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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-02-09-BOS-min 574 SELECTMEN'S MEETING February 9, 1976 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 9, 1976, at 7 30 p m. Acting Chairman Kenney, Messrs Busa and Kassler, and Mrs. Battin; Mr O'Connell, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr McSweeney, Direc- tor of Public Works/Engineering; Miss Casey, Principal Clerk, were present Town At the request of Mr Bailey, the Town Manager brought the Board up Report to date regarding a problem in the printing of the 1975 Town Report A company by the name of Lorell was the low bidder on the color section of the report, with a significantly lower bid than the other two When Mr Zehner took the actual color art work to them they stated that according to their interpretations of the specifications they did not realize the level of the craftsmanship required They advised him that they could only do the job at a estimated increase of $2800 00 Mr Zehner then checked with Semline and they were unable to refine their figures to meet the Friday afternoon deadline Mr Zehner was doubtful as to whether or not Lorell would have the expertise to a grade "A" job He then contacted Spencer Press of Hingham and felt that they would provide the quality level and the Town would have a report to be really proud of Lorell agreed to withdraw and Mr Zehner requested approval of his decision to award the contract to Spencer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Mr Zehner's decision to award the contract for the 1975 Town Report to Spencer Press of Hingham. Sewer Acting Chairman Kenney read a report from Mr John J McSweeney, Direc- Line tor Public Works/Engineering regarding the sewer line surcharge of 1/28 - Surcharge 1/30 - 2/2/76 as requested by Chairman Bailey Mr McSweeney's report stated that his department had received an emergency call on Wednesday, January 28 regarding a sewer surcharge in the basement of homes in several locations in the Grant Street, Todd Road, Saddle Club Road and Brookwood Road area Mr Empey dispatched several crews under the supervision of Wallace G Weisinger, foreman to the area, to respond to this emergency They checked all manholes at the junction of the M.D.0 - Vine Street, Hayes Lane - Vine Street, and the Vine Street - Munroe Station and the Hamilton Road to M.D C sewer lines They found all three chambers sur- charged to the top Pumps were set up to relieve the system and to protect other property in the area from being flooded The remaining crews checked the sewer lines and manholes leading into and out of the immediate area and they were also found to be surcharged The first pumps were set up at 7 30 a m adjacent to Fairfield Drive, the other pumps were set up as they were made ready at the M.D C chamber and discharged into the meadow. Mr Empey contacted Mr McSweeney at approximately 8 15 a m. to report his assessment of the Situation and the action that had been taken It was then decided that the following action should be taken t).1 t) Selectmen's Meeting February 9, 1976 1 That all personnel of Public Works and Engineering be alerted and placed at Mr Empey's disposal for emergency operation 2 Inform all Federal and State and local governmental agencies affected by this condition This included Town of Burlington, Bedford and Arlington, Hanscom Field Air Base, Civil Engineers, Metropolitan District Commission Sanitary Division, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Water Pollution Control and the Lexington Health Department 3 Town Engineers, Department of Public Works crews checked all the trunk sewer main lines, drainage lines, and brooks tributary to the area 4 Requested the Town of Beford and Hanscom Field Air Base to limit their effluent discharge and in the case of Hanscom Field, to utilize their storage tanks to assist in this emergency At 12 20 p.m. the Town again reported the condition to Mr Andrew Alba, Metropolitan District Commission Sewer Division, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and pointed out and stated that the M.D C had crews checking the Lexington- Arlington lines and that all lines were surcharged down through Arlington and Cambridge The Town of Lexington discharged into the meadow approximately 24 hours from 7 30 a m. January 28 to 7 30 a m. January 29 and this was monitored by the Lexington Public Health Department Coliform counts were made and the necessary precautions were taken as needed with the use of dilution by chlorine Several homes in the area had been damaged It was the opinion of the Department of Public Works/Engineering that the Town of Lexington, along with 20 other cities and towns within the M.D C district, who experienced this problem of excessive inflow and infil- tration of sewer lines and backup, was caused by two feet of frost with the top six inches a sheet of ice in conjunction with the heavy rainfall created a fast "surface runoff" of almost 1 0 that resulted in a storm which should be equal to a 50 to 75 year storm for that short period of time. This caused inundation from brooks, streams and drainage systems that resulted in excessive flooding of streets, homes, farm and low meadow areas Mr McSweeney's report concluded with the statement that whereas this was of an unusual nature due to the cold weather condition and the heavy rainfall, this does not dismiss the possibility of it occurring again, nor does it preclude the fact that the Town of Lexington has taken corrective measures in the past by implementing preventive maintenance programs and appropriated money annually for Capital Expenditures to improve its municipal services The situation did point out the need for the Inflo - Infiltration Study, the Comprehensive Drainage Study and the Hayes Lane - Vine Brook to Munroe Station Phase II Sewer project Most important of all, the re-establishment of a Town-wide brook cleaning program as authorized under Chapter 263 of the Acts and Resolves of 1926, and the Annual March Town Meeting of 1926 to re- lieve the low areas that are surrounded by hills which make it difficult to carry off the surface and ground water which is the main source of the problem. Mr O'Connell informed the Board that he had received a letter from 576 fr fr Selectmen's Meeting February 9, 1976 Mano Mano Amaaasingham of Srilanka (Ceylon) expressing his interest in Lexing- Amaaasing- ton's celebration of the Bicentennial He was suggesting that the people ham of Lexington sponsor him as their guest After a brief discussion, it was Ceylon agreed that Mr O'Connell would refer the matter to the Bicentennial Commission and the Lexington Minute-man for printing Auctioneer' s Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Auctioneer's License License for William A Sennott, 10 Douglas Road, Lexington Richard R. Mr Kenney read a letter from Mr Richard R. Corazzini requesting a Corazzini deferment of sewer betterment assessment on Lots 9/33A, 9/33B and 9/33C Sewer Blossom Street and Lot 9/33A Lamikvenue owned by him. Mr McSweeney's Deferment report was read and after discussion it was agreed to defer these better- ment assessments Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted under the provisions of Chapter 159 of the Acts of 1950, to defer payment of sewer betterment assessments for the following lots owned by Richard R. Corazzini of 188 Blossom Street, without interest, until said land or any part is built upon, sold or until the expiration date of September 8, 1978, whichever event occurs first, provided, however, that this extension of time shall terminate immediately if said land or any portion thereof is built upon or sold Lot 9/33A Blossom Street, $2,777 15; Lot 9/33B Blossom Street, $2,644 49; Lot 9/33C Blossom Street, $1,091 27; Lot 9/33A Lawn Avenue, 1 $1,822 45 Ambulance Mr Kenney showed the Board a list of uncollectible ambulance bills Bills that had been received from the Tax Collector requesting that they be abated Mr Kenney felt that some of the people on the list would be willing to pay if they knew their name is on the list Mr O'Connell in- formed the Board that the Tax Collector sends out the bills and follows this up with another and that it is ignored by most Mr Busa stated that he didn't blame the people for not paying when the tax payer pays for it in the end. He felt that this was an unfair practice and he was not in favor of abating the bills Mr O'Connell stated that there was no legal way of forcing them to pay as you can't put a lien on their property Mr Kenney requested Mr O'Connell to look into the matter further and report back to the Board Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request from the Tax Collector to abate uncollectible ambulance bills Request Mr Kenney read a letter from the N rth Lexington Association request- ' from No. ing a temporary parking ban along a port on of Grove Street at the Esta- Lexington brook School the voting place for Precin t 7 on election days Mrs. Wheaton Assoc was present and informed the Board that here are sometimes several cars Parking parked there during election days with s gns mounted on their roofs urging Ban - support of a particular candidate She tated that the signs restrict the Grove St view of those exiting the driveway Mr McSweeney informed the Board that the Traffic Safety Committee would be me ting on next Tuesday and they would be glad to take the matter up at t at time 571 Selectmen's Meeting February 9, 1976 Mr. Kenney read a letter from Mr Richard B Brown, the Town Adminis- Request trator for the Town of Bedford stating that the town has been attempting Town of to prohibit truck traffic on Ashby/Walsh Roads in Bedford. The State had Bedford indicated that the only feasible alternate route for truck traffic would Truck be along the Great Road (Rte 4 and 225) and thence along Hartwell Avenue Route to the industrial area Permission must be received from the Town of Lex- ington to pass over these routes Mr McSweeney's report indicated that Mr Brown or any appropriate representative from the Town of Bedford should meet with the Traffic Advisory Committee to discuss the matter Mr Kenney stated that a meeting would be set up Mr Kenney read a request from Mr Lewis D Gurman, 122 Grant Street, Request Lexington for the use of Cary Hall and adjoining rooms for auditions and for Cary rehearsals for February 18-April 29 and performances for April 30-May 1, Hall May 7-May 8 for a theatre group The rehearsals would be from 7 00 p m. Mr Gurman to 11 00 p.m. three nights a week except for the week of April 25 when the hall will be needed 4 nights Performances would be from 8 00 p m. to 10 30 p m. Mr Gurman's letter stated that this is a newly organized group whose aim is to establish a year-round theatre which will provide the community with an opportunity to participate in all phases of theatre and see productions of artistic merit They intend to involve people of all ages (school-age people and older people, as well) Their further aim is to become self-sustaining, but not profit-making that is, to make only whatever is necessary to sustain operations--i e , buy lighting equip- ment and costumes, pay for royalties, etc Mr Gurman had been in to the Selectmen's Office and was given an application to fill out Miss Casey had informed Mr. Gurman that, as a general rule, Cary Hall was not let out to anyone during Town Meeting He requested the name of the Town Manager, which was given to him. Mr O'Connell informed the Board that he had received a call from Mr Gurman He pointed out that this is a private organization although it seems to be school related and asked why they didn't use the school facilities He informed the Board that a precedent would be established that could lead to many similar requests if this was granted He pointed out that there was no money budgeted for this type of use of the hall He pointed out that the overtime fee is paid for by the user of the hall but Mr Gurman wished the Town to absorb all the expenses He pointed out that the Board has exercised a policy to hold to one schedule during the Town Meeting Mrs Battin stated that the Selectmen do have the option of waiving the fees if it was in the public interest She stated that the group was not school related that it is young and old people involved Mr Kenney pointed out that they were asking for three nights a week for almost three months which was contrary to the policy in the past He felt that it would leave the Selectmen wide open Dr Kassler felt that he would hate for the Board not to encourage a group like this He felt that Lexington would benefit from it The group have offered some of the proceeeds to reimburse the Town He felt that the custodial fees could be temporarily waived He also offered to explain the situation to them. 5 S Selectmen's Meeting February 9, 1976 Mr O'Connell pointed out that it would cost about $20,00 per night plus police and fire coverage during the performances He pointed out that there was no money in the budget to absorb it Mrs Battin felt that it was a great way to get the community together and the hall should be made available for dress rehearsals and performances Dr Kessler suggested that the matter be tabled and he would meet with Mr Gurman this week and explain the Town's position Request Mr Kenney read a letter from Steven E Cox and Karen M. Pelusi re- for questing information concerning the property at 64 Garfield Street which Sewer they are interested in purchasing The property is not connected to the Cox- town sewerage system. The Woburn Five Cent Savings Bank, through whom Pelusi they are procuring a mortgage, is requesting a letter from the Selectmen's Garfield Office stating that the Town of Lexington will provide the necessary sew- St age Mr McSweeney informed the Board that this sewer extension is not funded in the projected fiscall '77 budget Mr Kenney is to write to Miss Pelusi and explain that as there has been no previous petition for this sewer extension and the funds are not included in the '77 budget, if they wish to install the sewer at their own expense, the Town will make arrangements to add it to the upcoming contract and it could be installed in the summer Otherwise, they could petition next fall for consideration in the fiscal year 1978 budget YELP Mr Busa informed the Board that he felt that it should be known by the Lexington residents that Joanne Frey, author of the YELP report was a member of the defense attorney's staff at last week's appeal in Lowell Superior Court Budget Mr Kenney informed the Board and the Appropriation Committee that Council Mrs Jan Stumpp, Chairwoman of the Council on Aging was not ready to on Aging present the budget as had been previously scheduled Mr Furash ques- tioned as to whether or not this extension of time meant that additional funds were going to be requested He pointed out that a statement of their priorities should be forthcoming in order to reduce the risk of com- plaints that preference was given to a particular program. Mr Kenney is to request a statement of priorities from Mrs Stumpp when she meets with the Board and the Appropriation Committee on Saturday Budget During further discussion of the budget, it was brought out that the estimate for land acquisition and development (exclusive of conservation purchases) was $70,000; $15,000 for brook reclamation, $35,000 for the con- servation fund and $20,000 for replacement of the Estabrook School parking lot drain The technical services/studies figure was revised to $52,000 including $25,000 for drainage and the remainder for inflow/infiltration studies Agreement was reached on a figure of $526,200 for public works utilities (truck sewers, sewer laterals, drains and mains) and $271,400 for improve- ments of public properties Included in the figure of $98,300 for road 4 I III Selectmen's Meeting February 9, 1976 machinery was $46,000 for replacement of the 1943 Barber-Greene snow loader; $14,000 for replacement of 1967 seven-gang mower; $7,000 for new half-ton pickup truck; $2,000 for New York rake; $2,800 for new plow and $8,800 for two mowers A transfer of funds of $7,000 for the Center Pool with the balance of the available $12,000 to be retained for emergency maintenance was approved. Mr. McSweeney, Director, Public Works/Engineering informed the Board that he had gone nationwide to find a wooden flagpole to replace the old one with no success He does have estimates on fiberglass and stainless steel with aluminum top; the cross bridge being retained as at present. There was discussion as to whether or not a shorter pole could be erected instead of the 130 foot old one, hopefully cutting the cost from $25,000 as estimated It was also brought out that prior approval of the Historic Districts Commission may be required for anything but a wooden pole $70,000 was agreed upon for land acquisition and development (exclu- sive of conservation purchases) as follows $15,000 for brook reclamation, $35,000 for conservation fund and $20,000 for replacement of the Estabrook School parking lot drain It was agreed to request an additional $26,000 for the completion of the ball field lighting project and $7,000 for im- provements to Harrington School ball field An additional $15,000 will be requested to be put toward the total cost of property revaluation to comply with the state requirements for 100 percent valuation Mr O'Connell informed the Board that there would be a significant in- crease in the Blue-Cross-Blue Shield payments for town employees This in- crease will become effective on April 1 and individual membership rate will be $29 12 per month and family membership will be $79 00 per month. Mr O'Connell pointed out that the Town pays 50 per cent of this cost and it is one of our most vital fringe benefits Mr John Butler, Chairman of the Personnel Advisory Board reported to the Board and the Appropriations Committee relative to information submitted by Mr Irwin, Mr Perry, Mr O'Connell and Mr Cook with respect to the re- quest for two positions (Clerk - Tax Collector's Office and Electrical In- spector) The Personnel Advisory Board felt that there was lack of suffi- cient hard data and/or analysis of alternate solutions to the work load problems to justify a full-time permanent position and that CETA funds should be used if available The following recommendations were made Inspection -- Full-time provisional position for one year subject to two commitments a Development of a Management Information system to track current work load and projected minimum requirements b Not later than September 30 and as much earlier as practicable, PAR to analyze data gen- erated by above system and recommend appropriate staffing Tax Collector's Office - Full-time provisional position for one year subject to the follow- ing commitments a Town Manager will obtain proposals by April 1 from outside vendors for the preparation and processing of Town payrolls b. If it is determined that such a service is feasible, the work load problem Ill will be alleviated by internal transfers and the position will not be filled. c If such a service is not feasible, the PAB, after further examination 580 Selectmen's Meeting February 9, 1976 oi' data generated in management studies, will make a further recommendation a:, to whether or not it believes the position should be filled. Such rec- ommendation shall be made prior to the projected termination of CETA funds Mx• Furash expressed concern about adding new full time positions in Town Gcvernment Mr O'Connell stated that they would be examining during the year the question of whether or not part of the inspection work load could be handled by workers in the Inspection Department. Blue Cross/ Mr O'Connell reported to the Board that there would be a substantial Blue Shield increase in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield rates this spring There will be Increase approximately a 70% increase in the rates with the family rate jumping to $79 00 and the individual rate to $29 00 Mr Furash commented that this would be about $1 50 increase on the tax rate Mr O'Connell pointed out that this will become a major consideration in the total package in the collective bargaining sessions, relative to tl.e 75/25 sharing by the Town Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of February 2, 1976 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 10 p m. A true record, Attest a(fi'" 227 Principal Clerk