MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Monday, June 09, 2008
PRESENT: Sara A, Mattes, Chairman, Gary Taylor
ABSENT: Sarah Cannon Holden
STAFF: Timothy Higgins (Town Administrator), Debra Parkhurst (Administrative Assistant)
Welcome & Introductions: The meeting opened at 7:35 PM. The Chairman welcomed the public, reviewed the agenda and action items for the meeting.
Announcements:
Green Tip of the Week: Ms. Mattes suggested that laundry can be dried outside on a line, rather than using electricity or gas.
Appointments:
Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (CEI)
Re: Roadway Design Contract
Present: John Vancor (CEI), Chris Bibbo (DPW Director), John Caswell (Traffic Committee)
Mr. Higgins introduced the session by stating that the Town has approved $5.5 million ($5,500,000) to rehabilitate major roads in town. Massachusetts General Laws requires the Town hire design consultants. and the process allow the Town to select a consultant by qualifications rather than the bid process. The price is then negotiated. A committee made up of Chris Bibbo, Anita Scheipers, Sara Mattes, John Caswell, Beth Ries, and Ken Bassett interviewed several companies, and chose Comprehensive Environmental Inc.(CEI). Mr. Higgins said that the committee was impressed with the personal approach and iterative process that CEI takes with their clients. Mr. John Vancor, senior engineer with CEI, explained that they have provided services to municipalities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for 20 years with a focus
on helping communities reach their goals. Ms. Mattes added during the last year, the community became aware of future dramatic traffic increases due to proposed development in the area, and they hope to be able to provide traffic calming as they approach the road rehabilitation process. She added that most members of the new traffic committee were seasoned members from past traffic committees, and there is a new member who has had experience working on traffic in Waltham. The community also wanted to look at broader holistic roadway design by reviewing past reports and documents. The Charge for the Traffic Committee has been re-written to provide a bifurcated approach that would inform the design process by October 1, yet also provide input for a longer ranging roadway management process. The Committee will hold one large public meeting. All abutters will be notified and it will be televised. Ms. Mattes also noted that the new Chairman of
the Traffic Committee is Jason Felsch. CEI will begin their design phase in the faa and will work closely with the Committee and the DPW. Mr. Higgins noted that the DPW Director has an engineering background and will be very helpful through the process.
Mr. Taylor made a MOTION, Ms. Mattes seconded to authorized the Town Administrator to execute the contract with CEI as proposed in the May 30, 2008 Memo, for an amount not to exceed $375,958.00. The Motion passed unanimously.
Housing Commission:
Re: June 12 Forum: Group Homes
Mr. Taylor opened the discussion by explaining that some months ago the a group consisting of members of the Housing Commission, Lincoln Foundation and the Affordable Housing Trust began exploring the concept of “group homes” in Lincoln. They contacted two companies that work in this area. Group homes would not only meet a need in the community but, if done with some community assistance, has the potential of adding some affordable housing units. Ms. Mattes provided some background on Mass. General Laws, Ch. 40B, particularly noting that if the Town does not meet its 10% affordability quota, then local zoning laws may be superceded by a developer who offers 25% affordable housing. Lincoln has been pro-active in the past, with developments such as Lincoln Woods and Battle Road Farm and was able
to stave off this kind of development that is not in keeping with the community. Scattered housing has been added over the last 15 years as well more recent development such as Minuteman Commons, an over 55 development, and most recently with the Deaconness, which added affordable rental units to their development. “Buying down” units has proven to be expensive, according to the Housing Commission. Mr. VonMertens (Affordable Housing Trust) and Mrs. Gallup (Housing Commission) discussed that the Town has had difficulty adding apartments due to state regulations, but are still working toward that goal. The additional units provided by Deaconness will enable the Town to be above the 10% threshold until the next census in 2010. Mrs. Gallup said that group homes allow each bedroom to be counted as an affordable unit; (two four bedroom houses create eight units). The Board asked what the Town has to do. By contributing to the
establishment of a group home, the Town maintains some control and can continue to ensure that it remains a group home and considered as affordable units. The State provides a certain portion through the Division of Mental Retardation. The agencies that oversee this provide housing for these individuals and create stable family environments with 24 hour assistance. One house has been purchased by the Edinburgh Group, which sent notices to the abutters. Members of the Board noted that neighbors would be concerned with the purpose and expectations of these residential group homes. Mrs. Gallup said that the group home web page provides articles about the agencies involved, and she has not seen evidence of negative outcomes from the establishment of these homes. This will be further discussed at the Housing Form on June 12. It was noted that 100,000 people are waiting for placement in group homes. Discussion followed on how much the town
may be willing to commit to this effort.
Susan Brooks, Town Clerk Re: Records Management:
Ms. Brooks discussed that public record law requires that certain documents created by public officials be maintained or preserved with “ready access” for certain amounts of time. Ms. Brooks, Anita Scheipers and Chuck Miller have formed a Task Force to work on access, storage, organization, retention, as well as location and disposal where appropriate. This effort should help the Town better manage the transition from paper to electronic information systems. Ms. Brooks also gave examples of advantages of a shared data base between departments. Ms. Brooks said the CPA awarded a year grant to inventory Town Clerk records and Ellen Meadors created a data base for Zoning Board variances and special permits. An off shoot of this is the Access Mentoring Group, an interactive group of town employees working
to better understand and use the Access database. The Task Force is trying to better organize public record management. As part of the effort, the Town Clerk from Bedford will be addressing Town Hall employees on Thursday, June 10. Town Hall will close to the public on June 26 to allow each department to begin to address records management. Mr. Higgins stressed the importance of a more robust strategic IT plan to incorporate records management in the IT system. This must begin with a self assessment, and an understanding of functions, applications, and databases. Ms. Brooks said the town is in the assessment stage. Mr. Higgins hopes there will be assessment between now and the capital planning season in the fall. The question remains if the Town has the capability to make this assessment or if the Town needs a professional consultant. Mr. Taylor encouraged the administration to think sequentially with stages building on one
another, rather than one large effort. He also said the earlier the Town understands the costs, the better. The Town must also think about operating costs, he added. Ms. Mattes stressed using the expertise of other communities, noting that HATS meetings have recently focused on this kind of sharing of information and regional collaboration. The Board also stressed that improved communication should be part of this improved records management effort.
Town Administrator Report:
· The Public Safety Radio Tower Committee is making progress but needs additional time finalizing the scope of work to model heights for the tower. They are requesting an extension of the ZBA hearing date that had been scheduled for June 15th. Mr. Taylor made a MOTION to approve the submission of a letter to the ZBA asking for an extension of the hearing and to provide for a filing of an interim report. Ms. Mattes seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
· Home Rule Petitions: Representative Tom Conroy has filed the Home Rule Petitions approved by town Meeting in March.
· Emergency Assistance Fund: COA Director Karen Santucci has reported that the Fund is below $5,000. She has asked the Board to appeal for more funds. The Fund Committee has asked that the Board appeal for donations. The Board asked to have members of that committee come in to a meeting to help residents understand the magnitude of the need and the community it serves. COA and Public Safety are the main groups involved.
· Train Whistle Ban: Mr. Higgins said that residents have heard the train horn, but the Town did not lose the ban. The railroad is conducting maintenance on the tracks and they blow the horn as necessary. The Town is still within the two year time frame for a plan to continue the ban. The Board asked if there was any way to get advance notice regarding work on the tracks so citizens could be made aware of the whistle blowing during maintenance.
· Liquor License. Selectman Sarah Cannon Holden will meet with Mr. Higgins and Asst. Town Administrator Anita Scheipers tomorrow as a working group on this issue.
Liaison Reports
· Mr. Taylor reported that the At Risk Properties Committee will be meeting on Wednesday June 12 at 8 AM to discuss the draft report. This may be a working session.
· Ms. Mattes reported that she attended the first hearing for the Section 106 finding regarding the proposed demolition of Hangar 24 (the original Charles Draper Laboratory). There will be a public hearing in July. The Next HATS meeting will be on June 26 and will be a workshop on Section 106 hearings and should include the local Historic Commissions and Historic District Commissions.
· The CHUG subcommittee will be working on stimulating better ideas on governance. There was a recent article in an MMA publication regarding the State of the Town process in Lincoln.
· Ms. Mattes asked about having the leaders of non-profit institutions in for a meeting.
Action Items:
· Fire Tanker Pumper – Mr. Taylor made a MOTION to award the contract to Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc. for the bid price of $299,895, contingent upon receipt of Deaconess funds for $100,000. Ms. Mattes seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.
· Mr. Taylor made a MOTION to approve the execution for the sale of bonds to support previously approved CPA debt and the approved 2007 and 2008 Fire Trucks expenditures as listed. Ms. Mattes seconded, and the Motion passed unanimously.
· The Board discussed the future meeting schedule.
· Mr. Higgins reviewed action items.
· Minutes were deferred.
· Warrants were approved and signed.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Submitted by Debra Parkhurst
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