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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-05-22-BOS-min 249 SELECTMEN'S MEETING May 22, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 22, 1978 at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mr Kent, and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr Martin, Assistant Town Engineer, Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present At the request of the Town Clerk, the following jurors were drawn Jurors Alison Emery 441 Lowell St D. Joyce Altman 35 Saddle Club Road Edward G D'Entremont, Jr 29 Wilson Road Eli Cotler 31 Young Street Frank J Live 27 Whipple Road Chairman Battin opened a hearing on the application for a transfer LeBellecour of a Common Victualler All Alcoholic Beverages liquor license from Berkhout LeBellecour to Berkhout Corp , 61 Lorena Road, Winchester, for the Liquor License premises located at 10-12 Muzzey Street, main restaurant or dining room, kitchen area and reception area on first floor; function room in basement; men's and ladies' lavatories and storage area on cellar level A legal notice had been inserted in the May 11 issue of the Lexington Minute-man and notices had been sent by certified mail by the petitioner to all abutters Chairman Battin read a letter from Attorney Paul F Amico, repre- senting Mr and Mrs Frans R D Teding van Berkhout, who are planning to purchase the restaurant located at 10 Muzzey Street, Lexington, from LeBellecour, Inc subject to approval of a transfer of the liquor li- cense and other necessary common victualler licenses in connection with this operation Also, a letter of application for an entertainment license to have dinner music played Atty Amico informed the Board that all the stock of the Berkhout Corp, is owned by Mita F Teding van Berkhout and it is to be pledged to LeBellecour, Inc and their sole stockholders, Jean A Dupon and Josette Fraysse Vincent, who are to secure a mortgage for a portion of the sale price for the acquisition of the business Mrs Mita van Berkhout is to be the President, Treasurer, Clerk, and the Manager of the restaurant. LeBellecour' s license includes the courtyard but we are not requesting that area No one appearing in favor or opposition, Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the transfer of the Common Victualler All Alcoholic Beverages license from LeBellecour to Berkhoht Corp d.b a LeBellecour, with Mrs Mita F Teding van Berkhout, Manager, for 7 days a week with the hours of opera- , tion from 11 00 a.m to 11 00 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 12 00 Noon to 11 00 p m Sunday The Board signed the application to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for approval Also, to approve the pledge 450 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - May 22, 1978 of stock owned by the Berkhout Corp to Jean A Dupon and Joseette L. Fraysse Vincetn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Common Victualler license for Berkhout Corp d.b a LeBellecour, 10-12 Muzzey Street, Lexington, 7 days a week, with hours of operation from 11 00 a m. to 11 00 p m Monday through Saturday; 12 noon to 11 00 p.m. Sunday Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Entertainment license for Berkhout Corp d.b a LeBellecour, for dinner music on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6 00 p.m to 11 00 p.m Street Mr Martin Assistant Town Engineer, requested the Board's approval Takings of an award of no damages on small takings for corner roundings at the intersections of Banks Avenue, Tucker Avenue, and Cushing Street Appraisals were received, recommending no damages Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award no damages for small takings for corner roundings at the intersections of Banks Avenue, Tucker Avenue, and Cushing Street ORDERS Mr Martin recommended that the Board sign the orders of street acceptances, orders for construction of sewer and orders of sewer takings Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order Acceptances of street acceptances for Cushing Street, Tucker Avenue, and Banks Avenue Sewer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the orders Construction for construt;tlon Of sewer on Moon Hill RoadoMOrlialhd Avenue Stedman Road, Marrett Road, Bennington Road, and Eliot Road Sewer Takings Upon motion duly made an seconded, it was voted to sign the orders of sewer takings on Great Rock Road, ummit Road, Swan Lane, Barnes Place, Gibson Road, Bennington Road, Green Lane, Briggs Road, and Crescent Road Parking Meters Chairman Battin read a recommendation from the Traffic Safety Com- -Waltham St mittee that the existing one-hour parking meter hours of operation on Waltham Street, from Massachusetts Avenue to Forest Street, be extended to include the hours of 6 00 p m to 9 00 p m The Board agreed that, hopefully, this should alleviate the parking problems which had been outlined by Mx Louis Spencer, owner of the funeral home located at 52 Waltham Street It was voted to accept the Traffic Safety Committee's recommendation; however, later on in the meeting, the Board voted to rescind this vote and to refer the matter back to the Traffic Safety Committee for recommendations to be submitted on the method to be used in alerting residents and visitors that the time had been extended to 9 00 p m. If eventually approved by the Board, this section of Waltham Street would be the only street in Lexington where meter use had been extended p beyond 6 00 m Y Housing The Lexington Housing Authority met with the Board to request that Authority/Tax the moratorium on the sale of all tax title lots be extended for six Title months The Housing Authority, with HUD's approval, has selected 26 251 Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - May 22, 1978 sites from which developers will choose 25, upon which a single family house will be built Inasmuch as HUD has yet to approve the actual 26 sites, LHS is requesting the moratorium extension Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the moratorium on the sale of tax title lots from May 31, 1978 to November 30, 1978 Chairman Battin read a request from Police Chief Corr regarding a Proclamation- proclamation Police Dept Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to proclaim the Month of June as Burglary Prevention Month, and to publicize this action in the Lexington Minute-man The Board approved the following permits Permits Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the Pilgrim Church to conduct a bake sale on the Visitors' Center Lawn on June 9 from 10 00 a.m to 2 00 p.m (rain date of June 10) Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the Lexington Field and Garden Club to conduct a plant sale on the Buckman Tavern lawn on June 1, 1978 from 10 00 a.m to 12 00 noon Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to Northeastern University ROTC to conduct a commissioning cere- mony on the Battle Green on June 17 from 9 30 a.m to 10 30 p m. sub- ject to notification to the Police Department Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the Elks Club to conduct a flag day ceremony on the Battle Green on June 14 at 7 00 p m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign an Enter- tainment license for Chadwick's Ice Cream Parlour for Dixieland Band to perform on June 22 and June 23 from 7 00 p.m to 11 00 p m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a 1-day special liquor license for the Lexington Little League dinner dance at the Lexington Armory on June 24 from 7 00 p m to 12 00 p.m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a 1-day special liquor license to W R Grace Co for an employee's party on the premises on May 30 Chairman Battin read a proposal from LHS Associates, Inc Andover, 1979 Jury List in the amount of $385 00 for the preparation of computer information required for the submission of the Annual Jury List to the Middlesex County Clerk of Courts Beginning January 1, 1978, Middlesex County will become a trial judicial district to test the effectiveness of a new plan for jury selection and management, and to determine the feasibility of the plan's implementation throughout the Commonwealth Po z Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - May 22, 1978 of Massachusetts Under Sections 5 through 9 of the Acts of 1977, a new system of selecting jurors in Middlesex County is established the act abolishes all class exemptions from juror service and requires random selection of prospective jurors from local resident lists In essence, each city or town is to submit by July 1, 1978, a list of those names remaining on the former 1979 and 1980 jury lists, and this list will be used through December 31, 1978 for the selection of jurors As of January, 1979, the new format is to be used; namely, on or before June 1, a sequentially numbered list of names and addresses of Lexington residents is to be sent by the Board of Selectmen to the Jury Commissioner A list of random numbers, prepared by LHS Associates is to be returned to the Lexington Board of Selectmen by August 1 LHS Associates will compile a data process- ing tape from the list of random numbers requested by the Jury Commissioner The tape is to be returned to the Jury Commissioner's office by September 1, 1978 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Chairman Battin to sign the agreement with LHS Associates, Inc , for the preparation of the 1979 Lexington list of jurors, at a total cost of $385 00, using the following procedure 1 Extract from the January 1 Census File, residents 17 years of age and older with the following information - Name (sep- arating last from first) , Address, zip code, date of birth and sex This file will be referred to as the LOCAL RESI- DENT LIST 2 Arrange all names on the Local Resident List alphabetically by last name 3 Assign a consecutive number to each resident on the Local Resident List 4 Print 4 copies of the Local Resident List along with their consecutive number 5. Burst and decollate 2 copies for the Jury Commissioner 6 Maintain a back-up file on tape of the Local Resident List 7 In August, select from the back-up files those names who match the random numbers supplied by Jury Commissioner 8 Supply to the Jury Commissioner a computer tape in a format acceptable to the Jury Commissioner, for those residents selected from the Local Resident List Senior Center The Senior Center Site Committee met with the Board to discuss a Site Committee report prepared by the Committee Mrs Nancy Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, said that the committee has begun identifying preliminary sites which might be used 953 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - May 22, 1978 as a Center; there are approximately 30 locations The committee feels that before a Senior Center is established, it is necessary to have a temporary Center in order to test what is more appropriate for Lexington, and adequate space would be needed to include the Council on Aging The facility should be near the center of Town, and the committee has looked at Cary Hall, the Church of Our Redeemer, the First Parish Church, Hancock Church, and schools Of the churches, Our Redeemer is likely to be considered, but not Hancock Also, the committee will look at facilities in other communities Regarding funds, an application has been submitted to HUD for a Small Cities' Grant, and the committee has spoken to Mr Jack Crain of the Department of Elder Affairs regarding available funding through that department Mr Tropeano has resigned from the committee and, in order to begin the field work, there is a need for a new member The committee would like to locate the Council on Aging by December 1 Mr Joseph Rooney thanked Mrs Banks for her assistance and for doing an excellent job in holding the committee together He recom- mended that at least two members be added to the committee because of one resignation and two members who do not attend meetings The Church of Our Redeemer seems to be the best location but they won't allow us to lock up the room We originally understood that the rent would be $300/month, it jumped to $800, and now we hear it might be $1,200 We will get back to you sometime in September Chairman Battin recommended that the two committee members be contacted to find out why they are not attending meetings, and to see if the present members wish to continue to serve on the committee There should be a list of the skills needed in other committee members and recommendations made of persons who can supply them Questions were raised by Mr Busa on the needs for a senior cen- ter, which he felt were yet to be explained, and he felt that the senior citizens were not interested enough to show up at meetings Mr Crain agreed and said that when recommendations are made, they should be based on needs He added that the heart of the problem is the current committee, which should be a working committee with residential skills Mr Kent was not in favor of the Council on Aging office remaining on the second floor of the Visitors' Center until Sept 1, and the Town Meeting was very concerned about that when it was presented to them, and the Council pointed out the necessity of people climbing the stairs to the second floor Mr Crain agreed, and said that if an unfortunate experience occurred, he felt that the Board would have a sense of urgency to do something overnight We ought to accomodate a move from that location immediately Chairman Battin said that she shared the concern and felt that the Council should be moved immediately even if it means taking the chance that a more suitable location might be found within the nex few weeks IMr Hutchinson said that there are two separate problems - the Council on Aging office, which the Board has requested that we investi- gate, and the Senior Center site, if there is going to be one; however, 954 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - May 22, 1978 they are closely interrelated, as well We have pursued working with the Council on Aging on their needs for an Office but also the whole idea of administrative support for any site that would be selected It was hoped that we would have something by now, or certainly within the next month, and we are looking at a rental facility and also moving the office It is inconsistent to locate the Council on Aging office someplace one day and moving it the next month to another facility, but if we can't have something sooner than September 1, we will move the CoA office During discussion, the inadequacies of the lower level of Cary Hall were pointed out by the Council on Aging, and it recommended that space be obtained on the ground level It was also suggested that rooms in one of the high school buildings be used, and Mr Hutchinson responded that the School Committee is being very responsive to our re- quests but he doubted that this space would be available It was agreed that Mr Rooney is to check with committee members regarding the desire to continue to serve and attend all meetings, list the skills needed in a working committee, and to make recommenda- tions to the Board of persons who can fulfill those requirements Another meeting will be scheduled when the Board has read the CoA Report The Council on Aging retired from the meeting Middlesex Because our regular designee, Mrs Mary W Miley, is on vacation, County the Board discussed representation at the Middlesex County Advisory Advisory Board meeting to be held on May 25 at the Newton City Hall Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to designate Mrs Nancy H Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, to serve as the representative of the Board of Selectmen at the special meeting of the Middlesex County Advisory Baord on Thursday, May 25, and to vote as necessary on behalf of the Board of Selectmen Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meeting held on May 8, 1978 Youth Comm.- The Youth Commission met with the Board to discuss the Summer Summer Youth Employment Program Employment Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Town Manager's office Program is pursuing the possibility of obtaining a CETA grant to help on summer employment We have filed the application but, if approved, it looks as though that position would not be available until late june, which is incompatible with the needs of the program However, we do haze the opportunity of working with a student who has work experience - the money to be provided by the University - to act as the employment vehicle The Town would have to come up with 20 percent of the cost of that position and that would mean about $400 from us This person was recommended by the Council on Aging and would be available to them too We are pursuing the funding vehidies first and, if unsuccessful, we could approach the School Committee for funds from their budget and, with our budget funds and a registration fee, these would offset the costs of paying a person at $3 00 an hour for 20 hours a week for 10 to 12 weeks Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - May 22, 1978 There could be an initial registration fee rather than charging a student every time he wants to go out to work Members of the Commission were not in favor of charging a registra- tion fee, but Mr Busa said that youths should be willing to pay for someone else to find them a job Mrs Feakes, Commission member, re- sponded that the employment program would be a service to those who call in with jobs to be done Efforts would be made to have fund raising activities to offset the costs and the youths would help in these activities The Board had no objection to this Mr Hutchinson said that we feel obligated to get a program started, with the understanding that if there is to be any temporary support from us, it will be just that There will be a registration process, and we would hope the School Committee and others might come forward with assistance; however, we have not yet approached the School Cornu 4ttt@e_: In the meantime, we will have to wait to hear from the funding sources The Board agreed that the program is to be implemented Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to endorse the Summer Employment Program, as recommended by the Town Manager and the Youth Commission Mr Busa raised the question on the procedure to be followed con- cerning monies (gifts, etc ) accumulated during the program, and the Board advised the Youth Commission to work out the details with Town Counsel and the Comptroller The Board agreed to invite the Street and Sidewalk Advisory Com- Street & mittee to a future meeting to discuss a more specific charge if the Sidewalk Committee is to continue to function Committee Chairman Battin asked for the Board's opinion on the request from MBTA Mrs Joyce Hals, Chairman of the Transportation Advisory Committee, Intra-Town for a commitment from the Selectmen on the support of the Town Mana- Bus Transp ger's office and other Town departments in the preparation of a pro- posal to be submitted to the META on an intra-town transportation system Mrs Banks was requested to advise the Transportation Committee that it would be impossible to grant a normal level of support because of the current demands on the Town Manager's office but some support would be available Also, to recommend that volunteers be recruited from Town agencies and the Chamber of Commerce Mr Hutchinson informed that Board that Dr Will is willing to Appointment serve on the Sewer Advisory Committee. Sewer Advisory Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Dr Committee Kenneth W Nill a member of the Sewer Advisory Committee for a term of office expiring May 31, 1979 Mr Kent recommended that the Board meet with the area legislators Special Meeting on June 1 to discuss pending legislation important to the financial Legislators well-being of the Town Also, a representative of the Municipal Associations would like to discuss the proposed amendment to the Massa- chusetts Constitution which would permit division of real property into l 25(5 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - May 22, 1978 a number of classifications for assessment purposes The Board agreed to arrange a meeting on Thursday, June 1 at 7 30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting room and to invite the legislators and all interested persons Meeting The Board agreed not to meet during the week of May 29 and the next meeting will be held on June 5 FY79 Mr Hutchinson announced that the estimated tax rate, based on Town Tax Rate Meeting action, is $92 59 this includes the increased school budget and all of the authorizations voted at Town Meeting The increase of $4 19 is exclusive of any actions that the State Legislature takes Nobody really knows what the property tax will be because nobody knows what the State Legislature is going to do The tax rate could be affected by as much as $2 00 depending upon what the General Court does; not just $2 00 this year but on an incremental basis The whole idea of sharing in State revenues is that cities and towns would bear State expenses Un- less there is some comprehensive effort of tax reform, our increases will be something that might even exceed the cost of living unless the State starts assuming some of its responsibilities Chairman Battin and Mr Kent stressed the importance of meeting with the State Legislators in order to communicate Lexington's concerns July 4th Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve the Lions Club Carnival carnival over the 4th of July upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's recommendation that permission be granted to the Lions Club to muntecta carnival on July 1, 2, 3 and 4, 1978, 9ubject to the conditions set forth by the Town Manager Appts Mr Hutchinson requested approval of the Board of his reappoint- Conservation ment of Conservation Commission members Commission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of The Town Manager's reappointment of Mrs Angela E Frick, Mrs Shirly Stolz, and Mr David Williams as members of the Conservation Commission for terms expiring April 1, 1981 AAA Bond Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that (1) the AAA Bond rating has Rating - been maintained by the Town; (2) he will file with the Board on May 26 FY79 Salaries the information FY 79 salaries; (3) an appointment could be made on June 5 fot the Personnel Advisory Board to discuss affirmative action Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call vote to go into Exectitive Session, with no intention of resuming the open meeting, to discuss 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 1012 pm. A true record, Attest 1.44,WrOh' )10 Executive Clerk Selectme