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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-03-06-BOS-min 170 SELECTMEN'S MEETING March 6, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectment was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, March 6, 1978 at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Bailey, Mr Buse, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present New The Board welcomed two new firefighters, Robert Conha and Michael Firemen Fulton, who were selected from 1,000 applicants and have just graduated from the Firefighters' Academy Appointments Chairman Battin recommended that the Board make two appointments this evening MAPC Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Angela E Frick as the representative of Lexington on the Metropolitan Area Planning Council Senior Center Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Site Phyllis Reservitz, 10 Paddock Lane, a member of the Senior Center Committee Site Committee Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meetings held on December 19, 1977 and January 3, 1978 Common Carrier Chairman Battin read an application for a Common Carrier license License-Boston Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Tours Common Carrier license for Boston Tours (formerly Bi-centennial Tours) , 89 Arcadia Street, Waltham, for the transportation of passengers for hire along Pleasant Street and Massachusetts Avenue to the Battle Green to Route 2A in Concord One stop at the Battle Green; license expiring December 31, 1978 Permit- Chairman Battin read a request for permission for a road race Road Race Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Greek Orthodox Church of Cambridge to conduct a 10-mile road race commencing at the Minuteman Monument to the Arlington line on Sunday, March 19, 1978 at 1 00 p m. with a police cruiser escort LWV-Town Seal The Board approved the request of the League of Women Voters to use a replica of the Town Seal on a pamphlet on Town Government, with the understanding that the Town Manager is to approve the replica before the material is sent to the printer Bonds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following amounts established by the Department of Corporations and Taxation for the following bonds Treasurer-$160,000; Collector of Taxes-$155,000; Town Clerk-$6,000 171 Selectmen's Meeting -2- March 6, 1978 Mrs Angela Frick met with the Board and was informed that the MAPC Board had voted this evening to appoint her as Lexington's represen- Representative tative to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council Chairman Battin said that, at the present time there is no institutionalized method of communication between the MAPC representa- tive and Town boards and agencies which may be impacted by regional matters Therefore, the Board of Selectmen is writing to the Conserva- tion Commission, Planning Board, Housing Authority, Transportation Ad- visory Committee, Regional Refuse Advisory Committee, and the Sewer Advisory Committee, requesting that a designee be submitted as the MAPC liaison with whom Mrs Frick will work on MAPC issues which concern a specific committee Mrs Frick said that she and six representatives of the Town had attended the last MAPC meeting which was held for the purpose of developing input from the surrounding towns Some of the topics covered were transportation and traffic, resource recovery plants, closing of Route 2A, etc The summary of information will be compiled and a copy sent to the Selectmen Mrs Frick said that MAPC had sent a letter to the Selectmen to MAPC/Lex nominate a project which would have a regional content She recommend-Hobbs Brook ed that the Board of Selectmen nominate the Hobbs Brook project, which Project would involve Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham, Cambridge and Weston This would serve as a model for MAPC to go ahead by pulling together all of the land and various plans for parks and recreation along Hobbs Brook and Stoney Brook Basin This has been worked on for five years and they want to protect the water shed and also have parks and recreation in the area Lexington acquired Cranberry Hill last year to be a part of this This project requires careful planning and MAPC now has the staff to do the final coordination Because there are so many towns involved, we would hope that it would have a high priority and all we are asking is that you approve the concept and let MAPC go to work on it The Board agreed to defer action until the next meeting Mr McSweeney came into the meeting Recycling Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that problems had developed Contract at the landfill with the contractor on the recycling of glass and metal cans Since the start of the curbside collection program, the firm's service has been consistently poor and it became apparent that our efforts with the contractor to improve the situation were not succeed- ing On February 24, Recycling Enterprises informed the Public Works Director that his company would be discontinuing their association with the Town Therefore, invitations to submit proposals were issued for a bid opening on March 3, and we received one proposal It is recommended that the Board approve the bid from Matcon Recycling, Inc $10 a ton for glass and $10 a ton for cans The previous contractor was getting $15 a ton for glass and $6 a ton for cans, and the con- tainer rental was $90 a month With the new contractor, the cost of container rental is included in the proposed figure We are recommend- ing a period of 9 months with the new contractor but be can terminate it before that if we are not satisfied 172 Selectmen's Meeting -3- March 6, 19781 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the bid ' from MATCON Recycling, Inc , 53 Jefferson Avenue, Salem, for the pur- chase/removal of recyclable glass and metal cans from the Hartwell Avenue Landfill in the amount of $10 a ton for glass and $10 a ton for metal cans, effective immediately Adams Residents of Adams Street met with the Board Street Chairman Battin said that this is a follow-up on the discussion held at the informationalmeeting on February 22, 1978 She explained that the plan of five years ago called for a 30 ft pavement, sidewalks on both sides, and the removal of 51 trees. The plan discussed on February 22 was for a 28 ft pavement, sidewalk on one side, and the removal of 34 trees The Board has discussed your concerns and voted last week that the Board of Selectmen will proceed with its plan to designate Adams Street as the Chapter 90 Construction Street, with the clear understanding that the Board does not endorse the specific plan which was discussed at the hearing, and that the Board intends to pursue the subject with you at every stage of the proceedings Chairman Battin asked Mr Kent to chair this portion of the meetng Mr Kent said that this is the first stage of the Board's intent to pursue this subject with the interested people in the neighborhood We must not start with the most intolerable proposal, from your standpoint, and then work back from it hoping at some point to reach common ground but, rather, we would like to start with a declaration from the Board that we regard Adams Street as a problem, a problem which tentatively we believe can be solved with the assistance of Chapter 90 money Whether that turns out to be so or not, we do no know at this present time What we want very much to do is to pursue with the residents in the neighborhood various approaches to the problem, and we would hope that it would be possible for purposes of initial discussion to do so, perhaps with a smaller group to be formed from members of the neighbor- hood We wanted to meet with you this evening for two purposes, (1) to attemptto make it very clear to you that what we have not done is endorse any particular layout proposals for Adams Street; (2) to begin a dialogue with you with the hope that it eventuates in an improved situation on Adams Street but recognizing from the outset that as we go forward, we may run into difficulties with our coming up with a common plan which can meet State approval; that we may in the end be success- ful or may not be successful in terms of carrying this thing forward We ought to hear from interested citizens as to the problems they re- gard on Adams Street, and what they most fear about solutions to those problems Mr Edward Jervis, 111 Adams Street, presented a petition to the Board, signed by 32 residents in opposition to the realignment and widening of Adams Street from East Street to the Burlington Town Line and utilizing Chapter 90 funds Mr Jervis stated that Adams Street does not meet the criteria for Chapter 90 funds Mr Kent replied that the Board's position is very clear, that we do not wish to stuff Adams Street into Chapter 90 simply for the pur- pose of enabling us to obtain State funds to do something, whether we 1. 13 Selectmen's Meeting -4- March 6, 1978 1 ought to do it or not; if it turns out that in the working review of this process that we cannot usefully, satisfactorily employ Chapter 90 funds, then this Board does not propose to do it The residents expressed concern that widening the pavement and straightening it out would only increase the traffic and speed as cars go by their homes Also, that it would be opened up to enable people to go from Lexington Center to the Burlington Mall Mr Kent said that the Board is not interested in the Burlington Mall nor in increasing traffic to the Mall, but we recognize that Adams Street is used Adams Street is heavily traveled, narrow, and with tough intersections Adams Street is not adequate in terms of Lexington streets, and we are interested in Adams Street from the standpoint that it is one Lexington's streets Mr Bailey said that any action taken by the Town Meeting this year is just one step in a very long series of steps to be unfolded, stage by stage As pointed at the hearing on February 22, at least three years of Chapter 90 money will be necessary for this, and there will be informational meetings held each year and formal hearings after the third year, before any work is done Anything that happens this year is just one little step and there is a lot more that has to be done This Board has no desire to go digging up and constructing streets where everybody on the street is upset about it Chairman Battin recommended that the residents form an ad hoc committee to work, until Town Meeting, with Mr Kent, Mr Hutchinson, Mr McSweeney, the Street and Sidewalk Design Advisory Committee to dis- cuss the construction of Adams Street Mr Hutchinson said that the $60,000 involved is on the tax rate; however, we have the authority to authorize a temporary loan subject to whether this will be approved and disapproved, and that will be recommended to Town Meeting, which in effect will take it off the tax rate at the Town Meeting; this will be just legal authorization and not any more than that Adams Street residents and Mrs Frick retired from the meeting Later on, after the meeting with the Appropriation and Capital Expendi- Banks- tures Committee, the Board discussed the three streets to be laid out Cushing- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-affirm the Tucker date of February 27, 1978 to lay out Banks Avenue, Cushing Street, and Tucker Avenue Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the process has been com- Fire pleted on the civilian dispatchers in the Fire Department Over 100 Dept applicants were received for the four positions and each was screened Civilian by Chief Bergeron and the Town Manager, and rated for answers to five Dis- questions for the initial group A second screening by Chief Bergeron patchers and Police Chief Corr was held for fifteen final candidates, and each was rated on answers to five questions The four candidates selected, in addition to having shown strong abilities in the two screenings and having received excellent reference checks, also meet our affirmative action goals Included in the group is one handicapped person, one woman and one black Keith Dissel, Judith Steffens, Brian O'Neill and Cecelia Robinson are recommended to be the new civilian dispatchers, and 174 Selectman's Meeting -5- March 6, 1978 are scheduled to begin a one-week training on March 13 with regular employment starting the following week. The Board agreed with Mr Hutchinson's recommendation Express Bus Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mrs Nancy Banks has re- Service quested bus companies to submit a proposal by March 13 for express bus service from Lexington to Boston on a 90-day experimental basis Emergency Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that Lexington is eligible and Snow Re- he had filed with the Bureau of Accounts for reimbursement of emergency moval Re- snow removal funds 'imbursement Approp &Cap The Appropriation Committee and the Capital Expenditures Committee Expenditures met with the Board Mr David Wells, Chairman, and members of the Permanent Building Art 35 - Committee were present to discuss the Center pool complex Mr Wells Center discussed Article 35 for approval of $45,000 for plans and specifica- Pool tions He said that final approval of $682,000 will not be requested until next year Architect's fees of $20,000 have already been set Permanent aside, and the new plans call for moving the swimming, diving and Build wading pools farther away from the property lines as this increases Committee the safety at the wading pool, in particular, by moving the youngsters a little away from the rest of the complex It would cost $425,000 for renovation of the existing pool, without diving facilities The old pool no longer meets the sanitary codes and could be closed tomor- row by the Board of Health. Mr White, Appropriation Committee Chairman, said that he antici- pates his committee will support it and will probably vote on it to- night Mrs Miley said that she had some reservations and had looked into the possibility of Lexington residents using Menotomy Pond and she also hopes to get some recreation in East Lexington in the future Having learned that the Board of Health can close the present pool tomorrow if it chooses to, she agreed it is not worthwhile to do over the old pool and, therefore, would support the article Mr Busa asked for more information; he felt it was a lot of money for ten weeks of the year, especially when we do not have enough money to fix streets, clear snow from sidewalks, etc. Lexington already has two good-sized pools, Hayden and Minuteman School, where youngsters can dive Mr Bailey disagreed and said that it is the most intensively used recreation facility and a training facility where kids learn to swim Chairman Battin was in favor of the pool, and called for a vote Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 in support of Article 35 Mr Busa abstained MVMH The Mystic Valley Mental Health budget was discussed Mrs Nancy Budget Banks said that, generally it is a very complex budget and this appears to be the first year that it is showing definite stabilization and growth, and they are beginning to pull it together Data on the number of persons assisted is hard to get She recommended that the Town con- 175 Selectmen's Meeting -6- March 6, 1978 tinue funding the facility as requested by MVMH. Mr Hutchinson added that Mrs Banks has filed a report with him and has made suggestions for the future Mr Busa said that he had no problem on supporting the budget but wanted more information on what its growth policy is, as he felt it would end up as a general hospital And he would like to know when they first institute a program. Mr White said that similar comments were made in the Appropria- tion Committee report last year He had hoped what is happening now would have happened a long time ago He was also concerned about Re- place The problem his committee sees is on direction, cohesion, def- inition of goals; where we are and where we are headed We are con- cerned as to whether the people are doing what they are supposed to do, and whether they are doing referral rather than therapy; if referral, they are overstaffed, if therapy, they are understaffed Both MVMH and Re-place should be meshed into the Town's overall human services plan Chairman Battin said that she is pleased with the Re-place report Mr White responded that his committee wants to hear about the direction; some members question what the scope of their program is, and would like them to define their goals The budget has gone from $5,600 in 1967 to $67,000 in 1979, and they have not accepted the in- crease and may not support the budget Mr Blaisdell said that, as a private orgainzation, they should be raising funds Mr Clough and Mr Politi, Directors of Re-place, explained that the structure is constantly being reviewed towards the goal of provid- ing what is needed for the Town and in order to be successful, it does have to have Town commitment Chairman Battin said that the program has professional leader- ship, and the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Health unanimously support Re-place Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to support the Re- place and Mystic Valley Mental Health budgets In response to a recommendation from the Appropriation Committee, Mr Hutchinson agreed to have a report on MVMH and Re-place prepared by next December for discussion during the budget process The Appropriation Committee was informed that the Board had voted Streets to recommend three streets to Town Meeting for acceptance - Banks Avenue - $78,000; Cushing Street - $50,000; Tucker Avenue - $22,000 - and in terms of priority, it is hoped that the Appropriation Committee will support Banks Avenue if it is only going to support one street Later on in the meeting, the Board agreed to reaffirm the vote Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reaffirm the vote taken on February 27, 1978 to lay out Banks Avenue, Cushing Street, and Tucker Avenue Mr Hutchinson agreed to submit additional information to the Westview Appropriation Committee on the Article for the Westview Cemetery De- Cemetery velopment - $24,000 Development 176 Selectmen's Meeting -7- March 6, 1978 Transfer Mr White advised the Board that the Appropriation Committee does Station not support $40,000 for engineering studies relating to the feasibility of constructing a solid waste transfer station and for plans and speci- fications for such a facility The committee views this as another area of study money and feels that the Town could handle the project Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation and the reputation of a person After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 p m. A true record, Attest E, Executive Clerk, Selectmen