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LEXINGTON COMMISSION ON STIBIIRBAN RESPONSIBILITY 9 March 1969
A meeting of the Commission was held on Sunday, 9 March 1969 in the
conference room of the school administration building, at 5 00 P M.
Present were Bernier, Christensen, Clarke, Conroy, Earsy, Graham,
Greeley, Harding, Levingston, Riffin and Skov Also present were
Marvell, Taylor and Whitman of the PBC; Michelman and Weinstein of
LCRC; and citizens Jones, Lindman, Power, Turchinetz and Weiss
Mr Taylor, PBC chairman, explained that the PBC was CONTRACT
eager to include some kind of contract compliance COMPLIANCE
clause They rejected the LORC proposal because the -
bidding law requiring selection of the lowest bidder AFFIRMATIVE
seemed to prohibit such a condition on bidding The ACTION
architect wrote a less Strong set of clauses which the
PBC did include in the specifications Town Counsel, in
an oral opinion, advised strongly against it, so this too
was removed The PBC still favors such a requirement for
future jobs
The requirement could be put out as an addendum to the
specifications, but the PBC will not do that without
assurance that it will not cause trouble
Difficulties are twofold 1 ) There is a real dearth of
bidders Only one set of plans has been taken out in
J two weeks Contractors are afraid of inflation and pre-
fer private jobs 2) There is the passibility of suit
brought by the contractor for money he feels was obligated
because of the requirement, or a taxpayers ' suit questioning
the legality of the requirement, which might jeopardize the
bond issue
Messrs Weinstein and Michelman proposed an amendment to the
article authorizing change orders to bring about the hiring
of black workers and providing money from the tax levy (not
the bond issue ) to cover costs incurred in recruiting
Prof Michelman presented a written legal opinion on the
legality of such an action.
Would this jeopardize passage of the article? The two lawyers
believed it would not, since it is a separate question with a
different source of funds f the article failed because of
this amendment, it probably would fail anyway
Who would pplice the change orders? Might the contractor take
advantage of it? A dishonest contractor will take advantage
in any case Policing is done by the architect through its
Clerk of the Works, and through very specific language in the
change order• how much money to spend, how to proceed
It was unanimously VOTED. To request the Selectmen to seek a
legal opinion from Town Counsel on the proposed amendment to
Article 13 of the Annual Town Warrant and on whether, if
passed and subsequently challenged, it would in any way jeo-
pardize an affirmative vote on the main motion.
Mr Greeley agreed to put the request before the Selectmen at
their regular meeting the following evening
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It was agreed that a copy of the proposed amendment and the
reasons for it should be in the hands of each Town Meeting
member at the first session of Town Meeting on 17 March
It was agreed that Arthur Bernier would be the LOSR spokesman.
Mr Harding reported that clergy and rabbis were meeting METCO
with Mrs Batson, Metco Director, on Saturday morning
Mr Whitman suggested that action be taken on Article AFFIRMATIVE
37 (Town Office Buiding addition) with respect to an ACTION
affirmative action program on that job CONT'D
Prof Michelman suggested that at a future Town Meeting,
there be proposed a By-Law change authorizing town commi-
ttees to undertake affirmative action programs This
woudl require approval of the Attorney General which, if
given, would obviate future taxpayers ' suits
Mrs Skov reported briefly on a meeting of the Task EDUCATION
Force with people from the Metco Community Committee TASK FORCE
and others disturbed by the climate of racial bias in
Lexington. The Task Force sought authorization from the
Commission to confer with the school superintendent and
administration to discuss allegations concerning incidents
and attitudes in the schools
It was unanimously VOTED To authorize the Education Task
Force of the Lexington Commission on Suburban REsponsibility
to 1 ) Meet with the Lexington School Committee and the
senior adtinistrators of the school system to bring to their
attention the general problems and complaints we have
received from school personnel relating to human differences, and
2 ) Talk directly with the teachers with the consent and
approval of the school committee and the administration.
The meeting adjourned at b 4U Y M.
NEXT MEETING Tuesday, 8 April 1969, Muzzey Jr High , 7 50 P M.
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