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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-11-14-BOS-min 62 SELECTMEN'S MEETING November 14, 1977 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, November 14, 1977, at 7 30 p m Chairman Battin, Selectmen Bailey, Miley and Kent, Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel and Miss Casey, Princi- pal Clerk were present Pole The Board met with Mr Roland Pinault of the New England Telephone Location Company and Mr Bernard Bernstein, 132 Kendall Road to again discuss Worthen the request of the N E Telephone Co for permission to install one Road pole on Worthen Road to service the Ryder Lane Development The origi- nal petition was tabled on October 31st because of Mr Bernstein's opposition to the installation Mr Pinault presented to the Board the cost differential between service via Waltham Street, as suggested by Mr Bernstein, and Worthen Road as requested by the Telephone Com- pany The difference would be approximately $6500 00 Mr Bailey in- formed the Board that he had gone down to the location and stated that there were a lot of poles in the area but felt that they did blend in well with the trees He noted that the only house in the area that did not have a pole in front of it was at 132 Worthen Road and suggested that the petition as originally presented made sense Mr Pinault explained that the original feeder route was designed to come down Kendall Road and that was where the lines are now and if they had to come down Waltham Street it would mean installation of con- duit and 600 additional feet of cable After further discussion, it was agreed to grant the New England Telephone Company permission to install the pole as originally requested Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the New England Telephone Company to install one pole on Worthen Road on the northerly side, approximately 18'+ (feet) west of Kendall Road, Pole 345/53 Joint Pole The Chairman read a petition from the New England Telephone Company Locations and the Boston Edison Company for three poles on Worthen Road to become jointly owned Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company to jointly own three poles on Worthen Road formerly 100% Edison Company poles; one at Worthen Road on the northerly side, approximately 20'+ (feet) east of Massachusetts Avenue, Pole 345/15A and two at Worthen Road on the northerly side, approximately 18'+ (feet) east of John Poulter Road, Poles 345/49 and 345/50 Bicycle The Board met with members of the Recreation Bicycle Sub-committee Sub-committee relative to the feeling of the Board regarding a proposed article for presentation to Town Meeting requesting that our local law be brought 63 Selectmen's Meeting November 14, 1977 into conformity with the State Bicycle Law, Chapter 806 Mrs Hinkle stated that, in essence, the State law permits bicyclists to ride on sidewalks outside business districts, noting that pedestrians always have the right of way Our local law forbids bicyclists to ride on sidewalks Mrs Hinkle informed the Board that she had checked with the Police Department and was informed that they have been encouraging children to ride on side- walks outside the business district for their own safety The proposed change to Article XXV, Section 7 is as follows "No person shall use or operate on any sidewalk any motorized vehicle; non-motorized bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks outside the business districts, (as designated by the Board of Selectmen), when necessary in the interests of safety A person operating a bicycle on the sidewalk shall yield the right of way to pedestrians and given an audible sign before overtaking and passing any pedestrian; bicycles shall otherwise be operated according to Chapter 85, Section 11B of the General Laws of Massachusetts " Mrs Battin read Mr Cohen's approval of this and his suggestion to make a specific exception for motorized wheelchairs After discussion, the Board agreed to the change and Mr Cohen's suggestion to make an exception for motorized wheelchairs, and will present the proposed change to Town Meeting The Bicycle Sub-committee also requested, and obtained, persmission to meet with the Traffic Safety Committee to discuss this By-Law change and other matters of bicycle safety The Committee thanked the Board and retired from the meeting The Board met with the Misses Ruth T and Ellen E Harrington Harrington relative to their opposition to a proposed sewer easement from Curve Sewer Street to Barnes Places which would go through the Harrington prop- Easement erty Curve St The Town Manager read a letter from the Harrington's attorney stating their objections to this easement Mr Hutchinson stated that Mr Busa had raised the question of alternatives to this method at the last Selectmen's meeting Mr Hutchinson stated that he felt that from an engineering and economic standpoint, that the proposed ease- ment was in the best interest of the Town It was brought out during the discussion of the problem that the proposed sewer line would go right down the middle of the property, and thus the lot line would be split by the easement The two lots are in common ownership and if the owners wanted to build or extend the present house the lot line would not matter An engineering plan was presented to the Selectmen and Mr Bailey poiritced out that the plan did not show the location of any of the build- ings in the neighborhood He felt that it was difficult to make a judgement with the present plan and felt that he would prefer to have Mr Busa's opinion of the situation relative to the elevation It was suggested that one alternative would be to go through the 64 Selectmen's Meeting November 14, 1977 Adams School property and Mr McSweeney pointed out that the cost would be double plus there is a question of travesting across the middle of the Adams School property which would then preclude future development there Mr Bailey suggested that if the Harrington's were willing to give up the building rights on one lot and combine it with the other it would give the town the capability of studying other alternatives He said that if they were willing to state just what exactly they are going to do, then the Selectmen could figure it out The Harrington's stated that they did not have any specific plans, but did not know about the future Miss Ruth Harrington asked whether the possibility of going along the stone wall by the professional building that goes down into Barnes Place from Mass Avenue had been considered Mr McSweeney stated that he would like to go over the whole plan again and meet with the Harrington's in about two weeks The Board agreed to table the matter for a few weeks The Harrington's thanked the Board and retired from the meeting 1978 Annual The Board discussed the 1978 Annual Town Meeting Election- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to call the 1978 Town Meeting Annual Town Meeting (Election Day), for Monday, March 6, 1978 with Closing of polling hours of 7 00 a.m to 8 00 p m Warrant Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to call the first deliberative session of the Annual Town Meeting for Monday, March 20, 1978 at 8 00 p m in Cary Memorial Hall Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to close the Warrant on Friday, December 30, 1977 Lexington The Chairman read a letter from William R Page relative to the Forum on resignation of Mr Lloyd Gilson from the Lexington Forum on Aging Aging Committee Resignation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with Lloyd Gilson regret, the resignation of Mr Lloyd Gilson from the Lexington Forum on Aging Committee, effective immediately Cary Hall A request from Congressman Tsongas for the use of Cary Memorial Congressman Hall on Tuesday, January 3, 1978 from 8 30 p.m to 10 00 p.m to Tsongas meet with residents about issues of concern was read by the Chairman Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion for the use of Cary Hall to Congressman Tsongas, for Tuesday, January 3, 1978 from 8 30 p.m to 10 00 p.m Estabrook The Chairman read a letter from Mr Levi Burnell requesting penis- Hall sion to use Estabrook Hall for Bicentennial Band rehearsals on Wednes- Bicentennial days, November 23 and 30 and Thursdays, December 8, 15, and 22 from Band 7 00 p m. to 10 00 p m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- 65 Selectmen's Meeting November 14, 1977 sion for the use of Estabrook Hall for Bicentennial Band rehearsals on Wednesdays November 23 and 30 and Thursdays, December 8, 15 and 22, from 7 00 p.m to 10 00 p.m The Chairman informed the Board that a notice had been received Metropolitan from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council relative to a meeting on Area Planning November 22 at the Alcott School in Concord regarding alternative Council planning directions, implications of planning decisions and ways to Meeting choose the best plan for each community Mr Eric Clarke, who was attending the Selectmen's meeting agreed to go An informational meeting between the Appropriation Committee, the FY '79 Capital Expenditures Committee and the Board was held to review the Budget Manager's budget which he presented and explained that he hoped to schedule for next Monday's Selectmen's meeting a very detailed session with the DPW dealing with their budget The program called for spend- ing authorization of $1,715,250 fur FY '79 compared to $1,430,845 for FY '78 The program called for a five-year borrowing program of approximately $800,000 per year He recommended a five-year $2,000,000 expansion program for the expansion of the sewer system to be con- sidered and authorized for borrowing which should complete the sewer- ing of the Town He recommended $250,000 of borrowing in anticipation of Federal and State funds that would be part of the Inflow & Infiltra- tion study of the sewer system which is 90% funded and only required $25,000 in actual operating money to the Town Acquisition of cemetery land through a borrowing program was recommended He pointed out that conservation purchases are some- what less now, but pointed out that there may be changes here He recommended that the reserve fund be increased from $150,000 to $200,000 to protect the Town from an expanding number of "unknowns" The problems with the sanitary landfill was pointed out as a major prob- lem at this time He pointed out that the program as recommended would essentially save $1 00 on the tax rate vs last year's appropriations Last year the Town approved $997,845 in capital improvements from taxation and $443,000 from borrowing His proposal calls for $765,000 in general taxation and $950,000 from borrowing Briefly reviewed, he pointed out that in the public works area $25,000 for water mains was essentially for maintenance as was $40,000 for storm drainage He pointed out that $350,000 per year for the re- maining four years was something to think about as the Town will be spending money for a drainage study problem and, at some point in time, the Town is going to have to address itself to solving the problem The figure will be subject to review Water meters, street construction, curb construction, traffic signals and center development were budgeted at zero The $130,000 shown for public works equipment was still under review and there would be a definite figure for next week's meeting The Public Works Department had asked for consideration of expansion of their facility and he said he though it had merit, but not for this year The 66 Selectmen's Meeting November 14, 1977 money for the sanitary landfill development was essentially for speci- fications and preparation of a transfer station The comprehensive drainage study is a continuation of planning based upon drainage areas and the Inflow Infiltration study is essentially a continued analysis of the existing sewer system, indentifying areas for correction He pointed out that the program is 90% Federal and State funded The $60,000 for recyclables was based on bids received The $130,000 for the cemetery is for expansion and development and land acquisition The conservation fund has been the standard appropriation for many years and is based upon the anticipated acquisi- tions, but he pointed out that may be changed There was no money proposed for brook reclamation, but the Manager pointed out that there would be expenditures in the future relative to equipment needed Cary Library had requested money for a book security system, but was budgeted at zero Request for shelving was also turned down as not a capital improvement but coming under the $2,000 operating expense The $10,000 for school closing program is an arbitrary figure and Mr Hutchinson pointed out that the closing of Munroe School is listed for probably 1979 or 80 and that it may be turned into a school admini- stration building $40,000 was recommended for detailed plans and specs for the center pool $25,000 for playfields for the next four years Mr Hutchinson explained that he was looking at the operating budget within public works in hopes of absorbing this figure The $100,000 request for bikeways was a five year program The Manager explained that he was investigating Federal and State grant monies but cut it out due to the unknown availability of these funds All other recreation requests are scheduled for later years so that there are zero figures now Chief Bergeron of the Fire Department explained his request for $20,000 to recondition one of the better engines He stated that several communities are doing this type of reconditioning of older serviceable equipment The work consists of removing all of the present body, com- partments in the engine and building a whole new body on it, replacing the water tank and completely reconditioning the pump and adding a roof to the cab It called for the addition of some of the hose lines that are presently not on the engine that tend to make it obsolete for modern fire fighting purposes The cost of $20,000 is about one quarter of the cost to replace the engine He pointed out that by doing this, there is a risk that if there was a major motor problem within the next 12 years it could cost another $10,000 or $12,000 more He felt that the overall risk was worth it He also informed the Board that, at the Manager's suggestion, some money was put into the operating budget under public safety supplies for modernizing the equipment console at the desk be- cause there is a good possibility that handicapped people may be hired to do the dispatch function The money is needed to bring all the con- trols together so that the people can actually do the job The Manager explained that he was working on the operating budget 67 Selectmen's Meeting November ib, 1977 and hoped to have it ready on or about December 1 After a brief dis- cussion, Mr Hutchinson stated that further questions would be addressed at the next meeting and if there were any questions in the interim, to contact his office The committees retired from the meeting The Chairman read a notice from the Metropolitan Area Planning MAPC Council relative to a meeting on November 22 at the Alcott School in Meeting Concord to learn about alternative planning directions, implications of planning decisions and ways to choose the best plan for each community Dr Eric Clarke of the Planning Board who was present at the meeting agreed to attend the meeting The Board met with the Planning Board relative to the Hancock Town Meeting School and Article 15 of the special town meeting warrant Mr Article 15 re Zabin stated that he wanted to see what the feelings of the Board was Hancock regarding the drafts and discuss whether the Planning Board or the School Board of Selectmen would present the article to town meeting Mrs Miley made the recommendation that the Planning Board present it as she felt that they were more competent to answer any questions raised The Board concurred During discussion Mrs Wheaton of the Planning Board stated that the developers would have material ready for the Town Meeting Members in time for the public hearing and they would be briefed before town meeting There was some discussion as to combining Article 15 and Article 17 and Mrs Miley explained that the reason for separate arti- cles was because the zoning article would possibly be used for other buildings in the future After further discussion, it was agreed that the Planning Board would present Article 15 to amend Section 25 of the Zoning By-Law by adding a new Subsection 25 17 - "Municipal Buildings and Public School Buildings Converted to Residential Uses" and adding a new Section 28 "Special Permits for Converted Municipal Buildings and Public School Buildings " The Planning Board retired from the meeting Chairman Battin read a request from Mr McSweeney, Director of Sewer Public Works/Engineering to sign abatement form in the amount of Abatement $1,208 80 sewer charge in lieu of betterments for Arthur DeVincent DeVincent Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign abatement form in the amount of $1,208 80 sewer charge in lieu of betterments for Arthur DeVincent Chairman Battin read a request from Mr McSweeney to sign the con- Traffic tract, as approved by Town Counsel, for the installation of the Signals traffic signals at Waltham Street and Worthen Road Waltham & Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the eon- Worthen 68 Selectmen's Meeting November 11+, 1977 tract in the amount of $23,906 00 awarded to New England Traffic Sig- nals, Inc for the installation of the traffic signals at Waltham Street and Worthen Road Order of The Chairman read a request from Town Counsel to sign an order of Taking Lot 70 taking of Lot 70, Summer Street, under Article 53 of 1977 Annual Town Summer St Meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order of taking of Lot 70, Summer Street, under Article 53 of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting One Day The Chairman read a request from St Brigid's Couples Club for a Liquor One-Day Liquor License for a Christmas Dinner Dance on Friday, December License 2, 1977 St Brigid's Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the One- Couples Day Liquor License for the St Brigid's Couples Club for Friday, Club December 2, 1977 Fire- The Town Manager presented to the Board an analysis of the amend- fighters' ments of the contract which has been negotiated with the Firefighters' Contract Union and requested approval of the Board. He explained that $45,000 will be needed to implement the settlement and that the money can come from Article 5 Firefighters Washburn and Walton, attending the meeting, expressed approval of the contract and the bargaining process Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the contract between the Town of Lexington and the Firefighters' Union Water Rate The Town Manager presented a proposal for water rates reflecting Increase a 22% increase to all users with a minimum semi-annual billing of $11+ 75 For exceptions such as Hanscom, V A Hospital and Raytheon an increase of $31% was recommended Mr Kent felt that the minimum rate was excessive, showing an in- crease of upwards of 30% He stated that he felt that minimum billing covers a large percentage of Lexington households and does not repre- sent a "users" charge After further discussion, it was agreed that a check of the number of minimum billings would be made and the matter would be discussed again at the next meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to postpone approval of new water rates until further information has been obtained. Sewer The Manager reported that he had received a report from the Direc- Abatement- tor of Public Works/Engineering relative to the request of Stephen E Cox Cox for an abatement of a sewer betterment charge of $1,015 1+5 The sewer to the property at 64 Garfield Street was installed by Mr Cox at no charge to the Town Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the sewer 69 Selectmen's Meeting November 14, 1977 betterment charge of $1,015.45 to Mr Stephen E Cox of 64 Garfield Street as the sewer was installed at no cost to the Town The Board discussed the possibility of the installation of sodium Street Lights lights The report from the Engineering Department brought out that the Boston Edison felt that, due to the intensity of light emitted, the sodium lights would be offensive in residential areas At the present time, the lowest lumen sodium that Edison provides is 9500 After further discussion, Mr Bailey requested that the matter be tabled and requested Mr McSweeney to contact G E and Sylvania for more information Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the matter of the upgrading of the street lights until further information is ob- tained The Manager updated the Board relative to the sewer use ordinance Sewer Use proposed by the Department of Public Works The Division of Water Ordinance Foliation Control in conjunction with the Metropolitan District Commission Sewerage division had reviewed the Sewer Use Ordinance and had recommended some additions and corrections prior to approval by them and the MDC. Mr McSweeney pointed out that the changes would make us compatible with MDC and EPA rules and regulations and, there- , fore, eligible for Federal grants Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to make the proposed changes and corrections on the Sewer Use Ordinance as re- quested by the Division of Water Pollution Control and the MDC The Manager informed the Board that he and someone from the De- Vine Brook partment- of Public Works would meet with the Conservation Commission in the near future to discuss the Vine Brook cleaning and other re- lated matters The Manager informed the Board that he had sent out letters on Ambulance delinquent ambulance bills and that he would keep the Board informed Bills regarding the success of the effort Mrs Miley requested the Board to review with her the sample let- Recycling ter that will be printed in the Minute-Man on Thursday relative to Letter to the instructions for the recycling program. After discussion in Minute-Man which it was brought by Mr Kent that he felt that it should not be printed unless Mr Busa had a chance to sign it, also There were some corrections suggested and it was agreed that individual signatures were not required and that Mr Battin would sign as Chairman for the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to submit the letter to the Minute-Man as corrected and to have Mrs Battin sign for the Board 7() Selectmen's Meeting November 14, 1977 Order of The Chairman read a request from Town Counsel to sign an order of Taking taking for Lot 70, Summer Street, as appropriated under Article 53 of Lot 70 the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Summer St Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order of taking for Lot 70, Summer Street, as appropriated under Article 53 of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Conservation Mr Cohen requested the Board to sign the deed transferring two par- Land - Rev cels of land to the Conservation Commission that had been a gift from Johnson the Reverend Ernest B Johnson, Jr as set forth in Article 51 of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed to transfer two parcels of land bordering on Route 128, shown as lots 106A and 145 on Assessors ' Property Map 83 to the Conservation Commis- sion as set forth in Article 51 of the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call Session vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining and possible litigation, with the possibility of resuming open meeting After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Sewer Town Counsel read a letter to the Board that he had received from Moratorium Mr Joel H Greenstein, Trustee of the Kendall Gardens Trust Mr Kendall Greenstein stated in his letter that he was the builder-developer of Gardens "Kendall Gardens" on 8 house lot subdivision on Appollo Circle off Trust Kendall Road He explained that at the present time, the sewer, water, drains, gas and electric are in Apollo Circle connected to Kendall Road and the first coat of hot top installed Sewer and other utilities have been brought into each building lot, and extended into the 4 houses under construction which are sold Mr Greenstein was requesting that the sewer moratorium not apply to this sub-division due to the fact that he had obtained all the necessary permits in the morning and the Select- men voted the moratorium that evening After discussion, it was agreed that the moratorium should not apply to this particular sub-division and that Mr Cohen would get in touch with Mr Greenstein and so inform him Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the sewer mora- torium not apply to this particular sub-division as the application had been filed and accepted before the moratorium actually became effective ' Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4-0 by roll call vote Session to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining and possible litigation, with the inten- tion of not resuming open meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 25 p.m A true record, Attest J Principal Clerk, Selectmen