USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1890-1893 > Part 22
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495.42
593.54
June,
152
19,700
204,500
9,717,840
24,358.621
6
442.53
656.66
July,
187
21,950
241,000
11,452,320
28,721,408
521.79
708.06
August,
1653
19,300
210,500
10,002,960
28,525,452
518.23
622.57
September,
1263
16,700
169,000
8,030,880
26,470,109
480.89
556.66
October,
119
16,200
162,500
7,722,000
26,237,273
476.66
516.12
November,
117
16,450
151,500
7,199,280
24,123,583
438.26
548.33
December,
126%
18,050
164,000
7,793,280
23,765,797
431.76
582.25
Totals.
1684
227,300 lbs.
2,177,000
103,451,040
Averave head for year, 66 ft. dynamic. Average duty for year, 25,051,625.
Average number of gallons to one pound of coal, 455.12. Average number of pounds of coal per day, 622.73.
The above figures are a report of the year 1893, and are correct to the best of my knowledge.
W. A. H. JONES, Engineer in Charge.
87
88
.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
BOARD OF ENGINEERS.
H. P. Bailey, Chief,
Geo. E. Saunders,
A. E. Davis, Clerk, Wm. E. Baker,
J. M. Bosworth, E. D. Bartlett.
To the Selectmen of Plymouth :
GENTLEMEN-The Board of Fire Engineers respectfully present their annual report for the year ending December 31, 1893 :
The force of the Department consists of a board of six engineers and 155 men, as follows : Two steamer companies of 30 men each, one steamer company of 15 men, two hook and ladder companies of 16 men each, one chemical engine company of 16 men, one chemical engine company of eight men, four hose companies of six men each.
APPARATUS.
The apparatus of the Department consists of three steam fire engines, two hook and ladder trucks, two chemical en- gines and four independent hose carts, all in good order. Three new pieces of apparatus have been purchased the
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past year and located as follows : New steamer in brick engine house No. 3, steamer at Seaside, new hooks under Town house, new chemical in engine house on Main street. The old hook and ladder truck and small chemical en- gine have been located on South street in school house altered for the purpose and companies formed for each.
HOSE.
We now have about 5,500 feet of good 23-inch cotton rubber-lined hose ; 500 feet has been purchased during the past year. All in good order.
BUILDINGS.
The buildings of the Department are in good condition. Two have been added the past year-one new building for hose near Hall Town and one on South street has been altered over for Department uses. All are in good condi- tion.
HYDRANTS.
The number of hydrants belonging to the Town is 87. One new one has been added the past year. There are also 15 hydrants owned by private parties.
RESERVOIRS.
The five reservoirs belonging to the Town are in good condition and kept full.
FIRES.
There has been very few alarms the past year, and the loss by fire is hardly worth mentioning, none amounting to but a few dollars, and we think the Town has been very fortu- nate in this direction, as the loss by fire the past year in this country has been greater than ever before in one year"
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FINANCE.
CR.
By -
Appropriation, 1893, maintenance. $5,000 00
66
new apparatus 6,000 00
$11,000 00
DR.
To -
Expenditures 1893 for new appartus. $6,000 00
Running expenses. .
5,000 00
$11,000 00
We have, by authority of voters of the Town at the ad- journed meeting in April last, made the further expenditure of $2,320.90 on buildings, alterations and repairs, which the Town voted that the Selectmen should provide for.
APPROPRIATION.
We estimate that the appropriation of $4,500 will meet the expenses of the Department the coming year, and is recommended.
H. P. BAILEY, Chief.
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PARK COMMISSIONERS' REPORT.
MORTON PARK ACCOUNT.
Undrawn balance from 1892
$28 02
Appropriation 600 00
Sales of wood 75 50
$703 52
Expended for -
Labor and teaming $633 57
Police service, $20 ; printing reports, $10. .
30 00
Plank for bridge 17 74
Tools and grass seed
13 60
Ashes for fertilizer 8 00
Undrawn balance 61
$703 52
BATES PARK ACCOUNT.
Appropriation
$75 00
Expended for -
Labor and teaming
$19 34
Lumber for walks.
14 88
Carpenter work.
13 65
Ashes, $6 ; soil, $5; grass seed, $1.40 12 40
Undrawn balance 14 73
$75 00
.
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BURTON PARK ACCOUNT.
Undrawn balance of 1892
$11 92
Expended for -
Labor and teaming
$4 70
Wire and seed
2 49
Undrawn balance
4 73
$11 92
BEACH PARK ACCOUNT.
Undrawn balance of 1892 $28 74
Appropriation 200 00
Received from C. Bouton & Bro 2 00
$230 74
Expended for -.
Lumber for driveway, $44.55; house,
$14.98
$59 53
Plumbing, $60; carpenter work, $33.03 .. 93 03
South pond water, $5.50; hose and cup. $6.25 11 75
Labor and teaming, $43.81; four settees,
$5.83 49 64
Undrawn balance
16 79
$230 74
TRAINING GREEN ACCOUNT.
$200 00
Appropriation
Expended for -
$33 85
Care of the grounds
125 00
Fertilizer, $44.35 ; repairing mower, $1. 45 35
Removing and placing plank walks 13 12
Labor and gravel walks
19 25
Overdrawn, 1892 and 1893 36 57
$236 57 $236 57
Overdraft of 1892
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A review of the work of this Board for the five years of its existence shows that the four public parks now held by the Town, namely : Morton Park of one hundred and fifty acres, Beach Park of about ten acres; Burton Park of more than one acre, and Bates Park about two-fifths of an acre were secured at an expense to the Town for the titles to the land of only one hundred and fifty dollars, plus the value of a few acres of land donated by the Town now in- cluded in the parks.
All citizens of the Town have equal ownership in and equal rights to use these public lands, subject only to such regulations as are necessary for the individual to observe in order that the rights of others may be properly cared for.
Including Training Green which by vote of the Town is in the care of the Park Commissioners, the variety of these public lands is enough to meet the different wants and tastes of very many of the inhabitants.
TRAINING GREEN is an example of the beauty to be found in a cultivated grass lawn, partly shaded by trees, enclosed by a formal stone curbing, with convenient yet gracefully formed walks. By the hearty cooperation of the residents of the neighborhood bordering on the Green, and the gen- eral desire of the people to keep this spot an ornamental one, the notice, "Keep off the grass," is almost always re- spected. In public parks of many other towns and cities it is found necessary to resort to fences or shrubbery to con- fine travel to the paths. It is to the credit of our commu- nity that it governs itself so well in these matters that a few notices, to remind the careless and 'forgetful, have proved sufficient to preserve the grass.
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BATES PARK comes next to Training Green as a desirable location for a cultivated park. A small annual appro- priation will carry out the plans of the Commissioners for this park and make it an attractive spot. Objection was made by some parties residing near by to the man- ner in which it was laid out. It was a new thing for our Town to have a grass plot with trees in it between the sidewalk and roadway, and some of our people seemed to think it to be a plan originating with the Park Commis- missioners, and an undesirable innovation ; but the fact is that in many new and growing towns and cities it is not un- common for streets to be laid out in this way, especially streets designed for the better class of residences.
Some malicious person has girdled the four elm trees which are in the grass plot near the street, and these will have to be replaced at some trouble and expense to the Town. Vandalism of this kind will sometimes occur even in honest communities. This is the first instance which has come to the knowledge of the Commissioners, however, and they earnestly hope it will be the last.
At BURTON PARK a few elm trees have been set out by the side of the street in the place of defective ones, but the little improvement needed every year to make this promi- nent hillside very attractive and creditable to the Town has not been made this year for the want of money, as the Town made no appropriation for this park.
The feeling is too common that because a public place is not very attractive it is not, therefore, worth spending any money upon ; and it is also true that as soon as a public ground has been made attractive there is a general desire to keep it so.
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A prominent feature of Burton Park was a sand gully. It was also used as a dumping ground for many cast-off articles, but the sand has been covered with soil and the grounds cleared up and a few trees and shrubs have been planted. It is for the Town to say whether it will lose much that has been gained, or by a little money yearly spent make Burton Park as attractive in its way as Training Green now is. It does not need the closely clipped lawn, nor stone curbing, but it needs a few trees and many shrubs which, when once established, will remain as permanent features, requiring very little money for renewals.
In contrast with cultivated parks of small area we have in MORTON PARK the charm of wild wood and lake scenery, where every one may roam at their own will, breathing in health and inspiration from the trees, shrubs and flowers in their season, plucking anything they may choose to gather except possibly some new variety of tree or shrub which the Commissioners may be trying to propagate. Here the seeker for rest and pleasure and the lover of nature may come often and always with renewed interest.
And then in contrast with all the others comes BEACH PARK, on the Ocean's border, more properly a beach reserve than a park; a place where half the town may picnic together and find room to dig in the sand and bathe in the surf.
A waiting room, supplied with South Pond water and toilet rooms, has been added this year. It is the desire of the Commissioners to erect here low buildings for shelter from sun and storms.
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At MORTON PARK the opening of "Valley Road," leading from the Carver road to join the road at the northerly end of Little Pond, with a branch to Little Pond lane, brings out a very attractive portion of the park. The woods on both sides of the road are quite thickly sprinkled with white pines, which will become a prominent feature by and by.
There has been an improvement in the general character of the roads and paths. Much care has been used to make the small annual appropriation for this purpose go as far as possible. If no further outlay is made for new roads the same amount of money expended yearly upon the roads and paths would show greater improvement and be much ap- preciated by all visitors at the park. The main road through the park from the Lout Pond road to the Carver road has become as much used for business traffic as many of our highways.
Several hundred small white pine trees were set out in the Spring on some of the higher lands where the old growth must soon give way. The white pines near the west side of Little Pond have got possession of the ground, a great transformation in three years from an ordinary piece of woodland with oak in the ascendency. The sweet chestnut-trees are growing very rapidly and give promise of making a fine grove in a few years.
Some of our townspeople visiting the park have shown a desire to have the undergrowth of shrubbery removed, and have the trees the only occupants of the ground. That would be undoing what nature has so well done for us, and what some superintendents of parks are doing at great ex- pense in artificially-made parks, trying to make them look like the works of nature. If there was an abundance of money it would seem more appropriate to plant other wild shrubs to give greater variety to the undergrowth.
97
Morton Park has become one of the noted attractions of the Town, to which strangers resort after seeing the places of historic interest. Their expressions of admiration are very profuse, and they show much surprise and pleasure that Plymouth has a park more attractive and valuable than some of the noted and costly parks in other portions of our country. It is a satisfaction to realize that the interest our townspeople take in the parks is increasing year by year.
The Commissioners have what they consider certain worthy projects for the improvement of Morton Park, re- quiring an outlay of money larger than they wish to ask the Town to supply. We hope the money needed will be voluntarily offered.
We ask for the following appropriations :
For-
Training Green $200 00
Morton Park 600 00
Beach Park 100 00
Burton Park. 50 00
Bates Park. 50 00
Respectfully submitted,
NATHANIEL MORTON, ) GEORGE R. BRIGGS, Park
HENRY O. WHITING,
Commissioners.
7
99
REPORT OF SELECTMEN.
The Selectmen submit the following report for the year 1893 :
The detailed statement of the receipts and disbursements of the Treasurer, and the condition of the several appro- priations, will be found in the Treasurer's report here- with submitted. It is believed that this change from the custom heretofore adopted of embodying the receipts and expenditures of the Town, in the Selectmen's report, will be found more convenient to the citizens and in accordance with the better practice in other towns.
The condition of the Town finances, and particularly the state of the funded debt, is deserving of careful attention.
On December 31st, 1892, the funded debt was $233,030 00. This debt has been increased during the past
year under votes of the Town as follows: Sewer loan. $15,000 00
Fire department loan 6,000 00
School house loan
10,000 00
31,000 00
$264,030 00
100
And has been reduced during the past year by payments of principal on existing indebted- ness, as follows :
Water loan $4,100 00
Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad. 1,500 00
Sundry loans 1,700 00
Consolidated loan 2,870 00
School loan 4,000 00
Plymouth & Middleboro Railroad 5,000 00
19,170 00
Leaving a total indebtedness of $244,860 00
A net increase for the year of. $11,830 00
For the year 1894 the payments on account of principal and interest of the Town indebtedness, including the water debt, will amount to $30,419. Deducting the amount of the principal and interest of the water debt, which is $8,914, leaves a balance of $21,505 to be raised by direct taxation on account of these payments of principal and interest, of which $1,500 is directly appropriated in payment of the balance due on the Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad, being the last payment on account of that loan. This makes necessary an appropriation, of $20,005 for town debt and interest. While it is true, of course, that the income of the Water department provides for the payment of principal and interest on account of the water debt, still the burden upon the tax-payers' pocket is no less heavy whether his tax is paid to the Collector of Taxes or to the Collector of water rates.
This matter of the Town debt is peculiarly within the control of the voters of the Town. No permanent debt can be incurred except by vote of two-thirds of the voters pres- ent and voting, and it is interesting to note in this connec- tion how small is the number of voters who vote upon these
101
questions of the increase of the debt. The last large in- crease in the debt was carried by thirty-three votes in the affirmative. The Selectmen think it desirable to call the attention of the Town to this condition of affairs somewhat more at length than has been the practice heretofore, in order that the voters, when subjects are under considera- tion involving new indebtedness during the coming year, may be fully informed upon the present condition of the Town finances.
Including the reduction on account of the water debt, the present debt will be reduced during the year 1894, $20,420. And substantially this reduction must be maintained for several years to come. The Town will see that the debt is being rapidly paid off, and that, if not increased by vote of the Town, it will in a few years be largely reduced.
The present funded indebtedness, meaning thereby the outstanding notes and bonds of the Town, is the largest in the history of the Town, and slight comparison with former years shows how rapid has been its increase.
Funded debt due January 1, 1891
$161,700 00
66
66 66
1,1892
196,100 00
66
66
1, 1893
233,030 00
66
66
66
1,1894. 244,860 00
The increase in these years being $83,160 00
Since 1889 the amount of the annual appropriation and of the tax rate has also largely increased.
ANNUAL APPROPRIATION.
1889
$62,844 30
TAX RATE. $12 80
1890
68,621 24
13 20
1891
74,231 64
14 00
1892
76,993 36
14 80
1893
84,336 23
15 60
102
The annual appropriation and tax rate for 1894 rests with tha voters of Plymouth.
The increase in rate and appropriation is mainly due to the increase in Town debt, and consequent payments on ac- count of principal and interest. The appropriation neces- sary in 1890 for Town debt and interest was $2,700 ; for the same purpose in 1894, $20,000 will be necessary.
It seems to the Board that for the present there should be no increase in the indebtedness which involves a corres- ponding increase in the annual appropriation for the Town debt and interest, unless the necessity is very clear, until the rate of taxation, which is now above the average of the other towns and cities in the State, can be lowered to at least the average rate.
Twenty thousand dollars of the water debt, bearing inter- set at 6 per cent., will mature August 1st next, and it will be necessary to provide by a new loan to meet that debt at maturity, as there is no sinking fund which can be applied to its reduction.
The Selectmen have inserted the appropriate article there- for in the warrant and recommend that under it the Town vote to issue twenty thousand dollars in notes of the Town. Probably this loan can be effected at 4 per cent., making a reduction of four hundred dollars a year on account of in- terest.
A year ago there was a deficiency of $3,500 in the High school account, which the Town voted should be met by a new loan.
Some question having arisen as to the legality of the vote, the Selectmen have therefore inserted an article in the war- rant for the annual meeting, under which a loan can be made, and that indebtedness provided for.
-
103
NEW ROADS.
During the year the street at Jabez Corner called Howes Lane has been completed, and the land damages, which were referred to arbitration, have been paid. Under the decree of the County Commissioners the Selectmen have completed the working of the highway from Fresh Pond to the house of Ezra Pierce at Ship Pond. The cost of work- ing the way was estimated by the County Commissioners at twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500). The work has been completed in a satisfactory manner at a cost of $2,412.43. Spooner Street, leading around Spooner's Pond to Court Street at Seaside, has been worked at an expense of $1,172.02, and the town way in West Plymouth to the Darby station at a cost of $300. During the year the widening of Court Street, between North and Brewster streets, as laid out by the County Commissioners, was made, and a large amount of concrete side walk has been constructed and curbstone set. The expense for the Court Street widening, including land damages charged to "New Roads," was $2,957.45 The present Board of Selectmen have laid out an extension of Water Street, and also Hall and Atlantic streets, and their laying out has been accepted by the Town. The work on Hall and Atlantic streets will be done during the year. There has already been expended, on account of the working of Water street, the sum of $1,227.13.
It is believed that a substantial reduction can be made in the appropriation for new roads the coming year. The Selectmen recommend an appropriation of $2,500 for that department, in place of $7,500 last year. With this amount it is believed that all the streets which have been laid out, and which are in process of construction, can be completed, and there is no petition now pending before the Board for any new street.
104
The widening of Middle Street, proposed under the will of J. Henry Stickney, involves so many elements of expense which have not been determined, that it is not thought advisable to insert any recommendation for an appropria- tion on account of that widening. The street has not yet been laid out, and whether, if laid out and accepted by the Town, it will be necessary to make any appropriation in excess of the twelve thousand dollars devised by Mr. Stickney, depends upon the character of the plans approved by the consulting engineers. Questions relating to this widening are fully considered in another place in this report.
The Selectmen have had under consideration the con- struction of a way leading from Alden Street to Spooner Street, and a plan of such way has been prepared. If satisfactory arrangements for land damages can be made, it is probable that a way in that locality will be reported to the Town during the year, but no appropriation is now necessary. The Selectmen are of opinion that such a way will be of service to the Town, and would bring into the market a large amount of land suitable for building lots, but they feel that the Town should not be called upon to construct such a way unless the land damage is largely released by the abutters, whose land will be greatly benefited.
During the year petitions for the laying out of Sever Street, and for a further extension of Water Street, were heard by the Selectmen, and upon consideration of the expense involved, they were refused. From the decision of the Selectmen an appeal was taken to the County Commis- sioners in both cases, and after hearing before that Board the appeals of the petitioners were dismissed and the decision of the Selectmen sustained. There are now no suits or proceedings pending against the Town.
.
105
LIGHTING STREETS.
During the year the Selectmen have made a contract with the Electric Light Company by which the lights are fur- nished to the Town at a somewhat reduced price over that of last year, and no charge is made for lighting the Town house. Under the provisions of the contract they have re- duced the number of arc lights, substituting in place there- of incandescent and series lights. Now, there are 14 arc lights against 18 last year, and 251 incandescent lights against 227 the previous year. With the same appropria- tion as last year, a slightly increased number of lights can be furnished, as the price which is now paid is $75 per year for arc lights and $18 per year for incandescent lights. There is a constant demand for new lights, which the Se- lectmen have sought to meet by changing the candle power of the light from 32 to 25, which in their opinion is ample and sufficient for lighting purposes, increasing thereby the number of lights to be furnished for the same appropria- tion. The increase of the expense in this department in the last decade has been very considerable. In 1885 the appropriation for street lighting was $1,100. Last year it was $5,850. And the demand for the light is constantly in- creasing.
If the Town desires to light miles of its territory the same appropriation will be necessary. The amount of the appro- priation rests with the Town, and the appropriation cannot be materially reduced without taking out a large number of these incandescent lights. While it is clear that these lights contribute to the order of the community and the convenience of the citizens, it seems to the Board, in view of the heavy burdens upon the Town, a large sum to apply to such purposes. Without extending the street lighting be- yond its present limits, to maintain the present efficiency an appropriation of $5,800, the same as last year, will be required.
106
ASSESSORS.
The Selectmen recommend an appropriation of $1,500 for this department the coming year, which will provide for the deficiency of $23.77, and give an additional amount, which is believed to be necessary to make certain needed surveys to insure a more accurate valuation of the property. The experience of recent years shows that in many cases where land is taken for public purposes the price paid is largely in excess of the assessed valuation of the property. In some instances it appears that the price paid for the part of the lot taken is several times the assessed value of the whole
lot of which it formed a part.
This is due in part to the
system of valuation under which land is still valued accord- ing to the ancient practice by the acre when ready for the market, and when sold is sold by the foot. The Board be- lieve that the lots on the main streets should be carefully surveyed and that some accurate estimates of the contents given, and that the result will insure a more equitable val- uation and increase the revenue of the Town. With the in- creased appropriation the Assessors inform the Board that the needed surveys can be made. It is readily seen that the assessment of land at a valuation, much below the price for which it is sold upon the market, is not only inequitable to the tax payers, but induces land owners to hold their prop- erty for a further rise in valuation, and materially delays the building up of the Town. If the increased appropria- tion will remedy some of the apparent results of the pres- ent system of valuation, the money will be well expended.
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