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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-07-26-BOS-min 1 SELECTMEN'S MEETING July 26, 1971 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Monday evening, July 26, 1971 at 7:30 p.m. Chairman Cataldo, Messrs. Kenney, Bailey and Busa, Mrs Riff in; Mr. Legro, Town Counsel ; Mr O'Connell , Town Manager; Mr McSweeney, Town Engineer and Acting Superintendent of Public Works; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to elect Mr. Kenney Acting Chairman until Mr Cataldo comes into the meeting At the request of the Town Clerk, three jurors were drawn as follows Lawrence Karp 12 Bryant Road Jurors Robert Dockser 26 Welch Road Thomas J Collins 86 Reed Street Hearing was declared open upon petition of the New England Tele- phone Company and the Boston Edison Company for the installation of one pole on Millbrook Road Notices of the hearing were sent to the petitioner and the owner 111 of the property as listed on the petitioners' plan and also filed with the Town Engineer Mr Pratt, -representing the Boston Edison Company, was present and said that the Telephone Company is placing new cable down Mill- bSook Road and this is a new pole location to reduce the amount of Pole sag in the right-of-way. Location Mr. Kenney read a report from the Town Engineer stating that Millbrook this location is approximately 15 feet from the nearest driveway Road and appears as though it does not interfere with travel in the public way. Mr Kenney asked Mr Pratt about the guy wire and anchor shown on the plan. Mr Pratt replied that the Telephone Company would have to get permission from the abutter; he was not sure that permission had been granted No one appearing in favor or in opposition, Acting Chairman Kenney declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the New England Telephone and the Boston Edison Company for the following location, subject to Mr McSweeney checking with the New England Telephone Company representative regarding permission for the guy wire and anchor Millbrook Road, southwesterly side, approximately 66 feet southeast of Suzanne Road, -- One ( 1) pole 2 Mr Legro requested the Board to sign the agreement between the Town and the Trustees of the Minute Man Park Realty Trust He sum- marized the terms of the agreement, explaining that it provided for Central the Town to convey the Old Fire Station Site to the Trustees in con- Block sideration of the conveyance by the Trustees of a 15 foot strip of land along Massachusetts Avenue extending between Meriam Street and Depot Square, that the Trustees are to pay to the Town the pro forme tax on the Old Fire Station Site and ace to pay for the Massachusetts deed excise stamps to be affixed to both deeds, and that the sum of $30,000.00 is specified as the value of each parcel solely for the purposes of computing the pro forma tax and the stamps to be affixed to the deeds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the agreement between the Town and the Trustees of the Minute Man Park Realty Trust Mr Legro informed the Board that he had prepared the Orders of Taking for sewer easements in the property of John R Augustine et ux., 481 Concord Avenue, and in the various properties running parallel on Concord Avenue He has prepared the release of damages from John R. Augustine, Marion Chuan and Louise A Frey; John W and AnnrH Cahn; W Lloyd and Flores H LeBoeuf; Leonard K and Ava B Nash; James end Joan K Mudra; Donald R and Sally F. Repel . Five I recommend that the Board have the confirmatory deeds and re- Fields lease of damages signed before adopting the Orders of Taking so th re Releases would be ample time to record within 30 days. It will take sometime to have the confirmatory( deeds signed by the owners and mortgagees and if the 30 days elapse, I will have to come back to the Board to rescind the orders Mr Bailey; Does this include all the parcels behind Field fid? Mr Legro No, not Mr Aladjem, who wouldn't sign The Board agreed that Mr Legro is to mail the confirmatory deeds and release of damages to be signed by the owners of the properties and the mortgagees He will inform the Board when all have beev:stgned and returned to him. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to rescind the Ambulance vote of January 29, 1971 to abate the ambulance bill submitted to Jay Bill Kellett, 36 Wilmington Road, Burlington, in the amount of $10.00; the bill has been paid. Acting Chairman Kenney read a report from the Traffic Committee regarding Robinson Road stating that the Committee is gratified to Traffic find that the School Department is generally in agreement with its Robinson recommendations on Robinson Road and the Estabrook School access re- Road garding the implementation of a "dead end" sign at the entrance to Robinson Road from Turning Mill Road and, possibly, a "no through traffic" sign Also, the entrance to the school land from Robinson Road should be closed to vehicles by the School Department with a gate which 3 could be opened to admit vehicles when required by the school ; an appro- priate sign should be placed at the gate. The School Department plans to install a chain link gate or post and chain. Mr. O'Connell The School Committee has been asked to authorize and request the Board to arrange for the enforcement of the traffic regulations within the school property for the School Department The Board of Selectmen does not have the authority until the School Commit- tee requests it We are waiting to hear from them The Board agreed that no action is to be taken at this time until a request is received from the School Committee Acting Chairman Kenney read a letter from Mr Eisenberg of the Citizens Advisory Board on Street Construction recommending, for discus- sion, that the policy of providing hard paved sidewalks be more clearly defined, and that the use of gravel or stone dust paths, in lieu of hard-surfaced sidewalks, be utilized more extensively throughout the Town Also, that hard-surfaced sidewalks be installed only in those locations where the Town intends to plow during the winter months if the sidewalks are not to be plowed, the Advisory Board recommends gravel paths on both sides of the street as being more desirable aes- thetically and more flexible in terms of winding around trees or rocks, creating variation with planting areas by the roads and paths Mr Kenney also read a letter from the Planning Board regarding Sidewalks sidewalk construction, stating that we have adopted sidewalk construc- tion requirements within our Subdivision Regulations and recommended guidelines on Town didewalk construction policies to your Board We shall be glad to review the questions raised by Mr Eisenberg and would hope that no policy change will be considered by your Board until after we have had an opportunity to study the matter and submit our recom- mendations to you Mr Kenney Obviously, we want to hear the recommendations of the Planning Board We should refer the Advisory Board letter to the super- intendent of Public Works and get his opinion. Mr Bailey: Also, an estimate of how ,many sidewalks we do not plOw on a regular basis I thought where there is a sidewalk, we plowed for the children Mr O'Connell The practice is to start from a school and cover all areas where children walk to school I think the change in policy to go to a gravel sidewalk, where there now exists a lawn to the road is net a good solution for homeowners; they would prefer to keep it in grabs even though walked on The Board agreed to request the Superintendent of Public Works for his comments and the policy of plowing or not plowing sidewalks. Acting Chairman Kenney read a letter from Joseph A Campbell, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, recommending that crosswalks be painted Cross bright green or yellow and include signs reading "stop for pedestrians" Walks as out-ofmtown motorists are unaware that they must stop for a pedes- trian in the crosswalk Mr Bailey Is Mr Campbell correct on our traffic rules and regu- lations relating to crosswalks 4 Mr O'Connell. He is correct, a car is obligated to stop for a pedestrian who is within a crosswalk. Mr Bailey I would suggest we refer this to the Traffic Commit- tee and use an expression of our concern and a recommendation of positive action, also, a recommendation on "stop for pedestrian" signs at the approaches to the crosswalks. The Board agreed to request a recommendation from the Traffic Com- mittee and, also, request the Superintendent of Public Works for an estimate of the cost of paint for the project Acting Chairman Kenney read a request from Mr Camillo S9anga for extension of water and sewer lines to service lots 32 and 33, Cliffe Avenue. A report has been received from the Town Engineer stating that Sganga in order to provide sewer and water services to the lots, which are in Sewer the unaccepted portion of the street, it would be necessary to con- Request struct approximately 200 feet of sewer and 200 feet of water from Hill- crest Avenue, which was reconstructed last year Betterments assessed would be i h the orderof 5350tar _sewer and $75 for water; we estimate construction costs for this work at $12,000. Mr Kenney: We do not have the money in our budget He could submit the request for consideration for next year The Board agreed to inform Mr. Sganga that the money is not avail- able to grant his request but the Town Engineer will submit a recom- mendation for consideaation in the 1972 budget Acting Chairman Kenney informed the Board that the Club Liquor Rules and Regulations have to be amended We amended the rules for Club Motels and Restaurants in May and we would like to take the substance Liquor and incorporate it in the Club rules. Rules Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request Town Counsel for the proper language to amend the Club Liquor Rules and Regulations. Mr Warren Leslie, 38 Valleyfield Street, met with the Board Acting Chairman Kenney The Board will recall that Mr G'entle wrote to the Board last March concerning an indident which took Drop-in place in the Upper Story We had told Mr Leslie that TownlMeeting Centers was coming up but we would be happy to meet with him when our sched- ule permitted. We also received petitions from concerned citizens for the elimination of Drop-in Centers for the youth of our coMmunity, known as the Upper Story, The Attic and Replace. Did you know the Upper Storey has closed? Mr Leslie Yes, I am more concerned at this point actually about the condition of the Attic The Upper Story has shut down; the approach and attitude of the chaperons were poorly managed The Attic has had in recent months some surveys and a committee to establish criteria, not only for the Attic but whether it should continue or not. I don't agree with the report but feel there is a tremendous improve- ment over which they have had the last three years We citizens and parents should step in and take action on our own and feel that through r 0 the Board there could be an established program, whether private or pro- vided by the Town I feel something must be done for the youth who are over the arts and crafts stage and the normal activities of Hayden, and I feel a lot of citizens can do it and not carry any burden for the Town but with proper management and with the youth, we can run and operate a so-called drop-in center and also establish it away from the church, which I think is disastrous, and do something as a Town rather than as individuals or sects of people. The Attic is operating illegally as there is no membership today; they run dances and have no license and they are running at a loss. Three years ago, they had a paid membership of 1200; two years ago, 650, this year, 0. I don't believe it should be in a church under these conditions; less than 25% is Hancock membership but they are outsiders of the church and, in my opinion, it makes a bad situation The police had problems and we witnessed some of them and saw in the spring the attendance dwindle down to nothing Mr Kenney: There was a committee to evaluate this and we asked Mr Zehner to forward a report Mr Leslie gave Mr Kenney a copy of the report of the committee I have seen what is going on and talked with several people by phone and a surprising number of people feel the way I do but no one has stepped forward to do anything about it I am not condemning it with- out foundation and feel that we, as a Town, and you, as a Board, can do a whole lot in this area Mr Kenney I would remind you that the Attic is a private organ- ization with its own administration and own policy for the center; rather than knock something down, we will look at your next proposal Mr Leslie 1 will not go into the legal aspects if the Board is not interested but if the Board is interested and will listen and take action on a program if it is submitted in tato, and if there is agree- ment by the Board and cooperation by the Town, I will go ahead and do this. Mr Kenney You gave us an outlined proposal and it is new in- formation; in the past, the official Board hasn't spent much time advocating a Town drop-in center The Board will review your propo- sal and will return it with comments We appreciate your obvious enthusiasm but I have one comment in that you seem to feel the one reason it would be successful is because it would have the sanction of the Town but I would point out that youth will not have anything to do with the establishment. Thank you for coming in; the Board will dis- cuss your proposal . Mr Gail Smith was present and said that having the Attic in the Hancock Church is tearing that membership apart. I agree with Mr Leslie that the Church is not the place for it and if the Town would get in back of it, it would be a good thing. Anything like this is so controvers4al that there will be a division Mr Leslie and Mr. Smith retired from the meeting Later on in the meeting, the Board agreed to defer action pending a report and a meeting with a group of Lexington citizens who are work- ing on a similar project Acting Chairman Kenney read a. letter from the META Director of Planning and Construction regarding the availability of land in the Town for off-street parking facilities accessible directly MBTA from Route 128 to areas adjacent to or near commuter railroad lines Mrs Riff in The, MBTA has considered putting feeder buses from Route 2 to Fresh Pond where they are planning to extend the subway I think this could be referred to the Planning Board The Board agreed to refer the request to the Planning Board for information to be submitted to the Board on the MBTA request Hanscom Acting Chairman Kenney reminded the Board of the meeting on Field July 27 with the Port Authority to discuss Hanscom Field Acting Chairman Kenney informed the Board that House Bill 1783, providing that the state treasurer and treasurers of cettain cities and towns shall make payroll deductions from the salaries of em- ployees and pay said deductions to collective bargaining agencies as service fees, has passed the House and is now in the Senate I recall in our negotiations with some of our unions this has been a House Bill negotiating point and we are not in agreement with this 1783 Union Mr Bailey I still feel it is a bargaining item and I get Dues De- unhappy when the Legislature does the bargaining for us duction The Board agredd to inform Senator MacKenzie that the Board is opposed to House Bill 1783 as it makes it mandatory for the Town to have dues deduction for employees, whereas now it is a negotiable item in collective bargaining between the Town and our employee groups. If it becomes a state law, it involves a distinct infringe- ment upon home rule Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussion, deliberating or Executive voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the Session public security, the financial interests of the Town or the repu- tation of a person After discussion of matters of financial interest to the Town it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting Mr Cataldo came into the meeting Messrs Roy Dunfey, John Van Londen and Fred 0 Cox, and William Green, Attorney for the Dunfey Corporation, met with the Board The Chairman: The purpose of our meeting is when we got together Sheraton last April to discuss the situation of a possible violation of the Motor Inn state statute regarding your liquor license After discussing the issue with you, there is no question in our mind that you were in violation of the statute The night you met with us you made refer- ence that we question your operation and it had never been questioned before We did not question you officially but we did unofficially 1 1 and Roy well knows that we talked with him on different situations we were unhappy with There is no question of the purpose tonight; as far as the Board is concerned, you were in violation and are on notice that, in our opinion, you were in violation of the statute We told everyone we would in no way have another violation We reiterate once more, that as far as we are concerned we could see no reason not to be informed of the transfer of ownership as the statute states before any transfer takes place, the licensing authority must be notified and must approve it, you operate under the statute We have amended our rules so you are fully informed at all times of the conditions of management and who is the management team We can't stress to you strong enough our concern for liquor licenses in Lex- ington; it took a long time to get licenses in the Town and we put everyone on notice when a license is issued that we would police it to the last degree We want you to understand' once more if there is any violation from now on, we want you to understand we have put you on notice that you have been in violation before; not that we would look for violation but the consideration would come under these con- ditions Any questions? Attorney Green I think, supplimental to what I said the last time, if it it the Board' s conclusion we are in violation, it is the Board' s prerogative and I reiterate that Mr Dunfey is well aware of his responsibility of what goes with the license in the state and observance of the laws and operation in Lexington and if there are present any problems or violations, we would know about them As far as we know, we are providing the highest quality of 'personnel in management to make certain it is well operated within the Common- wealth of Massachusetts The Chairman To our knowledge, the operation is fine and there is no question of anything being wrong and rest assured if we did know of anything, you would be the first to know; I can't stress this strong enough Attorney Green You made reference to discussions with Roy Dunfey I was not aware of your visits with him He has since ex- plained them to me and for that I apologize We appreciate the Board' s consideration very much Messrs Roy Dunfey, John Van Londen and Fred 0 Cox, and Attor- ney Green retired from the meeting The Chairman informed the Board that a request has been received from the People' s Coalition for Peace and Justice for a permit to march through the Town on August 5 The request states that the march People' s will leave the Cambridge Common at approximately 12 30 p.m and pro- Coalition ceed up Massachusetts Avenue to the Lexington United Methodist Church, expecting to arrive around 5 30 or 6 00 p.m The march will consist of 500-1000 plus three or four VW vans carrying food, water and medical supplies We expect to be on the Lexington part of Mas achu- setts Avenue by 3 30 or 4 00 p.m This is as detailed as we can be at this point There will be aides or marshalls along the route to keep people from straggling S I called Lydia Sargent and asked her for an organizational struc- ture of the People' s Coalition and she explained to me there is no organizational structure, as such, but at each meeting they elect a chairman to act as the presiding officer I asked who would be re- sponsible and asked for a list of the organization with represents* tives listed I asked if the Board did consider granting a permit, would they accept the responsibility of paying for an extra police detail and Miss Sargent said she would ask and find out I received a letter from Lucy Perry stating that she was somewhat confused by the request to pay for extra policemen; perhaps we have not made it sufficiently clear that we feel no need for any police The people who will take part in this march are dedicated people committed to non-violence If you anticipate any difficulties arising from the citizens of Lexington, then I am afraid that is your responsibility She submitted a list of 5 members; Catherine Knight-AFSC Wayne O'Neil-MIT; Lucy Perry-PCPJ; Lydia Sargent-Brookline Pax; Roger Trudeau-Lexington, of the August 5-6- Task Force to be contacted if more information is needed I also asked Miss Sargent why they didn't ask for a parade permit for the following morning to go from the Church to the final destination and the answer was that she didn't think it the proper thing to do if they knew, in the final analysis, they would perform an act of civil disobedience I asked if she were aware of this and she said that she was perfectly aware of it I asked in what formation they planned to march, 4, 6 or 8 or a parade-like march and she said that at this time she had none of that information Is there anyone, a single person, in charge of the program? Lucy Perry was present and replied, no, there is a task force as a whole but no single person I would explain that decisions are made by a steering committee and the role of chairman is only to moderate that meeting The Chairman Are these five people named in the letter the task force? Miss Perry These are the people who can be reached; there are other people The Chairman If we had to talk With someone to bring a mes- sage to the task force, for our own operation and information, who is the one we talk to? Miss Perry Any one of these five people; pick one of the five The Chairman We don't want to pick one. In other words, there is no chairman picked for that day? Miss Perry No; it is just a way to function, to make decisions and carry them out Mr Kenney What is your purpose in coming to Lexington? Miss Perry To have a demonstration at Hanscom; our purpose is not Lexington The demonstration is aimed at publicizing the Vietnam War, really on the increased air bombing It will be a demonstration and blocking the gate Mr Kenney Do you have a permit from Arlington? 9 Miss Perry There are people who are dealing with that The Chairman Why come to Lexington the day before? Miss Perry On the evening of August 5, we are having a teach-in at the Methodist Church and we feel that by having a march and a teach- in, this will publicize it more than the demonstration; the two days are an integrated program The Chairman Is the purpose of the march to gather participants? Miss Perry That is one of the purposes. Mr Keneey Do you expect to be arrested at Hanscom; is that your intent? Miss Perry Whether arrested or not, our purpose is to block the li entrance as an expression of our disagreement on the policy of the government in respect to war As to what happens next Mr Busa Do you realize that by blocking the gate, you are break- ing the law? Miss Perry Yes Mr Busa Do you have permission from the Methodist Church to use the grounds? Miss Perry Yes Mr Busa Have you contacted the Board of Health? Miss Perry No Mr Buse: Do- you,.heae enough toilet facilities? Miss Perry Not for 1 ,000 to stay Overnight Mr Busa Will they sleep out of in? Miss Perry Some will be on the lawn or on the floor of the Method- ist Church MI- Busa There is a public school adjacent to the Church, do you have any permission to use that? Miss Perry No Mr Busa Do you realize the same purpose can be accomplished by marching or walking on the sidewalk from Cambridge to the Methodist Church? Miss Perry It depends on who takes part in the march and if there are 800 to 1 ,000 it would be difficult and they would have to use the streets Mr Busa Do you expect the Town to close off the street while the march goes through Lexington? Miss Perry It is usually not necessary to close off the street; half the street could be used by the marchers and half by traffic Mr Busa In other words, it would be closed off for If hours Miss Perry It seems a strange way of putting it; part of it could be closed off to be used by marchers for a short time Mr Busa: Then you never marched on Massachusetts Avenue; there are two lanes of traffic and if you cut off one way coming south we have to jeopardize the citizens of Lexington the right to use Massa- chusetts Avenue at this time Is this what you are asking? Miss Perry Yes, the request we are making is a request for the street The Chairman Are 800 to 1 ,000 all staying at the Church? I 1U Miss Perry No; there are other people staying in Lexington be- sides at the Church and some people will be taken back to their homes The Chairman Regardless of the Board' s decision, I would sug- gest you contact the Board of Health depending on the facilities available to you at the Church so there will be no problem; there is no sense in having a civil disobedience the day before Mrs Riff in You are asking for permission on August 5; how would you get from the Methodist Church to Hanscom Field? Miss Perry Some by car and some would walk; we are not having a kind of march that would take up the street Mr Kenney Are you planning on 200 or 300? Miss Perry: 'Yes Mr Kenney If that humber, it would be easier for you people to stay on the sidewalk Miss Perry It could be a lot easier to stay on the street I would like to make it clear we are going to be walking from Cambridge to Lexington pn the 5th Mr Kenney You would walk on the street? Miss Perry No, I am not saying that; if we don't get a permit, we would walk on the sidewalk. The Chairman: We understand that Mrs Riff in Has there ever been a parade in the street and how many abreast have there been without stopping on Massachusetts Avenue? Has there been any period where a group would be coming through? Chief Corr No; the only other times are April 19 or a road race, but we make specific provision far in advance regarding second- ary roads We wouldn't be able to allow them to come up without blocking some roads and we wouldn't be bble to do it without blocking traffic Mr Buse The only other day was on the Moratorium and they marched on the sidewalk Mrs Riff in How many could walk abreast on the sidewalk with- out being considered in violation? Chief Corr We must be careful that they are not obstructing those other people who want to walk on the sidewalk. I would think three would be a maximum number The Chairman: As 1 understand it, if the Board gave permission, there would be no responsibility for the People' s Coalition for extra police detail? Miss Perry We really feel our organization is not likely to cause problems and can see no reason for extra police The Chairman We would have traffic detours of automobiles; can the flow of traffic go around you? In other words, it would stay right with your group which we otherwise wouldn't have at this time Miss Perry Who pays after the football games? The Chairman The school pays Keep in mind this is not a Lexington organization You haven't been invited to Lexington The ground rules are here Even if we didn't charge for police for foot- ball games, it is a local program This is not a Lexington supported program and Lexington has nothing to do with it Miss Perry It is your misfortune that you have Hanscom Field in your town The Chairman Your answer is that you don't feel you have any responsibility? Miss Perry Yes Mr Kenney The traffic in Lexington Center between 5 30 and 6 00 p.m is quite excessive and would cause a great deal of inconven- ience Mr Bailey Is the route of some importance to you? There is an alternate of following Marrett Road to School Street to the Methodist Church Would that be satisfactory? Miss Perry The only consideration I am aware of is our route is more direct and we felt we didn't want to make that really any longer than necessary There is also the consideration that we do want to be seen marching as well as the demonstration and make people aware of what is happening in Vietnam and what is happening at Hanscom Field and we want that route simply for visibility Mr Kenney It seems to me you could achieve that objective by going on the sidewalk and if you had to string out on the sidewalk it would be more visibly impressive Mr Buse It might be a little shorter going to Marrett Road The Chairman What is the Board' s feeling? Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously to deny the request of the People' s Coalition for a permit to parade on Massachusetts Avenue on August 5, 1971 . The Chairman I would ask that you give us whatever information you could so we could afford you every protection when you are coming, so your march will be as smooth as possible, with no hitches and no accidents because it is a busy time of day Later on fn the meeting, after Executive Session, Mrs Riff in said she agreed with the vote but we should include in the request that if they march on the sidewalk, they march three abreast and by so stating will feel they are marching within the requirements of Chief Corr and marching in an orderly fashion. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously to amend the previous vote to deny the permit to march on the street by adding, if they choose to march on the sidewalk, to march three abreast Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Exec- utive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public Executive security, the financial interests of the Town or the reputation of a Session 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 10: 15 p.m. A true record, Attest ' Executive Clerk, Selectmen