Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1961-05-15-BOS-min 49 ,. SELECTMEN'S MEETING May 15, 1961 A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in the Selectmen' s Room on Monday evening, May 15, 1961. Mr. Adams , Chairman pro tem, Messrs . Ferguson, Richards, and Cole were present . Mr. Stevens, Town Counsel, Mr. Carroll, Superintendent of Public Works, and the Executive Clerk were also present . The Chairman read a letter from Mr . William Roger Greeley, suggesting that the Town acquire O'Neil ' s (Bowser) race track for playground purposes for the east side of town. Land for It was agreed to acknowledge the letter and Playground advise Mr. Greeley that the subject has been referred to the Planning Board. Hearing was declared open upon petition of the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for per- mission to lay approximately 952 feet of conduit from manhole 54/56 at Hancock Street, northwesterly to man- hole 54/100. Telephone Notice of the hearing was sent to all abutters conduit involved . Mr. Consilvio, representing the petitioner, was the only person present at the hearing. He explained that there are five ducts going along Bedford Street; three are telephone and two are fire alarm. The com- pany desires to build the area up to feed from here orders in the area and also give relief to the telephone service at the airport . Mr. Carroll said he would require the company to put in the sidewalks . The hearing was declared closed. Hearing was declared open upon petition of the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company for per- mission to lay approximately 5,249 feet of conduit in Massachusetts Avenge from manhole 54/80 at Lincoln Street, northwesterly. Telephone Mr. Consilvio, representing the petitioner, was conduit the only person present at the hearing. He explained that it would take two or three weeks to construct the cable feeding from the corner of Lincoln Street and Massachusetts Avenue, and the last time the company repaired a cable in that area was 1930. He said it 494 is necessary to increase the circuits to Concord and the Lincoln Laboratory. Mr. Carroll advised that he is having difficulty with the telephone company and the Boston Edison Com- pany with replacement and removal of poles, although he believed the problems were being worked out. He said he was not satisfied with service relative to the poles on Jean Road., that are now being worked on. He reported that he has asked repeatedly to have a pole replaced on Maple and Lowell Street which is interferdng with the Chapter 90 construction. He recommended that the Board defer action on the two petitions presented this evening until the poles on Jean Road are in place and in service and the pole on Maple and Lowell Strleet has been replaced. The hearing was declared closed and Mr. Consilvio retired at 8:10 P.M. Both petitions for conduit locations were taken under advisement. Mr. Stevens referred to an accident that occurred on or about February 9, 1959, at which time a police Release cruiser was damaged by Joseph P. Shannon. He reported that he had prepared a release for the Board to sign upon payment by Mr . Shannon of $222.70. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a release in consideration of $222.70 paid by Joseph P. Shannon. The original document was taken by Mr . Stevens and a copy left for the Selectment s files . Mr. Stevens presented two contracts with Whitman & Howard for engineering services covering street con- Contracts struction and sewer laterals. Mr. Carroll explained that these two contracts are for street construction this year and sewer laterals this year. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign two contracts between the Town of Lexington and Whitman & Howard for engineering services covering street construction and sewer laterals for 1961 . Mr. Stevens mentioned that the last payment of the agreed price for the land acquired in 1959 from Hillcrest Village is in the amount of $14,000. and due on or about Hillcrest January 5, 1962. The attorney for Hillcrest Village has Village requested that final payment be made now as the copporation payment intends to dissolve and Mr. Stevens said he knew of no reason why payment should not be made inasmuch as the postponement was for the benefit of Hillcrest Village . 495 Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve payment of $14,000. to Hillcrest Village . The Chairman said he visited the Town Offices at Concord today in an effort to obtain information rela- tive to an Executive Assistant . He did not get too much information on that but did find out about busi- Executive ness machines . He reported that he asked Mr. Stevens Assistant if he could fine out who has the power to employ and discharge elected officials and boards, in connection with an Executive Assistant, and if he would have the authority to establish salaries . Mr. Stevens retired at 8:24 P.M. Mr. Carroll reported that bids on sewer laterals and sidewalks will be opened next Monday afternoon at Bid opening 4 o'clock. The Chairman read a letter from Roger G. Leland, attorney for Leonard Jellis, stating that when he negotiated for the transfer of a piece of Mr . Jellis' property in front of his house , an agreement was made to place a concrete bound at the Reed Street side of his property. He stated that, although requests have been made to the Tp to Engineer, no reply has been re- ceived. Jellis ' bound Mr. Carroll stated that he received one letter from Mr. Leland on January 10 in which he mentioned Mr. Hossfield' s property and requested a stake , but nothing was mentioned about Jellis . Three weeks ago, Mr. Hossfield came into his office , at which time he told him nothing had been done because of the weather. It was agreed to acknowledge Mr . Leland' s letter and state that _it is assumed he has reference to placement of a stake similar to that which is being set for Mr . Hossfield. Mr. Carroll reported that Mr. Mazerall would like permission to place three benches he has made along town property, adjacent to theSchool Administration Office , on Fletcher Avenue . Benches Mr. Ferguson said he would prefer not to have them placed there, but the other members of the Board agreed to grant Mr. Mazerall' s request and see how they work out . Mr. Carroll reported that he received a telephone call from Richard Power, associated with the State 496 }.4 Divisionrof Sanitary Engineers, who received a letter from Mr. Walter C . Birchler, the man who wrote the Board about two weeks ago relative to a drainage Drainage problem on Marrett Road. Mr . Power thinks there is a health problem there and suggested that the Board of Selectmen take some positive action in the way of get- ting the State to do something about the problem. The Chairman reported that he also had received a call from Mr. Power . It was agreed to have Mr . Carroll draft a letter to be sent to the State, copies to be mailed to the representatives. The Chairman read a letter from Earle C . Banks, 31 Simonds Road, stating that two months of the spring Damage to have gone by and he feels something should have been lawn done before now to grass his lawn damaged when the sidewalk was installed . Mr. Carroll said he had not forgotten the matter but there have been only a few days this spring when the grass could be sown. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a j/o pole location, approvad by Mr . Carroll, Pole lo- on Waltham Street about four feet from the Waltham- cation Lexington line . Mr. Carroll said he thought there should be a meeting with the various Boards, and others interested, relative to plans for the Center Playground now that Center play- Worthen Road is definitely in progress . He said as ^round plans soon as the location of the school has been determined, some decision should be made so funds can be included in the 1962 budget . The Chairman reported that the question of filling ' Sw mming private swimming pools had come up and Mr. Ferguson pools said it had been decided last year that they were to be filled out of the individuals own taps . Mr. Carroll retired at 8:45 P.M. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted Minutes to approve the minutes of the Selectme nts Meeting held on May 8, 1961 . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to go into executive session for the purpose of discus- sing, deliberating or voting on a matter which, if made 497• 1 public , might adversely affect the public security, the Executive financial interest of the Town, or the reputation of any session person. Following a discussion relative to Mr. Paul Yarin' s sewage disposal system at 34 Webster Road, it was voted to resume the open meeting. Mr. Paul Yarin met with the Board at 9:00 P.M. The Chairman stated that the Board has gone over the subject quite carefully and arrived at a decision . Mr. Richards said that since Mr. Yarin' s visit with the Board, the Board has written anumber .of letters, Yarin' s one to Whitman & Howard, the engineers acting for the sewage dis- Town, a supplement to the inspection services rendered posal system. by the Board of Health on disposal systems . He explained that the Board has also discussed the matter at some length with the Board of Health and with Mr. Lurvey who works under the Board of Health. He stated that the Board has an exhibit from the court in the form of a letter written prior to judgment in Mr. Yarin' s case . Mr. Yarin said that was after the Judge had been to the property. Mr. Richards said it was part of the proceedings and he assumed that Mr. Yarin was represented by Mr. Fulman to whom the letter was addressed. He said this gave the Board the background of the Judge ' s feelings at the time the case was being tried between Mr . Yarin and the Superior Homes . He said the Board also has a complete background of the Town' s action and it is the Board's feeling that, on behalf of the Town, the Select- men are powerless to act to assist Mr. Yarin on the in- formation made available to them. He said this was based on the best legal advice the Board could obtain, Town Counsel, who is of the opinion that acts of an inspector in a case like this is not an act for which the Town is liable . It is an actto see if a certain item is up to the standard of the Town and is not an act done for the property owner himself. It is to benefit the health of the townspeople as a whole . He said the Inspector who inspected the house which Mr . Yarin purchased, inspected it at the time when it was being built , was an employee of Whitman & Howard and was supplementing the inspection staff of the Board of Health . He said the Board also noted with interest that Mr. Yarin purchased the property in 1955. Mr. Yarin said he purchased the house four years ago this July and it was vacant all that time . Mr. Richards said the records show that Mr . Yarin had a new system installed in 1959 and Mr. Yarin said w-? C3 49g, i0484 that was correct . Mr. Richa-'ds said it was, then, after the second system had been built that Mr. Yarin brought action against the builder . Mr. Yarin said he started action against the builder and was h€ ving a problem withthe drainage . The action was brought against the builder for other things. Mr . Richards said Mr . Yarin' s attorney did not mention the sewage disposal system . Mr. Yarin said Mr. Richards based the suit on legal problems . He said he was having trouble with a leaching system which he assumed was there . The trial lasted for five months and during that period, the leaching field became so bad he had it dug up and there was no leaching field there . At that time , it was called to the etten.tien of his lawyer who called it to the at- thntion of the Judge and he inspected it . At that time, the Judge had written this letter to the attorney sug- gesting and reminding him to include this as part of the proceedings. He said he did not suppose the Board wrote the judge and asked for his findings . He said the Judge found in his favor on all accounts . Mr. Yarin said he spent $1100 to put in a new leaching field and spent $2400 on a heating system. Mr . Richards explained that the Board has nothing to do with the heating system. Mr. Yarin said the Board had consulted the entire opposition; Whitman & Howard, the Board of Health, and Mr. Lurvey. He saidhe received no satisfaction from the Board of Health and Mr . Lurvey was protecting his name or the name of the wvrktan who was working for Whitman & Howard. He said the only people who knew the leaching field was not there are the people who saw the ' ground dug up, Mr. Capone and the builder . Mr. Richards explained that Mr. Capone was not an employee of the Town of Lexington in any form, shape or fashion. He said the Board does not know him, where he is . He stated that the Selectmen went through all of the Town Boards, people for whose action the Selectmen want to know if they are performed properly and the Selectmen think they have arrived at a satisfactory answer. He explained that if Mr. Yarin felt he had any rights against the Town of Lexington and it is his feeling that he should recover damages, he should move against the Town to protect those rights because time is running out. He said the Board has acted in good faith to give him a proper answer. He said the Board understands the Town has done more in this case probably than for any other individual in the Town to help him. He stated that whether the advice has been good or bad, Mr. Yarin has been given a lot of advice to what is admittedly a bad situation. He said the Board would like to help him and 499: explained that Whitman & Howard is an auxiliary and most towns don' t have this service . He stated it is a special service theTown provides and have done it only since 1955 to assist the home owners . Mr . Yarin said he was not going to sue the Town of Lexington. He said the Ba rd shrugged off the fact that Mr. Capone did not work for the Town of Lexington . He said he came to the Ba rd because of the money he had spent . He asked if the Board had, as a piece of evidence , the permit from the Town. He stated that shows an enormous leaching field that never existed. He said they dug up the location that the buider speci- fied and he was the one that was supposed to know where it was . He said he came to the Board not to let a situ- ation like this happen again in Lexington. He asked what protection home owners in Lexington had if the Board takes the attitude that this man does not work for Lexington. The Chairman said one phase is a financial loss and the other probelm is the question of this man. Mr. Yarin asked if the Board wrote letters to anyone who could corroborate his views of the situation. Mr. Richards explained that the Bca rd cannot inter- vene in a legal proceeding when it is not a party to it . Mr. Yarin said the case is closed. He asked if the Board investigated the fact that Mr. Capone was friendly with the builder, that he lived in one of his houses . He asked if the Boa-d thought this man would tell Whitman & Howard that he signed a permit for a Teaching field that was not there . Mr. Richards explained that the Slectmen do not have the power to subpoena withesses, and asked if Mr. Yarin thought this man, assuming his suspicions were correct, would give the Board any information. Mr. Yarin replied in the negative and said the fact remains that there was no leaching field and in Mr . Capone ' s own handwriting, it was there . Mr. Richards slid that right now the Board has no power that can materially assist Mr . Yarin. Mr. Yarin said if the Town of Lexington is paying many thousands of dollars a year for engineering ser- vices, they should stand behind their work. He said they should pay damages and that is what he recommends. He said if the Board preferred not to make it money, something should be done to clear up the matter. He said tie Board has made its decision and he did not know if he would fight it any further or not as now it is not a matter of money but a matter of principle . Mr. Ferguson said, as he understood Mr. Yarin's Soo CD CrD complaint, it is that an inspector of Whitman & Howard did not do his work and Mr . Yarin is coming to the Board as a citizen to tell that the Town is not getting its money' s worth. Mr. 'Tarin replied in the negative and said that first, he was caused considerable expense because of a leaching field that did not exist was passed, and second, he believed that Whitman & Howard should be reprimanded in some manner for letting a situation like this pass through their offices . Mr. Ferguson asked if Mr . Yarin' s complaint was first, he thought he was damaged because the inspection was not made properly, and second, he would like to have the Board reprimand Whitman & Howard because their inspector, in Mr . Yarin' s opinion, had not done a good job . Mr. Yarin replied in the affirmative , and said he would not like to see any innocent person suffer. He said he has no ax to grind with Whitman &Howard, but if they had a man making phoney inspections, it is still their responsibility and action should be taken down the line . He said he thought the whole problem should not go unnoticed. Mr. Ferguson said it seemed to him that there are two aspects to this. Mr. Yarin said when he referred to the whole pro- blem he was referring to the problem of his leaching field. He said the fact should be established with the Board that there was not a leaching field thereaand Whitman & Howard should be aware of the fact that a leaching field was not there . Mr. Richards said the Board of Health had apprised them of that . Mr. Yarin asked how many instances the Board was • aware of that the Board of Health has called Whitman & Howard and had them lay out the leaching field. He asked how many hours the Town paid for. Mr. Richards explained that the Town pays $2500 or $3,000 a year . Mr. Yarin asked if there was an invoice ' on his property and Mr . Richards replied in the negative. Mr. Yarin asked if the Town was billed for laying out a new leaching field on his property two years ago. Mr. Richards replied that he did not know . Mr. Yarin said that Whitman & Howard' s engineer did the entire design and that Mr. Lurvey stood on his front steps and told him that he would hire the workmen and the Town paid the fee . The Chairman asked if Mr. Lurvey said the Town would pay the laborers . 501 Mr. Yarin replied that was correct. He said he took his bill to Mr. Lurvey' s office when the job was done and then he said he meant Mr. Yarin would pay the men himself . He said that recently Mr. Lurvey denied he said that. The Chairman asked if the houses that the contractor built were adjacent to Mr. Yarin' s and he replied in the affirmative . He said his house was built on a swamp and the whole area is very bad leaching area. The Chairman asked if the residents in the other houses have had any problem such as his, and Mr . Yarin replied he did not know anyone who has had this problem. Mr. Ferguson asked how Mr. Lurvey offered to pay these men, and Mr. Yarin replied that he told him he would pay the men. Mr. Ferguson asked how he made that offer. Mr. Yarin replied that he told Mr. Lurvey they dug across the lot to next door. There were arguments going on there as to why the leaching field did not go along with the permit. At that time he said "Don' t worry - we have a man coming to do the job." Mr. Yarin said Mr . Lurvey made that statement to him. Mr. Richards explained that the men on the Board of . Health serve without any compensation and try to do a good job and most of the time he thought they were doing a good job. Mr. Yarin said he went to the Board of Health five weeks ago and they took a man down from Maine who laid out the second leaching field and this man was harassing him no end. Mr. Richards said the Board of Selectmen has not done anything to hinder the Board of Health' s decision to go forward in assisting Mr. Yarin but he didn' t think there is much more to do to give him aid. He said if Mr. Yarin thought any employee of the Town of Lexington was giving him a bad time , the Board of Selectmen wanted to know about it . He said the Board also wanted to know if Mr. Yarin felt any employee of the Town has misre- presented anything. Mr. Yarin said he could go to a hundred Board meetings but no one could straighten his mind that there was no leaching field there . He said the Board should be interested in the talk and the talk is , there was a deal on. There was no leaching field and the Town' s agent passed a diagram that there was a leaching field. Mr. Richards said Mr. Yarin relied on that diagram. Mr. Yarin said when one moves into a Town which is well run, with a Health Officer, it is assumed that one is protected. He said he did rely on it . 'a02 The Chairman said he did not think there was any question that there is no field there , but at this point, he did not think there was much the Board could do. He said the Board hoped it would not happen to anyone else . Mr. Richards said that the Board came to the con- clusion that the Board of Selectmen is powerless, from the evidence it had, to assist Mr. Yarin any further . Mr. Yarin said he would like to establish the fact that he did not come to theBoard as a crank wanting to get out of his house at night . Mr. Ferguson asked what ..it is he wanted to establish. Mr. Yarin replied to see if it is possible to get back the money, and secondly, to see that the person who did this improper act had been reprimanded. He said from the decision of the Board this evening, he found that it is not going to make an effort to reprimand this person or reimburse him because it is not in the Board' s power, according to the Board. He said he would, therefore , like to establish if he is right or wrong on general principle . He asked if he proved to this Board that he got cheated. Mr. Ferguson said Mr. Yarin had made his two problems clear , and the Board does not feel the Town has any liability to him on the first . On the second one , the Bcard has looked into and asked the Board of ,. Health what they are doing about Whitman & Howard. Mr . Yarin said, based on what Mr. Adams said - - Mr. Ferguson explained that Mr. Adams expressed a personal opinion and was not speaking for the board. The Chairman said that was correct, he was speaking for himself. Mr. Yarin said the Board would have to understand his problem to know why he was here . Mr. Yarin retired at 4:55 P.M. Mr. Norman May met with the Board and said he was interested in a zoning proposition in the area of Route 128 and Route 2, and was desirous of having an Article article in the warrant for the June Town Meeting but the Planning Board is not willing to sponsor it. The Board felt that the regular procedure of obtaining 100 signatures for the insertion of an Article or 200 signatures for calling a Special Town Meeting should be followied. Mr. May retired. Westview Acquisition of 14 acres of land adjoining the Westview Cemetery Cemetery is to be discussed with Mr. John Carroll next week . I The Assessors ' letter relative to the use of the large conference room next to their office for re- valuation was held over . Mr. Stevens had previously Conference stated to the Board that he would not approve the Room Town' s supplying office space for the concern doing the revaluation. Application was received from Busa Bros. for a transfer of Package Goods Store license at 131 Massa- chusettn Avenue to Busa Bros . Liquors, Inc . , at the Transfer of same address . license The Clerk was instructed to ask for a Certificate of who the stockholders are . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to advertise the application. Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant a Yearly Dump Permit to Joseph P. Kelley, who Dump Permit has taken over the Minute Man Disposal Inc . business . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to grant the following licenses : • Licenses Louis spasito ,116 Bedford St. Fruit & Vegetable Peddler (renw' L) David C . Hatfield, Jr. , 67 Baker Ave . Taxi Driver Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a notice of intention to lay out Buckman Drive Layout from existing Buckman Drive a distance of 235 feet, more or less, southerly to Moreland Avenue . Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to sign a notice of ittention to lay out Summit Road Layout from near Pinewood Street a distance of 700 feet, more or less, southerly to Fern Street . Mr. Ferguson said he thought the Board should talk to Whitman & Howard directly and should also talk to Mr. Lurvey. It was agreed to make an appointment for Mr. Lurvey next week and to have the other three Inspectors ; Build- ing, Plumbing, and Wirdaig in before Mr . Lurvey, for about five minutes . Appointments to the Town Celebrations Committee, Fire Commissioners, Board of Health, and Gas Inspector were held over. 504: lab Qn The Chairman called the Board' s attention to vouchers put through for payment by the School Department for dab Town fares incurred for transporting school teams and it was Accountant agreed to invite Mr. Palmer to meet with the Board next week to discuss accounting procedures . The Chairman called the Board ' s attention to an item of $57.50 incurred by the School Department for three color plates for the cover of ti-e School Annual Town Report and two extra colors on the cover. He explained Report this was not included in the specifications and thought the School Department should be billed. The other members of the Board agreed. The meeting adjourned at 10:40 P.M. A true record, Attest : / s ec ive L2' lerk, pelectme / N I