HomeMy WebLinkAbout1948-03-22359
MARCH 22, 1948- continued
JUROR DRAWN:
Mr. Coffin drew the name of William C. Smith, 29 Brightwood Avenue to serve as
a Juror at Newburyport on April 20, 1948 in Superior Civil Court.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE:
Notice received ~hat Dire~r William Casay, had approved the nomination of
Robert J. Burke as Inspecmor of Animals for the year ending March 31, 1948.
ADVISORY BOARD:
Oommunicatio~ received advising this board that Earl L Foster of Foster Street
hasbeen authorized ~o serve as the Advisory Board member for the purchasing
cmmmissicn in ~onnection with the ~roc~rement of a heavy duty truck for the
Highway Department. One member of the Selectmen is to act in this capacity.
Mr. Coffin made a motkon that Mr. Joseph M. Finneran be'appointed to represent
the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Finneran stated that he would be glad to do this.
ADvIsORYBOARD- FIRE DEPARTMENT
A letter was received from Mr. Kittredge relative to a bill of $160 covering
the repairs %o ~he car owned and operated by Chief James Hargreaves. Mr. K~ttredge
stated that it' was understood that the use of this car by Chief Hargreaves was
originally authorized bythe Board of S~lectmen. It was the unanimous decision
of the Advisory Board that the sum of $160 should not be included in the Budge~
as p~ovided by the Fire Department but that it should be referred to the Selectmen
for their'decision. It was felt that the decision should be made by the Selectmenl
as to.responsibilitE and manner of settlement and the securing of the funds
necessary therefor from the contingent fund, reserve fund or from such other
sources as this board might determine.
Mr. Hargreaves ~lained that this bill has already been approved by the Board
Of Fire Engine~Ps and paid but that if at the end of the year, there is not
sufficient money to meet expenses, it will be necessary mc ask for a transfer from
the Reserve Fund. This was agreeable to the Board.
FIRE DEPARTMENT:
Mr.'Hargreaves,explained.that they have been pumping out cellars and this has
been raising havoc with their p~mps. He said ~hey cost between $70 and $75
for new pumps and it will have to come from the Forest Fire Appr6priatton. The
board agrred that there should b~ a transfer from the Reserve Fund later in the
year, if necessary. Chief Hargreaves stated that no charge is made for this work.
~ETERANS' AGENT:
Harry Cole contacted this office and stated .that h6 is agreeable to re-appoint
Bernard Bingham as Veterans' Agent for the coming .year.
Mr. Cole also stated that he agrees that Andrew Coffin sh6uld be appointed a
member of the Advisory Board of Veteran~' Services.t& ~eplace Arnold Salisbury
who resigned from this appointment.
TRANSFER FROMRESERVEFUND:.
A requesm for .the transfer of $273.46 to cover the expense of printing the
Advisory Board reports, the total cost of which was $349.50. .We have a balance
of $72.04 in the appropriation and it is necessary to have a transfer of the
-above amount. The Advisory board reduced the original appropriation when they
received a figure estimated for the annual mown reports and which.was not
sufficient to meet the entire cost. Mr. Rockwell stated that it would be
necessary to ask for this transfer. ~
RECREATIONAL COMMITTEE:
The matter of holding over the appointing of this.committee was voted when it
waslearned that only three members are willing to serve for the coming year
and it will be necessary to appoint three more members. Joseph Lumenello,
William Smith and Mrs. Edmond Elliot are willing to continue to serve on this
committee.
FLAG POLE:
The board voted to have William T. Henrick of 238 Broadway, Lawrence paint the
flag pole at Memorial Park for the price quoted, which is $25.00. The Selectmen
will furnish the rope which is the usual procedure.
SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE:
A letter wa~ received from the School Building Committee requesting that.the
Selectmen call a special Town meeting on Saturday, April 10, at Stevens Hall,
for the purpose of considering the following article:
"To see w~athaction the Town will take relative to the disposal, transfer,
or. conveyance by'sale, or otherwise, of the Merrimack School building, land and
fixtures-- which action was recommended in the Reeves' Supplementary Report, and
is inkeeping with the expressed sentiment of ~he ~nnual Tow~Meeting held
March 13~ 1948." The board voted to call this meeting at 2 O'clock .P.M. in
the Town Hall on April 10,1948. 0nly one ~rticle is to be considered and Mr.
Coffin declared the'warrant closed.
360
MARCH 22, 1948:
LAWRENCE GAS &ELECTRIC COMPANY:
Mr. Thomson brought up the matter of street lights on Salem, Boxford and Foster
Streets as voted in the article at the recent town meeting. The residents
are anxious to have these lights installed and the board voted to request
the Lawrence Gas & Electric Company to make a survey and let us know Just
how many lights will be required and the cost for this year.
DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATION AND TAXATION:
A reply to cur letter of March 11, in which we requested information on the
powers of the Board of Selectmen with reference to holding up bills and
payment of same was received from Henry F. Long, Commissioner. His letter.,
stated in substance that the powers of the board of Selectmen are in 'large
part found in the General Laws, chapter 41, section 52. He stated that .
"Selectmen may disallow'and refuse to approve for payment, in whole or. in
par% any ~laim as fraudulent, n~lawful or excessive and informed the board
that in section 56 of Chapter 41," and the treasurer shall pay no money from
the treasury except upon such warrant approved by the selectmen."
The letter also added that the town treasurer , despite the approval of the
selectmen can refuse to pay, first, because he,.has no moneyleft in tha~
treasury~ and second, because he too is. of the opinion that if he does, he
puts.himself in jeopardy, because under the decision of the Supreme Judi6ial
Court', a treasurer is held personally responsible and as he is an officer
bonded and must comply strictly with the law.
Mr. Coffin stated that he made no 'suggestion or even hinted that there
were any such bills presented to the selectme~ for approval but that we~
as a board have apprimary duty to watch bills as they come along.
TOLL CHARGES- TELEPHONE BILLS:
Mr. Coffin stated that last wekk he had made a motion mo request ~11 town
departments to include all toll calls with their bills and he noticed that'
many of them were included in the bills this week. He again made the
motion and Mr. Finneran'stated that he did not feel that any such motion
was necessary at this time since it was' apparent that the' toll charges
were included with the bills~ No-secondwas made.to the motion made by
Mr. Coffin. ' ' '
PRIVATE CAP. S- POLICE AND FIRE DEP~TMENTS:
Mr. Coffin then suggested that thin'board request the'chiefs of the fire
and police departments to keep separate ~he cos~ of expense of each car~
whether town or personal. He said he is not suggesting that ther~ is
anything wrong but he believes that it would be'good business to know the
cost of each item.
Mr. Thomson said he felt that no 'pri~ate car is used in the Police Department
now except on rare occasions and that the Fire Chief comes under the Board
of Fire Engineers. Mr. Thomson brought.out the'fact that previously in' the
~eet~n~Chief Hargreaves had appeared before this board and informed them
that the bill for a repair of damage to his car'had been approved and paid
by the Board of Fire Engineers,. Mr. Thomson inquired if Mr. Coffin bad. any,
reason formaking.this motion, cther~han good business ~ccounting?
Mr. Coffin stated that.his reasc~ is that we may as.well not bother.tosign
the bills if we are to. sign them blindly. We ought to knwo what is in them
if we sign them with our eyes open.
Mr. Thomson stated~he Was reluctant to second the motion made unlessra r~ason
is given to show that the car is being usedfor other than town use. We. ought
not to suspect these p~rsons unless we can suppor~ the accusation withother
'evidence.
Mr. Coffin then asked Mr. Thomson?Do you feel that as a member of thaBoard
cf Selectmen you have.any right to approve bills unless you know what you
are approving.
Mr. Thomson stated that he had questioned many of them. and confirmed his .own
thoughts. If he had reason to~believe or any suggestion was mad~ so far as
any i~p~opriety was concerned, he certainly would not approve any such bills..
Mrl Coffin stated that he could not agree with Mr. Thomson that we. are
accusing anyone by asking for this information. Let everything be above
the table. Any man~erforming his duties properly and he would present his
expenditures gladly and. it is the more evident that he is ~oing his duties
capably.
Mr. Thomson asked if there was a second to the motion made and none was given
and he declared the motion lost.
POLICE- OUTSIDE JOBS:
Mr~ Coffin stated that he understood that there is e set of rules'governing the
Police Department and that among the rules is one which stops officers from
having more than one Job. Mr. Coffin said he also understood that this r~le was
voted upon during the war and that the police were allowed to have extra Jobs,'
this being due to man shortage.
MARCH 22, 1948- continued
Mr. Coffin made a motion that this board re-instate this rule at this time.
Peter Ritchie,.:who was pFesent st this meeting asked permission to ask a question
He then asked Mr. Coffin who was bshind all these motions. You are not the
man thin~.ing up all these questions, said Mr. Ritchie.
Mr. Coffin then informed the chairman that he believed that Mr. Ritchie was
entirely out of order and Mr. Thomson informed Mr. Ritchie that the question
was unanswered.
Mr. Thomson read rule 25 and rule 1, from the police manual ~hich was adopted
in. 1932 by the'hoard of selectmen who at that time consisted of the late
Harry ¢. Foster, the late James P. Hainsworth and Joseph M. Flanag~n.
Rule 25 states that each officer shall devote his whole' time to his position
and expressly prohibited the police from engaging in other business.
Rule 1 applies ~o the chief and stated that he must give his-whole time to his
position and also outlined other duties that' he must perform.
Mr. Thomson addressed Mr. Coffin and suggested that he re-examine these rules
and perhaps he would find other suggestion with reference %o his motion.
Mr. Coffin asked Mr. Thomson what he meant by that and Mr. Thomson said that
there may be other changes or substitutions which the board might care to
make if there was to he a re~ision of these rules.
Mr, Coffin stated that he felt that it would he a good idea to start now with
his motion.
~Mr. Thomson thenwent on ~o say that there is a good deal to be siad on both
sides and it was a war period and since that time, prices have become inflation-
ary. He said he could u4derstan~ where a special set of rules would be appli-
cable and yet hi could.also see where'the officers would wan% to do additional .
He felt that th~s matter deserves-consideration~and he was not prepared to
second the motion made by Mr. Coffin.
Mr. Finneran stated that he was not willing to second the motion and he might
say Shat if the officersdo their duty, there should be no complaints about
any extra work they might.do.
RE~oRT ON ACCIDENT:
~..,Of~lcer Lewis contacted Mrs. Richardson.of 283 Middlesex Street who had
previously reported that she had fallen on Middl~sez Street On an icy
section and had fractured her wrist in %~o places. She was still making
visits to Dr. Lee's office and was not able to give an estimate as to the
co~ of her medical bill. The board 'voted to hold this over until such time
as Mrs. Richardson had a definite f~gure. ~o p~ese~.
POLICE REPORT ON TRAFFIC AT SKI~TOW~
...Mr. Thomson informed the. members of.the board that ~e had a repor~ from'Chief
McKee with reference to the traffic .situation on Johnson Street on March 13,
and M=. Thomson stated that this board had referred this to Chief Mcgee and
a~ked for a report subject to revision by this board.
Chief McKee reported that to the bestof his knowledge, Special Officer' Howard
had acted in his official capacity as a traffic officer, when instructing the
various motorists to detour onJohnson Street. He stated .that he did not
believe that any disiplinary action wa~.required at thi~ time.
Mr, Coffin stated that because he was no% inclined to accept the report o~f the
'Chief, he made a motion t~at the Chief be directed to apolog£ze to parties
who were involved due ~o%he one way traffic on Johns6n Street. He said that he
~elt that the apology should come from the chief. Mr. Coffin felt that the
regulation had been made, making Johnson Street a one *ay street, whether it
was for all or for part of the.afternoon. He believed that this was
b£.the r~ghts of our citizens and they ought ~o receive an apology.
'H6further stated that the evidence of last week showed that the regulation
was in effect all afternoon. He said he .was much concerned about the usurpation
of powers which did not belong to the police department. He ~ent on to tell
about the car.:which' was across the street and that friends 6f Mrs. Ryans and
Mr. Parnham. were quite.specific in their stories about the time. He said
Mr. Farnham lef. ttthe %own meeting about four o'clock, his sister went down the
street some time'later and firends of Miss Ryans got'through to theRyan home
about six o'clock. The officers left the s~i-tew at five o'clock. Mr. Coffin
referred to the previous week, When Mrs. Ryan had asked for some measure of
correction and was referred to the Highway Department and th~,to Chief McKae
Mr~ .Coffin said he did not like the Poiice coming in here and~ml'ling a cooked
upstory to the Selectmen, who are their superiors. -~
~r. Thomson said he did not like the manner in which the officer"~'handled the
situation but he thought that ~he chief may fe~l that he has ~ duty which he
owes to his men hut we also have a duty to civilians..
Mr. Thomson said he felt that the punishment should be meted out t~ the officer-
t~e chief is only secondary. He said if th6 motion is amended to Officer Howard
:and suggesting that he he suspended for a time, he would go along with it.
Mr. Coffin then asked Mr. Thomson if it was not his understanding that'e one
way street was in ~ffect and after Mr. Thomson replied 'in the affirmative, Mr.
Coffin said that we should deal with the chief. He said the regulati6b was
made by the chief.
362
· ~RCH 22, 19&S-continued;
Er. Farnham who was present, stated that there was no car there and that the
police were fooling the selectmen. He said he did not want to start any'trouble
but he did not believe that the street was blocked.
~r. Coffin said he could not see his way to amending his motion since it deals
with the usurpation of power of the .citizens and that is not good.
Mr. Thomson said he still believed that the one way street was secondary, to which
Mr. Coffin replied that if the chief had not placed street one way, this Would not
have happened. He also said he felt that action should be taken with re~pect
to discipline.
Mr. Finneran then made s motion that the board acco pt the report andfile it.
Mr. Thomson stated that he could not go along with a passive action and he feels
that he must second the motion that the chief he required to apologize t~Mr.
Farnhnm, Mrs. Helen Douvette and to the Ryan family. Motion was'by majority
vote, Mr. Finneran not voting. ''
JOHN C. FARNUM LETTER:
John C. Farnum stated that he had purchased the old Farnum schooland~he'~had
received a letter re6ently which he sentto this board for some decision. He
said that during the con,ruction om Salem turnpike the state took a piec~ ofthe
land which wen~ with the' school. This letter informed him that the state'is
seeking a clear'title'to the land befor payment can be'made for the purchase of
same. The letter was filed in this office but a copy had been s'ent to C. J.
Mahoney for his dispcsition~ The letter was ,datedNovember 1946 and it~d
been sent to'Mr. Mahoney in December 1946. .'Mr. Mahoney will be contacted
to see what action has been taken on this matter ....
HOLBR00K, HAMILTON AND PUTNAM ROADS: :' ~.~
A group of citizens came before this board to discuss the conditions or,these
streets. It was necessary ~o adjourn to the court room.
Mr. Thomson bpe~ed the hearing and asked if the group had a spokesman.
Mr. Edwin Reinhold asked Mr. Sambatars to bring all fact~with reg~r~ to.the
above streets~to this meeting andhe has wrtttenstatements with him. Mr~.Reinhold'
also said he f~lt that Mr. Brasseur is the one who is making the decisionsand'if
the drainage is not satisfactory, w~y not have~ someone give an honest ~o~.~ ·
Mr. Sambataro stated that the last time he had talked about drainage , Mr.'Oarty
had said he was afraid that the ~state would charge for damage caused by water
flowing down into Mass. A~e. He stated that he had a permit to enterinte
this Sta~e Highway and he presented this permit which was read by Mr.
Mahoney. ~Mr. Sambataro felt that they were Just hasting around the. bush
and notigiving him a ' fair deal.
Mr. Thomson said this was a permit received in 1946 and one condition ~that
gradi~'g ~hall be done~ in such a manner that it will go into the catch~ b~sins
and 'nJt into the highway..'~hisworkwas to be done at the expens~ of't~
grantee.
Mr. Sambataro then sta~ed that he wanted ~t0 hear from the officials.
Americo Lanni of Holbrook reed said that he believed that this was an
emergency~ If there were a fire or any illness, thefire trucks or the~q~
ambulance could not get into the streets because of the muddy conditions?
He went on ~o toll"about the truckB which had become stuck there and had~ to
Mr, Thomson informed those present that the selectmen had'helda specia!~
meeting Friday morning an this matter and had met with no success.
Mrs.. Reinhnldasked what ~had stoppedthe town from accepting th&se ~streets.
Mr. Thomson said the procedure of accepting the streets is to havJ ~hem~~'J
in good Condition and after.a written notice is received from the' highway'
surveyor to thiseffect then the Selectmen will adjudicate and a hearing
willbe'held and in s period of time the street would be accepted~ ara
town meeting~ Hesaid the actual aadceptance of the streets ~at the
town m~eting. This board has been unable to arrive at a solution and 'so far
as money to b~ .expend~ona privat~ way, that is against thelaw. ~
Mrs. Reinhold asked if this was aa ruling ora law.
Mr. Mahoney explained that this was a matter of law andthe town may n0~
expend money on a private way. The town would then assume ~esponsibiltty
and having given a bond or if not taken' care of, this creates a precedent.
A question was a~ked as to how it'is possible to have water 'and sewers
put in before a street is accepted.
Mr. Forbes Rockwellof the advisory board stated that the board of public
works may install water and sewer as soon as the'streets are laid'out as.
to locationl
Mrs. Flora Keefe said that the streets were in acceptable con dition some
time ago and at this point Mr. Sambataro asked the selectmen if they were
ready to accept these streets. He said we were back where we started three
years ago.
'Mr. Thomson said, I will tell you again, that if you comply with the regulations,
we will adjudicate.~
There was a general discussion as to what requirements were needed and Mr.
Catty stated that the man %ho owned the developments is the one whs should put
the or on at
3'63
MARCH 22, 1948: continued
Mr. Lanni stated that he believed that this is a one man proposition and asked
if it could not be arranged to have a member of the Board of Public Works and
one of the Selectmen appointed tc decide whether or not the streets are in
condition for acceptance.
Mr. Mahoney said this was a good point and suggested that this matter be taken
up with Mr. Arnold Salisbury who is the chairman of the By-Laws committee and
this committee isa reviewing the by-laws and contemplating some changes.
Mr. Thomson informed those present that if they prefer ~o have a special town
meeting it will be necessary to present a petition with q200 hundred names on
it and it not only has to be accepted by the town meeting but has to meet with
the approval of the Attorney General.
Mr. Thomson then asked Mr. Ralph Brasset~r ~o tell the meeting what he could
about this matter since he had been accused of being predJudiced.
Mr; Brasseur said it was not through any wish of his that these streets have
not been accepted but it has been in the interest of the town. He has given a
fair and honest decision. He said he could not honestly advise that these
streets are in good condition and the very fact that they are impassable only
proves that they were not in condition at any time for acceptance. Hr. Brasseur
felt that the town should not accept a ~treet if they have'to build it and there
should be sufficient drainage. He said if the road has proper drainage then the
road surface is kept clear. Be said these streets were gravelled ~ackwards.
If they were to be oiled the same condition would exist. The material, is
badly mixed with soft mud and'until such time as proper materiel'is put in,
such, as cinders or good bony gravel, this condition.will always be there. Be
said it is the duty of the developers or the owner to put the street in condition .
as'asked for in the regulations.
Mr. Brasseur said that Hr. Fritz, the state engineer came up last year and
at that time he said that four catch basins had been installed and had been
covered' Up with surface material which had been sent do~n with the wa~er running
down into~Mass. Ave. Mr. Fritz said that the work that had.been done had been
kept separate and would be billed to the party responsible; He said there was
no possibility of adding more water as they were taxed to.their capacity n6w.
Mr.~ Brasseur'said tha~ his solution.is"that the abutters if not the developers
should put the street into an acceptable condition. Under the law, Mr. Carry
cannot spend money fo=~ this.work and the streets cannot be accepted until they
meet the requirements.
Mr. Brasseur said there is no wonderful~advantage to having a street accepted.
TH~ mere acceptance of streets isnt a promise that the town start work onthese
streets immediately. Be'also said that the people should get together and
fix~the drainage, not necessarily using pipe, but they could'make gutters to
carny'the water off.
"Mr.'ThomsOn inquired if these gutters were there woul~d
the drainage~and~tha town would be liable. Re ~lt that as a preliminary
question the feeling of the state should be ascertained.
Mrs. Reinhold inquired about Green Street which she said had no gutters. There
was.further discussion then about Green Street, Lyman Road and Mass. Ave.
Mr. Thomson then said that he would like to make a suggestion after having
discussed this briefly with the other members. He wanted it understood that
'he w~s not'trying ~o pass this off but he felt as did the other members that
if they would appoint a committee ~o meet with the State Engineer and also
an~engineer of their own choosing, we could come to some decision about this
whole matter. He said if they cant dump water into Mass. Ave. then they have
a severe problem.
~hillip B.~Rothasked to have Mr. Carry tell this group just what is required
_ before the three streets can be accepted.
""~rs. Flora Keefe then .spoke .briefly and said that there was a $50,000.assessment
i6 this section and ifthese people refused to pay their taxes and used'this
money to repair the.streets, what would happen. ..
Mr. Coffin stated that the taxes are a legal obligation and the town will find
~ome way of collecting them.
Mrs. Keefe mentioned that there were many veterans in this group; they have
ns'garbage collection and none of the conveniences they should have. She asked
if the state could step in and help if the town can do nothing.
~Mr. R~th~'ma~e inquiries as to when these regulation went into effect. Re felt
that the selectmen or spme other person other than the highway surveyer should
~ecidedonnwhethar ~r not the streets are in an acceptable condition.
Mr.'Thomson explained that a man elected by the people to spend over $59,000
on street maintenance should be the one to RassJJudgment. We would he'remiss
in our duty if we chose someone else. Mr. Thomson then asked Mr. Reinhold if~
~ha felt that it would be of an advantage to hear what the State Engineer has to
say and he replied that this would be a good idea.
Mr; Coffin talked ~bout the special meeting held on Friday by this board and
if the town did oil or roll these streets, it would be illegal. He' said there
are many streets in the country which are impassable at this time.
There was further discussion about' the acceptance cf these streets and Mr.
ThomSon said he felt that these people were entitled to a fair answer from
Car~Y,