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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-03-19-BOS-min 111 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 19, 1980 A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Wednesday, March 19, 1980, at 7 00 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present LEXPRESS The Transportation Advisory Committee met with the Board to discuss Bus Bid LEXPRESS Mr Hutchinson said that only one bid was received on Friday The contractor has proposed $16 17 an hour, which is within the guide- lines the Transportation Committee had anticipated However, his bid proposed for an escalated provision that would allow the base price to increase 1 percent and based upon every 2 cents per gallon increase, it would mean an estimate as high as 17 cents for every 2 cents of in- crease, in gas The base would have been for the bidding date He had met with the contractor this morning and had pointed out that this would put us substantially in excess of what was estimated, and we were not too sure at that time what the price of gas was going to be To handle current services would cost in excess of $300,000 The contractor said that he could go to 3 cents for every 1 percent in- crease, so there is an important increase in the cost of operating vehicles, parts, etc being charged to the cost of gasoline Mr Hutchinson was not sure that he fully concurs with that but is trying to find out what options are available What it really means in the worst case scenario is, it would be $179,440 exclusive of the anticipated subsidy from the "T" of $42,000 or $221,440 for a total, including $5,000 for the chair car would be $226,440 Mr. Hutchinson recommended that he and .a representative of the Transportation Advisory Committee meet with the contractor for further refinement of the numbers It may be possible to take it up after Article 49 ; we may be ready by Monday for a report and have it in place by Wednesday Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Manager's suggestion to recommend to Town Meeting that Article 32-LEXPRESS be taken up after Article 49 Munroe Mr Hutchinson discussed the Hammer Kiefer and Todd, Inc estimate of School $38,500 on the Munroe School conversion; $4,500 for programming, which is tied to looking at the existing need and the proposed need for the office plan; $30,000 to prepare plans and specifications, assuming that the need is identified for the building; $4,000 for cost estimates for architectural and engineering fees for going out for a detailed estimate based upon specific finite plans rather than a preliminary estimate for which we have already paid $2,000 If that were the scenario, it gives you the opportunity to move on the project and at the next Town Meeting, or earlier, on the design I 99 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 19, 1980 You could just address the needs question and if it is identified, then you are in a situation where at a subsequent Town Meeting you can ask for detailed plans, the specifications, and the availability to go out to bid Mr.. Kent said that therd ,is a middle ground and there is a cer- tain difficulty in going beyond the needs all the way to plans and specifications Those plans would have to be related to a particular place, and at the moment that is the Munroe School, and that amount of money would seem to import a decision having been made if we were going to go forward at the Munroe School He would like to seek enough money to obtain the needs .asses.sMent and to have professional judgment as to the suitability, strength and weaknesses of Munroe Mrs Battin agreed and recommended that a needs assessment of Muzzey Junior High School might also be done It was her understanding that the current program expansion needs presumably might be met at the Church of Our Redeemer, but we should have a needs assessment in terms of projected needs for program requirement Chairman Miley said that we should put into focus the fact that was brought up by many people at the information meeting and on the bus that there was a grave concern that we should not commit ourselves to "a" building when another one is coming along and that we should do our best to get a dialogue going again with the School Committee to see what can be done with the buildings as they are coming down the line Their feeling was that there might possibly be a portion of Muzzey for the youth of the town, with another portion to be used for something else For us to talk with the School Committee to allow us to really look at Muzzey from a point of view of measuring and whatever had to be done; in other words, not just lock the door and hand us the key Mrs Battin added that it was her understanding from the information meeting that not only did Town Meeting want a full assessment of the needs, both now and projected, but they also wanted the knowledge that Munroe was the best of the soon- to-be available sites What we are saying is we are getting professional judgment ofnlREzey at the same time, so that we have two options to be look- ing at when we go back to Town Meeting Mr Crain thought that professional judgment could certainly pass some floor plans at Muzzey when they quickly look at Munroe. He had no problem with the suggestion, with one proviso that before we spend anything on a needs assessment that we see what kind of free help is available from the state, universities, and anyone else Mr Busa asked how broad the needs assessment is to be, and if it is to see what is needed for the elderly? Mr Hutchinson said that the assess- ment would be for the needs of the senior citizens of the town, and the assessment will be a combination of volunteer and professional services Mr Busa said that if we find out the needs are not of such a substantial nature to warrant that size of construction, he could not see why we want to look into Munroe and Muzzey He did not see the crunch or the explosive need in the next year or two when we have facilities available to us at the Church and some of the other services that can be afforded to the senior citizens where everything is in place He would not like to rush into it and find we had a white elephant Mr Kent said that we are not rushing into anything We ought to proceed apace to determine the suitability of Munroe and Muzzey to serve this particular function, and we ought to assess those needs If a preliminary study indicated the suitability of Munroe then he would like to see the Board in a position of whether it wants to go forward or not Mr Hutchinson recommended that $7,500 be requested. Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - March 19, 1980 Munroe/ Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 to request under I Muzzey Article 33 that the sum of $7,500 be appropriated for a needs assess- Needs ment for a senior citizens center and the determination of the suitabil- Assess- ity of Munroe School and Muzzey Junior High School for such a facility ment Mr Busa abstained Mr Kent said that it is his understanding that the Council on Aging can be taken care of to a greater extent than they are currently by the acquisition of some additional facilities, at least on a part-time basis, and in that event or perhaps without it, there may be some upward adjust- ment of our contribution to the Church of Our Redeemer necessary to achieve that goal How are we going to handle that? Mr Hutchinson said that there is the possibility of going to the public trust fund Rendall Rd Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the neighbors on Kendall Road Sidewalk had changed their minds and did not want a sidewalk at all He had talked with the School Department and they support the idea of putting sidewalks in. The Board was in favor of including sidewalks with street construction Discussion was held on the possibility of putting sidewalk on the other side of the street where all the houses are, at an estimated cost of $14,000 Mr Hutchinson said that this would cost more than the proposed $9,100 and doesn't tie into another sidewalk Chairman Miley said that she had sug- gested before to continue the sidewalk as we had planned by adding the section of Worthen Road headed toward Waltham Street where there is no sidewalk, and this would tie in and complete the sidewalk Mr Kent felt that it was unwise for the Board to be redesigning sidewalk designs at Town Meeting, but if there is sentiment on the floor of Town Meeting for $4,000 more to go around the corner He didn't approve of the Board amending upwards its own proposal at Town Meeting The Board agreed. Wilson Rd Mr Hutchinson said that if the Board chooses to put in sidewalks on Sidewalk Wilson Road, the motion under Article 22-Construction of Sidewalks would have to be amended for another $45,500 The Board agreed not to recom- mend a sidewalk on Wilson Road However, it was agreed that a safety factor exists and the Manager was instructed to inform the Police De- partment to have very systematic coverage of the area during the hours in which children are going to and from the school; to pursue the matter of the installation of a chain across the entrance to the Hastings School on Roosevelt Road; the installation of signs far No Left Turns from Marrett Road onto Wilson Road between 7 00 a m and 9 00 a m. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8 00 p in A true record, Attest g,,,,,, :227 , : ,,,,, _,,,__ __ 7 Executive Clerk, Selecen ,'t7:-)