No stop signs for Valley Road, Warrant articles accepted
Published on September 29th, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - No stops signs on Barbara Road or Fairlane Road — Chairman Al Conti, back from vacation, broke the tie of the divided board of Selectmen about the issue dividing a neighborhood.
Each side presented a strong case: Armando DeAngelis of Barbara Road spoke of the redundancy of signs at an intersection where the law already requires drivers to stop. And Sgt. Tom Taranti of Valley Road said sometimes people need visual reminders to follow the law.
Selectmen Darin Leahy made a motion not to accept any request for stop signs until a "coherent policy" saying when and where signs should go could be drafted.
Selectmen Tony Kennedy and Cosmo Ciccarello opposed the motion and stood firm in their support of the signs.
Leahy and Jordan had originally voted against the signs. This time they voted against the signs implicitly, by voting to accept no requests for signage until a policy was made.
Conti agreed with Leahy and Jordan; the vote passed 3-2.
Someone from the crowd shouted, "We want a resolution."
"You got one. No," Conti said.
After the meeting, Franklin Street resident and political watch dog, John DeGeorge, questioned the logic of the selectmen's action.
"Why not vote on the specific request before them (the request was before the board at four meetings) and then vote not to accept any new requests until a policy was formed?" he asked.
In other business:
oSelectmen accepted 30 articles to go on the Oct. 25 Special Town Meeting warrant.
The articles, in brief, are the following (the detailed and official articles will be listed in next week's Stoneham Independent): three articles from the Planning Board asking for changes in the Wireless District, an article from Town Accountant Ron Florino for money for prior year medical expenses for injured policemen and fire fighters, a request from the Planning Board to change the parking bylaws, a citizen petition asking that School Committee meetings be televised, an article from Mark Vaughan with citizen signatures requesting a rezoning of a portion of the Commercial District, a request from the Board of Health for $17,498 for an office assistant and 23 articles from the selectmen.
These articles include a general request for authorization to amend town budgets, a request for money for the stabilization fund, money for a fire truck, money for side walks, money for walkways around Town Hall, money to carry out action authorized at the January 1997 Town Meeting regarding parking and open space (the Common), money to repair the DPW Garage, money for police sick leave, money for litigation expenses, money for shade trees, money for drainage, money for the Millennium Celebration, authorization to buy land on Broadway and MacArthur Road, authorization to accept land on MacArthur and Elm Street as a gift from the Roman Catholic Church, a request to combine the Unicorn Recreation Committee and Youth Commission into one Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee, a request to accept state highway funds, a request to accept easements from Bear Hill and Buckingham Terrace Condominiums for the town drainage project, a request to accept part or all of Arthur Street, Fellsview Road, Kimball Avenue and Vera Lane as public ways, a request for money for a sewer main on Vernon Avenue, authorization to enter into a joint purchasing agreement with area towns for municipal needs and a proposal to allow the Moderator to "take all votes requiring a two-thirds majority in the same manner in which the moderator conducts the taking of a vote when a majority is required."
oConti wants to speak with Northeast Metro Tech officials about the student home building program at an upcoming meeting.
The Chairmen said he will write a letter to Metro Tech Superintendent James Pelli, who declined an invitation to attend the Sept. 28 meeting.
oTraffic supervisors are needed. Call Officer Larry Rotondi at the Stoneham Police Depart-ment at 438-1215.
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