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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-12-11-BOS-min 397 SELECTMEN'S MEETING DECEMBER 11, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, December 11, 1978 at 7 30 P.M Chairman Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchin- son, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin opened the sewer hearing and said that the Selectmen FY 80 are to review and determine which sewers are to be included in the FY 1980 Sewer sewer package This is the first package to be done under the Sewer Mas- Hearing ter Plan which was authorized under the bonding passed by the 1978 Annual Town Meeting and we will be going through the preliminary streets that were suggested to the Town Meeting, with two additions which were suggested by the Board of Health in May, 1978 She read the notice that had been sent to abutters that the Town has adopted a comprehensive sewer master plan that calls for completion of sewering the Town over the next five years Priorities have been established based upon existing or anticipated health problems and also what would be logical construction packages An adminis- trative hearing would be held on November 30 and the Selectmen's hearing on December 11 A postcard was enclosed requesting that the abutters in- dicate whether for or against the sewers and any additional comments prior to the hearings The administrative hearing was held on November 30 and the full Sewer Advisory Committee was present We had also asked that the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and the Board of Health send staff members to that hearing and a formal review and comments to be sent to the Selectmen by tonight Before making its final decision, the Selectmen agreed at the Town Meeting to have the specific recommendations of the Board of Health; petition results - number of proponents and opponents; the construction cost per house and the betterment to be assessed per house and, from the Planning Board, the potential development of adjacent land if a sewer is installed Mr Hutchinson said that at the hearing on November 30, there was some support for and a number of objections to the sewer plan After reviewing those objections, the Public Works Department has recommended that Follen Road and Warren Street be deleted, based upon excessive costs for installa- tion and no immediate or anticipated need for sewers in the area Peter Chalpin and Frank Leahy, Town Engineers, and Don Dargie of Whitman and Howard were present Dr Cosgrove, Chairman, and James Lambie of the Board of Health; George Smith, Director of Public Health, were also present to submit comments There were no formal comments submitted by the Planning Board or the Conservation Commission 398 - 2 _ Selectmen's Meeting December 11, 1978 Mr Frank Leahy presented the information on the proposed list of sewers, including the recommendations of DPW/Engineering and, in some instances, the Board of Health Chairman Battin read the recommendations of the Sewer Ad- visory Committee relative to each street Wellington Lane Avenue and Meadow Brook Avenue Recommended by Engineering, Board of Health particularly because of a serious problem at 51 Well- ington Lane Avenue, and the Sewer Advisory Committee Stratham Road; Recommended by Engineering, Board of Health, and Sewer Ad- visory Committee Engineering's report stated that Stratham Road was recently added to the FY 80 proposal, based on an August, 1978 recom- mendation from the Board of Health as a result of the failure of the septic systems at #10 and #14 While these systems have been repaired, these repairs are of a temporary nature and the systems may fail again at any time Also, the system at #10 is on land owned by #11 and #19 Stratham Road From an economic viewpoint, the recommendation is that the sewer be extended to the intersection of Woodbury Road Mrs Francis Cooke, 2 Stratham Road, and Mr John White, 10 Woodbury Road, voiced objections Mrs Cooke said that she had experienced only one problem in 34 years Mr White stated that his home is on an isolated lot; the assessment of $4,000 is excessive Mr Hutchinson said that the assessments are somewhat high but cer- tain accommodations could be made for extending the sewerage to the house He pointed out that we would be effectively sewering all of Stratham Road and the Board should consider that we would be delet- ing one house that might potentially be sewered Mr Smith said that Board of Health records show that repair work was done on one home on Stratham Road about four and a half years ago and it was believed that the system would not function for a prolonged period of time When we performed repairs on one house in September, we found that the direct connection was borken; test holes were done and we found a high water table, and we believe that the system is leaking into the North Lexington Brook The house is within 200 feetof Worthen Road and the houses are all in one cluster The water table is unusual as the area has ledge, hard- pan and blue gravel Carville Avenue Recommended by Engineering, Board of Health, and Sewer Advisory Committee, with the suggestion that the easement to Trotting Horse Drive be investigated Mr James Bergman, 47 Carville Avenue, was present and was in favor of the sewer construction as there is no remedy for his problem but to tie into the system. Follen Road Engineering and the Sewer Advisory Committee recommend de- letion from the list Residents of #77 and #99 are opposed as there are no problems Two houses and two lots involved; some lots drop off a cliff 399 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - December 11, 1978 t King Street Recommended by Engineering; Sewer Advisory Committee recom- . i&dnds consideration of running sewer only to #8 as the owner is the only one who wants it; 9, 10, 14 and 16 do not Mr Dennis Lowry of 14 and 16 said that he and the residents of 9 and 10 were satis- fied with the systems; also, the street would be a hazard when the sewer was under construction Mr Hutchinson assured him that there will be access for public safety vehicles He pointed out that the systems are old, ownerships can change, and if we decide to extend the sewer, we would recommend doing the whole thing, not part Mr Smith said that the Board of Health had received no complaints in that area There are four or five houses on relatively small lots; there appears to be some ledge in the area #8 put in a swimming pool and that would take away any area for expansion; we require a distance of 25 feet from the pool for a leaching facility At the present time, #8 does not have a problem. Allen Street Recommended by Engineering, Board of Health and Sewer Ad- visory Committee Mr Hutchinson said that questions were raised at the November 30 hearing about the Trinity Covenant Church area, and that can be developed with or without this sewer because there is other sewer available He agreed to look into the question raised by Mr Martin Hopkins, 69 Allen Street, as to what happened to the recommenda- tion made 15 years ago to round off a corner of Allen Street to go through to Clematis Road Pitcairn Place. Recommended by Engineering, Board of Health and Sewer Ad- visory Committee It was noted that this sewer would not be available until construction takes place in Allen Street Lowell Street. Retommended by Engineering, Board of Health; the Sewer Ad- visory Committee reluctantly recommended construction as some of the residents did not want it because of the hardship Mr Leahy said that in order to do Lowell Street, part of North Street from Lowell Street to .the -Adams Street pumping station would have to be done Mrs Solglad Burch, 684 Lowell Street, and Mrs Jeannette Cochran, 662 Lowell Street, spoke in opposition and stated that there were no problems with the present septic systems; also, there would be a financial hardship because all but one of the ten homeowners in- volved were retired and living on fixed incomes Mrs Laura Nichols said that the Planning Board recommends that the sewer be constructed- as there are two parcels of land abutting the Burlington line which we will be recommending for public housing sites Mr Sam Silverman, 18 Ingleside Road, said that a majority of the residents were against it and unless there is a compelling need, he was not convinced Mr Hutchinson replied that there are two concerns, (1) to provide adequate sewers for existing problems; (2) to serve housing needs, we must get access to the sewer system. This Board is sensitive to the needs of people who have referenced concerns relating to hard- ship, income, and where the sewers will go; that must be considered in light of the extension of sewers - with a very conscious decision to be made whether to extend or not - so that five years from now, this Board is not confronted with the question of extending sewers on property that is petitioning you to have sewers made available because of a problem. SOO Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - December 11, 1978 Rockville Avenue Recommended by Engineering (to flow towards Philip Road, and the Board of Health because of existing health conditions; the Sewer ADvisory Committee recommended that Rockville Avenue return to the original proposal towards Swan Lane Bird Hill Road Recommended by Engineering because of the age of present systems and no room to expand or repair them. To sewer the street, 340 feet will be in Davis Road The Sewer Advisory Committee recom- mends construction Chandler Street Recommended by Engineering to be extended to service 1i3 Chandler Street because of the age of the present system and lack of a good alternative solution The Sewer Advisory Committee recom- mended further study, depending on the solution to Oakland Street and Glen Road South. Mr Code said that there is ledge in the area and the houses are on the downward side of the hill The suggestion has been made to connect one house to Oakland Street Mr Leahy said that the sewer is available above these houses but it would require pumping systems in their houses It was agreed to review the proposal Edgewood Road Engineering recommended construction of the sewer; the Sewer ADvisory Committee recommended further study because of high costs and difficult connections Mr Ronald Brown, 27 Edgewood Road, said that since he was the only one to use, he had suggested that consideration be given to the service coming out of Wadman Circle as the town would spend far less by this connection Mr Leahy pointed out that the sewer is already in Edgewood Road, coming up Patriots Drive Somerset Road Engineering recommended construction because of the age and substandard size of the systems; Board of Health recommended because of health problems; the Sewer ADvisory Committee recom- mended construction Oakland Street The Sewer Advisory Committee recommended going behind the houses on Oakland Street and down Glen Road South Mr Leahy said that the sewer is available to those houses but it would re- quire pumps to get there. Abbott Road: Engineering and the Sewer Advisory Committee recommended construction of an extension of 320 feet of sewer to connect the last two houses on Abbott Road; this extension is also necessary to service two houses on Oakland Street Glen Road South. Engineering and the Sewer Advisory Committee recom- mended construction to service one house on Glen Road South and one house on Round Hill Road Round Hill Road Engineering recommended sewering three houses on Round Hill Road with one house to be serviced from Glen Road South; for the other two houses, it is proposed to eliminate the originally proposed 8" sewer mains with 6" laterals; part of this cost will be paid for by the town Not recommended by the Sewer Advisory tot Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - December 11, 1978 Committee as it would be too costly to the resident Mr Myron Blanchard, #16 Round Hill Road, was present and spoke in opposition and asked to be connected to the Grant Street sewer Mr Leahy said that #16 would be flowing into the Grant Street sewer After discussion, it was agreed that Oakland Street, Glen Road South and Round Hill Road require further study and a meeting is to be arranged for more dialogue with the residents Meriam Street Engineering recommended an alternate proposal by utilizing an easement on the properties at #56 and #60 The Sewer Advisory Committee recommended further study by investigat- ing an alternate plan for #57 only; the connection for ther residents being too difficult Mr John Buchanan, 56 Meriam Street, suggested that the sewer be brought up to the edge of his property Mr Code, Sewer Advisory Committee member, said that #57 had previously requested to be connected and #60 is against construction; unless you are considering them, he saw no point in bringing the sewer all the way up the street; he mentioned the difficulties, including ledge Mrs Laura Nichols, Planning Board member, was concerned that blasting could affect Granny's Pond and lower the water table. Chairman Battin assured her that Engineering will investigate and come back with information Grant Street Engineering and the Sewer Advisory Committee recommended construction; also, the Board of Health because of the age of the systems Wachusett Drive Engineering and the Board of Health recommended con- struction for health problems and the need to service Fair Oaks Terrace; the Sewer Advisory Committee recommended further study, coordinated with Fair Oaks Terrace Mr Chalpin, Engineer, said that there are two proposals, (1) in Fair Oaks Terrace approximately 20 ft deep; (2) an easement over private land and constructing the sewer down to Wachusett Drive To do this second proposal, the sewer on Wachusett Drive must be constructed Fair Oaks Terrace* Recommended by Engineering, the Sewer Advisory Com- mittee recommended further study as the residents had not been in- formed on the alternate proposal (see above) Engineering to come back with more information Warren Street. Engineering recommended deletion; the Sewer Advisory Committee recommended further study Middleby Road. Recommended by Engineering, Board of Health and the Sewer Advisory Committee for construction I 0 Yaz Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - December 11, 1978 Maple Street Engineering, Board of Health, Sewer Advisory Committee recommended construction as the systems are at least 16 years old Mrs Walsh, 28 Maple Street, was opposed and stated that she had no problems with her existing system Robinson Road Mrs Jane Kenealy, 20 Robinson Road, requested the Board's consideration of sewer construction on Robinson Road; she and her neighbor at #22 were the only people to sign the petition Mr Hutchinson pointed out that Robinson Road was scheduled for next year on the master plan but consideration would be given to her request Robbins Road. Deleted Summit Road Included in the Moon Hill project Chairman Battin declared the sewer hearing closed and informed the residents that the Manager will work with those who wish to dis- cuss any problems Treasurer Mr Louis A. Zehner, Town Treasurer, met with the Board to recom- mend borrowing $344,900 - $70,000 for cemetery land and $274,900 for conservation land Bids had been received and he requested approval of borrowing from the bank offering the lowest interest rate Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Treasurer to borrow $344,900 from the Old Colony Bank and Trust Co of Middlesex County at 5 04 percent interest, notes to be dated December 19, 1978 and mature on June 18, 1979 Police Chief Corr met with the Board to discuss the Police budget in the Budget amount of $143,000 An increase of $4,500 is requested to upgrade the police teletype by the use of the cathode ray tube for video readout instead of the existing printer; the response will be quicker and allow the department to implement the criminal justice information system $1,200 is requested for the purchase of three resuscitators for police vehicles and $1,500 for automotive items, including escalation of gaso- line prices and new vehicles to be purchased Chief Corr said that because of being in a rural area and the safety factors involved with speed, we should stay with the V8 cars; they are now using the Impala model Specifications are made up, bids advertised in the newspaper, and packages sent to Plymouth and Chevrolet companies The authorized strength for the police department is 54 We have five 1-man cars in the four quadrants of the town and, whenever possible, we have 1 or 2-man cars We would like to increase by 5 to 10 men but due to existing budget pressures, we are operating at the minimal level of strength Our general demand for services is still on the increase and we are almost understaffed when we talk of manpower per thousand Of the 35 towns in the immediate vicinity, Lexington ranks 30th in manpower per thousand We have six cadets, three in school and three working with us; all six are with us from June to September Mrs Banks added that the Personnel Advisory Board had looked at it in terms of recruitment and goals and their recommendation was to broaden the recruitment This we did by adding one cadet from out of town Chairman Battin thanked Chief Corr for his presentation and he retired from the meeting Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - December 11, 1978 The Board discussed and approved the following recommendations of the Traffic Safety Committee Traffic - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the report of the Traffic Safety Committee supporting the recommendation of Chief Corr that it is not possible to comply with the request of the President of the Chamber of Commerce for assignment of a police Depot Square officer to the pedestrian crossing at Depot Square during the noon- time period due to priorities of existing manpower Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Shirley St recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee that no action be taken at this time on the request from Mr Frank Sandy, on behalf of Greeley Village residents, for the installation of appropriate speed control signs on Shirley Street Mr Hutchinson agreed to write to the President of Greeley Village Association that the traffic volume on Shirley Street does not warrant posting and, in some cases, posting can potentially cause accidents However, the police department will continue to monitor the area Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Mass Ave recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee that no action be taken Oak Street at this time on the request of Mrs Charles Park, 10 Lois Lane, for the installation of warning signs at the curve on Mass Avenue in the vicinity of Oak Street The report stated that the 44 ft pavement is essentially flat, is speed zoned at 30 MPH and two "Go Slow Children" signs are installed in each direction Accident records revealed that no pedestrians were involved in the four accidents reported in 1978 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Muzzey St recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee to amend the Traffic No Parking Rules and Orders of Lexington by adding the following to Article V, Park Drive to Section 2, Schedule 1 No Parking on Muzzey Street, Easterly Side Forest St from Park Drive to Froest Street This added regulation was requested by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, 16 Forest Street, to protect new trees and grass in the area Chairman Battin read a report from the Traffic Safety Committee Grapevine recommending that no action be taken at this time on the request of Avenue Mr Robert Kulin, 22 Grapevine Avenue, that parking be prohibited on Grapevine Avenue from 9 00 a m to 5 00 p m on Monday through Friday The report stated that some parkers are utilizing public transportation and others are employees of the Minuteman Home Care Corporation, and such a prohibition would encourage parkers to move over to Waltham Street or Marrett Road, which is a congested and accident-prone area During the discussion, it was noted that the Minuteman Home Care Center plans to move from the present location and, hopefully, this should alleviate the situation 4(o 0 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - December 11, 1978 The Board agreed to refer back to the Traffic Safety Committee the matter of parking on Grapevine Avenue, with the recommendation that the committee reassess parking conditions after the Minuteman Home Care Center has left its present location When this committee meeting is held, the Board suggested that citizen members be present for their input LeBelle- A letter from LeBellecour Restaurant requested an extension of hours cour - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the ex- New Year's tension of hours to 1 00 a m on New Year's Eve for Le Bellecour Restaurant located in Lexington Center Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of Selectmen's meetings of October 3 and October 11, 1978-open sessions, and October 23, 1978-open and executive sessions Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the renewal of the following licenses COMMON VICTUALER LICENSES Walnut Farm Trust d/b/a Powder Horn 7 00 a m -10 00 p m 7 days Golf Club Lexington Enterprises, Inc d/b/a 11 00 a m -11 00 p m. Mon.-Sat Peking Gardens 1 00 p.m -11 00 p m. Sunday Three A's Foods, Inc d/b/a Chadwicks 6 00 a m -11 00 p m 7 days111 Howard Johnson's 24 hours per day 7 days Yangtze River Restaurant 11 00 a m.-12 00 Mid 7 days Baskin-Robbins Store #1723 8 00 a m -12 00 Mid 7 days Christo's 6 00 a m.-10 00 p m. 7 days Lexington House of Pizza 10 00 a m.-11 00 p.m 7 days Arno's Deli 6 00 a m - 6 00 p m 7 days Bora-Bora, Inc 11 30 a m -11 00 p m 7 days Pine Meadows Country Club 7 30 a m -until dark 7 days Lee Ann's Restaurant 11 00 a m -12 00 Mid Mon -Sat 1 00 p m -12 00 Mid Sunday Sheraton-Lexington Motor Inc:. 7 00 a m -12 00 Mid 7 days Pewter Pot 7 00 a m -12 00 Mid 7 days ENTERTAINMENT LICENSE Sheraton-Lexington Motor Inn Dinner dancing in the main dining room from 5 00 p.m to 12 00 Mid Friday and Saturday evenings only CLASS I LICENSES Rowe Chevrolet, Inc 1668 Massachusetts Avenue Rowe Chevrolet, Inc 33 Bedford Street Lexington Toyota Motor Sales, U.S A Inc 409 Massachusetts Avenue Auto Engineering, Inc 436 Marrett Road CLASS III LICENSE John P Carroll Co , Inc 31 Allen Street Selectmen's Meeting - 9 - December 11, 1978 I Chairman Battin informed the Board that Transportation Management Transporta Corporation has submitted the list of registration numbers for limousine Management licenses for the remainder of 1978 and renewal of licenses which would Airport expire on December 31, 1979 Approval of the application for Lexington/ Service Logan Airport service was granged by the Board on November 13, 1978 Mrs Miley urged that measures be taken to correct the parking of Transportation Management cars in the immediate area; some are parked in the middle of the street while waiting for gasoline, and this creates a traffic hazard This problem was corrected only while they were wait- ing for approval of the limousine service After discussion, it was agreed to write to Transportation Manage- ment expressing the Board's concern about the character of the current operation at 1668 Massachusetts Avenue, specifically the issue of cars backing up and blocking traffic while waiting for gasoline Because this is inconsistent with Mr Zimmerman's presentation on November 13, the Board will consider the matter further and review the parking situation with the Police Department The Board signed 1978 licenses for Transportation Management limousines for service to Logan Airport, and the 1979 renewal licenses will be con- sidered at the meeting on December 20 The Board approved the Town Manager's recommendation for inspection Fees - fees for Nursing Homes Bldg Comm' Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the fees for periodic inspections and re-certification (required by law) as follows Institutional restrained (up to 100 beds) $50/2 years , $1/10 beds over 100 Institutional Incapacitated (up to 100 beds) $50/2 yrs $1/10 beds over 100 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Conservation Commission Bergmeyer- and the Recreation Committee are opposed to selling the stable located Hennessey on the former Hennessey land Dr John Bergmeyer, 11 Mountain Road, Stable has a lease until 1981 and has requested, in writing, that the town consider selling the stable to him In his letter, Dr Bergmeyer stated that the Public Works Department has been repairing the de- struction to the building caused by vandalism According to the lease, Dr Bergmeyer is responsible for the condition of the stable and it was the feeling of the Board that he had not maintained it properly Furthermore, it was not DPW's responsibility to repair any damage due to negligence on the part of Dr Bergmeyer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted not to sell the stable located on the former Hennessey land Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to lay on the 111 table the matter of the lease of the stable to Dr John Bergmeyer *Vat Selectmen's Meeting - 10 - December 11, 1978 Fahey- Mr Hutchinson discussed the request received from the family of Trustees Kathy Fahey for payment of $175 00 for Kathy's attendance at Camp Public Reach in Arlington last summer For the past few summers, we have Trusts paid for two weeks but this year Kathy was enrolled for a longer period of time without the approval of the town There are a number of other Lexington children attending this particular program and we have not received requests for payment Mr Hutchinson said that he will address this matter with the Recreation Committee as to what programs are available for special children of special needs He recommended that the Board approve the amount of $75 00 to cover partial payment of the bill Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Trustees of Public Trusts to consider the expenditure of $75 00 from the appropriate trust fund to cover partial payment of Kathy Fahey's attendance at Camp Reach last summer The Board agreed with Mr Hutchinson that future requests not be honored unless a demonstrated hardship can be shown, and access to town recreation programs that are available should be considered by parents of children of special needs Parker Mr Hutchinson recommended the extension of Edco's lease School Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the Lease EdCo lease of the Parker School until April 1, 1979 Transfer The Board approved a request for a transfer to complete emergency Bleachers refurbishing of the high school bleachers Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request ap- proval of the Appropriation Committee of a transfer in the amount of $15,000 to Account #6000-Parks Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1045 p m e\ . A true record, Attest ktoitoge00." 1;14- #451141'V Executive Clerk, Selectmen I