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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1931-01-06 389 SELF,CTMEN 'S MLETING J 1N ARY 6, 1331. A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectann's Room, Town Office nuilding, at 7 30 P.M. Messrs . Burnham, Custance , Trask, Blake and Shannon were present. The Supt . of Public Works sad the Clerk were also present. The Board voted to grant an Auctioneer's License to Ralph Elve''t, 59 No. Hancock St. , he laving filed the necessary three letters of recommendation as to his character. Officer Barry was called before the Board by ter. Trask who called him before the Board to give him the reward which is given by the Farm Bureau. He stated Reward to that last summer Mr. Ballard lost some of his nirs and Officer reported it and Officer Barry found the boys who were Barry. responsible and took them into `'ourt ; he secured a conviction. The rule of the Farm Bureau is that an award is made to the persons who receive a conviction for an offense of this kind. ' r Trask therefore presented Officer Barry with a check in appreciation of his good work. Letter was received from the Town Counsel in which he stated thi.t he went to Waltham to court to prosecute the Brophy case, and the Attorney for the otter side Brophy decided that he did not wish to t-y the case, and Case. therefore it was non-suited. Mr. Wrightington had ordered anrexecution of the costs in this case. Letter was received from the Town counsel in regard to the case of Frank Perkins , in which he recommended that Mr. Perkins receive a copy of th- lette written to Mr. A. N. Maddison on December 2, 1330, regarding the Perkins application to the ?pard of Appeals, In regard to the gasoline application, he felt that it was entirely proper for the Selectmen to consider in its decision that the Town holds an execution for over $150 against Mr. Perkins Perkins which the Selectmen have instructed him to Case. collect, and Mr. Perkins made no answer to his demands and made no suggestion if ever he would nay it. The Board considered the matter of whether or not Mr. Perkins was entitled to continue with the business of repairing automobiles on the premises at 542 Mass . Avenue, Lexington, and inasmuch as the Town Counsel instructed that it was up to the Board of Selectmen to decide the question as toswhether he was entitlea to this use, the Board voted to 7o on record as approving the continuance of the Business on the property owned by F. W. Perkins at 542 Mass. Avenue, for the purpose of repairing automobiles, wagons and other similar conveyances . In reg-Ird to the application of Mr. F. W. Perkfans for a permit to instill gasoline tanks in the amount of Perkins 2000 gallons at 542 Mass. Avenue, the Board voted to gasoline give Mr. "erkins leave to Withd-raw his application to install tanks. the gasoline tanks . 6 J 390 Mr. Trask reported " c" irdin; the matter which has been discussed many times relative to the appropriation l� for the District Nu-sing Association from the Town funds . The Town Counsel of Lexington ruled that this could Apnrop- not be done. In Arlington, the Tewn Counsel ruled that riation it could be done and. a copy or the Arlington article for Dist . in the Warrant was placed before the Board which showed Nurse Assoc. that an appropriation is made for district and oth. r nursing. Mr. Trask decided to take the matter up with the Town Counsel of Lexington to find o.zt if he would advise putting an article in our Annual Warrant similar to the Arlington irticle. Bill for $42.75 listing the Visits made in tuberculosis cases ,y the Pu lie Health Association was approved by the Board for the visits made in 1930. Letter was received from Mr. Charles F Pierce Acknowledge- thanking the Board of Selectmen for the gift of ?old ment of presented to Mr. & Mrs C F. Pierce on the oc-asion gift. of their 30th wedding anniversary. Letter was recei ed from Mrs Elmer King, corner Complaint Reed and Ash S,_reets , complaining of the hark;ng of re barking dogs in the neighborhood. of dogs . Letter was written to Mrs K-tng asking if she could state who the owners of the dogs were. In regard to the ap >lication for a gara 'e license of Lawrence A. Husted, 36 Ke,.dall Road, M-. Custance II and Mr Burnham viewed the premises and stated that they Rusted believed Mr. Husted could place the garan^e on his garage premises so that there would be one row of fruit trees permit. between the garage and Mr McElman's house, and therefore voted to grant the permit provided Mr Husted was willing to do this. Letter was received from Mr. S. A. Benson, Clerk of the Board of Public Works of Arlington, in which he stated in regard to the request of this Board 6.5 Culvert, reimburse the Town of Lexington to the extent of Arl.-Lex. $431.66 for the construction of a corrugated culvert Line . in Le\i.n,ton, near the Arlington Line, that the Town Counsel of Arlington informed him that it would not be legal to reimburse Lexington for this expense. The Board voted to appoi. it Mr. Osborne J. Gorman as the Supt. of the Moth Department for the year ending Appoint- 131 subject to the approval of the State Forester. ments . The Board voted to appoint Mr. Edward W. Taylor as Forest Fire Warden for the year 1931 subject to the approval of the State Forester. Town Counsel BillTownCounsel of the for his services in the bill,R-vder Ryder case in the amount of $1074.50 was approved by Case. the Board. Abatement Letter was received from the Middlesex & Boston Street of M.& B. Railwayregarding St. Rwy.Co. Co.. the abatement of taxes on their taxes . property. The Board of Selectmen deeided to write a letter to the Board of Assessors advising them that through no fault of 391 the Middlesex a. Boston Street Railway Co. the transfer of the property to the Town did not occur before Aoril 1st,. and advising the abatement of the tax. Mr. Custance broarht ap the matter of disposal of the land purchased by the Town from the Middlesex & Boston Street Railway Co. which land was purchased when the Public Works Dept. was purchased. He presented a plan drawn up by the Engineer showing the right-of-way on this property and a proposed division of each parcel which might be made. This would allow the extension of Ledgelawn Avenue Disposal of to Bedford Street and give the Dix Lumber Co. and the Land pur- Home Finance Co. several lots on this street. chased from The matter was left with Mr . Custance to study into M. & B. further. Mr. Edward V . Taylor came before the Board aa a result of a notice inserted in the paper regarding the Five Forks Service Station, stating that no inspection Gasoline had been made by the Fire Dept. of the tanks when they permits. were installed. In asmuch as one of the Oil Cos. stated that they had notified the Fire Dept. when ready for inspection in this particular case, and dr. Taylor did not believe that they had notified their Dept., the Board requested Mr. Taylor to make up some forms so that the request and the statement of inspection can be given in writing and thereby eliminate any misunderstanding that might occur between the Oil Company and the Fire Dept. Mr. Taylor agreed to do this . Mr. Taylor had taken the matter up with the State Fire Marshall and was advised by him to make the inspections as best he could on the ground and he gave a report showing • that; he had made an inspection of the premises under date of January 6, 1931, and stated that the information he wanted was the number of tanks that had already been installed. He found upon consulting with the State Fire Marshall that all the permits in the Town hai been handled incorrectly inasmuch as the Selectmen should vote to grant a permit and the permit should not be issued until after all of the installations had been inspected by the Fire Department and approved by him and then the permit could be issued. Mr . Taylor stated that when the application is received, it should be sent to him to see whether or not he approved of the location generally, and then the Board of Selectmen should hold a hearing on the application. Mr. Burnham stated that he und'rstood from the Fire Marshall who called him on the telephone, that the Board should ratify the action taken in previous permits granted, inasmuch as it was not the intention of the Board to violate any of the regulations. The Botrd passed the following vote to correct all action previously taken on gasoline filling stations which are now in operations The Board of Selectmen hereby confirm and ratify all action taken concerning the granting of permits for the storage or sale of gasoline within the limits of the Town of Lexington prior to Tuesday, January 6, 1931 that are already in mperation. Albert H. Burnham Hallie C. Blake Board of Theodore A. Custance Robert P. Trask Selectmen of Clarence Shannon Lexington 392 Letter was received from J. V. Morse, representing la i7 the Layman's League in which he asked if the Board would Layman's grant the reduced rate again this year for the use of i) League Cary Memorial Hall as they did last year, inasmuch as the Request proceeds from the Play af{e given to the Public Health Association. The report of the Town Engineer was received on the drainage of Lex,ngton Park Property. He stated that the Drainage, flow of the drainage would not effect the wells of the Lex.Park owners of the property in that section, provided another Proper*y. cemetery was established on the Lexington Park Property. hearing was declared open at 8 F.M. on the petition of the N.E.Tel. & Tel . Co. and the E.E.I. Co. for erection Pole of 11 poles on Mass . Avenue northwesterly from Wood Street location. and easterly from Larrett Road , four poles . This was taking Bare of the relocation of Massachusetts Avenue which was recently done. Mr. William P. herbert came to view the plan but did not register any objection. The Board voted to grant the petition. Mr. Edward J. Gavin, Sr. came before the Board again regarding the settlement of damages on his property. Mr. Gavin stated that he thought he was entitled to $2000. The Gavin's Board informed him that the County Commissioners believed highway that the street was a benefit to him, and that there was no damages . damage to his property; that the land was improved by the layout of the street. Mr. Gavin stated that they did not notify him that the street was being laid out, and he did not think it was: fair for anyone to take a person's land without even notifying them that they were going to do it. The Board asked Mr. Gavin what his opinion was of the layout made by the Town Engineer showing the three lots of land left on the right hand side of the street, and which showed what might be transferred to other owners of the ad- jacent property provided the whole highway is abandoned. Mr Gavin stated that he approved of the layout . The Board made an offer of $300 to Mr. Gavin allowing him to retain the three lots and to make the transfers of the necessary property to complete the layout as made by the Town Engineer. Mr. Gavin felt that this was sufficiefit and after retiring to think the matter over, he stated that he world accept $500. The Board finally voted to give him $500 for the land taken for street purposes and to allow him the three lots remaining on the right hand side of the street and provided he make the transfers of the property of the Town as laid out by the Town Engineer. Mr. Gavin stated that he was sktisfied. Commitment of water charges in the amount of $241.42; Commit- Water rates in the amount of 5253.35; Hydrants in the ments amount of $1417 .50 and sewer charges in the amount of $131.77 were sin-led by the Board. 393 The copies of the Pa' ing Regulations which had been Parking previously adopted we-e handed to the Board so that they might Regu- cons ider whatever changes necessary and br ng the Regulations lations . all togother Providing a penalty foe the violation of the regulations . Notice was served aeon the Town Treasurer by the PepA;r Sheriff to appear at ,ast Cambrid e on t.ie first ?r_onday of Febriary in connection with the case of damn;es of O'Connell vs . Town of Lexington, in establishing a O 'Connell Build' ng Line . case in court . Mr. ' ustance stated that Mr. O' Connell requested that Prompt action be taken in the case so that an award of damages may be made at an early date. The 13oard discussed the matter as to whether or not they should advise the Town Counsel to orocee0 too rapidly in the case , and voted t__at tl e Town Counsel be advised to proceed in the O' Connell case as speedily as consistent vdith the proper preparation. Mr. Trask called attention to the fact that Mr:' Garrity was desirous of cleanincr uo the property Request sArrounding the pumping station ' to clean and asked that he be given permission to do so.' up Pumping Mr. Scamman stated that he wouldive directions Station. as to where the material should be sent inasmuch as the material there belongs to the highway Department . 1 Letter was received from Mr. W. C. hill directed to James Stuart Smith, Chairman of the School Committee on Franklin School uonstructi.on, in welch he enclosed a Insurance on Policy of $50,000 covering the fire insurance on the Franklin Franklin School in its process o constriction. He also School. called attention that there is also $30,000 more binding on this school house which will be issued at a later date and #ill be cancelled when the property is placed upon the schedule. Letter was received from kr. Geor*e Ii. Bruce in which he stated that the guaranty gond given by Mr. Stack on the Stack property was Mr. Stack' own personal bond and did not have any effect upon the real estate. Spack It was decided to send a copy of this letter to water guar- Mr. D. J. O' Connell who is interested in straightening anty bond. out the property for Mrs. Stack. The Clerk reported that many persons were calling at the Selectmen's Office for employment , and at the presentUnemployment . time there seems to be nothing that they can be placed to work at for the Town. The Board discussed the estimates tentatively for the various departments . The estimates for 1931 have not all been received; the estimates that haee been filed are tentative and not in detail . Many of the estimates Estimates were approved 1931. 394[ ✓ Mr. Custance called attention to the fact that the Public Works Dept roof is leaking in the section occupied by the Water Department , so much so that pails had to be placed around to catch the water. He secured the following Public estimates on the repair of that part of the roof. Mr. Works Dept. Custance stated that that section the roof should be Bldg. Roof . fixed immediately and was an emergency measure. David R Jones $2367 .00 Ea le Cornice & Skylight Works 1792 00 It was voted to accept the bid of the Eagle Cornice & Skylight Works . Mr. Custance stated that there would he a ten year guarantee on the job of roofing. After considering the matter the Board voted to authorize Mr Cistance and the Supt. of Public works to proceed to hive the roof fixed, and to work out the derails . The Supt. of Public Works was instructed to have two police globes with the word "police" printed on, purchased Police so that one could be placed on the light recently installed light. in front of the town Office Building. The following is the weekly report of the Supt . of Public Works. For the week ending January 3, 1931. HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT The entire department was occupied with snow removal and sanding streets . Next week the regular maintenance work will be attended to unless it will be necessary to remove snow. MOTH & SHAnE TREE DEPT. Gypsy moth nests were treated with creosote and work done at tqe new quarters . Next week the work of treating moth nexts will be continued. PARK DEPARTMENT Regular maintenance work attended to and will be looked after next week. WATER & SEWER DEPARTMENT Water Maintenance Five men have been shovelling snow from hydrants . Moved stock from old shop to new Public Works Bldg. Water Construction We have laid 300 feet of 10" pipe in Wood Street . 1 395 The work contemplated for the week endinrc January 17th is as follows : Wood Street, water and sewer services , etc. EN(nTNEERING DEPARTMENT Highways Sta ed out Wood Street line at Syer property. Staked but proposed Mass.. Avenue lots at flavin- Kane properties . Staked out Hill Street lines near Cedar Street. Made bori_n,Ts on Lincoln Street proposed lines . Drainarse Continued plottin, of Vine '?rook survey from Hayes Lane to North Street . Sewers Mapped out 1030 Sewer construction work for appoint- ment with Metropolitan District Committee , January 5th. Miscellaneous glade street and lotting study adjacent to Burrill and Di'x Lumber 'omnany properties . Started work on1930 Town Report . Indexed_ plans "or office record. Yours very truly, William S. Scamman Supt . of Public Works The meetin7, adjourned at 12 :30 A.M. A true record, Attest : Clerk.