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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-01-29 Board of Public Works Minutes January 29, 1979 Meeting of the Board of Public Works opened in Room 16, Municipal Building at 7:30 P. M. Present were Chairman Dustin, Secretary Price, Board Mem- bers Russell and Cowell and Superintendent Louanis, Assistant Superintendent Bergeron, William Redford of the Engineering Division and Assistant Superintendent McIntire.- The Finance Committee was represented by Jose Canto. Read letter from Elstan Trust, owners of the McCulloch Building at 335 Main Street, wherein it is stated they have experienced extensive water damage due to the high water level created by the recently constructed shopping center next door. Mr. Price requested the Superintendent respond to the letter sending a copy of his reply to Mr. Berger, developer of the shopping center. Mr. Bergeron, at this point, informed the Superintendent that Mr. Berger is aware of the problem and his engineer is working on a solution to the problem. Read letter from Nathan C. White, 24 Meadowbrook Lane who acknowledged receipt of an assessment of $92.40 representing 30% of the cost of a lateral , and questioning whether it is necessary for the Board of Public Works to hold a public hearing before placing an assessment for a house connection lateral . The Super- intendent stated Mr. White has been advised that the matter has been referred to Town Counsel and as soon as a report is forth- coming we shall contact him. It was accepted as a point of in- formation. The Board discussed a schedule for future meetings and agreed to meet as follows: February 5, 7, 8, 12, 15 and 26, 1979. Mr. Price read Notice of Public Hearing concerning the laying out as Public Ways under the Betterment Act Countryside Lane Exten- sion, County Road Extension and Pasture Road. Chairman Dustin greeted the abutters and outlined procedure followed when a pri- vate way becomes an accepted public way. To facilitate matters 1 the Chairman asked for questions from abutters on Countryside Lane Extension. The residents from this street merely wished the street accepted and had no questions. The next street discussed was County Road Extension. No objections were expressed by the residents of this street. The third and final street to be discussed at this Hearing was Pasture Road. In general , the property owners were desirous of continuing the Hearing for a week in order that they might consider the information available to them further. The Engineer- ing Division agreed to have more detailed facts to present at a future meeting.. Some of the points of interest were: the release of the developer ' s bond, trenches made by the Town and Licensed Drain Layers for the purpose of installing sewer house connections and the trench for the sewer main. The Board agreed to have this information available and it was moved, seconded and voted to continue the Hearing until 7:35 P.M. on February 5, 1979. It was moved, seconded and voted to recommend to Town Meet- ing the acceptance of Countryside Lane Extension and County Road Extension as public ways in accordance with the plan and assess betterments accordingly. Mr. Price read Notice of Public Hearing regarding the laying out as a public way, "C" Street under the Betterment Act. Chair- de ' man Dustin introduced the Board to the abutters who attend the Hearing. The residents of "C" Street had petitioned the Board to accept the street and the Engineering Division had prepared a cost estimate. Enrichetta Marotta who circulated the petition agreed to distribute cost estimates to the abutters who were un- able to attend the Hearing. Routine questions were asked of and answered by the Board. It was moved, seconded and voted to recom- mend to Town Meeting the acceptance of "C" Street as a public way in accordance with the plan and assess betterments accordingly. The Board met with Jose Canto, Finance Committee Member, who indicated that the FY-80 Budget Guideline for the Board of Public works was set on January 16, 1979 at $2, 164,963 net. This represents a one percent increase over the approved FY-79 Budget and will have a zero impact on the tax rate. After much discussion with Mr. Canto regarding the Finance Committee' s guidelines and whether or not all departments would be treated the same the Board recognized the fact that the Budget, as it , now stands, would have to be cut $114,884 to meet the Finance Committee' s guidelines. The Chairman pointed out to the Board that last week the Board had reviewed cuts proposed by the Super- , Minutes January 29, 1979 intendent and had restored $69,360 of those cuts for good and logical reasons and the Board should come to grips with the need to provide service to the public even though it may be greater than the Finance Committees guidelines. Mr. Russell felt that an effort should be made to meet the Finance Committee' s guidelines and the Board should consider the Equipment Replacement Account. The Board reviewed information submitted by Assistant Superin- tendent Edward McIntire and his presentation regarding the condi- tion of the equipment. After much discussion, it was agreed to replace Car No. 1 , Pickup Trucks numbered 3, 8 and 9 and to replace Dump Trucks numbered 14 and 16. This will reduce the Equipment Replacement Budget to $80,000 and it was also agreed to add $4,500 to the Equipment Maintenance Account for repairs to be made to Dump Trucks Nos. 9 and 7. The Board signed the Pay Roll for the week ending January 26th and the Bill Roll dated February 2, 1979. Meeting adjourned at 11 :20 P. M. R �t��submi4ted, S cretary ��'