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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-04-11-BOS-min 407 SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 11, 1977 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, April 11, 19-7, at 7 00 p m. Chairman Kassler, Mr Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin ane. Mrs Miley; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager, Mr McSweeney, Director of Public Works/Engineering; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Kassler read requests from the Lexington Sons of Italy 1-Day Special and the Lexington Minute Men, Inc for one-day special liquor permits Liquor License Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the license to the Lexington Sons of Italy for a one-day special ligoiir permit at the Knights of Columbus Building on April 16, 1977 from 7 00 p m. to 12 00 Midnight Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the license to the Lexington Minute Men, Inc for a one-day special liquor permit at the Lexington Armory on May 8, 1977 from 7 00 p m. to 12 00 Midnight Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings held on February 1 and February 14, 1977 Mr Hutchinson recommended that Article 5 be removed from the Article 5 table at Town Meeting this evening and a motion be made for an appropriation of $240,000 into Article 5 for distribution to per- sonal services accounts Agreement has not been reached with the Firefighters Union Fire Dept Mr Cohen read an amended motion for Aticle 73 to be presented Housing at Town Meeting That the Zoning By-Law of the Town be amended by Authority adding a new subsection 22 48 as follows for the purpose of re- Articles zoning the parcel of land containing 4 4 acres, more or less, which 72 & 73 was described and authorized to be conveyed by the Selectmen to the Lexington Housing Authority for one dollar or any other sum by tha vote under Article 72 of the warrant for this meeting and which is shown on a map on file with the Town Clerk "A district on the southerly side of Woburn Street as shown on the Zoning District Map No RM-6 entitled 'RM Garden Apartment Districts' designated thereon 22 48." Mr Cohen explained that we are just dealing this year with 4 4 acres and, next year, the Housing Authority will come in for the other piece of land. Members of the Permanent Building Committee and the Recreation Center Pool - Committee met with the Board to discuss the Center Pool Article Article 34 Chairman Kessler said that it is the feeling of the Board that the pool created much controversy at Town Meeting and people have - 408 Selectmen' s Meeting April 11, 1977 many concerns and misunderstandings Reconsideration was moved and we feel that it would be in the best interest of the Town to talk about preliminary plans, and to slow down to give people a chance to address their questions and to have more input Next year, we would have more information on sites specifications, price, etc Mr William Scouler, Chairman of the Permanent Building Com- mittee, agreed that it would be a wise course as some Town Meeting Members did not support it, others felt we were going too fast, and some would like to do nothing Further study could reduce the costs He said that he had talked with Mr Sesaki (Architect) who felt that an appropriation of $20,000 would be adequate to develop plans and, if further study were needed, he could do cursory soil studies At least, we can consider how we could do something around the high school Mr Busa said that, especially, there are concerns about the bath house People feel that with $800,000 you could build three pools Also, there were those who objected to enlaring the parking area as traffic would be heavy on Worthen Road Mr Bailey supported the proposed amendment for $20,000 Discussion was held on a figure of $25,000 and Mrs Battin moved the sum of $19,500 The Permanent Building and the Recreation Committee agreed. 111 Article 34 Motion That Article 34 be amended to appropriate a sum of $19,500 for preliminary plans and specifications for renovating and adding to the Center Pool Complex In addition to considering the present pool location as a site for a new pool complex the Recreation and Permanent Building Com- mittees shall consider two additional sites adjacent to the high school, one on the east side of the present field house and the other on the west side, each in close proximity to the high school locker room facilities Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously that the amended motion for Article 34 carry the sum of $19,500 for preliminary plans and specifications for renovating and adding to the Center Pool Complex. New Flagpole- Mr Richard Michelson, Chairman of the Lexington Bicentennial Battle Green Permanent Memorial Committee, invited members of the Board to par- ticipate in the official dedication ceremony for the new flagpole on the Battle Green on April 17, 1977 at 2 30 p m. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to designate Selectmen Alfred S Busa as the representative of the Board of Selectmen at the flagpole dedication ceremony on April 17, 1977 Mr Michelson added that the ball at the top of the old wood flagpole was too heavy for the steel flagpole and it will be pre- 4O Selectmen's Meeting April 11, 1977 sented to the Lexington Historical Society as part of the ceremony The Board discussed the date for a special Town election to Special Town fill the vacancy on the Board of Selectmen as a result of Dr Election - Kassler's resignation as a member and Chairman, to be effective Selectmen April 15, 1977 The Town Clerk had suggested either June 6 or June 13, and Mr Bailey moved for June 13 in order to give candi- dates more time Questions were raised from the audience as to why so much time is needed, and why the Town election could not be combined with either the special State primary on May 24 and election on June 21 to fill the vacancy for State Senator Mr Cohen stated that the State Election Commission would not allow it for the State primary and if combined on June 21, it would be necessary to to have separate machines, etc and we wouldn't save any money, anyway Therefore, to have it between the primary and the election, as there is a minimum of 42 dates by statute, it is felt that June 13 would be a better date Mr Busa seconded the motion for June 13 provided the vote is reconfirmed after April 15, 1977 when the vacancy occurs Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the date of the Special Election on Monday, June 13, 1977, to fill the vacancy on the Board of Selectmen, subject to confirmation of the vote after the vacancy occurs on April 15, 1977 Mr Hutchinson left the meeting at 7 30 p m. Because of Patriots' Day, it was agreed to have the regular meet- Meeting ing of the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, April 19, 1977, at 7 30 p m. Organization of the Board was discussed (Mr Bailey will be Board Members away from April 14 to April 29 ) Mr Bailey said that the interval from Friday, April 15, to election day on June 13 is nine weeks He moved that during that period the chairmanship be rotated for solid three week intervals between three members of the Board, and these three members would work it out for three week periods Mr Busa seconded the motion Mrs Miley said that she will vote against this motion because we now have in place a mechanism to handle any such contingency as absence, illness or resignation of the Chairman It is in the per- son of a Vice Chairman elected five months ago by the vote of a majority of this Board who, when there is no Chairman, acts in his place The question of reorganization seems inappropriate at this time It is not necessary now but will be both appropriate and necessary when a new member joins the Board Mrs Battin said that she assumes that she is not the issue but the process is. Since her beginnings in government seventeen years 410 Selectmen's Meeting April 11, 1977 ago, she has been interested in government structureture and the estab- lishment of orderly procedures to assure continuity and focus responsibility both for the citizens and administration As Mrs Miley stated, such a process was created by a majority of this Board five months ago She finds hereself perplexed that they would abandon it at the very time it is available to handle the situation until a new member is elected to the Board She would vote against the motion. Mr Bailey said that they aren't reorganizing the Board; it would be inappropriate to reorganize the Board Action that was taken five months ago was taken by five people to suit the circum- stances and the answer was clearly made that this was not the in- tent to carry over the position but was strictly a situation to cover for the Chairman - to cover his absences from the Town. We now have a Vice Chairman and I would expect to have one and not to eliminate it, but to have a rotating Chairman. Mr Busa said that he specifically made this point four weeks ago and he had asked the question, and it was said that reorganiza- tion would not take place An equitable situation would be to ro- tate the four members of the Board but if Mr Bailey doesn't elect to do so, that is his prerogative Mr Bailey said that members would recall that, approximately a year ago, in discussing the matter of who would serve when the Chairman was out of Town or unavailable, we pointed out that, his- torically, the senior member served and, at that time, Mrs Battin and Mrs Miley suggested that the Chairmanship be rotated, and it puzzled him as to why it is not appropriate now Chairman Kassler asked if anyone in the audience wished to comment. Mrs Helena Butters said that rather than being deadlocked as to who occupies the chair for a matter of a few weeks, it seemed to her that Mr Bailey's suggestion is a sensible one Mrs Hoffman asked what the advantage is to having the Chair- manship for a few weeks? Mr Bailey replied that he thought that the problem was that they gave up the one person position which evolved to the senior man and, at the objection to one member of the Board, it went to revolving, and we are hard-pressed to understand a non-senior member of the Board. Mrs Hoffman sked if the seniority problem bothered him? Mr Bailey replied, "Not me " Dr Frick said that it seemed to him that they are playing games You have a procedure, you have a Vice Chairman Mrs Battin is Vice Chairman, the important thing is to maintain con- tinuity You set it up five months ago - good, bad, or indifferent He didn't think anyone expected Dr Kassler to resign, and he didn't understand what the game is all about. He thought that they are degrading the Board's position and hoped that they would reconsider 411 Selectmen's Meeting April 11, 1977 that the Board of Selectmen operates in a different dimension Mr Bailey said that in reply as to what we are trying to do, there are four members of the Board trying to organize It was a five member Board of a different complexion, and four are trying to organize on terms of mutual acceptance Mrs Battin said Mr Bailey's statement puzzled her because if followed to its logical conclusion all previous action taken by t1e 5 member board would now be invalid and the four remaining members would then have to reconsider all our previous decisions Mr Buse said that, five months ago, it was not a decision bt.t merely a gesture. When he asked the question of whether the Board would be reogranized if the Chairman did step down before electior next year, it was his understanding at that time that reorganiza- tion would occur Mr Lee Whitman said that maybe it is unfortunate that the Board had not been organized previously in a structured way with a Chair- man, Vice Chairman, and a Clerk Perhaps with a Vice Chairman moving up, that he remain as Presiding Vice Chairman Mrs Miley asked Chairman Kassler to state again what he had said a month ago as there is a different interpretation Chairman Kassler stated that his position was, and still is, that it is both inappropriate to get involved with what he con- sidered to be a petty and minor dispute, and getting involved in discussion of who fills the Chair He was going to try to hold fast and not get embroiled He would like to emphasize to every- body that when he was elected Chairman he fully intended to have a full term, and his decision to resign was made after that. Mr Frank Sandy asked if there were any statutory powers given to the Chairman and, if not, why is it so important who the Chair- man is? Chairman Kassler answered that there are no benefits to being Chairman Mr Bailey asked why no one had answered his query as to why rotation was acceptable twelve months ago and not now? Mrs Miley answered that the reason that they decided on a Vice Chairman was that we had an emergency situation last fall when Dr Kessler was in the hospital Calls were made to determine who would act as chairman, and it was very confusing Motion having been made by Mr Bailey and seconded by Mr Bu3a to rotate the Chairmanship between three members of the Board for nine weeks after April 15, 1977, it was voted 2-0, Mrs Battin and Miley voting in the negative Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8 00 p.m. A true record, Attest 11/ Exec Clerk, Selec n