HomeMy WebLinkAbout1956-05-0720T
MAY
The regular weekly meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:30 P.M. with
all members~ present. Weekly bills and payrolls were approved.
COMPLAINT:
William Sullivan of Hewitt Ave. came befo~ t~eboard ~o complaint abou~ Jun~ which
is being stored a~ the corner of Chestnut Strse~ and Hewitt Avenue. No license has
been. issued for Junk ,to be stored a~ this location. The Board voted to contact
Martin Lawlor on this matter and at the same time inquire as-to whether ornot the
"two family dwelling in this area is in .violation of the zoning laws.
PLANNING BOARD RE: COURT ~OOM:
~'. ~The Planning board came before the board amd it was the unanimous feeling of the
Board that they be allowed to use the court room for their hearings and office
equipment with the understanding that any hearings will still be held in the court
room and also on voting days, the voting booths would be installed temporarily.
~It. was suggested that the PlanningBoard ~notify'Mrs~ Deard~n when ~hey are ~to have
-~special meetings so that the Selectmen will~not. grant permission to any one else to
have the use of ~the court room on nights when-meetings, are to be held by th~ Planning
Board or the Board of Appeals. This was agreeable-to'all'concerned.
CHAPTER 80:
~Atty. Charles 2rombly came, before the Board to discuss the~Chapter 80 assessment
made on the propert~yof~Joseph V. ~and Rita H.' Murkey which' they purchased on
2,~1955, from Bertha A. Sheehan.. This is re~ .... ~ ......... December
~.~,-~-~u bo as uo% ~:'-on ~ne assessment
dated March 5~ 1956 in the amount of $332.02 and 'is assessed to Bertha A. ~heehan.
Mr. Trombl~ further sta~sd that the total cost of work done on PUtnam -~ad was in
,the amount of $4,442.43 ander the authority of articl~ 3 of the special tO~,.meeting
'- of,April 14, 1954. Mr. ~rombly then explain~.d about',S~=tiOns one and tT~o Of: Chapter
80 and he contends tha~ there was no order made for betterments as required
that the assessment on March 5~ 1956 is void. He requested that the Selectmen declare
the assessment void so that the records title may be cleared, otherwise he will have
no other'alternative but to. institute prooer, lega%, action 'to have the 'ac%ion of the
Selectmen declared null and void. ' - '
He suggested that the board institute an action against Bertha Sheehan and have her
pay this assessment. When iunocen~ people move in and 'the action of this hoa~d pu=s
a .,lien on her property,, he~ doesn,t think the Selectmen should Just. go ahead, and
..h!" expe~t them to pay. The real pdint is that Mrs'. ~Sheehan~sh0ul~ pay thisI bill,
He went on to say that the ~oraer of. estimated '~ssessment filed en~N~rZ4~ 1956~.is of
no value since the-law requires'tha~ this asses'sment for b~tterments be'mede prior
=o the work being done.
Atty. Ralph Finck had a similar problem and he repges~n~d Francesca/Sg~rlatA, 106
P~tnam Rd~ on the 'assessment in the amount et '$311.36~'~Adthority'mfor th~' be'tterments
,of Putnam l~oad waSderived from Article 3, in the warrant of the special to~n meeting
,~. of April 14, 1954. and workwas complete'al:before December l§, 1954~
He suggested that the Salectmen'vo=e ~o make this assessment null and~votd and so
notify the Registry of Deeds otherwise, it will be come his duty to insiitute legal
proceedings against the board on behalf of his client.
~" Attorney Harold Morley also appeared before~ the bbard who stated' thathe hasm a" client
in the Mifflin Park area who purchased the' property-in 1955..~He. examined the title
and is responsible but he doesn't intend ~o pay any part of this assessment. He would
not mention client,s name at this time but will wait until some:decision is~given %o
"Attorney Trembly before %aking further action.
u-The Board vo~ed to retain Attorney Arthur A~ ThomSon~as cohnsel in 'this matter and
refer all the material on hand ~o him for disposition. ·
LOW BIDDER:
%~alter'L. Davis came before the board and informed ~hem that he had done work at
Phillips Academy and at many other places ~ His bank account is at the Methuen
National Bank and he has been in business for 12 years. Mr. Fianeran asked if he
would be willing to post a bond for this work but he wasn't sure abou~ that. ~he
.. Board voted to take the matter undo9 advisemen~ and they would le~ him know.
INSURANCE PROPOSALS:
The Board listened to a representative of all insurance companies who had sent in
proposals. ~hey decided that they.would have one representative of a company in
before them and listen to him and then take each one in turn in alphabetical order.
There were proposals from the Aetna Company, Blue Cross, John Hancock, who withdrew
their proposals except for life and accidental death policies}M~tro~olitan Company,
Omaha of Nebraska and Prudential Company. ~here was no represen=ative from the
Lumbermen,s Mutual Company.
A ~rge g~oup of school ~eachers and to'~n employees were present and listened =o the
various representatives. Various questions were asked by the teachers and employmes.
The board decided that they would go over the various proposals again and work out
specifications ~o be given out in the near future and they would then make their
decision as to which company would best serve the employees and the town. The
Selectmen feel that call firemen, as well as the Board of Selectmen, Board of Assess-
ors, Tax Collector and Town clerk should also be included in this insurance. This
will be made definite in their specifications.
208
MAY 7, 1956- continued.
HAROLD LYNCH-P~:STATEMENT ~Xa. DE AT SEEECTI~N,S MEETING ON APRIL 3),:1956.,
A letter was received from Nr. Harold R. Lynch, 11 Stoningtun Street, stating, he
was deeply concerned over the erroneous working "unless reconsideration is forth-
coming" as taken from his talk with this board as it appeared in May 1st edition
of the Evening Tribune. He stated that there never was the intent nor the implication
in his talk to coerce this board into reconsideration of the appointments of sergeants.
No action was taken by this board with regard to this letter. He had also written
to the Lawrence Evening Tribune asking for a retraction of this statement.
CHAPTER 90 work-J.J. Donovan Construction Co.
Notice received, that the Department of Public ~orks certifying work to the value ~f
$25,507.60 has been performed under contract 16028 to April 25, 1956 and that they
respectfully recommend that the sum of $919.80 be paid to'the.contraczor under the
terms of the contract and in accordance with,,an estimate bearing contract No. '16028
date of:April 27, 1956.
. SERC~AN TS APPROVED: '
Approvul of the appointments of Norman M. Fleming and. Russell F. Dounelly as sergeants
in the Police Department has be~n received from .~homas J. Greehan, Civil Service
Director at a salary rate of $87.57 weekly and they. will commence their duties as
such under date of May 3, 1956.
~HOMAS J. LANE-ANtHONY & FORTUNATA BELLIA
A letter ~¥om Thomas J. Lane requesting the status 'of the matter concerning~the
above named maxpayers was received. ~he Board voted umanimously, to refer this
matter to Attorney Arthur A. 'Th6meon as they feel it is now a~legal matter~a~d
should 'be handled by their town counsel.
CERTIFICATE OF CHARACTER: '~
~he.board approved.a certificate of charanrmr for P~lph ~cc~,~428.J~hnson~ Street
to sell bakery products for Hathaway Baking Co. This is a renewal.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:
.'The Board voted to accept the letter from the Commissioners relative to~.their -
seeking a loan of $150,000 for permanen~ improvements this year. No acti6n ~taken.
APPLICATION FOR ABATEMENT OF CHAPTER ~0.
An application~ for abatement of Chapter 80 assessment was. ~ade. by Alessandro ~and
Anna Demi, 111 Newbury Street, .Lawrence on their property at the corner of~.Mifflin
· Drive and Putnam~Road, Lot. 7,~Blk E, 11,000 sq. feet ....
The ~Bo~rd voted to.refuse the abatement and to so notify Mr.~.Demi
POLzcs SCH O m-S a ANm:
A' schedule for the sergeant~ in'*the police department.was' received from c~ie~['!~cKee
~.,~ and 'i~he Board after reading it carefully ,voted tc~:acoept-the schedule and.~ sug~es~
that it go into effect a~ once. Ail ,_members were satisfied with the schedttle as
presented. .
POPP~o DAY: ' '
The,Board voted unanimously no ~ant permission ~o the ?.F.~¥. to ~hold ~heir.annual
~oppy Day on May 18 and 1~, 1956 throughout .the town. No,fee is to be ~charg~d~
.' ]~NKER LIGHTS: '
~he ~oard .voted to c~nt~c% the ~un Rock ~rtve-in ~heatre associates and reqUes~t that
the~ .install blinker lights at the s~me loca~lon as they. had last ~ar~ ,.a~ their
s~rli~st · oonVenienee. . . - . ..