Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-12-20-BOS-min IISELECTMEN'S MEETING December 20, 1976 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, December 20, 1976 at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Kassler, Mr Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin and Mrs Miley; Mr Perry, Acting Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr Martin, Acting Town Engineer; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr Perry updated the Board on the energy savings program Xenegy, Energy Inc , of Lexington is interested in submitting a proposal and their rep- Savings resentatives have already made an on-site analysis of the buildings Program Mr Coscia, DPW Manager, Mr Sweet, Buildings Superintendent, and Mr Maclnnes and Mr Casey of the School Department attended a meeting con- ducted by the Department of Community Affairs regarding recommended procedures to be followed in municipal buildings We have already re- duced thermostats and the heat will be cut down earlier in the day, and we have cut down on lighting The Recreation Committee, Appropriation Committee, Capital Ex- Recreation penditures Committee, and members of the Planning Board met with the Committee Selectmen to discuss the Summary of the Master Plan for Recreation and, also, Recreation Articles Chairman Kassler expressed appreciation for the work involved in the culmination of recreation plans for the Town It was his personal feeling that the next big push in Lexington should be on recreation Mrs Miley agreed and congratulated Lynn Hamilton on the excellent job of coordinating the plan Chairman Kassler asked for a motion to accept the plan as guide- lines for the Town Mr Busa moved to accept the recommendations set forth in the recreation plan, to be used as guidelines in the implementa- tion of the plan Mrs Battin added that the plan be accepted in the order of priorities and the timetable of implementation, and she seconded the motion Mr Bailey said that he had no objection to accepting the summary, as presented but, before he endorsed the entire program, he wanted to see a tabulation of dollar signs on the cost per project per year Chairman Kassler said that, at this time, Recreation can only give estimated costs, and final approval would be given by Town Meeting The Board of Selectmen is only approving the concept and, as the plan is developed, there could be changes and shifts in priorities Mr Daniel Busa, Chairman of the Recreation Committee, said that allquestions will be answered Asa group, theyhad tried to present the best details and to go forward in the order of priorities He praised Lynn Hamilton for her services and asked her to present the plan Ms Hamilton discussed the summary and said that the plan cost the Town $10,000 and represented one and one-half years of work; it will II/ need annual support if it is to be implemented We sent out a question- 284 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 naire to see if the Townspeople were interested in a program, and they are We received a 56 percent overall response and we have a sample of 15 percent of the households in Lexington The survey asked resi- dents how much they would support and how much more per year; people said between 50 and 54 cents more on the tax rate, and this translates to an average number of $136,000 The plan proposes an operating bud- get of $110,000 and capital expenditures of $125,000; total of $235,000 a year This is what Recreation is thinking in terms of im- plementation, with a five year plan of $1,175,000 Swimming Pool Mr Dhimos, Recreation Committee, discussed the swimming pool and playfields He said that the swimming pool is enjoyed by a vast major- ity of residents but the facilities are inadequate and cannot handle the demand Having been told by the community that the swimming com-' plex is the No 1 priority, Recreation is going to place it as the top priority item at Town Meeting, and will pursue the building of the com- plex, hopefully, at the existing site The Permanent Building Commit- tee has the responsibility for interviewing architectural firms and the feasibility study Playfields Mr Dhimos pointed out that playfields are No 7 on their priority list as the survey indicated that people didn't want additional ones Recreation will have an Article as existing playfields need upgrading Tennis Courts Mrs Judy Uhrig, Recreation Committee, discussed tennis courts and said that 51 percent of households presently use the facilities a minimum of six new courts are needed, and the master plan suggests four additional courts at Diamond Junior High Community Mrs Uhrig said that 47 percent of those surveyed favored a com- Center munity center and the rest a teenage center The plan proposes to use school building and mini-bus transportation Obviously we have no building and, for the first year, allocation costs will not be con- sidered Personally, we are going to need all the support and goodwill we can get on the community center, and we will need competent and enthusiastic staff support Trails Mrs Alice Hinkle, Recreation Committee, said that trails are the No 3 priority, according to the questionnaire There was strong support of continued acquisition of Conservation land We want to let people know where the land is and have them marked so they can safely Bike Paths walk the trails Regarding bike paths, one-half of the total popula- tion rides bikes and we should have two systems in the Town to link the schools and open space 43 or 44 percent of the survey indicated that they should be a stone dust or paved, but people write in that no money should be spent if they are not paved Reimbursement funds could be obtained only if they are paved Dr Clarke, Chairman of the Planning Board, said that the Planning Board was happy to participate and would point out that, basically, this is an in-house report, with the exception of the consultant Ms Hamilton and the Recreation Committee agreed to come back to the Board with a breakdown of costs and priorities of the Recreation 5-year Capital Budget projects Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 Mr Bailey commented that the presentation was a good beginning, and Recreation should agree pn how they want to go and the order in which they should get there Unfortunately, this is only about 1 per- cent of the fight as everyone is aware of the budget problems of the last six months and Recreation has to present a united front for the dollars Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to accept the recommendations set forth in the recreation plan in the order of priorities and timetable, to be used as guidelines in the implementation of the plan The Recreation Committee and the Planning Board retired from the meeting The Appropriation Committee and the Capital Expenditures Commit- Sewer Policy tee were still in the meeting while the Board discussed the estab- lishment of a policy for sewering the Town Chairman Kassler said that it is appropriate to discuss it at this time because we have budgets before us We are continually having questions asked about sewering one or two houses in the area and we should state exactly what our sewer policy is Engineering has been working on an average, reasonable figure Mr Martin explained that Engineering has listed all the un- ' sewered streets and each was given a priority category on a descend- ing scale from A through D Category A - Immediate or forseeable need for municipal sewer; densely populated under present zoning; replace- ment of septic tanks or leaching beds not feasible under current regulations or soil condition; Category B - No immediate need for sewer but should be included in the program for 100% sewerage; streets contain a mixture of buildings and vacant lots; expansion or replacement of existing septic systems possible; Category C - No immediate or forseeable need for municipal sewer; streets contain mostly vacant land with dwellings widely spaced; expansion or replacement of existing septic systems may be more cost effective than in- stallation of municipal sewer; Category D - Major change in current Town policy would be re- quired before sewer could be installed; economically unjustifiable at this time Mr Martin agreed to come back to the Board with a draft of a policy to be followed concerning requests for sewer and water exten- sions _ 286 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 Sanitary Mr Frank Sandy, Chairman, and members of the Sanitary Landfill Landfill Advisory Committee met with the Board, to present the first report of Advisory the committee which was charged with reviewing current conditions at Committee the sanitary landfill, the history of the relationship with the State regarding landfill operations, and the studies of wetland and land- fill operations undertaken over the past five years Chairman Kessler congratulated the committee for submitting a report which was unanimously endorsed by all concerned groups in Town - Engineering, Planning Board, and citizen members of the committee It is our sincere hope to begin implementation of the recommendations presented, and Mr McSweeney agrees to start as soon as he receives approval of the Board The following recommendations were discussed for implementation under Phase I 1 Improve drainage from the dike parallel to Route 128 to Kiln Brook in accordance with plans presented by the Town to the Conservation Commission in October, 1976 Chairman Kassler commented that this has been taken care of 2 Develop and implement a water quality monitoring system basically as proposed by the C E Maguire Study of 1973, but with modifica- tions in the location of test sites Mr Martin said that we are in the process now of soliciting pro- posals just to provide expertise and advice as to what parameters we should be monitoring Collection and testing of data will be done in-house, in conjunction with the Board of Health, insofar as it is possible, but some testing will be done in an outside lab so that we may have certified results 3 Cover and grade the landfill as proposed by C E Maguire Mr Martin said that the landfill was graded so that surface water would run off, and that subsoil was dry We feel that we have done a good job in keeping the water out of the landfill Also, we will try to continue to improve our operation in this area 4 Install vents and/or burners for the dissipation of methane gas Mr Martin explained that a vent is a piece of corrugated pipe installed in a bed of crushed stone to allow (trapped) methane gas to flow through the atmosphere We have vents at Lincoln Street and, basically, they are catch basins sticking up through the soil We have done spot tests and there is still quite a bit of methane there, but vents will be installed through the cover 287 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 Chairman a rman Kassler asked if these would require an unusual expen- diture of funds and would have to come to Town Meeting? Mr Martin replied that all items under Phase I would not re- quire additional expenditures It is the feeling that they can con- tinue to operate on Phase I with a small amount of money, less than $5,000 for ongoing monitoring, and to have simple tests, which might not be what the state wants but would indicate to us what is happen- ing to leachate and where it is going If we find a problem, we can scale back In response to Mr Bailey's question if the money pro- vided in the operating budget for the sanitary landfill is sufficient to cover Phase I, Mr Martin replied that it is Mr Sandy commented that the main reason why these improvements are not going to cost money is that most of them were made over the past years He pointed out that the problem for many years was caused by the first layers of trash being placed in wet areas, and that stopped when we moved up There is still going to be leachate coming out but there is not much to eliminating that - and we can By closing the landfill, it doesn't get rid of the problem created many years ago Mrs Miley recommended that the landfill regulations be changed 1 Contractors should not be allowed to remove a roof from 111 a house and bring it to the landfill (Most contractors have to use a particular facility to deposit their material ) 2 Regulations should be tightened on who uses the landfill and how much is paid for a permit Mr Bailey disagreed and said that contractors can only put in that type of material that is generated in Lexington, and it would only be imposing a burden on Lexington residents as contractors will charge a higher fee to tote it away Mr Busa agreed Mrs Miley stated that she didn't feel that all Lexington residents must pay for a roof to be replaced as it should be up to the owner to absorb it She felt that it is the responsibility of one person - and that is the way it is done other places Mr Martin explained that Mr McSweeney and Mr Empey are in the process of evaluating the regulations, and recommendations will be submitted shortly Mr Perry agreed to request Mr McSweeney to give the information to the Board as soon as the recommended amendments to the landfill regulations are completed Item #5 under Phase I Recommendations was discussed There should be no further lateral expansion of the landfill into adjacent wetlands Mr Busa said that we do have some land that some of us consider not wetland Chairman Kessler informed all that Conservation is the agency to determine whether the land is wet, and that is something that Mr 288 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 McSweeney felt that the Engineering Department could live with com- fortably Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to accept the report of the Sanitary Landfill Advisory Committee and to implement the recommendations set forth in Steps 1 through 5 under Phase I; with the understanding that Steps 6 and 7 under Phase II are to be carried out at a later date 6 Withdraw Wetland Protection application No 201-16 If necessary, file a new application not calling for lateral expansion (which is no longer contemplated) 7 Notify the appropriate State agencies of the aggressive actions being taken by the Town to improve the landfill operation and its environmental impact, over the short term, pending a long term solution to the solid waste disposal problem This long term solution is being vigorously pursued by a separate committee SANITARY LANDFILL ADVISORY COMMITTEE This is the first report of your special committee charged with reviewing sanitary landfill operations Committee participants were Sue Solomon of the Conservation Commission, William J Martin, Assis- tant Town Engineer, Paul MacKenzie of the Planning Board and Frank Sandy Three meetings have been held so far At one or more of them we were joined by John J McSweeney, Director of Public Works/Engi- neering, Mary Miley, Board of Selectmen, Warren Empey, Manager of Operations, Kenneth G Briggs, Planning Director and Richard M. Perry, Acting Town Manager, as well as Dick Rogers of the Design Advisory Committee and Edward Boiteau of Sasaki Associates Mr Boiteau is a former Chairman of the Board of Health in Bellingham. During the course of these meetings, the committee has reviewed the current conditions of the landfill, the history of the relation- ship with the State regarding landfill operations and the studies of wetland and landfill operations undertaken over the past five years With this background and the advice received from the Design Advisory Committee, we offer the following discussion of the current situation and recommendations for improving it The surface and ground water emanating from the landfill contri- bute to the drinking water supplies of the Towns of Bedford and Burling- ton The landfill should therefore be operated in a manner designed to minimize the pollution of these waters The polluted effluent of landfills is generally referred to as leachate It consists of water that has passed through the solid waste and carried off dissolved or suspended materials These include partial decomposition products of the trash (which use up the oxygen in water as they continue to decompose) , various metals, and other 281) Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 chemicals that may be found in the landfill Reduction of the flow of water through the trash is the most generally used method to con- trol leachate Leachate flow from the landfill can be either downward into deep- er levels of groundwater, laterally through the ground near the sur- face until it eventually ins intercepted by Kiln Brook, or outward from the side of the landfill, into the surface water and eventually also into Kiln Brook Studies of subsoil conditions made for the Town by C E Maguire, Inc , indicate that the soil under the landfill includes a low perme- ability layer of silt and clay In their opinion, this makes pollu- tion of the deeper layers of ground water by the landfill unlikely We have no reason to doubt this conclusion The primary area of our concern therefore has been the pollution of surface and ground waters flowing into Kiln Brook The water flowing through the solid waste arises from three sources 1) water in the trash when it was deposited and water from the decomposition of the trash; 2) ground water flowing into the land- fill site from upstream areas (including route 128 runoff) ; and 3) rainfall landing on the landfill The water from wet trash and decomposition is negligible and can be absorbed by the Crier trash and surrounding soil Presently accepted practices for landfill construction would not allow groundwater to enter the trash Landfills are no longer allowed in wetlands except in extreme conditions and then the land must first be filled with clean fill so that the lowest levels of trash are four feet above the normal annual high water level These practices were not generally applied at the time the Hartwell Avenue landfill was started and much trash is below the water table The trash which is below the watertable is probably a major source of leachate generated by the landfill It must be emphasied however that the Town has not been depositing trash near or below the watertable for many years It is the recommendation of this committee that the Town abandon plans to expand the landfill laterally into adjacent wetlands However, the trash that is already below the watertable will remain there until it decomposes There is no practical way of removing it An immediate closing of the landfill would not remove this trash nor prevent it from generating further leachate It is therefore the opinion of this committee that there is no environmental reason to close the landfill at this time as long as future operations of the landfill comply with existing regulations Use of the present site with continued expansion upward should con- tinue until the Town is participating in a functioning, economically and technically sound regional waste disposal district based on re- cycling and/or resource recovery Involvement of the Town with such a district is the function of another committee recently appointed by the Selectmen Although the mass of polluted groundwater at the bottom of the 290 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 trash cannot be eliminated, methods of reducing ground water flow un- der the landfill should be employed whenever possible The most im- portant of these being the construction of the drainage channel along route 128 so that runoff from the highway can flow directly to Kiln Brook At present it is impounded between the road and the landfill Much of it soaks into the ground and flows under the landfill towards the brook The most important operational changes that the Town can make to reduce leachate involves the water entering the trash layers from rainfall Not only does the rainfall contribute to the water which generates leachate, but it also flushes out the highly contaminated groundwater discussed previously Whilewe can no longer prevent the contamination of the ground water under the landfill due to the trash already in it, every effort should be made to keep it within the confines of the landfill The regulations of the Dept of E Q.E (formerly D P H ) and the Maguire report describe the generally accepted methods for keeping rainfall from percolating through to the decomposing trash layers These include covering the trash with an impermeable layer of clay within 30 days of depositing trash This impermeable layer is in addition to the daily sand cover and the final topsoil layer In addition and of equal importance, this impermeable intermediate cover layer must be graded to cause the water to run off it freely It must also be steep enough so that pockets will not form even after trash settles Maguire recommends a grade of at least 20 A Navy Civil Engineering Laboratory report on landfills, which the Select- men received from Julian Bussgang, recommends a grade of 30 to 40 If water pockets form, even a relatively impermeable clay will allow water to penetrate into the trash layers The grading must also be such that the water runs off the landfill and not into the currently active dumping area or other poorly graded areas of the landfill Getting nearly all of the rainfall off the landfill surface before it penetrates into the trash layers is the primary goal After com- pletion of the landfill, a final cover of topsoil that will support vegetation is added This layer will absorb rainfall but the impermeable layer below it will not allow percolation into the trash. The water that the top soil cannot absorb will run off Once the impervious layer is in place, provisions must be made for venting the methane gas generated by the decomposition of the trash. This must be done in a manner that does not provide inlets for water to drain into A program to monitor water quality near the landfill should be undertaken An outline of such a program is given in the Maguire report and details will be worked out by the Engineering Department and reported on subsequently by this committee The program will include measurements in the new channel from Kiln Brook to the land- fill area, which probably contains the highest leachate concentration, upstream of the landfill to obtain base pollution levels, and at various 291 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 points downstream to determine the degree of natural cleansing and dilution Completion of the Route 128 drainage ditch, implementing of the landfill operation procedures as detailed in the Maguire report, and initiation of a testing program are necessary so that the Town can properly defend itself in court, if necessary, against an attempt to prematurely close the landfill It is also desirable, however, that the State be made aware of these improvements in the landfill opera- tion in order to forestall action against the Town based on prior impressions that the State has Whether the State should be noti- fied immediately of the Town's intentions, later after improvements have been made and testing has begun or only when querried further by the State remains to be determined Since this question is more political than technical this Committee will not make a recommendation on it The proceedings under Hatch Act file No 201-16 (1974) to expand the landfill laterally into adjacent wetlands has been taken over by the State It has become the subject of much bitterness and recrimi- nations, and now requires an Environmental Impact Report before fur- ther action can be taken Since this committee recommends that the Tbwn not proceed with plans to expand the landfill laterally there is no need to prolong the acrimonious debate over this issue or to incur the expense of an E I R. We therefore recommend that this ap- plication be withdrawn If the Conservation Commission determines that a Hatch Act proceeding is required to legitimize the filling that has already taken place and/or subsequent further alteration of the land adjacent to wetlands, a new application should be filed re- questing permission for upward expansion in compliance with existing State regulations for landfills. It is most unlikely that action by the Commission on this application would be appealed to the State from within the Town Even if the State did take it over on its own, there is a reasonable chance that an E I R. would not be required for this much more modest proposal Even if an E I R. were required, the pro- ceedings could be undertaken with much less hostility than that which accompanied the previous application The committee feels there is nothing to lose and much to gain by withdrawing 201-16 and substituting a new application Again the timing of this withdrawal and resub- mission is a political question on which we make no recommendation Mr Frank Sandy, Chairman, and members of the Sanitary Landfill Recycling Committee; Mr James Reilly, Chairman, and members of the Regional Program Refuse Advisory Committee, met with the Board to discuss the Hartwell Avenue Landfill Mrs Joyce Hals advised that, although we are recycling, the Town should in some way consider doing a better job We looked into ways of having curbside collection for just recyclables and found that Bedford, Andover and Marblehead are leading up to 75 percent of their recyclables It is important to keep the present landfill operation 292 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 and if the Town had a resource recovery program, you would have to have a contractor, and if you go over or under, you would have to pay an extra fee Chairman Kessler said that people now realize that we have to do something whereas a few years ago they did't think that the land- fill might be closed Mr Sandy was asked if he would accept the re- sponsibility of working with Engineering, the Planning Board, and the Selectmen to present a program on recycling Mr Sandy agreed and hig committee will report back to the board Mr Reilly, Chairman of the Regional Refuse Advisory Committee, explained that he would like to show the direction in which the Town is headed, and this would mean reserving space for two Articles He introduced Mr Fred Gross of the Bureau of Solid Waste Disposal who presented recommendations All member towns would be requested to name an in-town site and, as Lexington is in the middle area, it is important to pay close attention to what is happening You are on a major highway, which is included in the criteria recommended by the State for site selection Also, (1) transfer station; collection station; 3-acre minimum (2) recovery plant; transportation require- ments (3) residue disposal area There are land requirements, utilities, and requirements for a geological environment impact The present landfill has 67+ acres, with a potential expansion of 25 acres; it is next to Route 128 Of the 67 acres, 27 are high, 40 are low and wet It is not close to any residences and the area is pres- ently zoned CM. At Routes 2 and 128, there is a drainage problem. Many acres are all wet and marshy We came up with the present dump as being viable for the study for a transfer station and recycling site The question of access has to be considered as Bedford Street would be even more heavily loaded with traffic, and this brings up the Hartwell Connector There is plenty of room for a transfer station but there are problems that the State might see for using the landfill as a trans- fer station The principal engineer with Environmental Management is working with 128 Resources Council, which has volunteered to come up with a resource recovery set-up and access, with complete assis- tance for funding by State agencies, to seek and select nominations for a transfer station and a residue disposal site It is important that Lexington host a meeting on using the current Lexington dump and the State is available for presentation There are also certain problems as the State would take the site by eminent domain at a fair market price We would have a $10 million bond issue The Bureau can do that and provide access to the site, and provide rehabilitation of an old landfill Before the State takes it, it would be the State's responsibility to have a hydrological analysis - and that could be done We would like to get a commit- ment from the Town body as to whether or not they would like to designate a site ' 2 93 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 Mr Reilly said that it is his understanding that the Selectmen must make a response to the State that at least it is considering the site, and make a reservation for a Warrant Article Mr Gross explained that present legislation allows the Bureau to take a site for a regional landfill but, because there have been local opposition and ramifications which make it impossible to do so, the agency wants a commitment of the governing body before any action is granted Chairman Kessler said that the Board would be hesitant to actually propose a site until we turned to our committee and asked them to come back to us with a site proposal, with the understanding that it would be a proposal to be looked into in detail Mr Gross agreed that this would be reasonable Mrs Miley said that part of our problem is that this has been going on for a couple of years and the 128 West Council has been asking to propose a site Mr Gross is saying that it would give us all sorts of advantages, which does not mean that in the end or beginning that we are giving up the sanitary landfill Mr Gross added that the State would like to select a site within a few months The original date was set for January 1, 1976 but a realistic deadline has not yet been determined as there have been problems Mr Busa said that he was on the original committee when people were told of a certain date and a deadline He would not want to com- mit Lexington to an investigation until we know exactly what we are committing Lexington to They are just waiting for someone to volun- teer, and then they will disregard Weston and Haverhill Mr Gross replied that he was not saying that the Lexington site would be chosen Mr Bailey stated that if the landfill is to be recommended, then the connector would have to be an integral part Mr Gross agreed and said that the Bureau would work with the State DPW on access and feasibility of interchanges Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to charge the Selectmen's Regional Refuse Advisory Committee to come back to the Board within one month with a recommendation on the possibility of submitting a nomination to the Bureau of Solid Waste Disposal of the Hartwell Avenue sanitary landfill being selected as a resource re- covery facility to serve the communities currently participating in the 128 West Recovery Council The Board agreed to reserve space in the Warrant for two Arti- Articles- des, one on Curbside pick-up and one for designating the sanitary Recyclables- landfill as a possible regional resource recovery site Resource Mr Fred Gross, The Sanitary Landfill Committee, and the Recovery Site Regional Refuse Advisory Committee retired from the meeting Mr Stanley Brown, Chairman of the Lexington Commission on LCSR - ' Suburban Responsibility, met with the Board Subcommittee 294 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 fil Mr Brown said that LCSR members had been appointed on July 1, 1975 and terms had expired on June 30, 1976 In the meantime, LCSR had submitted an amendment to the Board on the original charge by suggesting broadening representation, clarifying attendance re- quirements, and broadening the scope of the committee In 1976, a subcommittee was formed to conduct a study of people with special needs and the report concluded that one of the functions should be to coordinate the various human services that are available; to have a telephone information service to provide information and answer questions of citizens seeking help in human service areas; to estab- lish an Inter-Agency Human Service Council It then became evident that these would require personnel above and beyond what we have We are volunteers and it is difficult for volunteers to devote the time to making it work, and we would advocate the acquisition of a CETA worker Mrs Davison, LCSR Subcommittee Chairman, informed the Board that in order to produce what should be done, it can't be done by a volunteer Human services within the Town are too diverse and to monitor and evaluate them is something that should be done by a professional It is strongly recommended that, as a first step, to use a CETA slot to inventory the human service agencies within our Town It is quite obvious that if a CETA worker is hired, we would have a first step of a Director Arlington did this under CETA Mr Hilton of the Library is excited about it and has called me many times on the possibility of an information service They are open seven days a week but they can't start without a Director Mr Hilton did not want to commit himself as his personnel situation is tight It takes a lot of work to pull it together and if we get a CETA worker to identify agencies, then the second step could be taken next year The Police Department is quite anxious as they get calls for information on the elderly, housing, hospitals, etc An Inter- Agency Council could be established informally or made an official part of Town government This would need a warrant article Mrs Battin said that she too had checked with Mr Hilton on the feasibility of an information service at the library He felt it a natural library function and he seconded the need for a Director Cambridge has one and it would be available for mass distribution For referral, he would need additional staff as it would generate more telephone calls As far as thinking of a Director of Human Services, the Town Manager could look at the half-time person that the Council on Aging wants Dr Kessler wondered why, by using volunteers, they couldn't gather information and bring it to the Library Mr Bailey has pointed out that the Appropriation Committee has made it clear that any requests for more people would be looked at very hard We want to be sure that when we ask for more staff, we know what that person will be doing Mrs Davison said that they are going to have to use other sources Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 funding of and ng such as CETA A CETA slot in this area would not, in essence, be a new person for the Town Mr Bailey stated that, over the past three weeks, the Board has had a presentation from the Youth Advisory Commission, and earlier to- night one from Recreation in the hope that a Community Center could be established To get it all together, as Mrs Battin requested, it should be referred to the Town Manager All problems may not be solved but the Town Manager could get it going by doing something constructive by Town Meeting time so that we aren't going to lose a whole year Mrs Battin agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to refer the subject of human services to the Town Manager, with the strong recommendation of priority Mr Brown recommended that LCSR be continued and said that he is looking forward to working with the Town Manager for a more efficient management of committees, with no overlapping of charges He also ex- pressed concern that minority groups not be overlooked and LCSR had recommended inclusion in their membership Chairman Kessler stated that he would recommend to the Board that the Community Relations Committee is ideally suited to look into the problems of minorities in Lexington, if such exist, and to have an open discussion in the community LCSR and Subcommittee members retired from the meeting Mr John Carroll and his Attorney, Edward M Ginsberg, met with Carroll the Board to discuss the application for a Class 3 license to be Class 3 renewed for 1977 Mrs Miley recommended that, because there have been misunder- standings and for clarification, Mr Carroll's license could be granted with the provision that all stipulations on the Board of Appeals' per- mit of May 13, 1976 be adhered to Mr James Buckley was present and submitted a petition from the homeowners in the neighborhood objecting to the renewal of the license They request that the Registry of Motor Vehicles make monthly inspec- tions of the premises regarding motor vehicle disposal and the crush- ing operation Also, there are noise and pollution standards that must be strictly adhered to Regarding safety procedures, has a fence been erected? The current advertisement in the Minuteman newspaper is a clear indication of just one of the many violations which have occurred and are continuing Dr. Kassler explained that members of the Board are not an in- spection team and we feel that our Inspectors are very competent We have received written reports that individual inspections have been made at different times of day, and no violations were found On that basis, we cannot find that flagrant violations have occurred as we have had no proof from the Inspectors Complaints from the neighbors per se are not proof Therefore, we are bound to act Attorney Ginsberg stated that the Registry of Motor Vehicles makes inspections of the premises twice a month 296 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 111 Regarding gard ng the newspaper advertisement, Dr Kassler said that it was vague enough regarding retail sales that the Board and Town Counsel concluded that judgment could not be made that John Carroll was running a retail sales office, and inspections showed no viola- tions Therefore this is not legal proof that he is violating the Board of Appeals' permit Mrs Miley said that it is her understanding that parts can be sold wholesale but it is retail sales that she didn't understand Chairman Kassler replied that this is what he finds the most difficult to deal with and that is why the inspection department was asked to pay particular attention to that issue Regarding the question on the fence, it is his understanding that the fence is up Mr Carroll replied that the only part that is missing is the section closer to his house Mrs Miley commented that a good part of the problem is be- cause real estate agents tell persons that conditions regarding ad- joining property will change, and this is not the only section in Town that this has happened Mr Buckley asked if the license is granted, would the Board enforce it? Dr Kassler assured him that all conditions of the Board of Appeals' permit will be strictly enforced, and if there is proof of violation, action will be taken Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to grant to John P Carroll Co , Inc 31 Allen Street, a Class III license under G L Chapter 140, s 58, subject to compliance with the conditions set forth in the Board of Appeals' permit dated May 13, 1976 Steeves' Chairman Kassler read a request from Town Counsel to sign the Land - Order of Taking for conservation purposes the land owned by the Marrett Rd Lexington Associates, Inc ; also, the Order of Taking of another parcel for school, playground, recreation, sewer and drain purposes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order of Taking by eminent domain for conservation purposes the land owned by Lexington Associates, Inc located off Marrett Road, with an award of damages to Isabella and Walter E Steeves and Katherine A and Burton F Faulkner in the amount of $68,900 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order of Taking by eminent domain for school, playground, recreation, sewer and drain purposes the land owned by Lexington Associates, Inc located off Marrett Road, with an award of damages to Isabella and Walter E Steeves and Katherine A And Burton F Faulkner in the amount of $7,100 1977 Chairman Kassler read applications for renewal of Class I li- Class I censes Licenses Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the 297 Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 1977 renewal of Class I licenses for Colonial Garage, Inc d/b/a Huribert Buick-Opel; Rowe Chevrolet, Inc , Lexington Toyota, Inc ; Lawless Mawhinney Motors, Inc A renewal of a Lodging House license was discussed and Chairman Wild Acre Kassler informed the Board that the Board of Health reports that Dr Lodging Yudowitz has made arrangements for the septic system to be pumped House License out at Wild Acre Inn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the 1977 renewal of the Wild Acre Inn Lodging House license, subject to monthly reports from the Board of Health indicating that all steps are being taken to provide adequate sewer facilities for the property Chairman Kassler read an application from Lexington Golf Club Lex Golf for renewal of the Common Victualler license Club - Common Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Victualler 1977 renewal of the Common Victualler license for the Lexington Golf Club, hours of operation are 9 00 a.m to 6 00 p.m seven days a week Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Club-New Yr's request of the Lexington Golf Club for an extension of hours of Eve operation under the Club liquor license to 1 00 a m. on New Year's Eve Chairman Kassler requested the Board to sign the abatement form Sewer for Lot 70, Summer Street Betterment Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Abatement abatement form for the sewer betterment assessed against Lot 70, Lot 70 Summer Street, owned by Paul F and Elaine M. O'Brien, 33 Haskell Summer St Street, Lexington, in the amount of $190 45 The Board discussed the bids submitted for printing the 1977 1977 Town Annual Town Meeting Warrant Spaulding Company, Inc , 36 pages- Meeting $1,748 50; 32 pages-$1,550 00 Maran Print Service, Inc , 36 Warrant Bids pages-$2,454 00; 32 pages-$2,008 00 Lexington Press, Inc , 36 pages-$1,836 00; 32 pages-$1,536 00 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract for printing the 1977 Annual Town Meeting Warrant to the Lexington Press, Inc for 10,000 copies, as follows 36 pages at $51 00 per page, total of $1,836 00; 32 pages at $48 00 per page, total of $1,536 Chairman Kessler discussed the problem with dogs in Lexington Dogs and informed the Board that, presently, there are no standards es- tablished for a kennel license A policy should be set on how a house with multiple animals should be run The Board agreed to request the Town Manager and Director of Public Health to submit recommendations on establishing a policy associated with kennel licenses I � 9S Selectmen's Meeting December 20, 1976 Battle Chairman Kassler read a recommendation from Mr John McSweeney, Green DireciDr of Public Works, regarding the new flagpole to be installed Flagpole on the Battle Green A federal grant has been received in the amount of $6,500 for use in paying for the new flagpole, subject to the stipulation that this money is to be expended before January 1, 1977 Since the new flagpole will not be received until January 14, 1977, if we are to comply with the provisions of the grant, we must pre- pay the difference between what we have already paid to B A Larson & Company and the amount of the grant We have discussed this matter with Mr Perry, Acting Town Manager, and Mr Larson and it is recommended that Mr Larson submit a bill for $4,875 00 and the Town would issue a check for this amount, to be held in escrow by the Town Treasurer until the work is actually completed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of Mr McSweeney that a check in the amount of $4,875 00 be issued to B A. Larson for the new Battle Green flagpole, and this check is to be given by the Comptroller to the Town Treasurer to be held in escrow until the project is completed Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Session Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to personnel classifications, with the intention of not resuming the open meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 30 p m A true record, Attest )14 Executive Clerk, Selectmen 111