Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-03-05-BOS-min X73 SELECTMEN'S MEETING March 5, 1979 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 5, 1979, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Man- ager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Kent was absent Mr Ephraim Weiss met with the Board to discuss three citizens ' Energy articles on energy conservation (1) Article to authorize the Board Articles of Selectmen to appoint an energy committee Mr Weiss said the cora- 1 mittee could be comprised of engineers, architects, and some adminis- trative employees; $200 requested (2) Article to authorize the Board of Selectmen to conduct energy audits in public buildings; $5,000 requested to do a minimum of three or four buildings, i e. Bridge, Bowman schools (3) Article to authorize the Board of Selectmen to create the position of Energy Manager Mr Weiss sug- gested an appropriation of $18,000, with a starting salary of $15,000 Mr Hutchinson recommended the Board support the first and second articles, with provisions for an amount of money in professional serv- ices for the energy audit The Board members indicated support of the first article Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley would support the second; Mr Crain would take it under advisement Chairman Battin and Mr Crain were not in support of the third article Mr Busa requested more information Mrs Miley ,.suggebtea_.that a person With expertise in sthe,energy field might be willing to solunteer his services at no cost to the town Mr Cohen asked Mr Weiss to submit the motions for the three articles Mr Weiss agreed and retired from the meeting Chairman Battin requested the Board's position on proposed legisla- Legislation tion to reorganize the Mass Port Authority A letter :had.;been received Massport from Senator Amick asking for input on the four bills which had been Authority filed, with hearings to be held on March 12 The matter was referred to Fred Bailey, Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee, who reported back that the relationship between the Authority and the Committee is very good and the Committee would have no basis for recommending changes The proposed legislation gives the Governor a chance to appoint all of the members of a reorganized Authority or, in one case, replace up to three of the incumbents This seems to be an obvious attempt to place the Authority under the thumb of the Governor and clearly jeopardizes the political independence of the Authority Mr Bailey recommended that Senator Amick be advised to do all she can to kill House Bills 725, 727, 2464 and 2659 Mr Busa felt the Board could not take a stand without hearing the full debate on the bills Mr Crain disagreed as it would be too late when the bills are on the floor of the legislature In light of Mr Bailey's long experience on this board and his professional competencies, he.fdund Mr. Bailey's poiitidn p rsuasitrev ppon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to write to Sen Amick, outlining Mr Bailey's recommendations, copies to Rep Cole and Sen Rotondi Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - March 5, 1979 Poles- Chairman Battin read a request from the New England Telephone Curve St Company and the Boston Edison Company for a joint pole relocation in Curve Street A report from the Public Works Department recom- mended approval Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the New England Telephone Company and the Boston Edison Company for the following location Mr Crain abstained Curve Street, on the southerly side approximately 346 feet more or less, north of Mass Avenue, one pole 25/4; one pole to be removed Auction- The Board approved the following agenda items eers Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the renewal of Auctioneerh' licenses, expiring March 31, 1980, for William G Marley, 22 Phinney Street; Robert N Cann, 5 Castle Road Abatement- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Water Bet recommendation of Mr Wenham, Town Assessor, to rescind the vote of February 12, 1979 for an abatement of the water betterment assessment on Lot 288, Blossomcrest Road, to Richard Johnson, 2 Meadowbrook Avenue, in the amount of $30 18; amount was paid on January 24, 1968111 Permit- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Road to the Cambridge Greek Orthodox Church to conduct a 10-mile rade, with Race police cruiser escort, from the Minute Man statue to the Arlington line on Sunday, March 18, 1979, at 1 00 p m MAPC Mrs Angela Frick, Lexington's representative to the Metropolitan Exec Area Planning Council, met with the Board Chairman Battin discussed the Com list submitted by the MAPC Nominating Committee for selection of candidates for MAPC's Executive Committee, and recommended Mrs Frick, Bill Sawyer, Acton; Alan McClennon, Jr , Arlington; Genevra Counihan, Concord Mrs Frick informed the Board she was not interested in the nomination; she would have to check with the other three persons to see if they were interested Mr Hutchinson strongly recommended that MAPC remain strictly an advisory agency that studies issues, prepares reports, and recommends policies, and not seek to implement the regional policies endorsed by its members The Board and Mrs Frick agreed Mrs Frick agreed to work with Mr Hutchinson on answers to questions relating to the role of candidates Chairman Battin read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee regarding Bedford Street/Eldred Street/Hartwell Avenue The report stated that the committee did not have the opportunity at its meeting on February 27 to review questions posed at the Selectmen's meeting 1�c76 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - Mardh 5, 1979 of February 20, 1979 but, after reviewing the history, agreed that a written review would be beneficial during the deliberations of the Board with regard to any proposals before it The committee will address questions concerning this intersection as soon as they are received and a chronological report will be prepared Also, the committee recommends that the State DPW be re- quested to perform a volume analysis of Bedford Street in this area and to update the equipment in their signal installation at the Hartwell Avenue Mr Hutchinson said one of the questions raised on February 20 concerned the signs and turns at Bedford/Eldred Streets and the committee felt they should wait until they get the full details and, once again, to regenerate the request the request to the State DPW They felt it an appropriate time to put together a cronology for this Board Chairman Battin said the minutes of February 20 will be approved next Monday and Board members should let us know if there is anything missing in the minutes The Board agreed to Mrs Battin's suggestion that the Transportation Advisory Committee work with the Traffic Safety Committee on this matter Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he had met with the Mass Housing Commission Against Discrimination regarding the Housing Policy, which is Policy - still under review by the Board It was a productive meeting and they MCAD were impressed by the work done so far We must complete a number of administrative details after the Board votes on the policy; these are referenced in a memo of understanding that he had signed, on behalf of the Board, some time ago Lexington is not interested in established goals they cannot meet, and there are more variables than employment Chairman Battin said the Board will continue the discussion on the Housing Policy on Monday as we have to have something we agree to and present to Town Meeting Mr Hutchinson discussed the memo of February, 26 from the Appropria- Budgets tion Committee regarding budget items He had met with the committee last Tuesday and there was a suggestion that Article 4 be presented as in the past to include all authorized personnel at the current salary level but reflecting one additional day's pay in 1980; that has been done Also, Article 5 to include money for settled and unsettled union contracts and anticipated merit changes only, that has been done Article 5 to be con- sidered at the end of Town Meeting to allow time to settle our contracts; we fully concur with that recommendation Mr Hutchinson updated the Board and submitted recommendations on the differences between the Appropriation Committee and the Selectmen/ Manager in the expense accounts It was agreed that Mr Hutchinson is to respond by memo to the Appropriation Committee on the differences, and invite the committee to meet with the Board on March 12 I Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - March 5, 1979 Waltham Mr Chalpin and Mr Leahy, Engineering Department, met with the Street Board. Mr Hutchinson said that a request has been received from En- Sewer gineering regarding the Waltham Street sewer, a previously approved project that called for different cost parameters to essentially sewer at a certain level vs. going in a deeper cut The original design called for full basement service and the alternate design would just serve theupper .fixtures; a majority of the residents were in accord with the alternate Based on the economic impact on the town and the assessment against the homeowners, we recommend that the alternative design be constructed Mr Buse raised the question on February 12 if there is ledge in the area, and there is Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the DPW/Engineering Department to go forward with the alternative design to construct the sewer on Waltham Street, which would provide for a shallow cut Warren Mr Hutchinson said we have had a proposal come in on Warren Street Street from a developer who had the legal right to construct the sewer and as Sewer long as he meets our specifications, with the Board's approval he can go forward Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Town Manager's recommendation that the developer on Warren Street go forward with the construction of the sewer, subject to meeting the Town's specifications Boulder Mr Chalpin said that Boulder Road is in our contract going out to Road bid on March 29 Boulder Road was a subdivision done originally by Sewer & Whitman & Howard some years ago and there were two catch basins on the Drain Burlington Street end of Boulder Road, which are dry wells In our Easement sewer proposal, we are proposing to bring the sewer down to the existing sewer in Burlington Street. When we found out that these two basins were in fact dry wells, it seemed to make good sense that we should also take a drain easement and run the drain down to Boulder Road There have been over the years, while not serious, aggravating problems to the people be- low Boulder Road and one gentleman, Mr Fletcher, on Burlington Street Unfortunately, we do not have money to construct this drain under the sewer article; however, there is money in Article 17 of 1973-drain con- struction and we would ask the Board to use this to install the drain in the easement for Boulder Road to Burlington Street The rough estimate is $5,000 and we have $5,100+ in that article In response to Mr Busa's question if the land owners are in agreement, Mr Chalpin said all land owners were notified and all of them have been into the engineering office. Appraisals have been received from Mr Lyon regarding the easement and everyone seems satisfied to this point Basically at this point, it is a matter of constructing methods We will do whatever we can to accommo- date people, particularly Mr Fletcher who has nothing to gain by this project We request the Board to vote the intent to take that easement as a sewer and drain easement I 1/77 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - March 5, 1979 IUpon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted the intent to take Boulder Rd a sewer and drain easement for the construction of the Boulder Road to Sewer & Burlington Street sewer and drain, with an award of no damages Authoriza- Drain tion for sewer construction is contained in Article 19 of 1977 Authoriza- Easement tion is hereby granted for the drain construction under the appropriation for Article 17 of 1973-Drain Construction Mrs Miley retired from the meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 by roll call Executive vote - Mrs Battin, Mr. Busa, Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session, Session with the intention of resuming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Mrs Nichols and Mr Sandy, members of the Planning Board; Messrs Chalpin and Leahy met with the Board Mr Leahy said in order to do two houses on Oakland Street, we would Sewers - have to extend the sewer up further on Glen Road South We would be taking Glen Road an easement behind the houses; one gentleman was opposed and the other did South not come back; we tried to contact him two or three times So, it is '.)a'-_and111 probably one opposed and one for Chairman Battin said there were two sewers the Planning Board dis- agreed with us and the Sewer Advisory Committee, and we would like further information from the Planning Board Mr Sandy said if a developer wanted to build on those lots, we would require that he upgrade Glen Road South All we want to make sure of is that the town in the process of building the sewer does not upgrade Glen Road South at the town's expense, when it should be at the developer's expense That 's our primary objection Mr Hutchin- son said the only obligation the town has is to leave the road essentially in the same condition as it is now; we do not intend to improve it Mr Sandy added that if the abutters want to pay for it, it might make sense at the same time to do some upgrading Chairman Battin commented that the Planning Board's concern was about upgrading the road not the sewer per se Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that Glen Road South would be included, in ,the sewer package- Mr Sandy discussed the Grant Street sewer and expressed two concerns Grant St of the Planning Board, (1) total sewage going into the moratorium area Sewer from any new sewers in that area Any one of those sewers which flows through the Saddle Club area would equally contribute to the problem there; (2) since these areas are very low and very comparable to Saddle Club, that the basements of the houses on Grant Street would be subject to the same problem. Without detailed engineering, we couldn't say whether that is a very likely occurrence or very unlikely So that needs to be looked into before a decision to allow a house on Grant Street to connect into that sewer Mr Sandy believed Engineering could run an elevation check from Grant Street to Saddle Club, and it could be higher The Board agreed to table the matter until next week; elevation checks are to be made Y78 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - March 5, 1979 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 45 p m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen I I