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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-08-22-BOS-min 550 SELECTMEN'S MEETING August 22, 1977 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, August 22, 1977 at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Battin, Mr Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager, Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr Martin, Assistant Town Engineer; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk were present Michael Mrs Battin convened the meeting at 7 32 and presented a proclama- Larsen tion from Governor Dukakis to Michael Larsen, 19th International Mathe- Math matical Olympiad Winner at Belgrade, Yugoslavia on July 3 and 4, 1977 Olympiad Michael was one of two perfect scorers on the U S team of eight Winner Congratulations were also extended to Mr & Mrs Larsen who were present Jurors At the request of the Town Clerk, the following jurors were drawn John G Manetas 257 Worthen Road Joseph Hart 63 Ledgelawn Avenue Theodore R Strollo 79 Buckman Drive Robert G DiNitto 24 Calvin Street Gloria J Bloom 17 Loring Road Robert A Marasca 240 Woburn Street Sarah C Kechejian 3 Locke Lane Emerson Rd Mr Howard Levingston met with the Board relative to the letter re- & No cently sent out by the Engineering Department to the residents of that Emerson Rd section of Emerson Road that is to be renamed North Emerson Road The section referred to under the old Emerson Road was numbers 351-365 The residents of the area expected the name change, but the numbers were also changed which was not what the residents understood The Planning Board had assured the residents that the house numbers would not be changed Mr Levingston informed the Board the residents were disturbed because the new change causes substantial inconvenience Some of the residents have already notified correspondents of the change of street name made by Town Meeting and some have already paid for printed material with address change He stated that it also creates a condi- tion where mail can be misdelivered, delayed or lost He also pointed out that emergency vehicles can go to an incorrect location He re- ferred to a letter to the Town Manager from Albert P Zabin, Chairman of the Planning Board requesting him to direct the Engineering Depart- ment to restore the old numbering system The Town Manager informed the Board that he had put a "hold" on the number changes through the Post Office and was contacting the utility companies to put the same "hold" on He stated that in the the interim he was waiting for reaction from other sections He stated 651 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 that there are sections of the road where it is desirable to change the numbers He referred to the commitment to the residents by the Planning Board of which the Engineering Department was unaware so they followed the standard process of number change The Town Manager will report back to the Board for the September 6 meeting relative to further input from residents and decision regarding the change He stated that, if necessary, they would go back to the original numbering but he didn't think it would be desirable or necessary He informed Mr Levingston that they would go back to the original numbers and this would be his recommendation to the Board Mr Cohen reported that he had received several calls, as Town Counsel, from people who were very upset that their numbers would not be changed, not from the same section as Mr Levingston, they felt that it would be very difficult for them to have high numbers when other areas had low numbers because the police and firemen wouldn't be able to find them They wanted very much this type of change He cautioned the Board to be very careful about going back to the original numbers Mr Levingston said that he had not polled the residents, but knew the people on Brent Road felt that it was not feasible to keep their numbers He stated that Mr Martin had informed him that Mr Levingston's section was the only section that had come back to him as a problem He stated that he was speaking strictly for the North Emerson section and thanked the Board and retired from the meeting Mrs Battin announced that we had not been formally notified by Special the Town Clerk because she had not received formal notification from Election the State relative to the upcoming election She wanted to remind the people in Precincts 7 and 8 that there will be a Special Primary on Tuesday, October 4 and a Special Election Tuesday, November 1 to elect a representative to replace Representative Amick The dates will be set formally when the formal notice is received from the Town Clerk Mr Allan Kenney, Lexington's representative to the Governor's Hanscom Task Hanscom Field Task Force, met with the Board to discuss the Policy Force Report Committee's report of June 21 Mr Kenney updated the Board regarding the background of the Task Force The Air Force terminated its lease in 1974 and the then Governor Sargent appointed the Governor's Hanscom Field Task Force The purpose of the group was to work with the con- sultants hired by Mass Port to study and gather some alternative future policy recommendations for the air port He informed the Board that the Task Force is now at the point where it is getting ready to make their policy recommendations to Mass Port concerning the future use of the air port He referred to the Policy Committee Reporting the future use of the air port He referred to the Policy Committee Re- port submitting fifteen recommendations The first twelve policy recommendations were identidal with those adopted by the Task Force at its April 12, 1977 meeting for the public meeting discussions Mr 1 Kenney reviewed the report with the Board and it was agreed to accept 552 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 "The the report preferring Item 15 presently operational informal curfew system should be continued in effect Only if night operations become more numerous so as to be judged objectionable by a Hanscom Noise Abatement Committee should the curfew be made mandatory In that event,however, the hours should be from 11 P.M to 7 A.M. The air- port manager and Noise Abatement Committee should discuss additional methods of reducing night operations, including additional differential landing fees The practice of turning the lights off at 11 P.M. should be continued " to item 15A "A curfew from 11 P.M to 7 A.M should be established for all aircraft operations at the airport " Mr Kenney informed the Board that the noise problem, while it can still be a problem, is more of an isolated problem because the air force has moved out and the Director of the Airport has instituted a very good noise abatement program in terms of flight paths, voluntary night cur- few and cautioning the polots not to roar the engines, etc He pointed out that because of new Federal Regulations, planes are getting quieter and will be more quiet as we head into the '80s During the years since 197+ Mass Port has adopted two policies that were important One was not to allow a passenger type carrier to operate -out of Hanscom and, additionally, they would not support any physical construction in terms of increasing the capacity of the airport He stated that the group has become increasingly aware of the economic importance of the airport to the region He pointed out that the policy set forth can be reviewed periodically as times and technology change Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adopt the Policy Committee's recommendations for the future use of Hanscom Field adopting Item 15 as opposed to Item 15A to be presented to the Mass Port Authority who will hold further public hearings and through its Board of Directors would adopt a set of policy guidelines for the future running of Hanscom Field Mr Kenney thanked the Board and retired from the meeting Abatement The Chairman informed the Board that the next item was a request Ambulance from the Veterans' Agent for an abatement of an ambulance bill Bill Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the ambulance bill in the amount of $25 00 for Mary DeFelice Walk-a-Thon A request from Women's American ORT for permission for a five Women's Am mile walk-a-thon on Sunday, September 25 (rain date of October 2) was ORT read by the Chairman Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to grant permission to the Women's American ORT for permission to conduct a five mile walk-a- thon along the route submitted subject to the rules and regulations set down by the Town Manager and the Safety Department One Day The Chairman read a request from W R Grace & Co RAEDACC Assoc Liquor for a one day liquor license for August 31, 1977 License Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to grant a one day liquor license to W R Grace & Co RAEDACC Assoc for August 31, 1977 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 The Chairman informed the Board that Mr William R Page, Chairman Forum on Aging of the Lexington Forum on Aging had requested the assignment of one of Assignment the Selectmen to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Lexington Mr Kent Forum on Aging Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to assign Mr Kent as the Selectmen's representative to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Lexington Forum on Aging The Chairman reminded the Board that several months ago it was Selectmen's duggested that the Board of Selectmen develop a policy and procedures Policy manual and compile in one spot all the existing areas in which the Manual Selectmen have established a policy Mrs Battin, Mrs Miley and Mr Kent submitted suggestions which will be compiled in one written list for Board distribution and discussion at a later date A request from Five Fields, Inc for permission to hold its Five Fields Annual Labor Day square dance on Saturday, September 3 with a rain Square Dance date of Sunday, September 4 was read by the Chairman Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to Five Fields, Inc to hold its Annual Labor Day square dance at the circle on Stonewall Road on Saturday, September 3 from 7 00 to 11 30 p.m Rain date approve for Sunday, September 4 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Water request of Warren A Empey, DPW for the abatement of the following Abatements water bills Richard W Young 28 Estabrook Rd $121 05 Incorrect reading Josephine Philbrook 49 Grassland St 33 75 " " Lex Tennis Club 19 Washington St 127 35 Alfred Colonero 22 Eaton Rd 38 25 " billing Robert 25 Ln 11 Zagami 14 Wellington No meter g g John Merryfield 17 Smith St 159 27 Incorrect billing Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings of April 19, July 25 and August 8, 1977 The Town Manager reported to the Board relative to the letter OSHA Extension received from the Mass League of Cities & Towns which included the to Public details of a proposal presently before the legislature which would Employees extend the provisions of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) as outlined by the Federal Government to public employees The Mass League has recommended opposing its adoption The bill has received a favorable report from the Commerce and Labor Committee of the House and is now in the House Ways and Means It was Mr Hutchinson's opinion that this falls into the area of a State mandated program which, in Lexington's terms, may be unnecessary His recommendation, after dis- 554 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 cussing with our insurance carrier, was to make sure that we receive proper inspections He asked that the Board endorse the idea that this program not be adopted at this time Mrs Battin referred to the August 10 issue of THE BEACON in which the strongly worded letter from the Municipal Associations was somewhat modified She read part of the article which listed several alterna- tive proposals that is now being considered as an alternative proposal to H-6370 This proposal was based on information from the State De- partment of Labor of the State of North Carolina which has had a very successful voluntary program resulting in an accident rate significantly lower than the national average Mr Kent stated that he hoped that they could concur in the gen- eral position without subscribing to the polemical language in the letter Mrs Battin agreed and said that she would handle it Open Burning Mr Hutchinson referred to the report on proposed regulations re- garding open burning which essentially called for allowing burning for two months during the year in the spring A meeting held in Gardner Auditorium was attended by representatives of the Town There was general agreement regarding the proposal It was suggested by Chief McDonough and others that they solicit from the Fire Chief's Associa- tion and others formal comments rather than just the hearing process General Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that Jeff Shaw had attended the Revenue County Commissioner's hearing on general revenue sharing where he Sharing stated the Town's position that it should be passed through to the towns in the manner of property tax relief Flood Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that the Flood Insurance Map Insurance was in from the Department of Housing and Urban Development Informa- tion in the accompanying letter was to notify communities of the pro- posed base flood elevations which will be the basis for the flood plain management measures that the communities must either adopt or show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program Mr Hutchinson stated that the map is generally compatible with the existing flood plain and zoning development of the Town He felt that the formulating and adoption of the map by the Federal Government as the flood plain map of the Town would not be detrimental to the Town of Lexington There are processes for those who feel that they might be aggrieved by the map and he will get this information outlined and to the Minuteman for publication Pgople will be encouraged to review the map which will be on file in the Planning Board He stated that, as a general rule, people don't buy flood insurance The Federal plan stipulates that if a person wants to buy or build a house in a flood zone he must buy this type of insurance rw ,r. ,E J,) Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 Mr Hutchinson updated the Board regarding his review of the con- Sanitary tingency plan for sanitary sewer system overflows He stated that Sewer they are continuing to work with the Department of Environmental Overflows Quality Engineering At the last meeting the discussions focused Plan around chlorinating the North Lexington pumping station in the event that we allow the system to surcharge if we had to allow for an over- flow it would go into Kiln Brook This would involve some expense for certain types of equipment which is investigating and will report back to the Board and ask for the Board's consideration as to whether or not this would be worthwhile to fund such a proposition or go to alternate types of measures that might not be as foolproof We have had no problems this summer If the method of treating is acceptable, several permits will have to be obtained Mr Bailey stated that he felt that the cost wouldn't be pro- hibitive and anything that would help get a temporary fix to the prob- lem must be considered very carefully He asked the Town Manager if the procedure generally is OK by our Board of Health Mr Hutchinson stated that he would check with them but felt that it would be Mr Hutchinson reported to the Board relative to the delivery of Human Human Services Several meetings have been held with various agen- Services cies that deliver human services Our interns have been inventorying Council and identifying services in the Lexington area which will be put into a catalog that will be available to citizens While these various groups were meeting, the discussion focused around the formation of a Human Services Council They, as a citizen group, designated them- selves as an ad hoc Human Services Council to continue to work on the problem of identifying the services and, hopefully, eliminate some of the areas that overlap He pointed out that some people have identi- fied the group as the Lexington Human Services Council, and pointed out that it is just a name they have designated themselves They hope to have a full report in the Fall for the Board's consideration Mr Busa addressed the Town Manager and referred him to their con- versation of that morning in which the Town Manager had, apparently informed Mr Busa that the committee was an ad hoc committee of the Board of Selectmen Mr Busa stated that he wanted to make it per- fectly clear that, to help meet these needs, the Board of Selectmen and Town offices had established the Human Services Council Mr Hutchinson explained that the full involvement of the staff has been from the Manager's office on behalf of the Board of Select- men He further explained that this is a group of Lexington citizens that have come forward on a voluntary basis He stated that at a meeting of about 40 organizations, an invitation was extended to any- one who would like to serve on the coordinating counsel and work to- gether with the administration were invited to do so Certain groups of people came forward at that time He further stated that if Mr Busa were asking if this was a Selectmen's or Manager appointed committee, that it was not 55i Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 Mr Busa stated that he felt that if this was a citizensrou g P that the advertising and publicity should not be absorbed by the Town as it is not the policy of the Board of Selectmen to put this informa- tion out at Town expense He stated that he wanted it clear that it was not a committee appointed by the Manager or the Board of Selectmen He had no objections to the expenditures as long as this was a committee appointed by the Town Manager, but if it were a citizens group they should do their own publicity and pay for it themselves Mr Hutchinson stated that he had asked for, and was grateful for the help, and if he had portrayed the Manager's role the wrong way, he apologized He felt that it was necessary to complete the charge of the Board of Selectmen Mr Kent stated that he would like to endorse fully the Manager's approach in this area He supported the way in which the Manager's office has engaged this group of citizens as a part of his office's effort to carry out the request of the Board He felt that, if in initiating this survey in attempting to get people together has led to the formation of this group for the exchange of information regard- ing coverage, needs, extent of services or lack thereof, this is a community endeavor and should be supported He stated that insofar as materials are duplicated at town expense, those matters ought to relate very directly, and he would abide by the Town Manager's judg- ment, to the function which the Town Manager is carrying out on behalf of the Town He stated that he felt that all members of the Board of Selectmen should know what is going on and be regularly apprised of developments Mr Busa stated that he had no objections to the procedures that were established, but what he gathers after establishment of the pro- cedures, is that a group of citizens have formed a Human Services Council and appointed themselves as chairman and leaders of a sub committee working out on their own gathering information He stated that the charge was given to the Manager from Town Meeting to catalog all our human services and expenses in human services If that is what the Manager is going to get from this committee he had no ob- jections as long as it is under the Manager's jurisdiction Mrs Battin stated that what she understood the Manager and Mr Kent to say was that this group is helping the Manager's office carry out what the Board of Selectmen charged him to do Jeff Shaw had called on people in the community who are knowledgeable to help him devise the questionnaire and hold meetings and gather the information that they were the instruments that are being used The Manager has promised to keep "on top" of the situation and inform the Board regularly Cary Hall Representative, Lincoln Cole, was at the meeting and referred the Board to its copy of a letter from Vincent J Piro, Chairman of the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission dated August 9 Mr Cole explained to the Board that the meeting would be a daytime meeting for one day only The Board assured Mr Cole that Cary Hall would be available eleJrl Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 Representative Cole informed the Board that the Sub Committee on Tax Bill Taxation has come up with a bill that will give relief to the tax payers of the Town 70 years and older He gave a copy of the bill to the Board and informed the members that they could write to James Gaffney regarding it Town Counsel and the Board of Assessors are to get a copy and come back to the Board with recommendations Mrs Miley reminded the Board that Mr Wadsworth, Chairman of the Denny's Board of Appeals, had asked for input insofar as any deliberations Restaurant were concerned and she asked if the Board was prepared to give any in- put as to their feelings regarding Denny's application to operate 24 hours per day Mr Bailey stated that he felt that he would not give an opinion until after he had been present at the Board of Appeals hearing He stated that he didn't feel that it was appropriate for the Board to make a decision in advance of the Board of Appeals hearing and decision After further discussion, the Board agreed that, as the licensing agent of the Town, it is not bound to follow a judgement of the Board of Appeals and had an obligation to make its own judgement with respect to functions under its jurisdiction Chairman Battin informed the Board that she would be out of Town Acting from Friday, September 2 to Sunday, September 11 and asked that the Chairman Board vote an Acting Chairman Mr Kent nominated Mr Bailey who informed the Board that he would be out of town for three days, but would be avilable Mrs Battin stepped down as Chairman and nominated Mrs Miley and then resumed the chair and called for the vote By a three to two vote, Mr Bailey was voted Acting Chairman from Friday, September 2 to Sunday, September 11 Mr Kent explained his position in that he feels that until a Vice Chairman is elected, the senior member of the Board should be asked to be Acting Chairman whenever needed Mrs Battin stated that the question of seniority had raised its head several times under the former Chairman in the last year She stated that her feeling was that the Board had really, more or less, abandoned it as a policy for election or appointing for no matter how temporary or long She stated that she did not use that as a guiding light She felt that Mrs Miley was the most available and would be there the three days Mr Frank Sandy and the Recycling Committee met with the Board to Recycling discuss proposals relative to the recycling program He stated that Program the Committee was unhappy with the proposed cost of $7500 as Town Meeting had appropriated $5,000 He stated that some of the members were unhappy about getting involved in what was likely a publicity att by the bottling industries to propose a future bottle bill Some of the members felt that things could be worked out with them in contract 558 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 e could use Lexington in an objectionable manner He so that they ou d not g J pointed out that some of the members felt that the whole thing should be done professionally and some felt that a mix of professional and Lexington volunteers would be better regarding the publicity Mr Bailey stated that he felt that if a combination of Lexington talent and Lexington money could pull it off, he would be more comfort- able with that combination Mr Sandy pointed out that someone would have to be paid to oversee and coordinate the program At this point he asked the Board if they wanted the Recycling Committee and the Sanitary Landfill Committee to continue in existence as the original charge to both committees had been fulfilled He pointed out that most of the members were not particularly skilled or interested in public relations campaigns He also pointed out that it was better not to have a formal structure of a committee because of Mr McSweeney or Mr Hutchinson wanted to get people on the committee to meet with them it would take three days be- cause of the Open Meeting Law requiring the posting of meetings He felt that the people involved would be just contributing efforts and that no policy making decisions were involved so that a formal committee would be unnecessary After further discussion, it was agreed that a mix of professionals and citizens would be best because of the time-table involved in the recycling effort The Town Manager is to look at several proposals Mrs Battin stated that she felt a little uneasy about dissolving the Sanitary Landfill Committee at this time and asked Mr Sandy to write up a report of the various functions that it performed, how he sees it going and what requests he would make in changing it It was agreed to dissolve the Recycling Committee Recycling Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to dissolve the Committee Recycling Committee The Chairman thanked the Committee for the time and effort put into the report and the Committee retired from the meeting Lincoln The Recreation Committee met with the Board to discuss the Lincoln Street Street bike path Mr Frank Sandy had written a letter to the Board Bike Path stating his objections to stone dust bike paths Mrs Hinkle of the Recreation Committee pointed out that the 1975 Town Meeting had appro- priated $5,000 under Article 38 for the development of paths for walk- ing, bicycling and cross country skiing in such locations as the Recreation Committee determined with the approval of the Board of Selectmen She stated that the Committee has explored several possi- ble locations and decided to construct the path from Worthen Road to the existing path from Baskin Road to Middleby Road The path would be constructed of crushed stone except where steep grades are encoun- tered and would be subject to erosion and these parts would be paved Once installed, the path would complete the linking-up of the "Res", Bridge School, Lincoln Street field and the Center Field Mr Sandy felt that the money was being wasted if the paths would eventually be paved over 1 55 9 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 Mr Martin, Assistant Town Engineer, pointed out that, basically, any path or roadway surface is on a prepared gravel base and the stonedust path would be preparation for future paving Mr Bailey stated that the commitment of the Town is, ultimately, to paved paths, but there just isn't enough money at this time and in order to complete this length, the Recreation Committee felt that the best way was as they had outlined it The Chairman thanked the committee and the members retired from the meeting The School Sites Conversion Committee, chaired by Mrs Miley, met School Sites with the Board to present its progress report relative to the disposi- Conversion tion of Hancock School Committee Mrs Mileyinformed the Board that the Committee had its first Report P meeting on April 28 and have met every other week since that time She thanked the Committee members for their regular attendance during the summer which was so instrumental in furthering their accomplishments Mrs Miley informed the Board that the Committee, in its delibera- tions regarding the disposition of the property, had kept in mind first, the Town with the neighborhood and what the Town's needs are The Committee was now asking for direction before going to Town Meeting with proposals After advertising in several newspapers, 52 responses were received The Town Manager and his assistant had conducted two tours of the building A total of 26 proposals have been received After questioning Mr Cohen, he explained what a ground lease was and stated that he felt that any proposal containing a ground lease would have to be investigated very carefully Mr Cohen informed the Board that Mrs Miley had questioned him as to the legality of an executive session and he stated that it was permissible under Item #6 of the Open Meeting Law Mrs Miley felt that, for the protection of the people who had submitted proposals the matter should be discussed in executive session because the Committee report indicated that the Committeewas leaning against certain alternatives Mr Grossimon, a member of the Committee, stated that in fairness to the people who submitted proposals that would not be considered finally, they should be formally informed and not just read it in the newspapers This was also the opinion of other members of the Committee Mr Hutchinson stated that he felt that the report was so well written and done by the members of the Committee that there was just an identification of the types of proposals and the interest of the parties was protected He further stated that they could be notified before any official publication of the report Mrs Miley stated that she felt that, after the executive session, it would be all right to print it in the newspapers, but right now she felt that she would prefer that they go into executive session Mrs Battin stated that she also had a matter for executive session regarding the reputation of an individual 560 Selectmen's Meeting August 22, 1977 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote to go into Executive Session, with no intention of resuming the open session, to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, if such discussions may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the governmental body and a person, firm of corporation and to discuss the reputation and character, physical condi- tion or mental health rather than the professional competence of a single individual Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 15 P.M A true record, Attest Principal Clerk, Selectmen ' 1 I