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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1959-02-23-BOS-min 41 SET.FCTMEN'S MEETING February 23, 1959 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, February 23, 1959, at 7 30 P. M. Chairman Maloney, Messrs. James and Tucker were present Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and the Ex- ecutive Clerk were also present. Mrs. Morey arrived at the meeting at 8 50 P. M. Upon motion of Mr. Tucker, seconded by Mr. James, the minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting held on Monday, Minutes February 16, 1959, were declared approved. Mr. Carroll referred to Mr. Lurvey 's request for additional office space which could be made posisible by a partition in the office now occupied by the Build- ing Department . He reported that he went over the of- fice and the suggestion is basically sound and the price of $387 quoted by Richard H. Soule Contractor,Inc . seems reasonable. He said if the partition is approved by the Board, his budget for the Town Offices will have to be increased. Mr. James asked if both Mr. Lurvey and Mr.Irwin were in agreement , and Mr Carroll replied in the af- firmative. Upon motion of Mr. James, seconded by Mr. Tucker, it was voted to include an item of $387 in the Town Offices budget to cover the cost of providing addi- tional office space for the Board of Health. Mr. Carroll said that the question was raised last week whether or not signal lights should be in- stalled on Hancock Avenue at the railroad crossing. He reported that Hancock Avenue is not laid out across the railroad, but only up to the railroad property. Hancock Ave . He explained that it would be necessary to petition railroad the County Commissioners to lay it out to establish crossing a crossing. The D.P.U. would have to be consulted and would advise what type of safhty device would be installed. He said that procedure is approximately what was done at Fottler Avenue and it cost the Town $9500. Mr. Tucker said that personally he thought the 42 CC° 010 expenditure was entirely unwarranted because of the limited number of trains. The Chairman stated that there are less trains now than there ever have been and they are not up to any speed at that crossing. He felt that no action should be taken. Mr. Tucker said that for one train in and one out, with a couple of freights, it would seem to him that posting it as a private way would be sufficient Mr. James said that he would be in favor of post- ing and leaving it as is . Mr. Carroll referred to sick leave for Mr. Frederick Maloney which was extended about a month ago for one month. He said he asked Mr. Maloney' s physician, Dr. Boyer, when he would be ready to return and received a 3 ..k Leave letter which he read to the Board. Sick leave Mr. Carroll said thh t Mr. Maloney has been out since November but has been covered by sick leave be- cause he has never been absent because of sickness c in twenty-five years. Mr. Tucker said it seemed to him that the period should be extended for another month and brought up again at the expiration of that time . Mr. Carroll said that was his feeling are he never would have brought the subject to the Board if he did not feel Mr. Maloney was entitled to an extension. He said he knew that there were times he continued to work when he should have been home. Upon motion of Mr. James , seconded by Mr. Tucker, it was voted to extend the period of sick leave for another month; the subject to be reviewed at the ex- piration of that time if Mr. Maloney has not returned to work. The Chairman read a letter from Edward S. Munro, 2 Tavern Lane , initlich he referred to drainage con- Munroe ditions on Tavern Lane He suggested as a solution Munroe Tavern (a) properly grade the lane so that the surface water Tavern drainage would go where it was intended to and (b) The Town to drainage assume the responsibility of deepening the ditch suf- ficiently to take care of the surface water as it flows toward Massachusetts Avenue . Mr. Carroll reported that the Town installed a drain from Eliot Road to the low point on Tavern Lane, which is an unaccepted street. He said possibly the reason was to pick up the drainage on Eliot Road . He explained that much of the water from Eliot Road could be stopped by putting in a berm. He said the Town should not maintain the catch basins in Tavern Lane 43 ' bacause it is an unaccepted street. He stated that the ditch going through the Munroe Tavern property could be cleaned out. He looked at that today. The culvert under Massachusetts Avenue is a 24" pipe into which a smaller pipe leads. The Chairman said that there has been no problem since the pipe was put under Massachusetts Avenue. Mr. Carroll said he could not see any problem and told Mr. Munro that the Town would not do any grading on a private way. Mr. James said as he understood the situation, the Town could clean and widen the brook and put a berm on Eliot Road. The Chairman said he would advise Mr. Munro that the subject has been referred to the Superintendent of Public Works who will try and help the situation in some way. Mr. Carroll retired at 8:00 P. M. Certificate of Incorporation was received on be- half of Robert V. Dodd, et als; the corporation to be Cert. of Inc under the name of Kiwanis Club of Lexington, Incorporated. Satisfactory character references were received from the Chief of Police. Upon motion of Mb. James, seconded by Mr. Tucker, it was voted to sign the application. The Chairman read a letter from the Evangelical Covenant Church of Cambridge advising that the churdh has purchased the property on Allen Street at Clematis Evangelical Road in the vicinity of the Franklin School. Plans Covenant are being made for the long-range future of the church, Church but it cannot be announced when re-location will take place . The Chairman read a letter from Irving H. Mabee , Chairman of the Town Meeting Members Pssociation, of- fering the services of its membership in carrying out Town Meeting any research, seeking of information, or other such Members project that might be helpful to the Board either now Association or in the future. The Chairman read a memo from Mr. Collins , Welfare Agent, to the effect that the Board has no choice rela- Welfare tive to salaries in the Welfare Department and the only salaries plan not accepted by the Town is the Annual Increment. Mr. James said that no case has been made for merit increases and the Board is within the minimum as stet forth in the letter of December 31, 1958 from the imma 4 C7 CV 0100, Division of Civil Service . The Chairman agreed to discuss the subject with Mr. Collins . Further consideration was given to the policy adopted in 1956 relative to vacations, and it was agreed to amend item 1. by addipg at the end of sentence mother sentence as follows : "A department head at his discretion may permit the employee to take his regular vacation after Labor Day" . Further consideration was given to application for a Retail Package Goods Store license received from Package Harvey James Comrie and Robert Gale Comrie, for the Package Store sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on Store the premises located at 93-95 Massachusetts Avenue. Upon motion of Mr. James, seconded by Mr. Tucker, it was voted to reject the application as, in the opinion of the Selectmen, the present four retail package stores are adequate in number and location to meet the reasonable demands of the public for places at which it may obtain alcoholic beverages. Further consideration was given to the Planning Board Personal Services budget which the Appropriation Budget Committee approved in the amount off $9,594 on the basis of the 1958 rates . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve this budget in the amount of $9,594. The Clerk reported that the item of $2,000 for a master plan in the Planning Board Expenses budget had been reduced by the Appropriation Committee to $1,500. The Board agreed not to make any change in its original recommendation of $4,350 which provided an item of $2,000 for the Master Plan. The Clerk reported that the Planning Board approved $1.,000 for Recreation Committee Expenses . The Board agreed not to make any change in its original recommendation of $5,125.00. An amount of $11,204 was approved for the Accounting Department Personal Services budget which provides for a yearly rate of $5800 for the Accountant and continuation of the 1958 rates for the clerical help. Further consideration was given to the salary of the Secretary and -csistant Assessor, and it was voted to 45 ' rescind the vote of February 5th at which time no change was recommended for the Secretary. It was then voted to recommend a salary of $6,300 per year for the Secretary and approve the salaries for the clerical help on the 1.958 basis. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 P. M. A true record,Attest: xecAive clerk electme I