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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1933-09-12352 SELECTMEN'S MEETING , SEPTEMBER 12, 1933. 4 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building on Tuesday evening, Sept- ember 121, 1933 at 7:30 P. M. Messrs. Trask, Gilcreast, Fergu- son, O'Connell and Lyons were present. The Clerk was also present. Mr. Arey Greeriblot of Waltham.. Mass. came before the Board to request that he be granted a license to collect junk in the town. He stated that while he always lived in Waltham he had never had a license to collect junk there, but had always had a license in Lexington for a period of 32 years, but owing to ill- ness he was unable to carry on the business the l9st few years. He felt there was sufficient business for more than one man to collect junk in the town and that his reputation had been very good. The Board considered the matter and voted to grant him a license at the rate of $50. a year making the charge proportion- ate to May lst. Zoning Complaint was received from the residents of Vaille Avenue Law, of the business conducted by Harrison E. Smith at 28 Vaille ' Avenue in violation of the Zoning Law, and asking for immediate action toward elimination of the nuisance. Report was received from the Building Inspector in which he stated that he investigated conditions and found a trucking business being carried on in violation of the Zoning Law. Mr. Smith, however, desired two weeks to consult his own attorney and _J, he granted Sam -the privilege. 1 It was decided to acknowledge receipt of the petition and inform them that investigation will be made. The following commitments were signed by the Board; Water Charges $9,327.58 Sewer Claim 47.77 Public Welfare 9,553.80 Garage Hearing was declared open upon the application of Clarence Barry. W. Barry for permission to maintain a two car garage of wooden construction at lots 2-3 Bertwell Road. Mr. Barry appeared and presented plan showing the proposed garage. No persons appeared in opposition and it was voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of the Building In- spector. Garage Hearing was delared open upon application of Robert W. ' Cobham. Cobnam for permission to erect and maintain a one car garage of ' "second class construction at lot 145 Cory Avenue. Mr. Cobnam presented plans for the construction of the garage and no persons appeared in opposition and it was therefore voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of the Building Inspector. L 1 Hearing was declared open upon the application of Jobn Nordberg of 57 Concord Street, Maynard for permission to main- tain a one car garage of cement block construction at Marrett Road. Plans of the proposed garage were presented and no persons appeared to object. It was therefore voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of the &.iilding Inspector. Hearing was declared open upon the application of Margaret R. Crocker '_6fr,544 Middle`Street,for'permlrsion to maintain a one ear garage of wooden construction at that location. Plans of the proposed garage were presented and no persons appeared to -object. It was therefore voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of the Building Inspector. Hearing was declared open upon the application of M. Law- rence Allen of 24 Outlook Drive for permission to maintain a two car garage of wooden construction at 24 Outlook Drive. Mr. O'Connell represented Mr. Allen whose plans of the garage were on file. No persons appeared to object and it was voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of the Building Inspector. Tnere being such a variance in the garbage bids it was decided to have a number of the bidders present to explain how they intended to handle the garbage situation and show what experience they have had. Mr. William Dailey came before the Board and explained that he had a two ton Ford truck in which he would collect and deliver the swill in Concord and Walltham. he has no pre- vious experience but ne understood that garbage was collected in Concord for $1200., Maynard $900., Norwood $3400., and Fitchburg $1200. He did not believe that the NRA would affect him any as he could deliver tine garbage himself the same night. He would provide bond through the Mass. Bonding Co. 353 Garage Nordberg. Garage Crocker. garage Allen. Variance in Garbage Bids Mr. Thomas J. Carroll of Burlington came before the Board and stated that he was willing to collect the garbage for $2400 a year. He collected at various hotels and Jordan Marsh and Gilchrist Stores in Boston and theme had been no complaints. He had no experience with town collections, however. He stated that he and his brother worked together, they own tneir own property free of encumbrance and has 2$0 pigs to feed to and that he did not sell garbage, had never sold it, and did not intend to sell it. He would arrange to take care of the m llec- tion witn four men if the forty hour week was necessary. In answer to the question as to who wouldiactuallj collect the garbage, he stated that he and his brother would be on the truck and that his brother had two sons that ',would also be used and that no other outside labor would be required. Mr. Frank Dias came before the Board and stated that he would feed his 300 pigs at Concord on the collections. iia-k►--- 354 CA Iie had one two ton truck. He now gets his garbage from Cam- bridge. He intended to work himself and would provide bond of , the Mass. Bonding Co. His bid was $6750, for three years. Mr. Edward F. Gorman of Woburn came before the Board and stated that he collected garbage from the City of Woburn and had two trucks and four men. He collected in Woburn in the years 1926, 1927, 1930 and 1931 and would provide compensation insur- ance and a bond. His bid was $3760, per year. Mr. John Shea of Belmont came before the Board and stated that he collected garbage in Belmont in 1917 and 1918 as he re- called. He stated that the NRA hours would not bother him and ne understood that the collections should be made twice each week and every day at the stores. His bid was $4200* a year. Mrs. Annie Bunzel of East Street, came before the Board. Her bid was $12,750, but her dauhter stated that they would be willing to reduce the bid to 110,500. Their man who would handle the garbage was employed by them for the past ten years. Tney nave three trucks and can have another truck equipped for the collection. Tney pay taxes amounting to $800. in the .town and have no other business from which. to obtain an income., They have 500 pigs in Woburn to feed. Mr. August Young of Laconia Street came before the Board ' and stated that he had a man who was now working for Ryder who would take care of the garbage collection. He had a Chevrolet truck but would buy another truck if necessary. He would have two men besides the driver of the truck. Sixteen years ago�he paid $100000. for the collection of garbage in Malden. He had no experience collecting, however. John Connors, present holder of the contract for the col+ - lection of garbage, came before the Board and stated that he had experience with the collecting of garbage and felt that it could not be done for an amo-int lower than he bid. He outlined the territory of collection, fnd stated that he would reduce his bid to $4800. a year provided he would not�,'�'affected by the NRA. He stated that when he took the contract three years ago there were 1500 houses to collect from and now there are 2100 houses. He was equipped to put out eight or nine men if necessary and tie also had four horses in addition to his two trucks. He has been making the collection by working three men twelve hours a day. After considering the matter the Board decided to award the bid to Thomas J. Carroll of Burlington at his bid of $7200 for tnree years. Waltham Mr. Groombridge came before the Board with Mr. Luigi Ferriz- Street zani of Waltham Street who owns a farm .through whicn he claimed ' Brook. the town dug a diten placing the brook in a different place than it was originally in causing nim the inconvenience of not being 355 Able to drive across the brook. He also wanted to get an abate- ment for a part of the low land and thelBoard informed that he would nave to take the matter up with toe Assessors•. The Board also informed him that they felt that the digging of the brook which had been -so long since covered in that the course of the brook could not be seen, Was an improvement to his property. Town Counsel, Sydney R. tVrightingtpn came before the Wood St. Board and Mr. Vincent Brogna who had brought suit against the town to recover damages for land taken in the relocation of Wood Street. Town Engineer presented plan snowing the land taken and Mr. Brogna explained that he Was aggrieved by the manner in which the land was taken leaving him a small piece of land which would have to be granted 'to his neignbors as it was of no use to him, and taking 250 feet of the most level part of his land leaving this distance to fill to the grade of the street* tie stated that according to the records of the County Commissioners there were 38,500 square feet taken by one parcel and 19,200 square feet taken by the second parcel, and the plan presented did not show that amount taken. tie also stated that this one taking of the two parcels) of land from him was practically equal to all other land taken from all of the other abutters on that street. He also understood that there was only to be a widening of the street but did not 'now there was to be ' a relocation and he felt that it was not necessary for a reloca- tion in a rural district of that kind. Mr. Brogna stated that ne obtained figures from Tomasello Company of 35 to 40V a cubic yard for fill and $1.25 a square yard for the top and judging from these figures he thougnt it would cost approximately $3000. to fill his land as the distance to he filled ran from 80 to 90 feet back and 250 feet fronting on the street. He therefore felt that $2000. was a fair amount to ask of the Board and inasmuch as the case was listed for trial soon he felt tg:a satisfactory settlement could be made that he might be willing to settle, otherwise he would continue the case be- fore a jury. He stated also that he was aggrieved by the manner in which the men working on Wood Street left his property as the links in his fence were broken and the town wilt a catch basin and dumped the water into his brook. He purposely moved his house near this brook and he did not like the idea of having the surface water dumped into it, and the water is stagnant so that it becomes a source for flies. Tne Board agreed sometime ago to take care of this matter and again informed Mr. Brogna that they would see that this condition was cleaned up. Mr. Wrightington felt that Mr. Brogna had 45 acres of land and only a small amount of the frontage was changed and he felt that the property was worth a lot morai,witn the water and a new road than it was prior to the taking of the land. Mr. Brogna felt that this was the most level part of the land that was taken and also that the water could have been put in the old road so that he did not believe it could be consid- ered an improvement. 356 cr The Board inquired of Mr. Brogna if he would be willing to ' have the town do the filling and at first he felt that he did not like the way the man work and he was not sure when the work would be completed. He also felt that in addition to filling in this land he should be entitled to $1000, for the land taken that would be of 1 n no use to him. After Mr. Brogna retired the Board informed the Town Counsel that he should endeavor to settle with Mr. Brogna for $1000, but to start first with $500. offer and to report to the Board at the next meeting. Shea In regard to the Shea Drainage proposition, Town Counsel re - Drainage. ported that owing to the stoppage of water on Mass. Avenue at Oak Street and accidents occurring as a result, he advised Mr. Scamman to open up the drain in the Shea property. He obtained permission from Donald Shea's attorney, but Donald Shea objected and informed Mr. Scamman that he would fill in the brook. Mr. Scamman dug the ditch farther than Counsel felt needed. Counsel felt, however, that some permanent study should be made of the situation. The matter of employing an engineer to study the situation (Taxi was left until the next meeting. Thomas Montague who operates a taxi from Grain Mill Alley, Stand. so called, came before the Board and inquired if he could have a taxi stand on Mass. Avenue. The Board requested him to find out what location he desired and they would give the matter con- sideration. Federal Mr. Gilcreast reported that he and the Supt. of Public Loan. Works, Town Engineer and Supt. of the Water and Sewer Depto went before the Committee on Federal Loan relative to obtaining funds for the construction of the stand -pipe and trunk line sewer. Mr. Bartlett, Chairman of the Board, informed him that the forms of application were not in proper form and stated that in- formation should be furnished in accordance with Project #2• There was considerable legal data necessary and this was turned over to Mr. Wrightington for his attention. Mr. Bartlett looked with favor upon the proposition of the sewer, but he did feel that the standpipe job would not put many men to work in the town and therefor this proposition might not be approved by the Governors Board. Mr. Ross communicated with the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works and was informed by them that 75$ of the men would be New England men that would be employed to construct the standpipe. Upon Mr. Gilcreast's recommendation it was decided to present both projects at one time to the Federal Emergency Finance Board. Trunk Proposals for the construction of the trunk line sewer in Line Mass. Avenue were received from John Williams and Anthony Ross Sewer. & Son. Proposals were received in four different ways and Anthony Ross & Son were the lowest bidders. 1 n 357 ' Figures were also presented by Mr. Foss for the construc- tion by the Town. After considering the proposition the Board felt that the job should be let to a reliable contractor, and Mr. Ferguson also felt that there was no particular reason why the town should purchase all the materials for the contractor and that the bids should be rewritten so that the contractor would purchase his own materials. The Supt. of Public Works was therefor requested to write up new proposals for bids on this basis.' Letter was received from the aupt. of Public Works re- Spellman lative to the ceiling of the kitchen of Walter Spellman which Ceiling, had fallen because of the necessity of blasting in Sargent Street while constructing the sewer. Mr. Spellman wanted to put up wall board in place of the plaster, and the Supt. re- commended that this be done and the bill paid later. The Board advised the Supt. to make,an offer of $15. to Mr. Spellman and let him do the work himself. It was voted unanimously to appointlJohn W. Rycroft of Sergeant. 10 Spencer Street, Lexinton, as Sergeant of the Police De- partment at a salary of 143.75 a week. Notice of action of contract aga'nstk the town was re- Worcester ceived from the City of Worcester. The only bill outstand- Suit. ' Ing is a Welfare Bill amounting to $71. for aid rendered to Mildred C. Erwin, who has a settlement in the town of Lex- ington. It was voted to pay the bill and cancel suit. Lester E. Smith of 34 Clarke Street 'was drawn as Juror Juror. for Civil Session. Application of Ruth M. Woodward of 15 Dexter Road, to Board board children was referred to the Clerk for investigation. Children. Letter was received from Philip E. merry of 35 Clarke Tree - Street relative to the serious condition of the maple tree Clarke in front of his house. Mr. Garrity reported no money in the Street. tree department to do the work on the tree. The matter was referred to the Chairman. Letter was received from the Town Counsel relative to O'Connell the garage permit of Mr. O'Connell located in the rear of Garage 1775 Mass. Avenue. The information was relative to the garage Zoning having been built after !-he new Zoning Law. This garage, Law. however, was built in 1925 prior to that Zoning Law. Mr. O'Connell explained that gasoline had been sold there by the first occupant of the garage and the tank only contains 500 gallons. ' Letter was received from the Town Counsel relative to the Acts acceptance of Chapter 318 of the Acts of 1933. He Stat0d that 1933, if the Town insures against liability under Chapte3+'40 that Tt would not apply and if the town had accepted G. L. Cnapter 41, 358 c� �c 'Section 100-a it should be amended. It was decided to inform ' Mr. Wrightington that the town had not accepted Chapter 41 Section:100-a and that the town does insure against liability. Cesspool Report was received from the Health Inspector of his in - ,'Report* vestigation of cesspool complaints and cleaning up of the stores. Estabrook It was voted to allow the Board of Trade the use of Estabrook Hall. Hall for their meetings at the minimum rate of $3. an evening. Use of The Telephone Supervisors desired the use of Cary Memorial Cary hall for a banquet to Miss Clahane, retiring operator. hall. It was suggested that they might arrange to hire the Belfrey Club hall. Sidewalk The Board voted to pass the Sidewalk Orders for construction Orders. of 14 Grant Street, 503 Waltham Street, and 27 Edgewood Road. Selwyn Board of Survey plan of harry Johnson of Arlington showing Bow St. lag out of land located off Mass. Avenue opposite Bow Street on Plan, plan dated May 1933, Joseph Selwyn, C. E., Belmont, Mass. Meeting adjourned at midnight. A true record, Attest: Chairman tpd Clem Pro. Tem. ' a 1