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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-06-28-BOS-min 558 SELECTMEN'S MEETING June 28, 1971 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Monday evening, June 28, 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. Martin, Assistant Town Engineer; Mrs :McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present. The Chairman read a letter from Fredric S. Cohen, 27 Saddle Club Cohen Road, who wished to discuss the award of no damages as the result of Sewer a taking of a sewer easement on his property. Easement The Board agreed that Mr O'Connell is to discuss this with Mr. Cohen The Chairman read a notice from the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission regarding the sale of liquor on Monday, July 5, 1971 . ABC Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to inform the July 5th Package Goods Stores to remain closed on Monday, July 5, 1971 . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that motels, restaurants and clubs may serve alcoholic beverages during the usual Sunday hours Mr. Buse abstained The Chairman read a letter from Attorney Paul J McCormack re- garding Article 77 of the 1971 Annual Town Meeting authorizing the Selectmen to release lots 166 and 167 on Valleyfield Street from certain restrictions in a deed from the Town to Edward E and Mary L Domings, 37 Valleyfield Street, with the condition that an addi- Domings tional payment be made to the Town. Lots The Chairman The restriction was that these lots could not be built upon but were to be annexed It is my feeling that an appraisal be made and have a meeting with Attorney McCormack Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to have an appraisal made of lots 166 and 167 Valleyfield Street and then set up a meeting with Attorney McCormack. The Chairman read a letter from Attorney Paul J. McCormack regarding litter on the sidewalk and on the premises at 789 Massachu- Litter setts Avenue because of school dhildren patronizing Wardrobe' s drug store. After discussion, the Board is to contact the owner of Wardrobe's and ask his help in keeping the area clean and the sidewalk cleared so that people can pass to and from the store with the least amount of interference Also, the Police and Public Works Departments will be requested to police the area 559 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify the character of Eric Olsen, 3 Brigham Road, who has applied for Certi- Certificate ficate of Incorporation, "Coalition of Students for Mentally Ill of Children, Inc " Incorp. The Chairman read a letter from 1 E Rothman, 8 Demar Road, re- garding the expansion Field and asking if anything is happening that could lead to more planes, noise and upheaval for the residents of Lexington Hanscom Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request a Field report from the Director of the Mass Port Authocity and, also, to request Representative Cole to look into the situation and report back to the Board The Chairman read a letter from Adolph Cuccinello requesting a Cuccinello deferment of street betterment assessment of approximately $1563 and Sewer d St sewer betterment assessment of approximately $800 on his property at Betterment 92 Bridge Street Deferment Upon motion duty made and seconded, it was voted to request a report from the Town Engineer on Mr Cuccinello's request The Chairman informed the Board that a notice has been received of a meeting of the Shawsheen River Watershed Association on June 30 Shawsheen The Board is unable to attend because of a previous commitment Watershed to attend a meeting at the Middlesex County Hospital on the drug program. The Board discussed reports from the Traffic Committee The Chairman The Traffic Committee has submitted the proper language for an amendment to our Traffic Committee Rules and Orders to eliminate the taxicab stand opposite the Town Offices Also, a letter has been received from Mr Zimmerman of the Lexington Cab Company and the Minuteman Cab Company regarding the request of two Mass Ave doctors to have parking meters placed on the taxi stands at 1640 Wallis Ct Massachusetts Avenue and Wallis Court. Taxi Stand We did talk of other locations for taxi stands at East Lexing- ton, Lincoln Street and Five Forks so there would be no great problem in one area We asked Mr Zimmerman to talk with owners of property and we should resolve this if we are going to let him park, if at all . Mr. Kenney We have also asked the Traffic Committee to look at center bus stops, cab stands and mail box locations; we should look at this as a package Mr O'Connell The Traffic Committee hasn't finished the re- port The Board agreed to request a complete report from the Traffic Committee on the Center The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee recommend- , ing that conditions at the junction of Peacock Farm Road and Mason Traffic Street are no different than at any other junction of local streets Mason St 560 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Traffic Committee and to so inform the resi- dents of Mason Street The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee recom- mending that traffic safety and convenience will be improved at the junction of Pleasant and Fern Streets by a landtaking and a redesign Pleasant - to permit better turning movements; if no widening of Fern Street is Fern St. contemplated, the taking need not include the house itself but Only Junction the land forming the sharp wedge between Pleasant and Fern Streets. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Town Engineer for a preliminary design on improving the intersection at Fern and Pleasant Streets. The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee stating the Committee believes that significant improvements in the safety Traffic - and convenience of traffic may result from closing of Clarke Street Clarke St. at Massachusetts Avenue; we are, however, unable to make a more specific evaluation of the proposal in the absence of more definite plans for the library expansion and the arrangement of parking areas and internal circulation within this block. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the report and place it on file. The ebard discussed the previous vote to close the sanitary landfill on Sundays during the month of July. The Chairman We asked that a traffic count be done for this last weekend and there were 549 vehicles on Saturday and 293 vehi6 cies on Sunday The Town Engineer reports that this report is of little value in giving an accurate picture of the traffic volume as Saturday' s results are typical but Sunday' s results deviate Sanitary greatly from the predictable results as there was little traffic Landfill between II 30 a.m. and 130 p.m Sundays Mr O'Connell: My personal feeling is that the trial operation of closing on Sundays for a month would be a worthwhile experience. One thing Lexington is doing is operating 84 hours a week and no place in the state approaches this. The Chairman I , for one, wouldn't want to make the compari- son both on the use we put it to and the numbers of people using it between these hours. I think there is a misunderstanding as to why you and Mr. McSweeney recommended that it be closed on Sundays In my opinion, it is not the money as the Minute-man reported, but the scheduling of people; the employees do not want to work on Sundays Mr. O'Connell Economy was not our problem. The primary factor was the difficult problem of scheduling; the work schedule of the two men at the dump who now never get the benefit of a two^ day weekend and it is proving to be a difficult problem to get the DPW to accept this assignment, which is not the most desirable in Town Since we are the only community -that operates on Sunday, this is the day when they are subjected to maximum pressure and the most devious attempts to use our dump to get rid of outside rubbish. 5" 11 For control, we have to spend additional money to resist this pressure; this, together with the fact of the total number of hours, amounting to 84 hours, it would be practical to close one day a week and Sunday becomes the most desirable day. Mr Kenney: Sunday is a popular day for using the dump. If we guess the true number for Sunday would be 400, and if it is not a financial consideration but managerial, we should find some other ways to solve it. I think people feel strongly about it and it is an ac- commodation; I strongly want to keep it open even if we have to hire others to fill in for these fellows on Sunday. We should pay them more money for the Sunday job. The Chairman You recognize the fact that if we did that through- out the Town there would be salary chaos; we have job descriptions and you end up operating with 300 people because of one situation,on Sunday Mr Kenney I had no such intention but it could afford a finan- cial incentive for working on Sunday. I am assuming other DPW employees get time and one-half and I am not out to disrupt the operation. Mr O'Connell We have to stick with the daily work operation or we take on a bigger problem. Mr Bailey I agree with Allan, with one proviso. The use of stickers should help in solving the Sunday problem; why sell stickers if you are going to close on Sunday? I understand it is an adminis- trative problem but we ought to tackle it and solve it as an in-house problem and not pass it on to the residents. The Chairman My argument is the people, the employees; the cost doesn't bother me to provide that service but it bothers me that the employee wants Sunday off. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to rescind the vote off`.. May 17, 1971 to close the sanitary landfill on Sundays during the month of July Mr Busa was recorded in opposition. Mr O'Connell Is the Board willing to close on an alternate day? Mr. Kenney It is my understanding that the principal problem was that they didn't went to work that one day. If you close on a Tuesday, that won't alleviate the problem. Mr. O'Connell It might They say they never get a weekend off. The Chairman It is my personal feeling if they couldn't get Sunday, we stay open 7 days a week 1 think if the employee doesn't care where in the week his two days are, we can schedule around that rather than close our facility. If you close in the middle of the week, it would create more problems and, unless you post it, people will dump at the end of the gate. Mrs. Scigliano: Couldn't it be treated as extra duty and those that want it would get extra money? The Chairman We have to train people for that job; he has to be able to operate a piece of equipment around automobiles It is 5h2 not the money but the extra duty; they don't want to stay at any time We have offered the employees 2 percent extra in pay instead of 3, 4 or 5 weeks vacation and they prefer the time off Mr T.J Wilson, 73 Meriam Street, said that the only vehicle he operates is a half-ton pickup truck and would like the Board to justify to him why he has to pay five times more than his neighbor with a station wagon for rubbish of a non-commercial nature and originating on his property. The Chairman When we set the rates for permits, naturally when you look at a pickup, you would think of a possibility of having more rubbish. Your case has merit and deserves consideration. By and large, most of the pickups we issued permits to were for commer- cial facilities and in setting up the structure there were inequities in setting up the numbers and how could we differentiate? Mr Wilson I am one of those exceptions I would draw the line on-the basis of having personal trash originating on one's own property. My trash costs me mach there than iy, hetghbors 1 ask you to consider this and issue the same permit for cartage of trash to the dump The Chairman The Board will consider it and will let you know our decision Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's meeting held on June 7, 1971 . The Board discussed the Field Road sewer The Chairman The Board voted to construct the sewer in Field Road and then rescinded the vote with the understanding that it would consider the alternate route if confirmatory deeds and re- lease of damages were received from the residents involved. We have received a letter of opposition from Leonard K Nashf ' II Field Road, and Misso T. Aladjem, 3 Field Road; Marian Chuan and Louise A Frey; co-owners, 7 Field Road, have signed a state- ment not in favor of granting a confirmatory deed and release of Field Rd. damages There are six residents for the alternate route and Sewer three against. Mr. Mash It seems to me there are only six people who are entitled to an opinion; some don't have easements across or on their property and 1 don't think it proper for them to vote on it. Mr. Warner, 546 Concord Avenue There is one additional resi- dent on Concord Avenue who was not solicited. Mr. Pomerantz, 552 Concord Avenue, also signed a statement as he is an interested party and would be able to connect to the alternate route just west of 546 Concord Avenue; he signed the initial statement explaining his position. One of the three residents in Field Road was against this and may wish to talk about a slight alteration of the route. Marian Chuan: After studying the blue print and discovering the way it is going, it will cut mine in half. 1 have a question about where it is located and if it is located there, I would pre- fer Field Road The Chairmen': In other words, if it is at your lot line, you wouldn't object. Our problem is that this has been pretty well exam- ined and evaluated and it is being held up. As I understand it, there are three residents against the alternate; Frey and Chuan feel it it is for that location they are opposed. Mr. Kenney Is there any possibility of moving it back towards the rear lot lines? Mr. Martin It is possible in the lower part but up above, by Aladjam's the grades are such that they cannot. The Chairman to Mr. Aladjem Would it make any difference to you if it is moved back to the rear lot line? Mr Aladjem No, it wouldn't. Mc. Mapel I shouldn't be voting on this but I should point out that I am for the alternate route. When this first came in last summer, the engineers were quite sure it would go through the back and when the plans came in it was going down Field Road. I had plans made for an addition to my house and everything was going to the back. Mr. Kenney Would it cost money to move towards the back of two lots? Mr. Martin A negligible amount of money; this route was picked gout for the least amount of damages. Mrs Frey Going through the middle of my lot, it is very close; according to your plan it is about 5 ft away from the biggest tree which is 100 years old and I don't want to damage It The Chairman I don't think anyone would want to hurt the tree. Mr. Aladjem; No one has bothered to take test borings on the back of the lot and there could be ledge and blasting may have to be done. The Chairman to Mr Martin In your estimates of the job, what approach did you take? Mr. Matrtin We first considered the fact that this proposed route is shallower and felt it would go through Aladjem and Cahn lots in an a foot cut until LeBoeuf's lot. We allowed for heavy quantities of ledge and we are aware of the fact that title fields could cause overflowing. The Chairman You took no borings? Mr Martin No borings. Mr. Kenney There would be a $13,000 saving. Mr. Martin It is realistic due to the fact that we used an estimated appraisal on Field Road. Mrs. Riff in What about the tree? Mr. Martin: We feel we can avoid damage to the tree. The Chairman I don't see any problem at this depth cut. Mr. Martin If the Board feels they would get enough from the release of damages, this is our recommendation. The Chairman I would go along with the recommendation for the alternate route to save $13,000, the alternate route being the route other than Field Road. Mr. Bailey I would point out - you aren't saving anything because of no release of damages; it gets into giving the release. I think it will balance the saving off on the rights of other people involved. Of the residents of the area, most of them we heard from were negative and very few of those on Field Road are in favor; they had come in in favor when the vote was taken. The position is clear tonight on Field Road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to Instruct the Town Engineer to install the sewer on the alternate route recommended by him going through the affected properties adjoining Field Road. Mr. Bailey was recorded in opposition. Mr. Aladjem I have written a letter asking for consideration for the sewer to stop at the Cahn lot line and mine or whether the easement should extend through the middle of our property to service Warner and Souza lets with frontages on Concord Avenue where a sewer is also contemplated. The Chairman Originally, it was my feeling to construct the sewer on Field Road because that way there would be no takings and the Town wouldn't maintain taro separate sewer laterals. It is new the opinion of the Town Engineer that this is not feasible. Mr. Aladjem: I am not suggesting it be done by the Town but privately by Souza, Warner and Pomerantz but the Town Engineer thought there would be difficulty on easements. The Chairman Mot so much easements as construction problems and cost. Mr. Aladjem They could connect and would not have to go through my lot. Mr. Souza We are willing to pay extra and pay for a private sewer. The Chairman Mr. Aladjem said you would get together and construct it privately, is this the case? Mr. Souza We understood we are not allowed to do it. The Chairman You would turn it over to the Town but pay for the actual construction. Mr. Martin It would be $20 or $25 a foot. The Chairman If the Town Engineer looks at this route, Mr. Aladjem said they were agreeable. Mr. Aladjem: I am suggesting it Mr. Souza If the choice were given to us to connect to the back, obviously we would like to do it cheaper. Mr. Warner We understand we might be violating the Town code in so doing. We do not have Mr. Pomerantz here. I am willing to grant an easement. I am net in favor of an additional cost to my- self but willing to consider it. We asked Mr. Aladjem to check it out with Mr. Pomerantz. The Chairman to Mr. Martin Where would the job start? They are talking about stopping at Mr. Cahn's lot. Mr. Martin We would start at Barberry Road 1 565 The Chairman: They are going to start at the other end We will ask the Town Engineer to look at it; I wouldn't be too hopeful ad it will be tremendously expensive. Mr Souza We hope he would as we would like to help Mr Pomerantz and Mr Aladjem Mr. Aladjem: If built right, I offer to chip in and help them out in order not to have the sewer on my property The Chairman Get together with the others Mr Warner I would like the record to Show that provided the Concord Avenue residents and Mr Aladjem agree, the alternate sewer line stop at Mr Cahn's. The Chairman No, it will show that the Town Engineer will look at it. The project will start at the other end, in the meantime, the Town Engineer will come back to the Board The Field Road residents retired from the meeting The Board discussed the Green and White land off Woburn Street Letters were read from the Planning Board, Conservation Commis- sion and the Recreation Committee The Planning Board said that it is our opinion that the site is acceptable provided that at the time of development proper engineering studies and improvements are under- taken to prevent any detrimental effect from the increased runoff and to avoid filling any more lowland than is necessary The Planning Director and the representative of the Design Advisory Committee have recommended that provisions for access from Woburn Street be secured now by some means to prevent the possibility of future problems. The Conservation Commission letter states that the site has many drawbacks and can be supported only if the taking of certain precau- Green 8 tions erre assured Of the approximately 29 acres proposed, close to White half are very low and swampy wetlands adjacent to the two arms of Land Fessenden Brook which partially enclose the central higher part of the area Even if none of this wet area were filled, sloping roofs and blacktopping of the school and its roads and parking lots would increase the water runoff considerably and care would have to be taken to prevent flooding further downstream. The Conservation Com- mission would approve use of the proposed land as a school site oily if they were supported in an adequate conservation program for the entire area between Woburn and Maple Streets. The Recreation Committee letter states that it is willing to ap- prove any measure the Board recommends providing the school site is contiguous with the existing school site and recreational property, and that adequate additional access points will be established for egress to the new school site. We understand that recreation land, as covered by Article 58, 1968 Town Meeting will be acquired with the new school site Of the two proposals, we prefer the original layout as submitted by your Board We plan to restudy the recrea- tional needs of this area as soon as the new school site is defin- itely set The Chairman Is it the feeling of the Board to take access points now or continue that when it is developed, the access be given at that time? 566 Mr. Kenney The only reason I hesitate is It might hurt their planning on the subdivision. The Chairman Our negotiations and relationship with Green and White and Mr Stevens are beyond reproach and their integrity is without question. If they tell us they will come back and talk about access, I have no qualms about working this out with them. 1 would hate to make the taking the way the land would be developed in the final analysis. Would the Board take a different approach? Mr Kenney I concur Mrs Riff in Two accesses can be worked out The Board agreed to schedule a meeting with Green and White and the Chairman will come back to the Board with their reasons for determining the alternatives The Board agreed to schedule regular meetings on July 12, 19 and 26. The LCSR membership appointments will be deferred until July 26, when Mrs Riff in returns from vacation. Mr Kenney discussed the special detail rates for Policemen It is the recommendation of Chief Corr that Patrolmen would receive S6 50; a sergeant, when acting in the capacity of a supervisor, $7.00; a lieutenant, when acting as a supervisor, $7 50; a captain, when Special acting as a supervisor, $8 00 There has been a change in a previous Duty Rates recommendation of a minimum of 4 hours being reduced to 3 hours; in- for Police- stead of 3 hours, we are substituting $20 00 minimum for special duty. men Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of Chief Corr for the following special detail rates; patrolmen, $6 50; sergeant acting as supervisor; $7 00; Lieutenant acting as supervisor, $7.50; -captain, acting as supervisor, $8 00; t $20 00 minimum rate; effective July 15, 1971 The Chairman What if a function needs three men and one is a lieutenant? Mr Kenney The only time he would get the higher rate is when designated in an advisory capacity Mr O'Connell The rule is only if he is assigned by the Chief to act in a supervisory capacity involving three or more men Mr Kenney reported to the Board that a meeting will be held with Mr Nordblom and Mr Moss tomorrow on the Burlington development As you are aware, we met with some of the residents of Turning Mill Road and they are concerned that not too much time go by prior to the taking of the land authorized by Article 10. They report the best Burlington information they have is they feel that the developers are attempting Development to slow us down until House Bill 3344 is passed I told them we would report back to the Board after meeting with Mr Nordblom_and Mr Moss exactly what their attitude is I teed an official commun- ication of June 2, from Mr Moss that he has no intention of selling that land and he did question the validity of taking it 1 ) fi 6S back then The 1968 Town Meeting authorized the towns to spend $10,000 on a study and we have $250 left Each town will give out 1,000 copies of the first ten pages of the report and to town boards that are in- terested; it will be on file at the Arlington and Lexington libraries. The Board agreed to return the extra copies to the Conservation Combe i ss i on Mr Sam Silverman asked if the Board would discuss any action on the Board of Appeals case? The Chairman No, it will not be discussed in open session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Exe- cutive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, the 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 11.00 p.m A true record, Attest: l "Y 4*IveCIerktfrnfre I