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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1950-01-23 Board of Selectmen MinutesDOG OFFICER REPORT: John Dolan, Dcg Officer, presented his report for the year and the board voted unanimously to accept-thts~report. TOWN TREASURER: The treausrer presented his report for the year 1949 to the board and after perusing it for some time, the board voted unanimously to accept the roper:. ADJUDICATION- GILBERT STREgT: 'A hearing, was held on 'the adjudication of' Gilbert street which~ in the opinion~of the Board of Selectmen should be laid out as a public way from Patriot Street to Badlwin Street, in accordance with the plan now on filed in the office of 'the Town Clerk. Notification received .from Highway Surveyor Mr. Ir~ Catty that he has inspected Gilbert Street and find that it is in condition for .acceptance. 'Communication received from ,Davis & Furber Co. that the 'Village Land Company' releases the town of North'Andover from all dmaages which may be caused by changes in line and grade .in the conditioning and accepting of Gilbert 'Street, as laid out on the plan of Grogan Field, with the understanding that it'will be ac- cepted a~ a public way ,by~he town. Mr.' Finneran made a motion that Gilbert 'Street be adjudicated all as indicated on plan by Ralph Brassuer dated 12/1/1948 and filed, with the. Town Clerk. Motion was seconded by Mr. Coffin and vote ~was unanimous. - BIDS FOR,TO~8~ REPORT: T~o bids were-received-for printing the to~n report as follows:' The Bee 'Publishing Company of Lawrence presented a bid for 1300 -copies Of the -~own repor: at '$6.00 per page .and submYtted three different typ~es of paper bo 6e used a: th~ Same price. The board voted to use the ~finish bock paper'and for the '~ictures,~ the"~coate~~ finish wil-1 be used and the color ~of the covers w~ill be blue. ' -- - · · ' The Acme Printing Cdmpany of Everett, 'Mass presented a 'bid forI 1300 copies ~at $6.50 · per page and also presented a sample of the paper to be used~ The~Board. voted unanimously to award the ©ntract to the Bee Publishing Company ~sing .'the~-above ~ype of paper. AND HAMILTON ROADS: A public hearing was held on the adjudication Of the above streets and/all'ab~{ters had been notified. Mr., Finneran felt that~.thms v~as,~an-unusual situatmon ~and he · made ~a motion that the rules and regulations -be' Waiv. ed fo9'~ this particular instance and that .Holbrool¢ and Hamilton Roads be declared in condition 'for acceptanc~e ~ the~ town from Massachusetts ~Avenue to Putnam Road all as recorded~ on pl~a~ !,flied~ ~with the town clerk un'der date of September 23~.~. Mr. ~homson seconded~'this~' ~, ~motiS~ and vote was by a majority of~ the board. Mr~ Coffin stated very definitely that he voted no on this matter. ! ' , ' ' ~,Theabutters were asked to sign a relaase to the town, releasing the?-town from~all d,amages which may b~e caused ~y changes in line an~ grade and the con. ditiqning and ,acceptance by the town of Hamilton and Holbrook Roads, as lamd out on the plan of filed with the' ~o'~n clerk, with the~ understanding that these two streets ·.,will be accepted as public ways by the town. HIMBER: ...... ~'' Mr. Robert Himber inquired of the board .if the Publmc Works DepaE. tment are not "!, ~." 'required to pu~ a road~back in condition after excavation ~y that' departmant.,~ ~'-:~ "Mr. Thomson ~sked if' Mr'. Duffy do&s not'make apractice of going back afte-r'the :~, road ~as been excaVated and see that it is in.condition. Mr. Himber stated that he did. no~ and that ~his has happened before. He mentioned ?' Lyman Road and stated that Mr. Duffy furnished cinders and Mr..Car~y's man, ~T-tnished the truck and, this was ~then tsken care of. He inquired further, if the town had. a written guarantee with. the Lawrence G'& E'Co, that that company will pu~ the roads back in condition a~ter excavation. Mr. Thomson s rated that he did not believe that the town had an~ written agreement but that it .was an~ oral agreement. He suggested that this matter be checked, with Mr. Duffy and ~Mr. Carty. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: Notice received that the application of Robert FJ Nallsworth of 23 E. WaterSt. has been approved for a general vocational course at the Lawrence"Vocational School. The tuition is $250.00. ~ ANTI-RABIC VACCINE NOTICE: Notice received that under ChapterT~40 of the G. L. the county commissioners for anti-rabic vaccine will be furnished in packages of 7, 14 and 21 vials as ordered and the contract price is $3~2~ per Dackage of 7 vials. Cities and towns are required to furnish vaccine and treatment, free of charge, to residents bitten or exposed.to dogs suspected or Xno~rn to have rabies, and expenditures for this purpose will be reimbursed by the county. Hgwever, no reimbursement will be made to a ~own if the biting or exposure is by an unlicensed dog,"required to be licensed theme'in . .In,such case, the cost will be borne by the .town. The ~burden of ~oof falls on the town to establish the facts. In every case, it is important that the dog be identified. JANUARY 23, 1950-contimuad HEARING ON CHICKEHING ROAD TRAFFIC CONDITIONS: Mr. mrhcmson opened this hearing and stated that the purpose of tho"hearing was to see what action, if ar~, the town may take throughJ' the Board of Selectmen with respect to Chickering ~oad, pmrticularly with reference to the schools now to'be in that .location. He stated that the probl'ems have been much discussed and the S~l~ctmen ~mve Been concertained and have had much correspondence with the Department of Public ~'orks. A survey~ had been made and a report is oh file with the ~hief ~ngineer of the Department of Public "orks. A public hearing is to be held later ~and this will be confined to the quest of declaring a portion of Chlcke~tng-ao'ad' a low speed area. Each organization in the town' has been. asked :o assist'and contribute their ideas and general thought. He then suggested that each of the 12 organizations notified, give a report if they have a spokesman. He then stated that Mr. Strain of the'Department of Public'~;orks had been in the town recently m and discussed the report with two. members of the Board and he felt that. we could start the meeting off with that ihformation. Mr~ Coffin stated that Mr. Strains's proposal was that the speed limit be ~? 35 miles per hour from Mass. Ave. to Pleasant Street and above that area at both ends, that forty miles be the limit: He felt that twenty-five miles per hour was pretty low and would encodrage breaking the law. ~ He stated'that about 85 per cent of motorists conform to this' particular-speed. He mentioned a hand' button or a bar for traffic stop and. go, the same as at. Mass. Ave. 'The State would permit this. Mr. Finneran felt that the only way to regulate speed atI this~ ~,eaI is', through~', an officer stationed there. Mr. Coffin felt that one. officer whose ~hole time is ~devoted tb sclc01, traffic could handle this situation. He said that 35 miles per hour may sound high ' but if any lower, the'traffic would drag anda few of the motorists would cut out of line and~ in that way, perhaps cause more accidents. Mr. Finneran stated' that Mr. ~Strain also recommended~ a four foot~ sign along the road at both ends. Mr~ Thomson then called on the~various organizations as'!listed. Thomas McGrail~ for the Board of Trade,stated that his organization felt that the ~road should be a two lane rather than three, t?at they had'in mind up signs on Bay State 'Road and Pleasant~ Street) stop/lights on Main ~ button type with stop light for traffic an'well as chil~Lren and that' miles per hour would'be'a good rate of'sp.eed~ to be policed frequently, and'~ also ask for state police patrol and request street lights in this area. Mr. T~omson stated that on mowe than on& occasion cdr'Chief of Police has asked for help from the State Policeinvurious sections of the town; AMERICAN' LEGION.~ ~ James Dooley stated that the matter had been discussed ~md their *thought ran along the'same lines as the Board of Trade.~ The~felt that'the'road~ Should be pos~ed'betterm:as to speed'regulations and' 35 mfles per hour'seemed qfiite high. There'are~numerous'intersections and although their are s~op lights, ~condftions'would be better if the~road were posted, ' marked and patrolled' by the state ~and lbcal police and regulations.enforced~ ' .In this w~y the people "would soon be educated, ~s to conditions expected here. AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY: ~Mrs. Vera Mead, felt that the main section'should be posted a low sp~ed a~ea; stop lights and an officer be posted th&re one half hour before and after schcoI sessions. V.F.~W.... . Martt. n J. Law~br,.~Jr. Ccnditimns discussed and the main idea is' to go along with~those present and if they can do anything to help the situation they willbe glad to do so. He mentioned that~their headquarters is a~ blind s~ot and wLll be more so when the school is there. .... VET. ~'~OREIC~ WAR AUXILIARt-not represented .... SCHOOL DEPARTMENT: Mr. O'Brien stated that no definite .action had been taken and no specific recommendation had been sent but Mrs..Ingr~'was oresent and perhaps she would have something to say.. MrB. ingrain inquired ~ti:what distance. a car can be stopped when goind 35 miles per' hour~?. Mr. ThomSon~ stated-that it could stop' at. 55' feet. Then speaking for.herslef, Mrs. Ingrain said the first condition was not to put' the school there'but it was done'now and she hoped that they would not put high school in this area. VET HOUSINGS: Mr. Francis Kittredge stated that there wA~ no statement at this~' time but speaking for himself there 'is a' serious condition which has been ov~rlooked~ first,-he referred to prior to'the war when the state ~olice patrolled thisarea. He said that Chickering moad was put' in to release the".: traffic off Osgood Street but there is no impression of a heavilly travelled way. one half the population is on either side and the State Department is overlooking traffic and we will continue to have it. Second; there is a matter which various bodies have considered, the passage back and forth of pupils. There is a greater hazard at the public bathing beach from June to September. There is no control for over 400 children and no means of checking traffic, i 'simply state this in addition to the other items mentioned and this can be verified by William Arsenault whose business is located at this particular point. JANUARY 23, 1950: continued SCHOOL COMMITTEE: Mr. OBrien mentioned the fact that he had talked with Mr. John Curry in July who was already fsmiliarwith Chickering Road and ~ney place about 200 children as crossing Chickerlng Road. Several solutions were offered; lights"at~the four corners, Flashing Green and Red.at Chickering and Main Street,; manu~l controls and a fifth signal light near Parker Street and that the commfttee consider the view of motorists. An eight hour count of traffic was made a~ this time. PARENT-TEACHERSASSOCIATION-Fred'Minzer: This association is much concerned about conditions and they Joinedwith the Andover P.T.A. in regard to protecting school children. A number of suggestions were discussed. First, to be mentioned with reluctance is an'overpass with fences prgvided. There are several disadvantages, and the expense but we do not wan~ a repetition of 'the recent Andover accident. Without suitable fences, the purpose would be defeated and arother disadvantage is that the children would be apt to throw things into the roadway. The main advantage it that it is almost impossible for a motorist to hit a child who is. crossing au overpass. Second: installation of traffic lights- inaddition to red and green flashing lights, lets have the Neon ~ype. Yellow signs' could be used for stop and walk. A speed zone in order'that the present position of signsl/10 'miles ~om ~in Street crossing be of some value. ~Need for a'low speed zone is not so 'great. THIRD: Pupil distribution point. A suggestion that a minimum number of crossings would contribute to safety.' FOURTH: The matterof figurines which we have at several schools;~ One main figuri~e~ would hardly warn a motorist of the school zonw. One main highway insome place, there ar~ two figurines. One mus~ ~ote that'the Stat~ Highway prohibits the use of figurines on the State Highway but there are some instances'where they are allowed. F£VE: Mr. Higgins of the Registi-y of Motor V~hicles~recommends that the janitors be deputized as special police officer to take care of children crossing the main thoroughfare twenty minutes before and afte~ schoo!sessions. SIX: Supt of Schools be asked to direct principals ~o adequately superviseschool boy patrol. ~'system for setting up this system will be Alvin-free by the Massm Reg. of Motor Vehicles. SEVEN: Hire a policeman whose sole duty will be safety education, the 'same as Officer Ramsbottom in Methue~Z:, EIGHT: Direct the Police Depar~men~ to intelligently enforce the laws. NINE: Have a safety council composed of the Police, Fire and Highway Departments to look after'safetyproblems. ECLECTIC CLUB SUggested the proper poster, controlled l~ghts and an officer. 'WOMEN'S CLUB- no representation. PLANNING BOARD~ Gregory. Mooradkanian. Planning Board would liketo reserve it's recommendatio~ until later. Personally, he felt that all the various recommendations were good and not one could stop all the dangers. COMNUNITYCENTER: Mrs, J. Edmond Elliott. They voted to help any measure. Just a low speed area is inadequate. Three se~s of traffic lights.with three 'or four overhead lights and an officer, not only days but at ~11 evening functions. Mr. Thomson then stated that any others not representing organizations' could be heard at'this time and at the moment it seems agreed that five or ~six things be.done;~speed zone, lights, pbsting, patrol, ~wo lane highway and others. Mrs. TomIngram felt that the best suggestion'is a ~o lane highwaymentioned by the Board of Trade. Mr. John Donovan' suggested that the~number of accidents which haVe occurred at Mass. Ave. and Chickering ~oad be checked ahdit would'be found that~lights make no difference at all~ ~ Timothy McCazthy suggested a traffic'island in the center of the road~'~ Mrs. William Arsenault asked if anyone' had goneinto the matter of sidewalks from Mass. Ave. to Water St. Mr. Thomson then suggested that at themhearing to'b~ held in the near future, these 'organizations meet'with the selectmen if necessary and they will all be notifed in due time; Mr. Coffin then inquired if the general feeling is that 35 miles or thirty miles per hour would be safer. All agreed on thir:y miles per hour. Mrs. Ingram inquired as to the state law on speed which she thought was twenty miles per hour. Mr. Thomson stated that speed shall not be greamer than w~at is safe and' reason- able. At this poinst the meeting closed and the board thanked' all those present for attending.