HomeMy WebLinkAbout1959-05-25-BOS-min 151
SELECTMEN'S MEETING
May 25, 1959
A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was
held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building,
on Monday, May 25, 1959, at 7:30 P.M. Chairman Maloney,
Messrs James, Adams, Ferguson and Mrs. Morey were pre-
sent . Mr. Stevens, Town Counsel, Mr. Carroll, Superin-
tendent of Public Works, and the Executive Clerk were
also present.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to approve the minutes of the Selectmen ' s Meeting held Minutes
on May le, 1959
Mr. Stevens presented an Order of Taking for a
sewer easement across land of Bramont Trust, adjoin-
ing the ramp at Marrett Road and Route 128. Order of
Mr. Carroll presented a plan entitled "Plan of Taking
Sewer Easement off Northern Circumferential Highway,
Route 128, Lexington, Mass. Scale 1" =- 40' , May 19,
1959, John J. Car-oll, Town Engineer" .
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to sign the Order of Taking as prepared by Town Counsel
in the following form:
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex, ss. Town of Lexington
At a meeting of the Board of Selectmen of theTown of
Lexington held on the 25th day of May, 1959, it is
ORDERED: Whereas at a special Town Meeting duly called,
warned and held on September 15, 1958, in accordance with
with the provisions of law applicable thereto, it was unani-
mously
nani-
mously
"VOTED: That the Selectmen be and they hereby are
authorized to further extend to the general vicinity of
the intersection of Shade and Weston Streets, in such lo-
cations as the Selectmen may determine, subject to the
assessment of betterments or otherwise , the sanitary sewer
that it was voted to extend under Article 14 of the warrant
for the 1958 Annual Town Meeting, in accordance with Chapter
504 of the Acts of 1897, as amended, or otherwise, and to
take by eminent domain, purchase or otherwise acquire any
fee, easement or other interest in land necessary therefor;
and to appropriate for the construction of such extension
and for land acquisition the sum of ;223 ,000.00 and to pro-
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vide for payment thereof by the transfer of $6880.00
from the Sewer Assessment Fund, the transfer of $6200.00
from the unexpended balance in the current appropriation
for Interest on Debt that was voted under Article 4 of
the warrant for the 1958 Annual Town Meeting, and the
balance of $210,000.00 to be provided by the issue of
bonds or notes of the town; and that the Treasurer, with
the approval of the Selectmen, be and he hereby is author-
ized to borrow the sum of $210,000.00 and issue bonds or
notes of the Town therefor, to be payable in accordance
with the provisions of Chapter 44 of the General Laws, as
amended, within a period not exceeding twenty years from
their dates .", and
WHEREAS the Selectmen have determined that in order
to install the said sewer it is necessary that the sewer
be located in the land hereinafter described.
NOW, THEREFORE, we the undersigned, being a majority
of the Board of Selectmen of said Town of Lexington, duly
elected and qualified and acting as such, do hereby, under
and by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 504 of the Acts
of 1897 and Chapter 79 of theGeneral Laws, and all acts in
amendment thereof and in addition thereto, and of any and
every other power and authority us hereto in any way en-
abling, take in the name and on behalf of said Town of
Lexington the perpetual rights and easements to lay, con-
struct, inspect, repair, remove, replace, operate and
forever maintain a sanitary sewer or sewers with any man-
holes, pipes, culverts and other appurtenances, and to do
all other acts incidental thereto, including the right to
pass along and over the land for the aforesaid purposes, in,
through and under a certain strip of land in said Lexington
bounded and described as follows:
Beginning at a point in the southeasterly line
of the N rthern Circumferential Highway (Route
128)Ramp5 which point is situated southwesterly
and distant 38.08 feet from a Massachusetts
highway bound; thence running south 08°49'22"
West distant 336.16 feet to a point at land of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; thence turn-
ing and running South 60° 58'40" East by said
land of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dis-
tant 21.32 feet to a point; thence turning and
running North 08° 49' 22" East, distant 352.98
feet tb a point in said southeasterly line of
the Northern Circumferential Highway (Route 128
Ramp) ; thence turning and running South 73° 24' 29"
West by said line of the Northern Circumferential
Highway (Route 128 Ramp) distant 22.14 feet to
the point of beginning:
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all as shown and marked" 201 Sewer Easement" on
plan entitled "Plan of Sewer Easement Off Northern
Circumferential Highway (Route 128) Lexington, Mass.",
dated May 19, 1959, John J. Carroll, Town Engineer,
a copy of which is hereto annexed and to be registered
herewith.
And we do hereby also so take temporary construction
easements, for use in constructing the sewer to be in-
stalled in the permanent easement hereinabove described,
in two strips of land each having a uniform width of
15 feet and extending respectively along the full lengths
of the easterly and westerly side lines of the above de-
scribed permanent easement, all as shown and marked"15'
Construction Easement" on said plan.
The temporary construction easements herein taken
include the right to enter upon the land taken, to
deposit earth and material thereon, and in general to
make all use necessary or desirable in connection with
the aforesaid sewer construction, and the Town shall be
obligated to restore the land to reasonably the same
condition in which it was prior to the entry of theTown
thereon. The construction easements shall terminate
thirty days after the completion of the sewer construction,
and, in any event, not later than one year from the date
of this order.
Said rights and easements in the land included within
the above descrijtions are taken without interference with
or prejudice to the rights of the respective owners of the
land, except so far as is reasonably necessary in the ex-
ercise of the rights and easements hereby taken, and there
are reserved to the respective owners and their heirs, suc-
cessors and assigns all their respective rights in and to
the use of their lands for all lawful purposes not incon-
sistent with the use thereof for all of the purposes here-
inabove mentioned.
On each occasion that the Town enters upon the land
in which the aforesaid rights and easements are taken and
performs any work thereon, it shall be the obligation of
the Town to remove all surplus material and to leave the
premises in reasonably the same condition as when the
entry was made .
Any trees upon the land included within the above
described parcel are included within the taking.
The land in which the aforesaid rights and easements
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are taken is believed to belong to the following named parties, bu
but if the name of the owner of any of said land or of any in-
te±est therein is not stated or is not correctly stated, it is
to be understood that such land or interest is owned by an
owner or owners unknown to us .
REGISTERED LAND
Lots as shown
on aforesaid Dertificate
Owner plan of title Book Page
Theodore L. Storer and Part of
Roscoe W. 'Brooks,Trustees Lot"A" 88131 570 181
of Bramont Trust
No betterments are to be assessed for this improvement.
And said Board, having considered the question of damages,
hereby determines that no damages have been sustained and none
are awarded.
WITNESS our hands at Lexington as aforesaid, this 25th
daiy of May, 1959.
/s/ William E. Maloney '
Raymond W. James
Ruth Morey
Gardner C . Ferguson
Alan G. Adams
Majority of the Board
of Selectmen
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex, ss. May 25, 1959
Then personally appeared William E. Maloney, Alan G.
Adams, Gardner C . Ferguson, Raymond W. James and Ruth Morey,
known to me to be a majority of the duly elected, qualified and
acting Selectmen of the Town of Lexington, and acknowledged
the foregoing instrument to be their free act and deed and the
free act and deed of the Town of Lexington, before me,
/s/ Harold E. Stevens
Notary rublic
My commission expires September 16, 1961
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Mr. Stevens prepared three copies of proposed deed
from the Town to Philip J. Knox, Jr., of lots 228 to 233,
inclusive, Fremont Street. Included in the deed is a
restriction requiring the lots to be combined into one Tax title
lot for building purposes and a sewer easement in the
whole of lot 233 has been reserved
Mr. Stevens assumed that arrangements will be made
so that delivery of the Town's deed will be made only
at such time as there is delivery of the deed from Mr.
Knox to Mr. Lloyd of lots 222 and 223, Freemont Street.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to sign the deed conveying lots 228 to 233, inclusive ,
on Freemont Street to Mr . Philip J. Knox, Jr.
Letter from Mr. Alfred P. Tropeano, relative to
waiver of betterments on Lot C , Waltham Street, was
held over.
Mr. Stevens said he would have Mr. Tropeano bring
the plans in so he could see them and then advise the Betterment
Board on the basis of the plans .
At 8:00 P.M. , Mr Roland Greeley and Mr . Herbert
Bogan met with the Board.
Mr. Greeley explained that he was representing
the School Sites Committee relative to redevelopment
of that part of Meagherville from Route 128, not the
industrial area. The School Sites Committee feels
strongly that there is need for a school site in that
area. The Town has a great deal of tax property in
the area, none of it large enough in a single parcel
for a school . He said the Committee could recommend
to the Town the purchase of ten or fifteen acres for
a site but it might involve half a dozen lots. He
said he thought the Town should take the entire area
under the Urban Redevelopment, replat it, take out School Site
the school site and then sell off the replatted lots;
the result being sixty, plus or minus, lots that would
be good salable lots . He explained that the pattern
of platted streets itself is so poor, decent lots are
not available in the tract, and urged that appropriate
steps be taken to set up an Urban Redevelopment pro-
gram.
The Chairman said that about three years ago the
Town Meeting was asked to appropriate funds for en-
gineering.
Mr. Greeley explained that under the Aet the Town
would take the whole area under eminent domain and get
a clear title to the entire parcel, ending up with a
single parcel.
Mr. Stevens explained that , at the time the Town
Meeting Members were requested to appropriate funds,
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the estimate was based on doing a lot of individual
lot surveying which was not what the Bcerd had in
mind. The plan was then reviewed and it was supposed
to be brought up to date He said he thought it was
now in the Assessors , Office and it is a matter of
reviving it .
Mr. Greeley said that the cost would be advanced
by the Town and could be repaid by the proceeds from
the sale of lots.
Mr . Adams asked how much money was involved and
Mr. Greeley replied that he did not know but imagined
there would be three elements : the legal survey costs,
cost of condemning the lots that are now private lots
and the cost of replatting and improving the street
system. He said it could be done by taking out what
the Town needs for school', major streets, if any, and
then conveying the remainder to a single developer.
Mr. Bogen said the Town could put in the improve-
ments or the developer could. In either case, the
Planning Board and the State Housing Board would have
to confirm that the plan conforms with the general
Town planning.
Mr. Greeley said it would require a vote of Town
Meeting. The Town can authorize the Board of Selectmen
to appoint four members of a five member Redevelopment
Agency and the State Housing Board has to ratify it
and appoint the fifth member. At the next Town Meet-
ing, the members are elected. When the work has been
completed, the Town can abolish the Agency if it wants
to.
Mr. Bogen explained that when the Agency is es-
tablished, it has the power to issue bonds if the Town
prefers to finance it that way.
Mr. Adams asked if there would be any difficulty
in showing a need and Mr. Greeley replied in the nega-
tive . He explained that two or three years ago, there
was an amendment to the Act which stated that one of
the things it was trying to do was to take an arrested
subdivision and correct it He said the one major
problem is how far towards Reed Street the Town can go.
There are two or three occupied lots, and it would take
some study to determine how to draw the boundary.
Mr. Adams said taking it by eminent domain would
be a very quick way to get title .
Mr. Greeley explained that it must be ratified
by the Planning Board and the State Housing Board,
and it could be assumed that the Planning Board would
do the initial work.
The Chairman asked how long it would take and
Mr. Greeley replied that he thought about two years
all told. He said the end would be when the Town
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sold off the land it wanted to turn over for private
use . He recommended against involving any houses .
He said the area as a whole ha- to be surveyed.
Mr. Greeley said one problem is that of the Re-
development Agency which has four town appointed mem-
bers and one State member. He had no, idea Mu they
would appoint or whom.
Mr. Bogen said that in every ease it is a resi-
dent of the Town
Mr. Stevens asked if the State member would be
Chairman and Mr. Greeley replied that the Agency
chooses its own Chairman.
Mrs . Morey reported that the School Sites Com-
mittee and the School Committee very definitely think
a school should be in this area. If something of this
nature is not done , as soon as there is a need for the
school there will be a rush to obtain the lots which
could result in a very poor development.
Mr. Adams said this would be a self liquidating
project and it couldbe less expensive than buying a
school site
Mr. Greeley said he thought the Town could ac-
quire a site this way free Most of the work would
be charged against the project, and another result
would be good residential land
Mrs. Morey asked if action had to be taken at
an Annual Town Meeting, and Mr. Bogen replied that it
could be taken at an Annual or at a Special Meeting.
Mr Ferguson asked how many acres, out of the
seventy-five, are in the low swamp land, and Mr.
Greeley replied that he thought at the most one fourth, but
he was not sure .
Mr. Ferguson asked how many acres the School Sites
Committee wanted and Mr. Greeley replied ten or fifteen.
He said it would probaDly ask for fifteen.
The Chairman asked if Mr. Greeley wanted the Select-
men to insert an article in the warrant.
Mr. Stevens said he would try and look into this
and take advantage of Mr. Greeley' s knowledge and back-
ground and come up with some memo to report to the
Board. He said if there is to be a Town Meeting this
Fall, it could be brought up at that time .
Mr. Adams asked if this should be initiated by the
Selectmen, Planning Board or both, and Mr. Greeley re-
plied that he thought the Selectmen could initiate it
and the Planning Board should be notified.
Messrs. Greeley and Bogen retired at 8:20 P.M.
Mr. Arthur J. Oliver met with the Board and said
he was representing Mrs. Mildred Gould, 150 Blossom
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Street . There is an open ditch running through the
southerly end of her property, and there are two catch
Drainage basins that drain into this ditch He said it used to
be four inches wide and now it is seven inches wide due
to poor drainage . He reported th t the water is stagnant
and a very bad odor comes from the ditch He said he
walked the entire length this afternoon and there is a
little clogging under Route 2, and the condition is very
bad from a health standpoint .
Mr. Oliver said he called Mr Carroll who very
promptly sent a man out Friday.
The Chairman explained that most brook problems are
handled by the Superintendent of Public Works and he is
the one who makes the decision as to when the brooks are
to be cleaned out . He said that this particular brook
has never been a problem. He stated that brooks are
usually cleaned in the Winter when the equipment would
not become bogged down.
Mr. Carroll said he would meet Mr. Oliver and in-
peet the brook with him. Mr. Oliver said he realized
it would take a little time, and retired at 8:25 P.M.
Letter was received from the Mystic Valley Gas Com-
pany requesting permission to locate a regulator man-
hole and vent in Massachusetts Avenue , together with
three 4-inch steel main connections from the manhole
to the existing gas mains in Massachusetts Avenue .
Permit Mr. Carroll explained the proposed location is
in front of the Colonial Garage and he approved it.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to grant the request.
Petition was received from the Boston Edison Co m-
pany and the New England Telephone and Telegraph Com-
Pole locat- pany for permission to locate a pole on Asbury Street .
ion The proposed location was approved by Mr. Carroll.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to grant permission for the following i/o pole lo-
cation:
Asbury Street, westerly side, approxi-
mately 205 feet north of Paul Revere
Road, --
One pole .
(One existing pole to be removed. )
Mr. Carroll reported that he received three bids
for a sidewalk tractor. H. F. Davis Co. submitted a
Tractor Bid net price of $3,988.60 for an Oliver tractor . Pesco
Equipment submitted a net price of $4, 607.50 and Clyde
Everett submitted a net price of $4,200.
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Mr. Carroll explained that the Oliver tractor
meets all the specifications, and he recommended that
the Board accept the low bid.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to accept the low bid submitted by H. F. Davis Co. in
the amount of $3,988.60.
Mr. Stevens retired at 8:30 P.M.
Mr. Carroll reported that bids for lateral sewers
for this year were opened today and the low bidder was
N. Cibotti & Sons Co. with a bid of $131,825. He said
that Mr. Howard recommended definitely that the bid be
awarded to Cibotti as they have the equipment and are
very responsible, although they have never done any
work in Lexington. Sewer Bid
Mr. Canoll recommended that the contract be awarded
tentatively subject to Whitman & Howard checking the fig-
ures.
ig-
ures.
Mr. James questioned awarding the contract before
the bid was checked and asked if anything would be gained.
Mr. Carroll explained that if it is awarded now, he
can have the contract ready for signatures next Monday.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
to award the contract, tentatively, to the low bidder,
N. Cibotti & Sons Co. , subject to Whitman & Howard com-
puting the bids .
The Chairman read a letter from n. B. MacKay & Son
requesting removal of five trees to enable him to make
a driveway for parking at the block of stores he in-
tends to erect at 162-172 Bedford Street.
Mr. Carroll reported that he had looked at the
trees with Mr. MacKay and Mrs . Morey brought up the
point that something should be done about controlling
the access to Bedford Street. He said he looked the
area over with Mr. MacKay and his parking was supposed
to be all around the building and on the Bedford Street
side he was going to park sixteen cars perpendicular to
Bedford Street with just one long opening. That meant
ears would be pulling in which was all right, but back-
ing out on Bedford Street into the traffic was not all
right. Mr. Canoll told him he wanted the architect to
work out some thing so there will be one , two or three
entrances on Bedford Street. He explained that the dis-
tance between the building and Bedford Street does not
allow cars to turn around.
Mr. Carroll said that when a building permit is
issued for a commercial building, the Superintendent of
' Public Works is not usually notified. He has akked the
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Building Inspector in the future to give him a set of
plans whenever he has a building of this type He said
the Zoning By-Law states that the ratio of parking area
to building area is two to one and he thought it should
be four to one .
Mr. Carroll said that the removal of the trees would
depend to a great extent on what happens relative to the
entrance . He said the Maple trees are about gone , and
there is one large elm that is dead.
Mr. Carroll said that if he tells Mr. MacKay he is
going to have one entrance and one exit, which means he
will have no parking, he will object to it.
Mr. Adams suggested that Mr. Carroll try to work
out a plan and submit it to the Board next week.
The Chairman said that, in working out the plan,
if Mr. Carroll decides on what trees have to be taken
down, they can be posted.
The Chairman read a letter from the Board of Fire
Commissioners relative to closing Camelia Place . The
Commissioners agreed that the area could be closed to
traffic . However, if locked gates were used for clos-
ing the crossing, it would then be used as an emergency
exit. As the closing would necessitate taking calls
for the lower end of Hancock Street and Hancock Avenue
by way of Bedford Street, the Commissioners suggested
that no parking be allowed on the corner of Bedford
Street, Harrington Way and Hancock Street, to permit
swinging the equipment into Hancock Street without
Parking difficulty.
It was agreed to ask the Commissioners to advise
from what street number to what street number parking
should be prohibited and to specify whether or not
it is to be prohibited on both sides of the streets
or only one side .
Mr. Carroll retired at 9:00 P.M.
a letter
The Chairman real/from Charles E. Ramsey advising
that Custom Colonials Inc . would like to acquire tax
title lot 24, block 33 Avon Street according to the
Board' s usual method of selling such property, and with
Tax title the usual type of title that the Board is able to give .
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted
that a proposal to sell the It be advertised in the
Lexington Minute-man and that further consideration be
given the offer at the next meting of the Board. Mr.
Adams did not vote .
Letter was received from Edward B. Cass, attorney
161
for Benjamin Cardillo, who offered $100 per lot, plus
sewer betterment assessments, for lots 90-914. on Albemarle
Avenue
The Chairman suggested that the lots should not
be sold for less than $1200 plus the sewer betterments
as Mr. Cardillo expects to construct two houses. He
said he would like to check with Mr. Stevens to find
out whether or not the lots have been put through the
land court.
It was agreed to advise Mr. Case to have his client
submit a reasonable offer for the property and also advise
the other individuals who have submitted bids to make
reasonable offers for further consideration by the Board.
Mr. James reported that he met with Chief Rycroft,
Mr. Purinton and Mr. Connors, Motorola representative,
last Tuesday. Mr. Connors came up with selection for
a channel on which Lexington should operate on this
control government system. He and the Chief are doing
F the necessary paper work. Mr Connors suggested a fourth
transmitter in the Civil Defense room and explained it
would be easier to obtain matching funds with this tied
into Civil Defense . The total amount involved is $2400
for the entire setup, of which one-half will be paid by
the Town. When the request for matching funds is made, Civil Defense
a check for $1200 is to be sent with the request Mr.
Purinton is getting tht done and it should go out the
latter part of this week or the first of next.
Mr. James suggested that Mr. Purinton continue as
Director of Civil Defern.se, and that the Board appoint
the Fire , Police, Public Works and Health Department
heads as his assistants .
Mrs . Morey said she thought a coordinator was needed.
Mr. Ferguson said that Mr. Purinton implied that
he wanted these people as part of his group and he implied
that he would get them together.
3Ir. James said he would be willing to talk to Mr.
Purinton and advise him that the Board will appoint mem-
bers of these Departments to serve with him and ask that
he submit a skeleton plan within a couple of months. If
Mr. Purinton does not take any action within that time ,
it will be obvious that someone else should be appointed
Director.
It was agreed to write the Police , Fire , Public
Works, Health and Welfare Department Heads, appointing
them to serve as members of a Civil Defense Corps; it
being left to the decision of the department head
whether or not he will personally serve or delegate
someone to represent the department. A copy of the
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letter is to be sent to Mr. Purintcez sid when the five
departments have answered the letters, Mr. Purinton is
to be requested to call a meeting of the group.
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 P.M.
A true record, Attest:
xec tive lerk, Select/n.
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