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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970-07-13-BOS-min 140 SELECTMEN'S MEETING July 13, 1970 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Bird Room of Cary Memorial Hall on Monday evening, July 13, 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; Mr Burke, Superintendent of Public Works; Mr. McSweeney, Town Engineer and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present Hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company to locate conduit on Waltham Street, north of Blossom- crest Road. Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioner and filed with the Town Engineer Mr. Pratt, representing the Boston Edison Company, was pres- ent and said that this petition is for conduit on Waltham Street and Blossomcrest Road for increased service in that area by build- ing a manhole and coming off a pole into the area We had a petition last spring and the State wouldn't allow us to go in there as it was within the five year period. The Chairman said that on the night of the hearing, he had Conduit specifically pointed this out and informed you that you would Waltham St need State approval and doubted you would get it. This petition Blossomcrest says 24 feet north of Blossomcrest Road Road Mr. Pratt said that we would like to build this manhole. The Chairman asked if this would be at the same corner? Mr Pratt replied that it would be on the opposite corner. The Chairman asked if it would go in the shoulder and if they would tear up the pavement? Mr McSweeney said that this is all in the brand new pave- ment The Chairman asked what the advantage would be to have this conduit? Mr. Pratt replied that there is a load there and this would have to come out of this manhole and distributed in this area The Chairman asked if there was all the power in the man- hole they would need% Mr. Pratt replied, yes. The Chairman asked if the Board had any questions? No reply The Chairman asked what would lead Edison to believe our policy would be better than the State' s, they say they wouldn't tear up the pavement for five years. Edison knew that would have to be done 1 144 Mr. McSweeney said that he had told Mr Pratt that they could go another 25 feet and come over to a pole into Concord Avenue and start and come down on Concord Avenue; this would all be in the old ave- pave- ment. Mr Greeley asked if we want to encourage more reliance on poles? No reply. Mr. McSweeney said that they could move it back in this case and another petition to be discussed tonight Mr. Pratt said that he had talked with Mr. McSweeney and then Mr McGavin, Edison Engineer, and they have stayed away from putting the manhole in the State section and thought it would be acceptable to put it in the section shown on the plan The Chairman asked if the location could be changed? Mr Pratt said that there is an existing line now and it would go to a manhole. Mr Greeley asked why not put the manhole near the pole? Mr. Pratt said that we like to keep away from intersections Mr. McSweeney said that we are recommending they put it where you don't have to tear up the new pavement. The Chairman asked Mr.. Pratt how long it would take to research for a new location? Mr. Pratt replied, less than two weeks Mr. Greeley said that he didn't want them to do something that makes it harder for them to put it underground later on The Board agreed to table the petition submitted by the Boston Edison Company to locate underground conduit on Waltham Street, ap- proximately 24 feet north of Blossomcrest Road, a distance of about 90 feet - Manhole and Conduit Hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company to locate underground conduit on Waltham Street at Concord Avenue. Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioner and filed with the Town Engineer. Mr. Pratt said that the same conditions exist on this peti- Underground tion as on Blossomcrest Road Conduit Mr McSweeney asked if they could give us some information Waltham St as to why they want to go into the new pavement Concord Ave The Chairman said that if we let you open it up, we set a precedent; if there could be some way of working around this; work with Mr. McSweeney and your Engineer and get this resolved Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to table the two petitions submitted by the Boston Edison Company to locate underground conduit on Waltham Street at Concord Avenue, a dis- tance of about 90 feet; also, the above mentioned petition. Mr Legro said that some time ago Mr. McSweeney asked me to prepare an Order of Taking for a drain easement on the properties Order of of Edward J & Margaret Stande, 62 Middle Street and Kathleen M Taking & Patrick H. Arter, 64 Middle Street. Both parties agreed to this Drain so no damages are to be awarded He requested the Board to sign the Order of Taking 142 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Stande-Arter Order of Taking for a drain easement on the properties of Edward Drain J. & Margaret Stande, 62 Middle Street and Kathleen M. & Patrick H. Arter, 64 Middle Street; with an award of no damages Mr. Legro informed the Board that the Town Clerk has sent him a revised contract for the purchase of seven voting machines. Voting There are to be two changes made and a representative of the Machines Voting Machine Company is coming out and initial these and a bond to be sure these are in proper form He requested the Board to sign the purchase contract, subject to his approval . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the contract for the purchase of seven voting machines from the Auto- matic Voting Machine Company, subject to the approval of Town Counsel . Mr. Legro said that Mr. Cataldo, Mr. O'Connell and he had discussed a letter from an attorney in California in respect to the taking of three lots of land in the refuse disposal site owned by Constantine Lecoures He had checked through the Town Counsel file and found that on June 19, 1962, Mr. Stevens had a call from Mr. Couette regarding this and Mr. Stevens got the information that the Town had agreed to pay $215, he had then relayed the informa- tion to Mr. Couette, and that's the end of the rope; that is a very likely occurrence. These takings were handled in part by Fred Staples, and those that couldn't be handled by September I , 1962 Lecoures Land were handled by Mr Stevens, and I completed them. There is nothing Reed Street to indicate that Mr. Lecoures ever accepted the damages or that he ever wrote in response to it The indication is that Mr. Staples showed him a deed and told him that amount was $215 This was done in the days when it was customary to award damages of $ 1 . There was a tentative offer of $215 and if the Board wants to award it, in spite of the fact that the time limit has run out Mr. Greeley asked, we know he never got anything? Mr Legro replied that this is where my information ends; it would be unfortunate to Make any award payment if any payment was made. There might have been a release taken. A record ought to be run to see what was charged against the refuse disposal account. The letter from the attorney says he was told no settlement was made at that time. It is extremely unlikely the Board might have taken the position that the land was worthless and maybe found making a settlement of $50 or $75 a lot, and, maybe, said to wait and we will make the offer This is in Harold Stevens' writing The Chairman thought we have an obligation. Mr. Legro said that we can write to his attorney and tell him that the figure authorized was $215 and it is somewhat higher than others at that time. Mr. Greeley asked if you do that, what do you do to the sta- tute of limitations? Mr. Legro replied, nothing . I 143 Mr. Greeley said that if the statute has run out, he can't le- gally expect anything . Mr. Legro said that the Board has wisely, on some occasions where the award of damages is made in the taking, honored the award, and this is stretching it The date of the letter from the Cali= fornia attorney is September 25, 1969 and it wasn't answered. The Chairman said that we have a moral obligation. The first step is for Mr. O'Connell to check that account and see who got paid out of it, and if this fellow is one of them. It is my feel- ing to go back and re-affirm our offer Mr. Legro said that there was a balance in the account the last time he had looked at it Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Town Counsel to re-affirm the Town' s offer of $215 to Mr. Constan- tine Lecoures as a result of a taking in 1962 of lots 5, 6 and 7 Block 46 Reed Street, subject to investigation by the Town Manager that previous payment was not made to Mr Lecoures Mr O'Connell discussed his report to the Board on the study of costs for providing a leaf pickup service as part of the plan for banning open burning. He said that this was written on the assumption that we would start some sort of leaf pickup this fall . The Chairman said that this doesn't take effect until 1971 . Mr. Mabe asked Mr. O'Connell if this would be his proposal for next year? Leaf Mr. O'Connell replied yes; if the Board wants to start en- Pickup forcing the ban on outdoor burning; we should have a pickup in the spring and the fall The Town has no legal obligation to enfoce it until July of 1971 The Chairman asked if he is going to move that we put it in Lexington, where would you get the money? Mr O'Connell said that to do it this fall , we would have to ask the Appropriation Committee for a transfer; you would need about $ 10,000. The Chairman said that you couldn't start for that; it would take the same amount of money for next fall or spring for Imple- mentation Mr O'Connell said that if we defer it until spring, you will have an opportunity to ask for the money ahead of time. The Chairman said that you would need a substantial amount of money; you would need equipment. Mr O'Connell said that most of the money would be for man- power. Mr Bailey asked if he would use the Public Works Department? Mr O'Connell said that he had said that in the memo it might be cheaper, or by a special contract with a refuse service con- tractor Mr Kenney said that we should reflect back to air pollution; the article was postponed with the agreement that we meet with these people to come up with a more forward step to eliminate open burning, which we did, and then we said we would consider them again 144 The Chairman said that it was good as long as you don't tie them together; if you ban burning, you have to pick up the leaves Mr. Kenney said that these are closely related, we are one of the Towns given a year's grace There are a lot of people in Town that look forward to immediate implementation. Once the State passed that, the townspeople expect it. Mr. Mabee thought we should go to the Appropriation Com- mittee and ask for $10,000 and tell the Town this is for the bags this year and next year Mr. Bailey said that if we ask for $10,000, we are going whole hog. Mr. O'Connell said that we have estimated two pickups would be needed in the fall and two in the spring, our experi- ence might show we would not need more Mr. Bailey said that he would not vote for anything unless you put the ban with it Mr O'Connell thought we should start for yard purposes and incinerator later on. At first it would be leaves; the other would be left to the authority who grants permits Mr. Mabee said that his neighbors are up in arms about it. The Chairman said that if you are going to need two in the spring, you are going to need eight in the fall, your main thrust is in the fall . I , myself, can't see going to the Appropriation Committee for this kind of money. If Town Meeting ants to appro- priate money fine, but for us to go out and start on this basis analysing the situation, the job is well done, but I am not going to vote to go to the Appropriation Committee. Mr. Mabee asked what are you going to do? The Chairman said, that is a monster they have here Mr. Bailey said that other towns are coping with this very successfully The Chairman said that they are picking up leaves and rubbish but they are not coping with this law; that is the monster. Mr. Greeley asked if we are ready to enforce the present law? This says a permit every time you burn Mr. Kenney said that we keep a record of the number of phone calls to the fire department. We had started a system of patrols. Mr Bailey said they were not checking on permits; they couldn't possibly There is no possible way you can enforce this. Mr. Kenney said that we have said that about that way of doing it. Why the hesitancy in asking for $ 10,000? The Chairman said that if Town Meeting wants to go into this, fine. Mr. Kenney said that we have to cope with an existing law The Chairman said that Arlington spent $27,000 for a pig; do you want to go from there? You can take that law - if everything was put into effect that was in that law, we would go up through the roof; I can't see it ever being implemented. I 145 Mr. Kenney said that you are getting into technical stuff like incinerators; this would be relatively simple to enforce with leaf pickup Mr. Bailey said that we are directing ourselves to leaf burning The Chairman didn't think that leaf burning is that serious as compared to the rest of it. Mr Bailey did think so. Mr Kenney said that it is the most obvious if we allow leaf burning in the fall , people will say, how come? I agree with you it is going to cost the Town money The Chairman asked what they want to do? Mr Bailey suggested asking Mr O'Connell to talk it over with the contractor, the first thing the Appropriation Committee will ask is do you have the figures The Chairman asked, a contractor to pick up leaves? Mr. Bailey replied, yes Mr. O'Connell said that it would have to be on the same basis as outlined here. One of the ways that was suggested was with a bag that will disintegrate at the sanitary landfill ; it was my plan that the Town would buy the bags and offer them at cost. The Chairman asked how they would get to the landfill? Mr. O'Connell said that we plan no extra money to handle in a special way Mr Kenney said that there was no doubt there would be some difficulty but if they only picked up twice in the fall , it means that most of the people would have to take them to the dump. In the future, we will have to look at a more complete program The Board agreed that Mr O'Connell will talk with contractors for estimates on leaf pickup Mr O'Connell informed the Board that we have received bids for the lighting of tennis courts, for which $8,000 was appropri- ated under Article 55 of the Annual Town Meeting. Three bids were received as follows W.H Hughes, $7,600; Lambert Electri- cal Co., Inc., $9,450; Davis & Sons Electricians, Inc., $ 14,500 My recommendation would be to award the contract to the lowest bidder, however, we find delivery of steel poles would Tennis take IS weeks therefore, we have been investigating the alternate Courts use of wood poles at $5900 My recommendation would be to award Lighting the bid at $7,600, subject to investigation of the other type pole. The Chairman asked for an explanation in the spread of money in the three bids Mr. O'Connell asked Mr. McSweeney for the reason Mr. McSweeney said there was no explanation from him; he had taken the three bidders out to the job to look at it Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract for the lighting of the tennis courts to W.H Hughes, Inc., 22 Church Street, Watertown, Massachusetts, in the amount of $7,600, subject to the investigation of using wood poles at $5900 146 Mr. O'Connell informed the Board that one bid was received on the tennis court construction, as authorized under Article 54 of the 1969 Annual Town Meeting with an appropriation of $ 14,000; there is a balance in the account of $ 13,970. The bid was re- ceived from Warren Brothers Company, Division of Ashland Oil Inc., 509 Main Street, Saugus, in the amount of 18,800. The Chairman told Mr. McSweeney that we talked to the Recrea- tion Committee last year to change the specifications on this pavement Mr. McSweeney said that we changed it and mailed it out to all the people the Town had business with in the past and adver- tised in the paper; they didn't even come out and pick up the specs. Mr. Mabee said that this money was appropriated in March, 1969 and roughly, 15 months later, no bid; we still have yet to get a legitimate bid. I am thoroughly disgusted. Are we hand- ling it right on specifications and at the right time? The Chairman said that these fellows put in many hours of work to get these contractors in to bid. Mr. O'Connell said that one thing is, we have to go through the public procedure and negotiate the bid to make it attractive to them; therefore, our invitation is never attractive and that is why we got just one bid Mr. Mabee said that for some reason we are not a prime client Tennis Court Mr. McSweeney said that we met with the people who bid $ 18,800 Construction and they gave me $ 11 ,000. Mr. Kenney said that maybe we should do it ourselves. Mr McSweeney said that the only information we received was from a contractor in Needham and he is building so many, he wouldn't even bid it Mr. Mabee asked how Belmont, Winchester and Wellesley built theirs? Mr. McSweeney didn't know. Mr. Mabee said that maybe we should do it ourselves Mr. O'Connell agreed, except for laying the court. Mr. Bailey asked how much the other towns are paying? Mr. O'Connell said that he inquired in the spring and it was $7500 a court for a pair of courts with only one backstop; that would be $ 15,000. Mr. Greeley asked Mr McSweeney if the Recreation Committee had come in with a higher figure and we pushed them down? Mr. McSweeney replied that was on the lighting. The Chairman said that these fellows have made every effort on this. Mr Mabee said that the bids went out too late the first year. The Board agreed that Mr O'Connell , Town Manager, is to pur- sue the matter of tennis court construction. Mr. O'Connell informed the Board that a petition addressed to the Board of Selectmen was received today. This was in regard to 1[ 47 an objection to a latrine being set up on the premises of Duncan MacDonald of Hancock Avenue This same complaint was received by the Board of Health on Friday and no permit had been issued nor had one been applied for Further investigation showed that a group of students were using Mr MacDonald's barn, with his approval, for a summer theatre. He had a call a week ago from Mr. MacDonald on the summer project and he inquired what steps to take for these students to put on performances in the barn Mr. MacDonald was advised that a Board of Appeals permit would be required, if they chose to grant it Mr. MacDonald was going out of town and said that Karen Wells would call , and she did the following day, and she wasn't inter- ested in finding out what to do to comply to go forward to have performances in the barn. During the week, Mr. Soule apparently trying to help them contacted the Inspection Department and the Board of Health, and there were contacts with the Police Department relative to what proper authorization was needed for public theatre performances they were told the next step was to get a permit from the Board of Appeals and only after this would their permits be issued. They pointed out that considerable requirements would have to be met. We have continually tried to prevail upon them to get some building already approved for public assembly but there has been no interest whatsoever in that approach This morning, the Building Inspector looked into the matter and wrote to Mr. MacDonald. I received a telephone call from Mr MacDonald prior to receiving the hand-delivered letter and he wanted to explore with Summer me in alternate course of action he might take in order to have the Theatre performances still take place. An organization of performance is exempt from these requirements and asked about a hypothetical form- ation of a private trust for the performing arts for the purpose of encouraging summer theatrical programs and inviting as his personal guests people from Lexington to view these performances. I told him these posed legal questions and to get legal advice Mr. MacDonald indicated no desire to follow this approach of trying to have these performances take place As matters now stand, as I know them, this group intends to go forward and hold performances, they were advertised in the Minute-man as taking place and I thought the Board should be advised. I think we will need the guidance of the Town Counsel as to what, if anything, the Town should do beyond this letter should the performances go forward Mr. Greeley thought there were more facts; he believed they approached the Board of Appeals recently and were told there wasn't anything on the docket but they would have some time in September; they were having summer theatre and they were unable to get it; he didn't know how recently this was Mr O'Connell believed Mr. Soule called Mr Nickerson on Fri- day Mr. Greeley said he was interested in what prevents Mr. MacDonald from inviting 50 guests to his barn Did I understand you to say that had legal complications? 148 Mr O'Connell replied, no, he, in effect, was saying if this is the case, do I need Town approval ; I told him I couldn't answer, does this constitute public assembly or doesn't it Mr. Greeley said he didn't know what Mr MacDonald proposes to do but he got the impression indirectly that he would be perfectly happy to invite them as his guests and we should know if he were failing to conform to the Town' s by- laws if he did invite them as guests Mr Bailey asked what is the difference between guests invited to the barn or a living room? Mr. O'Connell said that the notice was advertised in the paper; if he chose to invite his friends, does that mean he is cancelling the public performance? Mr Greeley said Mr MacDonald is asking that, too Mr. Kenney asked can he hold it without some sort of public ap- peals permits? They are asking for a change, to hold it without a charge. These kids were misguided, there is no question of that; they put in more than a month of hard work fixing up the barn, and it makes them highly reluctant to move to a church They got them- selves, through no fault of the Town, into a box and Mr MacDonald is trying to find some reasonable way to help them out of the spot Mr O'Connell said that he was thinking out loud of ideas of exploring Mr. Greeley understood that You didn't know what the legal complications would be? One of the first things is, a good answer as to whether there is some regulation they would be breaking to support the contention that these people could be there as Mr. MacDonald' s guests. The Chairman said that if Mr Irwin closes it up, this is his prerogative Mr Kenney asked if the "out building" was still there? Mr O'Connell said that it had been removed. Mr Kenney asked if the neighbors objected to it Mr O'Connell said they objected to more than that, Mr Kenney asked if it were encumbent upon the Board to bail him out? Mr. Greeley replied, if they don't collect 50(t at the gate. Mr. Kenney said if they do it two or three nights a week, we would have trouble Mr. Greeley thought they are still trying to find out what they should do. The Chairman said that Mr Soule had come to see him and said that Mr. O'Connell wanted to see him; his attitude is, can't the Board or the Town bend a little and look the other way My answer to him was if we didn't know, fine, but you have advertised in the paper; as a builder and a Town Meeting member, you should have known better than to encourage the kids; now you are putting us in the middle and we do not know what the answer is. We feel sorry for the kids; you people and the kids were informed away back there were problems and Mr. O'Connell would work with you . The next thing, it is in the paper to have six or eight shows. What they have in mind, I don't know. 149 Mr Greeley thought they should have their shows in sane place ap- proved for public assembly The question is raised what to do if it is held in Mr MacDonald' s barn; we have to be pretty careful of our legal grounds if we are going to try to interfere with their shows. They are trying to work out doing it legally and we would be ill- advised if it is not illegal Mr. O'Connell pointed out his area of concern was that if any- one goes to a public performance, regardless of whether he is making a donation, he goes with the impression of safety, approved by the Town officials for a gathering; we owe him that This leaves a great deal to be desired for public safety; we don't know the number of people who would go in the building and we have no way of knowing The Chairman said that he had told Mr Soule about smoking and if it went up in flames and we told him we allowed it, he would say why did the Board do this. Mr Soule said he, also, had called Mr. Nickerson, who said there were no meetings in August and it had to bean advertised meeting. If they had listened to Mr. O'"Connell when they first called him, they could have been on the agenda. Mr Kenney asked why they can't move to another location? Mr. Bailey said he was guessing it was the magic of the barn Mr Greeley asked what is the alternative if they call if off? The Chairman said that they don't have to do that; all they have to do is go to the First Parish Church Mr Greeley said that is not legal because it was advertised at the barn; we should find out. Mr. Bailey thought we should definitely encourage the Building Inspector to talk with Town Counsel Mr O'Connell read a letter to the Board from F W.K. Smith, dealing with new property the Conservation Commission has interest in and whether the Board feels they should request Town Counsel' s advice. This is the Cook property at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, Woodberry Road and Stratham Road. Mr. Legro said that he had written a letter on this tonight and calls attention to the fact that there are two paragraphs in- Cooke serted on the reverse side of page one and the deletion of the Property paragraph on the third page relating to preparation and submission Option of a plan by the owners These changes in the option as prepared by me were made at the time of signature by the optionors. In his letter of transmittal , Mr. Smith states that all of these changes are satisfactory to the Conservation Commission. I expect that you will want to have the effects of the changes carefully con- sidered so as to determine whether the option is in acceptable form to be exercised It was the Board' s position that there were provisions in this option that were not in it when it was originally brought to the attention of the Board. It was agreed that the Town Manager is to discuss the option with the Conservation Commission. 150 Mr O'Connell informed the Board that he had obtained from Mr. McSweeney the proposed TOPICS contract. A question had been raised by Town Counsel and the basic question posed is whether or not the Board of Selectmen is desirous of entering into this con- tract The Chairman said that Mr Legro gave comments on the ques- tion raised by Mr Gray that the Town is committing itself to completing the work As I understand it, under the original program, they would mdo a study of the Town and come back to us with objections or acceptance. Mr McSweeney said that it was his understanding that both of the questions came up on how this agreement would work The Chairman asked if he had gone over these points with Mr Legro? Mr. O'Connell replied, no; the point being made is that this agreement does contain the agreement of the Town being obligated to complete some project once the project is started; the question is how much of a risk not in accepting the contract as it is being used elsewhere or do the potential risks exceed the benefits? I feel it is worthwhile The Chairman understood that we could not make any altera- tions in the traffic system It doesn't control Waltham Street; if we sign now, what does it commit us to? Mr McSweeney said that it commits us to the first stage 'of TOPICS hiring a consultant to make a survey of all the arterials in Town. The Chairman asked if we can stop at the end of the first phase? Mr. Legro did not remember what he had said. Mr Kenney asked if it was said that under certain circum- stances, we might be forced to continue with a project Mr. O'Connell thought that possibility is there; that is not crystal clear. Mr. McSweeney said that the federal government will provide funds; if the State says three lanes on Massachusetts Avenue, they are saying you will have to go along if they say they would be 12' lanes If we go into this, we have to accept this be- cause they are paying the total bill The Chairman said if they get half way through and they run out of money, we have to finish it? Mr. McSweeney said that if we go into this on that basis, he would recommend we sign this with that phase checked out, with the option we can get out at that time Mr. Bailey said that at the time we discussed it, it wasn't clear. Mr. Kenney asked if, at the end of the planning stage, to abandon it? Mr. McSweeney said that they are paying the bill The Chairman said that these two points should be checked out. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the TOPICS agreement subject to the possibility of not accepting their report that the agreement would be null and void at that time 1.51_ Mr O'Connell read a report from the Planning Board on Mr Luongo' s request to buy the lot on Valleyfield Street They have no Luongo objection to the abutting owner buying it, provided the two lots are Tax Title joined This is the same position the Planning Board took last year. Lot Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to advertise for bids on tax title lot 53 Valleyfield Street. Mr. O'Connell gave a progress report on the old "res." He said that we have been maintaining a night watch; we have found an indi- cation for two more requirements; we have to provide some form of limited shelter for the lifeguards in case of bad weather and we are looking into the possibility of a vestibule There has been a prob- lem of cars parking in the rear of the Bridge School area and cars come around while children play in that area, if we are going to avoid this, we would have to put up some posts and a chain. The Chairman asked how long we are going to run the water in there? Mr. O'Connell said that we have reached the overlow point and in order to make up the daily loss, we will have to add water with Old "Res" either one 21" hose continually or two 21" hoses for the hours the bathing beach is open; the answer is full time. The Chairman asked if there is a meter on that line? Mr. O'Connell replied, no Mr. Greeley asked what the loss i5 due to? Mr O'Connell replied, evaporation There is a silt condition because of a heavy runoff down the brook and through the lagoon; we have since blocked the pipe between the two; he thought that every time we have heavy rain, we will have a silt problem. After we have the algae treatment, we have to clean the beach. The overall reaction has been favorable. Mr Mabee asked if we would have to go to the Appropriation Committee in six weeks? Mr. O'Connell replied in the affirmative The Chairman read a letter from Mrs. Bonasera, Town Meeting Member of Precinct I, requesting permission for the boys in the neighborhood to use the parcel of land behind the B & M Railroad tracks and the Cliffe Avenue side of Mill Brook for recreational purposes. The Chairman,r,ead a memo from the Recreation Committee stating Recrea- that the land could be used for recreational purposes; it would be tion Area necessary to have some clearing of the land but their budget is such that they cannot help in the development of the area The Chairman read a memo from the Town Engineer showing a plan of the Town-owned land The Chairman said that he had talked with Mrs Bonasera and all she is interested in is having a place for the kids to play ball . It was agreed to write to Mrs. Bonasera that the Board had no objection to the children in the neighborhood using the land for recreational purposes 15 The Chairman read a memo from the Town Engineer, recommending the approval of a request received from Peter E. Glaser, 62 Turning Mill Road, for a drain connection. Drain The Chairman asked Mr. McSweeney if there were any plans for Connection a sewer for this area? Mr McSweeney replied in the negative. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the recommendation of the .Town Engineer to grant permission to Peter E. Glaser, 62 Turning Mill Road, for a drain connection, subject to the usual permit conditions of the Superintendent of Public Works Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Chapter 90 Memorandum of Agreement with the State DPW for Chapter 90 mainten- ance of 2200 feet of Massachusetts Avenue, in the amount of $2,000. The Chairman read a letter from the Mystic Valley Gas Company, requesting permission to install a 6-inch medium pressure welded Permit steel gas main in Grant Street to service 132, 134 and 137 Grant Street Mr McSweeney said that the main would be within the sidewalk area It was agreed to inform the Mystic Valley Gas Company that permission would not be granted to open the street to service the homes because Grant Street has just been re-paved Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Mystic Valley Gas Company to install a 6-inch medium pressure welded steel gas main in Grant Street, but permis- sion is not granted to connect the services: at 132, 134 and 137 Grant Street The Chairman read a letter from the Director of Public Health recommending that the Community Nursery School be connected to the Town sewer system by September I , 1970. The Chairman said that Mr. Heustis knows our problem is money Community and this has top priority Nursery Mr Mabee said that he is saying that the School can't open School until it is connected to the sewer. Mr. Kenney asked when we will get the final sewer budget so that we will know how much money is left? How much will it cost? Mr McSweeney said that it will cost $9,000 to finish Massa- chusetts Avenue. The Chairman asked Mr. McSweeney to compile the list of pri- orities and the Community Nursery School should have top priority. Temple Mr McSweeney said that Temple Isaiah sewer will cost $ 150,000 Isaiah The Chairman asked Mr. McSweeney for a report on this in order Sewer to answer Temple Isaiah' s request for a sewer connection 153 The Chairman read a letter from Mr Lund, Chairman of the Plan- ning Board, outlining policy guidelines on sidewalks. Sidewalk The Chairman said that the committee on street procedures and Policy underground wiring will be appointed and we will take these guide- lines under consideration when the committee is appointed and we discuss streets. The Chairman read a letter from Mr. Charles 0. Rolando, 15 Henderson Road, claiming that he had read in the Minute-man that Stanley Roketenetz picks up leaves, rubbish and small pieces of fur- niture; he still pays to have his trash collected. Also, that Bed- ford provides an excellent disposal service and have we made any Leaf provisions for what may well become an extremely dangerous fire Pickup hazard to the Town in the fall The Board agreed to inform Mr. Rolando that Mr. Roketenetz does not have a contract with the Town to pick up rubbish, leaves, etc. but only to pick up garbage; also, to send a copy to him of the Town Manager' s report on leaf pickup. The Chairman read a letter from the Chairman of the Planning Board expressing the desire of the Planning Board to join- the Sub- regional Intertown Liaison Committee, which is a committee for discussion and action on regional problems of mutual interest to surrounding communities. SILC IIIAfter discussion, it was unanimously agreed to inform the Planning Board that it is the Board' s feeling that it would not be in the best interests of the Town to join SILC, but to recommend that the Planning Board be cooperative in every way with them. The Chairman read a letter from Lincoln Laboratory requesting authorization to erect two signs at the intersection of Route 2A and the relocated Massachusetts Avenue, these signs will duplicate the one located at the intersection of old Massachusetts Avenue and Wood Street. The Chairman said that all we can do is give permission to 10- Lincoln cate a sign, not permission for a sign. Lab Mr. Legro said that the standing by- law and the state has con- Signs trol of these signs The Chairman said that they want to go off beyond the limits. Mr. Legro said then the only permission the Board could give is within the limits of the rights of way, a free-standing sign would go to the Board of Appeals, if within the way, they would have to get both permissions Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to inform the Lincoln Laboratory that permission is granted for the erection of two signs at the intersection of Route 2A and the re- located Massa- chusetts Avenue, subject to a location plan and final Board of Appeals' permit for the actual signs. 154 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Minutes Minutes of the Selectmen's meetings held on April 27, May II and June 29, 1970 The Chairman read a letter from Mr. Miller of the American Legion, requesting permission to operate a carnival on Parker Field for four days, from September 4 through September 7, 1970. Labor Day Mr O'Connell said that Mr. Miller had come in to see him and Carnival he had encouraged him to talk with the Public Works Department and the Police Department about the rules we are trying to establish. Mr O'Connell suggested that he have a meeting with all parties concerned, such as the meeting with the Lion' s Club on the July 4 carnival The Board agreed that Mr. O'Connell is to conduct a meeting with all concerned parties The Chairman read a letter from Matthew A. Macaulay, requesting that he be given the opportunity to purchase back the land on Mar- rett Road which was purchased by the Town for a sub-fire station. Mr Macaulay felt that the land has not been used for this purpose Macaulay and he should be able to buy the land back at the original price of Land $ 1,850. The Board requested Mr. Legro to draft a letter in reply to Mr. Macaulay as no determination had been made that the land was no longer needed for the purpose for which it was acquired. The Chairman read a letter from the Muscular Dystrophy Asso- ciations of America Inc requesting permission to hold a drive on Fund Drive Sunday, October 25, 1970. The Board had no objection and will so inform the Muscular Dystrophy Association Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following members of the Lexington Commission on Suburban Responsibility, for a term expiring June 30, 1971 LCSR Mrs. Sanborn C Brown (Lois) 37 Maple Street MAPC Mrs. Frank H Totman (Judy) 46 Moreland Avenue TMMA Mr. H. Seymour Kassman 5 Stonewall Road 128 Industry-Sec'y. Poloroid Corp. The following members were reappointed for a term expiring June 30, 1971 Mr. Frank Armstrong 3A Wm. Roger Greeley Senior Citizens Village Mrs Eric T. Clarke 29 Moon Hill Road School Committee Mr Charles H Cole 4 Franklin Road TMMA Mr Frederick J. Conroy 5 John Poulter Foad Chamber of Com. 155 Mr. Robert Earsy 67 Harding Road LAMCH Mr. Donald M. Graham 4 Millbrook Road Planning Board Mr. Roland B. Greeley 1359 Mass. Ave Selectman Mr Frank Michelman 43 Buckman Drive LCRC Mr. Joseph 0 Rooney 222 Waltham Street Housing Authority Ms. Camille Skov 8 Hawthorne Road PTA Rev John M. Wells 7 Harrington Road Council of Churches Mr. Greeley informed the Board that two vacancies exist on the appointments of the high school students Mr. Greeley reported to the Board that it was suggested to in- crease the size of the LCSR by appointing a member of the Interfaith and the Commission was unanimous that I recommend expanding and see if the Board wishes to accept nominations from Interfaith. d recom- mend against it as I do not think it is good policy to keep on add- ing to the Commission The Board agreed with its previous decision not to expand the Commission. The Chairman read a memo from the Alcoholic Beverages Commission relative to Amendment to G L c 138, s 17; changes regarding li- censes for on-premise consumption of liquor and does not affect pack- ABC age store licenses Mr Legro informed the Board that this amendment does not affect the Town The Chairman read a letter from the Chairman of the Planning Board requesting the Board' s comments on a draft copy of the Planning Board' s policy statement relative to the future of Worthen Road, and Planning enclosing a copy of the consultant' s report Board The Chairman said that copies have been sent to the Board and requested that comments be submitted by the next meeting on July 27. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Liquor the Chairman to sign the Liquor Identification Card for Kathleen I .D Card Sacco, 36 Shirley Street. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Sewer list of sewer betterment assessments for Blossomcrest Road Assess Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the abatement for sewer betterment assessment for Elizabeth G. Abatement Padtridge, Blossomcrest Road, c/o Harry Zonis, 89 State Street, Boston, in the amount of $213 02; this is not a buildable lot. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign water abatements for the following Donald Foster $ 23. 16 Wrong reading by owner Edmund J Waldron 20 42 Wrong reading by owner 56 Laura F Marshall $ 31 76 Meter read wrong John Modoono 18.20 Water off Jefferson Union Co 9.45 Wrong billing Nicholas Russo 115 15 Water off-meter out - now connected with Woburn Wesley A. Taylor 9 10 Wrong billing The Chairman read a letter from the Attorney General , enclo- Copper sing the second payment on the settlement in the copper piping Piping cases, in the amount of $356 40 Payment The Check is to be delivered to the Town Treasurer Mr Kenney discussed a copy of a letter to the Appropriations Committee from the Planning Board regarding money appropriated by the 1970 Annual Town Meeting for a permanent employee in the Engi- neering Department, such employee to be available to the Planning Board from time to time for research, data tabulation, drafting and related work The Planning Board requests approval from the Appropriations Committee to hire a temporary employee to perform Planner work for the Planning Board, the Conservation Commission and the Recreation Committee on planning and land use-related aspects of their work Mr Kenney asked Mr. McSweeney if he were unable to fill this position? Mr McSweeney said that we have advertised, we did hire a man and lost him. Mr. Bailey asked if Mr. O'Connell should be the one to ask, the Appropriation Committee. Mr. O'Connell said that he has the matter under control and would discuss it with the Appropriation Committee. The Chairman read a memo from the Chairman of the Traffic Com- mittee to the Superintendent of Public Works regarding complaints from residents of Fletcher Avenue about heavy trucks using Fletcher Fletcher Avenue-Hayes Lane as a short cut from Woburn Street to Grant Street Avenue and causing damage and annoyance in attempting to get through the Sign unpaved Hayes Lane or to back up if they cannot get through. The Traffic Committee recommends that a sign "To Grant St." be erected at the junction of Fletcher Ave and Sherman St., pointing along the latter, and respectfully requests that arrangements be made for the installation of this sign. The Board agreed to accept the recommendation of the Traffic Committee and instructed Mr O'Connell to have the Department of Public Works erect the sign. The Chairman said, and the Board agreed, that there would be no direct communications from the Chairman of the Traffic Committee to the department heads, they will go directly to the Board of Se- lectmen or the Town Manager. 157 The Chairman discussed Lexington Center and said that Mr. Sasaki had offered to donate Taxus Densiforma Plants to be used in the center Lexington as these would have a low spread and the Taxus Capitata could be used Center elsewhere in the Town The Board agreed to go along with the original concept and use Taxus Capitata in the Center. The Chairman informed the Board that a reply has been received from the United States Post Office in answer to a request, recommended by the Traffic Committee, for the installation of an additional col- lection box on the southerly side of Massachusetts Avenue at Wallis Post Court Office Mr. Walker of the Post Office states in the letter that a study had been made of the area involved and the facilities available and it is the opinion of his office that the facilities are more than adequate for the mailing needs of all concerned. It was agreed to send a copy of Mr. Walker' s reply to the Traffic Committee. The Chairman informed the Board that he had talked with Mr. Lund about our thinking and our desire to have information before we sat down to a meeting with Mr. White It was Mr Lund's feeling that Harmon White didn't withdraw the subdivision plans. The Chairman read a letter to the Planning Board from Harmon Green b White stating that "we are desirous of cooperating with the Town. in White Sub- every reasonable way We are not clear as to the precise difference division between 'discontinuance' and 'withdrawal ' Our purpose was to Woburn St facilitate the Town' s study of the area Whatever terminology will School Site best accomplish a prompt resolution by the Town is satisfactory to us, especially since we are nearly out of buildable land (as you know) For that reason, we are happy to be reassured that your studies are continuing without undue delay " The Chairman said that he had told Mr White to get in touch with Mr Lund and if the Planning Board acts in that subdivision within 60 days, we have to make that taking Mr. Greeley said that the Planning Board is studying the whole area; there are problems with zoning and they don't want to get left out; this is the way I understand it The Chairman disagreed; they don't consider this to be withdrawn If this is the case a taking should be made before 60 days are up I reassured Mr White that as soon as we get plans drawn and test holes dug, we would have a meeting and come up with a position Mr Greeley said that we ought to be working together and we can. Mr. O'Connell said that until we have the date of the tests, any- thing is quite speculative; the problem is one of timing. 158 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 legal matters of the Town, it was voted to go out of Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 1121 p.m. A true record, Attest )2te"-L--- s5 E utive Clerk, Selectmen 1 1