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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1934-03-06U n 535 SELECTMEN'S MEETING MIbRCH 61 1934. A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, on Tuesday March 6, 1934, at 7:30 P.M. Messrs. Trask; Gilcreast, Ferguson, O'Connell and Lyons were present. The Clerk was also present. The Board organized with Robert P. Trash as Chairman Organization by a unanimous vote. Mr. W 111am G. Potter. of Walnut Street was drawn as Juror a Juror for the Civil. Session at Lowell. The Board signed approval of the application of Geo. Peddler's W. PDrter of 39 Tarbel Avenue, Lexington, for a peddler's License License. Commitment of -a*ater liens in the amount of $244.40 Commitments and for water rates for the first: section in the amount of $6142.10 were signed by the Board. A. A. Ross, Supt, of Water & Sewer Department came be- fore the Board and presented another schedule showing the amount of overtime the water department employees worked, and also the amount of money the, would receive if they were paid time and a half for o-Tertime. Some of the men worked three weeks, some two and some one, and therefore they were unable to get in as much time. The Board discussed the matter of establishing a precedent if time and a half was paid and whether or not it would be better to pay them $10 for the extra time. It was felt, however, that all of the men sho-,ld not get $10 as they did not work the same length of time. It was finally decided that all those receiving over $20 for overtime sho-zld ;;et $10 and those under $20 should get $5. and Mr. Ross was requested to attend the mat- ter. Mr. Ross stated that Winchester paid time and a half for over time and double tir^_e for Sunday. Wakefield and Danvers alsa paid the same. Other towns such as Danvers and Belmont also paid over ti -e. The Supt., how07Ter, stated that .he felt that; the men would t)e satisfied with some Water -uept, Overtime payment for extra time as suggested by the Board. The Chair- man stated that he would ,arr'te a letter of appreciation to the men. o Mr. Ernest Glaorson came before the Board in r,,ferenee to obtaining a lien discliarge. He purchased the property at Glawson the corner of Mass. Avenue and School Street formerly owned property by Sarah Innis. He thought the property was all right and he pdid'the taxes. The mort,,age was placed by the Woburn banl�. He understood that ro taxes had been paid on the r 536 �c land for 40 years. He wanted to get the matter straig;btened out, and the Treasurer told him hewould have to wait until the next meting. Mr. O'Connell informed hi_m that he would agree to straighten the matter out for him. Mr. Cow,,hlin demanded. the use of one of the pumps owned Rental of by the Water Dept. to -pump out 1is cellar, and Mr. Ross stated PUMPS that he was unable to furnish the pump. rbi'ubed The Chairman palled attention to the fact that last ,year the Board voted that none of the town equipment should be used by private parties, and that pumps could be rented by Dersons needing them from parties owning them. Mr. Trask called attention to House Bill #246 by which House bill the water tax of the Metropolitan District will be apportioned #246 according to the u.se rather than the valuation_. The saving to the town would be ap-,roximatel7T $3000 and Mr. Ross was to attend the hearing tomorrow morning to favor the bill. Other of the small towns would also favor the bill on account! of the saving. Letter was receiv-d frog; Walter J. Rose of 6 TPw',-sbury Rose St. asking that something be done about the damage to his property property on account of the blasting in that vicinity. It was decided to requert Mr. Higgins, Ass t. Town f Engineer, to viow the property to ascertain the damage. The Board signed three contracts for the construction Contracts, of steel standpipe by McCl.intic Marshall Corporation. Bonds Steel covering the construction of the standpipe and the labor were Standpipe filed by the Corporation. Application to board two infants was -received from Boarding Mrs. Gertrude H. Emery of 361 Mass. Avenue, and was referred infants to the Clerk for check-up. Letter vias recel-ed from the County Engineers relative to the construction of Pleasant and Watertowns Streets. He Highway, stated'that while the figures given previously by Mr. Dalton Pleasant ''t.were $22,500 for pleasant Street and 15,000 on the new lo- cation on Watertown Street, ma'.-i_ng a 'total of $57,500 after Ding over the atter it was found thi't the cost would be n50,000. 1The Chairman stated that since the hearing the Town Engineer had been over the matTer with the State Engi- neer and the Countv Engine-r and ',.v ma?-Ing a slight curve in the road the deep cut that Mr. Kendall objected to, can be avoided, without making any material difference in the street. Mr. Dalton approved of the plan also. Let-er ,uas received from the Town Counsel in which he Montague stated that the Building Inspector turned over the case of Undertaker Mr. and Mrs. Montague for car,­ing on an undertaker's busi- Permit ness on the property of Mrs. Montague on Bedford St. in a 5 A 7 ' residence district. The Board discussed the matter considerably, and Mr. O'Con-nell_ felt that Pair. 'wontague would soon lose his home anyway, and that would be the end of the business. After discussing the riatt ;r it was d�cid>,,4, to notify the Town Counsel to ;soceed -;Inst Mr. & Mrs. Montague for operating an Undertaker's Office in a residence district, inasmuch as it was felt thlt if there ar,e violations of the zoning Law, and the Bui.ldinr Inspector, who duty it it to enforce the Zoning LM,,.r. sees fit to place the matter in the hands of the Town Counsel, Ts action should be sustained. Letter was receiverl frac the Tmrm Counsel i.n awl-ich he called attention to the procedure on foreclosure of tax titles. He enclosed copy of letter sent to the Town Trea- Tax fore - surer in whish it appears that erroneous descriptions have closure been made of the properties, and he recommended that Mr. sales Spencer be as' -ed to check the d.es: ­iptions. Town treas- urer Chairman explained that the Town Treasurer took Town to come the attitude that the To,,,n Counsel insulted him and that before Board he would employ other counsel., and that, inasmuch as he was an elected officer he would cond»^t his office as he wished. After discussing the mater it was decided to request Mr. Carroll and the Town Counsel to come before the Board to talk the matter over next Tuesday evening. ' The application of Mary R. Flye of Revere Street was Old Age laid on the table for one vvree?r for more information. Assistance In reference to the ap-olication for Old Age Assistance Mr. Gilcreast stat -(1 that Henrietta J. Dow was pa7ing'$5. per wee',_ for her room :1 t.h the use of the kitchenette, and therefore would be unable to pure'-u,_se her food if allmlied the $5 previously voted. He recommended that she be given $8, per week, and it was so voted. Report was received. from Mr. Stevenson in regard to the cesspool on proper -y o+rr_�=d by Mrs. Tamdini of Arlington Cesspool and located on Blossom Street. Mr. Canessa informed the Health Inspector that the cesspool was raked up and the water would not seep al°aajr, and would fill up as fast „s It was emptied. The Inspector advised an overflow should be built and the owner agreed to at --end to this as soon as possible. Report was received from the Health InsDector in re- ga,1d to the propertt- of John Fitzgerald of 66 Hancock St. Fitzgerald and condition of the coag barn. He recommended that Mr. Milk permit Fitzgerald should not cet any furter consideration in ref- erence to his milk permit. It vvas decided not to take any action a til April ist. Mr. Ross agreed to 'ila -1 fi turas tithin two weeks of water rates the 1953 water rates for comparison to see if a reduction would be made. 538 1 c� �c The Inspector for the Alcoholic Beverage Commission ' Lex.Fruit reported that one of the Grigor Brothers in the Lexington Beer & dine FrIlit Co. was not a cit';�en, and therefo--°e the license Issued to them would ~lave to .:e changed and the man would License not be able to handle liquor. Mr. Lyons stated that he would check up with the Com- mission, just what could be done, and report at the next meeting. Assessors The Board discussed the matter of appointment of As- sessors, but did not take any definite action. In reference to the appni_ntmer_t of the April 19th Com- m 1ttee, -it:Iras decided to appoint Eugene H. Partridge as Committee Cl -airman of the Committee and have him suggest to Mr. Trask ot'rer members he would like to have appointed. It was voted to renew compensation insurance on the Park & Jan. park Dept, and Janitors expiring on April lst, 19,54, thru Comp.Ins. the office of Elmer A. Lord & Co. Copies of the decisions of the Board "f Appeals granting Board of permission to the fol_lo,:�ing physicians to maintain offices Appeals we -e received: Dr. R. H. Wells, 1430 Mass. Ave.; Dr. C. R. permits Hardeastle, 57 Waltham St.; and Dr. Ivan G. Pyle, 11 Muzzey Stre=t. I Permit was also granted f;o Robbins & Smith to maintain _ a sign at 981 to 1003 Mass. Avenue provided the sign was reworded to advertise the property on which i.t••^ras located. Mr. Mitchell came before t'ie Board and stated that application had been received from Mr. Lewis Lawrence of Lav[T`�nee Concord Avenue who had. been assisted br the Simon W. Robinson aid Lodi --,e and Mr. Mir•chell_ granted him L.o orders of groceries. Mr. Lawrence now has ',,.is rome in the Home Loan Corp, and As the man has not worked since August 1933, he is in need of assistance. The man was formerly a starter for the Middle- sex and Boston Street Rwy. Co. Mr. Mitc'iell recommended $6 per week as for the care of himself and his wife and it was so voted. Application was received for medical care for the child of Henry Nutt, Jr. Mr. Nutt was working for Gus Young and Nutt aid was laid off and he a;�ain returned to work and was laid off again, but .recommended that the child be taken care of, as it was in need of hospitalization. Application ,,ias again received from Henry )Read who is now on the Civil Works for three days one ✓eels skipping the Mead aid next weg1-, and the chairman informed Mr. Mitchell that he could not receive any further aid at the present time but later on they may be able to give him more Civil Works work. 1 1 1 Application was received from L^roy 0. Robbins, 29 Cot- tage Street, who worl-ed for R70 -,,"s and he had aided him to grocories and notified the State Dept, He had a wife and no children, and lives '_n one of Mr. Coll-ntroppo's houses. Mr. John Lamont, eraplov�d by Mr. Ryder, stated that he f6lt the man was in need of assistance and he was unable to tell when he would employ him again if he did employ him. The question of whether or not rent ),vould_ be paid was left to Mr. Mitchell. 539 bobbins aid Application was-ecei.ved from Theodo-e A. Carmichael who lives on Reed Street.. The mar_ owns his house free and Carmichael clear and he has been unable to do electrical contracting aid work inasmuch as he has not a license and therefore he was unable to earn in this ctlnacity. He has an automobile and the Board felt that he slould be informed that he cannnot keep a car if he rece�_ves assistance, and Mr. O'Connell felt that he should be aihle to borrow $5000 on his house. Application was received from Warren E. Haynes, a single man who lives with his father, Alfred Haynes, on Hill St. The man was formerly employeld on the C."!f.A. but got through Haynes aid on Feb. 15th when the single m,�n !mere discharged, and he has made aprlication for Soldier's Relief. The Chairman in- formed him to report to Mr. Paxton so that he could be em- ployed further. Mr. O'Connell stated that Mr, Paul Glynn of 111 Bedford St. was in Court and ordered to pav a $50 fine for driving under the influence of liquor and he stated that he had Glynn been unable to get any aid. The man was employed on the Civil Worl�s and had also received groceries from Mr, Mitchell. The Clerk report2,i in r­f�nce to Mr. Nelson Dwyer that his wife telephoned in reference to the income at her house that she received $10. a reel: from her oldest daughter; that her youngest daug'rter left high school to take ca,e of her er .youngest bov who was a cripule in a wheel_ chair and she her- Dorcase self works as a corsetierre going from house to house and n.alring on an average of $5 to $6 per weelc. She also has with her her two married_ daatT tern and their husbands who have been cut of work. She staled further that her oldest daughter will probarle leave tome if she takes the father there owing to the fact that the children do not ha,Te very much respect for their father as he did very little for them when they were children. She stated that financially she �­as una"ale to pay his hoard '-,,at she would see his brother and find out whether or not he ooi: d find a place for him to board other than Tewl-s`urv. The Board voted to authorize trans fer»Ing T,im frog, Rutland to Tewlsbury provided no other place could be found for his board. His wife stated that he is unable to wa,,',- and has to be moved from a chair into a wheel chair and wil_, need considerable care. 540 Letter was received from the Town Counsel in which he ' reiterated thr.t it was the duty of the Selectmen to fix the salary of the Fire Enl-lneers. In this -respect the Chairman stated that he informed Mr. Ta--lor of the decision of the Chief Board and he talked informally with Mr. Rowse of the Appro- Iwylor's priation Committee, and Mr. Rowse did not believe that the salary Appropriation Committee would favor any considerable increase. Ho.lrever, the Ap:,ropriation Committee would have a meeting at a later date at which time the matter will. be discussed. The Chairman inquired of Mr. TaTrlor if he would take less and he staged he felt h- should get at least. 1288 for the time he puts in and he also felt that be should get $200 for the use of his car. town Meeting V One of the Town's citizens suggested that a tabulation of the attendance of the Town Meeting Members be made and members publ.ishe:1 at the end of the year. The Board, however, were not interested _i -n doing this and took no action. Tax collector Letter eras ,ecei--ed from the Tax Colle­tor in which he requested an increase in pay as Town Colle-tor owing to the fact that 15 per cent of this amount was ta'-en from his pay last near. The Board discussed the matter and finally d6cided that his salary should remain the same as at present. Mr. Richard O'Connell and Mr. Harry Johnson came before the Board and the Chairman informed there that he did not have the agreement read- for Mr. Johnson to sign but would have it i ready for the next meeting of the Board. Supt, of PvChlic Works reported an accident that happened to the car of Mr. B. A. Bouchard, of 405 Washington Street, Accident Broo'-line, when the c�:r struck a wooden horse on Bedford St. near North Hancock Streit. The lantern on the horse was out at the time of the accident and this fact was substantiated by three witnesses. The amount of damages to the car was $48i Supt, of Public Works felt that the bill should be paid and the Board so voted. In this connection, however, the Board t1 -,ought that special attention should be riven bIr the Police Dept. to lo - Lights cations where work is being done by the Town Departments and the Supt, of Public Works was requested to notify the Pblice Dept. .when construction was being done so that they could give attention to this matter. Notice was received from the Mass. Civic League inquiring Dumps whether or not work was to '-e done on the dumps bzr unemployed. They were notified that work was to be done in this manner. Supt. of Public Works called attention to the fact that Mr. Barry has put in twice as much time as he ordinarill-Y does 1 1 541 fixing the machines and Iseeping them In order so that they could go out on the sno,.,v j^rork daring the last storm and he felt that he should be given som2t'hing 'or overtime. Barry work Thd Supt. suggested that '1-.e ,-,et half time above his salary for the period of four weeks. This would amount to $59.50 and the Board. voted to a.nnrove this suggestion. The matter of drainas,,e as suggestea b-- the repent report of Metcalf and Eddy In East Lexington was considered again and. the Chairman reported that the Town Counsel felt that work §hould'not,be done on the Shea propert�r owners might Drainage see fit until after the suit is settled, and also that other property owners .fight see fit to bring suit against the Town. The matter of expenc?i-ng the amount 'Pocomm-ended by Met- calf and Eddy of $241,000 or expending $10,000 as suggested previously to the Appropriation of $10,000 should be requested and the lower part of the work could be done first' and this would be ready for connect.*on w-_t"h the °rork above after the suit is completed. The Meeting adjourned at. 10 o'clock. A true record, Attest: 1 1 Clerlr, Selectmen.