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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1954-03-08 Board of Selectmen MinutesMARCH 8, 1954: ~meeting of the Board of Selectmen mst ac 7:30 P.U. with all members present. ~e~$bers Willis, Kirk and Finneran comprise the new board for the year 1954 ~o March 1955. Weekly bLlls and payrolls were approved. RE-0RGANrZAT~0N OF BOARD: Mr. Willis as chairman of the previous board of Selectmen informcd the other members that the firs~ action is the re-organization of the Hoard and that a chairman should be first appointed for the Board of Selectmen, the Hoard of Public ~eZfare and the Licensing Hoard. Mr. Kirk made a mo~ion that John J. ~';illis be appointed chairman of-~he Board of Selectmen, seconded by Mr. Finneran and the vote was declared to be unanimous. BOARD OF PUBLIC WELFARE: Mr. Willis made a motion that Mr. Kirk be appointed chairman Of' the Board of Public '~elfare, 'seconded by Mr. Finneran and vote was declared to be unanimous. LICENSING BOARD:. ~r. Willis m~de a motion that Mr. Finneran be appointed chairman of the License Board and this was seconded by Mr. Kirk and*declared to be 'a unanimous vo~e. CIERK OF THE HOARDS: ~. l"Lillis made'a motion that Arthur p. Kirk be appointed Clerk of the Hoard of Selectmen, 'seconded by Mr. Fiuneran and declared to be a unanimous vote. Mr. Kirk made a motion that John J. Willis be appointed clerk of the Hoard of Public Welfare, seconded by Mr. Ftnneran and delcared to-be a~unanimous vo~e. Mr. Kirk made a motion.that John J. Willis be appointed ~lerk of the License · Board, seconded by Mr. Finneran and delcared to be unanimous vo~e. APPOIN ~ TS: ,,. Mr. Kirk made a motion that ~ll other appointments be held over un~il '~ext week so tha~ Mr. FLuneran~ the new'member, may acquaint himself with the appetr~tme?ts 'to be made~ Mr. Willis seconded this. motion and vote wae ,declared ii .be Unanimous. COmPLAINT-DRAINAGE: Mr. Stephen Helbick came before the board to comPlain about the drainage on his prooerty and he wanted the Selectmen to look it over. He said-that'there is now a big ditch there 'about six feet deept and it is very dangerous. He said he has lost about 25 feet of loan. ' !~r. Willis informed him that the Selectmen had held a c?~fcgence with .an, engineer from the State Department with the hope that ~hey would' **ake care of bhi~ He said the Department is conducting a survey ~o see what can be done ac this location. : Mr. Kirk stated tha~ he had'looked over this 'condition and he feels ~at it is very dangerous for children. ~rA Willis informed Mr. Helbick that the board would send a letter to the s~a~e and see if they would cooperate and remedy this condition. CIVIL SERVICE APPRO~A~: Approval was received from the Director of Civil Service on the appo£ntment of Donald Thomson as Fire Chief'for a period of six months or un~il an appoint- ment is made from an eligible list which is ~o be established by an examination to be held in the near future. Salary is Set ac $79~28 weekly. LETTER OF- C0I~E~ATION RE: RECEi~ FIRE ON PRESCOTT: . · The board received'a letter from Gerard Chapin, 140 Prescott Street, e~ressing appreciation for the timely and effective action of the Fire Department when - fire destroyed their barn on March 4th last. They were greatly impressed with the way the acting chief (Donald ~homson) directed the men. Re asked that this message be conveyed ~o acting Chief ~Taomson and the other members of .the Fire Department. The Board voted co ~'ccept this letter and refer a copy of same '~co the Fire Engineers. Mr. Finneran made a motion that the Board of 'Selectm~n add their commendation for the excellent Job done ac this fire. Mr. Kirk seconded"the~otiod and the vote was unanimous. A letter will be sene ~o the Board 1of Engineers with a copy of ~r. Chapin's Ietter~ -LAWR~¢CE GAS COMPANY: A .~tition requesting permission co excavate to install gas~se=vice on Holbrook Road, l0 feet in street, was'received~ The board'voted unanimously to grant permission. Mr. Carty will be notified of this excavation. SCHOOL CO~TTEE: A letter w~s received from the School Committee relative ~o the relocation of Routes 28 and 110 and giving the unanimous vote of the committee. 1. To pretest vigorously the relocation of Route llO as suggested on the ground that i~would cuc through the most densely proulated part of the Town and be MARCH 8, 1954: continued and be a serious threat to the safety of school children, especially those going ~o the new high school. 2. To refrain from recording an opinion as ~o the relocation of Route 28 because of ~he proposed East Route which wouldprobably no~ affect the safety of the school children. The Board voted to accept the letter and keep it on file as part of the information to be submitted to Commissioner Volpe. RENT CONTROL BOARD: A le~er was received from the Rent Control Board i~orming the Board that th.~ intend to hold a public hearing and they are required to. notify the Board of Selectmen. The hearing will be held in the Court Room on March 22, 1954 at 7:30 P.M. No action taken excep~ to place the letter on file. REQUEST FOR REMOVAL OF TREES: A request for removal of a tree at the corner of }~arblehead and Union Streets was received from James Weeks. The tree is obstructing the driveway and the tree warden feels that this tree should'be removed. ~l~e board voted unanimously to refer this mat~er to the ~ree warden for proper action. A hearing will be held on ~ '~arch 22, 1954 at 7:30 P.M. A request from O. E. Faraci, Maple Ave. was received for the removal ob a tree at the corner of ~aple Avenue and Second Street. A hearing will be held on this reques: on ~arch 22, 1954 at ~:30 P.M. ~his tree is interfering with the sewer pipes and Mr. Connors has checked the location. MO~ SUPERINTEND~2~T APPOINTMENT: . The Board voted unanimously on motion of Mr. Finneran to appoint John J. Connors as Moth Superintendent~ in accordance with the requirements of Section 13, Chapter 660, Acts of 1948 of the GeneraiLaws. ...:NO~,~NATION OF INSPECTOR OF ANI~ALS: The Board held over this appointment until nex~ week. They also accep{ed an application for this 'appointment from E. C. Bulger, V~M.D. until next week when~ail Appointments will be mane. DA~AGECOMPLAINT: The board discussed a damage comolaint subaittedbyMrs. Rose Cashmau~for repairing her auto, which was damaged on Dale Street on February.2, 1954~ and caused bythe icy condition of the street. Mr. Willis said he was'lquite sure that ~s. Cashman would settle for h~lf the cost (total cost for repairs ~as $~00) but he still felt that was ~ very large amount. Mr. Kirk questi6n~dtif~ the board should negotiate without town counsel and Mr. Willis explained hew the accident h~npened and he felt that there was no liability on the part of the ~own. He said he would be willing to refer this to town counsel and settle for a~ least half plus the lawyer's fee. Mr. Kirk made s motion that the claim be referred ~o Attorney Arnold Salisbury for investigation and decision. Mr. FinnerAn inqnired as to whether there would be any publicity and Mr. Willis explained that there would be none unless their was a suit. Mr. Willis seconded Mr. Kirk's motion making the vote a majority vote and ~r. Finneranwas recorded as no~ voting. The matter will be referred to Attorncy Arnold Salisbury for a decision. HEARING RE: TRUCKS ON PRESCOTT STREET: Eight~residents of Presco~ Street came before the board at their request to discuss the matter of trucks using Prescott Street. Mr. Willis stated that the purpose of calling them in was that at a previous meeting with Mr. Kent and Mr. McCabe of ~tevens co. it had been'sugges~ted by Mr. Kent that he would call on each resident and talk with them about this matter but he had to go away and he couldn't do this. The board received s letter from Mr. Kent which was read by the chairman. Mr. Willis felt that this was ducking the issue and he told MrJ Kent Just t~at. The board then called a meeting tonight and he felt all persons presen~ were pretty familiar with conditions. He mentioned that the new member, Mr. Finneran had not sat in at any meetings but he was probably familiar with the conditions. ~ilbur. Harvey s~ated that Prescott Street was not'built f or he~vytrucks. The road has descended from one side to the other, the road is too narrow to make a turn; the trucks speed downhill and they are going up in pairs again. He oaid that under the statute the trucks have s right to use ~in Street, which is a chapter 90 road and they should use it. Mr. Carse inquired as ~o how many protests had been received from ~ain ~treet as compared to Prescott Street. Mr. Willis explained that the problem first started with the Hemingway trucks and there were many complaints about trucks going up Main Street and on Waverley MARCH 8, 1954-continued $ ~_. '1 ~ s~a~_ _ ~.--_a.~ the Selectmen referred this complaint to Chief Mckee and recuested t~at he make a survey and check the best routes and make his recommend- ations to this beard, with respect to Stevens trucks as well as Jenkins. The result was that the Chief suggested that the Hemingway trucks could use Sutton Street to Merrimac Street and go through Lawrence and if going in the other direc- tion they could use Osgood Street. The Jenkins trucks use Merrimac Street also. He suggested that the ~. T. ~tevens trucks use Prescott Street and this was the most accessible route, with the leamt number of people involved. Main Street ha~ three churches, schools and many children. The problem is to get the trucks out of to~rn as soon as possible. Mr. Willis. said that this hever brought any pressure on anyone and they felt that the~ should go along with the Chief's recommendation. He said that the board did no~ locate them arbitrarily on Prescott Street. · Mr. Carse suggested that the trucks use tho Osgood first and then go right into Stevens Moll and as long as they keep them off Prescott Street at night and early morning the residents will not .complain. .Mr. Willis explained that the Osgood Mill is a loading point for the trucks coming from the C~outhern Mills and that it would be better for all concerned if they had . loading facilities at the Stevens ~lls. Mr. WilbUr again discussed trucks on Prescott ~treet at ]2.:30 .A.M. on Sunday morning and speeding. He called the Police Depar. tment but they informed him that they were ~lthin the law as far as 12:30 A.M. on Sunday. He said that they are willing ~o take their share of these trucks but not 100%. Mr. Willis said they have authority to regulate them on any street except Chapter 90 roads. With regard to the use of Prescot~ Strect~ the Selectmen have the right to limit them but they must give them an alternate route. Mr. Kirk suggested that we may be able to limit them to a sm~ller number 6ut he preferred to wait until Mr. Kent w~ present before giving out any further Harry Welch mentioned the driveway at Hainsworth's Insurance Agency as being their own private way and they wouldn't disturb anyone but could then go on Main Street w~ich is Chapter 90. ~.~'. Kirk said he felt that all agreed that it was up ~o Stevens Co. to se~ what they om: do. The board agreed that the delay in contacting the residents was not .what .~ they wanted. There was further discussion as to the bridge being unsafe on their private way .and why they couldn't use Main Street. Mr. Willis again said that they want to keep them off Main Street if possible, for if they use it at night, they will use it during the day and there are too many children.. Mr.~Kirk said he felt that these prople are deserving of somerelief and the board will do all they can for them.· Hr. Willis said .it was extremely important that ~e cooperate with ~. T. Stevens as ~ they employ many people and w~ are fortunate in having two mills in-~,own that are operating.. . So many of the mills in Lawrence are closed completely. Mr. Kirk suggested that if there is speeding they could call this office if they do not get results a~ the Police Station. ~hose present were ~Lucy Prescott, Mr. John Carse, ~tlb~r- Harvey, Mr. Edward Lawton, Kenneth Rollins, Frank Andrews, Frod Mackintosh. M~.. F~red Kent and Edward NcCabe then came into the meeting.end.Mr. Willis explained that the residents had been very cooperative and that the chief complaint was traf- fic at night between ten o'clock P.M. and 4 A.M. The board feels that the .complaint is legitimate and every~, hing possible should be done to relieve this situation. ~here was a discussion as to Just what could be done by changing routes, preventing the trucks from coming in between ten at night and four in the mor~%ng. Mr. Willis suggested going up the shop hill, do~n Water Street to Main, to Sutton to Merrimac and through Lawrence to the highway. Mr. McCabe said they were fighting .to keep this business in the town and they can't go to any big expenses. There would quite a number of miles involved in this new suggested route. ~'~r. Kirk said they had promised action tonight on night trucking and some of these people are infirm and old and ne. ed relief. }.~. Kent and ~A-. McCabe will study this condition and will report back to the Selectmen on March 15, 1954. REQUEST FOR STREET LIGHTS: Mr. Willis had received e reques~ for.street lights ·from George Lumb, Clifton Berry, Harry Berry and Louis Kmiec, now.that there are poles located on the turnpike. ~he Board voted to request the Lawrence Electric Company to make a survey and recommend the size and location for these lights. SECRETARY APPOINTED PRO TEM: ~Ar. Willis made a mo~ion that Mrs. Lillian Dearden be appointed Secretary of the Board o. Selectmen pro tern so that she may be paid for her duties as of this time. Mr. Kirk seconded this motion and Mr. Finneran said he was in favor of this motion but he didn't like "pro Tern". Vote was unanimous. OFFER PROPERTY TO TOWN FOR A PRICE: Philip Sutcliffe pre§ented a let%er to the Selectmen which sta~ed that Mrs. Gile would be willing to sell her property in the rear of Fianeran,s Drug Store