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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-10-22-BOS-min SELECTMEN'S MEETING October 22, 1979 , A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Adams School auditorium on Monday, October 22, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Retire- Chairman Miley recommended that the Board accept the State Retire- ment meet audit Audit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the report of the examination of the Town of Lexington Contributory Re- tirement System, as of December 31, 1978, by the State Retirement Division MBTA Chairman Miley read a letter from Mr Paul Means, MBTA Director, regarding the establishment of a Consumer Advisory Panel for suburban transit riders The Board agreed that an advisory panel might accomplish MBTA goals but Lexington would rather concentrate on the larger issues of budget, management problems, etc We would continue to keep a close watch on the MBTA Advisory Committee's role and our part in it A letter to this effect is to be sent to Mr Means 1-Day Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the 1-day Liquor liquor licenses for W R Grace Employees Association retirement parties on October 24 and October 25 1980 Mr Robert Sacco, President of the Chamber of Commerce, informed the Patriots' Board that the merchants in town were in favor of celebrating Patriots' Day on the State-designated holiday on Monday, April 21, 1980, according to a circulated questionnaire Celebrating on Saturday, April 19, would cause hardship to both large and small businessmen Mr Raymond Flynn of the Town Celebrations Committee said they would accept the merchants' decision However, the committee will come back to the Board to discuss finances as they had anticipated coordinating efforts with Arlington and splitting the costs of the bands for the celebration on Saturday It was agreed that Lexington is to celebrate Patriots' Day on Monday, April 21, 1980 Chairman Miley read a request from Mr John Carson, Chelmsford Select- man, to bring in more revenue to the town by the registration of automobiles illegally registered out-of-state The Board agreed to urge the citizens of Lexington to communicate with eith er the Police Department or the Registry of Motor Vehicles if they knew of out-of-state cars apparently registered to local residents 5 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - October 22, 1979 III Mr Hutchinson recommended the execution of the contract for mis- Contract cellaneous water and street construction 80-5-E Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Contract 80-5-E awarded on October 15, 1979 to Somerset Paving Corp , Somerset, Mass in the amount of $27,875 00, for water and street construction on Earl and Avon Streets in connection with the Housing Authority's scattered sites program Payments will be made by the Housing Authority subject to acceptance of work by the Town Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of a Common Carrier license Com.Carrier for Hospital Transportation Service Hosp Transp Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Common Carrier license for Hospital Transportation Service, Inc , 161 Charles Street, Cambridge, for the carriage of passengers for hire over Lexington ways; license expiring December 31, 1979 Mr Hutchinson said it was his understanding the service is from Hanscom Field to Logan Airport, and industrial pick-up as well Mr Hutchinson discussed the parking spaces occupied by the Arlex Depot Sq Taxi Company at Depot Square, and it was agreed to reduce the number Taxi Spaces o€:spaced. from six. to two Further discussion will be held next week on the possibility of reducing it to one taxicab parking space Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a letter has been received Hancock St from District #4, State D P W , stating that a majority of the con- Chapter 90 struction items on the Hancock Street project will be completed by Project the fall of 1980 We have had money appropriated by the town, reim- bursed under Chapter 90, and now have a commitment that it will be done in the spring of 1980 and completed in the fall of 1980 In response to a request, the Board agreed to write to the Police President of the Police Union informing him that Mr Robert M Negotiations Hutchinson, Town Manager, is, as in the past, bargaining agent for contract negotiations with all unions Mr Hutchinson discussed solid waste and said that the committee Solid has been meeting during the summer months The North Andover proposal, Waste which is still our primary alternate, has been extended to January 31, 1980 The Town Meeting authorized the Selectmen, subject to any dramatic change being brought back to Town Meeting, to proceed on a long-term solution Mr Hutchinson and Mr Cohen had attended a meeting concerning legal questions and there are still many unre- solved questions We think EOP is the type of plant the town should be participating in and the committee has been pursuing the proposal An updated report will be given to the Board of Selectmen I Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - October 22, 1979 Traffic- The Board approved Mr Hutchinson's recommendation that he respond to Itek the letter from the Director of Itek Corporation, 10 Maguire Road, stating Maguire/ that consideration is being given to the possibility of the installation of Hartwell a traffic light at Maguire Road and Hartwell Avenue Also, the town will continue to provide a police officer subject to manpower availability, and the policy will be reviewed as to whether we should be providing a police officer at the town's expense Fire Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Fire Department has Dept withdrawn the prohibited practice charge against the town and the Phone Fire Chief is reviewing the telephone system, with an additional System extension to be provided to deal with emergency calls In response to questions from the Board, Mr Hutchinson said that the Chief felt the new system would save the town money and, as part of that, he de- leted the Police and Fire line From a public safety standpoint, no one is jeopardized as the Police have access to Extension 78, which goes right through to the Fire Department The Board agreed to meet at the Central Fire Station next Monday, October 29, at 7 30 p m. for a review of the telephone system with Mr Hutchinson and Chief Bergeron LEXPRESS Mr Hutchinson said that the Police Department has asked that the Bus Stop Board approve the new location of debarkation of LEXPRESS passengers Depot Sq at Depot Square Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to designate the II/area north of Emery Park as the LEXPRESS bus stop Better- Mr Cohen discussed the request from the Lexington Golf Club for ments- deferment of sewer betterment assessments, and it was agreed to again Lex Golf table the matter Club Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter of the Lexington Golf Club's request for deferment of sewer betterment assessments pending receipt of a letter from the Board of Directors concerning litigation against the town Real Chairman Miley announced that the tax bills were mailed last Estate Friday, October 19, and she pointed out that the delay had nothing Taxes to do with the town Mr Hutchinson added that payment is due within thirty days of the postmark and we encourage people to come forward earlier; we are in a favorable position and may not have to borrow money, which saves you tax money Meeting Chairman Miley opened the meeting with residents of the with area of Precincts 1 and 2, and said that this is the third time the Prects Selectmen have been in different sections of the town; we have found 1 & 2 that people are very comfortable talking to us about their problems Residents Residents of the Harrington School area and the school custodian asked for assistance in resolving the problem with dogs on the school grounds Mr Busa said that a similar situation at the playground on Rindge Avenue Dogs on had been brought to the attention of the Board and, upon the recommendation School of the Animal Control Officer, the Board had voted unanimously on Grounds August 14, 1978 to have all playgrounds posted so there would be no dogs running loose, subject to Town Counsel looking into the legal aspects of posting. Perhaps we could have school grounds so posted Mr Hutchinson said arrangements will be made to have the grounds posted and, in the interim, the Dog Warden will be operating under this regulation L Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - October 22, 1979 Mr Fred Perry, 678 Massachusetts Avenue, asked to be recorded in Mass Ave / opposition to the installation of traffic lights at the intersection of Pleasant St Massachusetts Avenue and Pleasant Street He lives within 20 yards of Rotary the rotary circle and lights would not stop the thousands of cars coming through there, and if traffic were diverted, there would be more dangerous conditions As far as pedestrian traffic, children going to Adams School are handled by Policewomen; there is a policeman there for services at Sacred Heart and the Follen Church, aesthetically, the area would be adversely affected This would generate other lights as the police favor lights there in tandem with Maple Street He did not think it a good idea Mr Hutchinson said there were 26 accidents in the area in 1976 and 17 in 1978, a modest decline, and there is no guarantee they would be lower with the lights He had written to the Sacred Heart Church in re- sponse to their letter and had pointed out that from an engineering view there are staff restrictions on manpower and workload It is our inten- tion to have the Engineering Division bring it up to the Board for review and a decision on whether to institute a program or to look at other viable alternatives for safety In 1976-77, there was a proposal under TOPICS and there were not a lot of people at the hearings at that time The Historic Districts Commission and the Chairman of the Planning Board raised concerns about the proposal and it was put on the back burner A member of the Adams School PTA said she was concerned about the safety of children coming down from Liberty Heights, and suggested that this is something to be considered in the future Mr Hutchinson said we can look at it again and what the alternatives might be Chairman Miley added that we will not do an expensive study but the Manager will review what's there Also, my understanding of the TOPICS program is that you accept the whole thing or nothing In response to a question from Mr Arthur Smith, Mrs Swanson of the School Committee said a report on the closing of Adams School will be sub- mitted by the School Superintendent on November 1, or thereabouts Chairman Miley explained the process involved when Town Meeting votes to close and accept a school Mr Arthur Smith raised the question of the possibility of a mini-bus Mini-bus/ route continuing to Arlington Heights, and it was explained that this was Arl Hts a grievance with the MBTA union and it was not in the town's best interests to pursue it The town was anxious to have the papers signed, get the funding, and put LEXPRESS into service Chairman Miley thanked the residents for attending the meeting with the Board and assured them that the Selectmen are always available for discussion of any problems which may arise 1 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - October 22, 1979 Select- The Board discussed goals and Mrs Battin said it is a long-range men's process The last time we discussed them, we brought in what we thought Goals were our most pressing problems and we should decide the three or four that are really the most important Obviously, we all agreed on Center Revitalization; the two others that stood out to me were the town finances, and that seemed to break down into two of them - the whole question of sources of revenue, the need to decrease our reliance on the property tax, which would include tax reform and how to increase sources of revenue, like broadening our tax base, school conversion, etc The other financial one - the one Mr Crain stressed - was the whole problem of financial management and the need to achieve tax stabilization and the rate of inflation and dealing with the consequences of it; how we manage our monies in the budgets Sources of revenue and the actual financial management were the two largest areas Mr Crain said all we are trying to do is create a focus for the immediate future and our top priorities, which is dynamic and probably will change as time goes on It has been found to result in more progress if groups like this focus on a few top priorities and get some work projects going on underneath them, and then maybe the next time we take a photograph it is entirely different He hoped that the hidden time bomb like unfunded pensions would be included in the financial area Mr Kent said he agreed completely with Mrs Battin and Mr Crain to the extent that we are here to talk about areas of concern with long- range planning He would like to start with Center Revitalization and the four items under financial structure On Center Revitalization and giving particular emphasis on short-term parking, he was not sure he wanted that in the long-planning goal process That happens to be an item, of which there are many before this board, which we simply have to deal with before the next Town Meeting because we told the Town Meeting we were going to do so Center vitalization as a topic for this long-term treatment is somewhat different from this emphasis on short-term solutions to parking, which he would simply put in the category of a near- term agenda item of the board to be handled on an incremental basis Mrs Battin agreed For long-range planning purposes, he was in accord with what was said about Center Revitalization and the Financial Structure of the Town Mr Crain agreed and offered another one on employee development - because of the importance of the human resource we have invested in the community and our employee body, and the need to give the Manager and the department heads more assistance in providing some development opportunities to maximize the potential of that very costly and very important resource Mrs Battin summarized the major problem areas in which to set goals (1) Center Revitalization; (2) Source of Revenue, to include the need to decrease reliance on the property tax and increase sources of revenue; (3) Financial Management; the need to achieve tax stabilization and deal- ing with the consequences of inflation; (4) Employee Development Mrs Battin said the problem areas have been identified and each member should come in with a suggested goal The goal doesn't necessarily have to be a new service; it must directly relate to the previously identified concern or problem Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - October 22, 1979 III Mr Crain said (1) a goal is defined as something that is clearly measurable; (2) Usually, there are several goals associated with an area of focus Each of us might find we would want to come in with one, and it is important that we come in with a timetable Mr Hutchinson said that on financial issues we have identified revenues as economic growth and that might be something that we can fix a little more by tracking how much land we have left and looking at just the existing system we have The second issue is one that the Selectmen have been particularly active in that we don't have a grasp on yet, and that is the whole issue of tax reform, a 3 to 5 year issue The political activity of your legislators in the sense of getting into a program that the Lexington Board of Selectmen would endorse a coherent tax program that they think would impact on the resources of the town and the commonwealth The Managers do not have a position at this time Mrs Battin said she would like to see the board push very hard to have the municipal associations on their own reconstitute their tax reform committee, and we .come out with our proposal It doesn't have a prayer of getting through the legislature but again at least we have something that is carefully thought through from a municipal point of view towards reliance on the property tax; that we, as a board, take the initiative on that Presidents of municipal associations are III meeting with staff of municipal associations to look at all the tax limitation proposals that have been filed, and then we are meeting with legislators to talk about it Mrs Battin would bring this back to the board She added that maybe the goal ought to be a definite study and when it ought to be reported back in Mrs Battin and Mr Hutchinson are to meet and submit a draft of the agreed upon major problem areas for discussion at the Selectmen's meeting on November 5 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent, Mr Crain - Session to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing matters of litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 20 p m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen III {