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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-01-29-BOS-min 4t SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 29, 1973 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room on Monday, January 29, 1973, at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Kenney, Messrs. Bailey, Buse, Brown and Mrs. Riff in; Mr. O'Connell , Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel ; Mrs. McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present. At the request of the Town Clerk, six jurors were drawn as follows Jurors Isabel L. Jankelson 16 Benjamin Road David F. Ladd 2261 Mass. Avenue Daniel J. Sliski 15 Volunteer Way Robert E. Salathe 25 Preston Road Frucio Freschet 3 Linmoor Terrace Ernest F. White 81 Woburn Street Mr. Thomas Costello met with the Board to discuss House Bill 1208, which has been filed by Representative Cole, regarding the possibility of underground wiring at Minute Man National Park. Mr Costello This Act would require Boston Edison to remove the overhead wires and put them underground by 1975. The hearing is at the State House on Wednesday and 1 would like to have the support of the Board of Selectmen The cost is $2, 100,000 to be assumed by Boston Edison and they feel it is too much money There could be an amend- H1208 lent for 2,000 feet - at Marrett Road and the Minute Man National Park. Under- Mr Brown What would the total cost be to do this throughout ground Lexington? Wiring Mr. Costello No one has any cost estimates Marrett Chairman Kenney It would be in the multi-millions. Road Mr. Brown It should be clear that we are not supporting the bill Min, Man but only 2,000 feet. Park Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to support an amended House Bill 1208 to require the Boston Edison Company to remove above ground transmission facilities and replace them with underground transmission facilities in the area of Marrett Road and the Minute Man National Park, a distance of approximately 2,000 feet. The Board agreed to request Representative Cole to present the position of the Board et the hearing on January 31 , 1973. Chairman Kenney read a request from the Conservation Commission to take the Hill-Meek land by eminent domain, as authorized under Article 53 Hill of the 1972 Annual Town Meeting. Meek Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Town of Taking Lexington acquire by purchase or otherwise or take by eminent domain pursuant to the Order of Taking presented at this meeting a certain parcel of land situated on the southerly and southeasterly side of 42 Selectmen's Meeting January 29e 1973 Bacon Street, Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, the same being shown as Lot A on a plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.," dated June 21 , 1972, by Barnes Engineering Company, Inc , such acquisi- tion having been authorized by a vote adopted under Article 53 of the warrant for the 1972 annual town meeting and requested in writing by the Conservation Commission of the Town of Lexington Further voted that said Order of Taking be executed by the Board of Selectmen and that a copy thereof be recorded in the Middlesex County South District Registry of Deeds within thirty (30) days as provided by law. Chairman Kenney read a letter from Commissioner Campbell of the State Department of Public Works regarding probable changes in Chapters 81 and 90 programs. A second letter stated that if there are no change#, Chapter tentative allotments have been made as follows 90 State County Tower Maintenance $ 2,000 $ 2,000 $ 2,000 East Street 29,700 14,800 14,800 Chairman Kenney We are carrying the amounts in our budget Chairman Kenney read a letter from Dr Alan Cooper, I Wallis Court, Parking complaining of the parking on Massachusetts Avenue and a request that Problem postal employees park in their own lot. Mass. Ave The Board agreed to reply to Dr. Cooper that if the plans for the Wallis Ct extension of Meriam Street parking lot are passed by Town Meeting it is hoped that the situation will be taken care of. Chairman Kenney read a request from Mrs. June Woodland, 15 Hibbert Parking Street, for no parking on Hibbert Street from 8 00 a.m to 5 00 p.m. Hibbert St Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the request to the Traffic Committee for a recommendation Traffic Chairman Kenney read recommendations from the Traffic Committee Rules to change the Traffic Rules and Orders. Amendments Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Traffic Waltham St Rules and Orders of Lexington adopted by the Board of Selectmen November- Marrett Rd 13, 1967 are hereby amended as follows By adding to Article V, Section 2, Schedule 'I , the following Location Side From To Tvpe Parkins Waltham Street Westerly Marrett Road 285 Feet NO Parking Southerly Sherman St Sherman Southwesterly Grant Street 200 Feet No Parking Grant St. Southeasterly 8 00 A.M. to 6 00 t Mon through Fri 43 Selectmen' s Meeting January 29, 1973 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Traffic Rules and Orders of Lexington adopted by the Board of Selectmen Novem- ber 13, 1967 are hereby amended as follows By adding to Article II (Authority and duties of police and Board of Selectmen) the following Section 7 Towing of vehicles unlawfully parked or standing in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 40, Section 22D of the General Laws (Ter Ed ), the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Lexington hereby enact the following regulations authorizing the removal to a convenient Traffic place of vehicles parked or standing in such manner, or in such areas as Rules & are hereinafter described on any way under the control of the Town of Regula- Lexington, Vehicles specifically exempt by Chapter 40, Section 22D shall tions not, however, be subject to such removal Towing ( I ) AUTHORIZATION OF POLICE The moving or towing of any vehicle under the provisions of this article shall be by and at the direction of the Chief of Police or such other officers of the rank of Sergeant or higher as he may from time to time designate (2) FEES The Board of Selectmen hereby imposes upon the owner of any vehicle moved or towed to a convenient place under the provi- sions of this Article, the following fees (a) Removal or towing fee not to exceed that which is provided in or as authorized by Statute Law. (b) Storage fees not to exceed that which is provided in or as authorized by Statute Law. (3) LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE DURING REMOVAL OR STORAGE The towing agency or contractor shall be liable to the owner for any damage arising out of negligence caused to a vehicle in the course of removal and/or storage. (4) GENERAL PROHIBITION TOWING ZONES No person shall stand or park, or allow, permit or suffer any vehicle registered in his or her name to stand or park in any of the following places, Vehicles "00-found in violation of the provisions of this Section except those specifically exempt by law, shall be removed to a convenient place under the direction of an officer of the police department, and the owner of the vehicle so removed or towed away shall be liable to the cost of such removal and/or storage, if any, as set forth in sub- section 2 of Section 7 of this Article. The owner of any vehicle removed or towed away under the provisions of this section shall also be subject to the penalties provided in Chapter 90, Section 20A or the General Laws (Ter Ed ). I 44 Selectmen' s Meeting January 29, 1973 (a) Upon any way in such a manner as to impede the removal or plow- ing of snow or ice except vehicles parked in accordance with approved regulations governing all night parking. (b) Upon any sidewalk. (c) Upon any crosswalk (d) Upon any way within twenty (20) feet of an intersecting way, except alleys. P Y (e) Upon a way within ten ( 10) feet of a fire hydrant (f) On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of the way. (g) In front of a public or private driveway. (h) Upon any way where the parking of a vehicle will not leave a clear and unobstructed lane at least ten ( 10) feet wide for passing traffic. (i ) Within the limits of any way for a period of time exceeding twenty-four (24) consecutive hours without the permission of the Board of Selectmen or the Chief of Police, whether or not said vehicle is disabled and preparations are being made by the owner of operator for its removal . (5) POLICE TO KEEP RECORD OF TOWED VEHICLES The Police Department shall keep a record of all vehicles towed or removed under the provisions of this Article. Such record shall be retained for one Cl) year and shall contain the following information (a) The registration number of the vehicle. (b) The location from which it was towed, and the time and date of the tow order. (c) The location to which it was removed (d) The name of the towing agency or contractor, if any. a» (e) The name and rank of the police officer who authorized the towing or removal of the vehicle. Watertown Chairman Kenney read a recommendation from the Traffic Committee re- St Blind garding the request of Mrs. Mahakian for a "Blind Driveway" sign at Driveways 12 Watertown Street. The report states that the site was reviewed and Sign found to warrant the sign However, we suggest that the sign read "Blind Driveways Ahead," for there are four other houses with similar situations as 012 Watertown Street Selectmen' s Meeting January 29, 1973 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to instruct the Director of Public Works to make arrangements for the installation of a sign reading "Blind Driveways Ahead" on Watertown Street in order to alleviate the problem of residents getting in and out of driveways Chairman Kenney read a petition from residents for a sidewalk on Lincoln Street from Marrett Road to Middle Street. Sidewalk Chairman Kenney We have reviewed sidewalk requests and they Petition are in the vicinity of $400,000 Lincoln Street would have to be Lincoln St postponed until our next budgetary consideration Mr. O'Connell This is a petition similar to one on School Street; they don't live on the street The Board agreed to inform the petitioners to re-submit next fall . Chairman Kenney read a letter from Mr. William H White, 289 Woburn Street, regarding sewer service on Woburn Street. The Board agreed to inform Mr. White that this project has been Woburn St approved and will be submitted to Town Meeting for action Assuming Sewer that funds are voted, work would be engineered this summer and con- struction work would begin late this fall or early in the spring of 1974. Chairman Kenney read a request from Mr. John T Giblin, Jr , Manager of Harvard Trust Company, for additional street lighting Lights behind the bank on Edison Way Edison Way Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the request pending receipt of information from the Director of Public Works. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting of December 18, 1972. Chairman Kenney read an application from Martin Lawrence Hagerty, 301 Bedford Street, for an Auctioneer's license. Auctioneer' s Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the License request pending further information on the length of residence in Town, etc Chairman Kenney read a request from Mr Henry E. Keenan, Auc- tioneer of Arlington to conduct an auction of Persian rugs at the Out-of-Town Sheraton Motor Inn on February 2, 1973. Auctioneer Mr Cohen I don't believe you can grant this request First of all , he is not an inhabitant of Lexington, and I understand that these rugs will be brought into Town. The Board agreed to inform Mr Keenan that Town Counsel advises us that he cannot conduct the auction as there are statutory prohibitions. I 46 Selectmen' s Meeting January 29, 1973 Chairman Kenney read a request from Mr Richard B Moff, President Revenue of Mystic Valley Association for Retarded, Inc , to share in Revenue Sharing Sharing Funds. Funds Mr O'Connell The use of Revenue Sharing Funds takes Town Request Meeting action, an Article, must be in the budget, must be appropriated, etc. The Board agreed to inform Mr Moff that Revenue Sharing Funds could not be used for his organization The Board discussed a polling place for Precinct 3 Chairman Kenney Mr O'Connell has looked into the Bridge School , Polling rather than Clarke Junior High School , and the layout is good. Place Mr O'Connell The layout is excellent, it has good access, and Precinct would not interfere with the function of the school . It has a little 3 more parking area than most schools, has a circular drive and has two streets. The Board agreed to request the School Committee for the use of Bridge School as a polling place for Precinct 3 Chairman Kenney informed the Board that our application for school zones on School Street has been denied by the State Department of Public Works School Chairman Kenney Originally, this was brought about by a request Street for a sidewalk We will notify the principal people involved there Traffic and tell them this has been denied Now, we will have to ask the Traffic Committee to take another look at the situation. The Board agreed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Execu- tive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on matters which, if made public, would adversely affect the public Executive security, financial interests of the Town or the reputation of a Session person After discussion of matters with the Conservation Commission and Town Counsel , it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting. The Capital Expenditures Committee met with the Board. Mr Silverman, Chairman of Capital Expenditures Committee In Capital reviewing projections through a five-year period, we find debt service Expendi- will decline from $11 million to $6 million in 1976. Provided we re- tures ceive no other input on capital expenditures this means some relief to Committee assist us on the operating budget. The School Committee told us on January 26 that they appear to have no capital expenditures planned However, they are considering a feasibility study of all school build- ings and if they do this will need funds In the operating budget, we see problems on the landfill as we might have to add to it in five years; there is a serious problem as costs for out-of-town disposal are astronomical The projected cost is $650,000 for sewers over a five year period to complete the sewer program We have not made our 47 Selectmen' s Meeting January 29, 1973 final decisions yet but our projected cost under the I8-month budget is for $855,000 for sewers; 150 percent of $650,000 is $975,000. Water remains the same except that we project $25,000. On streets, we have added the Clarke Junior High access road; $260,000 as opposed to $150,000. Chairman Kenney One comment - we will not be going for construc- tion funds Mr. Silverman We have projected $80,000 for the Fire Station; $17,500 for Town buildings; $172,000 for general land acquisition; $79,500 for recreation; $10,000 for Lincoln Street; $100,000 for Lexing- ton Center; $50,000 for Meriam Street parking lot; including the Library, Buckman Tavern, and the chipper We are talking about $120,000 less on sewers and $40,000 less on sidewalks. Chairman Kenney A word of caution on your long-range plan for sewers If you do this for five years then the Town must look at a major maintenance program Mr. Silverman I told my committee the debt service is declining When we see projects, we wonder whether or not it is a good time to de- clare a moratorium on large capital items. There is no question on completi:ng the sewer system to start right in on maintenance. Chairman Kenney It could run $100,000 a year for 4 or 5 years Mr Kingston Would the Whitman and Howard study give us a better understanding of the problem? Mr O'Connell Yes Chairman Kenney We are programing more sewer inspection and from that they can determine the damage to the sewers; which means that IIwithin a couple of years we can have a good picture. Mr. Silverman The key is, we are a Town that was maturing and we would have a lessening of the debt. On Conservation, we have been pro- jecting $200,000 per year and the question is whether Conservation could find the kinds of parcels to spend that money. Can you think of any other large capital expenditures? Mr O'Connell One of the most likely areas is the major expansion of recreation facilities at the Center or Harrington The center pool would have to be replaced and enlarged or replaced at Harrington, and other items that would be in the complex. Mr Kingston We projected $150,000 for 1976. Chairman Kenney I think we are hopefully on fairly compatible ground and we will have a few refinement figures for you. 1 will give you more figures on the Meriam Street parking lot on fencing, metering and parking spaces. Mr. Silverman On the Library, we might recommend to Town Meeting • a shorter period of bonding and shorter amortization and it would give us some relief in 5 years. It was agreed to submit more information to the Capital Expendi- tures Committee on the Meriam Street parking lot, Belfry Hill , Center Development and Beautification, Harrington Playground. The Capital Expenditures Committee retired from the meeting 1 4S Selectmen' s Meeting January 29, 1973 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Execu- tive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on Executive matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, Session financial interests of the Town or the reputation of a person. After discussion of matters of financial interest to the Town, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at II 55 p.m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen I