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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-09-12-BOS-min ry t) 4 ) SELECTMEN'S MEETING September 12, 1977 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, September 12, 1977, at 7 30 p.m Chairman Battin, Mr Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager, Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Battin informed the Board that notice had been received CoA Mini- at our office today from Mrs Melcher, Council on Aging Coordinator, Buses that there will be no more mini-buses for the time being as there were not enough riders Chairman Battin requested the Board to sign the Warrant for the Special Special Primary Primary Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Warrant Warrant for the Special Primary to be held in Precincts 7 and 8 on October 4, 1977 to fill the vacancy of State Presentative At Mrs Miley's suggestion, the Board agreed that she is to con- tact Mrs Ward and Mr Trudeau to see if they are interested in pub- , licizing the primary and election and also "Vote Today" signs at the street rather than at the entrance to the polls Chairman Battin read a request for a 1-Day Special license 1-Day Liquor Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the License 1-Day liquor license for Kennedy Hall on Saturday, September 24, 1977, for a wedding reception Chairman Battin read a notice of a meeting of the 128 West Refuse 128 West Recovery Council in Estabrook Hall on September 14, stating that the Council Town of Bedford has nominated an 8-acre parcel of land for considera- Meeting tion as a resource recovery facility site located in Bedford on the north slope of Reservoir Hill at Hanscom Field adjacent to Lexington land at Hanscom Field A resource recovery facility located in this area may require substantive land use changes, as well as a Hartwell Avenue Connector from Route 128 Mrs Miley said that the 128 West group hopes that we will recon- sider, as we did decide that we would not become part of it and Bedford was going to go alone Mr Hutchinson said that, in fairness, looking at the data that was in front of the Board at the time, it did not seem desirable to indicate that we could support that site until questions like the Hartwell Connector and ramifications of that type were considered Mrs Miley said that they would like it to be a joint package of Lexington and Bedford Chairman Battin said that, right now, we have to look at the im- rwrup Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 plications for us, and we should designate someone to attend g Mr Kent, Mr Bailey, Mr Hutchinson, and Mr Empey of the Public Works Department plan to attend the meeting, and the Planning Board is to be contacted to send a representative Community Ms Sandra Shaw, member of the Community Relations Committee, met Relations with the Board Mr James Crain and Mr Neil Chapman, members of the Committee Personnel Advisory Board, were also present Report Chairman Battin read the following report from the Community Re- lations Committee "In December 1976, the Selectmen charged the Community Relations Committee with the responsibility of investigating equal opportunities for all citizens within the Town of Lexington with specific emphasis centering on minorities, individuals and families "A series of open meetings were held during which citizens ex- pressed viewpoints on such matters as police interaction with minori- ties, curriculum materials of the public school system and hiring II policies and/or practices of the public and private sectors "Following a series of open meetings, members of the Community Relations Committee met with various individuals and groups including the Superintendent of Schools, Town Manager, Personnel Advisory Board, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Concerned Black Citizens of Lexington In addition, several agencies including the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination, Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns and other town governments were contacted with respect to affirmative action programs "At the time of our charge, the Committee found there was suffi- cient evidence to indicate that the Town had not done all it could to encourage equal opportunity in Lexington The Community Relations Committee, however, recognizes the present efforts of the Board of Selectmen in unanimously voting to adopt an affirmative action policy "In keeping with the above, the Committee wishes to support the present direction of the Board and in addition, recognizes the other boards, agencies and committees that are endeavoring to address equal opportunity "We commend the Lexington Public School Committee for their equal opportunity action program and the present efforts of the Lexington school administration in actually pursuing minority candidates for all levels of employment We strongly support the Chamber of Commerce's position in advocating equal opportunity employment statements for all in hiring advertisements We enthusiastically endorse the present efforts of the Personnel Advisory Board in their pursuit of an affirma- tive action plan for all public town agencies "We offer the following recommendations "We urge the Lexington Public School Committee to undertake an analysis of system wide curriculum in order to ascertain the degree of effectiveness with which women and minorities are represented and integrated into content materials at each grade level 571 Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 "We recommend that the Board of Selectmen examine various approaches including utilization of workshops which would heighten the consciousness of all members of town agencies with respect to interpersonal relations in the work environment. "We feel there is a need for additional publications of town wide grievance procedures in order to allow individuals to seek redress or offer suggestions relating to any body which provides town wide services Chairman Battin asked Ms Shaw if this would also mean those that we fund, such as, Mystic Valley, the Visiting Nurse Assocation, in addition to actually our own? Ms Shaw replied that the committee was really mentioning Town employees, including schools and the Police Department There were some complaints that came to us with regard to Town services, that they felt there were problems We felt that if people were aware of the grievance procedure and if an effort were made by the Town to publish them, people would feel more comfortable that it has happened Already, the Police Department has been stressing the way to address grievances and the School Department has also done this We just wanted to cover the whole gamut of Town services Chairman Battin continued reading the report, which stated that "In addition, we feel there is much confusion on the part of many people as to the exact nature of affirmative action and we hope that both affirmative action, equal opportunity and grievance procedures would be included in the town report and Minute-man Publication in order to assure greater knowledge of these related subjects " Mr Hutchinson said that we understand what is meant by the grievance process, namely that there is a process for people who are dissatisfied with the system in any way or the action of our employees or of our administrators, to go to the department head involved if it is a departmental type of thing and, if dissatisfied with that response, they should come to the Manager's office and, if dissatisfied with his response, to go to the Selectmen; to remain available at any of those levels if someone chooses to reverse the process, which is periodically done The smartest thing to do is to go to the operating department because many times the problem can be resolved at that level We would be more than glad to publicize that process within the town re- port if that's the wish of the Board and others Ms Shaw said that it should be in the town report but we felt that this should be more of a public notice in the newspaper Mr Hutchinson said that we did have one effort on that Ms Shaw said that it should continue Mr Chapman asked if they had in mind the process of what the unions use and what the impact is on their grievance procedures , and then addressing yourselves to it? Ms Shaw replied that they were not; they were talking about parents coming to them and saying that kids were being put down in the Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 What dodoin the schools? We knew there is a rote- classrooms at you h proce- dure but a lot of people don't know that there is an established procedure they may go through Mr Chapman asked about other departments in the Town such as the police and fire? Ms Shaw said that they are covering all of them If there is a police complaint, to go to the Chief and, if not satisfied go to the Town Manager, then to the Selectmen It is just to let people know that we do have a system that we try to follow Mr Crain suggested clarification that they are talking about citizen appeal concerning town departments because the generic descrip- tion is grievance procedure The Board agreed that they were citizen complaints Chairman Battin said that the reason for her question on whether it included other agencies we fund was because there was some complaint on Mystic Valley Mental Health that they weren't serving minority groups, and we do fund them - whether there ought to be some process for the agency we fund if people feel they were discriminated against She didn't know how that would be handled and raised the question for them to look at it Mr Hutchinson said that the Board, being the last recourse of appeal, is the place to address the complaints Again, if they would utilize his office since he's there all the time, he could investigate those complaints for the Board and the agency concerned, and record what action had been taken It would be for the agencies we fund to come under the scrutiny of those complaints' form Chairman Battin said that a letter had come to the Board from an irate group of citizens and it could have come to Mr Hutchinson first to investigate, as the Board had no way of knowing if it was valid or not Mr Kent had a question with respect to workshops that the committee suggests might be useful from the standpoint of relevant town organiza- tions He asked if they had talked about detail in connection with that? Ms Shaw said that they had not really gone into it Arlington had a day long series of workshops where they involved all citizens and employees, and they had specifically designed workshops to raise awareness of certain situations or if there were any trouble areas They found it to be a very satisfying day and we thought it was our role to suggest it to the Selectmen and, if they felt it was something worthwhile, perhaps we could go further into it It had been suggested that those kinds of things would be advantageous She added that it is not something to easily describe Mr Kent agreed and said that he reacted very positively to it but it is the sort of thing that has to be planned with a great deal of foresight and care if it is really to be effective, which is why he had asked if there is some experience that she knew about Mr Hutchinson said that he would point out that that is the dimen- sion of the affirmative action plan that the Board adopted, specifically Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 as it relates to to town supervisors and town employees The Personnel Advisory Board had queried him about what he had done about that di- mension and he will be doing something on it We have not taken the steps right now but it would be something along those lines; extend- ing it to the public as a whole is another dimension of that process Chairman Battin asked if the PAB had any comments about the work- shop suggestion? Mr Crain replied that it is a good suggestion; however, it takes a lot of planning and you have to insure a high quality of supervision for it to be a meaningful undertaking for people Without reinforce- ment, it is a problem for lasting value Chairman Battin stated that it is clear from what everyone has said that if we want it done, we ought to clearly assign the responsi- bility either to the CRC, which is interested in doing this, or some- one else, and have them work with the Manager and other interested groups Chairman Battin asked Ms Shaw if CRC had discussed the first recommendation on the analysis of the curriculum with the School Committee? Ms Shaw replied that they did not Chairman Battin said that this is directed to them and you would have our blessing to pass it on to them She asked if CRC should dis- cuss the workshop suggestion and explore it further and then come back to the Board, or would it be better assigned to someone else? Mr Hutchinson said that he was not too sure of what the disposi- tion of the committee is We do want to avoid duplication and we have been approaching it administratively right now He felt that there would have to be considerable planning process to get it to the gen- eral public He was not sure of how the Board wished him to work on that process but he would work with a group the Board assigns Also, he was not sure that CRC wanted to take it on at this time, or the Personnel Advisory Board We are trying to gear up to doing things in-house and then also educating our supervisors about this so that they see it as a non-threatening type of thing He was not sure what agency is the proper vehicle for this but if CRC would want to consider working with the administration, he would be glad to do something Ms Shaw said that CRC didn't get to that step actually of who would be doing it This came out of discussions and the kind of con- clusions reached We just felt it was our role to recommend Chairman Battin said then, despite the interest in it, it was not necessarily felt that it should stay with the committee Ms Shaw said that it was not She assumed that the Board would be forming a new Community Relations Committee and it depends on what role they might like to play Mrs Miley asked what section of Arlington government sponsored the workshops? They have a large human resource group and we don't have any staff to do what they do if it would be under that auspice Ms Shaw said that CRC didn't pursue it that much; it just seemed like something worth doing 580 Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 Chairman Bthe Battin asked for comments as to who is proper a e ?agency? Mr Chapman said that one of the things that PAB had discussed was the on-going aspect of this, and we had not seen a preview of what CRC had in mind We didn't know whether CRC would be discharged but, regardless of what you decide on that, we felt that it was important for the Town Manager to have your support or to have it handled what- ever way you wished That would encourage certain key groups, through their Charman perhaps, to consult together occasionally along the way on results of what steps have been taken and the reaction to them In our discussions of the work the Town Manager has done on this, we felt that as far as general town government is concerned, that is where the ball would lie, and we would be available to work with him as long as he has your support As far as the schools are concerned, we have established some liaison there, and the Town Manager and the School Superintendent are having some discussions occasionally on things like this, which will gradually become steps that are taken It seems there is visible evidence of progress of this endorsement and support so we felt coordination was important and the Town Manager should carry it for the general town government and the contacts he has had with the School Superintendent and whatever CRC does to get their report before them Mr Kent said that in-house communication is the next step and perhaps we ought to establish that and become, on a broader base, comfortable with that prior to going to a broader, townwide workshop You are really moving with respect to that right now Mr Hutchinson said that we have come a long way and we are learning The School Department is working in this area as well, and we would like to get our own ducks in line before we build up Mr Kent said that in this area, it is a case of step consoli- date, step consolidate, and the consolidation part of it is very im- portant Mr Hutchinson said that the suggestion made by CRC is very important - to explain to the community to gain that level of accep- tance Perhaps he could gear to some timetables if he has a chance to work on it with the supervisors, and to come back to the Board to shoot for something in the spring for the public - assuming that we have done some things internally and met some of our own goals Chairman Battin suggested that the Board consider adopting this as the next step after we have informed our own employees The Town Manager will tell us what he wants, and we might convene a special committee as there are certainly a lot of interested people who were on the LCSR; there are many people who are willing to work on it First, we subscribe to it as a step we want to take, and the Manager tells us when he is ready to begin planning Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Town Manager is to schedule workshops for the education of supervisors in Town Government to discuss areas concerning interpersonal relationships in the work environment �r 581 Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 The Board agreed that the Community Relations Committee is to con- tact the Lexington School Committee to discuss the CRC recommendation that the School Committee undertake an analysis of system-wide curric- ulum in order to ascertain the degree of effectiveness with which women and minorities are represented and integrated into content materials at each grade level The Board agreed to publish in the Lexington Minute-man and the Annual Town Report the policy concerning the proper procedures to be followed on citizens' complaints relating to any body of Town Govern- ment or agencies funded by the Town of Lexington Chairman Battin added that people will know what affirmative ac- tion is, equal opportunity, and the procedure for redress We must make sure that everybody is talking about the same thing, and that the definitions are constant Mr Busa agreed that the definition is very important He under- stood equal opportunity but if you ask fifty people about affirmative action, you will get fifty different definitions Mr Crain said that, basically, as he understood it, equal opportunity indicates that if people show up on your doorstep, you provide them equal opportunity Affirmative action is just to make sure that people know that equal opportunity is your policy Chairman Battin said that there is the further question raised CRC tonight of the future role of the Community Relations Committee At Membership some time after the previous charge had been dealt with, the question was whether the Committee ought to remain as constituted but lie dor- mant until there was a community need, either identified by them or the Board of Selectmen, or the people that brought it to our atten- tion, or whether they have directions they would like to go now or whether the Board has particular directions I think we have to consider now what we want the committee to do - whether to continue to be available as needed but not give it any charge right now? Ms Shaw said we all feel very strongly right now that the com- mittee should continue to know there is a definite role for the com- mittee As far as the direction it take, we look to the Selection for suggestions We would be reconstituted as there are some members who would be going off the committee and I think when a new committee is formed, at that time we would like to meet with the Selectmen to dis- cuss possible areas Chairman Battin said that your committee would continue and there would just be the normal replacements for those who would go off What is the Board's pnsition, do you want them to remain with particular charges? Mr Kent said that he was glad that the committee itself per- ceives the desirability of its own continuation He wasn't prepared tonight to suggest positive items for their agenda but perhaps we ought to put it on our agenda to discuss, and there ought to be some communication twixt us and members of the committee with respect to Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 thisAs far as membership, we ought to keep the membership current; it ought to be continually renewed with people who have interest, and people who would prefer not to participate longer not be dragooned longer The Board agreed to send a letter of thanks to CRC members, and ask if they would be willing to continue to serve; if not, replacements will be found The newly constituted committee will convene and meet later with the Board for dialogue on possible items Ms Shaw agreed that CRC will talk with the School Committee, and she retired from the meeting Traffic- Chairman Battin read a request from Mr Marshall Duane, 16 Meriam Meriam Street, for two 30 M P H signs on both sides of Meriam Street because Street of through traffic to the Burlington Mall Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the re- quest for two 30 M P H signs on Meriam Street to the Traffic Safety Committee for a recommendation Permit- Chairman Battin read a request for the use of the Visitors' Center Visitors' lawn Center Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Pilgrim Congregational Church for the semi-annual Colonial Bake Sale to be held on the Visitors' Center lawn on Septem- ber 30 from 10 00 a.m to 2 00 p.m ; rain date of October 1 Chapter 90 Chairman Battin read a request from Mr John J McSweeney, Di- Hancock rector of Public Works/Engineering to sign the contract for Chapter Street 90 reconstruction of Hancock Street Town Counsel has approved as to Contract form Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the contract with William P Capone Corp , Roslindale, for Chapter 90 re- construction of Hancock Street, in the amount of $122,51+ 50 Authorisa- tion is contained in Article 23 of 1977; Article 26 of 1976,. Article 26 of 1975, and Article 25 of 197+ Permit - Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Amateur Radio Club has Emery Park requested a change in date to September 17 from 9 00 a.m to 5 00 p m for the use of Emery Park to demonstrate an amateur radio station in operation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Amateur Radio Club to use a small section of Emery Park on Saturday, September 17, 1977 Emerson & Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that letters have been sent to Worthen residents of Emerson Road and Worthen Road informing them that the Roads Board will discuss on September 19 the intent to change the street numbers back to their original designation 583 Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 ' Mr Hutchinson reminded the Board that the French municipal French officials will be in Lexington September 14 at 9 30 a.m tcoMeet Officials' with the Board, representatives of the School Committee anc the Town Visit Meeting Members Association for approximately one hour, an then pro- ceed with a tour to include historic homes and Town departments Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Mrs Clarke ha: indicated Special that the Town Meeting Members Association would prefer the date of Town Meeting December 5 for the Special Town Meeting Mr Busa again suggested that the Warrant be held to e.s few Articles as possible because if there are 8 or 9 sessions ye would be running into religious holidays Mrs Battin assured him that there would not be that many Articles or sessions Mrs Miley stated that Town Counsel had informed her that the Hancock School material had been put together regarding the Hancock Schoo] area and the Historic Districts Commission, and Town Counsel hopes that it will be included in the Special Town Meeting The Committee realizes that a zoning change will be required The Board agreed to set the date at a later meeting ar.d agree on when the Warrant would be closed for the Special Town Meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of the request from Mrs Lurie Drain Nancy Lurie for a drain connection to her property at 4 Tufts Road Connection Plans have been submitted and reviewed by the Public Works Depart- ment, and this connection would resolve a long-standing prcblem Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to aiprove the recommendation of the Town Manager to grant permission for a drain connection to the property owned by Mrs Nancy Lurie, 4 Tufts Road, subject to conditions set forth by the Director of Public Works at the time of installation Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that arrangements are being Joint made far a joint meeting of the Board, Manager, Appropriation Com- Meeting mittee, Capital Expenditures Committee and the School Committee for discussion of the budget process and the Town's financial situation The Board agreed that it would be held at the regular Selectmen's meeting on September 26 or October 3 Mr Hutchinson recommended a review of the school mairtenance Central system. He has had preliminary discussion with Dr Lawson School Maintenance Superintendent, on (1) that we might look at, in the operating bud- System get, the assumption of certain responsibilities of the School De- partment and, where feasible, DPW would have better equipment for maintenance purposes than the School Department , such as mewing equipment; we actually have larger and better equipment an people who are better trained in those types of equipment This is a possibility 584 Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 for absorption and means a greater responsibility for the Town and also, costs (2) in the employment selection practices , to have some of our Public Works' people sit in on interviewing personnel for the School Committee, such as a maintenance superintendent; it might be well to have someone like Mr Coscia or Mr Empey to sit with them in an advisory capacity (3) The issue of centralized building mainte- nance is rather an extensive one that is not easily addressed in a short time In the system, there are 50+ custodians and 8 maintenance people for approximately 15 buildings We ask your consideration of assigning a task force to work with the Manager and the School Super- intendent We would like to have a 6-man task force, with a representa- tive of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, plus a citi- zen appointed by the Board and one by the School Committee, who would have experience in large maintenance operations Within the next few months, we would come back with a report on what we have found; how we get there is important and we should look at its long range impli- cations Mr Bailey volunteered to represent the Board of Selectmen, and the Board agreed to appoint a citizen within the next few weeks Compulsory Mr Hutchinson discussed a letter from the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns stating that it is time for municipal associations to show concern about compulsory and binding arbitration, which is the single biggest issue of municipal governments in the legislative session There are 60 days between September 30 and November 30, during which time the associations will be gathering 56,000 certified signatures for the compulsory and binding arbitration initiative petition drive Chairman Battin said that our meeting will be held in Bedford to- morrow evening, and the Board ought to be thinking about Lexington's coordinator Mr Neil Chapman said that the Personnel Board is concerned that they have not been consulted all the way through, and people on that Board are very knowledgeable Chairman Battin said that the Town Manager will talk with PAB The Board agreed to further discussion after the Bedford meeting Selectmen's Mr Busa discussed vouchers for Selectmen's expense which had been Expenses submitted, approved and processed for payment by the Town Manager He stated that his interpretation of the $200 expense money for each Se- lectman was that it was to take care of miscellaneous expenses incurred and, if at any point in time a Selectmen has to spend a large amount of money, the Board must authorize this expenditure Small and large amounts for parking fees, lunches, in-state and out-of-state seminars have been processed, and he strongly objected to this procedure without the Board's authorization He asked for the opinion of the present Board regarding the use of the $200 Chairman Battin said that it was a good point and she had planned to bring it up to the Board Traditionally, the amount had been $100 but 585 Selectmen's Meeting September 12, 1977 III had been raised within the last 15 years to $200 by Town Meeting by a change in the By-Laws Increasingly, the scope of the Board of Select- men has broadened and there are four or five categories of expenses which members of the Board were incurring which they didn't before There are meetings of organizations to attend, such as the Mass Selectmen's Association, Mass League of Cities and Towns, Middlesex County Advisory Board, Governor's Task Force, etc For the first time in the last couple of years, members of the Board are actually officers of these organizations and we have no option but to attend meetings Mr Busa said that he had no problem with understanding that but it had been brought to his attention that somebody is going to a meeting in California and has been invited under another auspices, and he didn't think the Town of Lexington should pick up the bill Mr Hutchinson said that these groups rely on the fact that local officials cannot attend these meetings and that's how we wind up being at the wrong end of the stick It is extremely important that our elected officials, if they have the capability, through the support of whatever level of expenditure you desire, be able to participate, be- cause we are only as effective as the people who represent the community Mr Bailey recommended that each member think about his perception of what the $200 covers and also consider that any authorization for expenditures beyond that should be acted upon by the Board A simple memo in the Selectmen's packet on Friday could give the information III and estimated expenses Chairman Battin agreed that the Board ought to seriously consider the $200 Maybe that appropriation should be scratched and members just file for expenses actually incurred Mrs Miley commented on Mr Bailey's recommendation and said that this would be for what you consider large expenses for a weekend, and how far down the line do we go on this? Mr Bailey agreed that was a good point The Board has to decide what the $200 covers It was his personal feeling that the only things to go through the expense account would be in large areas; mileage, 1 occasional lunches would be covered by the $200 Mr. Kent said that there is the preliminary step as to whether the $200 is really feasible, and whether we ought to substitute a system of accounted expenses and eliminate the $200 We should take up these items as agenda items and take a hard look at them to deter- mine whether we should continue in this vein and lay out the sort of things Mrs Miley makes it very clear have to be laid out The Board agreed to discuss the matter in detail in a few weeks Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Executive vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, for the purpose of discussion concerning the reputation of individuals After discussion it was voted to go out of Executive Session III Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 00 p.m A true record, Attest eee,,,,,,_.,x_, -;. c. „ri Executive Clerk, Selectmen