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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1936-03-101352 Sewer Extension, Vine Brook Road. SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 10; 1936. A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, at 7:30 P.M. Chairman Ferguson and Messrs. Giroux, Clark and Ross were present. The Clerk was also present. At 7:30 P.M. Mr. Harold F. Lombard and Mr. B. F. Groot of Vine Brook Road appeared before the Board and presented a petition for the extension of the sewer in Vine Brook Road from Vine Brook past ,their property and also past the property of Mr. Clements H. Ferguson. The petition was signed by these three property owners. Mr. Lombard stated that he had a cesspool which was built when the house was built which d3d.not give any trouble for a couple of years, but it began to overflow and he had it pumped out' -twice. He built a second cesspool which was adequate for another couple of years. Five or six weeks ago,.this began to overflow and Mr. Lombard had it pumped out but it began to overflow again in a - week and is still overflowing. He does not know where he could build another cesspool on his land. He stated that he did not want to maintain a menace to the public health and he therefor thought that the sewer should be constructed. Mr. Lombard stated that he talked with Mr. Robert L. Ryder who informed him that he would cooperate with him in every way. Mr. Groot stated that he was in practically the same position as Yr, Lombard and would like to see the sewer constructed.. Mr. Trash stated that it was estimated that Lombard's assessment would be approximately $175.00, Groot's assessment approximately $160.00, and Fergus-on's approximately $185.00. The Chairman advised the two men that the matter would be taken into consideration and they retired. Mr. Trask informed the Board that the estimated cost of the extension from Vine Brook to Winthrop Road, a distance of 440 feet, was $2000.00. The Chairman stated that if the -Board approved the installation., -it would mean raising the appropriation for Sewer Construction, Sundry Streets. Mr. Ross stated that if the Board was considering constricting a sewer to Winthrop Road, it should consider installing a twelve inch water main in the same trench. Mr. Trask informed the Board that there was $3683,00 left in the Sewer Assessment Fund on January 1st, 1936. The Board felt that it would be best at this time, to extend the sewer only far enough to take .care of the three houses, and Mr. Trask stated that it would cost approximately $1600. for such an extension. Mr. Clark moved that the appropriation for Sewer Construction, Sundry Streets, be increased from $1500. 1 u 1 1 to $3100. and that 51600. be set aside for the con- struction of a sewer in'Vine Brook Road. Mr. Giroux seconded.the motion and it was so voted. At 7:45 P.M., Mr. William Kearns appeared before the�Board to discuss his application for the position as Supt. of the Water and Sewer Division. Mr. Kearns stated that he had been a resident of Lexington for nine gears, was a property owner and his children went to school here. He graduated from Tufts Engineering School in 1914.and is a member of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. He told the Board that he was thoroughly familiar with water -worlds and gave his experience along that line. The Chairman stated that the new Board had not discussed the position of the Supt. of'the Water and Sewer Division. Mr. Giroux stated that it was a question of economy, that the Board thought it would be economical not to appoint a Supt. for the winter months. Mr. Kearns stated that he did not think the position should be eliminated and that it would be best to appoint an Engineer. The Chairman told him that his application would be given every consideration when the appointment was being made. Mr. Kearns asked if the decision would be made within a month and the Chairman _told him he did not know. Mr. Kearns then retired. At 8:00 P.M., the Town Treasurer presented the bids which he had received on the $200,000. loan in anticipa- tion of revenue. Bids were received as follows: Second National Bank - .19 dis. Plus $2. Neduton Abbey 'fic. - .19 dis. Merchant's National Bank - .22 Lexington Trust Company - .21 plus $.10 First Corp. of Boston - .165 Leavitt & Co., N. Y. - .223 Mr. Giroux moved that the bid of the First Corp. of Boston of .165 be accepted. The loan is to be dated March 11, 1936 and payable $100,000.00 on October 23, 1936 and $100,000. on December 4. 19Z6. Mr. Clark seconded the motion and it was so voted. 353 Kearns application for positim Loan Mr. Clark moved that John J. Garrity be appointed Moth Gypsy'Moth Supt. for the ensuing year. Mr. Ross seconded Supt. the motion and it was so voted. appointed. Letter was received from Fletcher W. Taft inform. Ing the Board that he wished to offer his resignation Election as Warden in Precinct Three. Mr. Clark moved that the Officers. resignation be accepted. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. The matter of appointing. his successor was held over for one week. Mr. Clark moved that Alfred P. Tropeano be appointed g Deputy Clerll� in Precinct Four. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. 354 Korman Water Guaranty. At 8:15 P.M. Mr. Frank A. Korman of 43 Ridge Road appeared before the Board to discuss his water guaranty. He stated that Mr. Vfrightington had threatened to bring suit. He did not see Wrightington., but talked to him over the telephone. He received a summons and he sent his mother to see Mr. Wrightington but it did no good. Mr. Wrightington brought suit, Korman defaulted and Wrightington received judgment for $3900.00. Mr'. Korman stated that he had told Mr. Wrightington that he was going to pay the bill and there was no use in bringing suit. However, the best he could do would be to pay $5.00 per month. He was forced to hire a lawyer and it was finally agreed to settle the case for $125.00. He stated that he was not legally required to sign the bond inasmuch as the water was already installed when he purchased the property. Mr. Ross asked Mr. Korman if he remembered that it was necessary to extend the main 200 or 300 feet to take care of his property which was not connected. Originally it was planned to go as far as the Rundlett property, but it was extended further to take care of Korman. The Chairman asked Korman what his problem was now. He replied that other cases had been settled for much less, that his taxes were not paid, and he wanted to ask the Board if they could give him an adjustment on his taxes. The Chairman told him that the Selectmen had nothing to do with taxes, that taxes came under the juris- diction of the Assessors, Korman asked if the Board would make any refund on the $125. which he had paid and the Chairman asked how much he felt should be refunded. He replied that whatever the Board thought best would be acceptable. He stated that he did not think $125. was too much to pay for the water, but at the present time he was in a very bad financial condition. The Chairman told Korman that the matter would be discussed, and he retired. The Board felt that it should not interfere in this case inasmuch as it had been turned over to Mr. Wrightington to settle and he had settled it. Mr. Clark moved that Korman►s requedt be denied. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. The Supt. of Public Works stated that he had authorized Frank J. Thompson to put up the booths for election at the Adams School and said work entailed Elections an expenditure of $4.60. Thompson has also presented and a bill of $6.75 for janitor services which.Mr. Trask Registrations knew nothing about. Mr. Ferguson stated that he thought the bill for putting up the booths should be paid from the Elections and Registrations Account. The bill for janitor services amounted to $6.75 and the Board felt that it would be best to allow $10. extra for each of the four elections to be held this year. Letter was received from the Secretary of the Appropriation Committee stating that Mr. Carroll felt f J C tbha the budget for Elections and Registrations dhould e ncreased. The item for election officers will have to be increased from $1200. to $1408., sundry items from $100. to $160. An item of $80. will have to be included for meals of election officers. These items make a total increase of $348.00 and this amount plut the $40, mentioned above meant a total increase of $388. Mr. Clark moved that the appropriation for Elections & Registrations be increased by V388.00. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Clark moved that the practice of supplying meals to the election officers be continued. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Trask informed the Board that he had received a claim for damages on account of a collapsed boiler of George W. Porter of 25 Theresa Avenue. The boiler collapsed in January, 1935. Mr. Ross stated that during the construction of the sewer in Bow Street, it was necessary to blast and the water main was cracked and it was necessary to shut off the gates. This was the only boiler which collapsed. Mr. Ross investigated the matter the next morning and he found that the boiler was equipped with a three inch valve, but he could not find out the kind of a ' valve it was. The valve was manufactured by the Boston Brass Co. and was at -least ten years odd and they did not feel that they could be responsible for the valve inasmuch as it was so old. The plumber stated that the valve did not operate because the spindle in the valve was sticky and did not release. The Valve Company thought that the valve was not installed correctly. Mr. Ross stated that twenty-two houses were shut off qnd this was the only collapsed boiler. Mr. Clark moved that no action be taken on Mr. Porter's claim. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Trask asked the Board who should send out bills for betterment assessments. The Clerk etated that in accordance with the ruling received from Mr. Wrightington in 1934, it was up to the Tax Collector to send out the bills. Mr. Ross moved that the Assessors and the Tax Collector be furnished a copy of Mr. Wrightington's ruling. Mr.' Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Trask stated that he had received an appli- cation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars for a permit to use Estabrook Hall for a smoker on March 26th. No ' admission is to be charged and the smoker is for veterans only. Mr. Giroux moved that the permit be granted and that no charge be made. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted, 355 Meals for Election Officers. Porter, claim for collapsed boiler. Betterment assess- ments, Use of Hall. 356 Wiring at Public Works Building. 100,.00 r expenditures to be approved. Bill for bit grinder. Mr. Trask stated that he discovered that there was something wrong with the wiring at the Public Works Building. Motors and fuses were burning; out due to the fact that they were -cutting a lot more onto -the cir- cuits than they were supposed to. Upon investigation he found that there was -only one power circuit and that there are twelve or thirteen motors on light circuits. He hired John Moakley to go over the situation and put in some •additional power lines so that the motors could be put on power circuits and the three cent power rate could be had. The work was started on January 27th. Mr. Moakley had to run new conduits practically the whole length of the building and the cost of the conduits and wire alone amounted to over $100.00. The total mount of the bill is $372.17. Mr. Trask stated that if he had realized the bill would run over•$150. he would have brought the matter to the Boardrs attention first. The question of what the policy of the Supt. of Public Works should be in matters sual i as these was discussed. Mr. Ross moved that all capital expend- itures over $100. be anp roved by the Board of Selectmen -before the expenditure is made. Mr. Giroux -seconded me ttm o�ie '1i �1t yv s tt v Citi Gi�iv�efdpay- uniil of er owln eeetin�g,ea�n awweswso v t Letter was received from the Town Accountant to which was attached an invoice from the Public Works Supply Co. for a twelve inch bit grinder which cost 0460.00.0 The invoice was submitted by the Public Works Dept. to be paid one-half from Highway Maintenance and one-half from Water Maintenance. A bill in the amount of $7.00 for express on the equipment was.also attached. The Chairman asked the purpose of the machine and Mr. Trask informed him it was to sharpen drills. Mr. Clark asked Mr. Tras?: what the procedure had been in the past when he was a member of the Board and if the Supt. of Public Works made purchases of such a large amount without the approval of the Board and Mr. Trask replied that he did. Mr. Ferguson stated that he thought the bill should be charged to the Public Works Building inasmuch as it was permanent dquipment for the building and was to be used by all departments. Mr. Clark moved that payment of the bill of $450.00 received from the Public Works Supply Co. be deferred until after Town Meeting. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. - Mr. Giroux asked Mr. Trask if he could make any suggestion as to what might be done for the W.'P.A. men on transporting them to and from the projects. He stated that the men earn a very small wage and could not afford to pay bus fare and usually walk quite a distance to reach the job. Mr. Clark wondered if it were not the problem of the W.P.A. rather than of the Town. Mr. Giroux moved that the Supt. of Public 1 L 357 W.P.A. Supervision. Works look into the matter and report to the Board on Monday evening at the Special Meeting which is to be held at 7:00 P.Y. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Trask stated that Clematis Brook had been shut down twice because the Town did not show sufficient interest in the supervision of the job and that the Town was in disrepute on account of that job. However, he had been talking with an Inspector who told him that the job could be opened up if it were put under very striet supervision and if a Junior Engineer were put on the.job to be there at all times. Mr. Trask thought that the criticism on the handling of the work was justified. He thought that outsidd of Harry Burgess and Charles Alger they did not have a decent foreman. He thought that it would be absolutely necessary to put O?Connor back full time on field work, that a man be in the Office at all times and that a girl was needed at least half the time. He stated that Mill Brook, Clematis Brook and Lincoln Street each had about fifty men work- ing on the projects. He thought that Mr. Burgess was all right to handle Hill Brook, Alger was all right to handle Clematis Brook and he intended to put Timothy Kinneen in as foreman on Lincoln Street. Mr. Ross stated that he thought if the Town was going to pay men to serve as foremen, that they should employ experienced men. He asked Mr. Trask what percentage of the total cost of the projects the Town had spent for supervision, and Mr. Trask stated that only one man had been paid. Mr. Ferguson stated that what was needed was a Junior Engineer, an •office man, a foreman for Mill Brook and a foreman for Clematis Brook and a part time clerk. Mr. Ross suggested that Mr. Trask submit a list of names to the Board next Monday evening so that people might be chosen for the above positions. Mr. Giroux moved that the matter be held over to the Special Meeting to be held on next Monday evening, but the motion was not seconded. It was felt that it would cost $100, a week to employ this additional help. Mr. Giroux moved that the appropriation for Public Works, Labor and Materials be increased to $2500.00. Mr. floss seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Clark voted in opposition to the matter. Mr. Giroux then moved that the vote be reconsidered. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Giroux then moved that his vote be rescinded.Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Giroux then moved that the appropriation be increased by $1000.00. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. ' Mr. Trask suggested that the Town put in an applica- tion for the construction of Tower, Richard and Plymouth Roads and Hibbert Street under the W.P.A. The Chairman 357 W.P.A. Supervision. 358 y Resignation stated that if such applications were submitted; that of Mr. ` no one could tell when they might be approved and that ' Betterment the work would, no doubt, take twice as long to be Streets - completed. He thought the citizens in the Tower Road to be eon- section would be much better satisfied if the Town did structed the work. Mr. Trask stated that the Town is being under W.P.A. criticized by the W.P.A. officials for not submitting twice as many projects as they will complete. Mr. Clark moved that action be deferred for one week but Slaughter the motion was not seconded. Mr. Giroux moved that Inspector. the Supt. of Public Works be authorized to request the W.P.A. funds for the construction of Tower, Richard and Plymouth Roads and Hibbert Street. Mr. Ross seconded Patriot's the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Clark voted in Day opposition. Budget, The Chairman suggested that it would be a good idea -to List of to request the Supt. of Public Works submit to the Streets - Board a'list of the streets that might be 'done undez* W.P.A. the W.P.A. for consideration and Mr. Giroux made a Projects. motion to that effect. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Clark voted in opposition. Mr. Trask rejuested that the Board reduce the Supt. of appropriation for the Supt. of Public Works Office by Public Works $350.00. He stated that the reason for this was that Salary. ' the Board had recommended an increase in his salary by that amount and that evidently the question of salary - increases for the other employees was revolving around the increase in the salary of the Supt. of Public Works, Mr. Clark moved that the increase of $350.00 in the salary of the Supt. ,of Public Works formerly approved by the Board be rescinded. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Ferguson voted in opposition to the matter. Resignation Letter was received from George M. Davis advising of Mr. ` that he wished to resign -as a -"member of the Board of Davis. Registrars of Voters. Mr. Clark moved that the res- ignation be accepted. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Animal Mr. Clark moved that Dr. Chester L. Blakely be Inspector. nominated for the position as Animal Inspector for the ensuing year. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Slaughter Mr. Clark moved that Matthew Stevenson be nominated Inspector. for the position as Slaughtering Inspector fol, the eogd year. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so vo Patriot's ' Letter was received from the Apprcp riation Committee Day advisin the Board that that Committee had approved the Budget, sum of 1500, for Patriot's Day Celebration. 359 Letter was received from the Town Counsel advising that David Govenar had claimed an appeal to the Supreme ' Judicial Court in the bill in equity which Judge Govenar Williams decided in favor of the Town enjoining the case use of his lawyers sign in front of his dwelling house in East Lexington. Mr. Clark moved that the Town Counsel be instructed to defend the case in the Supreme Court. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from the Chairman of the Dental Clinic Committee advising that a slight reduction in Dental the amount of time which the dentist wi1-1 be employed Clinic had been made. It was requested that the budget be Budget reduced by $100.00 therefor making a total budget of $1850. for the year. Mr. Clark moved that the following licenses be granted: Louis J. Reynolds' - 1737 Mass. Ave. - Auctioneer Licenses. Forrest E. King - 1788 Mass. Ave. - Overhanging Sign. Mr. Ross seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from the Town Counsel advising that the Ryders had appealed to the Supreme Court in all the cases which Judge Davis of the Land Court decided in favor of the Town on foreclosure of tax titles. Mr. Wrightington stated that he had advised Mr. Scamman that he, as Collector, had a right to bring an automatic Ryder action of contract against the taxpayers to whom the Tax taxes were assessed on the parcels which Judge Davis caeca. decided against the Town so long as the six year statute of limitations had not expired. Mr. Wrightington asked if the expense of such actions should be charged against the Treasurer's fund for enforcement of tax titles or against the Law Dept. appropriation. He thought they should be charged to the Tax Title Fund. The Clerk was instructed to find out from Mr. Russell to what said expense should be charged. Mr. Clark moved that the Town Counsel be instructed to contest the cases. Mr. Giroux seconded the motion and it was so voted. The matter of appointments was held over until next Appoint - week. meats. Mr. Clark moved that the Board of Selectmen concur with the Appropriation Committee in the different Budgets, appropriations that had not previously come to the attention of the Board. It was voted to hold the meeting next Tuesday even- Meeting ing at 60-30 P.M. The Supt. of Public Works report for the week ending Report March 7th was received and approved, . 36O Commitment. The following commitment was signed b the Board; Miscellaneous Water c1m rges - 146.50 Old Age Assistance abatement in the amount of Abatement. .83 was signed by the Board. Mr. Mitchell stated that there was a balance of W.P.A. only $500, in the Sewing Unit W.P.A. Project and he Sewing stated that the Town should apply for an additional Unit. allotment. He thought there was enough money to last this week only. Mr. Giroux moved that the Board approve a request of $2500. for the Sewing Unit. Mr. Floss seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Mitchell discussed the case of George F. Cogswell and family. Cogswell probably will go back Cogswell to work for the Cemetery Dept. in April. Mr. Mitchell aide recommended aid in the amount of $12.00 per week plus fuel. Mr. Clark moved that the recommendation be approved. Mr. Girouxseconded the motion and it was so voted. The meeting adjourned at 11;55 P.M. A true record, Attest: Clerk, ow f7 1