USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > Town annual report of Saugus 1864-1888 > Part 23
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ART. 9. They shall avoid opening the doors and windows of a building where a fire may be until a supply of water can be pro- cured.
ART. 10. The first Company arriving at a fire may lay a line of hose ; the second line not to be laid without orders from the Chief Engineer or his Assistants, except in their absence, then the officer in charge may at his discretion.
ART. 11. Any Company arriving at a fire and finding an incom- plete line of hose laid out from any hydrant, shall attach to and lengthen out such line until the fire is reached. The line so length- ened shall be in charge of the Company laying it.
ART. 12. The first member arriving at the house in response to an alarm shall have command of the Company until the arrival of an officer.
ART. 13. In returning from a fire the members shall proceed in a quiet and orderly manner. 9
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FIRE DEPARTMENT.
ART. 14. It shall be the duty of members on their return from a fire or practice to assist in making a change of hose.
ART. 15. No Company belonging to this Department shall leave the Town with its apparatus without special permission of the Board of Engineers, except to a fire, and then they shall first ob- tain permission of some one of the Engineers before leaving. In case an Engineer cannot be communicated with, the Foreman or Assistant Foreman may use his discretion in regard to the same.
ART. 16. In case any member shall be found guilty of carrying or allowing any one else to carry intoxicating liquors of any kind into any hose house or room occupied by any Company belonging to this Department, or at a fire, to be drunk in said house or at a fire, or shall become intoxicated, or endeavor in any manner, at any time, to create a disturbance, or shall refuse to do his duty, the person in charge shall immediately report him or them to the Board of Engineers.
ART. 17. Gambling is strictly prohibited in any house or room under the jurisdiction of this Department. Any member violating this Article shall be dismissed from the Department.
ART. 18. Each of the Companies shall in the month of April in each year, choose a Foreman, Assistant Foreman, Secretary and Treasurer, and such other officers as they may require, in accord- ance with their respective Constitutions and in the manner therein provided.
ART. 19. Any citizen desiring to visit any building used by any Company of the Department, shall be courteously received and all proper questions answered. But continual lounging or loitering about the houses er rooms of any Company of the Department, by any person not a member of the Department, is positively forbidden.
ART. 20. Any violation of the above Rules and Regulations by any member of the Department shall be deemed sufficient cause for his discharge.
ART. 21. The regular meetings of the Board of Engineers shall be held at the Town Hall, on the evening of the first Monday in each montlı.
•
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SELECTMEN
OF THE
TOWN OF SAUGUS,
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1888.
LYNN, MASS .: PRESS OF THOS. P. NICHOLS, 7 MUNROE STREET, COR. MARKET. 1889.
SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
At the close of another financial year we are reminded of a duty we owe to our fellow citizens, namely, of laying before them in a clear and brief manner the general condition of the affairs of the Town, thus assisting by past experience to arrange for our future well-being, which certainly is of great interest to every citizen who has at heart the welfare of the Town.
The purpose of this report is to deal in detail only with those matters which strictly belong to this department. For particulars relating to other departments you are respectfully referred to their respective places in the general report. Your Board have tried to faithfully fulfil the oath of office to which they subscribed at the beginning of the year, and in turn we wish to express our ob- ligations to our citizens who have so kindly supported us in our attempt to make a successful administration, without which sup- port the officials of a growing community could not hope for much progress. We feel we do not exaggerate when we say the labors of the Selectmen are yearly increasing, as the Town grows in popu- lation, naturally followed by an increase in property for taxation ; and this condition of affairs will continue so long as the duties of Selectmen and Assessors remain undivided, and we desire to rec- ommend the establishment of separate Boards of Selectmen and Assessors, and also the acceptance of the Act of the Legislature, permitting these officials to be elected as our School Committee are elected, viz., one for three years, one for two years and one for one year, which plan would always provide for experienced men on the separate Boards.
The condition of the finances of the Town can be learned by reference to the Auditor's Statement, from which it appears the deficiency is larger than at the close of 1887, for reasons familiar
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
to all. We regret to be unable to congratulate our citizens that our debt is not of less dimensions, and can only add that it be- hooves us to exercise care in appropriations and expenditures for the year to come.
INCIDENTALS.
We have exceeded our appropriation for incidentals, because of many unusual demands which could not be anticipated, and which it was necessary to honor upon presentation ; among them may be mentioned the sum of $100 due for street lighting in 1887; $392 paid City of Lynn for hydrant service ; $750 in settlement of suit at law with L. Walter Copp, together with counsel fees of $337.45 ; and $500 for insurance on Town Hall.
SCHOOLS.
The schools are admirably managed by those under whose charge they have been placed, and both committee and teachers are deserving of complimentary notice at our hands. A very in- teresting report of this department can be found in the annual re- port of the School Committee. The sum of $7,800 was appropri- ated and has been wisely expended as far as is consistent with good results.
POOR.
The Overseers are entitled to favorable mention for their good judgment in being able to confine themselves within their appro- priation, while at the same time they have given that attention to our worthy poor as their condition required. The Town is very fortunate in having such able gentlemen on the Board of Overseers.
HIGHWAYS.
The roads of the Town are in excellent condition and could not be placed in better hands, for throughout the County it is prover- bial that there are no harder or smoother roads than are found in Saugus. The cost of maintaining them is necessarily large, be- cause of so much territory, and it is hardly to be expected that they could be kept in their present condition with a reduced ap- propriation.
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
STREET LIGHTING.
A contract for the year, beginning April 1st, was made with Mr. C. F. Clark to care for and light our street lanterns. The service rendered has been, we believe, generally satisfactory, and after an adoption of the custom for two years we think the people would hardly be willing to dispense with it, and accordingly we recommend a suitable appropriation for its continuance. At the present time there are 154 lanterns which are lighted twenty nights each month, at a cost of 32 cents per lantern per night.
SALEM TURNPIKE.
The unexpended balance of this appropriation is $150.90. This highway is under the immediate care of the Selectmen, and we can report it in good condition. The expenditures of late have been confined mainly to repairs on the road-bed, but the time is at hand when attention should be directed to the erection of a substantial fence along a great portion of the same. The County of Essex assumes and pays seventy-five per cent. of these expenditures, provided the amount so expended does not reach such a sum as will cause said seventy-five per cent. to exceed the sum of $1000.
STATE AID.
The amount paid under the provisions of Chapters 301 and 252, of the Acts of 1879, is $921, of which $793.50 is reimbursed by the Commonwealth. The names of persons to whom this is paid are given in another part of this report, and the advantages derived from this aid can hardly be over-estimated.
SUITS.
The case of L. W. Copp vs. Town of Saugus, for personal in- juries alleged to have been received from defects in the highway (Main Street), has been settled by the payment of $750 before the case came to trial, a course thought to be a prudent one and done under advice of counsel. There is yet pending the suit of Lock- wood vs. Town of Saugus, to recover for service rendered in prose- cution of illegal selling of liquor. The result of this suit is prob- lematical. The suit of Hesseltine vs. Town of Saugus, in the
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
courts prior to Jan. 1st, has since been settled by the payment of $1,000, which relieves the Town of defending three suits herein involved, all of which grew out of an alleged obstruction in the highway, near the Melrose line. We are looking to other parties for reimbursement of this sum and thus hope to return the same to the Treasury.
WATER SUPPLY.
The existing contract with the City of Lynn, under date of July 18, 1887, for five years, guarantees a satisfactory supply for some time to come ; and to be able to obtain it of so good a quality, at so reasonable a rate, and at the same time to be relieved of the trouble and cost of caring for a plant and system of our own, to- gether with collecting the water rates from takers, is a valuable privilege.
The number of consumers is increasing yearly, and the income therefrom will assist in the extinguishment of our water debt. Following is a copy of contract with the City of Lynn :
CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LYNN AND THE TOWN OF SAUGUS.
THIS AGREEMENT made to take effect the first day of April, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, between the City of Lynn, in the County of Essex, of the first part, thereto authorized by an order of the City Conn- cil, approved by its Mayor, June 24th, 1887, and the Town of Saugus, in the County of Essex, of the second part, thereto authorized by a vote of the Town, passed in Town Meeting assembled July 7th, 1887, witnesseth :
1. That the said parties cancel any and all agreements heretofore made between the City of Lynn and the second party relating to rates or rents for the use of water supplied within the territory of the second party.
2. That the said first party shall furnish to the second party water for its inhabitants from the Public Water Works of the City of Lynn.
3. That the said second party shall, at its own expense, lay and main- tain all the pipes, hydrants, and stop-gates necessary for conveying the water from the pipes laid by the first party, and distributing the water within the limits of the territory of the second party.
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
4. That for all the water furnished by the said first party to, and used by, the second party, or by any person within the territory of the second party, the said first party shall, at its own expense, collect water rents at the same rates and prices and under the same rules and regulations as are now, or may hereafter be, established by the said first party, for the use of water in the City of Lynn; provided that the price to be collected for fire hydrants shall be twenty-eight dollars per year for each three hundred and fifty inhabitants, as shown by the semi-decennial census next preced- ing ; in computing the amount the fraction shall not be taken into account, unless it exceed one-half, when the full price shall be charged; said hy- drants to be as many as said second party may determine, but not to be used for any purpose whatever except for fire purposes; and that the second party shall not be held responsible in any case for the payment of said water rates except for water used for hydrants, public fountains, and other Town purposes.
5. That the said first party shall pay to the second party in the months of June and December of each year, a rebate of thirty-seven and one-half per cent. of the rates collected for the use of water within the territory of the second party; provided that in no consecutive five years shall this re- bate amount to more than six per cent. per annum of the total cost of pipes, hydrants, stop-gates and services laid by the party of the second part.
6. That the said second party may raise the water rates within its territory above those charged by the said City of Lynn; and, in case the water rates shall be so raised, the first party may retain to its own use five per cent. of the excess of said rates over the rates established by the said City of Lynn, and pay over the balance of said excess to the second party, as hereinbefore provided.
7. That the said first party shall have care of all ordinary repairs of pipes, and the actual cost of such repairs to be paid by the second party ; provided that all extension of pipes is to be done by the second party.
8. That the said first party may at its own expense take such measures and use such machines and apparatus for the prevention of waste within the territory of the second party as shall be taken and used in the City of Lynn.
9. That the said second party shall, at its own expense, provide a suitable person in the villages of East Saugus, Saugus Center and Clifton- dale and in North Saugus (if the pipes should be extended to that village) whose duty it shall be to shut off the water in case of a leak in the main pipes.
10. That the said first party is in no event to be liable for damages in consequence of a deficient water supply, nor for a suspension in the supply to said residents, caused by any defects in the water works of said first
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
party ; nor for a stoppage in the flow of water for the purpose of making reasonable repairs and alterations in said works; nor any damages caused by defects in the highway by reason of the obligations assumed by said first party under this contract; nor for any of its acts under the same.
11. That the said second party shall pass and enact the like rules and regulations as to the use of water within its territory as are now, or may hereafter be, in force in the City of Lynn, with like penalties for their violation ; provided such rules and regulations shall not conflict with the laws of the Commonwealth.
12. That the said second party shall furnish a map of its territory to the first party, and from time to time make prompt additions thereto, so as to show all streets in which pipes are laid, and the location of all pipes, hydrants, and stop-gates.
13. This agreement shall continue in force for the term of five years from April 1st, 1887.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties to these presents - of the first part by its Mayor, and of the second part by its Selectmen - have hereunto set their hands and seals this Eighteenth day of July, 1887.
GEO. D. HART, Mayor of the City of Lynn.
WILLIAM F. HITCHINGS, HORACE H. ATHERTON, WILLIAM W. LOWE, Selectmen of the Town of Saugus.
We, the undersigned, Selectmen of the Town of Saugus, hereby consent to the within contract; subject to the ratification of the Town.
WILLIAM F. HITCHINGS, HORACE H. ATHERTON, WILLIAM W. LOWE.
FIRE.
This department has made a steady and healthy advance, when we consider that less than a year has elapsed since the date of organization ; and we look forward to the time when we can speak in terms of highest praise of the achievements of our Fire Com- panies. With new apparatus, and an enthusiasm on the part of our young men, which is creditable, we predict for ourselves a protection against fire which at any time may overtake us.
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
TAXES.
By reason of the default of the Collector of Taxes of 1885, 1886 and 1887, to pay to the Treasurer a large portion of the taxes assessed for those years, and which we believe to have been collected, we have directed our counsel to take such measures as seemed necessary to protect the Town against loss, by calling upon his bondsmen to meet their obligation. The apparent short- age for the year 1885, is $1,807.93 ; 1886, $7,072.35 ; and 1887, $12,217.79, as advised by the Auditing Committee. The Col- lector's bond for each year as above. is $10,000.00, and the char- acter of the sureties is such that we feel warranted in saying that the prospective loss to the Town cannot exceed the difference be- tween the bond and apparent shortage of 1887. We advise a more frequent examination of the accounts of the Collector, thus reducing the chances of disaster to the minimum.
MISCELLANEOUS.
In other departments calls have been made for expenditures of the public funds for which no specific appropriations have been made, and your Board have deemed it wise to honor bills of such a nature as this condition of affairs seemed to justify.
For Free Public Library, $140.73.
Repairs on bridge at East Saugus, $539.93, necessitated by the dangerous condition of the foundation, part of which cost is paid by the City of Lynn.
Our estimate of appropriations needed for the ensuing year, is as follows : -
Incidental Expenses . $4,500 00
Salem Turnpike 1,200 00
Salaries 1,000 00
Street Lights 1,200 00
State Aid .
1,200 00
Interest .
7,500 00
WILLIAM W. LOWE, WILLIAM F. HITCHINGS, HORACE H. ATHERTON.
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