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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970-09-14-BOS-min 196 SELECTMEN'S MEETING September 14, 1970 A regular Meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room, Cary Memorial Building, on Monday evening, September 14, 1970 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 Acting Superintendent of Public Works; Mr McSweeney, Town Engineer, and Mrs. McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present At the request of the Town Clerk, three jurors were drawn as Jurors follows John Seppa 5 Bryant Road Jonas Landau 20 Dawes Road Raymond H Whittaker 80 Burlington Street Hearing was declared open upon the petition of Gas Incorpor- ated, Lowell , for license for permission to keep 2550 gallons of propane gas in three 850 gallon tanks above ground to be used to heat the building on the premises owned by Campanelli Investment Properties and leased to Chandler Leasing Company, Waltham, lo- cated at 101 Hartwell Avenue A notice of the hearing was inserted in the September 3, 1970 issue of the Lexington Minute-man and sent by certified mail to the abutters listed on the records of the Assessors Application was approved by Chief Spellman of the Fire Department Robert Milburn of Campanelli Company was present and said that his company was involved in building a building for Chandler Propane Gas Leasing Company and had applied for natural gas and had been in- Hearing formed that it couldn't be supplied. They had to make a switch to propane gas and this petition is from the Gas Company to supply it for the period until natural gas is available. The Chairman asked if they had any indication as to when natu- ral gas would be available2 Mr. Milburn said it would be somewhere in the vicinity of a year. The Chairman asked if once the conversion is made is it your intention to remove the tanks? Mr. Milburn said he would rather hear it from the Gas Company. Thomas Murphy of Gas Incorporated asked if there were any questions pertaining to propane gas? The Chairman replied, no, we are looking for answers from the natural gas company on when the conversion will be made. John O'Sullivan of Instrumentation Laboratory said that we do have an interest in this but would only like to know the location of the tank. I 197 Mr. Milburn said that the tanks will be located on the far side of the building that is furthest from your building. The Chairman showed the location plan, and asked if there were any questions; no answer and he declared that part of the hearing closed The Chairman asked if anyone present was in favor of the peti- tion? Attorney Alfred Tropeano was recorded in favor. The Chairman asked if anyone present was in opposition? Hearing none, the Chairman said that the Board will take the petition under advisement and will inform Gas Incorporated of the decision of the Board. Later on in the meeting, the petition was discussed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the petition of Gas Incorporated, Lowell , for permission to. keep 2550 gallons of propane gas in three 850-gallon tanks above ground to be used to heat the building on the premises owned by Campanelli In- vestment Properties and leased to Chandler Leasing Company, Waltham, located at 101 Hartwell Avenue, with the expiration date of December 31 , 1971 , subject to renewal . Hearing was dedlared open upon the petition of the Boston Edi- son Company to locate six poles on the northwesterly side of Hartwell Avenue, approximately 1 ,005 feet northeast of Wood Street. Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioner and the abutters and filed with the Town Engineer. Mr. Pratt, representing the Boston Edison Company, was present and said that this petition was for six poles to provide service for the Campanelli building on Hartwell Avenue. Attorney Tropeano, Mr O'Sullivan and Mr. Palmieri of Instru- mentation Laboratory were present and looked at the plans submitted by Boston Edison. The Chairman asked how Instrumentation Lab is serviced? Poles Mr Pratt replied, overhead.. Hartwell The Chairman asked where is the last existing pole? Avenue Mr Pratt said that it is at lot 9 of Instrumentation Lab. The Chairman said that you want five or six poles up their lot line in front of their building and down Hartwell Avenue. At the last petition you were told we approved it subject to Edison coming back with a master plan. Mr. Pratt said that his supervisor said that this is an over- head district The Chairman said that regardless of how he feels, we asked for a master plan and how you are going to service it Mr. Pratt did not answer. Mr Greeley said he would like to know if he is implying the plan is to carry overhead down Maguire Road? Mr Pratt replied, yes 1 198 Bill Jones of Boston Edison was present and said there is no master plan as far as overhead; it is just that the customer apw plies for service and if there is none beyond we do it; that is as far as we would go The Chairman said we know that If another customer asks, how will you service it? You place wires and crosscuts all over the place and we are tired of having a hearing for 25 feet and we don't know what is going beyond. We approved it to that point, and where is the master plan? Mr Jones said that if buildings continue down Hartwell Ave- nue, the poles will continue and go onto their property; it must be on their property because of the voltage requested The Chairman said that you have nothing more to show on Hart- well Avenue except these six poles. Mr. Jones said that we can go on one side or the other; if put underground, it would be at the customer' s expense and responsibility The figure is $43,000 for underground service for Campanelli minus $3,000 if overhead; it is roughly $40,000 to go along Hartwell Avenue. The Chairman said that you are telling us the cost is $40,000 to go along Hartwell Avenue for 600 feet? Mr Jones replied, yes; that was our firm estimate; it would be $3,000 to go down the street and in on his property, there would be no cost if we have overhead permission; the rest would be handled by his contractor. Mr Greeley said that the differential in the cost is based en- tirely within the installation cost There is no estimate as to What the difference in maintenance is? Mr Jones replied, no; the underground in the center has a tap,; this would be a tap to a dead end and would not go into underground cable in many directions, like it does in the Center. Mr Greeley felt that Edison is passing the installation cost to the customer and you are going to reap on the maintenance costs. Mr. Jones said we have no alternative, Chapter 64 states this when a Town accepts the ordinance to go underground; if we did it on our own, we would have to go to the DPU and ask for a differen- tial in rates; this is where the developer does the digging and we lay cable and put in manholes - on a conduit system supplying to a commercial section, it is different from a residential area The Chairman asked about Worthen Road, that was underground Mr. Jones was not familiar with that. The Chairman said that our whole section was underground there Mr Jones said that the only thing along there was for street lights We brought in one tap to feed the new development The Chairman said that they have taps into our playground area Mr Jones said that it was just the poles and the transformer to feed the playground The Chairman said that he was very disturbed at the attitude of Boston Edison, there is no master plan and for Boston Edison to take the position of this is it or nothing, I don't understand it 1 199 Mr. Jones said that there are only two towns in the area, Carlisle and Milton, who have adopted the underground policy; in 1971, they will all go underground Another thing, when you do go underground by this act, on underground they now assess 25% rather than 100% now existing and the DPU sets the rate The Chairman said that is town-wide, not a specific street. Mr Greeley said that we have to follow this policy, without an ordinance in the Town we wouldn't get it. Mr. Kenney said that he understood the other side would be ser- viced too. The Chairman said that was just an alternate. Mr Greeley said that if it were on.-the other side, they would cross over with the tension lines and they would be an eye-sore. There would be a system supplying lines to Tropeano' s building; you have tapped off these to service other buildings? Mr. Jones replied, yes Mr. Greeley said that asSuming you are asked to service the east side, you would jump over? Mr. Jones said that they usually run a service from the trans- former and it is picked up that way. Mr Greeley said that you are asking to have lines crossing Hart- well Avenue? Mr McSweeney said that there would be six poles on both sides of Hartwell Avenue. Mr. Jones said that because of the width of the street when we cross Hartwell Avenue to Town property to a pole on Campanelli prop- erty, we try to keep that pole on private property 20 feet back The Chairman asked if anyone was present in favor of the peti- tion. Attorney Alfred Tropeano said that the first he knew of the problem between the Town and Boston Edison was six weeks ago when he had received a call from the Campanelli Investment Trust I phoned you and was told the Town is looking for a master plan of the area I informed you that Campanelli had asked for power as they have a deadline to meet by October I , during construction period, they had to bring in generators to construct and now we find, at least it seems to me, a controversy of policy between the Board and Boston Edison I have had problems with Boston Edison but I feel cognizant of what do you say to a utility company? They are rigidly controlled and I can see their position I talked with members of the DPU be- cause it affects all the rest of the land in the area and petitions for abateMents of taxes in the area, if the Town had adopted the Chapter to completely go underground, either in part of whole, you could say to Edison that you have got to put this underground but the Town did not; it must come from this Board or the Planning Board. If they put six poles in now, Chandler gets juice by October I . If the Board recommends to Town Meeting to go underground, they can elimin- ate this and go underground and there is the question then of who pays for it. Instrumentation Lab would have to pick up their share 200 to go underground; where it stands now, they don't have to Instru- mentation Lab has one pole and they ran five or six lines to go in back to bring power in. If they are concerned about the area, they shouldn't have run lines on the street; they could have gone under- ground I am concerned because of the remainder of the land. We have had enough problems to sell because of high taxes in this Town, without forcing them to go into additional costs - without assess- ing someone $40,000 to go underground You can't dicker with util- ities because they can't dicker; as it stands now, the law does not permit it Attorney Tropeano was recorded in favor of the petition. The Chairman asked if anyone was in opposition? Mr. O'Sullivan of Instrumentation Laboratory said that Mr Tropeano referred to the figure of $40,000, to whom would this be assessed?. Mr. Jones said it would be assessed to Boston Edison and borne by Campanelli ; we would deduct the cost of what it would cost to service him overhead. Mr O'Sullivan said that Connecticut General Insurance Co. has expressed not to have poles in front of our building. We are in op- position The Chairman asked if Instrumentation Lab or Connecticut General would be willing to participate in a program to go underground. Mr. O' Sullivan said they might be; he couldn't say There has been some possibility of underground on both sides of the street. In order to maintain harmony in the presentable form, has Edison ex- plored the possibility of going behind? Mr. Jones said that it might be possible. After we get this to go behind, we don't know how far Campanelli expects to go and it de- pends on how he builds his development Mr. O'Sullivan said that we take a great deal of pride in our building and keep it looking well , we would have definite interest, provided the power went around the rear of our building, as it would keep it out of sight. We are in opposition. Mr. Palmieri of Instrumentation Lab said that we are in opposi- tion to these poles in our front yard, it comes to the edge of our lot line. Put any building on that lot and it will look out on five or six poles. Campanelli is going underground .once- they get off the poles. Instrumentation Laboratory was recorded in opposition. The Chairman declared the hearing closed. The petition would be taken under advisement Later on in the meeting, the Chairman said that he was not happy in accepting Edison' s position that it is either this way or nothing. They have had this request from Campanelli since May and have been playing games with it and didn't submit the petition; now they know Campanelli wants service Mr. Kenney asked if we had the right to go underground? Mr. Legro said that the statute has a particular reference to a town or city accepting as a whole; we also had the right under the other statute regarding all new subdivisions that the Town does have the right to require any of the new installations to go underground The Chairman said he jeopardize a reed we shouldn't Cam anelli 9P but he would not vote for Edison installing these six poles, but would vote for a temporary line to be put up with a conversion so that they could put the poles up and have them down in a year We said we approved the last petition based on a master plan being sub- mitted. He couldn't see us going town-wide based on that statute Mr Kenney said that they say the only way they can go under- ground is to impose a charge for this and it is hurting Campanelli , and Instrumentation Lab is getting off scot-free Mr. Mabee asked what is the status of the Town adopting legis- lation? The Chairman said that the Town is working on that If we were ---P to grant permission, on which side would you do it? Mr Mabee would be in favor of the northwesterly side. Mr Kenney agreed, by reason of eliminating two crossings. The Chairman said that Mr O'Connell and Mr McSweeney should get together and ask Edison on what basis would you grant a temporary service. Mr Kenney said it is not fair for Campanelli to bear the $40,000 Mr Mabee said he would like to hear from Mr. Legro whether we have sane real grounds to make them go underground. Mr. Greeley said that we have a committee and if we have specific legal grounds, we can delay until the report of the committee, because we are confronted with a change in policy and we have a basis if you want to use it. Mr. Mabee said that you don't know what Town Meeting is going to say Mr. McSweeney said that by temporary service, you are only calling it by name as they use the same poles Mr Bailey asked why Instrumentation Lab had not met with Cam- ' panelli? Mr. McSweeney said they have avoided a meeting. Mr. Bailey said that if we grant it, Instrumentation Lab should be told that if they want to come up with a workable plan in sharing the cost, they have to move quickly Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the Boston Edison Company for the following location of poles Hartwell Avenue, northwesterly side, northeasterly from a point approximately 1 ,005 feet northeast of Wood Street, - 6 poles, guy wire and anchor on 6th pole Mr Greeley was recorded in opposition. 204 Mr. Greeley said that he would like the record to show that he feels it is disgraceful for a public utility like Boston Edison to make no effort to cooperate with the Town or the owners in this situation The Chairman and Mr. Bailey endorsed this statement Hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company for the installation of six poles on the northeasterly side of Hartwell Avenue Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioner and owners of the property as listed on the petitioner' s plan and also filed with the Town Engineer The Chairman said that this is the same area, only on the oppo- site side of the street. Mr. Pratt, representing the Boston Edison Eompany, said that it was submitted as an alternative Hartwell The Chairman asked if anyone present was in favor of the petition? Avenue Mr Tropeano said that if the other one is thrown out, I am in Poles favor of this Mr Tropeano was recorded in favor of the petition. Mr. Wilcox of Campanelli Investment Properties was in favor of the petition He said that we have been trying since May 9 to get service and we are under obligation to get service. This alternative is as much of a compromise as Edison could possibly make to beautify the area and the neighbors being subjected to poles in front of the build- ing, to go around back is unrealistic because of the easements re- quired and I don't think we could do it I think this is a good step to satisfy everybody We are in favor of this Mr Wilcox was recorded in favor of the petition Mr. O'Sullivan of Instrumentation Lab said that we appreciate the problem of Campanelli . We are less vigorously opposed to this than the prior one Mostly it puts the problem on the other side of the street. Mr Palmieri of Instrumentation Lab said that he would go along with that. Mr Bailey said that it would mean two crossings Mr Tropeano said he would want to go on record to support the Board for the Town to go underground For $40,000, let Instrumenta- tion Lab pick up $20,000 and Campanelli the rest The Chairman asked if anyone present was in opposition to the petition No one was recorded. The Chairman declared the hearing closed. Later on in the meeting, the Board discussed the petition Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny the petition of the Boston Edison for the following location of poles Hartwell Avenue, southeasterly side, northeasterly from a point approximately 1 ,050 feet northeast of Wood Street, - 6 poles, guy wire and anchor on 6th pole 2103 Hearing was declared open upon petition of the New England Tele- phone Company to lay and maintain 25 feet of underground conduit and manhole on Massachusetts Avenue and Paul Revere Road Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioner and owners of property listed on the petitioner' s plan and also filed with the Mass Town Engineer. Avenue Mr McSweeney said this is an additional manhole to be put within Conduit 25 feet of the existing manhole. They are increasing the capacity in their manhole system and they don't have enough room in the existing manhole for the equipment they need. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- sion to the New England Telephone Company for the following location Massachusetts Avenue at Paul Revere Road From MH 54/88, Westerly, approximately 25' feet of underground conduit, also, one ( I) manhole 54/88B. Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Legere, 16 Grapevine Avenue, met with the Board Mr Legere said that he had received a water bill in November, 1968, for $ 139.76 and had gone to see Mr Jefferson and requested that his meter be checked The meter was taken out and tested and Mr. Jefferson said that the test indicated the meter was functioning properly. He sent me to see Mr Cataldo, who said it was almost im- possible Mr. Legere said at that time my house was a year old, no lawn, no garden, no swimming pool . I have other bills, average bills, for a 6-month period, and they were for $33 00 for that period of time I can't see how I could use '$ 139 in water in 6 months when the aver- age bill was $33 for the same period The Chairman said that he had talked with Mr Jefferson and had Legere asked for a report from everyone concerned. The meter was checked Water and was only registering 99% of the water going through and the meter Bill was fine We have looked in every way to find some reason to grant Abatement an abatement and there is no justification in any respect from begin- ning to end I talked with you, Mr Gray talked with you and it was investigated several times. On March 5, 1969, Mr Burke told us that there was a new home under construction next to your home and your water was used during the construction, and you had a small pool and were using it in the summer months Our final decision on the evalua- tion of the inspection of the meter, if we found it was registering less than was going through, the Board finds it difficult to make an adjustment on the bill Mr. Legere said he had a plumber in and he said it was impossible, even with a leak, to use that amount of water I didn't put in a gar- den, no swimming pool , and the house next door had their own service If you stretch the imagination a bit, it could be possible for the meter to go haywire, that is 2-years' use according to my average use Mr Mabee asked him what he thought really happened? Mr Legere said the meter was at fault, the meter read incorrectly 204 Mr. Greeley asked if this was the first reading? Mr. Legere replied no, there was one before and after this. Mr Mabee asked if he thought the real reason was that the meter went haywire? Mr. Legere replied, yes. Mr. Mabee asked if the meter is now in good shape and reading properly? Mr Legere said he had a new meter. Mr. Kenney said that if it were read before and after, it couldn't be a case of being misread. Mr Legere said if you received a bill of the same nature, you wouldn't be all smiles. That is 2-years' use of water. The Chairman said that we still have to have some justifica- tion for an abatement. Mr. Legere said if he gets a bill he doesn't owe, he gets up- tight about it Mr. O'Connell asked him how the water was furnished to the house next door when it was under construction? Did they run a hose over? Mr. Legere said they did, for mixing plaster. Mr. O'Connell asked if he knew how long the hose ran? Mrs Legere replied, not very long Mr. O'Connell said that at 15-gallons a minute, which is the normal calibration point of the meter, if the line were left open it would take 900 gallons per hour or 21 ,600 gallons in a 24-hour period Mr Greeley said that in other words if they left the tap open for 2 weeks, it would use the water Mr. O'Connell agreed Mr. Kenney asked if they put in a lawn? Mr. Legere replied that we put it in later. The Chairman informed Mr. and Mrs. Legere that the Board will discuss the matter again. We looked in every way possible to give an abatement and could find no justification. Mr. and Mrs. Legere retired from the meeting Later on in the meeting, the Board agreed that the Chairman is to contact Mr Legere to try and resolve the situation. Mr O'Cpnnell informed the Board that Morris Motors had applied for a Class II license for used cars and the Board had asked him to talk with Mr Bloomberg He explained to me that the purpose was to Morris simply renew the Class II license, he had a license in 1968 which he Motors had allowed to lapse He has no intention of changing the current scope of his business He acquires cars out of his business - cars he works on; he occasionally buys a car and resells it to a dealer. He indicates he has no expansion plan and there is no significance to his application other than the one he is required to have. The law allows an individual to sell four cars a year without a license; in checking the books they have to keep on the sale of cars, I be- lieve the Registry may have raised the question. 205 Mr. Kenney asked when his Class II license had expired? The Chairman replied that it was in the early 1960' s. Mr Greeley asked if we could grant it without restrictions? The Chairman replied, no; either you grant it by the General Laws or not Mr Mabee asked if there were any other Class 11 granted in Town? The Chairman replied, no. Mr. Kenney said there has been some talk of encroachment on the land next to him Mr. Mabee moved that it be denied, Mr. Bailey seconded the motion. Mr Kenney asked, on what basis? Mr. Mabee said that he would be the only one in Town. Mr Bailey asked what appeal he has, if any? Mr. O'Connell said it was his impression that he sells 20 or 25 cars a year; 4 or 5 cars a month. He acquired them out of cars get- ting into an accident. The Registry says he can sell four cars a year and if he sells more, he runs a risk of the Registry coming in and checking the leg and asking how he can do this when he hasn't a license. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny the application of Morris Motors for a Class II license. Mr Kenney and Mr Greeley were recorded in opposition. The Chairman asked if Mr. Bloomberg buys a few cars? Mr O'Connell said he tells me he doesn't go out shopping for I cars; as a resale, he gets them out of accidents in which they have to be towed Mr. O'Connell said that on the zoning issue, after a partial trial , he withdrew his petition. Mr. O'Connell said that since he has been here, he had two written complaints from his customers from over-charging. Mr. Kenney said that it looked like he was going to extend his parking. Mr O'Connell said that he had told him he had no intention of expanding his business. Mr. Greeley said that if he used this license, he would be in violation of zoning. Mr O'Connell said that he parks his tow trucks in the public street The Board agreed to deny the application. Mr. Greeley said that it should be explained to him that he hasn't figured a way to use his property without abusing the property Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted to deny the application of Morris Motors for a Class 11 license. Mr. O'Connell said that he had furnished the Beard with copies of reports received on the White House Conference on Children and White House Youth. Conference The Chairman said they should be submitted in report form, ex- on Youth cept the citizens' request from the Massachusetts Parents Association for Responsible Education on sex education in the schools. 206 Mr Mabee said that we will tell them we will include it if they just put in the facts and keep out the opinions The rest of it was pretty factual . Mr O'Connell agreed to inform PARE Mass. Conf on The Board agreed that Mr. O'Connell is to recruit a represent- Children and ative of Lexington to attend the Massachusetts Conference on Child- Youth ren and Youth at Boston College on October 17 Mr. O'Connell reported to the Beard on vandalism He said that the problem seems to be growing and we are finding more vandal- ism at the center playground than ever before. The jungle jim has been practically destroyed even though it is made out of heavy pipe Vandalism and concrete blocks, they have broken the swings, and damaged the roof of the building that contains storage and supplies. Emery Park is the most insidious example of the most deliberate vandalism by young people, one of the stone posts was pulled out and there are chains broken between the stone posts, and very shortly we will have lost all the chains, some as a result of swinging There is a large, beautiful tree which in the summer is the tar- get of knife throwing contests and the bark of the tree is becoming diseased and the Tree Warden has to protect the tree. Mr. O'Connell was not prepared to make a recommendation this evening but if we Center don't come up with better answers, we are facing a choice of forbid,- Vandalism ding the use of the park in order to prevent the park from being progressively destroyed We can replace chains but how can we re- place a tree? We have the choice of supplying security in the park but doubt it would be effective if it is only within the park Mr. O'Connell said that he had given the Board a copy of the results of a meeting on Munroe Meadows-Green and White land. Representatives of the Planning Board, School Committee, Recreation Committee and the Conservation Commission were present and their Munroe views are expressed therein. Meadows Mr O'Connell asked the Board for its guidance relative to the further course of action - that an additional meeting be held with the owners to acquaint them with the Town' s plans on the school site and the Town' s needs and positions and interests of the other Town agencies and get the reaction to that. Next, to submit the owners' concept of a subdivision plan, based on how we would use the land beyond the proposed school site. The Chairman felt the next step should be a report, complete and put together Will the Board agree with the plan to have a meeting with the owners and encourage them to submit a concept plan? Mr O'Connell said that the report represents the concensus of all the agencies of the Town The Board agreed to a meeting with Green & White. { L 207 Mr O'Connell said that the Board had received a letter from Carl Beggs, owner of a self-service laundry at 172 Bedford Street, regard- ing his water bill We have found out that the water was consumed but due to the fact it was based on a single reading rather than two Beggs readings, and the post card reading never had been received, it ap- Water pears that if the bill had been read in two periods and he had been Abatement billed separately it would have been $492.00, he was billed for one year at $608.30 Mr. O'Connell recommended an adjustment of $ 116 30 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a water abatement to Carl Beggs, 172 Bedford Street, in the amount of $116 30. Mr. O'Connell said that four bids had been received for the street, sidewalk and drain construction program; he recommended that the award be made to A.R. Belli , Inc at $ 126,978 95. Belli Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the Contract contract for street, sidewalk and drain construction to A. R. Belli , Inc , in the amount of $ 126,978 95 The Board agreed that leaf pickup would be discussed next week Mr. O'Connell informed the Board that a letter has been re- ceived from Richard Eaton regarding a payroll deduction plan for United Fund contributions by Town employees. I have investigated this and the Comptroller sees no practical way he could do it with- United out a substantial increase in labor I call to the Board' s atten- tion that we have before us three collective bargaining organi- zations each of which would like to have dues check-off and I don't feel the Town should get into dues deduction Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Board is not in favor of a payroll deduction for United Fund contributions by Town employees at this time. Mr. McSweeney informed the Board that a request has been re- ceived from Jenkins Realty, Inc , stating that lot 22 of their sub- division, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Nickerson Road, is the only lot in the subdivision not connected to a sewer He Jenkins requests a connection, as it has come to his attention that the Sewer Town plans to extend the sewer line southeasterly on Massachusetts Connection Avenue towards Nickerson Read Mr. McSweeney said that this lot would be covered by the exten- sion of the sewer for the Community Nursery The Board instructed Mr McSweeney to inform Mr. Jenkins that by the design of the sewer as it is going to be constructed, we will be able to service his let. Mr. McSweeney informed the Board that a request has been re- Kelley ceived from Onys A. Kelley, Jr , 24 Turning Mill Road, for an abate- Sewer ment of his sewer betterment assessment of $834 32 This lot cannot Assessment be sewered at this time because in the final design it was determined Abatement 20S that in order to sewer this lot, the land between the street and the house would require a great amount of fill to obtain a minimum cover. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the request of Onys A Kelley, Jr., 24 Turning Mill Road, for an abate- ment of his sewer betterment assessment in the amount of $834.32. Mr McSweeney informed the Board that he has received a request Rockville from Robert Bradley, 84 Bow Street, Arlington, regarding a sewer Avenue Sewer connection to property he owns on Rockville Avenue. He is remodel- Connection ing a house on a large piece of property and it is impossible to Request sewer it The only sewer available is on Moreland Avenue He is asking permission to connect into the sewer and has told me he can get easements through two properties, as shown on this plan After much discussion, the Board instructed Mr. McSweeney to discuss this further with Mr. Bradley and come back with a more positive layout and recommendation. Mr. McSweeney discussed the Green and White property on Plea- sant Street He said that Mr. Edwards had requested that we extend the sewer Mr. McSweeney showed a plan of the area to the Board Mr Edwards requested that the sewer come up Watertown Street tb his lot; the estimated cost is in the vicinity of $4500, with betterments of $780 The Board denied this request and suggested Edwards Sewer he find another way to sewer the lot He has found a way by coming Connection across two other lots from his own and into the sewer on Mason Street He hasn't filed any easements and we asked him to file them He was shocked at the fact he has to pay a sewer charge and betterments and I told him he no longer owned it, we own the sewer, and this was divided afterwards and was under a subdivision plan. He claims it was on an original subdivision plan. After discussion, it was agreed that Mr. McSweeney is to ant swer that ( I) there should be a definite water connection, we will not accept it into Mason Street and he has to pay betterment, (2) we don't know if we would let him connect into the sewer until we have the plan and proper easements to consider. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permis- Permit sion to the Church of Our Redeemer to hold the annual paper drive on Sunday, October 18, 1970 from 1 00 p .m. to 6 00 p.m. The Chairman read a letter from Thomas Blidell regarding parking and traffic problems in the center The Board agreed that no answer is necessary as Mr. Blidell did not enclose his address. Kelley The Chairman said that Mr. and Mrs. John Kelley had written us Request for requesting the purchase of a section of lot 305, which abuts their Mass Ave property at 410 Massachusetts Avenue. We referred this to the Plan- Lot ning Board and have received a reply from them as follows 1 "Due to incorrect delineation on the assessor's map, it appears (and Mr. Kelley probably assumes) that the land marked 8799 square feet is a part of the tax title lot According to our earlier re- search and according to the assessor' s records, the land to the south and west of numbers 410-420 Massachusetts Avenue is owned by Mrs Foster. The Planning Board suggests that the Town investi- gate other means of helping the residents of this section of Massa- chusetts Avenue with the situation in which they find themselves as a result of buying houses without any parking space." The Chairman said that he would talk with Mr. Kelley and ex- plain the situation to him. The Chairman read a letter from Michael T. Vlahos, 55 Udine Street, Arlington regarding a complaint against a dog owned by Mrs Quincy of I Aerial Street, Lexington Quincy The Board agreed to refer the complaint to the Dog Officer with Dog the understanding that if he is unable to resolve the matter, to request Mr. Vlahos to register a formal complaint. The Chairman read a report from the Traffic Committee stating it had reviewed the petition of residents to make a portion of Theresa Avenue one-way and has made an on-site inspection of the conditions It is the unanimous opinion of the Committee that the considerations of traffic safety and convenience do not warrant mak- Theresa ing Theresa Avenue one-way between Cliffe and Fottler Avenues as the Avenue traffic there is purely local ; any vehicles diverted would only be Traffic increasing the traffic load of other streets in the area; the belief that making Theresa Avenue one-way will make it safer is not justi- fied as drivers are likely to exercise less care and go faster if they do not have to watch for oncoming traffic Mr Greeley recommended that a copy of the Traffic Committee's report be sent to the petitioners and the Board has accepted the Committee' s recommendation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee not to make Theresa Avenue a one-way street, and to so inform the petitioners. 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 Session the public security, the financial interests of the Town or the reputation of a person After discussion of matters of financial interest to the Town, it was voted to go out of Executive Session and resume the open meeting. The Board discussed a letter received from John C. Przyjemski , 84 Cliffe Avenue, requesting a deferment of payment of sewer better- Przyjemski ment assessment of $853.24 He also understood that the street Sewer betterment assessment is estimated at $2038.80 and payment of the 210 total assessment of $2892.04 would present a great hardship at this time as his four sons were attending college. For this reason and because the lots inquestion are wooded and presentlyunused as no buildings exist on them, he respectfully requested a deferment until such time as the lots are actually utilized and are in fact provided with sewer service. Mr McSweeney recommended that a deferment be granted Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a deferment for three years to John C Przyjemski , 84 Cliffe Avenue, for sewer betterment assessment in the amount of $853.24 The Chairman said that a letter would be written to Mr Przyjemski informing him of this decision on the sewer betterment assessment and that he may write to the Board again when the street betterment is assessed. Mr. Cataldo retired from the meeting . Mr. Mabee was voted Acting Chairman and the Board discussed the Gold Star application for installation of a 2,000 gallon underground gasoline tank A group of residents in the area of 1265 Massachusetts Avenue were present at the meeting Mr O'Connell gave each member of the Board a report received from the Building Inspector giving the background history of the property at 1265 Massachusetts Avenue; the Board had requested this report as a result of the hearing on August 24, 1970. Gold Star Mr. Greeley asked that a copy of the report be given to the Nursery residents present and Mr O'Connell complied with the request. Mr Greeley said there has been evidence here or elsewhere to suggest, and he would doubt very seriously if there was, any whole- saling of sod, trees, shrubs, etc I don't recall specifically how much wholesaling was done by the New England Nursery but it seems to me that the Gold Star now is involved in an import, warehousing and wholesale operation; I would question as to the legal basis from the 1920' s, or only grant the permit subsequent to that I am opposed to that which seems to entrench them in an operation which I feel is in violation They are the ones that claim they want to operate from the gas station designed to service their tank or pump. They only control five acres and there is no claim they are using the grounds for production of plant materials and it would be for use of imported materials that are being stored. Mr. Kenney asked what the Breck Company did in the early 40' s. Mr. Greeley said that the Breck Company was certainly importing for retail ; they were importing large trees and shrubs on the prop- erty, I doubt if there were any seeds on the property, as seeds :were a wholesale item at that time; I think they must have had a whole- saling operation of other than materials grown on the premises. Mr O'Connell didn't think we had any information as to what is being grown but it is a little percentage of the output, the total volume is larger and substantially bigger. 211 Mr Bailey said for the Board to continue the action as we did the last time forces us into the position of proving them guilty until proven innocent. Also, the situation whereby continually rais- ing the questions of being guilty of violations, it would be possible to forestall this thing forever. We must decide whether there is a violation or not How can we go on unless we do get some resolution. Mr. Kenney said we are not the Board of Appeals, we must not get too far away from the judication. We are not the proper Board. Mr. O'Connell said that the question of legality pertains to zoning and the Building Inspector, and is now in the litigation pro- cess Mr. Greeley added, or possibly in the preparation stage Mr O'Connell said there are attorneys involved in both Mr. Greeley said whether we prejudice the case or not, we prej- udice the welfare of the petitioner If we let him put in a tank and he is asked by a court to stop, we have an argument there I agree it isn't up to the Board of Selectmen to determine whether the Zoning By-Laws are violated Mr. Kenney said if we thought it would be a quick court case . Mr Mabee said we have had cases of selling liquor to minors and the first thing we do is go to the Board that issues the license to the owner We use the granting of permits as a method of controlling a situation which might otherwise get out of hand It has been done by the Board before Mr. Greeley said from the point of view of the impact of the full thing, I don't see how, by any stretch of the imagination, that in itself it can damage the neighborhood; I don't think a 2,000 gal- lon tank can; if it is different, it is different because it would be filled less often On the other hand, an action that extends further any use that appears to be illegal , I think it is unwise to grant it; that further establishes the strengthening of that use If we take the attitude it is entirely at his risk and grant the permit; on the other hand, if you want, to get rid of it later pro- vided it was illegal Mr O'Connell asked is there a legal requirement on this? Mr. Mabee said this Board took a very strong stand to the Board of Appeals and they have the power to enforce their own regulations, and we said we didn't want extending of permits already in violation; I don't feel a 2,000 gallon tank makes a difference The legal matter to enforce it is outside our jurisdiction We took a stronger stand at other times and I don't see it as a key issue. Mr. Kenney felt it is actually safer to fill the tank less often Mr. Bailey said that we are forced to conclude, presuming they are innocent, to grant it, regardless of how I personally feel Mr. Greeley added that this in no way constitutes the validity of the activity that is being carried on Mr O'Connell said it could be granted only to be used by vehi- cles on the premises, denying all other vehicles. Mr Greeley didn't see how you could do that My neighbors said there was a large truck there; does the permit allow that truck to be serviced? - it is on the premises. 212 Mr. O'Connell said, no, only the vehicles associated with the business and the equipment that is legally and properly there. Mr Kenney added, could we say for private use only and not for re-sale? Mr Greeley replied, no; you have to allow for irrigation use. To confine it to vehicles and equipment garaged and used on the premises and used in the connection with operations legally con- ducted on the premises. Was there any implication by Gaklis that he wanted to use this for Seasons Four vehicles only, and supply- ing for only Gold Star and not Seasons Four? Mr O'Connell said he believed the applicant was the Gold Star Nursery Mr. Silverman, 18 Ingleside Road, asked if the permit could say, for vehicles and equipment confined to the premisesl Mr Greeley said, no, we couldn't accept that. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the application of Gold Star Nursery for the installation of a 2,000 gallon underground storage gasoline tank subject to the restriction that the gasoline is to be used for vehicles and equipment garaged and used on the premises for legally conducted operations of Gold Star Nursery. Mr. Greeley abstained from voting. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1145 p.m. A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen