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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1967-02-20-BOS-min 494ac SELECTMEN'S MEETING February 20, 1967 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen ' s Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 20, 1967, at 7:30 P.M. Chairman Cole, Messrs. Burnell, Sheldon and Mabee were present . Mr. Legro, Town Counsel, Mr. Gray, Executive Assistant , Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and Miss Murray, Executive Clerk, were also present. Mr. Cataldo arrived at the meeting at 10:10 P.M. Mr. Legro said he had prepared an Order of Taking Rossetti for the Rossetti land on Whipple Hill. land Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to execute the Order as submitted . Mr. Gray stated he had a bill for payment on the Public Works Building in the amount of $38,7L14.80 which has been checked out and approved by the Committee. Tocci Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted payment to approve application for payment, dated February 10, 1967, in the amount of $38,744.80 to John Tocci & Sons , Inc. Mr. Gray stated he had a bill for payment on the Halsey Public Works Building in the amount of $700.00 for payment architect' s fees which had been approved by the Com- mittee. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted. to approve for payment bill in the amount of $700 to William A. Halsey, architedt. Mr. Carroll referred to the accident involving Ambulance one of his employees, Joseph Vitale, who was seriously bill burned, and asked. the Bard to abate the ambulance bill. abated Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to abate the ambulance bill #29 in the amount of $10.00. Mr Carroll submitted the following letter in re- gard to Federal Aid for sewers : Federal Aid for February 16, 1967 sewers I r � ii,) February 16, 1967 Board of Selectmen Town Office Building Lexington, Massachusetts 02173 Gentlemen: Back in April of 1966 you authorized me to file, in your behalf, a preliminary application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Federal Assistance on certain sewer projects : Winter Street Trunk Sewer Emerson Road to Burlington Street Trunk Sewer North Street Pumping Station and Trunk Sewer Today I received the enclosed form letter from the Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development denying our request. Underlying the denial is the fact that there are simply not enough funds to go around . There are two basic government programs for providing assistance to sewer programs. The first is the one that is now under the control of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration. It was formerly handled by the Department of Health Education and Welfare and this is the program through which we were able to get funds on the Woodhaven Trunk Swwer and the North Lexington Pumping Station and Force Main. This program is to help eliminate pollution, with the great emphasis on ex- isting pollution. In the opinion of E. A "Bud" Cooney of Whitman & Howard who is intimate with the complexities of the Federal Aid programs, their isnot much chance of Lexing- ton picking up any further aid on this program except for relief sewers. The second is the one referred to in the beginning para- graph of my letter - the Housing and Urban Development program to promote efficient and orderly growth of communi- ties. In order to be eligible for assistance under this program a town must be a member of a regional planning group wuch as the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The facts on this program are these: 1. ) One hundred million dollars, each, were appropri- ated for ppropri- ated. for 1966 and 1967 for the entire country. 496 2. ) This region, which includes New York State, has $12,000,000 available to it each year. 3. ) As the letter says, theiequests total twenty times the appropriation made for Fiscal 1967. Summing it up, with the exception of relief sewers, I don' t think there is much likelihood of the Town of Lexington get- ting any Federal Assistance on its sewer programs in the near future. Very truly yours , /s/ John John J. Carroll Supt. of Public Works & Town Engineer JJC/fgm Encl. cc: Bud Cooney The Chairman said he thought the concluding sentence summed up the subject. Letter was received from the Planning Board, dated February 9, 19$7, with reference to Great Meadows' zoning. Great Mr Mabee said the Board was going to ask Town Meadows' Counsel for his opinion. zoning Mr. Legro said he received a copy of the letter Saturday morning, and lookedit over, but had not reached any conclusion. It was agreedto hold the subject over until the next meeting of the Board in order to give Mr. Legro an opportunity to formulate an opinion. The Chairman read a letter from the Planning Board. requesting the Selectmen to take every necessary step to Augustus have the work in Augustus Road commenced as soon as soil Road and weather conditions permit. The Chairman said. the Selectmen share the Planning Board' s concern. Mr. Legro reported he is hopeful that the bonding company will see that the work is done when the weather permits. He tried to contact the bonding company today without success because the man he wantedto talk with was out. He also stated he is prepared to take action. 497 The Chairman read a letter from C. F. Mistretta, District Highway Engineer, DPW, dated February 13, 1967, in regard to Massachusetts Avenue, Federal Aid Safety Project. It is the opinion of the Traffic Engineering Section that the construction of a retaining wall to improve the sight distance for eastbound traffic on Massachusetts Avenue from Station 90± to Station 95t would not rectify the type of accidents that are occurring in this area, and it is therefore judgedthat this project does not qualify as a Federal Aid Safety Project. The letter stated it wouldappear if this section of Massachu- setts Avenue is to be improved , it would require 100% ex- penditure by the Town, or at the Towns request be included in the Chapter 90 program. The following letter, on the same subject, was re- ceived from Mr. Carroll : February 20, 1967 Board of Selectmen Town Office Building Lexington, Massachusetts 02173 Re: Chapter 90 Massachusetts Avenue Gentlemen: Reference is made to the letter dated February 13, 1967 from C. F. Mistretta to Lincoln P. Cole concerning the Federal Aid. Safety Project on Massachusetts Avenue. I submit the following information to you to help you make your decision as to how to proceed to complete the con- struction. I. ) The amounts appropriated at Town Meetings were as follows: Article 21 - 1965 $ 60,000.00 Article 22 - 1966 95,100.86 Total appropriated $155,100.86 Thislis further broken down as follows: State County Town Total Total Share Share Share Allotment Appropriation Article 21 1965 $26,200 $13,100 $13,100 $52,400 $60,000 Article 22 1966 $26,200 13,100 13,100 52,400 60,000 1966 Chapter 6795.100.86 35,100.86 $1y,yuu.00 $1550.wu.0b 498CAD CAQ CI R The difference of $15,200 between the Total Appropri- IIation of $155,100.86 and the Total Allotment of $139,900 will be used by Town to pay what the State calls Non-Participating c costs. These might include new sidewalks , curbing where grades are are less than 3%, new trees, etc. II. ) Belli' s contract on the present construction is for $114,282.00. To be on the safe side we should assume that extras might bring this contract tb $120,000. III. ) This leaves us with $35,000 to construct the 500 ft. section north of Pelham Road. This amount is more than adequate if we go to full depth construction, including curbing, but it is not nearly sufficient to build the walk and flatten the curve to produce desiredsight distance. a) Full depth construction - no widening -$10,000 b) Full depth construction - including wall-$50,000 and widening IV. ) I talked to Mr.Mistretta on Friday after I received a copy of his letter to you. He advised me as fol- lows: II1) That the 500 foot section can not be added to Belli' s contract. They cite a recent Attorney General' s ruling regarding major changes to contracts. a 2) Mt they will not allow State funds to be used on this section unless the tree goes. V. ) This leaves us with the alternative - if we wish to do the work this year and I recommen3 that it be done this year - of using the Chapter 679 funds Iready received from the State andauthorized to be used. on Massachusetts Avenue under Article 22 of 1966. We would have to put the project out to contract. Since the State would not help us we would have to pay for engineering costs ourselves. These would amount to about $1,500, so the total cost of con- structing this section comes to $11,500. In order to be able to use the Chapter 679 money we must ask the State' s permission to use $11,500 of it on this section and. guarantee them that if the II 499 Belli contract runs in excess of the amount left that the Town willmmake up the difference. I see no reason why the contract amount will be in excess of $120,000 which should allow us plenty of latitude to make this statement . Very truly yours , /s/ John John J. Carroll Supt. of Public Works & Town Engineer JJC/f gin The Chairman asked how much the State funds would be in this section, and Mr. Carroll replied all the Town would be losing is $1500. The Chairman asked if Mr. Carroll wanted to put this particular section out to bid . Mr. Carroll replied it definitely should be done this year and he would like to go out to bid on it as soon as he can in the spring. He said he was sure the two contracts ' could be coordinated and that Belli Bros . would bid. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted. to authorize Mr. Carroll to put this section of Massachusetts Avenue construction out to bid. Mr. Mabee askedwhat the requirements are other than the tree , and Mr. Carroll repliedthere are no other re- quirements . The Chairman said for $10,000, leaving the tree where it is, the Town can go ahead. Letter was received fram athe Planning Board, dated February 8, 1967, in regard to the Annual Town Meeting Traffic Study for Massachusetts Avenue - Route 2 and the extension of Outlook Drive to Marrett Road and relocation Planning of Pelham Road. Board The Chairman explained. the Planning Board realizes articles the fact the Planning Board didnot know certain articles were eliminated from the warrant was not intentional and he wound so advise them. He said the Board would keep that $oard informed, on articles that concerns it. Letter, dated February 10, 1967, was receivedfrom the Department of Corporations and Taxation relative to the Bureau of Local Assessment of the Department of Corporations Bureau of and. Taxation created in 1955. Local As- The Chairman asked Mr Gray to go over the letter and sessment come up with a digest for the Board next week. 500 NJ 1 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted. to certify the character of Herbert E. Stotts, 11 Hunt Cert. of Road., an applicant for a Certificate of Incorporation, Inc. satisfactory character reference having been received from the Chief of Police. Common Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted. Victualler to renew Common Victualler license for Folso ' s Seafoods of Lexington, Inc . , 182 Bedford Street. Application for a Common Victualler license was re- Common ceived from David H. Smith, 271 Marrett Road. This was Victualler formerly known as The Old House and the proprietors had a license . Letter was received from the Board of Health stating the facilities and equipment in this building may not be adequate to meet the requirements of the State Sanitary Code and therefore the Board of Health does not recommend issuance of a Common Victualler license. A telephone call was received from the Police De- partment advising it had been unsuccessful in locating Mr. Smith. The Chairman said he would take this matter up with Town Counsel. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Minutes to approve the minutes of the Selectmen ' s Meeting held on February 13, 1967. Letter was received from the Town Clerk advising that Charles H. Spaulding hadbeen appointed to the Appointment Standing School Building Committee to fill the unexpired term of George Kolovson who resigned as of October 27, 1966. Mr. Lee 4hitman met with the Board relative to a petition requesting the Board to construct and maintain, sidewalk including snow plowing, a sidewalk on the norhh side of Turning Mill Road 800 feet, more or less, from Robinson Road eastward connecting with the existing sidewalk at Demar Road. Mr. Carroll submitted a plan and Mr. Whitman indi- cated the location as referred to in the petition. M. Whitman said he would like to see a long-range program that would cost about $18,000 and could be amor- tized in nine years. He said a saving could be made on busing. Mr. Carroll said he recommended tbAt Robinson Road be constructed before or with the sidewalk and be done as one project. 501 Mr. Whitman said it was a matter of safe passing and economics. Mr. Carroll skid he has bad enough dealings with people who want their children to get safe passage to school to know this Board will definitely haye a request for a sidewalk on Robinson Road . Mr. Whitman said he woulddiscuss this with the School Committee. Mr. Sheldon referredto the Steering Committee, connected with Metcalf & Eddy' s study, which is made up of the Selectmen, Planning Board, Capital Expenditures Steering Committee and the Appropriation Committee . He said Committee because he was going off the Board , he would like to be relieved. Mr. Mabee agreed to take Mr Sheldon' s place. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating or voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, the fiancial Executive interest of the Town, or the reputation of any person. Session Following discussion pertaining to legal matters with Town Counsel, and budget items with the Appropriation Committee, it was voted to resume the open meeting. Mr. Cataldo arrived at the meeting at 10:10 P.M. Budgets were reconsidered and acted on as follows: Department Requested. Approved Selectmen' s - Clerical Pool $ 5,000.00 $ 6,000.00 (All part-time vacation Budgets help to be included here) Selectmen' s - Expenses 6,035.00 5,200.00 (Equipment and repairs transferred to another account. ) Appropriation Committee approved. 5,110.00 Selectmen' s - Out of State 500.00 550.00 Town clerk - Foreclosures 150.00 100.00 Parking Meter Maintenance 60.00 00.00 (Counting being done by Lexington Trust Co. ) Planning Board - Personal 17;522.00 17,335.00 Planning Board - Expenses 6,000.00 5,550.00 Elections - Selectmen 7,000.00 6,675.00 (ICh�3nbknce on machines in insurance budget) 502 N [7 11.0 Board of Registrars - Personal 4,478.00 3,725.00 II Town Celebrations 5,300.00 5,000.00 Conservation Commission 750.00 300.00 Recreation - Personal 24,043.00 24,400 .00 Recreation - Expenses 8,035.00 7,500.00 Metered Mail 3,200.00 2,200 .00 Comptroller - Expenses 2,965.00 2,565.00 Assessors - Expenses 2,975.00 2,615.00 Assessors - Professional Services 4,000.00 1,000.00 Board of Health - Personal 13,909.00 13,925.00 (Vacation & extra help in Clerical Pool) Board of Health - Expenses 8,895.00 9,000.00 ** Police - Personal 397,033.00 397,000.00 Police - Expenses 54,115.00 54,115.00 ? Dog Officer - Expenses 1,000.00 800.00 Fire Department - Expenses 42,660.00 41,680.00 Forest Fires 500.00 100.00 Civil Defense - Personal 9,890.00 9,800.00 Civil Defense - Expenses 11, 725.00 10,100.00 Civil Defense - Out of State 275.00 (Out of State paid by Nat'l . Association. ) Inspection - Personal 30,773.00 27,884.00 (Vacation funds in IIClerical PPool) Public Works - Personal 482,969 40 460,540.00 Public Works - Expenses 60,303.39 56,090.00 Town Offices & Cary Building P.S. 20,546.00 20,246.00 Town Offices & Cary - Expenses 37,3 8.00 34,238.00 Public Works Building 18,129.00 17,575.00 (Printing calculator transferred to another budget) Traffic Regulation & Control 6,400.00 6,000.00 Street Lights 79,300.00 79,300.00 Sewer Maintenance - Expenses 38,249.00 23,749.00 (Hydraulic Sewer Cleaner to Road Machinery) Park Department - Expenses 29,130.00 32,680.00 The Chairman reported the following possible savings as considered by the Selectmen: Sewers $50,000 Sidewalks 20,000 Road Machinery 12,000 Options 7,500 Crescent Road 16,500 Blossomcrest Road 24,000 503 With referenceExpenses Wi h to the Police Fsxpe s s B udget, Mr. Parrish said he wanted it on the record that when the Chief comes in with his budget next year, the amount for uniforms will be increased again. He said the Committee has been badly misled in this area and he did not like it. Mr. Cataldo said he would never agree to taking these articles out, knowing everyone else is going to get what they want. He said there are people who have wanted sewers and streets for twenty and forty years and he, for one, would not go along. The Chairman said, referring to the Articles, that the Appropriation Committee will make its recommendations and if the Selectmen have differences, they will try to resolve them with the Appropriation Committee before Town Meeting. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 12:15 A.M. A true record, Attest: / )/ - -IxiScutive erk, electme 1