USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1948-1950 > Part 29
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105
REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER
units. Despite such lightening of duties, the Engineering Department's assignments and work-load increased tremendously in connection with practically all phases of the multiple functions of the department. It is my sincere conviction that the Engineering Department of the Town of Norwood is the equal of, if not superior to, the engineering department of any city or town in the Commonwealth.
7. To provide more adequate protection, two additional permanent men were appointed to the Police Department.
8. The winter program of the Recreation Department is being expanded to satisfy a growing demand. The new outdoor swimming pool was opened in July and proved very popular. Much more has to be done to fully improve the site for maximum public enjoyment. The next logical forward step would appear to be restoration of the indoor swimming pool at the Civic. There is a noticeable increase in public appreciation of the fine work being performed by the Recreation Department especially in the field of youth leadership.
9. Insurance coverage of public buildings was increased approximately 50% during the year which gives us more protection, commensurate with replace- ment costs, in the event of a fire.
10. Competitive bidding, in the spirit as well as the letter of the law, was continued at all levels of purchasing, where practicable, with the usual beneficial results.
11. I would be seriously remiss in my sense of appreciation as I conclude this brief summary, if I failed to publicly extend my thanks and gratitude to all employees and department heads of the Town for their unstinted cooperation extended to me during the year just closed.
Detailed departmental reports follow.
Respectfully submitted,
EDWARD C. MONAHAN, General Manager.
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
REPORT OF THE PURCHASING AGENT
Mr. Edward C. Monahan, General Manager,
Dear Sir:
The following is a brief summary of purchase orders, and invoices handled by the department during the year ending December 31, 1949:
Purchase Orders Issued 1636
Total Amount of Invoices $960,305.73
Total Cash Discounts
2506.57
In connection with each and every order numerous telephone calls, letters and other means of communication were used in order to ascertain proper competitive prices, delivery dates and other important information.
In all but emergency cases, the spirit of competitive bidding was used to the fullest extent in order that Town purchases could be made at the lowest possible prices, provided quality, service, delivery, etc., were comparable. Local vendors were always contacted first in order to give them the opportunity to do business with the Town.
During the past year there was an increase in the number of vendors bidding on most of the items being purchased by the Town. It is hoped that in the future this competitive bidding by so many vendors will benefit the Town to a much greater extent than it has before.
Respectfully yours,
JOHN J. MCAULIFFE,
Clerk of Purchases.
107
REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Mr. Edward C. Monahan, General Manager, Norwood, Massachusetts
Dear Sir:
I herewith submit my report as Superintendent of Public Works Department for the year 1949.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Maintenance
The usual work that comes under this heading such as street cleaning, patching and repairing of streets, the maintenance of fences, bridges and sidewalks was cared for throughout the year.
The following streets were treated with MC 3 Asphalt and covered with sand.
East Vernon Street-Central Street to Broadway 780 sq. yds.
Pond Avenue-Dean Street to St. Paul Avenue 2,745 sq. yds.
Sturtevant Avenue-Washington Street to End 2,600 sq. yds.
Heaton Avenue-Washington Street to End 2,831 sq. yds.
St. James Avenue-Washington Street to Pond Avenue 1,502 sq. yds.
St. George Avenue-Washington Street to Pond Avenue 1,387 sq. yds.
Folan Avenue-Washington Street to End 1,213 sq. yds.
St. John Avenue-Washington Street to End 1,387 sq. yds.
St. Joseph Avenue-Washington Street to End 1,546 sq. yds.
St. Paul Avenue-Washington Street to End 1,676 sq. yds. Cut-off-St. Joseph to St. Paul Avenues 664 sq. yds.
Beacon Park Road-Both Lanes-Maple Street to Bullard Street 1,100 sq. yds.
Press Avenue-Washington Street to Winslow Avenue 2,086 sq. yds.
Sumner Street-Walpole Line to Union Street 4,189 sq. yds.
Union Street-Route #1 to Sumner Street 4,059 sq. yds.
Oolah Avenue-Washington Street to End 1,242 sq. yds.
Total Square Yardage 31,007
The following streets were' treated with RC-5 Asphalt and covered with 3/8" Crushed Stone:
Railroad Avenue-Washington Street to beyond Prospect Street 8,667 sq. yds.
School Street-Railroad Avenue to Nahatan Street
1,200 sq. yds.
Fulton Street-Railroad Avenue to Howard Street 2,120 sq. yds.
Myrtle Street-Fulton Street to Prospect Street 2,831 sq. yds.
Casey Street-Fulton Street to Prospect Street 2,889 sq. yds.
Pine Street-Prospect Street to End 1,546 sq. yds. Fulton Street-Railroad Avenue to Prospect Avenue 3,236 sq. yds.
108
TOWN OF NORWOOD
Jr. High Driveway-Bond Street to Washington Street 747 sq. yds.
Bond Street-Washington Street to Walpole Street 2,958 sq. yds. Beech Street-Winter Street to Bond Street 1,647 sq. yds.
Bond Street-Walpole Street to Nichols Street 3,553 sq. yds.
Chickering Road-Walpole Street to Walters Road 1,933 sq. yds.
Walters Road-Chickering Road to Rosemary Street 751 sq. yds.
Rosemary Street-Walpole Street to End 2,470 sq. yds.
Total Square Yardage 36,548
Brook Street Fence
The old wooden fence running along the West side of Willett Pond on Brook Street from the Walpole Line to the entrance of the Willett Pond Beach was re- moved and eighty (80) cement posts were erected in its place and a wire mesh fence strung along the entire length and attached to the cement posts.
Morse Street Recapping
Morse Street was recapped with amesite from the Neponset River Bridge on Morse Street to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Bridge on Morse Street.
SEWER DEPARTMENT
During the year, the department cleaned and scraped sewer main trunk lines and laterals in different sections of the town.
Parts of the system were flushed periodically.
The department had twenty plugged sewer services which were caused by roots of trees.
Total number of new connections added this year 137
Total number of connections Main to Line 31
Total number of connections 2807
Total miles of sewer main in operation 44.39
Sewer Construction
The two sections of the trunk line at the North End of the Town were com- pleted this year and a number of private homes were connected into these lines.
Parks and Playgrounds
All parks and playgrounds were cleaned, mowed, and shrubbery around the various parks and playgrounds was kept trimmed.
Two new chain link backstops were erected. One at the Eliot Park Playground and one at the Civic baseball diamond.
The Civic baseball diamond was moved back to its original position and the old diamond regraded.
All skating rinks were cleaned and put into shape for skating and the hockey rink was set up at Hartshorn Swale, off East Cross Street.
The Civic Tennis Courts were regraded and put in shape for use during the early spring.
109
REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
The new swimming pool at Hawes Brook was opened July 3, 1949 with a large swimming meet sponsored by the State Swimming Association.
Forestry
All the trees along all streets as well as those on Town owned property were sprayed with D.D.T. mixture.
All the removal and trimming was let out to private contract, due to lack of experienced help in the department, to do this work.
The two (2) Horse Chestnut trees that were growing in front of the Norfolk County Trust Company were removed due to their dangerous and rotted condition.
Maintenance and Control of Traffic
All street signs, crosswalks, traffic lines, slow signs, stop signs, taxi and bus stop signs were painted.
A number of "20 miles an hour" signs were erected on different streets around Town.
Day Street-Washington Street to Central Street was made a one way street going East.
Cottage Street-Washington Street to Maple Street was made a one way street going West.
Cottage Street-Washington Street to Central street was made a temporary one way street going East during December 1949.
WATER DEPARTMENT
Due to the extreme drought starting in early May, 1949 it was necessary to put on an additional temporary station operator so that both stations could be operated to take care of the demand for water.
Buckmaster Pond reached the lowcst level it ever has been and early in Sep- tember we had to start pumping water from Forrest Gravel Pit through hose lines into our filter beds in order to keep the station running. We also had to pump out of a well driven near the Forrest Pit to keep our supply up as high as possible. In order to bring the water over from the pit we made several pontoons and ran two 21/2 inch fire hose lines directly across the pond from the pit to the filter beds and clear water well.
At the Ellis Station a check of all the wells was made by the Hughes Company. The wells were rated and some were repaircd. Then in August a new gravel pack well was started off Ellis Avenue and was put into opcration in November. It is rated to deliver 300 gallons per minute. At present we have a hired pump working at this well and expect a permanent pump to arrive any day now for installation.
The sand filters at Buckmaster Pond were cleaned about every ten (10) days due to the low water level in Buckmaster Pond.
The Gunnite Company of New Jersey repaired the walls at our #2 filter Bed at the Buckmaster Pond Station at a cost of $5500.00.
This year, 1949, saw a great deal of new houses being constructed by different developing concerns and our service crews were working all hours in order to install services into these new homes.
110
TOWN OF NORWOOD
WATER STATISTICS Monthly Consumption in Gallons
Month
Total Gallons
Ellis
Buckmaster
January
45,420,000
35,380,000
10,040,000
February
42,174,000
31,334,000
10,840,000
March
49,067,000
37,802,000
11,265,000
April
48,773,000
38,493,000
10,280,000
May
49,647,000
38,917,000
10,730,000
June
55,327,000
38,497,000
16,830,000
July
53,633,000
31,557,000
22,076,000
August
54,368,000
25,593,000
28,775,000
September
50,282,000
28,577,000
21,705,000
October
54,157,000
29,027,000
25,130,000
November
50,727,000
33,422,000
17,305,000
December
47,940,000
37,495,000
10,445,000
Totals
601,515,000
406,094,000
195,421,000
Greatest Amount Pumped or Used
Day - June 30, 1949
2,149,000
Week - June 19-25, 1949
13,145,000
Miscellaneous Information
Gallons Supplied to Mains during the year
601,515,000
Gallons Passed through service meters during the year
487,167,000
Use through Factory Meters
47.07%
Use through Municipal Meters
1.65%
Use through House Meters
51.28%
Miles of mains at end of year
56.13
Total number of services at end of year
3421
Number of services in use at end of year
3421
Number of meters in use at end of year
3421
Meters replaced in 1949
310
Total area of land used for water supply purposes
(acres)
141.9
Gallons of Water Pumped in Previous Years
1940
426,512,000
1945
469,699,000
1941
398,110,000
1946
512,542,000
1942
411,815,000
1947
480,553,000
194
430,120,000
1948
548,990,000
1944
468,481,000
1949
601,515,000
Water Construction
The following mains were installed on the following streets by different con- tractors:
6" Mains 8" Mains
Stone Circle
460'
Fales Avenue
473'
Earle Street
257'
111
REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Gravel Packed Well Line at Ellis
1104'
Richland Road 1167'
Glendale Road
573'
Lancaster Lane
727'
Edgehill Road
1125'
Savin Avenue
60'
Nahatan Street
166'
Tamworth Road
947'
4743'
2316'
In Westwood
Perry Road
784'
5527'
2316'
Rubbish Collection
Our Town is split up in several districts and is covered in three (3) weeks of each month. When the collection started, the first two (2) weeks were four day weeks and the third week was a three (3) day week. This past year the collections have been extremely heavy and it takes three (3) full weeks of each month to cover the Town properly. If the building of houses continues in 1950, at the rate of the past year 1949, our Rubbish Schedule will be on a complete monthly basis. We still have a great deal of trouble with people who persist in placing garbage in the rubbish barrels and covering it over with ashes and cans and also overloading of large oil drums with ashes.
Again the question of a town dump arises and if our collections increase, thought should be given about obtaining more land or the erection of an incinerator.
Snow Removal
During the year 1948-1949 the snowfall was extremely light. There was quite a bit of sanding and salting problems during the winter months on streets and side- walks around the Town.
New Town Yard
The new town yard was finally started in December 1949 after land was pur- chased from the Winslow Brothers and Smith Company.
The first section of garages are being erected by the Zoppo-Palmer Construction . Co., Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood, Massachusetts.
Miscellaneous
In June we installed a drain at the Shattuck School and later on in the fall we did considerable Amesite work in the following school yards:
Shattuck School - Amesite work in yard and walks.
Winslow School - Amesite work around school and under swings.
Callahan School - Amesite work rear of school.
Balch School - Amesite work rear of school.
Personnel
Again the problem of personnel of the department comes to the fore. In order for the Public Works Department to function properly more men should be added inmediately.
112
TOWN OF NORWOOD
At this writing and with a few men retiring in a few months the present depart- ment has barely enough man power to take care of the following maintenance service requested by the taxpayers, such as rubbish collection, catch basin cleaning, Sewer main and lateral cleaning, Sidewalk repairs, Patching of streets, oiling of streets, and many other functions requested during the year.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN E. GAHAGAN, Supt. of Public Works.
IN MEMORIAM
Joseph E. Conley, Talbot Block, Norwood, Massachusetts.
Born -April 7, 1874.
Died - May 18, 1949.
Joseph E. Conley came to Norwood in 1907 when the first sewer systems were being installed in the Town. He was made Superintendent of the Sewer Depart- ment in 1908 and in 1911 he was made Superintendent of Public Works. In 1930 the Forestry Department was added to his duties.
He retired from the department on January 1, 1943, due to ill health.
Michael Murray, 30 Plimpton Ave., Norwood, Massachusetts.
Born - October 19, 1869.
Died - January 26, 1949.
Michael Murray was a Public Works Department Foreman, ever since he went to work for the Town of Norwood in 1907-1908.
He worked on a great many sewer, water, drain and highway projects that helped to develop Norwood and make it the Town it is today.
Patrick O'Neil, 184 Vernon Street, Norwood, Massachusetts.
Born - February 7, 1877.
Died - April 30, 1949.
Patrick O'Neil started work for the Public Works Department in 1928 as a Utility Foreman and in March of 1940 he was made a foreman doing all kinds of work.
Charles Mills, 8 Parkway, Norwood, Massachusetts.
Born - June 29, 1878. Died - June 26, 1949.
Charles Mills started work with the Norwood Public Works Department on January 2, 1931, and was employed as a foreman the entire time.
He retired from the department June 29, 1948, when he reached the age of seventy years.
The above men served the Town of Norwood for a great number of years faithfully and helped in a large way to make Norwood the grand place it is today. We here record the expression of our sorrow in their departure.
JOHN E. GAHAGAN, . Supt. of Public Works
113
REPORT OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
REPORT OF THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Mr. Edward C. Monahan, General Manager.
Dear Sir:
I herewith submit my report as Town Engineer for the year 1949:
Each year the demands and requests for engineering services increase and with our limited help it is almost impossible to keep up with these requests. Due to the great increase in housing developments in the Town, our work has increased tremendously.
This year it has been necessary to have an inspector on each of the major con- struction jobs thus reducing our personnel to the point where we wondered many times how we could do the many details involved in the building up of survey plans, writing of specifications for the various contract jobs that we have done this year. In addition to these, we have taken care of the many and varied requests from almost every department in the Town.
We have completed another section of our assessors' plans during the year. This section being that arca easterly of Neponset Street between the Boston Provi- dence Turnpike and the Canton Town Line and also a section northerly of Ellis Avenue.
One of our major problems during the year was the limited amount of water in our Westwood Pond reservoir and in our Ellis Well Field. The year was excep- tionally dry with very little rainfall. The following elevations will reflect the 1949 water situation at Buckmaster Pond:
Elevation of highest water recorded 187.68
Elevation of lowest water recorded previously (1926) 173.33
Elevation of lowest water recorded Nov. 15, 1949 171.99
Elevation of normal high water 185.00 Elevation of normal low water 179.00
The elevation of the water table at the Ellis Well Field was about two feet lower than any previous year.
We completed the installation of a deep 24 inch gravel packed well at the Ellis Station in December 1949 which has helped the water situation. If we can construct another deep well at Ellis Station and one at Buckmaster Pond, our critical water situation will be greatly improved.
Buckmaster Pond Water Supply
The following is a report submitted by the Engineering Department in connec- tion with Buckmaster Pond:
"Ground water in the vicinity of Buckmaster Pond, Westwood comes from the same source or sources which probably extend and run down into the Willett Pond
-
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
area through underground stratas but the Buckmaster Pond level does not affect the Willett Pond level or take water from Willett Pond. These ponds not only depend upon ground water but also from surface water from the surrounding areas.
"Buckmaster Pond is also a storage basin or reservoir for surface water from the surrounding area and also from some of the brooks entering into it. This surface water is always a source of pollution and for years the State and Local Health De- partments as well as the local doctors have been greatly concerned over it. The present built up area in the vicinity of the Pond has made it impossible to exercise any control over the prevention of pollution. The Town of Westwood has no sewer system and the whole valley up to the center of Westwood, with its cesspools, Jeaks down into this area making it a very dangerous condition.
"We need a deep well in that area to get at the water when the ground water level is below the pond and there is apparently plenty of water if we go deep enough for it. The Pond itself is full of mud and during the low water, the decaying pond growth and the dead fresh water clams left on the banks of the Pond make it very smelly and an uninviting place to draw water from. We are also confronted with the situation of being unable to pump from the pond due to the fact that the pumps will not lift the water to the pumping station.
"During low water, we draw up a considerable amount of mud which clogs up our sand filters so that we have to clcan them every week or two; this alone runs into heavy maintenance costs. Chlorination helps the situation but the bad taste and odors still remain, which makes it very objectionable.
"The only solution for this area is one or two deep gravel packed wells which will give us a good supply of clean odorless water with a minimum amount of main- tenance work to get it and control it. In connection with further development of Buckmaster Pond, I believe we should take steps to either acquire the so-called Forrest Pit area or to control it so that no one can build or develop the area for a housing development."
The following is a report submitted by the State Department of Public Health regarding Buckmaster Pond:
"In response to your request, the Department of Public Health has caused the water of a 21/2 inch tubular well located about 10 feet south of an excavation in the bottom of Buckmaster Pond, near the pumping station in Westwood, to be analyzed.
"It is the understanding of the Department that the well in question was driven to a depth of about 40 feet below the bottom of the pond which, at the time of the examinations, had been drawn to expose the bottom of the site. Water could be pumped freely from the test well, and the results of the analyses show that the water was clear, practically colorless, very low in organic matter and iron, and free from manganese. The water contained an amount of carbon dioxide gas which indi- cates that it would be likely to be corrosive of metallic pipes.
"If a permanent well is to be located in this general vicinity, it should be out- side the limits of the pond, and care should be taken to locate it at a point remote from any possible source of pollution.
"If you should decide to install an emergency well near the pumping station, the Department will consider approval of such a well as an emergency source of water
115
REPORT OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
supply under the provisions of Section 40, Chapter 40 of the General Laws. The De- partment must advise you, however, that under the present law it will be unable to approve a permanent ground water supply within the Town of Westwood because of its understanding that the Town of Norwood is at present limited to the usc of the waters of Buckmaster Pond in Westwood. Approval however, inay be given by the Department of Public Health for the emergency use of sources of water supply under the provisions of said Scction 40, Chapter 40 of the General Laws."
The following is a report as submitted by Fay, Spofford & Thorndike regarding Buckmaster Pond:
"In response to your letter we submit hercin our recommendations regarding the advisability of installing a gravel packed well at the site of the test well which was driven recently on the westerly shore of Buckmaster Pond in Westwood.
"In a letter dated December 9, 1949 to the Board of Health, Norwood, Mass., the State Department of Public Health recommended that the Town of Norwood immediately proceed with the development of suitable additional ground water supply or that consideration be given to obtaining additional water from the works of the Metropolitan District Commission, the reason for their recommendation being that recent analyses of the water from Buckmaster Pond showed indications of a considerable amount of pollution. In another letter dated December 16, 1949, to Mr. Edward C. Monahan, General Manager, Norwood, the State Department of Public Health stated that the site of the test well on the westerly shore of Buckmaster Pond in Westwood is a proper one for the installation of a gravel packed well.
"In view of the extremely low level in Buckmaster Pond and of the attitude of the State Department of Public Health in regard to the suitability of the water, it is our opinion that it will be necessary for the Town to take prompt action towards providing a suitable additional supply of water. Since the Metropolitan District Commission has advised that a minimum of three years would be required before it could be in a position to supply water to the Town of Norwood, an immediate addi- tional supply cannot be obtained from that source.
"We believe that even if it should eventually prove advisable for the Town to obtain water from the MDC System, the installation of additional ground water supply is necessary now as an interim solution to the present problem.
"Many explorations and tests have been made in Norwood and Westwood over the past fifty years in an effort to locate suitable ground water supplies for the Town of Norwood. The records of these investigations show that, with the exception of the Ellis Avenue well field, no promising sites were discovered except the site which was recently tested at Buckmaster Pond.
"We therefore recommend that the Town proceed at once with the installation of a gravel packed well at the site previously referred to herein, on the westerly shore of Buckmaster Pond.
"The existing rights of the Town of Norwood at Buckmaster Pond are limited to taking water from the Pond itself, and additional legislation will be necessary to permit the Town of Norwood to take water from the ground as a permanent source of supply. However, the General Laws would permit the State Department of Health to allow the Town to take water from the ground at Buckmaster Pond as an
116
TOWN OF NORWOOD
emergency measure for a six months' period. We recommend that the Town take water from the ground at Buckmaster Pond as a perinanent source of supply for the Town of Norwood.
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