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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-10-27 Board of Public Works Minutes October 27, 1980 Meeting of the Board of Public Works convened in Room 16, Municipal Building at 7 :30 P . M. Present were Chairman Cowell , Secretary Wood, Board Mem- bers DeHart , Fallon , Barker and Superintendent Louanis. It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes of the meet- ing of October 20th as written and to accept the addendum to the minutes as corrected . The vote was 5:0:0. Meeting adjourned temporarily and following a meeting as the Board of Survey reconvened at 7 :45 P .M. Mr. Fallon left the meeting to attend a meeting with the Personnel Board at the Community Center to report the findings of the Board of Public Works Subcommittee . Mr . Fallon requested before leaving that discussion concerning Article 17 re: Parka, Playgrounds and Recreation be delayed until his return. The Board agreed to comply with Mr. Fallon' s request. The Board read letter from L & C Flashing Barricades, Inc . concerning the use of Town owned land on John Street which is under the control of the Department of Public Works. L & C Flash- ing Barricades, Inc. has a one year contract to supply barricades for use on Route 128 and requires a location for a trailer to be used as a combination office and storage shed for materials, and in their letter indicate a willingness to pay for a water hookup and the use of land. The Board questioned whether the location of the trailer would in any way interfere with the operation of the Department of Public Works and was assured by the Superinten- dent that the location selected was sufficiently removed from the Town Garage so that traffic would not be a problem and close enough to a water main to make a connection feasible . Following further discussion concerning the fee to be paid to the Town it was moved, seconded and voted 4:0 to allow L & C Flashing Barricades Inc. to place a trailer at the John Street site, the Department of Public Works to provide a water hookup, cost to be charged to L & C. Flashing Barricades, and a monthly rental fee of one hundred and fifty dollars to be paid to the Town of Reading. The Board reviewed memorandum from Assistant Superintendent McIntire concerning maintenance of the van owned by the Council on Aging . (copy appended hereto) Following a discussion, it was moved, seconded and voted 4:0 to accept the recommendations as , made by the Assistant Superintendent (deleting items V and VI ) and assume the maintenance of the van as a pilot program for a six month period of time, reviewing the cost factors at the end of three months. Chairman Cowell requested we confirm the agree- ment in writing sending a carbon copy of the letter to the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen. Mrs. Wood moved, it was seconded and voted 4:0 to place a betterment assessment against property owned by Paul Crowley at 46 Catherine Avenue in the amount of $323.40 for sewer house connection 70% lateral and to commit same to the Tax Collector in compliance with the provisions of the G.L . , Chapter 80 as emended by Chapter 63 of the Acts of 1933. Mrs. Wood moved , Mr . DeHart seconded that the Board of Pub- lic Works support Article 15 authorizing the Board of Selectmen to enter into negotiations, but not sign final agreements, with the Massachusetts Bey Transportation Authority for the development , of a commuter parking facility and rail terminus at John Street on Town-owned land adjacent to the railroad right-of-way at the rear of the incinerator site and the Board of Public Works yard. During the ensuing discussion it was determined that neither the Department of Public Works nor the Board has considered the site as excess area and while it could provide two hundred and fifty parking spaces they would undoubtedly be filled by vehicles owned by residents of surrounding communities, all at no fee . In the event the parking lot was filled to capacity at any time the overflow traffic could spill over into the area used by Public Works vehicles thereby creating a hazard . Also , with a large number of people coming into the area, Reading could anticipate a greater security problem than it now has in the area of the Municipal Gar- age . Chairman Cowell called for a vote on Mrs. Wood ' s motion to support Article 15 as seconded by Mr . DeHart. The vote was 0:4. The motion lost. Report by William A. Redford of the Engineering Division , concerning the October 15th meeting of the Data Processing Subcommittee was accepted as a point of information. r Minutes - continued October 27, 19BO Memorandum from the Personnel Board requesting an update of Job Descriptions was accepted as a paint of information. Chairman Cowell called for a fifteen minute recess at 8:55 P .M. Meeting reconvened at 9 : 15 P .M. at which time Mr. Fallon re- joined the Board. The Board reviewed letter from Marvin M. Rosenthal (copy appended hereto) . The Superintendent agreed to supply the in- formation requested in Items 1, 3, 4, and 5 but stated the Department does not have s coat accounting for each field but by adding the acreage of all perks and considering all the funds expended it would be possible to arrive at an estimated figure for each perk thereby answering question #2. Mr. Fallon requested that we state that the area at the Joshua Eaton School is basically the responsibility of the School Department. Chairman Cowell re- quested the Superintendent look back in the records to determine the number of part time people who -were hired during the summer months to work in the park areas. It was then moved and seconded to a"pport Article 17 on the Town Warrant of November 10, 1980. The vote was 2: 3 - the motion lost. The Board signed the Payroll for the period ending October 24, 1980 and the Billroll dated October 31, 1980. Mrs. Wood moved, Mr. DeHart seconded that the Board take a stand on Proposition 24. Mr. Fallon expressed the opinion that the motion was out of order that it was an individual matter, no! a matter for the Board. Following a short discussion the Chair- man took a vote as follows 1: 2: 2. The motion lost. Meeting adjourned at 10: 29 P.M. Reap ctful�ubmitted, Sec etary r L MEMORANDUM TO : E. Roger Louanis FROM: Edward D. McIntire, Jr. DATE : October 23, 1980 RE : Maintenance on Council on Aging Van The following items were requested and/or discussed with Mr. Frank Lemaire and Mr. Arthur Polychrones at a Board of Public Works meeting on October 20, 1980 and with me on Thursday, October 23, 1980: I . Initial ins action and evaluation report Requested . hat the Board of Public Works .Equipment Maintenance Division inspect the vehicle mechanically, electrically, hoses, springs, tires, body and frame .con- dition etc. and report such findings with recommendations to the Council on Aging. Recommendation: This work be performed by B.P .W. , which would require leaving the van at the Highway Garage for one-half day. II . Monthly Preventative Maintenance Request that this service be performed by Board of Public Works personnel. Recommendation: This service could be performed by this Department and would require the van be left for one day. Prior to this monthly service the Council on Aging should prepare a list of any problems encountered which should specifically be checked. III . Minor Maintenance Minor .items that require maintenance but do not affect the everyday safe operation of the vehicle frequently occur. Recommendation: The Master Mechanic be made aware of the problem. If parts andtime are available the problem may be remedied immediately. .However, parts may need ordering and the work scheduled as soon as possible or during the monthly preventative maintenance - this will be evaluated by the Master Mechanic. IV. Road Service and Towing - within the limits of Reading It is inevitable that breakdowns will occur during the year and require road service and/or towing. Recommendation: The Department could perform this work on most occasions. The driver of the van should contact the Equipment Maintenance Division di-• rectly to explain the problem and answer any questions. C At times. it may be impossible to respond immediately. Tow- ing can be accomplished except if either end-of the van . must be raised which would necessitate a private tow truck. V. Road Service and Towing - outside Town of Reading The Council on. Aging is requesting the a8me service as listed in Item IV above. Two trips are scheduled per week to either Burlington Mall, North Shore Shopping Center or Redstone Shopping Center. Recommendation: That. B.P .W. personnel not perform this work. VI . Alternate transportation of citizens Council requested use of a Public Works van if their van is being maintained. Recommendation : B.P .W. vehicles do not have passenger capacity needed and are also used 8 hours per day every work .day. Council should make other arrangements with a company that operates mini-busses or with private citizens. VII . Gasoline and Oil Council on Aging purchase gasoline and oil from the Police Department and would like to have it available at Highway Garage. Recommendation: B.P.W. has made these items available pre- viously and there is no reason why it cannot be done again . General Comment: There are two important considerations that must be addressed. First, the equipment priority for the Public Works Department is its own equipment. Secondly, the Board d' Public Works does not have appropriations to cover the cost of labor and materials to maintain equipment for other Departments. Therefore, labor, materials and fuel must be charged directly to appropriations of the Council on Aging. Information received from Mr. Lemaire: FY-80 Gasoline = Approp . = $900.00 Spent = $1,012.27 FY-80 Maintenance = 450 .00 267.43 FY-80 Totals $1,350.00 1,279.70 FY-81 Gasoline : " $1,890.00 " 308.46 Bal. $1,581.54 FY-81 Maintenance 800.00 25.00 Bal. $ 775.00 Also, AAA and ALA will not provide road service and towing