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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1939-03-06218 c SELECTMEN'S MEETING MARCH 6, 1939. A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, at 8:00 P.M. Chairman Giroux, Messrs. Potter, Clark and Rowse were present. The Clerk was also present. The Committee on housing Fire Department equipment appeared before the Board. The Chairman told the group that Chief Taylor had been injured in an accident and would be unable to attend the conference tonight. He said that the Appropriation Committee had suggested that the Board confer with the Chief and the Committee on the matter of the new aerial ladder truck requested this year. Fire Dept, The Chairman explained that the ladder truck now ovmed by Truck the Fire Department was twenty-two years old and had broken down at a fire recently. The equipment -the Chief wants is modern and the ladder is shorter by six feet than the present one and the question of a high building is not involved. The ladder would be automatic and one man could drive the truck to a fire and operate the equipment. At the present - time, however, it does not mean that there will be fewer men needed, but the Chief believes that the purchase of the equipment would retard the adding of men to the force , for some ti*e. The Chairman said that the Appropriation Committee and the Selectmen had ap roved the -purchase of a truck and said that it would cost 16,315.00. He said that the Appropriation Committee wondered why it would not be feasible to purchase a cheaper piece of equipment. Chief Taylor said he would prefer not to have any rather than buy cheap equipment. Mr. Rowse said that as he understood it-, the Chief's argument was that it was almost impossible to raise a ladder with the present equipment. The Committee said that it really was not appointed to have anything to do with the purchase of fire department equipment, but was appointed merely to study the housing of the force and the equipment. The Chairman said that the Committee could think the matter over and said he would contact the Fire Engineers and request them to present the article on the purchase of the truck to the town meeting members thEmselves. The Committee retired at 8;15 P. M. Mr. Carroll, Town Clerk, appeared before the Board for the drawing of two jurors. Mr. Charles E. Ferguson, Jurorse builder, of 16 Highland Avenue was drawn to serve at the criminal session in Cambridge beginning April 3, 1939. D. Jack Allia, engineer, of 34 Eaton Road, was drawn to , serve at the civil session in Lowell beginning April 3rd, 1939. 219 Mr. Clark said that none of the local plumbers were on the committee appointed to revise the present plumbing laws, and he thought it would have been only courteous to allow them to at least examine the proposed laws before they were presented to the Town Meeting. He said that they might have constructive criticism and he thought that' copies should be furnished to at least the master plumbers in town. The Clerk stated that the Plumbing Laws had been given to the printer. There was considerable discussion as to whether or not the printing of the By-laws should be Plumbing held up, but Mr. Alan Adams appeared before the Board and Laws, said he had not yet started to print the laws. Mr. Clark moved that the type be held and that the master plumbers in town be sent a copy of the -proposed by-laws and that they have the privilege of appearing before the Board of Selectmen bef ore the By-laws are. pres- ented to the Town Meeting. Mr. Rowse seconded the motion and it was so ,voted. It was then voted that the article in the Warrant concerning the Plumbing Laws be indefinitely postponed. Letter was received from the Town of Winchester rel- ative to the complaints about milkmen making deliveries in Complaint the early morning hours. The letter stated that that re milk town had had a similar request to abate the annoyance and deliveries had called a conference of representatives of the various milk dealers. An agreement was reached by which the milk companies promised not to deliver before six A.M. Arlington has no by-laws on the matter.. Letter was received from the Health Inspector stating that he had called at 16 houses on Sunnyknoll Ave. and Reed Street, and asked the people if they had been annoyed by milkman making deliveries in the early hours of the morning., and no one said that he had been annoyed. In view of the fact that none of the neighbors were bothered at all, it was decided not to propose any by-law to restrict the hours of delivery in accordance with Mr. Ingram's complaint. At 8:30 P. M. Mr. Charles Linehan, who owns property on -Westview Street, and Mr. Raymond appeared before the Board. Mr. Linehan said that about a year ago, Mr. Bowler of the N.E.-Water Supply Co. told him that he wanted some land for his pump houses, and Linehan saw that they had gone onto his land and had done work without his per- mission. They finally came to an agreement, and Linehan sold some of the land. Bowler wanted to buy some land on the left side of the railroad track, but Linehan said that he did not want to sell that land. Mr. Bowler said he wanted only three or four feet and Linehan said that per- haps that could be arranged. However, he did not hear anything mo-3!�@ until three or four weeks ago when Mr. Crocker of the same company told himthat they wanted some more land and said they would give him $300, for what they wanted. Linehan said he was undecided and would want to think the offer over. Mr. Crocker said it did not make any Linehan - re prop- erty - Westview Street 220 difference anyway, as if Linehan did not sell it, they would take it by Eminent Domain and that the street was going to be relocated and repaired. He said that there , was a hearing before the County Commissioners, but his family knew nothing about it and of course, was not present. Linehan said he felt that the people were doing business there and that they should pay for what land they had taken. Linehan gave them a price which they said they did not care to pay. The Chairman asked Mr. Raymond for his views on the matter and he replied that there was nothing that the Town could do about it as Linehan would have to make his deal with the N. E. Water Supply Co. He said that this relocation went back to the original location of the street. Linehan said that the land had been in his family from 70 to 75 years and they had paid taxes on it all that time. Mr. Raymond said that the Water Company was supposed to give the town a deed to the land. Linehan said that the difference between what he asked and what they would pay was only $150.00. The Chairman said that he knew Mr. Crocker and would take the matter up with him s oit was decided to hold the matter over for one week. Messrs. Lindstrom and Longbottom appeared before the Board. Mr. Lindstrom said that originally.the regulations .concerning gas vents were incorporated in the Plumbing Laws, but Mr.• Wrightington felt that they should not be Laws re there and said his opinion was that there should be an gas vents, amendment to the Building Laws to take care of the matter. Mr. Longbottom said that if the new Plumbing Laws were adopted, at the Town Meeting, it would leave the town with- out any regulation in effect concerning gas vents. The Chairman told them the Board would discuss the matter and they retired, It was decided that inasmuch as no action was to be taken on the Plumbing Laws at this Town Meeting, that it was unnecessary to take action on this matter now. Messrs. Fales, 'Whitman and Alden of Metcalf & Eddy, Mr. Street, P.W.A. resident Engineer Inspector, and Mr. John W. Raymond, Jr. appeared before the Board. The Chairman.read Metcalf & Eddyts report on the low bidders on Contracts 3, 4 and 5 in connection with the North Lexington Sewer project. on the basis of the low bid in each case, there are apparently sufficient funds available to finance the contracts without any deductions from the base bid prices for alternates. Therefor, accord- ing to the terms of the contract documents, no alternates can be applied provided the low bidders are properly qualified. The low bidder on Contract 3, force main, is W.C. ' Ferguson of East Jaffrey, N.H. The Chairman read 221 Ferguson's financial statement. Metcalf & Eddy's letter ' said that from past experiences, great difficulty was found in getting Ferguson to conform to specifications. However, they recommended that the contract be awarded to him. The low bidder on contract 4, pumping station building, is Albert P. Rounds of Stoneham. The Chairman read Rounds' financial statement, which was rather poor. However, Metcalf & Eddy recommended that the contract be awarded to him in spite of his financial statement, provided his surety was satisfactory. The low bidder on Contract 5, equipment for the pump- ing station, is Ralph P. Hall, Inc. of Boston. Mr. Hall's North financial statement was very good and his experience has. Lexington been wide. Metcalf & Eddy recommended without hesitation Sewer that the contract be -awarded to him. Project. Mr. Fales said that the reputation Ferguson had was that he did not follow specifications very carefully. However, it did not seem incumbent upon an engineer to :throw out a low bid because he knew he would have to watch the contractor all the time. The work Ferguson has done has been satisfactory. Mr. Raymond said that probably the Board would want Ferguson to take out his bond with the Employers' Liability, Mr. Ferguson was invited to appear before the Board. The Chairman asked him if he would be willing to place his bond with a Massachusetts Company satisfactory to the ' Selectmen if the contract was awarded to him. He said that the Peerless Company was unknown to the Board. Mr. Ferguson replied that he believed the Peerless Co. was affiliated with the Hartford Indemnity Co., but said he would be very glad to place his bond wherever the Board wished. Mr. Hall appeared before the Board. The Chairman asked him the name of his surety company, and he said that it was the New Amsterdam Casualty Co. Mr. Rowse asked if he had any particular reason for wanting to use that c6mpany, and Mr. Hall said that there was none other than that he had had very pleasant dealings with thein. He said he did business with the New England manager and very often when requested to, the bond was placed through local brokers. He said he had also been bonded with the Aetna and Century Indemnity Companies. He said it made no difference to him and would be glad to place the bond wherever the Board desired him to. He retired. Mr. Rounds appeared before the Board. Because Mr. Rounds' cash on hand was only $500.00, the Chairman asked him how he planned to take care of his payrolls for the first six or eight weeks. Mr. Rounds called the Board's attention to the fact that his real estate holdings were valued'at $65,000. less incumbrances of $28,000. He said that he planned to turn over some real estate before starting the job. Mr. Rowse asked if he had actually ' completed the transaction or if he was merely going to try to sell the real estate. Rounds replied that one deal was going through tomorrow and another was in progress, 222 The Chairman asked him what his surety company was, and he said it was the Aetna. The Chairman called Rounds' attention to the fact that P.W.A. regulations require -that ' the contractor shall take care of payments on supplies by a certain date each month. Mr. Raymond asked Rounds in what town his real estate was, and he said that it all was in Stoneham. He retired. Mr. Rowse asked if there was enough leeway between the total of the three low bids and the money available to take care of extras (such as ledge) they might encounter. Mr. Whitman said that the funds available for the three con- tracts including contingencies, was $62,888.00. Mr. Rowse said that we had borrowed $5,000. more than our share and he asked if the $62,888. included this, and Mr. Whitman replied in the negative. He said that the three contracts amount to $58,943.50 and about $3900. was left for con - North Lex. tingencies. Sewer The Chairman asked if it would be necessary to go through Project, with the article in the warrant asking for an extra amount of money. Mr. Raymond said that the margin was very close and he thought the Board should ask for the money. He recommended going through with the article in case of emergency. Mr. Rowse asked if the specifications on the pumping station were changed materially from the specifications originially bid on. Mr. Whitman replied that they were changed somewhat, but not materially. Mr. Raymond suggested that instead of being changed materially, that they were ' clarified. Mr. Whitman said they economized a little on the bottom of the station. Mr. Rowse asked if it would be possible to make ded- uctions on the contract now even though the amount of money was within the funds available. Mr. Whitman said that this could not be done because of the information given to the bidders. Mr. Rowse asked if a comminutor or a tritorator was to be used. Mr. Whitman said that these specifications called for the comminutor although the original specifications called for the tritorator. The reason for this was that the comminutor is more expensive and therefor the base bid had to include it so that if there was not enough money to use the base bid, the lesser amount, being the cost of the triterator could be substituted. However, because the total of the three low bids is within the funds avallab�e, the base bid will have to be used and as this included the comminutor, the comminutor will have to be used. Mr. Raymond asked if it would not be possible to put through a change order after the contract had been awarded, and Mr.. Whitman replied in the affirmative. Mr. Raymond said that the appropriation required for the pumping station using the comminutor would be about ,100.00'a year more than if the triterator was used. ' Mr. Rowse said -'he would'like to have something amitted or changed if there was not going to be enough money with 223 the $3900.00 overage. Mr. Rowse moved that the article in the Warrant asking for additional funds for this job be indefinitely post- poned. Mr. Potter seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Raymond said that there would have to be action taken in order to give the town the right to take an ease- ment on lands that were not covered in the other vote. He thought it would be far-fetched to take up easements only under the article. The Chairman told him to discuss the matter with Mr. Wrightington and get his ideas and report to the Board next week. Upon motion of Mr. Rowse, seconded by Mr. Potter, it was voted to adopt the following resolution: RESOIIJTION RESOLVED THAT: WHEREAS, bids for contracts numbered 3, 4, and 5 for the North Lexington Sewerage System for the force main, pumping station, and equipment respectively, in connection with the project at Lexington, Massachusetts (P.W.A. Docket No. 1464-F) have been duly received, con- sidered and compared; and WHEREAS, it appears that the bidders hereinafter des- ignated are the lowest qualified responsible bidders on the contracts set out below: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Select- men of the Town of Lexington that the contracts set out below are awarded as follows: Provided however that these awards shall not become effective until said bidders shall have been notified thereof in writing by the Superintendent of Public Works of the Town of Lexington. Contract 3 Base Bid Contract Price W.C.Ferguson East Jaffrey, New Hampshire $26,424.50 $26,424.50 Contract 4, Albert P. Rounds 58 Montvale Ave.,Stoneham, Mass. 20,525.00 20$25.00 Contract D.L Ralph P. Hall, Inc. 141 Milk St., Boston, Mass.. 11,994.00 .119994.00 The Superintendend of Public Works of the Town of Lexington is hereby instructed to prepare two certified ' copies of this Resolution and three certified copies of the tabulation of all bids in accordance with the instructions of the •Public Works Administration, and submit the same 224 immediately to the Regional Director, Region #1, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, together with names of proposed Surety Companies for performance bond ' for each bidder awarded a contract by this resolution. Upon receipt of information that the Regional Director, Region #1, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works has concurred in these eaards, the Superintendent of Public Works is hereby directed to notify said bidders in writing of said awards and to arrange for the immediate execution of said contracts and the furnishing of the necessary bonds to accompany such contracts. The group retired. Mr. Raymond said that he had taken bids on repairing the Water Departmentiruek. The Colonial ''Garage bid $361. and F. K. Johnson bid $390.,,but in the latter estimate, more wofk was included than in the former. Taking an av- erage of the two figures, the best price he could hope to get was $375.00 for repairs. The truck is almost a year old and has been operated 170000 miles. Mr. Raymond had obtained a figure on a new truck amounting to $770., less an allow- ande of $160. on the old truck, making a net cost of $610. Water Dept. He said he believed that if they took their time and purchased Truck. the parts, that the mechanic at the Public Works Building could put the truck in shape so that it would be good enough for him to use although it was a larger truck than he needed. ' Mr. Rowse asked if money for repair of the truck was in- cluded in the budget, and Mr. Raymond said that it was not as the truck was smashed into and that could not be forseen. He recommended that the mechanic repair the truck and that the Water Department be allowed to purchase a new one. The Chairman suggested that Mr. Raymond discussthe matter with Mr. Russell and bring it up again next week. Mr. Raymond said that he had been advised by the Boston and Maine Railroad that they planned to,rebuild the over- head bridge on Maple Street. They stated that they under- stood the sidewalk on the southerly side of the street belonged to the Town of Lexington. He requested Paxton to get an estimate from the railroad for rebuilding the side - Sidewalk - walk and they have submitted a figure of $325.00. Of Maple course no money was allowed in the budget for this work, Street. but if they rebuild the bridge, the work -will have to be done. He said he found that half of the sidewalk was being used for the Water main. He asked if -the Board wished him to proceed to tell the railroad that it could go ahead and rebuild the sidewalk. Mr. Potter moved that Mry Raymond be given such author- ity and that the expense be charged to the proper account. Mr. Rowse seconded the motion and it was so voted. 1 225 The Chairman said that the Appropriation Committee ' had approved $10,000. for Snow Removal and said that $60000 Snow had been spent to date. Removal The Appropriation Committee has set up $15,000. in and the Reserve Fund as compared with $6,000. last year. Reserve He stated that the Board had previously approved Fund $15,000. for Snow Removal and asked what it wished to do. Mr. Rowse moved that the Board concur with the Appropriation Committee in approving $10,000. Mr. Potter seconded the motion and it was so voted. Notice was received from the County Commissioners for a hearing with respect to the relocation and repair of Hearing on Weston Street to be held by the Commissioners on Friday, Weston St. March 31 at 2;00 P.M. in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building. The notice suggested that we notify interested Parties, The Clerk was instructed to notify interested parties and to arrange for the use of the room. Letter was received from the Planning Board requesting that the Board discuss with that Board, tax titles which had developed this year. In view of the fact that it was Tax not quite clear as to just what the Planning Board wanted, Titles. the Chairman was requested to discuss the matter with the Clerk of the Planning Board and to find out exactly -ghat is wanted. ' Letter was received from the Tax Collector of Natick Letter re recommending Mr. Thomas H. Shinkwin for the position of Shinkwin Sealer of Weights and Measures. Application for the admission of Mabel V. Brigham of T.B. 5 Hillside Terrace to the Middlesex County Sanatorium., was case. received. The Board signed the application. Letter was received from Mr. William H. Ballard ad- vising that he would be unable to serve as a member of Committee the Committee to study the Tenement House Act for towns. on However, Mr. Ballard made several suggestions to the Tenement Committee on the subject. It was voted to refer the House Act# suggestions to the Committee. Mr. Rowse moved that Mr. William L. Smith of 32 Hancock Street be appointed to the Committee in Mr. Ballardts place. Mr. Clark seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from Howard W. Newell, M.D. res- igning as Town Physician and Health Officer at the ex- Resignation piration of his term on March.31st, 1939. Application was received from the Waverley Hardware ' Co. for an Alcohol License. Mr. Potter moved that the License license be granted.. Mr. Clark seconded the motion and it was so voted. 226 W.P.A. Letter was received from Mr. Clayton F. Beach advising Music that Miss Helen Wihtol of 334 Waltham Street had been work- ' Project. ing on the Federal Music Project .from the beginning of W.P.A. He said that Miss Wihtol had never been to his office. No action was taken on the matter. Mr. Potter informed the Board that he believed the offdr of E. B. O'Connor to purchase Lots 5, 6 and 7 on Offer to Waltham Street (Holmes Estate) for $1,000. was inadequate. Purchase He said, however, that he did -not care to suggest a price Property. for the lot so that a counter-offer could be made and it was therefor voted to refer the matter to the Committee on Tax Title property. Peddler's Mr. Potter moved that Kenneth Tefft's application for License a Peddler's License be approved. Mr. Rowse seconded the motion and it was so voted. Commitment of Water Miscellaneous Charges in the Commitments amount of $29.71 and of Mater Liens in the amount of $40.21 were signed by the Board. Messrs. Mitchell and Morse appeared before the Board Welfare relative to Welfare matters. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 P. M. A true record, Attest: I Clerk. 1