HomeMy WebLinkAbout1946-05-13200
MAY 6, 19&6 - sontinued
man available a~ all times and authority goes to the chief of ~he police.
department.
NohnWillis said s substantial number of veterans were back but he will
try and find ou~ accurately Just how many are back.
Darrell Britt&m said he had been reading up on statistics and he thought
that about 79% of the boys were home in the state but this could vary
in the different cities and towns.
Leo Murphy stated that he felt that the Chief should come before the Board
and have the salaries set and.then the board would know what was taking
place. Mr. Salisbury said that apparently the Chief had sa~isfied the. ,·
Advisory Board that a new was necessary and the money was grantedin
the appropriation. Be also said that he did not feel that the matter
had been taken up in. the proper manner but.it was done and nothing could
be done about it at this time until a list is established.
At an executive session of the board, Mr. Salisbury stated that it looked~
as if the Chief Engineer was under civil service but that Mr. Hargreaves:
was barred frmm holding i.t because .he failed to take the examination.
The office is vacant and can't be filled only with an acting Chief Engineer
until a ·civil service list ~is established.
Mr. Thomson asked Mr. Salisbury if he wished to verify this to.w~ich.he
replied that it was clear to him but the board can ask civil se~ic~. ~
It was then decided that Mr. Salisbury would dictate, a letter to the. Direc~r
of Civil Service. "
MEETING ADJOURNED: '~'
'. MAY 13. 1946
The regular weekly .meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held on this day
with all members present. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved. ' '
TREE RE~{O.V~L FEARING,:'
A' hearing onthe removal of a t~ee on Cross Street.at t~e driveway of B~gh,
Stewart was held a% 7:30 P.M. John Connors, tree,warden,was present and
stated that the tree obstructed hhe driveway and should be removed. The, J',,
board-voted unanimously to grant this reque's.t, and instructed John Connor. s
~move the tree. ' ' ~ ~
NEW 'ENGLAND TELEPHONE AND'TELEGRAPH COMPAN~ AND
LAWRENCE GAS AND ELECTRIC"OOMP~: '. ~ .'~.'
, A petiti.on for permission to relocate'poles, wires, cables'and fixtures ~;,~., ~
· ~ , received, existing pole on the southerly side of Boxf0rd Street apProximatelY
~'? ~ 700 feet e~sterly from Forest Street, ,to be relocated to the opposite, side~
of~the street was .granted unanimously by this board. ,.,.
~' ~-' ~AwP~CE GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY:
Permission was' requested,to excavate ar~ install 4" gas main on Young,and
Lyman Roads and the board voted unanimously to grant ~ this permission.· '.~', .~' ,~
ST~¥~:~S HALL: · - '~'-~ -,
A request for permission ~o use Stevens Ball on June .21, 1946 to.h01d a~.
dance .was ~received from Mr. Van Boesen who has, charge of the boys club.,.~ '~?"~'
Mr. Bayes has this night ope~ and the board granted'this request --~
unanimously.., ,, ~ r
STREET DEPARTMENT: ' ' ' ·
Mr. ,Carry, ,Highway Surveyer, came. before the board and requested this
to send a~letter to Mr. Fritz, District Bighway Engineer at Beverly, ~as~ing,
permission to allow Mr. Carry to undertake ,the,Chapter 90 work with respect
to Main and ~ater Streets; Mr. Carty explained that he has the equipment
necessary and he will be able to keep several local veterans 'working under
this program. Mr. Salisbury made, a motion that'the Ohairman ..be authorized,
to write a letter to the appropriate office requesting this,permission.
Motion was seconded .by Mr. Finneran and vote was unanikous.
LYM~NROAD:
Mr. Oartyalso discussed the condition of Lyman Road and he feels that there
is some question asto whether Mr. $ mbataro can be compelled to install,
a surface drain there ar if it is up"to the town. He said there is a
condition there which should be taken, care of in the near future. Mr., .
Thomson informed him that since he was the:head of the department he can. .
submit any question to the town counsel if he,so desires,
Mr. Carty then'stated that he would seek advice from Mr. Mahoney on this .
matter.
SUFFOLK STREET:
The condition existing here on %he B& N property was discussed and Mr. Carry
he had loads of there but that an inspector
MAY 13, 1946- continued:
from the B & M Railway Company had made inquiries about this dumping and
nothing further had been done. Mr. Thomson suggested that if Mr. Alcide
Gravel makes further inquiries, to refer him to the Highway Surveyor.
SALEM STREET- DU~tP CONDITION:
Mr. Carry stated that the work was practi6ally finished here and that the
place looked much better. Be said the cost was about ~150 o~ $200 at the
most. Mr. Cartyasked that the Se!ec~men send a bill to Mr. Wilcox for
the $25.00 which he promised to pay towards this work. Mr. Thomson
suggested that the ~. E. Pipe Company bill Mr. Wilcox for $25.00 as his
share of the cost.
ERECTION OF SIGN:
Walter Naruszewicz of 69 South Bradford Street would like to erect a sign
for advertising purposes at,the corner of Great Pond Road and South
Bradford Street on land which he claims is owned by the town. The, sign ~s ~
to be.,two feet by three feet. This matter was discussed and the board ~
decided, on suggestion of Mr.'Salisbury, that ~Mr. Naruszewicz be contacted
and find out definitely Just where the sign is to be erected. Mr. Thomson
suggested that it would only be fair. to give the abutters a chance~to
~oice their opinion on this matter.
~SS..FED. OF ZAXPAYERS ASSOCIATIONS:
A copy of the proposed revision of Chapter#115 G.Lz as unanimously,~
recommended by the legislative "Special Committee Relative to Economic
and other,Post War Problems, was received by this board. Chapter~#ll5
is the authority for state and local financial benefits
their dependents., Filed under Mass. Taxapayers Association.
VETERANS SERVICETRAINING INSTITUTE:
A complete copy of the~proceedings~ of the Veteran's Service Training
Institute held in Boston in March 1946.was recei%ed by. this board.
Filed under Veterans' folder.
FIRE, DEPARTMENT:
Mr. Thomson infermed those ~resent that he would like to make a few ~,~
remarks in regard to the Fire Department. Since last week when
action of the Board of Engineers called for the appointment of an ~
Chief to replace Mr. Hargraves, ~ have received lettersand
manytpeople. ,The substance of all the letters is practically the same
as two which were received in this office and-which I' would like to read~
Mr. Thomson read a letter dated 5/12/1946 and signed,byA" Murray~Howe,
which pointed out that Mr. Hargreaves ~sdentttled to the position of,
Chief Engineer which position was placed under civil service at t~e last~
town election. Theletter also,stated that better fire protedtion h~d,
,. been given under the administration of Mr.'Hargreaves than under anyI other':'i
~,. head,, ~n the last twenty,years, and asked that'the board of selectmen ~Jl~
correct this action . ·
~:·' A second letter dated Mayll, 1946 was received fromAndrew Coffin ahd.was!'
~ ~', · very lengthy. Mr. Coffin's letter stated that the ·entire situation at~ the
Fire Station Was on the authority of eachmember of the board of
and atso~mentionedthat pr6bebly muchof this controversy~,is due to the
insistence of Mr. Hargreaves that the members of the'department n~t be
allowed to mix their drinking with~theirfire department duties.
Mr. Thomson stated that he read these two letter because they embodied
what had been said to him duringthe week in reference to the Fire Dept.'
Mr. Thomson stated that on April 29,.1946 a letter was~sent to the Board
of Fire Engineers requesting that no appointments be made for tw6 weeks
as the board was planning a conference. Mr. Thomson said he appreciated
the fact that the letter was not exactly legal since one me~bero~ftbhe
board was not present but he also~ stated that the other member has ~aid
that,had'he been present he' probably would~go along with the othe~ member~
of the board. He said the Boardof Engineers were well aware of the f~
of the Board cf Selectmen Wi~h ~espect to any~appointments being made.
It was ounthought that nothing should be done until the, status of the
· - Chief could be ascertained."Indisrespect of this communication, ·they went
ahead and made an appointment of a spare dri~erwithin the two week period
pa~ing no attention to our letter. The Board of Engineersorganized ,
there b~ing no suggestion from the Board of Selectmen and proceeded to
appoint an..Acting Chief engineer. ~ think, it was a very scurvy political
trick. Mr. ~homson stated that the members of the board were aware of
· he pending legislation concerning the chief engineer but went along
and made the appointment only to benefit their own personal, selfish
political motives."
Mr. Thomson stated that he was aware that we have nc further authority
over'the engineers after they are appointed by the board of selectmen.
202
~ continued:
They cannot be removed except for cause shown, At the time of the
appointment of Engineers we knew that a. maJority of engineers were
opposed to the situation of Mr. Hargreaves. Irrespective of my
feelings I went along with other members in voting end felt they
would be .sportsmen enough to let the situation go along until the
Hargreaves bill was completed. "If I had kno~:n they felt that way
about the Board I would not have voted to appoint them again this
year." "It is my opinion that the people are blaming the Selectmen
in regard to the appointment of the Acting Chief Engineer. I. want
it fully understood that once the board of fire engineers are
appointed, all power over them is removed from the Selectmen."
Mr. Thomson then said he would like tohave this Board bymotion
now taken, disapprove by vote of the board , the action of the
Engineers in appointing another person, other than Mr. Hargreaves,
pending Civil Service re&%~lations.
Mr. Salisbury then said.~ "I Would like to know if you think the
action of the Engineers affected the civil service status of Mr.
Hargreaves." Mr. Thomson stated he wouldnot answer thisquestion
at this time. He did say that the action of the voters last March
proved that the people wanted Mr. Hargreaves as Chief. If you still
feel that the Board of Engineers in taking this action had no effect
on Hargreaves, I still say it was a veryscurvytrick."
Mr. Salisbury said he had received letters end.calls, all letters
being unsigned. He said two of the letters say .that the vote which
the town.took was in large part on the civil:service of.office of
chief engineerandnot on the person in office.' The office is now
under civil service and an open examination can be held and acivil
service list established. The action of the engineers did no{ change
the privilege of Mr. Hargreaves ~o tmke a non-competitive examination.
Mr. Salisbury stated that if he h~d been present at the meeting held
by the majority of the board of selectmen, he w6uld have gone along
with the hoard. I'm n~t sur~. the engineers are' in disregard of the -
majority of this board since the question was raised as to whether
there is e Ohief engineer. If I were on the Board.'of' Engineers, I would
vote for the man whom I thought most capable to do the work. .The
board of engineers tookit upon themselves to organize and appoint a chief
engineer. ~e have no right to ask'the .board not to organize. If we
reprimand the Board of Engineers, we are wrong, as they arc'taking a
vote they. are required to take.
If the board of engineers' had appointed Mr. Hargreaves as Chief Engineer
.we would not have any remarks fromMr. Thomson tonight. Mr. Kane and
Mr. Koenig are able fireman, have been appointed year after year by the
Selectmen and'that is why I suggestedata.recent meeting that I saw
no need for a change. If theyfeel, in the interim,period, they
~hould have a different man'for acting chief, I see no *eason ~hy ~.
they should be reprimanded %y the Selectmen.
Mr. Thomson said, Irrespeetive of that incident, I would say that we
made e specific request, pending civil service ruling. Our engineers
haven't the slightest respect for our wishes, hut as a practical
propositionwe should get some courtesy.
Mr. Salisbury said that perhaps they thought you were impolite-to me.
MrJ Thomson'again stated, "Bad you been here you said you would have :
gone along with the board and this was explained at.the last meeting
as to how theSaJority of the board happened to make the'vote.
Mr. Salisbury said he was glad he had given Mr. Thomson a chance to
apologize. '
Mr; Thomson said that' the newspapers .gave out the story that the
~ppointment was made' in direct conflict' to the request .of the board.
Mr. Salisbury said that two engineers 'may have been discourteous to this
board.
Mr. Thomson then said that the Board of Engineers haven't proposed an
appointment, they have made a direct appointment. This matter should
have remained pending.
Mr. Salisbury then stated that,~ aiming at both actions of.the board of
engineers, I agree they went counter to you and Mr. Finneran. Idon't
think they had to-m~ke such an appointment under the statutes.
Mr. Thomson said, "May I suggest that we made request in our communication
to the board of engineers to have a Joint conference?
Mr. Salisbury said, "From you and Mr. Finneran only."
He also said we should have the Board of EngSneers meet with us before
any action is taken bythis board%
Mr. Finneran said he still thinks nothing would have been lost if the
Board of Engineers had waited and taken a little time. As to reprimand, I
think we should let things go instead of stirring th~ngsuup. We should have
a conference.
2'03
· MAY 13, 1946:
Mr. Thomson said that ~r. Finneran and he had agreed upon a'conference with
the engineers as ~r. Salisbury suggested. He said the action of the
engineers is in such disrespect that they are in need of some criticism by
this board.
A previous motion made by Mr. Salisbury was unseconded and Mr. Salisbury
then said"Strike it out," and a new one will be made. He then suggested
that a conference be held on May 20' or 27, to take up the question of why
they disregarded the letter sent by this board of selectmen.
Mr. Thomson then added that a motion had been made and seconded that the
Board of FireEngineers be requested to meet with the Board of Selectmen on
May 27, 1946 at 8:15 P.M. in an executive session. Mr. Thomson suggested
that this meeting be executive so that all tan be given a chance to be heard.
The Board of Engineers will be notified.
P0r. tCEODE~ARTMENT:
John Willis informed the board that he ~had not been able to get any statistic~
in regards to the number of boys who have returned home from the service. He
inquired of Mr. Stevens of the Draft Board but he had no idea and no way of
telling' how many were back.
George McHale of 9 Commonwealth Avenue asked for information about appoint-
ments to the Police Department. He stated that~he was on the civil
list for appointment from an examination which he took in May
He .went into" the service in November 1942 and .was di
He was interested to know how he stood on the list. '
Mr..Thomson informedbim.%hat he didnot know there was a list available
for North Andover' but he felt that ib would have to come before the town
meeting before the force could he increased.
· Mr. Salisbury stated that he would make an inquiry at Civil Service if this~
~" was agreeable ~o the board and Mr. Thomson suggested that he request the
~. Commi~ssioner to send a list is there is one.
.~;M~. Salisbury stated that he had not made a. ny investigatton'as yet but he
~.:~understood that after the establishment of a list after s competitative
· ~examination, there would, be a submission of.three names to this board and
~ he also reit the same as the chairman that'this matter would have ~o come
before the town meeting.
Mr. Salisbury~will check on this information and report to the board..
-~ ~Edward ~unningham asked if the police department was still employing a
full time. Mr. Salisbury told him that there wes an allotment in the
. .~ Police~ Appropriation for a full time man and he felt that the. answer was yes.
'. '. ~ Meeting adJ ou~ned.
iThe regular weekly meetin~ of the.Noard cf Selectmen washeld, on this date
~'l~at 7:15. P.M. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved.
INSURANCE:
~Andrew Coffin, representing the North Andover Insurance Association appeared
before the board to explain to the board that an increase should be made
in the building.and contenSs coverage by 20%. This increase would mean a
~t~ta! ~increase of $125,400 and if distributed in accordance with the present
· ~p!an, there would be an increase of $Z!,$00 to the' policies expiring in
~194~'amd.1949. Mr. Coffin explained that.the total cost to the~town would
j'~be $727,32 and there is sufficient-in the ~ppropriation to take care of
~hisincrease. For anadditionat25% over all increase it might possib!y
save readjustment of the amounts within the next few years.
Theexecutive committee of the association recommendsthis increase and
eleven local agents will. receive equal shares. Mr.'Coffin presented a
char~ showing the variation of estimated~bui!ding Costs since 1913.
Mr. Salisbury made a motion to'take under advisement, the recommendation of
the Insurance Association until th~ board ~as an opportunity to discuss
this matter and later advise the association of its decision. Vote was
u~enimous.
Arnold Salisbury drew the name of William McKinnon to serve at the Superior
-~Court in Salomon June 3, 1946 asa civil juror. Mr. McKinnon, 44 Phillips
Court is a weaver.
M~IORIAL DAY APPROPRIATION:
Jehn A Cronin, Commander of the American Legion and Chairman of the Memorial
Day Committee appeared before the board and informed them that the $350
which was appropriated for Mrmorial Day will not be sufficient tO meet the