The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1996-08-BOS-min60-333 Selectmen's Meeting Minutes August 12, 1996 A regular meeting of the Board ofSelectmen was held on Monday, August 1 2, 1996 in the Selectmen's Meeting boom, 'Town Ofce Building at 730 p.m. Chairman McSweeney, Mr. Dailey, Mr. Busa, Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr. white, Town Manager; and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present, Public Comments Shirley Frawley of the Antony Sister City Group updated Board members on plans for a visit by representatives of the Antony France Sister City Group in early October. Their plans are to get the Chamber of Commerce involved and hope to have members of the Board attending some of the planned activities. Ms. Frawley will be visiting Antony in early September and asked the Board to send Greetings with her from the Town. Dan Fenn offered to prepare a letter of greeting from the Town. _ , „o ion 1 „ pring Stre - -- _ _ -- - ant o L� �.��ta. 5 S et �_.._... �__.. Town Engineer Frank Fields has requested that the continued hearing on a grant of location for conduit at 1 Spring Street be adjourned to the meeting of August 26 at which time the Conservation Commission will have acted on the Notice of Intent at its meeting on August 13. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the New England Telephone Grant of Location Hearing for conduit at 15 Spring Street to the Board of Selectmen's Meeting on August 26 at 7:30 p.m. Boston Edison rant of Location - Garfield Street Mr. McSweeney opened a hearing on the petition of Boston Edison Company for a grant of location for conduit to be installed, owned and used by Boston Edison Company to provide underground service to the residences at 64 and 68 Garfield Street. There being no questions, Mr. McSweeney declared the hearing closed. Upon motion duly made and seconded, .it was voted to approve the petition of the -Boston Edison Company to lay and maintain underground conduits and manholes, with the wires and cables to be placed therein, under the surface of Garfield Street in a southerly direction, approximately 255 feet southwest of Earl Street, a distance of 1.5 feet (::L). 60-334 e i a s g 6 1 L Selectmen's Meeting - August 12, 1996 Adjourned CATV Hearin Jane Gharibian, Chair of the CATV and Communications Advisory Committee and David green of AR Cable Services reported on the status of the information requested at the adjourned hearing on the transfer of ownership. The CATV and Communications Advisory Committee asked that the hearing be again adjourned to the meeting of September 9, 1996 at 7:30 p.m. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the CATV hearing on the transfer of ownership to the Selectmen's Meeting on September 9, 1996 at 7:30 p.m. Ms. Gharibian and Mr. Green also reported on the status of the license renewal. The CATV and Communications Advisory Cornmittee requested a continuation of the negotiating period to August 26, 1996 at which meeting it was hoped to have a license renewal for approval and signature. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to extend the negotiation period for the CATV license renewal. to August 26, 1996. Consent Agenda a Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to defer water and sewer charges to Bernard and Ruth Walsh, 16 Cliffe Avenue. LexH B - 1Viuzzpy Affordable Housing LexHAB members Marshall Derby, Bill Mays, Dave Eagle, Don Wilson, Ellie I lauminzer, Derr' Howell and Martha Food were present to review the past ten years administration experience by LexHAB with compliance to the restrictions of the Muzzey documents as they relate to the resale of units at Muzzey. LexHAB as the Muzzey Administrator interviews prospective buyers and takes an affidavit from the seller. They review and make certain that the buyer meets the income requirements and that the price of the unit is at or under the maximum allowabh.l.e sale price. Since 1985 between one -third and one -half of the units have been resold. Bill Hays indicated that although most of the experience over the past ten years has been positive, LexHAB is concerned over recent attempts by a unit owner to sell the unit for more than 150% over the maximum resale price. The unit owner is attempting to sell personal property with the sale of the unit. 60-335 Selectmen's Meeting - August 12, 1996 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reaffirm the Town's commitment to affordability and ask LexHAB to continue their efforts to ensure that all requirements for affordability of the Muzzey units are met. Sign Deed - Propeny Property at end of Highland Avenue and Pelham Road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a deed transferring a 3.5 acre parcel of Lot 90 on Assessor's Property Map 31 located north of Marrett Road at the end of Highland Avenue and Pelham Road in exchange for parcels of land off Woburn Street and on Maple Street as authorized under Article 24 of the 1995 Annual Town Meeting. Conservation Restriction - 7 Butterfield Road Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve and sign the Conservation Restriction for 7 Butterfield Road. mini ltPQ Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the meeting of July 29, 1996. Warrant for State Primary Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the warrant for the September 17, 1996 State Primary. Entertainment License - Bel Canto Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the application and issue entertainment licenses to Bel Canto for an Acappella Group for weekdays and Sundays. Resignation s /Appointments Town Celebrations Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Michael J. O'Connell and Reverend David P. O'Connell as members of the Town Celebrations Subcommittee. F € 3 g 60-336 Selectmen's Meeting -- August 12, 1996 Human Services Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept with regret the resignation of Donna Hooper from the Human Services Committee at the end of her current term. Hanscom Field Advisga C ommittee Upon motion duly made ' and seconded, it was voted to appoint Michael John Barrett as Lexington's Representative to the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Florence Koplow as Lexington's Alternate Representative to the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee. HATS Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Margaret E. Coppe as a member of HATS. Mrs. Eddison said that the Town of Lexington is extremely lucky to have such capable, dedidicated individuals to represent the Town in some very difficult issues. Town A Manager � �.paintm.ents Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager" s appointment of Annette B. Kriebel and Sheldon Alan Spector as members of the Council on Aging. Trans ortation Grants 1VI.r. white reported on the approval of a grant to purchase five alternative fuel buses and an announcement by the State that we will receive Transportation Enhancement Funds for the renovation of Depot Square. Mr. white attributed the success of the grant proposals to the hard work of Transportation Coordinator Barbara Lucas. Gift from Boston Gas Mr. white also reported that thanks to the hard work of Barbara Lucas, Boston Gas has offered to meet one -half of the $80,000 cost to the Town of the new alternative fuel buses. 60-337 Selectmen's Meeting - August 12, 1996 Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5 -0 by roll call vote: Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Busa, Mr. Penn and Mrs. Eddison to go into executive session for discussion of litigation and land acquisition platters, with no intent to resume open session. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at :40 p.m. A true record Attest: ;r 7 r Phyllis . Smith Execute clerk 60-338 4 x F Selectmen's Meeting Minutes Goal Setting-- Lexington Sheraton Inn August 22, 1996 A goal setting meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Thursday, August 22 in the Jonah Parker Room of the Lexington Sheraton Inn at 9:3 0 a. m. Chairman McSweeney, Mr. Bailey, lam Busa, Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr. white, Town Manager; Ms. Crew Vine and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present. Chairman McSweeney opened up the meeting indicating it is hoped that the entire agenda can be covered With the plan to vote an agreed upon set of goals and process on Monday evening. P.up. 'n17 f?C Mr. Mite expressed concern over the anticipated FY98 revenue picture which will be seriously impacted because of very little free cash and low fund balances. There is a real need to explain how volatile this revenue source is. Revenue can fluctuate by $500,000 with just a 2% difference in the interest rates. The revenue projections assume 90% of FY96 actual local receipts. Amoropriations Transfer Among Accounts There was discussion about ability to transfer appropriations among a small amount of accounts. This would give the Manager the ability to better control the budget. There would have to be some trade off such as reducing or eliminating the Reserve Fund. Mr. Cohen would have to craft something under Article 4 to provide for this flexibility. Mr. white was asked to run this idea by the Appropriation Committee for comment. Mr. white indicated it is expected that the Certified Free Cash number will be about $1- million. The plan would be to appropriate half of that or $500,000. It is expected that NE SwC costs will increase by about $125,000, benefits would increase by 3%. Pine Meadows Greens Committee There was discussion of establishing a "Greens Committee" to facilitate the playing at the Pine Meadows Golf Course. Dan Busa indicated he would serve as the Selectman liaison to the committee. 60 -339 Selectmen's Goal Setting Meeting - August 22, 1936 Bonding for School/Town Building gram and Road work Mr. Dailey proposed going with a capital program. of $15 million with $1 million for school and town building programs and $3 million for road and related work and plan on doing this one fiscal year away in FY99 when it is anticipated the Pine Meadows debt payments will be completed. There was discussion about the pros and cons of rolling old debt into the FY99 debt exclusion package. Stabilization Fund Board members reaffirmed their desire to establish a Stabilization Fund of $75,0001year for fire equipment. Tax Levy Capital Mr. white indicated that there is $500,000 in the base for FY9 S in tax levy capital. He indicated he would like to see $1, 000, 000. (fit'h Pr X4, ttp►re Board Members spoke of platters such as a. Technology Day in October. Mrs. Eddison remarked that she hoped the Lexington Public Schools would be participating. b. Mr. McSweeney reported on the Route 2A response to DEP which is due in 21 days. Board members hope that Engineering and consultant Dick Cooke will be bringing their com ments to the Board at its meeting on September 9. Bids are due to go out in December with a Spring date for the project to start. C. The Met State Legislation has passed. Waltham is proceeding with the golf course; the M�C is proceeding with the reservation. The Lexington goals and re -use plan Will have no financial impact on Lexington. d. The Middlesex Hospital process is the complete opposite of the Met State process. The County Commissioners proceeded without involving the communities. Board members felt they should appoint an Ad -Hoc committee to monitor the project. e. Mrs. Eddison spoke of concerns for developing a quality Home Page for Lexington and the necessity for keeping it up to date. Mrs. Eddison will be working with appropriate individuals to develop a quality Home Page for Lexington. 6o -340 Selectmen's goal Setting Meeting - August 22, 1996 Executive Session Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5 -0 by roll call vote: Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Dailey, Mr. Busa; Mr. Fenn and Mrs. Eddison to go into executive session for discussion of litigation and collective bargaining with no intent to resume open session.. Upon notion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adj ourn at 12:1 o p.m. A true record, Attest: yrPhyl A. Smith • Exe tive Clerk a s 60 -341 Selectmen's Meeting Minutes August 26, 1996 A. regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, August 26, 1996 in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:30 p.m. Chairman McSweeney, Mr. Dailey, Mr. - Buss, Mar. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; Mr. white, Town Manager; and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present. Adjourned NYNEX Grant of Location Hearing_- 15 S 6n Street Mr. Fitzgibbon, NYNEX representative, asked to withdraw the petition because this property is still before the Conservation Commission. NYNEX will resubmit the petition at a later time. NYNEX Grant of Location - Hartwell Avenue Mr. McSweeney opened a public hearing on the petition of New England Telephone Company for a grant of location for conduit to be installed, owned and used by New England Telephone and Telegraph Company to provide high- capacity facilities to NEX -TEL Corporation. There being no questions, Mr. McSweeney declared the hearing closed. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the petition of New England Telephone and Telegraph Company to lay and maintain underground conduits and manholes, with the wires and cables to be placed therein, under the surface of Hartwell Avenue from manhole number. 54/120 in a northerly direction, a distance of 40 feet ( ±), then turning westerly a distance of 10 feet ( ±) to pole number 411/20. Consent Agenda Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following Consent Agenda Items: Letter of Greeting to Ville d Antony Sign a letter of greeting to The Honorable Patrick Devedjian, Madame Marie- Louise Marlet and the Citizens of Lexington's Sister City, Antony, France. Chapter .90,Funds Sign Chapter 90 acceptance forms in the amount of $712,780 and $11 8,801. 60 -342 Selectmen's Meeting - August 26, 1996 FY98 Street Acce tance Schedule Insert a public notice in the Lexington Minuteman for the acceptance of petitions for Sewer, Street and Sidewalk Acceptance. Adopt a Fiscal Year 1998 Street Acceptance Schedule as proposed by the Engineering Department, Commitment of Water /Sewer Char es Commitment of water charges 7/10/96 (Cycle 9) $127 Commitment of sewer charges 8/1/96 (Cycle 9) $130,143.85 Constitution Week Proclaim September 17 through September 23, 1996 as Constitution Week. CATV License Renewal Caleb Warner, plead of the License Renewal Negotiating Team, asked the Board to sign the license renewal for the cable television franchise in Lexington with A--R Cable Systems. Mr. Warner said the negotiating team and the CATV and Communications Advisory Committee felt this license represents the town and its citizens well and is the culmination of almost three years' work. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the cable television license renewal with A-R Cable Systems. Entertainment Licenses -- Marble Rock Cinema Co oration Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the application and issue entertainment licenses for weekdays and Sundays to Marble Rock Cinema Corporation d/b /a Flick Theatres. Sidewalk Cafe. Permit - Dagwood'sDeli Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew a sidewalk caf6 permit to Dagwood's Deli for the 1996 outdoor season. 60-343 Selectmen's Meeting - August 26, 1996 Depot Square /Emery Park Redesign Steven Hurley reported that the Design Advisory Committee is in the process of evaluating a couple of proposals to parr the Lexpress buses on Massachusetts Avenue. A traffic study will need to be - done. He will be back to the Board later in the fall for further updating. Benches Steven Hurley and John Frey reviewed proposals for more bench and bike rack locations throughout the Center area and in several locations along Massachusetts Avenue. They have Historic Districts approval on some of the locations and will be pursuing their approval for some other areas as well. Brick Sidewalk Extension - Massachusetts Avenue Mr. Hurley also reviewed a proposal to extend the sidewalk from 1666 Massachusetts down to 1656 Massachusetts Avenue. They also plan to install a lamp post and standards in front of 1666 Mass. Avenue. Boston Edison will be coming before the Board for permission to install underground conduit at a later date. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the extension of brick work to the sidewalk from 1666 to 1656 Massachusetts Avenue subject to working under the direction of the Public works Director. Selectmen's goals Mr. McSweeney reported on a Goal Setting meeting the Board had with the Town Manager at which the Board agreed upon twelve goals for the upcoming Fiscal Year. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adopt the following goals: 1.) Budget participation schedule with kick off meeting scheduled for October 19, 1996. 2.) Establish a debt exclusion override committee - $15 - $22 million, $3.8 million for cash capital, $3 million for roads, rest for building.. 3.) Reestablish a stabilization fund -- $75,000 per year. 4.) Establish a DPW facility committee. 5.) Fold a litigation process meeting for all regulation and policy groups. 6.) work towards establishing a quality Home Page for community. 7.) 1.5% wage guidelines for next five years. 8.) 3% expense target for FY98, NESWC exception. 9.) 3% benefit target for FY98. 10.) Retain the $550,000 tax levy, capital cash base established in FY97 for FY98 Town capital. AJJDX 1 Selectmen's Meeting - August 2.6, 1996 11.) Explore possibility of creating an Ad -Floc greens committee for efficiency of play. 12.) Establish Middlesex Hospital Committee. Joint Meeting with School Committee and Long Range Planning Committee In attendance at the joint meeting were: Rick White, Town Manager; Andy Friedlich, TMMA Board; Alan Levine, TMM;, Peter Enrich, TMM; Tony Close, TMM; Mike Wagner, T1 PvIA; Paul Lapointe, Appropriation Committee; Bigelow Moore, TMM; Marge Battin, Moderator; Dave Miller, Capital Expenditures Com.; Karen Dooks, Capital Expenditures Com.; Caleb warner, S. Lex. Civic Association; Anne Ripley, TMM; Shanna Sires, Town Manager's Office; David Kaufnnan, TMM; Dawn McKenna, TMM; Jeff Young, Superintendent of Schools; Joe Dini, School Committee; Susan Elberger, School Com rm*ttee; Barrie Peltz, School Committee; Fred Rosenberg, School Committee; Mary Bowes, TMM; Ione Caring, TMMA; Eva FIeney, Reporter; Les Masterson, Reporter; Ron Colwell, Appropriation Committee; Anne Frymer, TMMA,, Roger Borghesani, Appropriation Committee, TMM; Peter Kelley, Precinct 4; Frank Sandy, TllM; Bill Kennedy, Capital Expenditures Committee; Isabel Mroczkowski, Appropriation Committee, TMM; Mary Miley, Appropriation Committee; Alan Lazarus, Precinct 6; Ron Pawliczek, Appropriation Committee; Jane Pagett, Minuteman Tech.; Neal Boyle, TMMA; Paul Hamburger, Long Range Planning Committee; Eric Michelson, LRPC; Kristin O'Sullivan, LRPC; Robert Cohen, LRPC; Norman Cohen, Town Counsel; Phyllis Smith, Exec. Clerk, Selectmen; Bill Dailey, Selectman; Leo McSweeney, Selectman; Betty Eddison, - Selectman; Dan Fenn, Selectman and Dan Busa, Selectman. There was much discussion about the FY98 budget and long range planning around such areas as: irnbeding the FY98 process in with long range planning; looking at outside influences that will impact Lexington over the next five years; a forecast of revenue and expenses for the next five years; defining and getting the message out on what the problems really are; having a kick off meeting in October with a well defined agenda to be prepared by the Chairs of the Finance Committees and Long Range Planning Committee; report of the Business Committee will be presented to Board on October Z l; Planning Board working on updating Master Plan; some programs not being funded by Federal and State Government; look to attaining 1 /2 of 1% efficiency within the framework of existing services; look to what other communities are doing. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10:05 p.m.. A true record, Attest: x Phyllis . Smith Executive Clerk