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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1960-03-07-min 473 SELECTMEN'S MEETING March 7, 1960 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen' s Room. Town Office Building, on Monday, March 7, 1960, at 7:30 P.M. Chairman Maloney, Messrs . James , Adams, Ferguson and Mrs . Morey were present. Mr Stevens, Town 'ounsel, Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and the Executive Clerk were also present Hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for permission to locate one pole and remove two existing j/o poles on Constitution Road. Notice of the hearing was sent to abutters as Pole they appear on the most recent Assessors ' list location Mr. Mahon, representing the Boston Edison Company, was the only person present at the hearing The proposed location was approved by Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and the hearing was declared closed. Upon motinn duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the petition and sign the Order for the fol- lowing j/o pole location: Constitution Road, northeasterly side , approximately 50 feet northwest of Freemont Street, -- One pole (Two existing poles to be removed. ) At 7 35 P.M. , hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for permis- Pole and guy sion to locate four poles with a guy wire and anchor wire lo- on the 4th pole on Eldred Street . cation Notice of the hearing was sent to abutters as they appear on the most recent Assessors ' list . Mr. Mahon, representing the Boston Edison Com- pany, was the only person present at the hearing. The proposed locations were approved by Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and the hearing was declared closed I 474 1.42 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the petition and sign the Order for the fol- lowing j/o pole locations : Eldred Street northerly side , westerly from a point approximately 65' west of Grove Street, -- Four poles - guy wire and anchor on the nth pole . At 7 40 P M , hearing was declared open upon petition of the Boston Edison Company and the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for per- Pole mission to locate one pole and remove an existing location pole on Lowell Street . Notice of the hearing was sent to abutters as they appear on the most recent Assessorst list. Mr. Mahon, representing the Boston Edison Com- pany, and Mr . and Mrs. John E. Kenney, 518 Lowell Street, were present at the hearing. Mr. Mahon explained that there is a pole now located in the Kenny' s driveway and the company would like permission to move it to the lot line . The Kenneys were in favor of the proposed lo- cation and it was approved by Mr. Carroll . The hearing was declared closed and the group retired. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the petition and sign the Order for the following j/o pole location Lowell Street, westerly side , approxi- mately 285 feet south of East Street, -- One pole . (One existing j/o pole to be removed. ) Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted ao approve the minutes of the Selectments Meeting held Minutes on February 29, 1960, subject to clarification of the discussion relative to fees to be charged for dumping at the Town Dump, and the discussion relative to the Millican and Ives land The Chairman read a letter from Thomas D.Kenna, attorney representing Cecile Beresford, who is claiming Claim personal injury and property damage as a result of an automobile accident involving a town truck operated by Frank Longeleway Mr Stevens received a copy of the letter and re- ported that he had contacted the attorney and also wrote the insurance company requesting it to contact him after an investigation had been made . 475 The Clerk reported that a telephone call had been received from Johnathan French, attorney for the Massachu- setts Selectmen' s Association, relative to H-2732 which has to do with assessing restaurants on Route 128 A hearing will be held Wednesday at 10 30 A M. with the Hearing Committee on Taxation. Mr. Stevens advised that the bill should be op- posed and he agreed to contact Senator Madden on the subject. The Chairman read amemorandum from Jonathan W. French, attorney for the Massachusetts Selectmen ' s Association, advising that the budget submitted by the Governor, and now pending before the House Com- Chapter 90 mittee on Ways and Means, does not contain any recom- mendation for an appropriation for Chapter 90 work for the State ' s fiscal year . All monies heretofore appropriated, including $5,750,000 appropriated last year, have been encumbered, allocated, assigned or pro- mised by the Department of Public Works for work already approved, and it appears that without an appropriation, there will be nothing for the County meetings of next fall to assign It was agreed to contact the State representatives The Chairman read a letter from Mr. Paul M. Mitchell who is concerned relative to the dispostion of the topo- graphy of the west property line of 25 Asbury Street and Asbury St. the immediate Town property which drops off onto Asbury 4tree t . Mr Carroll reported to the Board of his correspond- ence with Mr. Mitchell. He reported that the contractor worked on the property September 14, 16 and 18 with four men and a truck at his own expense removing ledge Mr. Mitchell stopped the men from working because he felt it was better the way it was, and subsequently changed his mind. Mr. Carroll told Mr Mitchell that he should discuss the subject of an abatement with the Board. If the Board agrees that he is entitled to some abatement, he could then invest the money in d fence . The Chairman asked if Mr. Carroll felt anything should be done other than what was done, and Mr. Carroll replied in the negative . Mrs . Morey asked if an abatement should be approved and Mr. Carroll replied that he did not know,. The pro- perty has been bettered but whether it has to the extent levied is something for the Board to decide . It was agreed to view the property and discuss the subject again at the next meeting. 476 CC Each member of the Board received a letter, signed by residents of Young Street, relative to open sewage, wet cellars and large bodies of water caused by the lack of proper drainage The Chairman reported that he went over to Young Street and learned that many of the people did not Young Street sign the petition for acceptance of the street. They are having trouble with Mr.Frizzore, the builder, who told them that if the street is accepted, the cellars would be dry. Howc' er, they felt that he would be re- lieved of an obligation and were not sure that con- struction of the street would eliminate the problem. Mr. Stevens pointed out that the letter sent to the Board does not request acceptance of the street, but merely asks for drainage . The Chairman said that it is possible , if the Board reviewed the situation and there was 100% signa- tures, that it could be presented at a Special Town Meeting. Later in the evening, four residents of the street came into the meeting and the Chairman explained that he had reported their problem to the Board. He advised that there are no articles in the warrant whereby the street could be accepted at the Annual Meeting. He also explained that a public hearing must be held before any street is presented for acceptance , and if the situ- ation is serious enough, it probably could be considered for a Special Town Meeting,. Mr . James explained that there were numerous re- quests for street construction which could not all be done this year and the Board considered those with the highest percentage of signatures The Chairman suggested that another petition be presented, signed by all the property owners, and it is possible the Board would consider it at a Special Town Meeting. The Chairman read a letter from Mr . William T. Baylis, advising that he has the power of attorney to act for Mr Conant, who owns property on Lincoln Street Conant Mr. Carroll reported that this individual met with him and Mr. Snow and said that if the Town had any dealings with Mr. Conant relative to subdivision of his property, easements or anything else , he should be contacted, as Mr Conant is senile , and when Mr. Carroll asked by what authority he was acting for Mr. Conant, he agreed to submit evidence , and that is the reason for this letter. 477 The communication and document were taken by Mr. Stevens The Chairman read a letter from Mr. Eugene Buckley, 22 Grant Street , registering a complaint about the snow removal in front of his house The Chairman referred to a letter sent Mr. Buckley last year stating that the area would be Snow kept clear. removal Mr. Carroll stated that if he agreed to clear the area last year, it was an error on his part and he felt it ridiculous to waste time and money by sending the snow loader over to remove the snow. Mr Adams said he thought the Board should look at it and discuss the subject further next Monday. Mr. Stevens retired at 8:25 P.M Mr . Adams said Mr Carroll should be compli- mented for the snow removal operations . The Chairman read a letter from the Mystic Valley Gas Company, requesting permission to extend a 2-inch high-pressure gas main in Kendall Road to tie into an existing main on Marrett Road. Gas main Permission was granted providing the instal- lation conforms to Mr. Carroll' s specifications. The Chairman read a letter from Mrs . Dom F. Ross, requesting the erection of a street sign on the Richard Road end of Robbins Road Some time ago the Board agreed to erect signs on unaccepted streets and have the developers of new streets responsible for those . signs . Mr. Carroll was authorized to order a sign and have it erected. The Chairman read a letter from Mr Harold B Lamont, suggesting the erection of traffic lights whereWoburn Street and Winthrop Road enter Massachu- Traffic setts Avenue . The subject was referred to the lights Traffic Study Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign an application for a Certificate of Incorpo- ration on behalf of Thomas J. Connell, 3 Abbott Road and Charles A. Stevenson, 5 Flintlock Road, satis- factpry cOaracter refere ces }aving been received from the Chief of Police . 11 Mr. Carroll retired at 8:35 P.M. 478 8 0_°' CC 1.4 Letter was received from Mrs . Rich, Collector of Taxes, asking the Board to review and consider an ad- ditional increase for Mrs . Tullar, Senior Clerk, and Mrs . Ryder, Junior Clerk As a result of the information submitted in the letter, it appeared that because of specialized train- ing, of which the Board was not aware , it was agreed to recommend to the Appropriation Committee and the Town Meeting a revised personal services budget for the Collector ' s Department which will include the following rates : Mrs . Tuller, $1.85 per hour - $64.75 per week; Mrs Ryder, $1.60 per hour - $56.00 per week. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unani- mously voted to adopt the following Salary System for Town Office Building employees C LERK'S SALARY SYSTEM The principle of this proposed system is the es- tablishment of a basic hourly rate for an inexperienced clerk . This figure represents the lowest rate paid to any clerk. To this base rate are added certain increments determined by experience, special training, service with the Town, ana job performance, theesum of which can determine the salary of any clerk within the employ of the Town. The system should be used to establish the salary of a new employee , Following are the elements of the system: Basic 1. The basic rate shall be $1.40 per hour . Training 2. If trained in shorthand, bookkeeping, business machine operation, etc. , - 10¢ per hour additional. Service in 3 . An addition 5¢ per hour shall be paid for Lexington each two years ' of service with the Town- maximum 25 cents per hour. (4. When an individual is hired there shall be ( paid an additional 5¢ per hour for each two ( years ' experience immediately preceding such Prior ( hiring to a maximum of 25sC per hour Experience (5. If such experience does not immediately pre- ( cede such hiring the amount additional shall { be 4 per hour for each two years' of such ( experience to a maximum of 10 cents per hour. Performance 6. Excellence in job performance may command up to 20 cents per hour in addition upon recom- mendation of the Board of Selectmen. Example - New employee having 8 years ' experience immediately prior to employment by Town and having skill in s: orthand. Rate would be : $1.40 + .20 + .10 = $1.70 per hour, $59.50 per week 479 Example - Employee having 15 years ' of service with the Town who was inexperienced when employed. Rate would be : $1 .40 + .25 = $1.65 per hour, *57.75 per week . The Clerk was instructed to send a copy to each Department head and advise them that the Board would appreciate receiving a notice as any new individual is employed, explaining how the rate at which he or she is to be employed is arrived at. The Board gave further consideration to Mr. Alfred A. Murray' s offer of *800 for lots 152 and 153 Theresa Avenue . A proposal to sell these lots was advertised Tax title in the February 18, 1960 issue of the Lexington Minute- man. No persons contacted the Selectmen' s Office as a result of the advertisement . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sell and convey lots 152 and 153 Theresa Avenue to Mr. Alfred A. Murray. The Chairman read a letter from Robert Bentley, 39 Asbury Street, offering $2,000 for lots 631-634 Freemont Street . Within the past month, an offer for the same lots had been rejected by the Board . It was agreed to advise Mr . Bentley that any Tax title action relative to the disposition of these lots will be deferred until all betterments have been determined which will be some time after the construction of the street . Certification of the Board' s request to the Civil Service for one permanent patrolman was received, the only name submitted being Herbert W. Evans , 22 Tucker Police list Avenue . On February 16, 1959, Mr Evans came into the Selectmen' s Office and stated to the Clerk thathe is no longer interested in being appointed to the Lexing- ton Police Department and the Division of Civil Serice was so notified The Chief of Police advised the Clerk to- day that Mr. Evans is still not interested. Petition was received from Mr. Harvey Newgent, signed by residents of the Robinson Hill area, requesting accept- ance of Hastings hoad, Childs Road, Diana Lane , Wingate Road and Leeland Terrace It also requested that the Town act as if the streets had been accepted and maintain them until they are . It was agreed that the streets cannot be accepted Petition until all necessary easem nts are obtained and that the streets cannot be maintained until they are accepted. 480 z r, cc Mrs . Morey reported that the League of Women Voters would like to have the votes for Town Meeting available the Friday before the meeting as the members of the League feel they should be familiar with the motions before they are presented. In discussing the subject with Mr Stevens, he felt that the votes should be with the Clerk or a member of the Board and only the vote shown in which a member of the League has some particular in#restw He hoped they would not want to make a change in any motion or rephrase the financing . Mr. Ferguson said he thought it would be an undesir- able policy to establish because on occasions, the votes are changed before Town Meeting and he did not see that anything would be gained by making them available . Mrs. Morey said that some times the people do find it difficult to understand the motion. Mr. James stated that it is the function of the individual presenting the motion at Town Meeting to ex- plain it . It was agreed that the League should be told that if there are any questions as to what any motion will be , the time to obtain the information is at the warrant meetings, and the Board does not feel they should be available for general scrutiny. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to charge the amount of $10.00 for the officer on duty at the Engineers ' banquet to the Selectmen' s Expenses Account The meeting adjourned at 9:20 P.M. A true record, Attest : i `xec dive lerkkSelect en 1