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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-08-20-BOS-mi SELECTMEN'S MEETING August 20, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, August 20, 1979 at 7 30 p m Chairman Miley, Mr Buse, Mrs Battin, Messrs Kent and Crain, Mr Hutchin- son, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, Miss Casey Principal Clerk, Selectmen were present The Board, Town Manager, Assistant to the Town Manager, Mr Coscia of Hartwell the Public Works Department, and members of the Engineering firm of Whitman Ave & Howard met at the sanitary land fill at 7 00 p m to discuss the permanent Landfill closing of the landfill Mrs Miley stated that the Board had come to the conclusion that it will be very costly to fulfill the state standards Mr Reilly of the Solid Waste Committee informed the Board that his com- mittee had been having a series of meetings in the latter part of July and will continue to meet every two weeks to get all the information needed and will be reporting to the Board by September 26 and a final report will be ready by October 10 He stated that they will need to know within a 5% to 10% margin of error the amount of refuse tonnage that the town is generating per day at the land- fill, as tonnage is the basis of payment to the North Andover facility Mr Reilly stated that the committee is considering two proposals and at its last meeting on July 29 it voted to support the proposal to scale down from the initial build of a 3,000 ton per day plant to a stage called "phased construction" of a plant with 4 incenerators and a 1500 ton per day plant The second proposal is the modification of the transportation sharing plan whereby each town involved handles its own transportation costs to the door the committee does not favor this concept and supports the original proposal of NESWC and requested the opinion of the Board as to whether or not they should go forward with the original proposal or not Mr Hutchinson explained that the committee would like to have the support of the Board so that at the meeting on September 6 they can say they have no problems with the Board of Selectmen who are the granting authority He stated that the transportation system will be continued to be investiga- ted The Board gave its approval to the committee to go forward on the origi- nal proposal The Chairman thanked the representatives of Whitman & Howard and they retired from the meeting The Chairman informed the Board that the Bureau of Solid Waste Dis- 128 West posal has requested an update of delegated representatives to the 128 West Resource Resource Council Recovery Mr Hutchinson, who is the designee from Lexington, informed the Board Designee that his attendance at meetings has been less than desirable as he had been pursuing other alternatives He suggested that Mr Reilly, who has agree, to be designated as an alternate The Board agreed and the Bureau of Solid Waste Disposal and 128 West Resource Recovery will be notified Mr Reilly retired from the meeting - z - Personnel The Board met with Mr Butler and Mrs Small of the Personnel Advisory Advisory Board to discuss the charge to the committee Board Mr Hutchinson stated that there had been some questions raised specifi- II/Charge cally relating to the relationship of the Personnel Advisory Board with other agencies He said that he and Mr Busa had talked about it and had come up with some language that might be acceptable to both groups Mr Busa stated that the reason for the redraft was to ensure that the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen will know what topics are to be discussed and when The Personnel Advisory Board will coordinate and ad- vise the Town Manager of meetings with other public agencies and boards and the subject matter being reviewed to enable the manager to give notice to the Board of Selectmen Mrs Battin stated that, while it was not stated specifically in the charge, it was the intent to also provide advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen on policy issues inherent in the personnel system. Mr Butler agreed Mr Crain requested that the final part of the charge be amended by the insertion of the words "submitted annually by October 15 " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following charge to the Personnel Advisory Board with the provision that the Personnel Advisory Board coordinate and advise the Manager's Office of meetings with other public agencies and boards and the subject matter to be reviewed to enable the Manager to provide appropriate notice to the Board of Selectmen; and that it be understood that the intent of the first part of the charge include the availability of the Personnel Advisory Board to provide advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen on policy issues inherent in the personnel system The Personnel Advisory Board shall be available individually and as a group as requested by the Board of Selectmen, Town Manager and appropriate Town agencies and Com- mitees to share opinions, provide advice and assistance to the Board of Selectmen on policy issues inherent in the personnel system; review proposed personnel policies and practices and recommend changes for consideration by the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen; review proposed changes in compensation and fringe benefit policies and/or practices and make recommendations regarding appropriate actions or policy positions to be taken by the Town; review and comment on annual personnel services budget and proposed salary adjustments submitted by Town Manager to Board of Selectmen; review and respond to proposed organizational changes made by the Town Manager to the Board of Selectmen; propose and submitted annually by October 15 an agenda of suggested policy proposals and projects for the Board of Selectmen's considera- tion, which it is prepared to initiate The Chairman tanked Mr Butler and Mrs Small and they retired from the meeting - 3 - Selectmen's Meeting August 20, 1979 The Board met with the Cable Television Advisory Committee to discuss CATV the initiation of the franchising process to choose the calbe television cam- Committee pany that might serve Lexington Mr Page informed the Board that the committee would meet with the Secretary of the Massachusetts Cable Television Commission to get an update of the licensing procedure By State law, a public hearing must be held prior to initiating the franchising procedure He recommended, and the Board approved, that a hearing be held in Estabrook Hall on September 20 This hearing will be an opportunity for Lexington organizations and individuals to state their opinions regarding cable television. The committee recommended that the system be maintained through a com- munity access center funded 1/3 by the cable company, 1/3 by the town and 1/3 by private donations from citizens and organizations The estimated expense of operating the center would be about $75,000 per year This access center would televise such community activities as town meetings, Selectmen's meet- ings, educational programs etc Mr Busa raised the question as to when does it have to be established that the $75,000 would it have to be available as this would have to be written into the contract Mr Page stated that the committee would try to make it part of the negotiations of the contract It can be left as a proviso. He stated that the main thing would be to get a commitment from the cable company to pro- vide its part and later on it would be up to the town to decide its share would be Mr Page stated that the cable companies would be more interested in Lexington as a customer for cable television without the provision of providing a community access center and the company would be providing a ser- vice over and above what they could provide as a minimum He said that the committee would be looking for those companies that would be willing to pro- vide this service Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Com- mitee's suggestion to hold an open meeting Mrs Miley thanked the Committee and they retired from the meeting Meetings Mrs Battin reported to the Board regarding the meeting with the Mass Directors of the Mass Municipal Association and the Deputy Commissioner Municipal of Revenue She stated that the cherry sheets had planned to be out on Assoc Friday and that at the same time we will receive voluminous forms to fill & out in order for them to certify the tax rate The reports were being typed LGAC up and they wanted to send them out at the same time as the cherry sheets but didn't think they would be ready to go out Friday They will be ready to go out and should be received by Wednesday Mrs Battin also reported regarding the LGAC meeting regarding classi- fication She stated that regarding the Andover case, there was a very strong court decision All those not in compliance are being turned over to the Attorney General and are being ordered to have contracts signed and the monies appropriated by September 4 They will have to call special town meet- ings in those particular towns or the Judge said that he would give the State the power to hire outsiders to do it for those communities and take it off the cherry sheets This does not apply to Lexington The courts did resolve 11/ the issues that were challenged regarding classification satisfactorily so - Classification I is not optional and every community is going to have - 4 - to go to it and it can be instituted on a piecemeal basis Eighteen towns have been certified to proceed this year and they are being ordered to __ The other 70 are going to be met with during the fall Mrs Battin also reported regarding the meeting with Governor King and stated that he had said that he understood municipalities concerns with State mandates He urged the municipal associations to put lists of man- dates in order of priority, including the administrative mandates, rules and regulations that impose requirements relative to staffing money, etc and send them to Ken Shaw at the League quickly so that they could be reviewed Acting The Chairman asked for a nomination for acting chairman from August Chairman 21 through August 26 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Busa as acting chairman from August 21 through August 26 Street The Manager requested approval of the awarding of the contract for Resurfacing resurfacing of Massachusetts Avenue from Pelham Road to Wilburn Street, Contract Hartwell Avenue from Bedford Street to the railroaf tracks, Forest Street and Middle Street to Sarao Bros, Inc , 97 Beaver St , Waltham, Mass in the amount of $98,290 00 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the con- tract #80-3-E for street resurfacing to Sarao Bros , Inc in the amount of $98,290 00 Street, The Manager requested approval of the awarding of the contract for Drain and street, drain and sidewalk construct #78-6-E to J J O'Brien & Sons, Inc Sidewalk Waltham, Mass, on the basis of their being the lowest qualified bidder, Const subjecto to Town Counsel approval as to bid form for Banks Avenue, Cushing Street, Tucker Avenue and Wood Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the con- tract #78-6-E, street, drain and sidewalk construction to J J O'Brien & Sons, Inc , Waltham, Mass in the amount of $157,367 00 subject to Town Counsel approval as to bid form Mini Bus Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve a six Fares month pass structure for the mini bus at $20 00 for six months, $15 00 for three months and $30 00 yearly pass with 25C single fare ride Executive Upon mOtion duly made and seconded, it was voted by roll call vote Session 5-0 -- Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain -- to go into Executive Session, with the intention of resuming open session, to discuss matters of possible litigation and real estate negotiations After discussion it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting The Board voted on the following requests from the Acting Director Public Works/Engineering Wood St Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order Sidewalk for Sidewalk Construction for Wood Street from Holton Road a distance of 2471 feet westerly to Bates, Road Abatement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate water Water Bills bills in total amount of $109,597 45 ($108,693 00 -- wrong billing to Navy Raytheon MFG, 78 Westview Street - 5 - Selectmen's Meeting August 20, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the J/0 Poles request of the N E Tel & Tel and Boston Edison for the following follow- Muzzey ing joint pole locations Street Muzzey Street on the westerly side, approximately 19'+ (feet) and south of Massachusetts Avenue, one (1) Pole 69/1 Hartwell Hartwell Avenue on the southerly side, approximately 1584'+ Avenue (feet) west of Maguire Road, one (1) Pole 411/43 The Board discussed the request of The United Cancer Institute to United have citizens contact congressional members to enact September 8 National Cancer Cancer Day into law Institute During discussion of the request, it was brought out that The United Cancer Institute is not affiliated with the National Cancer Insti- tute or the American Cancer Society and Mr Buse requested that the matter be tabled Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request of the United Cancer Institute to contact congressional members to enact September 8 as National Cancer Day into law Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Sunday Theatre and Weekday licenses for Lex-Mil Theatres Cinema I and II Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the bond Asst Treas for Doris Barclay, Assistant Town Treasurer in the amount of $43,000 00 Bond Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting of Autust 6, 1979 The Board met with the Housing Authority and the Planning Board to Fair discuss the fair housing plan requested by MCAD Housing The Manager informed the Board that he had filed, in behalf of the Plan Town, an affirmative action plan and a component of that is the fair hous- ing plan He stated that MCAD is asking what the Town is doing in regard to housing and that much of the efforts are tied in with the Housing Authority who are moving forward on it MCAD is specifically asking the Town about the establishment of a fair housing committee or a designation of a fair housing committee and what characteristics it would have and have asked with what public housing is coming in line what efforts within the affirmative action component are being made by the Town to meet affirmative action goals This means affirmative action recruiting for applicants for housing in scattered sites, elderly housing or Section 8 housing Mr Hutchinson stated that he has tried to outline a series of steps relative to the appointment of a liaison with MCAD to work with them in articulat- ing the Town's position in fair housing He stated that the Board would have to decide what makeup any fair housing should take looking at the goals that are supposed to be outlined to MCAD The Manager stated that he felt that, HUD having recognized that the Housing Authority had filed an affir- mative action plan with them, he wanted to make sure that we wind up reason- ably consistent with the plans we have now and prevent any inconsistencies II[— in the future MCAD is working closely with cities and towns and a number of cities and towns are involved in law suits about their selection process of applicants to the point of jeopardizing funds, not only for fu- ture programs but existing ones MCAD wanted to know if goals were going - 6 - to be established or an effort was going to be made for X number of housing to be for minority families Mrs Shunney, of the Housing Authority informed the Board regarding the different processes that they are going through with HUD and DCA in order to get a contract signed and that each agency seems to be working independently of the other which makes it very difficult for the Authority She stated that there are different requirements to every project that comes up and that any agency that is dispensing money has a lot of influ- ence regarding requirements Mrs Shunney also stated that the Housing Authority had filed an affirmative action plan. Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the MCAD is enforcement arm within the state for the Federal Agency administering Federal funds They have not taken a position as part of Federal policy on the numerical question but they go to the state agencies involved He stated that goals must be set regarding this Mrs Shunney explained that the Housing Authority has no jurisdic- tion about who applies for housing and that minorities simply do not apply She felt that no one was discriminated against and that they have taken the people that have applied During further discussion, it was brought out that a Fair Housing Committee must be established and appoint an individual to be a contact between the committee and the MCAD The committee would establish goals of affirmative action for future residents of low and moderate income housing in Lexington and establish a methodology to determine if there are structural barriers to equal access to housing Mr Scanlon of the Housing Authority explained that on the scattered sites housing, under HUD regulations which have been filed and approved, first preference will be given to Lexington residents regardless of the length of residence and persons who are employed or about to be employed in Lexington, the tenants selection plan will be to accept applications from everyone, and they also have utilization which means for a two bedroom you have a minimum and maximum number of individuals who can live there and also for two, three and four bedroom units He stated that they try to fill on first priority basis those in that category then its all others This a part of the HUD regulations under the low income housing program. Mrs Shunney explained that this policy is adaptable to "need" also and is not mandatory and if there was a person a more serious housing need than a Lexington resident, the Housing Authority could place them first Interviews are conducted to determine the needs and requirements of all applicants The Manager suggested that it would be beneficial to get a HUD person and an MCAD person together with our representatives and sit down and get some of the questions ironed out and present the programs that we already have The Chairman thanked the members of the Housing Authority and the Planning Board for all the information given and they retired from the meeting The Chairman requested recommendations be sent in to the Manager's office during the week relative to the formation of a Fair Housing Com- mitee which will be appointed at next week's meeting The Chairman reminded the Board that one of the agenda items was to appoint a liaison to work with MCAD in development of the Town's Fair Housing Plan and Mr Kent suggested that Mr Crain be designated to ful- fill that function, at least for the time being to get the committee off on the right foot relative to what is expected and required of us - 7 - Selectmen's Meeting August 20, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Crain to be the liaison to work with MCAD in the development of the Town's Fair Housing Plan The Board met with the School Sites Conversion to discuss the proposed Parker guidelines for the conversion of Parker School School During the discussion, Mr Kent requested clarification of the refer- ence to a safe _access to and from Bedford Street Mr Smith explained that the idea was to widen the current cut into Bedford Street at the right hand of the school and construct a driveway then which would allow crossings at the front of the school It doesn't mean a roadway where the steps are It was also brought out that the reference to a "living fence" of 15-20 foot hemlock trees was just a suggestion and that the developer and the abutters, Mr and Mrs Frank Byrnes would get together and come to some de- cision that would be mutually agreeable Mr Kent suggested that an alternative be that a living fence be pro- vided on the right hand side and the abutters be consulted Mrs Miley referred to the section referring to sound transmission, Mr Busa pointed out to the Board that to comply with this section would be very costly to the developer, and he considered it unrealistic to have that building the only one in the entire area to have to comply with this regu- lation Mrs Banks stated that it had been discussed with Mr DeMatteo, Build- ing Commissioner, and that it was consistent with building requirement cokes which will be in effect in January, 1980 Mr Busa questioned whether or not this referred to a footprint of the area or statewide Mr Hutchinson said that he would get the question clarified and report back to the Board The Chairman informed the Board that Mr Greeley, a representative from the Munroe School area is putting together a meeting with the neighbors on September 11 in Estabrook Hall and a letter is being sent out to about 200 houses Mrs Miley thanked the Committee and they retired from the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the proposed guidelines for to conversion of Parker School as follows Proposed Guidelines - Parker School Written. 1) The use of the Parker School shall be 25-30 condominiums, 25% of which will be given to the Town of Lexington for family housing as described by HUD Two types of proposals will be considered 1) development of existing building 2) development of existing building plus additions thereto The maximum number of units for the existing building with additions thereto will be 30 condominiums It is understood that there will be fewer units if only the original shell is developed 2) Safe access to and from Bedford Street is a major point to be considered and at least 1 alternative plan should be submitted which uses the ex- isting access, widened, for a road going in front of the school leading to the parking area J - 8 _ 3) After final approval of a developer's plan has been granted by the Board of Selectmen, there shall be no changes in the plan unless recommended by the Planning Board and/or Town Meeting III 4) Family subsidized units should be randomly spaced among all units 5) Walls, partitions and floor-ceiling constructions separating tenant units from each other or from public or service areas shall have a sound transmission class (STC) of not less than forty-five (45) for airborne noise (sec 522 2, State Building Code, third section) Verbal 1) The neighborhood has expressed concern about the height of the building and the possible addition of another story 2) The developer should furnish a complete landscaping plan as required by the Planning Board 3) The 3 finalists will have to work out a living fence with the abutters on the right hand side 4) Final approval of a development plan is subject to Town Meeting vote in accordance with Section 28 of the Zoning By-Laws (copies of Section 28 will be made available in the development package) These guidelines are accepted subject to clarification of the noise question and the "living fence" issue Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by roll call vote Session 5-0 -- Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain -- to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming open session, to dis- cuss complaints brought against a public employee After discussion it was voted to adjourn IIIUpon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 p m. A true record, Attest 9a ,,,,,:uz.L-727 0 Principal Clerk, Selectmen