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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-04-20-BOS-min 4160 SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 20, 1971 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Tuesday evening, April 20, 1971 , at 7 30 p.m Chairman Cataldo, Messrs Kenney, Bailey and Busa and Mrs Riffin were present Mr Legro, Town Counsel ; Mr O'Connell , Town Manager; Mr McSweeney, Town Engineer and Acting Superintendent of Public Works, and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present The Chairman read a report from the Town Engineer regarding a letter received from Mr Frank Waibel , 41 Outlook Drive on his better- ment assessment of $ 1 , 100 for the paving of Downing Road The report states that the betterments are assessed against all properties abut- Waibel ting the layout of the street being bettered, this is completely Assessment independent of the street address The Waibel lot borders completely on the Downing Road layout, they have no frontage on Outlook Drive The Chairman asked Mr McSweeney to talk with Mr Waibel and ex- plain that he is assessed for this amount now but if , and when, Outlook Drive is done, he will not pay a betterment We will write to Mr Waibel that the Town Engineer will be in contact with him The Chairman read a report from the Town Engineer regarding a petition from the residents of Fletcher Avenue for the installation of proper drainage, if catch basins or some form of proper drainage could be installed to catch the runoff water, we feel that this problem would be eliminated The report states that at present, there is no drainage in Fletcher Ave Fletcher Avenue and runoff from the hill behind Jefferson Union runs Drainage downhill to the Fletcher Avenue area and then runs into the gutter down towards Hayes Lane Since there is no curbing, the width of the flow in the gutter becomes significant with a rainfall of any appre- ciable duration and in the winter creates a serious ice hazard We feel this could be remedied by the installation of catch basins at the end of Fletcher Avenue and approximately 245 feet of 12" drain If this work is performed by Town forces, the estimate is $2,300 To pro- vide complete drainage for the entire length of Fletcher Avenue would cost approximately $9,000 The Chairman asked if the Town Engineer had $9,000? Mr McSweeney replied, no We might possibly have the $2,300 when we get this year' s work out of the way, Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to instruct the Town Engineer to construct the first phase of the drainage system on Fletcher Avenue as soon as funds are available The Chairman read a Superintendent of Public House report from the Acting Sup nt Works regarding a request from Jean Lariviere & Son to move a house from Move Lexington Road, Lincoln to 135 Wood Street, Lexington L 47 Mr McSweeney said that the Board had previously granted permis- sion for this house move and I will go over the route to see if the same conditions exist If so, I can't see any problem The Chairman said that the Board must set the date of the Ref- erendum; according to the statute, it can be no later than two weeks from tonight Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the date Referendum for the Referendum on Article 72 of the 1971 Annual Town Meeting for May 3, 1971 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to close the Warrant for the Referendum Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the poll- ing hours for 7 00 a.m to 8 00 p .m on May 3, 1971 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Warrant for the Referendum on May 3, 1971 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- Gas Main sion to the Mystic Valley Gas Company to install a 2-inch high pros- Permit sure welded steel gas main in Tucker Avenue to replace the existing gas main with a new welded steel main, subject to the specifications of the Town Engineer. The Chairman informed the Board that he had talked with Mr Lund and the appraisal of the Central Block area will be completed a week from Friday and it will be submitted to the Board Is it the sense of the Board to have Town Meeting act on acquiring all or part of this property? Mr Bailey replied that he felt it has to go that route Special Mr Kenney said he wants to see the cost Town The Chairman asked if it is the Board' s feeling to give Town Meeting Meeting an opportunity to act on this? The Board agreed The Chairman said that we agree it should be done as soon as pos- sible, In fairness to the owners, we should give them an answer If we hold the Town Meeting on June 14, we would have to close the Warrant on May 10 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to hold the Special Town Meeting on Monday, June 14, 1971 , at 8 00 p.m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to close the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting on May 10, 1971 at 4 30 p.m Mr Ephraim Weiss met with the Board He said that he was repre- senting himself to discuss the coming appointments to be made to the Weiss Board of Appeals I think the appointment is probably one of the most Board of important acts that the Selectmen take The Board of Appeals is pcob- Appeals ably next to the Selectmen in importance and affects the nature of the Town most profoundly I feel very strongly there are problems with the Board of Appeals I thought it was me but that is not so as there are 1 4 7 other people reacting also I am generally the establishment type and find it impossible to defend the actions of the Board of Appeals I don't want to raise serious charges against them but there are problems with the composition of the Board and with the manner in which the Selectmen make appointments There are five members and the average age Is 67 years, and this is ridiculous, the average age of the Asso- ciate Members is 58 years, I think this speaks for itself - a bunch of old men and it is completely unnecessary for the kind of people you want on the Board Eight are the business type, one is unemployed and one is a professor, this doesn't seem a desirable mix and I would like to put it to you to consider others, lawyers, architects, engineers, etc When the Townspeople see the Board comprised entirely of business people, it looks bad, and it is bad The procedures in many respects are quite arbitrary I went, and it appeared that the Chairman made up his mind what he expected to do before the hearing started I raised the question of the Chairman at a recent hearing as I wanted to find out how the hearing was conducted, so I asked, how do you arrive at your decision? The answer was, if you think we are going to tell you how we arrive at our decisions, you have another think coming, he was very antagonistic The net effect of this is, that the sense of a lot of people is, in many cases it is not dispensing justice The General Laws state that all hearing shall be open to the general public, setting forth clearly a decision The Board of Appeals has a hearing and then goes into Executive Session I question Executive Session, as it says the finances of the Town are affected or where personalities are involved, and in many cases this is not applicable They don't clearly set forth a reason for their decisions, either I think you should consider changing the approach of appointments People are re-appointed and re-appointed for a long time. I think five years is a long time and ten years an inordinately long time You should establish some selection guidelines and make them known, and you shouldn't be over 60 years of age, you should look at his occupation, his experience and interests and should look for diversi- fication on the Board You have an influence on them and should try to encourage the Board of Appeals to serve a public purpose, not private The Board of Appeals should review their guidelines and hold public deliberations I can't think of any good reason in de- ciding a case when a man wants a variance and they go into Executive Session Mr Buse asked how young he thought a Board of Appeals member should be, 21? Mr Weiss replied, not necessarily 21 , a good 2I-year old is per- fectly competent but he may not be experienced You want someone with experience from 25 to 30 - but 60? Mr Bailey asked if there are specific decisions he is upset about? Mr Weiss replied, yes, it has been going on for ten years and I have been provoked most recently by decisions The Chairman said, in your memory, there have been decisions handed down, do you remember any decision being overturned by the Court? 4I2 Mr Weiss replied, no The Chairman said this is pretty good proof of the public being 111 served, if a case went to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court judges saw fit to uphold the judgment of the Board of Appeals, this is, in my mind better proof than you as an individual judging whether it was in the best interests of the Town We will both ad- mit that in any case of law, they are much better detailed than you or I In my opinion, the present Chairman of the Board of Appeals, although we disagree many times, the Town has not been served in a better capacity than here and I find it hard to sit here and accept this If any Board researches, they do, and they research a petition before the night of thin hearing I will agree that some times when a petition is before the Board, the people opposing the petition have pushed the Chairman to the end The Chairman has extended himself to either side of the fence, whether granted or denied I can't sit Board of here and agree with you totally; I think a couple of times, yes, by Appeals and large, no On your recap of the Board, you can't penalize any- one for being 60 Mr Weiss asked, you don't find wise people younger than 60? The Chairman replied, I would say that, I wouldn't deny wisdom and experience Mr Bailey said, in the main, your unfavorable feeling is be- cause of a case where the variance was granted or denied? Mr Weiss said the cases are the one I am aware of and the ones Board of I have attended, I know a lot of the details involved In most Appeals cases, the appeal was granted and I think the hearing indicated very clearly to a lot of people present that the decision has been pre- disposed I am not against people over 60; tell me what your standards are and tell me what average age you take candidates Mr Busa said if this would hold true in the Selectmen, Town Counsel , Town Manager; then we should all retire Mr Weiss said that I am not questioning people over 60; do you think a person of 40 is qualified to serve on the Board of Ap- peals? p- peals? Mr Kenney replied, yes I agree with the Chairman that no case has been overturned in Court, when it goes to a court of law and is upheld by an impartial judgment Mr Weiss said that very few cases go to litigation, I know of people who say it wasn't worth his while financially In these cases where they do go to court, there are some aspects where the judge would tend to believe what the Board of Appeals told him The Chairman asked if he had ever gone to a Court of Appeal' s case? Mr Weiss replied, no The Chairman said, you should; each side is heard by the judge, and every accusation you made here, they make the same and the judge is hearing the same thing The Attorney representing the appellant here is there to do a job and is pulling no punches Mr Weiss said I haven't been to one of those cases, I can only tell you of the impressions I got and the kind of answers I got 47e The Chairman said this is fine to form your own opinions and you should give them as such, what happens in a court of law, that is not the case Mr Weiss retired from the meeting Mr Scanlon and Mr Adler, Architect of the Housing Authority and Mr Zehner of the Arts and Crafts Society met with the Board The Chairman said that this meeting was arranged at your request The Housing Authority is ready to make the request of us for the amount of land for their project on Vine Brook Village You have heard that Arts and Crafts are looking to the future by expanding their facilities and to talk to the Board at the same time to ensure them of adequate facilities for their expansion proposed in the near future Mr Temple Scanlon said that we have had two meetings with the Planning Board and two appearances with the Board of Appeals and have their approval and the Town Engineer's approval , as far as they can approve the sanitary facilities, streets, road, and such There are about 51 acres and since meeting with these various groups, the total taking is 4 4 acres Mr Scanlon showed plans of the area The Chairman asked about the easement If the taking is made for sewer purposes, what do we have to do in order to convey it? Mr Legro said if you mean is further Town Meeting action required, the answer is, no The Town has the fee on it I think we acquired this land subject to the sewer easement, and would convey subject to the Town' s easement for sewer purposes There is nothing in the takings that I recall would affect it Vine The Chairman pointed out the Hastings land Brook Mr Scanlon said that the 55 ft strip is what we will be asking Village to rezone We are discussing the final price and hove had two con- versations with Mr Hastings, but by the end of the week it will be done, we have an appraisal from the DCA on the limit we can go The Chairman said that the Warrant closes on May 10 at 4 30 and we want the Articles in We will not hold it open Mr Legro said that before it comes to the Town Meeting floor, I suspect you will want to have arrangements completed with Mr Hastings Mr Scanlon said there are no major problems separating our intent Mr Buse said he didn't understand the question of rezoning beyond the 55 ft access Mr Adler explained that the Town owned a 20 ft strip beside the Hastings land The Housing Authority wishes only to take the 55 ft strip for access and asked that it be rezoned to RM because, as it is now, they have no frontage on any street and this would give them frontage on Waltham Street with that area being RM zoned Mr Scanlon said we are negotiating on Hastings' entire piece The Chairman asked if they had met with the abutters to discuss this project? Mr Scanlon replied, no The Chairman asked if this is the final proposal? Mr Scanlon replied, yes, if it is approved here 4I 4 The Chairman asked if the Planning Board is in agreement? Mr Scanlon replied, yes Mr McSweeney asked if the easement is necessary? Mr Adler said it was the recommendation of the Planning Direc- tor for an easement out to the Town sewer Mr Legro asked if it were drain or sewer easement? Mr Adler said we are depositing the storm water in drainage Mr Legro said you want drain and sewer, then Mr Busa added, through the easement Mr Legro asked if there were any construction problems? Mr McSweeney didn't know of any, it would be just legal work Mr Legro said he would like a print of this plan The Chairman asked about parking for how many cars? Mr Scanlon replied, a total of 31 paved and reserved area park- ing spaces The Chairman asked if there were any more questions? Hearing none, he said that he had met with Mr Zehner and Mr Fisher three times and had asked Arts and Crafts to come to the Board with the thinking as to what they would need to get their situation resolved Mr Zehner showed the plans and said the area indicates how narrow the building area is We have the fee on which there is a sewer and Vine Brook drain The Town has the right of way and we do have hopes of a passageway; we need that badly for parking We have had conver- sations with Housing to buy that area that will be surplus with them I understand there would be no problem in acquiring that which they have no use for We plan to build again; we would like to build an addition to the rear and it envisions a variance from the Board of Appeals We hope we could approach it 10 ft from the Tropeano line We plan to build and we would plan to take care of the parking stalls, but make no steps for construction or paving until we have adjusted the new construction We would build an auditorium with multiple uses, either rectangular or "L" shaped We come to the Board asking for the opportunity of acquiring this land The Chairman asked if he had a proposal of the building size? Mr Zehner replied, no, it may be 5 or 10 years The Chairman said that, basically, this part you could only use for parking, are you looking at easement or fee? Mr Zehner said we would like the fee, subject to the easement The Chairman asked Mr Scanlon what his objection is? Mr Scanlon said that our objection is the same as expressed by the Planning Board and the Architect, the distance from the bedroom areas would be only 50 ft , instead of remaining at 85 ft The prob- lem is with the parking day and night, and we all feel that the addi- tional 35 ft would greatly ease the discomfort The Chairman asked what if they put in an intensified screen? What would your objection be? Mr Scanlon replied that we have no assurance it wouldn't be opened up for parking 10 years from now The Chairman said if it is screened to 10 ft deep, what objec- tion would you have then? 47 5 Mr Adler said that he didn't feel it would be adequate, we felt the transfer of land was a compromise We agreed to it because we recognized Arts and Crafts' position in the community; however, when talking about the use of this land for parking, I would consider it adverse use Housing is for the elderly and all the bedrooms look out onto the wooded areas and we feel it should be maintained in its natural character We are giving a green belt around the building and, if for parking, the noise penetrates within 50 ft of the build- ing whose bedrooms look out on it The Chairman said that you say it is a noise factor, in the natural state vs putting up a dense living screen, you have 6 months' foliage Mr Adler said if the Housing Authority had a guarantee in 10 or 5 years from now, if there were this dense, heavy screen provided, it would substantially cut down sounds to the building; if it didn't happen, you would be living with a parking lot The Chairman said if we talked to Arts and Crafts on the basis -to convey it until they bui Id a bui lding, would you have an objection? Mr Adler said he didn't think a building would be considered an adverse use, if there were no parking Mr Zehner said he thought the Society would sign an agreement not to build for parking, we would leave it in this state until it was time to build, The Chairman asked Mr Scanlon if he would have an objection to that? Mr Scanlon replied, yes Mr McSweeney asked about moving the buildings Mr Adler said that the survey located every tree, we have worked around large trees 30 ft in diameter to preserve them If we move this, we stand to lose a good number of trees We did not want to move the buildings 45 ft in the beginning of negotiations, we met with Mr Zehner and included him in our plans and tried to work with Arts and Crafts as a community organization In asking for this land, we went to the further south line so their demands could be met The Chairman said you recognize this is the only part they can build on? Mr Scanlon said they can build over the sewer The Chairman said we are saying this is the only buildable land, 1200 sq ft This is a very important piece of land as far as bui Id- ing a building I am not so concerned about the parking but if and when they are going to build a bui lding, this is important to them We recognize the services that they render to the Town and it is equally important for us to consider them Mr Zehner asked if there was any possibility of swinging the buildings another way? Mr Adler said if I said no, I would be lying, there are many possibilities The Chairman said they have arrived at a good, basic design of a master plan He addressed Mr Zehner and said that parking is not 47t your most important consideration; if the Board considers this, it would only be used when you are going to build a building and the Board of Selectmen polices it in that manner Mr Kenney said if there is a restriction on parking on the green, would you, as the Architect, have any objection? Mr Adler said the intention we had is to leave it in its natural state and that would be our screen with the neighbors Mr Kenney asked if the Planning Board' s objection is primarily on parking? Mr Scanlon replied, yes, we want to buy this amount of land, then this is left to you It will be zoned for apartments The Chairman said that once we agree on what land is going to be conveyed, we will have an Article in the Warrant and this will all be put in the same zone Mr Scanlon said that the Article could be amended so that piece would not be used for parking The Chairman said that would be in the deed We are trying to ac- commodate both of you If done properly, it would be an assist None of us wants an ocean of asphalt Once the Board determines what direc- tion it is going, we will schedule another meeting A determination will be made for this Town Meeting The Board will take it under advisement and we will be in touch with you Mr Scanlon, Mr Adler and Mr Zehner retired from the meeting The Chairman asked what is the Board' s feeling on asking for the fee in the 20 ft strip for us to retain the easement and convey? Mr Bailey asked if there was any reason why not? Mr Busa said if we have a restriction on the green they have to maintain the green belt Mr Bailey said that with restrictions, he would vote to do it Mr Kenney asked, any compensation? Mr Busa said he is looking for the fee and 20 feet Mr Legro said, you mean grant them an easement to be used for parking Mr Busa said he didn't understand why he wants the fee Why have the fee in a 20 ft strip Mr Legro said if they didn't have the fee, it would have a bad effect on the side yards The Chairman said they would never get a building permit The Chairman said we will schedule a meeting with the Planning Board and the Housing Authority for next week The Chairman said that the annual appointments must be made. Registrars Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Re-appt Edward J Belliveau to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three year term expiring March 31 , 1974 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Retirement George P Morey a member of the Board of Retirement for a three year Board term expiring March 31 , 1974 477 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Rev. Fence Harold T Handley and Louis A Zehner as Fence Viewers for a one-year Viewers term expiring March 31 , 1972 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Gemmel James E Collins a Trustee of the Gemmel Legacy Income for a one-year Trustee term expiring March 31 , 1972 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Executive Eleanor M McCurdy as Executive Clerk to the Board of Selectmen for a Clerk one-year term expiring March 31 , 1972 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-=app©int Board of Charles T Abbott a member of the Board of Appeals for a five year term Appeals expiring March 31, 1976. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Irving Assoc H Mabee as Associate Member of the Board of Appeals for a one year Members term expiring on March 31 , 1972, and to re-appoint Mrs Ruth Morey, Board of Logan Clarke, Jr , Woodruff M Brodhead, George W Emery and Haskell W Appeals Reed as Associate Members of the Board of Appeals for a one-year term expiring March 31 , 1972, Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint Town Raymond B Barnes, Ralph V Lord and William P Fitzgerald members of Celebra- the Town Celebrations Committee for a three year term expiring April 30, tions 1974 Comm Mrs Riffin asked that the record show what an outstanding job the Town Celebrations Committee had done on April 19th The Bbard agreed, and the record so states The Board agreed that an appointment be made to meet with Rev Handley; Director of Guides, to discuss the appointment of Guides for Guides the coming season Mr Legro informed the Board that two weeks from Monday night is the last opportunity for the Board to exercise the Oneida option It Drummer will take a written request from the Conservation Commission They Boy Land should make the initial decision that they can do it without jeopardiz- ing the grants of funds for aid Mr O'Connell is to contact the Conservation Commisston for a letter Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Execu- tive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on Exec matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, Session financial interests of the Town or the reputation of any person Arter disdussion of matters of financial interst 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 25p m. A true record, Attest � ' , ,.)4,441/t cam4, c xecutive Clerk, Selectmen