HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-11-15 Board of Selectmen MinutesNOVEMBER 15, 1982 419
The Board held their regular meeting on this date with all members present.
Present were: Selectmen Charles A. Salisbury, John W. Graham, Ralph R. Joyce,
R. Louis DiFruscio with Chairman Thomas J. McEvoy presiding. The warrant was
approved as submitted.
SIGNS FOR CHESTNUT STREET TRIANGLE:
After reviewing' the redesign of the triangle, the Board unanimously voted to
adopt the necessary amendments to our Traffic Rules and Orders for the above.
CHESTNUT STREET & RTE 114 INTERSECTION:
Letter was received from the DPW regarding the above. The Board stated that
they would like to get comments from the Police Chief, Highway Surveyor, and
the Petitioner and discuss the above at their next meeting.
ROCK ROAD ZONING VIOLATION:
Approximately 75 petitions were received by the Board from residents requestin,
that the Building Inspector conduct a formal investigation of the business use
being conducted at 9 Rock Road. They claim that the premise is being used as
a business in violation of the zoning by-law. Also received was a letter from
Mr. John Keating who resides in the neighborhood stating his concerns that the
illegal business operation being conducted there has hampered his efforts to
sell his home and infers that the Town may be exposing itself to some legal
liability by allowing this violation to continue. The Board heard statements
from Charles Foster, Building Inspector, and Allen Ethun, resident,relative to
this subject. Selectman Joyce noted that the Building Inspector is the
principle officer,'mr the Town in interpreting and judging the zoning ordinance:
of the Town, and if Mr. Ethun did not agree with the Building Inspector's
decision when he makes it, he may appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
MILL ROAD AND CHESTNUT STREET INTERSECTION:
Copy of a letter addressed to the Police Chief was received by the Board. The
letter was from residents requesting that he investigate the above intersection
for possible improvements. The Board agreed to get comments from the Police
and'the Highway Surveyor relative to this for discussion at another meeting.
B & M TRAIN WHISTLE:
Copy of a notice was received from the DPU informing the Board that they will
be holdinga~hearing on December 2, a= 10:00 a.m., relative to the Board's
petition to have the Department order the discontinuance of whistling by
locomotives of the Boston & Maine Corp. at the North Main Street, Sutton
and Marblehead Street highway grade crossing in said Town. The Administrator
noted that he has sent a letter =o Town Counsel questioning whether the Town
would be incurring any liability if an accident zhould occur when a train
whistle is no= blown so they will have the information before going to the
hearing.
TELEPHONE COMPANY NEWS RELEASE:
News release was received by the Telephone Company stating that coin phones
in Lawrence have been modified so customers can make emergency and operator-
handled calls without depositing a coin. Chairman McEvoy noted that the
media should inform the people about this if it hasn't already been done.
P.W. UNION GRIEVANCE RE: PERSONNEL AT LANDFILL:
Selectman DiFruscio asked the Board to reconsider their previous vote to deny
the grievance and if not, he would like to change his vote for approval of
the grievancef The Union claims the Town is obligated to maintain 2 operators
at the landfill. Selectman DiFruscio stated that he feels this falls under
the section in the contract of Work Rules and noted that it states "the Town
agrees to make no changes in past practices relative to work rules". The
Administrator. noted that this is an assignment and comes under the section of
Managements Rights which stated that it is the management~s right to determine
where they are going to assign their men. He advised the Board that by
approving this grievance you are tying management~ hands in similar instances.
After some discussion, Selectman DiFruscio made a motion for reconsideration.
It was approved 3 - 2 with Chairman McEvoy and Selectman Graham opposed.
Selectman Salisbury noted that he is in favor of reconsideration for the
purpose of letting Selectman DiFruscio change his recorded vote but feels that
they should maintain the Town's right to staff it as it sees fit. Selectman
Joyce then made a motion to deny the grievance. It was approved 4 - 1 with
Selectman DiFruscio opposed.
SOLID WASTE:
Although the above subject was not on the agenda, Selectman DiFruscio stated
that he wanted to discuss this. He stated that he was concerned by the news
that the Town's Solid Waste Contract Committee would be in on November 22 to
present their final report and also scheduled to come in on tha~ date was
NESWC to submit all the necessary closing documen~s'for..the~B°ard's approval.
~0 NOVEMBER 15, 1982 (Continued)
SOLID WASTE (Continued): ~
He noted that two weeks ago the Board had!voted to ask CSI Consulting Firm to
come in to answer questions relative to their report to Methuen not recommending
that Methuen go with the UOP project. He stated that he had spoken to Jim Barker,
Senior Advisor for CSI, and he stated that the report to Methuen would not be
presented to Methuen until November 22, and if they were to come here, it would
not be until after that d=te. Because of this and the fact that Thanksgiving
and Christmas are coming, he made the motion to suspend or recind the vote taken
to authorize $180 million in IDFA bonds until February 15, 1983, 90 days from
tonight. Selectman 'Graham seconded it for discussion purposes. Selectman
DiFruscio also state~ that he feels this project is not even close to what it
was when it was first voted on at Town Meeting, and he feels that the people
should have a chance to know the negative and good things about it. The
Administrator stated that the Board had already approved approximately $190
million in bond! issue. If that figure is higher, the Selectmen will have
to sign again. He noted that the final packet will include all the.final
documents including the final bond request. He noted that the Town's Solid
Was=e Committee will probably not be in next Monday because they have not yet
received the final packet. He also warned the Board that they should find out
what the legal ramifications are of postponing before voting on this noting that
this motion could throw a monkey wrench into~the whole project. Selectman Graham
made an amendment to go along with Selectman. DiFruscio's motion only up until
the time we have satisfactorily talked with CSI and our own Solid Waste committee.
He does not see any need to put a time limit on this. He feels that Selectman
DiFruscio's proposal would be covered by this amendment. Selectman Salisbury
noted that everyone on the Board agreed that the most important thing is to talk
to the experts before proceeding on this but stated that he feels the Board
should wait to hear from our Solid Waste Committee before deciding what to do next
because they have studied all the documents plus the CSI report. He stated
that he would also like to read the report himself. He said he is not sure if
it is necessary to hear from CSI at all noting that we will probably have to pay
CSI to come in. He also reminded the Board that CSI is the latest report not the
only one.
Selectman DiFruscio maintained his same position and asked to vote on the
motion to suspend or recind the vote taken to authorize $190 million in IDFA
bonds until February 15, 1982. Selectman Graham seconded it. It was defeated
3-2 with Selectman DiFruscio and Chairman McEvoy in favor of it and with
Selectmen Salisbury, Graham, and Joyce opposed.
Selectman Joyce angrily reminded the Board that they have been working on this
project for 7 years and have carefully gone through every aspect of this project
and that this Board voted over & over again to go with UOP and this concept of
handling our waste & refuse because this was in the long interest of the.Town
the cheapest, most efficient, snd environmentally safe way of doing it. He also
noted that the Board has gone through every detail of the contract and stated
his concern that in the last month the Board is thinking about hiring a consultan~
He feels that if you're going to support UOP, then support it. The Administrator
noted that the benefits are different to this Town as the host community than it
would be to Methuen. He stated that 90% of everything has already been approved
and that they have been through the contract many times. Bud Cyr, Highway
Surveyor and on the Solid Waste Committee, stated that he is very upset to walk
in during the middle of the Selectmen's meeting and hear them discussing NESWC
without notifying him previously and felt that everyone involved should have been
notified. He also stated that b~.~eels there is nothing better and that he
would not want to be at the mercy of a private hauler which would be the
alternative.
LICENSING COMMISSION:
MERRIMACK COLLEGE WINE & MALT LICENSE: ..
A hearing was held regarding a liquor license violation at the college.
Reverend Joseph F.X. Gillen, Director of Student Activities, and Reverend
William J. Murray attended. Officer Lawlor read the Police Report which
stated that trouble had broken out which originated in the Perkins Lounge,
moved outside to the adjacent parking, lot, and as a result 4 kids were arrested.
75 ~ 100 kids were at the scene when Police arrived and several fights had broken
out. Andover Police and the State Police had to be called in. Officer Lawlor
also stated that this could have turned into a much more serious problem and
he expressed his concerns for the safety of the officers and the kids. Chairman
McEvoy expressed the concerns of the Board to try to prevent routiness as a result
of alcoholic beverages. He noted that Merrimack College has been in here before
and had a letter of warning placed in their file last December. Father Gillen
stated that one of their biggest problems is with people who do not belong to
the campus noting that the instances in the past were related to off-campus people.
He stated that what happened this time was that a Merrimack College freshman had
come to Perkins Lounge with 3 others and all apparently were drinking before