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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-03-12-BOS-min f 177 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 12, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 12, 1979, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchin- son, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Members of the Town Report Committee presented copies of the 1978 1978 Town Annual Town Report to the Board On behalf of the Board, Chairman Report Battin thanked Mr Sam Nablo, Chairman, and his committee for an ex- cellent and impressive report Mrs Mary Shunney, Mr Woodruff Brodhead, and Mr Albert Zabin Housing met with the Board for a continuation of the discussion on Article 74- Minority Housing Resolution, and the presentation of a minority report on housing Report - Mrs Shunney said that she thought they were going to adopt a master Housing housing plan and she sees Article 74 as not being totally descriptive Resolution of the master housing plan for the town There was a lack of reporting and eoihmunication of what went on at separate committee meetings, and there was a lack of the full boards together She had not heard at any meeting that there was going to be a resolution such as this, which was going to be drafted for town meeting Mrs Shunney, Mr Busa and Mr Brodhead had served aS members of the master housing plan committee and had drafted the minority report They had concerns about the ap- proach to local needs and how the community handled those local needs and they also had difficulty with the suggestion of using Chapter 774 There are ways of providing housing through the zoning by-laws and we are suggesting that town boards give consideration to seeking ways of providing housing under the zoning by-laws She would not want a town board to go to 774 because it will be faster, easier, and less com- plicated. The minority report states that we believe there are alterna- tives to the use of Chapter 774 which are compatible with both the physical character of the town and desires of the majority of its citizens Mr Busa said that we stated in our report we should be tak- ing care of the needs of Lexington We have an obligation to Lexington and the state but the standards of Lexington should be met first We realize that while it is not a complete solution, it is one that a majority of the residents would fully support Mr Crain said he had investigated the use of Chapter 774 in other communities and the re- port he had received reenforced his grave concern about any directive indicating a board should purposely and aggressively use 774 Mr Kent said that what Mr Crain has suggested basically accords with his point of view, with one nuance which may be a little different He agreed with the notion that 774 ought to be resorted to only after an attempt to use the normal processes of the town, and therefore to that degree he would agree that our statement ought not to include the suggestion that that '/80 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 12, 1979 section be a primary device for achievement of low and moderate hen-fining However, not in terms of its use elsewhere but in terms of its use here, Chapter 774 furnishes a useful purpose as a safety valve Our own handling of 774 in the past leaves something to be desired but he felt that's the role it ought to take. He did not want to leave the im- pression that we regard 774 as a bad thing and not to be resorted to by anybody in this community - he could not subscribe to that Mr Crain said, as he understands it, 774 is a proviso that is avail- able if a builder comes in and conceives a way and wants to invoke the use of 774 That is an existing statute that is available. In no way would he suggest changing what exists as a statute, but he was concerned with any suggestion that we should underscore or encourage the use of something that is quite as traumatic as 774 It does exist; it is available Mr Kent agreed Mr Zabin said he was positively impressed with the minority report and thought it less of a minority report that the title indicates The difference between this and the majority report is primarily one of emphasis The minority report contains language which might be suitable and he thought the Planning Board could accept the language that the Housing Authority should use provisions under Ch 774 as a last resort Mr Crain was concerned that specific urging and reference to 774 would stimulate an unusual use of that measure, with the result that potentially even the Appeals Board would be superseded by a decision well beyond this community and, therefore, he was unalter- ably opposed to any specific reference to 774, singling it out The statute exists and everyone knows it exists We should make a strong statement of our desire to increase low and moderate income housing by the use of all provisions, but he was strongly opposed to any singling out of 774 as a specific reference Mrs Miley said she was willing to leave out the reference to Chapter 774 as long as down the line, a year or two from now or whenever, it is not thrown back that since that report did not use 774, therefore the town did not want to use 774 She wanted that to be clear for the record Mr Kent shared Mrs Miley's concern. Chairman Battin said she agreed with Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; we would want an open option that people will look at fairly and not give an automatic "no " Mr Brodhead said as a member of the Board of Appeals, that board would consider each particular case purely on the merits of the situation as it existed at that time. We had two instances on 774 and most people would agree there were very difficult decisions to make; St Brigid's had already bee; turned down by Town Meeting on re- zoning, and the other one (Interfaith) on Garfield Street was on an un- accepted street and there was rather a dense development, and the Board of Appeals was justified in making the decision it did, and not because 774 was rearing its ugly head. Those are the only two cases we've had and he wished to assure everyone that in the future if 774 comes up, it will be considered impartially and the way it should be Mr Crain understood and could identify with Mr Kent's emphasis but he would be equally troubled if any action this board took seemed to presume that any 774 proposal that went to the Board of Appeals should get endorsement by the Board of Appeals The picture and process is established and tends that body to give a fair-reason judgment regarding the quality of the proposal He has every confidence in the individuals on that board to do that Chairman Battin said she hears everyone saying, and Mr Brodhead underscoring, that they would look at it fairly and openly and there would not be an automatic yes or no because it is 774 - that the process really doesn't matter, it is the proposal 181 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - March 12, 1979 Mr Zahin said he accepted the assurance of the attitude the Board of Appeals would take; some members of the Planning Board are troubled that the fees for a special permit application under 774 to the Board of Appeals is $250 vs $25/50 for other applications Mrs Shunney set forth arguments on the housing report vs the resolution anr� Mr. Kent said, as he hears it, regardless of how worded, the briefalioes not represent in Mrs Shunspy?s view an adequate response to Lexington's need for a master plan. He was more than willing to pursue within this board both the majority and minor- ity reports that have been filed by that committee, with a view to having this board adopt as its own view a master housing plan, presumably drawn out of portions of both of these after some hammering has been done He understood the concern and felt the Board ought to be responsive to it Mrs Shunney and Mr Busa were disturbed that a housing plan had been { submitted to the state Chairman Battin said in order to meet our affirma- tive action plan, every town in the Commonwealth has to file a fair housing plan. We do have to have a specific one which ought to be done in concert with Housing, the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen, but an overall policy has to be established by Town Meeting We sent a draft to the state Goals were discussed and Mr Crain and Mr Busa were not in favor of 35 units; "that the Town shall use its best efforts to provide not less than an average of 35 newly constructed or rehabilitated family units for low and moderate income families and 15 new units for the elderly, each year over the next six years " Mr. Crain said it has taken six years to come up with 16 or 17 units of scattered sites, and he would be more comfortable with 25 units He was concerned about setting the figure much too high and then not having people identify with it because it's not realistic Mr Kent agreed because of a lack of a basis for a higher figure Mr Busa said that we might fall short and it might take 10 to 15 years to get the number of units we need If we are all sincere in what we are supposed to do and say we are going to make a concerted effort to continue to provide homes for low/moderate income people, to me, I can accept that. If you put a higher figure there, they can say you didn't even come close and we are not going to give you conservation or recreation money Mrs Miley and Chairman Battin felt comfortable with 25 units Board members agreed to maintain the 15 units for the elderly. Mrs Shunney said that 35 was, the MAPC figure; her committee had recommended 25 but the report came out with 35 Mr Brodhead suggested that references to the Board of Appeals be eliminated from Article 74 as the Board of Appeals has no control over what matters come before it and they cannot give priority to something they have no control over The Board of Selectmen agreed to support deletion of references to the Board of Appeals, to change from 35 units to 25 units for low/moderate income families, and the figure of 15 units for the elderly is to remain. Mr Zabin said he felt the Planning Board would have no objection and the changes in Article 74 would be made for the motion. Mrs Shunney, Mr Zabin and Mr. Brodhead retired from the meeting. I #82 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - March 12, 1979 Town Mr James Russell and Mr John Mackay, auditors of Arthur Andersen Audit and Co of Boston presented a financial statement and management letter Mr Russell said that Lexington has increased its net asset position by more than $1 million in the last fiscalyear, from $4 6 to $5 7 million.. The debt decreased from $7 4 million to $6 5 million The growth in a net asset position from June 30, 1977 to June 30, 1978 resulted from an excess of operating budgetary revenues over budgetary expenses of in excess of $800,000 The primary factor accounting for it was re- ceiving over $500,000 more in motor vehicle excise taxes than had been forecast by the town We noted no violations with revenue shar- ing regulations and therefore the town complies with the Bureau of Account regulations, federal regulations, and has a set of financial statements which it can and has included in its bond offerings The town is making progress toward funding its pension fund A year ago we pointed out that the town's funding falls considerably short of what we consider to be a sound actuary practice Mr Mackay said the management letter is the result of the audit not a detailed system review We do try to come up with a number of business suggestions and internal control systems The administration has already prepared a report sum- marizing the progress of the town in these areas and it is succinct but accurate The primary areas we wish to cover are integrated systems planning which the town has recently completed an initial study on; that is progressing well It is a summary of the present condition. Within the next year and a half, municipalities in Massachusetts will be moving to a statutory system of acccounting from the present Mass system. 111 The town is_.monitoring the Bureau of Accounts' information available to assist them in moving towards generally accepted accounting principles_ The Bureau of Accounts is in a learning process themselves and things will progress over a time period We feel it is necessary for the town to continue to monitor this and at some point in time to take progressive steps The town, in the past, had not performed certain reconciliation procedures primarily related to revenue on a monthly basis The town is now performing these procedures monthly The other area that ties into some of the recent announcements by the Governor is the Enterprise Fund Accounting situation with regard to the water department Under this, the theory is that the specific activity (water dept ) be on a break-even basis in terms of recovering its costs, and we refer not only to the variab le cost for providing the service but also to the cost of replac- ing fixed plant - retirements, debt that exist, etc - to identify all of the costs of providing water service We point out in our management letter the internal control suggestions that are new this past year are presented in a different format We feel it presents a capsule picture of our obligations Mr. Busa retired from the meeting at 8 45 p m. Mr Crain asked when they had finished the audit? Mr Mackay responded that it was in the early part of September on field work; then went through approximately two months' process of drafting financial statements and recommendations This was submitted to the administration of the town in a draft form and then we got together with the administration We go111 around once with the Comptroller and once we have his comments, then with the Town Manager We had included a caption of the town's comments in the back of the management letter but we reached the agreement that we would delete that 4'83 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - March 12, 1979 Mr Crain suggested group meetings with department heads for feedback on major points in order to get an immediate reaction He was very con- cerned that the end results of the audit were some inaccuracies that he had noted ; initial impressions are very hard to change and some of the department heads were put in the position of things being reported in writing that proved not to be accurate; any process that allows that to happen is a negative process Mr Mackay apologized for the unfortun- ate experience which was the result of a breakdown of communiciation be- tween the auditors and the town They did not have group meetings but there is no reason why they couldn't have them. Mr Crain said he was interested in their proposal for this year as to what the timeline would be for completion of the audit and a specific commitment on the date we will receive the management letter Mr Mackay said he hoped to get a draft of the financial statement to the town before the end of September Mr Crain said he would underscore,whatever the process is, it is absolutely imperative that the major points, particularly the critical, be reviewed with department heads so, if there is misunder- standing, they be ironed out before the Board sees them Mr Mackay agreed Mr Hutchinson said he will address the fixed assets ledger this summer, working with summer help for ufi tiro put .ih.ftogether We do maintain an insurance listing now Chairman Battin thanked the auditors and they retired from the meeting Mr Lincoln Cole, Lexington's representative on the MBTA Advisory Board, met with the Board Mr Crain expressed his concern about the MBTA supple- mentary budget; he was bothered that an operation that ran a $5.6 million MBTA Sup deficit could categorize that 1978 was a good year An operation that Budget spends more than its budget should have a process built in that makes it impossible Mr Cole said that a system is being designed now and Mr Foster has assured me they will be adhered to He agreed to monitor the situation Mr Cole retired from the meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve a transfer of Transfer $5,000 to Account #4150-Fire Department, he said this essentially re- Fire fleets underbudgeting in building maintenance and energy expenses. Dept Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #4150-Fire Department in the amount of $5,000 Also recommended were transfers of $1,600 to Account #4500- Bldg Building Inspection because of changes in state mandated procedures Inspection for forms, applications and permits for building, plumbing, gas, electrical and mechanical; $1,500 to Account #1125-Fire & Police Fire & Medical because work-related injuries have been above average this year Police Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Medical Appropriation Committee transfers from the Reserve Fund to Account #4500-Building Inspection in the amount of $1,600, and Account #1125- Fire & Police Medical in the amount of $1,500 Selectmen's Meeting -6 - March 12, 1979 Mr William Page met with the Board to discuss the Ad hoc Task Force report on the establishment of a Community Health Committee Mr Page said that a Human Services Council would be in existence as an umbrella under which some relationship would be established As he understood, an ad hoc council exists but there has been no formal appointment Chairman Battin said the Board of Selectmen is now contemplating set- ting up an advisory human services committee to us and the and Mr Crain are charged with developing a charge,of which this might well be too many single focus committees Mr Jacob Gardner said the American Association of Retired Persons voted to support the establishment of a Lexington community health committee and it is our hope the Selectmen will act favorably on implementing Resolution 8. The committee will help coordinate efforts to promote improved community health Mrs Martha Wood said to establish a subcommittee before the committee is established seems to be out of order She felt the Board of Health should be more definitely spelled out and be stronger, and perhaps it is appropriate to consider even enlarging the Board of Health She was also concerned with this sort of a committeethat is tied in too clo.yely with the schools, the elderly or one profession or agency It coesn't include a comment about a Health Educator or Health Planr.er or community organizer to start the planning process The original com- mittee should be a smaller committee rather than a 15 member board There should be a more definite idea of the direction this committee ought to go Ms Sue Rogowitz, a former health nurse, said she saw it as a clearing house, a way to get into foc.s what is available in town in relation to health By working together to arrange health programs applicable for all age groups; in the school:, there is no definite program for kids on health teaching There is no one place you could go to find out about health Chairman Battin agreed there is no one place for either human services or health, and this is sort of a com- ponent of human services; perhaps we should consider it Mr Kent un- derstood this and-Mrs Wood's concerns but it is a question of structure The data which has grown out of the forum on aging is very relevant and points to a specif community need that needs attention There is a tremendous amount of information that people in a community ought to have which needs to be organized and needs to be disseminated This Board has at the moment a certain reluctance to relate new bodies in the field of human services, which bodies are going to be torn apart He had talked with Mr Page and there is a regular momentum involved in this and if we simply put this on the shelf until such time as we finish with our human services structure, not only is time lost but for want of any serious input because it's not already in the ground He agreed with Mrs Wood's suggestion of a committee of five, appointed. by the Board of Selectmen, with its make-up to be determined after con- sultation with the forum on aging; a committee of five to further elabor- ate just what it is we would like this committee to do and what its potential relationship is with the Board of Health, and whether or not it ought to be served through an expansion of the Board of Health Chairman Battin said that Dr Erdos thinks the Board of Health should have input The Board of Selectmen agreed S Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - March 12, 1979 iMr. Hutchinson suggested a meeting with some of the groups who would interact with this agency; to hear their perceptions of what form this committee might take, recognizing that we have some input from the Board of Health We could also ask the School Committee to come in The Board agreed Chairman Battin read a letter of resignation from Mr Allan Kenney Appt - as a member of the Hanscom Community Council Hanscom Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with Community regret, the resignation of Mr Allan Kenney as a member of the Hanscom Council Community Council Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Selectman Alfred S Busa as Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Community Council Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings of November 6, 1978; February 16, February 20 and February 26, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- Water mendation of Mr Warren Empey to abate water bills totaling $243 75 Abatements Mr Hutchinson reported that the inward elevation on the sewer Grant St manhale_on .Grant Street is 186 feet; the sewer elevations of the houses Sewer on Grant Street dre 195, 193, and 192, respectively; the connection Elevations to a proposed sewer to an existing manhole is 182 feet Assuming the services of the outlets which would go into the houses would be 8` feet below the sills, there is still no problem in connecting these sewerb to the sewer system This more than adequately serves them. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to include Grant Street in the sewer package for FY 80 Mr Kent said that Town Counsel has indicated we do not yet have a Senior motion or our position with respect to the Selectmen's Article to act Center Art on a report of the Senior Center Site Committee Mr Kent proposed that under that article the Board support a motion to instruct us to consider, as part of our consideration as to the uses of the Munroe School, its potential use as a Senior Center - that that be one use to which we direct our attention The Manager said we don't need money at this point in order to do that Mr Crain wanted clarification that they are not committing it to be "a" use Chairman Battin said dio; we could seriously consider it as a possible use and we do not need money to make that in- formal decision. The Board agreed Mr Donald White, Chairman, and members ,of the Appropriation Committee App met with the Board Mr Hutchinson said that the Solid Waste Committee re- Com. port is being completed.and will be ready tomorrow Article 5 will be taken up at the end of Town Meeting because we are waiting for settlements We have no additional information on Inflow/Filtration article 14 We have been dealing with the state and some confusion developed with them over whether they would allow us to go forward and just go with the inflow por- tion. If that's the case, we can pull back the $25,000 we have in and X86 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - March 12, 1979 allow for the next year If they require us to show an appropriation to handle the total inflow/infiltration program, which is a 2-year program, then we would be required to bring in another $75,000 beyond last year's appropriation of $25,000, and it would be another $50,000 as presented on the levy right now We have been trying to get a judgment determination Mr Hutchinson informed the Appropriation Committee that informa- tion is being developed on Article 47-$750,000 available funds Chairman Battin discussed the Energy articles and said the Board agreed an energy committee made sense by putting more technical people on the School's energy committee; to expand the School's committee and make it a joint committee; the Board felt there should be no manager Mr White asked if they would go after available funds and Chairman Battin said that the people in place can pursue that Mr Hutchinson discussed the Fire Department and said that there have been revised estimates of approximately $1,000 for repairing the wall, assuming we use our own equipment for digging, etc We have al- lowed up to $2,000 for additional work if necessary We have estimates on the generator, Chief Bergeron has asked for more time to study the box alarm area Mr White said that the Appropriation Committee is supportive of an expanded maintenance program within the Fire Department; we think the Central Station needs a lot of work on it We ought to get into the box alarms at Town Meeting and point out that we have an obsolete system Mr White said that theyyhave made Cuts, of .$55,000 in Article 4 and it is their goal to maintain at current funding levels We voted to recom- mend that the School Budget be carried at the present level, and we will meet with them on Monday night The Appropriation Committee retired from the meeting The Board had a short discussion on other articles and agreed to go into executive session Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 540 by roll call Session vote - Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into executive session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of executive session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 p m A true record, Attest 4,14,4440441 .41/4 Executive Clerk, Selectmen I