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BOARD OF SELECTMEN’S MEETING final
April 23, 2007, 7:30 pm
PRESENT: Gary Taylor (Chairman), PersonNameSarah Cannon Holden, Sara Mattes,
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:
Mrs. Holden announced that the L-S Review committee will meet on Wednesday April 25, at timeHour19Minute157:15 in the placePlaceNameLincoln PlaceNameSudbury PlaceTypeHigh School for public input.
Appointments:
Dana Robbat – Friends of Modern Architecture
Others in attendance included: Joe Robbat, Jack MacLean, Cori Rose, Jacquelyn Apsler, Ben Horne, Barbara Sampson, PersonNameKen Hurd, Joel Freedman, Shari Antia
Ms. Robbat informed the Board that in July 0f 2005, the Codman Trust awarded a grant of $10,000 to the Friends of Modern Architecture to conduct a survey of modernist houses in placeCityLincoln. PersonNameElecta Tritsch was hired as consultant to perform the survey. She assessed 66 homes in placeCityLincoln and completed Form B’s for the Massachusetts Historical Commission. She assumed that there were probably more than 50 more homes throughout the town that should be reviewed. Mrs. Robbat read from Ms. Tritsch’s letter of dateMonth1Day22Year2007January 22, 2007, which noted that placeCityLexington was the only other community in this area to have conducted such a study. This survey should raise awareness and planning for neighborhoods where modernist homes are concentrated, and Ms. Tritsch urged the
Town to explore and develop historic districts to protect these residences. She noted that once the Form B is submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, then homes of significance can be recommended for inclusion in the National Register. She also read a letter from PersonNameKathleen Broomer dated dateMonth1Day16Year2007January 16, 2007 which spoke of four possible neighborhood conservation districts: Beaver Pond, Brown’s Woods, addressStreetOld Concord Road, and Woods End. Fifteen houses meet the criteria for National Register designation, with a possible addition of four more. Recommendations are in, and it is now up to the Massachusetts Historic Commission. A few houses predate the Gropius House. Discussion turned to the social dynamic and physical attributes that lent itself to placeCityLincoln having so many modernist mid-century homes. The Chairman thanked Ms. Robbat, other members of FOMA, and members of the Lincoln
Historic Commission for their presence and interest, and hope that they follow up with the remaining houses.
Caroline Connor, MBTA Representative
Ms. Connor has been placeCityLincoln’s representative to the MBTA for the past two years. She explained that until recently under their new general manager, the MBTA was working on managing fare increases and the implementation of the new “Charlie Cards.” The operating deficit has gone down from ten million dollars to slightly above four million dollars due in large part to the implementation of the Charlie Card. However while general ridership is up, placeCityLincoln usage has fallen in the last few years from 300 riders per day to 280 riders per day. A similar trend has happened in Weston. According to statistics available to Ms. Connor from the MBTA, she said that 100% of the placeCityLincoln resident parking spaces 96% of the non-resident spaces are used every day. The Board believed that
these figures may not be accurate according to the revenues from the Police Department from the non-resident parking lot. Assessments charged to the towns went from 136 million dollars in 2006 to 139 million in 2007. She said that placeCityLincoln’s assessment went up to $4500. Some changes are being made to commuter rail service on June 1, and trains will be added. The Board explained that the Mall is being re-developed and they are beginning a long range master planning process and they would like to open a dialog with the MBTA regarding modernizing the signal (smaller cabinet), safety improvements, consolidation of the in bound and outbound stops, and providing a shelter on the north side of the tracks (the “Donelan’s” side). The Town will provide a map. Discussion turned to the train schedule. The Selectmen asked if trains could be added for the evening outbound commute after timeHour18Minute06 PM. Ms. Connors said
there is only a single track west of placeSouth Acton, and late trains are problematic because this leaves too many trains at that end of the line. Discussion followed on the reduction of the MBTA debt and on the use of the “Charlie Card.” The Selectmen referred to the recent report “Transportation Finance in placeStateMassachusetts: An Unsustainable System,” by the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Committee. Ms. Connor commented that the MBTA chose not to discuss transportation funding at their last meeting. The Board noted that in the past they have encouraged the legislature to increase the bonding for transportation costs. The Chairman thanked Ms. Connors for coming to the meeting and for her work as the MBTA representative. They hope to work closely in the future towards the goals of having a shelter and a central embarkation and disembarkation point.
Peter Von Mertens, Jim Meadors, Co-Chairmen, Conservation Commission.
Mr. Von Mertens, Mr. Meadors, and Mr. Henderson joined the Board for a discussion of the Conservation Commission. All three are up for re-appointment this year. Mr. Higgins opened the discussion by stating that as part of their appointment process, the Board invites the chairmen of certain boards and committees to come in and talk about their goals, priorities, and challenges as well of any particular skills they may need as the Board considers appointments. Mr. Meadors provided a summary of the conservation commission duties, including 1) wetland and wildlife protection; 2) land stewardship, including farming; and 3) land planning and acquisition. Mr. Von Mertens reviewed the stewardship activities, a year round operation, which includes managing and maintaining 89 properties, totaling 1495 acres and supervision of 57
conservation restrictions on 404 acres. placeCityLincoln consists of 14.7 square miles, with 40% to 50% of the land under some type of conservation protection. Open space planning is on-going and the process has helped renew the Commission’s commitment to open space in the Town, as well as the visual aspect of roadsides, stone walls and views. They hope to increase the “communal use” of these spaces as a way to bring placeCityLincoln together. Mr. Von Mertens added that as they move forward to acquire land, they should be looking at potential playing fields as well. He noted the Commission also administers farming on Town land, including The Food Project and Linden Tree Farm. He noted that the Commission participates in roadside clean up. The Commission will again review the potential for additional bike trails as well as improvement of the bike paths along the roadways. The Commission has strengthened its vernal pool
protection. Jim Henderson works with the agriculture subcommittee, which is striving to make the Commission’s oversight of farmed conservation land more user-friendly and effective. They plan to review operations yearly, and look at issues the farmers may have. The Board looks for best sustainable practices regarding farming and land maintenance. In the past the Commission has produced pamphlets on lawns and natural pest control. Mrs. Holden asked how the Commission becomes involved with projects. Mr. VonMertens said that an application is made depending on the location of the project, and then they begin a dialog and a process between the owner and the Conservation staff. He cited the Deaconness project, which will use a temporary road near a wetland resource area, noting that they have been very cooperative. The Board asked how they handle ongoing projects and existing conditions. The Commission said that that an Order of
Conditions is issued for any new projects that are approved within 100 feet of a wetland resource area. When the project is finished the applicant comes in for a certificate of compliance. The Commission has begun requesting deed restrictions to alert future owners that conditions must be met in perpetuity. In some cases, physical markers are placed in the ground to show the limits of a project or a lawn, etc. The Commission tries to educate an applicant and their neighbors about their standards. The Chairmen said that future challenges relate to their ability to recognize and appropriately compensate their outstanding staff and ideally increase the size of the staff. Applications are becoming more complicated and they need technical expertise in order to understand wetland biology and in analyzing plans. They said that their current fees are sufficient to cover the costs associated with applications, but the long term stewardship costs are
more problematic. Ms. Mattes said there are three seats available for potential candidates, and the Board recognized that they have three qualified candidates in front of them. However, the Board will defer appointments for a few weeks to allow applicants from the general public.
Town Administrator’s Report:
· Mr. Higgins would like to invite the Garden Club, the Tree Warden, and the DPW in for a conversation about standards and best practices for the roadside improvements.
· Old County Road Extension needs repair. The estimate for the road repair is $117,000. That road area has 20 placeCityWaltham residences and three placeCityLincoln residences. The Town only receives $200,000 in Chapter 90 funds. Dedicating more than 50% of that to one job is problematic. Most of the beneficiaries of the work reside in placeCityWaltham. Mr. Higgins has been talking with the Mayor of Waltham regarding sharing of the costs; Mr. Higgins will get back to the Board.
· The advertisement for a water board appointee has been running in the newspaper. The Water Board cannot meet until June 11. The Board agreed to leave the application process open.
· L-S- Review Committee- Mr. Higgins has been in conversation with PersonNameDennis Picker, Chairman of the Lincoln Sudbury Review Committee. Police Chiefs of both towns will share their observations with the committee and the school.
· Pierce House Strategic Plan- a few years ago, bookings at the Pierce House started to drop. The Town received a grant and advertised for consultants to create a business plan. Consultants did not respond, so Mary Hartman, a placeCityLincoln resident on the Finance Committee and on staff at placePlaceNameBentley PlaceTypeCollege arranged for graduate students to produce a business plan. They will make their presentation on May 3 at timeHour9Minute09 AM. FINCOM, Capital Planning, and CPC have all been invited as there may need to be funding for other expenses as the plan is implemented.
Discussion:
The Board discussed the annual appointment process. Other committees should be contacted and reminded that their appointees to certain committees may be out of date and need reappointment. The Board will review the Consent list at their next meeting.
Liaison Reports:
· Ms. Mattes reported that HATS met last week. They discussed, among other items, transportation issues and TIP Day. Gordon Feltman is now a HATS representative from placeCityBedford. The Board suggested that other communities affected by new placeCityWaltham development, including Weston, placeCityWaltham, and placeCityBelmont should be invited to join in these transportation discussions. HATS has requested that letters from each community be sent to their respective Representatives to discuss transportation funding.
· Mrs. Holden reported that she will attend the upcoming TIP Day on Thursday, April 26 along with PersonNameJohn Snell and Tim Higgins. PersonNameJohn Snell put together an Executive Summary for the meeting. She added that the 75% Design is almost finished, but that the $60 million budget is almost equal to the State budget for roads. Mrs. Holden also said that she has contacted both placeCityConcord and Acton CAC representatives for their support as well as placePlaceNameMinute PlaceNameMan PlaceNameNational PlaceNameHistoric PlaceTypePark. Both MAPC and MAGIC are supportive.
· Mrs. Holden reported that the L-S Review Committee that met last Wednesday was largely devoted to administrative policies and procedures. Police Lieutenants from both placeCitySudbury and placeCityLexington spoke briefly and answered questions from the committee and the audience. The next meeting is devoted to public participation.
Actions:
· Mrs. Holden made a MOTION to grant closure of the roads as requested for the dateMonth6Day30Year2006June 30, 2006 PersonNameKids Triathalon. Ms. Mattes seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.
· Mrs. Holden made a MOTION to approve the temporary sign request for the Save A Dog Society private event at the Pierce House, signs to go up after Memorial Day (on or around June 1) and to be removed immediately after the event on June 10th. Ms. Mattes seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.
· Mrs. Holden made a MOTION to hereafter delegate the authority for approval of temporary signs to the Town Administrator. Ms. Mattes seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.
· The Board reviewed their calendar for future meetings. May 7 will be a Workshop at Bemis Hall; the Board will meet on May 22 (Tuesday) rather than May 21; the Board will meet on June 5 (Tuesday) rather than June 4. The Consent appointments will be made at the next meeting (April 30).
· A MOTION was made and seconded to accept the Minutes of dateMonth1Day22Year2007January 22, 2007, dateMonth1Day29Year2007January 29, 2007, dateMonth2Day12Year2007February 12, 2007, dateMonth2Day29Year2007February 29, 2007, and dateMonth3Day5Year2007March 5, 2007 as edited. The Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Correspondence:
The Board reviewed correspondence:
· George Georges requested paving of addressStreetHillside Road. Mr. Higgins was asked to check on the status of addressStreetHillside Road in the repaving schedule.
· E. Crawley Cooper asked about the Library would respond to possible FBI request for national Security Letter request under the Patriot Act. This was referred to the Library Trustees.
PersonName· Kevin Mooney re: “lockdown” drill at the Lincoln Schools;
· Response from Susan Taylor, Library Trustee, to the Lincoln Police Dept., regarding the latter’s prompt reply from the Library regarding developing a crisis response at the Library.
· Email from Mary Helen Lorenz regarding an example of roadside planning , “Preserving Weston’s Rural Character.”
· Invitation from Massport re: FAA briefing on projects at placeCityLogan
· Boston Globe article re: Verizon suspending additional requests for cable franchises in placeStateMassachusetts. The Board asked that a letter be sent to State representatives in support of the MMA position on how local franchises are granted.
Action Items
Mr. Higgins reviewed action items from this evening.
The Meeting adjourned at timeHour22Minute1510:15 PM.
Submitted by Debra Parkhurst
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