Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-02-01-BOS-min 368 SELECTMEN'S MEETING February I , 1971 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Monday evening, February 1, 1971 , at 7 30 p.m. Chairman Cataldo, Messrs. Mabee, Greeley and Bailey were present Mr. Legro, Town Counsel , Mr O'Connell, Town Manager and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present. At the request of the Town Clerk, four jurors were drawn as follows Jurors Harold D Casson, Jr. 15 Chadbourne Road Paul Stetson 33 Hancock Street John B Heaney 570 Marrett Road Pedro Lilienfeld 28 Demar Road The Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District Plan- ning Board met with the Board Mr. Vernon Page presented the Board with the signed agreement between the Towns of Acton, Arlington, Belmont, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Stow, Wayland, Weston and Lexington with respect to the establishment of a technical and vocational regional school district. Mr Page said that the question goes on the ballot and it takes Vocational a majority vote of Arlington, Lexington, Concord and Belmont. Technical The Chairman said that there is an Article in the Warrant; how School much money is involved? Committee Mr. Page replied, about $5,000 If all the Towns accept it, the figure will be lower. The site will have to be within a radius of five miles from the center of the district; this will be near the intersection of Route 2 and Bedford Road, Lincoln. The Chairman asked if they were seriously looking at any site? Mr Page replied that this Committee has no authority and we just assure the State there is one within that radius. If only the four major towns accept it, it is still within the same site radius; the school is out if all of the four towns do not accept it The Chairman said it could end up within four miles of the center of Lexington Mr. Page agreed. Mr Bailey asked if there is any flexibility if the other towns don't come in on it and there would be a lesser number of pupils? Mr Mollo-Christensen replied there is nothing in the proposed agreement for the size of the school, the recommendation is for 1500 pupils Mr. Greeley said the number of pupils is based on 10% of the school population? I :369 Mrs Wallace replied, yes It has happened before that a school opened with 1,000 pupils and that school was too small Mr. Mollo-Christensen said if the school is bigger, it offers a broader curriculum and can attract a tough superintendent. It is hard to find a good superintendent because the State says he must have eight years as a journeyman plus a teacher' s certificate. The Chairman said that the Board will discuss this at our meet- ing on next Monday evening and take a position The Vocational Technical School Committee retired from the meeting The Chairman informed the Board that polling hours on March I must be set Poll Hours Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to set the poll- ing hours on Town Election Day, March I , 1971 at 7 00 a.m. to 8 00 p.m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the War- Sign rant for the 1971 Annual Town Meeting on March 15, 1971 . Warrant The Chairman said that the Board will recommend to Town Meeting that the adjourned meetings will start at 7 30 p.m., the opening Town meeting is to be at 8 00 p.m on Monday and to recommend the following Meeting Wednesday and each Monday and Wednesday thereafter The Chairman read a request from the Airport Suburban Limousine Service, Inc , Framingham, for a permit or license to operate over the public ways of the Town to pick up and/or discharge passengers at a Permit business or motel The Chairman said that a license is required and we will write and ask for the route and the stops. The Chairman read a letter from Mrs. Bahls, 565 Marrett Road, re- garding the installation of a sidewalk on Marrett Road from Lincoln Street to the Old Res. Sidewalk After discussion, the Board agreed to request the Acting Superin- Request tendent of Public Works to make arrangements to have the area plowed by the sidewalk plow and to request the Traffic Committee for a recommendation on the priority of the sidewalk program. The Chairman read a request from the Greek Orthodox Church for a permit for the Annual A.A U. Ten Mile Road Race from the Minute Man Memorial to the Arlington line and, also, for a Police cruiser escort Annual on Sunday, March 21, 1971 at 12 00 N. A.A U. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- Race sion to the Greek Orthodox Church of Cambridge for the Annual A.A.U. Permit Ten Mile Race to commence at the Minute Man Memorial to the Arlington line, with a Police cruiser escort, on Sunday, March 21, 1971 , subject to the starting time being approved by the Town Manager and the Chief of Police 37 The Chairman read a request from the Arts & Crafts Society to hold "Meet the Artist" day on Sunday, May 23, 1971 , from 12 00 N. to 6 00 p.m. on the Buckman Tavern grounds; also, to hold the annual outdoor exhibit on Sunday, October 3 (rain date of October 10) from 12 00 N to 6 00 p.m , with set-up at 10.00 a.m., on the Buckman Tavern grounds. Buckman Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- Tavern mission to the Arts & Crafts Society to hold "Meet the Artist" day Grounds on Sunday, May 23, 1971, from 12 00 N. to 6 00 p.m on the Buckman Permit Tavern grounds; also, to hold the annual outdoor exhibit on Sunday, October 3 (rain date of October 10, 1971 ) from 12 00 N. to 6 00 p.m with set-up at 10 00 a.m. , on the Buckman Tavern grounds, subject to the restrictions of the Acting Superintendent of Public Works. The Chairman read a request from the Bedford-Lexington branch of American Association of University Women to hold a used book fair on Saturday, May I , 1971 (rain date of May 8) in front of the Visitors' Permit Center. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Bedford-Lexington branch of American Association of University Women to hold a used book fair on Saturday, May I , 1971 (rain date of May 8) in front of the Visitors' Center. Minutes Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen' s Meeting of January 25, 1971 . The Chairman read a letter from the State Department of Educa- tion regarding support of House Bill No 1320 to provide financial Meeting assistance to a city or town in the construction of a school in said city or town or regional school district in order to eliminate or reduce racial imbalance in another city or town The Board was invited to attend a meeting on February 8, 1971 to discuss this bill . No member of the Board was able to attend the meeting and the State Department of Education is to be so informed. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the water abatement for the following Abatements R Holge Nelssen $213.05 Gears jammed in meter Arthur McGill 1 .84 Wrong billing Mr Gallagher and Mr Bond of the Recreation Committee met with Center Pool the Board Article The Chairman said that the Board would like to discuss the pool and the Articles in the Warrant. Mr Gallagher thanked the Town Manager for getting the pool in the Warrant. The Chairman said that the Town Manager and Town Engineer have reported to us there are three ways to go. 371 Mr Gallagher said that the first is nothing more than a stop-gap and would just put the pool back together Our rationale is, we feel we have a major pool in the capital expenditures' proposal . The Chairman asked if he meant a request for $ 11,500? Mr. Gallagher replied, yes, plus a factor to take care of any contingency; there is no actual figure on what that would entail . We feel that time is of the essence and if we were to really consider the 3rd alternative, we couldn't have a pool this summer, and that has a bearing on our decision It is essential to have it and the only way to do it, is to repair the present pump and filtering system and to repair the major leaks. Mr Greeley said that the next alternative would be a job of re- building. Mr Gallagher said that would mean to cut out and patch all the defective concrete, to repipe and install the main drain and pipe the filtering system to the wading pool Mr. Greeley asked if this would be in the order of $40,000? Mr Gallagher replied, yes It would be roughly $56,000 to do the 3rd alternative and completely rip out the pool We have discussed a new pool and we might put it in the immediate area and abandon this one Mr Mabee asked if there wasn't a pool included in the master plan for Harrington School? Mr. Gallagher replied that there was; we had a study on having an all-seasons pool Mr Mabee asked if the Committee is still recommending the pool for Harrington? Mr. Gallagher replied, eventually It would be necessary to re- study because of the new school Mr. Mabee said that you are recommending a stop-gap measure for the center pool but not recommending a pool for Harrington Mr Gallagher said we are talking about a new pool Mr Bailey asked how long would $ 11,000 hold the pool? Mr Gallagher said that the pool is 40 years old and, as I under- stand it, the piping system is the major part of these repairs, and we can make the pipes tight As you know, they have been spending a lot of money on the filtering system and it has been losing a lot of water. Mr Bailey said that he and Mr. Greeley felt if we lay out $ 11 ,000 now, next year you might come back for $60,000. Mr Gallagher said that the pool would be good for five years The Chairman said that Mr McSweeney said three years Even if we started the mechanics for a new pool , it would take three years. We have to do something to keep 4 pool going Mr Gallagher said that we know another pool is needed; with the future requirements of the Town, this one would not be adequate and, also, this year we want to be ready for the summer. Mr. Greeley asked if their timing on the pool is one that requires any action, even for plans, this year? Mr Gallagher replied, no The Chairman said that this is a step in the right direction. As a ' presentation to the Appropriation Committee and Town Meeting we have asked you for the amount of money and the work you would do ms's The Chairman said that Recreation has four Articles in the War- rant Three are on play areas on Freemont Street, Eldred Street and Oxford Street; and we have inserted the Article on the construction of the horse riding ring Do you have any thinking on where it should or shouldn't be? Mr Gallagher said we have given it serious thought and narrowed it down to the Hennessey land and Wil lards Woods. Mr Gallagher informed the Board that the Recreation Committee is upset, we had a number of Articles and we don't think we should go through the mechanics of working them up and not have some say on the order of priority The Chairman said that the only Article we didn't insert was Harrington Mr. O'Connell said that he took exception, as on each one of these projects, he had reviewed with the Committee each project form submitted and discussed the priority, they had been reviewed with the Capital Expenditures Committee and the Town Manager made them available to the Board and the decision was made to delete Harring- ton' s court, not on the basis or priority but because it made no sense to build it as a project but as an integrated plan The others were the walking and cycling paths and no plans were sub- mitted on design We were informed of the majority of priorities asked by the Committee and they were considered and the Board made the decision on that basis The Chairman said there was no question we discussed your com- Recreation plete list of requests and if the Town Manager recommended the list Articles as you submitted it we felt we shouldn't spend any more money at Harrington without a master plan on an area that has to change Mr Gallagher agreed The Chairman said that the only other one was the cycling and walking paths; everything else you submitted is in the budget or the Warrant Mr Gallagher said we submitted eleven; there would have been twelve if we had the swimming pool and we do thank you for putting that in We had tot lots, also The Chairman said that there was $6500 in Article 4 for them We submitted every one you asked us to As you know, every year before we go to Town Meeting, you receive notification of what is approved by the Board and the Appropriation Committee and we will sit with the Appropriation Committee on Saturday morning to reach an agreement We got your Articles in and for you to say you are not getting a fair shake is not a good situation Mr O'Connell has worked very hard for you and everything has been completely explained You got everything in the Warrant but Harrington and the cycling and walking paths. I think you have been given more than fair con- sideration. Mr Gallagher thought the Committee should still set our priorities I 373 The Chairman said that as you know, under the Town Manager-Selectmen Act, the Recreation Committee is responsible to the Town Manager. What he wants to accept from you and recommend is his business We did every- thing by the book everything that you wanted to set up For us to sit with you over the Town Manager, I won't do it Mr Gallagher said he was not asking for it The Chairman said that Mr O'Connell accepts his responsibility. Mr Greeley said that at the time the Recreation Committee has a chance to express their priorities, I would hope and expect the Town Manager would go to the Board and include them and tell us whet they are. I think neither the Board nor the Appropriation Committee has an obligation to accept what the recommendations of priorities of the Recreation Committee are We had no indication from the Committee of what the priorities were. The only items we didn't include were those not ready for action and, therefore, we would have to leave them out, regardless' of priorities. Mr O'Connell asked what changes the Recreation Committee would make? Mr Gallagher said we were after the principle not specifics We had been told by one major board to submit them either/or citizens' articles. I think the way to do it is the way we did it. We are not saying we are, not getting cooperation but we should be able to say what our priorities are if we go through the deliberations of develop- ing the concepts. Mr. Greeley agreed the principle is important You come in with them, including the three tot lots and I would hope another year if you come in, you would recommend your priority If the Town Manager doesn't agree with it, he doesn't have to. Mr Gallagher said, philosophically, we think it is important. Mr O'Connell said he would remind the Recreation Committee, on discussions, they said first priority was in playground improvement and, out of the Articles in the budget, something like $15,000 is being allocated to playground improvement Mr. Gallagher said that we have others Mr O'Connell said he would call attention to the fact that the Recreation Committee requested them as projects Mr Gallagher said we asked for priorities at a later date. Mr. O'Connell said he would like to submit that we have followed the priorities you established The Chairman asked what they didn't get? You got Senior Citizens. Mr. Gallagher said we inherited it The Chairman said you asked for $750 and you got $ 1,000 for Senior Citizens Mr O'Connell said that we followed the list. Mr Gallagher said that we are asking, philosophically, if we give, an item high priority and if the Town Manager says no, we want the other Boards and Committees to know we had done this. Mr O'Connell said he would point out that the Board, Capital Ex- penditures and the Appropriation Committee are first given a list. 374 The Chairman said that the budget that comes to us is the Town Manager' s budget and everybody has to accept this fact. Mr O'Connell said that the material as submitted was sub- mitted in the order of priority. Mr Gallagher said we thank you for the consideration of the pool and we hope you see fit to follow the recommendations. The Chairman said our recommendations are all in, either in Account 6000 of Article 4 or a separate Article. Mr Gallagher asked when will it be published? The Chairman replied when it is approved by the Appropriation Committee, each department will be notified Mr Greeley asked about the cycling paths Mr Gallagher said we had hoped to pick an area through Town own- ership or Conservation land; completely compatible with Conservation concepts. Mr Greeley said that they ought to get what help they can to get this in a plan that is concurred with by Conservation rather than ask Town Meeting to endorse the principle Mr Gallagher and Mr Bond retired from the meeting Mr O'Connell informed the Board that he had met with Dr Fobert School and Mr. Maclnnes to discuss their incineration problem in the schools Incineration They are leaning toward making limited installations of gas after- burners as the State might reach the point where incineration might not be allowed The School Committee is discussing it tonight 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, the financial interests of the Town or the reputa- tion of a person. After discussion of matters of financial interest to the Town, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10:05 p.m. A true record, Attest d4)/ )2-- Executive Clerk, Selectmen I