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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-09-25-BOS-min 345 SELECTMEN'S MEETING SEPTEMBER 25, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room on Monday, September 25, 1978, at 7 30 P M. Chairman Battin, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs. McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present. At the request of the Town Clerk, the following jurors were drawn Jurors Leighton S. Foster 30 Roosevelt Road Carmela Sepa 5 Bryant Road Marvin J Gaut 6 Pheasant Lane Sherman M Wolf 3 Lawrence Lane Gary J Geissler 214 Lincoln Street Marco C Lanza 1994 Massachusetts Avenue Patricia Wood Nichols 303 Marrett Road Edna Louise Smith 140 Worthen Road Mrs Martha Wood, Chairman, Mrs Lilah Groisser and Mr Robert Bowyer, TMMA TMMA Executive Committee, met with the Board to discuss the possible in- terest of the Board in clarification of articles in the warrant for the next Town Meeting They suggested changing the format of the wording of the articles and that more information be given on the location of land Warrant articles and perhaps insert maps in the warrant Also, to include a Study caspule description of what the Town Meeting is going to consider They felt that more "understandable language" would be of great assistance to TMMA and citizens, and they would be willing to study and make recommen- dations to the Board for the next warrant The Board agreed and TMMA is to make arrangements to meet with the Appropriation Committee to obtain their views, consult with the Town Manager and Town Counsel, and then come back to the Board before Novem- ber 1 with recommendations The TMMA members retired from the meeting Chairman Battin welcomed the Boston College interns who are conduct- Human Servs ing a survey of human resources and needs of the Town of Lexington She B C Interns said that the Appropriation Committee had asked us to develop a plan and a planning process, and we are fortunate that an agreement with Boston College enables us to use their students Four of the five interns were present and Ms Mary Forgey explained the projest on human needs assessment and how they can be met The ad hoc Human Services Council and several other citizens are working with them. Chairman Battin added that Selectmen Crain is our liaison and would be the Board's representative to work with them and Mrs Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, is coordinating the project 346 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - September 25, 1978 Ms Forgey said that it will be a 3-way approach, (1) talking to key informants and identifying issues; (2) identifying agencies and conducting agency surveys We will be going there next year to get information on the client and utilization pattern; (3) a citizens' survey on what they perceive for the community, general awareness of elective agencies and familiarity with them, and to let the citizens identify priorities and let them decide where their budget money should go Right now a sampling technique is being worked out and consultants at the school are working to get representative samples Discussion followed on what constitutes a human service in the town budget and Mr Hutchinson said that his concern, administratively, is on identifying that portion of the budget related to human services Chairman Battin reiterated that the Boston College interns will be working with Mr Crain, and they retired from the meeting Resignation Chairman Battin read letters of resignation from the Town Celebra- Town Cele b. tions Committee and the Traffic Safety Committee Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept with re- gret the resignations of Leo M Gaughan and Edward W. Turner as members Traffic of the Town Celebrations Committee, and Elaine Dratch as a member of the Safety Com. Traffic Safety Committee. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following members of committees Town Celebrations Committee Miss Karen M Gaughan, 32 Liberty Avenue. Traffic Safety Committee Mr Fred D Rosenberg, 165 Wood Street and Mr Robert P Trask, 217 Waltham Street Minuteman School Planning Committee Mr James Wood, 51 Gleason Road Permits Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the fol- lowing requests Lexington Minute Men to use the Battle Green on October 22, 1978 for the installation of officers W R. Grace Employee's Association for a 1-Day Liquor license for October 5, 1978 Hanscom Field for the use of the Lexington Town Seal on the com- missary wall To approve a change of address (mail drop) for The Master Singers,Inc to 1 Carley Road, Lexington, on the Certificate of Incorporation Menotomy Minutemen to march from the Arlington line to the Bedfor line on October 8 at 10 00 a.m - to be coordinated with the Police Department Jot Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - September 25, 1978 Mrs. Miley discussed the request from the Board of Appeals for comments Board of before a decision is made on petitions for variances on existing setbacks Appeals She said that, apparently, some of them are to correct past decisions A Variance form is circulated to us, the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and the Engineering Department, asking for input The request is on individual petitions and we do not have to go through every one and make a decision After discussion, it was agreed that the Selectmen could not set a policy as decisions are within the guidelines of the statutory functions of the Board of Appeals However, the Selectmen could make comments on a petition for a variance for a new building to be constructed Mrs. Miley informed the Board that Mr Wadsworth, Chairman of the Colangelo- Board of Appeals, had asked for the Board's comments on the Hartwell Hartwell Avenue commercial area, which is being built up A petition has been Ave area received from Mr. Michael Colangelo for a BOA hearing for a special per- mit under the Zoning By-Laws to build a 2-story addition to the rear of 24 Hartwell Avenue for office use and cafeteria space for employees of Data Resources, Inc The Selectmen agreed that although the Town Meeting has rezoned the area, the problem now is how to control expansion and possible future violations Mr DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, is to be asked for his recommendations on requests for new buildings in the Hartwell Avenue area Mr White, Chairman, and members of the Appropriation Committee, Mr. Perry, Comptroller, and Mr. Wenham, Asst Assessor, met with the Board Mr. Hutchinson said that the Town is now operating on a budget of ap- App Com proximately $32 million and we are raising $23,746,408 on the tax levy; specifically, as it relates to the town, we are running in excess of $16 million for our schools, $12 million for our municipal operation, and state and county assessments, etc amounting to almost $4 million We will look at the general picture and some of the major costs that are carried in this budget right now and where we are going The Appropria- tion Committee will express their feelings for the next year and the Board, who has been working on this, will have some ideas of how to tie it together Mr Perry summarized the cherry sheet items, including state aid and state and county charges Mr Wenham explained the tax rate computation resulting in an increase from $88 40 to $90 20 Mr White said that he had no comments about a magic formula that they are going to come up with about the next fiscal year but it is obvious that we are going to see a lot of political action on cost reduction, more efficient government and, certainly, stabilizing and hopefully declining taxes Thre is no question butthat Proposition 13 or 2.5 will take some form in the town We look at the area of personnel and think in terms of cross-training police and fire; there will be some problems in using our employees more efficiently We are adamently opposed to any new programs, including transportation and human services; if you are going to add ser- vices, you will have to subtract someplace We will be working with com- mittees and saying that we want to look at budgets a little differently 348 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - September 25, 1978 I this year and we must consider using the bottom line approach We are .going to have much more citizen support than ever butne was mot sure that the town really understands that if you are going to stabilize the tax rate, you aren't going to get everything you want the way you want it Chairman Battin said that at a meeting with the presidents of five municipal associations, the Senate president said that the first order of business of the legislature was sure to be budget capping and what the legislature is going to impose on municipalities, what would be raised by property taxes and what would be allowed to be spent. Mr. Hutchinson stated that it is important for people to understand that the legislature cannot tell us to put a cap on if they are also going to tell us at the same time to pay county charges,etc. and $500,000 for an MBTA which doesn't even serve the town in any signifi- cant manner. If we didn't have any constraints, it would be fine, and he was sure that we can put the discipline in what is outlined by a cap on spending, as he felt that he and the department heads are fully cape- able of following the guidelines of the Selectmen and others to do that Mr Crain said that what is being suggested is a cap on the budget With inflation rates that are running 6 to 8 percent, there is no way one can have a budget in the face of that kind of escalation and infla- tion for fuel costs, personnel, services and debt without eliminating things that exist Chairman Battin said that we are not going to stay constant in terms of services Mrs Miley mentioned the Town's fuel cost adjustment of $4300 a year; through legislation, ten states have done away with this and the consumer is not paying She asked if our legislative liaison could see if :he can find a way that Mass citizens and municipalities can get that one off our backs so that utility companies will pay Mr Buse did not recommend taking that route Mr Kent said that he could not accept the notion that we should expect, and should not object to, the imposition of arbitrary caps from the legislature as he felt this to be a violation of the home rule principle Our constituents are perfectly capable of telling us what they want and we should not take the position that we advocate legislative imposition of mandatory capping Also, to the extent of what Mr Crain has said, when cuts in service are being considered, one motto that has gat to guide us is that there be no surprises; those things have to be put out there and sub- jected to public scrutiny and there has to be a very ordered fashion in terms of considering reduction in services We very well may have to do it but it's got to be done in a carefully planned and well-advanced notice Mr Crain said that we control 30 percent of the budget and so if we ate committing ourselves to a cap on the budget then we who control 30 per- cent are going to absorb what other people do with the 70 percent, not only IIIthe schools but county and state charges If we commit ourselves, even if 349 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - September 25, 1978 the schools find ways to cap their budgets and the remaining percent doesn't, he was not sure that it would be a realistic commitment Chairman Battin said that what we have got to do is to responsibly be willing to cap ourselves, involve citizens in the beginning to help them plan and then put pressure on the state to do likewise, as well as to manage their own houses, with the understanding that we are heading this way but each town is going to have to do it in its own way Mr Crain asked if the Board is committing itself that the town budgets would be the same as this year? Mr White responded that the appropriation committee is not prepared to answer that but we think we would recommend it townwide Mr. Crain said that you have got to develop a strategy in being very per- suasive with the other components which are in effect greater than what we control ourselves Mr Busa said that we should inform the School Department of the direction in which we are heading, and that we are doing our best and they should do the same Mr Hutchinson said that he will meet with the department heads this week and articulate some of the things expressed this evening, with tax stabilization being the goal Police and fire, who are covered by binding arbitration statutes, will be coming in and submitting proposals to the town It is im- portant to point out that we have worked very hard on certain levels of manning and certain levels of service and we will continue to work on those It isn't the type of thing to say that everything will be the same as last year but certain types of things will have to be done as well Mr White said that his committee is looking for a zero-based budget He had mentioned cross-training of public service departments only because it is one of the things we have to do to get more efficiency out of- people who are in our employ. He urged the Selectmen and the Town Manager to look very closely at this kind of thing and they would expect it to be a funda- mental issue in the School Department The Appropriation Committee, Mr Perry and Mr Wenham retired from the meeting Chairman Battin urged the Board members to attend the annual meeting of Mass the Massachusetts Selectmen's Association in Hyannis on October 20-22 Mr Selectmen's Kent spoke briefly on two of the resolutions that appear in the MSA Warrant, Assoc (1) "The Legislative Committee unanimously recommends a position on the part Annual of the association supporting a position of endorsing the classification Meeting amendment; " (2) "To see if the Association will vote to oppose the mandat- ing by the state of a code of ethics for local officials and favor the development by the Association of a model code of ethics for local officials " Mr. Kent said that the nub of that problem relates to a feature of the state code, with some indication that the legislature would like to extend beyond themselves to local officials such as selectmen on the requirement of full financial disclosure of one's assets, liabilities and income. The Legis- lative Committee believes that we have a responsibility to develop a cdde of conduct to govern ourselves and we ought to undertake that task We do 350 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - September 25, 1978 not believe that the office of municipal officials such as selectmen is such that warrants the degree of public disclosure of one's private affairs which is properly in our view attendant upon the very sub- stantially paid position of a member of the general court That is really what is involved in this particular resolution We need a code of ethics and there is great concern that the resignation of some officers such as this would be very large in the event of full disclosure for reason that financial status is required of all selectmen and top officials Joint Chairman Battin said that each selectmen votes his own conscience by Dues voting independently She recommended support of the joint dues proposal (Mass Selectmen's Association and the Mass League of Cities and Towns) which is something Mr Busa felt strongly about last year We have notified both organizations that unless they formally amalgamate with a joint dues proposal that we would seriously consider dropping out of one of the other The Selectmen's Association would lose none of its integrity and identification and would have its own budget The Mass League of Cities and Towns would be phased out and the amalgamation would be called the Mass. Municipal Association The Managers and Mayors are also a part of it and officers of each would then become the Executive Board of the organization We would contract with the parent organization for there would still be the joint legislative office that we have now If amalga- mation occurs, dues would go up 50 percent; the formula is based on equal- ized valuation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that Lexington support the article in the warrant for the Mass Selectmen's Association joint dues proposal The Board approved Chairman Battin's expenses for attending the Mass Selectmen's Association Annual Meeting, Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve $30- Registration; $87-Meals and Room, for a total of $117 00 for Chairman Battin's expenses at the Mass Selectmen's Association Annual Meeting Meeting- The Board agreed to set the date for the second meeting with major Bds - boards and committees on November 10 at 7 30 a m. Committees Regular meetings of the Selectmen are to be held on Tuesday, October 3, October Wednesday, October 11, Mondays on October 16 and 23 The meeting on Monday, Selectmen's October 30, will be held in the Clarke Junior High School and residents Of Meetings Precincts 3, 4 and 9 will be invited to meet with the Board to discuss local concerns EdCo Lease Mr Hutchinson recommended the extension of the EdCo lease at the Parker Parker School School Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the lease with EdCo for space at the Parker School from October 1 to December 31,1978, at $1,935 per month Scattered Mr Hutchinson reported that the Scattered Site Housing information Sites meeting was held last Thursday, September 21, and a number of people were concerned about specific lots, especially when it abuts them or is in the neighborhood Some people were willing to give the proposal a chance and would wait until the Housing Authority recommends to the Board. 351 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - September 25, 1978 The Board agreed to await the Housing Authority recommendations and then allow people to be heard at an appropriate time Mr. Hutchinson recommended approval of his appointment of members of Council the Council on Aging on Aging Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's appointment of Barbara Luckman, 69 Emerson Gardens, and the reappointment of Steven A. Clark, 13 Rumford Road; both appointments expiring April 1, 1981. Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that a grant proposal had been sub- Grant mitted to the New England Regional Commission for a management analyst to Proposal- work With the Building Commissioner on coordinating long-range planning Building within Planning, Conservation, Health, Buildings, etc , which would be the Comm basis for a structure for an Office of Community Development If approved, the grant would be for one year for up to $15,000 with $3,000 of support by the Town. Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that bids have been received on the Bleachers bleachers and they were very favorable; Hussey of Maine was the low bidder It is anticipated that the bleachers will be ready by the next home game Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that a Data Processing Committee Data is being put together and we will work with Arther Andersen in the in- Processing vestigation of possibile utilization of school computer facilities or a combined approach and also to expedite our encumbrance system Mr Hutchinson updated the Board on recycling He said that we are Recycling conducting some additional work this week in the field with the contractor, Miller. The revenue figures are holding pretty much the same but we may realize a few more thousand dollars Mr Busa asked about the expenditures and Mr Hutchinson responded that the appropriation was $48,000 and we have taken in about $12,000 Mr Busa asked about the actual collection of sof housesinvolved; he recyclable picked up at the curbside, the number would like the figures Mr Kent said that the tonnage of recyclable material collected would have to be substracted from the amount collected at the landfill He commented that this is certainly an area in which we ought to be able to save some money Mr Busa agreed and said that if we can't do it, we should get out of it, or if there should be one pick-up a month, we should go that way Mr Hutchinson agreed to submit an updated report Mr. Hutchinson discussed the letter from concerned parents of Maria Mass Ave Hastings School students concerning the lack of curbing along the sidewalk Sidewalk- on the north side of the 2200 block of Massachusetts Avenue and the hazards Maria of trucks and cars blocking the sidewalk at the Concord Hill Market Hastings Students Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - September 25, 1978 Mr Hutchinson said that we have embarked upon a project of painting lines and would go to curbing if this doesn't work A report will be submitted after a meeting is held on the matter on November 3 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote to go into Executive Session, with the intention of not 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 at 10 35 P.M Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 35 P.M. A true record, Attest 464444-7 Executive Clerk, Selectmen I I