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' 500111 SELECTMEN' MEETING Feb. 5th, 1940. ' A regular meeting of the Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, at 7:30 P. M. Chairman Giroux�,.Messrs. Potter, Rowse, Locke and Sarano were present. The Clerk was also present. At 7:30 P. M. Mr. Carroll appeared for the drawing of a juror to serve at the criminal session in Lowell, first Juror. session, on March 5th, 1940. Mr. Kenneth P. Blake, antiques of 19 Oakiand Street, was the juror drawn. Mr. Raymond, Mr. Cosgrove, and nine residents of Wachusett Circle appeared before the Board. The Chairman said he understood that the group appeared to get some informati-n with reference to the betterment assess- ment of the street. Pair. George Reed asked how the Engineer's Wachusett arrived at ,the assessment. Mr. Cosgrove said that the Circle assessments had been figured on what the town had required for the past ten years including drainage. There are two reasons why the rate of assessment per foor of assessable frontage is high, as follows: 1. Waste on account of street intersection; 2. It is a small job; If more construction had been contem- plated either toward Waltham Street or Outlook Drive, the assessments would have been lower. However, the price per linear foor runs very much the same as that on other betterment assessment streets put in in the past five years. The figure is $7.34 per from foot. Mr. Reed asked if thewn to paid an of the cost and Mr. Cosgrove replied in the negative, an Y g p gative, d said that the town had not paid any of the cost since 1925. A Mr. Pierce as$ed why there was no betterment assessment on Lincoln Street. Mr. Cosgrove said that Lincoln Street had a County layout and therefor there could not be any cost levied on the abutters. Mr. Pierce asked if it would not be wise to wait until the street was accepted down to Waltham Street and Mr. Cosgrove agreed that it would be much cheaper. Mr. Reed said that Arlington paid one half of the cost of the construction and the other half was divided between the abutters on either side of the street. Mr. Cosgrove said that Arlington included the cos f t o curbing and g ranolithic sidewalks in the street betterment assessment s and tihat Lexington stands all the cost of curbing and sidewalks. Mr. Pierce asked what -)ercentage of the pro�)erty owners the town required to sign the petition. The Chairman said that the town required the signatures of 75% of the abutters. Pair. Pierce asked why they could not have a tar and gravel road rather than such an expensive one as was contem-lated.The Chairman said that it was not the policy of the Board to''approve cheaply constructed streets as the town has to maintain them after they have been accepted It was the duty of the Board to see that the best type of construction was put in in the first place. One man asked , what the percentage of the cost of drainage was, and Mr. Cosgrove said that it was about thirty-three and a third percent..