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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-05-08-BOS-min `)33 SELECTMEN'S MEETING May 8, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 8,1978 at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Battin, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Execu- tive Clerk were present Chairman Battin opened the hearing, to be conducted by the Town Hearing- Manager, on a proposed Community Development Grant Application for a Senior Citizen Senior Citizen Center Center Mr William Sen, Chairman of the Council on Aging, was present Mr Hutchinson said that we have been informed that the hearing could be held by any agency and we felt it appropriate to have it before the Board of Selectmen as we are going to apply for a grant that might lead to funding of monies toward the rental costs and for an assessment of how a senior center might work Consistent with the Selectmen's charge to the Committee, we are looking at sites now We are requesting $5,000 in addi- tion to the $10,000 and, although these are only estimates, we feel that it is worthwhile to pursue this proposal further and it is an opportunity to support this type of activity Community Development grants are rela- tively unrestricted in the utilization of the funds Mr Sen said that he has been working all along on the proposal with Mrs Nancy Banks Mrs Banks said that, after the preliminary investigation, we had much information regarding the need and the direction of a senior center but we did not have cost estimates until just recently After investi- gating possible sites to locate the Council on Aging, we have put in a grant for $10,000 for temporary rental costs and $5,000 for planning costs for a permanent site This is a request to make a full application to HUD, and we will hear about June 15, 1978 if we have been allowed to make a full application, and it would be a funding source for the Coucil on Aging Mr Busa said that he had no problem with making application for the grant but he believed that one of the prerequisites was to find out if there is a need for a community center He did not feel that money should be spent just because there is a grant available If the greater majority of the senior citizens feel there is a need for it, then he had no problem with proceeding He agreed with the grant application for rental space and for preliminary plans and study Mr Hutchinson said that this is the tact we have been taking, and we understand that there is that question In the interim, we are looking at sites and this will give us the opportunity for assessment Mrs Miley said that this was part of the charge to the committee Mrs Banks informed the Board that the application will be discussed tomorrow at the meeting of the Senior Center Site Committee They will also discuss the committee's report which will be submitted to the Select- men on May 15 434 Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - May 8, 1978 Chairman Battin declared theearin closed h g (A second public hearing will be conducted by the Town Manager in the Selectmen's meeting room on Wednesday, May 10, 1978 at 3 00 p m.) Contracts Chairman Battin read a request from Mr McSweeney to sign contracts Sewer/Street which were awarded by the Board on April 3, 1978 The contracts have Construction been approved as to form by Town Counsel Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the follow- ing contracts Contract 77-5-E awarded to JFP Construction, Inc , Littleton, Massachusetts, for Sewer Construction, in the amount of $409,750 06 Authorization is contained in Article 20, 1976- Sanitary Sewer Laterals; Article 21, 1976 - Trunk Sewer/ Marrett Road; Article 19, 1977 - Sanitary Sewer Laterals; Article 19, 1978 - Sanitary Sewer Laterals Contract 76-20-E awarded to Great Northern Constructors, Inc , Medford, Massachusetts for Street and Drain Construction, in the amount of $293,637 00 Authorization is contained in Article 65, 1976 - Crescent Road - Street Construction; Article 66, 1976 - Briggs Road - Street Construction; Article 67, 1976 - Great Rock Road - Street Construction; Article 20, 1975 - Sanitary Sewer Laterals; Article 19, 1978 - Sanitary Sewer Laterals Contract 76-5-E awarded to Great Northern Constructors, Inc , Medford, Massachusetts for Sewer Construction, in the amount of $281,940 00 Authorization is contained in Article 20, 1975- Sanitary sewer Laterals; Article 22, 1975 - Trunk Sewer/Moon Hill Road; Article 19, 1977 - Sanitary Sewer Laterals; Article 19, 1978 - Sanitary Sewer Laterals Permit Chairman Battin read a request for the use of the Battle Green, Battle Green Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Lexington Minute Men, Inc , for the use of the Battle Green to conduct Living History Exercises, under the direction of the Town Manager, on June 25; July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; August 6, 13, 20, 27; September 3, 1978 from 1 00 p.m to 4 00 p m Middlesex Chairman Battin discussed the memorandum received from the Middlesex County County Advisory Board relative to the Act providing for the appointment Advisory of designees to County Advisory Boards She explained that, for the Board first time, Board of Selectmen can appoint, if they wish, a citizen to represent them on County Advisory Boards Up to now, it has only been the Chairman of a Board of Selectmen or another Selectmen There was a feeling, at least in some cities and towns, that it would be a worth- while move to have a citizen who could spend a great deal of his time to focus in on the activities of the County Commissioners Mrs Miley has 235 Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - May 8, 1978 been serving as our designee on the Advisory Board and has done a splendid job as our representative. Mrs Miley said that at the present time she is Treasurer of the Advisory Board and would like to continue at least until June unless the Selectmen felt that someone would do a better job At this time, she was not sure whether it would be a wise idea to have someone else desig- nated rather than a member of the Board of Selectmen Chairman Battin stated that if a member of the Board is willing and able to serve and has the time, then it is to our advantage. Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to designate Mrs Mary W Miley as the representative of the Town of Lexington on the Middlesex County Advisory Board. Chairman Battin read a request for the use of Estabrook Hall Estabrook Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- Hall quest of the Tri-Community Health Services, Inc for the use of Estabrook Hall for a business meeting on Monday, May 22, 1978, from 7 00 p.m to 10:00 p m. , subject to payment of the custodial fee Because of potential litigation, the Board agreed to discuss in Accident Claim Executive Session the accident claim submitted by Mr Ralph Nadeau, 23 Bedford Street Mr Busa discussed the hearing he had conducted on May 3, 1978 on the Chandley Dog written complaint of Mrs Nancy Bray on the dog owned by Mr Everette Chandley, 12 Grapevine Avenue. Mr. Chandley was unable to attend the hearing but the information taken, under oath, was that the dog was running around and barking constantly both days and evenings; also, the dog appeared to be either ill or undernourished The Animal Control Officer was requested to go to Mr Chandley's home and talk with him He and two Policemen did so and found Mr Chandley in a weakened condition, due to illness or a physical handicap The dog was observed to be in a pregnant condition and had sores on her back Mr Buse recommended that the Animal Control Officer be requested to attempt to convince Mr Chandley that the dog be taken to the dog pound during the pregnancy; afterwards, a determination should be made by the Board whether the dog should be returned to Mr Chandley, as he appears to be unable to take proper care of her Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept Mr Busa's recommendation concerning the dog owned by Mr. Everette Chandley. The Board discussed the invitation from the Town Celebrations Memorial Committee to participate in the Memorial Day activities on May 29 at Day 10 00 a.m. Mr Buse and Mr Kent agreed to march in the parade and Mr Buse is to read the Governor's Proclamation at the ceremony on the Battle Green. Chairman Battin read a letter of resignation from Mrs Joan Crothers Resignation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the res- ignation of Mrs Joan Crothers as a member and Chairman of the Sewer Ad- Sewer Advisory Committee visory Committee Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - May 8, 1978 Chairman Battin read a request for the use of the Battle Green Battle Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Green request from Mr Donald Gillespie, LHS Music Coordinator, for the use of the Battle Green for a band concert on Sunday, May 28, 1978 Mrs Joyce Hals, Chairman of the Transportation Advisory Committee, MBTA Intra- met with the Baord Town •Bus Chairman Battin read a letter from the MBTA advising the Town of Proposal "the proposed expansion of the experimental suburban transportation program Needham, Natick and Bedford have participated in the program of intra-town bus service and in early 1977 a decision was made to ex- tend the experimental period to a second year for each town Given the success of the initial program, funds will be requested in the 1979 MBTA budget to expand the program It is anticipated that two new towns will be funded for service in 1979; Lexington is one of the 58 towns eligible for funding " Chairman Battin said that Mr Lincoln Cole, Lexington's representative on the MBTA Advisory Board, has given us a copy of the proposal and the Board would like to talk with Mrs Hals as to whether we should explore with the other three towns the success of their pro- grams before we embark on a request for consideration of Lexington's proposal Mrs Hals informed the Board that her committee has talked about the intra-town bus service in the other three towns and it was pointed 111 out that they do not have as good MBTA service as Lexington; most of them have only one bus that goes through their town so they needed more service than Lexington does The committee feels it should wast for a report after the 2-year experiment is completed MBTA has published a book which lists the ridership, town fees, age, etc and has made a fairly good study She thought that the Town ought to at least look into the possibility of whether we want to do it and, if so, there is a lot of information which would have to be pulled together, perhaps in a cooperative effort involving the Planning Board, Council on Aging, Town Manager, Recreation Committee, Church groups, Hayden and business men The two groups that are most dependent on public transportation are the elderly and kids from 12 to 17, who can't drive but have a lot of activ- ties they would like to go to Everyone recognizes the parking problem and if we had a really good service it would cut down on some of the cars going to the Center Mrs Hals recommended that her committee discuss the matter at its meeting on May 18 and come back to the Board as soon as possible because of the July 30 deadline for submission of proposals She agreed to in- vite members of the agencies and organizations previously mentioned to attend the next meeting of the Transportation Advisory Committee on May 18 to discuss the possibility of an intra-town bus service, and come back to the Board as soon as possible because of the July 30 deadline for submission of proposals Mrs Nancy Banks reported to the Board on the express bus service Express to Boston In response to the survey recently conducted, two of the Bus buses will go to Copley Square, and the route is to be extended by Service having the first stop at Pleasant Street and Massachusetts Avenue 4)37 Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - May 8, 1978 Four buses will be in operation daily, effective May 15 Mrs Hals retired from the meeting Chairman Battin read an application from Berkhout Corp , Inc , 61 Liquor Lorena Road, Winchester, for a transfer of the 7-day All Alcoholic Hearing Beverages license from LeBellecour, Inc , 10 Muzzey Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the hearing date of Monday, May 22, 1978, at 7 30 p m on the application from Berkhout Corp , for a transfer of the All Alcoholic Beverages license from LeBellecour, Inc , 10 Muzzey Street A decision is to be made at the May 22 meeting whether tha Board Meeting Date will meet during the week of May 29 The Board of Appeals had asked if the Selectmen wished to offer any Lexington comments or suggestions before the public hearing date is set on the peti- Gardens/ tion from Lexington Gardens, 93 Hancock Street, to expand the list of Board of sale items under the present permit; also, a petition requesting approval Appeals of the sale of additional items during the Christmas season Because this business is located within a residential area, members of the Board of Selectmen expressed concern about the impact on the neighborhood due to the proposed increase in the volume of business and, therefore, the potential increase in traffic The Selectmen recognized that any action taken on these petitions lies wholly within the purvue of the Board of Appeals, and it was agreed that Chairman Battin is to talk informallk with their Chairman about the general question of the needs of the neighborhood Mr McSweeney and Mr Martin came into the meeting Chairman Battin announced that the Board will discuss in Executive Sewer Session a decision to be made on the sewer moratorium. Moratorium Mr Nicholas LaFauci was recognized and he said that he was present to list to the discussion Chairman Battin explained that all major boards were present during the discussion last week and were asked to submit their comments Mrs Battin read a recommendation from the Conservation Commission supporting the continuation of the moratorium and urging that every effort be made at the earliest possible time to resolve the problem of dealing with the serious threat to public health, public water supplies and natural re- sources A report from the Planning Board stated that it is in complete agreement with, (1) the continuance of the sewer moratorium and the plan as outlined by the Town Manager; (2) scattered sites for low and moderate income housing being exempt from the moratorium as there has been a commitment by the Town for development of low and moderate income housing, which has an overriding priority; (3) the moratorium being extended to May 31, 1979 Mr LaFauci asked what had been done since the moratorium went into effect? Mr Hutchinseon replied that (1) we have expanded our sewer maintenance program of the existing sewer system; (2) a sewer contingency plan was pre- 938 Selectmen's Meeting - 6 - May 8, 1978 pared which would allow, in the event of surcharging, for the North Lexington system to fill in order to relieve some of the demand in that lower end of the system; (3) chlorinating equipment was purchased, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to allow us to pump into the swamp area, and it was necessary to utilize that equipment on several occasions We have made arrangements to provide for a relief sewer, which exists right now We are going to have to put in a sewer in the Hayes Lane area this summer and hopefully, we will be able to evaluate that during the winter and spring months Mr Hutchinson agreed that publicity is needed and will be looked into He added that the Town is filing Phase II of Step 1, which calls for TV sewer work in our systems, running smoke detections to identify roof leaders that are illegally connected; these are part of our overall comprehensive solution to the problem However, it will be 1979-80 before all the work is completed No one else in the audience wished to comment Later on, after discussion in Executive Session, the Board voted the following Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the existing sewer moratorium be extended, subject to continuing review DPW - Road Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that bids had been received on Machinery road machinery and he recommended that the Board approve the awards to the lowest bidders, with one exception Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to the lowest bidder, GMC Truck & Coach Division, Boston, Mass , for the purchase of one four-wheel drive truck, Model #TK10516, in the amount of $4,104 00; price of unit-$7,713 88; total deductions-$2,609 88 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to the lowest bidder, BMC Truck & Coach Division, Boston, Mass , fo the purchase of one 3/4-ton four wheel drive pickup, Model TK20903, in the amount of $5,201 29; price of unit-$7,883 49; total deductions- $2,682 20 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to the lowest bidder, GMC Truck & Coach Division, Boston, Mass , for the purchase of one 1/2 ton carry-all, Model TC10906, in the amount of $5,460 51; price of unit-7,142 78; total deductions-$1,682 27 Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that the lowest bidder, W E McCarthy, Inc , Medford, Mass , did not meet the Town's specifications on a dump truck with lift gate as the bid of $22,875 00 was submitted for a truck with a gas engine and the Town uses a diesel Therefore he recommended that the contract be awarded to the second lowest bidder, who did meet the specifications Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to the second lowest bidder, who met the Town's specifications, Taylor & Lloyd, Inc , Bedford, Mass , for the purchase of one dump truck with lift gate, Model Loadster #1250, in the amount of $24,373 00; price of unit $30,502 00, trade-in $6,129 00 i39 Selectmen's Meeting - 7 - May 8, 1978 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the con- tract to the lowest bidder, Taylor & Lloyd, Inc , Bedford, Mass , for the purchase of one rack dump truck with winch, Model #1750, in the amount of $25,050 00; price of unit $32,049 00, trade-in $6,999 00 Mr Hutchinson publicly announced the tragic dealth of Mr Walter Fatal Cunha, DPW heavy equipment operator which occurred at the sanitary Accident- landfill on May 5 He expressed the deep sympathy of the Town admini- Landfill stration Mrs Battin said that the Board of Selectmen expresses its deep regret and sorrow at this unfortunate accident Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the request from the Town Bedford of Bedford for an extension of water to be supplied to them during dry Water periods is now under review and ,a report is forthcoming In the mean- time, the Board should consider whether it chooses to grant the re- quest Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive to go into Executive Session at 8 20 p m with the intention of re- Session suming the open meeting, for the purpose of discussing the sewer mora- torium and potential litigation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting at 8 55 p m. The vote of the Board on the sewer moratorium is recorded at the Sewer end of the previously discussed item on page 5 Moratorium Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve the awards of Easements damages on easements which were voted at the Selectmen's meeting on Damages March 31, 1978 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the awards of damages on the following easements Briggs Road sewer easement award of damages to Anna L & Dorothy A White in the amount of $1,000 00 Lot 7, Great Rock Road, sewer easement, with an award of no damages Green Lane - sewer and drain easement, with an award of no damages Crescent Road - Temporary construction easement for street construc- tion, with an award of no damages Briggs Road - Temporary construction easement for street construc- tion, with an award of no damages Great Rock Road - Temporary construction easement for Street Con- struction, with an award of no damages Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted an intent to take a sewer easement from Fern Street to Summit Road, with an award of no damages Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Auditor's report has been Town Auditors received from Arthur Andersen & Co Report 240 Selectmen's Meeting - 8 - May 8, 1978 ' Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, for the purpose of discussing potential litigation, and the reputation of individuals After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 00 p m A true record, Attest ?Le-t.41,,ry '712 ?PC Executive Clerk, Sele tmen I I