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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-02-22-BOS-min 392 SELECTMEN'S MEETING February 22, 1971 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Monday evening, February 22, 1971, at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Cataldo, Messrs. Mabee, Kenney, Greeley and Bailey were present. Mr Legro, Town Counsel; Mr O'Connell , Town Manager and Mrs. McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present. Hearing was declared open upon the petition of Mobil Oil Co. for a license for below ground and above ground storage at the premises located at 269-277 Bedford Street A notice of the hearing was inserted in the February II, 1971 issue of the Lexington Minute-man and sent by certified mail to the abutters, as listed on the records of the Assessors. Application was approved by Chief Spellman of the Fire Department. Attorney Nicholas J Mazzoni , representing the Mobil Oil Company, was present and explained that this application is for an additional 8,000 gallon underground tank to increase the storage to 20,000 gallons from 12,000 gallons of gasoline presently approved There will be no structural change in the station but we will add one pump to two exist- ing islands This petition is for a third future product, a non- leaded gasoline. Mobil Mr John F McDonald, I Dee Road, asked if this tank is going to Gasoline be in the same location as the others? Hearing Mr Mazzoni replied in the affirmative Mr. McDonald said that at certain times of the year, especially in the summer, we have a problem with fumes; will it still exist? Mr Mazzoni replied that this is a new 8,000 gallon tank and it it vented better but we can't guarantee eliminating the fumes; the Company says they will vent these to try and eliminate the fumes and I will guarantee we will do everything we can to vent them. The Chairman asked if the problem exists only when filling the tanks? Mr. McDonald replied, yes, we are afraid to go out in the back- yard at certain times, not all the time Mr Mazzoni said that the danger is not with the gasoline in the ground, I have never heard of one in Massachusetts blow up in the ground. The Chairman asked if there were any further questions? Hearing none, the Chairman declared that part of the hearing closed. No one appearing in favor of the petition the Chairman declared that part of the hearing closed. The Chairman asked if anyone was in opposition to the petition? Mr John F. McDonald, I Dee Road, was recorded in opposition. The Chairman asked if the installation is vented properly, would he have any objection? I Mr. McDonald replied, none The Chairman said that the Board will take the petition under advise- ment and will let you know The Board agreed to refer the petition back to Chief Spellman and ask him to investigate the installation and make whatever recommendations are necessary for the installation of a proper venting system at this Mobil Oil Company station; such recommendations to become part of the permit Mr Mazzoni suggested that Chief Spellman contact the Suburban Con- struction Company of Burlington to discuss it with them because they will be making the installation A letter is to be sent to Chief Spellman for his recommendations The Chairman said that the Board held a street hearing on February 8, 1971 on the layout of Worthen Road. The next step is to vote to lay out Worthen Worthen Road, if the Board agrees with the program as set forth Road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to lay out Worthen Road from Marrett Road, a distance of 1470 feet, more or less, north- westerly to Sherburne Road. Mr Kenney abstained. The Chairman informed the Board that a letter of resignation has been received from James W. Broderick from the Town Celebrations Committee. Celebra- Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept, with re- tions 111 gret, the resignation of James W. Broderick as a member of the Town Cele- Resigna- brations Committee, effective immediately. tion The Board agreed to consider a replacement and to ask the Town Celebrations Committee for recommendations. The Chairman read a letter from Herbert S Kassman regarding the award of no damages in the taking of sewer easement on his property at 5 Stonewall Road. Mr Kassman states in the letter that it seems inevi- Kassman table that a number of valuable trees will have to be removed and that Sewer the general rustic character of the site will be considerably altered Easement with a significant reduction in the value of the property. The exact extent of damages must, of course, await the work done by the sewer con- tractor. I have expressed my concern to personnel in the Town Engineer' s Office, who have expressed a willingness to attempt to minimize the dam- age The Chairman said that no action has to be taken by the Board. Mr. Greeley said that Mr. Kassman is just reserving his rights The Chairman read a letter from Lawrence H Adler, Chairman of the Parish Committee of the First Parish Church, stating that the Parish had established a committee to survey the present and reasonably fore- Harrington seeable space needs of the church and this committee had voted unani- House mously not to enter into negotiations with the Town looking toward a vote at the March Town Meeting on a purchase from the Church of the Old Harrington House. They hop to complete their survey and file their re- port in adequate time to make such a treatment possible at the June meeting if the Church determines that it really does not need this space and that it wishes to enter into final negotiations looking toward a mutually agreeable price. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to recommend inde- finite postponement of Article 48 at the 1971 Annual Town Meeting. The Chairman read a letter from Paul A L'Antiqua, 758 Waltham Street, stating that three years ago, the Town rebuilt Blossomcrest L'Antiqua Street and in the process of rebuilding the street, a section of his Complaint land was taken for a sidewalk and the street was lowered at Blossom- crest and Waltham Street. In the process part of the driveway was cut into by the contractor who did the work and the result is that the water pipes running under the road, the sidewalk and his driveway into his home no longer meet the requirement to prevent freezing. He re- quested that the situation be corrected by lowering the pipes below the frost line as soon as possible The Chairman said wehave sent a copy of this letter to Mr. McSweeney and we will answer Mr L'Antiqua that we have asked for a report and will be in touch with him when it is received. The Chairman read a letter from Mrs. August Schumacher, 148 Wood Tax Title Street, requesting the purchase of lots 82 in the Colonial Heights area Schumacher to be added to the adjoining lots she now owns and, therefore, make a Request more desirable sized lot Mrs. Schumacher states that she had requested this in 1967 and her request had been referred to the Planning Board. Since then, she has hat meetings and correspondence with the Planning Board but for various reasons it does not grant permission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer Mrs.. Schumacher' s request to the Planning Board for an up-to-date recommend- ation. The Chairman read a letter from Peacock Farms Association regarding traffic hazards at the intersection of Peacock Farm Road and Mason Street and at the curve of Peacock Farm Road near Numbers 37-40 A Peacock meeting to discuss the problems and possible solutions was requested Farms with the appropriate officials. Traffic The Chairman said that we recently had a request from residents of Robinson Road and we recommended a meeting of the neighborhood with the Traffic Committee, we should handle this in the same manner The Board agreed to request the Traffic Committee to set up a meeting with the Peacock Farms Association to discuss the traffic prob- lems of the neighborhood, and to so inform the Association. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the I D. Card Chairman to sign the Liquor Identification Card for Cynthia Sampson, 337 Massachusetts Avenue Common Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Common Victualler Victualler license for Howard Johnson' s, Route 128, Lexington (approved License by the Board of Health) The Chairman read a letter from Kevin B Harrington, President of the Senate, and David M Bartley, Speaker of the House, requesting all governmental agencies who have filed legislative petitions for consid- Mass eration this session for a voluntary analysis of fiscal and/or envir- Legisla- onmental impact ture The Chairman said that they want to know what it would cost We have one piece of legislation we have asked to be filed on changing of the award period for public building construction contracts awarded by Towns from 30 to 40 days We will acknowledge that we do not have petitions filed that would have an impact The Chairman read a letter from the State Department of Natural Re- sources requesting that it be notified of any construction or land use which would have any hydraulic impact upon the Shawsheen River Basin area. The Chairman said they are just asking us to inform them of any petitions we have for construction that were not given permission under Shawsheen the Hatch Act River Mr Greeley said that the Hatch Act is not implementable in its Basin present form and he thought someone should talk to the State and ask DNR them to give us some technical guidelines The Board agreed to write to the Department of Natural Resources and inform them that we want to cooperate with them but it is incum- bent upon them to furnish us with guidelines and, to arrange a meeting to discuss the matter of the Shawsheen River Basin area also. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen' s Meetings held on February 8 and February 16, Minutes 1971 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the water abatements for the following John Janusas $125.33 Meter changed not notified Robert Caterino 19.93 Wrong reading E McSweeney 42 00 Owner sent wrong reading Joseph McKinney 121 45 Left water running so it won't freeze Ralph Taylor 21 71 Owner sent in wrong reading Virginia Cutter 57 03 Owner sent in wrong reading The Chairman said that we held approval of water abatements for John Janusas, 127 Simonds Road and Joseph McKinney, 12 Rockville Avenue pending a report from Public Works Department Water A report has been received that a water meter was removed from Abatements Mr. Janusas' home and a new meter installed; the billing department was not notified of this fact The last time it was read, the reading was taken as a turnover rather than a reading starting at zero and up to the present reading on the new meter and adding whatever was re- "' corded on the meter that was replaced, this resulted in an excessively high water bill The bill was re-figured the proper way, resulting in the $ 125 33 abatement ta s) .P(7 Mr McKinney was told to run his water in 1970 so that the service would not freeze up The service man neglected to take the dial off 111 the meter, thus resulting in a high water bill . It is the Town' s policy to remove all dials from the meter of any water service that freezes By doing this, the water left running for the winter is not recorded on the water meter. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign water abatements for John Janusas and Joseph McKinney. The Chairman informed the Board that a hearing had been held on February 16, 1971 on a relocation of one pole on Peachtree Road and approval was withheld pending a report from the Town Engineer The report has been received, stating that the existing pole is 54 ft. off Peachtree the northeasterly sidelines of Peachtree Road, approximately 30 feet Road pole from the sideline of Woburn Street and will be moved 12 feet south- Location easterly. Residents were questioned and voiced no objection as the relocation will not affect either trees or driveways and would in- crease a driver' s view of Woburn Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Com- pany for the following location Peachtree Road, northeasterly side, approximately 41 feet south- east of Woburn Street - One pole (one existing JO pole to be removed) The Chairman said that we have met with our members of the Minute- Vocational man Regional Vocational Technical School District Planning Board and Technical this Board should take a position either in support or in opposition School to the Article in the Warrant. Article Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously to support Article 45 of the 1971 Annual Town Meeting Warrant After much discussion, the Board agreed to support the Article. The Chairman said that bids have been taken on the relief sewer and the pumping station alterations for the major project with Bedford. Bids Sewer Whitman and Howard investigated the two low bidders and have & Pumping found they are qualified to handle the work associated with this pro- Station ject Also, the amount of funds available to complete this project Intent to have been reviewed and found to be adequate. The Division of Water Award Pollution Control requests a vote of the Board that we do intend to award the contracts Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that it is the intent of the Town of Lexington to award the following contracts for the Town of Lexington Water Pollution Control Project No WPC-Mass..- 217 to the following D. DiMartino Construction Co., Franklin for Contract No I, Contract for Relief Sewer Work $466 735 397 ' B Snyder and Company Inc., Allston, for Contract No 3, Proposed Renova- tions and alterations to Brook Street Sewage Pumping Station $182,569 Total Project $649,304 The Chairman informed the Board that a reply has been received from the Traffic Committee in answer to requests from Citizens to make Crosby Road one-way during the hours when children would be brought to and picked up from the Maria Hastings School The report states that the Traffic Committee believes that making Crosby Road one-way is neither necessary nor justified and recommends against it. The driveway beyond the end of Crosby Road is not subject to traffic regulation by the Town; it is on school property and can be Traffic made one-way by the school or else widened and improved to facilitate Crosby Rd. two-way traffic. Also, making the road one-way at varying times on different days would be extremely confusing and unsafe and a permanent one-way arrangement would greatly inconvenience the motorists most of the time After discussion, the Board agreed to refer this to the School De- partment for recommendations. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the School Department for recommendations that could possibly help solve the traffic problems of Crosby Road The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee recommend- ing that consideration be given to amending the Traffic Rules and Orders by prohibiting parking along the southwesterly side of Reed Street between Bedford Street and Vaille Avenue The Board agreed to request the Traffic Committee to submit reasons for this recommendation. Mr Tucker, Mrs Welch and Dr Newman of the Mystic Valley Mental Health Association met with the Board. The Chairman said that the issue this evening is that the Board of Health recommends that your budget be the same level as last year and, as I understand it, you want to tell us why it should be greater Mr Tucker said that in 1966, we had 6 members on the professional staff, in 1970, we had 21 professional staff members; this has more Mystic than tripled the staff We are able to help the 5 communities in- Valley volved, Lexington, Arlington, Winchester, Burlington and Woburn We Mental are dealing with a problem which is very expensive. We have a Mental Health Health Center, most of which is supported by the State. The total con- tribution by the 5 towns is 17 percent of the total clinic budget It was originally started as a children' s clinic but through reorganiza- tion by the state, it provides after-care of patients discharged from the Metropolitan State Hospital . Therefore, by state mandate, the Center is now providing this after-care. One of the reasons we ask for U 39S additional money is that the State payments will take care of the pro- fessional staff but any supporting services are taken care of by private or tax contributions. Mrs Welch said that we have met with all 5 communities, Woburn, being a city, will undoubtedly pass our requested increase from $10,000 last year to $21 ,000 this year. Arlington contributed $ 14,695 last year and we are asking for $29,787, Burlington contri- buted $5,452 last year and we are asking for $12,494; Lexington, $8,789 last year, we are asking for $17,870; Winchester, $6,060 last year and has agreed to $ 12,490 for this year; the Board of Health has already accepted our first bill . Shares are based on population and the request is 55} cents per capita. Mr Tucker said that we drew on our reserves and this year we don't have a reserve. It looks good in 4 coummunities but in Lexing- ton they recommend holding to the same rate as last year and this forces the Center into a bind If the money is not forthcoming, something will have to be cut out of the budget We don't want to use blackmailing but if 4 of the 5 communities come forth but not the 5th, what would your reaction be? Compare the Health Center to the Fire Department; hopefully, you never have to use it but it is nice to know it is there. We have here in Lexington a full Mental Health Center The staff is highly professional and there is no question about their qualifications We are providing a service to citizens of Lexington and offer professional services if we can. The budget is not inflated and if forced to cut back . .We are asking for an increase from $9,000 to $18,000 as we don't want the people of Lexington to suffer from a reduction of service. Mr. Mabee asked them to tell the Board Of the number of cases in 1969 vs 1970, which would account for the increased cost Dr. Ellicott is convinced that the cost per hour of an interview and counseling is much higher at Mystic Valley than private counseling. What is the case load? Mrs Welch said that Lexington had 104 cases in 1969, children and their parents In 1970, 146 children and their parents were taken care of; a 40 percent increase in cases When the budget was made up in 1970, we didn't know there would be that many and we went over. The State gave us additional Doctors and we were able to serve the extra 42 families from Lexington. You hear of waiting much less than it used to be, but not now. We are taking 40 percent more from Lexington and 46 percent from Winchester The budget for last year was not adequate and we added our $ 13,000 savings and, also, our insurance has gone up; we had not been paying insurance on our wing and it probably will go up $500 more than I put in our bud- get We operated in the red last year in terms of using up more than we asked for Last year, the request was not realistic Mr Tucker said that when someone comes for counseling, you don't terminate at the end of the year, you carry over. If you look at the number of hours, the cost is $43 an hour; if you add to that agency consultation hours, we include court referrals, if you add consultation hours, you get a total of 7800 hours and the cost goes down to $33 per hour Communities are contributing only 17 percent tail. of the total budget of the Center, which means 83 percent is raised in some other way. You can't compare a physician's office to the Mental Health Center; the cost runs higher because of the clinic backup and supporting services are essential if you run a Mental Health Center Dr. Newman said that the relevant question is, are we providing the service which in any way can be duplicated at a lower price, and the answer is, we are providing service which cannot be duplicated at any price The clinic functions to service families with prob- lems; we approach the entire family, a clinic set up where people are in communication with one another. In most individual cases, the Psychiatrist can't do this; the average fee is $25 or $30 per hour The clinic charges families on a sliding scale and most pa- tients pay less than $25 an hour, and you couldn't duplicate the service on a private basis; you can't compare apples and oranges. The Chairman said there is a difference of opinion from profes- sionals whether services can be duplicated How much were you in the red last year? Mrs Welch said that the budget for 1970 was originally $87,000 and we spent $95,000 The Chairman said you are telling us that you handled 46 percent of the load increase with an $8,000 deficit, plus $ 13,000. Mrs. Welch said we are now using our reserve The Chairman asked if we made up that $8,000, could you main- tain that same level? Mrs Welch replied, no; the additional staff members came in April , July, September and December The Chairman asked would you say $ 16,000? If you maintain that level of service, which is a 40 percent increase over 1969 for $95,000, why can't you maintain that level of service for the same amount of money or a little more? Why are you asking for an increase of $44,000? Our question is on your bookkeeping approach What is the justification for the budget as presented? Mrs. Welch replied that we don't anticipate keeping at that level therefore, you have an incremental increase Mr. Greeley asked what is the average for 1970? Mrs. Welch replied that I have no actual data Mr. Greeley said you spoke of going from 104 to 146 cases Mr. Mabee said that the average might have been 123. The fact that your added personnel came at different times, at the end of the year you had them all The rate at which your backup services was needed was greater Mr. Tucker said that the commitment to staff and commitment to individuals at the end of the year might be greater The Chairman said the nub of the problem is the commitment to 110 \ staff The work load didn't increase and the question is, are you over-staffed? Just because you are authorized by the State doesn't justify it II __ 400 Dr. Newman said that the total expense was $278,297; the number of 111 interview hours to clients was 5,989, which gives a cost per hour of $46+ The total in 1971 will be $433,856; we have added a 25 percent increase in the number of hours as shown in 1970 brings it up to 7,500 hours and the cost per hour jumps to $57+ per hour. Dr Ellicott maintains that staff hours and the number of additional hours for clerical, and the like, are non-productive and if the averagegood psychiatrist gets $30 per hour and the cost per hour is out of line, this is why the Board is opposed to making any amelioration The cost gives per service per people. We have been given a lot of families. We know we will see these people discharged from hospitals We have been told wewould have a regional Health Center and they will have out-patients and in-patients. When this broke, we had calls from Arlington and Burlington on what are we doing to the budget; we told them we would wait and hear from one Board. Winchester said they would go along with the increase and asked Mystic Valley to take their teachers and train them. The State feels that smaller centers will be better in the future and Lexington has it now The Chairman said that we are recommending the same amount of appropriation as we did last year. We are pleased with the results of Mr. McManus on the drug program; we are getting it going and the results are good. Mr Tucker said that according to our year-end accounting, we spent $258,000, actually the end total for operating the center, for the total clinical operating budget. If you use 6,000 hours, you come up with $43 per hour. Can you duplicate the services anywhere? We are picking up people from the lower end of the income scale. Dr. Cosgrove, Chairman of the Board of Health, said that the Chairman of the Board of Health in Burlington called him and said lie didn't see any reason why we give anything. Mr Kenney asked if in 1970 there are so many hours to Re-place? The Association did grant to Re-place a certain number of dollars instead of hours. Dr. Newman replied that the 1971 reduction is because they now have Mr McManus; now we are just doing group therapy whereas last year it was individual, group and administrative consultations. Mr. Kenney said there was a significant decrease in local cases. Dr. Newman replied that there was a significant decrease but not as far as the whole situation in Lexington Mr. Tucker said we have 10 new referrals per week Mrs Welch said we feel badly that the Board of Health is giving the impression that Mystic Valley is not needed. It is a national effort to bring it closer to the community. If each of the other towns accepted it what would we say if Lexington didn't. We would like you to tell us what you think it would mean; how can the other towns feel? The Chairman asked do you have firm commitments from other towns? Mrs Welch replied that we can't tell until after Town Meetings. We had a letter from Burlington that they agreed to go along with our requests 401 The Chairman asked if they have commitments for the recommendation? Mrs. Welch said that Winchester agreed, Woburn accepted it for services on the 1971 rate. Mr Kenney asked what the State would provide? Mrs Welch replied that 64 percent would be provided by the State. Mr. Howard Levingston asked, do I understand that the character of the service has changed Dr. Newman replied, yes, as for children, and expanded to take care of patients from the Metropolitan State Hospital ; we are doing drug counseling and most of those workers in connection with other problems Mr. Levingston asked if they fall within the guidelines of their basic charter? Dr Newman replied, yes, basically for children' s services Mr. Levingston asked what age group? Dr Newman replied, from 2 to 17 or 18 years. Dr Cosgrove said that we are not opposing the services of Mystic Valley Mental Health but we do object to the increaseing of their bud- get and find they are doing nothing more now than they have been doing. We are responsible to Lexington The Chairman said we must accept the fact that we support Mystic Valley and with the information coming to us at this point, lookint at your budget and the increase you ask for, it would take a lot of imagin- ation to support this I would suggest getting together with the Board of Health and settle this, and come to a meeting of the minds We don't want to go to Town Meeting when there is a difference of opinion between the Board of Health and the Mystic Valley Mental Health Association. You can't justify at this point and we look to the Board of Health Mrs. Welch asked if he would recommend a 46 percent increase? The Chairman replied, I don't know Mr. Greeley said I would recommend 30 percent or 100 percent depend- ing on how you substantiate over the two years, a case is a meaningless unit The Chairman asked the Mystic Valley Mental Health Association to get together with the Board of Health Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was Voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, the Executive financial interests of the Town or the reputation of a person Session 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 1105 p.m. A true record, Attest � • /f Executive Clerk, Selectmen