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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970-10-19-BOS-min 247 SELECTMEN'S MEETING October 19, 1970 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Monday evening, October 19, 1970 at 7 30 p .m Chairman Cataldo, Messrs Mabee and Kenney were present Mr Legro, Town Counsel ; Mr O'Connell , Town Manager; Mr McSweeney, Town Engineer and Acting Superintendent of Public Works; and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present. Local #1703, Public Works employees' union met with the Board; William J Powers, authorized representative to sign the collective bargaining agreement in behalf of AFSCME and its affiliate Local Public #1703; Richard E Spiers as president of Local #1703 and authorized Works to sign the agreement between the Town and Local #1703, and John Union Whitney, Member of the negotiating team, were present. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the letter of agreement between Local #1703 to remove some classifica- tions and insert two others in place of them per the agreement. Mr O'Connell read a letter from the Lexington 4-H Volunteers Horse Club requesting permission to sponsor a fair on October 31 , 1970 from 10 00 a.m to 2 00 p.m at the old dump site on Lincoln Street; the proceeds of the fair would be donated to some charitable organization within the Town Permit Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Lexington 4-H Volunteers Horse Club to sponsor a fair at the old dump site on Lincoln Street from 10 00 a.m to 2 00 p.m ; subject to the restrictions of the Acting Superintendent of Public Works Mr O'Connell informed the Board that a request has been re- ceived from the Town Clerk for a transfer to Account #1950 in the amount of $1300 to be used for the State election on November 3, 1970 A Special Referendum was held in April this year and this Transfer had not been provided for in the 1970 budget Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Ac- count #1950, in the amount of $ 1300 Mr. O'Connell informed the Board that a request has been re- ceived from the Fire Department for a transfer in the amount of $220 to the ambulance fund, there were unforeseen expenditures such as the cost of transferring the siren from the old ambulance to the new Transfer ambulance and certain repairs were necessary on the old ambulance before turn in These would cost $364 but after we examined the ambu- lance account, we found that for the rest of the year, we could get by with $220 248 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to Ac- count #4200 in the amount of $220 The Chairman read a letter from James E Cosgrove, 128 Hart- well Avenue, stating that as a Town Meeting Member, he had been Hartwell Ave approached by his neighbor on numerous occasions to make an effort Traffic Request to have some sort of traffic control device installed on Hartwell Avenue As possibilities, Mr Gorr, his neighbor, had suggested speed signs, go slow-children signs or possibly a speed bump Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer Mr Cosgrove' s request to the Traffic Committee for a recommendation. The Chairman read a notice from the County Commissioners of a hearing to be held on the Town' s petition for specific repairs of East Street East Street on November 10, 1970 at 12 40 p.m. The Board instructed the Town Engineer to mail a notice of this hearing to the abutters on East Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify the character of the following who have applied for Certificate of Incorporation Cert. of Incorp Neil L. Chayet 272 Concord Avenue Richard B. Plank 149 Spring Street Margery M Battin 15 Paul Revere Road Charles E Ellicott 58 Baskin Road William C Hays 44 Moreland Avenue "Re-Place, Inc." Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Board Permit had no objection to the Battle Green Chapter of DeMolay conducting a paper drive on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, 1970 at the trailer located by the railroad tracks on Bedford Street Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Bond bond for the Executive Clerk to the Board of Selectmen in the amount of $ 1 ,000 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes minutes of the Selectmen' s Meetings held on November 10, December 8, December 22, 1969, February 19, March 30, April I and October 13, 1970 Mr Legro suggested there would be a need for an Article in the Warrant for the proposed special Town Meeting for the acceptance of $300 as a legacy set forth in the will of Georgie Burr Smith Mr. Article Legro had received the check in the amount of $300 from Alfred P. Tropeano, dated February 19, 1970, drawn on his clients Trust Fund Account, payable to Munroe Cemetery-Town of Lexington Mr Tropeano had written him as follows 249 "THIRD (a) The sum of Three Hundred Dollars ($300 00) for the perpetual care and maintenance of the Hendley, Burr and Dunning Cemetery Lot in the Munroe Cemetery situated in said Lexington " In his letter, Mr. Tropeano also comments that the WI II does not make any provision against use of the principal as well as the income, nor against comingling of this money with other perpetual care funds, and that th t the only limitation is the requirement that it be used for the Hendley, Burr and Dunning lot Mr. Legro said that there being no investment restriction in the Georgie Burr Smith Will , this givt could be so held if accepted by the Town as it is his understanding that the Trustees of Public Trusts manage a fund entitled "Cemetery Trust Funds-Munroe" which includes other similar bequests He turned over the check for $300 to Mr. O'Connell and recommended that it be held pending action of the Arti- cle in the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting Mr. Alan Adams met with the Board. Mr. O'Connell said that the Board had voted to have a regulation banning open burning I submitted a draft of the regulations and it has been reviewed by Town Counsel , who said that such regulations would not be legal and posed problems. I have had many calls and have prepared a memo summarizing the picture as I see it at this time He read the memo which stated that the Board now has two choices open I . Rescind the vote mentioned above and limit leaf burning to the period when favorable weather will minimize the problem This can be done under the existing regulation (Chapter 48, Section 13) or Leaf Burning 2. Adopt new regulations to prevent leaf burning, giving the public adequate advance notice and attempt to provide what- ever leaf pickup service is necessary if and when the Appro- priations Committee provides funds Mr O'Connell said that we are in a dilema as there is not really adequate time to do this in the way advance publicity would make it work and if other regulations were used If new regulations were adopted, we would make it clear to the public as to what we are trying to do; even though the public is endeavoring to cooperate, we have the problem of funding If anything is done to provide pickup service, I pose the question of whether the Board wishes to discuss it with the Appropriation Committee Mr Mabee thought he was going t0 approadb thein The Chairman said that he had talked with them at the last meet- ing and the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee said they would listen but he was not in favor, we know they feel rather strongly about it Mr Mabee said that if they are unanimously against it, it is a waste of time to get the Committee up here. 250 The Chairman said that someone should go and see them to sepa- rate the issues We have no alternative but to rescind our previ- ous action Mr Legro had one comment; he thought the purpose of Chapter 48, section 13, is fire prevention not air pollution control and the regulation of the issuance of permits is on the basis of fire safety • Mr O'Connell agreed but said he understood from talking with the State Board of Health that if the Board wished to accomplish the ban on leaf burning, it can be done by asking the Board of Health under Chapter III , section 31c, to issue a regulation be- tween the effective date of July I , 1971 ; this regulation would allow continuation of incinerator burning of trash under a permit (which would be either oral or written) issued by the Fire Depart- ment as in the past; but the control of same could come under Chapter 48, section 13. The Chairman felt 'if we are not going to collect the leaves, you can't rightfully say you can't burn them 1 don't feel leaf burning is that big in the total problem. If we could collect them, fine Mr Kenney said he would like to clarify some points. The previous vote is not legal and the reason is we do not have muni- cipal trash collection. Mr. Legro said that part of the State Department of Health regulation which prohibits open burning does not become effective until July I , 1971 and since there was no municipal refuse collec- tion available on June 1, 1970, the regulations permit open burn- ing until July I , 1971 of leaves and domestic refuse Mr. O'Connell said that there seems to be a rather general feeling it would be highly desirable for the Town to purchase a large quantity of leaf bags to be sold at cost. We would have to ask the Appropriation Committee for that because I am sure it would be the desire of the Board to get all of the voluntary com- pliance by the townspeople and to encourage them to take the leaves to the dump, and the amount of the cost is a significant factor. Mr. Kenney said that 60% of the pollution in the towns is because of automobiles We are in a tough spot, I don't think the public is ready nor are we Mr. Mabee moved to rescind the vote of October 5, 1970 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to rescind the vote of October 5, 1970, to adopt the regulations as amended, effective October 16, 1970, subject to Town Counsel's approval as to form The Chairman said that with the action just taken, we are back to where we were in the beginning. Mr. Kenney said we are back to the prior regulations. Mr Mabee said, which is according to the fire department regu- lations ' 251 Mr. Kenney said he agreed with Mr O'Connell on supplying bags to the townspeople Mr. O'Connell said it would appear that the Board could accom- plish a great deal If we go to the written permit, we could direct the fire department to take weather conditions into consideration for granting permits for leaf burning, we would try to get the citi- zens to bring the leaves to the dump Mr. Kenney said that we should prepare ourselves for the next Town Meeting,. Mr. Adams said that you have a long program of public educa- tion. The Chairman asked if the Board was of a mind to amend the regulations to require a written permit from the fire department? Mr. Adams said they had tried it before and people do not want to go down to the Fire Department for a permit You have to take a few people to court to make it stick and he couldn't think of it being done more than two or three times in the last 20 years Mr. Kenney said it doesn't mean we can't start enforcing it He asked Mr O'Connell for his recommendation. Mr. O'Connell recommended a written permit Mr. Kenney said if we don't take strong action now, next Sep- tember we would be in the same boat. Mr. Adams said that there would have to be more men at the fire department desk if you have a written permit The Chairman said he would rather not have them Mr. Kenney moved to amend the regulations to require a written permit. Mr. Mabee asked if Mr. O'Connell is prepared to work this out with the fire department? Mr O'Connell said we are trying to make some progress in a difficult area; this is as reasonable an approach as there is Mr Mabee seconded Mr. Kenney' s motion. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the local rules and regulations of the Fire Department under Chapter 48, section 13, to require a written permit for open burning, ef- fective October 24, 1970 at 8 00 a.m Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee for a transfer of $2900 from the Re- serve Fund to Account #5850 for the purchase of plastic bags to be sold to the public at the approximate cost to the Town Mr. O'Connell informed the Board that he had contacted the Chamber of Commerce and they agreed to cooperate with the Town and have some of the merchants offer them at the price the Town sets. These bags come in cases of 250 to a case in units of 50 bags; he hoped these could be split as they may be sold at a price of 25 bags for $1 .00 They would be available in a few days The Chairman read a letter from the Massachusetts Port Author- ity in reply to a petition received from residents of Lincoln and 252 Concord regarding the expansion of Hanscom Airport The letter states, in part, that the Port Authority strives constantly in con- cert with appropriate organizations to minimize to the extent pos- sible all sources of aircraft noise but the Authority does not operate any of these aircraft nor is it responsible for the control of aircraft flight. There are frequent meetings between represent- atives of the Authority, Federal Aviation Administration and various aircraft operators to continuously monitor and modify where possible, consistent with safety, aircraft operations to minimize noise Specifically with reference to the Port Authority' s plans, they do not include regular scheduled airline services at Hanscom. Also, we do not plan, and we feel it is completely inconsistent with air cargo operations, to separate this activity from regular airline service conducted at Logan International Airport. We, therefore, have no plans, nor are we aware of any on the part of the airlines, to conduct cargo operations at Hanscom Field As a matter of fact, we have been specifically informed that such an operation is not feasible. It is the Port Authority' s plan, however, that Hanscom Field continue as a major general aviation airport much as it has in Hanscom the past We are, in fact planning to provide more hanger space Field at Hanscom Field but it is doubtfult that there will be a signifi- cant increase in volume of operations; there are presently more than 200 aircraft tied down in open areas and we feel it only ' appropriate that storage facilities be made available. With the exception of an extremely small portion of land, these facilities will be constructed within the general aviation area presently owned by the Authority As pointed out by the complainants, during the past ten years there has been a decrease in military operations with a corresponding increase in civil operations. It is significant, however, to note that in 1960 there were more than 86,000 mili- tary aircraft operations and these aircraft indisputably created much noise in the vicinity of Hanscom Field than the larger nuMber but much smaller aircraft now operated by civil aircraft owners. We, therefore, feel there has not been such an increase in air- craft activity as would bring about a significatn corresponding increase in aircraft noise, as alleged in the complaint. Further, we believe that the aircraft operations will substantially level off largely due to limited runway capacity. Please be assured that we are anxious to take all steps con- sistent with safety and the basic objective of operating a first class general aviation airport to keep aircraft noise at the absolute minimum in the vicinity of Hanscom Field The Board agreed to answer the petitioners and send a copy of the Port Authority' s letter also Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Order for Construction of Sewer on Concord Avenue From Route 2 easterly a distance of 3136 feet, more or less, to Hardy Pond Brook Concord Avenue From Hardy Pond Brook a distance of 1281 feet, Sewer wore or less, easterly to Waltham Street Orders Waltham Street From Lexington-Waltham Town Line The e Board discussed setting a date for a Special Town Meeting in January Mr. O'Connell said that the Permanent Building Committee wrote to the Board regarding the schedule for the new Junior High School and requested the Board to consider this schedule; advertise for bids on November 231 receipt of sub-bids on December 23; receipt of general bids on January 6, Town Meeting on January II , The question is whether there would be time enough after receipt of the general bids and whether January 18 would be more practical I talked with January Mr Taylor and if they could meet the combination of requirements, Special they would agree to the 18th but they not only have deadline dates Town with the contractor but have to meet with the Board of Education Meeting and they must have the recommendation of the School Assistance Com- mittee and they have to have a certified copy of the Town Meeting vote, such certification not being available until after Town Meet- ing has expired The State Board of Education meets once a month 111 and they would miss the January meeting of this Board and, with a January 18 date, they would have to ask the State Board of Educa- tion for a special meeting. Mr O'Connell is to discuss this with Mr Taylor Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to hold Special Town Meeting in January, 1971, and to set the date at he meeting of October 29, 1970 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to close the Warrant for the January Special Town Meeting on November 13, 1970 The Chairman read a report from the Hunting Committee approv- ing three hunting areas in the Town for the coming year The Com- mittee unanimously recommends the insertion of an article in the Hunting Warrant for the next Town Meeting to abolish hunting completely Committee within the Town Mr Kenney said he would enthusiastically endorse the recom- mendation to abolish hunting The Chairman informed the Board that a notice has been received from Mr O'Connell that the Building Inspector has been asked by Palmer Mr. Palmer about the possibility of demolishing the fire damaged Building building owned by him and located at 1508 Massachusetts Avenue The Board agreed that once the building is demolished, the file will be closed on the fire damaged building owned by Mr. James B. Palmer 254 The Chairman informed the Board that a telephone call has been received from the Town of Winchester 9 re ardin the perambulation of regarding Perambulation boundaries The Board agreed to write to the following towns and set up a date for the perambulation of boundaries, Arlington, Bedford, Bel- mont, Burlington, Wincoln, Waltham, Winchester and Woburn. The Chairman informed the Board that the Massachusetts Select- men' s Association has sent us a letter asking for nominations for Citizen' s outstanding public and civic employees, to be submitted by November Award 4, 1970 The Chairman asked the Board to consider this request and it will be discussed at the next meeting The Chairman informed the Board that a memo has been received Lincoln Lab from the Traffic Committee stating that according to Mr Paddleford Sign of Lincoln Laboratory, initiator of the request for directional signs at Route 2A and Massachusetts Avenue, the Lincoln Laboratory wishes to withdraw its request. The Chairman discussed the Town Meeting Warrant He said that the Board should adk Town Meeting to change the By-Law requiring the Warrant to be sent to each registered voter. Other towns send to each household and this would cut our cost in half If the Board votes to insert an Article in the Warrant, we could do some research. Warrant Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to insert an Article Article in the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting to change the By-Law requiring the Warrant to be sent to each registered voter 40 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 9 17 p.m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectme 1