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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-02-27-BOS-min 159 SELECTMEN'S MEETING February 27, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 27, 1978, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Bailey, Mrs Miley, and Mr Kent; Mr. Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager, and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk were present At the request of the Town Clerk, the following jurors were drawn Jurors Christopher R Cady 34 Fletcher Avenue Martin J Quinlan 20 Bernard Street Stephen I Owren 87 Kendall Road Janice DeSimone 53 Webb Street Mildred M. Armstrong 8 Larchmont Street Frederick G Aufiero, Jr 6 Volunteer Way Ervin F Lyon III 25 Heritage Drive James B Williams 10 Stratham Road Representative Lincoln P Cole, Mrs Joyce Hals, Mrs Elaine Express Bus Dratch, and Mr Hal Singley met with the Board to discuss the ex- Service press bus service to Boston Mr Hutchinson said that Lexington may apply for a 90-day permit for a private bus company from the Department of Utilities, and there doesn't seem to be any problem with the MBTA Schedules could be worked out for service during commuter hours at a reasonable fee It was agreed that details will be worked out by the Town Mana- ger's office and the Transportation Advisory Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to proceed with the implementation of express bus service to and from Boston All interested persons retired from the meeting Chairman Battin read an application from Lee Ann's Restaurant for Common a Common Victualler license The Board of Health has made a final Victualler inspection and recommends approval Lee Ann's Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Common Victualler license for Lee Ann's Restaurant, 1720 Massachusetts Avenue, with the hours of operation of 11 00 a m to 12 00 Midnight on Monday through Saturday; 1 00 p m. to 12 00 Midnight on Sunday Mr Sam Nablo, Chairman of the Town Report Committee, met with 1977 Town the Board to report that the 1977 Annual Town Report will consist of Report 152 pages; the use of photographs has been reduced and reports of boards, committees and department have been condensed There will be 700 copies of parts I and II and 9,400 copies of part I, at a 160 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1977 total cost of $4,200 Townwide distribution will be made by March 18, 1978 Mr Nablo thanked Mr Hutchinson, Jeff Shaw, the Planning Board office for technical support and layout, and Mrs Helen Coombes of the Selectmen's office for typing the entire Town Report The Board thanked Mr Nablo and he retired from the meeting Cushing The Board discussed Banks Avenue, Cushing Street and Tucker Street Avenue Chairman Battin said that she had conducted the street hearings on February 22 in Cary Hall and Mrs Miley was present The Town Manager has recommended that no streets be presented to Town Meeting this year, and we can opt to go that route or decide to do one, two, or three streets A report from the Planning Board recommends the following Cushing Street That the street be constructed laid out, with the exception of the deletion of the sidewalk Banks Avenue That the street be constructed as proposed Tucker Avenue That the pavement be shifted to the north to avoid the 24-inch tree within the right-of-way Adams Street No recommendation at this time Chairman Battin read a report from the Street and Sidewalk De- sign Advisory Committee stating that Mr Nicholson had attended the street hearings on February 22 and had examined the drawings prepared by the Public Works Department; these plans appear to be consistent with prevailing design standards and therefore no obstacle is seen in the proposed acceptance The committee recommends however that for those streets where abutters wish to exclude a sidewalk, the abutters include in their petition a statement that the safety of children, elderly and infirmed neighbors is not thereby compromised and that no blind persons will be deprived of the use of the street because a sidewalk is lacking This latter provision is considered necessary due to the greatly increased hazard to blind persons caused by poor or non-existent sidewalks Comments on the Chapter 90 reconstruction of Adams Street will be supplied at a later date after the full committee has had a chance to review it Mr Martin, Assistant Town Engineer, said that the estimated cost of Cushing Street is $50,000; length of the layout is 425 ft ; 40 ft wide layout with a 24 ft pavement centered in the layout The origi- nal plan included a sidewalk on the westerly side and a taking from the Town-owned parcel for a cul-de-sac at the end of the street Eight trees are scheduled to be removed but if the sidewalk is deleted, it would lower the number to two trees There are six homes which would be assessed betterments, and one corner lot which was previously assessed; total betterments of $9,684 53 161 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 III Mr Hutchinson said that the net remaining is $41,000 and that might be modified if the sidewalk is cut out, and would be picked up by the Town The benefit costs are approximately $7,000 a lot Mr Martin said that this figure in terms of benefit return is typical of what we run into in any other streets we calculate It is important to discuss how we got into this position; the betterment formula is based on the average cost per street - the average cost of street construction over the last three years - and is divided on a per front-foot basis to 1/3 to the left abutter, 1/3 to the right abutter, and 1/3 to the Town The problem is that we haven't built any construction streets (other than Belfry Terrace which was really not a typical construction street project) for more than three years Inflation has really eaten into the betterment assessment formula, and this is true of sewers also Chairman Battin asked if this is something we can change inter- nally or is it by statute? Mr Cohen replied that it is governed by the Massachusetts Gen- eral Laws Chairman Battin said that if we construct the streets this year, this will give us a basis for the future and will bring it up to a more equitable 2/3 cost to the abutters Chairman Battin added that the seven abutters have petitioned for three years and all are in opposition to having a sidewalk con- structed Mr Martin said that the estimated cost to construct Tucker Tucker Avenue Avenue is $22,000; length of the layout is 175 ft with a 40 ft wide layout There are small land takings required for corner roundings amounting to 50 sq ft on all four corners There are four homes and all are on corner lots; two were completely assessed previously and the other two are paying the proportionate distance on the longer side This betterment return is $1,028 30 The estimated cost to construct Banks Avenue is $78,000; length Banks Avenue of the layout is 800 ft ; 40 ft wide layout with a 24 ft pavement There are 15 trees proposed for removal but five could be saved by the elimination of the sidewalk, and these are along the houses There are 12 homes and 6 vacant lots, three of which are Town-owned There are 8 corner lots previously assessed; $14,102 41 is the total assessment Chairman Battin said that there are 17 private owners and 16 signed the petition which had been submitted for three years They did not petition this year but two Town Meeting members from the area spoke very strongly in favor of it During the discussion, the Board was in favor of voting on one street, Banks Avenue, with a future decision to be made on Cushing Street and Tucker Avenue However, after discussion of Adams Street, the Board agreed to lay out the three streets 162 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 Voteo layto t Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted la the y out out streets following streets to be presented to Town Meeting for acceptance Banks Avenue 800'+ from Chase Avenue to Carville Avenue Cushing Street 425'+ from Sullivan Street to end Tucker Avenue 175'+ from Chase Avenue to Tarbell Avenue Adams Street The Board discussed Adams Street and the hearing held on February 22 Mr Hutchinson The old plan called for 30 ft , sidewalks on both sides, 51 trees This proposal, while it doesn't fully meet the Hancock Street dimension of 26 feet, is for 28 feet with sidewalk on one side; 38 trees within this taking; the full intent being that it will be further modified based upon hearings over the next four years as you are funding to go to perhaps something more compatible with what has been previously addressed Perhaps we could have articulated that better the other evening These was a change and it wasn't what the Board was fully expecting Mr Martin It is important that we not make the same mistake that we already made to this point and that is what we understand that you cannot do Adams Street the same way that Hancock Street was done There are certain design criteria that prohibit that If you just look at Hancock Street, it is as flat as a pancake and as straight as an arrow, which means your sight distance is excellent The exist- ing pavement is fairly well centered within the layout The layout itself is not a uniform width; it varies down to 44 feet With Adams Street, it is a uniform layout of 50 feet The existing pavement is by no stretch of the imagination centered in the layout The exist- ing pavement in some cases is within a foot or two of being outside the layout, which means that if you are going to have any kind of an alignment within that road that makes any sense, you have to move the pavement over and center it in the layout The 28 ft vs 26 ft pavement gives you a much greater horizontal as well as vertical sight distance possibility because we have both problems on Adams Sreet - a vertical sight distance on North Street and horizontal at the curve around East Street So, to make any commitment to go to a 26 ft pavement at this time is not a feasible concept It would require a further review with the State We would be glad to explore that with the State but, based on our preliminary engineering, it will be necessary to satisfy the State that a pavement of much less than 28 feet will satisfy the engineering criteria Mr Hutchinson For the 100% funding, if you don't meet the criteria, they won't fund it, or there would be a reduced level of funding Mr Bailey Based on comments received last week, how much addi- tional latitude do you think you have in this plan to cope with the kind of difficulty which you can see arising as you pursue this further? Mr Martin The kinds of things that we could probably do would 163 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 be to make minor shifts in layout locations to work around trees - isolated trees To narrow the entire pavement down further, it is probably not within the realm of good engineering practice, which we suspect will be the State's answer We fully intend to review this with the State if it is the Board's desire to proceed with this, as to exactly what we can and cannot do by their standards, but I suspect the types of things we can do are just minor modification of the pavement location to work around some trees The other thing you have to realize is, on Adams Street you are talking about some pretty substantial trees and, if we are talking about any kind of excavation and reconstruction in there which the layout of the pavement now dictates, we will be cutting some of those roots, and whether the tree itself has to be physically removed The fact that we are doing some root damage may mean that the tree would eventually die anyway; so, I think it is just a fact of life that we are going to lose a certain number of these trees regardless of what we do Mrs Miley To me, a very important point was brought up and I haven't heard it refuted yet, and may it could or should be I don't know, but the neighbors who have been living with this for a such a long period of time seem to feel that the accidents were basi- cally at the corner of Adams and North Streets and, as any of us who travel that know, that there were not an overly large amount along Adams Street itself I am going back to what I said many years ago at Town Meeting, that I don't want to take money from the State to widen the street just because the money is there I don't know what has to be done to Adams Street except correct one terrible corner Chairman Battin That's what they (residents) keep saying, that the accidents are primarily at the intersections and how does widening the street, if they go faster, take care of accidents at the intersections? Isn't it enough to post the speed limits to control it, designate the intersections, etc ? Mr Martin I don't have recent accident data but there is data here from 1960-68 which indicate that the accidents along Adams Street - and since we haven't done anything to Adams Street - I don't think it would be anything different to substantially change it The accidents are pretty spread out along the entire road - Hathaway Rd , North Street, East Street, 79 Adams Street, Emerson Road, Millbrook Rd , etc Yes, there are a lot of accidents at North Street and it is probably the worst location along the street Chairman Battin They said, "At the intersections " They didn't say just one intersection Again, their feeling was, "Yes, that's right but widening it so people will drive faster, that is going to exacerbate, not improve it " Mr Martin. That's an argument for which there is no engineering answer Chairman Battin Yes, but they're concerned and that's not going to help 1.64 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 Mr Bailey I have a suggestion on one way to approach it-I happen to think that Adams Street needs help and if not all over, at least a good half of it; there are certain stretches that perhaps don't but I don't think we are going to solve all the difficulties between now and when it comes up at Town Meeting but there are two or three points (1) It is going to take at least three years for money before you can get the job finally engineered and out to bid I think the thing to do is approach it the same way we did on Hancock Street, which is to tell everybody to keep calm, that the commitment of the money the first year doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to end up there unless the residents and Town Meeting are happy with it for the whole, as it unfolds, next three years or so And then immediately after Town Meeting, start working with, if not everybody along Adams Street, but with a selected group and let them put together a team to see if you can start defusing some of these very difficult issues - a big tree here and one there - so that by the time you come to the next Town Meeting, you know whether or not there is a prayer of ever getting the bulk of residents to agree, and hence the Town Meeting We have had very good experience with what happens if they don't go along with it A year from now you are going to have something that you are going to know pretty well whether it is going to fly or not Mr Kent I am essentially in agreement with that I do think on a project of this sort that we ought not to start from the most intolerable proposal from the standpoint of the abutters and then attempt to work back from it It seems to be at the outset we have to recognize that this, unlike Hancock Street, is going to take a custom designed job if it is going to be remotely acceptable to the people who live there, and it seems to me that it ought to be I hear you that we can't set a narrower width and make it go all the way through but it does seem to be that we have to look at every 10 feet of this particular street as to what do we do at this particular cor- ner My question is, in terms of the procedure in starting us going in utilizing Chapter 90 funds, how detailed do we have to be at the point we first go in? In other words, do we have to do it in relation to a particular plan - and if it is the one that went into that hearing the other night, we've got some trouble, and we ought to have some trouble Chairman Battin They are going to fight it? Mr Kent And with very good cause So my question, first of all from a standpoint of requirement in order to qualify for State purposes, what do we have to do by way of presentation of a plan at the outset and if we do have to do something, is it possible within the next couple of weeks at least to achieve a starting point which will itself demonstrate to the people who are intimately concerned that we've already indicated a desire to move back substantially from the point they believed we were at the hearing? Mr Bailey As far as the State is concerned it's just a ques- tion of designating the street this year and have a rough start on 165 IllSelectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 something We are acting in good faith and we are just saying that Adams Street is one that we wish to designate and we will also be designating an alternate, I think. As far as the State is concerned, that's it. Mr Martin agreed Mr Kent So it is possible for us to go to the Town Meeting and ask for a designation of Adams Street and at the same time make it clear that as far as we're concerned we are not talking about pushing the specific plan which was the subject of the hearing last week That's perfectly possible from a legal standpoint if that is something that we care to do On that basis, I think I'd like to give it a try but otherwise Chairman Battin That is something that we ought to tell the abutters ahead of time because they were afraid that once there was the first vote, they were stuck and were embarked on a road and we couldn' t withdraw We will have to be very clear that not only can we withdraw but that we will withdraw Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Board Adams Street of Selectmen will proceed with its plan to designate Adams Street as Vote the Chapter 90 Construction Street, with the clear understanding that the Board does not endorse the specific plan which was dis- cussed at the hearing, and that the Board intends to pursue the sub- ' ject with interested people in the neighborhood at every stage of the proceedings The Board agreed to write to the Adams Street residents and in- vite them to a brief discussion at the Selectmen's meeting on March 6 Mr Cohen recommended that the $60,000 for Chapter 90-Adams Street be put on the tax rate and it could be borrowed Chairman Battin read a request from Mr Harvey W Newgent for a Sewer-Newgent sewer connection to service two lots adjacent to 136 Cedar Street, Cedar Street which he owns and plans to sell Mr Newgent agreed that something had to be done by the Town to alleviate the sewer problem but he felt that single lots on a finished street with existing sewer available is a different situation from large developments not being allowed to connect at this time The Board agreed with Town Counsel's recommendation that special consideration is not to be given to this request. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of Town Counsel to deny Mr Harvey Newgent's request for permission to connect the two lots adjacent to 136 Cedar Street to the Town sewer system. Chairman Battin read a request for the use of the Battle Green Permit - and Buckman Tavern grounds Battle Green Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- , mission to the Lexington Minute Men, Inc , to use the Battle Green 166 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 and Buckman Tavern grounds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Lexington Minute Men, Inc , to use the Battle Green and Buckman Tavern grounds for a rehearsal of the reenactment on Sunday, April 9, from 2 00 to 4:00 p m. Emergency Snow The Board agreed to appoint Mr Hutchinson as the Town's repre- Removal sentative on snow removal reimbursement costs Reimbursement Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to designate Mr Robert M Hutchinson, Jr , Town Manager, as the authorized repre- sentative of the Town of Lexington to file the necessary documents and to complete the process of obtaining reimbursement of costs in- curred by the Town for snow removal during the period of February 7, 1978 to Midnight on February 12, 1978 Certification Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that it is necessary to certify of State of to the Bureau of Accounts that the Board of Selectmen declared an Emergency emergency for the storm period, so that we can expend beyond our appropriations, which we have already done It is permissible under the guidelines to declare the emergency retroactively, ratifying the actions of many emergency meetings held by the Selectmen and the Manager immediately after the storm The certification not only recognizes the declaration of an emergency but it is a procedural matter which references what we have in the Reserve Fund, in Certi- fied Free Cash, and Overly Surplus Chairman Battin read a draft of a letter to be sent to Mr Edward G McCann, Jr , Director of the Bureau of Accounts as follows: "In accordance with Section 31, Chapter 44 of the General Laws and your letter of February 17, 1978, please be advised that the Town of Lexington Board of Selectmen voted on February 27, 1978 to declare that a state of emergency did exist in Lexington as a result of the blizzard of February 6 and 7, 1978 It is estimated that the total liability incurred under this emergency could reach $277,300 The following balances are available in the accounts named (a ) Reserve Fund $58,074 (b ) Certified Free Cash 65,239 (c ) Overlay Surplus 31,089 " Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted that the above communication relative to the snow emergency be adopted in principle, with the details of the wording to be worked out between the Town Manager and Town Counsel Also, Chairman Battin was authorized to sign the letter to Mr McCann Water Chairman Battin read a request from Mr McSweeney for abatement Abatements of water bills Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of the Director of Public Works/Engineering to abate 167 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 the following water bills J P Heaney 31 Chase Avenue $38 75 Incorrect Meter reading-owner W B Mashard 6 Dexter Road 119 70 " " -Meter Man Occupant 353 Concord Ave 11 25 Two houses/same meter no Chairman Battin read an application for renewal of an Auctioneer's Auctioneer's license License Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Robert N Cann Auctioneer's license for Mr Robert N Cann, 5 Castle Road, expiring March 31, 1979 Chairman Battin read a letter from Mrs W Wilson, 103 Meriam St , Crosswalks expressing her concern about the safety of pedestrians within cross- walks, and recommending that a campaign be launched to educate both drivers and pedestrians Mrs Miley stated that the best way to edu- cate the public is to have the children bring the information home from school Last summer, she and Mr Bailey spoke to the Board about crosswalks and the Manager was to come back with his recommenda- tions Mr Kent pointed out that there are no crosswalks painted on Massachusetts Avenue now and if they are painted three or four times a year, the Police are in a position to deal with transgressors Chairman Battin agreed Mr Hutchinson explained that he did bring this to the Police De- partment and asked for a program to be submitted He further asked for an investigation of different types of crosswalks, using rubberized material inlaid in the pavement, and to look at funding to pursue some- thing under LEAA He is waiting for the report from the Police He realized that paint disappears and perhaps the answer is to have a combination of signs and something more permanent than paint, which would also be more expensive but would last a while longer He will submit a report to the Board within the next 30 days with recommenda- tions on what has to be done Chairman Battin stated that there is a sense of urgency which should be conveyed to the Police Department The Board discussed a report from Mr McSweeney regarding Article Article 49 49 of the 1978 Annual Town Meeting Warrant on the sale of the discon- Hinchey Road tinued portion of Hinchey Road The report states that the article was initiated by a letter from Mr Colangelo indicating his interest in purchasing the land We make no recommendation except that we see no advantage to the Town by holding this parcel; current zoning re- strictions make this land of little value to anyone but the abutters In this regard, we would recommend that if the Board supports the dis- posal of this land that Hewlett Packard, the abutter to the south, to be so informed and if interested be included in any proceedings Also, that all interested Town Boards and Committees be informed 168 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 Mr Hutchinson agreed to contact both parties and inform them that g the Town has determined that the Hinchey Road land is in excess of its needs and it could be of potential value to them as abutters They will be asked to let Mr Hutchinson know if they are interested in acquiring the land Warrant Warrant Articles were discussed and Chairman Battin recommended Articles that the Board be prepared to take a position on bicycle paths, Senior Center, the pool, etc at the meeting on March 13 Real Estate Mr Hutchinson read a memo from the Comptroller stating that the Taxes first half of the 1978 Real Estate taxes, due on November 1, 1977, was $10,748,000 and, as of January 30, the Town has collected all but $133,000 Auditors' Mr Russell, Mr Murphy and Ms Bates of the auditing firm of Report Arthur Andersen & Co , Boston, met with the Board Mr Russell dis- cussed the memorandum on accounting procedures, internal controls, the financial statements as of June 30, 1977 and the Auditors' report The status of the audit is that the field work has been essentially completed and a draft of the management letters and the financial statements have been prepared The management letter has been re- viewed with Mr Hutchinson and Mr Perry, and some of the aspects have been reviewed with the water department and Mr Zehner We were charged with the task of putting together a set of financial statements that reflected the financial posture as of June 30, 1977 and the re- sults of the operation for four and one-half years ending that date We put together a package that adheres to accounting principles and, as such, would be acceptable and in accordance with the federal revenue sharing guidelines It also would be a product that could be included in the Town bond offering We were also charged with the responsibility that the financials conform with the Bureau of Accounts, and these will be reviewed with the Director The overall view is that management is doing an excellent job and largely complying with the regulations It is not a comprehensive system study We did take a specific look at DPW and developed recommendations and procedures, which would be available if anybody wanted to evaluate what we thought were weaknesses and what improve- ments could be made We have reviewed with the applicable department head, Dick Perry and Bob Hutchinson and you have the results Our recommendations are to develop an integrated systems plan; improve management reporting; fixed asset accounting and control; con- sider centralized purchasing, pension funding strategies, and other control suggestions We would emphasize that we don't think that what is in here could be incorporated in your system overnight Hopefully, it is a road map to use as a guide through system and procedures The Board thanked the Arthur Andersen team for the presentation, and it was agreed that Mr Hutchinson and Mr Perry are to prepare 169 Selectmen's Meeting February 27, 1978 their comments to be incorporated in a letter to Arthur Andersen & Co Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted 4-0 by roll call Executive vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the Session open meeting, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation and land negotiation After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1026 p m A true record, Attest 227_ 2)7c 1-)1 Executive Clerk, Selectmen