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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-04-BOS-minSELECTMEN'S MEETING April 7, 1993 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Wednesday, April 7, 1993, in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Dailey, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busa, Mr. Fenn; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr White, Town Manager; Mrs. Novak, Assistant Town Manager, were present. GENERIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT GEIR UPDATE Kay Tiffany, 109 Reed Street, spoke of the collaboration of the four Towns in dealing with proposed expansion at Hanscom Field, and of the importance of Lexington making a commitment by support- ing Article 23, which appropriates $10,000 as Lexington's share in the preparation of a response to the Generic Environmental Impact Report in the form of a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR). She said that HATS needs to be seen as a body able to deal with Mass- port, and expressed concern with an apparent eroding of what the group has been working for. Jack Taylor, Lexington's representative on the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, also spoke of the need for the Town to commit itself to funding the SAR. Mr. Dailey responded that the Town was committed to make $10,000 available for Lexington's share of the study. He added that Mrs. Smith had said that Massport had agreed to provide funding, and that the Town Manager had received assurances from the Massport Director for funding totalling $40,000 covering the four Town's funding commitment for the study. Mrs. Tiffany spoke of the difficulty of getting promised funding from Massport in the past and asked whether the Town should count on Massport's promise this time. She and Mr. Taylor thought the Town should show its commitment by appropriating $10,000 for the study under Article 23. The Board asked that Mr. white confirm with Massport that the $40,004 in funds it has agreed to provide to the four Towns is available now and report back by next Monday's Town Meeting. RECREATION ARTICLES FOR TOWN MEETING Recreation Director Joan Halverson discussed the Pine Meadows maintenance equipment requested under Article 16, focussing on the aerator, which she characterized as perhaps the most important piece of equipment used on golf courses for the maintenance of both fairways and greens. She described how the machine operated, and explained why it was not feasible to rent rather than buy. Ms. Halverson also reviewed the annual course maintenance schedule. ...r RATIFY TELEPHONE POLL Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to ratify a telephone poll of the Board previously taken'to approve the appli- cation of the Lexington Elks for 3 - One Day Liquor Licenses for April 3, 23 and 24, 1993. Minutes for the Meeting of April 7, 1993 2 EXECUTIVE SESSION Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3 -0 by roll call vote: Mr. Dailey, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busa.; to go into execu- tive session for discussion of matters of litigation, the disclo- sure of which might adversely affect the interests of the town, with no .intent to resume open session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7:58 p.m. A true record, Attest: Sara I. Peters Executive Clerk, 4 SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 12, 1993 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, April 12, 1993, in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Dailey, Mrs. Smith, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busas Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr White, Town Manager; Mrs. Novak, Assistant Town Manager; and Mrs. Peters, Executive Clerk, were present. MFS MCCOURT COMMUNICATIONS INC. _ INSTALLATION OF FIBER OPTIC CABLE Town Manager white reported that he had been presented with a request to consider an alternate aerial route and avoid underground utilities in Woburn Street. He asked that consideration of the MFS /McCourt Communications request to install fiber optic cable be rescheduled to a later date to provide time for consultation with staff and to receive its recommendation. MFS /McCourt Communica- tions said they were in agreement with this rescheduling, and it was agreed to continue the discussion to April 28, 1993. MINUTES Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes for the Meeting of March 8, 1993 TRAFFIC ITEM Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer safety concerns by the First Baptist church, 1580 Massachusetts Avenue, relating to the location of the crosswalk and the loading zone to the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee. CONSENT AGENDA COMMITMENTS Upon motion duly made and seconded, commitment of the following charges. Commitment of water Charges - March (final bills) Commitment of Sewer Charges - March (final bills) Commitment of water Charges - April (Cycle 9 bills) it was voted to approve 1993 $167.66 1993 $275.07 1993 $93,649.46 ABATEMENTS Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following abatements. Abatement of water and sewer charges 12 Cliffe Ave. 131 Maple Street ARTICLE 36 -- BICYCLE HELMETS $36.66 $156.29 The Board listened to concerns from Chief Furdon about the difficulty of enforcing a proposed amendment to the General By -Law, under Article 36, that would require the operator of any non - motorized bicycle under the age of 18 to wear a bicycle helmet. I 0■ Minutes for the Meeting of April 12, 1993 more a bicycle safety this manner, rather The Board generally agreed with the chief's position, and in response to questions, the Chief said the Town did not have any helmet regulations, and that care had to be used in defining what would constitute a safe helmet design. The Board agreed to take a position on Article 35 to strongly support the use of bicycle helmets, but to report to the 1993 Town Meeting that the Board would like the opportunity to study the issue further, and to consult with the Minute Man Bikeway Commit- tee, neighboring towns and the State, and return with a report on these studies and a draft article for the 1994 Annual Town Meeting. He thought requiring the use of helmets was education issue, and should be approached in than by amending the General By -Laws. ARTICLE 22 - BROOK CLEANING Conservation Commission Chairman Joyce Miller reported that the Brook Gleaning Study is nearing completion, and that the Commission is considering coming to the Town to ask for approxi- mately $50,000 to prepare a definite plan for corrective drainage design and brook cleaning. In response to questions, Mrs. Miller said that anything left from this funding would be used for actual brook cleaning. She spoke of $25,000 that is expected from the developers of Lexington Ridge. She was looking for support from the Board in providing this funding. The Board agreed there was no money for this and asked if the Town Manager could check and find out if plans could be prepared by the Engineering Department, working closely with the Conservation Commissionn and whether the $25,000 expected from the Lexington Ridge developer could be used to do the work. Mrs. Miller and Mr. White agreed to look into the Board's suggestions. Mr. white spoke of reductions in staff in the Engineering Department and suggested consideration be given to using a portion of the Railroad Spur surplus fund now held by the Conservation Commission to develop definitive plans. STREET RESURFACING CONTRACT The Board reviewed a memo from Richard Spiers, Director of DPW /Engineering, to Richard white, Town Manager, dated April 7, 1993, which reported that five bids were opened on April 1, 1993 for Contract 93 -1 Street Resurfacing, and in which it was recom- mended that the contract be awarded to the lowest qualified bidder, Bardon Trimount - Burlington Mass., with a bid of $378,923.25. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to award the contract to Bardon Trimount, Blanchard Road, Burlington Mass., on the basis of their being the lowest qualified bidder, subject to Town Counsel's approval as to bid form, with a bid of $378,923.25 �••• MASS. COUNCIL OF MINUTE MEN & MILITIA REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY Upon motion duly made and seconded, and upon the recommenda- tion of the Town Celebrations Committee, it was voted to grant permission to the Massachusetts Council of Minute Men & Militia, Inc. to stage Battle Road "93" on Sunday, April 18, 1993 at several Minutes for the Meeting of April 12, 1993 3 locations in Lexington as described in the council's letter to Town Celebration committee chairman Pat Flynn, dated April 2, 1993. Mrs. Smith left the meeting at this time. CONSULTING SERVICES REQUEST FOR HATS AND THE GENERIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT PROCESS UNDER ARTICLE 23 Mr. Dailey invited Kay Tiffany and Joan Goldman to speak further on behalf of passage of the article. Mrs. Goldman noted that the $40,000 committed by Massport for monitoring the GEIR process was welcome, but did not represent a Lexington commitment; and that the goal has been to give HATS real clout in negotiations with Massport. She urged. the Town to support Article 23 as a way of demonstrating the Town's commitment, She added that it was naive to believe that Massport would necessarily honor its commit- ment that work against its goals, and noted that the Massport Hoard can change in the near future. Mrs. Goldman concluded by saying that a lot of effort has been expended to strengthen HATS negotiating position with Massport; that Lexington has taken a leadership role in these efforts; and that this effort should not be lost by not supporting this article. Mr. Dailey commented that after speaking with Mrs. Tiffany last evening, he spoke with Mr. Fenn, who will attempt to receive assurances from Massport that there will be $40,000 available in unfettered form to be used by the HATS Towns for monitoring the GEIR process. In response to a question from Mr. Dailey to the Town Manager, Mr. white said that if Massport does not honor this commitment, Lexington's commitment of $10,000 to HATS for this purpose would be available from his Jurisdictional Account. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8:03 p.m. A true record, Attest: 1, 4 If Sara I. Peters Executive Clerk SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 26, 1993 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, April 20, 1993, in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, at 7:30 p.m. Chairman Dailey, Mrs. Smith, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busa, Mr. Fenn; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr white, Town Manager; Mrs. Novak, Assistant Town Manager; and Mrs. Peters, Executive Clerk, were present. USE of BIKEWAY APPROVAL PROCESS Mr. Busa discussed some of the Lexington Commuter Bikeway Committee's concerns that have arisen with the approaching completion of the Bikeway, and with requests from charitable groups who wish to hold special walking and bicycling events on the Bikeway. He asked for d i rec t ion from the Board on the establishment of guidelines to regulate the Bikeway's use, and to set up a process for dealing with future requests from various charitable groups to use it on occasion. Board members recommended coordinating the establishment of any g uidelines or policies with Arlington and Bedford for conti- �.•• nuity in the operation of the Bikepath in all three towns. A suggestion was made to postpone any permission to use it for special events for six months since the Town does not yet offi- P cially own the Bikeway. It was also suggested that an interim process be adopted in which all requests would be received by the Town Manager, who would direct them to Police, Fire and Public Works for comment; then to the Bikeway Committee for its recom- mendation; and then to the Board of Selectmen for final action. Jerrold Van Hook, Chairman of the Friends of the Bikeway, and member of the Bikeway Committee, reported that on a specific request by the American. Diabetes Assoc., Inc, to use the Bikeway Sunday, October 3, 1993 for a walk of approximately 500-600 walkers, the Committee had divided 4--4 on allowing its use. Mr. V anHoo k, speaking in favor of granting permission, thought p ermission should be considered since the Town does not really know if there would be traffic problems without letting one group p roceed and looking at the results. Mrs. Whitman spoke for the Committee members that were opposed to allowing the walk to pro- ceed and noted these member's concerns on the size of the walk. Mr. Dailey ask if, at its next meeting, the Committee could consider the interim process proposed where requests would be received through the Town Manager's office, staff and Bikeway Committee input added, and all information presented to the Board for its decision and give its recommendation to the Board. „■.�,, Florence A. Baturin described the walk proposed by the Arthritis Foundation on Saturday, December 4, 1993 and noted that the organization needs to know the Board's decision soon in ord_ert to have time to organize and publicize the event. Mr. Dailey thanked Ms. Baturin for explaining the event and the Foundations's need for a decision soon, and said he hoped the Minutes for the Meeting of April 26, 1993 2 process for handling requests to use the Bikeway would be in place within a month. RATIFY TELEPHONE POLL Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to ratify a telephone poll of the Board, taken April 14, 1993, to approve two One Day Liquor Licenses requested by the Lexington Knights of Columbus for April 17 and April 30, 1993. UTXTtr►rV0 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes for the meeting of March 15, 1993. RENEWAL OF HACKNEY LICENSES A -1 TAXI OF LEXINGTON Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to approve applications for renewal of four taxi licenses made by A -1 Taxi of Lexington, that will expire on May 1, 1994, pending approval, after inspection of the vehicles, by the Police Department. ARLEx TAXI CORPORATION Upon motion duly made and seconded it was voted to approve applications for renewal of six taxi licenses made by Arlex Taxi Corporation, that will expire on May 1, 1994, pending approval, after inspection of the vehicles, by the Police Department, CONSENT AGENDA COMMITMENTS Upon motion duly made and seconded, commitment of the following charges. Commitment of Street Opening Permits Acct. 577 Boston Edison Commitment of Street Opening Permits Acct. 575 Boston Gas Acct. 576 Boston Edison Commitment of Water Charges - April (final bills) Commitment of Sewer Charges - April (final bills) ONE DAY AUCTIO NEER'S LICENSE it was voted to approve - 2/28/93 $25.00 - 3/31/93 $75.00 $50.00 1993 $754.19 1993 $842.17 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the application of Mike Sololowski d /b /a Newton Oriental Rugs for a One Day Auctioneer License to conduct an auction of handmade oriental rugs at the Lexington Armory, 459 Bedford Street on May 16, 1993 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. LIMOUSINE LICENSE Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the application of Charles E. Parks d /b /a C.P. and Associates, 10 Hawthorne Road, for a Limousine License to provide transporta- tion for individual executives, k i L Minutes for the Meeting of April 26, 1993 3 saw ONE DAY LIQUOR LICENSE Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the application of the Lexington Rotary Club for a one Day Liquor License to hold a Fund Raising Auction on May 8, 1993 from 6:00 p.m. to Midnight. STREET LIGHTS Mr. white reported that the Town and Boston Edison have reached agreement on the Town's DPU petition to find a more aesthetically pleasing alternative to the high pressure sodium lighting originally proposed by Boston Edison for use in Lexing- ton. Following this agreement, Mr. white reported that the Lighting options committee and the Engineering Division, particu- larly Peter Chalpin, have been negotiating for the location of appropriate test sites in Town, and have found two acceptable sites for testing color corrected high pressure sodium street lights on Percy Road and Bloomfield Street. He invited Peter Chalpin and Myla Kabat -Zinn to further update the Board on what is happening. Mr. Chalpin reported that what makes the sites particularly appropriate is the nearness of incandescent lights, mercury vapor lights and standard high pressure sodium lighting, which would allow comparison of everything that is currently available to the proposed color corrected high pressure sodium lights. In re- sponse to a question, Mr. Chalpin estimated the lights should be installed in approximately four weeks. Mrs. Kabat -Zinn characterized the testing as a very good first step, and said, in response to a question about energy sav- ings, that the test lighting would cost approximately the same as existing lighting rates. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to proceed with the testing, as proposed. Mr. Dailey noted that Peter Chalpin has received his Massa- chusetts Engineer's License, and extended the Board's congratula- tions to him. ARTICLE 23 Mr. White reported that Selectmen Fenn has been working diligently with those citizens who have been concerned about funding for monitoring the GEIR process, and has secured support for a motion to be placed before Town Meeting that basically supports the Board's position reached on April 12, 1993 saying that should Massport promised funding of $10,000 not be forthcom- ing, or be so encumbered with conditions so as to be unaccept- able, funds would be made available from the Town Manager's Jurisdictional Account. RABIES FUNDING UPDATE Mr. white the Board of Health's Rabies brochure mailing to all residents in Town will be printed by the School Department at some printing costs savings and with the hope to absorb mailing costs through the comptroller's Jurisdictional account. Minutes for the Meeting of April 20, 1993 ARTICLE POSITIONS ARTICLE 10 - PINE MEADOWS MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT Mr. white noted that the issue is whether to recommend purchase of the aerator or to wait until after the Landscape Architect provides a master plan for the golf course. Mr. Busa commented on and recommended the Board support the $15,000 requested for the master plan and $50,000 for the recon- struction of the 5th green, under Article 15. under Article 10, he recommended waiting a year to purchase the aerator, but supported the purchase of the small truck, also requested under that article. Mr. Dailey noted that this would require an amendment to Article 16, to not appropriate funds for the aerator. The Board supported passage Article 10, as amended. ARTICLE 17 - REHABILITATION OF THE CENTER POOL COMPLEX The Board agreed to support this article. ARTICLE 18 - PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AND IMPROVEMENTS Mr. white reported that the funding for some equipment is available, but the $50,000 for manpower is not available. Also, he added that there needs to be more planning done to make the playgrounds and equipment in conformance with ADA regulations. ` The Board agreed it could not support this article. 4 ARTICLE 24 - GOLF IN RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS Mrs. Smith noted historically the Board did not have to take a positive on this article, but could comment it did not support the Planning Board on this article. The Board agreed it did not support the Planning Board on this article at this time. EXECUTIVE SESSION Upon motion duly made call vote: Mr. Dailey, Mr Fenn; to go into executive litigation, the disclosure interests of the town with and seconded, it was voted 5 -0 by roll s Smith, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busa, Mr. session for discussion of matters of of which might adversely affect the no intent to resume open session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8:03 p.m. A true record, Attest Sara I. Peters Executive Clerk SELECTMEN'S MEETING April 28, 1993 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Wednesday, April 28, 1993, in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, at 8:39 p.m. Chairman Dailey, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busa, Mr. Fenn, Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr White, Town Manager; and Mrs. Peters, Executive Clerk were present. CONSENT AGENDA ONE DAY LI UOR LICENSE Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve a one day liquor license requested by the Lexington Bicentennial Band to hold a fund raising concert on Saturday, May 8, 1993 in Kelty Hall, St. Brigid's Church. EXECUTIVE SESSION Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 4 -9 by roll call vote: Mr. Dailey, Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Busa, Mr. Fenn; to go into executive session for discussion of matters of litigation, the disclosure of which might adversely affect the interests of the Town with no intent to resume open session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7-:40 p.m. A true record, Attest: !/ f Sara I. Peters Executive Clerk,