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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1934-07-24 81 II SELECTMEN'S MEETING JULY 24, 1934 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at the Selectmen's Room, Town Gaff ice 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 Special 72 Bedford St. was signed by the Board. Police Hairdressing License was granted to Lillian E. Hill of Hairdress- Arlington to do business at 4 Waltham Street. ing License It was voted to grant a permit to Carl Hauck to keep Goat Permit two goats . The following water liens were signed by the Board: Grace Weisinger $15.00 per week Mabel E. Williams 15.96 " " Raymond E. & Gladys T. Hoyt 7.65 " " Water Liens Marion H. Brazee 18.57 " " ' Mary A. Toomey 3.75 " " Mr Lyons reported that he had p laced 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 Elec. Ill. Co. for permission to locate one p ole Blake Rd. jointly with the N.E. T. & T. Co. on Eaton Road approximately 1 Pole 95 feet west of Blake Road. EEZ_ Co & No persons appeared to object and it was voted to grant NET. & T Co, the location order. It was voted to grant the petition of the Edison Elec. 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. Mrs. Hoffman stated that the town aided them I 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 to brother would assist them in financing the propostion. 111The 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 Hoffman that the fee would be $300. for the balance of the year and Beer they felt that this was quite a lot to risk for that short License period of time. And it m ight be possible the town would vote 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 she did 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 off 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 annoyanoe, 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 anyone that was annoyed by the Grieves ! dogs barking and whining and therefor he felt that the complaint was mare 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 Metropolitan 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. S3 IIIt was voted to grant the permit subject to the approval of the, Building Inspector. Attention was called to the fact that the Election Officers must be appointed 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 Lic. 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 Ls—Gempensation 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' s Compensation & Employers Liability - Moth, Tree Warden and Cemetery Dept. expiring August 1, 1934. II 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 Millican survey made by the CWA funds last winter be continued and com- Lay Out pleted as soon as possible. This suggestion was made as they felt that the State would 1 ocate 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. ILetter 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. 1st, owing to the fact that she did not have a flat in Boston to live in. 84 00 oc S' 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 original ly painted the doors of the Cary Memorial Building, to give his recommendation in regard to the doors and he rec- ommended that the doors be scraped down to get the black off then Cary Hall apply one sem--flat coat of lead and oil and one coat of fine 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, Fern 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 be!ore granting aid. Bill of $120. for eight weeks at $15. per week taking out $48. at $6. per week, was received by the Welfare Dept., leaving Pero Case a bill of $72. 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 the, tact that the Town would not cooperate and assist him in drainage, etc. 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 or)not 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 came 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. 85 II and they had a public o pening 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 1 of 2000: on the boxes, one bid on the i nstallation in the amount of 864. which was not qualified and later the bid was qualified by Mr. Bills . On June 19th he received a letter saying that they Fire had thrown out all the bids and the next thing he heard was that Alarm Mr. Taylor had ordered Mr. Bills to proceed to do the work. He Boxes 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. 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 long as at the present time, Belcher- her son is working for Albert Burnham. Mother's Aid IIIn 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 SD me work so that she could pay someth.ng on the funeral bill. The Board voted to all 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 he talked with Mrs . Welch 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 case 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, 8Q 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 I 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 o ne boy works for the Economy Steres receiving $6. per week. The Board, after discussing the matter, voted to pay the 86 cn coo co 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. Ella Fay In regard to the application of Ella Fay, 211 Mass. Case 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 Nickerson care for him. Ora Nickerson has been in Town for seven or Case eight years and the case is a Lexington case. do Mr. Mitchell recommended that she be given $4. per week. Walker - The Board considered the matter, however, and decided that Old Age they would recommend that no assistance be given to Miss Nickerson but that Mr. Walker's Old Age Assistance be increased from $6 to $9. per week. 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 toa 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 aservice, 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 fact 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 Childs ' 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 Ile 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 MoClintic 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 th e 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. Gilcreast recommended that $6. per week Old Age Assistance be granted to John B. Fellows of 10 Carville Ave. Fellows - /and he Board so voted. Mr. Fellows becomes 70 years of age Old Age J on Oust 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 Victualler' s Licensee in Change in changed from April 30, 1934 to December 31st, 1934, same Common being changed to expire at the same time the Liquor Licences Victual- expire. ler's License Mr. O'Connell called the attention of the Supt. of Public Works to a depression in the sidewalk on Mass Ave. Sidewalk in front of Lawrenoas store that should be fixed. It was voted to grant the 05. 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 al lowed 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.