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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1929-10-22 392 SELECTMENTtS MEETING - OCT. 22, 1929. ZS A regular meeting of the Board. of Selectmen was held at the Selectments Office, Town Office Building at 7 30 P.M Messrs . Burnham, Custance , Chamberlain, Shannon and Blake were present. The oupt. of Public Works and. the Clerk were also present . At 8 P.M. hearing ',Pr - declarednpen upon the application of John Craige for permission to erect a two J. Craige car garage on his premises at 70 Farmcrest Avenue. Mr. permit F. A. Connor appeared on behalf of the applicant; No granted. persons appeared to object, andit was voted to grant the permit to Mr. Craige. At 8 10 P.M. hearing was declared open upon the application of the E.E.I Co. for permission to construct a conduit in Mass . Avenue from Woburn Street to Grant Street, a distance of approximately 860t and from Grant Underground Street northerly, a distance of approximately 95t . conduit. Mrs . Caroline Harrington appeared at the meeting and asked whether or not any construction work would be done on her land. She also asked if the construction would be done under the brook. She was informed that all of the construction would be done entirely under the highway and not on her property No other persons appeared to inquire or object, and it was voted to grant the permit. Letter was received from the County Commissioners County in which they asked that the Board give them a statement 'Comm. re of the amount that they would request the following construction year for the Town for construction of highways in which of highways. they would also ask the State and County to contribute. The Board decided to notify the County that they would request the reconstruction of Mass . Avenue from Marrett Road v'ast'ly at the estimated cost of $600000. Letter was received from the Supt . of Public Street Works in which he recommended that street lights be Lights . placed as follows: One at Harding Road nearly opposite Dee Road, 6 in Shade Street from Spring Street north- .westerly, and one in Washington Street near the tennis courts . The Board instucted. the Supt. to carry out his recommendation. Rudolph Carlson, whose decision was not made on the granting of his permit at the hearing last week owing to R. Carlson the fact that he did not have the proper plans filed, garage. .. appeared before the Board with the plans of a metal garage which he intended to construct. The Board therefore granted the rermit, the plans being satisfactory. 393 Letter was received from Mrs . J. Odin Tilton in regard to the order of the Board stating that there Letter re should be no smoking in the main ball of the Cary smoking in Memorial Building and in the foyer, and notifying Cary Hall. the Board that arrangements had been made to have smoking on the occasion of November 9 and expressing their disappointment. Letter was also received from Lyon Carter giving his opinion that when arrangements were• made for the rental of the Hall, no mention had been made of the Letter re fact that there could be no smoking and inasmuch as smoking in that is the usual proceedure for a "pop" concert, he Cary Hall. felt it not just to pass this order after their plans had been all made. The Board decided to reverse their decision in this particular ease, but to call their attention to the fact that the Hall on another occasion when used by one other organization of the Town was not left in a very good condition. Alcohol license was granted to Arthur B. Field Alcohol to sell alcohol at 851 Mass . Avenge. license. . Letter was received from the Dept. of Public Utilities stating that there will be a hearing on Novem- Hearing, her 7, 1929 at 10:30 in the forenoon at room 166, State House . State House, relative to rates of the E.E.I. Co. Letter was received from the Chief of Police in which he informed the Board that the complaint made by George A. Simonds about a hog o-ned by one Patrick J. Complaint re Fitzgerald, 66 Hancock Street assFulting him while he Fitzgerald was riding on a bicycle and the s, sault was committed dog. on August 3. Whe complaint was not signed by Dr. Kane until August 7, and therefore the complaint was null and void and the Clerk of Court would not issue a complaint inasmuch as thee complaint had not been made within 48 hours. The Dennison complaint had never been brought to the' attention of the Town Clerk, and therefore they cannot proceed criminally in the Dennison case, although Mr. Dennison and Mr.. Simonds would have civil action against the owner of the dog. Letter was received from the 3upt. of Public Works in which he explained that h3 had looked up the records in regard to Independence Avenue and could not find any taking that had been made by the Highway M. Page or Sewer Departments on the land o" Mr. Maurice Page. abatement Therefore, he did not believe Mr. Page was entitled to discussed. an abatement. Discussion was had as to whether or not the orders of Hill and. Delaney to the Lexington Plumbing and Heating Co. and to the Lexington Coal Co. ahould not be honored. 394 Bills of The bills apparently take up more than the 15% which Hill and is being held on the contract of Hill and Delaney for Delaney. the construction of the swimming pool. Mr. Burnham stated that Elmer x. Lord & Co. informed the Town Accountant that the bond in connection with Hill and Delaney hadnot been paid. The Boardtherefore decided not to make any payments until the 65 days were up after the acceptance of the contract. Inasmuch as the plans of Marrett Gardens that Plan, were originally approved were mislaid, the Board approved Marrett Gar- another plan of the layout. dens. Copy of letter was, received by F. L. Emery, from Charles MacMillin, Chairman of the Arlington Planning Board, stating that there would be a hearing on October 23 at 8 P.M. , at the Arlington Town Hall, to hear those interested in the proposed highway through Arlington which is to connect with a similar highway in Lexington; also copy of correspondence that Mr. Emery had with the Metropolitan Planning Board regarding the proposed rbad through Lexington starting from Arlington easterly to the Center, going over to Summer Street and then to follow a point northeast of Lexington with a connection to the Concord Road as laid out on the plan of the Metropolitan Planning Division Proposed The purpose of the new plan is to be to divert highway. traffic from the heart of Arlington and Lexington. The total cost of the sections in Lexington was $460,000. Mr. Harriman explained that his t} ought was that the cost of the project should be divided into three equal portions among the State , County and Town. This would mean that Lexington's portion of the cost would be about $153,000, and this extended over a periodof from three to five years he felt would not be placing any serious burden upon the Town, It was suggested also that the plan might be modified , provided the Metropolitan District pay 15% which would slightly 'reduce the portions paid by the County, State and Town. In Mr. Emery's reply he suggested that they might use the Lowell turnpike , and that he felt the expense to the Town of Lexington would be very great to enter into at this time . The Board, after considering the proposition, thought that owing to the various calls for needs of the Town, such as school houses and other buildings, that the Town could not afford at this time , to e-ter into a project of this kind, inasmuch as the tax rate would have to be increased considerably to meet the expense. The Supt. of Public Works was requester to see if Wilton Sign. the Wilton Real Estate Co. on Mass . Avenue would change the color of the light of their sign on their building from red to white , owing to the color being misleading with the traffic signals so near at hand. 395 Letter was received from Sheldon A. Robinson calling attention to the fatality which occurred at the junction of 'Val.tham Street and Mass. Avenue, and stated that he felt that the lights were incorrectly timed. The Clerk reported that the Police Dept. stated Fatality that the man to blame did not have any brakes on his at junction car and it was also rumored that Mrs. G. W. Spaulding, of Waltham St, who was killed, after starting across the street, & Mass. Ave. started to go back when she saw the car stop. It was decided to inform Mr. Robinson that the lights have been approved by the State and also inform him that they understood the accident was due to faulty brakes. The Supt. of Public Works stated that the signs warning traffic lights ahead. would be ready to put up in the very near future . Mr. Theodore A. Custance brought up the fact that Mr. A. J. Lima and the Swenson Brothers were asking Clematis him about the lowering of Clematis Brook in their Brook. section so that they might be able to use their land for cultivation. He reporte that the work done on the lower part of the 'rook near the Moran property, had done some good, but at this upper end, considerable work would be necessary before the land could be used. The Supt of Public Works was requested to get the figures on the estimated cost of doing the work on this end with a view to having the owners of the property pay the expense in betterments , and submit the figures to the Board. Discussion arose as to whether or not the procedure on Hill Street would be the same as on other streets where betterment assessments were made. The Clerk in conversation with Mr. Wrightington, , Hill was advised that if assessments were not made, the Street. Board should make provision for protection to themselves by securing the signatures of the owners for a release of damages. It- appeared that the Board did not feel that this was the proper thing to do and it was therefore decided to proceed un-'er the law autl-orizing the assessment of betterments and explain to the owners of the property that they would not assess betterments unless damages were asked. Letter was received from Carl Hauck of Harbell Street, in which he gave information in regard to the layout of Old Couhty Road. He asked that something Old County be done to put the street in condition. Road. Inasmuch as the records show that this was part of the Old Road that existed at the time of the Revolution and inasmuch as it has been abandoned for some time , the Board thought it might be wise to refer the matter to the Planning Board for a study of the 396 territory with a view to recommending the layout of a highway. The Assistant Town Engineer, Stanley Higgins , pree . ented a plan showing the territory with a tentative layout of a street thereon. The weekly report of the Supt. of Public Works is as follows : For the week ending October 19, 1929 . Highway Department. The department was occupied with the regular maintenance work and the constructing of Coolidge Avenue, Hillside Terrace and Harding hoad . Surface patches were made in Cedar Street, Adams Street and Bedford Street. Next week the department will continue the const auction of 54arious streets and the regular maintenance workl Moth & Shade Tree Dept. Gypsy moth nests were treated with creosote on Adams , Cedar, Merriam, Oakland and Lincoln Streets. The Department will be occupied with this work next week. Park Department . 111 A wall was constructed around the Old Belfry to meet the bottom of the fence recently built. Regular maintenance work was carried on. Next week the department will be occupied with the regular maintenance work and the construction of new tennis courts at the Center Playground. Water Maintenance. We hp.ve installed water services as follows Richards and Swenson on Spring Street; renewal for Busa on Bow Street. "mater Construction. We have completed the Spring Street job, and a total of 850' of pipe has been laid. Two hydrants have been set. We have started the construction of the Massachusetts Avenue water mein. Sewer Maintenance. 11We have installed a sewer service to Emeryts garage on Oakland Street. The work contemnlated for the week ending November2nd is as follows : Mass Ave. water main water and sewer services p10;11 Engineering Dept. Sewers. Record plan started for Mass. Ave. sewer at Concord Hill. Highway. Grade stakes set along Follen Road et church property. Miscellaneous. Continued work on Hill Street plan. Worked on acceptance plan of Taft Avenue from Baker Avenue to Ellie Street. Topographical survey in the vicinity of Webb Street. Staked out and figured approximate areas of two proposed lots for a new schoolhouse on Allen Street. A proposed location for a boulevard from Lowell Street to Bedford. Street with elevations plotted on a town map for the Metropolitan Planning Division. Yours very truly, William S. Scamman Supt. of Public Works._ The meeting adjourned at 10.26 P.M. H true r-cord, h'ttest: Clerk.