Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1948-03-29It was then discussed and the board asked that this be placed on the records as the conditions which Mr. Catty requires before he will approve the streets for acceptance: First condition: Second Third " If the state highway accepts drainage. If the road is properly drained. If the roadways are gravelled ~o established grades and made passable at all times during the year (passable was interpreted to be a reasonable condition) There was some discuss~ion about the meaning of the word passable'as these conditions were read from the record. Mr. Thomson then suggested that the appointed committee study the plan.of the planning board and determine what.the present grade is. If these conditions are complied with and Mr. Catty gives his written approval,th~n the streets-are ,~O~e accepted at a town meeting. Mrs. Reinhold and Mr. Roth'wanted specific answers from Mr. Carry as to whether he would accept the streets if the three conditions mentioned previously are complied with. Mr. Carty finally stated that he would accept the streets if the three conditions are compliedwith. Mr. Coffin said he did not feel that we could require Mr. Carty to do anymore than what the regulations say. He said the law has'to be vague to a certain extent. Apparently he said, the roads are not in c0ndition~ now for acceptance mn~ I think you will find that if ~oudo your part, Mr. Carty will do his. The board then voted to hold a meeting at.g'o'clock on March 29, 1948 in the Court Room and Mr. Fritz , State Engineer~ will he asked present. The regular weekly meeting ~f the Board of Selectmen was held on this day with all members present. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved as were the 01d.Age and Aid to DependentChildren payrolls. .. INFIRMARY PROPERTY: Edward J. Welch, 32 Church Street, came before.the ~oard and said that he would like to buy a piece of town property near the infirmary. He said',He had talked to two members of the Veterans' Housing Committee about thi~J~: matter. Mr. Welch presented a map to show'the area and said he wants this land for a residence. Mr. Welch referred to a meeting held on June 16, l?4~when the Selectmen were given the right to dispose 'of town land for'~eterans Housing purPoses. He said there was nothing in the.Ac~ which tells how much Or how litt~eiland the selectmen could sell. Mr. C. J. Mahoney informed Mr. Welch that that means s development an~ the .Selectmen could no~ sell land which is being used by any dspar~ment. Mr. Welch stated that the land referred to is pasture land and is not now being used by the Town Infirmary. . Mr. Mahoney further stated that there would be nothing that would prevent the selling of this land though a special town meeting. Mr. Thomson then informed Mr. Welch that it ~ould have to be staked out,. and some proposal made. He said that tbs Advisory Board would act on an article.of this kind and advised Mr. Welch to get'some info~mation t0gether~ and leave it at this office with Mrs. Dearden and this board can tben'~iscuss it with the Advisory Board andget their reaction. Mr. Coffin added that i~ the proposal is here and a special meeting is.~alled the material for an article would be available. Mr. Mahoney advised'Mr. Welch to check with Mr. Foster at the Infirmary and see if the land is being used. TOWI~ DUMP: Mr. Mahoney informed the Selectmen that he went over the dump with MrJ Perry, and Mr. Carty and he believes that Mr. Perry has a legitimate complai~ton the grounds that people goin and dump paper and other people go in And .empty tbs paper.from the cartons and they blowall over the place and start 'fires there. He said that there is no lease at this time and he suggested that we carry on without any change at this time. He said the town has a right to use the dump although there is no lease but that at the next town mgeting the matter could be voted on and a lease drawn up. He suggested that the police he instructed to keep trespassers off. Chief McKse has been notified of this matter. The town now pays Mr. Perry$260 yearly for the use of the dump. Mr. Perry said he wanted it understood that anybody can use the dump'bu{~once the refuse is dumped there it stays there and m~one has a right ct dig it over. MARCH 29, 1948- continued EASTERN MASS. RAILWAY COMPANY: Edgar Dunbar cams before the board and Stated that the bus conditions for patrons who~wnrk in the Osgood Mill have not improved. He said thatthe bus came on time one night but since then the people have had to wait over half an hour. Mr. Thomson said this would he check with. Mr. Chase. SURFACE DRAIN-MOODY STREET: Mr~ Dewey Dyer of Prospect Street ca~e before the board and informedthem that the Water is running down Moody Street and runs onto his land and has ~looded cellars there. .He stated %hat %hey need about 200 feet of surface drain up there to stop'the~waterfrom hacking into the cellar. He said he had talked with Mr. ~arty about this. · Mr. Thomson suggested that Mr. Carty be the sponsor of the article for this installation of surface, drain. Mr. Dyer stated that he does not want to ha~e 'to call a special town. meeting for this alone hut felt that if a special town meeting was, to be held and the article was available it would be inserted et the proper time.i TRANSFER FROM RESERVE FUND: Approval was received from the Advisory Board for $273.46 to be ~ransfarred. to the .~Annual Town Reports appropriation for printing of the Advisory Board reports ~to take care of a deficit in this appropriation. LAWRENCE GAS .& ELECTRIC C~MP~J~Y: ' ,~,.:~,letter was received from the Lawrence Gas & Electric' Company informing the '",~Setectmen ~that a survey would be made of street lighting along Salem Street to ,..~B0Xford' and Foster Streets as requested recently. '?hei~ove .company requested permission to ~xc~at~ at 361 Middle~ex Street and ..... i,'~t~:St~vensStreet at the corner of Pleasant'Street to repa~r~~ gas leak. · '?~?~e,~$ard voted'unanimously to ~rant this ~er~-~- ~ ' ?;:~:;EOCAL ' MOTH SUPERINTENDENT: ' AppEcval,was received from theD~partment of ,Consex~ation on the annointment f ~,,.,,~ ,,i~!~.. conners as the local Moth Superi~tendenb for 't~e year ~9~' , , of ' :TEXTILE WORKER's UNIONi ~ ~,' A,~co~unicationwas received by each. me~ber of this board of seL ~that~%hey registerstrongest opposition to the price increase for domestic g The~'~ard voted to write a letter ifthey wer~ unable to attend th~ ?Iv0nkMarch 31, 1948~ · :'STEVF~S HALL= - .. : ~ ;, Permfs~!o?was g~snted'for tbs use of'Stew-- "-'"' -"~ ;'~-' ......'4.. . '~" L:~';~n' to holds dres~ re ,,. na~, nor apron o, to ,table'American · ¥,~'' . · ' ~' hearsal fo~ their minstrel show. ~he '" "· · [,?, ~i,k,"~'and~permisslon was granted. ' '. ' ha!l:.is.availabL ,. ",, ,,~,~'Parm~ssion,was'also granted to the' V. F. W. for er .......... .~,~ ............ hat nih · . ~, :,~.REQUESTFOR HISTORY OF NORTHANDO~ER.FUY~FILLED: ' . ',. -:'":': e ofForest Gro~s, Oregon rece:tly requested information about. ~ts ,and the board turned this'matter over to Mr. O'Brien, who immediately~i ? vorkon the r~quest andthe:,pupits ,of'the seventh and eighth grades: of ' ~¢ Street SCh°°!'~repared~a, hJok,i(,underthe':direction of MissM~rgar .,: Selectmen,.all ag~.~ed'that this"was~'a fi~e piece'of work a~d'felt that cjW°U[d;'i'b~jgreatlypleased with it, and'Mr. Thomson f~lt that the pupils andlteacher ',sho6ldlbe congratulated for their fine work. · Mr~J~0offin moved that"the board express their public,commendation to the School Department and to th~ pupils of these grades fortheire~cellent work. RECREATIONAL COMMITTk~: "f TheY',board held ove~ the appointment ~f this committee until next week and Mr. · Thc~4on suggested that Mr. Duffy be Contacted' and inform him thatlthat the board .... ,.wil~'~is~ussthis matter at S o'clock on April 5, 1948. ' · NORTH~ANDOvER INSURANCE AGENCY: -Mr.'C~ffininfoPmed the'board members that the NorthAndovar Insurance Agency . -.h~e,tn%favor of requesting the New England Fire Insurance Rating Board for a survey to determine what steps, are necessary to place North Andovar in Grade. B, and Mr. Coffin further statediha~ North Andover is now in Grade C. He explained that there would be considerable saving to the property owners if this change were made. Mr. Coffin said he would like %o suggest that,this be done but that it is customary for-the chairman of the Board of Selectmen to make this request. Amotion.was then made to request the Mass. Fire ~nderwriters as to what is necessary ~o place North Andover ia Grade "B". 3'66 MARCH 29,1948-continued BOARD OF APPEALS- HEARING: Notice received that a hearing will be held on April 2, at 10:00 A.M. on an appeal by Louis Sambataro from the refusal of the board of Appeals to grant s variance from the Zoning Dy-Laws of the town of North Andover ~o permit the alteration and conversion of the premises located at 16 Putnam Road~om a single to a double family~ residence. Attorney C. J. Mahoney will attend this hearing in the interests of the tom. ~/HEARING ON SURFACE DRAINS: Mr. Thomson opened the hearing and explained that there was a question as to whether or not the draining situation oz Mass. Ave. was in order. Ne said that G. Gordon Love, Engineer of the State Department of Public Works and Mr~ Anderson were present and Mr. Love would explain the situation. Mr. Love wenm on to say that a survey had been made by his department with reference to the water in the area about Mifflin Park. He said their interests are within the limits of the state highway department. Mr. Love stated that the State had requested Mr. Sambataro to put'in catch basins at the end of Damilton and Holbrook Roads and that as far as the state is concerned all obligations have been lived up to with respec~ to installation c~pipe and catch basins. Mr. Love said there are no hard surfaces or hard gutters and, ultimately if the water is not piped into our basins and conminues to £1ow over unfinished areas, it will be necessary mo take steps to take care of erosion and wamer on Mass. Ave. Mr. Love felt sure that some acmion would be taken if the highway i's damaged~ Ne said they might be forced to put addi- tional catch basins in. Mr. Love stated that the drainage has been altered and adjusted either by. Sambataro or Reitano and and the drains are now adequate to take care of the water from Mifflin Park. Mr. Thomson inquired if it made any difference if underground drainage was used or bard gutters. Mr. Love stated that he would much prefer underground pipes for surface.'drainage but felt that there was no:~ way of forcing the developer or the mown to;i~stall such pipes. He said there are certain rules and regulations on nuisances but he was not prepared to say Just what the outcome would be. Mr. Brasseur asked Mr. Love if the present situation could be corrected if the ~nderground pipes are no~ installed. .. Mr. Love said the only proper way is through,underground pipes and'thatall large developers are using them. Re said that as long as the streets are not accepted by the mown, then the contractor has not completed his contract.- If the town accepts streets with an uncompleted condition, the town would take overthe responsibility. Otherwise the developer would be held responsible and-in some instances the state has closed off street enmrances if the.full board~approves~ He stated that the part of the street entering the state highway must ~e taken care of by the grantee to the satisfaction of the engineer. Mr~ Love'said,he knew of no permit which does not include hardened surfaces. To a question by Philip B. Roth of Nam~lton Road regarding what is meantby ~ardened surfaces, Mr. Love said that personally he desired a good hard,~surface but the contractor may put in a light surface of gravel and tar not subject to erosion. There was further discussion about 'gutters and Leonard~Firth then-suggested that they put.catch basins onethird way up from Ma~s. Ave. and asked if that would help matters. Mr. Love replied that this would be satisfactory as far as the ~tate was concerned. Dewey Dye~ suggested that catch basins,be set 15 feet back and Mr. Love stated that the state highway Eayout is set back 15 feet and any drainage put'back would be staisfactory. He.again stated that they can't force anybody ~o put drainage up on the streets and the only requirement is the hardening sUrface at the roadway with reference to the water flowing onto the-sta~e highwaY~ and if this was taken care of, the state wodld accept the conditions as~far, as the permit is concerned. Dewey Dyer again suggested that the town supply the pipe for these drains.if the owners dug the gutters. He said the town supplied the pipes for him in 1933 and he feels that if the town help doesnt work then are not responsible and the town would only be helping out by giving the pipe. Mr. Cornelius stated that the town cannot do work or supply materi~l for a street~accepted. Re said there are certain requirements and these have' not been metJ Mr. Mahone~answe~ed Mr. D~=se~des~iontin regard to the town guaranting fire protection by saying that the answers is No, the town does not. If the fire trucks can go in, all right, they will do what they can. Mr. Roth then asked that the rul~ and regulation of last week's meeting be read andMr. Firth asked that a correction he made on rule four which was corrected a~ the town meeting in March 1947 under article 44, and.the change was not- made in the rules ~ndregulations in the new town report. Mr. Carry then stated that he would have to have underground drainage before .he would accep~ the street and Mr. Roth and Mrs. Reinhold both said that there is nothing which states that they must have underground drainage. · %RGH 29, 19&8: continusd; The question was raised as to the cost of drainage installed underground and Ralph Brasseur figured a cost of about $2.50 a foot or about $75.00 for each lot. Mr. Thomson then inquired of Mr. Joseph Sambataro as to what'portion of this amount he would be willing to pay. He r~plied "none". Mr. Thomson inquired of Mr. Sambataro about the statement he made last week when he agreed to furnish gravel for the road surface if the road was to be accepted and oiled by the town. Mr. Sa~bataro stated that last week it was made clear that underground drainage was no~ necessary. If the conditions are the same as last week, the gravel will be given. Trial .Justice Charles Trembly addressed' th~ meeting and said that he was a member of the Planning Board when those plans were brought in. He said he felt sorry for the people. He said the situation is dangerous, the streets are not properly drained and the developer is responsible. He suggeste~ counsel be employed and see that the'developer put the proper drainageT'He said the state can como in and close the street and he felt that the to~n should not' be-called upon to take the responsibility of the drainage. He said that he ,knows'~that while the Planning board can do nothing~ the townsman go in for a bill of equity and stop the developers from building any more buildings. Mr. Trembly and Joseph Sambataro discussed the requirements 6f the developer and Mrl Sambataro stated that the town has,rules and'regu~ation~ which hays' been met by him and he said these roads hAVe been put aside for two years. Mr. Trembly stated to Mr. Sambataro that he'must agree that the streets are not ~proparly drained and he recommends that the~town explore this possibility~ .j, and take some action. He inquired if the'engineer from the ~tate had ~entibnsd th~at, they could close the streets. ,,Mr:]Thomson explai5ed that according to Mr. Love, all conditions have .._. except approximately 15 feet of hard: surface at the entrance to :the state .highway and ,-if this is not taken care of it will create a hazard~"6ondition. He :then asked Mr. Mahoney how he felt about a possible bill 'Mr., Mahoney stated that mo one would say that the streets are in proper 'and, as Mr. Trembly stated, we are discussing only two streets when'there is all of Mifflin Park to. take into. consideration. Mr.,,T6ombly stated that these conditions affect public health and it is a :~:~ nuisance and any court would uphold the 'town and the owners. Mr; Trembly ,1, ,.said,. h® had in mind a by-law.~under which the Planning Board wodld-not accept · a plan Without surface drains having been installed on same. Mr; -Thomssn then stated that we were getting nowhere-and he would ask to,check on~ a possible suit against the developer. ~ iM~'~','Trombly inquired if the Board of Selectmen c'ould~ give a regulation but MrJ Thomson said that this board could not tell Mr. Oarty what kind of i drainage'is necessary and Mr. Tromblymid that if the selectmen considered ~h'emselves a board of arbitration, they could~ do this. -,. :: Mr% :'Thomson then said that when the rules are complied with, 'the ~electmen Will 'adjudicate the' streets. He said Mr. Trombly!s suggestion for a bill of equity / ?s~ou.nds alright. Mr, Mahoney was informed that Mr. Reinhold is chairman of this ~. 6~r'o~.~ 'and' he could'get in touch With'him when necessary. CLARK PROPERTY: Ralph Brasseur stated that he hhd talked with Mr; Clark about giving some of his land th the town so that Hillside Road may be made safer by widening and MrLCalrkinformed Mr. Brasseur that he. wOUld, give the land if and when the ,~. money wa.s appropriated and/or the work started. This will be taken up with Mr.-Kittredge who i'~squite interested in'this matter. P~ALUAT ION PROJECT: Mr. B~asseur asked the Selectmen for authority to proceed on this project. A motion was made and seconded that authorization be granted to Ralph Brasseur an~?O~inton.'Goodwin and a letter will be sent to Mr. Brasseur to this effect. The regular weekly,meeting of the Board of Selectmen was hel~ at 7:00 P.MJ with all membe?s present. Weekly bills and payrolls'were apprpved. GLENWOOD STREET: Geatnno Midolo of Glenwood Street, came before the board and asked if something could be done aboutthis street. He has talked with Mr. Carry and he will do nothing. Mr. Midolo stated that there is a large hole there which fills with · w~ter and he would like to have something done. 2his matter will be referred to .Mr. Carry for an~. he action he may wisklto take. We will also check to see if the street has been accepted. 36',8' PRIMARIES: John J' Lyons, town clerk, came before the board and asked for their action on the time of opening and closing the poles for the primaries mo be held in the near future~ Mr. 'Lyons suggested that last year when the polls opened from 10 o~tohk A.M. to eight o'clock P.M. very few people voted before twelve o'clock and he suggested that they open the polls at twelve o'clock nnon and close them at eight o'clock P.M. The board agrsed ~th this suggestion. P~%10VAL 0FSTUMP: ~. John Keaney of 173 Railroad Ave. came ~e£6re the board and requested that John Connors be asked to remove a stump which is in front' of his home and is mostly on town land. Mr. Connors removed a tree there about two years ago and now Mr. Keaney feels that the stump should be removed~'' He said it'interferes with the drainage and there is an odor from the roots. The board voted unanimously to refer this matter to John J. Connors and ask that he'report to this board. Mr. Connors later came before the board and he informed them that the roots of this tree are dead and that there can be no growth from them. He also stated that it is not the policy of his department to remove smumps unless they interfere with sidewalks or are hazardous. He said they also cut the tree do~n below the surface and the roots and stumps are left mo decay. The board asked Mr. Connors to come into the meeting on next Monday and voted ~o have ~r. Keaney mo come in also and have this matter straightened out. COMPLAINT: Mr. Albert ~fstre~a of 29 Inglewood Ave. came~efore the board and complained about a condition existing on the proper~y owned by Domenick Mangano. Mr. Mistreeta stated that there areabout twenty, septic tanks and other plumbing equipment stored on a platform outside a garage on his proper~yand it is very unsightly. Mr. Mistretta is building ? home there and he stated that this should be stopped. Mr. Coffin inquired if the enforcing of the zoning laws comes under the building inspector. Mt. Thomson said that if there was aviolation of the building~2aws it would be up to the building inspector otherwise the board of appeals should take acti0nl Mr. Coffin then said he hgd received complaints about plant-raising in' that'area'and asked if this law ~s to enforced by the Selectmen. N He felt that if Mr. Mangano had ~one ahead and built something without a ~er~it somethi~$jhould be done about it. He said that good gsvernmenm administration should b~too strict but at the same time it should be not too lenient. Mr. Thomson felt that the proper place is to register complaints to the Board cf Appeals and felt that this individual has a right to go ~o the Board of Appeal~. Mr. Coffin said he could see no barrier in notifying the Building inspector of this complaint and let him proceed independently and if he feels'that it should' go ~o the Board of Appeals then he could so notify the person making the complaintl Mr. Finneran suggested that the Chief of Police be notified on this matter and see how long it has been going on. Mr. Thomson then stated that he has no objections to notifying the building inspector providing that a letter is also sent to the Board of'Appeals with the reques~ that they take proper action and report back to the selectmen. The board voted ~nanimously to take this action, AND TAKEFURTHERACTION next week. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Chief Engineer James Hargreaves came before the board and asked ~hat they sign s release which would allow the town to be reimbursed for damages to the ambulance which was involved in an accident on January 29, on High Street, and the towm will be fully reimbursed for the cost of repairs to the ambulance. Rose A. Dyer of Prospect Street was the owner oft he car which was in collision with the ambulance. The board voted to sign this release. OXYGEN: FIRE DEPARTMENT: Mr. Hargreaves also called to the attention the fact that there has been an unusually heavy demand on the fire department during the first part of this year and it is draining on his appropriation, and he would like some suggestions from the selectmen. Chief Hargreaves explained that the board of engineers figure on a small amount, for this purpose but have never spent more than $25.00. He stated that the doctors are using a great deal of oxygen for heart conditions and it is now gettingbeyond their budget. Mr. Finneran inquired if the chief had talked this matter ovem with the engineers and he replied that he had but they are using their appropriation and want an assurance that if they continue to do this work they will be able to have a transfer from the Reserve Fund lamer in the year, if necessary.