USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Tewksbury > Town of Tewksbury annual report 1950-1954 > Part 41
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the member so elected, who shall thereupon be deemed elected and qualified as a town meeting member subject to the right of all the town meeting members to judge of the election and qualification of the members as set forth in section fifteen.
SECTION 12. Moderator .- A moderator shall be elected by the registered voters of the town by ballot at each annual town election and shall serve as the moderator of all town meetings except as otherwise provided by law until his successor is elected and quali- fied. The moderator shall be a member of the town meeting. Nominations for moderator and his election shall be as in the case of other elective town officers, and any vacancy in such office may be filled by the town meeting members at a representative town meeting held for that purpose. If a moderator is absent, a moderator pro tempore may be elected by the town meeting members. The moderator shall be entitled to vote in case of a tie.
SECTION 13. Powers. - The articles in the warrant for every town meeting, so far as they relate to the election of the moderator, town officers and town meeting members, and as herein provided, to referenda and all matters to be acted upon and determined by ballot, shall be so acted upon and determined by the registered voters of the town in their respective precincts. All other articles in the warrant for any town meeting shall be acted upon and determined exclusively by town meeting members at a meeting to be held at such time and place as shall be set forth by the select- men in the warrant for the meeting, subject to the referendum provided for by section sixteen.
SECTION 14. Town Meeting. - All town meetings shall be public. Subject to such conditions as may be determined from time to time by the members of the representative town meeting, any registered voter of the town who is not a town meeting member may speak at any representative town meeting, but shall not vote.
A majority of the town meeting members shall constitute a quorum for doing business; provided, that a less number may organize temporarily and may adjourn from time to time, but no town meeting shall adjourn over the date of an election of town meeting members.
The town clerk shall notify the town meeting members of the time and place at which the representative town meetings are to be held, the notices to be sent by mail at least seven days before the meeting to each town meeting member at his address as it appears on the list of registered voters.
Any representative town meeting held under the provisions of this act, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be limited to the town meeting members elected under the provisions of this act.
SECTION 15. Provisions Relative to Town Meeting Members.
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The town meeting members, as aforesaid, shall be the judges of the election and qualification of their members. The town meeting members as such shall receive no compensation.
A town meeting member may resign by filing a written resigna- tion with the town clerk, and such resignation shall take effect on the date of such filing. A town meeting member who removes from the town shall cease to be a town meeting member and a town meeting member who removes from the precinct from which he was elected to another precinct may serve only until the next annual town meeting.
SECTION 16. Referendum. - No article in the warrant shall at any representative town meeting be finally disposed of by, a vote to lay upon the table, or to take no action thereunder.
No vote passed at any representative town meeting under any article in the warrant, except a vote to adjourn, or a vote author- izing the expenditure of less than $10,000.00, or votes appropriating money for the payment of notes or bonds of the town and interest becoming due in the then current financial year, or votes for the temporary borrowing of money in anticipation of revenue, or a vote declared by preamble by a two thirds vote of the town meeting members present and voting thereon to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health, safety or convenience of the town, shall be operative until after the expiration of ten days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, from the date of such vote.
If, within said ten days, a petition, signed by not less than five per cent of the registered voters of the town, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the list of registered voters, is filed with the selectmen asking that the question or questions involved in such a vote be submitted to the registered voters of the town at large, then the selectmen, after the expiration of seven days shall forthwith call a special meeting for the sole purpose of presenting to the registered voters at large the question or questions so in- volved. The polls shall be opened at ten o'clock in the morning and shall be closed not earlier than eight o'clock in the evening, and all votes upon any questions so submitted shall be taken by ballot, and the check list shall be used in the several precinct meetings in the same manner as in the election of town officers.
The questions so submitted shall be determined by a vote of the same proportion of voters at large voting thereon as would have been required by law had the question or questions been finally determined at a representative town meeting, but no action of the representative town meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty per cent of the registered voters shall vote in favor of reversing such action. Each question so submitted shall be in the form of the following question, which shall be placed upon the official ballot :- "Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative
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town meeting whereby it was voted (brief description of the sub- stance of the vote)?" If such petition is not filed within said period of ten days, the vote of the representative town meeting shall be- come operative and effective upon the expiration of said period.
SECTION 17. Powers of Town and its Town Meeting Members. The Town, after the acceptance of this act, shall have the capacity to act through and to be bound by its town meeting members, who shall, when convened from time to time as herein provided, consti- tute representative town meetings; and the representative town meetings shall exercise exclusively, so far as will conform to the provisions of this act, all powers vested in the municipal corporation. Action in conformity with all provisions of law now or hereafter applicable to the transaction of town affairs in town meetings, shall, when taken by any representative town meeting in accordance with the provisions of this act, have the same force and effect as if such action had been taken in town meeting open to all the voters of the town as organized and conducted before the establishment in said town of representative town meeting government.
SECTION 18. Certain Rights not Abridged. - This act shall not abridge the right of the inhabitants of the town to hold general meetings as secured to them by the constitution of this common- wealth; nor shall this act confer upon any representative town meeting in Tewksbury the power finally to commit the town to any measure affecting its municipal existance or substantially changing its form of government without action thereon by the voters of the town at large, using the ballot and the check list therefor.
SECTION 19. Submission of Act. - This act shall be sub- mitted for acceptance to the qualified voters of the town of Tewks- bury at the first annual town election after passage of this act, or at a special town election called for the purpose not less than ninety days before the date of said annual election. The vote shall be taken by ballot in accordance with the provisions of the General Laws, so far as the same shall be applicable, in answer to the question, which shall be placed upon the ballot to be used at said election :- "Shall an act passed by the General Court in the year nineteen hundred and fifty-five entitled 'An Act to establish in the town of Tewksbury representative town government by limited town meetings' be accepted by this town?"
SECTION 20. Time of Taking Effect. - So much of this act as authorizes its submission to the registered voters of the town shall take effect upon its passage. Sections two and three shall take effect upon acceptance by a majority of the voters voting thereon, and the remainder shall take effect upon the effective date of the by-laws provided for by section three.
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SECTION 21. Resubmission after Rejection. - If this act is rejected when first submitted it shall be again submitted at the next following town election in the year nineteen hundred and fifty-six and if accepted shall take effect as hereinbefore provided.
If this act is rejected for the second time when so submitted it shall be again submitted at the next annual town election and if accepted shall take effect as hereinbefore provided. If this act is again rejected for the third time, it shall thereupon become void.
SECTION 22. Revocation - At any time after the expiration of five years from the date on which this act is accepted, and not less than 90 days of the date of an annual town meeting, a petition signed by not less than 10% of the registered voters of the town, may be filed with the selectmen requesting that the question of revoking the acceptance of this act be submitted to the voters. Thereupon the selectmen shall cause the question of revocation of the acceptance to be placed on the ballot at the next annual election. At said election the vote shall be taken in answer to the following question which shall be placed on the official ballot :- "Shall the acceptance by the Town of Tewksbury of an act passed by the General Court in the year 1955 entitled 'An Act To Establish In The Town of Tewksbury Representative Town Government By Limited Town Meetings' be revoked?" If such revocation is favored by the voters voting thereon by ballot, then the acceptance of this act shall be revoked and this act shall become null and void, effective at the next annual town meeting.
TREE AND MOTH DEPARTMENTS
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen
Gentlemen:
I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all those who helped in any way in cleaning debris left by Hurricanes Carol and Edna. My appreciation to the Highway Department for the use of their crew and trucks, also the Water and Fire Depart- ments. I also would like to thank those private citizens of the Town who gave of their time and energy in the task of cutting open roads.
By 4 A. M. of the following day all roads were passable with the exception of Kendall Road and one short section of Livingston Street.
Your Tree Department worked hand in hand with the Lowell Electric Light Corporation removing trees and heavy limbs from power lines so power could be restored as soon as possible. I felt this was the most important project next to clearing the roads.
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It took approximately ten weeks to clean all hazardous debris from the roads.
The storm left us with much damage to some of our best trees. All the broken and fractured limbs must be cut and painted to prevent further damage. This project will take many months to complete.
In the Tree Department budget there is an increase of $3000.00 for another Tree Climber. I feel this extra man is needed not only because of the great amount of damage done by the storms, but also to take care of the increased number of Dutch Elm Tree removals. It is my sincere wish that this sum of money will be appropriated.
During the year 1954 we had 43 cases of Dutch Elm Disease, an increase of thirty-one cases over last year. Most all of these trees have been removed or the infected sections cut away. This is a new practice which has been undertaken this year. If the disease is caught early enough it may stop the fungus from spreading any further in the tree. Only time will tell whether this practice will help in the control of the dread Dutch Elm Disease. This year was a very favorable year for the spread of Dutch Elm Disease due to the heavy rainfall which washed the spray from the trees.
There has been no serious outbreak of Gypsy Moth in this Town although surrounding Towns were sprayed by air by the Depart- ment of Natural Resources. Almost one hundred percent control has been achieved by this method of spraying.
All Poison Ivy was sprayed on request of this Department, on or off private property. This year I am asking for four hundred dollars to continue this worth-while project which is a menace to Public Health.
This year I have put in for a new Sprayer. I am asking for a Mist-Blower type sprayer. With this Blower we will be able to get more spraying done in a short amount of time. The Department of Natural Resources requires at least three sprays a year to control Dutch Elm Disease and most other troublesome insects.
Needless to say the present sprayer we have has outgrown its usefulness. It is a 1911 Fitzhenry Guptal Sprayer. It is my wish that this article is voted on favorably.
Pruning is carried on whenever time permits. All dead and dangerous trees are removed as soon as they are known to me.
I would like to thank everyone who gave us small trees for roadside planting. We need many more and any we receive will be greatly appreciated.
Respectfully submitted, WALTER R. DOUCETTE Tree Warden Moth Superintenednt
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APPEALS BOARD
During the past year the Board of Appeals considered fifteen requests for a variance from the Zoning By-Laws. Of this number the Board granted five cases and denied ten.
The Board met in all thirty-three times to advise residents and non-residents on various problems pertaining to Zoning By-Laws. Many of these requests pertained to the establishing of small business in residential areas which the present Zoning By-Laws prevent.
The main purpose of zoning is to promote the health, safety and convenience of our inhabitants. With this in mind the Board again recommends that small business districts be established in various parts of the town before too much growth takes place.
Respectfully submitted,
PHAIDA J. ROUX, Chairman JOHN J. COONEY, Secretary DANA F. PERKINS, Member
REPORT OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY EXTENSION SERVICE
The Middlesex County Extension Service is a publicly support- ed educational institution to serve all the towns of the county in agriculture and home economics. In agriculture the work is de- veloped county-wide under the direction of county councils made up of leading farmers in each of the main commodities as vegetables, fruit, poultry, dairying, livestock, and commercial flowers. A county bulletin is mailed monthly to all cooperating farmers, and timely information is furnished by circular letter, by radio, by telephone and by personal interview, and particular information is sent to those who request it.
Fruit and vegetable and home grounds services are all impor. tant. F. I. Carter and Sons are active in the Extension Service florist program. Robert Hunter leads in fruit-growing.
Information and assistance was made available to all dairy and livestock producers in this area. Farm visits, circular letters, radio talks and local meetings were all employed as means of assisting the local farmers to better understand and keep abreast of the many changes in agricultural techniques.
The official dairy cow testing program in the area is directly supervised by the Livestock Agent and includes the service of
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complete record keeping on the production and feeding of dairy cows. All farmers in the area have available the services of the Artificial Breeding Program through the local Association, and a soil testing laboratory is maintained to serve all farmers or land- owners who desire a soil analysis to determine the fertility of their soil.
Mr. Lenox Karner, Jr., farm manager at Tewksbury State Hospital, is president of the County D.H.I.A. and a member of the Dairy Advisory Committee. A twilight dairy meeting was held at the State Hospital in July with over 60 farmers present from all over the County.
During the last year fifty-four boys and girls were enrolled in the 4-H program in Tewksbury. These Club members belonged to one of the five Clubs held in Tewksbury. The leaders of these groups were Mrs. John Stenquist, Mrs. Raymond Carter, Mrs. Lois Sherman, Mrs. Dorothy Boucher, Mrs. James Love and Mr. Clifford Greeno. Four Club members attend Camp Middlesex during the summer.
Home Demonstration Agents are ready to solve problems in homemaking: foods, clothing, home furnishings and management, family life, family and community recreation. A monthly letter is sent to all who request it.
Service was extended through the Extension Poultry Program in three primary areas: the poultry flock, its care and improvement, breeding, feeding, health, and management; poultry products, their care and disposition, processing, storage, merchandising, pricing, and consumer information; and the farmer, his farm and family, and agriculture, business management, youth work, and assistance to organizations.
The Extension Service cooperated with the Minuteman Turkey Association in holding meetings at the office in Concord each month. Also we cooperated with the Middlesex County Poultry Association in holding meetings.
VICTOR N. CLUFF Town Director
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TOWN COUNSEL
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Joseph J. Whelan, Chairman
Board of Selectmen
Town Hall, Tewksbury, Mass.
Gentlemen:
I hereby respectfully submit my report as Town Counsel for the year ending December 31, 1954.
The land damage case of Jivelekian vs. The Town which has been pending in the Superior Court since the takings by the Water Department in 1951 was disposed of on a motion for new trial by a settlement in the amount of $2950.00. The entire cost including appraisals, witness fees, attorney's fees, transportation for jurors, etc. totaled less than $4300.00. In view of the fact that $10,000.00 had been set aside in the Bond Issue to cover the liability of the Town in this matter, and that deeds of property were received and recorded as part of the settlement, the matter was advantageously closed by the Town. It was the only land taking by the Water Department which could not be settled without trial and still be consistent with the estimates of our appraiser, Mr. Edward Saunders.
An action was entered by the Board of Public Welfare for disbursements in the Superior Court which resulted in a payment in full of $959.18 being returned to the Town Treasurer on Novem- ber 30, 1954. This action was similar to a claim against the Estate of Max Newcity for payments made under Chapter 118-A which resulted in a compromise approved by the Probate Court to transfer to the Town real estate of said deceased. Compromises of this nature are many times necessary due to the questionable authority which the Towns have to recover against such estates, and the many exemptions that arise or may be effective under the reimbursement statutes. Ratification for this transaction and an agreement to convey flowing from it have been placed in the warrant for the consideration of the voters at the annual meeting.
On March 23, 1954, the matter of Barton vs. Kane was tried in the Lowell District Court involving the liability of an operator of a Town snow plow for negligence resulting in personal injury and property damage and an adverse decision was subsequently entered. Draft reports were filed and on October 27, 1954, oral arguments were heard before the Appellate Division of the District Court at Cambridge for a review of the entire matter of liability. No deter- mination of this matter has as yet been rendered by the Appelate Division. The possible liability to the Town would be approximately $1100.00.
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A very minor small claim was entered in the Lowell District Court against the operator of another Fire Truck for property damage in the sum of $31.00, which has been entered in the warrant for the annual meeting, which occurence took place on May 24, 1954.
There is also pending claims by the Town of Tewksbury against the operator of a motor vehicle for the property damage to a fire truck as the result of a collision on April 21, 1954, at the corner of Salem Road and Pond Street. The investigation of the collisions in which Town vehicles in these and other matters have been involved, revealed that slight if any negligence has existed so far as the Town operators are concerned.
There is also pending in the Superior Court by the creditors of Charles L. Haas, Inc., a suit in equity to enforce a lien for approxi- mately $2900.00 worth of materials furnished the Haas Corporation for the site development of the two new schools. This matter is pending in conjunction with the Bonding Company of said Corpora- tion and is the only substantial piece of litigation which has arisen so far as the new schools are concerned.
Your Town Treasurer in conjunction with your Town Counsel and in accordance with the vote at the last annual Town meeting have made headway in clearing the title of the Town to the 48 parcels of registered land on the Riverview Plan and obtaining new certificates thereto. It is expected that decrees and new certificates completing the action on this matter will be realized early in 1955 and will permit the resale of any of these parcels and their return to taxable property.
Your Town Counsel has been available to your Board of Selectmen for at least one meeting a month, has met with and advised your Water Board, School Committee, Highway Commis- sioners, School Building Committee, Planning Board, Board of Appeals, and many of the other Town Officials upon their request.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Selectmen and other Town Officials for their cooperation and many courtesies in the past year.
Very respectfully submitted, WARREN W. ALLGROVE Town Counsel
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JURY LIST FOR 1954 - 1955
Anderson, A. Adelbert - 204 Chapman Road Farmer
Anderson, Ethel - 24 Pleasant Street Housewife
Anderson, Ralph A. - 166 French Street Milk Dealer
Amiot, Louis H. - 111 River Road Town Collector
Aubut, Joseph - 836 Whipple Road Salesman
Barker, John C. - 1144 Livingston Street Telephone worker
Beattie, David - 29 Marie Street Salesman
Beebe, Alice C. - 15 Nelson Avenue Housewife
Brown, Francis L. - 1280 Main Street Truckdriver
Brown, Mary E. - 1280 Main Street
Housewife
Burris, Emily - 358 Shawsheen Street
Laundry worker
Burris, John - Farmer Avenue RR Sta. Agt.
Carpenter, Jerome - 86 Florence Avenue
Meat Cutter
Chandler, G. Albert - 710 Chandler Street Florist
Collins, Edward - 14 Amos Street Truckdriver
Collins, George R. - 111 Pond Street Custodian
Collins, Gladys - 111 Pond Street Housewife
Collins, Leslie - 172 East Street
Cemetery Supt.
Craig, John R. - 699 Trull Road Clerk
Daniels, Everett P. - 1186 Main Street Fireman
Davis, Merrill - 15 Knollwood Road Napper
Doucette, Walter R. - East Street Tree Warden
Dougherty, Bernard J. - 61 Pleasant Street Switchman
Ebinger, Adolph W. - 6 Amos Street Foreman
Ebinger, Carl R. - 21 Elm Street
Com. Artist
Fidler, Francis - 481 Foster Road Warehouse Man.
French, Austin - 507 Whipple Road Farmer
Garland, Ralph O. - 623 Chandler Street
Florist -
Gauthier, Robert - 49 Patton Road
Draftsman
Gillissen, Albert J. - 26 Birch Street
Machinist
Girard, Virginia - 665 East Street Housewife
Hagen, Arthur - 65 Patton Road Tech. Engineer
Hegarty, Joseph - 20 Oliver Street Truckdriver
Heidenrich, Karl, Sr. - 438 No. Billercia Road Farmer
Holmes, Kenneth W. - 2 Nelson Avenue Ins. Agt.
Horgan, Frank L. - 23 Dudley Road Retired
Hunt, Jacquelyn H. - 779 Main Street Housewife
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Jenkins, Wendall G. - 20 Knollwood Road
Printer
Karner, Lennox - 474 Livingston Farm Supt.
Keefe, Joseph - 4 Lawrence Street Clerk
Kent, Charles F. - 1112 Andover Road Engineer
Killeen, Joseph E. - 778 Main Street Editor
Lawlor, Pearl - 109 Pleasant Street Housewife
Leahy, William A. - 54 Lakeview Avenue Clerk
Marcotte, George - 15 Marie Street Accountant
Marshall, Earl W. - 12 Knollwood Road Millhand
Martin, Josephine - 90 Bay State Road Housewife
Meloy, Marietta T. 1392 Andover Street Stenographer
Mowbray, George S. - 30 Hill Street Engineer
McCoy, Rose - 623 Main Street Housewife
McPhail, Lauchie - 732 Shawsheen Street Truckdriver
Nugent, Joseph - 7 California Road Draftsman
O'Hearn, John - 10 Amos Street Truckdriver
Olson, Elmer - 54 French Street Tinsmith
O'Neill, Richard J. - 645 South Street Supt. Streets
O'Rourke, Jas. - 207 Chandler St. Engineer
Osterman, Edwin - 98 North Billerica Road Farmer
Parsons, Justin F. - 22 Central Street Carpenter
Pendergast, Thomas - Shawsheen Street Engineer
Peters, Peter - 17 Florence Avenue Tree Surgeon
Powers, Karl J. - 70 Lake Street Mailman
Rich, Gehaza E. - 915 Livingston Street Reg. Nurse
Roux, Eugene - 76 Pleasant Street Laborer
Sawyer, Thomas P. - 301 Maple Street Farmer
Scott, Robert - 30 Marie Street Machinist
Shannon, John - 425 Foster Road Draftsman
Shannon, Thomas J., Jr. - 433 Foster Road
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