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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1953-05-04 Board of Selectmen Minutes MAY 4, 1953 ~eekly meeting o£ the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:00 P.M. with all .members present. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved. RECREATIONAL COUNCIL: Car Thomas and Domenic ~onna'no, representing the Recreational Council came before the board to ask the board to send a letter ~o William B. Dully, giving him permission to purchase the material for the Kittrcdge School as voted under article 23, at the last annual to~n meeting. Both men felt that Mr. Duffy has had experience in Shis ~yp~ of buying. Mr. Willis inquired why they couldn't buy the equipment and both s%ated that they felt Mr. Duffy was more qualified %o do this. Mr. Thomson said he saw no reason why this authority could not be delegated and the other members agreed. A letter will be sent to Mr. Duffy giving him this au. thorization. PRAILOR-CHI CKERING ROAD: , · ~. cmas . apco~ o~ - fton Court came before the board and complained abou~ a ~rallor that is parked near his proper~y. He had discussed this wi~h Mr. Kirk who had advised him tha~ he would take the matter up with the building inspector. Mr. Shapco~ mentioned that there is another ~railor there which has been there ~or some time but it is kept in good condition and they have no objection to this one. The newes~ one runs parallel with ~r. Shapcott,s house and he objects ~o it being there and doesn,~ think they have a right ~o have it parked there. They have gone · ahead and ha~ an electric pole installed there for service. Mr. Willis stated tha~ the only person who can alle~vi~te this condition is the building inspector. Mr. Kirk said. that~ Mr. Lawlor said that no building laws are being violated' but he hasn't gone~into this thoroughly. They had nq permit for this and Mr. Lawlor had suggested that they obtain one. Mr. Willis then said the board would have to take this up with the building inspector and that the board will receive the ~complaint and follow it through. ' Mr. Shapcott presented a petition smgned by three residents of Du~ton Court, as opposed NE~ ENGLAND TEL. & TEL°CO: to the trailer camp established at 32 Dufton Court. A. earing was e _o on ~-e petition of this company fo? permission to lay andmaintain underground conduits on Main Street, approximately 33' of underground conduit north- we~sterly from pole ~54/3 to presen~ conduit. Mr. Flanagan., representative of this company said they were taking new ~aps on under- ground conduits· at~ the railroad track and will tap into the firsm pole. Mr. Thomson made a motion that this petition be granted, seconded by Mr~ Kirk and vote was declared ~o be unanimous by Mr. Willis LA'FRENCE GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY% A .ear ng was e on e ~etition of th~'s company for permission ~o locate poles wires and fixtures~ along the easterly side of Chickering Road, at the nor~hwesm corner of Bay State Road, i pole. Mr. Thomson made a motion that this petition be granted, seconded by Mr.~ Kirk and vo~e de6lared to be una~im~ous by Mr. Eirk~ JUROR DRAWN: ~ew ~he name of Alexander L. Taylor, 29 Saunders Street, Operative, ~o serve as a Juror on June.l, 1953 at Superior (Civil) Court at Salem. IO~ H~STORY~' CO~U~TTEE: e oar recelve a etter from John B. Osgood ~forming them that he will be happy to serve on the committee to advise and assist Mrs. NcQues~en on the compilation and writing of a to~n history. Mr. Willis will contact Rev. Clinton Carvell to find ou~ whether or no~ he is willing to serve on this committee. He had been con~acted by letter some time ago and had made no reply. Mr. Willis will inform the board of his findings. DEPARTmeNT OF BA~{ING & INSURANCE-GROUP INSURANCE: A communmca on was receive_ -rom t e Depar-ment o Banking and 'Insurance~ Division of Insurance replying to our letters of April 8 and 28, in which we requested information"relative to the interpretation of the wor~ "permanent,, as used in Chapzer 239, 'of the Acts of 1952. The letter s~ated that this Chap:er is an amendment to the Municipal Pinance Act and is not an insurance law, so that the Insurance Depar~ment,s interpretation would probably mean nothing from a practical standpoint. ~he letter furtherstatas tha~ if we will contac~Herman Dine, Director of Accounts in the State House, he will be able to comply with our request. The board voted to s end a letter to Mr. Dine, similar to the one previously sent to the Insurance Commissioner. NORTH ANDOVER BOOSTER CLUB: Mr. Joseph F. Byron came before the beard with signs ~o be installed on the £ence a~ the Little ~eague field a~ Naverley Park for t~e 1953 seasonl ~he board approved the fallowing: J. F. Byron, 5/100 store,Val,s Restaurant,Virginia,s Dept. Store,R.J. Macartnsys Ira Carty, N.A. Board of Trade,'gnitworth,s, Hilton Oil and Trembly Bros. New signs: John Costello, C.I.O., D & F. Co. Dalrymple oil, Joseph Oil: burners & Repairs ,Aegare,s Marks:, Sulli,;an ' s ~li]k and Bill, s Auto. MAY 4, 1953: continued ~-~-~iscussed the ma~er of persons who are proprietor's of liquor establishments who are willing to donate signs for this purpose. Mr. Thomson explained that the previous board had made a ruling that there would be no liquor, ads of any kind and Mr. Byron said the the Little heague would nos permit this. He did ask, however, if, for instance, William McAloon~ wished ~o donate a sign, if his name could be used, if no connection was made to his liquor business. Ail membcrs agreed that this would be permitted. LAWRENCE CENTENNIAL: Nr. Willis informed the board that the committee in town for the Lawrence Centennial Parade had requested that the Board of Selectmen take part in this show..~Ar. Willis thou~ght it wc-ld be nice if the board endorsed the local committee and~tend all the cooperation possible. They wou~d like the Board of Selectmen to be par~ of this committee. Mr. Thomson felt that the board should show neighborhood spi=it and lend the dignity of the office of the Board of Selectmen as well as favor their other efforts, the board voted unanimously to go along with this suggestion. GENgRAL RELEASE: A release was received from John Cunningham, 7 Goldsmith Street, Methuen in the amoan~ of $17.32 for the cos% of repairing his car which was damaged by the Highway Department truck on April 14: 1953. This amount wilI bo paid to ?~r. Cunningnam next week. LAWRENCE GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY. PETITION: Notice received that upon the petition of this company for determination by the Department of Public Utilities that certain lands and a substation to be erected and maintained thereon located on Pleasant Street be exempted frem the zoning by-law of said to~n of North Andover, a he'aring will be held on May 20, 1953 at 11:00 A.M. in the hearing room, 166 State.House,Boston. Mr. Thomson made a mo~ion that the board send a letter that the Selectmen inform the Public Utilities that the 'SeIectmen are in favor of this petition. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion and the vote was declared to be unanimous. SUTTON HILL ROAD: A letter w~s received from ~oland H. Sherman relative ~o the vo~e on Article 80 a~ the last annual town meeting relative to the third provision which provides that the petitioners post a bond with the Selectmen on or before June l, 1953 to assure the town that six months after thc water supply is in, the road, e to., will be ~in proper condition. Mr. Sherman s rated tha~ they expect that the ~provisinns of i and 2 of said vote will be taken care of prior to June 1st and they are anxious to know as soon as possible information as to what bond, if any, the Selectmen require. The letter further states that before the new plan of Sutton Hill Road was approved by the Planning Board, they were required to build the road according ~o very strict specifications set up bythe Planning Board, and before final approval was given, an engineer checked tho road to see that it met in all respects, the strict demands of the Planning Board. Mr. Thomson informed the other members that the cos~ of work to beI done is deter- mined.by the Highway Surveyor and if the road is in condition for acceptance, the Highway sdr~.eyor will notify us in writing and perhaps ~o bond will be required. ~The board voted torefer this to. Mr. carry and tell him to advise us as to the cost and then notify Mr. Sherman. ~U}~ER~NS M~TUAL CASUALTY COMPANY: The board received suggest~relative ~o accident control measures and vo~ed ~o refer the ma~er to the Board of Fire Engineers. The two matters brought to the attention of the board was the recommendation that some officer of the Fire Department be held responsible for checking all fire fighting equipment. Second, was that a chec~ of the operation of the automatic sprin~.ler system in the town building would be wall advised. ~The board voted unanimously to refer ~hese recommendations ~o the Board 6f Fire Engineers ~for action. DEPARTMENT HEADS: Letters were received from the Board of Assessors, the School Building Committee and the School Committee relative to the letter they received from the board with respect to-the requastlthatrany person accepting materials in behalf of .the town mus~ sign for them. Nr. Willis felt that the above departments were complying with the request. NAY 4, 1953- continued A roper was .receive 1rom Chief ~cKee stating that he had contacted Nr. Currier of the State Departmen~ and a crosswalk will be painted on Mass. Ave. near ~Waverley Road and that some "school" signs will be installed in that area. LAWRENCE GAS & ELECTRIC CO: EXCAVATIONS: ~ requ~es$ for permission to excavate to install gas service at 82 Chickering Road 20 feet in street for V~oody's Grille, was received and the board voted unanimonsiy~' to grant this permission. Mr. Carry will be notified. Similarly a request for permission to excavate ~o install gas main on Dufton Court and Chickering Road, 235 feet on Dufton Court and.45 feet on Chickering ,Road. The board approved this~request and Mr. Carty will be notified. GROUP INSURANCE: ~he board read the letter which hadbeen sent ~o Edward Schorman, of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company relative :o the proposal of group insurance which was awarded ~o this company on two conditions, 1st. that Edward Schorman, David Long, William Smith and Earl Warwick, all residents of North Andover participa%e equally insuch credit as may b'e due from orby the said company for the procure- men~ of thisbusiness and ~o share equallyin such commission as may be payable by the John Hancock Compan~ and on further agreement that said insurance company agrees ~o cover call firemen under the same terms, and conditionswhen and if call firemen are said to be eligible by the Yl.surance company. Mr. Kirk stated at this time that he haa 'objections to the contents of this letter as it is nmvwritten'although he had previously stated that he did not go along with the new vote when he was reached by telephone. He is now in accordance with the vote. . MASS. YEDERA~ION OF PLANNING BOARDS: Notice received of a scheduled meeting of' the Nerrima~ Valley Association of Planning Boards to be held in Lawrence on May 27, 19%3. No action was taken on this no:ice. SCHOOL COM~TTEE-BOARD OF PU~IC WORKS: Mr. Willis opened this discussion by informing those present that the meeting w~s called at,the request of the School Committee to Consider Jointly a problem with respect to the school buildings in to~n and since the two groups are more informed on this subject, Mr. Willis turned the meeting over ~o the chairman of~the school committee. ~ Attorney Charles Trembly said they are fanedwith.a concrete problem with the new High Schodlwhich is the largest piece of property in the town and the Kit~redge is the second lar~es~. ~he sum and substance of this problem is that there are 30 acres a~ the new high soho61 and 6 acres at the-Klttredge school which will.~require proper clipping, etc.. It appears tha~ the School Committee will have mo provide equipment and housing for same for 30 acres of land butt he committee felt that they should consultwiththe ~ownfathers and the Board of PublicWorks to'see if it would be for the best interests of the town tohave this handled by theBoard~ of.Public 3~orks. Mt. Puffy has the care of theplaygrounds au~ he maynsed new equipmen~ ~o carry out this work. Mr. ~Trombly said they felt that they should explore before they provide for heavy equipment and housing for same. The committee hasn't made up their minds as yet and he said they are probably here for advice and a discusaio~and see what can be sug&~sted as.to any other department who might handle this work. ~Will the interests of the ~ownbe better served, by the school committee solving this problem by themselves or have the Board of PublicWorks take it over. Mr. wtlliam Duffythen said that first, the Board ofPublic '~orks have no responsibility with the school grounds anditwas agreed-that this was so. Mr. Thomson then asked that we slso establish that fact for the Board of ~electmen and Mr. TTombly statedthat theschool grounds are absolutely under the school .. committee. He said the school committee hasa problem'with~."mahicuring". ~ At this point Mr~ Puffy stated that the proper words are "care and maintenance." Mr. Trembly insisted that he was interested incurring grass and Mr.,Puffy said that if they Just cut grass, p~ettysoon they will have nothing. He explained that his department has about 24 acres a~ the present time to take 'care of but if they want the Board of Yub;¢¥~orksto~assume this fortyacres, then it would be ablanket proJec~ of care and maintenance of all schools. Mr..Willis then asked if it hsd been decided that the ~best solution is te have the work come under the Boardof PublicWorks~ He said it had not been so decided. Mr. Duffy went on~o explain that there would have to be~loam put in, and fertilizer, but no~ Jus~ outtihg grass. If hot top walks are there, they have ~o be repaired. He said that everything is done by the Board of Public ~crks and this comes under care and m~tntenance. Mr. Merriman said that if they accept the phrase, care and maintenance, the ~irst point is "How can you best take care of the care and maintenance, ~o the best advantage of the town. If it is so decided that ~he Board of Public Works can best discharge this duty, then the school committee could turn iZ over to them for the best results. Second, if ~o best advantage of the townfor the school committee to do this,let's do it. MAY 4, 1953- continued: · ere was a Leng-.~y i scusslon as to ~ether or no~ the School Committee wished ~o divest themselves of the school playgrounds . ~r. Duffy said his hoard has discussed this ma~er and that he had talked with Mr. Dine as had Mr. Trembly. Mr. Duffy said they have the care of Parks and 'triangles as well as wa~er and sewer and if the School committee ~ives this to the Board of Public ~orks, the responsibility is taken right out of their hands and becomes a public works function. Mr. Thomson then said that the School Committee doss not want to relinquish control of the grounds but will relinquish tbs care and maintenance. Mr. Trembly said he did no~ object to this but they do fsel they should have control. Mr. Willis thsn said that if this is given to Mr. Duffy, everybody would come to him and ask for the use of the stadium. For instance, the'V.F.~, could ask for the use of it and they could see no reason ~o have permission refussd. Mr. Duffy said that the people are paying for this stadium and he felt that they would like to have it used but Mr. Willis said that the School Committee could say no if they maintain the grounds. Mr. O,Brien said there is no rush ~n this mattsr as the high school will no~ he available until 1954. ~e have a chance to look ahead. ~he Department of Public Ygor~s is experienced and he doesn't feel that the School Department can do this work without adding to the .budget. He felt sure that two men couldn,t take care of the grounds and the buildings. He said they have thenroblem of a gara~s for the equipment and the question of how man~ additional m~n would be needed. ~ere would be an initial expenditurs of ~4,000. Mrs. Ingram said that the capital outlay would be the same in either department. John J.~ McGsdlagat was presen~ and he stated that he was a resident im the~a~a under discussion and hs recalled that in the initial planning period of this~new project the school b~ilding committee and neighbors had discussed the future possi- . ~ ~lity of using the stadium for carnival purposes. He said they were assured at that time that the stadium would be used only for school purposes. He then-ss that if transfer of control'is given to the Board of Public ~?orks thsrsl~ght be · U a change of use to that of a public park and it would bo open ~o groups .of citizens ' alike. Mr..Merriman stated that his recollection checks with ~r. McKallagat that the grounds should be restricted and if turned over to the Public ~#orks, could it be that the property c~uld still be restricted to school use. Mr. Trembly then asked if it is best for the Board of Public Works to hav. e the care and maintenance .of thc &Tounds with the control to remain under the School committee and if so voted, could the Board of Public Works~take care of this. He said we don,t want to clutter up questions. Mr. Duffy said that divided responsibility does not work well. Mr. WiIris suggested that the responsibility of care and maintenance beplac~d in the hands of the Public l~orks and restrict the authority. · . Mr. Rock stated that if the Board of Public Works has %o buy equipment and plan on housing same, why not let the Schoeldepar~man~ do this and.keep all responsibility and authority under that committee. After further discussion a given date to report and meet with the Selectmen, the meeting~adJourned and the two departments will report back on ~June 8, at 8 o'clock with the Selectmen. In the interim, the school committee and Bosrd of Public Works will meet together to discuss this matter on May 28, 1953. ST~rgN$ HAL~: ' Edward Garvey was granted oermission to use Stevens Hall on Memorial Day, .in behalf of the Memorial Day Commit%ee~ as in thepast. DUMP SITE COMMITTEE: A meeting was held at 8:30 P.M. with the Dump Site Committee to discuss the~ma~er of e new dump site as voted under Article 18, of the .annual town meeting. Ira D. Carry, John Gandette, Advisory Board, Frank Drisco~l, Planning Board, .Dr. Kay and George Caren, Board of Health and the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Thomson questioned the vote as given by town clerk, John Lyons and Dr. Kay, John Willis and Ira Carry also questioned the last paragraph which stated that the committee shall repor~ ~o a ~o~ meeting, the result of their findings. Mr. Willis opened the hearing by stating that the firs~ s~ep is to elect a chairman. Mr. ~homson made a motion that John Willis' act as ch~ir~a~ of.the Dump Site committee. Motion was seconded and vo~e was declared mo be unanimous. · Dr. Julius Kay stated'that it ~ould be be~er ~o pick a place that is fairly isolated. He talked about the dump and fill method and he said that his board has access to the Sanitary Engineer in the State and he would be willing to help out in any way. His board will not tolerate .open dumping but he still felt that it should be keot away from residential areas. He felt that it would require a man on full time f~r this method and that would preven~ people from bringing in their own refuse...Dr. Kay said that his board has viewed all the sites and they ars in favor of the ~Rogers site. Mr. Willis said that Dr. Kay feels that the dump should be in an isolated area bu~ q we have Rogers, Burke and Rea sites to disQuss but it doesn't necessarily mcan that it mush be dump and fill method. He inquired if the Board of Health is opposed to any other method, other than dump and fill. Dr. Kay said they were unless they could have a location where there were no houses. He thought theywmre right in condemning the Perry Street dump. The article' was checked and it definitely states dump and fill method must be used. Mr. Thomson said that we have funds for the Perry Street dump or we have money for a dump and fill method. He suggested that perhaps the two ~ew members should view the sites before making a decision. Mr. Willis inquired about the Burke site and Mr. Driscoll stated that~ it was too small and would soon be filled up aad also ~there is a waterway there. Dr. Kay said there is a specific law.that you can,~ dump in s~a~e tributaries. There was considerable discussion on this matter and the board finally decided to consider the' Rogers site first. Mr. Kirk made a motion that we ask Mr. R~gers to come to the meeting next Monday at §:15 P.M.-to discuss this matter. Motion was seconded by Frank Driscoll with ~r. ~homson recorded as not vo~ing and Mr. Willis opposed ~o the Rogers site, all other members voting in favor. Mr. Willis said ~hat according te the To,m Clerk we must report at the next town meeting and he suggested that we have the Town Clerk give us a certification of the vote on Arti61e 18 and also that Elwyn King be contacted to get. his decision. The regular weekly meetings of the Board of Selectmen was held at. 7:00'P.M. with all members present. ~¥eekly bills and payrolls were approved. TREE REMOVAL HEARING: A hearing ~as held on the request of Edward Greene, 300 Chestnut Street, for the removal of a tree which interferes with the driveway. Mr. Conners, tree warden, was present and he agreed that the tree should' be removed. Mr. Thomson made a motion that the board grant the request and inBtruct t~e ~reewardan to remove the tree. Mr. Kirk seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. - ~AILOR COMPLAINT: A group of residents in the Chickering Road and Dufton Court area came before the bo~rd to complain about a trailer parked on the property of Mr. & Mrs..McMurray, Dufton Court. Robert Nelb, .47 Chickering Road informed the board that the petition presented tonight represents the persons opposing the trailer which..is established on Dufton Court. Mr. Willis informed those present that the Sele.~bmen have written to the building inspector asking him to investigate and report back to the board on this matter and no reply has been received to date. He said the enforcing officer under the moning by-law is the building inspector. }~r. ~homas Shapcott stated that the trailers are there because permission has been granted by the owner of the property and he ~ould say that he is in the Trailer Park business. He inquired if he would be allowed to do that. Mr. Willis asked if he '~re actually conducting a business and Mr. Shapcott replied that he definitely is but he probably won~ tell the building .inspector that, slthough they know that rent is being paid to him for %he land. The petition presented was signed byeight residents and they suggest that this puts a degrading aspec~ on the community and they feel it is an imposition and suggest that it be abolished from this residential section of the town. They object to the %we trailers, now located there. They didn't mind the first one but now with another one, it is too much. To Mr. Tnomson's ~uestion as to whether or not the owner has indicated ~is intention to put in more trailers, Mr. Shapcott stated that he had not but that it looks like a shanty town at night. Mr. Thomson said that trailers become taxable when .tsken off wheels and it then loses the character of a trailer. · Mr. Willis said it ~ould seem that thiscould be worked out amicably but we should take it up with the other parties. He said that the problem rested with the' Zoning Board a~d suggested that they take the matter up with them. Francis Driscoll of the Planning Board is opposed to this trailer. Mr. Thomson said that the primary question is business. The matter comes under the Board of Selectmen since the building inspector comes under the selectmen and is appointedbby them. Tae matter will bounce back to the Selectmen. He suggested that thw owner of the prope.~ and the building inspector be invited to come in and discuss this with the board to see if a business is being conduct6d and satisfy us on this point. Mr. Willis said he thought the same as Mr. Thomson and we must determine if. a business is being carried on and that is our problem. If Mr. McMurray is in business, we will take s~eps to correct this. Mr. Thomson said he was perfectly aware of the complaint and is in sYmpathy with the residents and he suggested that we have the building inspector and the owner of the property involved come in nex~ Monday, Nay 18, at 7:30 P.M. He also suggested that Er. Chapcott and any others may be present at the next meeting.