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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-01-12-BOS-min 547 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 12, 1976 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, January 12, 1976, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Bailey, Messrs Kenney, Busa, Kassler, and Mrs Battin; Mr O'Connell, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr Chase and Mr Martin, Engineers; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Chairman Bailey opened the hearing upon the petition of the Boston Conduit - Edison Company for the installation of 30 feet of conduit on Bedford Street Bedford St to service Tektronix, Inc Hartwell Notices of the hearing were sent to abutters, as listed on the peti- Avenue tioner's plan, and also filed with the Public Works Department Mr Louis Pratt, representative of the Boston Edison Company, was present Chairman Bailey read a report from Mr John McSweeney, Director of Public Works, recommending that approval be granted as the installation had been completed on an emergency basis Mr Pratt This petition is for the installation of this conduit in order to provide service to Tektronixs No one else appearing in favor or in opposition, the hearing was de- ll Glared closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Boston Edison for the following location of conduit Bedford Street, approximately 235 feet southeast of Hartwell Avenue a distance of about 30 feet Chairman Bailey opened the hearing upon the petition of the Boston Guy Wire & Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company for the installation Anchor - of guy wire and anchor on Pole 2/1 located approximately 95 feet north of Allen St Waltham Street Waltham St Notices of the hearing were sent to abutters, as listed on the peti- tioners' plan, and also filed with the Public Works Department Mr Louis Pratt, representative of the Boston Edison Company, and Mr Roland Pinault, representative of the Telephone Company, were present Chairman Bailey read a report from Mr John McSweeney, Director of Public Works, recommending that approval be granted for this location Mrs Vera Crone, 634 Waltham Street, was present and asked where the guy wire and anchor would be located Mr Pinault The pole is already there and the anchor guy will go in the grass area Mrs Crone There is a line that goes across my property to that pole Mr Pinault That will be eliminated Mrs Crone You say that will be eliminated but what about the Edison line? Mr Pratt was unable to answer 543 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 Upon motion dulymade and seconded, it was voted to table the peti- tionPP pending further information from the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company regarding the utility wires crossing Mrs. Crone' s property Prec 3 Mr O'Connell reported that he had investigated the possibility of Polls changing the Precinct 3 polling place from the Bridge School, as requested by the Minuteman Associates They had submitted two proposals; the basic one was to shift from Bridge School to the Bowman School, but they were not aware that Bowman is being used as a Precinct 2 polling place We looked at the Franklin School but questioned the availability of parking; also, on Election Day, the school could not use the gymnasium for classes Chairman Bailey Why use Franklin rather than Clarke Junior High? Mr O'Connell In our original communication to the School Committee, they asked us to avoid using Clarke because of the increased traffic Miss McDonough has called to our attention that the election laws say if there is a location change of a voting place, the Selectmen shall cause the printing of the change to the determined place and shall give notice by mail to people in the precinct. I asked Town Counsel if he felt that the precinct locations given in the Warrant would suffice, and he felt it should However, Miss McDonough feels that unless much advance notice is given, people will go to the original polling place. Does the Board want to do it now or take more time to provide additional publicity for the next one? The Board agreed to defer action at this time and to continue the 111 Precinct 3 voting place at the Bridge School, and to so inform the Minute- man Associates Police Mr O'Connell recommended approval of the Board to request a transfer Transfer from the Reserve Fund to the Police Department in the amount of $3,800 Request This represents proposed emergency improvements in the Police DeOartment firing range dealing with the problem of lead poisoning This action is the alternate to what we discussed in the Capital budget Up to $50,000 could be involved in replacing the entire ventilating system. This pro- posal would increase the amount of ventilation and would suffice for the next few years The question was raised as to how we would determine the results, and Dr Aldrich of M I T will take periodic blood samples to see if there were any indication of a problem. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- quest to the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to the Police Department in the amount of $3,800 Mr Cohen, Town Counsel, left the meeting Min Man Mr O'Connell discussed the budget proposal submitted by thje Minute- Regional man Regional School Committee for FY 77 School After discussion, the Board agreed to inform the Minuteman Regional FY 77 School Committee that the proposed amount of $3,223,132 was consistent Budget with an estimate of 1,200 pupils However, if enrollments are less than 549 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 1,200 pupils, an appropriate proportion of the total operating budget could be relegated to the school's E & D account for application towards the following year's operating budget or, if time permitted, this year's budget could be reduced Mr Cohen returned to the meeting The Board agreed to schedule a meeting on Saturday, January 24, at Budget 8 30 a.m. Arrangements will be made to invite the Appropriation Committee, Meetings Capital Expenditures Committee, Recreation Committee, Conservation Commis- sion, and the Planning Board to attend On Saturday, January 31, the Appropriation Committee and the Personnel Advisory Board will be invited to attend the meeting Mr O'Connell submitted a lease from the Boston Edison Company cov- Bos.Edsn ering the Hartwell Avenue sanitary landfill Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the item covering the Boston Edison lease Mr Cohen informed the Board of a 21-page finding in the case of Sellars Hazel L Sellars vs Town of Lexington Mr McSweeney has spent over ten vs Town days in court during the trial, and I can't praise him enough for his efforts and all the time expended on his part Mrs Sellars claimed that the sewer pipe that was installed was not put in properly The finding of the Master was that the plaintiff had not satisfactorily shown burden of proof and, therefore, finds for the defendent Chairman Bailey read a letter from Dr William A Fraenkel, 9 Mason Fraenkel Street, requesting that the Board reconsider the order of December 24, Dog 1975 that included the condition that his dog, "Shep," is not to be tied to a chain outside as it could break Dr Fraenkel requests that the dog be attached to his outside chain as it is embedded in the ground, is of extra heavy duty steel and unbreakable The Dog Officer has already in- spected and approved our outside chain and favors the Bark Training Collar Also, the dog is under constant supervision by the family when he is on the outside chain Dr Kessler This was the first offense of this seriousness, but one thing we didn't go into was the fact that the dog does lunge at people that go by This is frightening and disturbing My own feeling is that we bent over backwards to allow them to keep the dog, and I don't think it punative to allow them to keep the dog in the pen There are ways of en- larging it if they wish. I don't think we should change our order Mr. Busa I concur I believe this is the only case brought before us but that dog attacked To me, a dog that vicious should not be allowed out To me, it is a wild animal Dr Kassler• If they want to exercise the dog, they can enlarge the pen The dog does have a history of coming to a full, dead run at people 1 that go by I would feel uncomfortable about changing the order 550 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 Mrs Battin agreed Mr Kenney, also 1 Chairman Bailey I will write to Dr Fraenkel that the Board agreed unanimously that the original order of December 24, 1975 regarding the dog, "Shep," will stand as originally promulgated. Turning Chairman Bailey read a letter from Mrs Iris G Wheaton, P4esident of Mill the North Lexington Association, requesting that the Board giveconsidera- Sewer - tion to alleviating the flooding condition along both sides of the Turning Flooded Mill sewer line between the Edison power lines and Turning Mill Road. It Area was suggested that very wide swales be scooped along the entire raised sec- tion of the sewer line to allow unrestricted flow of the currently trapped water to the lower swamp areas Extensive culverting is another possibility, however it would be more expensive; visually not as appropriate with the nat- ural setting; an invitation to more mini-bikers to use the area as their trail After discussion, it was agreed that Mrs Wheaton, Mr Chase-Town Engi- neer, and Mr Prentiss-Conservation Administrator, walk that area of the trunk sewer easement near Turning Mill Road some time in the spring when the snow has cleared After receiving a joint report, appropriate action will be taken by the Board Sewer - Chairman Bailey read a letter from Dr Bernard S Yudowitz, dated Wild Acre December 4, 1975, petitioning the Town for a sewer connection f r the Inn Lexington Wild Acre Inn at 50 Percy Road Chairman Bailey We have received reports from Mr McSweeney, Direc- tor, DPW/Engineering, and Mr Smith, Health Director The report from Mr McSweeney states that the Wild Acre Inn is located at 50 Pe cy Road, more commonly called the Percy Road extension of Wild Acre Inn ad, approxi- mately 250 feet from the intersection of Highland Avenue A sec nd struc- ture is located approximately 150 feet beyond the Inn, with threle vacant lots also fronting on the street The status of this portion of Percy Road is unaccepted but open to public travel, although its appearance is more like a driveway Any proposal to provide sewerage to the Inn should in- clude a means of sewering the second building, know as 52 Percy Road Using this criteria, there are two solutions for sewering these properties, neither of which are particularly desirable from the Town's point of view The first possibility would require a pumping station, approximately 400 feet of force main and 150 feet of gravity sewer, estimated to cost between $30,000-$60,000 depending on the type of pumping system used For budget purposes, we would carry a figure of $40,000 using a pneumatic ejector-type pump The second alternative is to construct a gravity sewer crjoss-country to Sherburne Road We estimate this cost at $38,000, assuming nb major soils problems are encountered In view of the estimated costs, the nature of the anticipated construc- tion and the inherent problems associated with pumping, we would recommend that Dr Yudowitz seriously explore all possible alternatives such as, re- placement of septic tanks and leaching beds, or installation of a private service and ejector pump to service his property only Should the cost of a private solution be unrealistic or unfeasible, then we would recommend inclusion of $40,000 in the FY 78 budget to service these properities _ - )51 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 The report from Mr Smith states that the conditions created by the overflowing septic system at the Wild Acre Inn constitutes a health hazard condition, which necessitated the Board of Health to require Dr Yudowitz to petition for a sewer connection Mr McSweeney's report on the situa- tion and its inherent problems appears to be well defined However, the Board of Selectmen should be aware that the alternative presented by Mr McSweeney relative to replacing the present subsurface disposal system is unacceptable due to the coil conditions of the site, the physical limita- tions of the property and the size of the system needed to serve the Wild Acre Inn population If the Selectmen find there is no Town responsibility to sewer this property, the next acceptable alternatives would be (1) the installation of a private service and ejector pump, subject to plumbing code requirements; (2) condemnation of the property as unfit for human habitation As an interim measure Dr Yudowitz is operating the Wild Acre Inn under an order from the Board of Health to pump the existing system at intervals frequent enough to prevent any health hazard condition from existing system overflow. This method of alleviation can only be considered as an interim procedure and will become less and less effective as variable conditions such as soil saturation, water table conditions, and input into the system further degrades the present method of disposal Mr Chase, Town Engineer, informed the Board that it would cost approxi- mately $20,000 for Dr Yudowitz to privately construct a sewer connection to 50 Percy Road, and approximately $40,000 for the Town to construct a con- nection to 50 and 52 Percy Road, plus three vacant lots The Board agreed after discussion that Dr Yudowitz should continue to fre- quently pump the system and to encourage him to further consider the ad- vantages of undertaking a private sewer project Also, to inform him that the Board will review the situation later in the year for consideration in the FY 78 capital budget, and Mr McSweeney and Mr Smith will be willing to cooperate with Dr Yudowitz in the evaluation of any unexpected developments and report back to the Board Chairman Bailey read a recommendation from Mr William Page for the CATV Appt appointment of Dr Peter Shapiro, 11 Wachusett Drive, as a member of the Advisory Committee on Cable Television Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Dr Peter Shapiro a member of the Advisory Committee on Cable Television to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr Ira Stephenian Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify the char- Cert of acter of Mr John Talmage, 3 Fourth Street, Lexington who has applied for Incorp a certificate of Incorporation, "The Bay A's", Inc Chairman Bailey read an application from Porter & Desmond, Woburn, to House Move move a house from 338 Lexington Street to 478 Lowell Street, Lexington Woburn to A report from Mr McSweeney, Director, DPW/Engineering, states that Lexington his department, including Mr Paul Mazerall, Tree Warden, has checked 111 the route and recommends that the Board grant permission for the move, subject to conditions 552 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to Porter & Desmond to move a house from 338 Lexington Street, Woburn, to a new location at 478 Lowell Street, Lexington, subject to the following conditions 1 A bond in the amount of $5,000 is to be posted with the Department of Public Works 2 The licensee shall procure and maintain during the life of the per- mit, general liability insurance with coverages for bodily injury and property damage liability A copy of the insurance certificate must be submitted to the Town of Lexington along with the bond before the permit will be issued 3 The licensee shall be required to provide uniformed police officers for traffic control, etc 4 The mover shall contact and meet with a Department of Public Works Representative and Mr Paul Mazerall, Tree Warden, prior to the issuance of a permit 5 The licensee shall be required to furnish evidence of a peirmit from the Mass Department of Public Works since Woburn Street is a State Highway In addition, we will require written evidence ofl approval from the Lexington Police Department, Fire Department, Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company Auctioneer Chairman Bailey read an application from Mr John B Lisle, 60 Tarbell License Avenue, for an Auctioneer's license to auction by mail or by public auction stamps and related philatelic, historical properties Mr Lisle has been a resident for more than one year, and a report from the Police Department states that, after investigation, there is no reason why the Auctioneer's license should not be issued Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue an Auctioneer's license to Mr John B Lisle, 60 Tarbell Avenue, expiring March 131, 1976 Collina Chairman Bailey requested the Board to sign the forms for the abatement Ambulance of the ambulance bill of Mr Medardo Collina in the amount of $13 80, in Abatement accordance with the vote of the Board on January 5, 1976 Water Chairman Bailey read a request from the Director of Public gorks/ Abatements Engineering to abate water bills sent to residents Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the abatements for the following water bills James Breitmaier 8 Minola Road $112.50 C M. Vlajunac 33 Sherburne Road 91.45 Frank Kavanaugh 37 Sherburne Road 75.15 F Scott Carpenter 33 Simonds Road 81.55 Dr William Graham 21A Muzzey Street 2.70 John G Harris 76 Blake Road 11.25 Elisabeth Silva 17 Cottage Street 53 10 Cosmo Pococco 8 Ingleside Road 126 00 William A Moseley 7 Appletree Lane 21 15 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 George E Williams 18 Kendall Road 33 75 Francis Bradley 6 Farcrest Avenue 42 65 Russell Bean 2300 Massachusetts Avenue 27 00 Philip Corcoran 12 Nickerson Road 36 00 Carl Blake 4 Wachusett Circle 4 95 The Board discussed polling hours for the Presidential Primary Presidential Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the polling Primary hours for the Presidential Primary on March 2, 1976 at 7 00 a.m. to 800pm. Chairman Bailey informed the Board that notice has been received, by Sel /Mgr/ certified mail, of the cancellation of the Selectmen/Town Manager insurance,Insurance for underwriting reasons, from the Market Insurance Company of Chicago, as of February 9, 1976. A subsequent letter from our broker, Alexander & Alexander, states that we may make application to them and they will solicit replacement proposals to coincide with the cancellation date Regarding this, a telephone quotation was given $15,975-3 years prepaid; $5,858-annual installments; short-term policy from February 9, 1976 to July 1, 1976- $2,273; refund on previous policy of $1560-$605 Mr O'Connell was requested to talk with Mr Norman Stolz of Brewer and Lord to see if this type of insurance is available from them. The Board agreed to sign the application to Alexander & Alexander, with the understanding that this action is for the purpose of receiving quotations for comparison purposes Chairman Bailey read a letter from Attorney George L Bernstein re- Taxicab garding the Lexington Transportation Co , Inc , formerly the Lexington Licenses Cab Co , Inc The letter states that the Lexington Cab Co , Inc ceased operations and surrendered all of its assets to the Tanners National Bank in Woburn in accordance with the provisions of Security Agreements that the Bank had on its assets The Bank determing that it was necessary to con- tinue the operation of the taxi business so as not to interrupt taxi ser- vice during the period that the sale of assets was completed, entered an arrangement with Lexington Transportation Company, Inc whereby they would continue the operations while a private sale of assets could be arranged The private sale has now been arranged and should be completed very shortly Therefore, the re-issuing of the taxi licenses to Lexington Transportation Co , Inc Would permit transfer of the Lexington Taxi operation to that corporation without interruption of service to the public On January 7, 1976, Mr Alan T Aronson, President of Lexington Trans- portation Co , Inc , submitted a request for licensing 13 vehicles to be used as taxis; all vehicles are marked taxi, with roof-lights and signs, and are all set up for metered operation of fares Mr Cohen I talked with Mr Bernstein and requested that he write the letter of explanation to the Board It appears there is going to be a court order to take over In the meantime, these licenses can be issued Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue licenses for Lexington Transportation Co , Inc taxicabs with the following registration 554 Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 numbers (the address is P 0 Box 125, Lexington) expiring May 11, 1976 5453 5454 5459 5467 5455 5460 5456 5462 5464 1943 5463 5465 5457 Grey Chairman Bailey read a letter, dated December 12, 1975, fro$n Sister Nuns Camille Noel, President of The Grey Nuns Charities, Inc , notifying the Town of their plans in early January to release for sale their property at 20 Pelham Road, 13 Pelham Road, and 6 Eliot Road We wrote tp our agencies and have been informed by the Planning Board, Conservation Com- mission, Lexington Housing Authority, and the School Committee tat they have no interest in these properties Dr Kassler e have a use for them but there is no availa_ple money The Board agre d to write to Sister Camille Noel thanking har for alerting the Town a an early date as to the availability of the Grey Nuns' properties bu there appears to be no basis for the Town ti open negotiations cone ing them. Resignation Chairman Baile read a letter of resignation from Mrs Hildagarde Town Celeb McGonagle as a member of the Town Celebrations Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with regret, the resignation of Mr Hildagarde McGonagle as a member pf the111 Town Celebrations Committee Street Chairman Bailey reminded the Board to attend the street hearings Hearings scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, 1976, in Estabrook Hall Warrant Chairman Bailey discussed the printing of the Warrant for tie Presi- Printing - dential Primary on March 2, 1976 We awarded the bid to Maran Printing Pres Pri- Service, Inc for $256, with the understanding that an additional amount mary would be involved for inserting this single printed sheet in theiAnnual Town Meeting Warrant for the purpose of eliminating a second mailing cost We have received the revised quotation of $308 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the re- vised amount of $308 for the printing of the Warrant for the Pre0idential Primary by Maran Printing Service, Inc Policy on The Board discussed the policy on custodian's fees to be charged for Custodian's the use of Cary Hall and Estabrook Hall by organizations in the Town Fees for Chairman Bailey In general, we charge a fee but we should discuss Use of private organizations using the facility For example, the League of Cary Hall Women Voters has reserved Estabrook Hall on January 14 for an inEormational meeting regarding candidates for Town election; does the League pay for the custodian? The Board agreed that there would be no charge to the League of Women Voters as the meeting is an informational Town function on localjssues �4 0✓ V'1 J 0,) Selectmen's Meeting January 12, 1976 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that there would not be a charge for a custodian's services when a private Town organization uses Cary Hall or Estabrook Hall for a meeting concerning the public in- terests of the Town. The Board agreed to sign the All Alcoholic Beverages Club liquor Elks Club license for the Elks Club, showing the extension of hours on Mondays through Thursdays from 5 00 p m to 12 00 Midnight (previously 11 00) as voted on December 8, 1975 Mr O'Connell and the Board discussed the following expense budgets Expense Budgets Account #3800 - Police Department Agreed Item #550-Public Safety Mr O'Connell $1,000 covers the purchase of guns for three new men at $450 (this includes a shotgun as the one we have is 30 years old) , replacement of electrictype siren at $275, plus items such as handcuffs, etc $118,600 #4150 - Fire Department 60,500 #5000 - Public Works Office 7,800 #5150 - Engineering Department 3,950 #5250 - Building Maintenance (Agreed to $1,000 under sub-item (b) of Item 373-10 to replace roof slates on Cary Memorial Bldg , Town Offices and Police Department 121,000 #5400 - Highway Maintenance 116,590 #5450 - Road Machinery 126,720 #5500 - Snow Removal 94,000 #6000 - Parks 29,000 #6400 - Cemetery Expense 5,415 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by a 5-0 roll call Executive vote to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a matter Session of possible litigation and a matter of funds for an indigent person After discussion, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 20 p m. A true record, Attest It 1 74-atit-e1;227 717c Executive Clerk, Selectmen t/