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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-08-14-BOS-min 318 SELECTMEN'S MEETING AUGUST 14, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, August 14, 1978, at 7 30 P.M. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present 1979 Mr Perry, Comptroller, informed the Board that the Board of Assessors Tax has not finalized the numbers yet but the projection is for an estimated tax Rate rate of $90 00 Mr Wenham, Assistant Assessor, discussed State Aid of $4,071,786 and State charges of $3,018,835, including the County Assessment of $819,688, MBTA charges of $537,000, County Hospital charges of $56,908,etc. The Board of Assessors will notify the Selectmen of the finalized tax rate and Mr Hutchinson agreed to make arrangements to include in the envelope with the real estate tax bills an explanation to the taxpayers of the breakdown of the 1979 tax rate Library Mr. Hilton and Mr Otis Brown met with the Board to request approval of Roof a transfer of $8,000 to replace a portion of the Cary Library roof, which is about 25 years old and leaks have developed Bids ranging from $7,150 to $7,900 have been received and the contractors are being investigated After discussion, it was agreed to approve the request, subject to approval of the Appropriation Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Account #7550-Library Expenses in the amount of $8,000 Transp Mrs Joyce Hals, Chairman, and members of the Transportation Advisory Com Committee met with the Board to present a proposal for intra-town bus service. Intra- The Board discussed the proposal on July 17 and had designated Mr. Crain to town represent the Board at the Transportation Committee meetings Mrs Hals said Bus Sery that they had checked with other communities and then formed their own ideas on what is best for Lexington. We anticipate running four buses over eight routes, eight hours a day, six days a week, from 7 30 a.m to 6 00 p.m We discussed fares and would want to run as small a deficit as possible; children 6 - 10, 154; 11 - 54, 25 ; 55 and over, 15 ; children 1 to 5 years, free of charge We don't think the Town should try to run the service itself but contract it out We have talked to contractors and there is the possibility of using school buses and also using station wagons; if there is not enough capacity we would use extra wagons We would want to hire immediately a parttime trans- portation coordinator for a 20-hr week; we have included $5,000 for promotion to leaflet the Town and have promotion in the schools The cost is estimated at $132,000 to $176,000 and the income would be primarily from fares; we are hoping to get $1,000 in advertising from local merchants Total income-$33,000; net operating costs-$99,676; Lexinton's costs per year-$49,838; 150,000 riders the first year The Committee has received support from the Council on Aging, Recreation Committee, Youth Commission, Chamber of Commerce, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, PTA Council, League of Women Voters, Re-place and Rep. Lincoln Cole of the MBTA Advisory Committee Many towns will be competing for the two grants and the Committee has given us a draft of a letter to the MBTA indicating our strong support for the proposed mini-bus system. The 319 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - August 14, 1978 MBTA will guarantee $50,000 the first year and, if it proves to be successful program, they would continue to fund it the second year; then the Selectmen and the META would sit down and decide whether it would be an ongoing program. The META understands that implementation would still require Town Meeting approval and, therefore, is not asking for a total commitment at this time. The Board agreed to support the proposal Mr Crain added that by the time the Selectmen put together the priorities for Town Meeting, they might not be able to give priority to this item. Mr Buse said that he would support it at this time but would reserve his vote at Town Meeting. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to support the proposal for the intra-town mini-bus system in the Town of Lexington Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the polling hours State for the State Primary on Tuesday, September 19, 1978, from 7 00 a.m to 8 00 Primary p.m. and to sign the Warrant for the State Primary Chairman Battin read a letter from the Massport Director of Planning Massport/ regarding the implementation of Step 1 of the Master Plan for Hanscom Field Hanscom Mrs Battin said that the Planning Board and Conservation Commission are in agreement with the proposal, which was submitted to the Board on June 5,1978 Mr Bailey, Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee, recommends that the Board sign the letter of agreement with Massport and the towns of Lincoln, Lexington, Bedford and Concord that Massport will (1) develop a noise monitoring program for Hanscom Field; (2) provide guidelines and direc- tion for the planning and development of contiguous noise-impacted property in the four towns and will seek their assistance and guidance Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Chairman Battin to sign the letter of agreement with Massport regarding the imple- mentation of Step 1 of the Master Plan for Hanscom Field Chairman Battin recommended that the Board approve the requests for Theatre licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Theatre Common licenses for Cinema I and Cinema II for week days and Sundays Also, to Victual]n sign the Common Victualler license for the Lexington House of Pizza, 399 Lowell Street (new owner) Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission Block for a block party on Oak Park Circle on Sunday, September 17 from 3 00 p m Party to 11 00 p m., with a raindate of September 24, 1978 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes Minutes of the Selectmen's meeting held on July 17, 1978. Mr Kent said that the next step to be taken, following the passage of Forum on resolutions by the Forum on Aging, calls for action by the Selectmen, Aging notably in the area of the establishment of committees He, Mr Page Resolu- and Mrs Battin had met and had determined that there should be an inter- tions mediate step taken and would therefore propose that the Selectmen authorize the creation of a temporary ad hoc committee, under the aegis of the Town Manager's office, to review these resolutions, particularly No 8-"That the 320 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - August 14, 1978 Board of Selectmen appoint a Lexington Community Health Committee whose func- tions will include the following A. Innovating community health education programs in cooperation with the Lexington Public Schools, and with the other g P 4 organizations concerned with local and area health education and services for people of all ages, and B Gathering and publicizing information on develop- ments in nutrition, medicine, medical research and physical fitness That this Lexington Community Health Committee have an organizational relationship to an appropriate existing town agency " The ad hoc committee should include a representative of the Council on Aging, the local chapter of AARP, Human Services Council, Board of Health, Board of Selectmen, and the Forum on Aging This is a proposal to deal with the requests which have come from the Council on Aging - that we first run them by a committee of this character, with the request that tt come back to this Board with a recommendation as to what struc- tural creations we should make In response to Mr Busa's question as to a time limit, Mr Kent replied that the time span has to work in relation to the warrant for the Town Meeting and there should be a date in the vicinity of the first of November; to ask for a report from this committee so that the formation of any appropriate warrant article could follow upon that. Mrs Miley questioned if other groups in town who deal with the elderly might be concerned that one particular group, AARP, was included, and if the Council on Aging adequately represents all of them. Mr Page replied that the question could be raised at the next meeting of the Forum on Aging The Board agreed to Mr Busa's recom- mendation that the School Committee representation be included Mr Page, Mrs Banks and Mr Kent are to determine the representation from each committee and the Manager's office is to convene the first meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to establish an ad hoc committee comprised of a representative of the Lexington Forum on Aging, Board of Selectmen, Council on Aging, American Association of Retired Persons, Human Services Council, Board of Health and the School Committee MVMH Chairman Battin advised the Board that she and Mrs Miley had been in- Proposal formed only today by the Office for Children and that there is a proposal being Emerg written by the Mystic Valley Mental Health Center and an agency in the Metro- Shelter politan Beaverbrook area (Belmont, Watertown and Waltham)for an emergency shelter for young people, and this has long been a priority within Lexington agencies dealing with youth LEAA money, $100,000 is available; the proposal must be submitted by this Friday A letter of approval is necessary from one of the towns involved (5 MVMH towns, 3 Beaverbrook towns) The town so approv- ing must indicate a willingness to accept, disburse and monitor the LEAA funds. After discussion, the Board agreed that no action could be taken at this time because of the lack of available information Mrs Banks is to work with MVMH and the Human Services Committee on a proposal to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen Sewer Mrs Banks informed the Board that Mr Hutchinson had reviewed the Sewer Exten Extension Policy with Mr Fred Bailey and, based on discussion, it is recom- Requests mended that Mr Gompers and Mr Collangelo submit the necessary documents to Engineering for consideration and, if all conditions were met, proposals could be submitted for the Board's approval The Board agreed that the documents are to be submitted to Engineering and then to the Board for approval 321 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - August 14, 1978 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote Executive to go into Executive Session, with the intention of resuming the open meet- Session ing,for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting at 10 20 P.M Chairman Battin said that the Board had received a communication today McSweeney from Mr McSweeney's counsel and, as a result, the time of the hearing is uncertain now and we will know more tomorrow Mrs Banks informed the Board that the International Association of Permit Firefighters has requested the use of Depot Square on September 1 to con- duct a blood pressure station; this is being done in conjunction with the Mass. Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy The Police Department has no ob- jection. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the International Association of Firefighters to use Depot Square on September 1, 1978 to conduct a blood pressure station Mrs Banks submitted a request from the Institute for Government Ser- Cary Hall vices to conduct two time management workshops in Cary Hall on October 10 and October 17 She recommended that the custodian's fee be absorbed by the Town Because of the Selectmen's policy on governmental units paying for the custodian's services, it was agreed to grant permission for the use of Cary Hall on October 10 and October 17, subject to payment of the custodian's fee. Mrs Banks informed the Board that the ad hoc Human Services Committee Human met last week to discuss ways of assuring community interaction with the Services Boston College Interns conducting the human services needs assessment this fall It was decided to create a task force, representing a more broad- based citizen group than they represent, to work with the Boston College group The committee should be formed by late September Mrs Banks reported that the Police Department has received $2,863 Police from the Highway Safety Bureau for pedestrian safety. Expenses for the Dept grant will come out of the Police Department expense budget and a transfer Grant may be required later in the year to cover these costs Mrs Banks requested the Board's approval of a memorandum of agree- Recrea- ment concerning Fair Housing plans and practices As part of the Civil tion Pool- Rights' review of the Conservation/Recreation application for a grant to Commission cover part of the costs of the proposed pool, the Town must provide the Against Commission Against Discrimination with certain assurances that we have an Discrim affirmative action plan on employment and housing if approved, the grant would cover up to 80 percent of the cost of the pool We do have an affirmative action employment plan but we need to show that we have a fair housing plan or that we are moving in the direction of developing one In Illfact, one is being done by the Planning Board for the Housing Authority and Ken Briggs, Planning Director, has read the memorandum of agreement and finds no problem with it We suggest that we furnish the Commission Against Dis- crimination with a date of December 1, 1978 that a draft of a fair housing 32 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - August 14, 1978 plan would be available and, subject to any necessary Town Meeting action, a document would be available by May,1979 The Commission must act on this by August 31, 1978 Mr Busa Said that he would not accept a fair housing plan as it is now before him until he saw a further draft of what we are committing ourselves to He is working on the Planning Board Housing Committee and they are not in a position to put forth a report by December 1 Further, there is no housing belonging to the Town of Lexington; the only housing we have is under the auspices of the Housing Authority and we would be going on record that we are to have a fair housing policy at some time in the future Mrs Banks said that the Town is simply saying that we would work to enhance fair housing opportunities and she did not feel that rice are com- mitting ourselves in any way to building housing or providing housing We are simply saying that various zoning laws of the Town do not stand in the way of housing opportunities Mr Kent said that Mrs Banks is asking us to authorize the Planning Director, in the preparation of these materials, to indicate our intention to prepare a fair housing plan in draft form by December 1, 1978 for potential adoption at the Town Meeting in March, 1979, if necessary Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-1 to authorize the Planning Director to prepare a fair housing plan in draft form by December 1, 1978 for potential adoption at the Town Meeting in March, 1979, if necessary Mr Busa voted in the negative Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recom- Light- mendation of the Town Manager and the Department of Public Works for the Wingate installation of a mercury vapor street light to replace the existing Road incandescent light at the end of Wingate Road, as requested byMr g 9 � Daniel Coughlin, 11 Wingate Road Garfield Mrs Banks informed the Board that the Engineering Department has re- Street ceived a second petition from Garfield Street residents opposing its construction. A letter was sent to the petitioners by the Assistant Town Engineer assuring them that if a proposal is made for Garfield Street within the next fiscal year, a public hearing will be held and they will have the opportunity to voice their position Whitman & Mrs. Banks recommended approval of the contract with Whitman and Howard- Howard for Phases II and III of the Comprehensive Drainage Study in the Comp total amount of $69,900 Phase I was submitted and accepted by the Town Drainage and there are six phases Engineering has worked with Conservation and Study the Planning Board and they feel the contract meets many of their con- cerns It provides for a monthly report over a 12-month period and monthly meetings with staff and members of the various boards It is felt that this will allow more specific recommendations than the first phase Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to execute the contract with Whitman and Howard for Phases II and III of the Comprehensive Drainage Study in the total cost of the study in the amount of $69,900 323 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - August 14, 1978 Mrs Banks requested that the Board endorse the recommendation of Mr Edgewood Martin Assistant Town Engineer, that Mr Ronald Brown of 27 Edgewood Road Rd Sewer connect to the Edgewood Road sewer, which is scheduled for 1979, rather Connection than the requested connection to the Wadman Circle sewer which is in the final design stage Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to endorse the Assistant Town Engineer's recommendation regarding the request from Mr. Ronald Brown for a connection to the Wadman Circle sewer system Mrs Banks informed the Board that the Town Manager requests authority Chap 90 to officially withdraw Adams Street and East Street from consideration as Adams St - Chapter 90 projects Mrs Banks answered Mr Busa's question and said East St that the Town Manager has no alternate plan for Chapter 90 money She agreed to follow up on Mr Kent's suggestion to prepare a more detailed Hancock statement for public distribution regarding the status of the problems on Street Hancock Street and to let the townspeople know about the drainage contract problems Mr Busa said that at some point in time we must proceed with the finishing of East Street as it is dangerous and someone could be seriously injured Mr. Kent said that we have committed ourselves to pretty much of a policy of not going forward with Chapter 90 projects until we have gotten at least preliminary blessing from the Town Meeting and he would go back to that body another year with respect to both Adams and East Streets We were right about those streets and we ought to go forward, and at the moment he would like to hang onto East Street, but he wondered if it could be done this year Mr Busa was not in favor of withdrawing streets and then resubmitting them as there might be problems involved with the State The Board agreed with Mr Kent's recommendation that the Town Manager communicate to the State DPW the temporary difficulties that the Town is having with both streets The Board agreed to Mr Hutchinson's recommendation to terminate the Hancock contract with William P Capone Corp for the construction of Hancock Street Street and to readvertise for bids in the late fall However, Mrs Banks is to Contract submit information to the Board as to why the Town must pay $3,000 for termination of contract Mrs Banks reported that the recent sump pump survey conducted by Sump Pump the Engineering Department revealed one illegal connection, one possible Connections illegal connection, one air conditioner cooling water system illegally connected to sewer, one major potential source of infiltration in an unplugged, abandoned sewer, which will be plugged when the Hayes Lane connection is made within the next two weeks Investigation will continue to be made. The Board agreed to start talking about the sewers in late September in order to keep the public advised The Board agreed with the recommendation from the Animal Control Dogs- Officer that the Board of Selectmen authorize the posting of "No Dogs Play- on Playgrounds" signs on all public playgrounds However, the matter grounds was referred to Town Counsel for his opinion before final action is taken by the Board 324 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - August 14, 1978 Dogs- The Board discussed a report from the Animal Control Officer stating Check that in an effort to alleviate the number of leash law violations, it is Viola- recommended the fee for the first offense dog pick-up fee to $25 00 and tions 50 00 for the second and subsequent offenses Also, because bad checks have been received and people stopping payment on checks, the department proposed to no longer accept checks However, if the Board of Selectmen or the Treasurer's office does not agree, it is felt that the responsi- bility should be with the Treasurer's office to collect the money for the bad checks The matter was taken under advisement until August 28, pending advice of Town Counsel and the Comptroller on the proper method of handling payment by bad checks to the Town Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a matter of personal reputation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 35 P M A true record, Attest C 9 / Executive Clerk,Selectmen n Y .