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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1940-01-29 317 SELECTMEN 'S MEETING JAN. 29th, 1940. A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town 0fficd Building, at 7:30 P.M . Chairman Giroux, Messrs. Potter, Rowse, Locke and Sarano were present. The Clerk was also present. The period from 7:30 to 8:30 was held open so that persons desiring to have articles inserted in the warrant Warrant. for the Annual Town Meeting might submit them. However, no one appeared. The Chairman stated that the water services to Alexander Quinn's houses on Grant Place were frozen for a Quinn's distance of about 250 feet . These water services were services installed by a private contractor, but Mr . Giroux told Mr. Ross that inasmuch as this was an emergency, it would be all right for the town to thaw out the services. He told Mr. Ross to go down and see Quinn and give him some idea of what the cost would be and ask him how much money he was willing to spend . Mr. Ross agreed to do this. The Chair- man said he understood the thawing machine was put on one 11 of the services, but it has not thawed out yet . The Chair- man said he was merely telling the Board of this in case Mr. Quinn spoke to them about it. Mr. Potter moved that the following letter be written to Mr. John W. Raymond, Jr : "Mr. John W. Raymond, Jr. Supt . of Public Works Lexington, Massachusetts Dear Mr. Raymond: It is with regret that the Board of Selectmen accepts your resignation as Superintendent of Public Works of Supt. of Lexington to associate yourself again with Metcalf & Eddy, Public engineers of the Metropolitan Sewerage Project for relief Works . of river and harbor pollution. Nearly four years have passed since you were appointed to this office on May 11, 1936. During this period the Town of Lexington carried on two major construction pro- jects, the drainage of Vine Brook and the construction: of the North Lexington sewerage line and pumping station, under Federal P.W.A. grants. Your continued annual reappointment is in itself evidence of the regard in which you have been held . These have been unanimous on each occasion when the question of your reappointment arose. Further evidence is the fact that you are being kept as advisor to the Selectmen for the maximum time to which you would agree. 38 r Among the qualities which have particularly impressed the Board have been your thoroughness in the accumulation of facts before presenting any opinion on the matter in question; your impartiality in dealing with all parties; your strict observance of the limitation of your powers as recorded in the Statutes of the State and By-laws of the Town; your avoidance of a single arbitrary opinion where there might be several solutions to a problem; and further, your thorough honesty, both intellectually and materially. The Selectmen have voted to record this letter in the records of the Board so that it may be available for future reference. You leave us with the good will of the entire Board and every wish for your continued success. ' Very truly yours, Archie R. Giroux William G. Potter Errol H. Locke George W. Sarano ARG:M A. Edward Rowse Mr. Sarano seconded the motion and it was so voted. Garrity's - The Chairman asked the Board what it wished to do salary. about paying Mr. Garrity while he is ill. Mr. Rowse moved that Mr. Garrity' s salary be continued during his illness. Mr. Potter seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Potter moved that in accordance with the request of the Appropriation Committee, the following article be inserted in the warrant for the Town Meeting : Article "To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money for the installation of automatic sprinklers in certain school buildings , said money to be raised from the tax levy of the current year and/or by issuance of notes of the town , or take any other action in relation thereto". Mr. Sarano seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from William E. Viano requesting Sunday that the Selectmen submit the question of Sunday movies to movies . the Town. The Clerk was instructed to send a copy of the letter to Mr. Wrightington and ask him what procedure should be followed. Letter was received from Mr. Eugene L. Morgan, Chair- Plumbing man of the committee appointed to study the proposed Laws , plumbing laws. Mr. Morgan said he believed that the pro- posed laws in their new form would be ready to be submitted to the Town Meeting in March. Mr. Sarano moved that an Article article be inserted in the warrant for the annual Town Meeting to see if the Town will vote to accept the proposed Plumbing By-Laws . Mr. Rowse seconded the motion and it was so voted. 39 The Clerk informed the Selectmen that the Town Counsel stated that the proposed Building By-laws would be ready for Bldg.Laws insertion in the warrant for the Annual Meeting in March. Mr. Rowse moved that an article be inserted in the Warrant Article for the acceptance of the said By-laws . Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from the Town Clerk relative to the budget for election expenses under the jurisdiction of the Town Clerk Mr. Carroll said that he neglected to mention Elections the fact that there are four elections to be held in 1940 budget. and that it will be necessary to purchase additional tally sheets . Mr. Carroll felt that the amount as requested, $50.00, should be approved, rather than S25. Mr. Rowse moved that the Board rescind its vote of last week approving $25. for this account and that the sum of $50. be approved. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. At 8:15 F.M. Mr. William Aquaro and Mr. Joseph Vitale appeared before the Board. Mr. Aquaro said that when Bow Street was constructed, the abutters were told that catch Bow St. basins were going to be put in. He said that now the water drainage collects in front of Mr. Vitale ' s house and in freezing weather creates a hazard because of ice. Mr. Raymond appeared before the Board. The Chairman asked him about the matter and he said that there was no drainage in Bow Street and that he knew nothing about what the people were promised because that street was built before he ,same to Lexington. He said it would be a very expensive proposition to put in a drainage system now. The Chairman asked if there was anything that could be done as a temporary measure to relieve the condition and Mr. Raymond replied in the negative. He said the soil was not suitable for taking off water. In his opinion, the Town did not make conditions any worse by building the street. Mr. Raymond believed it would cost about $1,000. to take the water from Bow Street into the pond on Cataldo ' s land. The Chairman asked how much this would cost as a W.P.A. project and Mr. Raymond said that the cost ran about 50-50 on drainage projects so this probably would cost the Town $500. The Chairman re- quested Mr. Raymond to go down to Bow Street and look the situation over and report to the Board. Mr. Aquaro also complained that a shade had been placed on the street light at the corner of Bow Street and Shade on Rindge Avenue and Mr. Raymond said that this had been put Street on at the request of residents there . light. Mr. Aquaro and Mr. Vitale retired at 8:22 P.M. Mr. Raymond said that the Red Cross had requested the use of quarters in the Barnes House where the Engineers have been. They stated that a Mr. Davis has the files of Barnes the Lexington Chapter of the Red Cross in his office, which property is outside Lexington. They want to get the records and store them here where they will be handy. The Red Cross would life 40 tV tV Cl to have space where they could have groups in for sewing and knitting and also wanted the privilege of holding evening meetings in the Barnes property. Mr. Raymond told Rev. Handley that he had other requests for the quarters and had no objection to any use of those rooms with the exception of the matter of evening meetings because there is no one down there and we do not have a sprinkler system there. He told Rev. Handley that he would advise against granting the use of the rooms for evening meetings . The Welfare Dept. has requested the use of another room for purposes of conference. They would like the room now occupied by the Red Cross on the second floor. This would work out all right if the Red Cross moved downstairs. The Street and Sidewalk Survey project, W.P.A. , has been increased in personnel . The office is very crowded and Mr. Beach has asked permission to use the Engineering quarters for draftsmen. Mr. Raymond thought that the use of the quarters by the W.P.A. was for the best interests of the Towr}. The project may go on for four or five months. Mr. Rowse said that the reason the Selectmen allowed the dietitian for the Red Cross to have the use of a room at the Barnes property was that she was to work with the Welfare recipients in planning meals, etc. He said it was not the idea to furnish the Red Cross with quarters for meetings, etc . Mr. Rowse felt that if such a privilege was given to the Red Cross, similar requests from other organ- izations could not be denied. Mr. Raymond said that the three rooms over the Engineering offices could not be used unless a fire escape was installed. It was finally decided to request the dietitian for the Red Cross to move downstairs to the small office formerly used by Mr. Frank H. Street , to authorize the W.P.A. to use the office formerly used by the P.W.A. engineers and to authorize the Welfare Dept. to use the room formerly used by Mrs. Black, the dietitian. Mr. Raymond presented a request for a change order on Change Contract 3, No. Lexington Sewer, which will take care of order resurfacing Valley Road. He said he expected we would get our 45% grant on this work. Mr. Rowse moved that the change order be signed. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Raymond presented a change order for extra work on Contract B, for the construction of the Vine Brook drain, for which Peter Salvucei was the contractor. The aggregate price of the 13 items of extra work included in this change order is $1250.57. Mr. Rowse moved that the change order be signed. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. The Chairman read a letter signed by four property Street owners on Blake Avenue and Wadman Circle requesting that lights street lights be placed on those streets. Mr. Raymond 41 that one on the first pole on Wadman thought t t street light Circle would give ample service and that it would not be necessary at this time to put any light on Blake Avenue . Mr. Rowse moved that the request for street lights on Blake Avenue be disapproved. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Raymond said he took up the matter of the Town of Lexington paying for street lights in front of the Trust Trust Co. Company with Clarence S. Walker, Treasurer. Mr. Walker Street wanted to know why the request had been made and Mr. Ray- lights . mond told him it was because of the demands for economy. Mr. Walker said he would take the matter up with his directors . Mr. Raymond reported that Mr. Earle S. Mott had re- quested a list of the insurance policies expiring in 1940. Mr. Raymond told Mr. Mott that he did not believe Insurance the Board would want to give him such a list because of the article on mutual insurance going in the warrant. The Board told Mr. Raymond that it had no objection to Mr. Mott looking at the list of insurance in the Selectmenis office. Mr . Raymond reported that the Briggs Class wanted to use Cary Hall on April 4th from 8 to 10 P.M. for a concert b a college glee club. The charges will be Use of Hall $.50 and 6.75 . Mr. Rowse moved that the use of the hall be granted on that evening subject to a charge of $15. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from Mr . Raymond to which were attached four sheets showing tabulations of uses of Cary Charges for and Estabrook Halls and the conference room for the years use of hall 1937, 1938 and 1939. Mr. Raymond referred the Board to his letter of March 18, 1938 giving an estimate of the average cost of operation of Cary and Estabrook Halls. The operations cost for Cary Hall was 624.00 per use based on the costs for 1937 and the average cost for the operation of Estabrook Hall was $10.18 per use. Mr. Raymond thought that the cost for 1938 and 1939 might show a reduction of approximately 10%. It was decided to hold this matter over until the next meeting. Mr. Raymond discussed with the Board drainage in the Farmhurst section as a W.P.A. project . This property was originally written to go from the end of the project completed last year 500 or 600 feet north of the Concord W. P.A. Turnpike to and beyond Bridge Street. Forms of releases have been sent to the abutting owners . Mr. Raymond told the Board the persons who had and who had not signed the releases. He explained the reasons for not having sig- natures on certain of the parcels. He recommended that the Town make a taking up to a point near Bridge Street. The project is for cleaning out the brook and improving the grade. This brook project has been done from the Waltham 42 0.1 co line to near the Concord Turnpike. Mr. Potter moved that a taking be made from the end of the existing easement about 700 feet north of the Camb- ridge-Concord Highway to the northerly line of Grassland Street and from the above taking to Waltham Street when the signatures of Teeter, Ferrazani, and Giurleo have been obtained. Mr. Sarano seconded the motion and it was so voted. Supt. of Mr. Raymond asked authority to use Miss Corcoran and Public Works the Ediphone until his successor was appointed and the Board had no objection. Mr. Raymond said that C. H. Schofield came into his office and told him that he had been driving his car on Muzzey Street and tried to stop but could not . He knocked Damage to down a street sign. Mr. Schofield said he carried property Street sign. damage insurance and asked what usually was done in a case of this sort . Mr. Raymond said that they usually sent out bills for the damage. He asked if the Board wanted him to send such a bill to Mr. Schofield. Mr. Rowse moved that a bill for damages be rendered to Mr. Schofield. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Raymond said that the question of signing purchase orders came up . He thought it would be a good idda to con- tinue the purchase order system. Mr. Raymond said that in the past Miss Corcoran had stamped his signature on purchase orders for regular routine things but that she brought to his attention anything costing over 0l00. Mr. Raymond thought purchase orders might be signed by the superinten- Purchase dents up to some sum limit, perhaps $1.00. or x;200 . , except orders. in cases where projects are voted on by the Town Meeting or where specific items were included in the budgets and approved. Mr. Raymond said the only purchases he had been making direct were those having to do with the Public Works Building or the Town Office Building. Mr. Rowse moved that the Superintendents or department heads be authorized to make their own purchases and submit copies of the purchase orders to Miss Corcoran who is to keep them on file and have them initialed by the Selectmen in charge of each department, except when the question involved givet the department head reason to consult with the Selectman in charge of his department . Mr. Potter seconded the motion and it was so voted. Mr. Potter said that he would be willing to sign purchase orders for the Park Department during Mr. Garrity's absence. Signing Mr. Rowse moved that the Town Accountant be instructed• payrolls, to honor vouchers, schedules and payrolls, with the sig- ets. natures of the superintendent or department head, with the exception of the Park Dept . where items will be approved by Mr. Potter, after the termination of the services of the Supt. of Public Works . Mr. Potter seconded the motion and it was so voted. 45 not being an official of the town, he did not care to con- tact the owners of the corner lots and ask them to contribute toward the cost of construction. Mr. Dailey requested that the petition be cancelled for the time being. Letter was received from Mr. Arthur D. Weston, Chief Liberty Engineer, Dept. of Public Health, to which was attached copy Heights of a letter from the W.P.A. relative to the construction of sanitary sewers in the Liberty Heights section. The letter stated that the sewers would improve sanitary conditions and the Dept . of Public Health approved the plans submitted. Bill of 4150. was received from the Town Counsel for his services in connection with the two cases brought by Mrs. Barnes and the Barnes heirs against the town with respect Barnes to the Vine Brook project . Mr. Wrightington said that the suits bills should be charged to the Vine Brook project. Mr. Rowse moved that the bill be approved and charged according to Mr. Wrightington' s suggestion. Mr. Sarano seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from W. S. Caouette requesting that he be allowed to make an analysis of the insurance policies with the idea of setting up a visible index. It was decided that in view of the fact that an article will Insurance be placed in the warrant for the Town to consider the matter of mutual insurance at the town meeting, it would be best to take no action on Mr Caouette ' s suggestion until after Town Meeting. Bill of 42. was received for advertisement of a pub- lic meeting on the proposed Plumbing By-laws. Mr. Potter Printing moved that the bill be charged to the Unclassified Account. bill. Mr. Rowse seconded the motion and it was so voted. Letter was received from Crocker Snow, Director of the Mass Aeronautics Commission, stating that that body Airport had recently prepared an airport development plan for Massachusetts based upon the needs of particular localities and the requirements of the State and Federal system of air- ways. The area including Lexington, Concord and Bedford leads the list of those not having any landing facilities in which the commission feels an adequate airport should be developed. Mr. Snow enclosed an article which he requested be inserted in the warrant for the annual Town Meeting to see if the town would vote to appropriate a sum of money for the establishment of an airport. The Clerk was requested to inform Mr. Snow that it was the opinion of the Board that the citizens of Lexington would oppose the idea as strongly now as they did when it was proposed previously and that it had been decided not to insert the article. Alcohol License for the Waverley Hardware Co. at License 1756 Mass . Avenue was approved. 46 tri CZ, The applications for the position of Building Inspector were considered. Building Mr. Rowse moved that Mr. Charles E. Ferguson of Inspector 16 Highland Avenue be appointed Building Inspector in the Town of Lexington, his appointment to become effective on Feb. 1st , 1940. Mr. Locke seconded the motion and it was so voted. The Board then discussed salaries and voted to approve the following increases as of April 1st: Salaries Park Department - Doris Ohlson - t15 . to $16. W.P.A. - Rita McNamara - $12. to $13. Supt of Pub Works - Mary E. Corcoran - $19. to 020. Water and Sewer Dept . - Joseph A. Ross- $2300 to 62500 per year Supt. of Letter was received from John W. Raymond, Jr. Supt . Public of Public Works, acknowledging receipt of the Board ' s Works. letter of January 26th and accepting the terms contained therein as consultant and advisor and as correspondent on P.W.A. projects. Commitment of Water rates and list of water liens Commitment . were signed by the Board. The meeting adjourned at 12 :12 P.M. A true record, Attest : ' Clerk.