HomeMy WebLinkAbout1961-03-22-BOS-min 402
SELEE TMEN'S MEETING
March 22, 1961
A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held
in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, on
Wednesday, March 22, 1961, at 8:00 P.M. Chairman
Morey, Messrs. Richards and Cole were present . Mr.
Stevens, Town Counsel, and the Executive Clerk were
also present.
Mr . Hurd and Mr . Fitzpatrick, representing MIT,
met with the Board.
Mr. Hurd stated that the information he now has
on hand necessitated getting it to the Board as quickly
as he could . He said, looking back on what le is al-
leged to have said, and he didn' t argue with the press,
it inferred that when he was at the public hearings
before the Selectmen, Planning Board, and Town Meet-
ing, what they intended then and what they knew, the
fact was the building they were going to build on the
Maguire property would be taxable . His information
now is, because of the change in plans, it will not
Zoning be taxable . That being the case, what he told the
Board then was not the case, but he believed it at
the time to be so. He said the Board may want to re-
consider the action taken in rezoning the M 1 property
into a 3 C zone . He stated that the Air Force has
changed plans and now intends to build the building
itself. He said MIT would build the building but the
funds will be Air Ferce money and the title will be
Air Force and they will lease the land . He said they
have not purchased the land yet . It is an entirely
different story than what he lead the Town to believe
at every hearing. He stated that Mr. Fitzpatrick
has been in communication and conference with the
powers that be and has insisted, because of the promise
made to the Town, that if they are mot going to be in a
position to pay taxes, something should be done if the
Town is going to let them go ahead, and pay something
in lieu of taxes. He said it would be in the heighbor-
hood of $12,500.00.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said this is as high as he has
been able to get the Air Force to go.
Mr. Hurd said it hoped that it will be a ten
year lease of the land.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said they are asking for a thirLty
year lease from MIT who will buy the land . He said
he was trying, whatever the terms of the lease be ,
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that there be an additional amount representing the
payment to the own of Lexington for each year as long
as MIT owns the land . He said it is possible , with the
government building on MIT land, that they would require
as part of the lease an option to buy at the completion
of any year. The type of thing he is working on now
is how much per year and how many years guaranteed.
He said he thought it would be well if he came back
before the Town and told them what the situation was,
to see if the Town wanted to revise the zoning or pro-
ceed with negotiations of this type , or what .
Mr . Hurd said this is an entirely different story
than what he had at the time , and he had as good
indication as he could get that what he stoted at Town
Meeting was the fact. Now it is not, and he thought it
only fair that reconsideration be given to the whole
matter of zoning,;;
The Chairman expressed surprise that MIT did not
take title to the land .
Mr. Fitzpatrick said he was sure that back on
November 20 they would have the money in ten days, but
as a matter of fact, they don't have the money yet .
He said they did start work on the project on November
l and have been working on it . Now the space problem
is just intolerable . He said one talks with different
levels in the Air Force . The people who want them to
dotthis job are still emphatic, but the people that
have to do with the construction of the building are
unimpressed and this is not uncommon. He said he did
get $1,000,000. which will probably come through in
ten days. The Air Force cannot promise now that it
can build, and is seeking a way to use research money
to build a building. He said he did not know if they
can get it.
The Chairman said the building the Board was ex-
pecting this spring may be ready for occupancy two
years from now.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said they could not continue the
project. He stated that they have to have a firm
schedule within ten days or get out .
Mr. Rmchards said, forgetting what has gone on
prior to this, the Baird was being told that title
to the Maguire property will be acquired by MIT who will
hold itas a nontaxable organization and at some point,
a building will be constructed, by whom and for whom
is not important, except that it will be leased
Mr. Fitzpatrick said no, MIT will buy the land.
The Air Force would lease the land from MIT with an
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option to buy. The Air Force would ask MIT with
$1,000,000 . to build a building and this building
would be government titled. It would be a government
building on MIT-owned land. He said they have not
agreed to lease to the Air Force because they want
an agreement with the Town of Lexingthn that thuld be
satisfactory to the Town. They feel they have committed
themselves.
Mr. Richards said there is nothing to prevent the
Air Force taking this land tomorrow.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said it would be about three years .
Mr. Richards said the land acquisitions have been
stepped up in that area, and a United States ' attorney
has said they were going to tate the rest of the land.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said the terms of the lease he
proposed are that MIT recover a capital sum over the
next ten years . In addition, there shouldbe an amount
worked out with the Town of Lexington which MIT would
pay Lexington in lieu of any taxes. He said what is
being said tonight is, the facts they represented to the
Town are no longer true . He said if the Board desires
to consider the change in zoning back to residential,
it would be reasonable . If not , they would like to lake
some financial arrangement with the Town in lieu of taxes
so the Town would feel MIT was not acting in bad faith.
If such arrangements cannot be made, they will not pur-
chase the land and will not put up the building.
Mr. Richards said there is no feeling that MIT
was acting in bad faith, and stated that it is a laborious
task and a time consuming task to change the zoning and
he could not see that there would be any purpose served.
It is more or less of a small piece in an area &a.ready
zoned.
Mr . Stevens said it was changed to a purpose that
was the same for which the land of the United States
government was being used. He said if th&se were to
become C 3 in a free market and could be purchased by
anyone , he was sure it would be embarrassing .
Mr. Fitzpatrick said their option is good until
May 1, and the zoning could be changed before the option
expires .
Mr. Richards asked how the Town would suffer and
said he would like to see a good piece of taxable pro-
perty owned by X, Y or Z.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said he did not know how MIT could
do this, but it would do anything to protect the Town,
He said the Air Force is committed for April 1 and he
thought the Air Force would get thepermission they want.
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Mr. Hurd said MIT now finds itself in the position
where what it told the Town was not so. He said that
no matter what happens in the next ten days, they are
not going to have a taxable entity on the Maguire pro-
perty, and in that case, he wanted to tell the Board.
He said seeing a time factor involved, he thought it
only fair for the Board to consider the situation
because what he said at the time may have prompted the
people to vale as they did.
Mr. Fitzpatrick reported that he had given two
maps , normal peace time situation and emergency situ-
ation, right up to date to Mr. Burnell, having obtained
permission from the Air Force to give them to the Plan-
ning Board.
Mr. Richards said he understood MIT has already
made the proposition to the Air Force and explained that
MIT feels since the commitment and representation to
the Town, it would bee fair and reasonable that a sum
certain would be added to the normal lease arrangements
in order to pe paid to the Town in lieu of taxes and
payment would be made so long as MIT owned the land.
If MITexercised the option, that would expire as well
as the lease . He said the detire of the Air Force to get
going has the effect that they would agree to such an
arrangement, but he thought the government, at some
point, would be opposed to the additional amount and say
there would be no appropriation to pay this .
Mr. Stevens asked when the Board would hear further
and Mr . Fitzpai,rick replied by April 1.
Mr . Hurd said they would keep Mr. Stevens and . the
Board informed on what transpires.
Messrs. Hurd and Fitzpatrick retired at 8:45 P.M.
Mr. Stevens presented a plan of slope easements
for Lowell Street and indicated the areas taken.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Slope
to sign slope easements in connection with the con- easements
struction, under Chapter 90, of the intersection at
Lowell Street, Maple Street and Winchester Drive in
the following forms:
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex, ss . Town of Lexington
At a meeting of the Board of Selectmen of the Town of
Lexington held on the 22nd day of March, 1961, it is
ORDERED: Whereas at a Town Meeting duly called, warned
and held on March 7, 1960, namely at an adjourned session
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thereof duly held on March 21, 1960, it was duly 1
"VOTED: That the sum of $40,000.00 be ap-
propriated for construction under Chapter
90 of the intersection at Lowell Street,
Maple Street and Winchester Drive and for
resurfacing Winchester Drive and that pay-
ment be provided by the transfer of *30,000.00
from the Excess and Deficiency Account, and by
raising the balance of 410,000 .00 in the current
tax levy.";
and
WHEREAS, the Selectmen have determined that it is neces-
sary in the construction of said intersection at Lowell
Street, Maple Street and Winchester Drive, all public
ways ih said Lexington, to acquire slope easements in
certain land abutting on said Lowell Street that is herein-
after described.
NOW, THEREFORE, we , the undersigned, being a majority
of the Board of Selo ctmen of said Town of Lexington, duly
elected and qualified and acting as such, do hereby under
and by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 89 and of Section
32B of Chapter 82 of the General Laws, and all acts in amend-
ment thereof and in addition thereto, and of any and every
other power and authority us hereto in any way enabling, take
in the name and on behalf of said Town of Lexington the per-
petual rights and easements to enter upon, remove, deposit,
slope, bank and maintain upon the parcels of land hereinafter
described situated on Lowell Street in Lexington whatever
material, filling or support may be deemed necessary for the
construction and maintenance of said intersection; said
parcelsof land being bounded and described as follows:
Parcel 1. A strip of land situated on the
easterly side of Lowell Street, extending along
the entire width of Lot 3 on plan hereinafter
mentioned and having a minimum width of 17
feet, more or less, and a maximum width of 18
feet, more or less, all as shown and marked
"SLOPE EASEMENT" on plan entitled "Plan Of Slope
Easements Lowell Street Lexington, Mass.",
dated September 28, 1960, John J. Carroll, Town
Engineer, a copy of which is annexed hereto;
Parcel 2. A strip of land situated on the easterly
side of Lowell Street, extending along the entire
width of lot 4 on the aforesaid plan and having
a minimum width of 5 feet, more or less, and a
maximum width of 9 feet, more or less , all as
shown and marked "SLOPE EASEMENT" on the said plan.
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Parcel 3 . A strip of land situated on the
easterly side of Lowell Street, extending
along the entire width of Lot 5 on the afore -
said plan and having a minimum width of 5 feet ,
more or less, and a maximum width of 7 feet,
more or less, all as shown and marked "SLOPE
EASEMENT" on the said plan;
and reference to the aforesaid plan is made and said plan
is incorporated herein for complete and detailed descrip-
tions of said parcels of land.
Said rights and easements in the above described
parcels of land are taken without interference With or
prejudice to the rights of the owners, except so far as
is reasonably necessary in the exercise of the rights and
easements hereby taken, and there is reserved to the owners
and their heirs, successors and assigns, all their rights
in and to the use of their land lying within said above
described parcels for all lawful purposes not inconsistent
with the) use thereof for all of the purposes hereinabove
mentioned.
On each occasion that the Town enters upon the land
in which the aforesaid rights and easements are taken and
performs any work thereon, it shall be the obligation of
the Town to remove all surplus material and to leave the
surface of the premixes in reasonably as good condition
as when the entry was made .
Any trees upon the land included in the above des-
cribed parcels of land are included in the taking.
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The land in which the aforesaid rights and easements
are taken is believed to be owned by the following named
persons, but if the name of the owner of any of said land
or of any interest therein is not stated or is not correctly
stated, it is to be understood that such land or interest
is owned by an owner or owners unknown to us :
Lots as
Shin on Afore- Certificate
Owner said Plan No. Book Page
Church of Christ 3 98369 622 19
in Lexington
George H. Coblyn '
and Clementine I.
Coblyn, husband and
I
• wife 4 82937 544 187
Arthur Byron and
Damiama Byron,
husband and wife 5 78734 523 184
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No betterments are to be assessed for this improvement.
And said Board, having considered the question of
damages, hereby determines that no damages h:!ve been sus-
tained
us-
tained and none are awarded .
WITNESS our hands at Lexington aforesaid this 22nd
day of March, 1961.
/s/ Ruth Morey
Norman J. Richards
Lincoln P. Cole, Jr.
Majority of the board of
Selectmen
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex, ss . March 22, 1961
Then personally appeared the above named Ruth Morey,
Lincoln P. Cole , Jr. , itind Norman J. Richards, knowsto me
to be the duly elected, qualified andacting Selectmen of
the Town of Lexington, and severally acknowledged the
foregoing instrument to be their free act and deed, before
Me ,
/s/ Hazel J. Murray .
Notary Public
My commission expires:November 21, 1964
The Chairman read a copy of letter from Lieutenant
Air Force Colonel George A. Criser concerning the additional water
Water and sewage requirements which will be expected with the
addition of the 200 housing units the Government will
start constructing in September .
Mr. Stevens retired at 9:.35 P.M.
Letter was received from Mr. and Mrs : D. H. Darden,
Jr. , 61 Burlington Street, requesting an offer of settle-
Claim ment for damages for land taking for the purpose of
street widening and sidewalk construction.
The communication was referred to Mr. Carroll.
409
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to grant petitions and sign orders for pole locations,
all approved by Mr. Carroll, on the following streets:
Laurence Lanes southeasterly from: apoint approximately
120 feet1southeast of Pleasant Street,:
21 J/or pule s:;
v.
Lillian Road, southeasterly side, approximately 130 feet
southwest of Lowell Street, -
1 pole ;
Lillian Road, northwesterly side, southwesterly from a
point approximately 255 feet southwest of Lowell
Street, -
L poles ; Pole
Carley Road, southeasterly side, northeasterly from locations
Milk Street, -
4 poles ;
Bowker Street, northwesterly side, northeasterly from a
point approximately 55 feet northeast of Taft
Avenue, -
7 poles;
Blodgett Road, southeasterly side, northeasterly from a
point approximately 30 feet northeast of Appletree
Lane , -
6 poles, guy wire and anchor on sixth pole ;
Thoreau Road, northwesterly side , northeasterly from a
point approximately 35 feet northeast of Emerson
Road, -
10 poles, guy wire and anchor on the 8th and 10th
pole ;
Thoreau Road, southerly side, westerly from a point ap-
proximately 45 west of Lowell Street , -
6 poles;
Lowell Street, southwesterly side, approximately 185
feet southeast of Woburn Street, -
1 pole (One existing pole to be removed. )
Further discussion was held relative to the ex-
tension of a sewer to service Mr. Davis ' house at 18
Boulder Road. A complete breakdown of the estimate
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cost and betterments was submitted to each member of
the Board.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
that the Town will construct the sewer provided that
Mr. and Mrs . Davis and Mrs . Robert W. Fernald grant
easements to the Town at no cost to the Town and that
Davis sewer Mr. Fletcher on Burlington Street grants an easement
to the Town at no cost to the Town, the latter to be
arranged by Mr. Davis .
It was also agreed that the sewer betterments
for the Davis property would be *1231.11 and for Mrs .
Fernald, *1068.89.
Further consideration was given to Mr. James B.
Bushardts request for deferment of street and sewer
betterments levied against property owned by him at
25 Bowker Street .
It was determined that the provisions of Chapter
159 of the Acts of 1950 do not apply in this instance
as they provide for deferment of betterment assessments
on large tracts of land only, and not to single lots .
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to deny Mr. Bushardts request.
The Chairman read a letter from the Planning Board
recommending that the Selectmen have prepared for the
Buckman Dr. next Town Meeting a layout of Buckman Drive extension
Summit Road and also the extension of Summit Road to Fern Street ;
that public hearings be held and articles :.inserted in
the warrant for the Town Meeting.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to take the necessary steps to layout the extension
of Buckman Drive and the extension of Summit Road to
Fern Street for presentation at a Special Town Meeting;
no request for funds to construct the way to be made at
this time .
The Chairman read a letter from the Planning Board
stating that rumor has it Maney' s, known as the Metro-
politan Equipment and Service Co. , on Bedford Street,
is for sale . The Planning Board feels that if the
establishment is sold, a problem may arise, if it does
not exist already, as to the continuity of the present
use of the property.
It was agreed to ask the Building Inspector to
check and advise the Board what businesses are now
being operated in the area and what, if any, permits
have been granted by the Board of Appeals .
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Further consideration was given to Mr. Carroll's
letter relative to the method of assessment used on
betterment street construction.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Street
to increase the figure of $7.50 per foot, now used Assessment
as being the maximum cost to each abutter, to $10.00 figure
per foot .
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to approve bond on behalf of Ethel U . Rich,.. #912069, Bond
in the amount of $100,900.00.
Invitation was received from the Pilgrim Congre-
gational Church inviting the Board to attend the Corner-
stone Ceremony to be held at 12:00 noon on Sunday, Invitation
April 9, 1961.
Requestwas received from the Lexington Little
League for permission to conduct a parade from the
Muzzey Junior High School to the football field near Parade
the Senior High School on Saturday, April 29.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to grant the request .
Letter and petition, with 593 signatures, was re-
ceived from Mrs . Katherine A. Waterman requesting an
investigation of traffic and safety conditions at
Countryside . Traffic
It was agreed to ask the Planning Board for its
reaction to thele tier and to send a copy to Mr.
Ferguson of the Traffic Study Committee .
Further consideration was given to letter re-
ceived from the Lexington Junior of Commerce , re-
questing permission to construct a fallout shelter
on Town land. Fallout
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted shelter
to grant permission to construct a shelter on Meriam
Street, Buckman Tavern area, the exact location to be
determined by Mr. Mazerall.
Letter was received from the Planning Board with
reference to the so-called screening committee .
The Chairman suggested, and the Board agreed, to Screening
acknowledge the letter and advise that it does not seem
that the Boards are too far apart in their conceptions
of the committee, and as it progresses, it can be deter-
mined what its best uses are .
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Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to sign a Certificate of Character on behalf of William
Peddler DeFelice , 8 Westview Street, who has applied for the
renewal of his license to peddle . Mr . DeFelice is
employed by the Hall Omar Baking Company.
Letter was received from the Recreation Committee
Skating advising that a ladder and a life ring station have been
area installed at the Marrett Road reservoir skating area.
Notice was received of the School of Metropolitan
Affairs to be held April 6 at Brandeis University.
Letter was received from Rosaire Rajotte, North-
bridge, relative to flying the United States flag twenty-
Flag four hours a day .
Mr. Cole said he knew this individual and it was
agreed to write him that Mr. Cole would look him up
when in the area to discuss the subject .
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to meet at 7:00 P.M. , on Monday, March 27, 1961.
The meeting adjourned at 11:10 P.M.
A true record, Attest:
rr (Via` �xe .4tiv leak, Selec en
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