Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-08-06 Board of Public Works Minutes August 6,1979 Meeting of the Board of Public Works convened in Room 16, Municipal Building at 7:30 P.M. Present were Chairman Price, Secretary Cowell , Board Mem- bers Testa, DeHart and Wood and Superintendent Louanis. Mr. Cowell moved that the minutes of the meeting of July 23d be accepted as written: it was seconded and voted. Mr. Cowell moved that the minutes of July 30, 1979 meeting be accept- ed as presented. Mr. Testa seconded and it was voted. Chairman Price greeted H. Theodore Cohen of Tyler and Rey- nolds (Town Counsel ) and requested he update the Board on the status of negotiations with Tankco, Inc. Mr. Cohen advised the Board that Mr. Caroselli is represented by legal counsel , has filed bankruptcy proceedings in the State of Rhode Island and is attempting to liquidate his accounts receivable in order to pay off his creditors. At this moment in time, Mr. Caroselli purports that if the Town will come forward with a payment he will be back and complete the work connected with painting the Auburn Street Water Storage Tank this Fall . However, Town Counsel pointed out there is no guarantee that Mr. Caroselli will return in the Fall . Considerable discussion ensued concerning the possibility of re- covering from the bonding company and anticipating that the Towns position with the bonding company might be strengthened, it was followed by a motion from Mr. Cowell that a check in the amount of $2,481 .85 be forwarded to Tankco, Inc. by Town Counsel accompanied by a letter explaining the Town ' s position. It was seconded. Mr. Price questioned the possibility of obtaining a cash bond for the balance of the work. Mr. Cohen, however, did not think that Mr. Caroselli had sufficient funds to provide a cash bond and in fact suspected he had no control of the company receipts at this time. Mr. Testa requested the name of the bonding company. Superinten- dent Louanis stated Insurance House, Inc. , in Providence, Rhode Island wrote the bond. The original expiration date of the contract March 13, 1978 was extended to March 26, 1979 in January of 1979 and on June 11 , 1979 the work was stopped by the inspector. Mr. Testa commented that if he is beyond the time he is in violation of the contract. Mr. Cowell withdrew his motion and further moved the Board instruct Town Counsel to proceed immediately with the bonding company on the basis the company has gone beyond the F time allowed under the contract and that Town Counsel attempt to recover everything possible for the Town. It was seconded and voted. The Board met with Paul Fermano of #4 and William Levy of #3 Evergreen Road to hear their protest of the assessment of $15.40 per foot for the lateral to their individual residence since the work was done in 1974, and a lesser cost was given by a licensed drain layer. Chairman Price explained that the Board voted to charge a flat fee of $15.40 per lineal foot as this was the average cost for installation of a lateral and that during FY-80 the charge will be $16.00 per foot. The Engineering Divi- sion had prepared an analysis of the costs at each residence in- dicating the 1974 and 1979 costs as follows: Evergreen Rd. 1974 Cost 1979 Cost Actual Billing No. No. 3 $456.67 $601 .36 $ 385.00 No. No. 4 256. 15 373. 18 385.00 Chairman Price explained that it is less costly to install a connection on private property than it is in the public way since it is not necessary to hire police or become involved in paving etc. , and although he appreciated their concern it is the Boards wish to treat all citizens the same and therefore the flat fee of $15.40 until June 30, 1979 and $16.00 pursuant to that date will stand. The Board met with residents of Longfellow Road at 8:45 P.M. to discuss the drainage problem and the generally poor condi"tion of the street. Mr. Morris of #79 Longfellow Road acted as spokes- man for the group indicating that the flash storm of June 18, 1979 had caused severe water problems to the residents and indicated that since the construction of new homes on Parkview Road the water .problem had increased in dimension. Superintendent Louanis stated that ideally the solution would be to install drainage and reconstruct the street but the cost would be approximately $50,000. and funds are not available. An alternative would be driveway aprons, berm curbing, road patching etc. , which would run anywhere from eight to ten thousand dollars. Money has been appropriated to reconstruct a few streets this fiscal year and if in fact some Minutes - continued August 6 , 1979 of the abutters on these particular streets do not wish their street done, funds could be diverted. Chairman Price indicated to the residents of Longfellow Road that the Board will take the matter under advisement and will contact Mr. Morris, spokesman for the group, when further information is available. Meeting adjourned temporarily and reconvened at 9: 25 P.M. in the Auditorium of the Community Center to meet with residents of various streets where the Town proposes to do reconstruction work. The meeting was scheduled at 8:30 P.M. and as the Board was detained at the Town Hall Assistant Superintendent Bergeron opened the Public Hearing and made a presentation of the work to be done on Spring Street, Ridge Road, Haven Street and Richards Road. He indicated the type of reconstruction to be employed is known as pavement reclamation. The method offers several advantages both to the Town and the abutters as follows: 1 . The method reuses the existing pavement to produce a stabilized foundation for the new wearing surface. 2. The stabilized base allows the bituminous concrete surface to bereduced to 70% of the conventional requirement. 3. The time for construction is one-quarter to one-third the length of time for conventional construction. 4. The roadway is open to the abutters each night and the roadway is always open for emergency vehicles. 5. The method is the most cost effective for the Town. Mr. Bergeron pointed out that the drainage on all of the streets would be improved because of the improved cross sections and that additional catch basins would be installed if required. The road- ways will all be covered with bituminous concrete wearing surface and border areas will be loamed and seeded to develop shoulders to keep the water in the public way and direct the flow into the basins. It was pointed out that several homes on Ridge Road had fences within the right of way and they would have to be removed or reset to the property line. The meeting was opened to the abutters for questions on the proposed work. Several questions pertaining to drainage on Spring Street were raised. Mr. Bergeron indicated ' further investigation would be made before the reconstruction began, and indicated further that all utilities are made aware of the work in advance to allow correction of problems with gas, telephone or Minutes - continued August 6, 1979 lines and/or wires. The Board of Public Works joined the meeting and the formal Notice of Public Hearing was read at 9:25 P.M. Of ' the abutters present who answered the opinion poll , seven were in favor and two were opposed to reconstruction. Those opposed did so as it would be necessary to move a fence in one instance and the second anticipated drainage problems as a result of the con- struction work. Formal Notice of Public Hearing. was read by Secretary Cowell and the Board re-reviewed the proposed reconstruc- tion with the abutters who remained. Following a discussion period it was moved, seconded and voted to close the hearing. The Board returned to Room 16, Municipal Building at 9:55 P.M. It was moved, seconded and voted to proceed with Item 11 on the agenda as the Board was scheduled to have met with Mr. Thomas Southworth of McNeil Associates at 9:30 P.M. Mr. Southworth in- dicated that plans for Cedar Glen, a housing project to accommo- date lower income individuals sixty-two years of age and older was progressing and that he had three areas of concern to discuss with the Board, as follows: location of connection to the common sewer in Reading, width of sidewalk area, and the thickness of the bitum- inous roadway. Mr. Southworth indicated that McNeil Associates would prefer to connect to the main sewer at Collins Avenue but in the event they were not able to get approval to go through the swamp they would like to have approval from the Board of Public Works to connect at Main Street. It was. moved, seconded and voted that the Board of Public Works grant approval for connection to the main sewer off Main Street provided McNeil Associates is unable to secure approval from Conservation Commission to go through the swam6o,a R810goiAX8nV8riRgFrtfgB nFEf i2ost will not be less than the cost of Main Street connection to the Developer. The second issue was the matter of a five foot sidewalk area on either side of the street. Superintendent Louanis indicated he was agreeable to a two foot gravel sidewalk area plus a berm curb, or a total of three feet on either side of the street. It was moved, seconded and voted to approve the Superintendent ' s recommendation. Mr. Southworth requested that since traffic will be exceptionally light within -thearea they be allowed to construct the roadways using , three-and-a-half inches of bituminous compared to the four-and-a half as required by the Town. Mr. Cowell moved, it was seconded and voted that this request be denied. Minutes - continued August 6, 1979 Bids were received on July 19, 1979 on the sale by the Town of Scrap Metal accumulated at the sanitary landfill area. Two bids were received as follows: F. Richard Standley. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 12. 10/ton for 6 mos. Martel Plant & Recycling, Inc. . . . . . . 8.00/ton " It " It was moved, seconded and voted to award the contract to F. Richard Standley at $12. 10 per ton for a period of six months. Bids were received on July 26, 1979 on Contract 79-13 for Crack Sealing, as follows: F. L. Fox Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,875.00 Sealcoating, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,250..00 - As the Engineering Division recommended, it was moved, seconded and voted to award the contract for Crack Sealing toF. L. Fox Construction subject to the procurement of a proper performance bond in the amount of $2,875. and a satisfactory Dunn and Bradstreet report. Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved, seconded and voted to reject bids received on the following, and also direct the Superintendent 'to rebid the projects: Contract Number 79-12 Cold Planing Bituminous Concrete Surfaces Contract Number 79-14 Rubberized Chip Seal Read letter from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works requesting the signatures of Board Members on a contract between the Town of Reading and Peter H. Arakelian and Son, Inc. , dated July 24, 1979 for Reconstruction of a Section of Hopkins Street in the Town of Reading. It was moved, seconded and voted to sign the contract. Read memorandum from the Superintendent wherein the Board is informed that James Bateson, Jr. , was unable to obtain a per- formance bond on the contract awarded to him by the Board on July 9, 1979 for Drain Construction on Salem Street (Contract 79-11 ) . Superintendent Louanis advised the Board that the second low bidder J. Tropeano was prepared to accept the contract in the amount of $29,650.25 which is $1 ,025. 25 more than the bid submitted by Mr. Bateson. It was moved, seconded and voted to award the contract to J. Tropeano and Sons in accordance with his bid of _$19,650.25 accepting his performance bond as submitted. The Board signed the contract. Mr. Cowell moved, it was seconded and voted 4-1 to take Mr. Bateson' s bond since he was unable to furnish a performance bond ' and fulfill the contract. Superintendent Louanis indicated the final plan of Latham Lane has been corrected and is ready for the Board' s approval , stating the grade of the road Will be improved so that it will benefit the area. It was moved, seconded and voted to sign the plan. Chairman Price indicated he planned to attend a meeting of the Recreation Committee Wednesday Evening concerning the viola- tion by the softball team _members drinking alcoholic beverag es in the park area. It was moved that the Chairman confer with the Recreation Committee regarding the problem of drinking in the Town Parks which is in violation of the Rules and Regulations and if the Recreation Committee cannot police this problem further use of the facility will be rescinded. It was voted 5-0. The Board reviewed bids received for the Construction of C Street (Contract 79-151 as follows: Pecora Contracting Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 11 ,350.00 , Domenick Zanni and Sons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 160.60 J. Tropeano and Sons. . . . . . . . . . . o ­ . . . . . 15,660.00 Superintendent Louanis stated all reports concerning the perfor- mance of Pecora Contracting Company, Inc. were favorable and recommended the Board award the contract to Pecora Contracting Company, Inc. in the amount of $11 ,350.00 subject to the provision that they furnish a proper performance bond. It was moved, seconded and voted in accordance with the Superintendent' s recommendation. It was moved, seconded and voted to sign Release of Restric- tions on Lots 9-22 inclusive on Riverside Drive. The Board signed the Pay Roll for the period ending August 3, and the Bill Roll dated August 10, 1979. It was agreed to meet in Executive Session at 9:00 P.M. on August 27, 1979 to discuss the matter of personnels i .e. William Winkler. Meeting adjourned at 11 :55 P.M. Respectfully submitted, , Secretary JOHN W. PNCE, Ch.,r n OFFICE OF DOUGLAS A. COWELL, See Mll TOWN OF READING DAVID L. T TA DON B. DeHART BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS GAIL F. WOOD E. ROGER LOUANIS, Supmftfmtl t EY MUNICIPAL BUILDING . _ ep READING. MASS. 01887 MASSACHUSETTS COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Middlesex, ss. The undersigned, Board of Public Works of the Town of Reading, in compliance with the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 80, as amended by Chapter 63 of the Acts of 1933, hereby Certify that the lists herewith con- tain the names of persons against whom we have made better- ment assessments together with the location of the land benefited by the improvement and the nature and amount of such betterment assessment. Sewer Frontage Betterment $1 ,418. 20 Sewer House Connection Betterment 1 .633.60 Total $3,051 .80 Such list is certified to you for the purpose of committing the same to the Tax Collector, as provided by law. WITNESS our hands this twenty seventh day of August A.D. 1979. h See Committment Sheet For List