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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1950-06-05 Board of Selectmen MinutesJUNE 5, 1950- continued: Mr. Coffin thought that perhaps Mr. Lawlor doesn't scout around the town enough. Mr. Lurid stated that they have this same thing in the Appeal Board and apartments are put in, two family houses are made and these people fail, to come before the board. Mr. Wilde stated that most of these have been picked up with the revaluation, and it is easy to miss them. Mr. Lund mentioned one case where, a personcame in for a tax bill and he had liwed on Pembrook Road for one year. Mr. Wilde thought some action should be taken and if two or three offenders ~ere hauled in, then it would probably stop. Mr, Lund and ~r. Wilde both felt that they could not expect too much ~of the building inspector since he receives such a small salary and both felt that he .should also get expense money as well as more salary. Mrs. Soucy felt that more publicity should be given ~o this matter and then the people would know what they are supposed to do. Mr. Coffin felt that the building inspector could check with the water department, plumbing and wiring inspector and ge~ some of these details. Mr. Thomson suggested that we have the building inspector in and also the assessors and go over this matter and a meeting will be held on June t9, 1950 at 8:00 P.M. in the Selectmen's Office. ;~r. Thomson informed the assessors that be thought they had done a very good job on the t ax rate. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Chief McKee presented a repor~ on the Reserve officers who were employed the previous wee~,as requested by the,Board. POLICE CHIEF'S CAR:~ Chief McKee informed the Selectmen by letter ~hat effective as of June. 1, 1950 there would be only one car available at the Police Station as he~ did not feel that what he received for his gas and oil was sufficient to compensate for the wear and tear of his car.~ The Board discussed this matter with the chief and after some discussion they suggested that he be allowed $300 for expense of his~ car, since they felt that it ,was important to have his car available in case of emergency. This will ~e~ paid at the rate of $25.00 monthly, and was agreeable to the chief, his car to be for his use only. REPORT ON TRUCKS -MARBLEHEAD STREET: Chief McKee reported that he had contacted the following companies and all had · agreed that they would discontinue the use of this street for their trucks~ 'Jenkins. Transportation- North Andover, Hood Rubber Company-Watertown- Eastern Mass. P~lway Co.-Lawrence and the Amaco Company of Chelsea. Mr. Carty wen~ over this area with the chief and stated that the road is in poor condition near Mass. Ave. and he will' install a sign there at once "No heavy trucks allowed on this street."- The various companies were advised to use ~en Rock Road for heavy trucking. DUMP-LAVFRENCE NEAR G~EENE STREET: Chief McKee reported that he had checked wi~h Alderman Carney with reference the abolishment of dumping in this' area end Mr. Carneystated that he wS~ld check on this and do what he could to have .it stopped. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS: Mr. Thomson suggested that a letter be sent to Charles A. F~itz at Beverly asking for permission ~o enter the drain on Mass. Avenue in view of the work contemplated on Lyman, Hamilton and Holbrcok'~Roads as voted at the annual town meeting~ EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Board held an executive session with Chief Mckee, then Sergeant Hilton and later with Officer Woodhouse. The other officers will be required ~o come in on nex~ Monday evening after the special town meeting. CHAPTER 80- RULING FROM C. J. MAHONEY: Mr. Mahuney sent a letter to the board with respect ~o assessmen~ for the BetSer- men~s under this chapter and the collection ~hereof. The board had requested ~ definite ruling as ~o whether the collector of taxes shall collect these assessments the same as taxes. Letter filed under C. J. Mahoney folder. BOARD OF ~SSESSORS- SPRINGFIELD Letter received relative ~o the veto of Governor Dever from the Deficiency Bill the sum of $1,604,000 which hs admits is due the cities end towns. This was an amendment to Chapter 804 of the Acts of 1949 'to return franchise taxes due to cities and to~ns. ~he letter asks that. the Selectmen do all in their power to aid our town by overriding the Governor's veto. E~ECUTIVE SESSION- POLICE DEPARTMENT- JUNE 5, 1950 The Board of Selectmen requested Chief Alfred H. M~Kee to meet with them for a general discussion with respect to the Police Department. Mr. Thomson then inquired if the chief was engaged in any other business other than his police work. Chief McKee stated that he was no~ in any business, that the business was in his wife's name and that he helped her when he could. Mr. Thomson asked about the other officers and if they had any outside work. Chief McKee stated that Officer ~oodhouse wor~s part time at the Barn but he wasn't sure of the exact number of hours. Mr. Thomson inquired if theChi~f believed that the outside work interfered with the police work and he s tatQd that he did not. The chief went on to say that Officer Lewis has no outside work, W~llis goes to school, Roche goes to school'part time, Farnham does some work at the greenhouse, Lawlor does nothing outside police work and Hilton does some real estate work. Chief K Mc ee stated that the catering business was his wife's and that she had been in the business two years. He stmted that he cooked, lugged dishes and any other work he could help with. In answer to a question by Mr. Thomson, the chief stated that this work does not interfere with his police work at any time. Mr. Thomson referred to the regulation in the police manual and the chief said he would like to explain how that happened to be in the manual. He s~ated that the late Thomas Milnes and Sergeant Hilton did not g et along and at that time Hilton was doing papering and painting. ~. Milnes reported to the Selectmen that Hilton came to work half dead and something should be done about this. They went over.~the~rules and regulations and the Selectmen drew up the presen~ rules and the chief s~ated that he never SaW them until the books were all printed. Chief McKee said that some of the Methuen officers have odd Jobs and in Lawrence the officers do ex~ra work and he mentioned the ~wo Dowes who work at the Red $choolhouse helping their brother. Mr. Thomson inquired if the reason for doing eaxtra work was do to insufficient salary and the chief stated that was the reason. The board discussed salaries and Mr. ThomsOn inquired if the chief felt that $70.00 weekly would he sufficient salary so that he would not have to do extra work. He said that if he received that amount of money he would not do extra work. He said he had been on the force for twenty-four ~eurs. At this point, Mr. Thomson said he would like to commend the chief for the police force on duty on Memorial Day. He mentioned the various places he had seen the officers and Mr. Finneran told of one person who said he came all the way from the beach without seeing one officer until he cameinto North Andover and then they were all over the place. There was a discussion about police patrolling Chickering Head and Chief McEee said he felt that the State Police should do some work on this state road as they have 18 police officers there. Mr. Thomson said this board would get in touch with the Commissioner and see if we could get some help from the state police. He asked the chief if he felt that he could control the town adequately with nine men or was this order for checking speeding a spasmodic thing or a regular order. Mr. Thomson said he did not thin~ the people were staisfied with the police protection they get and one person in District Court had mentioned that all the times he had driven through North Andover he had never seen a police officer around. He suggested that the· chief have the men located around the ~own so thatthepeople will see the officers. He said the comments that are made are all critical of the police department and he would sugges~ that the chief have the officers get out of the c ar and use a form of enforcemen~ of the law without taking in everybody for speeding. Mr. Thomson asked the chief if he felt that he should be permitted to serve ~co~ and work in the kitchen and the chief said that he had to work to get '~dough'" that he couldn't educate his son on the money he received and run his home. In discussing the days off which some of the officers have, the chief said that very often they call up after supper and leave work that they are ill or that they~o~ report and they have to have a reserve officer on. Mr. Coffin inquired if the chief had anything planned for training the new officers and he replied that the two officers w~re ou~ in the police car with an experienced officer long.before they were appointed. Then he mentioned an F.B.I. school which .can be secured in the town for the training of these men. EXECUTIVE SESSION-POLICE DEPART~T JUNE ~, 1950 Mr. Coffin inquired about the length of time allowed for each officer for sick leave and the chief said that at some time it was voted to give each officer two weeks sick leave but that none of the officers had taken that amoun~ of time last year and that he, the chief, had not been off for one day because of sickness. Mr. Thomson then asked if there was any particular schedule for the whole month and the chief said that it was made out day to day and that each man gets two whole days off each ~ek. Mr.' Coffin said that he had c~ecked the gas used at the s~ation over a long period of time and that he noticed thaz gas is purchased at a gas station and asked if so~e of this was the chief's and he replied that it was. The chief said that the car averages about 150 miles per day and the mileage record is kept each day. Mr. Coffin then inquired if 0fficerWlllis was through school now and asked if the chief if he felt that Willis should do police work in addition to being a lawyer and the chief s~a~ed that he wasn't sure if Willis was through school and with reference to doing the two jobs , he continually s rated that he did not think thaz Willls would want police work if he was to be a lawyer, once' he was established. ~. Coffin then asked if it didn't interfere with his police work, did the chief think it would be O.K. The chief stated that thaz remains to be seen. The board then discussed keeping the chief's car available during the day and after some discussion it was agreed that he should use $300 yearly, ~o be paid each month a~ $25.00 per month. Mr. Thomson then ihquired if the chief was satisfied with his department and asked why so many complaints are coming in. He said it might well be that the police situation has become more critical and again asked the chief if he did not think ~e ought ~o offse~ these complaints. If nothing is done, continued complaints will come in. Mr. Thomson said he ~an~ed the chief ~o know ~ha% this board would not interSere with the operation of the department and they want no feeling of hostility. He s~id that with only nine men, it is difficult to_do everything but the public expects him to measure up to expectations. Mr. Thomson said tha~ this board is told that they do not live up to their authority. The chief said' he would do anything they suggested and since they get the complaints they are in a position to make suggestions. Mr. Thomson stated that they did no~ want to have to Suggest ~o the chief what to do and told him to get on his toes and do what he could. Mr. Coffin asked if the chief had noticed any violation on Main street near the North Andover restaurant. He said there are signs on both sides of the street and if the sign faced the motorist he ~ould know that he sho,~ldn't park there.Mr. Coffin skt. d there is a lack of respect of laws in this town and he felt that it's Just as bad to prosecute for petty offences but there will always be those who violate the law flagrantly and such case s shouldn'e be fixed. He then said ~ha~ is the use of sending names in and having them come back to the =hief. The chief s~ated that once a name goes out, it does not come back to the chief. Mm. Coffin then mentioned bookies in the town and he said he believes that there are s till some bookies in the town and the police should continue to check on thom. He said the chief didn'~ do anything about checking With the State Senate Sub-Committee when the notice came out in the paper that North Andover was listed as receiving racing information. He said this board had received a letter from s.u organization in the town suggested that something be done but that the Police Departmen~ should not have to be authorized to check on this matter. Chief McKee said that he and a State Police officer had checked on this "ticker" several months ago az May Street and they 'found nothing. The Chief was quite persistent that Mr. Coffin call Officer Knightly to verify this but Mr. Coffin said he did believe the chief and he thought it was a good piece of work. 2r. Thomson said the board .should know of these things. Mr. Coffin ssi d he did not expect the :h isf or any other officer to know about all the bookies but they should keep their eyes open. Mr. Thomson asked the chief if his status had changed in the past two weeks and the chief replied that it had not and that he did not propose to change it. The chief lef: and the S'ergeant will come before the board to discuss the police department in general. SERGEANT HILTON JUNE 5, 1950 3 Mr. Thomson informed Sergeant Hilton that the board had talked with the chief about general police work and of the rules that supposedly aoply to police work. Mr. Thomson inquired howmuch time the Sergeant spent on extra work and whether his status had changed during the past two weeks. Mr. Hilton stated that he had Just papered two rooms and also that he sells real estate and that he would take any kind of work that he could. In answer to Mr. Thomson's quesbion as to whether this ex~ra work affected his police work, Mr. Hilton said that it did not. Mr. Thomson asked if Mr. Hilton thought his salary was inadequate and he said that he did and asked what the board considered a reasonable salary. Mr. ,Hilton said he had not checked in other towns as to the salaries paid. Mr. Hilton said that men in other businesses ge: much more money than he does and they do not have the responsibility that he has. Ne said the basic reason for extra work was inadequacy of income. Mr. Hilton went on to say that he ,at one time ~orked in a chicken factory, which is one of the dirtiest jobs there is and he earned $1.00 per hour. Mr. Thomson asked if. he were satisfied with the schedule or if there was roomfor improvement. Mr. Hilton said he would like to get one matter.straightened ou~ at a time. He said he has always worked, he loved working and he felt obliged %o provide for his family to the best of his ability. He had a boy to put through college and he couldn't do this on his present salary. When asked if he felt that there was any limit :o a police officer working extra, he replied that he did and there could be complaints if it interfered with his work. He felt that an officer serving liquor, bar tender or that sort of work was not suitable for an officer to perform. Mr.. Thomson asked if Mr. Hilton felt that the department was giving the best maximum performance to the town mud if there was any system of highway pa:fol. He stated that the town has always been patrolled only that it is a different kind of patrol work. Spot patrolling is different. He said all the streets of North Andover are patrolled and that the best advantageous to the town is that the officers do not know which streets they will be patrolling when they start from the station. In answer to Mr. Thomson's question Mr. Hilton said he did feel that there should be a change of patrol work when the new s6hool is completed~ because of new ac~itie: and change of routine, Mr. Thomson asked if the sergean~ felt that any member of the Department engages in any occupation derogatory to police work and he said he did not. Mr. Coffin asked in whose name the real estate business was listed. Mr. Hilton replied that it was known as Hilton's RealEsta,te and could be his wife's, his son'-~ or his or all of them. He stated that his extra work in no way interfered with his police work. Mr. Coffin asked if he felt that he had ever been prevented from carrying out his duty because of any other condition, and Mr. Hilton said he .did not understand the question. Mr. Coffin then asked if he felt that punishment has gone through as it should and he replied that he did. Mr. Coffin asked if he had any interpretation of the criticism of the people for the past few months. Mr. Hilton said he did no: know exactly hut that he did not think that speeding was to~ bad in North Andover. He ~d there had been some compl~nts about speeding on Bradst~eet Road but there was nothing flagrant enough to stop. Mr. Coffin inquired if the sergeant had any idea of a figure for salary for one of his rank. ne said he takes home $53.90 and this is gone by Thursday. Mr. Coffin said that thegross salary is what they w~re talking about and what salary would Mr. Hilton say was sufficient, assuming that he now makes $60.00. Mr. Hilton asked what figure Mr. Coffin would give. Mr. Thomson asked if the Sergeant wo~ld care to say why people complain about the Police Department. Mr. Hilton said that there had been many discussions but if the people came to the police department they would get service. They talk to but fail to come to the department. These complaints could be handled in various Mr. Thomson said that some people feel that there is no sense in going to the department. Mr. Thomson said there mus: a a reason for people not complaining to the department and calling on the se~ctmen. Mr. Hilton said he had heard remarks most of them favorable to thepolice, but that is the way it would be and he said he cannot understand why the police are pinned so much. Everybody is suspicious of the police · Mr. Hilton said he felt that the Police vmre doing all they could with the n~mber of men available . Everett Woodhouse EXECUTIVE SESSION 6/5/19~O- Woodhouse that this was a general discussionto°f ht~hem Mr. ~omson informed Everett Police Department and that if he did no~ wan~ to answer the questions put he did no~ have to. He asked Officer Woodhouse if he had extra employment and he said he work for the Furniture ~arn for the past two years and he w~rked about six hours a day, four days a week and that he lugs furniture, ~olishes same and handles the furniture when it is to be moved. He said this work does not affect his police work in way. Mr. Woodhouse said he had ~plied for a V'eterans's house three years ago but when they were alloted he was told he msde ~oo much money and he can't buy or rent a place. He lives with his parents and he has three children and it is always rosy in the .home. He said he purchased a lot and he expected to build a house. He told Mr. Thomson that he received $1.00 per hour at the ~arn and after deductions are made he takes home about $22.00 weekly which makes his weekly salary about $72.00. Mr. Thomson asked if that amount is what he needs to run his home. Officer Woodhouse said this is the toughest part of his life, right now but his ~ife is a trained nurse and when the children are older, she can go to work and he wont have to do extra work..He said that his outside work does no~ interfere with his work in the department. Mr. Thomson asked if he felt tha~ any officer in the department has a Job which affects the departmsrf~. He did mot care ~o ~-~wer this questiom. Mr. Woodhouse stated that he believed other officers were doing outside work but he felt that this situmt~nwas brought about by the higher up Officers. Mr. Thomson asked wha~ the laxity in the department is, lack of ~ supervision or control. Mr. Woodhouse stated that he felt it was lack of cooperation and in answer ~o a question by Mr. Thomson, he stated that he h'ad had lack of cooperation but he had ~o insist on it. Mr. Thomson asked him if he felt that the criticism of the departmentwas Justified but~not on the~partment as a whole. Mr. Wood-house said that was up tb~the board. Mr. Thomson said that the members sit in as the Board of Selectmen and know very little about what goes on. ~11 members receive complaints and the board wants to know what they can do about it. Mr. Woo~house said he believed that all complaints are due to lack of cooperation of the Higher ups. He said he has no regular assignments only on something special. He said he is-,~uder the supervision of the Sergeant three nights and then the other two nights he works with the new men. Mr. Thomson asked if he takes this responsibility on his own and he replied that he doesn't order anyone around and he has had no occasion t5 call the chief at any time since he hem been on the force or any other person higher up but he has been told to call on them if they are needed. Mr. Thomson asked if he felt all this was unfair to him but no~ to the other higher ~ps · Mr. Woodhouse said that was true and he had discontinued his work as of to-day. He said he did~u't~ believe that outside~ occupations are the cause of these comolaints but he believes that this board should insist on further attendance.~to duties. He stated that he did no~ belie~e that the two men making over $60.00 should.not be entitled to work outside but that they should not lettt interfere with their regular work. Mr. Coffin asked if he had ever made an arrest and then found that the prosecution did not go through to completion. Mr:Woodhouse replied that fixing tickets is part of the police department but that nothing serious hsd ever been fixed, particularly any case of his as he would insist on doing the righm thing. Mr. Coffin then asked if he felt that he could go along and do his duty and he replied that he was sure of this. Mr. Thomson then asked if felt obliged to abide by the regulations of the Selectmen ~nd he said he eert~y did. He said that a card file is keptaand the police correspondence is up to the chief that he has no occasion to see i~. Mr. Coffin then asked the board if Mr. Woodhouse was entitled to his status on outside employment by either a decision or an extension since there should be no differentiation. Mr. Thomson asked Mr. Coffin if he felt tha~ Woodhouse should be entitled to out side work if this did not ~ply to all officers and he said no but that something should be done until the mat~er is settled. Mr. Thomson said that he personally did not want to hurt anyone from getting along and bettering himself but he is convinced from Officer Woodhouse that he is able to do his duties and he has never heard anything unfavorable about this officer. Mr. Coffin said tha~ since Mr. Woodhouse makes a fla~ statement that the outside work will be discontinued, if necessary, and he was honest enough ~o stop work then the board could waive this enforcement for a ~eriod of time. OFFIC~ODHOUSE Mr. Thomson said he would not agree to that but that if officer Woodhouse wanted to continue with his work for the ~ims, he would not do anything to stop him until this .matter is settled. Mr. ~oodhouse thanked the board and left the meeting. The board requested that all other officers be requested to co~e before the board on next Mondayevening, individually, starting at 8~45 P.M.