USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1900 > Part 10
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July 31; 1.45; still alarm; house corner Melrose and Tremont streets; value of building and contents, $5500; insurance, $4000.
August 4; 3.40; box 63; brush fire on Howard street.
August 4; 8.00 p. m .; still alarm; brush fire on Howard street.
August 5; 4.40 p. m .; box 53; brush fire on Boardman avenue.
August 6; 11.39 a. m .; box 63; brush fire on Howard street.
August 6; 2.00 p. m .; box 52; brush fire on Richardson road.
August 6; 4.00 p. m .; still alarm; brush fire on Boardman avenue.
August 31; 11.58 a. m .; still alarm; house 244 Main street; owned and occupied by Henry Lynde; value of building and contents, $2300; damage, $22; insurance, $1 200.
September 4; 3.50 p. m .; still alarm; brush fire on Swain's Pond avenue.
September 5; 3.30 p. m .; still alarm; grass fire off Bel- mont street.
September 10; 2.55; still alarm; brush fire on Hayward avenue.
. September 12; 1I.15; still alarm brush fire on Wyoming avenue.
September 12; 12.45 p. m .; box 63; brush fire on Howard street.
September 12; 1.30 p. m .; box 53; brush fire on Hayward avenue.
September 12; 4.45 p. m .; box 53; brush fire on Hayward avenue.
September 14; 4.20 p. m .; box 25; brush fire on Sylvan street.
September 15; 4.45; still alarm; brush fire on Howard street.
September 16; 10.30; box 52; building off Albion street; owned by Mrs. Pendleton; occupied by Hiram Berry; value
163
FIRE REPORT.
of building and contents, $1100; damage, $500; insurance, $500; insurance paid, $250.
September 17; 4.30; still alarm; rekindling of previous fire.
September 21; 3.CI; box 41; house on Lebanon street; owned by Eugene McCarthy; occupied by C. Mullen; value of building and contents, $800; damage, $800; insurance, $500; insurance paid, $425.
October 6; 1.15 a. m .; box 42; hen house on estate of P. Hallahan.
October 17; 3.10 a. m .; still alarm; hen house of John Hines.
October 23; 11.07; box 42; building on Grove street; owned by John Harvey.
October 31; 9.16 a. m .; box 43; building 655 Main street; owned by John H. Atwood; value of building $10,500; damage, $120; insurance, $10,000; insurance paid, $120.
November 16; 3,00 p. m .; still alarm; grass fire off Mel- rose street.
November 27; 6.55; box 58; building No. 35 Otis street; owned by T. B. J. L. Grady; value of building and contents, $3000; insurance, $2500.
December 3; 9.30 p. m .; box 54; building 117-119 Frank- lin street; owned by George Boardman; occupied by Munn Bros. and others; value of building and contents, $6389; damage, $2630; insurance, $5300; insurance paid, $1608.
December 8; 8.32; still alarm; building No. 14 Emerson place; owned by Mrs. M. E. Selee; occupied by Aaron Harris; value of building, $3300.
December 13; 3.30 p. m .; still alarm; house on Fletcher street; owned and occupied by Horatio Libby; value of building and contents, $9000; damage, $67; insurance, $6000.
December 13; 8.55 p. m .; still alarm ; recall to the Ho- ratio Libby house.
December 13; 8.35 p. m .; still alarm; brush fire on Pearl street.
December 14; 1.07 a. m .; box 62; house No. 15 Linden street; owned and occupied by George Breare; value of building and contents, $3500; insurance, $1600.
December 19; 5.48; box 43; building No. 642 Main street;
164
FIRE REPORT.
owned by Mrs. George E. Seaman; occupied by Mrs. Eva Keith Greene; value of building and contents, $8000 damage, $925; insurance, $4800; insurance paid, $50.
December 26; 6.44; still alarm; ice houses on Main street.
December 31 ; 6.40 p. m .; box 52; false alarm.
January 3; 8.45 .; box 51; barn No. 35 Reading Hill ave- nue; owned and occupied by Mrs. Frank E. Morton; value of building and contents, $1000; damage, $300; insurance, $1000; insurance paid, $300; cause, lantern explosion.
January 21; 11.54 a. m .; box 41; building No. 175 Linwood avenue; owned by Eben S. Griffen; occupied by Mr. Brown and Mr. Easton; value of building and contents, $1800; damage, $5; insurance $1200; insurance paid, $5; cause, thawing water pipes.
January 23; 11.30 a. m .; still alarm; Harnden's market, Rogers' block, Franklin street; value of building and con- tents, $4800; insurance, $3600.
January 29; 1.02 a. m .; boxes 28 and 41; building No. 95 Park street; owned and occupied by Luther E. Chandler; value of building and contents, $3400; damage $3400; in- surance, $2800; insurance paid, $2550; cause, overheated furnace.
January 31; box 54; building No. 98 Ashland street; owned and occupied by Chester A. Coombs; value of build- ing and contents, $3200; damage, $26; insurance, $3200; in- surance paid, $26; cause, caught from lamp.
The value of property endangered, $131,493; total dam- age, $34,277; insurance, $92,200; insurance paid, $26,672; loss, $7,605.
A. WILBUR LYNDE, Chief JOSEPH M. HOLBROOK. SAMUEL LEAR, Clerk.
Melrose Hospital Report.
MELROSE, MASS., March 7, 1901. The Board of Aldermen:
GENTLEMEN: Please find herewith an itemized account of the number of persons and the length of time each was treated free of charge from October 18th, 1899, to October 18th, 1900, which is the hospital year. Enclosed you will find a list of the hospital rates, by which you will see that the ward beds are ten dollars a week. The average cost for these patients is fourteen dollars and fifty cents per week, being a little more than as much again as the city of Mel- rose allows for their care.
Yours truly,
L. I. DES BRISAY,
Superintendent.
FREE NURSING IN MELROSE HOSPITAL, FROM OCTOBER 18, 1899, TO OCTOBER 18, 1900.
No.
Admitted.
Discharged.
Day.s
I
.
October 18th, December 10th,
53
2
.
18th,
15th, 58
3
18th,
October 26th, 9
4
66
18th,
27th, IO
6
66
2Ist,
66
22d,
2
7
66
24th,
November 12th,
19
8
3Ist,
October
3Ist,
I
9
3Ist,
November 22d,
22
IO
3Ist,
15th,
16
II
November Ist,
December 21st,
51
12
2d
18th,
46
13
9th,
9th,
30
I4
Ioth,
November 25th,
16
15
18th,
December 10th,
23
20th,
27th,
8
5
166
HOSPITAL REPORT.
No. 16
Admitted.
Discharged.
Days. 28
I7
18
2Ist,
December 30th, 40
19
December 5th, 10th,
5th, I
20 21
I 5th,
17th,
3
22
16th,
22d,
7
23
19th, January
6th,
I7
24
23d,
December 23d, ..
23d,
I
25 26
January
3d, 14th,
January
19th, 15th,
2
28
١١
14th,
January
19th,
I
33 34
February 5th,
March
9th,
32
9th,
5th,
24
35
13th,
February 27th,
15
March 25th,
27
37
March 17th,
May 13th,
56
39
April 3d, 6th,
April
17th,
15
1 7th,
I2
IIth,
20th,
IO
43
18th,
2Ist, .
4
44
4th,
7th,
4
45
2Ist,
May 19th,
29
46
30th,
April 30th,
I
47
May IIth,
May 31st,
2I
48
16th,
" 4th,
20
49 50
66
28th,
June 20th,
24
51
June
Ist,
Ist,
I
6th,
6th,
I
54
6th,
29th,
24
27
February 23d,
Ist,
18
29 30 3I 32
19th,
19th,
19th,
I
20th,
22d, 3
36
27th,
March 29th, 66 26th,
6
38
24th,
26th,
I
40 41 42
14th,
June 2d,
20
25th,
May 30th,
6
52 53
November 18th,
2Ist,
December 14th, November 29th, IO
10th,
I
I
66
23d,
I7
44
8th,
167
HOSPITAL REPORT.
No.
Admitted.
Discharged.
Days.
55
June 8th, June 14th,
7
56
·
8th,
15th,
8
57
IIth,
July 7th,
27
58
66
14th,
June 22d,
9
59
12th,
23d,
12
60
66
18th,
28th,
II
61
22d,
July
6th,
15
62
July
6th,
12th,
7
63
66
9th,
16th,
8
65
66
13th,
August 12th,
30
66
I3th,
July 19th,
7
67
13th,
August 5th,
23
68
2Ist,
12th,
23
69
22d,
July 3Ist,
9
70
25th,
August Ist,
7
71
26th,
IIth,
16
72
30th,
September 27th,
59
73
66
3Ist,
August
Ist,
2
74
August
Ist,
24th,
24
75
7th,
7th,
I
76
6th,
9th,
4
77
15th,
September 24th,
40
78
September
4th,
5th,
2
79
3d,
10th,
8
80
10th,
12th,
3
81
66
Ioth,
15th,
6
82
29th,
October
Ist,
3
83
29th,
6th,
8
84
30th,
September 30th,
I
85
October
Ist,
November 20th,
50
86
3d,
October 6th,
4
87
16th,
16th,
I
88
66
18th,
20th,
3
1,250
Free nursing done outside of hospital,
75
1,325
9th,
9th,
I
64
First Annual Report
OF THE
Engineer and Superintendent
OF THE
0
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT,
CITY OF MELROSE, MASS.
FROM JANUARY 1, 1900, TO JANUARY 31, 1901.
W. DABNEY HUNTER, Engineer and Superintendent Public Works Dept.
MELROSE : A. W. DUNTON & CO., PRINTERS, REPORTER OFFICE.
1901.
MELROSE, April 15, 1901.
,In committee on highways, sewers, water and public grounds:
It was voted that this report be accepted and placed on file.
VICTOR C. KIRMES, Clerk of Committee.
In Board of Aldermen : April 15, 1901.
Report of committee on highways accepted and report placed on file.
ORGANIZATION. 1900.
HON. LEVI S. GOULD, Mayor.
W. DABNEY HUNTER, Engineer and Superintendent.
EMMA L. LEIGHTON,
Stenographer.
WILLIAM H. MARTIN, Book-keeper.
WILLIAM F. HUNT, Assistant in charge of Engineering Division.
JAMES MARSHALL, JAMES W. RILEY,
Assistant in charge of Highway Division. Assistant in charge of Water Division.
JAMES McTIERNEY, Assistant Clerk and Inspector in Water Division.
BARTLEY MALONEY, Assistant in charge of Sewer Division.
To His Honor the Mayor, John Larrabee :
DEAR SIR :-- I have the honor to submit to you the first annual report of the Public Works Department of the City of Melrose, covering the period of thirteen months, begin- ning January 1, 1900, and ending January 31, 1901 .*
This department is created by clause 7, of Section 36 of the City Charter (Chapter 162 of the Acts of 1899), which reads as follows :---
" The public works department, to be under the charge of an official who shall be known as the engineer and superin- tendent of public works. He shall have charge of the design, construction, alteration, repair, maintenance and management of the water works, the public sewers and drains, the public ways, sidewalks and bridges, public parks, squares and playgrounds, and the lighting and watering thereof, and also the public buildings, excepting however such duties with reference to the school buildings as are now conferred by law and this act upon the school committee. He shall make and have the custody of all plans, surveys, measurements and levels appertaining to the public ways, drains, sewers, water works and lands, and shall perform such other duties as the board of aldermen may prescribe. Subject to the approval of the mayor he shall appoint an assistant superintendent in the water department, an assis- tant superintendent in the sewer department, and such other assistants as the condition of the work may require."
In making this report I shall do so under separate heads and at the close of each will give a summary of the receipts and expenditures, but will not give them in detail as the space required would be too great.
* NOTE :- Under the Town Government the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, whereas under the city charter it ends Jan. 31, making the fiscal year of the city thirteen instead of twelve months.
173
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
PUBLIC WORKS OFFICE.
The work of this office has been to answer all correspon- dence both of the mayor and that of the public works department, also the keeping of the mayor's records, as he did me the honor of appointing me his clerk ; collect all sundry charges in the water, sewer, highway and other departments ; write contracts, proposals and agreements; report on orders and petitions to the board of aldermen and the various committees of the board, and grant permits for sundry purposes.
A synopsis of this work is as follows:
Permits to occupy and open public streets, . 178
" move buildings through public streets, 6
" erect signs over public streets, I
66 66
" flag over public streets, 2
Orders of the board of aldermen attended to or reported on, . · 153
Contracts written and made: sewer pipe and spe- cials, cast iron pipe and specials, street watering, concrete and regrading Main street,
Agreements or releases for private sewers, . I ٤٠ " water services, . I
5
Special agreements, 7
Letters received and answered, 3,645 .
Number of collections made, 491
" refunds made, 170
Street watering accounts abated, . 43
Sewer accounts divided,
104
The expense of this office for the 13 months is below:
Amount appropriated, . $1,105 00
Allowance for January. . 40 03
Receipts paid treasurer, 3 78
$1,148 81
174
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
EXPENDED.
For stenographer-13 months,
$510 00
" clerical assistance, .
27 00
" typewriting.
IO 25
" books, stationery, printing, stamps, etc., .
254 80
telephone service,
54 68
" care of horse, .
255 35
repairs to office,
15 78
" expressage,
8 35
$1,136 21
Unexpended balance,
$12 60
WATER DIVISION.
After carefully studying into the needs and requirements of this division of the public works department I was con- vinced that some improvement could be made.
The last rules and rates published by the water commis- sioners was in 1886; since then the rates have been changed, many of their rules have become obsolete, while others by custom have been added.
My first thought was could I recommend that the rates be reduced. Assuming that all charges and expenses per- taining to the care and maintenance of the works together with state assessment, interest and sinking-fund require- ments should be paid from the receipts, then the questions were, first-what would these changes be; second-could they be reduced, and if so, how.
In answer to the first question I was confronted with the following: - Bonded water debt, $237,000, to meet the pay-
ERRATA .- The amount ($65.80) which appears in sev- eral places as being collected and paid treasurer for sum- mons is incorrect, and should not have appeared as a sepa- rate item but should have been added to the amount col- . lected for water.
175
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
ment of which at maturity annual appropriation necessary for sinking-fund requirements, about, $10,000 00 Annual interest, 9,480 00
Ultimate metropolitan water tax, about, 17,000 00
General maintenance and care of local system, estimated on the past expenditures of the water commissioners, 12,000 00
Total,
$48,480 00
The largest receipts of this division were those reported by the water commissioners in 1899, being $44,560.97, show- ing that unless some gain was made, which is probable, a deficiency would exist of $3,919.03 .*
Second :- Could the expenses be reduced, and if so, how? The amount necessary for sinking-fund requirements and the interest on our bonds seems to be fixed and the amount payable to the commonwealth is likewise fixed, which leaves the item-general maintenance and care of local system- $12,000, the only one over which there is any possible con- trol. This amount is too large and is principally due to im- perfections in our works, namely: first, weak cement pipes; second, old iron service pipes; third, both main and service pipes are laid too near the surface of the street, causing them to freeze during the winter months. How could these defects be remedied? First, weak cement pipes. The aban- donment of the Melrose high service reservoir and taking water from the Metropolitan northern high service reservoir increased the pressure in our pipes about ten pounds and the number of breaks was noticeably increased. To prevent this about the first work done was to purchase and put in place a
NOTE .- The amount estimated as Metropolitan water tax will not be reached until about 1905. We at present (1900) pay $6,740 which amount will be increased about $2,000 per year until a sum is raised sufficient to meet all the requirements of interest. sinking-fund and maintenance of the Metropolitan system. The deficiency which now exists is paid from the bond issue. The Metropolitan water board at the present time are strongly advocating the advisability of adopting the "pay as you go" policy, which, if done would jump our assessment at the present time up to between thirteen and fourteen thousand dollars.
176
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
mechanical device called a regulator, by means of which the pressure could be reduced to the same as when we took water from our own reservoir, or even less if desired. It has been maintained as near as possible at the old pressure and this has materially diminished the number of breaks, still they are altogether too frequent, being about 140 for the year and the cost for repairing $1, 117.69, to say nothing of the damage done to highways or the inconvenience occas- ioned to water takers, nor the increased risk from fire. This regulator has certainly more than paid for itself the past season.
Second :- Old iron service pipes. Many of the first ser- vice pipes laid are plain wrought iron, neither galvanized, cement or lead lined, and consequently are continually stop- ping up from rust and have to be dug up and cleaned. When new mains are put in, these should likewise be re- newed with either all lead, lead lined, or tin lined pipes.
Third: - The grades in many of our streets have been changed, some raised and some lowered; where lowered, the water pipes in some instances freeze solid in cold weather and have to be thawed out; this is a needless expense and can be prevented by lowering. To make these improve- ments requires an expenditure of no small sum and it is the opinion of your engineer and superintendent that now, while the payments to the commonwealth are small, we should use all the receipts available or not needed for interest and sink- ing fund requirements for this purpose, and by so doing re- duce each year the general maintenance.
Thus it will be seen that the rates cannot at present be materially reduced.
The next question is, can the receipts be increased? By more care and watchfulness and a rigid enforcement of the rules and regulations relative to collections they can and have been.
There appears to have been a number of customs in prac- tice in the past which resulted in the loss of collections, such as abatement of the charge for hose to all persons claiming not to use the same; the abatement for vacancies simply on the statement of the consumer or party interested. There
177
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
is not the slightest doubt that a great many people used the hose without paying for it. Requests have been made for abatements on account of vacancies as far back as 1898 without the slightest evidence of such vacancy, except the statement of the party interested. I do not mean that all of these persons misrepresented the facts, but it is at least pos- sible that some did. Abatements should not be made or money refunded for vacancies unless proper notice is given and the water shut off.
Another source of leakage was from turning on water for portions of the year without collecting the rates in advance. Many people occupy a house only a portion of the year and if the rates are not paid in advance we lose them.
To obviate these difficulties new rules were prepared, to- gether with a schedule of new rates, using the old rules and rates as a basis. They were presented to his honor Mayor Gould, who approved and forwarded them to the board of aldermen, recommending that they be passed. They have been reported upon favorably by the committee on high- ways, water, sewers and public grounds, and are now on the aldermen's table.
Until the year 1895 the water department always had some allowance by the town for the water used for municipal purposes; since then it has been discontinued. It would seem unfair to assess upon the water takers the cost of the water used in our public buildings, drinking-fountains, watering streets and for fire purposes; and it is a more apparent injustice to assess upon them the cost of caring for hydrants and for construction, which the past year has amounted to $124.20 and $3,347.60 respectively. This latter charge, construction, should be provided for by a bond issue.
9
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT.
Chapter 488 of the Acts of 1895 established a board of metropolitan water commissioners, defined their duties, rights and powers, and also fixed the limits of the district, which district is subject to such change as may be made by said board.
178
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
At present this district consists of the cities of Boston, Somerville, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Quincy and Melrose, and the towns of Belmont, Watertown, Arlington, Nahant, Revere and Winthrop, which pays the expenses of the district (except Boston which pays entirely on the pro- portional valuation) partly on the proportional valuation and partly on the proportional population. The total valu- ation of the district is $1,351,533, 161.00, and the total popu- lation is 809,555.
The valuation of Melrose is $12,778,365.00 or .9454 per cent. of the whole, while the population is 12,962 or 1.60 per cent. of the whole. We will pay the coming year about $8,878.00, divided as follows :- on valuation $2,837.00 and on population $5,153.00.
The metropolitan water board notified the officials of the various cities and towns comprising the district of a confer- ence to consider certain matters pertaining to the water supply and the annual payments, which can best be ex- plained by giving a copy of a circular issued by them after holding the first meeting:
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
METROPOLITAN WATER BOARD.
I Ashburton Place.
DEAR SIR :- At a conference held on Wednesday, Jan. 30, I901, between the metropolitan water board and the various water boards or commissioners in the metropolitan water district, the following matters were considered:
I. Prevention of the waste or excessive use of water.
2. Uniform regulations for the use of hand hose and lawn sprinklers.
At the close of the meeting it was decided to hold an adjourned meeting at the office of the board on Wednesday, February 13, at 3 o'clock p. m., and several of those present afterwards suggested that an abstract of the statements and suggestions made be printed and distributed.
I. Prevention of waste or excessive use of water.
179
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
Attention was called to the rapid increase in the consump- tion of water per inhabitant, amounting to 54 per cent. in ten years, and the need for taking such measures as would prevent a like increase in the future.
The great annual increase in the consumption of water is not only increasing the current expenses of operation, but is hastening the time when large expenses must be incurred for the enlargement and extension of works and the acquisi- tion of new sources of supply.
If the population in the metropolitan water district increases in the decade ending 1910 by the same number that it increased in the preceding decade, and the number of gallons consumed per inhabitant also increases in this decade as in the preceding decade, the consumption of water in the district in 1910, without annexations, will be 164,000,000 gallons. The state board of health estimated that the capacity of the whole metropolitan water system, after the addition of the Nashua river, would be 173,000,000 gallons per day, but this included an average of 6,000,000 gallons per day of freshet water from the Sudbury river water-shed, which probably would not be acceptable to the water consumers of the district, leaving the net capacity 167,000,000 gallons per day. Annexations to the district will probably cause an increased demand for water. If by the use of meters the consumption can be reduced to 100 gallons per inhabitant, which is a liberal quantity, the supply would last, without additions, an additional eight or ten years.
Under the metropolitan water act the amounts of assess- ments laid upon the various cities and towns in the district are not in proportion to the consumption of water in the cities and towns respectively.
There are disadvantages and difficulties in a plan for measuring the quantity of water used by the different cities and towns and charging in proportion to such quantity. In order that such a plan should be wholly effective, not only each city and town, but also each individual water taker should have a direct financial interest to prevent the waste and excessive use of water.
180
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
It was suggested that the most effective measure for encouraging economy in the use of water is to provide that water be furnished to the individual takers through meters.
Two methods have been proposed for increasing the use of meters in the district, both of which would require legislation.
First. A compulsory method, requiring the use of meters, the number used to be increased each year at a rate pro- portioned to the number of services.
Details under this method were not considered, and the method was not generally discussed.
Second. An optional method, offering an inducement to each city or town to introduce meters.
Such an optional method, suggested by the chief engineer, was outlined by him as follows:
Ascertain the number of water meters in use in the vari- ous cities and towns in the district at the beginning of the year. Credit or pay the city of Boston for each meter so in use, say $3.00-that is, for the number in use on Jan. I, 1901, (4,455), the sum of $13,365. Credit or pay the other cities and towns in the district, say $2.50 for each meter -- that is, for the total number in use outside of Boston (5,930), the sum of $14,825. The total amount thus required in 1901 to meet the credits or payments on account of meters in use in the district would be $28,190. The money so required would have to be raised from the district. It was suggested that the necessary sum be assessed upon the various cities and towns in the district in the same manner as the sum necessary to meet the annual requirements for maintenance, interest, and the sinking fund. By this method the total assessment for the district, under the present law, would, for the year 1901, be increased by $28,190-that is, from $900,000 to $928,190; or, if the pay-as-you-go policy should be adopted, from, say, $1,534,800 to $1,562,990. The addi- tional sum of $28,190 thus assessed would be credited or paid back to the cities and towns in proportions different from those in which it was assessed, and according to the number of meters in use. The city of Boston would receive $3.00 for each of its meters in use on Jan. I, 1901; every
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