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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-02-04-BOS-min N7 SELECTMEN'S MEETING FEBRUARY 4, 1980 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 4, 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; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Miley recommended a decidion be made by the board on the Theriault Theriault dog hearing conducted by Mr Busa on January 30, 1980 The Dog hearing was held on the written complaint of Mr Barry Littleton, Animal Control Officer, against the Shepherd dog owned by Mr John J Theriault, 4 Milk Street Mr Busa said that Mr Littleton's report stated the dog had bitten children and adults Neighbors ' complaints had been made by telephone and are on record at the Board of Health office Four bites were reported by a Doctor but other bites have occurred in the neighbor- hood that did not require medical attention. In Mr Busa's opipion, the dog is dangerous; he is not vicious The son has been warned several times and the parents have notified him that the dog should be restrained, and it has never happened Mr Busa recommended that the Animal Control Officer pick up the dog as soon as possible and either the owner find a new home for the dog or the Animal Control Officer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue the order that the dog owned by Mr John J Theriault of 4 Milk Street be picked up immediately by the Animal Control Officer and held for 10 days, during which time the owner may, if possible, obtain a home for the dog out- side the legal boundaries of the Town of Lexington If at the end of 10 days no home is found for the dog, the dog will be under the complete jurisdiction of the Animal Control Officer Chairman Miley read a request from Mr Paul Borthwick, Director of Grace Senior High Ministry of Grace Chapel, for permission to use the reservoir Chapel- on May 16 and 17 for a special activity to raise money for refugees from "Res" Southeast Asia, to be called the "Lexington Boat People Project " Boat Mr Busa said he would not accept that type of dramatization and People suggested they have a walk-a-thon, bike-a-thon, or another type of Project project Mr Kent said the Church is asking for permission for a legit- imate,expressive activity, and he had two questions - if it is within our province to make a judgment to grant permission and, assuming that exists, if the dates of May 16-17 are inconsistent with the normal use by the public, and he felt they were not He would be in favor if it were within the board's province to grant permission Mrs Battin agreed with Mr Kent provided the safety requirements were met Mr Crain said in reading the proposal, one of the tests he applied was if it would be inflammatory, and he did not think it had any potential like that Also, as he under- stands the By-Law, it could be granted with the permission of the board Mr Hutchinson questioned the item stating , "we would open the activity for our church youth only; this project would require us to use some activ- ities and practices which some other religious folk might disagree with; we feel that it should be kept as a closed activity (unless you prefer otherwise ) Mr Hutchinson recommended that Mr Borthwick be invited to Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - February 4, 1980 attend the next meeting to explain the proposal Mr Cohen stressed the fact that the safety factor is important It was agreed to invite Mr Borthwick to attend the meeting on February 11 for further information The Board approved the following agenda items Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of November 5, 1979 and January 21, 1980 Com.Vict Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the 1980 Baskin Common Victualler license for the new Manager, Mark Levine d.b a Robbins Baskin Robbins, 1729 Massachusetts Avenue Abatements Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Water - request of Mr Warren Empey, Acting Director of Public Works, to abate water bills in the total amount of $982 80 Also, to abate the sewer Sewer betterment assessments on land owned by Adolph F & Alice Krol, 51 Better- Wellington Lane Avenue, in the total amount of $1,258 88; the land ments was acquired by the Conservation Commission. Lex.Arts Chairman Miley read a letter from the Massachusetts Special Commission Council on the Performing and Visual Arts regarding the establishment of a local arts council and the appointment of a 5-member committee by April 30, 1980 Appointments would be for two years, renewable twice The enabling legis- lation defines the persons to be appointed as, "among qualified private citizens of the commonwealth who have demonstrated scholarship or creativity in, or distinguished service to, the arts and humanities, and who shall be broadly representative of all fields of the performing arts, the fine arts, and the humanities " The Board agreed to consult the "talent bank" file for possible candidates and to write to the Lexington Theatre Co , Arts and Crafts Society, Masterworks Chorale, and the School Department for one nominee from each group to be submitted by April 15 Water - Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr James MacDonald, 8 Wadman Circle, Wadman requesting a definite commitment for the approved replacement of water pipes Circle in Wadman Circle Mr Hutchinson said that the project will be done in the spring, and he will write a letter to Mr MacDonald assuring him that the town has definite plans for implementation in the spring Warrants- Chairman Miley requested the Board to sign the 1980 warrants Town Meet Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the warrants & Pres for the 1980 Annual Town Meeting and the Presidential Primary to be held Primary on Tuesday, March 4, 1980 Conserva Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mr Zabih, Chairman of the Self Help Fair Housing Committee, had met with Mr Flatley of the Office of Com- Funds munities and Development and we will be receiving notice in the near future that the self-help Conservation money that was tied up will be available for release, based upon an understanding that they do under- stand there is a conscientious effort going on towards housing in Lexington The decision of"restricted"will be lifted subject to a memorandum of understanding being executed s � Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - February 4, 1980 Mr. Hutchinson commended the staff of the Manager's office for the concerted effort and excellent results in the preparation and completion of the warrant for the Town Meeting Regarding the warrant articles, we have had to list $9,100 in the Kendall Rd. sidewalk article as the sidewalk on Kendall Road is going to extend be- Sidewalk yond the original parameters and will tie in with an existing sidewalk Mr Hutchinson requested authorization to inform the Town of Concord Concord that we would be unable to handle their septage because of (1) the high Septage volume; (2) there are control problems on our existing disposal site System within the community; (3) they are expecting that answer and are working on other alternates Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Manager to notify the Town of Concord that the Lexington Health Depart- ment and the Engineering Department do not consider Concord's request to handle their septage system as being appropriate at this time Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that union local is voting on the Pub Wks Public Works' contract on Wednesday evening He would submit details Contract at the next Selectmen's meeting; however, it is consistent with the wage guidelines of the town and it is a proposed 3-year agreement Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a proposal submitted by the LEXPRESS ' Transportation Advisory Committee for free rides on LEXPRESS on Lincoln's birthday, February 12, at a cost of approximately $40 00 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Transportation Advisory Committee's program for free rides on LEXPRESS on Lincoln's Birthday, February 12, 1980 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had notified Mr Ronald Spraying Steffek, in response to his request, that no spraying for gypsy moths would be done on his property at 21 Outlook Drive Mr Hutchinson said that Mr Goodman of the Vocell Bus Company has Commuter addressed the Board's concerns regarding the increase in the fare Express structure and has submitted a.proposal for a single ride ticket, Bus Fare 20-ride book, and a monthly pass The 12-ride book was deleted Increase Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve an increase in fares for the Vocell Bus Company as follows Single ride ticket-$1 60; 20-ride book-$26 00; monthly pass-$48 00 Mr Hutchinson requested authorization to go forward on the Tax Title request of Mrs Nancy Nielson, 7 Wingate Road, to purchase an Conveyance abutting lot Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Manager to proceed with arrangements to convey Lot 4b/Assessors' Map 16, Hayden Avenue to Mrs Nancy Nielson of 7 Wingate Road Mr Hutchinson is to discuss with the Board next week the re- Recreation vised list of projects for Recreation playgrounds Playground Projects Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - February 4, 1980 Munroe Mr Hutchinson said that the School Sites Conversion Committee will School meet on January 7 at the Munroe School to discuss further the implica- tions of the Hammer Kiefer and Todd, Inc report regarding a human services center The Board will be addressing this during the period prior to Town Meeting Members of the Board agreed to attend the meeting at Munroe Transfer - Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a transfer of $12,000 to Account Professional Services in order to provide inspection services for the #1090 Building Department and the Planning Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account 1090-Professional Services in the amount of $12,000 JTraffic The residents of Wilson Road and School Street met with the Board concerning traffic conditions in the area Reports had been submitted from the Traffic Safety Committee-minority and majority reports and Wilson Rd the Police Department Residents expressed concern for the safety of children, the high volume of vehicles and the speed factor After dis- School St cussion, the Board agreed to implement several recommendations Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the report of the majority of the Traffic Safety Committee regarding Wilson Road, and to instruct the Town Manager to pursue approval of the School Committee to close the Hastings School entrance on Roosevelt Road by the installation of a chain; to see if money could be made available in the FY 81 budget for widewalk construction in the Wilson Road area; to have the Police Department or the Public Works Department pursue the possibility of the installation of stop signs at Wilson Road/Roosevelt Road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- mendation of the Traffic Safety Committee regarding School Street, and to alleviate whatever visual problems exist on School Street Also, to paint the crosshatch and sidewalks as soon as the weather permits Police enforcement on Wilson Road and School Street is to be provided on an interim basis whenever manpower is available Marrett Because cars are coming on and off Marrett Road from Route 128 into Road the area, Mr Busa explained to the residents that the town and the Minute- Widening man School have been pursuing the widening of Marrett Road with the state for nine years, and nothing has happened We are pursuing it again this year Marrett Road has been studied and it has been surveyed Mr Hutchinson said that we rebirthed the correspondence on the Hartwell Connector with the state and we are in the process of doing the same thing on Marrett Road Representative Cole had informed him thatthis is a non-funding year for public roads' projects as the state budget is designed around alternate years for construction Chairman Miley thanked the residents for coming and assured them that the best possible steps will be taken to alleviate the traffic situation in their area 1 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - February 4, 1980 Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of transfers from Article 5 of 1979 Transfer to the personal services accounts Art 5-'79 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recom- Personal mendation of the Manager to transfer the amount of $196, 429 from Article 5 Services of the 1979 Annual Town Meeting to the appropriate personal services accounts Accounts The Board discussed Mr Hutchinson's recommendation for approval of Building the Building Commissioner's reclassification from M-7 to M-8. Mr Busa Commis- raised questions as to whether the job description had been changed and sioner the scope of the position had been expanded. Mr Hutchinson said that Reclassi- it has been proposed to revise the job description essentially by refer- fication encing the responsibilities of Adminj.ktr tive Coordinator of the State Building Code When he was thired, [r4 D-fa'tteo was told that he was re- sponsible for this, and this was not an item referenced in the previous study done in 1973 by Arthur D Little Formerly, the Building Com- missioner had responsibilities for building codes, electrical codes, plumbing codes, and we expanded the job description to include adminis- trative responsibilities for all the land use codes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to implement the change in classification from M-7 to M-8 for Mr Peter DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, from $23,067-M-7 to $24,220-M-8, retroactive to January 1, 1980, subject to the interpreta- tion of Town Counsel as to the legality of the retroactive payment Mrs Battin discussed the request from the Massachusetts Taxpayers' Mass Foundation for support of House Bill No 3519-Improvement of META Manage- Taxpayers ment She said the Legislative Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Foundation- Associations strongly endorses the bill, and the Executive Director is MBTA asking the Directors to endorse it at the meeting on February 12 as being House Bill extremely worthwhile and would give us many more management tools to deal with 3519 the "T " Mrs Battin recommended that the Board support the bill, subject to the Chairman's investigation with the MBTA Advisory Board Mrs Battin said that the Conservation Commission has raised some I/I Study questions about the Inflow/Infiltration study, concerns about the water table quality and quantity and to what degree can they use the I/I study to legally justify denying developments on wetlands, etc. Apparently, there are decisions Conservation must make. It was pointed out that the Town Engineer had met with the Conserva- tion Commission on the I/I study and it was agreed that he is to be re- quested to submit a memo to the Conservation Commission answering the questions raised Mr Busa informed the Board that the Energy Committee has recommenda- Energy tions for the conservation of energy in the town buildings and a full report Commission on their recommendations will be submitted as soon as possible Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 20 p m A true record, Attest / 27/'?27c Executive Clerk, Selectmen V 0 I C 1 I