Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-10-18-BOS-min 222 SELECTMEN'S MEETING October 18, 1976 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men' s Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, October 18, 1976, at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Kassler, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mrs Miley; Mr Perry, Acting Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk were present Sub-Commit- Mrs Battin informed the Board that the Drug Advisory Committee, in tee Youth preparation for the annual town meeting, had appointed a sub-committee to Programs & make a survey of the needs of troubled youths in the town and to look into Services the services and programs already provided The committee is comprised of Jack Sarmaranian, Charles McManus, Sheppard Clough and Sumner Perlman, Chairman The report of this committee was presented in booklet form to each Selectman and a summary was given by the Chairman of the committee He stated that Lexington has approximately 8,000 people in the 10-21 age category "Probelm youth" can be partially identified by reviewing the statistics of the Police Department, Concord Court Probation Office, Mystic Valley Mental Health Center and Replace, Inc The Police Depart- ment reports a continual rise in juvenile arrests In 1974 there were 122 and in 1975 there were 268 Alcohol related offenses have increased and offenses against authority, property, breaking and entering, larceny, etc constitute the increase. In October, 1975 there were 48 Lexington youth on probation from the Concord Court and in August, 1976 there were 61 The numbers on probation were higher during the "drug crisis" in the early 1970's They decreased for a time, but are again increasing During 1975, Mystic Valley Mental Center saw 85 new cases under the age of 21 and 135 individuals were seen for counseling at Replace The Youth Counselor worked with 57 youths and/or families Over the past year there has been an increase in the number of youth groups congregating in various areas of the town as well as an increase in the number of youth group be- havioral problems It was suggested that several things should be considered, such as available, non-threatening counseling services, supervised group "therapy", street workers and drop in center The report suggested that there appears to be little communication or coordination between the new existing agencies dealing with youth in Lexington It was the recommenda- tion of the committee that an integrated, coordinated approach is required, one of its key elements, would be the involvement and commitment of the town The following needs were listed A single person charged with responsibility to coordinate and direct all youth-support activities; a mechanism for this person to interfact with the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager; provision for crisis intervention and counseling service for youth; methods for more fully meeting the total needs of the youth; open communication among all department and services dealing with and re- lating to youth; and a vehicle for focusing the concerns of youth To fill these needs, the Subcommittee recommends the following A Youth Director, Youth Advisory Council, Counseling and Crisis Intervention Center--Replace, 223 Selectmen's Meeting October 18, 1976 Outreach Workers and methods to improve communication between various organizations and groups The report stressed the importance of a commit- ment from the town, i e , a financial commitment relative to the funding of resources needed to provide adequate support and to provide crisis intervention and counseling for troubled youth and a moral and administra- tive support for the program The committee felt that one of the responsi- bilities of the Youth Director would be to examine and recommend about the following needs First Offender Diversionary Program, Probation Coun- seling Program, Short-term Residential Placements, Pre-Release Program and Drop-in Centers The report presented a detailed description of Replace, Job description of the Youth Director and the Director of Human Resources Chairman Kessler thanked the committee for coming before the Board and complemented them on the excellent report presented but cautioned them that the acceptance of the report by the Board of Selectmen does not necessarily mean the acceptance of all the recommendations He stated that there were points that needed clarification and the report would be turned over to Town Meeting The committee retired from the meeting Chairman Kessler read a request from Paul W Marshall, 6 Chandler Auctioneer Street for approval of an auctioneer' s license License Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the auc- tioneer license for Paul W Marshall, 6 Chandler Street Chairman Kessler read a request from the Boston Edison Company for Boston permission for "Leave to Withdraw" petition dated May 6, 1976 on Worthen Edison Road. Mr McSweeney explained to the Board that this petition had to be Petition submitted because objections raised by one of the abutters who objected to one of the poles being erected in front of his house on the original petition A new petition had been submitted eliminating this pole and for the record, the original petition had to be withdrawn Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the request of the Boston Edison for permission for "Leave to Withdraw" petition dated May 6, 1976 and sign the order At 8 00 p m the Board met with the Senior Citizens Club and the Senior Council on Aging Citizens Dr Kessler addressed the representatives of the Senior Citizens Council on Club stating that the purpose of having the group there was to reconfirm Aging the Board's and the Town's interest in the senior citizens of the Town He stated that it was the hope that the Senior Citizens Club and the newly formed Council on Aging would be able to coordinate their interests and work together to enlarge and enhance their lives He stated that some- where along the line there is the feeling that this hasn't been the case and he would like to get to the bottom of the problem Mr Melbye, of the Senior Citizens Club stated that it was hard for them to understand, that for eleven or twelve years the town had provided money to them for bus trips and postage and now those funds were cut off They were there to request the town to again provide these funds 224 Selectmen' s Meeting October 18, 1976 Mr Perry, Acting Town Manager, explained that the funds that were originally provided for this purpose came from the Recreation budget and was a stop-gap until the town provided a Council on Aging, which is now the official agency for all the senior citizens of the town After the Council on Aging was formed, all funds for senior citizens had to be channeled through that agency Mrs Stumpp of the Council on Aging explained that the trips that the agency had provided were on a "first come, first serve" basis as they did not have enough funds to provide trips for all senior citizens She explained that no one wanted to hurt the Senior Citizens Club and that she had hoped that both groups could work together Mr Busa explained that once the town had accepted the act of the Legislature to form a Council on Aging, the town could not provide funds to a private organization like the Senior Citizens Club Dr Kessler asked Mr Melbye to have his group assist the Council on Aging and give them the benefit of the expertise of the Senior Citizens Club in arranging trips, etc After further discussion and explanation to the Senior Citizens that all town funds for senior citizens had to go through the Council on Aging, the two groups agreed to work together MSA Legis- Mrs Battin explained to the Board the legislative lobbying program lative that had been recommended by the MSA Legislative Committee and approved by Lobbying the MSA Executive Board Each Board of Selectmen elects or appoints one Program member to be designated as its Legislative Liaison and report the appoint- ment to the MSA office The responsibilities would be as follows a) to maintain a legislative file, b) to arrange regular meeting with legisla- tors, c) to arrange inclusion of legislative topics in Board agenda, d) to brief Board members on legislative topics, hearings and lobbying action, e) to coordinate local lobbying efforts, f) to report to MSA office on all interviews and lobbying actions, g) to arrange newspaper publicity on legis- lative topics, lobbying activities and important votes of local representa- tives and senators, h) to attend special briefing workshops and meetings of County Legislative Committees Each Board of Selectmen should regularly re- serve meeting time to discuss legislative bills of local interest or impact As part of its regular agenda, each Board of Selectmen should initiate a sched- ule of meetings with local legislators; while consideration must be given to the number of towns in the legislative district, a one-meeting-a-month is suggested for representatives, with perhaps every six weeks to two months suitable for senators In whatever manner possible, the Board members should suitably respond to "action calls" -- make phone calls, send letters or telegrams, attend hearings, and, most important of all they should in- dividually and collectively talk with their own legislators, publicize both the issue and the Board's response and report such response to MSA Legisla- tive Office After discussion, it was agreed that a member of the Board should be appointed and Mrs Battin offered her services Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Battin as the Legislative Liaison for the Board of Selectmen to the legislative lobbying program of the MSA Legislative Committee 22 Selectmen's Meeting October 18, 1976 Mrs to the Youth Miley submitted the names of two students to be appointed Youth Advisory Commission Advisory Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Heather Commission Levi, 60 Turning Mill Road and Patrick Abegg, 261 Waltham Street to the Youth Advisory Commission. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings of August 30 and October 4, 1976 Chairman Kassler read a letter from Mrs Altschuler, 27 Hathaway Road Dog requesting the town to send notices to all dog owners in the area of Poisonings Hathaway and Brent Roads alerting them to the fact that there have been several cases of dog poisonings and what the symptoms were Mrs Busa informed the Board that the Health Director and he had dis- cussed the problem. It was the feeling of the Animal Control Officer, Mr Smith, Lt George Porten and Mr Martin of the SPCA, who had been investi- gating the case, that publicity regarding the problem should be kept to a minimum. It was felt that too much publicity would only compound the pro- blem. Mrs Altschuler explained that she wanted all dog owners to know what to do in case one of their dogs became sick Mr Busa pointed out that if the town was going to become involved, it would have to be on a town-wide basis and not for just one area He also pointed out that there have been no new cases for a week After further discussion, it was decided that notices could be sent home with school children if permission were obtained from the Superinten- dent of Schools Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request permission from the Superintendent of Schools to distribute a notice describing the symptoms and necessity of immediate attention from a veterinarian for any animals that were sick Chairman Kessler read a letter from Building Commissioner, Donald Standing Irwin in response to a request to check the validity of the Standing Building Plumbing and Building By-law Committee since the incorporation of the & Plumbing State Building By-laws in January, 1975 Mr Irwin reported that Chap- Committee ter 802 of the Acts of 1972 abolishes all local building codes and makes the State code, effective January 1, 1975, the mandatory building code for any building or structure or parts thereof in the Commonwealth During discussion, it was brought out that there would be no further need for this committee and it should be abolished which would require an article to be placed on the next town warrant Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the matter to Town Council and the Town Manager The Chairman read a request from Police Chief Corr to appoint two Special police cadets as Special Police Officers Police Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Police Cadet, Charles J Sargent and Eric A Larose as Special Police Officers 2266 Selectmen's Meeting October 18, 1976 Wild Chairman Kessler read a report from Mr Smith, Director of Public Acre Inn Health relative to a sanitary inspection of the Wild Acre Inn The report indicated that the inspection of the kitchen, several rooming units and the apartment facilities showed conditions to be satisfactory With the exception of some general tidying needed throughout the basement area, no serious violations were noted The report also indicated that the matter of the septic systems still remained to be settled After further discussion, it was agreed that a provisional license could be granted that would specifically indicate the health requirements relative to the sewer system. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a provi- sional Lodging House License to Wild Acre Inn (Bernard S Yudowitz, M.D ) The granting of the license is conditioned on compliance with the order of the Board of Health requiring the pmtping of the existing sewer system at intervals frequent enough to prevent any health hazard from existing. Executive Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, by a 4-0 roll call vote, to go into Executive Session to discuss the character and reputation of a person After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 40 p m. A true record, Attest Principal Clerk I