HomeMy WebLinkAbout1953-09-28 Board of Selectmen MinutesS~PTEMBER 28, 1953: (continued)
Permission has been requested to excavate to install gas main on He~tt Avenue,
(18 feet on Chestnut Street and 927 feet on Hewitt Ave. T~e Hoard vo~ed
to grant this request.
- Permission has been requested for permission to install six gas services on
Avenue.(93 feet on He~t$ Ave).. ~he boardvo~ed unanimously to grant this
R~NT CONTROL .BOARD:
Letter received from the Sta~e Housing Rent Co-ordinator relative to the a
of the Ranz Control Act, Chapter 434, Acts of 1953. ~e letter sta~es .that no
· records shall be disposed of without the aoproval of the Archivist of the U. S.
It also states that records or data and the cabinets or containers holding such
records ,or data shall be made available subject to recall.
Under section 4, of Chapter 434, the Rent Coordinator must approve and certify/the
comptroller all of the expenditures of the various Rent Boards in order that forty
per cent of such amounts may~be reimbursed~by the Commonwealth. In this connect
the State Housing office must be furnished with all invoices, .v, ouchers, and
,, records, or certified copies,thereof, showing proof of payment. ~hey also
that a tentative budget of the Rent Hoard for the period ending June 30~ 1954.
be forwarded, so that an estimate may be made of the reimbursement to be provided,
by the state.
The Board voted unan£~ously to refer this lette.rto the Rent Control Hoard.
MASS. SEk~CTMEN'S ASSo.CIAZION:
Memorandum received with a notice 'from theUSPecial Commission on the S?~ncture
-~ of the State Government, usually called the "Baby Hoover Commission.,.~
~j A hearing is ~o be held on October, l, 1953 at the State House a~ 10:30 ~M'%~in ·
Room423. ~he memo requests tha~ ~his no~ice Of hearing be posted and the
board agreed tha~ this should be done. . ..,.-
APPLICA~ON FOR LICENSE:
,- Mr..Gaston 0wril, .manager of ,the Lawrence branch of the Eastsrn·~Mass. Street
~Railway Company appeared before the Board relative t'o the company.s application :'
..... for.'a'license to operate motor vehicles for the carriage of passengers for hire
~' - (1) on Sutton Street, between!the .r, awrmuce .Muntcipul (Richard Condon). Airport
:'" and ~Osgood'Street; and (2) On Osgood Street, between Sutton Street and,the North
,",~i~-~. '~. 'Andover - Havenhill boundarytine.~,~ Abcordingto Mr~ Owril, the purpose of:the
~' ,-/ request ,is. to ma~e available, bus service to .the ~proposed ~'gestern ~E1
- new ,plant on'~Osgood Street and a similar request is'being, made of
'city council.to extend the Ward Hill service to.this 'new industrial' site. ~ ,Mr.
Thomson asked .Mr.- Owril~ how much curtailing of service,~there .had been,in. North
Ando,~er and Mr. Owril replied that !North Andover has fared well· in recent curtail-
ment undertakings with some loss of service on'SaturdaY and he hadded,that with
' the North Andover and ~atlroad Avanue-High~bus ,lines,. the residents~ have .combine-'"
tion half hour 'service. He didlsay that last Sunday, ~wo trips were off in the_ ':·
morning. ~he board voted 'to,set this ,down:for a hearing on Monday, October 19,
· ~' 1953 at 7:45P.M. ' .'~
HEARING-LAwp~NCE ~" :~ ~'
ELECTRIC COMPANY: . . .~.
on.~ne southerly, westerzy, and eas'terly sidesof-Pleasant~ St.:, ..from.a point,
-approximately:27 feet westerly and northerly from Great' Pond .Road, we.sterly.and.
northerly,~,lO poles; on the westerly side of Pleasant Street,, at'a po~nt.appraxi~~.
· mately 1752 ~feet northerly ffrom~Oreat Pond.~oad, 1 pole; and on..the: westerly.side~
of Stevens 'Street, at a point approximately 72 feet northerly from the inter-
section of Stevens and Pleasant Streets, 1 pole., :Mr. Paul ¥~ood inquired~as .~o the.
· ,location,, ~he Board voted unanimously to grant' permission.
HEARING-JOINT PETITZON: .
?he Lawrence Electric Company and
· mission to locate poles, wires and fixtures on the easterly side .of~Pleasant. St.,
at .a~ point approximately 147-feet southerly from Stevens St., 1 pole; on the
westerly side of Pleasant St. ,' at points approximately 293 ~feet~ ~33 feet, 650
feet, 759 ,feet and 1177 feet .southerly from Stevens Street, .5 poles; andon the
easterly side of Pleasant Street, at points approximately 904 feet and 1039 feet
southerly from Stevens St., 2 poles. (4 existing J.O. locations to be abando~ed~)
?he Board voted unanimously to grant permission.
~ SEPTEMBER 28, 1953 (continued)
POLICE DEPARTMENT--Reports from Chief:
Chief McKee notified the Board that he had checked on the condition on .mleasant S:.
from Clarendon to Elm and felt that this should be a one-waystreet from El~ Street
~o Clarendon with nc parking on the left side from Elm t o Clarendon. He stated that
this was a very narrow s:ree~ and they have had signs pla~edthere but with par~ing
on both sides, it creates a serious fire hazard as well as a dangerous conditionwith
regard to the many children in that area.
Chief McKee also suggested that the same'condition existed on Cross Street and he
would recommend that Cross Street be made one wayfrom Church Street to Elm as it is
difficult to get through Cross Street with parking on both sides, particularly on
Sundays and it is definitely a fire hazard. Mr. Eirk thought~the report of Chief
McKee's was excellent.,,~he Board voted to hold a public hearing on October 19, 1953
at. 8:00 P.M. relative to having Pleasant Street a one-way street from Elmto
Clarendon Street with no parking on the left side from Elm to Clarendon Street.
POLICE DEPARTMENT-Re. land to the town from Mr. Kasparian:
Chief McKee informad the board that Mr. Easpar Kasparian, 21 Lincoln Street, is
building a house at the corner of Greene Street and .Hiddlesex Street and he is
willing to give. the :own a part of this corner if the town will remo~e a portion
of a stone wall. Mr. McKee said ~that this is a dangerous corner and there have
been many accidents there. The Board agreed to ksk Mr. Brasseur to consult with Mr.
KaSparian about this corner and to send a reply to Mr, Kasparian and let him know
the steps to be taken.
APPOIN ~NT-RENT CONTROL'.BOARD:
The Board appointed Raymond Brcadhead, 107 Pleasant Street, %o the l%nt Control
,Board, replacing F~in C. Murphy who recently resigned.
DOG OFFICER:
Stanley Euturlia, .Dog Officer, submitted his report to the Board.
~?,ETING RE: Article 73 of the warrant for.1953z
Mr. Willis informed those present that the board had 'called this meeting at the request
of Mr. Coppola. He explained that due to land, court trouble Mr. Coppola was unable to
post the Bond required in the vote of the article, by~ June 1. He has asked that we .waive
/the.requirement and ~hen he could go ahead and finish his place. ~r. Willis felt that no
..action could be taken until the Advisory Board representative sat in.with the. Selectmen,
,Mr. ,Duffy, Attorney~McCarthy and Mr. Coppula.. Mr. Duffy is unable to be present but he
sent.a letter with respect to ~using two-inch water pipe in this location. . The letter
stated that the policy, of the Board of PubliQ.Works is to install ~6 inch.~or larger cement
.linedcast iron,mains on all ways, public or private,l~and,no%,to install ~rater pipes of'a
:-small,size as.- a temporary or permanent means .of water supply~ on' any street, public or
~? private or on private property, or across privates, property, where the ,installation of 1 such
small size temporary pipes would not provide for fire protection.
~Attorney~ Charles McCarthy stated that he .had, checked various angles on the Board of Public
.Works 'and inquired when the Board of Public-1J0rksl started on their own. He said the %?ater Dept.'
..... Act was totally rewritten in,1938 'and that some predecessors, of. the Selectm~n have turned
certain things to the~Deparmment of Public 7~orks but~he asked again.when %he Wa%er
~partment first start in.this, town. d~r. ~Coughlin/thought it was kn 1906~',
'~e-r'e was further discussion as to what c~uld be done in this .case and Mr..McCarthy felt
,t~rat the deadline of June 1, crea~es a hardship.
Mr.'. Coughlin mentioned that he felt that Mr. ,Duffy sh&uld do .this workout of his appro -
~be ~respo~sible for the requlre~nts .o£ the article as voted.,
J/~Mr. :Willis stated that ~we must adhe'i% to the requirements of the, article' and it all boils
~ downjto the fact .that he didn' t' have the money. Mr. McCarthy inquired if he did not think
'this ~was a hardship. ~- _.
?~ff~r.i Coughlin stated that we set a date and he did n~ comply. He .suggested that ~&r. "'~
McCarthy go to Mr;.D~uffy and see .if he can' do this wo4k and if necessary he could ge~ a
transfer;from the,R serve .Fund, ~
Mr. Thomson stated ~hat Mr. Coppola could prevail:uponM~.'Duffy to do thi.~' work, or he
could request a special town meeting or he could do the work himself if he could ge~ per-
.mission'from the Board of Public ~forks.
Mr;'W~llis stated .that if Mr. Coppola wants the water bad enough he will make some
.,merit.but·he didn.t see how the Selectmen could do any differently, in this case. ~he
vote of the .,town was ~ade and it' is beyond our province to change this vote.
Mr. T~omson made a motion to take this matter under advisement' and the board voted on his
. mo%ion unanimou/~y. Mr. McCarthy will contact Mr. ~Duffy and see what can be done through
.,,his 'department as suggested by Mr. Coughlin.
RESERVE POLICE ELIGIBLE' LISTs
X certification formwas received from the Division of Civil Service, listing
the names of persons eligible for appointment ~o the ~serve Police Force, ~nd
three names were listed..John J' Lanni, 166 ~?ater St. 85.73; Eonald F. Heggarty,
118 Beverly Street, 77/14 and Paul U. Lafond, 2% Baldwin St. 77:00- all of whom
are veterans.
The form was changed to ~wo vacancies because a termination notice had not been
sen~ in on Freeman Barteaux. However, the Chief of Police had received a notice
Zo this effect and a termination notice was-mailed in on September 24, 1953. ~he
board voted to wait until next week to make the appointments on account of
the lateness in sending in the required form.
TREE DEPAR%W~ENT:
Tree Narden John J. Connors came before the board to again dis=uss the matter.
of disposing of brush. Mr. Connors stated that there are private persons who have
brush, to burn or dispose of and theywont allow it to be put in the newdumping
area. He has'looked over.the town and'feels that if one end of the new site were
held for .this one purpose there would be no bbJectionable smoke.
Mr. ~home~on said he felt that it could be done under controlled supervision and
that it could be worked out with the Fire, Highway and Tree Department. The board
left it this way and Mr. Connors will take care of burkhng the brush on certain
days when there is no wind. . ·
BOARD OF TRADE- HENRY LUND:
Henry ~und came before ~he board and informed {hem at the last meeting of the
Board of Trade, they wanted .someone who can give out the pr. oper information to
people coming into town to check on business locations. It was said that the~
town officials did not give the Glennie~, Inc. any cooporation with respec% to
18 acres of land at the Farnum School and they ~are leaving town.
In discussing this a% the meeting of the Board of Trade, i~ was suggested.~that~tm~:
there should be someone to &o to, -one~ person or a Committee. He said~ M~;.-Duffy
should be considered and the Board of Trade wanted to take this matter, up with 'the
Selectmen.' · .
~r. Thomson felt tha~ anyone interested in coming into the tow~ should come' first
to the .Selectmen, Assessors or the Board of Public ~prks and who would know~, more
abou~ thes'e problems than the above mentioned .persons. . . m,
Mr;Kirk'ask'e~d 'if the Industrial' Planning Board doesn't take care of such:mattsrs.
He also felt that the Industrial Planning Board should be dtilized by the Board
Of Trade.
Mr. Willis asked Mr. Lund.,to explain that the Selectmen are :fully ~n accord with
the Board of Tra~e and wo{ild'suggest that' this .is ~a tremendous Job for one
individual and suggested that the matter be referred ~O the Industrial planning
Board.
MASSJ SE~ ASSOCIATION.
The members willwait until the next meeting to decide which days the~ plan
attend the conference which is to he held on OctoberlS,'16'a~di71
1-N ~ITTENT POLICE: '
Mr.:~illis'informe~d the board that if the Reserve List is filled he feels'that
there will be men avaLlaBle and ~hat there would be no need of appointing the
intermittent men.
Mm~ Thomson said he would go along with that providing that .the~Res~rves are
availabl~ when needed. Iftheyrefuse to work after two or three time~, then he
felt that-the~should be out. He said he saw no reasbn why a ~An sH6Uld~b~ on
the ReSe~v6List who is waiting only for a permanent appointment. He should work
-out his experience.
Mr. Willis said that the men on the night shift would be willing to Work days
and let the Reserves work nights and this would solve the problem of getting
men during the day.
Mr. ~Thomsonfelt that the men should be' informed on appointment that they must
accep~ employmentwhen given. This will be stressed when the men are appointed
next ~ond~y. . ... :
'PGLICE AND'FIRE CHIEF COnfOUnDED:
TheSelectmen received a letter from Wllliam J. Barry of the Barry Aero Service
informing the Selectmen that the :hief of Police arrived at the scene'of the
near tragedy on September~ when~a plane crashed at the~airpor% before the fire
whistle stopped blowing. He felt that the chief should'be highly comm~nded for
his quick ~thinking in calling the ambulance before he left the stat%gn even though
it was not required as the pi~ot was fortunate in getting ou~ of the plane be-
forethe explosions. Mr. Barry also commended the fire chief and members of his
department for their fine cooperation in handling the fire.
Mr. Thomson said he would like .to commen~ on this letter and suggested that the
Board sent a letter of commendation to the Police and Fire Chief and members of
the fire department for their handl'ing of the matter. He mentioncd that he had
feared that something of this nature might happen when the chief was deprived
of his car some time ago because of the expense of $25.00 monthly which had been
allowed to %he chief. The chief refused to use his car on a mileage basis a~ that
time.
Mr. Thomson made a motion that the Selectmen officially commend Chief McKee and
the Fire Chief and members of this department for their part in the accident.
Mr. Kirk seconded the motion. Mr. Willis felt that the situation couldn't have
been,too serious or the Chief would bring the matter %o the attention of the Board.
He would like .to know where the car was going "enroute to Lawrence,,. He said,
however, that ho would go along with the recommendation of the 'board and the vote
was unanimous that a letter of commendation be sent to both'dep.~rtments.
· HARVEY RADIO CO,ANY- POLICE DEPARTMENT BILL:
Mr. Willis informed the board that he had written a letter ~o the Harvey Radio Company
relative to a bill for the Police Department in 1948. Mr. Willis conducted his own
investigation and found an invoice in 1948 in the amoun~ of $250. Tnere was another
invoice marked complete billing in the amoun: of $5.67. Mr. Willis wrote a letter
to Mr. John Zanni, whomprasents the Harvey Radio Laboratory. It resolves i.tself into
this- in 1948 they had a poor system of accounting although Mr. Willis felt that the
- Chief was careless in not checking this matter more thoroughly.
Mr. ~homson said that subsequent to FeSruary 3, 19~8, upon receiving a 'bill' marked
final payment it would be assumed that there was no 'other bill pending. On their
very own statement that they sent no bills out un,il 1950 and then did not contact
the departmen~ until 1952 the matter could have been completely forgotten byythe
Chief. ~he continual correspondence figures that a bill is due but th~ chief should
have done something prior to 1952.
Mr. Willis said that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that some person may
'have taken the money. ~he next point is, if we reso]ge that a bill is due and payable
where do we get the m~ney. If Town Counsel advises us that the bill is due and payable
we should ~ay it. My conclusion is to revert this to Town Counsel' and le~ him deal
with Mr. Lanni and see if w~ .owe the bill and 'if not, 'defend the suit if necessary.
Mr.. Kirk said it is not too unusual to have this happen in some companies and he is
only disturbed that it may have been paid previously. He felt that 'the~'board should
ask~ the chief if he .bought the'material' andif so, then it ~ill have to ~be~paid; He
said that many firms do not send out statements. ' ~
Er. ~ho~son said that the chief could go through Miss Finn's records and see what bills
have been paid and determine if.this one is outstanding.
Mr. Willis said he would like to have the chief sit in %-ith the board and' see if it
..~ can'.be.straightened out and if not, then he suggested that we have-'Town Counsel represent
~s at the suit~ Tee board agreed to have the' chief~come in a~ l:OOP.M~ 'oh'October
[~' ~ when m the .board wd] ] meet ' · ·
· '~ The/Board of Selectmen me: at 7:30 'P.M.. with al!'me~mbers°pr~esant.~ Weekly ~'~%1 s and
payrolls were approved.
CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS VOTE:
Nicholas Nicetta and Howard. Gilman met with the board to confirm the previous vote
of~ the Board of Selectmen on the appointment of Frank'Lee as a mem~r of t~e Planning
i "Board. On motion of Mr. Kirk, the vote was made unanimbUs by all presentl:
,ANNUAL A. A. AWARD '
~1 ~' Inspector~LaRosi has invited the Board of Selectmen or a representative, to meet at
~ the Johns6n High~ SchooI Assembly .Hall on October 7,' 1953 ~at lO:3O ~.M.' When .the~annual
· A'.A. Award will be' made to the P~lice Departmen~t for' their .slafe handling 0f~ school
children. In the absence of the Chief,. Sergeant Hilton was asked to attend but he
feels .that Officer L~wis is more familia~ with this:work and he is ~h~~ on~. who~'should
~ ·~ be. there to ~eceive~ the award. He' will suggest this t~ Offi~cer L~wis. ' It was sug-
gested that the Selectmen invite ~ra D.' Carry a~t any other interested perSons. ~here
~will~'be three officials from Boston and two from th~ Registry. O~ the mo~i~n of Mr.
T~omSon, it was voted that Chairman Willis would attend this meeting.
~ROR 1 DP~VN ~'
A .Juro~ was drawn by Mr. Kirk to serve at the Civil Sessi6n, Lawrence, on November 2,
1953 and the name of Ida E. Fellows, 18 Wiley Cgurt, Housewife, was drawn'.
DEPT. OF LABOR & INDUSTRIES:
A retail price index of specific goods and services in large Mass. cities for .the
period from mid-August 1953 ~o mid-Sept. 1953 was received by the Board.
PAMPHLET RE: VE'.t~ANS, THEIR DEPENDENTS, ETO;
~he Selectmen received a pamphlet relating to Veterans, their dependents, persons in
the armed forces and veterans' organizations from' th~ Committees on'Ru~es of the T~o
Branches ·