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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964-10-19-min a" SELECTM.N'S MEETI:& October 19, 1964 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, October 19, 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 Mr. Legro referred to the order of taking for a drain easement in Lowell Street, executed by the Board on October 14, 1964, in Executive Session, and explained Drain that it became necessary to redraw the signature page easement Mr. Legro stated he had drawn a tax title deed on lots 107, 108 and 109 Bartlett Avenue conveying the lots to the Christian High School, Inc. , 20 Garden Street, Tax title Cambridge, and read the restriction incorporated in the deed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to execute deed, prepared by Town Counsel, conveying tax title lots 107, 108 and 109 to the Christian High School, Inc . Mr. Legro reported that he was making progress on the articles for the Special Town Meeting, November 23, and referred to acquisition of the Harrison land . He explained he had talked to counsel for the Conservation Commission who agreed to some changes made by Mr . 1'egro. He explained, to receive State aid, this must be paid out of the Conservation Commission fund and not out of general funds and the purpose for which it must be ac- quired is conservation and not playground or other pur- poses He said there would have to be an article before this one appropriating money to the Conservation Fund He explained the Torn could not vote to spend the money out of the fund unless the money is in the fund . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to insert an article in the warrant to appropriate the necessary funds for acquisition of the Harrison land, the amount being $3,000 Mr Legro advised that the article to acquire the land must be for conservation pupposes and the maximum the Town can recover is SO%. 4Th 01 The Chairman asked if this land acquired for con- servation purposes could be used for anything else Mr. Legro replied he did not think the question has come up, but he would think a conservation would come in the same category as any other land, and he did not think the use of property acquired for conservation is strictly limited to that . Mr Cataldo asked what Mr. Legro meant that the Town might receive 50% Mr. Legro replied there is no guarantee of any kind of aid He said he told Francis Smith preliminary approval should be obtained before this is on the Town Meeting floor. Mr. Legro referred to the so-called Public Facilities Building and said he had drafted an article which would Public call for a vote of the Town to authorize the use of a Facilities part of the Buckman Park Land for the erection of a build- article ing. He said he talked to Harry Erickson, the architect, this afternoon, and the location of the building has not been determined He advised the proper method would be for the Town to vote the authority to use a part of the land for this purpose subject to opining leave of the General Court, and authorize the Selectmen to petition the General Court for that leave. He said he thought the legislature might look more approvingly on such a thing if the Town had voted to do it. The Chairman read a letter from the State Department of Public Works listing bids received covering work to be Bid done on Massachusetts Avenue . award Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to the lowest bidder, J. J. O'Brien & Sons, Inc. , at the bid price of $171,334.25. Mr. Carroll reported that Richard Eaton, Chairman of the Cary Lectures Com,nittee, requested a change in the lighting area at Cary Hall and stage be changed The Chairman read a letter from Mr. Eaton, in which he referred to his conversation with the Chairman, Mr. Burnell, cMr. Carroll and Mr. Bentley. Mr. Carroll said Mr. Eaton wants the work done im- mediately and that Mr. Bentley, the custodian, had mentioned this matter and he obtained an estimate to include an item in tree 1965 budget . He said it looked as though he had sufficient funds to do the necessary work, which amounts to $250, but if he did run over the budget, he wanted the Board to know about this item. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Mr. Carroll to correct the control of the Cary Building auditorium lights. 41.9 Upon motion duly made and seconded , it was voted to grant a permit to Porter & Desmond to move a dwelling frogs 804 Waltham Street to 291 Concord Avenue, subject to the usual conditions . The Chairman read a letter from the Follen Hill Estates As-ociation with reference to sidewalks, street light and hunting . Mr. Carroll said he intended to place a large light at the corner of Marrett and Follen Roads. He explained a sidewalk could be put on the left side of Follen Road going up from Massachusetts Avenue to Dawes Road which he estimated at $3.00 a foot . He recommended that this be included in his budget for 1965, for consideration by the Board. With reference to hunting, the Department of Public Works h:s posted the Tower and Moreland Avenue town-owned areas, and any resident requesting warning signs, may obtain them from the Department of Public Works . Mr. Burnell said there should be a preference program for sidewalks set up by the Bo. rd. Mr. Carroll stated there is a school building program and the sidewalks have to be built for the schools He 11 said he could come in with a sidewalk program but it is something that should be done on recommendation of the School Committee. Mr. Burnell said he thought the Board should have a program to build sidewalks on major highways . It should follow the major highways first to keep people off the major highways . Mr . Carroll asked what would be done in the meantime about the schools that are being built . Mr. Burnell said they are talking about sidewalks along major highways again He said at least one side of the major highways could be done , and reported this is where requests for sidewalks areeven from the schools. They want sidewalks on Marrett Road, again a major highway. He said sidewalks for secondary roads could be postponed or if there is a street like School Street that very defi- nitely needed a sidewalk, an exception to the program could be worked out . He said now the Board works on re- quests from the School Committee and private citizens and after the sidewalks are built on major highways . Mr. Carroll said last year the budget was made of School Committee requests and listed in the order of prefer- ence, but somewhere in the process of Board meetings, an accident occurred on Concord Avenue and it gave up every- thing and put a sidewalk in that area where a sidewalk 42k) ta.7) r-w tc a, had never been requested by the School Department. He asked what good a program was in an instance like that. Mr. Burnell said Concord Avenue is a major highway. Mr. Cataldo explained the Concord Avenue sidewalk was built because the Board wanted it in before Route 2 was widened. Mr. Burnell said the Town may have to spend more money on sidewalks Mr. Carroll said it would be difficult to spend any more money on sidewalks because it is time consuming and difficult to get a contract out. He said he would try to come in with his recommendations for sidewalks in the budget. The Chairman read a letter from Mrs . R. W. Kaufman, 14 Larchmont Lane, requesting installation of a sidewalk on Bedford Street in a three-part program The Chairman asked if anything could be done this year and if there was an existing sidewalk along numbers 184, 185, and 187 . Mr. Carroll replied there has never been a sidewalk there and in order to put in a sidewalk, granite curbing should be put in. He said no curbing has been put in yet this year and he planned to run it along Waltham Street, but if the Board wanted him to, it is possible to put curbing on Bedford Street to protect the sidewalk area and perhaps pave the sidewalk hext year. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Mr. Carroll to place curbing in front of numbers 184, 185 and 186 to protect the sidewalk area and to include an item in his 1965 budget for cohsideration by the Board The Chairman read another letter from the Jaycees requesting the Board to reconsider closing the Sanitary Land Fill on Sundays, and asked Mr. Carroll if he hack. anything new to offer. Mr. Carroll stated he talked to the Town of Bedford and that dump is closed Sundays . It is open until eight at night, but they are contemplating changing the hours to be the sameeas Lexington' s. He said he could see no basis for changing the regulations , and as far as he knew, the dump was working out all right . He stated if the Board does consider and go to Sunday open- ing, there would be a problem of how to control the Bedford Street traffic Mr Sheldon said he thought the Board .shoukdcontinue on its present policy of closing, but it may have to review the subject later Mr. Carroll reported a number of people had suggested 421 Naving the dump open nights which would mean putting in lights; the only problem being selecting the right night . Mr. Cataldo reported the woman who called him sug- gested that the dump be kept open Until six o 'clock, and Mr. Burnell said that is not late enough Mr . Carroll said he did not think people would drive up there at night . Mr. Cataldo said if it is not used, night opening could be discontinued. Mr. Sheldon masked how much it would cost to run lights into the dump area, and the Chairman asked if there would be any safety hazard involved and how long the dump would be open. Mr. Carroll replied until eight o 'clock. Mr. Sheldon suggest. d that the Bcerd wait until the Edison poles are placed and then the Board could consider opening one night a week. Mr. Carroll retired at 8 :15 P, M. Mr. Humbert Lodi, 49 Williams Road , a neighbor, Mr. Nelson and Dog Officer, Michael Shaughnessy, met with the Board. Mr. Lodi said he wanted to meet with the Board because of the accident that happened in Middleton where three dogs tore a young girl to pieces, and he put himself in the parents ' place. He said he was wondering what the ordinances ate in Lexington regarding dogs running free like this, not only in regard to this incident but the daily aggravation he has to put up with The Chairman explained that there is no leash law in Lexington, and as long as a dog is properly licensed, it can roam unless he is a nuisance and a written complaint is filed which usually ends up with a hearing. He asked if Mr. Lodi was speaking in favor of a leash law, and he replied in the affirmative. Mr. Sheldon explained the Board of Selectman could take no action in regard to leashing dogs because it does not have that power. Mr. Cataldo recalled that the Board has previously discussed this subject two or three times and it was the opinion at those times to place the question on the ballot for the next Annual Election and give the voters an op- portunity to decide Messrs . Lodi and Nelson retired at 8:25 P.M. The Chairman read a letter, complaining about dogs, from Frank R. Powers, 3 Preston Road . _ The Clerk was requested to have a copy made for the YQog Officer. Officer Shaughnessy retired at 8 :30 P.M. 111 422 1�t rl The Chairman read a letter from the Planning Board with reference to Mr. Paul McCormack's request for the acceptance of the Lowell Street exit of Laconia Street and the abandonment of the Woburn Street exit Mr. Legro reported that he has talked to the Plan- ning Board, but has not given a reply because of lack of information of the circumstances . He explained a piece of the land is in private ownership and he has told the Planning Board the Town cannot abandon a private way because it has no rights in a private way. He said there are many things about this that he does not know. Mr. Gray was requested to discuss the matter further with Mr. Zaleski. The Chairman read a let,,er from Mr Zaleski, Plan- ning Director, with reference to the parcel of land southwest of Worthen Road that Mr. L. Albert Wilson desires to acquire. Mr. Gray reported he talked to Mr. Wilson who wants to purchase this parcel ai-d if he cannot purchase it, he would like to put a lone of trees on the land He reported also that this parcel, according to Mr Snow, was acquired in two parcels for the Senior High School. The piece of land Mr . Wilson wants to acquire is part of the land acquired for scnool purposes and should be cleared through the School Committee. Mr Snow said as far as he could see, there is no objection as this small parcel is of no value to the Town, but he was sure this would require a vote of the Town Mr Gray was requested to discuss the subject with the School Committee Mr. Gray asked if the Board into insert an article in the warrant for the November Meeting The Chairman replied in the negative and said it would have to go to the Annual Meeting in March. Form notice was re ceived from the Alcoholic Beverages Commission relative to a public hearing scheduled for Hearing November 5 on the question of adopting rules governing the issuance of uniform form of liquor purchase identification cards for persons who shall have attained age of twenty-one . Mr . Gray was requested to attend the hearing. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a Taxi Driver license to Winifred W. Belcher, License 8 Balfour Street, satisfactory character references having been received from Chief Rycroft . 4123 B. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minifies of the Selectmen's Meeting held Minutes on October 14, 1964 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Louis A. Zenner, 6 Fair Oaks Drive, to the Board of Cemetery Commissioners to serve until the Appointmen Annual Town Election in March, 1965, to fill the vacancy caused by Mr Gail Smith's resignation Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint the following individuals to serve on a com- mittee to be known as the Lexington Financial Study Committee Committee Messrs . Paul G. Yewell, Louis A. Zenner, Frank T. Samuel, Jr. , Harry C. Berglund and Edward D. Duncan. It was agreed to request the committee to meet with the Board next Monday evening at 9 :00 P.M. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of dis- cussing, deliberating or voting onmatters, which, if Executive made public, might adversely affect the public security, Session the financial interest of the Town, or the reputation of any person Following discussions with Mr. Gray, Executive Assistant, and Mr. Legro, Town Counsel, it was voted to resume the open meeting Mr. John Carroll returned to the meeting Mr Cataldo reported that he h d a meeting with Mr. Frank O'Hara of Arlington and said Arlington will drain two ponds and the Town of Lexington would be per- mitted to connect to the drain in connection with the Rindge problem existing on Rindge Avenue He recommended that Avenue an appraisal of the pond should be made and an article drainage inserted in the warrant for the March Meeting Mr . Carroll asked whst the legal solution eras Mr. Cataldo ton replied Arlin will bringits drain P $ to the Town of Lexington line Mr. Carroll mentioned that Lexington water would still be going to the Torn of Arlington. Mr. Cataldo said that was correct and all Lexington needs is permission, which the Arlington Board of Select- men will grant . Mr. Carroll asked about Lexington' s right to dump water into the Town of Arlington. Mr. Cataldo explained the primary purpose would not be to benefit Lexington, brit drain those two ponds, 424 and Lexington would not want an easement because it is not maintaining the drain, merely permission to connect to Arlington's drain. Mr . Legro said if all Lexington intends to do is to connect into the existing drain, or will be existing drain, the Arlington Board has the authority to grant permission and also has the authority to rescind it . Mr. Carroll said he thought it was a good idea and should be done, but he wanted to make sure it can be done legally. Mr. Legro said this matter should be reviewed step by step Mr Cataldo stated Lexington has a drainage problem it has to solve some He would like to obtain an appraisal of the pond and then insert an article in the warrant for the March Town Meeting The article to request permission to acquire the land as Lexington does not own half of this pond Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to insert an article in the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting in March, 1965. The Chairman read a letter from the Town Celebrations Committee relative to observance of United Nations Day, UN Day October P1! , and Veterans ' Day, November 11 . The Chairman said he would attend both ceremonies in observance of united Nations Day At 9:30 P.M. , Mr. Robert Rushton met with the Board and submitted a sample of water which he claimed was taken from his well, the well having been filled by the Fire Department. Following a lengthy discussion rela- tive to supplying Mr . Rushton with water, it was agreed that Mr Rushton would have a legal representative , not an engineer or water man, from the Air Force in Bedford meet with the Board next Monday to discuss Mr. Rushton's request to connect into the Air Force metered water line from Wood Street to the base. Mr . Rushton retired at 10:00 P M The meeting adjourned at 10 :00 P.M. A true record, Attest Fec ive ler , Select en