Town Manager's Tuesday: Finding a Fire Chief and Special Town Meeting

While the Nov. 14 special Town Meeting went smoothly, finding a new fire chief is proving more difficult than anticipated.

Fire Chief Search: Many of you know that Fire Chief Bill Middlemiss retired on June 30. Retired Amherst Fire Chief Keith Hoyle has been doing a fabulous job as the interim Lexington Fire Chief, while we search for a permanent replacement. Unfortunately, our search for a new Chief has gone more slowly than anticipated. Our recruitment effort yielded only a small number of qualified candidates. We have reopened the search, therefore, to see if we can expand our pool of applicants. Stay tuned. Special Town Meeting – On Monday, Nov. 14 there was a special Town Meeting that took the following actions: On a positive note, the town’s FY12 revenues are expected to be $1.5 million greater than projected when we went to Town Meeting in the Spring. I…

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Nov. 14

Special Town Meeting tonight

1. Special Town Meeting Tonight: At the special Town Meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Cary Hall, the biggest item is an article requesting funds for extraordinary renovations and repairs to extend the useful lives of the Bridge and Bowman elementary schools. The School Committee voted last Tuesday, Nov. 8, to set $21,670,000 as the exact dollar amount that will be requested. 2. Meeting before the Meeting: In advance of Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at the Town Office Building and its agenda includes setting a date for an override vote for the schools projects and an executive session to discuss a land acquisition. 3. In non-Town Meeting related news: The Lexington Council for the Arts is scheduled to meet at 7 …

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Traffic Plan for Estabrook's Construction Phase Moves Forward

It appears Grove Street will remain the access road during construction.

Cars and construction vehicles will most likely access Estabrook Elementary School off Grove Street, not Robinson Road, while the new school is being built. The School Committee unanimously agreed to move forward with such a plan Tuesday, a week after the Estabrook School Access Ad Hoc Task Force unanimously backed the same plan, which was developed by architects at Boston-based DiNisco Design. “We heard from our architects that Robinson Road is not a practical entranceway for construction vehicles,” Superintendent Paul Ash said at Tuesday’s meeting in the Town Office Building. Ash said it would take at least one year, maybe two, to upgrade Robinson Road, which runs behind the school, to a suitable level for construction vehicles, and …

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Selectmen Support Bridge and Bowman Renovation Project (POLL)

Town Meeting will take up the $21 million Bridge and Bowman renovation project next week, but the selectmen spoke their piece on Monday, with four of five in favor. What's your stance on the project? Take our poll and let us know in the comments below.

A week before Town Meeting votes on $21 million renovation project for the Bridge and Bowman schools, four of the five Lexington selectmen expressed support for the project, while one strongly objected. At his board’s Nov. 7 meeting, Selectman Peter Kelley, the lone dissenter, said he “emphatically opposed” the project because he believes the town is making a “terrible mistake” in renovating Bridge and Bowman instead of replacing its schools. But fellow selectmen George Burnell and Norm Cohen said while new schools would be ideal, the felt renovations are a prudent choice given the state’s indications that it would not reimburse for rebuilding what it considers to be sound school buildings. “I believe they made a very wise choice …

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Week in Review: Oct. 2 to Oct. 8

A look back at the week that was in Lexington.

We opened this week with a Monday morning story about petitioners supporting the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee’s recommendations and plans to use the town-owned property as a community farm.  That night, the Board of Selectmen heard that residents are likely to see their water and sewer rates increase sharply, accepted the recommendation from the Trash and Recycling Collection Task Force and agreed to move forward a proposal for an organic waste processing facility. On Tuesday, the School Committee made official its request for the selectmen to call a special Town Meeting for the Bridge/Bowman school building project.  Wednesday morning we ran a story about school transportation questions and bus fees. And that night was the first …

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Selectmen Sign Warrant for Special Town Meeting

On Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen officially set the upcoming special Town Meeting for Monday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will address the Bridge and Bowman school reconstruction projects.

A day after the School Committee formally requested a special Town Meeting to address the Bridge and Bowman school reconstruction projects, the Board of Selectmen signed the warrant, officially setting the meeting for Monday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. The selectmen did so at Wednesday evening’s “Budget Collaboration – Financial Summit 1,” the first in a series of meetings where the Selectmen, School Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee and Appropriation Committee come together with town and school officials to discuss the upcoming budget process and overall financial climate of the town. Although no specific dollar amount will be used in the warrant question – Town Meeting members will only be asked if they want to fund the project – the …

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Question of the Day

Question of the Day: Bridge and Bowman?

Share your opinion in the comments section below.

A $20 million-plus renovation project for the Bridge and Bowman schools is expected to be the principal article at a special Town Meeting that's been set for Nov. 14. The selectmen set the date yesterday, Sept. 26, more than a week before a summit at which town boards will discuss the Bridge/Bowman and Estabrook School building projects.  The BOS vote was contingent upon the School Committee's anticipated vote that it’s prepared to move forward with a Bridge/Bowman school building project and necessary information campaigns. Selectman Peter Kelley, the lone nay vote, was concerned about setting a special Town Meeting date before the School Committee asked them to do so. He said it might be starting out on the wrong foot for an expensive …

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