Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-01-05-BOS-min \ D J I A SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 5, 1981 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Select- men's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, January 5, 1981, at 7 30 P.M. Chairman Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Norman P Cohen, Town Counsel; Mrs Snow, Principal Clerk, were present Mrs Miley convened the meeting and called upon Beatrice Phear, Town Senior Manager's staff, to report on her assessment of the need for a senior cen- Center ter and her investigations as to the appropriateness of either Munroe or Muzzey Jr High School for its location An elderly population projection showed a growing number of elderly citizens, to reach 6,700 over 60 years of age by 1990 Personal, informal interviews with senior citizens revealed four major concerns transportation, loneliness, housing costs/maintenance, and information/referral A projection of the use of the potential various senior services in Lexington, based on utilization in other towns and on national norms, was developed 4,700 questionnaires on the needs and desires of the elderly were distriubted to both instutionalized and non- institutionalized elderly and response (50%) was extremely high Mrs Phear reported on a strong desire on the part of seniors for the kind of services that can be offered by a senior center, which she esti- mated would be used by 2,000 people Regarding choice of location in either Muzzey or Munroe School, she recommended that Muzzey Jr High School seemed to be most appropriate because of size, layout, location and design of accesses, and suggested that it be leased to a developer on a long term basis for renovation for multiple agency occupancy Mrs Phear also recom- mended continued support of Lexpress and zoning to allow accessory apart- ments Following discussion of aspects of the report, it was decided that the Selectmen will take a position on the matter following receipt of reports by the Council on Aging, the Human Services Committee, and other agencies with concerns relating to the elderly Mrs Phear was thanked for her preparation of a noteworthy study Mr Jacob Gardner, Community Health Committee, spoke on behalf of his Committee and stated its conclusion that availability of health services rates highest on the list of elderly needs At 8 10 P.M , Town Celebrations Committee Chairman William P Fitzgerald and several members of the Committee met with the Board for discussion of the Town Manager's recommendation that the 1981 Patriots' Day afternoon Patriots' parade be cancelled due to the impact of the passage of Proposition 21 Day Chairman Fitzgerald stated the view of the Committee that the parade be Parade sustained as in the past, but that the usual luncheon and reception for visiting dignitaries be deleted He requested the permission of the Select- men for the Committee to seek private funding to underwrite some of the expenses of the afternoon parade, which amount to $10,000 to $11,000, includ- ing the cost of marching units and overtime for D P W and Police Mr Fitz- gerald voiced the optimism of the Committee that this could be accomplished The Board members expressed their reluctance to discontinue the traditional parade, and alternate schedules for the several events of the day were sug- gested Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted that, based on the Town Celebrations Committee's determination to seek pri- vate funding, the Committee go forward with its planning for the 1981 Patriots' Jt, -2- Day 2- Day afternoon parade A progress report on monies and pledges received will be submitted to the Committee on April 6, 1981 Fair At 8 35 P.M , Albert P Zabin, Chairman of the Fair Housing Committee, Housing and members William Sullivan, Leona Martin, Robert Pressman, and Jonathan Plan Doran met with the Board to present a summary of conclusions of the Commit- tee on its Fair Housing Plan In his report, Mr Zabin stressed the need to increase the low propor- tion of minority residents of subsidized housing in Lexington It was noted that no large numbers or concentrations of minorities have ever resided in the town, and that economic, not social discrimination is responsible for this condition The majority of the Committee felt that local land use practices have not resulted in any significant manner in the high cost of housing in the town. Mr Zabin concluded that a need for active pursuit of the 1978 Housing Policy is needed, that affirmative action could be improved, and that a Fair Housing Policy Resolution should be initiated by Town Boards for action at the 1981 Annual Town Meeting It was agreed that the policy for local preference and the goal of in- creased minorities in subsidized housing seemed contradictory, and that there is no apparent solution Mr Zabin recommended that availability of low/moderate income units should be publicized outside Lexington to encour- age application by minorities in other communities Regarding the Fair Housing Policy Resolution, it will be initiated by the Selectmen and Mrs Battin agreed to work with the Fair Housing Committee to prepare a draft for review by the Selectmen on January 26, and for action on February 2, 1981 Discussion continued on factors contributing to the high cost of hous- ing in Lexington Mrs Miley noted the 1961 creation of the RO zone with its increased lot sizes which she felt had played a part in rising costs Mr Busa contended that low densities in multi-family rezonings as well as Conservation acquisitions approved in the past several years have had a de- cided effect on housing costs He feels that the minority quota system is not compatible with a Fair Housing Policy Mr Zabin stated that the quota system is not recommended by a majority of the Fair Housing Committee Mary E Shunney, Chairman of the Lexington Housing Authority, was present and stated that the selection process for tenants has been based to a great extent upon urgent need, which, in her view, supercedes racial background as criterion. 1981 Chairman Miley read the list of applications for. licenses to be renewed Licenses for 1981 Class I Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew Class I licenses for the following Auto Engineering, Inc 436 Marrett Road Rowe Chevrolet, Inc 33 Bedford Street Lawless Mawhinney Motors, Inc 581 Marrett Road Lexington Toyota Motor Sales, U S.A, Inc 409 Massachusetts Avenue -3- Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew Class III 1981 license for Licenses Ill John P Carroll Co , Inc 31 Allen Street Chairman Miley requested the Board to sign the warrant for the 1981 Special Town Meeting Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the warrant Warrant for the 1981 Special Town Meeting to be held on January 26, 1981 1981 Spec Town Mtg Mr Hutchinson recommended that an amendment to the Park Regulations excluding horseback riding on school grounds, be made and referenced a Park memorandum from W Clifford Prentiss, Conservation/Recreation Director, Regulations dated November 7, 1980, listing suitable areas for use by equestrians Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted That the proposed amendment to the Park Regulations, prohibiting horseback riding on school playgrounds, be transmitted to the Recreation Committee for its review and to request that a complete revision of the Park Regulations be prepared by the Committee A letter informing the School Department of this decision will be sent Upon further discussion, it was noted by Mrs Miley that the Hennessey land, in the Turning Mill area, was listed by Mr Prentiss as one of the suitable areas for horseback riding and that this activity had become a problem there several years ago Mr Kent suggested that the Regulations should have been revised to prohibit horseback riding in all parks, school playgrounds and recreation areas, except specific areas as designated by the Recreation Committee, and the Board agreed Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously voted. To rescind the motion as carried that the proposed amendment to the Park Regulations prohibiting horseback riding on school playgrounds be transmitted to the Recreation Committee for its review, and to request that a complete revision of the Park Regulations be prepared by the Committee Mr Hutchinson will transmit the proposed revised amendment and the Board's decision on the matter to the Recreation Committee with a request for comment by January 12 Mr Hutchinson recommended that the request of the Fire Department for transfer of funds for overtime be acknowledged, tabled and funded from (J)CA available funds at the Special Town Meeting on January 26, 1981 Based on % Qt, . `f the meeting of Mr Busa, Mr Crain, Fire Chief Bergeron, Mr Hutchinson, and union members, Mr Busa recommended that the Fire Department request for transfer of funds be supported and both Mr Crain and Mr Busa recommended that the East Lexington Fire Station not be closed at this time Appointments to the School Sites Conversion Committee to fill the unex- School pired terms of Arthur C Smith and James C Wood were considered Upon a Sites Cony motion dilly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Laura E Fisher Committee and Nicholas A. Ruocco as citizen representatives to the Committee.to fill the unexpired terms and for additional terms to May 31, 1982 -4- Accessory It was agreed that the matter of illegal apartments, an issue brought Apartments to the attention of the Board by Attorney Francis W K Smith, should be dealt with by the appointment of an advisory committee to be charged by the Selectmen Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted To insert an Article in the Warrant for the 1981 Annual Town Meeting to see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to develop a charge and to appoint a committee to study the problem of illegal accessory apartments The 1981 Town Meeting will be asked for a sense of its support 'of an article in 1982 to allow construction of accessory apartments Gen'l By- Mr Kent gave an interim report. onhis review of the General By-Laws Law Since the last complete revision was completed in 1967, Mr Kent pointed Revision out the need for appointment of a committee to review the By-Law in its entirety within the next year Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted that the Selectmen will initiate an article to authorize the appointment by the Selectmen of a By-Law Committee Board of Mr Busa reported on his conference on January 5th with Board of Appeals Appeals Chairman Ruth Morey regarding a new application form for petitions Fee and a revised fee schedule for Board of Appeals procedures Mrs Morey Schedule requests Board of Selectmen approval of the fee schedule so that printing of the new application can proceed The matter will be listed on the Town Manager's agenda for January 12, for action of the Selectmen on January 19, 1981 The Summary FY82 Expense Budget was reviewed in part and discussed briefly No conclusions were reached Mr Hutchinson was asked to pro- vide additional information on several of the items as follows Selectmen's advertising account (#1050) Is it sufficient? A list of publications received by Town agencies A list of out-of-state trips by Town staff members during the past 12 months Suggestions for reduction in in-state travel expenses Executive At 10 36 P.M , upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 Session by roll call vote - Mrs Miley, Mr Busa, Mrs Battin, Mr Kent and Mr Crain - to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussion concerning matters of litigation with no intention of resuming open session Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10 45 P.M A true record, Attest rici H Snow Principal Clerk, Selectmen LI IV