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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-07-07-BOS-min cA(50\' SELECTMEN'S MEETING JULY 7, 1980 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, July 7, 1980, at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Mana- ger; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, Selectmen, were present The Chairman convened the meeting at 7 30 and the Board discussed the 1980 annual committee appointments Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to make the following appointments COMMITTEE/PERSON TERM EXPIRATION DATE BOARD OF APPEALS Irving Mabee 5 years May 31, 1985 BOARD OF APPEALS (ASSOC) William Hays fill vacancy May 31, 1981 Robert M. Gary 1 year Eric T Clarke " William J Scouler TTClarence D Turner Robert V Whitman " " PERSONNEL ADVISORY BOARD Joanne G Small, Chairman 3 years May 31, 1983 Richard Daggett fill vacancy TOWN REPORT COMMITTEE Erna S Greene 1 year May 31, 1981 Raymond J Culler " Robert B Sawyer " Patricia Kaczmarczyk fill vacancy " Robert Morrison Patricia Rosenthal " Louis A. Zehner POLICE MANUAL POLICY COMMITTEE Robert B Kent 1 year May 31, 1981 William C Hays Alexander J Cella " " Hugh M. Chapin Irving H Mabee Gerald L McLeod " " Chief James F Corr " SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Katherine G Fricker 1 year May 31, 1981 Gordon E Barnes, Jr " " David Laredo George F McCormack Kenneth W Nill " Richard J Rycroft TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC TRUSTS Frederick B James 6 years May 31, 1986 BRIDGE CHARITABLE FUND Frederick B James 3 years May 31, 1983 CAMEL LEGACY INCOME TRS Helena Butters 1 year May 31, 1981 Leona W Martin 1 year " SCHOOL SITES CONVERSION COMMITTEE Mary W Miley 1 year May 31, 1981 Roland B Greeley iv " William P Kennedy it Joseph 0 Rooney " " Arthur C Smith William T Spencer " " Robert M Hutchinson, Jr it " r. HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE John Mackey fill vacancy May 31, 1981 YOUTH COUNSELOR Charles H McManus 1 year May 31, 1981 TOWN CELEBRATIONS COMMITTEE William P Fitzgerald 3 years April 30, 1983 Raymond J Flynn Robert C Jackson Marion H Snow / " /4S/ DanielW Murphy 3 " 513 C Jean Coates 3 "" sP3 After discussion, the Board agreed to table the appointments to the Cen- ter Revitalization Committee and Fence Viewers Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table appointments to the Center Revitalization Committee and Fence Viewers The Board also discussed the vacancy on the Sewer Advisory Committee and agreed to table the appointment Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the appointment to fill the vacancy on the Sewer Advisory Committee The Board discussed the appointments to the School Sites Conversion Com- mittee and Mr Busa suggested that the present committee members be reappointed to handle the Munroe School only He stated that he felt that it was too much work to handle the disposition of all of the schools that would be closing The Board agreed and that it would not preclude overlapping members and that the separate committees could coordinate their thinking when the committees ' for the other schools have been formed - 3 - 2 C Selectmen's Meeting July 7, 1980 The Board discussed a letter from Janice L Harrington, Director of Pub- Clean lic Information, of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, stating that the Air Day Council, in conjunction with the U S Environmental Protection Agency, is MAPC promoting September as "Clean Air Month" MAPC requested that Lexington ap- point a local "Clean Air Day" coordinator and make "Clean Air Day" an official event in Lexington After discussion, it was decided to table the request until the Directors of the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission are contacted Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request of the MAPC to appoint a "Clean Air Day" coordinator and make "Clean Air Day" an official event in Lexington The Board met with Mr Page, Chairman, and members of the CATV Committee CATV to discuss its final report to the Board submitted in accordance with the Pro- Report cedural Regulations for Granting Community Antenna Television Licenses promul- gated by the Massachusetts Community Antenna Television Commission ("Massachu- setts Cable Commission") pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 166A, Section 16; licensing regulations now found in Section 3 00 of Title 207 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (cited as "207 MCR 3 00") Mr Kent moved to adopt the Lexington CATV Committee report in the form of a general letter in draft form dated July 7, 1980 attached to the report Mr Kent read the letter in its entirety Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adopt the Lexington CATV Committee report in the form of the general letter in draft form attached to the report The Chairman, on behalf of the Board, thanked Mr Page and his committee for the time and effort expended on behalf of the Board and the people of Lexington for the years devoted to the project Mr Page and members of his committee retired from the meeting The Chairman referred the Board to its copies of a letter from the MBTA META Advisory Board requesting Lexington to join other communities in a suit being prepared by the MBTA Advisory Board to be filed to contest the assessment of charges included in the State's cherry sheets incurred during the Governor's unauthorized takeover of the MBTA in December, 1979 After a brief discussion, Mr Kent moved to table the request for Execu- tive Session since it involved litigation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request of the MBTA Advisory Board for Lexington to join other communities in a suit being prepared to contest assessments included in the State's cherry sheets incurred during the Governor's unauthorized takeover of the MBTA in December, 1979 The request will be discussed in Executive Session The Board discussed a "Newsletter" fron the North East Solid Waste Com- NESWC mittee relative to its opinion that the New England Power Company had reneged on the "gentlemen's agreement" covering the purchase price of electricity pro- duced by NESWC Mr Crain felt that it would be difficult to make a proper judgment as to whether or not there was any violation, based solely on the information in the "newsletter" The Board agreed and it is to be referred to the Solid Waste Committee for a recommendation - 4 - , Housing The Board discussed a letter received from the Chairman of the Housing Authority Authority relative to a request from a citizen who wished to purchase a lot Letter of Housing Authority land It was the opinion of the Board, Town Manager re re- and Town Counsel that the lot should remain in the ownership of the Housing quest to Authority Notification to this effect will be sent to the Chairman of the buy land Housing Authority The Board approved the following agenda items Warrant to Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to sign the warrant to Animal the Animal Control Officer relative to 1063 unlicensed dogs in Lexington Cont Of- ficer Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to approve the minutes Minutes of the Selectmen's meeting of June 23, 1980 Water Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to abate the following Abate- water charges ments K Virgilo, 6 Albermarle Ave , $9 90-incorrect reading,customer; Mr Rsung, 6 Peachtree Rd , $133 65-July '79 bill abated-corrected charges committed on July '80 billing George Wolf, 38 Peacock Farm Rd , $94 05-incorrect reading, customer, January '80 bill abated W Sanborn, 32 Burlington St , $11 25-estimated charge adjusted N Papantonis, 6 Brown Rd , $75 15-incorrect reading July '79 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing E Washburn, 7 Berwick Rd , $228 60-incorrect reading/customer Jan. '80 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing J Petrasek, 9 Sherman St , $147 15-meter reading mix-up A. Nutt, 45A Ridge Rd , $166 95-Defective meter E Hammond, 8 Constitution Rd , $124 20-Incorrect reading/customer July '79 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing F Cooke, 2 Stratham Rd , $68 85-incorrect reading/customer Jan '80 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing R. Thorpe, 1 Oxbow Rd , $61 20-incorrect reading/customer Jan '80 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing M. Bello, 447 Bedford St , $29 25-incorrect reading Jan '80 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing D Charlantini, 67 Valley St , $74 25-incorrect reading/customer Conzanelli, Heritage Drive #21, $146 25-Incorrect reading/customer Jan '80 charges abated Corrected charges committed on July '80 billing The Chairman read a request from Mr Niles Schelgel of Kennecott Copper for the installation of a mirror at the entrance of its property and Spring Street to aid the traffic flow and safety at that location A review of the Traffic Safety Committee report, which the Chairman read in its entirety, indicated that the Committee felt, that after reasearch into such installations, effectiveness is limited, at best, and they are affected by weather conditions and are an irrestible target for vandalism It was the - 5 - Selectmen's Meeting July 7, 1980 opinion of the Committee that morrors should not be used unless there was no other feasible alternative The Committee felt that a feasible alternative would be the clearing of the site on the left as one was leaving the complex A similar request had been received from a homeowner on Concord Avenue and a solution was arrived at by clearing and removing an embankment During discussion, it was brought out that there might be some question as to just where the trees were located Mr Chalpin informed the Board that there are some trees within the layout of Spring Street and some within within the State right=of-way Mr Kent indicated that he felt, from the tone of the letter of request, that Kennecott Copper was somewhat reluctant to take down the wall and the trees because it forms an attractive entrance to the complex He was reluc- tant to take a "never" position with respect to the installation of a mirror The Board agreed with Mr Kent that a further investigation of the prob- lem should be made and Kennecott Copper officials should be notified when the Board will make the final decision and be given an opportunity to appear be- fore the Board at that time Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request from Kennecott Copper for the installation of a mirror at the entrance and exit of the Kennecott Copper complex on Spring Street The Board met with neighbors of the Follen Hill Area regarding their Follen concerns for their children going to Bowman School as a result of the clos- ing of Adams Bowman The Manager summarized the situation regarding the children walking to School Bowman where there are no sidewalks in the area A request had been made in March for sidewalks on both sides of Follen Road; crossing guards at two in- tersections one at Dawes and Follen Road, Locust and Follen Road; continua- tion of sidewalks Philip Road to Buckman Drive and stop sign at the inter- sections of Daws and Buckman, and police patrols of the entire Follen Hill area between 2 30 and 4 00 p m. to deter high speed traffic He stated that he had met with residents of the area requesting the side- walks and said that they would be a budget item; whether or not they would be installed would be subject to budget consideration Past experience indi- cates that they would be on one side rather than both Police patrolling will done to the best ability possible and special consideration will be given during the transition period He indicated that the School Committee should consider a crossing guard at the intersection of Locust and Follen where the largest number of children will be crossing rather than Dawes, and two would not be recommended as there is some question, from past experience, of the desirability of crossing guards at all where there are no sidewalks There are 28 children from the Locust Avenue section and 6 from an other section During the discussion with the parents who attended the meeting, it was brougt out that the parents are concerned with a long term solution to the problem One of the parents expressed concern about the children walking to Dawes to cross because of the lack of visibility and that the children would have to walk a greater distance to get there She felt that crossing the thjl4ren_at,Dawe$ Road was_.the_safer,_appxoath, but noted it is a blind corner It is much wider and open at Locust, but would require the children to walk a longer distance and be beyond the one mile limit before bussing is required g�1 - 6 - It was brought out that with respect to crossing guards, the Board has no responsibility in this regard as it rests with the School Committee The Manager indicated that the School Committee is expecting a report from the Traffic Safety Committee Mr Kent brought up the question of painted crosswalks He felt that the purpose of a crosswalk was to alert the motorist as well as to channel the pedestrian across the street Mr Chalpin indicated that it is not a State or Town regulation, but a policy that the Board of Selectmen has used for years Mr Crain pointed out to the parents that the Board of Selectmen does not have the authority go ahead and build sidewalks, but can only recommend it to Town Meeting who makes the final decision Mr Kent indicated to the parents that if they want sidewalks they must submit a written petition to the Board stating exactly where they wish the sidewalks installed and be on record before town meeting begins Mr Cohen pointed out that all of the abutters where the sidewalks are going to be constructed should be contacted because of the betterments that will have to be assessed Mr Crain suggested that the Chairman call the Chairman of the School Committee and have a further discussion about the situation before school begins in September Mr Busa pointed out that, although he felt that there is a safety situation here, it should be pointed out that the people on Follen Road are going to have to pay the betterments and that there has been reaction in the past where people not involved in the sidewalks are very reluctant to have sidewalks constructed because of the betterments involved He felt that the parents present should be aware that just because they request the sidewalk does not mean it will automatically be constructed, It was brought out that the betterments must be paid by the abutters and not by the ones who might be benefitted by the sidewalk, such as this case The Chairman thanked the parents for attending the meeting with their input and reassured them that every possible means would be taken to insure the safety of their children going to school Council The Chairman breifly reviewed the request of the Council on Aging for on additional rooms at the Church of Our Redeemer which had been tabled at a • Aging previous meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to remove from the table the request of the Council on Aging for additional rooms at the Church of Our Redeemer The Manager explained that the additional rooms were needed for expan- sion of programming needs which is not tied in with the food program After discussion it was agreed that the need for the additional space was necessary and had been recommended by Mrs Phear in her report Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to grant the request of the Council on Aging for additonal space at the Church of Our Redeemer and turn to the Trustees of Public Trusts for the needed $2,000 Arlex Taxi The Board discussed a request from Arlex Taxi for a rate increase I t request was ageed that the request was for a substantial increase and that more in- rate in- formation is needed before an intelligent assessment can be made crease Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request of the Arlex Taxi Corp for a rate increase pending additional information - 7 - Selectmen's Meeting July 7, 1980 11 The Chairman read the request to sign the warrant to the Animal Control Warrant Officer relative to unlicensed dogs in Lexington to Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the warrant to Animal the Animal Control Officer relative to 1063 unlicensed dogs in Lexington Control Officer The Chairman read the request for approval of the minutes of the Se- Minutes lectmen's Meeting of June 23, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minu- tes of the Selectmen's Meeting of June 23, 1980 Approval of the Executive Session was voted pending correction of the word "abatements" to "betterments " The Board discussed the request of the Transportation Advisory Committee LEXPRESS for permission to change some of the routes and service on LEXPRESS and to request to have permission to ask merchants to sell books of LEXPRESS tickets Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Transportation Advisory Committee with respect to changes on Route 3, Route 5 and Route 7 of LEXPRESS Permission was also granted to request the Lexington merchants to sell books of LEXPRESS tickets The Board discussed the "Right Turn on Red Law" and Mr Chalpin updated Right the Board regarding the warrants in this regard turn on Presently, there are six signs in Lexington that prohibit "right turn on Red red" and it was the recommendation of the Manager and the Traffic Safety Com- mittee that they remain so as they are equipped with an exclusive pedestrian phase The Chairman requested Mr Busa to update the Board relative to the Har- Hartwell well Avenue Connector He informed the Board that last spring he, the Town Avenue Manager and Mr Chalpin had gone into the State House to see if they could Maguire get the Hartwell Avenue project moving It was determined that the Connector Road was not on one of the prime lists of the Commonwealth He referred to a letter from the Traffic Safety Committee to the Board recommending that the Board look into the Maguire Road traffic statement to see if some of the traf- fic congestion could be alleviated He stated that an officer of Itec has contacted him and informed him that a group of businesses in the area were in- terested in a solution of the traffic problem in the area They suggested, that, as a civic program, the corporations in the area would fund the monies for a design and engineering study for Maguire Road and probably take into consideration Hartwell Avenue and Bedford Street jughandle He stated that after talking to people at District 4, they felt that money would be avail- able and could probably be funded under one of their programs Mr Busa explained that the potential would be for lights at the inter- section. It was also brought out that the bicycle path would also be going in that direction and some redesigning would have to be done on Bedford Street so that the riders could turn into the area This proposal would be considered a temporary solution until the Hartwell Avenue Connector pro- ject is undertaken Concern was expressed that this might be considered a solution to the whole problem and the State would drag on the Connector project Mrs Miley felt that, as far as the citizens were concerned, the Bedford Street/Eldred Street problem was more important It was agreed to go forward with the proposal of the corporations in the area and work with the State to see what money could be used also O - o Cemetery Mr Coscia and Mr Sweet met with the Board to update them on the re- Bldg vised plans for the cemetery building with respect to the underpinning section. Mr Coscia pointed that the only areas that would be affected by the revised plans would be the parking area and garage The Board agreed to accept the plans and request additional funds from the Special Town Meeting Visitors' The Manager updated the Board regarding the problem with the Visitors' Center Center roof He stated that some concerns had been raised by the Historic Roof Districts about using asphalt shingles They prefer wood shingles After discussion reviewing samples of asphalt shingles with Mr Coscia the Board agreed to use the asphalt shingles Center The Chairman brought up the question of where the telephone in the Cen- Phone ter of town would be located Mr Kent stated that he felt that there was a relationship between the location of the phone and the ultimate location of the LEXPRESS stop and there is a trial period involved on the stop and there was difficulty about it previously The Manager will have an answer about the stop at the next meeting The following items of the Manager were approved Appoint- Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to approve the Manager's ments appointment of Martin Gilman to the Historical Commission for a term of three years Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- appointment of Herb Grossimon to the Permanent Building Committee Lex Food Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the request Co-op of the Lexington Food Co-op for the use of a room in Munroe School one day per week when public schools are in session from 8 30 a m until 2 30 p.m for $9 00 per week for approximately 38 weeks per year Christian Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request Assemblies from the Assemblies of God Christian Center for expansion of use of facil- of God sties at Munroe School at a rate of $350 00 per month Burglar Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to approve the request Alarm for a hearing of the Burglar Alarm Committee regulations on July 21, 1980 Hearing at 8 00 p m. The Manager informed the Board that he had investigated the film com- pany that had requested permission to do filming on the Green and it does have an educational program and they will be filming on the Green at 7 30 a m He also informed the Board that progress on the swimming pool continues on a day to basis Hopefully it will be ready in within the next two weeks Mass Mrs Battin requested approval of the Board to make reservations for -the Municipal 1980 Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association at the end of Ann Meet October in Springfield Mrs Upon motion made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Mrs Battin to Battin make reservations to attend the ;Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Muni- cipal Association in Springfield The fee for attendance is $124 50 r ^ al - 9 - I Selectmen's Meeting July 7, 1980 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote - Executive Mrs Miley, Mr Buss, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into execu- Session tive session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining and discussing real estate negotiations with no intention of re- suming the open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 55 p m A true record, Attest i S c2-47 Beatrice M. Casey Principal Clerk, Selectmen jilt/`t 1 1 VOID 1 1