Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1928-05-22REGULAR NFETING, YAY 22, 1928 C7 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectmen's Office at 7:30 P.{. Messrs. Burnham, Custance, Ballard, Robertson, and 'hamberlain were present. Private hearing was declared open upon an appeal of Arley A. Burgess to the decision of the Building Inspector of the use of an elevator constructed by Mr. Burgess. Mr. Burgess appeared before the Board with his attorney, Mr. Thompson. Sydney R. Wrightington, Town Counsel. was also present. The Attorney explained that the Elevator was erected without any roof over the same and was perpendicular with the side of the building. It was not connected with the building except at the top where the material dnbps into a mixer, thereby avoiding hand work which was formerly done, and to keep pace with the cement block business. Mr. Burgess was advised to do this to make the work economical. The building was not altered in order to construct this elevator which was covered with sheet iron and located about two feet from the building and was about twelve inches wide one way and three or four feet the other way and about twenty- two to twenty-four feet high. Mr. Thompson did not contend that this elevator was in any way a violation of the building law inasmuch as he did not consider it an alteration of the structure and. only considered it a new means of handling the mechanism of the block plant which was in existence before the zoning law gent into effect. For this reason also, he did not feel that there could be considered any complaint under the zoning law inasmuch as the plant existed before that time. Mr. Burgess stated that he felt that it would be expensive for him to move the plant to the gravel plant, and that he did not consider that he needed to increase his present plant mechanicles for some time to come. Mr. Burgess stated that he owned. 355 feet of land on 'Hebb Street and 150 feet on Woburn Street, and the material he used in the block plant comes from four or five acres he owns beyond. The attorney decided that it appeared to be a matter of the* interpretation of the building and zoning laws which is covered by section four and seven of the building laws and section sixteen of the zoning laws. It was finally decided that inasmuch as theelevator was already constructed, that 31r. Burgesa be allowed to operate the same for a period of five weeks, and during that period. the Board would have an opportunity to decide what action they would take, and at the present time no decision was made except to allow Mr. Burgess to operate for that period of time. Commitment was signed for the water chares for the amount of $1195.25 and for the Sewer Department for 9748.30. In regard to the application of W. R. Warren' of Winchester for a permit to install a gasoline tank at the corner of Bridge Spring and Payson Streets, the Board voted to grant Mr. Warren leave to withdraw his application and notified him that inasmuch ' as the Board did not feel inclined to grant a permit for this location, they did not feel it necessary to hold a hearing. The application of Prendergast Brothers for a permit to install a gasoline filling station at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Fottler Avenue was again laid on the table foroneweek. 279 A letter of thanks was received from the Lexington Civic Aasociation for the work done on the floors of the Emerson Hall and the new back -stop on Lexington play grouc}d. Letter was received from Franklin H. Pike of 2 Hill Street asking that the Board do something to protect the childred.from automobilists. He suggested that a gravel sidewalk be placed on Hill Street in front of his house extending as far in either direction. The Supt. of Public "lorks,7: attention was called to the fact that the street sign on the corner of Hill.and Bedford streets was broken off. The Supt, of Public "corks was requested to look over the conditions and to present a plan to the Board of what he felt shouad be done to remedy the conditions. In regard to the proposition of Rockwell C. Tenney to purchase a section of Belfry Hill, it was decided to inform r. Tenney that inasmuch as this property was presented to the Town by the Rindge heirs, that they did_ not feel they could dell the same. The Supt, of Public ?Plorks was requested to see Mr. Tenney however, and advise him as to what he could do on the town property if he so decided to make an improvement. An apn�ication for the approval of Hinchey Road under the Board of Survey Act was received from John T. Hinchey together with plans of the same. It was decided to leave the matter ' to the Planning Board for their study. Letter was received from Mr. Sydney R. 'drightington, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Lexington Boy Scouts requesting the use of Cary Memorial Hall for February 7, 8, and 9, 1929. The Board decided. to hold those dates in readiness for the use of the Boy Scouts and in regard to the charge for the use of the.building, it was decided to leave that matter until a later date. Letter was received from George E. Priggs, representatibe, in which he informed the Board relative as to the installation of a sewer in connection with the new hospital for mental diseases. He also sent copies of the House Bill ¢1300 in which the Town of Lexington would be given an opportunity to vote before Dec- ember first to decide if they desired to enter this sewer or not. He also stated that he was able to persuade the Department of Public Health to cut down on the percentage cost so that Lexington's cost will not be any greater than :'datertown's. It was decided to insert an article in the Town Warrant to see whether or not the Town would vote to enter the sewer in the west end of the town. The Supt, of Public Works was also requested to see tf there was an existing contract between McClintock & Woodfall and the town, and to secure a plan from the engineers as to what area the sewer will cover and what services it will give, and any ' other data that is possible to receive so that the Board might be familiar with the details to bring to the Town meeting. Mr. Ballard agreed to see McClintock & Woodfall, engineers, to find out their opinion as to the type of report the town of Lexington should have in respect to House Bill #1300. A letter of thanks was received from the Lexington Civic Aasociation for the work done on the floors of the Emerson Hall and the new back -stop on Lexington play grouc}d. Letter was received from Franklin H. Pike of 2 Hill Street asking that the Board do something to protect the childred.from automobilists. He suggested that a gravel sidewalk be placed on Hill Street in front of his house extending as far in either direction. The Supt. of Public "lorks,7: attention was called to the fact that the street sign on the corner of Hill.and Bedford streets was broken off. The Supt, of Public "corks was requested to look over the conditions and to present a plan to the Board of what he felt shouad be done to remedy the conditions. In regard to the proposition of Rockwell C. Tenney to purchase a section of Belfry Hill, it was decided to inform r. Tenney that inasmuch as this property was presented to the Town by the Rindge heirs, that they did_ not feel they could dell the same. The Supt, of Public ?Plorks was requested to see Mr. Tenney however, and advise him as to what he could do on the town property if he so decided to make an improvement. 280 Letter was received from the Supt. Of Public Works in which � .he presented the Board with rules and regulations covering the installation of electric wires in the town. The Board decided to take these copies and. view them, and take the matter up again at, the meeting next week. ' Letter was received from the Supt. of Public ,Yorks in. which he informed the Board that additional equipment was necessary for the water department stock room and that tyro units of steel would cost A41.40 erected. He also reportedd bids of Berger RoofiAg Company for lockers for the Police Department for the amount of gp125.00. It was decided to inform the Supt. of Public Works #o accept the bids of the Berger Roofing company totaling $136.40 In regard to the letter of A. C. Kilgour relative t'o: the,,.,_ 'sewer tax,:: it'wa-s••decided tp--refer,,the hatter t'o�the.--Supt bf,^Pub�,ic 'forks for further study. Mr. Francis Chamberlain suggested that the Town Counsel be requested to prepare a by-law to control parking on our highways. The Board requested Mr. Chamberlain to consult with the Town Counsel in regard to the matter. In regard to the approval of the slaughter license of Mr. Amos Holman, it was d6cided to request Mr. Amos Holman to come before the Board on Tuesday next, May 29, 1928 to discuss the matter of keeping pigs in connection with his slaughter license. The following licenses were granted. License was granted to John A. Sellars of Concord. Avenue for ' pasteurization of milk, the application having been aprroved by the milk inspector. Public Carriage License John W. Leary 23 Waltham Street he having filed the proper form. Manufacture of Ice Cream Ashley "1. Partridge 405 Mass. Ave. The Board approved the bill of t40. for services of Town Counsel in connection with the case of Harry M. Aldrich in regard Ir to the settlement of damages on Waltham Street. The following report was received from the Supt. of Public Works: WEEKLY REPORT OF THE SUPT. OF PUBLIC NORKS Highway Department Work not completed on Watertown Street. Delay caused by rain Friday and Saturday. This work will be completed, and also Pleasant Street during the present week. Patching various streets was done through the week. Work on the meriam Street drain at the corner of Edgewood Road across the land of Neil McIntosh was started, but discontinued temporarily on account of change in plans. This change was found necessary to get the right grade to carry off the water. During the next week, we should seal Follen Road. If this work is not attended to very soon, the road will dis- intergrate to such an extent that it will be impossible to save the present macadam. By Wednesday, May 23, unless delayed by rain, we should be ready to do the necessary work on Mass- achusetts Avenue and Cedar Street. 71ater Construction Construction of main in Shade Street was completed, and the water main in Independence Avenue is started; and work is going along towards the Smith -Robbins development. 7Tater Maintenance Four services installed; three others started. Sewer Construction 115 feel of construction on Lincoln Street and Audubon Road completed. A large amount of ledge in this work is delaying considerable: Sewer in Independence A venue has been started. Sewer Maintenance. Two services completed. Shade Tree Department. ' This department worked. taking down trees on Massachusetts Avenue and Cedar Street during the past week. Park Department `u The construction of the walk on the Bedford Street side of the common was continued through the week. It will be noticed on this work that on the end toward Elm Avenue, we were obliged to raise the grade to conform with the curbing. This will make a break in the appearance of the lawn, but in my opinion, it would be better to wait until fall before bringing the rest of the lawn to a proper grade with loam. Usual maintenance work was carried on. Traffic Beacons Traffic beacon installed at the junction of Waltham Street and Concord Avenue. Traffic beacon at the junction of Marrett Road and 'Naltham Street repaired and is now in working order. I have re- quested the American Gas Accumulator Company to change the location of the traffic beacon at the junction of Lowell and Woburn Streets to a position nearer the center of this location, thus giving the traffic driving on Woburn Street better and quicker view of the signal. Warning sign erected on the west side of Bedford Street warning south bound traffic of the cross road. ' I wish to suggest to the Board that coal for the Memorial Building can be purchased now, probably at a lower price than at any other time this year. The Lexington Coal Company has given me a price on three carloads of soft coal in the storage bin at $6.50 per ton, provided it can be delivered directly into the bid from the trucks. Very truly yours, 'Nm. S. Scamman, Supt. of Public 'Nor 289 In regard to the Supt.'s suggestion that the coal might now be purchased, it was decided to request him to find out if the d school committee had received bids for coal, and if so, how much they will give for coal this year. In regard to the letter from the Supt. of Public Works in , regard to the increase in pay for Helen Ready of the Assessor's Department, of three dollars a week, it was decided not to grant the increase in pay. Report was received from Russell I. Prentiss in regard to the condition of the premises of the piggeries. He stated that the ccm- ditions on the August Young premises were the same as on the previous inspection and that none of the recommendations had been complied with. The Board. therefore voted to refuse a permit to August Young. A report of the conditions at the Swenson Brother's piggery was fairly good but the recommendations had not been carried out. It was decided to lay the application of Swenson Brothers on the table for one week until such time as report was received from the inspector that the regulations had been complied with and upon the receipt of the report of the inspector that his recommendations had been complied with, and to invite Swenson Brothers to apply for a permit to keep 50 swine instead of 100 swine inasmuch as the applica- tion for 1927 was for 50 swine. Mr. Prentiss was reque•stedto view the premises again and report next week to the Board. ; The inspector reported the conditions had been improved at the Carroll estate and recommendations complied with. It was therefore voted to grant the Carroll estate a permit to keep 50 pigs. I Inspector reported that he was informed by Mr. Wellington that recommendations were in process of being done and would be done within a week. The Board requested the inspector to view the premises of Mr. Wellington again and report his findings, in a week. It was decided. to lay upon the table the application of Ryder Stock Farm, Inca to keep pigs upon their premises on Maple Street. 'In!regard.to the application of Ryder Stock Farm, Inc, to keep pigs on 11altha­ Street, it was decided to meet on Saturday, May 28, 1928 at 7 o'clock to view the premises at 117 'Waltham Street. It was decided also, to request the Town Counsel and Health Inspector to view the premises. It was therefore decided to lay the application of Ryder Stock Farm Inc. to keep pigs 117 Waltham Street on the t able. It was decided to see if.:, the Town Counsel gonsidered r the letters of Metcalf & Eddy as a binding contract with the town in connection with the work on Vine Brook Drainage. The meeting adjourned at 12:15 P. M. A true record, Attest: Clerk. '