October 8, 2019 minutes

Chairman Crawford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. He announced that the meeting was being recorded for cable television and led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Proclamation: Purple Heart Community

Veterans Services Officer Bruce Siegel has recommended that Lynnfield join other communities in the region in designating itself a Purple Heart Community. He has prepared a proclamation, and will work with the DPW to have signs posted at the Town’s entryways.

Chairman Crawford read the letter from Mr. Siegel.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Barrett: I move the Board vote to approve the proclamation of Lynnfield as a Purple Heart Community as read. Vote was unanimous.

Interview: Cultural Council candidate Darlene Kumar

The Cultural Council has recommended the appointment of Ms. Kumar, who related her experience as President of the Huckleberry Hill School PTO and as a volunteer with the Junior league of Boston.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to appoint Darlene Kumar to the Cultural Council for a term ending on June 30, 2022. Vote was unanimous.

Public hearing: Petition of Verizon and RMLD for pole location, Highland Avenue

Verizon and RMLD have petitioned to relocate a pole on Highland Avenue to move a wire that passes over a local residence. The public hearing has been duly posted and advertised and abutters were notified.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to open the public hearing. Vote was unanimous.

William Wallace, representing Verizon, said the new pole would rectify an aerial crossing at 99 Highland Avenue, where a new deck comes under a transmission wire. The line would be extended 49 feet.

Town Engineer Charles Richter said he and Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori have some concerns about the proposed new pole location, which they are discussing with the petitioner. They asked that the matter be continued until a site visit can be arranged.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to close the public hearing. Vote was unanimous.

Public hearing: Laying out of Parsons Way Ext. as a public way

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to open the public hearing. Vote was unanimous.

Chairman Crawford explained that Parsons Avenue Extension was developed as a subdivision and according to Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori Town Engineer Charlie Richter it has met all the requirements for acceptance as a public way.

Last fall, the Board began the process, but found that several residents still has issues with their driveway aprons. These issues were addressed by the developer. A new public hearing was scheduled for tonight and was duly posted and abutters were notified.

The Board must hold a hearing on the laying out of the way as a precursor to action by town meeting to accept the way. After the Board votes to lay out the way and town meeting approves its acceptance as a public way, the Board will then be asked to execute an Order of Taking.

Resident Richard Lenz said he represents his fellow homeowners on Parsons Way Extension that had raised the issues addressed by the chairman. He thanked Mr. Richter for his diligence and said the residents are satisfied and endorse the acceptance.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to close the public hearing. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to lay out Parsons Avenue Extension as described in the Order. Vote was unanimous.

Request for extended holiday hours, Market Street

Market Street has again petitioned the Board for extended hours during the holiday season, as it has in past years, under the terms of the Development Agreement.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to grant the request that operating hours at Market Street be extended on the day after Thanksgiving, through January 1, to 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton I move that the Board vote to grant the request that operating hours for Whole Foods Market be extended on December 23, 2019 to 7:00 a.m. to midnight. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to grant the request that restaurants at Market Street be allowed to remain open on New Year’s Eve, 2019, to 1:00 a.m. on January 1, 2020. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to grant the request that operating hours for Whole Foods Market be extended on November 27, 2019 to 7:00 a.m. to midnight. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to grant the request that restaurants at Market Street be allowed to remain open on Sunday, February 2, 2020, to 1:00 a.m. on February 3, 2020. Vote was unanimous.

Discussion of Jordan Park proposal

Town Administrator Robert Dolan reviewed the proposed work at Jordan Park and the funding plan. He said Chairman Crawford identified the rebuilding of Jordan Park and renovation of the Lynnfield High School weight room as priorities for his term. The proposal would create more flexibility in the use of the park for all soccer age groups, and therefore eliminate the strain on the fields at the Middle School and High School. The plan would double the amount of parking spaces to assist in relieving parking on the street and make passage of public safety vehicles easier, and would fully update the playground.

The estimated budget is $879,000 with bids being opened next week. The Town would contribute $655,000 to the project, with Lynnfield Youth Soccer Association contributing $175,000 and Townscape, Inc. contributing $50,000. The Lynnfield Moms Group is also raising funds for the project. Of the Town’s share, an appropriation of $567,627 from the Sale of Real Estate account and $127,000 from funds deemed surplus from the overlay reserve is proposed, Mr. Dolan said the funds from the overlay account became available when the Market Street tax case was settled.

Public Works Director John Tomasz said this plan will consolidate youth soccer activities at Jordan Park, improve drainage at the site and add 20 feet in length and 30 feet in width to the playing area. Fifty new parking spaces will be added, with gravel being used to reduce runoff from the site. An infiltration system will be added to retain water on the site and reduce runoff. A site visit with the Conservation Commission is planned on Saturday, with a final determination expected two weeks after the visit. The playground area will be fenced. Due to site work, 19 trees will be cut down, with 15 to 17 to be replanted.

Mr. Tomasz said neighbors expressed concerns about the need for parking, groundwater issues, and the need for a buffer between the park and residences on Pillings Pond Road. He said they were pleased that the amount of buffer being lost was not as significant as they had feared. Scrub and dead trees will be removed.

Nine contractors have requested bid packages. Work is planned to begin right after the end of soccer season. The park will not be able to be used for one year, to which Lynnfield Youth Soccer has agreed. Two solar lights will be added in the parking area and will be automatically controlled.

Chairman Crawford thanked the Department of Public Works and the Conservation Commission for working with neighbors on the plan. He said traffic flow within the site includes drop-off areas and will be much improved.

Discussion of Lynnfield High School fitness center proposal

Town Administrator Robert Dolan reviewed the proposed work at the Lynnfield High School fitness center and the funding plan. He said the estimated cost is $100,000. The current center has few free weights, and many cardio stations that do not work. This facility would be for the entire student population and would allow for summer and after-school programming. It would help with physical education classes, health classes, athletics and provide for social opportunities. The funding would be taken from free cash, which has been certified at over $2.9 million.

Mr. Tomasz said that the project will add a lot of new equipment and expand the cardio section. Work will begin once funding is approved by voters, after school hours and during vacation periods and weekends. Mr. Dolan said there would be new flooring and lighting. Chairman Crawford said a maintenance agreement should be obtained from the vendors. Equipment is being selected with the input of the athletic director and school administrators.

Review and recommendations on town meeting warrant articles

Assistant Town Administrator Bob Curtin reviewed the proposed warrant articles, the final approved version of which is listed below.

ARTICLE 1. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or appropriate by

transfer from available funds, sums of money to pay overdue bills of a prior fiscal year;

or to take any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 2. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from

available funds, sums of money to supplement certain accounts in the current 2020 Fiscal

Year for various purposes; or to take any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 3. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, or appropriate by

transfer from available funds, or from any or all such sources, a sum of money for design

of traffic and safety improvements related to the Town’s Complete Streets proposal, or to

take any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 4. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, or appropriate by

transfer from available funds, or from any or all such sources, a sum of money for studies

of the Town’s buildings, space and programmatic needs, and feasibility studies for capital

building projects, to be expended at the direction of the Town Administrator and Board

of Selectmen, or to take any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 5. To see if the Town will vote to accept the provisions of M.G.L. Chapter

138, Section 33B, which allows the Board of Selectmen to permit on-premises alcoholic

beverage licensees to sell alcoholic beverages between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and noon

on Sundays, the last Monday in May and on Christmas day or on the day following when

said day occurs on Sunday, or to take any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 6. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw by making

certain changes to Appendix A thereof, the Table of Use Regulations, that are intended

solely to correct errors inadvertently introduced by the recodification of the said bylaw in

2017, such changes being shown in a draft on file with the Town Clerk, in which all

deletions are reflected by strikethroughs and all additions are reflected by underlining and

italicizing, or to take any other action in connection therewith.

Submitted by PLANNING BOARD

ARTICLE 7. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw by making

certain changes that are intended solely to correct errors inadvertently introduced by the

recodification of the said bylaw in 2017, as follows:

1. In § 2.2, deleting “Wireless Communications District WC”.

2. In § 3.2.2, replacing the words “Section A” with “Section F”.

3. In the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations in § 4.1.2, inserting “3

acres” in the “Lot Area Required” column and “300 ft.4” in the “Lot Frontage Required”

column in the “Limited Industrial” row, and adding the following footnote at the bottom

of the table:

“4. In a Limited Industrial District, where the way is shown as an industrial

service street on a definitive subdivision plan duly approved by the

Lynnfield Planning Board, the frontage need not exceed fifty (50) feet.”

4. In § 4.4, striking the words “GREENBELT AND SPECIAL DISTRICTS” and

replacing it with the following:

“EXCLUSION OF WETLANDS AND FLOOD PLAIN”

5. Striking § 4.6, entitled “LOT WIDTH EXCEPTION,” and replacing it with the

following:

“4.6 LOT WIDTH. In all districts, except as herein provided, no dwelling shall

be constructed on a lot having a width at any point between the frontage way and that

part of the dwelling nearest thereto of less than eighty (80) percent of the frontage

distance required for the district in which said lot is located. The required lot width shall

be measured parallel to the line along which the required frontage is to be measured, as

hereinbefore specified.”

6. Adding as § 4.10 the following:

“4.10 LOT AREA AND FRONTAGE. In all Single Residence Districts, except

as herein provided, no dwelling shall be constructed on a lot having less area than the

‘Lot Area Required,’ or having less frontage on a public or private way to which said lot

has actual physical and legal access, than the ‘Lot Frontage Required’ specified in the

Table in § 4.1.2.”

7. Adding as § 4.11 the following:

“4.11 LOT COVERAGE. In all districts, no building shall be constructed to

cover, together with all other buildings on the lot, a larger portion of the lot area than the

‘Permitted Lot Coverage’ specified in the Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations

in § 4.1.2.”

8. In § 11.5, adding the following:

“Planned Shopping Center: Buildings designed as an architectural unit, that only

contain such uses as are specifically allowed in the General Business District, provided

that at least fifty (50) percent of the total floor area is devoted to retail store use (in

contradistinction to use as a consumer service establishment, restaurant, office, or

amusement).”

or to take any other action in connection therewith.

Submitted by PLANNING BOARD

ARTICLE 8. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw by deleting §§

2.3, 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 thereof, entitled “Location of Districts,” “GW District,” and “PV

District,” and replacing them with the following:

2.3 Location of Districts. Said districts referred to are located and bounded as

shown on a map entitled, “Zoning District Map Town of Lynnfield” and dated

September 18, 2019, and filed in the office of the Town Clerk, which map,

together with all explanatory matter thereon, is hereby incorporated in and made a

part of the bylaw. With respect to the location and bounds of the Flood Plain

District, see § 9.1.2 of the bylaw. With respect to the location and bounds of the

Wetland Buffer Zone District, see § 9.2.2 of the bylaw.

and to adopt the map entitled, “Zoning District Map Town of Lynnfield” and dated

September 18, 2019, and filed in the office of the Town Clerk, as the zoning map of the

Town of Lynnfield, or to take any other action in connection therewith.

Submitted by PLANNING BOARD

ARTICLE 9. To see if the Town will vote to accept as a public way, as laid out and

reported by the Board of Selectmen, Parsons Avenue Extension as shown on the plan of

land entitled “Street Acceptance Plan, Parsons Ave. Ext., Lynnfield, Mass.” dated August

28, 2018, by Hayes Engineering, Inc., a copy of which plan is on file at the office of the

Town Clerk and available for inspection, and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to

acquire by gift, purchase or eminent domain such interests in land as may be necessary or

appropriate to create such public way, or to take any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 10. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, or appropriate by

transfer from available funds, or from any or all such sources, a sum of money for

renovations to and the equipping of the fitness center at Lynnfield High School, or to take

any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

ARTICLE 11. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, or appropriate by

transfer from available funds, or from any or all such sources, a sum of money for

improvements to Jordan Park, and any necessary site work at those locations, or to take

any other action in relation thereto.

Submitted by BOARD OF SELECTMEN

Planning and Conservation Administrator Emilie Cademartori explained that Articles 6 and 7 correct issues created when the zoning bylaw was recodified. Article 6 reinstates items inadvertently changes when a narrative was converted to a use table. Article 7 restores text omitted from the recodification. Article 8 would accept an updated zoning amp; the current map is from 1953 and all subsequent amendments were incorporated digitally and reviewed for completeness and accuracy be reviewing all zoning changes made at town meetings. She credited Patrick McDonald, the Town’s GIS coordinator, for this work. Public hearings on the articles were held on October 2, and the Planning Board recommended all three articles unanimously.

Included in a draft of the warrant was an article that would have sought approval from the state legislature for the expansion of the number of all-alcohol package store licenses by one, in response to a request made by representatives of Whole Foods Market.

Chairman Crawford said that town meeting soundly defeated a request for additional package store licenses in recent years. He said she would recommend against including this article on the warrant. Selectmen Barrett and Dalton concurred, citing the recent town meeting vote.

MOTION of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to close the Fall Town Meeting Warrant and include the articles as presented, with the exception of Article 12. Vote was unanimous.

Memorandum of Understanding, Department of Public Works bargaining unit

Town Administrator Robert Dolan reviewed the agreement reached with the Dept. of Public Woks bargaining unit, which includes a cost of living increase of 1.5 percent in each of three years, and addresses issues such as working hours, scheduling of overtime, holiday and personal day benefits, clothing allowances, longevity payments, and the times in which building checks may be conducted.

Chairman Crawford thanked Mr. Dolan for his work on this contract negotiation.

MOTION of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town and the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees (AFSCME), Council 93, Local 3434, AFL-CIO (DPW), for a collective bargaining agreement to commence on July 1, 2019 and conclude on June 30, 2022. Vote was unanimous.

Town Administrator report

Town Administrator Dolan gave very brief updates on various projects and goals.

Use of facilities: Common, November 11, Veterans Day observance

MOTION of Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton I move that the Board vote to permit the use of the common for the traditional Veterans Day observance on November 11, 2019.  Vote was unanimous.

Request for executive session under Mass. General Laws Chapter 30A, Section 21 (A) (3) to discuss collective bargaining strategy for which an open discussion may adversely affect the Town’s negotiating position

MOTION by Selectman Barrett, duly seconded by Selectman Dalton: I move that the Board vote to enter executive session under Mass. General Laws Chapter 30A, Section 21 (A) (3) to discuss collective bargaining strategy for which an open discussion may adversely affect the Town’s negotiating position.

Roll call vote: Sel. Barrett – yes; Sel. Dalton – yes; Chairman Crawford – yes.

Chairman Crawford declared the Board would not be returning to executive session. The Board entered executive session at 8:08 p.m. and adjourned at 8:30 p.m.