HomeMy WebLinkAbout1946-10-07235
T~E Board of Selectmen held their regular meeting on this day at ?:00 P.M.
with all members present. Weekly bills and pa.yrolls were approved.
TREE R~OVAL HEARING:
A hearing was held on the removal of three trees, at 7:20 P.M. and were as
follows:
Two trees, one on Pleasant Street and one on Lincoln Street, application of
Davis & Furber Company. Trees were posted and Mr. Conners felt that they
should be removed. The board voted umaaimously to grant this request.
Hearing on removal of a tree at 54 Saundera Street on the application of Emile
0. Boulan~er of 54 Saumders Street. Mr. Conmors stated that this is a large
tree and makes the house damp. The board voted unanimousl~ to gran~ this
request.
REQUEST FOR TREE REMOVAL:
A reques~for the removal cfa tree at226Main Street was received from George
E. Metcalf of 226 Main Street. He s~ated that thetree is large and shades
the house, making it damp. The tree was damaged during the storms an~ during
the hux~icane in1938. The board voted to refer this matter to the Tree Warden
and hold a hearing on October. 21, 1946 at ?:30 P.M.
REQUEST FOR STREET LIGHT:
A request for a street light to be installed at 41-43 Sutton Street was re-
ceived from Mr. &Mrs. Dimet~rios Pawledakes of this address. They stated
that it is very dark in this section and they do not go out at night because
it is so dark. At the present ti~e the Lawrence Gas & Electric Compendia
unable to get material for the installation cf. street lights bdt this request
will he kept on 'file and considered at a later date. Mr. ' Mrs. Demetrios
Pawledakes.willhe so notified.
~R~rOF DOG WARRANT:
A ~return c~-the Dog Warrant was received from ~ohn Dolan, Dog Officer and will
be filed ifi~thedog officer felde~.
FIRE ENGINEEP~:
A :report frdm'tbe Department cf Civil Ser4ice was received.infor~ing the
board that James Hargreaves has passed~the examination for the position'of
Chief Engineer of. the Board of Fire Engineers, as prescrihedu~der the law.
Bis name is'~certified for said 'positionand note. of his appointment will he
.made on the'records of this office as of even date. Letter dated'Octobe~l,1946
OFFICE OF'THE:SECRETARY:
Notice received that application~hae been.filed for a certificate of incorpora-
tion as provided for in chapter,iS0 cf theG. L. Ter.Ed. under the name of
The. Ja~es J~ckson P~tham Children's'Center to.be located in the city cf'Boston,
Mass, ~yAmes Stevens, 72 Great Fond R~ad, North Andover, and other, not
residents of North Aniover. This corporation is to conduct a psychiatric center
for young children. The approval of the hoard was unanimous and the report
required bythe'0ffice of the Secretary.was filledin and returned to said
office. ~
Notice received 'that the following have filed an application for a certificate
of.incorporation;under the name of the 7. F.W. North Aniover Post 2104'Building
Oorporation~' Inca to promote, foster~' en$oura~e and maintain social activities
and meeting places for the N, A. Post 2104, V.F.W and to have~ the power to
b~y, sell, mortgage or in any other, way acqudre and.dispose of real estate and
· ~porsonal property.' The approval of the board was unanimous and the report
was signed and: se~tinto the office of the secretary.
BUS SHELTER~ OAMDEN STREETANDLEXINGTON'S~REET:
Michael MickalskY o£~2 Concord Street called at the office to ge~ permission
to.erect a buseheltar at.the b~s stop between Camden and Lexingten Streets
a~dwanted some ~he!~from t he Selectmen in getting the .lumber. The residents
· will pay for~the cost of this shelter and will aPpoar hefore this board.
The residents did not appear and no~ action was taken bytha board, They
-_ stated that~f'the ~helter is to be.on private property, nothing could be
-done abbut i~,
~UROR D~AWN:
Ee~netbW. Houston of LymanRoad was ~rawntossrv& as a Juror in CivilCourt,
November 4, 1946 at ~.lem, Mass. Mr. Ncusto~ is a gate.age mechanic.
236
OCTOEER. 1 o ~----~
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief McKee sent a report to the hoard on the speeding on Academy Road and
Main Street in which he stated that the places had been checked and there
was no speeding at all. He informed the board that he w~uld be willing to
erect two signs on Academy Road, limiting the speed to 25 miles per hour.
The board voted unanimously to request the Chief to install these signs..
No figures were available for warning signs throughout the town But Chief McEse
will appear before the board as soon as they are available.
DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATION AND TAXATIONS:
~n formation received on the so-called "parking meters" in connection with' the
parking of motore vehicles and there is no specific legislative authority
for cities and' towns to appropriate public funds for the purchase of parking
meters ·
DEPARTMENT 0FLABOR AND INDUSTRIES:
Cost of living report for the month of September was received which shows
an increase over all previous reports.
PLANNING BOARD-~PETERRiTCHiE:
Peter Bi'tchie came before the board to discuss the Scovil~Estate at the~
Center and explained.that this pro~ect im more than the Planning Board
wants to OK without having some disinterested registered engineer go over
the plans. Mr. Ritchie stated that this estate covers 84acres of. land-
and is much larger ~than the Mifflize Park plan. He felt that no member of
the Planning Board is capable of going up 'there to say what 'the grade
should be..Ir'must'be 9% at the highest. Mr. Bit,hie feels that the Planning
Board should .w~ite 'to the State Board of Engineers end have a man come out
to go over the construction Job and. send his figures forgoing over'the plans.
The bill could then be 'sent to the'Selectmen.
Mr.. Salisbury said he did not believe that the town should pay money for
this work.'
Mr. Thomson s~ated that the~e was not a doubt that the Planning Board
want these plans"substantiated since they felt that they were 'not competent
to 0 K theseplans.
Mr. Salisbury'then stated that if theDevelopment Engineer is not correct ia
his plans, he'did~'not think that the' town' should pay for 'this work.
Mr. Ritchie then told Mr. ~alisbury that he Was going con{~ry to bls'own
wor~s at the last'meeting of the Planmtng Board. Mr. Eitchie told the~card
'that the~ wanted corrections'made now. He said the engineer is also the
developer.
Mr; Thomson stated that'he thought we ought'not to be too hard onthadevelopers
as we need land ani we should ~ooperate. ~e mentioned the immense project and
asked the board if they did act think that the Planning Board should go~t and
hire an engineer to make any-~orr~tiono necessary.
Mr. Ritchie informed the board"thatMr.'Mal~lmBeattiewas not a registered
engineer when these plans were' startedand'under thas~ 'circumstances, th~;town
would.have every rightto come' beckon the Planning Boardand ask why~thay:
did not employ a registered e~gineer.
Mr. Thomson then said that he"felt that the funds for this work could be':
transferred from some surplus~fund.
Mr. Salisbury said that if this money was to Be transferred from the Reserve
Fund, he did not believe tha~ this money could be transferred through this
Board. Mr- Thoms°ntold Mr. Ritchie he should find out the cost and let this
board know and ifthere is sufficient money in' the Reserve Fund, the'Planning
Board could apply for a transfer~ · '.. .
Mr. Ritehie then went on to ~el~-~the ~oard'that Mr; Beattie wily have a finished
project. ~e has definitely stated 'that he will lay out the streets,, complete.
Mr. Finneran then added that '~f~the Planning Board felt they needed ecpert advice
for this wo~k, they shoul~ go ahead and get.the engineer. The board seemed to
all in accord with this plan;"~
Mr. Ritchie then asked if he might hring up another subject and he informed the
Board that Charles Cyr ConstruCtion Company had delegated Mr. Ritchie to'come
before the b~ard and submit a'bid of $2~00 which will he a complete Job in
filling in and levelling the sandbank on Massachusetts Avenue. The Cyr~ ConstruCtion
Company have taken on a big Jo~inLawrence and will have sufficient filling to
use on this sandbank. This work-would have to he started in the near future as
they want a place to dump this'Tilling.. The filling will cost $1800and-the
bulldozer will cost $500. Re, Mr. Rtichie, said this land had Been turned down
as a playground and was an eyesore to home~ owners.
Mr. Pillion was present and stated that the article had not been voted d~wn.
Mr. Thomson then read article ZO and the advisory board had.advised against
expending a large sum of money on this land because of the high ~ax rate.
It was votedto postpone this article indefinitely.
Mr. Ritchie suggested that a special tow~ meeting be held to ask that this land
be filled in.
OCTOBER ? --6- ont rm-d
Mr. Thomson then suggested that this be discussed wish the Advisory Board and
Mr..Pillion asked that they also take up the matter of the citiaen who offered
$1000' if the area developed into a playEround.
It was then agreed to have a .meeting on October 14, 1945 at 8:00 P.~. and ask hhe
Advisory Board members, Planning Board and Mr. Charles Cyr to discuss these plans.
VETERANS SERVICES BUREAU:
The members of the board of Selectmen of Boxford appeared before this board to
discuss the recent Act of the Legislature requiring the setting up of a separate
municipal department in communities to deal with veterans problems.
Chairman Cole of BoxfSrd stated that he thought it would be advantageous to all,
if North Andovar, Boxford and Middleton could be combined into one district.
He said there is not sufficient work ,in Boxford for one man to take over this work
and he wasnot sure that Middleton had not already agreed to combine with some
other i town.
Chaix~,man Cole then suggested that it might be a good idea to have all the Selectmen
present on November 9, at the Mass. Selectmen,s Association meeting in Middletoz
and discuss this matter thoroughly,
· ,Mr. Thomson agreed that 'this was a good idea and will send another letter to
the ~Selectman of ,Middleton to find out how they feel about this matter. .
~:Mr.! ,Salisbury said it would be well to let this matter rest until the next 'annual .
town .-meeting when an appropriation for the project could he sought. I~ the meantime,
they 'could get together' and discuss the details.
Mr;~Thomson thanked the Selectmen ,for coming up from Boxford. ' ' .'
'FII~E:ENGINEER~ SAMES HARGREAvEs:
James'liargreaves came ~efore. the board'-to find out {hat the board will do about
the position which he now holds, havin~ passed the Civil Service Examination for
the ·position of Chief En~Inear of the Fire Department. He said he wanted to know
if, he,'-was to continue as p~tiime employee or'i'f fha .Job was to be flltl ti~e.
Mr. Hargreaves stated that he ~did not feel that the station was operating right.
lie ;amid th~ department is pe ,ying $980 more :each year and the~ are ,not getti~ the
_ narv~¢e, lie mentioned one man who had. been suspended for two years iud h~ is not
able to do the Job..He receives $209 each year and is not able to d~ what is
required of him.
Mr.' l~argreavea informed the board that he ca~e before this hoard and asked'trot
~$~:~0,'~or each engineer so that they could go out at night with the ambulance but .
~they~have not done this. Mr. Kane, when he was on the board, did come to the
.station at night and went out on acme of the ambulance calls~ but the other
,engineer did not.
,Mr."Saliabury inquired as to how {he department was bei~ ~un now in regard to
th~,ambulance.
Mr. [~Hargreaves explained- that,'tha l%lice Department previ~usiy sent ~ne 'of ~heir
officers with the ambulance but .they are unable, to do this now as they are short
'han~ed' too; and the officer must take measuremants when there is an accident and
if[(going:iwith the ambulance he was unable to do his work as'it,should be done.
· M~.:-Hargreaves stated that there were over 300 ambulance calls last ~ear and he
made about fifty calls with his, own ear. He explained that there are two drivers
on,~duty, nnw and,,there were three when he was there all the time, lie said there
are Tire A-egular men now, two on and three off, on a ten day cycle. They work
four days;' '
Mr. Fi~hera~ ~asked what he would need at a fire. Mr. N~vgreaves explained 'that
a~truck at.-~e was no good without men and eice versa.. He stated that at :a
fire,'~ tho"first :five minutes are what actually count and you would need at l~ast
two men there, lie told about Mr. Bisson who made trips on the ambulance and
received $1.00 each trip and this 'left a man at the m~atiou., lie said Mr. Frisbee
ia-on.,Stoning~on Street and Mr. D~w at Lincoln Street and it takes some ti~e for
them.:~o reach the station.
Mr. Th~omson asked how .the department would be improved if Mr. Hargreaves were on
Steady.
~Mr.~Nargrea~es explained that the department is undermanned during ~he day and if
they had another full time man this condition sould be improved. Ne said ~they
have seven pieces of apparatus and he believes that the department needs supe~-
vision.
~i' ,S.~lisbury stated that he believes that the only way to straighten th~,s matter
s'to~have a town vote for a full time fix;e chief and eliminate the engineers. '
.M~:. ,~Thomson then asked if there was anything to 'prevent the Selectmen to set a
salary for the Chief Enginmar.
Mr. Salisbury said he did not believe that under the present set-up of three
engineers that this board could set the salary of the Chief Engineer on a
permanent basis . Ne said the Chief Engineer is Just an engineer and since the
town has been operating ~nder a Board ~f Engineers, the only way to clear matters
is to create a Chief of the'Fire Department.
238
OCTOBER - · ' ~ .
Mr. Eargreaves stated that he believed that the people thought they were
voting for a permanent man and that was their understanding. He said he .wash t
getting the prople to'vote for him for $500 per year. Be said he had w~rked
for seven years to g et this Job and he would have to continue his outside
employment as he could not live on $500 per year. He said it is the general~
practice that the Chief get more money than the engineers and he knows '~
definitely that the Chief Engineer is the Boss. The other engineers are on
the same Basis when suggest'ions or buying is to be made.
Mr..Thomson said that he 'disagreed with M~.. Salisbury in regard to the
setting of the salaryJ He believes that the Board of Selectmen may set -
the salary ~of the Board of Engineers and there is nothing prohibited in ~ ~ -
the statutes to set the'salary of one engineer higher than another. ' '
As the set up is now, 'we have no Jurisdiction over the engineers and no
employee can he removed except for cause.
Knowing that our Fire Department is undermannsd, ~ know that constant
supervision' is much Better thanasporadic supervision. My opinion is that
we have the authority to appoint an engineer to .receive a certain .salary,
set hours, etc. We have 'very little to say except to set the salary and. ~:" '
appointing. With respect 'to Civil Service,- it is not within our control'. -'
We might well say, "Your 'salary shall be and the following hours have been set".
Mr. Salisbory said this may Be true and it 'is a good analogy. If. we ha~,a ·
town manager and no 'Board of Selectmen But the town hasn'~ seen fit to' d6slgnate
one of us .to act as town manager. · Until ·such 'time as the town votes to' appoint
a full time chief, T' don't think we should take upon.ourselves the power toset
a salary. The town has always had a part time Board of Engineers,
Mr. Thomson stated that%he town has nothing to say about the s~lary.
He said that the town meeting had turned down a full time position for
Mr. Eargreaves and he did not Believe that this Board would be Justified ·
Mr. l~argreaves said he was beaten by a hand vote ~ut' that when he asked
the people to vote he received 1400 votes and he Believes the people felt ~
that they were voting'for a full .time man. ~ ~'
Mr. 'Salisbury said the Job.is part time and he cannot vote for Mr. Hargreaves
as a full!time employee. ~e~. said the town has turned down this-statute
three times. Ra said the t~wn has Been'able' to get:along with engineers-:for
some time. '""
Mr. I~argreaves said they may get along for' fifty years more. I would like
to know if I am to come' out of work to fix fire alarms? Tf alarms 'Break':down
n~w,'~ we have to find a :man to do this.work. He said the White truck, was
~epaired for $650.00 and 'the actual cost would have' been $1480 so that~:thi~ ~
was a savings for the town. Mr. Hargreaves mentioned other instances whe~e.:th~e
town had saved money when th~' men in the department' l~d been able t,o do
work on the trucks. ?-~.J-::~:;':'~, ,
a fu~l
Mr;' Sal£sbury then said that Mr. Hargreaves wanted to ~BO appointed '%o '~'[ ~'
time Job. One.reason for t~ie is that there would then Be a full time:man;
Don't you think that the people will be saZisfied since you will still'Be: ,,
the head of thefire fighters? Why wouldn't the town be.as well off if.some';.;
other,.man were put on full time; - ~:'
,Mr.-Hargreaves said~he was not'shamed to drive, a truck or get under the~-:,'
Ne [sAid people come,to the mill and ask for him andha has to make decisions;,
Mr. Salishur~ then n~de 'a zotion to take this 2atter ~nder'advissment.. ·
M~:f'Thomson' asked that he Be more specific. TS 'this matter to ~Be taken~undsr
advisement .that the Chief Engineer's salary is to Be considered. Mr.
Salisbury answered no.
A motion was then made, that the wl~x~e matter Brought up here tonight Be
taken under advisement. Motion was seconded and moted unanimously.
MEETING AIIIOURNED~'"
The regular weekly meeting of the Board' of Selectmen as ~ld at 7/~
with all members present. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved. ~'~-
TREE REMOVAL P, EARING~ ".:
moating'was held at 7-'30 P.M.:'$n'%he petition of Howard ~. Radcliffe, 26
Railroad Ave. and ~ames Aahworth of 24 Railroad Avenue· for the removal of
two trees in front of each residence. Mr. Connors was'present and approved
the removal of these two trees. I~e stated that there are five trees .there
and two should he removed. The Board voted unanimously to grant this requ. es~J
AMERICAN LEGION, POST 219a
An invitation was received from the North Andover Post American Legion, in~iting
the Board to attend their installation on October 21, 1946. The Board voted
una~imausly to accept the invitation with pleasure. ~