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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-02-13-BOS-min 143 SELECTMEN'S MEETING February 13, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 13, 1978, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Battin, Mr Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley, and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present A majority of the Police Manual Policy Committee met with the Police Manual Board Mr Kent, Chairman, presented the completed Manual to the Policy Comm Board He said that Sections I and II had been adopted by the Board and the Manager on May 2, 1977, and Section III covers policies and procedures to be followed on a day-to-day basis On the recommenda- tion of the committee, these have been adopted by the Chief of Police, who is a member of the committee and has acted as our liaison with the Massachusetts Association of Police Chiefs for technical and reproduction assistance, for which we are very indebted We are contemplating filing one copy with the Town Clerk and one copy is to be available at the Library The committee would be glad to receive your reactions to this particular form We would emphasize our convictions, with which the Board agreed at our earlier report, that these day-to-day policy and procedure statements were, in terms of their ultimate adoption, within the domain of the Chief of Police The reaction of the Board of Selectmen is very germane to their continuation and, if there are suggestions as to amendments, they will be considered by this committee and also will be considered by the Chief of Police most thoroughly So these reactions are invited We do not believe there is anything really dramatic in terms of the contents of the policy and procedure statements, but what is significant is that they have been reduced to writing them into a single source We would hope that the Board and the townspeople would not over-emphasize the importance of the Manual and the policies and procedures governing the day-to-day operation of the department, as the committee feels that they should be used as guidelines Mr Kent reminded the Board that the committee was appointed in June of 1976 for a term of one year and if we are to continue, we would conduct a review toward the end of 1978, taking up specific matters as they are requested Board members expressed sincere appreciation to the committee for the professional manner in which they had approached the task of preparing the amendments to the Police Manual It was agreed that the committee is to continue to function, and reappointments will be made after Town Meeting has ended Chairman Battin informed the committee that members of the Board will read the Police Manual and comments will be submitted to them The Police Manual Policy Committee retired from the meeting 144 Selectmen's Meeting February 13, 1978 Joint Meeting In response to a request from the Planning Board, a joint meet- Planning Bd ing will be scheduled on March 13 to discuss the Town's policy rela- Zoning tive to zoning enforcement The Board of Appeals will also be in- Enforcement vited to attend Reilly-Sewer Chairman Battin read a report from Mr McSweeney, Director of Abatement Public Works/Engineering, relative to a request from Mr James P Request Reilly for consideration of an abatement of the sewer betterment Walnut Street assessment on his property at 25 Walnut Street The report states that "Mr Reilly's request for an abatement is based on the fact that a portion of his lot is not topologically suited for sewering Sewer betterment assessments are not a function of lot topology but are the product of total lot frontage x a 100 ft setback x a standardized rate The department can see no reason for granting the requested abatement as the sewer was designed to service the existing lot, and service is available We would like to stress that granting an abatement for topological reasons would be setting a precedent as the only criteria used in establishing assessments are, (1) the assessment formula; (2) the availability of sewer to a lot (or any portion thereof) by gravity We, therefore, recommend that the request for abatement be denied " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Director of Public Works/Engineering to deny the request of Mr James P Reilly for an abatement of the sewer betterment assessed on his property at 25 Walnut Street Estabrook Hall Chairman Battin read a request from the Recreation Department for the use of Estabrook Hall Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Recreation Department to use Estabrook Hall on Tuesday, February 21, from 2 00 to 3 00 p m for a "Helium Mime Show " Certificate of Chairman Battin read a request from Secretary Guzzi for approval Incorporation of a mailing address for a Certificate of Incorporation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the address at 15 Captain Parker Arms, to be used as a mail-drop, for the New England Barracudas, Inc Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of Selectmen's meetings held on October 31, November 21, November 28, December 5, and December 12, 1977 Deeds to Chairman Battin read a request from Mr Cohen, Town Counsel, to Whipple Hill sign a deed conveying property owned by the Town in the Whipple Hill Conservation area to the Conservation Commission, as voted under Article 46 of Land the Warrant for the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed conveying six parcels of Town-owned land located on Winchester 145 Selectmen's Meeting February 13, 1978 Drive to the Conservation Commission, as authorized under Article 46 of the Warrant for the 1977 Annual Town Meeting; lots 34, 39 and 40A on Assessors' Property Map 28, and lots 27, 29 and 38 on Assessors' Property Map 36 The Board discussed the aftermath of the severesnowstorms on Snowstorms February 6 and February 7 Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he is pursuing the matter of federal reimbursement for snowplowing costs; he understands that the Town will be eligible for up to 75 percent reimbursement To date, estimates are up to $200,000 As of Sunday, February 12, we have expended approximately $130,000 and we were $50,000 in the hole for the last storm. All of the major arteries in Town are open and DPW has to widen Massachusetts Avenue in the Center to help the flow of traffic Mrs Miley and Mr Hutchinson were thanked for making arrange- Express Bus ments for express bus service to Boston and return trips during the Service morning and evening commuter hours today Mr Hutchinson and the Transportation Advisory Committee are to pursue the possibility of continuing the service for the rest of the week It was agreed to publicize a resolution to ask joggers and other pedestrians to consider the difficult conditions on Town roads, to stay off the streets after dark as much as possible, and to wear reflective clothing The Board agreed to meet on Tuesday, February 21, 1978 Meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve the Rules and SPECIAL Permit Regulations of the Board of Selectmen Governing Special Permits, Rules & Regul which have been reviewed and aiproved by Town Counsel It is expected that a hearing will be held very soon with the developers of the Hancock School Hancock School condominiums, and all abutters will be notified of Condominiums the hearing, and a notice of the decision will be sent to the owner and applicant Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adopt the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Selectmen Governing Special Permits, as follows 1 The Board of Selectmen operates under the authority of G L c40A s 1 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 2 Public hearing are scheduled at the call of the Chairman 3 Every application for a hearing for a special permit shall be on a form provided by the Board of Selectmen and shall contain the following 146 Selectmen's Meeting February 13, 1978 a Name of the petitioner b A description of the area or premises c Street address, if any, or other adequate identification d The nature of the request being sought 4 The Petitioner shall submit six copies of the application in- cluding all plans and other materials to the Executive Clerk of the Board of Selectmen and one copy thereof to the Town Clerk The Board of Selectmen shall deliver copies of the application and supporting materials to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Engineering Depart- ment and Building Commissioner 5 The application shall be accompanied by a check payable to the Town of Lexington in the amount of $50 to cover the cost of the hearing This may be waived at the discretion of the Board of Selectmen 6 Public hearing requirements a A public hearing must be held within 65 days after the application is filed but no hearing may be held on any day on which a state or municipal election, caucus or primary is held in the town b The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the town once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication to be not less than 14 days before the day of the hearing c The notice must be put in a conspicuous place in the town hall for a period of not less than 14 days before the day of the hearing d The notice must be mailed to all abutters, owners of land directly opposite on any public or private street or way, and owners of land within 300 feet of the property line as they appear on the most recent appli- cable tax list (even if the land of such owner is lo- cated in another city or town) , the Planning Board of the town and the planning board of every abutting city or town e The special permit requires a vote of 4 of the 5 mem- bers of the Board of Selectmen in order to carry The vote of each member should be separately recorded in the decision. 147 Selectmen's Meeting February 13, 1978 7 If review by another board or commission is required, the Board of Selectmen will, within three (3) working days of filing of an application for a special permit, transmit two (2) copies of the application and accompanying plans to the reviewing agent 8 Recommendations by the reviewing agency shall be made and copies sent to the Board of Selectmen and the applicant Failure to make recommendations within 35 days of receipt of the petition is deemed to be lack of opposition 9 The Board of Selectmen must act within 90 days after the public hearing 10 If the Board of Selectmen fails to take final action upon an application within 90 days of the date of the public hearing, the special permit is deemed to be granted 11 If the Board of Selectmen grants a special permit (or an extension, modification or renewal) it must issue a deci- sion, which shall contain the following a The decision must (1) state the name and address of the owner, (2) identify the land affected, (3) indi- cate compliance with the statutory requirements, and (4) certify that copies of the decision and all plans referred to in the decision have been filed with the Planning Board and Town Clerk b The decision must contain specific findings showing either compliance with each and every requirement of the by-law or, in the case of a denial, showing non- compliance with one or more requirements c The Board of Selectmen may impose appropriate condi- tions on the permit d The decision shall state when, within 2 years, the per- mit will lapse if action is not taken under it 12. The decision and all plans referred to in the decision shall be filed with the Planning Board and Town Clerk Copies should be filed within 14 days after the decision 13 The Board of Selectmen must issue a copy of the decision certified by the Board of Selectmen to the owner and the applicant, if different from the owner 148 Selectmen's Meeting February 13, 1978 14 The decision sent to the owner must bear a certification that (a) it is a true copy of the decision by the Board of Selectmen and (b) that the decision and all plans re- ferred to in it have been filed with the Planning Board and Town Clerk 15 The decision should contain a statement that it can be appealed under G L c 40A, pp 17, within 20 days after filing with the Town Clerk 16 The following additional stipulations shall apply to all cases involving site plan approval by the Board of Selectmen a The plan shall be submitted in accordance with the procedures set forth in Sec 13 of the Lexington Zoning By-Law b The plan shall delineate all features required by Sec- tion 13 of this Zoning By-Law c The plan shall be drawn by a registered professional engineer, land surveyor or architect and be based on applicable deeds or plans recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds and shown on the plan Any incon- sistency or ambiguity in the deeds or plans shall be referred for ruling to the Town Counsel or to counsel designated and retained by the Board of Selectmen at the expense of the petitioner d The scale of a plan of an overall tract may be no smaller than 1 inch equals 40 feet The site plan shall be accompanied by a plan or plans no smaller than 1 inch equals 20 feet depicting each structure and its surroundings with the detail prescribed in Rule 11 (b) above The floor area of each floor of structure shall be calculated The plans shall show clearly the number of parking spaces, driveways, drainage and provision for sewage e. Site plans shall be accompanied by a written report of the Lexington Health Department and the Town Engineer certifying the adequacy of provisions for the disposal of sewage, surface water, and any other waste incident to the proposed use This report shall be based on test borings, percolation tests or other substantial findings and shall be subject to review and acceptance by the Board The Town Engi- neer's report shall also certify as to adequacy of driveways and parking 149 Selectmen's Meeting February 13, 1978 f If the plan is submitted in multiple sheets, each sheet shall be identified to show its relation to the whole; e g , "sheet 2 of 4," etc g Each sheet of the plan shall bear a legend stating its purport, the names of the owner and petitioner, the name of the engineer who made the plan with his registra- tion number, the scale, and the date Mr Hutchinson said that he had talked with the Board of Health Garbage and it was agreed that, temporarily, garbage could be buried at the sanitary landfill as a number of people are having problems with collection due to the snowstorm However, contractors have said that they will not accept garbage mixed with trash but we believe that is because they want more money to do this The Board agreed that garbage could be buried at the landfill, subject to a further report from Mr Hutchinson Mr Hutchinson advised that the Auditors will be filing a report Auditors and will meet with the Board within two weeks Warrant Articles were discussed and each board member was assigned Town Meeting/ responsibility for the presentation of particular articles at Town Selectmen Meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board approve a transfer of Transfer $3,000 to the Elections Account #1900 to cover expenses related to the annual election and annual town meeting warrant which is to be com- bined this year with the Appropriation Committee's report The original appropriation of $5,065 has been depleted because of a special primary, special election for State representative and a Special Town Meeting in December Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the approval of the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to the Selectmen's Election Account #1900 in the amount of $3,000 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll Executive call vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, to discuss strategy with respect to litigation and one 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 9 25 p m. A true record, Attest xecutive Clerk, Selectmen (��"