LINCOLN BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES OF MAY 16, 2005
Sarah Cannon Holden, Chair
Sara A. Mattes
Gary A. Taylor
Timothy S. Higgins, Town Administrator
Donna M. Adam, Recorder
WELCOME / INTRODUCTIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ms. Holden then called the meeting to order at 7:30, reviewed the evening’s agenda and introduced the evening’s first appointment..
APPOINTMENTS:
PUBLIC HEARING—VERIZON GRANT OF LOCATION
Mr. Daniel Fitzgibbon, Verizon’s Right of Way Manager joined the Selectmen to answer any questions they might have regarding Verizon’s petition to lay underground conduit under Storey Drive to provide service to a new home. Although this particular request was a routine one, Mr. Taylor took the opportunity to ask Mr. Fitzgibbon the status of the removal of a pole on Page Road which was a condition under which a previous grant of location was granted. Although Mr. Fitzgibbon did not remember the exact situation, he committed to looking in to the status of the pole removal, explaining that it could be that the pole may still contain wires for carriers and services other than those belonging to Verizon. The Selectmen voted to allow the petition.
CANDIDATE FOR MBTA REPRESENTATIVE
The Selectmen welcomed Caroline Connor who has volunteered to serve as the Selectmen’s Representative on the MBTA Advisory Board. Ms. Connor’s background in the transportation industry and previous history with the MBTA make her an ideal fit for this position. Ms. Connor attended the last MBTA Advisory Committee meeting and has met and talked with Barbara Marcks. Barbara has served as the town’s representative for a number of years and during their meeting Ms. Marcks told Ms. Connor she was happy to transition out of serving. If appointed Ms. Connor is enthusiastic about bringing forward Lincoln’s transportation needs in a creative way. Ms. Mattes suggested that Mrs. Connor might help publicize the ‘Liberty Ride’, a dedicated bus which runs from Lexington Center to the National
Park stopping along the way at various sites of interest allowing tourists to move through/to the National Park without cars for a nominal fee. Ms. Mattes also suggested that Ms. Connor might also serve as a resource as the town looks at transportation issues around Hanscom. The Board voted unanimously to appoint Ms. Connor to the position. The Selectmen thanked Barbara Marcks for her service to the town during her tenure as their representative.
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE – CANDIDATES FOR APPOINTMENT
John Koenig, Chairman of the Community Preservation Committee, was the Selectmen’s third appointment of the evening. He introduced the three individuals who have expressed an interest in being considered for appointment to the CPC—John Valpey, James Fleming, and Craig Donaldson. Each expressed their reasons for putting their names forward for consideration and each spoke to their backgrounds and histories. Mr. Koenig and the Selectmen expressed their pleasure that there is such a strong interest in this committee. The Selectmen will take the matter under advisement and will make the appointment at a future meeting.
OPEN FORUM: No one was present to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the Selectmen to speak with the board without a scheduled appointment.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
ROADWAY IMPROVEMENT PLAN: In follow up to the Selectmen’s previous meeting with the Highway Foreman on May 2nd, Mr. Higgins presented the Selectmen with a formal recommendation regarding the next step in the town’s roadway improvement plan. It is recommended that Old Sudbury Road, Lexington Road, Page Road, and Lincoln Road (south of 117) be chip sealed as previously voted. Presently there is $150,000 in the Roadway Account and the town will receive an additional $166,000 on July 1st. After July 1st Mr. Higgins recommended resurfacing of the next set of neighborhood roads (Peirce Hill Road, Tower Road {northern section], Mackintosh Lane, Ballfield Road, Mill Street, Acorn Lane, Silver Birch Lane, Lexington Road/North and Mill Street Extension). Mr. Taylor commented
that while he recalled the Sudbury Road neighborhood coming in to discuss their request that their road be chip sealed in the hopes of making it less appealing to commuters to use it as a cut through, he feels the money might be best spent on Codman Road. Mr. Higgins explained that since Codman Road is in such deplorable shape it would have to be totally rehabilitated and there would not be enough money to do any other roads. A motion was made, from which Mr. Taylor abstained, to chip seal the roads as listed above and resurface the other nine roads as listed.
OLD CONCORD ROAD PARKING: It had been brought to the Selectmen’s attention that vehicles have been parking on both sides of Old Concord Road which was making it difficult for residents to access their own homes, as well as posing a potential problem should public safety vehicles require access to homes along the road. After consultation between the Conservation Commission, and the Old Concord Road neighborhood, the Public Safety Department is recommending installation of ‘No Parking’ signs on one side of the road. The Selectmen reviewed the sketch which set out the proposed the sign installation and approved the plan.
CARROLL SCHOOL REQUEST FOR CROSSWALK: After having reviewed the Carroll School’s request for installation of a crosswalk, it was investigated thoroughly by the public safety department and because of the narrowness of the road, and the poor site distance, they strongly recommend against granting the school’s request. The Selectmen are in agreement with the recommendation by the police department and asked Mr. Higgins to convey to the Carroll School that they do not see sufficient reason to grant the request.
DISCUSSION:
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Planning: Ms. Mattes was elated to report that we “ducked the bullet!” -- Hanscom Air Force Base will remain open. Not only will Hanscom remain open but it will actually grow since 1,100 more jobs will be added to the base. Ms. Mattes and Mr. Higgins had lunch with Colonel Ceteras who helped them work through a better understanding of what this will actually mean. The functions that are coming to the Base are actually functions that were already part of the base but were being serviced out of sate. Everyone is very optimistic that the finding for the Base to remain open will hold. Nevertheless we will continue with our other planning approach just to be safe.
The BRAC Commissioners may be coming to this region.
Ms. Mattes took the opportunity to thank Mr. Higgins for finding the pre-BRAC Planning Grant and also thanked the leadership at DTI and everyone else involved for getting through the first hurdle.
Train Whistle Ban Update: Mr. Higgins is still waiting for a reply from the MBTA in response to his letter that the train whistles be blown a little less vigorously. Chief Mooney is also pursuing the matter through his contacts with the ‘T’.
Mr. Higgins is in the last stages of completing the Notice of Intent. He asked that the Board vote to endorse the Notice and that Ms. Holden sign the FRA authorization on behalf of the Board. The Highway Department is in the process of installing signs and street markings as recommended by VHB .
Harrington Property Conservation Effort: On May 12th a group gathered, including Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ellen Herzfelder, to recognize another addition (Harrington Property) to the Town’s conservation holdings.
May 19th All Boards Meeting: Due to the fact that not enough board members would be available to attend, the May 19th Post Town Debriefing Meeting was cancelled. An Email will be sent out first thing tomorrow morning advising chairs of the boards and committees.
ACTION ITEMS:
APPOINTMENT OF SELECTMEN’S LIBRARY LIAISION
At the Selectmen’s meeting on May 2nd the Selectmen interviewed Melinda Webster Loof and Jacquelin Apsler as candidates to fill the open position of Selectmen’s liaison to the Library Trustees. When two highly qualified candidates interview for one opening it makes the Selectmen’s decision very difficult. Both candidates came well suited for the position and the Board thanked both Melinda and Jacquelin for coming forward and taking the time to respond to their questions. Each of the Selectmen stated how hard the decision was for them. Mr. Taylor stated that since both candidates are such strong ones, but given that
the Board is always encouraging new people to step forward he put forth a motion to nominate Ms. Apsler to the position; the nomination was seconded by Ms. Holden and by a roll call vote on which each Selectmen voted aye the Board unanimously appointed Jacqueline Apsler to serve as the Selectmen’s Liaison to the Library Trustees for a three-year term. Ms. Mattes having previously worked with Melinda Webster Loof wanted the public record to reflect how much Melinda’s efforts have been responsible for the final solution to the very difficult parking problems at the library.
CAST MPO VOTE
The Selectmen voted unanimously to support the two candidates put forth this year for appointment, David Cohen as the City nominee and F. Eric Sonnett as the Town nominee.
The weekly warrants were approved.
The minutes of May 2nd and May 9th were presented and approved as amended.
The meeting of May 16, 2005 was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
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