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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-01-28-BOS-min /50 III SELECTMEN'S MEETING - JANUARY 28, 19ri!Sa A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room on Monday, February 28, 1980, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, 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 Mr Busa was absent The Board discussed a letter from Mr John Andrews, President of the Pest Citizens f or Lexington Conservation, Inc recommending the appointment ointment Control gPP of a Pest Control Advisory group to investigate mosquito control options Advisory for the town Mrs Battin said that Mr Andrews had called her and he Committee rather hated to see a debate at Town Meeting on whether we should have mosquito control or not Wellesley has found some more temperate ways of handling it through the County Extension Service and they were able to convince them perhaps not to have to use such extreme measures Mr Andrews thinks there is some way some middle ground can be reached that will help ahate the mosquito nuisance - to use less stringent measures Mrs Battin felt it has some merit Chairman Miley asked if this is to be a short term committee and not come into Town Meeting every year with a recommendation? Mrs Battin said that the committee could look at it III and see if there is some program that we could subscribe to that is more moderate than the one we have had She did not see it being a permanent committee We have received a letter on the gypsy moth problem arid the whole pesticide thing ought to be taken into consideration, not just the mosquito control - both the pesticiding and what we can ask citizens to do to help Mr Crain endorsed the concept of the committee to bring thoughtful insight to the problems but he wouldn't want the committee to feel they are under pressure to produce anything by Town Meeting but to begin their work in an orderly way and advise the Board as soon as pos- sible Mr Kent said that this is the reason for sticking at this time with the mosquito control question because we are going to have to have someone listen to those positions and attempt to help us with them The only other alternative is, there is going to have to be a recommendation from this Board before Town Meeting Mr Hutchinson said that Mr Mazerall had given him a proposed program on the gypsy moth question that doesn't emphasize chemicals to any extent but requires a lot of assistance from groups like this, and the Conservation Commission, with its concern about trees, is the legitimate agency to deal with the problem and perhaps have interaction with this group after it is appointed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to create a Pest Con- trol Advisory Committee for a period of six, months, which would he charged with an interim recommendation on mosquito control for the Town of Lexington prior to Town Meeting if at all possible, and a recommendation at a later time on the gypsy moth problem Later in the meeting, Mr Andrews arrived and Chairman Miley explained I1 III the above action of the Board 151 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - 28, 1980 Legislation The Board discussed a letter from Mr John Bilafer, Arlington Town Retirement Treasurer, regarding Lexington's position on Senate Bill No 1412-Act to Funding provide prudent funding, and to provide financial assistance to city, town and county retirement systems of this Commonwealth This legisla- tion provides for 50 percent reimbursement by the Commonwealth to those communities which have commenced to fund their retirement systems After discussion, Mr Hutchinson agreed to respond to Mr Bilafer that the Town of Lexington cannot support at this time this proposed legisla- tion as it does not recognize or identify costs to the State and we find that inconsistent with our requests of our State Legislators to propose costs attached to additional mandates that they are passing on to comm munities In addition, the Selectmen feel that any additional costs to the State generated by this might wind up in the area of possible re- ductions in other areas of aid to local communities Our thrust must continue to be on a tax reform program for the State that relieves the property tax burden Traffic Chairman Miley read a request for a Stop sign at Baker/Tucker Avenues Safety- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the request Baker/ of Mr Neil Chamberlain, 121 Cedar Street, for a Stop sign at the inter- Tucker section of Baker Avdnue and Tucker Avenue, to the Traffic Safety Committee for a report Street Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Howard Cravis, 6 Rogers Road, Lights regarding acts of vandalism and a lack of street lighting in the area Mr Hutchinson said that we are recommending the installation of street lights in a number of areas and we will arrange a meeting with Mr Cravis and file a report in two weeks The Board agreed Use of Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Emanuel Goldman of the Northeast Town Seal Trade Center in Woburn for permission to use the Town Seal on items for sale in Lexington under the auspices of the Lexington Lodge of Elks Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board not be involved in giving any endorsement of the use of the Town Seat It was pointed out that the only time permission had been granted was during the Bicentennial Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny Mr Goldman's request for permission to use the Town Seal Battle Gr Chairman Miley read a request for the Battle Green. Minutemen Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Lexington Minute Men, Inc for the use of the Battle Green on Sunday, April 13, 1980, at 2 00 p m for the reenactment rehearsal MMA Chairman Miley read the notice from the Mass Municipal Association Legislatv that the 1980 Legislative Conference will be held on March 1 in the Conference State House Chairman Miley and Mrs Battin are to attend I 5a Selectmen`s Meeting - 3. - January 28, 1980 111 Chairman Miley read a request from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Founda- tion for support of House Bill - pp 3519-Improvement of MBTA Management Mrs tion Battin said that her reaction is to respond with enthusiastic support MBTA Mrs Miley recommended that before any decision is made, we should go to Management the Directors of the Advisory Board for their position The Board agreed, and Mrs Battin is to talk with the Director of the Legislative Office of the Mass Municipal Association. Chairman Miley read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee con- Traffic- cerning a letter received from Michael Koehn, 75 School Street, regarding School School Street traffic It was agreed to invite Mr Koehn and School Street Street residents to the meeting on February 4 with the residents of the Wilson Road area Mrs -Battin asked if anything had been received from the State on Marrett Rd the widening of Marrett Road? Mr Hutchinson said that it may be that Widening it will taken another letter from this Board He will report at the next meeting and will have a draft of a letter for the Board's approval Chairman Miley said that she has had several meetings with Mr Jackson, Lexington's representative on the Minuteman School Committee, and Mr Buse has been asked to meet with Mr Jackson Apparently , it would be up to the State DPW Mrs Battin said that Lincoln and Concord also agree and it would be good to get them to join us Chairman Miley read a recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee Traffic to amend the Traffic Rules and Orders by prohibiting parking in the Meriam aisles of the Meriam Street parking lot Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the Traffic Parking Rules and Orders by adding to Article V, Section 2, Schedule til Lot LOCATION SIDE FROM TO TYPE PARKING Meriam Street Aisles Meriam Street 500' Southeasterly No Parking Parking Lot Approval of the State DPW is to be requested Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mrs Pressman, Management Intern, Center had met with the Historic Districts Commission on January 9 to discuss the Phone Board's choice of a location of a public pay telephone at either Colpitt's or Anderson's Jewelers on Massachusetts Avenue. They seemed more receptive to CVS near the traffic light Mr Crain felt that CVS was not close enough to the mini bus terminal at Depot Square, and he suggested that a closer location be found Mr Kent said that he could perceive no problem in locating it across the street at the Leader Federal Bank Mr Hutchinson said that we will pursue Leader Federal and Colpitts Mr Kent added that if it is between Colpitts and CVS, it would be more appropriate to have it at Colpitts Mrs Pressman is to bring this information back to the Historic Districts Commission on January 30 I X53 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 28, 1980 Revenue Chairman Miley opened the hearing on the proposed use of General Sharing Revenue Sharing Funds in relation to the entire budget The proposed Hearing budget totals $31,460,131, made up of $13,872,838 for town personal services, expenses and capital improvements, and $17,587,293 for education Mr Hutchinson said that the purpose of the hearing is for the utilization of an anticipated $228,341, to be appropriated in the following areas Council on Aging Expenses $34,425; MVMH $30,853; Community Services $37,388; Police Motor Vehicles $25,000; Street Lights $100,000 Appropriate groups have been contacted and they were also at the administrative hearing. There was concern expressed about a human services center and they hoped that monies would be pro- vided to assist in the operation of it; it is still under review regard- ing the cost of such a facility We have been receiving in excess of $500,000 for general revenue sharing and the President has now proposed that the program continue and that it be level-funded; this, we assume, would give us approximately the same amount of money There is a problem as Congress has taken a negative position about this program. The problem that we experience by anticipating the full $500,000+ is that we may be anticipating money we may not get There have been proposals to cut out a portion of the funds, they are talking about one-third, because of state government The state has made it clear that strong consideration be given to cutting back local assistance where this money is provided In that context, we have recommended a rather conservative approach to the anticipation of this money What happens with it when you receive it, it goes into E & D and we register a larger commitment on the next fiscal year for offsetting various operating costs Human service groups, in- cluding the particular emphasis of the Council on Aging, support the idea of utilizing this money in this area and recommended support be given long range to short range to a human service center for the elderly and our recommendation s are fairly traditional to combine human services and operating costs We should lobby very hard to get this program re-enacted as this is a program that is not out of the woodshed Chairman Miley said that our representative is conscious of this because we have kept him aware of it Mr Crain said that with this proposed approach, would we wait for clarification on the question the Human Services Committee has posed regarding Mystic Valley Mental Health Center? Mr Hutchinson said that while we've advertised the intent to use this money, the Board still has the right to change that money subject to the Human Services Committee's report There is still time The real intent tonight is if someone has objections to the way the money has been proposed to be used Mrs Marcia Feakes said that the League of Women Voters is pleased to note the continuance of the Selectmen's interest in using revenue sharing funds for human services There were no other questions or comments, and Chairman Miley declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Manager to proceed under the guidelines presented, subject to any additional reports the Board may receive I / 5�6 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - January 28, 1980 Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a change in name of a company Common with a common carrier license Carrier Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reissue a common License carrier license, expiring December 31, 1980, to Boston & Middlesex Trans- portation Company, Inc , formerly Hospital Transportation Service Inc , and now located at 339 D Street, South Boston The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendation that he respond Coircoran to the recent correspondence from the Corcoran Ambulance Service stating Ambulance our current emergency safety program Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had no intention of filing MAPC an application for the 1980 MAPC Community Assistance Program unless other- Program wise directed by the Board We would like to gear up in the future The Board agreed Mr Hutchinson said that he had met with the Appropriation Committee Budgets on Saturday, and the Board and the Committee are in synchronization on most of the issues All projections indicate an increase of something under $4 00; that is an estimation of the Selectmen's hudget and the Appropriation Committee's estimate is something else Mr Hutchinson said that we did meet with Mr Flatley, Administrator, Housing and staff of the Executive Office of Communities and Development to review Concerns - the methodology that has produced their ruling that Lexington is "un- Conserves reasonably restrictive Mr Flatley did not have available the data Funding they said we were not in compliance with their goals Surprising, he stated that subsidized housing was not their only concern, but housing in general We had quite a. bit of data relative to the concerns raised, and the meeting went on a positive note Mr Williams, Chairman of the Conservation Commission, has called the Manager's office and it looks as though they are going to approve our efforts, which are far more than any suburban town in the metropolitan region Mr Kent said that he would commend the Manager on the context and tone of the letter, dated January 24, sent by Mr Hutchinson to Mr Flatley The Board agreed Mrs Banks reported on the procedures to be followed on emergency Emergency fuel calls A meeting had been held with the agencies of the town and Fuel Calls it was decided that the Council on Aging would take the administrative lead and administer the program through a CETA employee, who is doing most of the work taking applications Last year, we had 48 people mak- ing requests for assistance and to date this year, we have had 100 people If calls are received, they are to be referred to the Council on Aging during regular working hours and the Police Department at other times Twenty gallons of oil will be delivered and Mr Rooney and Mrs Melcher of the Council on Aging have set up an emergency fund and have raised $1,000; to date, thres families have received assistance from this fund Chairman Miley said that it is comforting to know that people are being 111 looked after If) Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - January 28, 1980 Wild Acre The Board agreed with Mr Hutchinson's recommendation to invite a Lodging representative of Wild Acre Inn, 50 Percy Road, to attend the meeting House on February 11 to discuss renewal of the lodging house license. Copies of License minutes of the last meeting on Wild Acre are to be given to Mr Crain and members of the Board Transfer Mr Hutchinson said that a request from Town Counsel has been re- #1800 ceived for approval of a transfer of $5,000 from the Reserve Fund to Acct Account #1800-Legal Expenses, for payment of services retained on the Snyder litigation; particularly, we had to hire outside engineering services It has been a long-term case for the town We have had a favorable resolution for the community but it did necessitate the re- tention of additional s-rvices In fact, it is going to cost more, but this will give us the capacity to pay Mr Duncan for his services We recommend approval, with the understanding that we will have several other requests for transfers come before the Board in order to meet legal expenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #1800-Legal Expenses in the amount of $5,000 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a large pine tree went through the roof of the Visitors' Center and we will need a transfer to fix the roof Mr Hutchinson had already ordered the work to be done Proclama- Chairman Miley read a letter from Mrs Patricia Hagerdorn requesting tion the Board to designate Saturday, February 2, 1980, as Sheryl Franks' Day; Sheryl is our 1980 Olympic competitor Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to proclaim Saturday, February 2, 1980, at Sheryl Franks' Day in Lexington. Vocell Mr Benjamin Goodman of the Vocell Bus Company met with the Board to Commuter discuss a request for approval of an increased rate schedule for the express Bus commuter bus from Lexington to Boston Mr Hutchinson said there has been some concern about dropping the 20-ride book, and concern by the people using the bus that these fares were being instituted prior to approval The MBTA has suggested, and the Board encouraged, a monthly pass because of insurance deductions The plan now submitted to the town was for dropping the 20-ride book; originally it contained that Mr Goodman said that the first time he had asked for approval was in November and we sent it in to the MBTA, and they lost it When he had found that nothing had been done, it was suggested that he put in a new request with the setup we have now Mr Hutchinson said, apparently, the META thought a monthly pass should be approved In December, the Board approved a single ticket increase from $1 35 to $1 60; 12 ticket book from $15 00 to $18 00 per book. ($1 50 per ticket); 20 ticketobook from $22 00 to $25 00 per book (1 25 per ticket) Mr Crain said he was apprehensive about eliminating the 20 ride book as a number of riders Ilse this and it would impact them He asked Mr Goodman if he would consider the 20 ride book to $26 00? Mr Kent suggested the 12 ride book be dropped and keep the 20 ride book Mr Goodman was not too receptive to this proposal but later on agreed and added that he could offer the monthly pass as well and satisfy every- body He will talk with Mrs Banks and meet with the Board on February 4 The Board agreed to publicize the proposal in order to receive feedback from the citizens before the next meeting /5 eo Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - January 28, 1980 Mr Myles Barnert, Chairman of the Capital Expenditures Committee, Police met with the Board to discuss the police communication system article Commuunica- .c Mr Barnert said that the committee had looked at the next five years tion System and as they talked with the various committees, they were shocked to Article find there were over $1 million in requests for next year We looked at the communication system item to see if we could shift it dawn to !83, and in discussions with the Police Chief, the feeling was that the existing system is getting old and to wait until '83 might reduce the quality of public safety; in '82, there was the high peak of capital expenditures Therefore, the committee felt it should be done this year We are quite concerned about the .FY 82 capital expenditures; $200,000 for the landfill, the I/I Phase III study has been scheduled That's $500,000 that isn't in this year's budget Mr Hutchinson said that in fairness to that position, there is also $100,000 in storm drains, and the Town Engineer has taken a look at these and advised that he would not recommend storm drains until such time that not only the storm drain study is done but the I/I study as well It appears that the I/I study is going to carry on even longer than we anticipate, so a number of those demands are subject to change The other issue is, we are continuing to hold to the estimate of the landfill closing, which is high based upon the positive experience we are having now on fill, etc at the landfill, and we will know better as we get into it He agreed that the numbers are a reason for concern in the sense of their size He and the Board know the need of trying to obtain tax stability; we don't like considering roads and sewers, but we do that We have said that we certainly go along for another year with the current fiscal, and on that basis he had recom- mended it for '83 Mr. Barnert said that in terms of storm drains, it would be zero for this year and next year Mr Hutchinson said on the $200,000 for I/I, he could comfortably say we won't have any recommenda- tions for implementation next year because of the time frame In the light of What's happing with sewers, Mr Hanlon has said that it will take longer for a permanent solution and costs are getting no better The Board agreed that the article on the police communication system is to remain on the warrant Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 30 p m A true record, Attest `moi/ `-yI,_ Executive Clerk,/✓ Selectmen I 1 VOID