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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1948-03-08 286 CL SETFCTP.HI'S MEETING March 8, 1948 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, on Monday evening, March o, 1948 at 7 30 P.M. There were present Messrs . Panton, Emery, Gay, Driscoll and Nickerson The Clerk was also present . Mr. Emery moved that Mr. William C. Paxton be re-elected ae Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year. _Mr. Gay seconded the, motion, 7r. F, '1- ')n mentioned that in hl i r dbdbility ne yr uld rot be run in for re- election and would not, therefore , he ` ondlin the ton rleetin' ne, t wear and asked th t this be con: 1 1ered Ir '.;raery moved th t the nominations be clo ped. hr law seconc,aad the notion, and Mr iaxton was .inanirlouslelectn:c as Chairman of the Dani for tie ensuin ear. At 7 3c 1 I. . I.'r. IT eb.iter T'Lor.ras, Chair- Ijau of the 3c_ro.. 1 Com-ittee , 1, r Ol''ce '; steeves, Cl irr:ia n of the Boani of hosesac rs, hr William fl lrn «.ci, ;hairman of the Demeter,, Conimissionero , and the fpllowins membors of the yrpropriation Committee rivet with the Board , Chairman Hoyt-, Lessrs, Fawcett, Patterson, 1inlock, Vadeboncocrer and Mr. "alner Mr Hoyt explained that this r.,eetin£_ had been caller as aut .orized by Section 2 of Article 13 of the General B -Laws whereby those present wluld consider items which Fake up the annual budfet and any other municipal matters. He asked if the Board of Selectmen had any Questions. The Chairman of the Board said that as far as the widening of Valtharr Street is concerned the Select- men will have to do some checking They assumed the widening was Poing; down to Forest Street and the warrant reads only as far as Vine Broov Road. f He explained that the Board of Selectmen acrees with the A propriation Committee relative to the transfer of funds but the question did arise as to tihether or not pavin&, damages could be con- sidered as an ever envy when the Board is aware Df the item Mr Hoyt asked if the Selectmen knew 1 287 that there would definitely be a cliii for dama4es . The Chairman explaJnd that the "lio;-,rd does ',now that damaces were aw, red in 192P and that they were not paid. He stated Li t some members of the Board feel that there nuu be a m.)cat ,bliaatAon on the part of the Town. The Chlirman said th.:t the Board of Selectmen Appro and t a Al.propr'ntion C ) .,ttee Oiqaree ol the Com. appropri tion for l'atriotts Da, He said th t as he do not recalls it the Board of Selectmen voted to recommend agree on an upnroprition of l' , 5(l0 Pe also explained to the Patriot' s 'roup whu the Selectmen have anroved the increased Day apropri tion. Er . Tout eLpleinPd that the .A.17pro- Budget priation CormAttee is _ irly 7e1l divided , those who ep ,ose the 11, 500 feel th t in view of the expenses that the town is bit aced with the question wnether or not it wL.uld be; vi sable to establish a bud et of t is se Te T. irman explained that the Board of 'selectmen feel th !t there is no harm in havin, a difference )f opinion Er. Hoyt said that the Appropr_ation Committe would not take the action of trvin-r to amend t1-1 -- vote of tne Board of Selectmen Er. 7oyt said that the ilpproriLtion Conidittee Change of has a memorandum concernint; th( truck for tae Fire figures Department, and the Fire Department has submitted in Fire a price 01 u1 , 356 a ainst the .e1 , 200 aBudget . )roeriation. He asked if the Board of Selectmen wished to' change suin- est- its vote. The Chairman replied that the Selectmen ed. have not receive, an official conllunic,Jtion from the Board of Fire Engineers ara that Deputy Chief Cook has an allp ,intment to meet A.th the Board this evenina Hr Emery informed the Board that the ladder truck h.lonaing to the Fire Department was damaged at the fire at the corner of Bow Street and it is beim- driven back out to the factory . He said the nuestion arises as to whether or not the estimate for the doma, es is to be included in the budget or candled us a trunsier from tde eserve Fund . Hr. Hoyt asked if i. r. Emery has a , idea as to how much the repairs would cost . Er Adams of the Board of Fire Engineers replied that the cost may run as high as 1.1,000 . Hr. LT:ier,r stated that the expense for driving the trucl to '' isconsin and Lack will 1 __ _ 288 ' amount to over , 100. Yr. Hoyt asked how the Committee felt on the subject Mr. ?;inlock was of the opinion that it was an emergency. Irr. Vadeboncouer stated that he thought it would be wise to include .01, 500 in the budget and not make a transfer from the Reserve Fund The Appro- priation Committee recommended adding 01,000 to the Fire Department Expenses account bucket . The Chair- man of the Board of Selectmen suggested not changing the amount in the budget until the Board is in receipt of an exact figure. The Chairman explained that there is a similar Police situation in the Police Department . He stated that Car one of the police cars was involved in an accident. He had looked at the car and it is questionable whether Accident or not it should be fixed. He explained it is the car that is to be traded in for a new car and further stated that he expects to have a report on it. The period for bonding on the water and sewer en th of articles in the warrant was considered and both Boards L Length. agreed to bond for a period of 15 years under Article terra 14 and a period of 10 years under Article 15'. Er. Thomas asked if the town men could do some grading work on the new school on Adams Street. He said he had asked Mr DeFoe, Sup' t of Public works, Grading at who vas very in( efinite. The Chairman said that he Adams believed that the Board .could be glad to look into School this and that off hand he could appreciate Mr . DeFoets indefiniteness because he is faced ;lith tremendous water and sewer expansions and the personnel in the Public " orks Department has not increased and the possibility )f cei,tin men is not any greater than it has been. He said this grading , ob would be a fairly large job. The group with the exception of hr. Steeves retired at 8 20 F.L . Rates for Mr Steeves discussed the rates now being paid ElElection and Yr'. Steeves replied in the nee,ative. He is ctio merely bringing the question up as Warden of Precinct rkers The matter of appointing a man to replace Mr. Frederick Spencer was discussed and ILir. Steeves informed the Board that the Assessors plan to *lection workers. Mr. Emery asked if he were making a formal request for an increase in the amounts to be paid 289 1 interview all apllicants neAt ednesday evening. The Chairman of the Board sue ested that the top six men be interviewed by the Bo rd of Selectmen and the Chairman of the Board of Assessors. Mr. Steeven had no ob, ection. He retired at 3 .+5 P.I. . , and Mr. Joseph H. DeFoe , Su2 ' t of Public `Torks, met with the Board. He said the question f disposin of the old Sale of trucks has come up I,.r. Chandler of Grove Street old trucks is interested in pi.irchasin, them. He said , however, dis- that he supposed :e woald hive to obtain bids and then dussec he would not be able to ep,il ' the coney toward the urchase of the new tucks Fr. Driscoll said that he would realize more money if t' e trucks were sold privately The Chairman su ested that the hoard wait until after town reetinl end then obtain an estimate from tae nev, truck dealLr nd also advertise. Lr DeFoe informed the Boer(' that he has been invited to me t wit t -e Taxpayer' s Association to- morrow eveninJr. He submitted a »eport which he intends to sive to the ;\csoLiat.ion inasmuch as he does not intend to he -resent it the meetinn. . The Chairman read the .re Bort to the T oerd end they Lad no objections The Board felt , newever, that any information s ouid be obtained fror;i the Board of Selectmen and -not from the head of any one Department . The Chairman seer ested that the President of the Association be invited to meet with the Board some time a_ ter Town I eating Fir. Fickerson suggested that if the Board prefers to have tis information go through the proper c.:unnels th t it be submitted to the „ssociation bv the Board -)f Selectmen kr . Emery asked if this pas a 'r. eeeble ti I._r . DeFoe end he replied in the affirm tive . Mr. DeFoe r tired at 9 07 P.L. , and Er . George P. Uorse met ; ith tie Board. Mr. Lorse explained th t he Was a representative of the Lexington Tennis Association and is interested in the re-surfecn, of two tennis ciur. ta in East Lexington Playground . 'Ie said he ani erstands kr. Garrity has an aepropriution in his bud et for this work. He said the Tennis Association recommends, and they think the town would srve money ter doing a total job rather than a partial job and he means by L 290 that resurfacing 120 feet by 120 feet covering the two courts. He stated that if the total area is resurfaced instead of having part asphalt and part gravel he believed the town Would save money. The Chairman explained that Er. Garrity recommended "1,300 . , and it is a little late to change the budget but he thought Mr Morse ' s suggestion seemed worth while He said the Board would check with Mr Garrity and find out that he intends to do with the tennis courts, and ask aim for a report Mr. I orse retired at 9 20 P I°. Chairman Donnelly of the Board of Fire Engineers, Deputy Chief Cook, Mr. Metcalf, a mechanic of the Peter Pirsch Company, and Mr O 'ITeil, a salesman of the Pirsch Company, met with the Board. The Chairman read a letter from Report re - the Fire Engineers stating that the aerial truck was damaged at a recent fire and the Fire ladder Engineers have been advised that to transport the truck unit between Lexington, bass. , and Kenosha, Wisconsin, and return it would cost '100 for the salary of the damage driver plus food, lodging, gasoline and oil. Mr. Metcalf explained that he is the Eastern Area Deliv ry Engineer He explained that he came to Leyin:2;ton the other day and looked at the ladder and checked with the Chief as well as he could. He said that he made the decision that it was something more than he wanted to ti e care of and he called the factory and the factory concurred with his decision. The decision was to take the truck back to the factory. Er. Metcalf explained that there is no structural failure in the ladder. By structural he means that if the ladder were in the air and it collapsed. He said that as near as he can find out from his investigation and talking with the men who were on the ladder waen it happened it was a combination of several things, which caused the trip in the ladder. One was tae position it was in. He said, however, that this was something which could not have been avoided He said there was no otaer location at which the ladder could be placed to do the work He said that the ladder was between a 20 and 25 ' degree elevation and that , first of all , puts a lot of rtrain on the ladder but it had to be used at that angle. There were three men on the ladder necessary to handle the f 1 291 line of hose The ladder , Es icy ind the only thins:. he can see that caused it we,. s that the top man on tl- e la er slipred on tee ice . ''ith the deed weight on the ladCer \ hen he slipped it was twisted just a li tie and he slipped from the high side to the lover side. -hen hie weiedlt hit that side of the ladder it eve ' t a momentary shock which was just enough to lye it one \Olio and that was enow;h to sprinE! the spars He said that this Was nothin- that could have h en foreseen. The Chairman asked how far the lad er was e tended and Mr. Metcalf replied that it ,ees betve,en 50 ind 55 feet. He said that as he eees it tae trouble as caused because the ladder was at too low an angle . The ChEirman asked if the three men %,ere on the top end Mr. Ietcalf replied thet one man , Lis at the top, another mar ems a little of the way down and the third man was awry down at the butt section They had Lbout 5C feet of hose with 50 gallons of eater and this all ci ed up to wei6ht on 1 e 1J('( er et the lo- The Chairmen eskek. if Mr Ietcelf or Mr. had he idea as to the cot, of repairs. Jr. I. etcalf replied that he has m.,:de a full report to t e IE.ctore in writine end has talked to them tnree times on the telpnone 7e said he is not allowed t five e cost and he su;,, ested that the Boarc write to the factory ' r. Metcalf said that within a few days after le eta nut to the factory dU will have the Chief En ineer call the Fire Department and eive a definite fi ure The Chairmen asked if the Board could expect to eceive 1 definite figure the letter pert of this week . Mr Letcalf said that definite word as to the cost should be received not later than five o ' clock next Monday . The 0, airman inquired as to the tvee of the la der and Hr. letcalf said Creon Fir Mr. Donnelly ask d if Mr Metcalf thJ_ie,ht the dame e w s done to the bottom sectior only and Idr I etcalf replied that the denaee was done to the fl'r section. He explained on the inside of the r_Leht section the wood s D' S evedence of splintering inside the reinforced channel. He said that at first he t o 1 at the tension re,ds hL,a stretched from t e 3(1, der. snap and ellovelitee ladder to co out of true . He ,aie that the Ladder in caving on the truck shows E cury nt wh_ch indicates a permanent strain in the base section He eYe_Lined ti it toe strain comes from [ beet 5 ' up from tee fl spool and continues for a minimum of 08" , which ie about 10" 292 `,° 1 in from the plate on the side. The ladder definitely shows on both spars a strain to the left. The Chairman said that the Board discussed this previously and two members of the Board of Selectmen were on the Board of Fire Engineers when the truck was purchased and that a great deal of thought and consideration was r,iven before this unit was purchased IIe explained that this is about the first time the Department has had an opportunity to really use the truck The Chairman said that a fire has to be handled under emergency conditions and, therefore, when a truck like t is one is purchased the factors of safety should be larF,e enough to take care of situations like this . The Chairman said that he would _ike the company to bear in mind that the Selectmen would like the repairs for as reasonable an amount as possible, and the Board would feel happy in this instance if the company would assume a portion of the cost of repairs I,.r 1 etcalf said that when he arrived at the factory he would pass this information along verbally to kr Pirsch and he sug,ested that the Board write a letter and if the answer is un= favorable Mr Pirsch will give a good reason. Mr. O 'Neil said that as a saleman of the company he is vitally interested in it and that he will take this matter up With the factory personally He said that he will do his best, therefore , to have the factory repair it at a minimum cost. He said it would not be necessary for the Board to wiite a letter. The Chairman asked if the Board had ant questions and there were none Mr. Donnelly said that Yr. R etcalf would like authorization in writing to drive the truck out to Wisconsin Er. Letcalf explained when he is deliverint a new truck, before the acceptance order is sined, the factory assumes all the responsibility However, where the town is insuring the truck for the town' s protection he is more or less of an anent of the town when driving it out there . If he holds a letter or a temporary appointment as a member of the Fire Det)artment he would then he a direct agent of the town driving the town truck and if something happened it makes the position of the town a little F'reater for any one who Night be injured . The Chairman said that • 293 this sounded eason: ole but he did think the Fire Engineers should check with the Town Counsel. Li. Donnelly agreed to do so -rnd the roup retired at 10 00 P L. The Chairman read a letter from Frank T. Hitchcock of the Boston Edison Company with reference to t.re rew proposed str -et ;.ight-ino for Massachusetts Avenue from the Arlin. ton line to Benford Street . Proposed Changes royal has been ob ained fromt��e corapan to make Ch the installation at the con,nanu ' expense including In street the under round section tur )u h t_ e 30 ter and the Lighting overhead district from tue . rlin ton line to Woburn Street, accordino to plans recentl^ submitted to Lr DeFoe, :rovid ink; that the street 1i ".tin. schedule for the entire toy, is chanted from the present part-ninht to the all ni .ht schedule. Tyr Hitchcock st ..ted th-t if the all nicht lie.hting is approved bu the town and the Boston Edison is ant prized to su. pl this schedule the propo_,ed new 1i uti np can then be installed at tiieioard' s request arra' at the Edison' s expense . The Cirai rn.an re d a letter from tue Town Counsel Napoli regarding the settlement creeu ur)on between the layout Board of Selectmen and Mr. John Devine, attorney for Thomas A. Napoli The Town Counsel has already contacted Mr. Devine retarding the mechanics of effect- the settlement . The Chairman read a letter to the Town Counsel with reference to tue requeat of Luke C. i'•lay of the Lexington Fiirieries for a Bo, rd o'_' Survey approval of a proposed layout ,.v_tie,r may n--t be actually developed for r; period of ten to fifteen .Teals Er Lunch • said that in his ):inion t e Board ofburvev cannot Bd. of at tits time approve the is gout su. emoted by T_r Lav Tt is his further opinion th t the layout soouid not Survey be a ,proved by th,e nr_e ;exit Boar of Survey inasmuch as the Town will vote on IJ rch 2, 1948 , on the creation of a nev Ttannin Bot- rd underpapter 740 • of the Acts of 1a1� � and the new llannin.n 73o rd , sn cre,.ted, will also become t.t Bo rd of 4S'+rvey The Cl rE, was instructed to end I-r 1 _107 a coy,; of the Town Counsel' s letter. 294 The Chairman read a letter from the First Naval District referrin€' to the Board' s letter Navy Club requesting inforrsntion concernine the Navy Club Exhibit of the U. S. A. _according to the letter the corporation is a private organization composed of former naval enlisted men and is not sponsored by the U S. Navy. hr. EmerY sue est ed that possibly the exhibit proposed by the NevY Club could be included as part of the 19th of April celebration. Upon the motion of Lr Driscoll, seconded by hr Gev, it ,vas voted to write I{ A. Groff, h tional ShipsiTriter, and su: 'est that he contact the Chairman of the Patriot' s day and that possibly s -)me arraneeuents micht be ria' e whereby the e. }iibit could be ireluded in the Patriot ' s Day Parade. A request was received from the Women' s Guild of the Church of OurRedeemer for permission Use of to use the Barnes property for a rums eee sale on Hall Friday, April 16th Mr. Emery moved that use of the Barnes Property be granted., free of charge Er Drisc9ll seconded the motion, and it was so voted. An application was received from the V. F W. requesting permission to conduct a business meeting in Estebrook Hall and Conference Room on March 16. Use of Mr. Gay moved that the use of the hall be granted Hall free of charge. Er Driscoll secanded the motion, and it was so voted. An application was s received from the V. F. W. requesting permission to conduct an Amateur Talent Show in Cary Hall on Friday, April second The Use of Clerk was instructed to inquire as to whether or not the organization intended this use to be one Hall of their free uses . If not, there will be a charge of /35.00 . An application was received from the Lexington Club requesting permission to conduct a dance for • 29 $ the Senior High School students, in Cary Lemorial Hall on April 10th L_r. Gay moved Use of Hall that the use be granted subect to a charge of '35.00 Mr. Emery seconded the notion, and it was so voted. An application Was received fro'. Father T.acDonald requestin, permi cion to conduct a Reunion in Cary L eriorial Hall on April 2-d. Mr. Driscoll Use of moved that the use of tile nail be granted subject Hall to a charge of -p 35 00 Emery seconeeu the motion, ans. it was so voted . An application was received Prof: Tliddlesex Counts Farm Bureau roe ,estin., permission to conduct Use of an annual banquet in Cary Hall on Tues,ay, Larch 3d Hall Hr Driscoll moved tnat the use of the hall be brant- ed suoject to a chulge of 35 .00. Yr Gay seconded the notion, and it \, as so voted. An ap lication was received from the Lexington Arts & Crafts Society requesting permission to conduct an exhibit in nary and Estabrosk Halls on Sunday, Use of April 25th. kr Driscoll loved that the use of the Hall hail be granted free of char,e . Mr. Gay seconded the motion, and it vas so voted. Upon motion of Hr. Emery, seconded by Mr. * Driscoll, it was voteu to 'rant the following licenses Licenses Edward J. Conley Sunday Sales 314-316 Harrett Road " Common Victualler 314-316 Marrett Road ''illiara Viano Sunday Movies 1794 Lass. Avenue The Chairman read a letter from John T Blackwell of the Greater Boston Census Tract Committee . Mr. Blackwell also submitted a map living a tentative plan of division and the census tracts for use in the 1950 Federal Census. Each Mayor or Board of Selectmen is being asked to write an o_, ficial letter of apj.roval of the tentative tract plan submitted Hr. Emery moved that the Chairman be authorised to write a letter as outlined by Hr . Blackwell Hr. Driscoll seconded the motion, and it was so voted. The Chairman informed the Board that some of the workers at the annual election, Larch 1, 1948, did not begin work until six o ' clock one worker work- 296 ed only two hours because of illness. It was decided to pay the workerb wiio be ,a n at six o ' clock at the rate of l+ 75 , the w&rkers who started at one o ' clock - 17.75, and the worker who had to leave because of illness, X3 .00 . The meeting. adourned at 11 10 P.r. A true record, Attest e , lectmen.