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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-01-31-BOS-min 337 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 31, 1977 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, January 31, 1977 at 7 30 p.m Chairman Kassler, Mr Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin and Mrs Miley; Mr Hutchinson, Town Engineer; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr McSweeney, Director of Public Works/Engineering; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present At the request of the Town Clerk, the following jurors were drawn Jurors Wallace Feurzeig 13 White Pine Lane Theresa U Frissore 92 Blossomcrest Road Gilda Demigan 34 Tarbell Avenue George C Henderson, Jr 136 Maple Street Helen A Arana 89 Bloomfield Street Helen S Crane 66 Hinchey Road Stephen Hastings 15 Sunnyknoll Terrace William C Curtis 72 Freemont Street Mr Charles Spaulding, President, and Mr Richard Dobroth, Vice Dummer Boy President of Spaulding and Slye, met with the Board to discuss Drummer Condominiums Boy condominiums Chairman Kessler said that it is not the intention of the Board to rehash anything brought out in the Planning Board but to remind them that they had made a commitment at Town Meeting to keep a certain percentage of units at a relatively low market price, to keep at least 20 units which would not end up beyond the means of a moderate family Mr Spaulding was sorry that there was so much confusion on the cost of the units, as they did talk between $29,500 and $39,500 at Town Meeting They were anxious to build that kind of housing but, unfortunately, even with good back-up material, they did not antici- pate the delay nor the increased rate of inflation At Town Meeting, they did not have detailed site engineering and specifications and they have experienced difficulty with running into ledge Also, they have done other things which have affected the price, such as adding a garage, which increased the cost from $2,000 to $2,500 and basement expenses They had concluded that a garage is an important feature; it was not part of the original plan but was an option To develop the site is $15,000, and the Wall Street Journal quotes $17 to $19,000, which is a lot more than ours In order to break even, we have to build some larger ones at $80,000 We are dealing with young people and also up to 65 years of age At Town Meeting, we never guaranteed a price and we apologize if that is the way it came across to anybody We had no way of controlling inflation and we would ask you if you were in our position how you would cope with rising costs 338 Selectmen's Meeting January 31, 1977 11/ The Board stressed the importance of keeping prices as low as possible, and Mr Spaulding agreed He offered to sit with any mem- ber of the Board to answer additional questions, if any Mr Spaulding and Mr Dobroth retired from the meeting App Comm The Appropriation Committee met with the Board to discuss budgets Mr Robert Hilton and Mr Otis S Brown, Jr , were present at dis- cussion of Account 7550, Library budget Library Mr Hutchinson recommended approval of $126,258 and pointed out Budget a reduction of $5,327 in the total approved in FY 77 Light and power are up over $5,000 this year but fuel is down $6,000 Mr Hilton explained that fuel oil costs were not as high as they were estimated but air conditioning costs for the summer were out of proportion, resulting in the great increase in the use of electricity Mr Bailey stated that total costs are about the same but the real saving would be if the book security system is approved at $27,400 Mr Furash questioned the need for this system and suggested a search system Chairman Kessler said that a great number of people would be offended Mr Furash replied that he was concerned about books being stolen, not about offending people He argued whether an electronic system would solve the problem. He advised the Board that the Appropria- tion Committee had not discussed the Article and would like to meet with Library representatives Mr Hilton and Mr Otis agreed to meet with the Appropriation Committee to discuss the book security Article and Article on paint- ing the East Lexington Branch Library, and they retired from the meeting Recreation The Recreation Committee met with the Board to discuss the budget Mr Hutchinson recommended the following Recommendation Trails 0 (done in-house) 4 Tennis Courts 0 Ballfield Upgrading 0 Bike Paths 0 Soccer Goal Posts 0 Lincoln Street Recreation Development. 0 Mr Daniel Busa said that, at the last meeting, we were ready to implement some plans and we have discussed the impact on the Town's tax dollar We have evaluated the program at $146,000 and, with Mr Hutchinson's recommendation of $60,000 for the pool, we could have our people coma forth and discuss different Articles in the Warrant I 339 Selectmen's Meeting January 31, 1977 Mr Bailey stated that until he had received a five-year pro- jection plan, it would be difficult for him to make a judgment He had to know what Recreation wants, for next year and thereafter Mr Furash agreed Mrs Lynn Hamilton, Recreation Coordinator, is to work up the program and the dollars and to come back to the Board with the whole package The Recreation Committee retired from the meeting Mr Furash announced that the Appropriation Committee report closes on February 21 and he would like to enlist the assistance of citizens presenting figures on their Articles Mr Cohen agreed to compile figures on a list of Articles submitted by Mr Furash App Comm retired from meeting Mr Hutchinson recommended that the Board authorize him to reply State DPW- to the State DPW that the Town of Lexington is not interested in the Airport offer to transfer ownership of a portion of State Highway off Access Road Marrett Road (Route 2A) , commonly known as Airport Access Road Mr McSweeney had submitted the following reasons 1 There are no Town-owned utilities currently within this layout, and no forseeable need for future extension of utilities to this area 1 III 2. The sole purpose of this road is to provide one of three means of access or egress to Hanscom Field 3 The Minute Man National Park is the sole abutter on both sides of this road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Manager to respond to the State Department of Public Works that the Town of Lexington is not interested in the offer to trans- fer ownership of the Airport Access Road Mr Hutchinson advised the Board that the Cemetery Department Trustees- needs a sod cutter for use in its expansion program as well as Cemetery stripping old grass in all Cemeteries He recommended that the Dept Trustees of Public Trusts be approached for an expenditure of Sod Cutter $1,200 from either the Munroe Cemetery Fund and/or the Westview Fund Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Trustees of Public Trusts for approval of an expenditure of $1,200 to purchase a sod cutter for the Cemetery Department Mr Hutchinson informed the Board that he and Mr Busa had Bandstand met with Mr Levi Burnell concerning the request of the Lexington Bicentennial Band for a bandstand or a shell to be located at Hastings 111 Park 34() Selectmen's Meeting January 31, 1977 Mr Busa requested approval of the Board to approach the Bicen- tennial Corporation for funds The Board agreed Mr Cohen questioned the use for which the Town had acquired the land at Hastings Park, and it was agreed to research the matter for Article information New Mr Hutchinson alerted the Board to a swearing-in ceremony for Patrolmen newly appointed Patrolman to be scheduled for the meeting of February 14 Binding Mr Hutchinson discussed a telephone call he had received from Arbitration Senator Rotondi informing him that the bill on binding arbitration would be heard on next Wednesday H3436 Mrs Battin stated that, as Legislative Liaison, she would urge all municipal officials to send in a position letter Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Town Manager to draft a letter to be sent to the hearing on H3436 stating the unanimous support of the Board of Selectmen on this bill would allow compulsory binding arbitration to terminate on June 30, 1977 Comm.Vict Mr Hutchinson read a recommendation from Mr George Smith, Direc- Seseme, Inc tor of Public Health, that the Common Victualler license of Seseme, Inc , 321 Woburn Street, be extended from January 31 to February 28, 1977 in order to allow for the transfer of ownership Mr Cohen informed the Board that because of the question of whether the new owner would have to make application to the Board of Appeals, his research disclosed that a license had been in existence at this location since 1959 under various ownerships, and the type of operation had not changed in any way Therefore, it is his ruling that, under these circumstances, a Board of Appeals' permit is not necessary The Board accepted the ruling of Town Counsel Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to extend the period of the Seseme, Inc , Common Victualler's license to February 28, 1977, subject to a report from Mr Smith on that date H2507- Mrs Miley, as Lexington's representative on the Middlesex County County Advisory Board, recommended that the Board of Selectmen send a letter Budgets to the Committee on Counties strongly urging the supportt of House Bill 2507, asking that the Legislature not bote to enlarge the County bud- gets She will be attending the hearing on February 8 and would be glad to submit the statement of the Board The Board agreed that Mrs Miley is to draft a letter concerning the unanimous support of the Board on House Bill 2507 Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call Session vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy 341 Selectmen's Meeting January 31, 1977 with respect to litigation and collective bargaining, with no intention of coming out of Executive Session to resume the open meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 35 p.m. A true record, Attest J4-V/ / Executive Clerk, Selectmen I I