USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1908 > Part 16
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4
10,500
49.5
Willow Street,
Beach Street easterly, 1886
5
536
40
Winter Street,
South St. to East Howard St.,
Ancient
2
1,000
33
Winthrop Avenue,
South Central Avenue to Beale Street, 1873-1879
5
1,800
50
Wollaston Avenue,
Hancock Street to Fenno Street,
1886
5
690
40
Woodbine Street,
Hancock Street westerly,
1885
5
624
40
Woods Street,
Willard Street to Braintree Line, Ancient
4
1,480
40
Woodward Avenue,
Coddington St. to Greenleaf St.,
1896
1
1,660
40
353
354
SEWER DIVISION
The following is a report of the work done by the Sewer Division for the year 1908. We began the year with a balance of $15,118.66 and on May 4th 1908 the City Council made an appropriation of $30,000 for the extension of the system. The work of construction was begun in April and carried on throughout the season by two separate construction forces. The entire season's work was performed by day labor, thus affording the citizens employment in this last year of depression.
The sewers built during the year have been fairly well distributed over the different sections of the city and were constructed mainly at the suggestion and recommendation of the Board of Health. All others were built upon the petition of abutting property owners.
The construction of the sewer in Farrington Street and other streets in that vicinity, a section of the city that was in a deplorable sanitary condition, was the first work at- tempted. Some little difficulty was encountered here by the large amount of water to take care of but after the first two weeks the work progressed rapidly and as soon as the sewer was completed all the houses on the line were immediate- ly connected. All the other sewers were carried to comple- tion without experiencing any greater difficulties than were anticipated. The following table gives a summary of the work done the past year showing location, length, and sizes.
'Street
From
To
Length
Size
Arnold Street Arthur Avenue
Murdock Avenue
near Washington Street
372.08
8 inch
Arthur Street
165 feet northerly
165.00
8 inch
Beacon Street
Glendale Road
550 feet northerly
550.00
8 inch
Bent Place
Quincy Point Main
190 feet westerly
190.00
8 inch
Broadway
Farrington Street
Newport Avenue
622.50
10-15 inch
Brooks Street
Billings Road
300 feet northerly
300.00
8 inch
Bryant Place
Nightingale Avenue
263 feet westerly
263.00
8 inch
Chubbuck Street
Watson Terrace
Claremont Avenue
622.50
8 inch
Claremont Avenue
Chubbuck Street
319.5 feet southerly
319.50
8 inch
Copeland Street
Furnace Avenue
Willard Street
1,019.33
8 inch
Dysart St. and Glencoe Pl. Elm Street
Scammell Street
1,496.90
10 inch
Fairmount Way
Station 4 plus 20
Monroe Road
136.80
8 inch
Farrington Street
North Central Avenue
Hobart Street
550.00
15 inch
Farrington Street
Hobart Street
165 feet northerly
165.00
8 inch
Farrington Street
Broadway
Wilson Avenue
857.32
8 inch
Fayette Street
Hobart Street
Broadway
1,407.16
15 inch
Fayette Street
Hobart Street
250 feet southerly
250.00
8 inch
Hobart Street
Farrington Street
Fayette Street
239.30
15 inch
Ilobart Street
Farrington Street
Taylor Street
480.00
8 inch
Hancock Street
Willett Street
near Billings Road
2,603.65 8-10-12 inch
Hamilton Street
IIamden Circle
149.3 feet westerly
149.30
8 inch
Kemper Street
Elm Avenue
500 feet southerly
500.00
8 inch
355
Lawrence Avenue Main Street
Chubbuck Street Station 1 plus 30
near South Street 570 feet southerly
573.00
8 inch
570.00
8 inch
Maple Street
23.70
8 inch
Marlboro Street
Elm Avenue
720 feet southerly
720.00
8 inch
Murdock Avenue
North Street
Arnold Street
628.15
8 inch
Newport Avenue
Broadway
450 feet northerly
450.00
8 inch
Oxenbridge Road
Tyler Street
98 feet southerly
98.00
8 inch
Phillips Street
Elm Avenue
300 feet southerly
300.00
8 inch
Pleasant Street
School Street
Quincy Street
575.95
8 inch
Safford Street
Wilson Avenue
400 feet northerly
400.00
8 inch
Safford Street
Hobart Street
275.6 feet southerly
275.60
8 inch
Taylor Street
50 feet no. of Hobart St. 326.6 feet southerly
326.60
8 inch
Thayer Street
Alleyne Street
250 feet northeasterly
250.00
8 inch
West Elm Avenue
Staunton Street
Gould Street
338.08
8 inch
Wilson Avenue
Fayette Street
Safford Street
480.27
8 inch
Total 19,268.69 feet or 3.649 miles of sewers built in 1908
356
357
PARTICULAR SEWERS
Two hundred and ninety-nine connections have been made with the public sewer at an average cost of $0.451 per foot or $20.53 per connection. The average length per connection was 45.489 feet. The total length of pipe laid for these connections was 13,601.30 feet making to date a total of 124,366.71 feet or 23.53 miles.
The fact that whole streets of houses were ordered by the Board of Health to be connected with the sewer and were put in one after another is in part responsible for the low cost of these connections.
There were six stoppages in the house connections dur- ing the year.
The money for the construction of particular sewers is exhausted and an early appropriation is requested to carry on the work the coming year. We have already several applications on hand.
Below will be found various tables in relation to par- ticular sewers :
By Wards
Ward
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total
30
53
41
9
110
56
299
Cost per Foot
Under
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 Over
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
$.20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 1.00 1.00 Total
1
15
84
117
49
22
4
3
2
2
299
Cost
per
Connection
Under
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90 Total
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
$20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
196
68
22
7
2
1
2
1 0 299
358
Classification
Single houses
192
Double houses
74
Three family houses
22
Four tenement houses
2
Fire Station
1
Bank Building
1
Quincy Post Office
1
Store
1
Fore River Pattern Shop
1
Iron Foundry
1
Atlantic Depot
1
Machine Shop (Pneumatic Scale)
1
Greenhouse
1
Fish Market
1
Office Building
1
Total 301
Maintenance
This appropriation is made for the purpose of taking care of the running expenses of the office and care, repair and cleaning of the sewers. It is mainly spent for the latter work but it is insufficient to do the work in a thorough manner.
When the Sewerage Commissioners turned over 23 miles of sewer to the control of the Commissioner of Public Works several years ago he was given an appropriation of $1,500 to care for the same. Today we have a total of 52.253 miles and the same amount of money to maintain them. I think, if due consideration could be given the matter the Council would see the necessity of increasing the appropria- tion that the work may be done properly. The flushing has been carried on at intervales during the spring and summer and the cleaning and scraping during the cold weather.
359
Assessments
The work of making assessments has been completed and a total of $20,940.71 has been assessed on abutting property owners for the construction of the sewers of 1908.
There are several petitions on file in this office for the extension of the Sewerage System and we have also re- ceived letters from the Board of Health recommending that the sewers be extended in various parts of the city. An estimate for the construction of these sewers will be made up and presented to the City Council for their consideration. It is urgent that the appropriation be made early in order that the work may be carried to completion before the cold weather sets in.
WATER DIVISION
The work of this department may be divided as follows : Financial, Construction and Maintenance.
Financial
There is considerable comment on the amount charged for water in Quincy and the usual remark accompanying it is "the water department is not on a paying basis." To show the water taker what he is paying for and to refute the second statement I should like to submit the following data which resolves itself into the question of water rates. The water taker not only must pay for the actual water used but a proportional share of the cost and maintenance of the system incident to his service.
The difficulty is to divide these charges equitably. Under the present system of fixture charges more than half the water paid for by the city runs to waste which naturally keeps up the water rates.
360
WATER RATES
As this is the principal interest the public have in the Water Department and as it is practically a matter of dollars and cents, I think it may best be considered directly from that stand-point as follows :
Income
Expenditures
(1) Water rates
(3)
Bond Payment
(2) From Tax levy
(4) Interest Payment
(5) Metropolitan Assessment
As item 1 and 2 are dependent entirely on items 3, 4, 5 and 6, I will take up the latter and refer you to the following table which covers the amount of these expenditures for the last ten years and an approximate estimate for the next five years.
Year
Bond Payments
Interest Payments
Metropolitan Assessments
Main- tenance
1899
$29.500 $28,735.00
$4,477.50
$9,000
1900
30,500
29,907.50
11,271.59
8,600
1901
31,500
29,172.50
22,004.38
10,000
1902
32,500
29,811.13
24,379.11
10,000
1903
34,500
29,087.70
30,237.42
10,000
1904
35,500
28.482.50
34,084.24
11,000
1905
37,500
27,295.00
35.832.50
10,000
1906
39,500
26.722.50
46,314.16
12,000
1907
39,500
26,201.50
50,027.14
12,000
1908
40,500
25.894.50
49,285.01
12.400
1909
42,500
25,385.00
50,000.00
12,000
1910
42,500
25.000.00
*50,000.00
12,000
1911
43,500
25,000.00
*50,000.00
12,000
1912
44,500
25,000.00 *50,000.00
12,000
1913
45,500
25,000.00 *50.000.00
12,000
*Depends on the consumption of water.
361
It will be readily seen from this table that items 3, 4 and 6 are practically fixed amounts. As the city grows, items 3 and 4 will remain about the same as appropriations for extensions of mains will have to be made for a great many years.
The cost of maintenance need not be increased for several years although after our meters increase in age the up keep will be more than at present.
As 3, 4 and 6 are practically fixed, item 5 will de- termine the amount of money to be raised each year in the future to meet the expenses of the department.
Metropolitan Assessment
This assessment has grown from about Five Thousand Dollars in 1899 to Fifty Thousand Dollars in 1907 and will continue to grow unless the people stop wasting water. The Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board have spent over Forty Millions of dollars in providing the district with pure water, and have asked for about another Million this year and if the consumption of water cannot be brought down to a reasonable amount it will be necessary to spend addi- tional sums for extensions and maintenance. By the Acts of 1905, Chapter 457, each city and town in the Metropolitan Water District must pay its proportioned share of the total sinking fund, interest and maintenance costs of the district.
One third of our assessment or about Seventeen Thou- sand Dollars is based on our valuation, which cannot be re- duced, two thirds or about Thirty-three Thousand Dollars is based on the consumption, which should be reduced one half. Other cities have done this and Quincy should.
METHOD FOR WATER CHARGES
Having fixed on the amount of money to be raised, the next question is how to assess it equitably. Let this be di- vided as follows :
362
Total water rates to be divided between
City Water takers
Municipal buildings, Drinking fountains Fixture rates
Construction work, Sewer flushing Small meter takers
Street watering, Blowing off hydrants Large meter takers.
Cemetery and Fire protection
Before fixing the amount the City should pay for the water it uses, it would be well to settle the question as to whether it should pay anything or not.
By the word City I mean taxable property and munici- pal departments and there is a decided difference between the tax payer and the water taker.
The city as a whole receives the benefit from the water used for various purposes for which it should pay as follows :
Street watering $2,000
Street construction 200
Sewer construction and flushing
200
School houses
1,500
Public buildings
500
Fire protection (735 hydrants)
22,050
Flooding ponds, parks and playgrounds
100
Water construction 200
Nine Fountains
400
Cemetery
80
Flushing dumps
80
Total
$27,310
The main item of this amount is for fire protection and I cannot see why the property so protected should not pay for it.
In planning the system of water works fire protection is provided in each locality, not on the basis of water takers but on the property valuation, the more valuable the property
363
the better fire protection necessary. The above figures are conservative and in most cities the hydrant rental is larger than this either for municipal or private plants.
Assume for the present that the city will pay its proper amount and the balance of the assessment, about One Hun- dred Thousand Dollars, must be divided between the large meter takers, small meter takers and fixture rates.
The minimum rates to large consumers are practically fixed by the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board and as we receive from these rates about Thirty Thousand Dollars it leaves about Seventy Thousand Dollars to be raised among about six thousand small takers. This amount may be di- vided as follows :
1 Bond Payment $22,500
2 Interest Payment 14,100
3 Metropolitan Assessment 26,900
4 Maintenance 6,500
Add 1, 2, 4 and one third of 3 and we have practically the average fixed charge, due to cost and maintenance, to be assessed to the small takers or an average of $8.68 per taker. This is the average amount chargeable to each taker for fixed charges or the minimum rate provided every ser- vice was metered. To this would have to be added a charge for the actual amount of water used at the present whole- sale rates. The minimum charge could be fixed lower than this, probably at about our present minimum fixture rate, as the excess used by many consumers would offset the re- duction.
This would work out as follows :
6,000 takers at $6.00 $36,000
450,000,000 gallons used by small takers at $.12 54,000
Total $90,000
364
This yearly consumption for the small takers of 450,- 000,000 gallons is based on what the consumption would be if meters were installed on all services. The present con- sumption is twice this amount. The reason for this is the large number of unmetered services and the sooner these services are metered the sooner the water rates for small consumers can be reduced. The rate to small manufacturers could also be reduced to almost the present wholesale rate.
The wholesale rate cannot be fixed as a flat rate basis per hundred cubic feet and be equitable as may be seen by analyzing the items of expenditures. Three of these items, Bond payment, Interest payment and Maintenance, are de- pendent on the size or cost of the plant and the size depends more on the number of takers than on the amount of water used. As two thirds of the Metropolitan assessment is based on consumption, this can properly be divided per gallon con- sumed or at about four and one half cents per 1,000 gallons. Add to this the cost of distribution, which will be found to be from one cent to seven cents per thousand gallons, de- pending on the quantity used and then add to this the mini- mum charge per service as figured above which can be found from the frontage of the property and it will be found that the City makes some profit from even our lowest minimum charge.
Assume for the moment under the present system a flat rate of fifteen cents per 1,000 gallons and the result would be that a family using 30,000 gallons per year would pay $4.50 per year and therefore pay practically no part of the fixed charges, whereas a large consumer using 100,000,000 gallons a year would pay $15,000 per year, paying thereby an eighth of the fixed charges of the entire system. Summing the whole matter we arrive at the following method of fixing rates- Fix a minimum charge per consumer for fixed charges and then sell the water to each at practically a flat rate.
WATER METERS
Of our six thousand odd services about one-third are metered. The law requires all new services and five per cent
365
of those unmetered Dec. 31, 1907 shall be metered each year. Some cities have done more than this and in every case their water consumption has been reduced to one-third or one-half that of our city.
Water is cheap but it costs a lot to store and distribute it. Over forty million dollars have been spent by the Metropolitan District for this purpose and if the present waste keeps up it will be necessary to spend large additional sums. Thirty gal- lons per day per capita is plenty for domestic purposes and we use and waste three times that amount. Last year the City of Melrose reduced it's per capita consumption to about one- half of ours and if this were done in Quincy by metering every service it would pay at least twenty-five per cent on the in- vestment. On account of the high minimum rate meters have been set on the high fixture rates but these are not the places where the most leakage occurs as the plumbing is usually in good condition. This reduces the water income to the city in almost every case and does not reduce the per capita consum- tion to any extent. For these reasons and those given in the discussion of the water rates I firmly believe the whole city should be metered as soon as possible.
WATER CONSUMPTION IN METERED PLACES
Malden 46
Melrose
60
Brockton 34
Milton
44
Quincy
99
CONSTRUCTION
The extensions of mains have been made almost without exception to accommodate new takers and in each case there will be sufficient revenue to justify it. Forty extensions of various sizes have been made in various parts of the city. In a few instances there has been a direct advantage to the sys- tem in connecting up dead ends and reinforcing the supply. During the coming vear there are a few mains which should
366
be laid to better the distributing system, on which there will be no increased revenue but most of the extensions now peti- tioned for will give additional revenue.
As there is no plan of a completed system for the City this matter is being looked into and a plan will be made so that when future extensions are made they may be a part of a finished system. As we have excellent pressure and plenty of water good fire protection may be obtained in all parts of the city by a proper distribution of the right sized pipes and as the city grows these pipes will not have to be taken up and larger ones substituted. From the number of petitions on hand the first of the year I expected to have a balance left for the purchase of supplies but fully as many more petittions came in after the appropriation was made.
The appropriation should be made early in the year as better prices on materials can usually be made then and the work started early. As a rule nothing smaller than a six inch pipe is laid as smaller pipes will not give sufficient fire protec- tion. Some additional hydrants should be set on existing mains.
During the year 312 new services were put in making the total number in use 6,403. The cost of putting in these ser- vices was $8,718.06 of which $4,491.74 was charged to the owners and $4,226.32 charged to the City. 433 meters were set, making a total of 1,983 in use. 19 hydrants and 35 gates were set.
The total number of feet of street mains laid was 17,806 feet, 1,072 feet of 2 inch was taken up, making the total length of street mains 561,161 feet.
The following tables will show miles of pipe, number of hydrants and gates, also the location of pipe, hydrants and gates put in during the year.
List of stock can be found on file in my office.
Respectfully submitted,
RANDOLPH BAINBRIDGE,
Commissioner of Public Work,
367
MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT
Appropriation and balance from 1907 $11,227.19
Expended to Dec. 31, 1908 10,614.29
Balance $612.90
CLERICAL SERVICE
Appropriation $1,400.00
Expended 1,400.00
CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNT
Appropriation and balance from 1907 $20,511.47
Receipts from services 10,532.22
Total $31,043.69
Expended $30,840.57
Balance $203.12
METER ACCOUNT
Appropriation and balance from 1907 $9,828.63
Expended 7,369.01
Balance $2,459.62
Total Assessment for water rates 1908
$115,420.91
Amount rebated for vacancies an non- use of fixtures
$3,385.26
Amount due from 1908 Assessment . .
$3,062.61
Amount due from premises shut off 958.29
Amount collected on assessment 108,014.75
$115,420.91
Amount collected on 1908 Assessment $108,014.75
Amount collected on 1907 Assessment 597.81
Total Amount Collected $108,611.56
368 -
LOCATION OF HYDRANTS SET IN 1908
No.
Ward
1 Babcock St. 1 Southerly end of St. near Manet Ave.
1 Babcock St. 1 Northerly end of St. near Manet Ave.
1 Billings Rd. 6 Corner of Vassall Street.
1 Brockton St. Ger. 1 500 feet from Palmer Street.
1 Fairmount Way 1 340 feet from Goffe Street.
1 Fowler St. 2 Corner Lancaster Street.
1 Glendale Rd. 1 Corner Monroe Road.
1 Henry St.
6 Corner Marshall Street.
1 Norfolk St. 5 Corner Granger Street.
1 Rogers St. 4: At angle west of Hall Place.
1 Sampo Rd. 3
Off Albertina Street.
1 Sea St. 1 Near Newton Street.
1 Sea St. 1 Near Malvern Street.
1 Taft St. 2 200 ft. from South Walnut Street.
1 Tirrell Court 1 Rear of Music Hall.
1 Valley St.
1 500 ft. from Greenleaf Street.
1 Vane St.
6 750 ft. from Billings Road.
1 Vassall St. 6 670 ft. from Billings Road.
1 Wittich Place 4 At northerly end.
LENGTH OF WATER MAINS IN USE JAN. 1, 1909.
SIZES OF PIPE IN INCHES
Previous to
Hyds.
Gates
2
4
5
6
7
8
10
12
16
20
Total
Dec. 31,
1909.
715
1307
41471
98782
948
227707
994
90344
32166
26104
23232
2679
544427
Laid in
1908.
19
35
3598
1042
8840
3029
16559
734
1342
45069
99824
948
236547
994
93373
32166
26104
23232
2679
560936
1072
1072
Taken up
Total
734
1342
43997
99824
948
236547
994
93373
32166
26104
23232
2679
559864
Gates
141
256
648
1 156
57
42
37
4
1342
369
.
WATER PIPE LAID IN 1908
Hydrants
Length and Sizes of Pipe 11/2 2 4 6 8
207
2 Alden street
From Washington st. southerly .. 1
1 Babcock street
From Manet ave. southwesterly 677 ft.
From Manet ave. northeasterly 236 feet 2
2
370
5-6 Billings road
From Channing street to Sachem Brook
2
1
500
6 Broadway
From Safford st. northeasterly . From Palmer st. northerly
1
1
513
1 Charles street
From Rock Island rd. easterly ..
192
5 Copley street
From Fenno st. northwesterly .... 1
91-1 1/4
99-3/4
1 Fairmount way
From Goffe st. southwesterly .... 1 1 438
2 Fowler street
From Washington st. to Lancaster street
2
1
300
1 Glendale road
From Goffe st. southwesterlv 2
1
879
6 Henry street
From Brooks st. easterly
1
162
5 Hobart street
From Tavlor st. northeasterlv ... 1
128
ยท
Ward
Street
Location Gates
913
1
96
1 Brockton avenue
1 Irving place
6 Marshall street
1 Monroe road
6 Newbury avenue
From end 6 in. pipe southerly ... From near Warwick street north- westerly ... 1 From Glendale rd. southerly . From end of 8 in. pipe near Squantum st. southerly . From South Central ave. to Wil- low st. .. 1
From Spring street to Rock Island At angle west of Hall place ..... From end of 2 in. pipe to Strand From Broadway southeasterly . .. From Albertina st. northwesterly. From near Manet avenue to near Winthrop street .... From Rock Island rd. to Rock ave. From Sachem st. southeasterly ..
1
1
297
2
1823
1255*
170-34 Brass
63-15 Brass
5 Summit avenue
From end of 6 in. pipe southeast- erly . .
. From South Walnut st. south- westerly 1
284-1 1/4
155
1
39
103
493
1
400
5 Oxenbridge road
5 Phillips street
From Elm ave. easterly ..
272
1 Rock avenue
1
4 Rogers street
1
1
371
5 Sachem street
1
378-34 Brass
5 Safford street
1
401
3 Sampo road
1 Sea street
1 Spring street
5 Strand
208
1 228
5 Newport avenue
5 Norfolk street
From Beale st. to Granger st. . From Tyler st. to Cheriton rd.
1
603
927* 8
2 Taft street
5 Taylor street
1
262
6 Tirrell court
1
1
226
1 Valley street
1
564
6 Vane street
From end 6 in. southeasterly ..... 1
1
1
679
Wayland street
150
Willow street
Winthrop avenue
From South Central ave. north- easterly ... 2 .. 1072
1
Winthrop place
From Winthrop st. northerly .... From Babcock st. to Winthrop pl. 2
2
212
1 Winthrop street
4 Wittich place
From West st. northerly . .....
1
218
Totals 25
19
1085 212
3598 1042
8840
3029
372
* Temporary Service.
From Hobart st. southeasterly ... From Hancock st. southwesterly. From Greenleaf st. southeasterly 1
396
Vassell street
From Billings rd. northeasterly .. From Hancock st. to Cushing st ... 1
234
1 Weymouth street
From Sea st. northeasterly ... . From Newport ave. westerly ...
521
2.47
Report of the Building Inspector
Quincy, Jan. 1st, 1909.
To His Honor, Mayor of City of Quincy :
In compliance with the provisions of the City Charter I herewith submit the second report of the building de- partment.
NEW BUILDINGS
There has been an increase in the value of building operations during the past year over that of the previous year of about forty per cent., a large percentage of the same being in the fifth and sixth wards of the city.
Building operations have also been very active at Houghs Neck there having been a number of permanent dwellings built there together with a large number of summer cot- tages. In regard to the construction of the buildings I would recommend that the ordinance be amended relative to the prevention of the spreading of fire in this district.
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