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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1953-03-16 Board of Selectmen MinutesMARCH 16, 1953: continued TOWN HISTORY: A bill was presented to the board for approval by Mrs. Carolyn Mc~ues~en in the amoun~ of $300 which is retro-active to January 3, 1953. The previous board had agreed that she should continue working for ten weeks and if the money was appropriated a~ the bown meeting she would receive her salary of $30.00 weekly retroactive ~o January 3. If not, then she would have worked ~er the ten weeks and would have mo forfeit the salary. Mr. Willis said he thought it necessary that the board gather in the loose ends and find out Jus~ what had been accomplished. He said that in going along at $30 for an indefinite was not good for .~rs. McQuesten nor for the town. Ne felt that this should have been contracted. If Mrs. !.~cQues~en should die vrithin six months the material comptlated from the previous year would not be available to anyone else. After the project is completed under her supervision, it will then come b~ck to the board for more expenses. He felt that any ~istorical Research experts would give an estimate of the cos~ of such a project. He feels that it is poor business practice and he would like to know Just how far the work has gone. Mr. Thomson said that there are no loose ends as far as he..is aware. The records are available at her home and the subject of her passing away has: also been dis- cussed. Ne said that a committee has been appointed and some of those contacted have accepted the offer to be on such a committee and they will work. with ~Jrs. McQuesten. Ne said tha~ he did not claim to be a business expert and that the committee was appointed for that reason. Mr. Kirk inquired if ~tr. Willis was in favor of going along with this type of committee tc which Mr. Willis replied that h e was very much in favor of putting this in the hands of a commiitee. He felt that the board should think very seriously about this ma~er. Mr. Thomson said he believes it is up to the co~mittae to determine the cost of. this project. Mr. ~illis said hevr~s against this project when it was first proposed and he would like to study it and find out more about it. Mr. Kirk suggested that the board follow the committee up and he also suggested that John Osgood be appointed as a member of the committee. ~he board approved the $300 for Mrs. McQuesten and no further action was taken. BOA~ OF TRADE- BRIDGE: The board received a letter from Dmvey A. Dyer. informing the board that a bill has been submitted before the State Legislature providing for the construction of a.bridge without a draw, over the }~errimack River between the town of North 4ndover and the city of Lawrence. Mr. Dyer, in behalf of the North Andover Board of Trade asked for active support from the board on this measure. Mr. Dyer was presen~ a~ the meeting. }~r. Thomson made a motion that this board go on record as supporting the bill received from the Board of Trade and also their submission of %his bill to the Legislature. }~r. Kirk seconded the.motion and vote was unanimous. MARCH 17, 1953: Mr. Willis sent a letter to Commissioner John Volpe, Department of Public Works, Boston in.forming him that the area involved in the drainage complaint around Wilson's corner was viewed by representatives of his department, the .highway surveyor, representatives of the local board of health and Nr.. Willis, chairman of .the Board of Selectmen. ~he matter has now been referred ~o the Board of Health and he has been assured that immediate steps will be taken to correc~ this situation. PERMIT TODIffUPROAD: The Board of Sclec~nen toda~ granted permission to the Rich Brothers to dig up Nain Street between P}rk Street and Chicker!ng Road to install a drain. The road will be closed to traffic. In the future, Mr. Catty, Highway Surveyor, will be required to ismue such permits in accordance with the town by-law. DEPART~F~.T OF PUBLIC WORKS- Mr. Thomson received a letter from Commissioner John .A. Volpe advising him that they will allot $500 for maintenance of roads in North Andover, providing that .North Andover will allot $1,O00 for the same purpose. The town voted to allot $2,000 for this purpose and Mr. Volpe will be so informed. Mr. Cartywill.also be notified. },~.R~II 16, 1953: The regular weekly meeting of the Board of Selectmen was h'eld at 7:00 P.M. with all members present. V£eekly bills and payrolls were approved. TREE RENOVAL A hearing was held at 7:25 P.~. on the petition of Guy ~illiam Martin, 58 Church Street for the removol of a tree in front of this property. Mr. Connors, tree warden, had looked at this tree and said it was in the driveway and should be re- moved. Mr. Thomson made a motion that the ptition be granted, seconded by i~r. Kirk and vote declared unanimous by Mr. ~tllis. Mr.. Connors was instructed to remove the tree in question. REQUEST FOR REMOVAL OF %570 TREES: Louis NcAloon, in behalf of Swift & Company requested the removal of two trees on Sutton Street.l.{r. Connors stated that a driveway is to be made and the two trees interfere with this driveway. A hearing was set for March 30, 1953 7:25 P.M. and ~lr. Connors was instructed to post the two trees for hearing. RECRE&TIONAL COUNCIL REQUE~ST: ~he previous Board of Selectmen had received a request to install a temporary "Shower" at the old Center .School where the present ~obler is now located. This was held over pending the action of the to~n meeting on article 12 to remove the Center School. Mr. Willis stated that there was no need to put the shower~in now since the school is to be removed. No further action taken. REQUEST FOR CONSIDERATION FOR JURY DUTY: Roland B. Russell, 14 Edmands Road, requested to be considered for jury duty. !~r. Eirk made a~motion to received the request, seconded byMr. Willis and the vote was declared a majority, vote. Mr. ~homson wished to recorded as not voting. REPORT ON C0~L~LAINT: CHIEF MCKEE reported that Mrs. Reardon, 208 Middlesex Street fell on a stick that was on the stairs at the Thomson School on March 2, 1953. She had been laid up since and has had several visits from the doctor. Shecan't use her arm and her sister has to do her work. She would like to b~ reimbursed for medical care and the cost of having her work done. She will submit a bill at a later date but wanmed to kno~ how the board 'felt about reimbursing for these expenses. Mr. ~homson in~uizedowhat the chairman .would recommend and Nr. Willis stated that he wotu!d recommend that we receive the report. Mr. Thomson made a motion that the report and claim be received in accordance with Chairman Willis, suggestion. Mr. Kirk seconded the motion and the vote was de- clared to be unanimous by Mr. Nillis. GROUP INSURANCE: Mr. Harrison ~epresentative of the .Mass. Mutual Life Insurance Co. came before the board to discuss the insurance for'the town since it was 'voted favorably at the Annual to~n meeting.~Ars. Joseph Trombly was also present and she represented the Prudential Company. Mr. Thomson explained that two proposals had been presented ~o the previous board of Selectmen and that as a result, an article was inserted in the annual town warrant and the town voted to raise $2,000 for this project. Tner~ was considerable discussion about t~is Lusurance and ~r. Thomson stated that he felt that the primary procedure would ne to accept~pronosals ~nd then decide ·hat to do~ Mr. ~illis said he understood that this was life insurance only and he felt that the board should get as many proposals as possible and that we 'might we~l advertise. He felt.that action should be taken as soon as. possible and'make a definite time for the submission of these proposals. ~.~s. T~ombly then stated that tho proposal 'is based on the number of persons fully employed and that they must enlist at least 75% of the employees. She said that all figures given are estmmates. She further stated that the Prudential Company enjoys the reputation of being one of the lowest term companies. She explained that no one can tell the net cosm or determine dividends accurately. Mr. Kirk inquired if the company sets up a group and then works to a definite profit She said this is ail incorporated in one figure. Mr. Harrison stated that his company is located in Springfield, Mass and they had sgnt figures to the home offices. Hesaid all the comcanies use the same formula and that the figures he submitted are top figures as' per employees as of Jan. 1/53. He said that policies have to be rewritten each year and he has found that cover- age has been taken by frnm 90 to 85% of the employees. There was some d~r~ussion about the dividends and Mr. Harrison said t.~at the dividends are b~ ~ on the loss and profit ratio. Mrs. Trombly sa'~ .,at the Prudential Co,pany last year and for three years has underwritten over 'l,O00,O00 and that no ether company can compare with that. If ~my company can do anything, the Prudehtial can go along with it. !.~ ROH 16,1953-.continued GROUP INSURANCE: Mr. Harrison stated that his company has offices in 48 S~a~es and in Canada and they. have offices in Lawrence. Mr. Willis inquired as to who can be insured and Mr. Harrison said it applies .to all permanent employees and that if a call fireman is on a permanen~ basis he would be accepted. They are ~rying to ge~ something definite with respect to the s ~a~s of call fireman. Mrs. Trohb!%, said it would be a t~st case as to whether call firemen were con- sidered as permanen~ employees. Mr. Willis suggested that all conpanies be given material and let them eu~mit their proposals. Mrs. Trembly felt that th'e board would be swamped ~ith pro- posals but Mr. Willis said they would be swamped many.times during the year and he felt this was the fair thing to do. He said the previous board held .a great interest and this ma~er was given plenty of publicity. He said we should consider the number of residents who would like to submit proposals. The Only interest the board has now is to get the most coverage for our money. Mr. Kirk said the he feels that there are others who are interested and that a sufficient time should be given to submit bids. Mr. Thomson then made a motion that there be inserted in the Eagle Tribune, in accordance with the vote of the annual ~own meeZing on article 11, an ad with respect tq Group Life Insurance covering permanen~ 'town ~emp!oymes and that the Selectmen invite proposals ~o be' submitted not later than April ~6~ 1953 at 8:00 P.M. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion and the vo~e was declared to be unanimous by Mr. Willis. · COMPLAINT: The Board received a letter from George Hayes, 29 First Street, North ~%ddover, r~!ative to damage to his driveway as well as water entering his cellar. He s~ated that this all resulted from the.broken hydrant caused when the Jackson Zumber Company truck backed into it. The Board of Public Works had to ~ig a ,Im~g~ohote in order to repair the damage and.that a s~orm drain~ was~ full of water within 2a3 minutes after the break. As a result he had three inches of wa~er in his cellar, causing $~O.O0 damage to plywood sheets and 'hardwood.boards as well as damage to the cellar itself~ He stated that he felt that the Town of North Andover and/or the Jackson Lumbcr Company is responsible forI the damage. He asked that this s~mary go on record at this time. J~. Thomson made a motion that the board accept the letter and place it~on fi!e. Kirk seconded this motion and vote was declared unanimous by Mr~ Willis. FIRE TRUCK: Chief James Hargreaves came before 'the board and suggested that they get the Committee going so that the fire truck may be purchased as soon as possible. Hm said tha~ the committee included the Board of Selectmen',~ the Board of Fire Engineers and three members to be appointed by the Moderator. He will specifications an~ get the bids out. · ~.~. Thomson s~at~d that the situation is somewhat of an emergency and that~if necessary the chief could'calI on Lawrence or Andover for 'a truck. ' Mr. Hargreaves said they did not want ~o keep the t~uck which had been lo'ned as it was in poor condition and that he had a proposal from Haverhill. However, he does not want to be responsible for 'borrowed equipment any longer than is necessary. He said it would take about two. months before they could ge~ the truck. Mr. 'Thomson made a motion that the chairman be reuested to communicate with the Moderator and reques~ the names of persons on the committee as expeditiously as possible. Mr. Kirk seconded the motion and Mr. Willis declared it to 'be a unanimous vote. Mr. Willis said he ~uld call ameeting as soon as the committee is appointed, and he will arrange the meeting. POLICE DEPAR~NT: Charles McCubbin came before the board, stating that he was a member of~the R.eserve Police. He asked if there was a ruling as how men are to be hired with regulars getting the preference. He said there ~as a notice in the station which s~ated that work would be given ou~ this way. He asked what official rulings there are. Mr. Willis said as far as he is concerned he knows of no ruling. Mr. Thomson said that w~ do have a regular reserve list, all of whom were appointed the same day. Mr. Willis said that the police should establish a policy in t~e Police Relie'f Association. He suggested that ~e get a ruling from Civil service on whether or not the high man should be given the preference even though all the men are appointed on the' same-date. Mr. $irk said he would like ~o think about this matter. Later, Mr. Kirk made a motion that we request information from Civil Service in regard to a ruli~:g on Civil Service Seniority s~atus as to determining how extra work should be given out wit~ respect to regular Reserve officers. Mr. Thomson seconded this mo~ion amd vo~e was unanimous. Mr. ~illis asked that a copy of the reply be sent to Charles McCubbin. MARCH 16, lP53-continued. PET~ TION-DUMP LOCATION- A petition was presented to the board protesting the location of a proposed dump site on Albert Steinberg's property in North Andover ~nd was signed by 49 residents who live in this vicinity, by Mr. Eligio Forgetta, 1210 Osgood Street. He said their property borders the Steinberg property and they object .to s dump here. He asked that this letter be referred to the committee acting on the dump site. Ail the neighbors feel that there is a more appropriate site. ~qe mentioned a drain which runs through the land and if there is a dump, the water would be' backing up onto Forgetta's land. Mr. Thomson felt this was a little premature as no committee has been appointed as ye% but suggested that ~e accept the petition and table it and give it attention when the committee is appointed. If either site is chosen, these people will be notified with reference to hearings on dump sites in these localities. Mr. Thomson presented this as a motion which was seconded by Mr. Kirk and declared to boa unanimouS vote by Mr. Willis. *Continuation of matter referred ~o on page 286. COMPLAINT-GEORGE HAYES: Mr. Thomson suggested that we wait until liability might be made by the Jackson Lumber Company. Nr. Thomson made a motion that we request a repor~ from the Highway Department, the Board of Public Works and the Police Department%rith respect ~o the letter received from George Hayes. He felt that we should do this in case there is some action at a later date. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion and the vo~e was declared unanimous by Mr. ¥;i!lis. , BOARD OF ASSESSORS: The Board of Assessors .me~ with ~he Selectmen and Mr. Lund asked about having a notice in the paper to let pmople know that they must ge~ a .perm~.'t before they start a building. He mentioned that they had recently been assessing the property in the to~n and had found several places where building had been started and no permit had been granted. The Board felt that it might .help if some notice were inserted in the local paper. Mr. Thomson felt that if a notice were inserted in the paper once a month for perhaps three consecutive months it .would help and the board agreed with this. T~e Selectmen will have this notice put in the paper on April 6, ~.~ay 4, and June i and the assessors will put a notice in this week. Mr. Lund said they are not blaming the building inspector as he canno~ go all over ~he town but if people could be educated to this fact, it would helps great deal. I~USTRIAL LOCATIONS: Mr. Thomson brough~t up the ma~ter of an industrial plan in the town and he said that Mr. Schmidt of the Chamber of Commerce in Lawrence would 1.ike to meet with the Selectmen, the Board of Assessors, the Planning Board, Board of Trade and any other persons who might be interested in this project. Mr. Kurtz Hanson was mentioned as a good man for this plan. ~r. Thomson said t~at there has been no concerted action as yet. Mr. Willis was all in favor of going ahead with this .plan and he said he would be willing to arrange such a meeting as was suggested, in the near future. Mr. Thomson then made a motion that the chairman of the Board be authorized to set up a date and time for this meeting, inviting the various boards mentioned and such others as may be interested in this industrial expansion plan. Mr. Kirk seconded the motion and the vote Was declared unanimous by Mr. Willis. BOARD OF ASSESSORS-BUILDING PERMITS: Mr. Willis brought up the matter of building permits again and inquired of ~r. Thomson as to what sort of notice should be inserted in the newspaper, iii~additiohSto mere reporting. Mr. Thomson.stated that mere reporting-is a grea~ advantage but there would be too much imposition to expec~ the reporter ~o take care of this entirely. He suggested that a legal notice in the North Andover column would be a help, if inserted for three months. He felt that the chief complaint is from lack of knowledge. He then made a motion tha~ an ad be inserted in the Eagle Tribune paper as ~ai notice with respec~ to obtaining building permits and that this official be inserted on the evenings of April 6, May h, and June l, 1953. This would apply to persons building new or repairing old buildings who would be required to obtain permits from the building inspector. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion and the vote was declared unanimous by M=. Willis. CERTIFICATE OF INCOP~ORATION: Upon receiving a report from Chief McKee on Louis H. McAloon and Andrew' E. Alvino, stating that they have never had any record and both are peBsons of good repute, the board approved the form and it will be mailed to the Secretary of the Common- wealth. MARCH 16, 1953-continued PROVISIONAL A?POINTNENTS- INTERMITTENT OFFICERS: Chief NcKee had requested the extension of the provisional employment of the following non-veterans as intermittent police officers: Ralph Bolderson, Augustine Walsh, Alexs.uder Ness and Frank Howard, whose appointments expire on March 22, 1953. Mr. Ihomson made a motion that we reques~ the extension of the provisional employ- ment of these four men for a six months period. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion. Mr. Willis felt that this should be gone into more thoroughtly and see if se have sufficient men without these appointments. He said he realizes that the Reserve Officers are only available at certain times. He felt that there should bea strict set up and have some schedule of their own. There is constant disharmony in the department. ~ · Mr. Th~ '~on said these men are no~ to be employed in the.reserve officers are available but often they cannot report to the chief and he mus~ have someone who is available. He felt ~hat it was for the welfare of the town to appoint these men and if there is continued dissent in the Department some action could be taken within the next sixmonths. Mr. Kirk said he didn't feel that the board should further this situation by prolonging this matter. Mr. Willis said he felt the same w$~ but wanted to bring the mat~er up a% this time and it could perhaps be looked into later. The vote was then made unanimous by Mr. Willis. LAWRENCE GAS & ELECTRIC' CO}~PANY: Notice received that the following lights have been installed as requested by the Selectmen: 2500 -pole #2938- Chickering Road. 2/16/53- 1000- po.les 2717-2720, Adams Ave. 2/1~/53; 10OO- poles 1378,1385 and 1392, Salem St. 2/24/53, lO00-pole 3610, Bradstreet Road, 2/20/53; 1000 - pole 676, Main St. 2/20/53 and 1000 - pole.s 1239 and 1243, Chestnut Street, 2/24/53. CHAPTER 90 and 81 COMMUNICATIONS: Notice received that all communications concerning the Depar~men~ of Public Works shall be addressed to Mr. Charles.A. Fritz, District Engineer, Nass. Dept..of Public ;'~orks, 2;.2 Cabot St. Beverly, ~ass. DEPARTMENT OF PU~.IC WORKS-- Notification received that a representative from the Beverl~ Office will contact Mr'. Thomson and arrange .to '~eet the representatives of the town to'di'scuss the condition at Wilson's Corner relative to sewage. Mr. ~homson was contacted and~ the meeting is scheduled for March 17, 1953 a~ the Selectmen's Officel ~The =hairman of the Board, Board of Health and Mr. Carry will meet with Mr. Hesley and will view the location mentioned. SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE: A communication was received from Francis J. O'Brisn, Clerk of the School Building Committee relative %o the high school building' loan of $1,400,000. The committee expects to spend $1,O0~,O00 by December 31, 1953.. Some members believe that'the lat~er part of April ~.ght ,well be the stra~egic time for floating the loan; ~his was a copy of a letter sen% to Mr. Maker, town treasurer. APPOINTMENTS: The Board of Selmctmen made the following appointments on this day: MOtH SUPERINTENDENT: John J. Connors appointed by unanimous vote of the board. CUSTODIAN-TAX T~TLE PROPERTY James J. Maker" " " " " · " AUCTIONEER TAX TI~E PROPERTY James Ji .Maker," " " " " " " VE~.~S AGENT Bernard Bingham " ~ " " " " " BURIAL AGENT Myron Le~is, Sr. " " " " " " " ANI.%~ INSPECTOR Dr. Edward Bulger " · by a majority vote, Mr. Thomson not voting. Mr. Thomson nominated Robert J. Burke Mr. Kirk nominated Dr. Bulger, seconded by Mr. Willis. Mr. '~illis made a motion that further appointments be suspen.ded at this ~time and the vote was unanimous. ACCYDENTREpORT: A report of. an accident in'which. Edward Donovan received a cut in a small artery in his left handwas reported to the board. No action is necessary, it is simply a matter of record.