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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1969-05-12-BOS-min SELEC'IIdEN'S MEETING May 12, 1969 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, on Monday evening, May 12, 1969 at 7 30 P.M Chairman Cataldo, Messrs Mabee and Kenney were present Mr. McSweeney, Town Engineer, Mr Burke, Superintendent of Public Works, and Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were also present Hearing was declared open upon the petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company to locate a pole on Follen Road. Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioners and owner of the property as listed on the petitioners' plan, and also filed with the Town Engineer. Mr. Pratt, representing the Boston Edison Eompany, and Mr. Dunn, representing the New England Telephone Company, were present at the hearing Mr. Dunn informed the Board that the reason for the hearing was because of a span of over 200 feet and the pole is needed to cut down the span length The Chairman asked Mr Dunn if the Telephone Company offered Pole an alternative. Location Mr Dunn replied in the negative Mr Pratt said that this span is 230 feet and, normally, the span is 125 feet between poles; there is quite a sagging here now No one appearing in favor of the petition, the chairman de- clared that part of the hearing closed The Chairman asked if anyone was present in opposition Mr Harold Stevens, 209 Follen Road, asked to be recognized and said that, as an abutter, he would like to oppose the petition This pole will be placed in the one open space we have; we have a large linden tree and a beautiful maple tree, Mr Dunn said that the Telephone Engineer will look at the proposed location and see if something can be resolved. We are placing a new cable to get rid of the drop wire in this area which is a very heavy drop wire. Mr Pratt said that the Edison Company is putting in a heavy cable and removing the existing wire Mr Stevens said that the question is, is this needed, does the load require this? There is no new building there and there has been no change since 1948 Mr Pratt said that there are low circuits in that area. It was agreed to hold the petition until the Telephone Com- pany Engineer and Mr Stevens come to an agreement as to the loca- tion of the pole U J__ 252 Hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company to locate-g pole on Lowell Street. Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioners and owners of the property as listed on the petitioners' plan, and also filed with the Town Engineer Pole Mr Dunn, representing the Telephone Company, and Mr. Pratt, Location representing the Boston Edison Company, were present at the hearing. Mr Dunn informed the Board that this petition is for the relocation of a pole which is now at the driveway of an abutter No one appearing in favor or in opposition, the Chairman de- clared that part of the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the New England Telephone Company and the Boston Edi- son Company for the following location Lowell Street, westerly side, approximately 531' south of Middlesex Street, Burlington, One (1) pole. (One existing JO pole to be removed ) Hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone Company to locate a pole on Middle Street Notices of the hearing were mailed to the petitioners and owners of the property as listed on the petitioners' plan, and also filed with the Town Engineer Mr Dunn, representing the Telephone Company, and Mr Pratt, Pole representing the Boston Edison Company, were present at the hearing Location Mr Dunn informed the Board that this petition was at the re- ' quest of the Town of Lexington The pole is being moved back inside the curb Mr McSweeney, Town Engineer, was present and said that he had approved the location No one appearing in favor or in opposition, the Chairman de- clared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the New England Telephone Company and the Boston Edison Company for the following location Middle Street, northeasterly side, approximately 1,791 feet southeast of Lincoln Street, One (1) pole. (One existing JO pole to be removed.) Chief Corr met with the Board The Chairman told Chief Corr that he had been asked to come Police tonight in order that the Board might express their gratitude and Department congratulations to the Officers of the Police Department He asked Chief Corr to explain an event which happened in Lexington last week. 283 Chief Corr said that on last Thursday, Officer Hickey was on patrol on Mason Street and observed an automobile and a truck with three men who were acting in a suspicious manner. He ap- proached the vehicles and, asked to see the license and registra- tion He recognized the name as one of a possible bank robber * at the Arlington Savings Bank; this name had been given to all Officers at roll call that morning. Officer Hickey returned to the cruiser and called for assistance as he had noticed a sawed- off shotgun on the floor of the car Two other Officers arrived at the scene and the men were taken into custody Chief Corr said that this was one of those arrests that we feel is deserv- ing of attention One of the men is already out on $200,000 bail for eight other big robberies; these thre are the most notorious bank robbers in the eastern U.S and were preparing to break into a home. Chief Corr introduced Officer Hickey to the Board. The Board congratulated him not only for the arrest, but for the splendid police work Chief Corr and Officer Hickey retired from the meeting. Mr Gray requested the Board to sign the contract for the engineering services of Whitman and Howard on the Concord Avenue and Spring Street interceptor laterals; these have been approved by Mr McSweeney and Mr Legro. Whitman & Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Howard the contract for engineering services of Whitman and Howard on the Concord Avenue and Spring Street interceptor laterals Mr Gray informed the Board that the Fire Department re- quests a transfer of $450 to the Ambulance Account 4200 The money is needed to straighten and refinish the rear left quarter panel of the ambulance which was involved in an accident with Transfer another fire department vehicle Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee for a transfer from the Reserve Fund to the Ambulance Account 4200, in the amount of $450 Mr Gray informed the Board that Mr Burke has been in con- tact with Mt. Cortell and the equipment concerned for the Old Res is not available Mr Cortell is checking out other sources of equipment Mr Burke said that there is one other piece of equipment available in Canada and a concern in Illinois will not have one Reservoir available for a year; there are three other alternatives he is going to consider Mr Gray said that the sand is completed and nothing more will be done until the equipment problem is resolved. Mr Gray informed the Board that Mr Esserian has sold the land that the Town was considering for a playground and has offered the Town $1500 for the three tax title lots that Mr Ryan and Mr Esserian Kleeburg are interested in purchasing * involved in a robbery The Chairman instructed Mr Gray to have a plan made of the complete parcels involved, the offers made by Mr Esserian, Mr Ryan and Mr Kleeburg, and how much land will be left Mr Burke informed the Board that bids had been taken for copper tubing for use by the Water Department He recom- mended that the bid be awarded to A F Felz Company of Copper Burlington for 3,000 l.f 3/4" type K Copper Tubing at .51, Tubing $1, 530; 500 l.f 1" type K Copper Tubing at .67, $335; 200 1 f 11/2" type K Copper Tubing at $1.09, $2.18; total of $2,083; less 2% discount. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract for copper tubing to A.F. Felz Company, Burlington in the amount of $2,083 Mr Burke informed the Board that bids had been taken for rock salt He recommended that the bid be split between Eastern Minerals, Inc , 130 Plain Street, Lowell and the Chemical Corpor- ation, 54 Waltham Street, Springfield, for 20-ton bulk truck Rock loads at $17 15 per ton, delivered. Salt Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award one-half the contract for rock sale to Eastern Minerals, Inc. , 130 Plain Street, Lowell and one-half to the Chemical Corporation, 54 Waltham Street, Springfield, for the bid price of $17.15 per ton, delivered Mr Burke informed the Board that bids have been taken for water meters He recommended that the bid be awarded to the second low bidder, the Neptune Meter Company of Wakefield, as they offer two various types of remote reading, with a price difference of approximately $100 On the outside meters, some Water of the other communities are installing their own and some re- Meters quest the home owners to install their own; if we are going into remote reading, the Board should set a policy There have been only two installed in Lexington at the housing for the elderly; none as far as homes are concerned. Mr Kenney asked the cost to install? Mr Burke said that the cost is $13, on the average and he has been told that a unit can be installed in about an hour. The other communities have been installing them in areas in which they are unable to get in; in some areas they are requiring the builder to pay. The Chairman requested Mr Burke to submit a policy that he would like the Board to consider Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to purchase water meters from the Neptune Meter Com- pany of Wakefield in the amount of $8,925.45, as follows 100 - 5/8" Meters w/couplings $35 70 $ 3,570.00 50 - 5/8" Meters w/couplings and remote reading assembly 48 70 2,435,00 5 25 - 3/4" Meters w/couplings $53 55 $ 1,338.75 10 - 3/4" Meters w/couplings and remote reading assembly 66.55 665.50 10 - 1" Meters w/couplings and remote reading assembly 91 62 916.20 Total Bid 8,925.45 Mrs Curtis of the Outlook Club met with the Board The Chairman said that he had reported to the Board about Mrs. Curtis' thinking on an emergency overnight medical station The Board expressed interest but would like to have some more in- formation regarding this, i e , what type of support you already have in the form of Doctors, nurses and, also, how you would get this off the ground; we are mainly concerned of what is the nucle- us of your group, what their interest is, and to what point they will go Mrs Curtis introduced members of the Outlook Club to the Board and expressed her appreciation for the invitation to meet with them. She said that they cannot go forward with their plans without the approval of the Board of Selectmen and hope to deter- mine tonight whether we should go forward at all. We have chosen this work on the hospital facility for Lexington The building of an important unit in our community is a timely one and the Overnight Town should supply the vital need; we are using the hospitals in Medical other towns and it is long past the hour when our reasons are no Facilities longer valid We ask to have the Town fathers authorization for a hospital and we will be responsible for it or to oversee, in- cluding the grounds, etc and business management, leaving the medical services to the staff We wish to start this with a limited overnight facility We prefer to be the operators of this non-profit organization or, if this is not possible, we wish to be authorized to help in some specific way to provide what is needed for adequate hospital care in Lexington and to play a spe- cific role in this endeavor The question on what have we done to get Doctors - we have sought the opinion of many physicians in Lexington and have some replies from them. The Chairman asked if this referred to a hospital or an overnight facility, if the Doctors referred to a hospital or a facility? Mrs Curtis said that the letter we sent out asks what is your opinion of an overnight medical building - we were interested in whether or not they would all favor it Before we did this, Dr Singer came to our group and stated his views; he is know- ledgeable about what is going on in Lexington and about other doctors in the fraternity The Chairman said that as far as a hospital is concerned, there is no question in anybody's mind that it would be ideal. To take the practical approach, taking into consideration the money already expended by Lexington people to Symmes Hospital and what it would take to start a facility, we are not talking $100,000 or $200,000, we are talking $1 M, $2 M, $3 M or $4 M; I don't think the Board would like to adopt the responsibility; as such, we would discuss an overnight facility. The question is, you are here to get our approval, what do you want? Mrs Curtis said that they were told that they cannot even begin to make plans unless we have the approval of the Board of Selectmen and the approval we want is to go forward with plans to either provide an overnight hospital facility for Lexington or some other way that would benefit the people of Lexington. The Chairman said that they are saying, if you had the money, etc you could go forward Mrs. Curtis said that it was her understanding that we cannot go forward with plans unless we have the approval of the Board The Chairman said that you would have to get a permit from the Board of Appeals for construction of a site. You are looking to undertake a project of an overnight facility; in case someone gets hurt, you are looking for a place to take our own people, to a facility here on an emergency basis, and if the person has to be kept overnight, he can stay there. Mr Kenney said that this would be an attempt to dupli- cate the services currently available at Symmes The Chairman said that Symmes is too far away in an emer- gency; if your child is hurt, you could take him to this facility Mr Kenney asked how they could expect to duplicate Symmes; it costs so much money for X-rays, etc. Mrs Curtis said that the reaction of the Doctors was in favor of it; they vary on the extent they would like to go into this. Dr Singer said that our Town is fortunate in having a willing cadre of physicians than other communities. The crux of the matter is organization and ease of delivery. Because the number of hospital beds is not sufficient doesn't mean that the Town should build a larger one; as far as emergency medical care, only in the last 4 or 5 years has Symmes been properly equipped You can't bring in people and not have adequate equip- ment Symmes is a long way for a lot of people to go - they have to depend on an auto or the Lexington Fire Department; some place closer in an emergency would be better Anybody planning such a facility, if they are going to have such a unit, they wouldn't need an X-ray; personnel is the other expensive machine. Medical emergencies such as heart attacks have no place in the emergency facility Surgeons in the community would have to be ready on a call system to back this up - to be available one or two nights a week. If these things can be handled, then you sit down and talk about the cost; in the beginning, it doesn't necessarily mean to build a Douse. C841 Mr Kenney asked how many emergencies he is called out on in a week? Dr Singer said that judging by being on call on a Sunday, Symmes calls him on about six cases a Sunday, many of which could be taken care of in an emergency center Hospitals are now being overburdened and people have to wait for one, two and three hours. The facility would be a comfort, a convenience and a pleasant luxury The Chairman asked how many Doctors he would estimate there are in Lexington? Dr Singer replied, four surgeons, eight internists, five pediatricians and two practitioners, one full time. The Chairman said that we have, approximately, twenty Doc- tors; how many are of the same mind on this? Dr. Singer said that he had not the slightest idea Mr Kenney asked if it was the intention to have a Doctor on call? Dr Singer said that there would have to be a Doctor on call and you would have to wait for him to come It is true there aren't enough surgeons in Lexington and even if all were willing to put in time there, it would make two nights a week on call The Chairman said that there is no question but what they are proposing here tonight, in some aspects, would have to de- serve some deeper research. The project you are thinking about 111 will take a tremendous amount of work, people, cooperation and money and beforeanybody could give approval or support, you should come up with some sort of a blueprint as to people, faci- lities, location, and attached to it, what you have available in facilities' people. To help you arrive at this, we could give all the help possible but as we listen to you, you really are not far enough along for anybody to say, we approve; you haven't proposed anything yet, there is no concept If you could refine it in these areas, we would be in a better position to make an evaluation and any one of our departments could make available anything you need. Mrs Curtis said, when you say you would give us your sup- port . . The Chairman said, I didn't say that. Mrs. Curtis said, you say come up with a blueprint - if then, you approve, would your support be financial or moral? The Chairman replied, both. Send us a copy of all letters you have and go into what you really have in mind - come up with a schematic plan Mrs Curtis thanked the Board and retired from the meeting Mr McSweeney said that it is expected that Lowell Street will be finished within five or six weeks (Chapter 90-between Lowell Maple Street and Woburn Street) We asked them to include the Street intersection, 44' of pavement with 5' adjacent; 3' which was between the back of the lot and the grass line The Chairman said that this will give the people that much more front yard He asked Mr McSweeney what the status of the Woburn Woburn Street job is? Street Mr McSweeney said that it will be finished this week, with all but the maintenance part of it. The Chairman said that we said we would be out of there on the 15th of May Mr. McSweeney informed the Board that the contract for the in- terceptor force main and pumping station, which was awarded to P. Gioioso & Sons, was originally signed at $126,050 Last week the Board signed the contracts and the amount was $125,050. On re- Interceptor viewing them, we found a clerical error of $1400, which brings it to Force Main $126,450 The contractor requests that we approve the additional $1400 The Chairman said that we can vote to amend the award to read $126,450 Mr Perry must be informed of this, by letter. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to amend the award of the contract to P Gioioso & Sons, for the interceptor force main and pumping station, to read $126,450, Mr McSweeney informed the Board that he had received a call from Raytheon to attend a meeting in Bedford regarding the Hartwell Avenue Traffic Study The people from Raytheon want to discuss with the Board of Selectmen what Bedford is going to do Mr Gray said that, at this point, Mr. McSweeney cant tell them anything Mr Mabee asked if there was any reason to believe that Bedford would support this? The Chairman said that Bedford would like to have an inter- change at the Hartwell Avenue-Lexington-Bedford line. We have to take some kind tf a position before you discuss it with someone else. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Cert. of Certificate of Incorporation for Robert S. Gulick, 166 Wood Street, Incorp "The Ripon Society of Cambridge, Inc " Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Certificate of Incorporation for Lincoln P. Cole, Jr and fourteen others, "Lexington Sister City Association, Inc." Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Liquor I D the Chairman to sign the Liquor Identification Card for Fred A Chamberlain, Jr , 458 Marrett Road ABC The Chairman read a letter from the ABC regarding the regula- Memorial tions for the sale and delivery of liquor on Memorial Day, May 26, Day 1969 1 289 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to follow the regulations of the ABC and inform the Package Goods Stores that they may open at 1 00 P.M on Memorial Day, May 26, 1969. Motels and Clubs may serve liquor during the regular hours Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Sidewalk abatement for sidewalk assessment for Daniel P Curtin, in the Assessment amount of $197 70, because of incorrect billing Abatement The Chairman read a letter from the Lexington Field and Garden Club, requesting permission to use the grounds in the rear of Buck- man Tavern for a plant sale on Thursday, May 15, 1969, from 10 00 Permit A.M. to 12 00 N. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant per- mission to the Lexington Field and Garden Club to hold a plant sale on the Buckman Tavern Grounds on May 15, 1969 from 10.00 A.M. to 12 00 N. , subject to the supervision of the Park Superintendent The Chairman read a letter from the Lexington Chamber of Com- merce requesting permission to store Christmas lighting material in the basement of the Visitors' Center The Chairman recommended that the Chamber of Commerce could Storage of contact Mr Gray and Mr Mazerall to make arrangements to store the Christmas Christmas lighting material in the garage on the Buckman Tavern Material Grounds The Chairman read a letter from Army Headquarters in Korea, which stated that there is a site in Korea named after Lexington Lexington and requests that a letter be sent from the Town, to be put under Site - Korea glass on the Lexington site in Korea. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize the Chairman to write a letter from the Town of Lexington to the Lexington site in Korea. The Appropriation Committee and Mr Whalon met with the Board. Mr Gary said that funds were appropriated in 1967 for the Regional Refuse Committee; he asked how much of the $3,000 had been spent? Regional Mr Whalon said that, recently, we made a commitment for a Refuse portion of it. This Article is for consideration for the Special Town Meeting; we were unable to have it ready for the Annual Meeting Legislation was introduced last November seeking to authorize the communities participating in this type of program to appropriate $10,000 Hearings were held in February and we were not able to come into the meeting with any enabling legislation. It was adopted and signed by the Governor on May 5 We have the authorization and it was deferred until now Our reports have been filed with the Town for the past two years There are seven communities partici- pating in this study; it is nothing more than a study; we can't make recommendations because there are none to make but we hope to 29i have possible solutions in another year Our group is organized, which permits two or more to operate as regional, if the Town votes to operate a facility. Our group has formed a committee; one is an engineering group which has worked very hard but their studies are inconclusive It looks as though the untried method of hauling by rail may get off the ground An organization re- cently formed in Boston has acquired land in Cambridge and nego- tiated with the Boston and Maine Railroad; they have on order some of those presses which compact the refuse into high density bails and are seeking commitments from Boston and Cambridge to haul away by contract We have found from investigation and studies by our engineering group that we need a professional, beyond that on our own membership. We have made contacts with Camp, Dresser and McKee; they, like every other civil engineer- ing firm in the city, have set up means to devise investigation on design refuse facilities, in the direction of incineration. There hasn't been one built yet that works; maybe there will be in a few years. We feel, for this reason, that this rail haul may offer a tentative solution with far less capital. The $21,000 we now have available is totally inadequate to buy the kind of advice we need; not even $70,000, if each community voted the additional, will be adequate for final detailed plans. On the amendment which the Legislature adopted, I talked with DeNormandie and Cole and they felt that $70,000 might not be enough; now, two or more can associate and if only two did it, they would get nowhere Last month, we did sign a contract with Camp, Dresser and McKee and we have a liability of $5,000. They are beginning investigations and are attempting to assemble, on their own, some statistical information on a stop check of the facility We can't be sure that out of this appropriation, if voted, there will be anything that will solve the problems of Lexington; we hope they will. We have set next March Town Meet- ing for when we would come in with a plan to be considered. It is a serious problem, not as acute in Lexington as it is in Waltham and Lincoln. Arlington has a situation of despair and they might not stick with us. If we were to resolve our site location along Route 128, Arlington would be twelve miles away, and it might prompt them to go their own way. The Chairman said that they haul to Saugus; they are going to set up their own transfer station and buy their own 65-yard trailers. Mr Whalon said that although the problem is not acute in respect to Lexington, there is an argument for Lexington to par- ticipate in this venture, We are not hurting now, but some day might be; it is not a town or local problem but regional or inter- national State legislation will take action involving the construction of regional facilities by the DPW or some other state agency at such location as the state will select It is quite conceivable that Lexington might be married to some community we would prefer not to be associated with By agreement, it might 1 291 be decided upon where the facility will be located and we hope for a location that will stand up Camp, Dresser and McKee studies are to be made this summer and we will go on from there; we have to have a more definitive report. Mr Gary asked if some of the communities are going to wait for Town Meeting to ask for the additional appropriation? Mr Whalon said that he couldn't answer for all towns; in some there are going to be Special Town Meetings; if there is some neces- sity for monies, they will try to find it in the S & D account. Mr. Gary said that if no Special Meetings are scheduled between now and next March, do these other communities feel they can find the money and get up their share - have they all agreed? Mr Whalon said that the members from each town in our group have all recommended it Mr. Gary said that his committee would prefer to take it up at the Annual Meeting and leave the Special Meeting for dire emergencies He asked if there was any pressing need to do it now? Mr. Whalon said that there is an urgent need; if we don't do our part, this might fall apart The Chairman said that it may happen that he won't need the money; if he does, would your committee see fit to transfer from the Reserve Fund? He is asking would you have enough to transfer? Mr Whalon said that he didn't know if it is proper to transfer without an appropriation The Chairman asked in what areas are Camp, Dresser and McKee doing research? There is no known concept available to do the job. Are they going to do some R & D on a new concept? Mr. Whalen said that, for the first $5,000, they are going to be assembling statistical information for the seven communities It also involves an appraisal by them of site locations. The Chairman said that he thought it was agreed to a location on Route 128. Mr. Whalon said that a problem exists on access, on and off ramps. Beyond that, this study does contemplate, at least, their expert opinion and the alternative methods available for communities involved, and what is the best approach. Mr Mabee said it sounds to him like we are presupposing that Lexington is going to join up with this regional thing. Is it a matter of ironing out how we are going to do this, how much of a commitment if we vote this money at Town Meeting; how deeply in- volved are we? Maybe we don't want it I understand that it is a very difficult thing to do even if both parties cooperate 100 per- cent It might be better if the state says we wouldn't have to have money for study How much of a commitment are we making for the Town if each one of the towns involved in this study has a different timetable? Arlington has already dropped out and Waltham might be the next one I can foresee a regional incinerator but it will be at least five years before we need it; how much do we in- vest now? I am not sure we will get our money back Mr Whalon said that there is no guarantee we will get anything back. There can be no implication that by even participating or ap- propriating any money that this guarantees a favorable vote at Town Meeting The Chairman said that it has to go to referendum to be ac- cepted Mr Whalon said that there is no possibility that anything we do, our actions now, that this involves any commitment on the part of the Town Trying to get a group of communities to agree is difficult Mr Mabee said that if we don't do this because you are afraid it will fall apart - are we keeping a committee going that is not so urgent to us but to others? Mr Whalon answered in the negative. The Chairman said that when we first went into this, we went into it in reverse direction; if we went into the state to make the facility here a sanitary land fill. We don't want to set this one up as a regional one; if we sit back, there is a strong possibility of setting it up here At every meeting I went to, it always came up about using this for the residue dump and I always said, no. If we didn't want to participate, it has been understood if we went in immediately, we would get the same ad- vantages Nothing has changed in your minutes. I see a strong possibility that our area would be the first one the state would grab Mr Gary asked about the life of the town dump The Chairman replied, probably between twenty and twenty-five years; we have twenty-five acres on the other side of the tracks. Mr Gary said that he has heard that the dump is filling up far more rapidly than anticipated Mr Furash asked if this would require house to house collec- tion or would we keep the system we now have? Mr Whalon said that Arlington and Waltham have refuse pick- up and the other communities don't; they will need some method of getting the material, either a central location to bring the trash or a pickup they will need trucks to haul, anyway. Mr Gary said that it would be unfortunate if we appropriate another $7,000 and get our contribution up to $10,000 and five or six years out, we look at the investment and find we never will get it back after we get $30,000 or $40,000 into it Before you know it, you are really involved in something. The Chairman said that it boils down to giving these fellows direction Do we want to stay in or not; is it worth staying in, looking ahead, or drop out. There is no question in my mind if we have a region going and the state steps in, they will take this operation over All we said was from $3,000 to $10,000 was where we should go Mr Gary said that if $7,000 is appropriated by Town Meeting, I would hope that before any additional funds are appropriated, we make up our minds to stay in or not. The Chairman said that before any more money would be com- mitted, we would meet with yo* and say where they are going from here We would like to know how it was going to be committed to see what we get from what we have committed. (293 Mr. Whalon said that the information should be available some- time this fall The Chairman said that the Board would want to know in what direction you are going to spend the money. Mr Whalon agreed, and retired from the meeting Mr Gary said that the Appropriation Committee would like to discuss the Articles in the Warrant on the Jr. High School and the change in the By-Law. The Chairman said that on Article 4, they are asking Eor $10,000 It was discussed with the LCSR and they feel they would put them before the Town and ask that this type of a program be initiated. It is the Board's feeling that we should probably try this and see what the real effects are going to be on a project We arenot kidding ourselves that there are not going to be prob- lems; in my opinion there will be. There are many people in Town who would like to see this attempt made and put it before the Town to see if the money will be appropriated Mr, Gary asked what Town Counsel says about the legal ramifi- cations, and asked if this is going to tie the Town's hands on getting bids on contracts? The Chairman said thatit may have the effect that some con- tractors won't want to get involved and won't bid on the job. As Jr. R-igh I interpret it, the Town has no authority to expend money for this and U sort of thing; even with this Article 4, it may be ruled in court By-Law that we don't have the authority. Article 9 will not help this situation at all. As you know, the By-Law does not take effect until the Attorney General approves it Mr Gary said, aren't they putting the cart before the horse? The Chairman said that we said Why not try this and see if it will work, see if the Town wants to accept this. All Article 9 is saying is that the Town authorizes the expenditure for this sort of program; any appropriation made on a construction job has to be a specific amount of money appropriated. Mr Gary said that he could not believe the Board of Selectmen would tie itself down to this sort of provision. The Chairman said that it was the only way an appropriation would have to be specifically made If this By-Law were not accept- ed, we are saying if Town Meeting wants to appropriate for this sort of project, they can do it whether we agree or not, Mr Mabee said that this has a better chance by separating them The Chairman said that they can question the legality of this without tying up both of them. • Mr. Kenney said that we have had meetings with this committee and there is a great deal of support in the Town. Regarding Article 9, any future monies have to be voted individually, each tine. The Chairman said that we can assure you that if this creates problems and is not successful, we will fight to have this By-Law stricken. But, we feel if this is going to come up at every Town Meeting, we might as well get it over with 294 Mr. Gary asked about the Douglass property, Article 6. lie said that the Appropriation Committee hasn't heard how much Mr. Douglass wants for his land. Mr Mabee said that he had never given us a figure. There were three appraisals, but Mr. Douglass only showed us two ap- praisals. Mr Gary asked what the risk is if this goes into eminent domain proceedings? The Chairman said that he has two appraisals; one reflects our thinking and the other takes the approach of using this piece of property as an adjunct to the funeral home and none of us agree to that holding up in a court We had Mr. Lund do our appraisal; it is a good appraisal , taking into consideration sales in the area. Mr. Mabee said that he did it on the basis of operating a business, not a funeral home Douglas Mr Burnell asked what sur appraisal is? Property The Chairman said, $55,000 We asked for $55,000; we felt that we could live with $48,000 but there is room for settlement, legal work and survey Mr. Gary asked what the need is, not only for the Library, but what would be done with the rest of the land? The Chairman said that there is no question in his mind but that we go eminent domain; in reading the three appraisals, he would take a chance on Mr Lund's appraisal standing up in court. Mr. Gary said that if Mr Douglass thought his figure was only realistic for bargaining, he can't imagine he would be amenable. The Chairman said that no one could understand Mr Douglass. He thought that Mr Douglass would have settled for a figure within our budget but his Attorney held him. Basically, he thinks it should be settled in that area Using the land for Library purposes was discussed and Mr Mabee said that the Library has a timetable and will ask at the Annual Town Meeting for money for plans and specifications Mr White asked who makes the determination of the ultimate use of the land? Mr Mabee replied, the Board of Selectmen The Chairman said that it was our basic feeling that it is good common sense to buy lot 72; rather than split lots 71 and 72, it would cost just as much money to buy both Mr Gary asked about the Town Office Building and what the final Town Office figure is? Building The Chairman said that they did not have the final figure from Mr Deane The Appropriation Committee will be given the figure when they hear from Mr Deane Mr. Gray asked about Article 7, Planning Board Article for con- Article 7 suiting services for studies and plans for a traffic operations pro- gram 1 295 The Chairman said that the Appropriation Committee will be in- formed of the number Mr Gary said that, in February, the Planning Board told them it was submitting the Article with the Engineer The Chairman said that the Appropriation Committee should talk with the Planning Board Article 8, Cemetery Commissioners' Article to retain profes- sional services and prepare plans and specifications for an addi- tion to the existing building at Westview Cemetery The Chairman said that he, personally, felt that it should be built Article 8 Mr. Gary said that it was felt, last March, that under a Town Manager, a more coordinated plan for this whole area ought to be devised. The Chairman said that the question is how you are going to operate The figure is $11,000 for the Warrant The Chairman said that the Board would like to get going on the Personnel Board; we have a big job to do We discussed this about a month ago, and would like to charge this Committee with their duties; we agree with you on the duties and sent a memorandum to all department heads that step raises were not automatic; as you can see, we have the same thoughts the Appropriation Committee has. We think reclassification should be looked at in a different light and would like to discuss parity Personnel Mr Gary said that he felt there should be a Board which is Board removed from the more personal operation and these things can be ac- complished with a Board of this kind. There should be a more for- malized approach to this problem; we can't continue to get personnel budgets late in January or February The Chairman said that we were not happy the way things were going and we want to get this accomplished We don't want a By-Law Committee Anything to do with personnel goes to this Committee, if someone wants to reclassify an employee, the reclassifications would go to them and they would come back tous with the recommendation, It would be a continuing committee, a permanent setup; an Advisory Committee to the Board of Selectmen. It was agreed that the Appropriation Committee would meet with the Board at a later date to discuss the Personnel Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the Warrant warrant for the Special Town Meeting to be held on June 2, 1969 June 2, 1969 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 11 00 P.M A true record, Attest N — Execut , S toren