USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1894-1896 > Part 7
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March 4. -- Article 4 taken up - To accept and revise a list of jurors. Voted, That the names of James M. Atwood, Geo. H. Blanchard and Geo. W. Bos- worth be stricken from the list and the name of Freeman E. Wells added. With this revision, the list was accepted.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the Treasurer, under the direction of the Selectmen, to borrow money in anticipation of taxes and for disburse- ment, under the provisions of the laws relating to State aid and Military aid, and to defray the expenses of the Town after January 1, 1896.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town appropriate the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars to pay the ex- penses of Decoration Day.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town grant to the Public Library the amount of the Dog fund now in the Treasury, namely, $669.60, and appropriate the additional sum of $530.40, and that the Trustees of the Public Library of this Town be requested to keep the Library open from the hours of 9
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A. M. to 8 P. M. from November 1 to May 1, and from 10 A. M. to 9 P. M. from May 1 to November 1, each year.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the Selectmen to renew any note or notes heretofore authorized, which are now due, or may become due the present year, for such time and on such terms as they may deem expedient for the interests of the Town.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the Selectmen to prosecute, compromise or defend any suit or suits within the Commonwealth, in the name of the Town, until otherwise ordered by the Town.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town appropriate three hundred and fifty dollars for the care and improvement of Morton Park.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town appropriate fifty dollars for the care and improvement of Bates Park.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town appropriate fifty dollars for the care and preservation of Beach Park.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town appropriate fifty dollars for the care and preservation of Burton Park.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town appropriate one hundred and fifty dollars for the care and preservation of Training Green.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the School Com- mittee to grant the use of the new High School- house to the School of Ethics, under such ar- rangements as said Committee may approve.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town require the School Com- mittee annually to appoint a Superintendent of
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the Public Schools, until otherwise ordered by a vote of the Town.
March 4 .- Toted, That the Town ratify and approve the ac- tion of the Selectmen in petitioning the Legis- lature for authority to sell the woodland devised for the benefit of the poor of the Town by the will of Francis Le Baron, and invest the pro- ceeds of the sale as a fund, to be called the "Francis Le Baron Fund," the income of which shall be annually expended by the Overseers of the Poor for the benefit of the poor of Ply- mouth.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town ratify and approve the ac- tion of the Selectmen in petitioning the Legis- lature for authority to fund the existing 4 per cent. indebtedness of the Town in a new loan, having thirty years to run and bearing interest not exceeding four per cent.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town ratify and approve the ac- tion of the Selectmen in petitioning the Legis- lature for authority for the Town, when con- tracting debts for school-houses and lots, for laying out, widening or allotting ways, and for paving or macadamizing streets in the Town, to make all such debts payable within a period not exceeding 30 years.
March 4 .- Voted, That the Town accept and allow the widen- ing of Water Street, near the Rock, as laid out by the Selectmen and reported to the Town.
April 13 .- Voted, That the reports of the several boards of officers and committees of the Town be accepted and placed on file.
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April 13 .- Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to bor- row the sum of nine thousand ($9,000) dollars, and to issue therefor the notes of the Town, each for the sum of three hundred dollars, bearing interest at the rate of four per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, dated August 1, 1895, and payable, one at the end of one year from the said day, and one at the end of each successive year thereafter until the whole are paid, the said notes to be signed by the Treas- urer and approved by a majority of the Select- men of the Town.
April 13 .- Voted, That the Town accept Chapter 324 of the Acts of 1894, entitled, "An Act relative to the spaces in public ways."
April 13 .- Voted, That the Town accept the first nine sec- tions of Chapter 51 of the Public Statutes, en- titled, "Of Betterments and other Assessments, on account of the cost of public improvements."
April 13 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the Selectmen to sell at public or private sale all the lands which were devised by the will of Dr. Francis Le Baron to the "poor of the Town of Plymouth," and that they be further authorized to execute and deliver in the name of the Town a good and sufficient deed or deeds thereof.
April 13 .- Voted, That the proceeds of the sale under the foregoing vote to be invested as a permanent fund in memory of Dr. Francis Le Baron, to be hereafter known as the "Francis Le Baron Fund," the income of which fund shall be pay- able to the Treasurer of the Town and annually
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expended under the direction of the Overseers of the Poor for the relief of the deserving poor of the Town of Plymouth outside the Alms- House, and to be for the use and benefit of the said poor forever.
April 13 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the School Com- mittee to purchase the lot of land at Cedarville and add it to the school-house lot, as recom- mended in their report.
April 13 .- Voted, That the Town authorize the School Com- mittee to erect a building for the accommoda- tion of the Cold Spring Sub-Primary School, and expend the sum of three thousand ($3,000) dollars for the same.
April 13 .-- Voted, That the Town make an additional expen- diture of five thousand dollars for the erection of a two-room school-house on Russell Street, on the land placed in the hands of the School Committee, as voted May 24.
April 13 .- Voled, That the Town authorize the School Com- mittee to abandon for school purposes the Cold Spring Sub-Primary School-house.
April 13 .- Voted, That the Town place the land and building now occupied by the Cold Spring Sub-Primary School, when abandoned, in the hands of the Selectmen, to be sold, leased, or applied to such purposes as they may consider for the best in- terest of the Town, and they are hereby author- ized to execute and deliver in the name of the Town all necessary papers.
April 13 .- Voted, That the matter of lighting streets for the ensuing year be referred to a Committee of
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Fifteen, consisting of the Selectmen, Moderator, and nine other persons, to be appointed by the Moderator, to report at the next town meeting. April 13 .- Voted, That the sum of fifteen hundred dollars be appropriated for the sidewalks of the Town, a portion of which sum to be expended between Winter Street and Jabez Corner.
April 13 .- Voted, That the sum of four hundred dollars be appropriated for the care of the various ceme- teries and burial places of the Town.
April 13 .- Voted, That the sum of one hundred thousand, seven hundred and seventy-six and two-hun- dredths dollars be raised and assessed upon the polls and estates of the inhabitants of Ply- mouth and upon the estates of non-residents, to defray the expenses of the Town for the en- suing year.
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April 13 .- Voted, That the Collector of Taxes be authorized to use all means of collecting the taxes which a Town Treasurer when appointed a Collector may use.
April 13 .- Voted, That the Collector of Taxes be author- ized to receive the taxes for the ensuing year at such places as he shall designated, on or before the fifteenth day of October, that in- terest be charged on all taxes remaining unpaid on said fifteenth day of October, at the rate of six per cent. per annum, and such rate shall continue until otherwise ordered by the Town, and all taxes and interest remaining un- paid on the first day of January following, shall
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be collected forthwith by legal process, and the Collector is hereby authorized to collect at once, by legal process, all taxes of previous years now outstanding.
June 15 .- Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to borrow the sum of one thousand dollars, and to issue therefor the notes of the Town, each for the sum of one hundred dollars, bearing interest at the rate of four per centum per annum, payable semi-annually, dated August 1, 1895, and pay- able one at the end of one year from said day, and one at the end of each successive year threafter, until the whole are paid. The said notes to be signed by the Treasurer, and ap- proved by a majority of the Selectmen of the Town.
June 15 .- Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to bor- row the sum of seven thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars and eighty cents, and to issue therefor the notes of the Town, each for the sum of two hundred and sixty-six dol- lars and sixty-six cents, bearing interest at the rate of four per centum per annum, payable semi-annually, dated August 1, 1895, and pay_ able one at the end of one year from said day, and one at the end of each successive year thereafter, until the whole are paid. The said notes are to be signed by the Treasurer and ap- proved by a majority of the Selectmen.
June 15 .- Voted, That the Selectmen are hereby authorized to lease or to sell, at public or private sale, the old High School-house and lot, on such terms
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as they think proper, and to execute any papers necessary to carry this vote into effect.
June 15 .- Voted, That the Selectmen are hereby authorized to provide sanitary arrangements for the use of the public, and charge same to contingent ac- count.
June 15 .- T'oted, That the Town adopt the provisions of Chapter 186 of the Acts of 1895, relative to the watering of streets.
June 15 .- Voted, That the following by-law be, and is hereby adopted :
From and after the first day of January, one thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine, the wheels of all draft vehicles not hung upon springs, passing over or upon any highway of, and owned in this Town, shall have tires as follows: If of four wheels, not less than three inches in width, and if of two wheels, not less than four inches in width. The owner or driver of any draft vehicle owned in this Town, who shall drive or suffer the same to be driven over any highway in this Town, with tires contrary to these pro- visions, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five, or more than twenty dollars for each offence.
June 15 .- Toted, That the following be adopted as an addi- tion to, or amendment of, the existing by-laws of the Town :
No person shall ring the door bell, or gong, or knock at, or open the door of any dwelling house, for
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the purpose of depositing therein, or leaving, or calling attention to, any placard, show-bill, hand-bill, or other advertisement. A violation of either of the foregoing provisions shall be punished by a fine of not less than one, nor more than five dollars.
June 15 .- Voted, That the Selectmen be instructed to take the necessary steps to render the foregoing ef- fectual and binding.
June 15 .- Voted, That the Selectmen are hereby authorized to contract, in the name of the Town, with the State Highway Commissioners for the construc- tion of any State highway that may be now or hereafter laid out in this Town.
June 15 .- Voted, That the vote of the Town whereby the Almshouse was designated as a place of con- finement of truants, be rescinded, and that the truant school at Walpole be designated as the place of confinement of such truants.
June 22 .- Voted, That the Town accept and allow the exten- sion of Fremont Street, as laid out by the Select- men, and reported to the Town.
June 22 .-- Voted, That the Town accept and allow the exten- sion of Water Street, as laid out by the Select- men, an l reported to the Town.
June 22 .- Voted, That the Committee on Lighting the Streets be continued, and make a report at some future meeting, and that they are hereby authorized to employ an expert electrical engineer.
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June 22 .- Voted, That the Selectmen are hereby instructed to appeal to the Board of Gas and Electric Light Commissioners in regard to the price or quality of service rendered in lighting the streets of the Town, if so requested by the Com- mittee on Lighting Streets.
June 22 .- Voted, That the School Committee are hereby authorized to provide accommodations for ad- ditional schools, in the new school-house to be erected on Russell Street, by the construction of a four-room building.
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REPORT OF SELECTMEN.
The Selectmen respectfully submit the following report for the year ending December 31, 1895 :
TOWN DEBT AND INTEREST.
On December 31, 1894, the funded debt was .. $234,940 00
The debt has been increased during year by :
Sewer loan, dated August 1, paya-
ble $1,000 a year, 4% $1,000 00
School loan, dated August 1, paya-
ble $266.66 a year, 4% 7,999 80
Macadam loan, dated August 1, pay- able $300.00 a year, 4% 9,000 00
17,999 80
Total
$252,939 80
There has been paid on funded
loans :
Water loan.
$5,140 00
Consolidated loan
2,870 00
Fire department loan 1,200 00
High School loan. 4,350 00
School-house loan
1,200 00
Plymouth & Middleboro' R. R. loan 5,000 00
Sewer loan.
1,250 00
21,010 00
Funded indebtedness December 31,
1895.
$231,929 80
Decrease for the year
$3,010 20
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The appropriation for this year was $21,000, but no account was probably made of the amount that is necessary for interest on temporary loans. It requires about $1,500 for this item alone, as the year begins January 1, but no money is received for taxes until October. The amount that was borrowed this year was $71,500, and last year $84,500; so it can easily be seen that this is quite an item. There are other receipts besides the appropriation, such as interest on taxes, etc., which amount to about $750. The payments on the principal for next year amount to $21,676.66, but $5,140 of this will be paid from the water receipts. The interest on the debt, other than water debt, will be about $5,200. An appropriation of $22,500 will be required and is recom- mended, besides an appropriation for the overdraft, $827.96. The notes issued this year for school-houses, macadam and sewer were sold in one block at 102.40 and accrued interest.
SEWERS.
New sewers, with the necessary manholes, etc., have been laid as follows :
Court Street, South Depot Avenue to Chilton Street, 175 feet of 8-inch, 322 feet of 6-inch.
Allerton Street, Russell Street to Reservoir, 296 feet of 8-inch, 194 feet of 6-inch.
Sandwich Street, South Street to center of Green, 168 feet of 10-inch, 276 feet of 8-inch.
Seven hundred and twenty dollars have been received from persons entering the sewers. There has been a con- stant demand on the Selectmen to lay new sewers in places where the entry fees will not pay the expenses of the sewer, but as there was only a small amount of money for this account, they were unable to lay them except in the cases
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where the entry fees would very nearly pay the cost. As long as we have a system of sewerage, whether it is perfect or not, it seems as if sewers ought to be laid in all places where there is a sufficient demand, even if the whole of the first cost will not be at once met by the entry fees, and the people given the advantage of the sewerage. All persons who now have cesspools should be given the opportunity to enter sewers where it can be done at small expense to the Town, and certainly the health of the Town could not but be improved thereby.
Some work has been done on the outlet pipe into the harbor, but it is not completed at this time. The facts in regard to this pipe are as follows: From the manhole in Water Street a 14-inch cast iron pipe was laid into the harbor about 1,200 feet. For the first 225 feet this pipe has a good fall, but from that point to the end it is on a level. There is a small hole which was cut in the pipe about 225 feet from Water Street, and which is only 3x12 inches. About 450 feet from Water Street there is a similar opening, and about 600 feet there is a jacket around the whole pipe, which can be taken off, and leaves the whole of the end of the pipe clear. For a long time all the sewage has been running out of the first opening, and none would come out of any of the other openings. Mr. George W. Bradford was employed to try to clear the pipe, and at present it seems to be clear as far as the first opening and pretty clear as far as the jacket, 600 feet from Water Street. Work is still being done as the conditions are favorable, but whether the pipe can be cleared from the jacket to the end, and whether it can be kept clear, are doubtful questions. As catch basins for sand have been built at all necessary points where sand could enter the sewer, it seems as if the pipe ought to be kept clear as far as the jacket in any event. The Selectmen
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feel that the whole job, as far as this outlet is concerned, was a poor one, both in the laying and in the material of which it is laid, and should never have been accepted. It was made of cast iron pipe, with bell ends, which were put together with lead joints on the shore, and floated off and dropped into position. The point where there is the jacket is where the ends of the pipe did not meet. There appears to be a place in the pipe where it drops below grade, and then comes up, thus forming a sort of pocket. The floating and dropping of the pipe loosened the joints, so that now it is impossible to put any amount of pressure on the pipe by means of the aqueduct water, as when pressure is put on the water comes out at most of the joints. In our opinion the pipe ought to have been constructed of wood, so that it could be easily opened at any point, or at least of iron pipe with flanges, and put together with bolts, so that sections could be taken up and the pipe easily cleaned from time to time. This opinion is entirely our own, given for what it is worth, and without any claim to expert knowledge. On account of the obstruction to the flow of the sewage, large quantities of grease formed in the pipe, and pieces four inches thick have been removed. If the pipe can be kept clear, so that there will be a good flow, it is hoped that this will not form, and the worst element in making obstructions will be removed. From the jacket to the end of the pipe the flow of sewage has dug out a shallow channel, so that if the pipe can be kept clear as far as the jacket, we think it will work satisfactorily, even if the pipe from the jacket to the end has to be abandoned. No sewage has run through this last piece for about two years, and the end is about eight feet under water, and probably by this time covered with mud some feet thick and the pipe near the end com- pletely filled. Under these circumstances we recommend
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no further action in the matter at present. There is an undrawn balance of $291.79. An appropriation of $1,000 is recommended.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
At the last annual meeting the Town appropriated nine thousand dollars for the purpose of macadamizing or paving streets, and authorized the issuing of bonds or notes therefor. The whole Board of Selectmen looked into the matter thor- oughly, and visited places where macadam had been down for some years, and unanimously decided to use that mate- rial. It had already been decided by the previous Board of Selectmen to begin on Court Street, at Lothrop Street, and carry the work as far South through Court and Main streets, as the appropriation would allow. The State Highway Com- missioners have kindly advised the Board in the matter and permitted their Engineers to make the surveys for the same, and these surveys and plans have been followed as nearly as possible, some slight changes in the grades being made to avoid too much excavation. The road is generally crowned three-quarters of an inch to the foot, except on Main Street, where it necessarily was made flatter as the curb on the East side of the street was so much below the curb on the West side. As this street would be subject to the great- est amount of traffic it was decided to get the Salem trap rock, which is considered the best for the purpose. A con- tract was made with the Massachusetts Broken Stone Co. for stone, free on board, at the wharf in Plymouth, for $1.45 per net ton. The Stone Co. were much bothered in their shipping arrangements in Salem and lost considerable money on the contract, and the work was greatly delayed and the Town put to additional expense by the failure to deliver stone promptly. The Selectmen have not as yet set-
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tled in full for the stone, as they claim damages for the delay in the delivery. An agreement was made with the Buffalo- Pitts Agricultural Works for the use of a steam roller until May 1, 1896, for the sum of five hundred dollars, with the privilege of purchasing the same for $2,600, the rent of five hundred dollars to be used towards said purchase money. The roller has proved very satisfactory and the weight, twelve and one half tons, proper for our needs, and the Selectmen earnestly recommend its purchase. It could be used not only for any work that the Town may do on macad- am in the future, but also could be used to great advantage on gravel roads. Considerable complaint has been made in regard to crossings. The Selectmen can only state that they acted under advice in removing them and that all persons familiar with the matter have stated to the Selectmen repeat- edly that they will not be necessary, that as soon as the road is worn a little in the early Spring, the excess of fine material on the top can be removed and the road will be in good con- dition for crossing. This fact was stated by the Chairman of the State Commissioners, at the public hearing the Com- missioners held at the Court House, in Plymouth, and in the Town of Danvers there is not a single crossing on the mac- adam roads, which are built of stone from the same quarry that supplied the stone used in Plymouth. If it is proved that crossings are necessary, the Selectmen will willingly put them down. In regard to the road itself, all persons familiar with macadam who have seen it, state that the work is well done and that it will be an enduring road. If other roads are built the expense can be probably lessened by get- ting at least the bottom stone from Cohasset.
The account stands as follows :
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Ca Sp
Sto Roll Wat Supe Surv
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Stone
$4,057 10
Rolling 800 51
Wharfage and unloading
863 99
Carting 589 15
Superintendent 135 00
Storage
40 00
Surveying
232 50
Watering
117 50
Spreading
269 36
Gutters 841 20
Grading, etc
1,011 93
Balance undrawn
724 87
$9,683 11
Appropriation $9,000 00
Premium 216 00
Work for Street R. R. and other
departments
467 11
$9,683 11
The cost of the various items of the work per ton, including the bill for stone paid in full were as follows :
Stone at wharf
$1 45
Wharfage and unloading
25
Carting
17
Spreading 08
Stone on road $1 95
Rolling
$0 21
Watering
033
Superintendence 04
Surveying 063
35
Total per ton
$2 30
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There is quite a number of tons of stone on hand and the item for surveying covers also a survey of Market and Sand- wich streets to the Green, and a survey of Summer Street to Edes Street, but no deductions have been made for these items in the above account.
The total number of yards of macadam laid was 8,742, and the cost per yard, not including grading, 87 cents a square yard. The State Highways are laid with macadam only fifteen feet wide, whereas this road, on account of the width of the road bed, was necessarily laid much wider, so that the total number of yards laid would just about make a mile of highway, fifteen feet wide. The cost of the State mile at Manomet, was 74 cents a yard, but the stone is not nearly as good. The number of square yards of gutter, laid or relaid, was 1,402 and part of the cost of this item, as well as the cost of macadamizing the turn-out at Murray Street, was paid by the Street Railroad. The material removed in the grading was good to a large extent for use on other roads and was so used greatly to their benefit, but no allowance was made therefor, but the whole cost charged to this account. There is due the Town by the owners of the roller, $43.20 for freight, and the Town owes the Stone Co., $912.65, less any deductions that may be made for delay in the delivery of stone. The Selectmen recommend that an appropriation of five thousand dollars be made for macadamizing or paving streets.
Attention has never been paid in this Town sufficiently to the matter of grades in laying out or improving the roads and sidewalks, and none of the members of this Board have ever realized it until the construction of this road. We desire to call attention to the matter, so that in future the question may be consi lered, and we believe that in all cases money paid for the services of competent engineers would
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