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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1934-05-2224: cn r.� SELECTMENIS MEETING MAY 220 1934 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, on Tuesday, May 22, 1934 at 7:30 P.M. Messrs.'Trask, Gilereast, Ferguson, Lyons and O'Connell were present. The Clerk was also present. At 8:00 F.M. hearing was declared open upon the ap- plication cf Anna N. Lane for permission to erect a one oar garage of cement blonk construction at 51 Waltham Street. Mr. and Mrs. Lane both appeared and presented plan of Lane the proposed garage. No persons appeared to object and it Garage was voted to grant the permit subject to the approval ©f the Building Inspector. Mr. H arry Johnson did not appear in 30eference to his application for six garages, therefor no action was taken. Mr. John A, Ricker of Medford, appeared on behalf of his wife Minnie H. Ricker, in reference to the hearing advertised to be held last week on her application for per- mission to maintain a one car garage at Block 15, Eaton Road 4-5 and a of 3 lots. Mr. Ricker presented plan of the pro Rcker posed garage and it was voted to grant the permit subject . G11rage to the approval of the Building Inspector. ' Hearing,was declared open upon the application of the Lexington Gooperative.Bank for permission to main- tain a one car garage of frame construction on the former Jaynes Property on Hayes Lane. Mr. Couette appeared representing the bank and pre- sented plan of the proposed garage. No persons.appeared to object and it was voted to grant the permit, subject to the approval of the Building Inspector. Mr. Guiseppi Chiuccarriello of Bow Street came be- fore the Board about his lot of land upon which work is now being done on the #stallation of the sewer. He mentioned the fact that he did not claim damages but he did want to be able to build a house on his land. He stated that the land was assessed for $300 and that he had paid more than that amount in taxes. The Chairman informed him that the brook would be moved and the lot would be fixed up for him so that he would have ample room for a house on the lot. Mr. Leo Bornstein of Sylvia Street came before the Board with his attorney Mr. Murphy relative to the visit of the Building Inspector to Mr. Bornstein in reference to Mr. Governar's complaint that Mr. Bornstein was violat- ing the zoning law in that he did not have a funk yard there prior to 1924. Lex. Coop. Bank Bow St., Sewer Mr. Bornstein stated that he rented the house just after obtaining his license to oollect junk from the Town of Arlington. The first license was issued -in 1923 and he could give evidence that he maintained the yard there At thgt time. The Chairman explained to himl that at the present time there was no definite charge against his maintaining the junk yard and if necessary to have a hearing on any charge that st&t cove he would be , notified . 'Phomas Montague and Joseph Swan came before the Board relative to having the brook back of their houses cleaned. The Supt. of Public Works was present and stated that he cleaned the brook on Bedford St. but the ditch in back of these houses was not a part of the biobok and it was not up to the town to clean it. Mr. Montague stated that the brook that needed cleaning was the one that took the water from the hill above Hancock Avenue, and this brook had not been cleaned. The Supt. of Public Works stated that he would clean this brook in the near future. Mr. Wm. F. Young, Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, came before the Board and presented a request that the Voterans be allowed the free use of Estabrook Hall on the first an'd third Tuesday evenings of the month. The Chairman informed him that the Board would have to Insert an article in the Warrant for the town meeting asking for authority to rent the hall free of charge to that or- ganization. Mr. Young therefor requested that the Board insert nueh an article in the Warrant. The Board voted to grant his request. Calvin W. Childs came before the Board and presented a requsat to the Board that John E. Shobe of the East Boston 25 Junk Brook Montague House & Swan House Airport be permitted to drop small paper parachutes over Permit to - the playground or some other area of the town as a part of drop,pap6r� an advertising program to be put on by the Ford Motor Co. parachutes sometime between May 31st and June 8th. He stated that the permission of the State Inspector has been given, and permite had already been received from various towns. The Board voted to grant the permit to John E. Shobe. Mr. John W. Duff and his son came before the Board relative to appraising the town property for fire insurance. He presented a proposal to make an appraisal of one of the town buildings without obligation whatsoever to the town to Insurance determinewhetheror not the town is carrying the proper Appraisal amoiint'of fire insurance. The appraisal is made as a sample of their work and is not to be paid for unless the Board decided to have an appraisal made of all the buildings. 3 26 Insurance Appraisal Swimming Pool Water Holland St. Oak St. Damage Mr. Duff presented samples of hiw work and stated that they had done all the buildings in the Town of. Watertown, and are now doing the town of Taunton and have made samples for Melrose, Winchester and Columbia Life Insurance Co. They have done work for Philips Andover Academy and for the Home Loan Corporation. Mr. Duffle son stated that he made 132 of these appraisals for the telephone company in 1926, and the'system he now.uses%is the same system that the company used when he worked for them, and he felt that it was a sound basis to work from. Their charge for this service was at the rate of $1.00 a thousand on the replacement eost of the building. He stated that some concerns charge $2.09 per thousand. ' The matter of making the appraisal was discussed at various angles such as whether or not there would be a.saving to the town in having an appraisal made. Mr. Duff stated that it might be possible that it would cost more for insurance, but he feit that it would be an accurate value after the appraisal and some- thing which the Insurance company could not well dispute in case of fire. It was therefor voted that Mr. Duff should make an appraisal in accordance with his letter of May 15th of the Munroe School. Letter was received from Barbara Davis extending thanks for her appointment at the swimming pool this summer. Letter was received from the Supt. of Public Works in which he stated that application had been received from Miss Mona Holland asking for the extension of the water main in Holland St. from Taft Avenue a distance of 130 feet. She is receiving water from a serviee which was laid in 1904 from; Maas. Ave. through private lands about 800 feet. The service froze during the past winter and a break occurred in the line. The Department has been unable to locate the leak and miss Holland is with-. out water at the present time, and requests immediate action. The Supt. of Public Works was requested to find out whether Miss Holland would pay the entire assessment for the water construction or whether ther8 were others on that line, that would have to pay the assessieent. Letter was received from`Ilda J. Field of 30 Chase Avenue in which she called attention to the fact that while walking on Oak Street she caught her heel in a hole in the sidewalk and was thrown full length and,twisted her ankle, bruised and tore the skin of her knee. She suggested that the condition of the sidewalk be remedied. Cn c� 1 27 The Supt. of Public Works reported that he found a number of depressions had formed either from settling of the gravel or by children digging with their heels into the asphalt. He had all the depressions repaired. In reference to the complaint of Vincent Brogna rel- ative to pollution of water in a brook which flows through the property of his wife on Wood Street, the Supt. of Public 'forks reported that he found a cesspool seeping into the Brogna brook, but this has now been stopped and there is no further, Complaint pollution. Thecesspoolwax on the property of Mr. Ballard. It was decided to notify Mr. Brogna that there is now no further pollution. Letter was received from the Supt. of Public Works in whioh he stated that Mr. Charles.G. Richards wanted to con- nect his house with the sewer. This house is located on Grant St. It has been contemplated for some time to construct this street after acceptance by the town and it was felt that inasmuch as l[r. Richards house is located within the Grant St. proposed line of the relocation, that he should not be allowed to connect with the sewer. The suggestion was made that Grant St. be considered as a street to" constructed with P.F.R.A. funds. In regard to the work to be done on Wood Street as agreed upon on the property of Mr. Brogna, the -Supt. of Brogna Public Works was requested to proceed with the work. It Property was estimated that the wark would cost $3000. to fill in completely according to the agreement but by sloping the grade it will not cost this amount. Letter was received from the Town Accountant in which he stated that two additional regular men were placed on the fire department pay roll at 43.83 a day. Accountant's Letter was received from the Town Accountant calling Memorandums attention to the fact that the accounts of the P.B.A. proj- sets have been set up as separate accounts, also that this is in accordance with the instructions of the Federal Accountants. It was voted to grant the following license Ia: Slaughter License - Amos Holman, Hill Avenue, Lexington Common Victuallers- Partridges' Food Shop, 1709 Mass. Ave. Licenses Public Carriage - James T. McGann, 120 Woburn Street Letter was received from Katharine.Harrington in re- ply to the Chairman's letter asking her the amount of re- Sewer renta: duction in the sewer rental bill that she thought would be charges fair, in which she stated that she felt that a $2. abatement would be 'a fair abatement to make. In view of the circumstances, the Board voted to grant an abatement to Miss Katharine Harrington in the amount of $2. 28 01 Cn oz c-� Letter was received from the Supt. of the Water and Sewer Department in which he stated that Dr. Clarenee ' Lannon of 8 Edgewood Road had made complaint in ref- erence to the charge made for eewer rental. I I No action was taken on Dr. Shannon's request. Mr. Ferguson recommended, however, that the sewer Sewer rental charges be entirely abandoned. Rental It was therefor voted to insert an article in the Charges Warrant requesting the Town Meeting to abancb n the sewer rental charges. Letter was received from the British Naval and Military Veterans Association extending an invitation to attend the Invitation annual pilgrimage to Lexington on Sunday, June 10th. They also stated that they would send a detailed program at a later date. Letter was received from the Town Counsel in which he called attention to Chapter 154 of the Acts of 1934 In which the Towns are allowed to spend money for insurance and other protection of r#41 estate in which the Town holds a tax title but apparrently prior to the foreclosure of the tax title. Chapter The Town Treasurer reported at the present time there 154 were no bdildings on property that came under the juris- diction of this Act, but that there would be some at a later date. I Letter was received from the Town Counsel in which he called attention to a number of old public welfare cases accounts against other communities or towns of the State which had been committed to the Collector for collection and upon which no evidence has been made that the Collector had done anything to collect the money. Owing to the two year Statute of limitation, it will'be necessary to bring, suit within that period of time to collect bills outstanding against the cities and towns. Welfare Mr. Wrightington called attention to the suit of-' Cases - John Fodwish involving over $800. one of James Mowat aid Suits one of Albert E. Andrews, in which about $60. may be col- lectible. He felt that there was a prospect of a recovery of a part at least of the relief given and he asked for par - mission to bring action against the City of Boston to recover the three cases mentioned above. He asked for fLther authority to enforce action in other cases, but the Board felt that whatever other'easee which are brought to his attention should first be brought to the attention of the Selectmen. In reference to the bid of Louis W.' Bills of $110. for the installation of a cable from the fire alarms boa to the Police station fora fire alarm tapper, the Chief 29 of Police in a letter stated that he did not see his way clear to recommend the expenditure of $110, from this yearts appropriation, although he would like very much to have the tapper installed. The Chairman explained that he had been over the Fire Alartp Police Department budget and felt that later on it might Tapper be possible to expend this amount of money when it is found just ,hoer the department stands. It was therefor voted to lay the matter upon the table until July lat. Abatement in the amount of $640.52 for Welfare charges Abatement was signed by the Board. Copy,of.the permit granted to Charles W. Ryder for the erection of a real estate office and sign on the prop- Ryder - erty located on Waltham Street near Winthrop Road exten Board of sion was received from the Board of Appeals. Appeals Letter was received from J. R. Worcester and Co. in which it was stated that they approved the work done on Standpipe the concrete base for the steel standpipe as completed by P. F. Dacey. The Chairman reported that he attended the hearing on Fletcher Avenue before the County Commissionersr at which time -the Town Counsel endeavored to prove that the railroad should allow the layout of the street over their tracks so that the request of the Board for signals at Fletcher Avenue might be approved by the Department of Public Works, Fletcher He stated that Mr. Earle, !ax Collector, testified Avenue that he had charge of this section of the road, being em- Crossing ployed by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1874. He stated that the B. & M. railroad Co. opposed the layout over the tracks and suggested an underpass, and also suggested clos- ing up Fletcher Avenue with a crossing only at Woburn Street. The Chairman had a traffic count made before attending the meeting and it was found that between the hours of 7 A.M. and 9 P.M., 496 vehicles passed over the crossing at Fletcher Avenue. in one day. Mr. Zadoe Sherman also testified that he lived there in 1875 when this crossing was used by the public. The Chairman reported that the hearing was adjourned to 2:30 on May 25th at the Selectments Office. Mr. Qilereast called attention to the condition of a lot owned by a man named Robbins located near the Sheldon Robinson property. He wanted to, know if anything could be Robbins, done to order the man to clean up the property. As long as Property it is not a health menace, there is no action that the Board could take in regard to the matter. Supts. of Public Works and William C. Paxton; Supt. of Streets, came before the Board. 30 Cn Mr. Paxton gave an outline of.the work that was being done by the highway Department on various streets ' in the Town such as North Street, Burlington Street, ' Revere Street, Worth Hancock Street, stating that he thought it was advisable to take care of some of the outlying streets and put them in condition so that they would last for four or five years inasmuch as he felt that they have not been put in as good condition as they should have been. He stated that there were drainage problems that the Highway Department should give atten- tion to as there were many streets in which there is no drainage and he felt that when the work is done on the streets that they should do'a job that would standup for four or five years:and lessen the maintenance charge on the streets in the coming years.. He stated that in the, past gravel had been put in on the outlying streets,;; Highway making them passable, but with most of the people in Department these districts owning automobiles, they now demand that they have a smooth road to -ride on. He stated that he felt that the streets that have the most houses on them should have abetter surface put on owing to the constant wear on the streets, and also on streets that have a great deal of travel. Mr. O'Connell called attention to the fact that the car tracks had not been taken up on Bedford Street and on Mass. Avenue and he felt that these were a menace to the travelling public inasmuch as they cause the cars -to skid on a rainy day even though they are partly covered over. Mr. Lyons called the attention of the Supt. of Public Works to the fact that the white lines had not been painted on Mass. Avenue near the curve at Munroe station. Mr, Paxton stated that he had been taking care of the various projects under the E.R.A. and preparing the time for the highway projects, and that it was taking up mes t of his time, and it seemed to him that he should have some- body to look after this for him and also someone who would be able to supervise the construction work while he was not on the job inasmuch as he was unable to be in all of the places at once. He recommended that John 0.+gbnnoor, who is now employed in the Engineering Department,`be em- ployed in this capacity inasmuch as he felt that he would 'be well qualified and he was familiar,with figuring in an engineering capacity. He would also be able to Bake plans for the drainage projects of the Highway Department. He also felt that he was entitled to more pay. He is. --,now getting $19. a week and he recommended that he be raised to $22. per week while employed in the Highway Department, and if he made good on this work he could then be raised to $25, per week and if not, he could then be transferred to the Engineering Department. , Mr. Scamman was requested to talk with the Town Engineer in regard to whether or not he would employ a L 1 1 31 regular engineer or whether or not he could get along with one of the B.R.A. men. The Board voted to authorize the employment of John O'Conner in the.Highway Dept. at a salary of $22.00 per week. The Supt. of Public Works called attention to the fact that there will probably be considerable more traffic on Spring Street when the Concord Avenue highway is built and he felt that there should be some work done on this highway to make it wider. He also felt that there would be mdre traffic on Weston Street and Lincoln Street, and these streets should be put in condition. Discussion as to the method of fixing up the side- walks with cold tar patch was had, and Mr.'Ferguson felt that if the cold tar patch method was almost as expensive as replacing,with granolithic walk, that rather than cold tar sidewalks, granolithic should be laid. The Supt. of Public Works stated that he did not have any applications for new sidewalks, but the Board felt that he should obtain bids on granolithic sidewalk work so that it could find out whether or not the tar was more expenstva than the granolithic work. The Chairman reported that on account of some blasting on the trunk line sewer job, that Mr. Ros's had laid off on the construction of the trunk line sewer and negotiations were now being made with the Town of Arlington in regard to the drainago proposition. The Chairman recommended therefor that inasmuch as Mr. Ross's steam shovel was in the vicinity, that the Supt. of Public Works be instructed to employ Mr. Ross to start the East Lexington Drainage job at the rates stated In a recent letter from Anthony Ross. The Board voted to instruct the Supt. of Public Works to employ Mr. Ross. Mr. Mitchell reported that Mrs. Mary MacDonnell had requested that she be given further aid, and Mr. O'Connell reported that the ease was to come before the Courts again MaoDonnell for trial and he recommended that no action be taken at the Case present time. Letter was received from John F. Cranston, 30 Hill Street, in which he asked that _a retaining wall be placed along his ,property on Hill Street; also that the condition of his driveway be fixed inasmuch as it was not possible for him to drive onto the street except in one place and then with a great deal of care. The Supt. of Public Works reported that the condition of the driveway had been corrected, but that he would not recommend putting a retaining wall along Mr. Cranston's property inasmuch as it would cost s great deal and the J street was very wide and there would be no dang4 of rocks Cranston property - Hill St. 32 A r� n falling from the ledge and injuring persons passing by. The meeting adjourned at 10:45 P.M. , A true record, Attest: Clerk. 1 1