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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964-05-04-min 192 SRT,FCTMEN'S MEETING Ma 6 y4, 194 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, May 4, 1964, at 7:30 P.M. Chairman Cole, Messrs. Brown, Cataldo and Sheldon were present. Mr. Legro, TownCounsel, Mr. Gray, Executive Assistant, Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and Miss Murray, Executive Clerk, were also present. Mr. Legro referred to the contract for sewers, drain, fence main and pumping station which was awarded to Sewer Ricci & DeSantis Construction Co. , Inc., in the amount contract of $148,563.50 and reported that there is no uniformity in the name of the contractor on the contract Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to execute the contract when it is in proper form. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Engineer- to execute a contract between the Town and Whitman & ing con- Howard, Inc. , for engineering services on the Woodhaven tract sewer laterals, at the rate of 12% of the total con- struction cost. The Chairman read a letter from the Standing School Building Committee requesting the insertion of two School articles in the warrant for the June Town Meeting; one for money for final design plans and specifications and to articles obtain construction bids for the Middleby Road School; one for money for final design plans and specifications and to obtain construction bidsfbr the Moreland Avenue chool. Mr. Legro suggested that Mr. Gray obtain additional information for drawing the articles. The Chairman read a letter from John C. Morgenstern requesting the Board to make an offer in settlement of damages for a sewer easement on land located on Valley- field Strtet Lot B. sewer Mr. ar$ro presented a plan of the taking and easement reported that he had talked to Mr.Morgeastern before damages he wrote the letter . He indicated the location of the Woodhaven Trunk sewer. He recalled that the sug- gestion had been made by the Town that it would change the easement and the Valleyfield Trust would give the Town a parcel of land which is north of the easement, includ- ing all the land within the easement. The Town in turn would give the Trust a piece of land south. He said '. 193 the Planning Board was in accord, and said that both parcels are about the same The reason Mr. Morgenstern wrote was to protect his interest because the one year period from the date of entry of the original taking is up. Mr. Carroll stated that the Trust is in full agree- ment that if the land exchange is made, it would sign a release of damages, and he said it would be advisable to have an article in the warrant to bring this to a conclusion. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to insert an article in the warrant to cover the land exchange. The Chairman read a letter from Mrs. James G. Cassani, 68 Farmcrest Avenue, stating that tree roots are spreading and ruining her front walk and she felt it was up to the Town to take care of the situation. Complaint Mr. Carroll said he did not know what the problem is, and that Mr. Mazerall was going to look at it . The Chairman said when Mr. Carroll had the facts, he would answer Mrs . Cassani Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant permission to the Mystic Valley Gas Company Gas main to locate a 2" welded steel gas main extension in Gleason Road to serve gas to #11.x, Mr. Carroll having approved. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign the following pole locations, all having been Pole lo- approved by Mr. Carroll : cations Bedford Street, southwesterly side, approximately 15 feet southeast of Worthen Road, -- One (1) pole. (One existing JO pole to be removed. ) Drew Avenue, southwesterly side, approximately 90 feet northwest of Bow Street, -- One (1) pole. Drew Avenue, northeasterly side, approximately 28 feet southeast of Cliff Avanue, -- One (1) pole. Roosevelt Road, approximately 320 feet west of Wilson Road, -- One (1) pole. Lowell Street, westerly side, northerly from a point approximately 575 feet north of Woburn Street , -- Three (3) poles . (Three existing JO poles to be removed. ) 94 J C/ Letter was received from1enry C. Murphy, Jr. , 522 Lowell Stret, requesting the installation of a Street street light. light Mr. Carroll advised that he had taken care of this request. The Chairman read a letter from Lowell Wilkes, 4 Childs Road, recommending that either an underpass or an overpass be provided without delay between the Traffic Hayden Recreation uenter and the Center Playground. Mr. Carroll reported that the estimate for the construction of an overpass is 04,800 and it would be more or less the same fqr an underpass He said he did not think an overpass is the answer, but thought lights might be. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to refer the subject to the Traffic Study Committee. Mr. Carroll sai the Board should have a report from the Police Department as to how the accident which prompted this letter occurred Mr Sheldon suggested that the Traffic Study Com- mittee ask for this information and include it in a report to the Board. A letter from Rauf S. Argon, 18 Homestead Street, Fences with reference to neighbors ' fences, was referred to the Fence Viewers for an opinion. Letter from Burton Harrison, 29 North Street, in- quiring as to whether or not the Town would be interested in purchasing a parcel of his land bordering Willard's Woods, was held over. The Chairman reported that he and Mr. Cataldo Harrison looked at the land. land Mr. Cataldo stated that if Mr. Harrison is going to sell it, the Town is the logical owner. He said there has been no price mentioned and suggested that Mr. Gray contact Mr. Harrison and find out what he has in mind. He said the parcel is not worth too much. Mr. Cataldo, with reference to the drainage situ- ation on Rindge Avenue, reported that a meeting had been Rindge held with the Arlington Superintendent of Public Works Avenue and he feels the Board should send a letter to the Arl- drainage ington Selectmen requesting permission to connect the drain into the reservoir and this should be the Board 's next move. In the meantime, Mr. Gray should contact the owners of the two lots of land involved. The Chairman ksked if this would take Town Meeting action, and Mr. Cataldo replied that the Superintendent 1[ 95 did not think so. It was his opinion that Lexington, being another town, might be granted permission from the Selectmen to drain into the reservoir. It was agreed to have Mr. Carroll draft a letter to the Arlington Board of Selectmen for the Chairman's signa- ture Mr. Cataldo reported that he discussed the proposed partition in the Selectmen's Room with Mr . Donald Nickerson whose first impression was thrt he would not like to see any partition at all. However, he felt he could do an Partition acceptable job erecting a four-foot partition with glass and said he would work as close as he could to $650. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to authorize Mr. Carroll to proceed with the partition. Mr. Cataldo suggested,gg , and the Board agreed, that a letter should be sent to the Rotary Club thanking it Town flag for the Town flag. Messrs. Legro and Carroll retired at 7 :53 P.M. The Chairman read a letter from John E. McGrath, 15 Rumford Road, complaining about a Golden Retriever dog, Blaze, owned by Murray Herscott, 12 Rumford Road Herscott He also read the Dog Officer's report and recommendation dog Mr. Brown said he had received a number of complaints from other people in the neighborhood Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to order Mr. Murray Herscott, 12 Rumford Road, to keep his Golden Retriever dog, Blaze, restrained at all times. The Chairman read a letter from the Dog Officer requesting the Board to take appropriate action in es- tablishing a so-called Leash Law. Leash Law Mr. Sheldon said this would require action by Town Meeting and he was opposed to it. He said if there are a sufficient number of people desiring to put an article in a warrant, they could petition for this under a citi- zens ' article and have it in the warrant for some future Town Meeting. The Ci,airman said he thought it should go on a referendum, but Mr. Adams, a former Selectmen present at the meeting, questioned whether such a question could be on a referendum Mr. Gray was requested to check the legal aspects and it was agreed to advise Officer Shaughnessy that the Board is taking the matter under consideration. i_96 z rrv� cr Letter was received fromMr. Irwin advising that he would like to take his summer vacaticn one day a week, vacation throughout the summer months, which would be a Friday in most instances, starting June 19. The Board had no objection. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Cert. of to sign the following Certificates of Incorporation, Inc. satisfactory character references having been received from Chief Rycrofta Ralph D. Cataldo, 157 East Street, and others (hot resi- dents of Lexington) . Waldo F. Davis, 18 Boulder Road , Herbert W. Eisenberg, 470 Concord Avenue, and others (not resi- dents of Lexington) . Elias P. Gyftopoulos, 18 Hastings Road, and others (not residents of Lexington) . Martin Owens, Frank Helwig, 1099 Mass . Avenue, Robert Gurley, t.2 Laconia Stmat, and others (not residents of Lexington) Peber Ligor, 21 Thoreau Road, Rosaline Bjorn, 28 Skyview Road, both residents of Lexington. Nishan Semonian, 22L. Woburn Street , and others not resi- dents of Lexington. Letter was received from Phil Cavaretta, Chairman of the Dance Committee, Lexington Sea Explorers, re- Use of questing permission to conduct a Record Hop in Cary Hall hall some time in the next two months. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the request subject to a charge of $35.00, plus custodian's overtime fee . The Chairman read a letter from Alfred N.Willett, Chairman of the Massachusetts Selectmen' s Association Flag Day Committee, relative to appropriate exercises in all Towns on Sunday, June 14, Flag Day Request was Flag day made for a copy of any directive or letter from the Board concerning the program for Flag Day Mr. Gray was requested to discuss the subject with the Lexington Order of Elks and report to the Board next week. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to renew the following licenses : Licenses Joseph A. Costa Taxi Driver Village Variety Store Sunday Sales Five Forks Service Center Sunday Sales 19 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting held Minutes on April 27. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to reappoint Michael J. Shaughnessy Dog Officer for a term expiring May 1, 1965. It was also voted to re- Dog appoint Dr. Howard A. Smith, Second Dog Officer for a Officer term expiring May 1, 1965. The Chairman read a letter from Mrs. Howard Scharfman, President of the League of Women Voters, with reference to an article proposed by the Conservation Committee for insertion in the warrant for the June Town Meeting. The Chairman said he would acknowledge the letter and asked theBoard 's pleasure in how it should be Article answered. Mr. Cataldo said the League should be told why the Board did not insert an article in the warrant, that it had good and sufficient reasons for not inserting it. He said he did not think this was anything unusual, that the Board had denied the Commission an appropriation of $15,000 at the Annual Town Meeting. The Chairman stated that the League is questioning the procedure . Mr. Sheldon said he agreed with the position taken by the League of Women Voters in this matter. The Chairman said he would write Mrs. Scharfman and give her a rundown of the events surrounding this . The Chairman read a letter from Mr. James J. Carroll Voting recommending one additional voting machine for precincts machines one, two, five and six. Application for a Package Goods Store license, to sell all alcoholic beverages on premises at 1.0 Worthen Package Road, was received from Raymond F. Boudreau. Goods Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Store ap- to hold a hearing on the application, Monday, May 25, plication 1964, at 8:00 P.M. The Chairman read a petition, signed by residents of Valleyfield Street, protesting the erectionof a corral Petition Mr. Gray reported that the matter had been taken care of this afternoon. The people are meeting with the Board of Health this evening. At 8:30 P.M. , Chairman Fitzgerald and Mr. Robbins, Fire Commissioners, met with the Board. a 1 S Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing, deliberating, or voting on matters which, if made public, might adversely affect the public security, the financial interest of the Town, or the reputation of any person. Following discussion relative to the firemen's union and citizens ' petition for insertion of an article in the warrant, it was voted to resume the open meeting. Lieutenant Joseph P. Marshall, Fire Department, re- turned to the meeting. The Chairman referred to the citizens ' petition "to see if the town will vote to establish a policy that the Article personal services budget of the fire department be administered so as to eliminate disparity of salary between fire and police positions. ", and stated that the article would be inserted, as it appears now, on the warrant. The Chairman read a letter, dated April 26, 1964, and signed by Joseph P. Marshall as President of Local #1491 IAFF, requesting the Board to recognize Local ##1491 Inter- Union national Association of Fire Fighters AFL-CIO. He said the Board believes proper protocol is for the Fire Com- missioners to recognize or not recognize the union and the Selectmen would not take any action until after the Commissioners have acted. Mr. Arthur Burrell, Director of Civil Defense, met with the Board. He said the time has come again when he is reviewing the program and getting ready to file a Civil projected program for the Federal Government fiscal year, Defense 1965, which will cover the Town from July 1 until next June 30. He said he thought the Board should have some idea what has been happening and that he should come to it for some direction as towhere it feels Civil Defense should be going next year. He had previously given Mr. Gray a basic paper program for next year and said the important thing in filing these program papers is that they are what governs approval or disapproval of Federal participation after July 1. Each member of the Board was given a copy of the program whichthe Town has to submit. Mr. Cataldo suggested discussing the warning system with the Fire Commissioners, inasmuch as they were still Warning present at the meeting. system The Chairman said he thought the system could be tied in. Mr. Burrell stated that it should not be tied in until after the system is installed and explained that the Federal approval end $12,000 is on the basis the Town already has a fire alarm system, but once it is in there, there is nothing to stop tying in. &7 Mr. Fitzgerald asked if it was an acceptable system. Mr. Robbins said the department 's system now is Boston Edison and if it is out, they still have an alarm system between the batteries and the whistle, under the current system. Mr. Burrell explained that the Civil Defense system has a standby battery. Mr. Robbins asked if the Fire Department would be left high and dry if it went into this system and the Boston Edison is knocked out. Mr. Burrell replied in the negative Mr. Fitzgerald asked if it would be possible to have a meeting so they would know what they are accepting. Mr. Burrell stated that he would meet with the Com- missioners at any time Mr. Robbins said as soon as the Commissioners organize they would let Mr. Burrell know Mr. Gray said he would like to attend the meeting as a representative of the Board of Selectmen. The Chairman requested Mr. Gray to assume the re- sponsibility of arranging the meeting. Mr. Burrell reported that he has already had some informal notice that the Federal Government wants the $12,000 back if theTown does not get going on this Mr. Cataldo asked Mr. Legro if he needed any further information, and he replied he would let Mr. Gray know in the morning Mr. Cataldo asked if the Commissioners had agreed to tie into this system, and Mr.Fitzgerald replied in the negative The Chairman said the system is feasible and will work and the present system cannot go beyond September. He suggested that the Commissioners meet witn Mr. Burrell to make sure they understand the system fully and said Mr. Gray would also attend and report back to the Board. Mr. Legro and the Fire Commissioners retired at 9 :00 2.M. Mr. Burrell said the plan he has been working on now for a year is how to utilize the saelters. He re- ported that there are buildings to provide shelter for the population and most of this depends on additional ventilation which he does hot have This plan contem- plates increasing the capacity of the shelters by 100% He now has roughly enough space for half of the population of the Town, but space for only half the people can't be accepted and more people will have to be put in the avail- ' able space. He has talked with the Federal representatives and it will work rl tr The Chairman said this is a plan Mr.Burrell has to file stating what the Town's capacity is right now as far as shelters are concerned. He proceeded to read Mr. Burrell 's seven recommendations and a short discussion was held on each. He asked if the Board could have an opportunity to read the plan Mr. Burrell said he was not now talking money, but organization and planning. He mentioned problems of traffic control. He said he wanted more integration between the Town services. Mr. Sheldon said it appeared that Mr. Burrell needs help from certain of the Town agencies and he knew best what he wanted and suggested that he submit a request to the Board as to what he wants. Mr. Cataldo mentioned this had been done. Mr. Sheldon said it is up to Mr. Burrell to implement this and if he has any difficulty, he should come back to the Board. Mr. Cataldo said Mr. Burrell would have to convince the department heads the direction in which he wants them to go. Mr. Burrell said if they feel the Board wants; them to do it, they will, and direction has to come from the Board. Mr. Burrell said all he wants is approval that this is the right direction and that he was not seeking approval of the plan. He said the Board has to look at it, raise questions and come back. Then he can go to the department heads and say the Board has approved it and ask them what it means to the department heads in their particular area. The Chairman said the Board would read this thoroughly and have some questions on it. Mr. Burrell said he would then like to present this to the appropriate Town departments. 1�. Cataldo asked what the calendar would be on the Warning warning system once Mr. Burrell receives it back from system Mr. Negro. Mr. Burrell replied once the contract is awarded, it would take not more than sixty days Mr. Cataldo asked about the status of the radios Mr. Burrell said he did not expect to hear for a few weeks; the radios will take longer than the warning system. He said his estimate would be July or August Mr. Cataldo asked if Federal approval was holding them up, and Mr . Burrell replied in the affirmative He said he understood all specifications and contracts have to be approved by Town Counsel 201 Mr. Cataldo asked if this could be completed before I I Mr. Legro leaves on his trip, and Mr. Burrell replied in the affirmative. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 P.M. A true record, Attest -1zec e (1erk f Selecty''(�3,e' i // cre I