Conference 7.286::maynard

    A few, good & bad:
    
    The saplings that were planted on Summer St. by the Junior High School.
    I'm not sure if they were planted by the school kids, the neighborhood,
    or could this have been done by the kids who are active with the Tree 
    Farm further up the road?  I don't believe it was done by the town.  
    
    We have a neighbor (Mrs. Warila) who up until recently, would walk her
    dog on Summer St., bright and early each day.  Not a day would go by
    when she wouldn't have a handful of rubbish she'd pick off the ground,
    upon returning home.
    
    All the work that George Shaw and many others have done to beautify the
    Memorial Park across from the Fine Arts.
    
    Hats off to the merchants who take the extra 10 minutes a day to sweep
    the entrances of their stores.  I see nothing but weeds, where there
    once were flowers, growing in front of the stores located in the Masonic 
    Building.
    
    And there are those who mysteriously drop a flower or plant off at a
    graveside, be it Glenwood or St. Bridgets, in anonymity.  It gets you 
    scratching your head but sure does make you feel good.
    
    That's enough for now.  I'm sure there are others.
    
    					Steve
                                      

    Steve, that reminds me that one of my neighbors, Mr. Jarvi, patrols
    Summer Street every day picking up litter.
    
    Litter seems to be a big problem, and hats off to the Paper Store for
    putting out a trash can.  In the *old* days, the Chamber of Commerce 
    paid for litter baskets which were attached to parking meters around
    town and regularly dumped by the DPW.  Image-wise, the Chamber has 
    more to gain or lose by litter and it seems astonishing that they 
    would not champion this problem by buying litter baskets, perhaps 
    with some tasteful advertising on them to remind the shoppers of 
    their concern.
    
    Ray and Sons deserves a vote of thanks for the renovation of their
    building.  Mrs. Cocco gets a boo for the deplorable condition of the
    Candyworld building on Nason at Summer.
    
    The Art Gallery next door could be a great cultural asset and image
    maker for the town but the rotting plywood exterior is disgusting.
    
    The Legion does a nice job in keeping up their property.  When will
    someone replace the dead trees in front of the Masonic Building?  
    They spent tons of money in renovating the building two years ago,
    and with new trees and $50. worth of bark mulch, could have a real
    showplace.  (I know, the trees belong to the town, but we're broke,
    remember?)
    
    When will the Fine Arts finish replacing the neon on their sign?  
    This sign is Maynard's equivalent to the Citgo Sign in Kenmore 
    Square.  
    
    Hayes Development did an outstanding job on the house they moved from
    Powder Mill Road to Florida Road.
    
    I had a thought that all the people who have extra bark mulch in 
    their driveways could donate it to the town for the downtown areas,
    but I have no truck to gather these contributions, but would be
    more than happy to assist.
    
    Any suggestions?  The Masonic Building, the Parking Garage Area and
    Daley Square (Summer, Maple and Brooks) could all use bark mulch.
    
    Frank

    Right know the trees in front of the Masonic Temple belongs to the
    state. I noticed the tree yesterday an low and behold itis a live.
    Small green shouts can be seen at the bottom of the tree.
    
    art

    Special thanks to the Gruber Brothers.  There store was the only one
    down town that had a flag out on Flag Day.
    
    Karen
    

    This is a reply to a note on some of the items that where mention that
    needed to be fixed or painted. The reply comes fromthe Adm. Asst. to
    the selectmen.
    
    1. The Town House Trim will be painted this summer as well as the flag
       pole.
    
    2. Crowe Park Bandstand is the DPW respomsiblity. Perhap a letter to
       Walter Sokolowski should be sent. (This infomation has already been
       sent to Walter).
    
    3. Street lines and crosswalks will be repainted the 1st and 2nd week
       of July. Bids have been recived and the woork will be done as part of
       the new fical year budget.
    
    4. It's very difficult to take care of the closed Roosevelt School
       properly with only $4,000. The new POlice station idea eas shot down 
       and the building is sitting vacant without any money to fix it. I am
       looking into the possibility of the Emerson umbrella Art Group of
       Concord buying or long term lessing the building for the artists studio
       space.
    
    
    	

So far, the comments in this note have been delivered and responded to in a
very acceptable fashion.  

I just wanted to remind folks that DEC can, in certain instances, be held liable
for comments in notes conferences that folks take offense to.  

Something to keep in mind when voicing your thoughts.

- the moderator

    RE: .5 -  Art, thanks very much!  I appreciate you're following up
    on your offer to help.  I will speak to Soko about the Bandstand 
    because I've had many occasions to check it out this spring during
    my son's soccer practice and it doesn't need much work to keep it
    up, but minor repairs must be made soon.  A coat of paint, some
    stone work and a new roof are all that's needed.  I almost had a 
    new roof for it two years ago when the new roof on the Green Meadow 
    School had to be completely removed and reinstalled due poor workmanship,
    but I couldn't get them to save the shingles.  In hindsight, we were 
    fortunate to get the work re-done at no cost, after a court battle
    with the contractor. 
    
    Frank

    I would like to thank Digital Equipment Corporation for their efforts
    in making the downtown area pleasing to the eye.
    
    I was at the Post Office yesterday and noticed the carefully manicured
    beds of flowers lining Main Street in front of The Mill. Surely this is
    above and beyond the call of corporate duty.

RE: .7
>    new roof for it two years ago when the new roof on the Green Meadow 
>    School had to be completely removed and reinstalled due poor workmanship,
>    but I couldn't get them to save the shingles.

Just curious as to why you couldn't get them to save the old shingles.
Problem with handling/storage?  Or bureaucratic snafu, perhaps?

So much goes to waste in this great country of ours...

Thanks,

Cliff

    RE: .9- Cliff, the issue with the roof was very complicated, and 
    a real nightmare for the School Building Committee.
    
    This note is not the right place for this discussion, but let me
    fill you all in on the roof problem.  The roof of the Green Meadow
    School is really a series of panels, 4 x 8 as I recall, laid in a 
    grid much like the suspended ceilings in Digital buildings.  The 
    panels are about six inches thick and made like a sandwich starting
    with an acoustic substance on the inside, then insulation, then
    plywood, then tarpaper on the outside with traditional shingles over
    the top.  The panels are held in place with a grout which is poured
    around each panel to form a gasket.
    
    Now, the problem.  We had been marching along WAY ahead of schedule
    with the roof installed and much of the interior finishing underway
    when it was observed that some of these panels had begun to buckle
    or cup.  After several frantic meetings with the Architect and 
    Contractor, and the use of an outside Consultant, the School Building
    Committee took the stand that the roof was unsafe and would likely
    blow off completely in a hurricane or strong wind.  The Contractor
    was instructed to make the roof safe, which involved removing the
    entire roof, scoring each panel to remove the buckling, regrouting
    each panel, and installing new shingles.  The Roofing Sub Contractor
    refused to do the work over, and the General Contractor had to do 
    the job out of his own pocket.  Everybody sued everybody else, but
    the job was redone and we managed to get the addition completed just
    in time for the opening of school, with one week to spare.  
    
    The problem, as came out in court, was a combination of improper 
    storage of the roof panels on site, and the use of the wrong grout
    which gave way and did not hold the panels down on the grid.
    
    The Contractor was not in a mood to store the removed shingles for
    us and there was no town agency with the manpower or time to get 
    the shingles and put them aside, so they went into a dumpster and
    were removed from the site.  All this was done in panic mode over
    the summer.
    
    The plus side to this story is that we got the roof we wanted in 
    time to open the School.  The down side is that I watched several
    thousand square feet of one month old shingles thrown away while 
    less than 500 feet away sat a Bandstand that needed them.   The
    Town incurred no additional cost, but what a waste........
    
    Frank
               

    For many years, someone or some group has been regularly planting
    flowers in the beautiful watering troughs in town.  The Balcom
    Memorial at the Will Dodd Center, the Rafferty Memorial at Main
    and Sudbury Streets, the L.M. (Lorenzo Maynard) trough at the
    Police/Fire Station,and  the base of a trough at Great Road and
    Mill Street, all have geraniums planted faithfully every year.
    
    Who's doing this?  Who should we thank?
    
    By the way, the Rafferty Memorial is my favorite.  That's one
    big hunk of granite made into a bowl. 
    
    Frank

    I'm not a fan of vinyl siding but the new owner of Salamone's
    Market did a nice job of beautifying the building recently by
    having the building sided.  Looks good.
    
    Also, the Veteran's Committee is faithfully watering the Memorial
    sod and it is in great shape.
    
    Aside to Steve Morgan- nice job on the brick sidewalk you put in
    your front yard.  In this day and age, we could all use a fall-
    back occupation, just in case.......
    
    Frank

    The upkeep of the watering troughs comes from a trust set aside by
    each family that donated the troughs - it's sort of a revolving account
    situation where the money in the account earns enough interest to take
    care of the upkeep of the troughs -
    
    ralph sheridan
    via edh

    WOW!  Please tell us more on who actually who takes care of these
    memorials and how they draw their money.  Maybe we could set up
    trust funds for the squares and other memorials in town.  This is 
    the type of historical stuff we all need to know, to help establish
    a Civic Pride in Maynard.
    
    Let me know how I can help!!
    
    
    Thanks,
    Frank

    
    
    
        ...if only my "neighbors" would clean up their house and
    "yard". It is gross! They live at the top of Concord St. towards
    Acton. It looks like the town dump! The property should be 
    condemned. Really.
    
    
                    _Jennifer

    ie; the troughs -
    
    I think the DPW takes care of them, but I'm not sure. I can check with
    ralph sheridan next time I talk with him. When he told me the story of
    them (which is pretty interesting itself, but I'll save that for
    another time) he said that if you notice in the town reports there is a
    line item that says "memorials" or something to that effect, with an
    amount next to it thats around $2000 or so - (pretty expensive
    geraniums) -
    
    About the story - I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I've been on
    vacation and haven't been in the notes for a while.                                               
    I'm glad you responded (Frank, pleased to meet you!) about the troughs.
    I am doing some videotaping of Ralph for the Historical Society and in
    one of the sessions Ralph went into an in-depth explanation of the
    story of the watering troughs an how they came to be where they are. I
    thought that the story could be put on the back burner, but after
    finding this note and seeing the interest they generated, I may put it
    together sooner. 
    
    For those interested, I will be starting another note in the Maynard
    conference looking for Townies and Millrats to tell me their stories
    for the Maynard Historical Society. It will be titled "Looking for
    Millrats" or something to that effect. Look for it soon.
    
    The story of the troughs (edited for VTX):
    [after all, I need to keep some details hidden pending video release]
    
    The troughs were located in the center and around town for the good of
    the "horses and dogs" of the community to drink from. after the auto
    came, they weren't much use anymore, and fell into disrepair and most 
    were discarded. 
    
    When the town removed the trough that was located at the end of Walnut
    St. for road repair, and for the Maynard Centennial, Ralph Sheridan took 
    it upon himself to find out
    what had happened to the rest of them. After much searching, he managed
    to find the four that are located around town now. (Trivia; name the
    four and their locations.) One was found behind the town barn in a pile
    of junk, and one was found in someones' yard, being used as a flower
    pot.
    
    After some hustling and bustling (more details on video) ralph and
    others managed to get them to their present locations.
    
    edh.
    

    Last year in this note, I suggested that if anyone has any extra 
    bark mulch after refreshing their lawns, there are many public areas
    in town that could use a "donation".  
    
    I can think of a few areas:  
    
    The square at Summer/Brooks/Maple Streets should have mulch in the
    small shrub area.
    
    The lane between the Outdoor Store and whatever that building is 
    where Hawes Florist and Firestones used to be.
    
    The front of the Masonic Building.
    
    The sides of the ramp to the Parking deck.
    
    The Memorial Park.
    
    Etc.
    
    I don't have a truck, but I'd be willing to help if anyone wants to
    get rid of some extra mulch to help improve the image of our town.
    
    Frank

    
    Great idea I'll help also. How about we borrow a DPW truck drive around 
    town and pick up the extra mulch. I'm sure we could fine a driver
    seeing the the truck will be used by tax payers to fix up town property
    at no expanse to the DPW why not.
    
    art