be rollbacks it would be on a 55%/45% basis just for plann- ing purposes which is subject to change Chairman of the School Committee, Otis Brown, said his department would like to cooperate, but he had his doubts that it could be accomplished Dr Lawson, stated that the School Depart- ment has eliminated 150 positions in the last five years and that they could be near the "bottom of the line" Upon questioning from Mr Crain, Dr Lawson stated that the student-teacher ratio hasn't changed because the eliminated positions were mainly administrative, secretarial, payroll and accounting positions ' Ii - 5 - y� Selectmen's Meeting November 24, 1980 Theues io q t n of user fees was discussed and the Manager explained that the proponents of Proposition 2 1/2 have pointed out that towns under utilize the use of fees for raising revenue He will be recommending a water, sewer and refuse fee Mr Crain asked the Manager if the schools generate some fees did he propose that they have the management of the funds Mr Hutchinson stated that, at the present time, he felt that the municipal budget was in .better shape than the school budget, and while it is a policy decision, he would recommend sharing with the school system the benefit of all of the revenue Mr Crain stated that serious consideration should be given to the schools retaining the fees that they generate The Manager stated that regarding service reductions and layoffs, reducing service would also mean reduction in help and that school was more payroll and he did not see any layoffs due to service reductions He stated that he will not be recommending any substantial professional lay- offs Mr Crain stated that one of the things to be looked at is that the span of supervision, which in good times, can be very rich but in times like these, there is an obligation to look very critically at, not only laying off the workers, but supervisors Mr Hutchinson stated that there will be some professional and tech- nical staff reductions but he is trying to avoid that this fiscal year Policy making relative to service reductions would have a bearing on the layoffs Mr Hutchinson stated that his approach to the "free cash" was to see what cost containment can be made now to save as much as possible and utilize the $3,000,000 "free cash" to absorb the difference Mr Crain cautioned that a reasonable to retain a "reasonable free cash" in order to get the best rates possible in funding He stated that he felt that it was very fallacious to reduce the "free cash" and spend it on long term borrowing The Manager stated that he felt that existing services should be cut back now in order to make up some of the revenue loss by the excise tax He felt that if all the agencies could generate new fees some of the impact of Proposition 2 1/2 can be rolled back He expressed his concern about the State budget situation and felt that it was time for cities and towns look. to tax reform in the State Mr Grush, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, informed the Board that revaluation is going as scheduled and the report will be in to the Board and the assessors in May Mr Kent asked what date the property owners would obtain the infor- mation of what is the valuation of their property Mr Grush stated that the impact notices that will set forth the values for individual properties will go out about a month prior to the completion of the contract Mr Cohen informed the Board that relative to bonding, the rating agencies have not, as yet, made a decision on what they are going to do III as far as Massachusetts municipalities is concerned However, as for new debt, unless there is some Legislative changes, they won't be able to have opinions anymore which say that our bonds will be made from unlimited z4 - 6 - J taxation because it will be limited by the 2 1/2 legislation and that it will affect the rates which will be much higher Questions from the audience were answered by the Manager who stated that all agencies were going to be asked to cut back where possible in order to help offset the $900,000 revenue loss The Chairman thanked all Committee representatives and others in attendance for taking part in the meeting and resumed the rest of the Select- men's meeting The Manager requested the Board to discuss his suggested cutbacks and stated that more information would be needed on the East Lexington Fire House recommendation and requested direction on the snow removal suggestion. He stated that he had received no objections from Chief Corr or Chief Bergeron This referred only to pick-up in the center Snow Removal Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Center Manager to delete the services of private contractors for snow removal in the center Police The Board discussed the Manager's suggestion to cut out the police Itek detail at Itek Mr Kent stated that he was reluctant to vote on this without first sending notification to Itek Chief Corr suggested that Itek be notified that the detail was going to be cut out by the town, but if they wanted to pay for it it could con- tinue The Manager is to notify Itek that this police detail would be cut out unless they wanted to pay for it and is to report back to the Board on December 8 Town Report Reduction in the printing of the town report was discussed and the Manager is to come back to the 'Board at the Deceniser 8 meeting with. infor- mation as to how far, legally, it can be cut back Patriots' The Patriots' Day parades were discussed and Mr Crain suggested com- Day bining the youth parade with the afternoon parade as .a means of cutting expenses It was the feeling of the Board that some means of providing pleasure for citizens should be retained, if possible, during this time Mr Kent felt that the youth parade in the morning was a tradition and that the Town Celebrations Committee should be consulted about it and that per- haps the Committee could come up with suggestions of cutting back on the afternoon parade without cutting it out altogether The Manager suggested that at the next meeting public works projects be discussed to see where delays can be implemented The Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 10 30 p m A true record, Attest Yde66,e--a L-727 Od Executive Clerk 3 (\i1