HomeMy WebLinkAbout1953-03-23 Board of Selectmen Minutes~y meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:00 P.M. with
all members present. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved.
ANIMAL INSPECTOR APPROVAL:
Notice received from the Department of Agriculture that the nomination of Edward C.
Bulgar, V. M. D. as inspector'of animals for the town of .North Andover for the year
ending March 31, 1954 has been approved. The board voted on this nomination a~ the
last meeting on March 16, 1953.
GROUP INSURANCE:
The board received a communication from the.Mass. Mutual ~.ife Ins; Company relative
%o the favorable vote at the annual town meeting for group insurance. The letter
stated that Messrs..William H. Harrison, Jr. and Stephen B. Young of the Lawrence
office are the soliciting agents. The letter inquired if the board would wish
Mr. Harrison and Mr. Young to commence contacting tewn employees for thepurpose
of preparing application for group insurance contracts. The board took no action
on. this lea%er since they have already asked for proposals from any companies who
wish to submit them.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS:
· A copy of a' letter sen% to Commissioner John Volpe was read by Mr..W~llis. This
was the result of a meeting of representatives of the Department, the Highway Surveyor,
and tu~o members of the local Board of. Health as well as Mr. ~lllis. Mr.' .Willis
informed the other members that they had viewed the area involved in the drainage
complaint at Wilson's' corner and the mat%er has been referred to the Board of
Health who has assured Mr. Willis ~that immediate steps will be taken to correct
the situation.
A letter was received under date of March 12, informing Mr. Thomson that the
Department will allocate the sum of 5500 to be used for maintenance in the town
providing that North Andover will allot ~l,0OO for the same purpose. At the ahnual
town meeting 'on March 14, the sum of $2,000 was apprbpriated for maintenance of .....
· roads un, er 'chap%er 90.
Mr..Willis~ made' inquiries of Mr. Thomson relative to the expenditure 'of the re~aining
$1,O00. Mr. Thomson Stated tha~ when the article was inserted in the warrant, it
was understood that neither the~county nor the stute'would allocate any money for
maintenance under Chapter 90. Through the efforts of the previous board, Mr.
Thomson said they were able to get the SSOO alloted and he feels that Mr. Carry
can spend' the total amount for maintenance,, that is $2500. If no money were
alloted, he would be able to spend $2,000.
P~OLVER PE~T APPLICAT~0N:
An application for a license to carry a revolver was received from Turner A~
Bridges,' 160.Foster Street, North Andover. The chief of police had approved this
application and on motion of Mr. ThomSon, seconded by Mr. Kirk, the board voted
unanimmucly %o grant this license.
· CIVIL SERVICE-EXTRA POLICE ~0RK ~
A reply to our lh~%er of March 17, relative ~o the assignment of extra work to
regular employees in the Police Department, was received from the Director. The
letter s%a~es that this matter does not' come under the Jurisdiction of the Civil
Service Department, since the purpose for which the seniority is based is for assign-
men~ of extra work of regular employees. Seniority is computed from the date of
permanent original appointment, and, therefore, persons appointed on the same day
would have~ the 'same 'date of seniority.
The board voted'to send a copy of this letter to Charles McCubbin and also ~o the
chief of police.
APPOINTMEN T-PATROL~%N:
~he board received a certification and report form from the Division of Civil
Service and the following names were listed as eligible for certification:
Robert L.-Sanborn, Charles R. McCubbin, Paul G. Dyer and Frank H. Dushame, Jr.
Mr. Kirk made a'motion that Robert ]i. Sanborn be appointed as a permanent
patrolmen at $63.63 weekly, seconded by Mr. Thomson and declared a unanimous
vote .by Mr. Willis.
CHAPTER 80- P~R~00K & SAWYER ROADS:
The Selectmen signed an order of assessment for the above streets and the plan'
will be recorded by Mr. Thomson, since he is familiar with the procedure.
The owner of each parcel of land, the foot frontage and the amount of assessment
is listed for beth streets. The date of completion of the work on these two
streets was given as October 15, 1952 in a letter from Highway Surveyor Ira D.
carry under date of January 12, 1953.
Mr. Willis felt that since we are to have considerable Chapter 80 work in the
future, it should be set up in a different manner. He could see no reason why
the town should pay this money and he would suggest rna% in the future it should
be referred to..an attqrney and let him t~e care of it for the usual legal fees.
This will be cmscussec at a later date by the board.
MARCH 23, 1953: continued
DAMAGE COMPLAINT:
Reports were received from Chief McKee and IfaD. Carry as requested by the Board
cf Selectmen relative to the damage claim presented by George Hayes, First Stree:.
Mr. Duffy had not submitted his report and the board accepted the reports and
they will be filed at'this time.
SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE:
A communication was received from the School Building Committee relative to the
new High School and suggesting that the Board of S~lect~en be requested to arrange
for the issuance of a fire insurancepolicy covering the building during the process
of construction and in accordance with the usual practice recommended by insurance
underwriters for taking care cf such risks. 2~e policy should be take~ ou: for
a period of two years and should cover everything except site clearance. The
School Building Committee toques: that the Selectmen transmit to the School Building
Committee a certificate of such t~,urance and'the insurance shall be an expense of
the School,Building Committee.
~heBoard voted unanimously to follow the same procedure as theydid'wtth the
Kittredge School and submit this information to the l~surance Agents Association
for action. A copy of the!letter will be sent to Mr.~hipple for action.
SPECIAL POLITE APPOINTMENTS:
A'letter was received from Bernard Bingham, Veterans Agent and from John J;
McKSnna, Manager of'the Division of'Employment-Security, advising us thatthey
have'no veterans a~ailable in their files with the necessary qualifications'wtlling
'to accept intermittmm~ police work in North Andover.
The request for approval of six months provisional employment will be sent :o the
Director of Civil Service on Ralph J. Bolderson, Alexander Ness, Augustine Walsh
andFrank Howard. '
BOARD OF HEALTE: Drainage-Wilsons CornercoPY O~ LETTER SENT TO PROPERTY OWNERS.
A communication was received from the Board ~f~ Health informing them that~ the
drainage has been investigated by the State Department' of Public Works'and' ~ound
drainage from private proper~y entering the State drainage. The letter advised
the' owners of the property that itwill be necessary to plug up theorigin of
this drainage and repair of replacement of the. septic tank. ~he Board. of Health
set the:date of April20, 19~3 as the 'deadline for these changes to be made. A
copy of'this'letter was sent to six property owners in the vicinity Of Wilsons
corner.
CENTER SCHOOD- FURNITURE, ETC.
Mrs.' S. Forbes Rockw~ell requested permission tolook in the Center School to see
if they could find. some furniture, etc. for the Girl's SCout Camp(Maude Eaton)
She gave a list of the various items which they could use and asked permission
to buy them, if necessary ....
The Board discussed this request and Mr. Thomson made a motion that' the Selectmen
make a gift cf these items to the Girls Scouts, providing they are removed 'at their
· expense and 'that there is no liability to the town. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion
· and the vote was declared ~o be unanimous by Mr. Willis. '-
LAWRENCE BOARD OF REALTORS INViTATiON:
The board received an invitation to attend the dinner at the Red Tavern on March 30,
at 6:30 P.M. as guests of the above board. Mr. Kirk made a motion that the
board send its regrets since they will be"u~abl~ ~o attend because of their meeting
at seven o'clock and various hearings.
STATE HOUSING BOARD:
The B$ard received, a letter from th~ State Housing Board relative to a~plications
for Veterans, Housing under Chap%er 550, Acts of 19~2, Deadline April 6, 1953.
~he Selectmen voted to refer this ~o the local housing authority..
PROC~ATION$:
John"J. 'Willis, chairman, signed two proclamations for Cancer Week a~d Bay State
Society for Crippled children.
WONDER WAGON:
A communication was received from Hilart Productions, Inc. in~roducing the~onder
Wagon and as~hug for information on ordinances of the town, license fees, e~c.
The board voted to receive the letter and place it on file~ on motion of Mr.~homson.
MARCH 23, 1953- continued
APPLICATION: ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT:
~he board received an application from Nancy Lawlor, who is 17: ~ars old
andplans ~o attend the Bentley School of Accounting in September, to be
considered for extra work in the Accounting Department.
Mr. Thomson made amo~ion that the applicatioh be tabled for one week.
Mr. WiLlis then informed the board that Miss Finn, 'Z'own Accountant had talked
with him about part time help and she felt that the. Selectmen might like to
make the appointment. Mr. Willis felt that it was her department and that
she should be the one to appoint someone to help her. His first impression
was that Miss Finn would like to have Miss Lawlor. No further action was
taken.
EAWRENCE GAS & ~.~.CTRIC COMPANY:
A hearing was held at 7:45 P.M. on the petition of .the Lawrence Gas & Electric
COMPANY .to construct, maintain and operate transmission lines for the ~ransmission
of high and iow tension electric current and f$r telephone use over and across
the following highways:. Sutton Street- Sutton's Mills to Sutton's
Elm Street-B & M Railroad to B & M Railroad, Chickering Road, B & M Railroad to
B & ~ Railroad and on Osgood Street- B & M Eallroad to B & M Railroad.
Mr. Alton L. Pike, agent, was present at the hearing and he presented a plan
~o the board so that they could follow the rou~e of line.
Mr. Taomson made a motion that the petition with reference 'to carrying ~'ower
lines to go along with these plans as shown, be granted. Mr. Kirk seconded
the mouien and the vote was unanimous. C~opy of the order and petition were
given ~o Mr. Pike a~ thi~ time. ' - '
POLICE DEPAR~NT:
Francis Tr~z~bly, representing the Board of Trade requested {hat the Selectmen
have an'unbrokan white line painted-on Sutton Street from the Lawrence line
to the Thatched Roof to take care of the traffic situatlon~ and that they have
installed a "S~low Dangerous Intersection" sign on the westerly side of the
intersection at Suttons Corner.
Mr..E~ksmade a motion that this be referred to the Police Department and that
they be instructed to paint an unbrcken white line from the Lawrence line to
.the Thatched Roof in accordance with highway regulations, plus the installation
of a "Slow-Dangerous intersection" sign on the westerly side of the intersection
at Sutton's Corner. Mr. Thomson seconded this motion and'the vote wa~o declared
unanimous by Mr. Willis.
FRANCIS: T~OMBLY- COMPLAINT:
Mr. Trombly talked with the boa rd about a problem near his. property ~n~ he
has talked with the local board of health. Re said that the land is in A~dover
and he thougn~ it was an agricultural area.
Mr. Willis said that his first thought in the matter is that the ~town of North
Andover has no Jurisdiction over a piece of land which is in Andever and he
suggested that Mr. Trombly go to Andover' and '~alk with the authorities there~
Mr. 'Thomson felt it Was beyond the Jurisdiction of this .board and stated that
Mr~ Trombly had two recourses, the Board of Health in Audever or the State
Dep~rtment of Public health. No further action.
~.TING OF CON~IT~EE TO PURCHASE ~'z~E
Lester'Perkins,. Richard Heider, ~.eo Kane, james J. Hargreaves and Edwin Koenig
met with the Selectmen to discuss the purchase of the .*ire truck which w~s voted
favorably a~ the annual to~n ~eting in March.
Mr. Hargreaves had several copies of specifications which he had drawn up for
the' members above and the selectmen were given an opportunity'tolock them over.
Mr."Hargreaves stated that the ladders from the'old truck are aluminum and are
not in too bad condition and they can be. used on the new truck and save that
expenses. He said these were standard specifications except for the smoke"
ejector and ladders.
Mr. W~lis made several- inquiries about various' items on the fire truck and
asked the' chief if he had discussed thes~ Specifications with the engineers.
Mr. Hargreaves stated that he had nc chance to do this as he had anly drawn
the specifications up to-day. Mr. ~tl.lis felt that he should discuss this
with the engineers and they may have some recommendations to make. He said
we are all concerned about spending $18,000 and that we should no~ Jump at
this thing. He inquired about equipment to be borrowed until the new truck is
available.
MARCH 23, 1953: continued
Mr. Har&Teaves said he would rather not have borrowed equipment as it may run
into a big expense for the ~own. He has an opportunity to borrow a truck from
HaverhiLl but he prefers to leave it there.
Mr. Thomson said he did not feel qualified to express any o~inion on the mechan-
ical end of this and he felt that they should leave the types of specifications
to those on the committee who have mechanical ability.
Mr. Xirk said he was not familiar with this end of it sithe~ and he would have
to ask quest~ions of someone else to get the required information.
Mr. Willis inquired if there was some equipment nearby that is comparable to what
the chief has in mind and if so, he felt that the committee should look at it.
Mr. Hargreaves said he didn't know of any a% the moment. He then showed the board
pictures of various trucks which he had received from truck companies.
It was then decided that the commit%es would meet on Sunday and go over 'the
specifications and at that ~ime the three engineers would be available and they
will come before the board hext Monday. The meeting will be held at th~ Fire '
Station at 1:30 P.M.
Ih the meantime, Mr. Willis suggested that the chief discuss this ma~ter with
the two engineers.
DUMP SITE:
Mr. Dewar Dyer came before the board and discussed the .proper ~onduct of th~
land fill method for a dump site. He said he had taken it upon himself to
draw up some ideas that might be of some help to ~he committee. He said the
occupational situation might be hazardous. The popular conception of a land
filled~ dumo is Just covering up refuse with dirt. If this is set up properly
there' is n~ difficulty. He said that the estimated time to complete .decomposition
is about ~our y~ars for the average land fill. He mentioned that the. re gas
collection .there but eventually you can go back and dig again.
He said that there is a definite possibility that a site with wet or sandy
land could be .purchased reasonably and that it could.be used again in about
ten yeas as a playground or a school site. He said he would.be glad to help
in anyway. .'
Mr; ~illis accepted the information given with thanks and said the material
will be of sue to the commi$~ee. He did not believe it was premature of Mr.
Dyer to come ~o the board. It is a problem we all have to face in the near
Mr. Thomson said he thought that Mr. Dyer indicated an inteLligent approach
this .problem. Although the committee is limited to the Selectmen, he. suggested
.that we take .advantage of the peculiar knowledge of Mr. Dyer and ask him to
sit in,as a spectator.
Mr. Willis said he was willing to go along with this suggestion but felt that
we should wait and take it up with the committee. We could notify Mr. Dyer
a% such time as the committee decides to have him sit in,
Mr. Dyer will fo~ard a copy.of the material he had prepared so that the
Selectmen.may have it on file.
APPOINTMENTS:
Clerk Of Selectmen: Mr. Kirk made ametion that Mrs. Eillian Dearden be
a~p0inte~ as clerk for the Board'of Selectmen. '}~r. Thomson seconded this
m6tioh'ahd it was declared a unanimous vote by Mr.-Willis.
WIRING IN~PECTOR- T~omas r. ebel appointed by unanimous vote of the hoard
CIVII~ DEFENSE DIRECTORS. Forbes Rockwell " " " " " "
PUBLICWEIGHENS James. J. Desley " " " " " "
Edward Ellsy and Albert E. Houle " '" "."
SURVEYORS-WOOD,BARK & LUMBER- John C, Farnum " " ." "
FENCE VIEWERS-john M. Barrell,Wm.J. ~homson,John J. Wilcom " "
KEEPER 0F~THE LOCK-UP- Alfred H. McKee unanimous vote of the.b~ard
RECP~ATIONAL COUNC~: Mrs. Elizabeth Elliot, Carl Thomas, Nathaniel Archer
Philip Sutcliffe, William Magowan, Elmer Jackson, John Cushing,
Demonic Bonnano, Kenneth Terroux and Warren .Stanwood, appointed
by unanimous vote of the board. .
SPECIAL POLICE 0FF~CENS: appointed by unanimous vote of the hoard:
-Albert Schofield, Roland Ambiehl, Alexander Ness, F~ederick Salois,
Charles S. Fowler, John J. Lyons, Joseph J. Ssnia, Rene Beaulieu,
Walter Stamp, Jr., Sylvester Murphy, Philip Midgley, Charles Znill,
John T. Dolan, John J. Wilcox, Donald. E. Hilton, Frank W. Lee, Kenneth L.
Deardan and Malcolm Hamilton, Frank Howard. On motion of Mr. Kirk
Edward To,ne was appointed unanimously as a special police officer.
SPECIAL CIVIL CONSTABLE: unanimously appointed- John H. Fenton.
SEALER OF WEIGHTS & MEASURES: Mr. Willis made a motion that Ernes~ J. Roberts
be appointed Sealer of Weights and Measures, seconded by Mr. Kirk and
declared to be a majority vote, Mr. Thomson recorded as not voting.
Mr. Thomson inquired as ~o the qualifications of Mr. Roberts for this
position. Mr. Willis stated that he was the manager of the North Andover
Restaurant and was a student at Merrimack College. With reference to the
duties, Mr. WiLlis said that Mr. Roberts wualifications were equal or
above the qualifications of the previous office holder.
MA~CH 23, 1953: comt[nued
BOARD OF APPEALS: APPOINT~gNTS:
Mr. Thomson made a motion, seconded by Mr. Kirk and voted unanimously
to appoint Santo DiMauro and James J. Regan, as associate members of
the Board of Appeals.
Mr. Thomson then made a motion for reconsideration of the above vote. which
was granted, and he made a motion that Santo DiMauro be appointed as a
member of the Board of Appeals.
Mr. Thomson then made a motion that the appointments of the associate members
be revoked temporarily, seconded by Mr. Kirk and voted unanimously.
Mr. Willis made a motion that Donald Smith be appointed as a member .of the
Board of Appeals. He felt that since Mr. Smith is an attorney, it would balance
the .board. There are three real estate men on the board now.
Mr. Kirk said he felt that Donald Smith is a very good person and also Mr.
DiMauro and he could appreciate both motions. He inquired from Mr. Willis
about having Mr. Smith as an associate member but Mr. Willis thought that
Mr. DiMauro could sit in as an associate member.
Mr. Thomson said that Mr. DiMauro had listened to arguments pro and con
and he would be a very good man to have on the board.
Mr. Willis said his motion still stand with Donald Smith to be the appointee.
Mr. Thomson then made a motion that Donald Smith be appointed as an associate
member.
Mr. Kirk made amotion that they table the appointment of a member of.the ]~oard
of Appeals and also the associate members for one 'week. Mr. Thomson seconded
the motion and it was declared unanimous by Mr. Willis.
B~ILDING REGULATIONS:
'Mr. Willis brought up the matter of requesting the Advisory Board, Planning
Board and Building Inspector to sit down and decide on some new building
regulations, particularly with reference to water and sewer, and he felt
this should be done as soon as possible.
Mr~ Thomson mentioned that the b~tilding inspector is hospitalized and he
should be in on this.
Mr~ Willis said he didn't know how much' they would rely on him and also
that there w~ll probably be some' new members on the Advisory Board and the
present members should be in on ihs new suggestions.
Mr. Thomson said that he would think that the new members should be in tm
the new suggestions as they would be serving for a f,,ll year. He also 'reit
that the meeting should be held off until Mr. Lawlor is available; He has
served as building inspector for'a good'many years and Mr. Tho~on felt he
should be afforded the courtesy of sitting in on such a meeting. 'No action
'will be taken until Mr. Lawlor is available.
GROUP INSURANCE:
Mr~ Willis brought up the mat~er of Group Insurance and said he u~derstood that
there would be two bids from one compan~ .and wondered how they wo~ld get 'around
that if they happened to be the low bids.
Mr; Thomson suggested that the bbard meet that problem '#hen it arises.
APPOINTiNg- CLERK OF BOARDS:
Mr~ Thomson made a motion that Arthur P. Kirk be appointed Cle r~ of the
Board of Selectmen, seconded by Mr. Willis,and declared unanimous.
Mr; Thomson made a motion that John 'Willis be .appointed clerk of the-Board
of Public %?clfare and it was voted unanimously.
Mr. Thomson made a motion that John'%'fillis be appointed, clerk of the License
Board and it was a unanimous vo~e.
SUPT. & MATRON-TOWN INFIRMARY:
Orin B. Foster was appointed Supt. of the Town Infirmary by unanimouS vote.
Nora L. F~ster was appointed Matron. of the Town Infirmary by unanimous vote.
S TEVEES HALL:
~ne Board granted permission to.the Board of Trade to change the dates of their
show,to be held in Stevens Hall, provided it was agreeable to the principal
of the High School. Mr. Kirk will provide the dates later in the week.