USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1912 > Part 13
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GEORGE T. TILL, Town Clerk.
SWAMPSCOTT, MASS., December 31, 1912.
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162
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Report of the Board of Selectmen.
To the Citizens of Swampscott :
The Board of Selectmen presents herewith this report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1912.
This Board has been constituted a Board of Survey for the Town by legislative enactment duly accepted. It has also as- sumed the duties of the Street Light Committee, under a vote of the Town, and its doings as a Board of Survey and Street Light- ing Committee are incorporated in this report.
The taxable property of the Town as determined by the valu- ation of the assessors for the year is :
Real estate
Personal estate
$9,413,525 00 2,974,381 00 .
Total
. $12,387,906 00
The bonded indebtedness of the Town is as follows :
Permanent Improvement bonds . $276,600 00
Water bonds issued against sinking fund
·
150,000 00
Water bonds, serial S9,000 00
Sewer bonds, serial
198,146 00
Total .
. $713.746 00
Present sinking fund .
57,253 98
Net
.
. $656,492 02
The particulars are shown in the accountant's report.
Loans Contracted During the Year.
There were bonds issued for temporary loans in anticipation of taxes to the amount of $100,000. This is $25,000 less than the amount authorized by the vote of the Town. This loan will be paid out of the taxes for the year 1912. as required by law.
Serial bonds were issued during the year to the amount of
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
1912].
$47,646. Bonds to the amount of $6,200 in addition were authorized but have not been issued.
Particulars are shown in the report of the accountant.
The Cost of The Town's Business.
The total expense of carrying on the Town's business by the various departments for the year, was $552,464.73. Of this the sum of $47.646 was provided for by bond issues. Serial bonds to the amount of $34,250 were paid, and interest charges on Serial Bonds outstanding to the amount of $17,660.09 were paid. In addition the interest charges on temporary loans in anticipation of the taxes for the year, amounting to $2.360, were paid. Particulars are shown in accountant's report. This does not include the interest charges of the Water Department, which are paid from the water revenue.
Contracts Awarded.
FUEL. Bids were received from the George S. Briggs Coal Company and Honors. Holder & Sons for furnishing coal for the year as follows :
Honors. Holder & Sons .-
Broken
. $6 60
per ton
Lackawana Egg
· 7 20
Burnside
.
7 90 ..
Georges Creek
4 75
George S. Briggs Coal Company,-
Lackawana Egg
. . $7 50
per ton
Broken
. 7 00
.. ..
Burnside
.
8 25 ..
Cumberland
· 5 25
..
The contract was awarded to Honors, Holder & Sons. The total cost for fuel was $4,697.45.
STREET WATERING AND OILING. The following bids were received for oil and oiling :
Alden Speare's Sons Company .--
Tasscoil
52c. per gal.
Oil 35 per cent asphalt
· 4¿c. ..
Oil 45 per cent asphalt .
Oil 60 per cent asphalt
. 6Įc. 63c. .. ..
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TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Dustoline Company,-
Dustoline .
6.95c. per gal. Lamson Road Oil No. I .
· 5.95℃. «. ..
F. O. B. cars, Swampscott.
American Car Sprinkler Company,-
Oil 30 per cent to 40 per cent Asphalt, applied .
· I 1-5c. per gal. Town to clean streets.
Standard Oil Company,-
Oil 30 per cent to 40 per cent Asphalt . .
4.4c. per gal.
Applied for · ·
. I.2c. per sq. yd.
F. O. B. cars, Swampscott.
Town to clean streets.
Asphalt Grade A. 6.2c. per gal.
F. O. B. cars, Swampscott.
Indian Refining Company,-
Oil 23-24 per cent gravity 5c. per gal. Oil 18-20 per cent gravity 6c. .. .
Oil 12-14 per cent gravity ·
.
62c. " "
F. O. B. cars, Swampscott.
Michael McDonough,-
Oil 90 per cent Asphalt ·
6¿c. per gal.
Oil 60 per cent Alphalt 5℃. .. ..
Oil 40 per cent Asphalt 4₺c. " . Light oil ·
F. O. B. cars, Swampscott.
Oil 90 per cent Asphalt applied, pea stone and sand covering ·
I2c. sq. yd. Oil 60 per cent Asphalt applied, pea stone and sand covering Ioc. sq. yd.
Oil 40 per cent dust layer, streets swept, oil applied . . 2c. sq. yd.
Oil, light, dust layer, streets swept, oil applied .
6.05c. "
Ic. sq. yd.
The contract to furnish and apply the oil was awarded to Michael McDonough, with the provision that he do all oiling
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
1912]
and sprinkling required for the year for the sum of $4,200. Last year the total cost of sprinkling and oiling was $5,500. In 1910 the cost was $5,174.38, so that a material saving was effected by this contract. With the heavy automobile travel on the main streets, heavy oil is required, and when first applied its appearance is not inviting. It is, however, very efficient, both as a dust layer and as a binder for the road, and is the most economical treatment in the long run. The character of the work compared favorably with past service, though it is believed that it can be improved upon without a material increase in the cost.
SIDEWALKS. The following bids were received for edge- stones and surfacing sidewalks :
David J. Sheehan, -
Granolithic
. $1.48 per sq. yd.
John H. Mclaughlin, -
Granolithic · $1.So per sq. yd.
Tar (hard)
.60 . .. .
Tar (common)
Skimcoat . ·
.27 . .. 66
Michael McDonough, -
Granolithic ·
. $1.60 per sq. yd.
Driveway
2.00 .. .. ..
Edgestones (straight)
.65 per sq. ft.
Edgestones (curved)
.85
.75 .. .. ..
Pean Hammered (curved)
.
.95
Tar concrete
Skimcoat .
.60 per sq. yd. ·35 "" "
The contract for edgestones and granolithic work was awarded to Michael McDonough, and the contract for tar con- crete was awarded to John H. Mclaughlin.
Edge stones, granolithic work and tar concrete surfaces were laid as follows, at a total cost of $4,088.22 :
Edgestones.
Addie H. Alley,
44 Hillside Avenue, 46.60 feet
Inda A. Ashton,
190 Burrill Street, 42.50 feet
.
.43
·
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Pean Hammered (straight)
.
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TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Rose Belben,
Jessie F. Blaney,
Norfolk Avenue, 96. 10 feet
Minnie Ola Davie,
20 Hillside Avenue, 48.75 feet
16 Hillside Avenue, 46.60 feet
Berkshire Street, 15.20 feet
67 Pine Street, 46.30 feet
Essex Avenue, 73.70 feet
Donald M. Foster,
44 Norfolk Avenue 46.80 feet
Lizzie M. Frazier,
32 Norfolk Avenue, 47.65 feet
Charles E. Graves,
36 Norfolk Avenue, 47.45 feet
William C. Hackbarth,
40 Hiliside Avenue,
46.20 feet
Charles E. Hinkley,
8 Hillside Avenue,
1 19.60 feet
Alexander J. Hudson,
14 Hillside Avenue, 51.90 feet
Alvin P. Johnson,
69 Rockland Street, 37.55 feet
Imogene Knapp,
36 Hillside Avenue, 41.30 feet
47.10 feet
Frank E. Leighton,
IS Norfolk Avenue, 39.40 feet
48 Norfolk Avenue, 48.00 feet
Milton D. Porter,
184 Burrill Street, 66.90 feet
G. F. & J. A. Stewart,
24 Hillside Avenue, 47.50 feet
Lottie A. Stiles,
28 Norfolk Avenue, 47.90 feet
Town of Swampscott,
Redington Street School, 176.15 feet
Charles T. Vray,
52 Norfolk Avenue, 139.50 feet
Frederic L. Wood,
Ocean Avenue, 159.84 feet
Granolithic Sidewalks.
Blanche F. Cushing, 6 Norfolk Avenue, 28.00 sq. yds.
Amelia T. Eckstrom, 15 Norfolk Avenue, 30.62 sq. yds. M. A. and G. M. Knowland, 14 Norfolk Avenue, 23.42 sq. yds. Holten J. Sutherland, IO Norfolk Avenue, 22.16 sq. yds. Town of Swampscott, Redington Street School, 119.63 sq. yds.
H. Scott Tuttle, 56 Walker Road, 50.71 sq. yds.
This appropriation is inadequate for the present demand for surfacing sidewalks. The greater cost of granolithic walks over that of tar concrete necessitates restricting the work to a smaller area than could be covered by the lower priced material. We believe, however, that the granolithic work is the more eco- nomical.
In our last report, under title of sidewalks, we called atten- tion to a plan whereby the demand for granolithic surface for sidewalks could be met. The condition remains about the same
Edward E. Doane,
Herman T. Dwinell,
Lydia A. Farnham, Augustus B. Flanders, Rhoda L. Flanders,
32 Hillside Avenue, 44.20 feet
A. McCarthy,
Abbie A. Lancaster Est., 40 Norfolk Avenue,
24 Norfolk Avenue, 45.85 feet
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
1912]
this year. It is quite apparent that if the applications for work of this character are to be granted, the appropriation will have to be greatly increased. We therefore recommend that $6,000 be appropriated for this work.
PRINTING. The following bids were received for printing the Town report :
Frank S. Whitten, Lynn, Mass. . $1 60 per page E. L. Grimes Company, Boston, Mass. 1 62 " "
The contracted was awarded to Frank S. Whitten for I, Soo copies.
Streets.
By virtue of Chapter 191 of the Acts of 1907, accepted by the Town at the last Annual Town Meeting, this Board is con- stituted a Board of Survey for the Town, with powers and duties therein enumerated. Briefly, its powers and duties are as follows : Any person or corporation, desiring to lay out, locate or construct any street or way in the Town, shall, before the beginning of the construction, submit to the Board of Survey suitable plans of such street or way in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Board may prescribe. Upon receipt of such plans with the petition for their approval, the Board shall give public hearing thereon after giving two weeks' notice by publication, and after such hearing the Board may alter such plans and determine where the street or way shall be located, the width and grades thereof, and so designate on said plans. The plans shall then be approved and signed by the Board and filed in the office of the Clerk of the Town, who shall attest thereon the date of filing.
The Board of Survey may from time to time cause to be made up under its direction, plans of such territory or sections of land in the Town as it may deem advisable, showing thereon the location of such streets or ways, whether already laid out or not, as the Board shall be of the opinion that the present or future interests of the public require or will require in such territory, showing clearly the direction, width and grade of each street or way. The Board may employ such assistants and incur such expense in regard to said plans as it may deem necessary, not exceeding the amount of money appropriated by the Town for the purpose. Before making such plans the Board shall give public hearing as to the location, direction, width and grades o+
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TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
streets or ways in the territory to be shown on the plan, after notice by publication. No street or way in the Town shown on any plan filed as aforesaid shall be laid out, located anew, altered or widened, and no such street or way, whether already or here- after laid out, shall be constructed by any public authority, except in accordance with the provisions of said chapter 191. and if any person or corporation shall hereafter open for public travel any private way, the location, direction, width and grade of which have not previously been adopted in writing by the Board of Survey in the manner provided for by said Act, then neither the Town nor any public authority shall place any public sewer, drain, water pipe or lamp in, or do any public work of any kind upon such private way so opened to public travel contrary to the provisions of this Act (With certain provisions) . Buildings erected along any streets, the lines and grades of which have been established by the Board of Survey, must conform to those lines and grades, otherwise no damage shall be recoverable by reason of the putting to grade or other change in the physical features of said street, so as to conform to said lines and grades established by this Board.
The Board of Survey, its officers and agents may so far as they deem it necessary in carrying out the provisions of this Act enter upon any lands and there make such examinations, surveys and place and maintain monuments and marks as they may deem necessary.
At a meeting of the Board of Survey the following rules were adopted :
I. The plans must be drawn on the dull side of tracing cloth and be of uniform size, 27 x 40 inches. They must show all buildings abutting on proposed streets and give such information as to accurately locate the proposed streets with other existing streets in the vicinity, and enough grade elevations so that the profiles may be located on the plan.
2. Lines of proposed streets, radii of curves, width of streets, and all proposed grades must be plainly marked in vermillion ink ; all other figures and lines in black ink.
3. Profiles must show present grades for middle and both side lines of street, and the proposed grade along the middle line. Show the middle line full, north side dot and south side dash.
4. All buildings abutting on proposed streets shall be shown both on the plan and profiles.
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
1912]
5. Streets should not be less than 40 feet wide and all grades must refer to Swampscott Town Base.
6. Any convenient scale may be used, but a horizontal scale of 40 feet to an inch and a vertical scale of 4 feet to an inch are recommended.
7. The above plans must be accompanied by, or shown in one corner of the sheet, a copy of such portion of the Swamp- scott Map, scale 200, as would show the entire property to be laid out and such adjoining property as may be affected. If the street submitted for approval does not extend through to another street and is likely to be extended in the future, the plan should show the whole street and its connection with existing or other proposed streets.
S. The title should contain the owner's name, scale, date, and name and address of engineer. The names of all abutting owners should be shown upon the plan.
All work done under this act is necessarily all outside of general maintenance engineering, and is work usually done by Engineering Departments during the closed or winter season. In the absence of proper surveys it is very difficult to intelligently study and approve proposed street layouts where they are handed in individually and affect, as they do, the general development of the immediate vicinity. This work should be done a year or two in advance, and we recommend that the appropriation of the Engineering Department be sufficient to allow a certain amount of this work to be done each year.
On June 7th a petition was received in relation to the exten- sion of Pine street. It was duly advertised and on July 19th a hearing was held at the Town Hall.
On July 17th a petition for Blaney Beach boulevard was received and advertised. On July 24th a hearing thereon was held at the beach and adjourned to the Town Hall.
On August 16th a hearing was advertised relating to the widen- ing of Humphrey street. On September 6th a hearing was held on the same.
On November Sth a petition was received on the Phillips property.
On November 22nd a hearing was held on the same.
On December 6th a hearing on Pine street extension was advertised.
On December 19th a hearing was held on the same.
A general report on streets will be found in the Surveyor of Highways' report.
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TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Moth Department.
This Board appointed Everett P. Mudge Superintendent of the Moth Department for the year 1912. As Superintendent he has filed a report covering this department, to be found in another part of this book. The work of this department has been satis- factory, both to the Town and State authorities.
The State Forester has notified our Board that the sum of $4,955.16 must be provided for moth work during the year end- ing November 30th, 1913.
Metropolitan Affairs.
The cost of the Metropolitan Parks District to the Town for the year 1912 was $5,665.71. When it is considered that Swampscott pays less than one-half of one per cent of the an- nual cost of this district, one can grasp some idea of the tremen- dous annual cost of the district. Aside from the one-half of the boulevard cost, which is borne by the state, this total cost is paid by thirty-nine cities and towns situated within fifteen miles of Boston. To guard against a repetition of Legislation of this character, a municipal association, composed of cities and towns in the Metropolitan District, is in the process of formation, and at the meeting of the Town on November 15th, 1912, it was voted as follows :
" Be it resolved, that it is the sense of this meeting that the Board of Selectmen be and are hereby authorized to take any and all steps necessary to protect the Town and encourage the formation and become a member of the proposed municipal asso- ciation, whose objects shall be to promote the spreading of knowledge among the cities and towns of all matters affecting their general welfare; to obtain and publish information con- cerning all proposed legislation ; to consider any and all ques- tions which affect the public and to aid in securing more action and efficient cooperation between the several cities and towns upon matters where cooperation is found to be desirable."
Your Selectmen have attended the meetings of this proposed association, and have cooperated with the other cities and towns in the various steps, which we believe will ultimately materialize in a powerful association for the preservation of cities and towns surrounding Boston, and in a material saving of public funds.
Morris Option.
An option for the purchase of the Morris land, adjoining the Town Hall, has been held by the Town for a number of years.
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
1912]
The price named is $3,000. This option has been renewed from time to time, and expires on May 9, 1913. Probably no further option can be secured. The price named was fixed several years ago, and we have no hesitation in recommending the purchase of the land at this price. It would therefore, seem the part of wisdom for the Town to purchase this property, before May 9th, next.
Humphrey Street.
For some time the matter of widening Humphrey street has been under consideration. Special Committees have been appointed and have considered desirable plans for accomplishing this end. The County Commissioners have given the matter some attention, and last year two bills were introduced into the Legislature, one for widening the street and dividing the expense among the state, the county, the railway and the town ; another to require the Metropolitan Parks Commission to lay out a boulevard and take all the land on the southerly side of Hum- phrey street for a Park. It was found not to be an opportune time to secure the passage of either bill, but Representative Quinn secured the passage of Resolve Chapter 135, which is as follows :
" Resolved that the Massachusetts Highway Commission is hereby directed to report to the next General Court what portion, if any, of the cost of widening Humphrey street in the Town of Swampscott, from Monument Square to Second Beach, so called, should be contributed by the Commonwealth, what portion by the County of Essex and what portion by the Town of Swampscott."
The Highway Commissioners held a hearing on the 19th day of December, which was attended by your Board of Selectmen, the County Commissioners and several other citizens who were interested in the matter.
The Commission made the following report to the Legislature :
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled :
Under the provisions of Chapter 135 of the Resolves of the year 1912, entitled " Resolve to provide for investigation as to the proper apportionment of the cost of widening Humphrey
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TOWN DOCUMENTS.
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street in the Town of Swampscott " and directing the Massa- chusetts Highway Commission to report to the General Court what portion, if any, of the cost of widening Humphrey street in the Town of Swampscott, from Monument square to Second Beach, so called, should be paid by the Commonwealth, what portion by the County of Essex and what portion by the Town of Swampscott, said Massachusetts Highway Commission hereby submit this report :
The Commission and its engineers have had a number of con- ferences with the officials of the Town of Swampscott and other interested parties, on the ground and also in the office of the Commission. There was also a meeting recently held which was attended by the County Commissioners of Essex County, the Selectmen of Swampscott and other interested citizens, at which the question of the improvement was discussed, and several suggestions made, but no definite conclusion reached, though there was an agreement that the street, if widened, should be at least seventy feet in width with a double car track in the centre, and that it should have two sidewalks each nine or ten feet in width.
Swampscott is a town of about six thousand inhabitants with a valuation of over eleven million dollars, and with only a little over twenty miles of road. Humphrey street is its main village street, along which all the principal stores are located. The Commission has always felt that it was not good policy for the Commonwealth to spend on any main village street of this character the money available for state highways. It has felt that the County and Town could at least afford to build and care for such streets, even on main through lines. Humphrey street is some different, perhaps, from most village streets, in that it begins at the end of the Metropolitan Parkway in Lynn, with its broad driveway at the junction of a main road leading to the City of Lynn. The part of Humphrey street referred to in the resolution is narrow and has one car track in the centre, leaving room for but one vehicle on each side of the car track in many places. Teams are often standing in front of the stores, thus causing a still further congestion. On pleasant days it un- doubtedly has a great amount of automobile travel and many teams. No doubt a large majority of the automobiles come from other cities and towns, and following the parkway continue along the shore to Marblehead.
The street is not wide enough for the traffic and should in the opinion of the Commissioners be widened.
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SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
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Provision should be made for a double track street railway location, as it will undoubtedly be required in the near future, if such need does not already exist.
It would seem to the Commission that the contemplated improvement could well be made on the same terms on which the other Metropolitan boulevards leading in and out of the Metro- politan district were constructed.
As the resolve requires this Commission to make a report, even though for the reasons above stated it would not consider it good policy for the Commonwealth to spend any State High- way money on such a main village street, it would make the fol- lowing suggestions :
The Commission's suggestion, therefore, is that if the road is not constructed as a Metropolitan boulevard, and the legislature is of the opinion that the Commonwealth should contribute toward the cost of the work, a fair division would be as follows :
The County of Essex should lay out and pay the land and grade damage : the Town of Swampscott should do the neces- sary grading, to the finished sub-grade line, build the sidewalks, curbs and retaining walls, construct all necessary drainage, including which may be necessary in the present underground constructions and connections. The Commonwealth should build the roadway above the finished sub-grade and pay for the same from a line eighteen inches outside the car track to the side- walk curb on each side. The Street Railway Company should be given a double track location and required to lay suitable girder rails and to place between its rails and track and eighteen inches outside thereof for a total width of eighteen feet, some suitable pavement on a proper foundation.
Upon the basis of apportionment found by the Highway Com- mission, we estimate the cost to the Town would be in the vicinity of $25,000. This estimate is based upon work of the highest possible character. Considering that the total cost is estimated at $220,000 by the Engineering Department of the Highway Commission, it would seem a particularly opportune time to secure legislation to carry out the work upon the basis reported. We believe that every citizen of the Town should give his hearty support to the project.
Street Lighting Committee.
By vote of the Town at the last annual meeting the powers and duties of the Street Lighting Committee were transferred to this Board. We have assumed these duties, and have during the
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TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
present year caused to be removed eighteen arc lights, and have caused to be installed seventy-seven incandescent lights in place thereof. We believe that by these changes the service has been materially improved. The total number of arc lights now in use in the town is ninety-eight. The total number of incandes- cent lights now in use in the Town is two hundred one.
The prices for lights for the present year are as follows :
Arc lights Incandescent lights
$72.00 each 17.50 “
The price for arc lights is fifty cents less per light than last year's price. The total cost of this department has been $10,675.11. The appropriation was $10,900.
Office Equipment.
There is not at present sufficient room in the vault and book- cases in the Selectmen's room to adequately care for the plans, papers and books which accumulate from year to year, some of which by law are required to be kept in fireproof vaults.
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