HomeMy WebLinkAbout1940-01-13 591
SELECTMEN'S MEETING
JAN. 13th, 1940.
A special meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held
in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, at 2:00 P.M.
Chairman Giroux, Messrs. Potter, Locke and Sarano were
present. Mr. Rowse arrived at 2:20 P .M. The Clerk was
also present.
Letter was received from Leonard Jellis of 70 Ward
Street demanding that ice and slush be removed from streets Snow
so that they will be safe. Mr. Sarano said that he had Removal
had 15 or 16 telephone calls since the first snow storm. He
said that this Board had approved a certain number of side-
walks to be plowed on either one side or both sides of cer-
tain streets. He went up to the Public Works Building at
the time of the first storm and found one sidewalk plow
lying idle. He asked Barry if the plow was out of order
and Barry said that it was not . Mr. Sarano said he thought
that the Board should demand that the sidewalks d esignated
on Nov. 20, 1939 be plowed first and that the sidewalk
plows should be used until other sidewalks in town have
been plowed. Mr. Potter said he believed that the Board
was wrong when it laid out a certain few sidewalks to be
plowed. He thought all or none should be plowed. The
Chairman said the question was whether or not the Board
wanted to revise its orders in regard to sidewalk plowing.
Mr. Potter moved that the sidewalks designated on the
list made up on November 20, 1939 be plowed first and that
the equipment be kept in operation plowing other sidewalks
as long as is practicable. Mr. Sarano seconded the motion
and it was so voted.
The Clerk was instructed to acknowledge Mr. Jellis'
letter and tell him that the regulations were being revised
in an attempt to use the existing equipment as much as is
necessary.
Mr. Raymond appeared before the Board.
The Chairman said that he had the unpleasant task of
informing the Selectmen that the Town was about to lose its
Supt. of Public Works. Last Thursday, Mr. Eddy came to see
Mr. Giroux and said that before speaking to Mr. Raymond, Supt. of
he wanted to speak with this Board through the Chairman, Public
and inform it that Metcalf & Eddy and a Chicago firm were Works
the engineers on a very large project that the State is
going to do in Boston Harbor. Mr. Eddy said that he had a
great need of Mr. Raymond and was anxious to secure his
services. The Chairman told Mr. Eddy that the Selectmen
could do nothing to stand in Mr. Raymond's way. Mr. Giroux
said that he did not get in touch with the other members
of the Board at that time as there was some question as to
whether or not the contract would go through quickly. Mr.
Eddy wants Mr. Raymond for six months and possibly for
eighteen months. His request was - could the Town, or would
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the Town, grant Mr. Raymond a leave of absence for six
months . The Chairman talked with Mr. Wrightington and
gave him an outline of the facts. He found that it is
not within the power of the Selectmen to grant the Supt.
of Public Works a leave of absence to go to another
position because the Statute says that the Supt. of
Public Works shall not hold any other position. The
Chairman s aid that Mr. Raymond wanted to take this
position as he looks upon it as an advancement both
financially and otherwise. The Chairman said he had talked
with Mr. Raymond along the line that his loss here would be
felt, naturally, but mostly in the matter of drainage and
sewage projects. He said that Mr. Raymond and he had more
or less mutually agreed to submit for the Board' s con-
sideration, the possibility of Mr. Raymond being connected
with the Town as an advisor for at least six months on a
retaining fee basis. Mr. Wrightington pointed out that it
is extremely important that Mr. Raymond be available in the
matter of pending law suits on the Vine Brook project as he
is the only one having the necessary information relating
to them. The Chairman and Mr. Raymond agreed in submitting
these facts to the Board so that it could have something
to start from. They agreed on the sum of *100. per month
retaining fee and agreed that the person occupying the
position of Supt. of Public Works should have the right
to consult with Mr. Raymond when he wished. Mr. Raymond
would be out here a total not to exceed two working days
each month to consult and advise. The Chairman said he
believed he had outlined the situation as he had it. He
said he did not want to informthe Board of this immediately,
because he felt that if the deal did not go through, there
was no use in stirring things up. The project merely has
to have the Attorney General's approval now before going
through.
Mr. Raymond said that while things were fairly definite,
there is a possibility that the project will not go through.
He said that if the Attorney General approved the contract,
Metcalf & Eddy would want him just as soon as he could get
out of here, which he thought would be about one week. Mr.
Raymond said that if the project did go through, he would
do everything possible to assist the Board and the town to
the best of his ability. He said that Mr. Giroux spoke of
two stages --six months and 18 months. The present contract
which has been signed covers the six months ' stage; the
additional 12 months' period depends on what circumstances
are six months from now, etc. Some people think that the
contract will never be approved. He talked with Mr. Giroux
about this matter and he felt that the Board would take the
position that it should be informed of this situation and
not have it thrown on them suddenly. Mr. Raymond said that
if the Board and he decided upon an arrangement such as had
been mentioned, he would think that it should be worded so
that the Selectmen could terminate it at any time it saw
fit. Mr. Eddy advised Mr. Raymond that after six months,
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he would have very great difficulty in giving more than
a very small amount of time to the Town. The six months '
period is for preparation of a report and final determination
of locations of very large conduits all in a study of a great
mass of detailed data relative to underground structures on
both sides of the Charles River and East Boston. Mr. Eddy
selected Mr. Raymond because of his previous work of a
similar nature in other places: Mr. Raymond said that this
was a distinct advance for him, and with the kind of work
he liked to do. He said he had been very happy here and
might continue to be for some time. He wanted to point out
that the new project was not tied up finally as yet. It
all hangs on Attorney General Dever ' s approval.
Mr. Rowse said that Mr. Raymond spoke about taking one
week to clean up his work here if the matter reaches the
point where he actually passes in his resignation. He
asked if it was not going to be impossible for the Selectmen
to straighten matters out in one week. He said he thought
Mr. Raymond was over-optimistic in thinking of making the
change on such short notice. He asked if Mr. Raymond felt
that he could leave within a week' s time without leaving
things in rather a chaotic state as far as details were
concerned. Mr. Raymond said he thought he could do it.
Mr. Rowse asked if the Chairman' s idea would he not
I. to appoint a Supt. of Public Works . The Chairman replied
in the negativd and said that the Selectmen have to appoint
a Supt. of Public Works.
Mr. Sarano asked what particular phase of Town work
Mr. Raymond felt would need the most attention if he were
not here. Mr. Raymond said there was nothing that bothered
particularly. He said the most important thing now was to
get the Engineering data out for Town Meeting and W.P.A.
projects. He said that he would plan to come out two or
three times a week and spend an hour or so with the Town
Engineer making suggestions and recommendations.
The Chairman said that Mr. Eddy requested that Mr.
Raymond be given a leave of absence, but that was im-
possible. His suggestion would be a gentlemen's agreement
whereby at the end of six months if Mr. Raymond wishes to
return, that the Selectmen would give him every consideration.
He said this would not bind the Board but would mean that
at the end of six months , Mr. Raymond could come to the
Selectmen and say that he wished to return. The Chairman
suggested that the Board not go out and ask for applica-
tions for the position but that it take some man from the
Town personnel and give him a temporary appointment to the
position so that at the end of six months, if things are
not working out well and Mr. Raymond wants to come back,
he can be reinstated. If the man was doing fairly well,
the Board could keep him as an Assistant Supt. of Public
Works. If the Board gave the position to one of the present
town employees and he did not work out, the Board could
then ask for applications for the position. He suggested
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to
that the Board think the matter over and if it agreed with
him, that Monday night if the man was decided upon, he
should be told immediately so that he could report to
Mr. Raymond and start working with him immediately. Mr.
Raymond said he thought he would know within a week whether
or not the project was going through.
Mr. Rowse said that the job was for either six or
eighteen months. He asked if it was a temporary job and
Mr. Raymond replied in the affirmative. Mr. Rowse asked
if Mr. Raymond desired such a job as this with Metcalf &
Eddy as a permanent position, and Mr. Raymond said that
he did. Mr. Rowse then asked if that shouldn't be taken
into consideration and Mr. Raymond said that he thought it
should. Mr. Rowse said that his point was that Mr. Raymond's
desires were toward the engineering business with Metcalf
& Eddy or some other firm rather than the Supt. of Public
Works position in Lexington. He said he thought that was
a fact of great importance. Mr. Rowse asked Mr. Raymond
what he considered the outstanding qualities a man should
have to qualify for the position of Supt . of Public Works.
Mr. Raymond said he believed the man should be an experienced
engineer and should possess executive ability up to a
certain point. He should at least be able to handle the
superintendents of the divisions. He should be able to
advise and size up the questions and arguments which arise
between the different divisions with respect to their work.
The Board decided to think over the situation over
the week-end and to discuss it further on Monday evening.
Mr. Raymond read a letter from the Regional Council,
Public Works Administration, advising that the P.W.A. was
P.W.A. not authorized to accept new applications or make new
allotments for public works projects. The letter stated
that it was impossible for the F.W.A. to assist the Town
of Lexington in the construction of the North Lexington
sewers.
No. Lex. The Chairman said he instructed Mr. Raymond to order
Sewers, data prepared so that a W.P.I. project for the North Lex-
W.P.A. ington Sewers could be submitted for approval . He asked
if the Board approved his action, and it did.
Mr. Rowse asked about the status of the Liberty
Heights sewers. Mr. Raymond thought the project has been
Liberty approved by the State Board but he had some doubt as to
Heights whether we could get Federal funds for work in unaccepted
sewers. streets. He said he had had the estimates made, and if
we get the work approved in accepted streets, the Town
can construct with its own forces the sewers in unaccepted
streets without adding materially to the cost of the
project.
Mr. Rowse moved that Mr. Raymond be instructed to see
that the Liberty Heights sewer, the Merriam Street, Coolidge
Ave. sewer, the North Lexington Sewer and the Drainage
Program, were submitted to the W.P.A. in that order and
that if possible, the Selectmen be advised prior to
February 19th as to whether or not these have been approved
by the W.P.A. Mr. Potter seconded the motion and it was so
voted.
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Mr. Raymond retired at 3 :45 P.M.
The Board then discussed budgets. The Chairman said
that last week Mr. Beach informed the Selectmen that there
would be a carry-over of $500.00 in Public Works, Labor,
Material and Expenses, but he meant that there would be that
much on hand at the time of the Town Meeting. There actually W.P.A.
was a balance of $5800. on December 31st. He said he thought budget.
the Board ought to change its vote of last week relative
to the W.P.A. appropriation.
Mr. Potter moved that the vote of last week approving
an appropriation of $25,000. be rescinded and the following
vote adopted: Voted: That for the time being, the Selectmen
recommend an appropriation of $20,000.00 for Public Works,
Labor and Materials, with the understanding that this
excludes the Merriam Street, Adams Street and Coolidge Ave .
sewer, the Town's share of which amounts to $11,116.00 and
also excludes the Liberty Heights sewer, the Town' s share of
which is $10,508. with the understanding that in the event
that these two projects are approved, the Town's share
shall be bonded and the receipts under the Betterment Act
from these two projects shall go into the Sewer Assessment
Fund with the understanding that the said receipts will be
used to pay off the bonded debt. Mr. Locke seconded the
motion and it was so voted.
Budgets were discussed and action taken as follows :
Department Requested Approved
Selectmen's Expenses $1861.00 $1861.00
Law Dept. Personal Services and
Special Fees 2500.00 3000.00
Law Dept. Expenses 570.00 420.00
Accounting Dept. Exp ensea 275.00 275.00
Elections Expenses (Under
jurisdiction of Town Clerk) 50 .00 25.00
Elections Expenses (Under
jurisdiction of Selectmen) 2321.00 2321.00 Budgets
Supt. of Public Works Expenses 265.00 265.00
Town Offices Expenses 6000.00 6000.00
Board of Appeals Expenses 200.00 200.00
Planning Board 250.00 250.00
Police - Personal Services 38520.33 38520.33
Police - Expenses 4300.00 4200.00
Bldg. Inspector - Personal
Services 1100.00 1100.00
Wire Dept. - Personal Services 600.00 600.00
Wire Dept. - Expenses 100.00 100.00
The meeting adjourned at 5 :15 P.M.
A true record, Attest :
Cler .