MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
OCTOBER 16, 2006, 7:30 pm
PRESENT: PersonNameSarah Cannon Holden (chairman), Sara Mattes, Gary Taylor
STAFF: Tim Higgins (Town Administrator), Debra Parkhurst (Administrative Assistant)
Welcome & Introductions: The meeting opened at timeHour19Minute307:30 PM. The Chairman welcomed the public, reviewed the agenda and action items for the meeting.
Announcements: Ms. Mattes announced the return of the Lincoln Horse Show and thanked residents and the Conservation Commission for their work in getting the field ready. Ms. Mattes announced that Paul Master PersonNameKarnik has submitted his resignation form the placePlaceNameDeCordova PlaceTypeMuseum and noted that under his leadership the museum turned into a world class regional sculpture garden and modern art museum. Ms. Mattes also wanted to thank Stacy Osur for her help with the recent tour led by Ms. Mattes for Hanscom AFB residents of placeCityLincoln sites, including placePlaceNameOld PlaceTypeTown Hall, Walden Woods, Drumlin Farm, placePlaceNameDeCordova PlaceTypeMuseum, Codman Farm, and concluded with lunch at the Whistle Stop. Mrs. Cannon Holden announced the next Bemis Lecture that
will feature placeStateMassachusetts congressman Barney Frank. She also announced the “Brunch for Books” timeMinute0Hour1111 AM, Sunday at the Lincoln Library to benefit their sister library in placeCityNew Orleans, StateLA.
Appointments:
Tom Gumbart, Conservation Director, re: Proposed Conservation Restrictions.
Mr. Gumbart came before the Board to present two draft conservation restrictions to provide some discourse prior to a sign off in the near future. Long time residents Bisty and Robert Donaldson have concerns with mansionization. They propose a building envelope on their residence at addressStreet144 Weston Road with a size restriction (4,000 square feet) on the house as well as a conservation restriction on the land. The land has a trail that leads from addressStreetConant Road to addressStreetWeston Road and provides vernal habitat as well. The conservation restriction will go to the LLCT. Enforcement is covered by both agencies, the Conservation Commission and the LLCT. Sign off by the State provides the conservation restriction in perpetuity. The Deed Restriction has to be
re-recorded every 20-30 years. The State is willing to work with the Town, the LLCT and the RLF on these types of restrictions. Mr. Gumbart said he suspects that there will be similar types of restrictions in the future. They hope to see this one completed by the end of the calendar year. The second CR is a 19 acre parcel owned by the placeCityFlint family. It abuts the north side of Route 2 and lies within the Cambridge Watershed district. On the south side of Route 2, it abuts Oak Meadow open space. This is an important piece to protect the Hobbs Brook reservoir. It is listed on the State map as “core habitat” and valuable to protect. The CR runs to the Town of placeCityLincoln. Henry and Ed Flint have owned the land for a long time and it does not lend itself to housing. The Chairman thanked Mr. Gumbart for attending and providing the information.
Town Administrator Report:
Mr. Higgins reported that the base budget will permit 3% growth, exclusive of fixed costs such as health insurance, pensions, etc. Departments will have 30 days to develop their budgets. The Finance Committee initial meeting is Wednesday evening, December 6 in the Hartwell Multi Purpose room at the school complex. The facilities plan is still being worked on, and the Capital committee will try to distinguish those that may qualify for CPC money. Mr. Higgins predicted that the maintenance budget will be higher. He also spoke of programmatic uses that may influence how and when a building is improved. The FY08 Capital Budget does not include items that will come out of the facilities study. Some items may be bondable. For the CPA plan, Mr. Higgins mentioned two requests from
the Conservation Commission and one from the Cemetery Commission. Mr. Higgins ahs prepared an analysis of the affordable housing inventory in town. Prior to the 2010 Census, the Town will be over the 10% threshold. Following that Census, the Town will once again fall below. However, the Town is better with the Deaconess Housing than without it. placePlaceNameAnnual PlaceTypeTown Meeting approval of an Affordable Housing Trust put the town in a better position to add affordable housing inventory. Mr. Taylor added that Deaconess helps achieve the objective of senior housing. Mr. Higgins reported on the current Town Treasurer/ Collector’s support to change the position from elected to appointed. The Finance Committee supports the change. The Selectmen will invite Mr. Feinberg and members of the FINCOM in for a discussion.
Discussion:
The Board discussed the updated Warrant for the Special town Meeting. They will pass over Article 3, but use the time to articulate the use and the scope of the consultant. Mrs. Cannon Holden said there is a meeting with the moderator Wednesday morning. The Board urged the Water Commission to provide details for the Board. Mr. Higgins said that the Deaconess proposal will fit the new DHCD guidelines. Mr. Taylor said he has seen the draft MOU from the Water Dept and believes they will reach an agreement with the Deaconess regarding water flow and payments for water conservation. Mr. Higgins expects the MOU to be ready this week. The Deaconess Steering Committee meets October 30 in the morning. Mr. Taylor also said he is meeting tomorrow with Donelan’s, Lincoln Woods, and
the RLF. Ms. Mattes requested confirmation from the Planning Board that the Plan is as presented to them. The Board will need to vote in the article prior to placePlaceNameSpecial PlaceTypeTown meeting. The Board discussed the outline for the State of the Town meeting. Article 1 will be the Deaconess; Article 2 will be the RLF/Mall.
Liaison Reports:
The Board discussed the tree hearing that they will hold as a follow up to the Planning Board/ Tree Warden Hearing where both the Tree Warden and residents protested certain trees being removed.. Mr. Higgins explained that NSTAR had identified area roads that have problems on their circuit. Members of the Board suggested some wires are old and there are not enough transformers, and NSTAR must look at these as well. The Board asked if the NSTAR engineers could come to the hearing. Ms. Mattes was also concerned about the tree canopy and the amount of trimming they do. There was some talk about hiring an arborist to help preserve the aesthetic as well as the wires. placeCityLexington and Weston have succeeded to some extent with their pruning program. The Selectmen will get a
list of the 50 +/- trees. Mr. Bassett has looked at all the Trees and has a list of trees he is concerned about. The hearing will be noticed in the paper.
Ms. Mattes reported from the recent MMA meeting. MMA president Geoff Beckwith spoke about the increase in reliance on local revenues and the retraction of Chapter 90 monies from the State. There was panel discussion on Land Use Reform and several Selectmen spoke on C40R and 40F proposals. All recognized the stress on local communities and the need for professionalism.
The Board reviewed the future meeting schedule.
The Board reviewed correspondence.
The Board reviewed Action Items.
A MOTION was made and seconded to into Executive Session pursuant to MGL 39, Sec. 23B, not to return to Open Session. A Roll Call Vote was taken: Mattes- aye; placeCityTaylor- aye; Holden-aye. The Regular Meeting adjourned at timeHour21Minute109:10 PM.
Submitted by,
Debra Parkhurst
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