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Home My WebLink About1974-12-16 Board of Public Works Minutes December 16, 1974 -, Meeting of the Board of Public Works opened in Room 16, Municipal Building at 7:30 P.M. Present were Chairman Blood, Secretary Reed, Board Members Russell , Dustin, Price, Superintendent Louanis and Mr. Richard Evans of the Finance Committee. Minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as read. The Board adjourned temporarily to meet as the Board of Survey and reconvened at 7:40 P.M. Mr . Blood stepped down and Mr . Reed assumed the Chair . Mr. Russell read Notice of Public Hearing regarding the Petition of the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Reading Municipal Light Department to relocate pole #1/4 10' Northerly on Arlington Street. Mr. Neil Trulson represented the Municipal Light Department and stated that the matter had been initiated by Mr. and Mrs. Terrance L. Hahn of 18-20 Arlington Street as ' they wished to have a driveway constructed at the side of their property and the pole in its present location was a hinderance. No one else attended the Hearing. The Hearing was closed. It was moved, seconded and voted to grant permission to the utility companies to move the pole 10' Northerly on Arlington Street. Mr. Blood abstained. Mr. Blood assumed the Chair and reported to the Board that he had discussed the proposed meeting with the Planning Board with Mr. William Clark and had tentatively set a date of Jan- uary 8, 1975 to meet with the Planning Board and their consul- tant to discuss the M.B.T.A. expansion and that no date had been scheduled for a meeting with representatives of the M.B.T.A as yet. Mr. Dustin read portions of a letter (copy enclosed) from the League of Women Voters to Mr . Kevin R. Geaney of the ' Central Transportation Planning Staff concerning the Orange Line. Following a discussion, Mr . Dustin moved that the Board of Public Works meet with the Planning Board on January 8, 1975 and set up through the Planning Board a meeting to be held in the Town of Reading with representatives from the M.B.T.A. prior to the end of February for the purpose of obtaining informa- tion on the following points, as a minimum: ' Ridership Changes in traffic patterns Cost of Construction Freight Operating Costs - Red or Black Pedestrian Crossover at Land Takings involved for constr. Station Construction easements necessary as this information is necessary for the Board of Public Works to make a proper assessment of the effect of the M.B.T.A. exten- sion upon the Town of Reading and for the Board to prepare its recommendations to be submitted to the Planning Board. The Board reviewed the 1975-76 Budget with respect to the Construction and Maintenance of PaYks and Playgrounds . Mr. Price requested that the Chairman question Town Counsel as to whether it would be possible to break the Memorial Park Trust. It was moved, seconded and voted to add/two new employees to the Park Division for an eight month period at an approximate cost of $12,000.00 and add $2, 100.00 to the expense account to ' purchase a new seed machine and add $2,000.00 to the expense account for drinking fountains and water facilities at Birch Meadow. The new baseball league organized in the Town of Reading for boys in the 13-14 age group was represented by Penn Miche- line , John Healey, Dave Strong and Carroll McMillan. Mr. Michelini acted as spokesman for the group and stated that the group of boys could vary in number from 75 to a possible 150 and they will need a field approximately fifteen percent smaller than the standard size diamond. it was pointed out to this group that it would not be possible to construct new facilities to meet their needs in the coming season and they should work with the Recreation Committee in an effort to work out a suitable schedule to use the existing facilities. Mr. Donald Pierce, Chairman of the Recreation Committee stated , the group had already discussed their problem with the committee and it was felt that if their schedule was delayed about a month *to the 1975-76 Budget December 1.2, V,(4 Mr. XoVin R. Geaney, Area Coordinator Central Transportation Planning &taff 27 '-'chool ;'tree t Boston, MA 02108 Dear Mr. Geaney: The Learue of `•3onen Votors of Massac''.ur,nttn has a strong stand for mans transit orhlch inrlu:7<.re deoiston ma'dn„ based on full information, vith c^eslal w-phaol.3 on nee for setntice, Salternato "iodo ' 11 , coot benefits. Citizens must be adequately lnformc; to ma'� effective decisions. The Loa;,uo of '.1omen Votmrc of Roadli-,-, ',, 1',ovoo that, the '"EA's consultant, T. Ir. Dyer, has of. '+..7:-)t -" citizens fully in"or^ed on the Oran, o Lino eztcna. on nortr: T" 'Read"_n Loarue 1:ould 11=-e 7. X. .v., to rvo- viee the afficl::ls n,! citirons of . adln- vi* �.orc extenslvc studies of the alternr.to ro6.oa nolo"��'._ � this oxtcrsion. �:e :+ould 11Yo the follo-.dw, to be covered for each Tode: Ridership Chanrreo in tr�: •fir, patterns Coot of Construction rre.t-ht OF��err ttn-; Costo - :-ted or Black ='�:iteotriar? �;r •::nov," at Land T;:.. inzTs info3aod for construct%on ..1..*:.3.oa Construction eacoctents necesaa e believe thmt a here doz cP;trtive nor-sl rttrr voul� r.. , benef±.olc.l. 1,13o Londas Oor both e•- - 'L m^titin:^,c s.nd public mectin. .ould -1v0 O' ti and n f1- cl<:ls at,, opportunity to come to theoo ::satin:;;: or• p t)�^rote;. 'de hope that T. Dyer will work it-, _. ...oro okra manner hr nceforth. V::>ry truly yours, Ballou .'resident ......A.rr 3 f,rcl.�:^a . ,.. -. Minutes - continued December 16, 1974 they could accommodate their needs. However, a facilities schedule is being developed by the Recreation Committee and until it is available it is not possible to determine whether the new League can be accommodated. Mr. Pierce also agreed that as part of the policy for scheduling the use of the fields the groups using them will .be required to clean them up after each game. Mrs. Betty Zerfas, 3 Stewart Road, expressed concern that Glen Meadow wawld not be completed and was in a very unsatis- factory condition as it now exists. The Board assured Mrs. Zerfas that Glen Meadow has a very high priority and following considerable discussion it was moved, seconded and voted to insert a Special Article in the Annual Town Warrant for $20,000.00 to complete the construction of Glen Meadow. Mrs. Tucker of the 4-H Group presented their need for a ' horse ring at Batchelder Field 100' x 2001 and stated they would also like power for a public address system and power for a lunch cart as well as water supply. A discussion ensued relative to the need of new park and playground facilities as a result of the scheduled Hearing on November 13 to obtain input from citizens as to their desires for additional recreational facilities. It was generally agreed that no major new facilities could be added to Memorial Park, Hunt Memorial Park, Washington Street Playground or Sturges Park and that the Birch Meadow area still had some potential for additional facilities. It was agreed that the Superintendent would investigate the possibility of using the High School practice football field for the Pop Warner Group and obtain a cost estimate for lighting the area. The need to construct a new park on the north section of Town was discussed I in detail and Batchelder Field seems to be the logical loca- tion for consideration and that a ball field, small childrens play area and horse ring with a parking area could be developed in this area and the project could possibly qualify for a bicentennial matching fund program. The Board signed the following: , Contract for Chain Link Fence Construction at Filter Plant (Contract 74-11 ) Everett Fence Company Commitment letter to Board of Assessors and Town Collector for betterment assessments Order for Sidewalk and Curbing Assessments - Willow Street Order of Taking - Drainage and Sewerage Purposes 572 Haverhill Street Bill Roll dated December 20, 1974 and Pay Roll for the period ending December 15, 1974 Respectfullysub.�QQfitted, hl .utile-, e ;n r Secretary