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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1935-02-26 325 SELECTMEN'S MEETING FEBRUARY 26s 1935. A regular meeting of the Selectten was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, At 7:30 P. M. Messrs. Trask, Gilereast, Ferguson, O'Connell and Lyons were present. The Clerk was also present. Max Sulkin of 132 South Street, Waltham, made appli- cation to have the Junk Collector 's License of Arey Green- blott transferred to him. He stated that Mr. Greenblott had had a schock and he doubted very much if he would be able to resume his work collecting junk again, that he was his brother-in-law and des'red to carry on the busi- Junk ness for him. License. It was decided not to do anything about the matter but to allow him to continue under Mr. Greenblott 's Lie- ense until it expires and in the meantime information could be obtained about Mr. Sulkin. The Board signed the Denatured Alcohol License for Alcohol the Town Paint and upply Company. License. 1Commitment of Water rates in the amount of $4385.90 Commitment. was signed by the Board. Commitment of water liens on the property of Lillian M. Grasb of Belmont E y Board. and Duncan Barker of Waverly was Commitment. signed by the Mr. Ross presented a letter in which he suggested that the Water regulat'io ac be changed to :makeda charge of $2.00 for turning on the water instead of a chmge of Water 1.00 for turning it off and $ 1.00 for turning it on as Regulation. the regulation now calls for. The Board discussed the matter and felt that $2.00 was too much to charge to a person to have the water turned on and decided not to make any change in the reg- ulation. Mr. Ross requested the Board to decide whether or not they desired him to continue to place water liens on property. For instance, in one case he has placed three liens on the property. He stated that if the town took Water Liens, over property by tax title he was afraid the Water Dept. would lose the money for the water rates. The Board considered that if the property was taken ' over by tax title the water rates could be considered in the sale price. However, it was decided to request the Town Counsel to give the Board his opinion on the mat- ter. 326 CYI CID r, It was voted to renew the blanket insurance on Town , of Lexington schedule in the amount of $35,000. issued through the office of Edwin B. Worthen. Letter was received from Thomas C. Wright in which he expressed a desire to acquire some of the property formerly owned by Thomas Cahir on Grove ktreet now held Tax Title by the Town of Lexington by Tax Title. n article in Property. the Warrant for the Town Meeting calls for an authoriza- tion for the Selectmen to sell the tax title property and until that is voted upon, no action can be taken. It will be also necessary to look up the law to get informa- tion in regard to the manner of handling such sales as this is the first time the Board has been called upon to se3l tax title property. A. B. C. Notice was received from the Alcoholic Beverage Con- Address. trol Commission that they had moved from the State House to 24 School Street. Three agreements were received from the Town Counsel which he requested the Board and the Town Treasurer sign Haskell in the settlement of the case of Andrew N. and Ruth N. Case. Haskell. The three agreements were signed in accordance with the instructions and returned to the Town Counsel. The Chairman reported that owing to the fact that the street numbers were changed that a new list had to be drawn up giving the new numbers and he authorized the printing of the new list. There were 500 copies made and the question came up about out-of-town people desiring these lists and not paying for them, and he felt that a charge should be made to persons from out of town if they desire a list . It was voted to make a charge of twenty-five cents ner copy to out-of-town persons. Letter was received from the Town Counsel in which he stated that there was no error in the decree issued against MacDonald who owns the shack occupied by Frank Parker in East Lexington, and owing to the fact that ser- �t {, vice could not be had on MacDonald, he felt that the pro- per thing to do was to have a crew of the Town Employees under the supervision of the Building Inspector and Hig- gins of the Engineering Dept. , go onthe land and tear the shack down and stack the lumber. (He -sugge-s-ted. that Higgins of the. Engineering Dept.- go on the land and- tear the shack down and crack -the,--7.umberfi) He suggested that Higgins photograph the shack before it was torn down, measure the material and photograph it in the pile, and then if MacDonald shows up and attempts to sue the town for trespassing, he can be proceeded against for con- tempt of the decree. He stated also that he considered 327 the advisability of including in the final decrees in Building & Zoning cases the provision authorizing demo- lition by the Town and he decided to omit it because under ordinary circumstances it would amount to an in- vitation to the defendent to do nothing and put the town to the expense of demolishing. The Board voted to authorize the demolition of the MacDonald shack in accordance with the suggestion of the Town Counsel and under the direction of the Chair- man of the Board. Letter was received from the Town Counsel in which he stated that he would proceed in the Avery Case as in- structed by the Board. Mr. Avery, however, came before the Board and asked the Board for an extension of time to move out of the place occupied by him until May 1st . He stated that there was a house in that section that was livable that he could rent for $8. per month and there was also anoth- er house that he might rent, and if he could not get either house, he would abide by the decision by May 1st. Avery He stated in regard to the house in Malden that there Shack. was a man out to see him about the house owing to the fact that they had not received any payment on it. The house is in the Home Loan and as far as he was concerned, it wason g e. He had made no payments on it and he did not consider that he owned it , He had just dropted the matter. He stated that his wife was feeling a little better now . In view of the fact that the Board issued their order to the Town Counsel tohave Mr. Avery moved from the shack on the grounds that he had this house in Mal- den to move to and he now not having any claim to the house, the Board voted to allow him an extension of time to May 1st to vacate the shack. The Supt. of Public Works came before the Board do discuss the matter of the vote of the Board of last week to furnish Frank Barry with five gallons of gaso- line per week. Mr. Scamman stated that in his report he stated that Barry received 41 gallons from the Pub- lic Works Dept. , highway section, and he was not aware that he received 41 also from the Water Department, mak- Mechanic, ing a total of 82 gallons a week which he received. Use of Gas Mr. Barry presented a statement showing that he travelled or Car. 200 miles last week and since getting his new car he has run about 5000 miles on town business. The Board felt that it was not quite fair to ask him to run his car for highway busine s on $27. per week and considered the suggestion of the ''upt . of Street to pup- II chase a pick-up body car for the use of the mechanic. Mr. Trask stated that Calvin W. Childs had a 1934 pick-up bodyFord car that he wouldsell for p f r X375. This 328 tn n car, if purchased., could also be used to put out and carry in the lanterns for the Highway Dept. for which they now use a heavy truck. The Board therefor voted to revoke their previous vote allowing five gallons of gasoline per week to Frank Barry and voted to authorize the Supt. of Public Works to purchase,the pick-up-body Ford car for $375. provided the car met with his approval and the approval of the mechanic. In regard to the use of the car owned by John O'Con- nor, the Chairman stated that O'Connor averages to run his car from forty to fifty miles a day. He stated that O'Connor at this rate and even with $15. a month received from Ude of Car. E.R.A., he did not believe he was obtaining sufficient to pay for the use of his car. After considering the matter, it was voted to allow O'Connor $10. per month for the use of his car to be paid by the Highway Department in addition to the $15. The Board discussed the matter of blasting damage to the house of Henry J. Wood, the same being the house occupied by Dr. Chester L. Blakely, 387 Bedford Street. Mr. Wood claimed damages when the blasting was done Wood House while Winter Street was being constructed. A list of Blasting the damage that was done as shown by the inspection of Damage. the Assistant Town Engineer was presented and most of the items listed were cracks. After considering the matter, the Board felt that any house of the age of the house occupied by Dr. Blake- ly might show cracks and they felt that it would be hard to determine that they were done by the blasting done in that section and the Board voted to notify Mr. Wood that they did not believe the Town should be called upon to pay the damages. Petition for assessment of damages by Harriet W. Smith and George T. Smith and Minnie Adelia Dee of Petition for Maplewood, Now Jersey, asking for an appearance in the Damages on Superior Court on the first Monday of April, were re- Valley Rd. ceived from the Town Clerk. It was voted to send poth petitions to the Town Counsel. In reference to the vote of the Board to abate the betterment assessment when a release of damages is re- ceived from Cora W. Dempsey, James A. Aker and Anna E. er er Rardin, it was decided to hold up the abatements on ac- count of the petition for damages and ask the advice of the Town Counsel in regard to whether or not this would have any affect upon the Smith cases. 329 The Chairman reported that he, Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Lyons attended the hearing on the Concord Avenue Bill, namely Senate Bill #138. Some opposition was pre- sented by Concord, Belmont and Lincoln. Some objection was made to the 100 foot set-back and he felt that if Senate this was reduced to 50 or 75 foot set-back it might be Bill #138. agreed upon. He felt that some of the men from Lincoln made a poor impression upon the committee• and he also felt that some of the Senators seemed favorable toward the Bill and there was an expression that it might be a good thing to enact a bill of this kind on all State Highways. Mr. Ferguson attended the meeting at Middlesex County Sanatorium in regard to House Bills #1485 and #1679. Mr. Ferguson stated that one bill is for the City of Cambridge to come into the hospital district and they would use the present hospital building in CAmbridge. Dr. Remick stated that there were at the present time, 150 beds and there 80 home cases and 70 cases at Rutland that should now be at the Middlesex Sanatorium. He stated that if Cambridge comes into the hospital district they will have to pay 15% of the Middlesex original cost of the original building which will be County San. approximately $209,000.000. They contemplated a fifty' House Bill.per cent grant fr'm the Government for this project and they are trying to get a 100 per cent grant, and Dr. Chadwick reported that he had been to Washington and that it looked very favorable toward obtaining a 100 per cent grant from the Government on this pro- ject. Mr. Ferguson felt that if Cambridge came into the district that it would reduce the assessment to Lexington and therefor he would be in favor of both. In regard to the bill for the addition, they have applicants now who need to go to the hospital that will have to wait three or four months before they can get in the hospital And Dr. Remick explained that if they could get the persons into the hospital it would thereby reduce the number of cases and the spread of the disease. Inasmuch as Mr. Ferguson expressed the opinion that he was in favor of both of these House Bills, the Board voted to notify the representatives and senator that they were in favor of the bills. Mr. Lyons reported that Mr. Whitney was out of town and that he was unable to get the information in regard Insurance. to his proposition on 90 per cent coinsurance. The matter was therefor laid on the table for one week. The Chairman stated that the State Accountant called attention to the fact that he felt that the town had no 330 cn con tti CD right to carry property damage insurance on town auto- mobiles owing to Acts of the Legislature of 1933 and 1934 and that the liability limits should not exceed $5000.00. In 1931 the matter was discussed and the opinion of the Town Counsel received at that time in which he stated that the Board had authority to carry liability and property damage insurance, and the Board at that time voted to continue the insurance. Discussion was had as to whether or not the present Compulsory Insurance Law had any effect on the town's car- rying liability and property damage insurance, and as to whether or not the town was liablelexcept in departments that might be earning, such as the Water Department, and it was decided to request the Town Counsel to give an opin- ion on the matter. Copy of House Bill #1519, namely an act providing for House Bill a rapid transit and traffic right of way from a point in #1519. the City of Boston to the new traffic circle at the Junc- tion of the Concord-Cambridge turnpike and the Alewife Brook Parkway, was received. TheChairman reported that Miss Mary Spencer who had been employed by the Treasurer and Town Clerk and the Mary Spencer Town Accountant one-half of the week each, had been ae- Employment. cused by the Treasurer for things she did not do and she decided that she would not work for him any longer. Mr. Trask recommended that she be employed in the Selectmen's Dept. to copy the Selectmen's records and that she be employed for three days a week at the rate of $14. per week until further notice or until she has secured another position. Mr. Mitchell came before the Board and stated that Thomas J. Doherty of Farm Crest Avenue, living with his Doherty daughter, is on E.R.A. and he applied for additional as- Case. sistance. His daughter is now working getting $10. per week and they had a total income of $18. per week. He has to pay the Home Loan $26.99 per month. The Board voted not to take any action on this mat- ter. Application for additional assistancd was received from Carl F. Jones, corner of Lowell and Maple Streets. Jones The man is on E.R.A. three days per week and was a Case. Soldier's Relief case. Mr. Mitchell reported that he was receiving as much as the budget would allow him. He checked up and found that he was not paying his rent and the Board therefor voted not to grant any additional as- sistance in this case. Sears Mr. Mitchell reported that Maurice Sears is about to Case. have a settlement on his accident case within a week or two and the town would be relieved of any further aid in this case. 331 Application was received from Joseph Vitale who has been on E.R.A. but is not at present. He asked for aid for his wife} mother and child. The bank now will take Vitale $12. per month in lieu of payment of approximately $15.50 Case. per month. In this case Mr. Mitchell recommended $14. per week on Welfare and it w as voted to grant the aid. Mr. Mitchell reported in regard to the case of Henry Nutt, Jr., who works for George Bailey from April until fall, getting $12. per week on E.R.A. and he lives in Nutt Bailey's house and is not paying any rent. He asked for Case. additioanal aid but it was voted not to grant aid. In reference to the application of Samuel Bornstein, Mr. Mitchell reported that he inquired about the insur- ance claim and he was informed that the injury occurred in the yard of one of the Bornstein houses and he had given his case to a lawyer. He did not tell who the law- Bornstein yer was or who the insurance company was, but he expected Case. there would be Court action. The Board voted to pass the application and requested Mr. Mitchell to find out who the lawyer was and the insur- ance company. Mr. Mitchell also stated that he informed them that he wanted to know what the income of Abraham, the son, was and not the amount that he was paying into the house. The Agent reported that George F. Cogswell, who was on E.R.A. for the present and who was on the Cemetery Dept. for the past two or three years, reported that his wife went to Dr. Hardcastle and he stated that she had some intestinal trouble and should have hospital treat- ment . Inasmuch as Cogswell will return to regular employ- ment within seven or eight weeks and the Agent gathered from Mr. Hardeastle that her condition was not so serious that it needed immediate- treatment, he recommended that hospitalization be laid over until such time as Mr. Cogs- well returns to his regular work. Mr. Mitchell reported having received a letter from Mrs. McDonnell that the daughter of Eliott Hadley of Vine Street was going around with her husband Paul McDonnell. Mr. Mitchell stated that he informed Mrs. McDonnell that he had nothing to do with the Hadley family now inasmuch as they were not on Welfare, one boy being at the C C.C. Camp and another one on the E.R.A. and the husband having temporary work. ' The meeting adjourned at 9:10 P. M. A true record, Attest: Clerk.