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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964-12-07-min 4727 Mr SELECTMEN'S MEETING Deoember 7, 1961 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, December 7, 1961 , at 7 :30 P.M. Chairman Cole , Messrs . Brown, Cataldo and Sheldon were present. Mr. Legro, Town Counsel, Mr. Gray, Executive Assistant , Mr. L.arroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and Miss Murray, Executive Clerk, were also present . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of dis- cussing, deliberating or voting on Tatters which, if made public , might adversely affect the public security, Executive the financial interest of the Town, or the reputation Session of any -)erson. Following discussion with Town Counsel pertaining to a tax titl' lot, complaint of incident at the Sani- tary Land Fill area, the Town-owned property at 561 Massachusetts Avenue, letter from the Fire Commissioners re tanks in Cary Memorial Building, building of the 1775 Trust, it wa.• voted to resume the open meeting. Mr. Legro retired at 8 :10 P.M. The Capital Expenditures Committee met with the Board . Mr. Van Boughton said the committee wanted to get from the Selectmen an expression or opinion for the capital expenditures budget for the next few years and an expression of when the committee should budget Vile Town barn changes and nything else the Board might have . He explained the committee is trying to have a Capital Ex- report ready to present after the first of the year. penditures Mr. Sheldon asked if the Committee WFS thinking Budget of a five-year period and Mr. Boughton replied in the affirmative Mr. Boughton said the most immediate question is when should the committee budget the money for the Town barn. He explained the committee is not concerned about public works ' matters because it has gone over these with Mr. Carroll Mr . Cataldo asked if Mr. Carroll had given the committee the parking lot. Mr. Carroll stated it was discussed the la 't two years, but he neglected to discuss it this year The figure he had in his budget was 520,000 not including any land taking costs . 473 Mr. Cataldo said what the committee wants to know is what is to be discussed next Monday. The Chairman stated the Selectmen will hold a meeting next Monday withthe Chairman of the Appropri- ation Com. ittee and the Chairman of the Capital Expendi- tures Committee, although the members of the committee are welcome to attend Mr. Boughton said he was talking about a budget and did not have to have t'ommitments The Chairman stated the Selectmen have agreed to discuss the parking lot, whether it will be the entire length is another question. Mr Boughton explained his committee would like to present things to the Board but cannot do so unless it knows what the Board is thinking about The Chairman stated it is the Board's intention to have a good rapport with the Capital Expenditures Committee and tho Appropriation Committee, but before that, it has to have a good rapport with itself. Mr. Longley said the committee would like to know it, if the Board is thinking about something within the next five years . He said the extension of the Town Office Building came up when the Town barn was mentioned, and stated that the Board should be getting some idea when this crisis time is approaching The Chairman said the Board has to have its thinking firm on it and then give it to the committee . Mr. Cataldo said what happens to the Town Office Building depends on what happens to the Public Works Building. He said the Board has to decide what is going from here, if anything. Mr. Boughton asked if the meeting next week is to discuss the Town barn The Chairman said the Board wants to talk to him about it Mrs. Rawls said the Board has talked about this as something put off for years and suddenly it has come to the point where it can't be put off. She said she felt something like this should be mentioned in the com- mittee 's budget. If it is something that has to be put off, all right, they can change the timing, but she felt it was a good idea to know thongs are coming. Mr. Bo ghton asked if this was something that cold be postponed five years or should it be shown in the budget The Chairman asked how much the Committee 's report would be held up if it did not have the answers until next week. Mr.Boughton replied not too much in one week. The Chairman said the Board may want to expand this building and find out it cannot do it. 474 4n Mr. Boughton said the committee is not interested in pushing the Board into expenditures, but it does thing the best balance may be found if all these things are put out where the committee can work on them. Mr. Longely said the committee should dave the bene- fit of the Board 's thinking on this public facilities building He asked about expansion of the library Mr. Brown advised that the Library Facilities Com- mittee has taken the expansion under study and it may be more than three, four or five years away. He ex- plained this is his personal opinion as the report has not come beck The Chairman said the Board would have two or three things to discuss with the committee next week, and if the Board was not giving it any information tais even- ing, it is because the Selectmen are not firm in their own minds what recommendations they are going to make. Mr. Cataldo explained that Mr. Carroll has wanted for two years to spend money on the Town barn to make minor temporary changes The Board felt rather than do this, it should have plans for alterations and have a study made so as to go in the right way Mr. Boughton said it was a real need last year and maybe the year before, and it should have been listed in the picture He said some things, such as the Town Office Building, can be foreseeen The Capital Expenditures Committee retired at 8 27 P.M. Request for permission to move a dwelling was re- ceived from the Merry Contracting Service, Duxbury Mr. Gray explained that there has been correspondence on this as the first letter did not give the route or the description of the building. Permit Mr Carroll said it looks fairly routine. = Mr. Gray stated they are planning to move the build- ing on December 15 and the only street he is going on in Lexington is down Waltham Street . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the request, subject to approval of Mr Gray, Mr . Carroll and Chief Rycroft Further consideration was given to Mr. Robert F. Strong' s request for abatement of a street betterment assessment in the amount of $881.00 levied against his property at 11 Manning Street . Motion was made thatthe request be denied Mr. Strong was present at the hearing and stated he moved from Arlington where he also had a pie-shaped 't 5 lot. There he requested an abatement when the street was put through and it was granted. He said when he Betterment made the remark last week, he went into this with his assessment eyes open, it was true, but he came from a town where he was granted relief because of an unusual situation He stated he is approaching his second appeal to the Board of Appeals to enable him to erect a garage Mr atrong also questioned Mr. Carroll's record of frontage Mr. Cataldo informed him that the Assessors ' map shows 100 feet He explained this is not an unusual situation - having a pie-shaped lot and the land is bettered on the front foot regardless of the back lot. He said as far as the Board can determine , there never has bren any relief granted to anyone with an irregular lot and he would be opposed to establishing a precedent Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to deny Mr Robert F. Strop� 's request for abatement of a strep t bettermATE7 P1meffle amount of $881 levied against his property at 11 Manning Street Mr . Strong retired. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Exectitive Session for the purpose of dis- cussing, deliberating or voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, Executive the financial interest of the Town, or the reputation Session of any person Following a discussion with the Board of Assessors, it was voted to resume the open meting Petition for i/o pole locations on Aerial Street was held over . Mr Cataldo wanted an opportunity to Pole discuss the need of the poles with the Boston Edison location Company Mr Carroll reported on the status of the Snow Removal Account and advised the Board that he needed Transfer an additional $8,000 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee to transfer the sum of $8,000 from the R serve Fund to the Snow Removal account . Mr. Carroll referred to property owned by Joseph and Elizabeth McDonough, 94 Grove Street, described as Lct 1. He explained that a sidewalk was built and a betterment assessed along the entire frontage of this lot, and the amount assessable is fifty-five feet be- cause old Grove Street is in front of the property These peo -le were assessed for 168 feet andactually only fifty-five feet is usable sidewalk. He recommended abating $113 for 113 feet (Sidewalk Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted abatement to abate the sidewalk betterment assessment levied against property owned b" Joseph and Elizabeth McDonough, 914. Grove Street , described as Lot 1, in the amount of $113. Mr. Carroll said there was some question today on plowing sidewalks up in the Turning Mill Road area Mr Cataldo said last year the decision was made to study tree entire sidewalk plowing situation before Sidewalk adding any additional areas to the route. He said he plowing could not see any volume of traffic in thisparticular area other than what is generated in the neighborhood He said before anything is done, the Board should look into the entire program Mr. Carroll advised that there are nine miles of sidewalks the Town does not plow at the present time out of a total of forty miles. The Chairman said he received a telephone call last evening from Lee Whitman and he simply called the barn The Answer was that they do not plow sidewalks in sub- divisions Mr . Carroll said that was not a very good basis because if there is a need, the sidewalk should be plowed. The question is whether the need is there. Mr. Sheldon mentioned discussing the subject with the School Committee before taking on any more footage Mr Cataldo said every sidewalk is plowed that would eliminate a bus Mr. Carroll explained every sidewalk the Town installs is plowed Every sidewalk for which the Town has appropri- ated money is automatically plowed He suggested plowing sidewalks on Town ways connected to public ways which would necessitate the purchase of another sidewalk tractor at a cost of approximately $5,000 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to review the entire program of snow removal on sidewalks to determine whether or not any change is to be made Mr. Carroll said he would send a copy of the map showing the areas presently plowed to the School Com- mittee and ask for recommendations and information rela- tive to the number of pupils using the sidewalks and whether or not the sidewalks eliminate school buses The Chairman read a letter from Mr. Carroll rela- Salaries tine to salaries for 1965, and said the letter would be given consideration. He said this brings up a broader problem, and the Board would have to begin 477 Saturday morning meetings on budgets to get some policy in general Mr. Cataldo said before the Board gets into budgets he thought it could look at the situation better if it sat down with the different department heads plus getting a good insight as to just what the School Department has in its setup Mr . Gray asked if it would help if the Board authorized him to call a meeting of all the department heads and have minites of the meeting kept - get in writing what they want, also get a copy of the School Department 's salary schedule for non-certified personnel The Chairman said this is a policy decision of the Board of Selectmen Mr Cataldo said he would want to be present and hear what the department heads have to say Even if such a meeting were held during the day, he would plan to attend Mr. Sheldon said he thought the Board should talk to the department heads even if it meant meeting on a Saturday morning. He said he felt the Board owed the department heads that opportunity It was agreed that Mr. Gray should send a memn to the department heads and arrange appointments at half 11 hour intervals on Saturday morning, December 19, begin- ning at 9:00 o 'clock Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following j/o pole locations, Mr. Carroll having advised the Board he had no objections : Page Road, southeasterly side, northeasterly from a point approximately 100 feet northeast of Pole Bryant Roac , -- locations Seven (i ) , guy (7) poles, wire and anchor p on sixth and seventh poles Fairbanks Road, northeasterly from a point approxi- mately 110 feet northea t of Shade Street , Twenty- (20) poles Sanderson Road, southerly from a point approximately 28 feet south of Bryant Road, -- Three (3) poles Guy wire and anchor on 3rd pole San4erson Roau , northerly from a point approximately 29 feet north of Bryant Road, -- Five (5) poles Guy wire and anchor on 5th pole 478 - en tr Feseenden Way, southeasterly side, northeasterly from a point approximately 10 feet northeast of of Rolfe Road, -- Eight (8) poles Tufts Road, northwesterly side, northeasterly from a point approximately 16 feet northeast of of Fairbanks Road, -- Fifteen (15) poles Blake Road, southwesterly side, approximately 20 feet southea^t of Nowers BtreFt, -- One ( 1) pole Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify the character of Charles A. Whipple, 1 Upland Road, who has applied to the State for a Certificate of Incorporation, satisfactory character reference having been received from the Chief of Police Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to certify the character of Seven J. Dostou, 21 Winchester Cert . of Drive, who applied to the State for a Certificate of Inc Incorporation The original certification mailed to the State on October 6, 1964 we's misplaced in the Secretary's office The Chairman r=da,d a letter= TfOtn Mns .'- Marl C'a4a1, Social Worker, requesting approval of an expdnditure Transfer of $50 from the Gemmel Trust Fund to purchase Christmas plants or gifts to recipients in hospitals or ntrsiing homes. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Trustees of rublic Trusts to consider a transfer of $50 from the Jonas Gamel Trust Upon motion duly made and econded, it was voted Common to grant Common Victualler licenses to the following Victualler individuals Licenses Hancock Market Bellino Coffee Shop Woodhaven Country Store Colonial Store Baker Avenue Variety Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant Taxi Driver Licenses to the following indivi- duals Taxi Driver Warren Modoono, Andrew Gnoza, Robert E. Ross, Isabelle M Licenses Kitson, Charles L. Wilcox, William E. Anderson, George W . Blaisdell, Raymond E. Dalrymple, Mark C Aldrich, Peter L Galipeau, Ronald E Richan 4179 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant Taxi Driver Licenses to Warren C.Modoono, 191 Woburn Street, Lexington, and Andrew J Gnoza, III' Licenses 200 Springs Road , Bedford, for a period of sixty days Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign Liquor License for Buss Bros Liquors, Inc Liquor subject to the aprroval of Alcoholic Beverages Control License Commission Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of tae Selectmen's Meeting held Minutes on November 30, 1964 At 9 :45 P.M , Mr Donald K. Irwin, Building In- spector, met with the Board He referred to his letter of November 27, 1964 relative to his appcintinent to the Security Committee of the Arlington Cooperative Bank, and said he merely wanted to keep the Board informed and was not a question Building of asking for the Board 's sanction Since writing the Inspector letter, he ha attended two meetings of the committee and found that the information in his letter was not accurate The two meetings he has attended lasted one U hour and ten minutes or one hour and twenty minutes which he understands is about average A change of time of meetings is going to be discussed and he felt it will be nearer the noonday period which will run into the lunch hour Mr. Sheldon asked if this involved going out and inspecting property Mr. Irwin replied in the affirmative and said it is an inspection of mortgages, but the amount of busi- ness is not large . It does involve a little daytime activity The Chairman asked if Mr. Irwin intended to do this in conjunction with his Town work Mr. Irwin replied it was not his intention. This would be done on his own tume, and any time spent would be made up. The Chairman asked if there was any possible con- flict of interest Mr Irwin replied personally he did not think so, and stated the majority of the bank' s business is out-side of Lexington Mr. Irwin retired at 9 50 P.M. Mr Cataldo said the Board should get a recom- mendation from the Traffic Study Committee on the effect 4V) ,t1 adn. of the public facilities building in the location the Committee is proposing . Upon receipt of the recom- mendation, the committee should study it Mr. Gray was requested to arrange a meeting of the Traffic Study Committee Mr Cataldo said the Board should get recommendations and then have the Public Facilities Building Committee in Mr Sheldon said the committee might might do better Town Meeting if it had an alternate building Mr Cataldo said there are some questions, such as to what degree the Chamber of Commerce is involved Mr Sheldon said this has grown quite apart from the intent. Mr Cataldo said he did not think any accommodations have been made in the building for children and all these things should be brought to the attention of the committee . The Chairman said #1, the Board wanted the Traffic Study Committee to make recommendatirns and #2, arrange a meeting with the Public Facilities Committee The Chairman said evidentlythere is a conflict in the office of the Secretary of tate in regard to the ,Lexington Lexington Housing Authority, and it is necessary for the Housing Board to re-appoint the members who will have to run for Authority office again at the annual election in March Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to re-appoint the following individuals to t.ie Lexington Housing Authority Albert W. Hruby 36 Williams Road Burton L. *Williams 17 Dane Road Temple E. Scanlon 62 Ledgelawn Avenue Edwin A. Bennett 52 Grove Street Mr. Gray mentioned the Town' s liability in regard to use of the former dump site on Lincoln Street by the Junior Chamber of Commerce for burning Christmas trees Mr. Brown explained that the Jaycees could provide Christmas liability coverage. g trees Mr. Cataldo said all he wanted was to protect the Town Mr Brown said the Board could approve use of the site subject to the Jaycees providing liability coverage, plus a statement that the Town is absolved of any liability He mentioned $50,000/$100,000 coverage The Chairman said the Board should have the Jaycees provide suitable liability coverage and absolve the Town of any liability He said the Board could put a mini- mum of $50,000 - S100,000 40'4 Mr. Gray reported he had checked General Laws in regard to a Dog Leash Law He explained anything the Referendum Board might place on the ballot would be an expression Article of opinion only, and any By-Law:would have to be adopted by the Town Meeting The Chairman said this should be on a preferential referendum and there should also be an article in the warrant Mr. Gray reported th. t he could find nothing in the statute that gives the Town authority to prevent hunting or any provisions whet eby this could be brought up for a vote of the Town Hunting Inasmuch as the Hunting Committee created last Committee spring has been very successful, it was agreed to take no action on the subject at this time Mr. Gray reported th 't he received a letter from Brewer & Lord requesting instructions as to the dis- position of the commissions which have accrued on the Town' s insurance schedule Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Insurance that the following agents are to receive 6 .25% W. Dana Bartlett, W . S. Couette, John F. MacNeil, Charles F Vaughan, J. Quinton Rush, Pied Hersom, John D. Becjwith and Milton F. Hodgdon. Mr. Brown abstained from voting Mr. Gray reported that he received a request from Harry Sullivan for adjustment of a street betterment assessment in the amount of $1,645 levied against pro- Sullivan perty owned by him on Volunteer Way. He explained the betterment Town made a land taking for the turnaround Mr Sullivan does not want to go to Court and feels some- thing can be worked out. He said he would like to refer this to Town Counsel . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to close the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, March, Warrant 1965, on January 8, 1965 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to invite bids for printing 600 and 700 copies of the Town Report 1961+ Annual Town Report Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee to transfer the sum of X1,075 from the Reserve Rund to the Elections- Transfer Jurisdiction Selectmen Account The shortage in this account is due to the Special Town Meeting held on 482Cr- tr June 8, and the Town Meeting within a Town Meeting requested by the Superintendent of Public Works, an unforseen expenditure of $2,383.40 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 10 25 P.M. A true record, Attest Cler , Selec en I