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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1975-01-20-BOS-min 1[ 943 SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 20, 1975 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Rom, Town Office Building, on Monday, January 20, 1975, at 7 30 p m. Chairman Kenney, Messrs Bailey, Busa, Brown, and Mrs Battin; Mr O'Connell, Town Manager; Mr Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr McSweeney, Director of Public Works/Engineering; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Mr O'Connell discussed the outcome of the trail of members Mahoney - of the Mahoney family of Watertown Street Mr Mahoney was found Police guilty on two counts of assault against police officers and given 6 months suspended sentence of June, 1975 His 17-year old son was found guilty of assault on police officers and given a 1-year suspended sentence of January, 1976 The charges brought by the Mahoneys against the police officers were dismissed as Judge Penan found no probable cause Mr. O'Connell informed the Board that he had received a call Bicentennial from Mr Torkington of the State Bicentennial Commission advising him that the Dukakis administration was taking a more positive approach regarding the Lexington-Concord celebration on April 19, 1975. Mr. Torkington was told that we appreciated his efforts but it is far too late We have been denied assistance up to the top level of the Pentagon and we can't see that Governor Dukakis can do anything about it now Chairman Kenney Our Bicentennial Chairman, Mr. Cole, and the Bicentennial Director, Mr Tarlin, will be invited to meet with the Board for an updated report on their plans. Dr. Eric Clarke, Chairman, and members of the Planning Board; Center Mr Daniel Busa, Chairman, and members of the Recreation Committee Swimming met with the Board to discuss the Center swimming pool Pool Chairman Kenney Last year, $10,000 was appropriated for a filter and $5,000 for a trailer This was a joint recommendation of each one conoerned,with the idea that we would buy a little time to address ourselves to the problem of when or how to update the center pool. Also, Town Meeting authorized a study to be made on the needs for recreation Mr. McSweeney We did get bids for the filter, which would absorb the $10,000; to install, it would be $35,000 I feel that neither the Selectmen, Town Manager or DPW would want to invest $45,000 for a pool which would not meet State standards As a collective group, we will now have to revise our timetable concern- ing the Center pool. 194 Selectmen's Meeting January 20, 1975 Dr Clark We felt we have some money for moderate repairs and know the pool would have to be closed for a matter of days, but the Res would be open We did want to advance the timetable on the pool Mr. Daniel Buse Members of the Recreation Committee are working on a study. It is our feeling to keep our fingers cross- ed and ride out the summer. Mr. O'Connell One basic question, "Will that Center pool stay physically where it is, and are we going to filter the swimming pool water at that site for 50 years? Dr Clarke I visualize the problem in - different terms Does the Town want a summer facility or a year-round, or you may want to abandon that location Mr O'Connell i never visualized that study you are talk- ing - to go to an all year round winter sports complet That came later, and it prsents a complication Dr Clarke If the Town warrants it, I can see abandoning the Center Mr O'Connell The recreation plan is basically geared to 1 or 2 in the Center an done at Harrington School. The alter- native to this is for the Center pool to have a short life, not be expanded in size, but maybe crank it up for 10 years Chairman Kenney It will be $35,000 for filter installation and another $3,000 for electrical conduit It was agreed by all not to spend money for the filter Dr Clarke We will concentrate on answers on the pool location The Planning Board and Recreation Committee retired from the meeting Homestead Mr Cohen read a letter from Mr Thomas Wenham, Assistant St Assessor, requesting the Board to vote to suspend the outstand- Street ing street betterment of $45 on Lot 511, Homestead Street, which Betterment was acquired by the Town in May, 1974 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to suspend the outstanding street betterment on Lot 511 (Assessors' Map 58, Lot 143) Homestead Street in the amount of $45,, such lot having been acquired by the Town of Lexington in May, 1974; subject to the condition if said lot is ever sold, the person acquiring it would be responsible for paying this betterment balance Cert of Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify Incorp the character of Jordan Brickman, 20 Lillian Road, rand Lewis Werlin, 54 Albermarle Avenue, who have applied for a Certificate of Incorporation, "New England Mental Health Services, Inc " Bonds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Tax Collector to approve bonds for Deputy Collectors Paul E Kelley and Patrick J. Moynihan, in 1 the amount of $5,000 each 1 95 Selectmen's Meeting January 20, 1975 Chairman Kenney read a letter from Mrs George P Morey, 90 Morey No. Hancock Street, requesting a further extension of street Street betterment assessments on her property on Blake Road. Betterment Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, under the Deferment - provisions of Chapter 159 of the Acts of 1950, to further defer Blake Road payment of the street betterment assessment in the amount of $1,250, levied against property located on Blake Road and owned by Mrs. George P. Morey, without interest, until said land or any part thereof is built upon, sold or until the expiration of three years from the date hereof of January 20, 1975, whichever event occurs first; provided, however, that this extension of time shall terminate immediately if avid land or any portion thereof is built upon or sold Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve Water the recommendation of Mr. McSweeney, Director of Public Works/ Abatement Engineering, to sign the following water abatements (All are billing errors) REQUEST FOR ABATEMENT OF WATER BILLS M.I T Lincoln Laboratory 238 Wood STreet $4,372.65 Phyllis Janowitz 33 Ivan Street 14.85 U Paul. J. Mosca 40 Bernard Street 11.70 Harold Page 3 Bushnell Drive 103 50 Jerry Waldman 73 Spring Street 31 95 Charles R. Cook, Jr 10 Revere Street 11.25 William C. Sears 195 Burlington Street 9 90 Helen Dieter 21 Fletcher Avenue 2.25 John Richheld 7 Adams Street 8 10 M J Dondero 38 North Street 38.70 Karen Adelson 16 Winchester Drive 30.00 Ernest Smith 50 Fern Street 22.05 James Johnston 116 Concord Street 14 45 Chairman Kenney read a request from the Massachusetts Easter Proclamation Seal Society to declare February 13 as Coffee Day for Crippled Children Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Chairman Kenney to sign the Proclamation declaring Thursday, Feb- ruary 13, 1975, as Coffee Day for Crippled Children Chairman Kenney read a request from Mr Norman P Cohen, Town Land Con- Counsel, to sign two copies of a deed conveying tax title lots on veyance - Wood Street to the Lexington Housing Authority. The authority Lex Housing for this conveyance is in accordance with the vote of the Town Authority Meeting at the adjourned session held on March 16, 1953, as follows "VOTED That the Selectmen be and they hereby are authorized, however from time to time constituted, to sell and convey any ofthe real estate now or thereafter acquired by the Town by taking or sale for nonpayment of taxes, the right of re- 196 Selectmen's Meeting January 20, 1975 demption of which has been or shall be foreclosed or otherwise terminated, upon such terms and conditions as they may approve " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the deed conveying tax title lots 314 through 322 on Wood Street to the Lexington Housing Authority, subject to the condition that the grantee must erect structures within a 5-year period Refuse Mr William Whalon, Chairman of the Regional Refuse Disposal Disposal Study Committee, met with the Board Chairman Kenney As I understand it, your committee has not been active lately and is dormant We were approached by the South Essex Solid Waste Council and we would like your comittee to look at their proposal, and I want to emphasize that these are the types of operation open to the town as our landfill will run out in three years We want the townspeople to know that the landfill will be (a) expensive; (b) of dubious value Mr Whalon Mr. Peter Cambourelis of our committee devotes his time to this specific activity; his work is in the development of refuse disposal, through design He has the expertise and has been monitoring it since our report to the town in 1970 The history is, after participating with Waltham, Lincoln, and Bedford, it was concluded there was no magic solution to the problem of disposing of refuse It is too costly and environmental restrict- ions would inhibit the use of its We felt that as long as the landfill could be used, the town would be far better off awaiting some solution that was practical and financially feasible At one time we thought it a possible soluction to haul by rail or truck to a remote area. There was a State study on taking it to Worcester but the Penn Central isn't here any more In recent times, other people have gottn interested in resource recovery; _. there are task forces for companies to get federal money They are building a $25 million one in Lynn which is supposed to generate steam to G E. , and I think they are already in trouble. On this Essex proposeal, they think they are going to recover a lot of money, and they paid a lot of money to research; they will sell power and steam to Peabody They will take our stuff for $11 00 and they estimate our transportation costs at $4 a ton, but I don't agree. Mr. McSweeney There are capital costs for a transfer station and, also, a landfill site Mr Whalon For one of these regional groups to succeed, they require 300,000 tons per year The Minuteman Regional Refuse group has hired A.D. Little for a $50,000 study, and they are talking about little towns like Stow and Maynard, and they would like to have Lexington in on it; in fact, they would like to have it here I am saying there isn't any solution to this It is our feeling if Lexington canha in there and maintain its present relatively low cost operation in keeping our own material and disposing of it in a rather decent way, one of these days, within Selectmen's Meeting January 20, 1975 4 or 5 years, there may be something feasible and financially possible. I think the town is doing a good job in taking care of the problem without overextending itself in unproven areas. Chairman Kenney The cost in this proposal was $9.50 a ton, $1.50 site use plus $4.50, and that totals $15.50 a ton. What does it cost now? Mr. McSweeney $3.50 a ton. These estimates of costs do not include all the things like capital outlay, transfer stations. Chairman Kenney: You are saying that a more realistic estimate is..up around $20.00 Mr. McSweeney Yes, That only covers service charges, not capital outlay for the services. Mr. halon: Right. They never include site development in these costs. Mr. McSweeney: While we are talking 2 or 3 years, if we got approval tomorrow for 16 acres, it would raise our development. cost around $5.00 to $5.50 a ton to utilized for 16 years. If South Essex got everyone, it would be 10 years to get approval to get this program going. Everything is pending on approval of the State. Chairman Kenney: We will answer the South Essex Solid Waste Council that we can see no way at this time that we would be in- clined to join them; for ourselves, we would again emphasize that the town convince the state that we can use the sanitary landfill. Mr. Whalon retired from the meeting. Mr. George Silverman, Chairman, and members of the Capital Capital Expenditures Committee met with the Board to discuss capital items. Budget Mr. Silverman We are trying to keep capital expenses in re- Items lation to the tax rate. Chairman Kenney: Last year, you got a bonus; this year, we are back to reality. Mir.. Silverman When I came on the committee in 1972, since there was a holding back on DPW equipment, we knew we were going to pay for it due to inflation. Chairman Kenney: We are replacing what is falling apart We are on schedule on sewers. Mr. Silverman; Obviously, we can no longer keep it at that level. If we go to higher dollars, we have a higher tax rate. Mr. Kingston We have seen $200,000 for equipment but if we put in for $200,000 and the Appropriation Committee knocks it down, it affects our budget. Mr. McSweeney The whole purpose of a 5-year forecast is to update it. We have had requests every year for between $300- $400,000. Now, the forecast is half of that. I can't see it as being too high. Mr. Kingston We have seen the projection of $200,000 a year but we have not seen documentation. Selectmen's Meeting January 20, 1976 Mr. O'Connell We have not tried to put the effort in to support the forecast but to support the budget. Mr. Silverman. What is your feeling on recreation? It is important but we have neglected recreation. Last year, it was $31,000 and we built four tennis courts. Chairman Kenney: It is our feeling that recreation was one area over the years that hadn't been progressing the way it should have been The figure of $50,000 you are carrying is low by a factor of 2 Mr. Silverman: We have noticed the Center pool. Chairman Kenney: We had a meeting tonight with Recreation and Planning Board and the study hasn't gone far. The Manager asked them to look at the locus of the pool. It was decided not to spend money for a filter Mr. Silverman: We will meet with you again for discussion. The Board agreed and the Capital Expenditures Committee re- tired from the meeting. Route 2 The Board discussed a letter from Skidmore, Owen and Merrill Workshop requesting the Selectmen to schedule meetings on a Route 2 work- shop. Mr. O'Connell Mrs. Attshuler called me and I suggested that the first workshop be with Town officials. The Board agreed to schedule a meeting on February 5 at 8:15 p.m. with tftb Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Design Advisory Committee, Street and Sidewalk Advisory Committee, the Selectmen and representatives of Skidmore, Owen and Merrill. Chariman Kenney requested the Board to sign notices to the Street Constable. Notices Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the to Abutters notification to the Town Constable to deliver to abutters the Notice of Intent to Lay Out Streets, and the notice of hhe street hearings to be held on Wednesday, February 5, 1975, at 7 30 p.m. in Estabrook Hall for the following: Construction Streets For Acceptance Belfry Terrace - 350' From Forest Street to the end Foothpath Construction For Acceptance Public Foothpath - 900" From Valleyfield Street to Waltham Street Subdivision Streets For Acceptance Columbus Street - 150' From the accepted portion of Columbus Street to the end Kendall Road - 2230' From Sherburne Road to the Vine Brook Sherburne Road - 1125 From Kendall Road to 110' beyond Dane Road I i193 Selectmen's Meeting January 20, 1975 Worthen Road - 1100' Starting 400' from John Poulter ar g Road to 150' beyond Sherburne Road Springdale Road - 900' From Bates Road to the end Emerson Road - 520' From Maple Street to the eiud Bryant Road - 330' From Page Road to Emerson Road Bushnell Drive - 470' From Worthen Road to the end Village Circle - 1350' From Bryant Road to the enc Militia Drive - 460' From Worthen Road to the end Mrs Battin informed the Board of the resignation of Mi4 Jean Re-Place Miley as Director of Re-Place The Drug Advisory CommitteelIvoted unanimously to request Re-Place to allow Dr Jack Monderer tb participate until a replacement is found We gegret seeing jean go as she has done a terrific job Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Acting Selectman Bailey as Acting Chairman of the Board from January 22 Chairman to February 4, 1975 during Mr Kenney's vacation period. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go iito Executive Executive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or Session voting on matters which if made public might adversely affect the public security, the financial interests of the Town, or theirep- utation of a person After discussion of matters concerning collective bargaining, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjoarn at 10 50 p m. A true record, Attest j4/1"1 ' Executive Clerk, Selectmen +�