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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-10-04-BOS-min 209 SELECTMEN'S MEETING October 4, 1976 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, October 4, 1976 at 7 30 p m. Acting Chairman Bailey, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin and Mrs Miley; Mr Perry, Acting Town Manager, Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr McSweeney, Director of Public Works/Engineering; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, were present At the request of the Town Clerk, three jurors were drawn as follows Jurors Sydney K. Johnson, 8 Cutler Farm Road; Murray Kaye, 6 Abernathy Road; Joy R. Carmen, 6 Stonewall Road Mr Perry informed the Board that he had received a letter from the Police attorney representing the police officers in collective bargaining to the Negotiations effect that the membership had accepted the proposal made in collective bargaining sessions The contract will be drawn up and signed as soon as possible Mr Bailey commented that it was his understanding that things are still proceeding with the fire fighters and, with luck, these will be wound up soon Acting Chairman Bailey read a memo from Chairman Kassler to the Acting Board outlining the differential between the Comptroller's salary and Town Mgr the former Town Manager's salary with a request for the Board's approval of an increase of $155 00 per week to Mr Richard M. Perry, Acting Town Manager while in this position Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, unanimously, to an increase of $155 00 per week to Mr Richard M. Perry, Acting Town Manager while in this positon. This amount to be charged against the Town Manager Personal Services Budget The Board discussed the request of Mr & Mrs Clinton E Jackson to Tax Title purchase lots 502-503, Maple 72, off Poplar Street The request had been Lots 502- submitted to the Planning Board, School Committee, Housing Authority, 503 Map, 72 Conservation Commission and Recreation Committee for their recommenda- Off Poplar tions The reports were as follows Planning Board Reserve for future St Jackson expansion of Poplar Street play area; Housing Authority Use as a buffer and not be built upon or combine with #503 or reserve for future use as a mini park or conservation easement; Recreation Committee Do not approve sale; Conservation Commission Remain in Town ownership due to its prox- imity to the existing Poplar Street play area; School Committee No reply Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, unanimously, not to sell lots 502-503, Map 72, off Poplar Street to Mr & Mrs Clinton E Jackson Mr Bailey read a letter from Mr & Mrs James A Pallis requesting Tax Title to purchase Lot 128, Sunset Avenue After a brief discussion, it was Lot 128 agreed to table to request so that a map could be obtained to properly Sunset Ave locate the lot for further discussion Pallis 21 Selectmen's Meeting October 4, 1976 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the re- quest of Mr & Mrs James A. Pallis to purchase Lot 128, Sunset Avenue. Street Light A request from J S Nason Whitney, 21 Woodland Road for the installa- 21 Woodland tion of a shade on the street light, pole 138/9, Woodland Road was read Road by the Acting Chairman. A report from the Director of Public Works/Engi- Whitney neering indicated that the particular light in question, in addition to being in excess of 100 ft from the house at #21, is of the 3500 lumen mercury vapor variety Boston Edison has informed the Public Works Dept that they no longer make a shade for this type of light The only alter- native would be to install a 100 lumen incandescent light The Public Works Department strongly advised against the installation of this type of light because the existing light illuminates the intersection of Hayes Avenue and Woodland Road After a brief discussion, Mr Bailey requested Mr McSweeney to again contact Boston Edison regarding the installation of some kind of a shade for the present light as he felt that, with a little pressure, Boston Edison could come up with some type of shade Street Signs Acting Chairman Bailey read a request from Mrs Barbara Ehrlich White Request for "Caution Children" signs at each end of Circle Road A report from Mrs White the Traffic Safety Committee regarding this request was read which in- dicated that it was determined that the warrants for such signs were not satisfied. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the request be denied. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny the request of Mrs White for "Caution Children" signs at each end of Circle Road. Street Signs The Board discussed the request from Mrs Susan Davies Drane for the Request installation of "Children at Play" signs at the corner of Childs and Mrs Drane Hastings and the corner of Hill and Diana Lane A report from the Traffic Safety Committee was read which indicated that it was determined that the warrants for such signs were not satisfied and the Committee recommended denial of the request Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny the request of Mrs Drane for "Children at Play" signs at the corner of Childs and Hastings and the corner of Hill and Diana Lane Traffic Signs Mr Bailey read a letter from Mr Neiterman regarding traffic at the Worthen Rd / intersection of Pleasant Street and Worthen Road The Traffic Safety Pleasant St Committee had referred the matter to the Engineering Division for review and it was found that, when exiting from Worthen Road, sight to the left is limited because of the slope, up from the roadway, of the land abut- ting Pleasant Street Conversely, sight to the right, of drivers on Pleasant Street, is also limited The Committee recommended the installa- tion of a sign on Pleasant Street indicating a "T" intersection ahead and the installation of a "STOP" sign on Worthen Road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendations of the Traffic Safety Committee for the installation of a sign on Pleasant Street indicating a "T" intersection ahead and the installation of a "STOP" sign on Worthen Road 211 Selectmen's Meeting October 4, 1976 Mr McSweeney, Director of the Public Works/Engineering Department, Sewer & Chairman MacKenzie, Dr Eric Clarke and Mr Briggs, representing the Water Planning Board and Mrs Morey, representing the Board of Appeals, met Connection with the Selectmen to discuss the sewer/water policy on unaccepted Policy streets in the town Mr Irwin of the Building Department was unable to attend, but sent in his thoughts on the subject Mr Bailey stated that the Board felt very strongly that a full Board should be present when a decision on the matter was made Therefore, in the absence of Dr Kassler, this would be an information gathering meeting and no decisions would be made He stated that, at the moment, there are a number of specific requests from people that either live on unaccepted streets or who wish to build on lots that are not serviced by either sewer or water or both Rather than wait for the town to move these streets up on the priority list for acceptance, the owners apply to the town for per- mission from the town to bring in sewer and water lines at their own expense Dr Clarke Is water and sewer in the same category? The town's policy was always to supply water Attorney Hagerdorn, representing Mr & Mrs James Razzano who are requesting water service to a home to be constructed on Earl Street asked whether or not specific cases were going to be discussed tonight Mr McSweeney stated, normally, these requests go through the budget procedure The Public Works has to have the authority which comes from Town Meeting and the funding which also comes through Town Meeting He presented a chart that indicated the requirements of the Public Works for such installations which are Authority, Funding, Order of Construc- tion/Order of Taking, Betterments, Future Maintenance He stated that if the location is in a public way, an order of construction has to be filed, if a private way, an order of taking This gives the Public Works Dept the right to be on the street Betterments have to be assessed and filed with the orderof taking Maintenance must be taken into consideration such as street lights, plowing, sanding, etc Mr McSweeney exhibited charts showing three examples of the kinds of situations involved (1) an unaccepted street with no formal extension of the six-inch water but with sewer service and open to public travel; (2) an unaccepted street open to public travel but in disrepair, where sewer mains may have been put in to service another area and betterments charged; (3) an unaccepted street open to public travel but ending as a paper street -- sewer may have been installed as a gravity system - part of another system or as a main to loop another area Mr McSweeney stated that the question is, do we want to extend the water mains into the paper streets and give service to the lots that have been brought before the Board of Appeals He stated that he felt it was questionable whether or not the town can continue to accept funds under a private contract He reiterated that any extension of a main requires either an order of construction or an order of taking These funds are put into E & D which was approved by Town Meeting under Article 4 He felt that Town Counsel should set the proper procedure to be followed Mr Bailey• i know we have allowed people to put in sewer at their own expense after getting all kinds of releases When you need a 6 inch 212 Selectmen's Meeting October 4, 1976 water main andgivepermission to tie into an inadequate main it creates q problems Mr McSweeney Most of the ones granted have been in the public way When you come into a 2 inch line we don't have the right to say you can or can't -- we don't own it -- it is owned by the people who have paid to have it put in Mr Briggs A 2 inch line will service 8 or 10 homes Mr McSweeney. It is a private line Dr Clarke What is the policy with respect to hook-ups? Mr McSweeney- We file for a permit The question is, who owns the 2 inch pipe? The abutters own it Dr Clarke If the 2 inch line breaks who pays for the repairs on an unaccepted street? Mr McSweeney We would pay The Board of Health would make us Mr Cohen It just seems that after listening, there really has got to be a policy regarding this This has come up many times It is on a case by case basis -- generally the hardship type of story and usually the Board of Selectmen grants it That is why we need to have a policy There is a procedure for going through Town Meeting Every street is not mentioned at Town Meeting The streets that the Public Works Department recommends are included. If you are going to go through the budget pro- cess and have certain streets accepted then other people come in and want to be hooked-up then the Public Works Dept makes these extensions People offer to pay for these extensions Mr Perry and I have talked about it a great deal The difficulty is how do you account for these funds if you have estimatedfor more money than you need You can't just write checks out to individuals The Board of Appeals and the Planning Board should check with the Public Works Department and ask questions Once you allow them to go into these roads -- does that change the status of these streets Under the present procedure of basing the current year's work on petitions, the town never gets back to priorities of previous years No one asks the Public Works Department Mr Bailey There is an element of time here If we came up with a policy that the only route would be via Town Meeting and they decide they want the service in February, they know they will have to wait another year Dr Clarke They should have a "kitty" out which to work Mr McSweeney- That is why I want to have a policy worked out The town supplies water so people don't have to have their own wells Most of the town has sewerage Mr Bailey read Mr Irwin's letter as follows "I would like to present the Building Inspection Dept's policy on the issuance of Building Permits on "streets" For a lot to be available for use as the site of one or more buildings it must have 'frontage' on a 'street' Before recodification, the Zoning By-Law defined 'street' as a public way, or a private way legally open or dedicated to public use, or approved by the Planning Board. In the recodification, the definition is expanded womewhat, but as the recodification made no substantive changes, I would assume the defini- tion still is valid 213 le tmen' Se c s Meeting October 4, 1976 A permit is onlyissued foron a 'street' , or on a lot a legal lot that has been granted a variance or variances from the Board of Appeals If municipal services, 'water or sewer' are not available, the ap- plicant must first have satisfied the Board of Health regarding a pri- vate septic system and/or a private water supply " DONALD K IRWIN Bldg Commissioner Mr McSweeney informed the Board that there are 25 miles of unaccepted streets in Lexington of which 6 or 7 miles are without water or sewer and the remaining 18 miles have water mains He also stated that we do have unaccepted streets with two-inch water mains, with no record of how they got there They were put in by some private persons years ago and some were put in by the town upon owners' requests He stated that there are nine and a half miles of paper streets in Lexington and the question is whether the town can continue to accept private funding and whether it can continue to put in service without a vote of Town Meeting Mr McKenzie, Planning Board Chairman felt that a long term policy should be formulated in these unaccepted streets that would be a guide for the Planning Board. He felt that an order of priority should be established as to how much is replacement, how much is new Mr McSweeney stated that it will take hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete the town's water system Dr Clarke disagreed stating that there are not more than half a dozen private wells in town. Mr McSweeney said he was referring to upgrading and extending ser- vice Dr Clarke said that Mr McSweeney was confusing maintenance and installation and upgrading, to which Mr McSweeney replied that you can't do the work and bypass a lot Mr Bailey called on Mrs Morey of the Board of Appeals who stated that as far as the Board of Appeals is concerned it is on area and front- age They rely on the honesty of the person applying There is no rea- son why there should be any hurry, the Board of Appeals just say that the lot is buildable Attorney Fred Conroy, representing the Johannsen's who own a lot on Banks Avenue where sewer is already in the street and crosses their lot but water service stops at the adjacent lot Mr Conroy stated that all they want is permission to extend or connect to a private line for 25 feet of water line Mr Conroy stated that they had asked to have an article in the warrant for the next Town Meeting if permission to connect is not granted by the Selectmen Mr Ericson who owns lots on Grandview Avenue and Estabrook Road stated that he has been trying for fifteen years to have his lots #105-106 which are 400 feet from the water main connected to it He stated that people on either side have connections It was pointed out to Mr Ericson that Grandview is a paper street and Estabrook an accepted street I Ill Mr Bailey stated that someone in the past may have given permission but someone in the future has got to "bite the bullet" and make some de- cisions here tonight 214 Selectmen's Meeting October 4, 1976 Dr Clarke said he would treat the Ericson problem as a Town Meet- ing matter but grant the other two out of the budget Mr Frank Sandy, a member of the audience, stated that he felt that when the owner is willing to pay there ought to be a way of doing it He felt that the problem is one of juggling funds back and forth He asked whether the Legislature could pass a bill to allow the owner to work with the town to put in the connections Mrs Hagerdorn asked if they could expect to hear finally about the matter in two weeks Mr Bailey stated that he felt that they were obliged, at this point, to deal with the question and would get back promptly with an answer He stated that a task force would be made up comprising of one person from each of the boards and Town Counsel to, hopefully, give some direction Lights Mr Bailey read a report from Mr McSweeney approving the request of Meriam St the Boston Edison for the installation of additional lights in the Meriam Parking Lot Street Parking Lot Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the order from the Boston Edison Company for the installation of three additional lights in the Meriam Street Parking Lot. Invitation Mr Bailey read a letter from the Town Celebrations Committee in- Veterans' viting the Board of Selectmen to attend the ceremonies in observance of Day Veterans' Day, Thursday, November 11, 1976 Yangtze Mr Bailey read a request from the law firm of Altman & Lapon request- River Res ing a change of manager at the Yangtze River Restaurant from John C Birmingham, New Mgr III to Wei-Jen Ong Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted sign the Liquor Li- cense and Form 43 showing the manager of the Yangtze River Restaurant as Wei-Jen Ong Auctioneer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Auc- License tioneer License for Arnold Clickstein, 318 Lincoln Street and also a One One Day Day Liquor License, for Mr Clickstein/Charles River Academy (NOTE Mr Liquor Lic Clickstein stated that the liquor license would not be necessary as no liquor would be sold at the auction to be conducted at the Follen Church by the Charles River Academy ) Sewer Mr Bailey read a request from the Director of Public Works/Engineer- Connection ing for abatement of a sewer house connection because of an incorrect charge Abatement for sewer brick P C Heidke Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the charge of $135 00 for Philip C Heidke, 25 Leonard Road, because of an incorrect charge of mower brick Warrant Acting Chairman Bailey requested the Board to sign the warrant for 11/2/76 the November 2, 1976 election Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the warrant for the November 2, 1976 election 215 Selectmen's Meeting October 4, 1976 Mr. Bailey read a request from Stephen Bowen, Aide to Senator Ronald One Day C MacKenzie, for a one day liquor license for Monday, October 25, 1976 Liquor for the "Friends of Ron MacKenzie Gala Party" at the Lexington Armory. License Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the One Day Liquor License for the "Friends of Ron MacKenzie Gala Party" Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by a 4-0 roll call Executive vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the Session reputation and character of an individual and strategy with respect to collective bargaining. After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 25 p m A true record, Attest JIA/4 . ac - Principal Clerk