USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1930 > Part 5
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Article 50. Much of the work described in this article would have to be done on private property. It would be largely for the benefit of such owners, and the town therefore would expect a substantial contribution from them towards the cost of the work. We have not had sufficient time to examine the subject carefully, and therefore recommend that action under this article be indefinitely postponed.
Article 52. The laying of this water main is recommended by the Water and Sewerage Board. We recommend that a six inch water main be laid in Allan road a distance of about 650 feet from Humphrey street, and that the sum of $1,250 be appropriated therefor from the Water Available Surplus, said work to be done under the direction of the Water and Sewerage Board and subject to the pro- visions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of con- tracts, but on the condition that the Town Engineer shall certify in writing to the Board of Selectmen that said street conforms in line and grade with the plan approved by the Board of Survey; that all abutters shall sign an agreement to pay six per cent interest on the investment until the water rates of the users equal the interest thereon: and that proper waivers, without the payment of any money, shall be obtained from all abutters if in the judgment of the Water and Sewer- age Board waivers are necessary for the protection of the town.
Article 53. The laying of this water is recommended by the Water and Sewerage Board. We recommend that a six inch water main be laid in Stanley road a distance of about 580 feet from Humphrey street and that the sum of $1,225 be appropriated therefor from the Water Available Surplus, said work to be done under the direction of the Water and Sewerage Board, and subject to the provisions of the by- laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts, and subject. also, to the conditions contained in the recommendation under Ar- ticle 52.
Article 54. We recommend that a six inch water main be laid in Dale street a distance of about 590 feet and that the sum of $1,270 be appropriated therefor from the Water Available Surplus, said work to be done under the direction of the Water and Sewerage Board and subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts, and subiect also to the conditions contained in the recommendation under Article 52.
Article 55. We recommend that a six inch water main be laid in Nason road a distance of 200 feet and that the sum of $425 be appro- priated therefor from the Water Available Surplus, sa'd work to be done under the direction of the Water and Sewerage Board and subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts, and subject also to the conditions contained in the recom- mendation under Article 52.
Article 56. We recommend that a six inch water main be laid in Hampshire street a distance of about 285 feet, and that the sum of $1.325 be appropriated therefor from the Water Available Surplus, said work to be done under the direction of the Water and Sewerage Board and subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts, and subject also to the conditions contained in the recommendation under Article 52.
Article 57. We recommend that a six-inch water main be laid in Charlotte road a distance of about 225 feet and that the sum of $790
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1930]
be appropriated therefor from the Water Available Surplus, said work to be done under the direction of the Water and Sewerage Board and subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts, and subject also to the conditions contained in the recommendation under Article 52.
Article 59. We recommend that action under this article be in- definitely postponed.
Article 60. This article seeks the addition of two patrolmen to the Police Department. In conferring with the Board of Selectmen and the Chief of Police it appeared that parts of the town during the night are without proper police protection. The addition of one permanent man to the force would permit the splitting of certain routes, and would make it possible for certain parts of the town to be more frequently patrolled. The budget of this Department is now nearly $40,000. We are reluctant to recommend anything that will increase the fixed expense of this Department. We appreciate, how- ever, that all parts of the town are entitled to police protection, and believe that this can be accomplished by the addition of one permanent patrolman. We, therefore, recommend that the Board of Selectmen be authorized to add one permanent patrolman to the Police Depart- ment to become effective May 1, 1930, and that for this purpose the sum of $1,200 be appropriated from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
Article 62. This article relates to the exchange of two Ford Road- sters that have been used by the Police Department, for one Ford Sedan. These automobiles have been run more than 50,000 miles, and are in bad condition. To continue their use would mean constant expense for repairs. We recommend, therefore, that the Chief of Police be authorized to exchange these two Ford Roadsters for one Ford Sedan, and to pay in addition the sum of $175 which we re- commend be appropriated from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
Article 63. In 1925 a Studebaker touring car was purchased for the Police Department. This car has been in constant use by the Department since that time, and we are informed that it is now in a condition where it is not safe to operate. The Chief suggests that it be exchanged for a new car, and that the sum of $1,200 be appro- priated for this purpose. It is not necessary to have a high powered automobile for this Department. We recommend that the Chief of Police be authorized to purchase a new automobile, of the sedan type, to accommodate five persons; to turn in the Studebaker car as part of the purchase price thereof; that the sum of $1,000 be appropriated from the Excess and Deficiency Fund to pay the remainder; and that said exchange and purchase be subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts.
Article 64. We recommend that the Board of Fire Engineers be authorized to install a fire alarm box at the corner of Berkshire street and Paradise road and that the sum of $180 be appropriated therefor from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
Article 65. We recommend that the Board of Fire Engineers be authorized to purchase and install a fire alarm box at the corner of Humphrey street and Hemenway road and that the sum of $150 be appropriated therefor from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
Article 66. We recommend that the Board of Fire Engineers be authorized to dispose of the old service car as a part payment on another automobile to take its place. We are informed by the En- gineers that no appropriation of money will be required.
Article 67. We recommend that the Board of Fire Engineers be authorized to purchase five hundred feet of 21/2 inch hose and that the sum of $500 be appropriated therefor from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
Article 68. We recommend that new batteries be installed at the Central Fire station for the fire alarm system and that the sum of $400 be appropriated therefor from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
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Article 69. This article relates to the appropriation of $5,000 to continue the work of placing underground certain cables in connection with our fire alarm system. Last year a similar amount was appro- priated, and the work was done from the Phillips Beach Chemical House to Phillips Corner. It is intended this year to extend the work to Ingalls terrace. We recommend that this work be done under the direction of the Board of Fire Engineers and subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts, and that $5,000 be appropriated therefor from the Excess and Deficiency Fund.
Article 71. The purpose of this article is to increase the salaries of the members of the Fire Department. The country for the past several months has been passing through a period of serious business depression and much unemployment has resulted. The average yearly wages of those employed in the industries of the City of Lynn during 1929 was about $1,300. The members of this Department receive salaries that are greater, in most instances, than those paid to school teachers. After they are appointed, their position is secure. Nor need they have any particular worry for the future, because that is safe- guarded by a pension system to which they in no way contribute, although school teachers and employees of the U. S. Mail Service have to contribute substantially to their pension fund. The town has accepted all the progressive laws passed by the Legislature reducing fire hazards. Nevertheless, we are spending upon this Department a sum of money that far exceeds the amount spent by other communities having far greater risks. Taking into consideration the general business conditions, and the security of the employment of these men, we feel that they are fairly paid. We recommend, therefore, that action under this article be indefinitely postponed.
Articles 72, 73 and 74. These articles concern the erection of a new high school building. The report submitted by the High School Building Committee thereunder recommends the appropriation of $500,- 000 for this purpose. Our present borrowing capacity within the debt limit on January 1, 1930, was $184,568.58. It will be necessary, there- fore, to borrow this money outside of our debt limit. This would require a special act of the Legislature. It is the custom in passing such acts to insert a provision requiring municipalities to appropriate from the tax levy a sum equal to ten per cent of the amount authorized by the act. This would mean that we would be required to appropriate $50,000 from the tax levy of the present year and to borrow the remain- der, viz.,$450,000 on fifteen notes of $30,000 each, payable annually and bearing interest at the rate of about four per cent. per annum.
We still owe $268,000 on school buildings. If a new high school building is erected $450,000 would have to be borrowed as hereinbefore stated and our entire debt for school buildings would then be $718,000.
The budget for the School Committee in 1928 was $156,000. This year it will be $178,000, an increase of more than $22,000 in three years. This budget will increase each year and very shortly we will be appropriating more than $200,000 annually for this purpose alone. If a new high school is built as recommended by the Building Com- mittee, an annual appropriation of more than a quarter of a million dollars must be made to care for the liquidation of all outstanding loans on our school buildings, including the new high school, and to provide for the current expenses of the schools. This sum would represent about one half of our present tax rate of $24. The annual cost of maintaining a building of the type proposed would be large. We believe that the erection of such a building and the subsequent cost of maintenance, would substantially increase our tax rate. We believe that these facts should be brought to the attention of the meeting before entering upon the consideration of a project that in- volves the expenditure of more than $500,000.
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Objections have been made to the location recommended by the Building Committee. This is Phillips Park Playground, so called, which was acquired by the town some years ago. It is said that this is not sufficiently near the center of the school population of the town. The records of the School Department show that 1,082 pupils live west of the present high school building and 492 pupils east of this building. From this it seems clear that the location is not near the center of the school population of the town. While it will serve conveniently pupils living in the easterly and central parts of the town, it will be very inconvenient for those who live along Essex street and the streets adjacent thereto. The Building Committee in making the selection confined its choice to parcels of land located in the vicinity of this playground. Evidently no thought was given to locations nearer the westerly or upper part of the town. It is presumed that in making its selection the Committee was actuated by a desire to refrain from taking a site that would involve the destruction of taxable property. Generally speaking, this is commendable. We believe, however, that other features should be considered, and that an important one is the establishment of the school at a point that is near the center of the school population. In this respect we believe that the site selected is not a good one.
It has also been urged that the location itself is not suitable for a building of this character. When this land was acquired for play- ground purposes it was a swamp. Since then much filling has been dumped upon it under the direction of the Park Commissioners, but it is still a swamp during certain parts of the year. A great deal of additional filling must be added before it can be suitable for all of the uses of the school. While the report submitted by the Building Com- mittee gives the impression that an athletic field will be built from the appropriation, nevertheless, in conferring with the Committee, it was made very clear to us that no part of this appropriation is to be used on any part of this field, except a small sum for the erection of wooden bleachers. This means that the town will have to expend a very large sum of money in filling the land so that it will be available for all of the uses of this school. We believe that the preparation of an athletic field as indicated by the Building Committee in its report, and also the supplying of necessary filling for this land in order to eliminate the presence of water during certain parts of the year would add greatly to the cost of this enterprise. In other words, we believe that the sum of $500,000 recommended by the Building Committee will be inadequate for all the purposes outlined in its report.
This land was acquired by the town in 1913 at a cost of $3,900. Since then a large sum has been spent for filling under the direction of the Park Commissioners, and the land now represents an expenditure of about $23,000. It was acquired for playground purposes. It is the only spot in the easterly part of the town that can be used for such purposes. While the school will not occupy the entire plot, never- theless, the presence of such a building on a playground will materially affect its character. It will cease to be regarded as a playground, and will be looked upon as a part of the school yard. The fact that it will pass from the control of the Park Commissioners to the School Committee will substantially and materially change its legal status. In other words, it will cease legally to be a playground.
A playground is established not for today only, but for the future, in anticipation of the increase in population and the resulting congested conditions. The wisdom of acquiring this land for these purposes will be more apparent as the years pass.
Should we then divert any part of this land from the use for which it was originally acquired? This, we believe, is a question worthy of consideration.
The present high school building is located in a quiet part of the town. It is fairly centrally situated.
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[Dec. 31
There is some congestion in the school. At times some pupils have to study in rooms where recitations are in progress. This, however, is not a serious objection. In fact it may be an advantage, since it accustoms the pupils to do work under conditions with which they will be confronted when they leave school and enter upon their life's work.
The growth of this school has been slow. It appears from the records of the School Department that in the fall of 1925, for instance, 122 pupils entered the High School. The superintendent of school's believes that in the fall of 1930, 140 to 150 pupils will enter. Assuming that 150 pupils will enter, this means that in five years there will be an increase of only 28 pupils entering this school; an average of about five pupils for each year. Not all of those who enter, however, graduate. The class, for instance, that graduates this year entered in 1927, with 115 pupils. Only 77 will graduate; many pupils, for various reasons, leave school before the completion of their course. The slow growth of this school indicates that there will be no serious congestion for some time. In view of this slow growth, there seems to be no reason for haste in planning the erection of a building to accommodate from 500 to 600 pupils. It would seem that many years would pass before this number would be reached.
If, however, it is felt that more space in the building should be provided, there are more than 34,000 square feet in the rear of the present school suitable for building purposes. This is nearly three times the area of the land upon which the present building is located. In other words, this land would permit the erection of a building very much larger than the present building. There is, therefore, no reason for taking any land along Greenwood avenue, as the Building Com- mittee suggests, unless there is a desire to spend money extravagantly. Provision need not be made for athletic grounds. We have already acquired and developed three places for such purposes, namely, Phillips Park, Leon E. Abbott Park, and Jackson Park.
If a new school is erected, the present building will be abandoned, since there will be no use to which it can be put. This will mean that it will have to be demolished, because it would soon become a nuisance in the neighborhood if it were permitted to stand. The town still owes $12,000 upon the additions that were built to it in 1916. We have recently abandoned another school building upon which we owe about $12,000. Before these loans are paid the interest charge will bring the sum to $30,000 or more. A speculative builder might not hesitate in scrapping buildings with substantial loans upon them. A town, however, has to pay its bills from the earnings of its tax payers. They would be justified in believing that this was a wasteful expenditure of their money. In this connection it must be remembered that Swampscott is not a town of wealthy individual residents. It is composed largely of persons in moderate circumstances. It begins each fiscal year with unpaid taxes amounting to $90,000. This means that the taxes on about $4,000,000 worth of property have not been paid. This shows that many tax payers are having difficulty in meeting their public obligations.
There is a feeling, too, that before entering upon this project careful study should be made as to the kind of a high school we should have. Should we, for instance, devote more time to subjects of vocational training, or should these subjects be discontinued? Should changes be made in the curriculum? Is it not important to study these matters before we plan the erection of a luxurious school?
We believe that the feature to be emphasized in our schools is the employment of well equipped and well prepared teachers. Two years ago the Finance Committee felt that this was a pressing need and accordingly made provision in the budget of the school committee for an amount that would permit the employment of teachers of this character. Our recommendations in this respect were adopted by the
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1930]
town, and since then several superior teachers have been employed. We are now in a fortunate position. Our tax rate is low. We have not encumbered the town with expensive and luxurious buildings. We are, therefore, in a position to use our resources in the employment of well equipped teachers. This requires money. Teachers of the City of Boston have received no increase in their salaries for five years. When they recently made a request for an increase, they were told by the School Committee that the city was behind in its building pro- gram. Their request was accordingly refused.
When it becomes known that Swampscott desires to employ well equipped teachers and is able and willing to pay a fair salary to obtain them, there will be no difficulty in getting the best. On the other hand, if we erect an expensive high school, thus encumbering ourselves with a large debt, our ability to employ superior teachers will be seriously affected. It will not only mean that we will be burdened with the debt incident to the erection of a school, but the expense of its maintenance from year to year will be very large. A costly building always invites unnecessary and expensive activities. Very shortly we would be deluged with requests for the employment of deans, psycholo- gists, coaches, assistant coaches, secretaries, and last, but not least, surveyors from Columbia or some other university.
We should be careful to avoid this situation. A high school building of the character that has been planned by the Building Com- mittee would be a decoration to the town, but it would be an expensive decoration. It would not in itself improve the quality of our school system; on the contrary we believe that the cost of its erection and its subsequent maintenance might result in seriously crippling our ability to provide and maintain a strong system of education.
The town undoubtedly will require additional accommodations for its high school in the near future, but we believe that other features of our school system should first receive attention. We have men- tioned one; the strengthening of our teaching staff. We believe, too, that the town should proceed cautiously before entering upon a project involving the expenditure of such a large sum of money. We feel that the School Committee particularly should devote more study to the subject, in order to be in a position to determine whether the town shall continue the kind of a high school that it has heretofore main- tained, or whether changes should be made therein. In other words we believe that much will be gained, and that our money will be more prudently spent, by deferring the project.
For the foregoing reasons, we recommend that action under these articles be indefinitely postponed.
Article 75. We have considered this article and feel that it would be improper to have the matters covered by it examined in the first instance by the Finance Committee. We believe, however, that further study should be made of the present high school building. We, there- fore, recommend that a committee be appointed by the moderator con- sisting of one representative from each precinct and one voter, to study the present high school building to determine whether it can be efficiently used for high school needs by making changes therein and additions thereto, and that the sum of $500 be appropriated from the tax levy of the current year for the use of this committee.
Article 76. We recommend that the sum of $3,986 be appropri- ated from the Excess and Deficiency Fund for repairs upon the Hadley, Clarke and Machon Schools, including the cost of a bond of $59, to be expended under the direction of the School Committee, subiect to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts.
Article 77. We recommend that the sum of $1,000 be appropri- ated from the Excess and Deficiency Fund to be expended under the direction of the School Committee in the development of the grounds about the Machon School and subject to the provisions of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts.
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[Dec. 31
Article 78. The purpose of this article is to erect a substantial wire fence in connection with the Stanley School. We believe that a fence of this character would be useful. It is estimated that the cost will be $1,000. We, therefore, recommend that a wire fence about 610 feet long and about 6 feet high be built along the rear boundary line and also along the Orchard road side of the lot upon which the School is located, and that the sum of $1,000 be appropriated therefor from the Excess and Deficiency Fund to be expended under the direction of the School Committee subject to the provision of the by-laws relating to the making and awarding of contracts.
Article 79. For some time the Library building has been inad- equate for its needs. This condition was brought to our attention last year by the Trustees, and we recommended that they devote further study to it; this recommendation was adopted by the town.
When the building was erected the top floor was left unfinished. It is still in a rough state. The Trustees in their report recommend that this part of the building be finished to be used for a children's room. This will relieve the lower part of the Library, and will permit its use exclusively for adult persons.
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