USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1914 > Part 1
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MUNICI
Ł
1842
FREED
ESTABLIS
DO
GIVES
A CITY
1872.
SOMERVILLE
STRENGTH
ONAL
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CITY OF SOMERVILLE
MASSACHUSETTS
ANNUAL REPORTS
1914
With Mayor's Inaugural Address Delivered Jan. 4, 1915
MI G VES
N
DO
LEEI
SOMER
VILLE
FR
FOUNDED 1842
I
MUN
ESTA
LISHED
A CITY 1872. STRENGT
SOMERVILLE JOURNAL PRINT
1915
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
DELIVERED BY
Mayor Zebedee E. Cliff
MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 1915
Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen :-
On this opening day of the new municipal year I desire to extend most hearty greetings to the members of your honor- able board. Let me express the hope that our efforts may be harmonious, well-directed and productive of results which shall increasingly advance the moral and material interest of the community we have been elected to serve.
We should be ungrateful indeed not to appreciate the splendid indorsement expressed in the recent election.
A majority of your present board were members of the board of 1914, and to you and those who served with you I want to express my great appreciation of your service and the excellent results of your efforts. The spirit of cooperation between the legislative and executive branches has been marked throughout the year, and I feel that it has been as much a pleasure to you as it has been to me to meet each other more than half way in the consideration of the many questions that have come before us.
While there have been-as there always are and should be-differences of opinion, I feel certain that all have sought from their point of view to bring to the common good the best there was in them, and from the differences and discus- sions have come the agreements and actions which have made possible the year's advances and results.
Finance.
A statement of the financial condition of the city on Jan- uary 1, 1915, has been prepared by the city treasurer and is incorporated in this address.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
Without going into detail, I want to say just this,-We have put the city on an actual pay-as-you-go basis; we have paid every bill for the year 1914; have left in the treasury an unexpended balance of over $15,000; and the funded debt has been reduced $58,000.
Auditing Department.
The recent action of the board of aldermen in author- izing the setting-up of an auditing system along the lines of the system recommended by the bureau of statistics of the commonwealth gives us the opportunity of bringing this de- partment to the highest standard of efficiency.
No reflection is or has been made at any time upon the work of our present auditor; on the contrary I feel that with the system in use for so many years we have been absolutely safeguarded in so far as concerns the personal honesty and integrity of any of our officials and that the work of the de- partment has been done as well as possible under the condi- tions.
I have felt for a long time that much work was being done in the treasurer's and other departments that is properly the work of an auditor, and that some system should be installed to enable officers of the city or any interested persons to as- certain without delay and at any time the conditions of appro- priations, the cost of work, and the many other details of finance so necessary for their information.
I anticipate that the extra expense of maintenance of this department will be more than offset by the saving, direct and indirect, which will be made possible by its increased effi- ciency.
Departments.
With the establishment of the new auditing system it is expected that considerable economy will be effected in the methods of keeping accounts and regulating expenditures in various departments, and it will undoubtedly be found neces- sary to make certain changes. The street department should keep its own records and accounts, and it will probably be found advisable to take from the clerk of committees depart- ment the bookkeeping work now done for many of the other departments.
5
MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
The special committee on financial investigation sub- mitted, at the last meeting of the board of aldermen, an ex- tensive report covering many of the various branches of our public service and suggesting a number of changes from our present system and methods. Copies are to be furnished each member of your board and I earnestly hope that the recom- mendations will receive the careful consideration which this report, the result of the year's earnest work of the committee, deserves. I do not desire at this time to make any particular recommendations concerning those made by the committee, owing to the short time I have been able to give to its con- sideration. I may desire to send a special communication to your board at a later date, giving my views on the various matters considered in the report.
Public Works.
Section 40 of our charter provides for a board of public works, consisting of the mayor, who shall be its chairman, the city engineer, the street commissioner, the commissioner of public buildings, the commissioner of electric lines and lights, and the water commissioner.
This board has a distinct and important place in our char- ter plan of city government. The board of aldermen pre- scribes what shall be done and provides means for doing it. The members of the board of public works plan and execute that which is ordered.
We have held frequent meetings of this board throughout the year and the city clerk and city treasurer have, by invita- tion of the mayor, attended these meetings and acted with the board. Because of their intimate knowledge of the city's af- fairs, they have been of great assistance in our deliberations.
This board has of itself no power to control the actions of its members, but there have been full and free discussions at the meetings of all contemplated work in the departments. The spirit of harmony that has grown from these discussions and the mutual understanding by each member of the work of the others has greatly helped in making possible the immense amount of public work accomplished during the year. It has resulted in hearty cooperation of the different departments and has greatly increased their efficiency,
6
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The regular maintenance work of our public works has been carefully supervised during the year, and the departments have been kept on full time.
A new system in street cleaning is under consideration and will probably be put in operation the present year. Co- operation of the citizens by avoiding the careless dropping of papers and rubbish will greatly facilitate the work of this de- partment.
The amount of street construction work accomplished during the year is the greatest at any time in the city's history for a like period, and the character of the work in general is ahead of ordinary street construction. The total amount ex- pended for street and sidewalk construction was $171,685.
Ward street, Harding street and a portion of Columbia street have been paved with granite blocks; Cutter square and Springfield street with vitrified brick; and three sections of Broadway, one side of Elm street and portions of Prospect street and Willow avenue with bituminous macadam,-all of these pavements having been constructed on a concrete base. In addition to the foregoing, thirty-three other streets, includ- ing eighteen new streets previously accepted by the board of aldermen, have been constructed of macadam. The total of this new construction work is about six and one-half miles.
The new sidewalk construction has been a large item,- totalling about eleven and one-half miles. This includes edge- stones, granolithic and brick. The proportion of brick side- walks was very small in comparison with the granolithic, the superiority of the latter having been fully demonstrated.
Before commencing any of the operations, all public ser- vice corporations were given notice of the streets upon which work was to be done and requested to complete any work therein that might be contemplated by them at any future time. They have all responded to our request and have ex- tended their services wherever possible upon these streets.
The water department has extended its mains and services in all new streets and has done an unparalleled amount of work in relaying and replacing old mains and service pipes in all the streets where construction was contemplated. Some of . this work has been much needed and all of it is of benefit to
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
the city and would have to be done at a later day if not at this time.
Similar work has been done in the sewer department, and the sewers and house drains have been extended and put in thoroughly good condition.
No street was entered upon by the street department until we .were fully assured that there could be no probable reason for opening any of them by the water or sewer departments or by the corporations for repairs or for furnishing services to new buildings.
All of this construction work has been done in a thorough manner and with proper maintenance should last a long term of years.
This unusually large amount of work was more than our street department was equipped to handle in one year and part of the work has been done by contract and part by the city's day labor. The contract work has been under the direct super- vision of the city engineer, while the street commissioner had supervision of all construction work done by his depart- ment. This has enabled the work to be carried on at the same time efficiently and economically, and more employment has been given the laborers than ever before.
The pay of city laborers was increased, beginning July 1st, to $2.25 per day, and I have reason to believe that they feel they are fairly treated. It has always been my practice, both in private and públic business, to recognize all just demands of labor, and in the extraordinary amount of work carried on the past year it has been my endeavor to treat labor fairly and justly.
In all contracts for street construction the law requires a provision limiting the hours of labor to eight hours, the same as the city laborers. I have gone much farther, how- ever, in my attempt to prevent any injustice on account of con- tract work. In all contracts appear the following provisions which have been fully lived up to by the contractors : "In the employment of unskilled laborers, preference shall be given to residents of this city and they shall be paid at least as high a rate of wages as laborers on the same kind of work em- ployed by the city."
8
ANNUAL REPORTS.
It has been found by a comparison of the cost of work done by contract and by day labor that a considerable amount has been saved by the contract work, and because of this sav- ing the city has been enabled to use its own force for a longer period than is usual on construction work.
Middlesex Avenue.
As the result of many conferences held by me with the Massachusetts Highway Commission, Middlesex avenue from Mystic avenue to the Metropolitan Park District boulevard near the Wellington bridge, a distance of about half a mile, is now being constructed by the commission with a per- manent pavement to a uniform width of twenty-four feet.
Under authority given by the board of aldermen of last year our city has made an agreement to pay about twenty- five per cent. of the expense of construction, and the cost to the city for future maintenance will be small in accordance with the general law in regard to state highways.
The saving to the city in cost of construction and future maintenance is fully justified by the nature of the travel over this public way which comes mostly from other cities and towns.
Alewife Brook Parkway
A few years ago the Metropolitan Park Commission took land along Alewife brook and has completed a large part of the improvement in the brook itself but has not constructed the parkway in this city which was surveyed and planned at that time.
Strong efforts should be made to secure the construc- tion of this parkway without further delay.
This would complete an important part of the link be- tween our Powder House boulevard and the Fresh Pond res- ervation and establish the future grade of Broadway at the approach to the bridge over the brook where the proposed boulevard would cross, and thus enable the city to complete the permanent pavement of that part of Broadway.
This construction work should also furnish employment for a large number of our citizens,
.
9
MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
Refuse Disposal.
After conferring with the special committee on investi- gation of financial cost of city departments of last year, and after a personal investigation of the matter, I was convinced that the method of the collection of ashes and offal under the direction of the street department is not as satisfactory to the citizens as the former method under the direction of the health department. Accordingly, I recommended to last year's board an amendment of the ordinances to provide that the collection, carrying away, sale and disposal of house offal and ashes be placed back under the direction of the board of health, but no action was taken on the recommendation. I am of the same opinion now as then that this change would work for better service. Particularly do I feel that the hand- ling of house offal is a health measure and can be done by the health department with fewer causes for complaint. I would respectfully suggest that your honorable board look into the matter early in the year so that if such change is to be made it may be started before the warm weather.
Workmen's Compensation Acts.
The application of the Workmen's Compensation Acts to cities and towns was an entirely new departure and went into effect the first of the year. The subject is one that required most careful consideration, as the city employs a large num- ber of laborers, workmen and mechanics, for all of whom the city is liable in case of injury. The board of public works had before it three different experts who fully explained the workings of the law and its effect upon cities. Their estimates of the cost to Somerville for insurance were about $10,000 a year. After carefully listening to all these gentlemen could tell us and after comparing records of injuries to employees in past years, with estimates of the cost of such injuries under the new law,' I did not deem it advisable to insure, and I can- not but feel this action was justified. We appropriated for the purpose of covering our possible liabilities the sum of $5,000 and of this amount less than $1,000 has been spent, the unused balance being applied at the end of the year for other department expenses,
10
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Of course accidents during the year were few and we were fortunate in their absence. It seems to me, from our experience of the past year, the city would better continue to assume its own insurance.
Electrical Department.
The work of this department has increased rapidly in the last few years. All modern buildings are equipped with electricity and careful inspection is demanded for the safety of the city. This work takes a great amount of the commis- sioner's time, about 2,500 inspections having been made the past year.
The police and fire alarm signal systems are under the care of this department and much attention is necessary to keep them working properly.
The police signal system is giving excellent service, over 800 calls a day being transmitted to the police station from patrol boxes on the streets.
The present fire alarm system, some of which has been in operation for over forty years, is not adequate for the city. A good system of this sort is a necessity, for, if out of com- mission, the city is. in great danger and our fire apparatus of little use. The present headquarters are in the central fire station and more or less exposed to fire danger. Ulti- mately a new fire-proof building for this use alone, equipped with modern appliances, should be provided.
I am not sure that the finances of the present year will warrant this expenditure, but it is a matter that should be carefully considered.
Buildings Department.
The construction of new buildings in our city during the year 1914 has included, in addition to a large number of new dwellings, several mercantile and business structures which we are glad to welcome.
Among the more prominent of this class of buildings, and those representing a considerable intrinsic value are : the Hobbs building in Davis square, the Knights of Columbus building on Highland avenue, two large mercantile buildings on the Squire's estate near the Boynton yard, a large addition to the Boston
11
MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
Burial Case Company's factory, several public garages, and a business block in Teele square.
In addition to these a large apartment building has been constructed on Broadway, Winter Hill, which is a credit to the city.
The total valuation of new construction during the year in- dicates a steady growth.
A recent act of the legislature has greatly increased the responsibility and duties of the buildings department by plac- ing the inspection of elevators and licensing of elevator opera- tors under its jurisdiction. It is proposed to handle this added work by the employment of an inspector for at least three . months of the year.
The public buildings of the city have an estimated value of $2,400,000.00, and require constant care to provide comfortable occupancy by the various departmental activities of the city.
I regret that we cannot find sufficient funds at once to 1 enovate entirely and immediately all of the older structures, but I feel that by judicious and careful attention to the needs, a great deal can be accomplished with the funds available during the ensuing year.
A large proportion of the valuation of our public buildings is represented by the buildings occupied for school purposes, and the constant use of these buildings for many years, and dur- ing the last few years by the added uses for vocational and so- cial activities, has increased materially the cost of their main- tenance. Not the least important in this regard is the matter of furnishing light and power, and I hope that by modern ap- pliances and a careful study of the whole question, we may be able to make changes which will materially decrease the cost of this item.
The old building at the corner of Highland avenue and Walnut street, originally a fire station and later used as a city hall annex, has been removed and its former site, together with the grounds around the new library building, has been re- graded. The old library building was remodeled early in the year to furnish quarters for the various city departments and the patriotic organizations formerly using the annex. The present location of these departments in closer proximity to
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
the executive center, the city hall, tends to more efficient municipal administration.
The most gratifying feature of the changes made in this building was the opportunity afforded for providing better and more suitable quarters for the Grand Army and its allied bodies. We have been enabled to give them a commodious assembly hall and a large social room with smaller rooms adjoining, for all their various activities. They are pleasantly located today and it is a pleasure to have been able to contribute so much to the comfort and enjoyment of these men whose ranks are so rapidly thinning and for whom we cannot do too much.
Schools.
The item of "Education" in our annual budget of appro- priations is a very heavy one. So many new features are being introduced and the school population increase is so great that the cost necessarily mounts from year to year. The most careful economy in school management should be constantly practiced. In the use of the word economy, I mean attention to the details of management, careful expenditures and elimina- tion of waste or extravagance. No man has more interest in our public schools than I, and no man more firmly believes in the education and training of youth along the best lines.
We are not penurious in this city and I pray we never may be, in doing our part toward providing suitable training for the young manhood so soon to take our places in this busy world. Our appropriation for the item "Education" in 1914 was $455,750.00 ; twenty-seven per cent. of our maintenance appro- priations.
It will be necessary to provide increased accommodations the present year and I recommend the construction of at least one new building.
The school committee has gone on record as favoring the use of the alternating plan in certain buildings. Their desire, as I understand, is to remodel certain of the present buildings in order that they may try the experiment of the new plan. For both the Gary and Sewickley plans, which the superintendent has so fully explained to the committee, the work of remodel- ing the building would be extensive and expensive, and under the present laws of the commonwealth the burden of cost would have to be borne in the tax levy of the year, It is
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
roughly estimated that the cost of such changes in only one of the schools suggested by the committee would add forty cents to our tax rate. I do not believe it is desirable to try this experiment in a city like ours by remodeling old buildings, for I do not think our taxpayers would approve of a greatly increased tax rate for the purpose of experimenting with an uncertain system.
It would seem much wiser to construct a new building in which the plan could be given a test under the most favorable conditions. The money for such a building could be secured on funded debt.
If this were built adjacent to one of our present schools, connected, if desired, by corridors, the new plan could be given a careful trial and if in the end it should prove a failure, the city would still have a modernly constructed and equipped building for its school system.
The schools suffered a distinct loss by the tragic death of Henry H. Folsom. A man of rare attainments, broad-minded and earnest, he filled the office of chairman of the school com- mittee with unusual ability.
Summer Playgrounds.
The playground work is something that can but commend itself to every one of us. We have over 13,000 children between the ages of five and fifteen years, and over 4,000 availed them- selves of the privileges of the summer playgrounds last year, a fact in itself evidence of their success.
Many years ago the city provided parks and playgrounds and has added to and improved them ever since. Last year at Lincoln park ice-water drinking fountains and seats to accom- modate 600 persons were added, and seats were provided at the city field on Broadway. A force of men is constantly em- ployed in the care and maintenance of all our many public grounds and a liberal annual appropriation is made for their maintenance.
The Somerville Playgrounds Association, to which our citizens have given of their time and money, is constantly help- ing along this work, and I regret that more cannot be done upon the part of the city.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
Public Library.
The cost of maintenance of the new building has been very little in excess of that of the old building, and its superiority in affording better service to its many patrons has been fully de- monstrated. The work of the branches has been most success- ful as is shown by the large number of persons who make use of their service.
A movement has been started to erect a memorial to the late Sam Walter Foss, to be placed in the library building. This seems most appropriate for the man whose memory it is proposed to so honor, and who, by his homely verse and his kindly ways, has left in the hearts of so many a memorial of his own.
Health Department
The work of this department has been unusually large. Improved methods have been introduced and the public health is better safeguarded than ever before. It is a gratifying fact that, in spite of an increased population, the number of deaths for 1914 was less than for 1913 and that the infant mortality has also decreased.
The contagious hospital and the tuberculosis camp have been taxed at times to their utmost capacity and have cared for nearly double the number of cases as compared with the pre- vious year.
Poor Department
The horrible conflict now being waged in Europe, the ruthless waste of human life, the devastation of homes, and the suffering of mothers and children bereft of husbands and fathers, and left without even the necessities of life, fill our souls with sorrow and our hearts with pity. Theirs is a de- serving charity.
But let us not in our consideration for those in other lands forget or overlook the need of help for those at our own doors. We have in this country to-day a loud and de- serving appeal for assistance. Whether it is due to the effect of the war abroad, to the effect of tariff laws, or something other than these, we need not consider at this time, but it is a fact that must be recognized that the great class of work-
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