Tuesday night's Brookline Board of Selectmen meeting heard a handful of presentations, including a request for a noise bylaw exemption and looking over the results of the reprecincting committee's work. Neither of these were voted on that night, but a few other administrative efforts were handled.

The Selectmen also resolved to declare June 12 Race Amity day in Brookline. There will be a corresponding celebration on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. 

Noise Bylaw Exemption for Gas Delivery

Chestnut Motors, a local gas station located near Hammond Street, is conveniently located off of Route 9, but this can create some traffic issues when the time comes for fuel deliveries at around 7 a.m. President of Chestnut Motors, Paul Stein presented his case for allowing late-night deliveries at the Gulf station.

Stein's suggestion is to take his deliveries at night, when traffic is considerably lighter. However, a noise bylaw prevents pickup, delivery or loading of goods between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. The Board of Selectmen could, however, allow an exemption.

In a memo, Police Chief Daniel O'Leary suggested that deliveries be made between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., when traffic has died down, because of some issues reported in the neighborhood.

Stein says he cannot get the gas company to commit to a time, because they have 180 other stations on the delivery route. They will offer windows of time to makde deliveries.

He also commented, “I cannot get a police officer there every time to stop traffic.”

Lee Selwyn, Town Meeting Member (TMM) for Precinct  15 described the area as "one of the nightmare intersections of Brookline." He suggested allowing this exemption on a 3-month trial basis. Selectman Kenneth Goldstein said he would suggest a 6-month trial.

“I’ve heard trucks going to gas stations, not this particular one,” commented Paula Coelho TMM for Pct15. She added that the fillings are noisy and it is a residential area. 

Stein estimated that the nearest home was at least 100 feet away, and added that the only sound the trucks would make is the back-up warning. The trucks use a gravity-feed system, so there are no pumping sounds.

Both the owner and the Selectmen will return to the issue at a later meeting, when Stein has contacted his delivery company to discuss possible hours, and the Selectmen have worked on the phrasing of the waiver. 

New Precinct Areas

The Reprecincting Committee, of which Selectmen Chair Betsy DeWitt is a member, presented their plans based on the 2010 census for dividing the town into precincts. The precincts themselves will be shifted around so that each of the town's 16 has roughly the same number of people in them. 

Between the 1990, 2000 censuses and now, the Northern end of Brookline hasn't changed much, but the Southern precincts, Precinct 15 especially, has changed considerably in the last few decades. 

To see whether your precinct has changed, look at the map above.

Other Items

• The Town Clerk's office was granted permission to hire an administrative assistant. 
• The Recreation Department is also looking for a lead teacher at the Soule Recreation Center, and a therapeutic recreation specialist, with permission from the Board.
• There is a vacancy on the Planning Board, caused by a departing member. The Board of Selectmen interviewed two candidates: Ashling Fingleton and Rick Schmidt. They plan to choose someone by the end of June.
• The Commission on Women has two vacancies, for which two candidates have come forward: Aimee Tallarico and Eliza Blanchard. The Selectmen will contact them by the end of the month.