HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-03-BOS-min 61-135
Selectmen's Meeting Minutes
March 2, 1998
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, March 2, 1998 in the
Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:30 p.m. Chairman McSweeney, Mr.
Busa, Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison, Mr. Enrich; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town
Counsel; and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present.
Boston Edison Grant of Location Hearing— 16 Hayden Avenue
Mr. McSweeney opened a hearing on the petition of Boston Edison Company for a grant of
location for conduit to be installed to provide electric service to a new building located at 16
Hayden Avenue.
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 Hayden Avenue southwesterly, approximately 600 feet
west of Waltham Street, a distance of about 85 feet (±).
Consent Agenda
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the following commitments and
adjustments:
a. Commitment of water charges for 12/1/97 to 12/31/97 $2,269.25
b. Commitment of sewer charges for 12/1/97 to 12/31/97 $4,917.25
c. Adjustments of water charges for 12/1/97 to 12/31/97 -$34,122.23
d. Adjustments of sewer charges for 12/1/97 to 12/31/97 -$85,234.32
Committee Resignations
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept the resignation of David Kanter
from the Traffic Safety committee.
Personnel Advisory Board
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept with regret the the resignation of
Katherine Page from the Personnel Advisory Board and to thank her for her many contributions
to Lexington.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 2, 1998
Reenactment of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request of the Lexington
Historical Society and the Lexington Minute Men to close off Bedford Street from
Massachusetts Avenue to Hancock Street and Hancock Street to Adams Street to all but resident
emergency traffic from 10:30 p.m. on April 19 to 1:00 a.m. on April 20 and that they coordinate
their plans with Captain Kilmartin.
Minutes
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the meeting of
January 26, 1998.
Executive Session Minutes
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the executive session minutes of
the meeting of December 8 and December 15, 1997 and January 26, 1998.
Selectmen Liaison Reports
Mr. Fenn reported that a group of six Russians from Gatchina, Russia will be visiting Lexington
from April 14 through the 21st. Gatchina is a center of high tech industries, particularly nuclear.
Three of the guests speak English. The Town is looking for host families and companies either
doing business or thinking of doing business with Russia to let either he or Ed Shapiro know.
Mrs. Eddison mentioned that she has received a request from a city in Australia who might be
interested in becoming a sister city to Lexington. She will explore further and keep the Board
informed.
Mr. Busa mentioned that last year Lexington Rotary become involved in operation Angel Wings
which is an effort to bring children afflicted from the Chernobyl disaster to the States. Rotary
will assist in providing fresh fruits, vegetables and water to the 152 children when they arrive at
Logan the end of June.
Executive Session
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5-0 by roll call vote: Mr. McSweeney, Mr.
Busa, Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison and Mr. Enrich to go into executive session for purposes of
litigation matters, with no intent to resume open session.
A true record, Attest:
Phyllis A. Smith
Executive Clerk
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Selectmen's Meeting Minutes
March 9, 1998
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, March 9, 1998 in the
Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Busa, Mr. Fenn, Mrs.
Eddison, Mr. Enrich, Mrs. Krieger; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel; and
Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present.
Reorganization of the Board
Executive Clerk Phyllis Smith asked for nominations for Chairman.
Mrs. Eddison nominated Peter Enrich.
Mr. Busa asked to be acknowledged and made the following comments: Before I make my
nomination, I feel impelled tonight to make a brief comment. During my tenure as a member of
the Board of Selectmen, I can say I have worked with a variety of folks with quite different
political preferences, and, it has been my privilege and pleasure to do so. Each year,
immediately following our local elections, our board reorganizes, as we are doing right now.
This annual selection of our past chairpersons has always been, in keeping with the majority
opinion of the members at hand, and the person who could best represent the largest cross-
section of our citizens. One element that I feel has always been considered is that the senior
members of our group upon meeting these criteria would be considered as the chairperson.
Although I have as many years' seniority on this board as Mr. Fenn, given the political
persuasion of our members, at this time, a nomination for Dan Busa for chairperson would be the
last thing from my mind. Dan Fenn, on the other hand, has been a diligent and forthright
representative for all of our citizens. He and I have had disagreements on a variety of issues but
have always tried to find a way to reach middle ground. His views differed from mine on
Lexpress but he then helped support"Unbundled Overrides", because he felt that those were the
right things to do. I respect him as a man, and a colleague, and consider him a trustworthy
friend, a characteristic all too many times missing in our world today. Therefore, Madam
Secretary, I respectfully nominate Dan H. Fenn, Jr. for Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Fenn thanked his colleague for his kind words and for the nomination and said while he
would enjoy the opportunity to serve as chairman, he declined the nomination.
No further nominations were made and Ms. Smith declared the nominations closed.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously to elect Peter D. Enrich
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 9, 1998
Mr. Enrich thanked his colleagues saying he felt it a real honor, privilege and responsibility to
serve as Chairman. It is an opportunity that I accept with some humility and real pleasure. I see
the primary function of the Chairman as being the facilitator for the Board and to make sure that
we work together in a collegial way that is respectful of the full range of views not only of this
board, but also the community. The role of the Chair is to make sure all of those views are
fairly heard, presented in a way that is open and honest and in a way that really puts all the issues
on the table and lets us move together toward a consensus, toward positions and approaches that
we can all share for the good of the community.
In thinking abut the role of the Chair, I am guided in no small measure by the two most recent
holders of the Chair—Bill Dailey and Leo McSweeney; two people whose views I often
disagreed with, but people both of whom I thought handled this position with tremendous respect
in a way that really served those goals of being open and honest and facilitating fair discussion
and a meeting of the minds around the difficult issues that we face. I hope I can follow in their
footsteps.
This is probably also the opportunity for me to say a word about Leo. This is the first meeting in
a dozen years that Leo hasn't been sitting at the Selectmen's table. I know in both the years that
I watched this Board from out there and in the time I have served on the Board with Leo I have
developed a really profound respect for him. He is a gentleman, he is somebody who has always
conducted these meetings and the other conduct of the Board with tremendous generosity of
spirit and tremendous energy in a way that I could only hope to live up to. I am sure that no one
will mistake that for any sort of eulogy because I think we all know that Leo's decades of
energetic, warmhearted and tremendously valuable contribution to our community is nowhere
near an end and that we will see a great deal more of him around and that is tremendously
important.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to draw up a proclamation using the words
of praise just pronounced by Chairman Enrich in honor of Leo McSweeney's many years of
service on the Board.
Mr. Enrich welcomed new member Jeanne Krieger and newly reelected member Betty Eddison.
Let me say one final thing about the elections. I know there has been a lot of talk about what the
elections meant for the direction of the Town. The one thing that is clear to me; all of the
candidates who won for all of the various offices are people who, during the campaign, talked a
lot about the importance of building consensus, of bringing together a wider group of people, and
moving forward together. If I am going to take that message from the election, it needs to be at
the top of our agenda and I hope that this Board, working together, can move forward in that
spirit and in that direction.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 9, 1998
Bell Atlantic Grant of Location Hearing—Meriam Street
Mr. Enrich opened a public hearing on the petition of Bell Atlantic for a grant of location for
conduit to be installed to provide the Church of our Redeemer telecommunications access to
network services.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the petition of Bell Atlantic—
New England to lay and maintain underground conduits and manholes, with the wires and cables
to be placed therein, under the surface of Meriam Street starting at pole number 65/4A on the
westerly side of Meriam Street, place conduit in a southwesterly direction, a distance of 3 feet±.
Appointments
Registrar of Voters
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Connie Foster as Registrar of
Voters for a three-year term expiring March 31, 2001.
Cable TV and Communications Advisory Committee
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint David C. Carver a member of the
Cable TV and Communications Advisory Committee for a three-year term expiring September
30, 2001.
Budget Issues
DPW Director George Woodbury updated the Board on the status of the NESWC contract. The
contract terminates in the year 2004 and the fear is that if the contract is not extended the tipping
fee will go up dramatically.
There was discussion of the pros and cons of using a payment in lieu of taxes again this year
from the Sewer Enterprise Fund.
Minutes
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the meetings of
February 2 and February 9, 1998.
One Day Liquor License
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to issue a one-day liquor license to St.
Brigid's Parish, 2001 Massachusetts Avenue for a St. Patrick's Day Party on Saturday, March
14, 1998.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 9, 1998
DEP Recycling Grant Award
Mr. White reported that the Department of Public Works has received a$3,792 grant from the
Department of Environmental Protection for home composting bins, brochures and paint storage
cabinets.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept a grant award from the Department
of Environmental Protection in the amount of$3,792 and to establish a Selectmen's Gift
Account to receive and disperse revenue from the sale of composting bins.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 8:25 p.m.
A true record, Attest:
Phyllis A. Smith
Executive Clerk
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Selectmen's Meeting Minutes
March 16, 1998
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, March 16, 1998 in the
Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:30 p.m. Chairman Enrich, Mr. Busa,
Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison, Mrs. Krieger; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel;
and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present.
Public Comments
Mr. Busa speaking as a citizen and as a proud parent reported to the Board and the Town that the
Hayden precision skating teams have just returned from the San Diego national championships.
The Haydenettes have won their seventh gold, the Ice Mates won a gold, the Ice Cubes a silver
and the Esprit de Corps a bronze.
Article Assignments
Board Members have assigned themselves articles for the upcoming Town Meeting. Mr. Enrich
explained that many of the agenda items pertain to the Warrant and will allow the Board to take
positions on the articles.
Minutes
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the meetings of
February 23 and March 2, 1998.
Proclamation—Women's History Month
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to declare the month of March Women's
History Month.
Airport Noise Work Group
Mr. Fenn reported that Massport is putting together a noise work group and he nominated Julian
Bussgang and Tony Galaitsis.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Julian Bussgang and Tony
Galaitsis as Lexington's representatives to the Massport sponsored Airport Noise Work Group.
Sewer Rate Relief Funds
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to accept $19,684 from the Commonwealth
Sewer Rate Relief Fund to be used solely for the purpose of providing assistance in the
mitigation of sewer rate increases in fiscal year 1999.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 16, 1998
Planning Board
Planning Board members and staff were present to discuss the zoning articles in this year's
warrant. Three of the eleven articles considered the highest priority were reviewed; Article 32
Wireless Communication Antennas, Article 40 Outdoor Lighting and Article 36 Nonconforming
Parking, Lexington Center.
Capital Expenditures Committee
Capital Expenditures Committee members were present to review their position on the warrant
articles. They are recommending against Article 12 Street Reconstruction at this time as they
feel it is important to conduct the survey using the proposed software to be purchased with
Chapter 90 money. They also have not taken a position yet on Article 16 Bedford Street/Bike
Path Traffic Signal. They have agreed on all other warrant articles. They expect their report will
be ready in a couple of weeks.
Mr. Enrich indicated the Board has seen a draft report put together by the Manager concerning
Article 42 Guidelines for Financing Capital Expenditures. It represents a lot of food for thought.
The amount of material deserves time for digestion.
Mrs. Eddison felt it important to approve the push button light at Bedford Street and the
bikeway. There are hundreds of people crossing there every day and it is a very dangerous
intersection.
School Articles
Mrs. Peltz was present to report on the Article in the Special Town Meeting for 13 portable
classrooms. She indicated that over a five year span the purchase of the classrooms would be
about $125,000 less than the cost of leasing.
Mrs. Peltz also reviewed the school construction articles for the Annual Town Meeting. She ran
through a priority list and listed those areas that could wait for a major capital request and those
that needed immediate attention and were not negotiable.
School Project Update
Mr. Busa started in January with an informal working group to come up with an affordable
project. After a few weeks it was concluded that there was need for some technical support from
the architects. This will cost $22,000.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 16, 1998
Mr. Busa reported that when the group started we thought we could put something together. The
Permanent Building Committee did a good job and provided us with a lot of data. We began to
focus on the high school. If we could do that with the high school, we might be able to replicate
the process and do all nine schools.
If you take the high school project alone, at $28 million and try to do it at $10 million it just can't
happen. We felt it would be best to back into the project from a different tack. If we were
starting from scratch and building programs and policy issues from that stage, we would be
asking if we spend $15 million for the high school, net to the Town of$6 million—can you build
us a reimbursable project? The answer is yes with conditions. It will certainly not be a$28
million project that we had on the table.
Mr. Busa was urged to go forward with coming up with a responsible project. There is $400,000
remaining from the $2.4 million appropriation and it was thought that these funds might be
appropriate to use for the $22,000 needed for technical support from the architects. It was
decided to ask the school committee for its endorsement.
There was much discussion on how the group would continue and open up the meetings to the
public as an Ad Hoc working group working with the Permanent Building Committee.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes
Board members discussed the option of whether to continue a $250,000 payment in lieu of taxes
from the Sewer Enterprise Fund or some other course of action to reduce the budget gap. Mr.
Busa and Mr. Fenn preferred to cease using an in lieu of tax payment.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3 to 2, Mr. Busa and Mr. Fenn in opposition,
to keep the PILOT at its current level and to bill the increase on the rate at the appropriate time.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10:35 p.m.
A true record, Attest:
Phyllis A. Smith
Executive Clerk
61-144
Selectmen's Meeting Minutes
March 23, 1998
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, March 23, 1998 in the
Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Enrich, Mr. Busa,
Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison, Mrs. Krieger; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel;
and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present.
Legislation re Regional School Transportation Costs Reimbursement
Board members decided there was no reason to take a position on recent legislation concerning
reimbursement of regional school transportation costs.
Position on Warrant Articles
Board Members took a position on the following articles:
Special Town Meeting
Article 1 Portable Classrooms—unanimous support
Article 2 Fire Fighter Labor Contract—unanimous support
Annual Town Meeting
Article 7 Supplemental appropriation for Pool Project, 29 Rescind Unused Borrowing authority,
30 Amend General By-Laws, Wetlands Protection, 32 Wireless communications Antennas, 33
Small Lots, 34 Conversion of One Family Houses, 35 Technical Corrections, 36 Nonconforming
Parking, Lexington Center, 37 Maximum, Minimum Parking, 38 Transportation Demand
Management, 39 Procedures, Planned Development Districts and 40 Outdoor Lighting—
unanimous support.
Budget Reductions
Town Manager Richard White gave the Board a list of proposed cuts to the operating and cash
capital budgets he is recommending in order to close the budget gap. Board members discussed
their individual concerns about the proposed cuts.
Economic Development Coordinator/Director Position
Mr. White presented some information concerning a potential Economic Development
Coordinator/Director position.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 23, 1998
Minuteman Vocational Proposed Development
Board Members discussed a proposal submitted to Minuteman Vocational High School in
response to an RFP sent out in January. Minuteman appears to be very serious about moving
forward with the proposal. There was discussion about what role the Board should play and it
was felt Lexington should get in touch with officials in Lincoln and express the desire of both
communities, HATS and the Minuteman National Park to be participants in the discussion of the
proposals submitted by Claremont Associates.
Council on Aging Appointment
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the Town Manager's
appointment of Ms. Marilyn Campbell to the Council on Aging for a term expiring May 31,
1998.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7:50 p.m.
A true record, Attest:
Phyllis A. Smith
Executive Clerk
61-146
Selectmen's Meeting Minutes
March 25, 1998
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Wednesday, March 25, 1998 in the
Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Enrich, Mr. Busa,
Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison, Mrs. Krieger; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel;
and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present.
Budget Cuts
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to make the following capital budget cuts:
$280,000 street reconstruction, $555,000 street resurfacing, $94,471 DPW equipment, $25,000
Sutherland Park playground improvements, and $25,000 of the funding for the Stabilization
Fund.
Town Manager Richard White presented the Board with a list of budget reductions based upon
discussions with the School Committee last evening. The Board members approved all but four
of the proposals and restored the following items: Records Management $8,816, MIS Staff
person for full year $20,000, sidewalks $10,000 and Historic Districts Clerk $2,949. The Board
further approved the following cuts: $52,000 DPW Expenses for electricity, $24,900 Finance
Department Clerk, $25,000 DPW Expenses for sidewalks, $32,000 DPW Personal Services for
Management Analyst, $5,000 Board of Selectmen Personal Services additional clerical hours,
$35,000 Fire Expenses for vehicle, $9,578 Library Expenses for computer terminals, $8,000
Police expenses car plan, $6,000 Finance expenses for MIS Training, $7,051 Inspectional
Services Personal Services part of time of HDC Clerk.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the operating budget for article 4
as proposed by the manager.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7:55 p.m.
A true record, Attest:
Phyllis A. Smith
Executive Clerk
61-147
Selectmen's Meeting Minutes
March 30, 1998
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on Monday, March 30, 1998 in the
Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building at 7:00 p.m. Chairman Enrich, Mr. Busa,
Mr. Fenn, Mrs. Eddison, Mrs. Krieger; Mr. White, Town Manager; Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel;
and Ms. Smith, Executive Clerk, were present.
Use of Battle Green
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the request from The First
Baptist Church to conduct an Easter Sunrise Service on the Battle Green on Sunday, April 12
from 6:30 to 7:15 a.m.
Appointment—Fair Housing and Human Relations Committee
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to appoint Thomas Montanari to the Fair
Housing and Human Relations committee for a two-year term expiring September 30, 2000.
Executive Session Minutes
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the executive session minutes of
the meetings of February 23, March 2 and March 16, 1998.
Budget Adjustments
Mr. White explained that the actions taken by Town Meeting to fund the supplemental
appropriation for the pool project by borrowing $80,000 will free that amount up if the Board
should choose to add back some items previously cut from the budget.
Board Members expressed their preferences as follows: Mrs. Krieger to add back into street
resurfacing, Mr. Busa to reduce the amount of the payment in lieu of taxes from the Sewer
Enterprise Fund, Mr. Fenn to add to the appropriation for the Reserve Fund to provide some
funding for Special Ed. Overruns.
Mr. Enrich indicated that the Appropriation Committee has given some favorable thoughts to
adding to the Reserve Fund hoping to get a better fix on why the school department has an
overrun each year.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3 to 2, Mrs. Krieger and Mr. Busa in
opposition, to increase the amount requested for Line Item 2310 Reserve Fund to $230,000.
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Selectmen's Meeting—March 30, 1998
Proclamation—Visit of the Russians
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a proclamation of welcome to the
delegation of six business and government leaders from Sister City Gatchina, Russia who will be
arriving in Lexington on April 14.
Hanscom
Mr. Fenn distributed a revised statement of goals for the HATS Planning Group. He asked the
Board members to give him their comments or reactions and he will share them with the
Planning Group.
Minuteman Tech Proposed Development
Board members discussed getting two Planning Board members, representatives of HATS,
Nancy Nelson from the National Park, the Lincoln and Lexington Board of Selectmen involved
in the Minuteman Tech proposed development. Mrs. Eddison volunteered to head this effort for
the Board. It was also decided to schedule a meeting with the Planning Board after Town
Meeting to discuss this issue and others.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 7:45 p.m.
A true record, Attest:
Phyllis A. Smith
Executive Clerk