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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970-03-09-CSR-min.pdf IL� .�V'1'U1V UUi•w s i.Ui' U1V At1,bUZCUSHiV 1t arU1V51ri1L1'1'Z y lvia. I yoy aepO 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, C . aham, Greeley, Harding, Levingston, Riffir. and Skcv Also present were Harvell, Taylor and Whitman of the IBC; Michelman and Weinstein of LCRO; and oitizens Jones , Lindman, Power, Turchinetz and Weiss Mr Taylor, ?BC chairman, explained that the PBC Wls CONTRA eager to include some kind of contract complian.; OOMPLIA1L:., clause Tney rejected the LCRC proposal becaus the - b ding law requiring selection of the lowest b.. uer AFFIRh TIVE umed to prohibit such a condition on bidding fhe A "'ION 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 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 W instein 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 opiniL.n on the legality of such an action. Would this jeopardize passage of the article? The two :.awyers believed it would not, since it is a separate question with a different source of funds. If the article failed because of this amendment, it probably would fail anyway Who would pplice the change orders? Might the contractor ta4e 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. C 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 LCSR spokesman. Mr. Harding reported that clergy and rabbis were meeting METCO with Mrs Batson, Metoo 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 guthorizing 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 Mateo 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 6 40 P.M. NlXT MEETING Tuesday, 8 April 1969, Muzzey Jr. High, 7:30 P.M.