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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964-10-26-min 425 SELECTMEN'S MEETING October 26, 1964 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen 's Root, Town Office Building, on Monday, October 26, 1964, at 7 :30 P.M. Chairman Cole , Messrs . Brown, Burnell, Cataldo and Sheldon were present . Mr. Legro, Town Counsel, Mr. Gray, Executive Assistant, Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and Miss Murray, Executive Clerk, were also present. Hearing was de;Olared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for permission to locate one pole on Bedford Street. Pole A representative from the Boston Edison Company, location who did not give his name for the record, was the only person present at the hearing. Notices of the hearing were mailed to the peti- tioners, owners of the property as listed on the peti- tioners ' plans and also filed with the Superintendent of Public Works . The Petitioners ' representative explained that the pole is being requested to support increased system distribution capacity in Bedford and Lexington. Mr. Harroll approved of the proposed location. The hearing was declared closed, and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the peti- tion and sign the order for the following i/o pole location: Bedford Street, southwesterly side, approximately 156 feet northwest of Glendale Avenue, -- One (1) pole Mr. Carroll stated that the Water Services Recount is short and he will need an additional $1,000 The total appropriation was $10,000 and there is a balance of $4,000. Upon motion duly made and seconded , it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee to transfer the sum of $1,000 from the Reserve Fund to the Water cervices Account 426 okn Mr. Carroll referred to the Sanitary Land Fill area on Hartwell Avenue and recalled that a few months ago, Mr. Cataldo suggested planting some shrubs across the Sanitary face of the area which would cost about $300 or $400 Land Fill for forty pine trees He explained he has sufficient shrubs funds in his budget and would like to do the planting this year. Mr. Cataldo asked if Mr Carroll thought he should just do this much and asked about the original thinking Mr. Carroll said he thought only this much should be done as the Town has not made a property transfer and does not own one side Mr Cataldo said there are two reasons , the entrance would be completely fixed and if the trees could be planted on a higher grade, they would hide that much more Mr. Carroll explained he intended to plant them on the new grade and it will screen the dump Mr. Cataldo felt that the Board should consider doing a complete planting starting from Hartwell Avenue Mr . Brown said that was his thought also Mr. Carroll said the Board would have to wait until the Town acquired the property from Cabot, Cabot & Forbes and obtain an agreement from them He said he would like to plant the trees this fall, but wanted to know if the Board wanted to do this He said it would take some time before anything is dumped on the other side of the road. Mr. Brown felt that , from an aesthetic point of view, it would not hurt if Mr Carroll planted on the present Town property line and at a later date, if the Town acquired # the Cabot, Cabot & Forbes ' property, continue the planting. The Board was unanimously in favor of Mr. Carroll' s suggestion Mr. Carroll reported that Mr . Frederick Maloney is b ck in the hospital nd he requested a further ex- Sick tension of his sick leave to November 30. leave Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend Frederick Maloney' s sick leave through Novem- ber 30, 1964. Requet was received from the Metropolitan Building Movers Co. for permission to move a dwelling from 2990 Massachusetts Avenue to 215 Wood Street Mr. Carroll reported that Chief Rycroft, Mr. Mazerall and he went over the proposed route. They recommend ap- proval be given with the understanding thatthe dwelling shall not go in front of the property at 215 Wood Street, but at thrt point will go on private property ' He said # Mr. Carroll stated he would like to plant the trees as best he can on the fixture grade 427 there g re two verylar e trees and there is not room to a get by those two trees. They suggested to the mover that he move in back of the two trees and they recommended that he be permitted to move the dwelling if he goes in back of the trees Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the Metropolitan Building Movers Co. permission to move a dwelling from 2990 Massachusetts "venue to 215 Wood Street, subject to the usual conditions and the further condition that the dwelling shall not go in front of the property at 215 Wood Street, but at that point will go onto private property, and is to be moved in back of the trees Planning Board letter relative to Laconia Street relocation was held over . Further consideration was given to Mr. L. Albert Wilson's request to purchase a parcel of land owned by the Town and located between Worthen Road and lot 24, Bale of 1 Baskin Road . land on Mr. Gray reported that he took the information to Worthen Dr Fobert and he will present it to the School Committee Road at its next meeting . He also read a letter from Mr. Wilson toDr. Fobert . The Chairman said if tris involves the School Com- mittee, its approval is required and not that of tie Board. Mr . Gray said he could see no objection to Mr. Wilson' s planting trees. Mr. Cataldo asked if the Board would grant Mr. Wilson permission to plant the trees. The Chairman replied in the affirmative if the School Committee agrees. Mr. Sheldon pointed out th t Town Meeting would have to vote to sell the land, and asked if Mr Wilson wants to acquire it or plant trees Mr. Gray replied he would like to purchase the land Mr. Sheldon said if the School Committee will grant him permission to plant the trees, then the Town Meeting can vote on it . Mr. Gray said if Mr Wilson wants to plant the trees, it would be his risk pending vote of a Town Meeting. Mr. Carroll advised that one restriction should be made, there will be no driveway. Mr Gray said he would discuss the subject with Dr. Fobert Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted not to authorize the sale or delivery of alcoholic I 428 CZ' beverages during polling hours on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 1964 Letter was received from the Board of Fire Commissioners advising that an additional $200 is needed for the Ambu- lance Account Transfer Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to request the Appropriation Committee to transfer the sum of $200 from the Reserve Fund to the Ambulance Account. The Chairman read a letter from the Lexington Police- Salaries women's Association requesting the Board to consider a salary of $150 per month It was agreed to advise the Association that this is an item that properly belongs in the 1965 budget and the Board will give the request mature consideration when preparing budgets for presentation to the Annual Town Meeting. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Use of to grant permission to the DeCordova Museum to use Cary hall Hall for concert and rehearsals on December 3, 5, and 7, subject to a charge of $35, plus custodian's overtime fee of $3.46 per hour Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Use of to deny permission to Brian J. Raftery, 2318 Massachusetts hall Avenue, Lexington, to conduct a High School student dance in Cary Hall on November 13. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant T ,xi Driver Licenses to the following individuals, Licenses satisfactory character references having been received from the Chief of Police Coleman F. Vaughan, Kenneth P. Kelley, Jr , and Robert T. Wesel. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Minutes to approve the minutes of '-he Selectmen's Meeting held on October 19, 1964 At 8:00 P.M. , Mr. Carl Blake, Mr. Leslie York and Mrs. Ruth Morey, representing the Town Meeting Members Association, met with the Board. Mr . Blake said issue, inserting articles in warrants at the request of official town Boerds or Com:;ittees, has been long standing and had its origin with the procedures for preparing the warrant for the Town Meeting held June 8. The spe-ific item relates to refusal of the Board to in- clude an article in that warrant submitted by the Conser- vation Commission. He said this caught the attention of L _ 429 a number of people and received editorial comment in the P P local paper, and was discussed at some length at a Board Meeting of the TMMA. They felt they would like to ex- plore this further on an informal basis They wanted to know the thinking of the Board on the action it took He said at that time, he wrote a letter to the Board and asked three specific questions, which he proceeded to vead. He said the Board might recall an article was presented to the Town Meeting but done in this instance by the Board in question getting 200 signatures . He said he received a very excellent letter from the C_iairman. The feeling was that there was not a stated policy, that there had been votes in the past on whether articles would be included or not an(' there were other precedents in which the Board had not followed the procedure of inserting an article from Boards or Committees He said the TEs questions whether this is the type of action which is prudent from the Board 's point of view, and desirable from the Town's point of view. He stated his role here is to explore this an( to prevail upon the Board to es- tablish a policy in this direction. He said the policy could be to admit requests for articles submitted to the Board by responsible Town boards He said if the Board found itself opposed to them, it should make this feeling known by a recommendation to the Town Meeting He said the TMMA feels the Town Fleeting has the right to know the actions and recommendations of all Town boards, and it hopes to encourage the Board to establish a policy • Mr. Cataldo explained the article in the Minute-man was in error, and stated there have been articles sub-i mitted to the Board before thc.t were not placed on the warrant He said as far as he knew, no policy had been broken. He pointed out that the Board meets for months going over budgets, cutting here and there wherever it feels it is in the best interest of the Town. He said he feels it should treat all departments fairly and also felt there were items taken out of department budgets that were much more important to the Town than the parti- cular item under discussion. He said when the Board works hours and days, the townspeople should take its recommend tion He explained that the Board worked diligently to reduce the tax rate, and it is not fair to the other departments in whose budgets items were disapproved to insert articles for items for other departments which the Board disapproved. Mr. Blake said the question is, what would be a best working relationship between the Town I• eeting and the various Boards and Committees He said the TMMA would hope in the future in meetings witn other Boards the 111 Selectmen would have a give and take, and in 95% or more 4[30 tc of themutually cases they would come in with budget proposals He said at this point, the TMMA execu- tive committee feels it would rather have a chance to hear the reasons from the committee in question why they think it is so important The committee would also like to hear the Board' s reasons why it thinks it is an inappropriate time and causes it to recommend that the expense be deferred Mr Cataldo asked why then the Board should devote so much time on budgets He said one department goes along with the Board 's recommendation and the _next department says it wants certain items regardless of how the Board feels Mr. Blake said the majority of the cases can be done by a give and take but the one case that comes along now and then and the Board is adamant this case should be passed along to the Town Representatives to decide. He said the Board ' s control is artificial and it would be more harmonious if the Board went into the Town Meeting with an honest disagreement . Mr. Sheldon said it seemed to him that in essence the feeling is that by and large the Board ' s policy would be whet the TMMA asks it to be. He said the Board would lice to continue to reserve the right not to insert an article if it is felt there were reasons where the financial level is involved . He said, speaking for himself, he did not think he would want to say this would never happen again, and as the -overning Board, he would like to reserve the right not to insert articles. The Chairman said he thought this was what the Board has decided end he reminded the group that anything the Board does is not binding on future Boards . He pointed out that a previous Board did refuse to insert a Civil Defense article in a warrant Mrs Morey said from her memory there have been many controversial items , and usually the Board is able to impress upon the committee that the Board is going to oppose, and it was more or less agreed th^t the Board would omit the article . She said on the Civil Defense article, it was left out an there was 100% opinion from the Board that it would not get far The Chairman advised that it was a two to two vote of the Board. Mrs. Morey said she felt any Board authorized by the Town and has a certain standing, it is up to the governing Board to show the wiseness of holding off an article. If they don't recognize the wisdom, they should go before the Town Meeting and be knocked down. Mr. Adams said the Civil Defense was a department under the Selectmen and the Conservation Commission is not a directly controlled department of the Board of Selectmen. II He said the Conservation Commission is not necessarily a creation of the Sa,ctmen, it is not in the same relation431 - ship as Town Departments . The Chairman said all the Board is being asked is that it give real consideration to any article put in by a Board appointed by it . Mrs iviorey said it was any Board authorized by a Town Meeting The Chairman said before the Board refuses to put an article in, the TMMA wanted the Selectmen to make every effort to discuss it with the Board. Mrs. Morey said, rather than refuse to put it in, The Chairman said the Board would discuss the matter, but he did not know that it would end up any differently. Mrs. Morey said the TMMA felt it was an indignity for a Board in order to have what it wanted aired on the Town Meeting floor and have to .et signatures . The group retired at 8:22 P.M Messrs. Trani, Stevens , and Maienza, the 1775 Realty Trust, met with the Board . Mr. Cataldo explained he asked to have this on the agenda because the Board is aware of the fact the group purchased the Hunt property and before they go too far IIwith the plans, the Board wanted them to know it is in- terested He said the Board would like to know if they have any specific plans and any calendar . Mr . Trani said the fence had been removed between the property, a small building h-,s been taken down, and the property was ready for paving They are about to relocate the old fire escape There will be shrubs planted and Colonial design at the rear entrance . They have done a little on the blocking up of unused exits . They plan further lighting inside and are contacting a real estate agent for exclusive rental. He said time is important, and the acquisition of some land in the rear owned by the Town would be of interest to them They do not elan to take down what they have . Mr. Cataldo asked if they had any plans for future construction in an area he indicated on a plan, and rir Trani Trani replied they have future plans Mr. Cataldo explained his thount was to get to- gether and strairhten out the whole area, and the Board ' s interest is getting the line, which he also indicated on the plan, straightened out . He said the Board would not recommend selling the land outright, but it would be a land exchange He said before the group goes along with any development ideas, a joint meeting should be held to determine the best way to lay this out to the mutual bene fit of those concerned C Mr. Trani said he was definitely interested. Mr. Sheldon said for the good of the Town, this line has to be drawn and it would be too bad to spend much money in front or in back Mr Trani asked if the Board wanted to draw a line Mr Sheldon replied in the affirmative and said it would be parallel to the old block Mr. Trani formerly occupied Mr. Cataldo explained that the Board does not want the group to spend any money for plans or engineering without knowing what it has in mind He recommended that the Trust sit down with Mr. Carroll and Mr. Gray and look at the whole situation and see what recommendations they can come up with Mr. Trani asked if the Town was considering giving land in the back for front land, and asked the Board's plans . Mr. Brown said the establishment of a building line would determine whether or not the building would come down. Mr. Cataldo said before the Trust spends any money or has any layouts made, the Board would know exactly where it is going Mr. Trani said as long as there are no strings on the front land, the front land is importaht to them. Mr. Sheldon said from what he heard, the group does not intend to take the building down for a good ten years at least Mr. Trani said they would like to take it down, but if it is not feasible, they cannot let it sit there the way it is Mr . Sheldon said perhaps the life of the building will be extended so the complete taking down and replacing is a long way off. Mr. Trani stated if they do what they now plan, the building will be there for some time Mr. Cataldo asked if they planned to do anything inside the building and Mr Trani replied in the affirma- tive. He said time is important anc they want to do it right Mr Cataldo suggested scheduling a meeting with Mr Carroll and Mr Gray and possibly call the bank in. It was agreed by all present to explore the subject further at a meeting to be arranged by Mr. Gray Messrs . Trani, Maienza, Stevens and Carroll retired at 8:)01 P.M. Mr. Legro, Town Counsel, and Mr. Irving Mabee, of the Standing School Building Committee, met with the Board. LI 3 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discus- sing, deliberating, or voting on matters, which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, the financial interest of the Town, or the reputation of any person Following discussion of a legal nature, it was voted to resume the open meeting Messrs . Yewell, Zehner, Berglund , Duncan and Samuel, members of the so-called Financial Study Committee, recently established by the Board, met with the Selectman The Chairman said the Board would like the committee to report back by January 1st if it can, and it would like to find the financial effect of zoning in Lexington. Mr. Cataldo explained the first answer the Board Financial is looking for is the financial effect without zoning, Study as it stands at the moment, taking into consideration Committee the proposed increased population five years hence, what the operating budgcts will be and compare that with the present tax structure . Mr. Sheldon explained that there are some people in Town who feel it is just right the way it is and rezoning for industry is not needed, and the Board wants to know if that is true He recalled that some $4,000,000 in construction was rejected at the last Town Meeting. He asked the committee to tell, considering the growth of the Town, if, in its opinion, the Town would be better off to continue its present course or should it change by makint; an effort to expand its industrial areas and take areas presently zoned and put them into industrial use . Mr. Yewell said he had the feeling when he was asked to serve on this committee that the members of the committee were going to be charged to bring the BoaT-d the facts, only the facts He said the Board had an inbiased committee that would make no recommendations . Mr Sheldon said that was correct . Mr. Yewell said the committee is supposed to study the situation and asked the Board to tell it five, seven or ten years Then the committee would tell the Board what it comes up with. The Chairman said the facts, as the committee sees them, are what the Board would expect Mr. Cataldo said to come up with these facts and let the Town decide which way it wants to go. Mr . Sheldon explained that all the information the other Boards have will be made available to the committee and suggested that once it has selected a chairman, he contact Mr . Gray who will tell where and how to get this informat ion 434 C Mr. Cataldo said the number of years the Board is looking for will be determined on how much time the committee has He suggested that the committee give the Board as many years as it can by January 15, but did say it should be a minimum of five and beyond that , as much as tue committee can accomplish Mr. Yewell said all the committee could ask for would be the department 's plans . The Chairman said the committee may be able to get the Planning Board 's thinking for five years, and it would get five years from the Capital Expenditures Com- mittee. Mr. Cataldo explained the two major departments are tae School and Public Works The Chairman said Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, would give the committee what he has on his mind. Mr. Sheldon suggested that the committee watch the operating budgets, and stated it is not necessarily the payment of interest and that type of thing which will create a problem, but the increased operating budget Mr. Cataldo advised that the Capital Expenditures Committee and the Town Meeting Member Tax Dollar Com- mittee have done some work, and it might be well for the Committee to sit down with them and see how far they have gone. The Chairman explained that all these people have agreed to co-operate Mr. Yewell asked how far down in the budget the Board would like to have the committee met with people The Chairman explained that the Town Meeting Members Association has prepared a chart with a breakdown of all the departments and Mr. Gray would be available . He said he thought the committee could see from looking at that chart and the budgets which would be germane Mr. Sheldon suggested that the committee also look at the percentages in the Appropriation Committee report Mr . Yewell asked if 90% accuracy would be all right Mr Cataldo suggested that the committee take a look through the budget book The Chairman said it would be unfair if the Board said any percentage Mr. Samuel asked what the Board felt the growth of the Fire and rolice Departments is going to be for the next five years Mr Sheldon replied that the department heads would tell that . Mr Yewell asked to whom the committee should talk, and the Chairman r plied that it should talk to the de- partment heads, but might also check with the Board. 435 Mr . Yewell said the committee would obtain all the facts it can and then get the Board ' s reaction to the facts it has found The Chairman advised that the Board would make time for the commitee on any agenda Mr. Yewell asked if Mr. Gray would be available to meet with the committee during the day, and the Chairman replied it would be advisable to have him meet with the committee . The Chairman said the committee has the backing of the Board and any information it has available to it . Mr . Yewell said he hoped this would be understood by all the other people, and that the committee would be looking for facts only. Mr. Gray suggested that a memo be sent to the de- partments, boards and committees requesting their co- operation. The group, including Mr . Legro, retired at 9 :29 P.M Following an intermission, the meeting was resumed at 9 :55 P.M. , at which time, Mr Carroll and l+lr. Legro returned to the meeting. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Town to sign the warrant calling a Special Town Meeting for Meeting Monday, November 23, 1964 Mr. Legro reported that one article , pertaining to an exchange of land with John Castoldi, inc . has been withdrawn. He talked to the Planning Board this even- ing and that Board agreed to defer this until the March Town Meeting. He said he could not understand why in- formation for the articles cannot be prepared a month or six weeks in advance . He advised the Board to decide on, for example, a parcel of land coming to the Town whether it is going to be an exchange, a gift or what and these are administrative matters He said, speaking of land, he understood the parcel involving Lillian Road is coming to the Town as a gift He advised these matters could be clarified beforehand . Mr . Gray suggested that the warrants be closed earlier . The Chairman said he did not think thatwould be neces- sary. A transcript of Assistant Attorney General Bottomley►s comments, concerning application of the recent legislation pertaining to eminent domain proceedings, was received from the Middlesex County Commissioners . I 436 , ,`� C ; CrJ The Chairman said this is information for the Board but more pertinent to Town Counsel, and he suggested that it be passed along to Mr . Legro. Mr. Gray said he would make a copy for Mr. Legro 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, Executive might adversely affect the public security, the financial Session intbrest of the Town, or the reputation of any person. Following discussion of legal matters, it was voted to resume the open meeting The Chairman brought up the subject of closing the dump on Sundays and expressf-d what he termed to be his personal feelings. He said closing the dump on Sundays was a valid experiment, but he has received so many calls and by far, everyone who calls wants the dump open on Sundays . He said a great many people cannot go any other day but Sunday, and his general feeling is that the dump should be opened on Sundays . He said he could see the Torn will be getting into a sticker system because a great majority of the cars are from out of town, so some manner of control will have to be instigated. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to open the Sanitary Land Fill area on Sundays, effective Sunday, November 1, 1964. Mr. Cataldo was recorded in opposition. The meeting adjourned at 10 :55 P.M. A true record, Attest : c^__vT/ ler , Select en +�Ip I 1