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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-04-14-BOS-min 451 SELECTMEN'S MEETING April J4, 1971 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Wednesday evening, April 14, 1971 , at 7 30 p.m Chairman Cataldo, Messrs Kenney, Bailey and Busa and Mrs Riff in were present Mr Legro, Town Counsel ; Mr O'Connell , Town Manager; Mr Martin, Assistant Town Engineer and Mrs McCurdy, Execu- tive Clerk, were also present, At the request of the Town Clerk, seven jurors were drawn as follows Everett T Chapman 10 Curve Street Samuel H Sherman 8 Winchester Drive Robert F MacDonald 83 Bedford Street Jurors Wilhelm Rindner 6 Tyler Road James E Storer 60 Pleasant Street Richard G Seed 258 East Street Lawrence S Finkelstein 4 Upland Road Mr Zehner, Town Treasurer, met with the Board He said that he has already been recorded informally on the sale of the Junior High bonds There were 42 bids and he recommends that it be awarded to the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago as the low bidder It will be printed 860 times in units of $5,000, which the Treasurer must sign individually The Board may authorize by vote that facsimiles of signatures of the Board may be engraved or printed on each of the bonds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the sale of the following 3 75 per cent bonds of the Town dated May I , 1971 , Jr High $4,300,000 School Project Loan, Act of 1948 (Nos I to 860) payable Bonds May I , $430,000 in 1972 to 1981 , to Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago at 100 134 and accrued interest is hereby confirmed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Town Treasurer to cause facsimiles of signatures of the Board of Se- lectmen to be printed on each of the bonds Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify as follows I The bonds are issued pursuant to the following votes of the Town vote of the Town passed January II , 1971 2 No other debt has been incurred under the aforesaid vote ex- cept None 3 We approve the sale of the bonds to Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago at 100 134 accrued interest 4J:4 4 The project authorized by the vote mentioned above will be carried out as expeditiously as possible, and all of the proceeds of the bonds (of which no portion will be invested or deposited at interest except temporarily) are needed to finance the project after the expenditure of any other avail- able funds 5 There has been no substantial change in the plans for the school project which were approved by the Board of Education on January 26, 1971 6 There has been no litigation affecting the validity of the bonds or the power of the Town to levy and collect taxes to pay them; that none is pending or threatened, that neither the corporate existence nor boundaries of the Town nor the title of any of us to our respective offices is being con- tested, and that none of us and, to the best of our know- ledge, no official or employee of the Town has any direct or indirect financial interest in or relationship with the pur- chaser or purchasers of the bonds Mr Walter Dunfey, Mr Roy Dunfey, Attorney Dean Nicholson and William Green, Attorney for the Dunfey Corporation met with the Board The Chairman said that when the Board issues a license, we must be informed of any changes When we issued the license, as far as the Town is concerned, we police it to every intent of the license and to the letter of the law In the matter of the State statute to be dis- cussed tonight, I received a letter saying that you transferred owner- ship to a Delaware Corporation, better known as Aetna Life and Casualty Company, a Connecticut corporation As we understand and enforce the State statute, before any transfer takes place, the li- censing authority must be notified and must approve it You have failed to do this and, as we interpret it, this is subject to violation and suspension of your license We would like to hear why we shouldn't hold a hearing and suspend your license Dunfey Attorney Green said that in the present instance, the Dunfey fami- Corp ley operation, all twelve in the five states, are all merged into a new Delaware Corporation called the Dunfey Family Corporation, under the procedure known as a statutory merger It was the intention of the parties this wasn't a public transaction and was done last October 1 don't think the ABC was ever contacted We adopted a procedure for the merger of all twelve, we have four in Massachusetts and the other three are in Boston, Newton and Auburn and the same procedure was adopted The transaction was not closed until the first of March as we feared violations of S E C , such as, price fluctuations in the market, etc We used the exact procedure and recorded in the office of the Secre- tary of the State of Deleware We could make no announcement and if applications had gone to the twelve locations asking for approval with a specific date of transfer, there might be transactions which might violate S E C We adopted the same procedure as far as when the trans- action was closed and spelled it out in the letter there was no change 1 453 in the immediate operation control of the Board of Directors of the Dunfey Family Corporation, John Filer and David Reed are Vice Presi- dehts of Aetna, the feeling being to add responsible ones with the Dunfeys to represent the Dunfeys At no time have we ever been called upon for violations of any one of the operations It is the first time we have been called to account The last thing we wanted to do was create a problem The Chairman said your letter was self-explanatory when we re- ceived it We are not concerned with the other eleven, we are con- cerned with Lexington and the commitments we made to the people of Lexington when they voted for licenses to motels in Town and we made this very clear to all license holders As far as I am comcerned, I don't see the correlation with your stock transfer and us not look- ing at it as a violation, there is no question in Ty mind about the Dunfeys having controlling vote of the Directors but they do not have control of the corporation Most important of all , if this was the first time we spoke to the Dunfeys, I agree, but this is not the first time Attorney Green said he didn't know what this Board has spoken to Dunfey about and he is prepared to stand on it This is the first time we have had to explain the conduct for something in a local oper- ation, a violation at the local level I was not familiar with it Assume we had written in February that we were closing the transaction the first of March, we find ourselves in violation of the federal sta- tute We had a federal statute to concern us Mr Bailey asked, you were apparently aware before the fact you would be in violation You stated you realized there would be a dilemma Did you, knowing this, avail yourself to discuss it with the State ABC? Attorney Green replied, no; we couldn't discuss it in Massachu- setts without doing it in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine Mr Bailey asked, to discuss it in generalities, not mentioning any date, to find out what procedure to follow? It strikes me you did not try to find your way around it Attorney Green said we weren't changing managees, and without someone saying do this, take this approach The Chairman asked you will agree there was a transfer of stock? Attorney Green replied, yes The Chairman asked you will agree that this is a violation of the statute2 Attorney Green replied, yes The Chairman asked you will further agree that this is grounds for suspension? Attorney Green replied, yes If there is an error in judgment, I will assume full responsibility I didn't come to debate on whether it was a deliberate attempt of the law We have to make an accounting on what we did and am explaining here the dilemma and I can't do any- thing but apologize and didn't know of being in violation of either 454 the letter (of the law) or the spirit of approach I will take full responsibility for it We have done it in four other states outside of Massachusetts and were not censured We brought a very responsi- ble owner to Lexington and there was no attempt for the Dunfey Family to operate all these years and come into Lexington and make difficulty and don't know of any other censure to the operation The five Dunfey brothers are all active in business and there is nothing they don't know Roy Dunfey, in the past, was a resident of Lexington and lived here three months last year and is coming back to be a full time resident I don't know of any hostelry having any closed supervision than the Dunfeys have There is no advantage or purpose to evade the law and thby must do it well and properly; that has been the philosophy in the five other states and it is the first time of any unpleasantness or trying to evade the law The Chairman asked if the Board had any questions? Hearing none, the Chairman said that the Board will take the matter under consideration and you will be advised of our findings Messrs Walter and Roy Dunfey, Attorney Green and Attorney Nicholson retired from the meeting The Board discussed the matter in Executive Session and agreed that no immediate action be taken at this time, but would discuss it next week Mr O'Connell informed the Board that he had discussed with Mr Brown of Early Massachusetts Records, Boston, the request for permis- sion to inventory and microfilm Town records prior to 1830 This organization is highly recommended and the directors are associated Early with the security of the preservation of history Our Town Clerk Town says the Town possesses four volumes of records and Mr Brown hopes Records the Town will give approval of the project, which would only take two or three days The records would be set up on a table and we do have a small risk of possible damage while microfilming The project would be insured by Graphic Microfilm of New England, Inc I recommend that the Board authorize the project to be done but I will make it clear to Mr Brown that it cannot be done until after we get back into the new Town office building The Chairman said that someone from our organization should be present on a full time basis; I don't know who would pay him, maybe they would Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to Early Massachusetts Records, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, to inventory and microfilm Town records prior tit 1830, subject to the restrictions that the project is to be done after the move to the new Town office building, and a member of the Town organization is to be present at all times during the project Mr O'Connell read a letter from Robert L Lyon, 55 Waltham Municipal Street, regarding parking in the municipal lot between Waltham and Parking Muzzey Streets Mr Lyon said that the lower end of the lot, next to the Telephone Building and extending through to Muzzey Street is rarely full and he recommends that these meters be available for all-day parking at 50¢; 5 days a week at $2 50 and 4 weeks per month at $ 10 00 445 The Chairman asked how many spaces are involved? Mr O'Connell replied that Mr Lyon doesn't specify The Chairman asked where do you draw the line on issuing permits? Mr O'Connell replied that this is one of the problems Mr Kenney said if the spaces are not being used, the meters could be eliminated The Chairman disagreed and mentioned the additional people asso- ciated with the new Goldberg building and pal-king problems Mr O'Connell said that he will study the parking situation further with the Traffic Committee Mr Zaleski , Chairman of the Traffic Committee, met with the Board The Chairman read a recommendation from the Traffic Committee stating that the existing stop signs on Worthen Road - westbound at Waltham Street, and Coolidge Avenue - eastbound at Adams Street are not included in our traffic Rules and Regulations, Schedule #7, to make these signs legal and permit the prosecution of failures to stop, the Engineering Department will have to conduct traffic counts, Stop Signs prepare intersection plans and applications for the Board' s approval Coolidge and submit them to the Massachusetts Department of Public Works Avenue - Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Worthen Rd recommendation of the Traffic Committee to amend Article III , Section I , of the Lexington Traffic Rules and Regulations, by adding to Schedule #7 Street Location Regulation Coolidge Avenue Eastbound at Adams Street Stop P Worthen Road Westbound at Waltham Street Stop The Chairman said that the Board previously voted in 1968 to amend the Traffic Rules and Regulations on Massachusetts Avenue at the Arlington line but it was not submitted to the Massachusetts De- partment of Public Works for approval and it was not advertised. The Traffic Committee is requesting that we vote again on this amendment Parking and send it to the Massachusetts DPW for approval and it will be ad- Signs vertised in order to become effective East Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Lexington recommendation of the Traffic Committee to amend Article 5, Section 2, of the Lexington Traffic Rules and Regulations, by adding to Schedule #1 Location Side From To Tyne Parking Mass Avenue Southwest Hibbert Street Taft Avenue One hour parking between 8 00 A.M to 600 P M Mass Avenue Northeast Arlington Line Bow Street One hour parking between 8 00 A M ' to 600 PM 456 The Chairman read a recommendation from the Traffic Committee re- garding the East Street - Lowell Street intersection that the Select- men approve an application for a traffic-actuated signal at East Street and Lowell Street The operation of such signal may be Traffic adjusted to revert to flashing during the off-peak hours, as provided Signal in Section 3D-3 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices of East & the Massachusetts Department of Public Works Traffic counts and Lowell surveys at the intersection indicate that it meets the warrants for a , Street traffic signal under Section 211 or 3D-7 (cross traffic) only, i e , to ensure coordinated movement and permit adequate timing of gaps be- tween vehicle platoons on major street to permit traffic from the minor street (East Street) to enter without undue delay The Chairman said that this was initiated on the advice of the State DPW and there would be no question but it would be granted Mr Kenney said if we are talking about $ 18,000, this would tie in with Chapter 90 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to make an ap- plication to the Massachusetts Department of Public Works for the installation of a traffic signal at East Street and Lowell Street The Chairman read a recommendation from the Traffic Committee to make an application to the Massachusetts Department of Public Works for the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Waltham Street and Concord Avenue The report states that traffic entering intersection per hour in an average 8-hour period is as follows From Waltham Street-761 vehicles, from Concord Avenue-253 vehicles, total entering- 1014 vehicles Pedestrians crossing the intersection are very few and none of the other warrants for fixed- Waltham time signals are met, except for the vehicular volume from all ap- Street proaches of 750 vehicles per hour for any 8 hours of an average day Concord Ave and from the minor street of 175 vehicles per hour for the same 8 Signal hours, also, interruption of continuous traffic due to at least 750 vehicles per hour for 8 hours of an average day, while at least 600 vehicles per hour enter the section from the major street in the same time This intersection had 9 traffic accidents in 1969, of which 5 were of the angle type, 3 were rear-end and I a head-on collision The major contributing factor was the failure to stop for the stop sign The installation of a traffic signal does not reduce and may increase the number of rear-end collisions, nor will it prevent angle collisions due to left turns caused by vehicles entering from the side street in violation of the stop sign and the right-of-way rules would be susceptible of correction by a traffic signal It must be stressed above all that the approval by the Massachusetts DPW depends not only on the mechanical compliance with the warrants but an equal degree on the evaluation of the conditions by special- ists with considerable expertise in the field of traffic regulation The question of signal timing in particular requires such detailed professional analysis 457 The Chairman informed the Board that the request for the traffic signal was initiated by one of the residents in the area Mr Kenney said that the Traffic Committee said it would not be made any safer He asked Mr Zaleski what reasons he would give? Mr Zaleski replied there is no question the traffic is warranted for a traffic signal ; the question is to what extent it would reduce the number of accidents; it may change the type of accidents The Chairman asked Mrs Riffin for her opinion as she lives in the neighborhood Mrs Riffin replied that when she is driving on Waltham Street, there is traffic coming off at Route 2 and you can't see the cars be- cause of the dip in the road beyond Brewsters My recommendation is to submit the application Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Traffic Committee to make an application to the Massachusetts Department of Public Works for the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Waltham Street and Concord Avenue The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee regarding the request of Mrs H W Bahls, Jr , 565 Marrett Road, for a sidewalk on Marrett Road on the Old Res side to Lincoln Street The report states that the installation of a sidewalk along the easterly side of Marrett Road would involve considerable preparatory work and the re- moval of several trees While desirable, this section of sidewalk is, in the opinion of the Traffic Committee, at a considerably lower level Marrett Rd of priority than sidewalks in other locations where the use is greater Old Res and no sidewalk exists on either side Since Marrett Road is a State Sidewalk highway, it is suggested that a request be made to the Massachusetts DPW to construct this section of the sidewalk, connecting it to the existing sidewalk extending to the Spring Street junction The Chairman explained that M;s Bahls had requested that this section be plowed and the Superintendent of Public Works had been in- structed to plow it I have looked at this and at least three trees would have to come down There is, basically, room to plow now except where the trees are in the middle of the sidewalk area; construction of any sidewalk would mean the cutting down of these trees and I don't think we should get into that Mr Kenney added, and the priority is low The Chairman asked, aside from the priority, does the Board want to construct the sidewalk? Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny the re- quest of Mrs Bahls for a sidewalk on Marrett Road on the Old Res side to Lincoln Street The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee stating that the trial period has shown the desirability of having Edison Way used as a two-way street from the northwesterly corner of the cleaning estab- lishment to Depot Square It is therefore recommended that the Select- ' men vote to amend the Traffic Rules and Regulations to make this change 45S a permanent one This can be done by voting to strike out all exist- ing reference to Edison Way in the Traffic Rules and Orders, Town of Lexington, Schedule #5, One-Way Traffic, and amending the Traffic Rules and Regulations by changing the existing figure of 400 feet westerly to 50 feet westerly Edison Way Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to strike out Traffic all existing reference to Edison Way in the Traffic Rules and Orders, Town of Lexington Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Traffic Committee to amend Article VII , Section I , of the Lexington Traffic Rules and Regulations by deleting 400 feet westerly and substituting 50 feet westerly, in Schedule #5 Location Direction From To Edison Way Northerly & Mass Avenue 275 feet northerly Westerly 50 feet westerly The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee regarding Grant Street parking, opposite Sherman Street. The report states that a problem exists in this location, caused mainly by the parked cars of the Post Office employees and others, reducing the effective width of pavement in the curved portion of Grant Street This condition was aggravated by snow banks narrowing the effective width of the roadway and preventing parking on the berms The only way to correct this situation would be by prohibiting parking and forcing the parked cars Grant St to move elsewhere A survey of the P 0 lot and of the municipal Parking parking lot in back of the Railroad indicates that they are not capa- ble of accommodating the additional cars from Grant Street; the problem would not be eliminated but only moved elsewhere It is the recommendation of the Traffic Committee that no action be taken now and that Grant Street be kept under observation by the Traffic Com- mittee If conditions persist or if a solution offers itself in conjunction with our studies of the Center, the Committee will report to you its further recommendations Mr Kenney said that when the Town Office Building is finished, we will have more spaces out back and this situation will be allevi- ated somewhat The Chairman said that the problem is the Post Office employees There was a recommendation to them to allow parking in the basement of that building but they refused to look into it They are aggra- vating it not only with the jeeps but employees' cars I have talked with Postmaster Walker to get them off the street Mr O'Connell suggested that he pursue the matter with General Services in Boston, who are the landlords The Chairman said that we have been that route The answer is support In the final analysis, there will be an extension of the Meriam Street parking lot with an access to Grant Street There is no question but that parking must be prohibited Mr O'Connell said that they refused to mix official vehicles and cars, if they did, they could get the lot to do double duty ea() The Chairman said he agreed with Mr Zaleski that the problem would be moved to another area Mr Zaleski said that we are saying that the snow is gone and the pressure is no longer on us We have three or four months to come up with something The Chairman said that, basically, the answer is to put it in the works now and we will be sure we are in condition to enforce it next winter The Traffic Committee will look at it and come back to the Board with the proper language and description to adopt and implement no parking on Grant Street Robinson Road traffic was discussed The Chairman said that he had received a letter from one of the residents of the area stating that the meeting held by the Traffic Com- mittee with the people involved was very unsatisfactory Mr Zaleski said that one lady misunderstood the whole thing be- cause she didn't appreciate what the meeting was for I thought it very useful We have the petitions from residents not to widen the road and asking to do something about the traffic By and large, the residents didn't recommend widening Robinson Road or putting in a side- walk A sidewalk on Turning Mill Road between Demar Road and Rbbinson Road is desirable Robinson Road pavement narrows to 12 feet in some places and is full of trees The general opinion was to put a Dead End sign at the entrance to Robinson Road from Turning Mill Road and the entrance to the school land from Robinson Road should be closed Robinson to vehicles by the School Department with a gate which could be opened Road to admit vehicles when required by the school, and a sigh should be placed at the gate The other thing is, access to Estabrook from Grove Street; it is pretty steep, especially if some residents park along there The Traffic Committee asked to obtain the opinion of Town Counsel to what extent the Board can regulate traffic on school land The Chairman said that the School Committee would like a recommend- ation and we have found they want help for protection of the kids We would want to see us work with them Mr Zaleski said that there is the problem of enforcing and the police do not feel they have the authority to enforce it The Chairman said as I understand it, the Traffic Committee has changed its recommendation on the sidewalk on Turning Mill Road Has the priority changed? Mr Zaleski replied that we don't have a list, I don't know where it would be among the priorities The Chairman asked if this is to be used as an emergency access? Mr Zaleski replied, yes, when something is delivered to the back of the school The Chairman asked if a gate were there, you are not talking about locking it? Mr Zaleski replied that he was talking about one that would nor- mally be kept closed, it probably wouldn't be locked Mr Kenney said there is a question about the School Department enforceing it 4160 Mr Zaleski said that this is the problem, unless we have a rul- ing Mr Kenney asked Mr Legro if we can set this up? Mr Legro replied, on Town ways, not the School Department The Chairman recommended that the recommendations of the Traffic Committee be sent to the School Department, asking what their feelings are, and we should ask the Traffic Committee to set forth, in writing, questions on the matter and we will forward them to Town Counsel for his opinions The Board agreed to follow this procedure Crosby Road traffic was discussed Mr Kenney said that we had referred the recommendation of the Traffic Committee to the Superintendent of Schools The Chairman said that the Traffic Committee believes that mak- Crosby Rd ing Crosby Road one-way is neither necessary nor justified, and Traffic recommends against it Mr Kenney said that making it one-way is out of the question but I don't think the Committee has answered about the advisability of no parking on one side of Crosby Road Mr Zaleski said that the Committee has no objection but, again it is on school property if signs are in the driveway The Board agreed that the Traffic Committee is to look at the situation again, and, if it recommends no parking on one side of Crosby Road, submit the language to be used for the approval of the Board The Chairman read a recommendation from the Traffic Committee that parking be limited to one side, northeasterly, of Reed Street Parking between Vaille Avenue and Bedford Street Reed St The Board agreed with the recommendation and to request the Traffic Committee for the proper description to be submitted for the approval of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee stating that on recommendation of the Chief of Police, the Town Manager had referred for review by the Traffic Committee the question of requir- ing a right-hand turn only in certain locations The Traffic Com- mittee has reviewed this matter and recommens that Traffic Rules and Regulations of the Town of Lexington be amended to permit enforcement of the right-turn requirement; these all exist and this is to legal- ize them Traffic Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the Right Turns recommendation of the Traffic Committee to amend Article VIII of the Traffic Rules and Regulations of the Town of Lexington by adding after Section 23 the following new section SECTION 24 OBEDIENCE TO REOUIRED TURNS At any signalized or other intersection of ways described herein where the roadway is divided into lanes by pavement markings or other 461 means and official signs are erected requiring a right turn or left turn only for such lane, drivers of vehicles in the designated lanes must make such movement and no other at said intersection in accordance with the provisions of Schedule #8, and said Schedule #8 is hereby specific- ally incorporated in this section SCHEDULE #8 REOUIRED TURNS Location From To Required Turn Bedford Street 100 feet north Worthen Road Right Lane Must of Worthen Road Turn Right Southerly Clarke Street Mass Avenue --- Right Turn Only Northerly Mass Avenue 100 Feet North- Waltham Street Right Lane Must west of Waltham Turn Right Street South- easterly The Chairman addressed Mr Zaleski and said that you have asked the Board for implementation of the Traffic Committee' s recommendations and we must have the mechanics to get them done Mr Zaleski said that he will send a report to the Board with the proper descriptions and the language to implement the traffic changes The Chairman thanked him for meeting with the Board and Mr Zaleski retired from the meeting Mr Matheson, Mr Giroux and Attorney Perry met with the Board The Chairman explained that the Board has not discussed the Central Block so that we could give you an answer Mr Giroux said that we came here with the understanding that the Town would present something to us, we feel we have been delaying for Central several weeks Block The Chairman said that when I met with you the last time, I told you the Board wanted to consider several alternatives I have been candid, so you would understand what the Board' s feeling is Mr Giroux said that you expressed the thought that the Town would like part of our property The Chairman replied, yes, I said the Board would discuss it Mr Giroux said that we have told you on two or three occasions that we had no desire or wish to sell one square foot, that we had agreed to the land swap seven or eight years ago Every plan that was ever made was with the assumption that this would be the property we would work with, we spent thousands of dollars We agreed to the land swap and it did not necessarily improve our situation, as after the land swap, our land would be square where it is now "L" shaped We 462 agreed that the concept of widening the avenue was a good one at this stage After the fire, we met with the Selectmen and we reiterated that we would swap an approximate 15 ft strip for the old fire house site, this goes back to the 1930' s We appreciate the fact that we own the property; it is not public property and there is a misunder- standing in the Minute-man by people expressing what should be done with private property We are in a position to build and mortgage and unless we know what we can do, our Architect will not work for us any longer, to work on a plan for a piece of land we know nothing about The Town talks about taking 10, 15 or 25 feet and this puts us in an extremely difficult position and we want to know what we can do We have met with Mr Cataldo and reiterated we do not wish to sell any of it and wish to build on it and we would like to pro- ceed with the land swap and whether the Town is prepared to make it We still own up to the sidewalk The Chairman said that I have made it clear to the Board that you don't want to sell an inch of land We are not responsible for what appears in the newspaper We accept the fact of what holding up for two weeks means to you people Mr Matheson said that people voted 3 to I in favor of a park, these people neglect to think that somebody owns it and ask what is the cost of it, it is not for sale. The Chairman said that you must accept the fact that we have the responsibility to make the recommendation to the Town We did agree to the land swap The feeling in Town is, we must take this next step and evaluate the situation We have gone to April 14 and they are all asking to give it until April 20 to come out with a recommend- ation as to where we will go The Board says we would like to look into a situation beyond 15 feet and we will hold you up time-wise Attorney Perry said we have drafted the deed for the land swap if you want to go forward Mr Kenney remarked that you say it is private property, from the sense of a strategic situation, you know it abuts on the Battle Green and we must fully examine all facets There is public clamor now and it forces us to look into the situation Mr Matheson asked what if you come back and say you want 15 more feet? Mr Busa said that it has only been discussed once Mr Matheson asked what if you want more and we say, no? Mr Kenney said that we would have to call a Special Town Meet- ing and if you wouldn't sell it, we would have to go to eminent domain Mr Giroux said that we have no intention of selling Mr Matheson said that we can get a building permit tomorrow morning The Chairman added, subject to many things Attorney Perry said there are many things built there without any further restrictions on a building permit The Chairman said if we look at it, can we negotiate if we don't know what we want? Now, the Board understands and you understand that you don't want to give up one inch 463 Mr Matheson said if the Board wants 5' or 10' before April 20, we all stand up here and discuss that we all understand what we are looking at Mr Giroux said if the building is put back 15 feet, the build- ing itself will still be behind My point is, in order to open up to get the view, you are going to have to go away back and 10 feet will not make an awful lot of difference to the Town but will make a dif- ference to us We are talking about underground parking and to go back even 4 feet would wipe out a row of cars in the basement The Chairman said that we recognize the ramifications As far as parking, 1 don't think there is any objection to you building out to the 15 feet; parking should be no problem Mr Giroux said that you are taking something and crunching it Attorney Perry said that we would have to go back to Town Meeting The Chairman asked, why Town Meeting? Attorney Perry said that we have authorization now, the 1964 vote, to make the land swap under such conditions as the Selectmen determine proper; that vote is still valid but if you do anything else, it would have to go back to Town Meeting and that throws the timing off If we come back on the 20th, is it yes, we will take the swap, or no? The Chairman said that we understand the time and money at this point and we don't want to hold you up any more than we have to In all fairness to the Town, keep in mind that we don't want to hold you up Attorney Perry asked if there_ is any information we�.icadi give you now? The Chairman asked if we agreed tonight to swap, what would your schedule be/ Mr Matheson said that we would start immediately with the plan Mr Giroux said that we cannot make a plan; the Architect re- fused until he knew what was left to work with The Chairman asked when would they be ready to apply for permits? Mr. Matheson replied, 30 days from the time he knows what land he was working on We have already applied to Historic Districts Mr Bailey said that apparently you have been interested in devel- oping for 8 years as the upper portions were unoccupied and you have had a variety of tenants Mr Giroux said when we bought the property, they were full and we gradually got them out, there were welfare people there Mr Bailey said, and then there was a fire Over a period of eight years things drifted and you made no attempt to develop; now the building burned and there is an extraordinary sense of urgency; why didn't this hold valid a year ago? Mr Giroux said the original intention was, we hoped to build a 3-story building with small shops on the first floor and no basement, on the second and third floors to have apartments with one bedroom We have spent a long time and a fair amount of money There are six people involved and we proposed this and the Planning Board unanimously opposed it; Town Meeting agreed with the Planning Board and voted it 464 April 14, 1971 down We started over again and came up with a lg-story building and when plans were ready for that we went to the Historic Districts Com- mission and when the time came to do anything on that, there was no mortgage money available The Planning Board asked us to come in and we reviewed what our plans were originally and the Planning Board said it was a possibility by approval of an amendment to the By-Law There was no money available and we maintained it at the break-even point; we operated last year at a small loss; there was no money made in 8 years on that property and there was a good deal spent. We gave the tenants 3-year leases and they would have expired at the end of 1972 At that time Mr Matheson and I bought out the others and we continued with it in the hope that when we bought it, we would have a new building up by 1975 With the fire, we lost the tenants We have now a tentative commitment to build a building and we have 30 days and we hope to get that extended having the experi- ence of being involved in plans for the future Now, it can be financed as the banks have plenty of money The Chairman thanked them for coming and said that the Board will discuss it and we will let you know our determination Mr Matheson, Mr Giroux and Attorney Perry retired from the meeting The Chairman read a report from the Planning Board regarding the request of Mrs Schumacher, 148 Wood Street, to purchase lots 82 and Schumacher 83 in the Colonial Heights section In 1969, she had made a previous Tax Title request to purchase these lots and the Planning Board had said that they are valuable as a part of a large Town holding which may be used for housing, park and recreation or for other public purposes and the sale would adversely affect the rest of Town land in this area; yet the tots themselves are substandard, have no access and should not be sold for use as a house lot The Chairman said that they don't want to use them as a separate lot, they know they have to build a road Mr Buse said that something should be worked out so they won't be landlocked The Board agreed that a meeting should be arranged with Mrs Schumacher to discuss her request The Chairman read a recommendation from the Planning Board re- garding the request of Mrs Sally Neale, 10 Ward Street, to pur- chase tax title lots 35 through 40 Earl Street, stating that these Tax Title lots are a part of a larger Town holding which is under consideration Neale for use as a site for subsidized housing, an elementary school and a playground, there are also other possible public uses for the area For these reasons, the Planning Board recommends against the sale of these lots to Mrs Neale or any other private party The Board agreed to inform Mrs. Neale that the Planning Board has included lots 35 through 40 Earl Street and until some concrete decisions have been made, we plan to hold these lots; if, and when, we decide to do something with these lots, Mrs Neale will be given the opportunity to once again discuss purchasing them. 4 6 April 14, 1971 The Chairman read a recommendation from the Planning Board regard- ing the request of Mr Ralph Masciulli to purchase tax title lot 26 (44) Valleyfield Street, stating that this lot not be sold because of the possibility of its use for a scattered site subsidized house Tax Title Should the Selectmen wish to sell lot 26 (44) or lot 24 (42) on the Masciulli other side of Mr Masciulli ' s lot 25, either of these lots could be combined with lot 25, but should not be sold as a separate building lot The Board agreed that a meeting should be arranged with Mr Masciulli to discuss his request The Chairman read a request from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #3007, to sell buddy poppies throughout the Town on May 13, 14 and 15, 1971 , VFW Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the Permit request of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post #3007, to sell buddy poppies throughout the Town on May 13, 14 and 15, 1971 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen' s Meeting held on April 5, 1971 Minutes The Chairman read a request from St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church to close off from public use the portion of Meriam Street sur- rounding the church grounds for one hour, Friday, April 16, from 8 30 Greek to 9 30 p.m for a procession. Orthodox Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the Church request of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church for Friday, April 16, Permit 1971 from 8 30 to 9 30 p.m , subject to the restrictions of the Chief of Police The Chairman read, for the Board' s information, a letter from Attorney General Quinn enclosing a check for $296 93 as the fourth Copper payment on the Copper Piping settlement Piping The Chairman read a letter from the Historical Society giving the recent vote of the Society to support the Selectmen in their ef- Central forts to persevere in retaining the present openness in the Central Block Block area The Chairman read a letter from Congressman Morse regarding the National Flood Insurance Program The Board agreed to refer this to the Town Manager to see if it can benefit our homeowners The Chairman read a notice from the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission regarding Patriot' s Day, Monday, April 19, 1971 ABC Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Patriot' s Package Goods stores to remain closed, hotels, restaurants and clubs Day may sell alcoholic beverages during the usual holiday hours 466 The Chairman read a notice from the Alcoholic Beverages Control Memorial Commission regarding Memorial Day, Monday, May 31 , 1971 Day Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Package Goods Stores to remain closed; hotels, restaurants and clubs shall not reopen for the sale of alcoholic beverages before 12 00 o'clock noon Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the Cemetery request of the Cemetery Department for the following abatement Lot Abatement Alden W Jefts, Lot No 68 - $126 Lot No 68 - $90 Perpetual care - total of $216 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the request of the Acting Superintendent of Public Works for the follow- Water ing water abatement Abatement Richard Sparrow - Munroe Hamilton, 2 Militia Drive, $ 147 87; billed to wrong account by meter readers The Chairman said that a vacancy exists on the Historic Dis- Historic tricts Commission, due to the death of Max Straw Nominations have Districts been received from the Historical Society as follows Donald J Appointment Shaw and Martin A Gilman Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mr Donald J Shaw, 6 Barrymeade Drive, a member of the Historic Districts Commission to fill the unexpired term to January I , 1976 Gas Main Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the Permit request of the Mystic Valley Gas Company to locate a 4-inch high gas main in Bryant Road to serve Village Circle Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Field & mission to the Lexington Field and Garden Club to hold the annual Garden plant sale on Wednesday, May 12, 1971 from 10 00 a.m to 12 00 Noon Permit on the grounds behind Buckman Tavern, subject to the usual restric- tions of the Acting Superintendent of Public Works The Chairman read a request from the Lexington Commission on Suburban Responsibility that the Board add a representative of Lexing- ton Interfaith Corporation to the Commission's membership. The Chairman said that it has been the attitude of the Board not LCSR to get into specific interest groups We felt there was an adequate cross section of all groups and we have denied recommendations for further membership The Chairman said that the letter also requests that the Board consider replacement of the representatives of the Housing Authority and Senior Citizens as they have been unable to attend meetings this season and the Commission does value the advice and counsel that rep- resentatives of these two groups have to offer 467 After discussion, the Board agreed to look at the total membership at a future meeting and no action would be taken on the representatives of the Housing Authority and Senior Citizens until the expiration of their terms on June 30, 1971 The Chairman read a letter from the Lexington Council of Congre- gations, submitting the following nominees for the appointment of a representative to LCSR, to fill the unexpired term of Rev Wells, Dr Robert Mann, Rev Herbert Adams and Mr Lloyd S Beckett, Jr Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Dr Robert Mann a representative of the Lexington Council of Congrega- tions on the Lexington Commission on Suburban Responsibility to fill LCSR an unexpired term to June 30, 1971 Appoint- ments The Chairman said that a vacancy exists on the Commission for a representative of the Board of Selectmen to fill the unexpired term of Mr Greeley Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Mrs Natalie H Riff in a representative of the Board of Selectmen on the Lexington Commission on Suburban Responsibility to fill an unexpired term to June 30, 1971 The Chairman read a request from the National Commander of the American Legion to sign a letter to the Chief of the United States Prisoners delegation to the Paris Peace negotiations with representatives of of War North Viet Nam and the National Liberation Front that we are deeply concerned about the well-being and early release of American prisoners of war in Southeast Asia The Board agreed that the Chairman would sign the letter in their behalf The Chairman said that it is the recommendation of the Town Engi- neer to take slope easements for sidewalk construction on Bow Street, Taft Avenue and Simonds Road Sidewalk Mr Legro said that he had received the plans and requests for Slope these easements, there are numerous properties involved Easements Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to make the takings for slope easements, with an award of no damages, on Bow Street, Taft Avenue and Simonds Road Mr Cataldo abstained Mr O'Connell said that we have been informed by HUD of a 10 per- cent increase in the Federal Grant for the relief sewer, WPC Mass -217, in the amount of $29,850; the previous grant offer was $298,500, bring- ing it to a total of $328,350 of federal participation We have gotten Bedford the grants we have applied for and are most fortunate Sewer The Town Engineer informs me that authorization has been received from Mr Peterson of the Federal Water Quality Administration to award the contracts and, as the intent to award action was taken prior to the Presidential Proclamation suspension date of the Davis-Bacon Act, IIIWage Decision AK-5, 815 will remain in the contract documents 4t8 Mr Legro said that in view of the circumstances, I would be happy IIIto see these contracts awarded The Chairman said that this letter from Mr Peterson is proof that we are conforming Now, we are looking for a letter regarding State aid Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the fol- lowing contracts for the Town of Lexington Water Pollution Control Project No WPC-Mass -217 to the following Contract No I , Relief Sewer, to D DiMartino Construction Co , 511 Lincoln Street, Franklin, Mass in the amount of $466,735 00 Contract No 3, Pumping Station, to B Snyder and Company, Inc 120 Braintree Street, Allston, Mass in the amount of $ 182,569 00 The Chairman informed the Board that the Citizens' Petition on Article 72 (Mark Moore) with a total of 1 , 185 names, of which 1 ,033 Referendum have been certified by the Clerk has been received It is encumbent Art 72 upon the Board to set in motion everything for a Referendum, the statute says that within 10 days of the filing of the petition, the date for the Referendum must be set within 14 days, and notice must be given at least 7 days within the call of the meeting As you know, we have a By-Law change from mailing to every voter to mailing to every dwelling house; therefore, we have some updating of our mailing list to try and comply with this new By-Law It is my recommendation that we set the date for the Referendum at our next meeting The Board agreed to set the date for the Referendum at the next III meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or Executive voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the Session public security, financial interests of the Town or the reputation of any 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 40 p.m A true record, Attest \J Executive Clerk, Selectmen l