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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-05-19-BOS-min SELECTMEN'S MEETING MAY 19, 1980 1 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 19, 1980 at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain (8:O3•p.m.) Mrd Hutchinson, Totan_Managei Mr.? Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Valley Mr. anddKrs.. Casey of 22 Valley Road and residents of Valley Road Road met with the Board to discuss the properties abutting a brook in the area. Brook Mr David Williams, Chairman of the Conservation Commission, was present Mr Hutchinson said that the issue has been raised by the neighbors that they have been having an erosion problem caused by the brook He and Town Counsel had reviewed it last year and looking at the advice that we had, it appears that erosion is going to take place It has been attributed to development The town has spent considerable money in that area and he had sent a letter to Mrs Casey suggesting that the neighbors pool their own resources for engineering advice We have this problem along a number of brooks We have no provisions in our capital budget for remedying the situation; it would be expensive and would take appropriate engineering expertise to look at the problem We are in- volved in a drainage study and are in the process of selecting a consultant Between town forces and consulting services, that could be available at a price Mr Williams said that as the brook comes through conservation land, the land is flat From Revere Street to 128 there is a pitch and the velocity caused by the pitch causes the problem. When the pond is en- larged on conservation land this summer, it may hold back some of the water The residents had comments Mr Casey said that he likes to use the backland for a garden and he has had to have the bridge over the brook fixed many times Mr Zimmerman said that the brook has been widened almost double because of erosion A woman said that ten years ago erosion was occurring and the town felt it was responsible and came out and did the work Mr Busa said that this goes back to 1971 and the former Town Manager and DPW Commissioner showed that it was part of a town problem. From his knowledge, it is part of the town's responsibility because of development which was a town project in back of Lexington Lumber Company He did not feel that it is fully the responsibility of the neighborhood and his advice is to block it off This has been going on since 1969 and some assurance was given by Town Counsel that the responsibility lies with the town Mr Zimmerman, 28 Valley Road, said that the brook is part of the town's drainage system and there are many other pipes coming in. In 10 to 15 years because of development, all the water that was formerly trapped now comes down and causes erosion; there is increased run-off I Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - May 19, 1980 Mrs Battin said that she would like to know what other areas we have problems with brooks Mr Kent said that he would like to see this general subject ad- dressed as part of that drainage study, and would like as much informa- tion as possible Mrs. Bat tin agreed Chairman Miley asked Mr Williams if he had recommendations from a conservation standpoint to help the neighbors' point of view Mr Williams said that he did not However, iherdasingsth.g size of the pond will hold back the water during the peak periods of ground water but on the deep slopes, erosion always occurs by just nature There is a pond on the Tropeano land and Conservation has plans to double the size of the pond. Mr Busa asked if a dam could be con- structed to hold back the Water? Mr Williams said the pond itself will hold that water He was there two weeks ago during the worst rain storm we had this spring and that whole stretch from Brigham Road to Revere Street was very placid because it is very flat It is only when it starts going downhill that it increases the velocity and picks up all the speed that causes the erosion It is more the speed than the water that is causing the erosion because it is going downhill at such a great extent Mr Busa said he understood that part of the en- gineering problem The point is, if you dam it then you can only let out a certain amount of water at a time on a smaller field, and then you won't get the erosion that you would have now Mr Williams said that Conservation will consider it in the design of the pond; we will look into that Mr Crain said that it is important not to give false hope to the people who are here but if we intend to get costs we should define for the Manager the rinds of costs, the parameters and extent of costs re- lated to this one section that we are talking about Mr Hutchinson said that he would obtain that information Mr Busa, as your representative, is working with me and others on the drainage consultant interviews which are scheduled to take place within the next couple of weeks We can talk with them prilvattly to look at the parameters of the study and find out what is involved On the public policy question, there is a legitimate issue here that at the same time we will be enhancing private property when we go to do work like this Mr Hutchinson is to report back to the Board on June 9 or June 23 Chairman Miley informed the residents that the Board members are very much aware of the problem and perhaps we could all come to a con- clusion together When we have something to report, we will let you know The Valley Road residents retired from the meeting Mr Laing and Mr Weiner of the State DPW District #4 met with the Min.Man Board Mr Laing said that the Board had written a letter in February School - to the Central Transportation Planning Staff for traffic relief on Route Rte 2A 2A from Route 128 to the Mass Avenue extension, and this is an ongoing State DPW problem that goes back to the actual site plan of the school itself We were involved in this on the site plan for the school and at that time it was felt that the reconstruction of Route 2 would materialize and as a result the footprint of the building was adjusted to accommodate the re- construction of Route 2 with a driveway from the school itself on a 'l Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - May 19, 1980 temporary basis to the junction of Route 2A adjacent to the Mass Avenue extension The School Building Committee did the studying of this to determine what type of traffic controls were needed and it was determined at the time that a full set of traffic signals would solve any problems that would develop as a result of the traffic generated by the school Unfortunately, it did not solve the problem and we have had meetings over the last five years DPW was reluctant to accept the signals as it would then become our responsibility,and we could see there was a problem In the last year or two, the school did add another entrance to the back sec- tion and whether this has relieved the problem at that intersection did not know as they have not met with representatives of the town for the last two years The last meeting we had was with the Traffic..Committee and it was thought that possibly the abutters to the roadway- and we all know that the problem is the width of the roadway just will not accom- modate the traffic - namely the Honeywell Corporation, Spaulding & Slye, and the Motor Inn, would participate in a traffic study to determine what should be the corrective measures that should be taken. We could program this as a project, the only problem being we have so many projects ahead of it that it would be many years before it would be in the designing stages We encourage municipalities that are really interested in correct- ing problems that they participate at least in the designing stage, as once the design is completed, to go to construction through funding that we have Chairman Miley asked if he had contacted Honeywell, etc ? Mr Laing said the last meeting we had was with Honeywell, Spaulding and Slye, and the business on the corner of the vacant lot, and they were receptive to that not only to relieve all traffic traveling through there but particularly to the abutters Honeywell has to have a full time officer out there every morning Chairman Miley said so you really don't have anything new for us at all Mr Laing said no This comes up every year or so Chairman Miley said we have been working with the school and Mr Jackson, our representative, has been in communication with us and we told him and the School Superintendent that the only solution for us would be the Department of Public Works So that is why Mr Hutchinson wrote to you and we were hoping that something was in the works Mrs Battin said she would like to clarify that the bottleneck is the actual design and if we wait for you to do it, it will be years Mr Laing said perhaps more years that you,_have already waited Mrs Battin said if we somehow with the abutters, the town, and con- ceivably Lincoln and Concord, if somehow we can get the design done, the actual work then would proceed? Mr Laing said there is a very good possibility he could not give a positive answer this evening When these projects are ready for advertising, the funds are available at that time; then the project will be advertised, and awarded, and constructed We never make a commitment in advance that we will reserve any funds for any of those types of projects; you can program them and in the past from experience, when they reach the stage of advertising, funds have always been there Mrs Battin said in getting the design done, would you go along with whatever the design engineer came up with? Mr Laing said not necessarily; the state plus the federal highway which participated in 75 percent of the funding of this project would re111 - view it on a conceptual stage, which is 25 percent; we would review it again at the 75 percent and finally at the 100 percent stage So there are three separate reviews plus a public hearing on this So, no matter what you come Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - May 19, 1980 up with, if you come up with a very elaborate design, it is not likely that the agencies would approve it; but with usually two or three conceptual de- signs i e. widening to four lanes or just making a left hand storage, it would depend on how the traffic is today and what is anticipated. Mrs Battin asked how long does the review process take if we are going through the design process? Mr Laing said it usually takes about a year; in other words, from the very beginning when the design consultant comes on board, by the time he submits a conceptual plan and it goes through various agencies within our department and the federal highway, comes back again with a public hearing and then proceeds to the 75 percent We did have a 50 ft layout within that area. Mr Weiner said that is correct The layout, in other words the property that is dedicated for highway purposes, is 50 ft wide The present roadway is 24 ft , so there is some room for limited widening but not enough for four full lanes there; some lanes-taking would have to be made Mr Crain asked where would one go for the alternative resources to do a design like this? Mr Laing said if you have gone through the proper procedure, in other words it has reached our department, the next step is to go to the Project Review Committee Mr Crain said his question is because of what you have illustrated is the bottleneck; if we could do design work rather than wait for it to become a top priority in your group, where would one go? II/ Mr Laing said you either go in-house, your own engineering staff, or you would engage a consultant, preferably one that has had prior approval of the department as far as any review committee Mr Crain said if one takes that course and it became approved, and if highway funds were there, would we be reimbursed for what we had incurred at that stage? Mr Laing said usually the procedure3 that municipalities follow through is, with a general idea of what they are looking for and an approximate idea of cost, and the Project Committee will approve it subject to availability of funds and the community doing the design work. That seems to be the stumbling block - any community that we have dealt with that is willing to do the design- ing moves more rapidly Mr Jackson asked what Peter Murphy's department (CTPS) been doing on this? Mr Weiner said he wasn't sure; he knew they have been involved in a study of the Northwest Corridor, which takes in the whole segment between Route 2 and Route 3 and that area does fall in there All they determined is that this particular problem merits further study; that was the conclu- sion Mr Busa said seeing that the Commonwealth is involved in the layout and the footprint of the Minuteman School, what is the disposition of Route 2? Where does that lie? Mr Laing said we were indirectly involved; it was led to believe that Route 2 would be constructed and as a result the footprint of the school was oriented to accommodate that Then, there was a period of "no build" de- ' termination made and it is his understanding that that study has been re- activated and is actively being pursued - but he was not aware of where it stands today Mr Busa said then there could be a possibility that Route 2 could be instructed before we finish our study Mr Laing said he wouldn't go so far as saying that, because by the time we study something Route 2, they have done a lot of environmental Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - May 19, 1980 study and there were at the point where they were getting to the conceptual plan as to which of the alternatives — that is where it stopped; but if is necessary to go back and reevaluate some of these studies that have been made, he didn't know A member of the department, Mr Gallagher, was actively pursuing that and it looks promising, and it may be revitalized as far as the study and the actual construction Mrs Battin said she had a question of the Manager of the State DPW How much of a design study are talking about? What is the cost? Mr Hutchinson didn't know He said we are dealing with one or two alternatives, (1) is to check the cost to do it ourselves working with firms or whomever And the second question is, I hear you saying this isn' t in the state priority system for design work - that you have other things that are more important But that remains a policy question as well from the standpoint that one of your bosses might come in and say now go out and design this So in one sense there is the option that one could approach the appropriate legislative officials Mr Laing said if we were told that this were more pressing than others, why naturally we would be told this Ch 90 Mr Weiner said that Mr Crain asked the question about reimbursement Funds of the costsof engineering design There is the possibility under Chapter 90 program that the town receives a certain amount of money allocated within an annual basis for improving local roads Some of the money could under cer- tain circumstances which he was not prepared to go into because he was not an expert on it but he knew that if such a thing does take place, you could be paid for engineering services out of Chapter 90 funds Chairman Miley thanked for this information about Chapter 90 Mr Cohen alkedaif there are examples of having reimbursement within a state highway? This is not a town road Mr Laing said there are certain funds that are appropriated each year under Chapter 90 and some municipalities have used that money for the design - for the seed money - of state highways, and they get back $10 to $12 for every $1 they invest It falls under the urban system. The way the federal government grants money, sometimes it is on priorities, sometimes it is on urban, and sometimes it is on secondary We happen to have urban systems Chairman Miley said she always thought it was for a road between two roads within a county Mr Hutchinson said we can report back to you on the sense of the cost for this and what alternatives are involved Chairman Miley asked Mr Hutchinson to pursue the Chapter 90 very vehemently Mr Jackson remarked that although the second road has helped, it doesn't help much with the westbound traffic in the morning, which is something like 1900 vehicles between 7 15 and 8 15 a m. Chairman Miley thanked Mr Laing and Mr Weiner for meeting with the Board and they retired from the meeting Recrea- Mr Robert Eby, Recreation Committee member, and Miss Joan Halverson, tion - Recreation Coordinator, met with the Board regarding the center pools renova- Center tion project and asked for guidance on (1) the use of the John J. Garrity Pool plaque; (2) creation of a new plaque with appropriate inscription; (3) dedica- Project tion ceremonies 111After discussion, the Board agreed (1) The John J Garrity plaque should be installed on the bathhouse at the instructional pool; (2) the dedication ceremonies are to be delayed until completion of the entire project, including landscaping, and until the determination of a suitable name for the project It was the consensus that a plaque indicating the history of the pool would be inappropriate DC7 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - May 19, lg80 Chairman Miley read an application for Limousine licenses. Limousine Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Licenses renewal of Limousine licenses for ten station wagons owned by Trans- portation Management, 1668 Massachusetts Avenue, expiring May 1, 1981. Upon notion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a 1-day 1-Day liquor license to St. Brigid's Parish on May 30, 7 00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Liquor in Keilty ]all License Chairman Miley read a letter from the Traffic Safety Committee Center stating that the committee has discussed the possibility of updating Street the street lighting in the Center to provide better illumination Light In looking into this matter, it was felt that sodium vapor linai,res would be an alternative worth investigating, and in order to evaluate this alternative, we would like to replace one of our existing lights with a low pressure sodium light in the Depot Square area The Police Department has received many calls from drivers complaining that they have diffi:ulty seeing the police officer at that location in the evening We feel that testing a single light at this location will help us to evaluate the overall lighting in the Center as well as possibly improv- ing the vi;;ibility of the officer We would like to have a light in- stalled this summer and test it over six months At the end of that period, we will issue a report to the Board with a final recommendation. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the II/ recommendation to replace one of the existing street lights in the Depot Square area with a low pressure sodium light for a period of six months, subject to reconsideration by the Board if for any reason the light b e- oomes unsua_tabie during this trial period. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the orders Street for street acceptance, as approved by the 1980 Annual Town Meeting, for Acceptance Kendall Road, Rockville Avenue and Sanderson Road Mr. Httchins on requested approval of requests for transfers . Transfer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request approval Requests of the Appropriation Committee for thtansfers of the following amounts from the Reserve Fund to Account 1775-Legal Fees - $20,000; 1800-Legal Expenses - $5,000; 2935-Copier & Supplies - $1,000; 5450-Road Machinery - $10,000 The Board approved the following items on the Manager's agenda: Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Sign to the Rotary Club to set up two free standing signs advertising a straw- Permit berry festival at Hastings Park. on May 25; one to be placed at Hastings Park and one on the Visitors Center law Signs to be removed after the festival on Sunday afternoon. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the permit Bos.Edsn for Boston Edison to hook up power for the Center pools Center Pool Power Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - May 19, 1980 DPW Contract Mr Hutchinson recommended authorization of the additional sum of 78-6-E $3,247 13 for extra work under Contract #78-6-E for street, drain and sidewalk construction The original contract bid price was $157,367; an extra work order #1 in the amount of $7,430 was authorized by the Board on October 23, 1979 for a water main on Banks Avenue This brought the contract total to $164,797 It was necessary during the project to build an additional stone masonry wall on Tucker Avenue As a result, the final contract price is $168,044 13 In order to meet our current obliga- tion under this contract, an additional authorization in the amount of $3,247 13 is required Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the additional sum of $3,247 13 for extra work under Contract #78-6-E The total amount is now $168,044 13 Trash Mr Hutchinson discussed a draft copy of the rules and regulations Collection on trash collection and the recycling component Recycling Mr Donald Glennon, 199 Bedford Street, and Mr Wallace Weisinger, 193 Bedford Street, were opposed to establishing the recycling operation at the Public Works Building on Bedford Street Mr Glennon said that public works is wide open and unless it is fenced in, he could see it all over Bedford Street, and he mentioned the problem of vandalism Mr Weisinger said that his property is next to public works and it is a mess all the time; kids break bottles, etc What is going to happen when recycling starts? There will be broken bottles and papers blowing over to my property Mr Hutchinson said their concern is legitimate but we felt it better to give the barn a try Mr Buse said that we have had quite a bit of vandalism both on the building and equipment Mr Kent asked if it is possible to obtain covers for dumpsters during hours when not in operation Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director of Public Works, said that the onntainers are open as they are looking for volume; the only way to raise money is by volume. He had said that he had raised the same questions at a meeting regarding vandalism, and the messy area, etc Also, if we continue with the recycling and the materials are contaminated and that paper is burned then we have to look for a place for disposal of this once the landfill is closed down There are going to be problems with the recycling program Chairman Miley said that other towns have gone on with their recycling pro- grams after the landfills have been closed down, and we could find out how dealt with it Wellesley has one Mr Empey said that Wellesley has quite an extensive recycling area going If we run it on a part-time basis, which has been suggested for two days a week at the public works building, once it is open it is a 7 days a week affair, as there are no gates, no fences Fences don't stop the vandalism Mu Hutchinson said that any program we would run we would not provide manpower Chairman Miley said we are going to have to make a decision Mr Hutchinson said he would have a report for the Board on the a&ats .andswhat other towns are doing. Discussion was held on the hours for trash to be put out and it was agreed not to change the hours specified that containers are not to be placed at the curb before 5 a m. ; all containers must be placed at the curb prior to the start of collection at 7 a.m Mr Hutchinson is to report back on June 9 regarding the fthal de- cisions on trash collection and recycling. X4, 9 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - May 19, 1980 11 Chairman Miley informed the Board of an alert from Sheila Cheimetz to write to the legislators to get H6253-Community Residences out of committee The Board agreed ed that Chairman Miley is to write to Rep Cole Mr Crain agreed to represent the Board at the Elks Flag Day Ceremony on the Battle Green at 7 00 p m on June 11 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll Executive call vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - Session to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining and litigation, with no intention of resuming 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 20 p m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen