HomeMy WebLinkAbout1929-01-08 7
REGULAR MEETING, JANUARY 8, 1929.
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A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen
was held at the Selectmen's Office at 7 30 P.M.
Messrs. Burnham, Chamberlain, Custance and
Robertson were present. The Supt. of Public
Works and the Clerk were also present.
Mr. Robert B. Lutes and Mrs . Cecily I . Lutes
came before the Board and stated that they had
purchased the Kendall property at 271 Marrett Road.
They stated that they came here from New York
state and desired to make this place their home,
but they also desired to rent rooms to tourists
Lutes appli- and to serve meals, and to sell gifts and antiques.
Ther stated that they understood that the previous
cation. owner had rented the rooms to tourists and a
roadside stand had been operated upon the premises.
Zoning Law. They stated that the house was a two family house,
but they desired to discontinue the use of it as
such. They stated that the outside appearance
of the place would be lire a home except that they
would like to have a sign up designating the
premises.
The Board decided to advertise a public
hearing under Sections 15 and 16 of the Zoning By-
Law.
'. It was voted to request the Director of
Audit Accounts to make an audit of the 1928 accounts of
the Town in accordance with the vote of the Town
Accounts, at the Town Meeting, March 26 , 1928.
Certificate of the vote passed by the Town
Representative authorizing the Selectmen to petition the Legis-
Town lature for an act for Representative Form of Town
Meeting Meeting was signed by the Board.
At 8:30 P.M. hearing was declared open upon
the application of Harry L. Coolidge and Letitia
Efnor for a permit to install two tanks of 5,000
gallons gasoline on lot #3 at 10Y and 109 Mass. Ave.
Mr. Coolidge stated that in 1918 he had a
permit to keep gasoline. He presented a plan
showing the layout of the lots but he did not have
Harry L. a plan of the building to be erected. He stated
that the land was in the business district and he
Coolidge felt that he was entitled to a permit to use the
land, inasmuch as he had to pay taxes upon the
hearing, same.,
Mr. Stephen J. Dolan, 1091 Mass. Avenue,
gasoline., appeared before the Board to object to the filling
station, stating that there were enough of them now
in the /icinity.
Mrs. Hilda B. Dolan, 104 Mass . Avenue stated
that she had seven children and she felt that another
station would endanger the lives of the children.
Mr. Frank J. Clare, 1072 ' ass. Ave. stated that his
property was back of where the filling station was to be
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located and he objected
Mr. Chmrles A. Cummings, 113 Mass. Avenue, also C
objected to a filling station, stating that there are Ishiws
now too many in the vicinity. As
Mr. George F. Mellick, 70 Mass. Avenue, also
registered his objection as did Mr. Penney on
Brandon Street and Mr. George H. Kearns , Brandon
Street.
After the Board heard the objections , it was
decided to lay the matter on the table for one week.
The weekly report of the Supt. of Public
Works is as follows :
For the week ending January 5, 1929.
Highway Dept.
The following streets were cleaned and covered
with gravel, which was spread and leveled with the
road machine; North Street, Burlington Street,
Robinson Road, and Grove Street .
On Massachusetts Avenue, a great many hydrants
have been exposed to the danger of being broken
by automobiles or trucks driven too close or for
other reasons. Because of this danger, the
department has placed a piece of grar6teb curbing
on the sidewalk line in front of a number of these
hydrants .
Report of
Gutters and catch basins on a number of streets
Supt. of were cleaned The sewer trench in Woburn Street
was again trimmed and leveled.
Public Works.
Street signs have been erected at Eliot goad,
corner of Pelham Road, Bennington Road , corner of
Eliot Road, and Carville Avenue, corner of Oak Street.
Parallel parking signs were set on the south side
of Massachusetts Avenue , from Clarke Street to Grant
Street.
For next week it is planned to continue the reg-
ular
maintenance work suchas patching street
surfaces, cleaning gutters and catch basins, surfacing the
outlying streets with gravel and such ether work as
may be necessary)
Moth Department.
Gypsy moth nests were treated with creosote in
the Town Woods near Lincoln Street and in Lowell
Street and School Street.
Park Department.
Regular maintenance work carried on in this
department .
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Water Maintenance.
About 300 ft. of 12" pipe have been laid in
Mass. Avenue. One water service has been installed
II for Walter Black on Bloomfield Street.
The work contemplated for the week ending
January 19 is as follows : continuation of the laying
of the 12" main; water and sewer services , etc.
Engineering Department.
Sewer.
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Completion of 10 sewer plans of/different streets
(1928 construction. )
Water.
Line for 12" main in Bedford Street between
Elm Avenue and Mass. Avenue.
Highways .
Assistance to E. N. Montague in locating Meriam
Street boundaries near York Street.
Miscellaneous.
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Survey at the junction of Lowell & Woburn Streets
extending 200 feet in all directions.
Completed three plans to be used in the study
of lighting systems at Woburn Street and Lowell Street
and Marrett Road and Waltham Street and along Mass.
Avenue and Bedford Street, prom Waltham Street to
Elm Avenue.
Re-arrangement of card index system.
Measured granolithic fronting Aldrich block and
Post Office on Waltham Street and Massachusetts Avenue.
Very truly yours,
William S. Scamman
Supt. of Public Works.
Organization Mr. Francis Chamberlain suggested that Mr.
printed in Scamman include in his report for the Town Rerort
Supt. ' s Report. the schedule of organization which he made this
past year so that the townspeople might familiarize
themselves with the orgaAization of the Town.
Letter was received from Mr. Edwin B. Worthen
II in which he suggested that 600 c. p. lights be placed
Increase at the junction of the following streetsA
in 1 at Bedford St. opposite end of Elm Avenue.
1 at Bedford St. at Hancock Street.
c. p. of street 1 on Muzzey Street near Mass. Avenue.
1 on Waltham Street near Mass. Ave.
lights. 1 on Grant Street under R. R. tracks.
1 on Woburn Street at Fletcher Avenue.
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The Supt. of Public Works has already G')
placed 1 - 600 c. p. light at the junction .'�.
of Elm Avenue and Bedford Street, but the ZE
suggestion of placing these lights in other
locations was acknowledged with thanks to
Mr. Worthen.
Owing to the fact that the owners of
property on Prospect Hill Road, Simonds Road
and York Street were not notified that they
could come in and apportion their highway
betterment tax when the bills were sent to
Interest on them under date of Nov. 16, 1928, it was
decided to charge interest only from Jan. 15,
Highway 1929, inasmuch as the letters requesting them
to apportion their bill were not sent out
Betterment until December 27, 1928. This method was
recommended by the Tax Collector, inasmuch as
Assessments the error was made in the Selectmen ' s Office
in not sending out the letter with the bill.
The Tax Collector and Town Accountant were
notified to this effect.
The following licenses were signed:
lst. Class Agent's License, Fred N. Viano,
400 Mass. Avenue.
1st. Class Agent 's License , William G. Murphy,
25 Mass . Avenue.
Pasteurization of Milk License, Arthur S. Tyler,
29 Maple Street.
Pasteurization of Milk License , Patrick Shanahan,
Licenses 60 Pleasant Street.
granted. . License to Traneport Garbage , Henry A. Ferreira,
East Boston.
Commonwealth of Mass. , Dept. of Correction, West
Concord, Mass.
Thomas J. Carroll, Burlington, Mass.
John F. Bolduc, Lowell St. , Burlington, Mass.
In regard to the application for the use of
the Cary 'emorial Building, it was voted to
authorize the Clerk to sign all licenses for the
use of the halls in the building.
Inasmuch as there seemed to be a controversy
at the Town Meeting of a bill of $1200 of the
American LaFrance Fire Engine Company owing to
the fact that the Engineers of the Fire Dept.
clai-ed that the report of the Committee on
Investigation of Fire and Water Departments was
wrong, inasmuch as they claimed negligence on the
part of the Firemen in the care of the American
LaFrance Fire Engine Co. apparatus , while the
Fire Engineers contended that they were not to
blame for the bill of $1200 for work on the
American LaFrance Fire Engine Co. engine, The
American LaFrance Fire Engine Co. had written
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a letter to the Investigating Committee stating
that the Fire Dept. were responsible for the
bill owing to the negligence of the members of
' the Department.
t appears from the records that the Fire
Department paid the bill of $1200, in spite of
Fire the fact that they stated in Town Meeting that
the members of the Department were not respon-
Engineerrs sible. It also appears that the contract with
the American LaFrance Fire Engine Co. guarantees
all of the parts except for negligence for the
Conference. care of the apparatus .
This question having been brought up, it
was decided to request the Fire Engineers to
appear before the Board on Tuesday evening
next at 9 P.M. an talk over matters relating
to the Fire Department with the Board.
Arrangement to The Supt. of Public Works was instructed
to make some arrangements whereby the voters
Check Voters. could be ehecked when entering the Cary
Memorial /011.
Letter was received from the Town Counsel
in which he explained that there are three
Town Counsel cases, namely, Ella Louise Lawrence v. Town
of Lexington, Caroline A. Harrington v. Town
re. of Lexington, and George A. Woods , v Town
of Lexington, still pending. He desired to
Cases Pending know whether the Board would like to have the
cases brought to trial.
The Board decided that they do not believe
they would instruct the Town Counsel to bring
these cases to trial.
Letter was received from the County
Commissioners in which they stated that it was
their intention to establish a tuberculosis
hospital near the present state f#ospital in
Hearing the area of Walnut Street.
The Boardbelieved that this was a very
Tuberculosis good place to have the tuberculosis hospital
located, but before taking any action they
Hospital decided to notify the County Commissioners
that they were friendly toward the location
of the tuberculosis hospital in this location,
but that they would consult with the Town
Counsel and have him advise them what action
they shou3d take.
It was decided to notify W. A. Ba7eley,
Supt. of State Forester, that Osborne J. Gorman was
appointed as Supt. of the Moth Department of
Moth Dept. the Town of Lexington, subject to his approval.
appointed.
Abatement in the amount of $202.85 was
Abatement , signed in connection with the sewer tax on the
Sewer, Russell Russell House property, the abatement being
House Property made on 13,000 sq. ft. of land.
Letter wc,s received from the Sunt. of G�
PublicWorks in which he stated that on some
of the private ways where snow was removed, aa
gravel should be placed to fill the ruts for
the removal of snow.
Gravel The Board felt that this practice would
be a very poor one to enter into , and advised
on the Sunt. of Public Works that they felt that
the snow plow shouldbe adjusted bo that it
Private ways would not cut into the ruts on these streets.
The Supt. of Public Works reported that
Balcony he would set aside the rear part of the centre
for rear balcony in the Cary Memorial Hall for
school the School childrerl;..
children.
The Board requested him to have a sign printed
so that this section could be marked off at Town
Meeting time.
Letter wQs receivedfrom the Lexington Gas
Comnany giving the rate ch,,rged for gas in the
Town of Lexington.
Nothing was done about the matter, inasmuch
Lexington as the Chairman reported that he talked with
one of the Arlington Selectmen who informed him
Gas. Co. that the Town of Arlington is going to endeavob
to have other towns cooperate in an effort to
Rates . get the gas rates reduced.
The Board approved the bill of $474.00
Highway additional compensation insurance on the highway
Compensation department.
1n regard to the application of William A.
Granfield , plan was presenter, showing location
of pumps on his property on both extreme ends of
Wm. A. Gran- the property on Marrett Road and Spring Street
field, locating the pumps on the street line.
gasoline The Board decided to inform him that if he
tanks. would place the pumps back approximately 40 feet
as designated an the plan that a permit would
be granted.
Discussion was had, in-regard to:the abatement
Neil of tax on Prospect Hill goad.
Mr. Custance reported that he had spent an
McIntosh re hour with Mr. Neil McIntosh, the Supt. of Public Works
and the Asst. Town Engineer in an endeavor to
Highway straighten out the matter so thrt it would not
take further time with the Board.
Betterment Discussion arose as to whether or not if a
lot such as Lot #68 which barely touches the new
Assessment. construction receives only a partial benefit, can I
it again be assessed in the future if a street
is constructed by th't lot.
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In other words, if a small portion of lot #68
is assessed at this time because of the eonZ'
struction of Prospect Hill Road and at some
time later Wachusett Drive, including the short
branch past lot #68 is built, can a betterment
be charged at that time against lot #68.
The matter was referred to the Supt. of
Public Works to take up with the Town Counsel.
Mr. Custance reported that he was at the
Concord Court when one of the officers of the Town
had some of the boys up for discharging fire
Police Officers arms within 200 feet of the highway, and the
officer seemed to be extremely weak as far as
prosecuting his ability to prosecute the case was concerned.
He felt that the matter should be taken up with
cases in the Chief of Police and request hi-1 to see that
his men be instructed more completely in the
court. prosecution of cases.
The Supt. of Public Works reported that now
that the Trask sewer had been connected up, Mr.
Trask will not allow Mr. Ripley to enter the
Trask & Ripley sewer on his property.
The Board, after discussing the matter,
Sewer, felt th't a mistake had been made in not putting
the sewer in the sidewalk and in fact innot
putting in a deeper sewer at that point inMass.
Avenue which would be a section that would be
completed when a sewer is constructed in Mass.
Avenue.
The question arose as to how they are now
going to solve Mr. RipleyTs problem.
Expenditures Information was received from Mr. Albert A.
on water Ross , Supt. of the Water Department, giving the
mains in expenditures on water mains in private ways
private ways. for the past five years .
Water & Sewer Commitments were signed for water charges
commitments in the amount of $51383.36, andsewer charges in
signed. the amount of $512.65.
Water & Sewer Abatement was signed for the water Depart-
abatement. meet in the atnount of '146.92, and Sewer Depart-
ment in the amount of 78. 29.
The meeting adjourned at 11:50 P.M.
A true record, Attest
Clerk.
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