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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1934-07-24SELECTMENIS MEETING JULY 24, 1934 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectmen's Room, Town office Bldg. on July 24, 1934 at 7:30 P.M. Messrs. Trask, Ferguson, Gilcreast, O'Connell and Lyons were present. The Clerk was also present. Special Police Commission for Theodore A. Custance of 72 Bedford St. was signed by the Board. Hairdressing License was granted to Lillian E. Hill of Arlington to do business at 4 Waltham Street. It was voted to grant a permit to Carl Hauck to keep two goats. The following water li6ns were signed by the Board: Grace Weisinger $15.00 per week Mabel E. Williams 15.96 " " Raymond E.'& Gladys T. Hoyt 7.65 " " Marion H. Brazes 18.57 " " Mary A. Toomey 3.75 " " r Special Police. Hairdress- ing License Goat Permit Water Liens Cdr. Lyons reported that he had placed the American Legion Legion Bill Bill in the hands of Albert A. Ross with the request that he present a detailed bill. State Aid payroll for the month of June in the amount of State Aid $6. was signed by the Board. At 8 P.M. hearing was declared open upon the petition of the Edison Elea. 111. Go. for permission to locate one pole jointly with the N.E. T. & T. Co. on Eaton Road approximately 95 feet west of Blake Road. No .persons appeared to object and it was voted to grant the location order. Blake Rd: 1 Pole ERZ_ Co & NET. & T Co, It was voted to grant the petition of the Edison Else. Ill. Co. for the location of nine poles on Valley Road, said Valley Rd. order being necessary owing to.the fact that Valley Road has Location been accepted as a public highway. Order Edward Hoffman and wife of 5 Hibbert St. came before the Board in reference to the beer application made by them to sell beer and wine at a store on Mass. Avenue to be taken oved by them. Pers. Hoffman stated that the town aided them last winter and she was seeking some way to support the family without asking aid of the town. She stated that Mr. Hoffman's 82. brother would assist them in financing the propostion. The Board felt that his brother should come before them and ' give the assurance that he would finance them. The Board also informed them that the license would expire on Dec. 31st and that the fee would be $300. -for the balance of the year and Hoffman they felt that this was quite a lot to risk for that short Beer period of time. And it might be possible the town would vote License no license next year after establishing a business. They Agreed to bring.in the man who would back them if they decided to insist upon a license being granted. Mrs. Bridget Leary of 23 Waltham St. came before the Board in regard to the town placing gravel and rocks on the Leary Land triangular piece of land at the corner of Vine and Woburn Sts, Vine St. which is owned by her. She stated that shedid not give per- mission to have this done and desired to know whether or not the town desired to purchase the land. The Chairman informed her that the town did not.want to purchase the land and that she could stake it off7.if she so desired. She asked that the Town Engineer give her the street line and she was informed that he would be requested to give her the line. Letter was received from W. H. Hannam of 23 Lincoln St, reporting that Mr. Grieves' dogs were still barking and whining to their annoyance, and that the stench was unbearable during the humid weather. , The Chairman reported that when complaint came in the Police Dept. investigated the barking of the dogs and could Grieves' not find that the barking was such that it would annoy any - Dogs one. Mr. Stevenson reported having investigated the odor re- ported to be coming from the Grieves' premises and stated that he could.not detect any stench. The Chairman interviewd all the neighbors and could not find an gone that was annoyed by the Grieves' dogs barking and whining and therefor he felt that the complaint was more or less of a neighborhood row.and there were not sufficient grounds for the Board to take any further action. The Board so voted to inform Mrs. Hannam. Permit to Letter was received from H. V. Stiff, Associate Civil connect Engineer, Metropolitan District Commission granting permission with Met. to connect with the Metropolltitan Sewer. _Sewer. Hearing was declared open upon the application of Celina V. Walsh for permission to maintain a one car garage at 92 Bedford St. Stephen Donnellan appeared to represent the petitioner and'stated that the garage is one that is to be moved on wheels from the rear of Dr. Walsh's property and will be located on the property in such a manner that it will not be objectionable to Mr.'Coscia who owns the property adjoining. The lot is Walsh located at the corner of Manning Road. The garage is to be Garage located back of the house and in line with the house from Bedford St. ' It was voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of thw Building Inspector. Attention was called to the fact that the Election Officers must be eppointed before August 15th. Election It was decided to make the appointments on Aug. 7th. Officers Application to sell beer and wine was received from Eva Boynton of 38 Mass. Ave. the beer and wine to be sold in Beer Lie. bottle.from at 22 Mass. Ave. Boynton It was voted not to grant the license. It was voted to renew the following insurance policies: Edwin B. Worthen - Workmen-L--6empeffsation and Public Liability Ins. Water and Sewer Dept. expiring August 13th. Insurance Richard Whittemore - Automobile - public liability and property damage expiring August 19th. ' A. A. Marshall & Son - Workmen,ts Compensation & Employers Liability - Moth, Tree Warden and Cemetery Dept. expiring August 1, 1934. The, Supt. of Public Works presented the following bids on the construction of the Sherman Street Bridge: Harry A. Burgess $385.00 Sherman St. Patrick F. Dacey 425.00 Bridge It was felt that a bond for the faithful performance of the work to be done within sixty days should be presented by Mr. Burgess and also a certificate of compensation insurance before action would be taken on the acceptance of his bid, and it was voted to so notify Mr. Burgess. Letter was received from the Planning Board enclosing copy of letter sent to John H. Millican in regard to his application for Board of Survey.approval of plan of street over his land. The Planning Board suggested that the Town Engineer prepare a plan of the development surrounding that section and that the survey made by the CWA funds last winter be•continued and com- pleted as soon as possible. This suggestion was made as they felt that the State would locate Route 128 wherever desired with- out any consideration of the effect upon the town, and they felt that the town should be ready to make suggestions as to where the highway should be located. Letter was received from Mrs. Arthur Roake of Homestead St. in which she asked that the Board allow her to stay in the shack from which the Board ordered her to remove on July 25th, until Sept. lat, owing to the fact that she did not have a flat in Boston to live in. Millican Lay Out 84 The Board was of the opinion that Mrs. Dolan owner of the ' shack was ordered not to have the place -occupied last year. It was decided therefor to have the Chairman check this matter up Roake and find out if this was so or not, and if ordered out last. Case year it was felt that she should not be allowed to stay this year. Letter was received from Mr. Kilhan of Kilham, Hopkins and Greeley in which he stated that he requested Mr. Dolan.,. the party who originally painted the doors of the Cary Memorial Building, to give his recommendation in regard to the doors and he roe- ommended that the doors be.scrap'ed down to get the buck off then Cary Hall apply one sem--flat coat of lead and oil and one coat of rine -Doors green as light as possible. He recommended leaving plenty of time for the paint to dry between coats. This is practically what has been done each year, and in- asmuch as he recommended, except for finger marks,.a cream color, It was decided to instruct the Supt. of Public works to arrange with Mr. Mara to_paint the doors cream color. Mr. Mitchell reported having received application for assistance from Emma Hadley, F'ern.Street. He took up the matter with Warren Hadley,, brother-in-law, and he informed him that he felt that she would be in need of assistance if she did not have Hadley a boarder at her house. Case It was decided to await proof of the fact that the boarder had left the house before.grafting aid. Bill of ,$120. for eight weeks at $15. per week taking out $48. at 0 per week, was received by the Welfare Dept,, leaving Pero Case a bill of i72. from M. A. Richards for care of her brother Norman Pero from May 24, 1934 to July, 1934. Mrs. Richards asked that the Board pay her for care of her brother the additional amount. The Board voted not to take any action on the bill. T. A. Custance came before the Board to discuss the matter of trying to arrange a better development on the Ryder property between Waltham Street and Winthrop Road. He stated that it was his understanding that Mr. Ryder was going to sell out and that he would have to sell on a smaller lot scale owing to thq fact that the Town would not cooperate and assist him in drainage, eta. He presented plan of the p roposed layout of the lots and designated where Mr. Ryder has already put in a street and he felt that Ryder Mr. Ryder could be persuaded to make a better development there develop provided the Board was interested and his purpose of coming be-, ment- fore the Board was to find out whether orjnot they would be at all interested in,promoting a better layout. The Board requested Mr. Custance and Mr. Ryder to come be- fore them on Tuesday evening, August 7th at 9 P.M. to discuss the matter further. Mr. Smith of the Gamewell.Company carne before the Board and reported that he was requested to bid on the installation of the fire alarm boxes and electrical wiring of the Fire Dept. 1 ' and they had a publico peeing of the bids. There were several discrepancies in the specifications that were given to him to bid on, for instance the difference.between the boxes to be installed was incorrect, such as the distance of 2000 feet on Concord Avenue from Waltham Street which was given to them and when they checked up, the distance was not 2000 feet. They did not bid on the installation, therefor but they did bid on the boxes and presented a bid'of $1600. There was one other bid of 2000: on the boxes, one bid on the i nstallation in the amount of 1864.which was not qualified and later the bid was qualified by Mr. Bills. On June 19th.he received a letter saying that they had thrown out all the bids and the next thing he heard was that Mr. Taylor had ordered Mr. Bills to proceed to do the work. He did not feel that this way of doing business was fair and desired to call it to the attention of the Board. The Board decided to request Mr. Taylor to come before them at the meeting Tuesday Evening, August 7th, at 8:30 P.M. at which time they informed Mr. Smith he could also be present to discuss the matter. Fire Alarm Boxes Mr. Lawrence Mitchell came before the Board and reported that he and the State Visitor had visited Mrs. Belcher on Adams Street, and the State Visitor recommended that she be allowed $5.00 per week Mother's Aid, as longus at the present time, Belcher - her son is working for Albert Burnham. Mother's Aid In regard to the funeral bill of $194. due to A. A. Marshall and Son, the State Visitor recommended that nothing be done about this bill at the present time, and Mrs. Belcher seemed to think that she might be able to get same work so that she could pay something'on the funeral bill. The Board voted to allow the payment of $5. per week Mother's Aid in this case. In regard to the bill presented by the Rest Inn for nursing services to John _Devine for the two weeks prior to his going to the hospital, Mr. Mitchell reported that �ie talked with Mrs. Belch in regard to this bill and they were of the opinion that Devine the Town still owed them money that was not paid to them by ease John Devine when he was getting Old. Age Assistance, and they did not feel inclined to state that this would be the final bill for his care. The Board therefor, under the circumstances, voted to lay the matter on the table. In regard to the rent of John J. Kelley, 812 Muzzey Street, Mr. Mitchell reported having communicated with Mr. Viano and was informed by him that the Kelley's were nine months in ar- rears in their rent and they were now out of patience with the family and desired to have them moved. The $8. per month which Mrs. Kelley works for has been applied to the rent, but Mr. Viano ' felt that he should receive the full $25.00 per month rent in the future and that the $8. be credited toward the back rent. There were ten in the family and one boy works for the Economy Stbres receiving $6. per week. The Baa rd, after discussing the matter, voted to pay the To Ella Fay Case Nickerson Case Walker - Old Age rent of $25. per month and allow the $8. to be credited on the back rent until it is paid and then to reduce the rent payments to $17. per month. Mr. Kelley was also.to work out the aid given in rent. In regard to the application of Ella Fay, 211 Massa Avenue, for assistance, it was voted to grant her $3. per week. The Agent reported having received an sp plication.from Ora Nickerson, housekeeper for Henry Walker of 37 Hibbert Street, Old Age Assistance recipient. Mr. Walker has been receiving.$6. per week Old Age Assistance, out of which he pays $2. for fuel oil leaving $4. to operate his house. He is very feeble and had a shock and is in need of someone to care for him. Ora Nickerson has been in Town for seven or eight years and the case is a Lexington case. Mr. Mitchell recommended that she be given $4. per week. The Board considered the matter, however, and decided that they would recommend that no assistance be given to Miss Nickerson but that Mr. Walkerts Old Age Assistance be increased from $6. to $9. per week. n The Clerk called attention to the fact that some time ago Mr. Bills was requested to draw up some regulations cov- ering the electrical wiring in the Town as there were regu- lations for all other types of construction but none for ' Wire electrical wiring. This is something that should be attended Inspector to. Mr. O'Connell also called attention to the fact that the Inspector inspects his own work which is not proper. Edwin B. Worthen, Chairman of the Committee on Water Rates, came before the Board in reference to the report which he presented of the Committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen toconsider the subject of reduction of water rates. The.report recommended that no reduction be made having in mind that the guarantees are now taken away and from this source there will be at least $3500. that will not be available from the Water Maintenance account, and owing to the fact that the water main extension betterments are now credited to a special account and do not go to the maintenance fund The report gave comparison of various towns and cities as far as the cost of water maintenance per mile was concerned, and it was found that the cost per mile in Lexington was the second highest, same being $3455. a mile and $92.40 aservic®, this, of course, due to the fact that the Town of Lexington is spread over a large territory and the income from water takers upon the territory is not sufficient. Comparison was also given on the uncollected items, and ' it was found that Lexington rates the highest on uncollected water rates. Mr. Ross called attention, however, to the fact that this figure was not based fairly owing to the fact that 87 ' different towns bill at -different times and that Lexington figures included a warrant sent out at the end of the year. Mr. Worthen agreed that the figures were dangerous to use on account of the Pact that it was not known when the bills were sent out from various towns and cities, but the figures showed the con- dition as existed. Mr. Worthen felt that the installation of the water main from the Childst garage to Pleasant Street, particularly, should be done out of water,maintenance rather than out of an appropriation to be made by the Town or from a bond issue. He felt that the water takers in this section should have a larger main put in inasmuch as it is something that should have been installed fifteen years ago. He also felt that the ex- tension of Westminister Avenue should be done out of the Water Maintenance Account. .Mr. Worthen stated that he felt that information should water be obtained as to whether or not private water companies Committee or other Water Departments pay any of their bonded indebtedness Report out of'their Maintenance Account. He also expressed the belief that he did not -believe that any Town Department 'can be run like any private company on account of Laws governing the Towns and cities. The matter of having developments put in all public util- ities before the streets were approved was discussed, and it was felt that further study should Ige made as to how other ' communities such as in the State of New York rule in matters of this.kind. It was felt that some information could be received from the National Survey in regard to this matter. The Board voted to accept the report of the Committee on Water Rates with thanks. The Chairman called attention to the fact that Miss McCaffrey informed him that either the Water Department or the McClintic Marshall Corp. had broken through the fence on her property during the construction of the standpipe and McCaffrey that they were also parking cars on her property without per- damages . mission. The Supt. of the Water and Sewer Department was requested to communicate with contractor and request him to replace any. damage that might have been done to Miss McCaffrey's property. The Supt. of the Water and Sewer Department called atten- tion to the fact that while they are putting in the four inch Water main water main in Winter Street they would like to go through the Winter St. Anderson property that will eventually be in the layout of the highway, and he would like to secure p ermission from Mr. Anderson to install the main. The Chairman stated that he would secure verbal permission from Mr. Anderson in the morning and that written permission could be obtained later. Mr. ailereast recommended that $6. per week Old Age Assistance be granted to John E. Fellows of 10 Carville Ave. Fellows and he Board so voted. Mr. Fellows becomes 70 years of age Old Age J on lust 5th, and the aid will date from that date. 88 The Clerk called attention to the fact that through a ' law of 1934, the term of Common Victuallers Licenses In Change in changed from April 301, 1934 to December 31st, 19340 same Common being changed to expire at the same time the Liquor Licenses Victual= expire. lerts License Mr. OtConnell called the attention of the Supt. of Public Works to a depression in the sidewalk on Mass. Ave. Sidewalk in front of Lawrenc3s store that should be fixed. It was voted to grant the $5. allowance that has formerly been given to Mrs. Mary Ferry to Mrs. Ezra Breed of 44 Bloomfield Street, this to come out of the Beals Fund owing to the. fact Breed that Old Age Assistance was not allowed by the State Bureau Case of Old Age Assistance for Mrs. Breed, Mrs. Ferry to be placed on the Welfare Department. The meeting adjourned at 10;10 P.M. A true record, Attest: Clerk. '