USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1918 > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
Town of Marshfield, assessments, numbers 52 to 80
145.00
Town of. Hull, assessments, numbers 52 to 79
280.00
County of Norfolk, assessments, numbers 52 to 80. .
2,900.00
Bay State Street Railway, assessments, numbers 51 to 79
2,175.00
Trustees of Back River Bridge
120.00
Interest on Deposit
5.10
$14,738.53
Expenditures.
Harry W. Pray, Salary as Bridge-Tender
$1,350.00
Harry W. Pray, paid for lumber
20.00
Harry W. Pray, paid for oil
12.75
.
Harry W. Pray, paid for assistant
420.00
Charles Damon, labor
44.00
New England Tel. and Tel. Co., service
41.99
Weymouth Light and Power Co., lighting
33.96
Quincy Electric Light and Power Company, light- ing 30.00
Bay State Street Railway Company, installing lights
78.89
William' Westland, hardware
6.75
Dennis F. Crowley, contract reflooring approaches and deck of drawer 12,261.26
H. A. Bourdage, painting signs
12.00
Newland H. Holmes, special police
42.90
Joseph L. Whiton, salary as trustee
100.00
185
Joseph Kelley, salary as trustee
83.33
Henry E. Hanley, salary as trustee
16.67
William L. Foster, salary as trustee and treasurer. 125.00
Cash on hand December 31, 1919
59.03
$14,738.53
JOSEPH KELLEY,
Chairman Board of Selectmen of Weymouth. . Trustee of Fore River Bridge.
1
186
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF STREETS FOR YEAR ENDING DEC. 31, 1918.
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :
The following report of the Street Department for the year ending December 31, 1918, is submitted for your considera- tion.
The war has greatly affected the operations of this depart- ment and caused work to be curtailed in many ways. At the time of making the financial budget it was agreed, with the appropriation committee, that only work that was absolutely necessary should be done and that our endeavor would be largely to maintain our' present streets in as good condition as possible. This plan was carried out and while the general conditions of our streets were not as good as the preceding year, the opinion of the travelling public seems to be that Weymouth's streets were in better shape than those of many towns in this vicinity.
Work of maintenance and street oiling was restricted by the regulations of the United States Fuel Administration regard- ing the use of bituminous binders such as tar and oil for road work. The government required an application, approved by the Massachusetts Highway Commission, stating the length and width of each street and the amount of bitumen desired for a square yard. They would then only approve applica- tions that called for main through roads or roads of military importance. Had it not been for the fact that we had con- siderable of our side streets treated and several cars of Tarvia in transit before this ruling went' into effect, it would have been impossible to have treated more than half the usual amount of streets ; as it turned out we were able to oil nearly as many streets as the previous year and those not done were the least important. The fact that the department had its
187
own motor oil distributor was greatly instrumental in get- ting as much of this work done before government restric- tions went into effect. It was also difficult to obtain bitumen for patching work and the result was. that this work was not, done as thoroughly as it should have been. The shortage of labor was also responsible for some work being left unfinished that was planned for this year. The price of labor and teams was advanced to meet the market prices. Last year the price for laborers was $2.50 and $2.75 a day, and teams $6.50, while this year the prices were advanced to $3.50 for laborers and $7.50 for teams. These increases were made after the appro- priations were voted and naturally affected the amount of work done, although the appropriation committee partly made up for this increase by a transfer from the reserve fund. The general advance in cost in all materials used by the depart- ment amounted to a considerable sum, as in some cases the advance was as high as 100 per cent.
Street Oiling.
This work constituted the largest item of expense and was especially heavy this year, as the price of Tarvia advanced from $0.061 a gallon to $0.121, an increase of approximately 100 per cent. The cost of applying and sanding also increased on account of the advance in price of labor and teams.
In the year 1917, 149,940 lineal feet of streets were treated with Tarvia B, at a cost of $10,332.61, this year 139,505 feet were oiled and the cost was $16,389.96, showing an increased cost of $6,057.35, and less miles of streets treated. This year 90,390 gallons of Tarvia were used as compared to 100,628 gallons the previous year. Unless some plan is adopted for extensive construction next year I would' advise that at least 120,000 gallons of Taryia be used, as there is every indication at this time that our gravel roads will be badly broken by spring, due to the frequent freezing and thawing. It would also be advisable to increase this work as it is impossible to hold the surface of a gravel road, that is subjected to much automobile traffic, without an oil or tar binder.
The rate of street sprinkling assessment, that is levied on
1
188
abuttors where oiling is done, was increased 50 per cent to meet a portion of this increase in cost, but now that so many streets are treated it is a question if this assessment should not be done away with and the entire cost taken from the general tax levy, as practically every person in town receives some benefit from it.
The value of the department's oil distributor is readily seen by the fact that had we hired this work done it would have cost at the rate of three cents a gallon for applying, or $2711.70 for the amount we used. Figuring the cost of oper- ating the distributor, including tires and repairs at $15 a day, for forty-eight days, the time the truck was used on this work, would show an expense of $720; during these forty- eight days we applied Tarvia for two neighboring towns for which we received $241.50, making the cost of our own work $478.50, showing a saving of $2233.20 in this one item. We have operated this distributor now for two seasons with less than $10 expense for repairs and the repairs to the truck have been likewise small.
Maintenance Work.
This work has been done along the lines of the previous two years. The chief work being in shaping up roads with the maintenance roller, road drag and scraper, previous to apply- ing Tarvia. Work of repairing holes and breaks on Tarvia treated streets was curtailed somewhat by the inability to get material.
Maintenance work in Weymouth is especially expensive, due to the fact that we have but little permanent construc- tion, the greater portion being gravel roads which in many cases have but little foundation. At present we are doing little towards solving the yearly increased cost of maintenance work, and I can see no hope of cutting down the costs of this work unless more headway is made towards permanent con- struction. The increased use of trucks and automobiles has been great this past year and is bound to continue so and the demands of the public are for roads that can be used 365 days a year. It would seem that a possible solution would be
189
a bond issue for permanent construction. An issue of $100,- 000, the work to extend over a period of five years and the bonds issued as required during this period, would enable a comprehensive plan of permanent construction being carried out. The investment of such a sum would provide for the construction of the greater part of our main connecting roads, such as Broad, Pleasant, Union, Washington and North Streets. The money saved in maintenance would in the period of even five years, the length of time that bonds can be issued for bituminous macadam construction, be sufficient to retire a considerable portion of the issue and would more than pay for themselves in a short time. Weymouth at present is spending money on its roads in an unbusinesslike way and un- til the heavy expense of maintenance is eliminated by build- ing more permanent roads, the appropriations will have to be greater as the expense is governed more by the traffic than by the cost of labor and materials.
Figures obtained from the Massachusetts Highway Commis- sion will perhaps illustrate the low cost of maintaining a bi- tuminous macadam road as compared to the cost of main- taining our gravel roads. It cost the State for maintenance on Washington street, from Main to the Hingham line, a dis- tance of about two and one-sixth miles, for the year 1917, $159.21 and for the past year $116.40, an average of about $68 a mile for each year. Our main gravel roads treated with Tarvia B, cost about $600 a mile for applying Tarvia and $300 a mile for maintenance each year. While these figures show a marked difference there is a still greater saving when the cost of hauling and wear and tear on vehicles is considered.
This past year the Massachusetts Highway Commission re- surfaced Main Street from Nash's Corner to Washington Street with a form of construction that I believe would be most economical for this town to adopt. The old road bed was undisturbed except where it was necessary to bring the surface to a proper grade and upon this foundation a four- inch layer of hot asphalt, sand and gravel was spread and raked to a uniform grade. This mixture was then rolled while hot with a tandem roller. A type of this sort requires
190
practically no surface treatment, is strong enough to sustain fairly heavy traffic, is dustless and is not slippery and can be built for less money than a bituminous macadam road where, the present foundation is good. This type of construction has passed the experimental stage and is used extensively by the Massachusetts Highway Commission.
Sidewalks.
No new work was done on the construction of permanent sidewalks, as it was felt that such work was not absolutely necessary. A larger amount of work than usual was done on gravel sidewalks, especially on many of the side streets. Side- walks on the following streets were resurfaced in part: Sher- wood Road, Pearl; Bridge, North, Parnell, Bayview, Norton, East, Sea, Commercial, Madison, High, Cedar, Hawthorne, Whitman, Cain Ave., Middle, Laurel, Center, Washington, Richmond, Prospect, Summer, White, Union, Broad, Pleasant, Derby, Tower Ave., Torrey and Randolph.
New Work and Reconstruction.
The only new work done this year was the construction of Sherwood Road and the widening of parts of Summer and Winter Streets. These jobs were comparatively small and urgently needed.
Under reconstruction the largest piece of work consisted in improving Washington Street between Lincoln and Washing- ton Squares. This piece of road is undoubtedly the most heavily traveled street in town and one on which the most money has been expended.
One thousand dollars was set aside for improving this road and this amount was exceeded by $363.66. To make $1000 do the work of eight or nine thousand, the amount that should be expended, was out of the question and the problem re- solved itself into how this money could be spent to the best advantage. A study of conditions showed that on the north side of the road from Lincoln square to the crest of the hill the foundation was mostly clay, that the water from the hill-
1
1
191
side drained into the foundation causing this part to break up every spring. From the crest of the hill to Washington Square the foundation was good and the surface composed of broken stone although in a very uneven condition. The south side of the road showed nothing but a gravel road very much worn out, with the foundation fair. It was obvious that with the money available that little could be done in a permanent nature on the south side, so the following plan was carried out. Beginning at Lincoln Square on the north side an 8-inch tile drain was laid in a trench three and one-half feet deep dug in the gutter and filled with crushed stone to the pro- posed grade. This drain was run towards Washington Square 208 feet, then connected with the drain that begins at Rich- mond Street by means of a blind drain, the idea being to pre- vent ground water entering the foundation of the road. The old road bed between this trench and the car track was exca- vated, a six-inch tarvia macadam surface constructed, the re- mainder of the road on this side of the hill was broken up, harrowed and given a light coat of No. 2 stone and then bound with stone dust and Tarvia. The entire length of the south side was simply broken up and resurfaced with screened gravel, rolled and treated with Tarvia B, the expectation be- ing that this would provide a fairly smooth surface during the summer months. It is absolutely impossible to maintain this side of the street, with the present heavy traffic unless a more permanent pavement is laid and I consider this of pri- mary importance in making next year's plans for road work.
Essex Street, from Commercial Street to the Town Farm, was resurfaced with cinders and gravel and a decided im- provement made on this much neglected street. One hundred dollars was expended to further remove the ledge at the Pratt School on Pleasant Street and the road widened at this point about three feet. A much needed paved gutter was constructed on King Oak Hill and should be extended to the bottom of the hill next year. Lake Street was greatly im- proved by resurfacing with gravel and rolling. Hillcrest Road was worked to the line and a sidewalk built on eastern side. Work on Hawthorne Street started the previous year was completed and is now in good condition.
192
Provisions in the budget were made for resurfacing Bates Avenue, but lack of labor, especially roller men, made it im- possible to accomplish this year. This short piece of road should have a broken stone surface as the drainage condi- tions are poor and present surface worn out. Holbrook Road was also scheduled for attention but suffered from the same reasons and should be attended to early next year. Plans were also made to resurface a portion of Pleasant Street near Park Street, but inability to get Tarvia prevented this work being done.
Cliff Street at North Weymouth was reshaped and given a coat of gravel.
Drains and Catch Basins.
Considerable progress was made in the construction of these essential parts of road construction. A drainage easement was purchased from Louis Cook to take care of surface water on part of Union and White Streets. Two catch basins were built on White Street and, a drain laid across Union Street terminating on land of Louis Cook. Catch basins were also built on Lake, Middle, Tremont, Squanto Road and Hollis Streets and outlet drains constructed. Stone drains on Park, Summer, East and Chard Streets were thoroughly cleaned out and sidewalks repaired ; a pipe drain was laid across Es- sex Street near Broad. Both drains and catch basins were regularly cleaned out and but little trouble experienced.
A larger drain is needed in Broad Street near Sylvester's Market. An unsuccessful attempt was made to obtain an easement to the meadow in the rear and it would seem at present that the most practical solution would be to put a good sized drain in Broad Street extending from Randall Avenue to the Herring Brook.
1 Bridges.
The cost of Weymouth's share of the maintenance of the Fore River Bridge was $1,450.00 greatly exceeding the esti- mate of $800.00 made at the time of making the appropria-
1
193
tions. It would seem that the payment for this work should come from a special appropriation rather than from the high- way account as this department has nothing to do with the work or no control regarding it. The wooden bridge on Pearl Street was replaced by a reinforced concrete bridge strong enough to carry a fifteen-ton load. The elimination of this wooden structure adds to the safety of the traveling public and ends the expense of maintenance. This work was con- tracted to J. W. Pratt for the sum of $416.75, the town fur- nishing the sand, crushed stone and two catch basin covers. We have now but one wooden bridge in town, that which crosses the Herring Brook on Commercial Street. This should be replaced by a bridge similar to the one on Pearl Street.
Crusher.
This plant was operated but very little due to the fact that but little work was done in the line of constructing stone roads. The crusher is still located at the Plymouth Quarries and is in good working condition, but if any large amount of work is planned, a larger sized crusher should be installed as the capacity of the present plant is small.
Snow Removal.
The cost of this work was comparatively small as no large storms occurred, the chief expense being in sanding walks. The department has purchased a Champion snow plow that can be attached to our automobile truck, for the purpose of leveling snow on the roads. This attachment gives every in- dication of being a valuable piece of equipment and will be useful in keeping the roads open for travel during the winter months. A new schedule of rates for snow plowing was adopted the latter part of the year, making an increase of fifty cents an hour for horse and man on work done before 8 A. M.
Equipment.
The present equipment of the department is good. The
194
purchase of a Ford truck for the use of the Superintendent has been a valuable addition as it has furnished a means of transporting men and tools from one job to another quickly and has been used extensively in hauling materials. The Netco truck purchased in May, 1917, has run about 14,000 miles with but little expense for repairs and still has the origi- nal set of tires on front. The addition of the snow plow at- tachment has made this truck useful the year round and with the increased cost of teams and length of hauls required, the question of the purchase of another truck should be carefully ' considered.
The matter of providing a storage house for the department should be taken up again and a suitable building erected. Two years ago plans were drawn for such a building but the matter dropped as the bids greatly exceeded the estimate. We are now renting the workshop at H. K. Cushings garage and using part of the sheds at the Town Farm. An inven- tory of equipment shows a valuation of about $12,500.00 and a town the size of Weymouth should own a suitable building for this purpose.
General Repairs and Miscellaneous Work.
Under the heading of general repairs such work as the scraping and reshaping of roads and their maintenance throughout the year was done. A concrete retaining wall was built on Randall Avenue, abutting the property of Austin J. Tirrell and the sidewalk widened at a cost of $124.30. Hunt Street was resurfaced with material excavated in the building of Washington Street and Randolph and Forest Streets were given a general overhauling. Graveling was done on Pine and Oak Streets and Wessagusett Road, Sea, Lincoln, and Green Streets were improved. New guide boards were erected at the corner of Pleasant and Elm, corner of Middle and Washington and at the junction of Middle and Commercial ยท Streets. Street signs were erected on several streets and metal warning signs to designate school houses and danger- ous points .were also placed where needed. Guard rails were built on several streets for the protection of travel and con-
195
siderable painting of old rails and fences done. Street clean- ing was curtailed somewhat in the main squares due to the scarcity of labor and the push cart patrol was not maintained as during the previous year.
The following summary shows the cost of the various opera- tions of the department compiled from daily reports :
Salary of Superintendent, I. E. Johnson $1,592.48
Salary of Acting Supt., J. L. Maynard.
158.20
Expense of Netco Truck 958.25
Expense of Ford Truck
245.44
Drains and Catch Basins
1,194.95
Crusher Account
193.62
General Repairs
9,824.11
Fences and Signs
519.45
Street Cleaning
4,196.51
Street Oiling
16,389.96
Painting and Repairing Machinery
89.69
Bridges
1,998.21
Equipment
593.05
Supplies
958.09
Sundries
90.37
Sidewalks
1,877.39
Washouts
42.56
Essex Street
165.08
Washington Street
1,363.66
Hunt Street
56.00
Winter Street
302.69
Clean-up Day
178.51
Hawthorne Street
118.19
Lake Street
472.70
Pratt School Ledge
100.00
Randall Avenue (sidewalk and wall)
124.30
Center Street
151.36
Sherwood Road
343.50
Hillcrest Road
168.27
Gutter on King Oak Hill
435.70
Summer Street
369.98
Snow
2,739.32
$48,011.59
196
For detailed financial statement see Town Accountant's re- port.
Respectfully submitted,
IRVING E. JOHNSON, 1 Supt. of Streets.
1
197
ASSESSORS' REPORT
December 31, 1918.
We have assessed upon the polls and estate of all per- sons and corporations liable to taxation the sum of $297,- 377.19 and have committed the same to Winslow M. Tirrell, Esq., the duly elected Collector of Taxes, with our warrant in due form of law for collection and payment in accord- ance with the vote of the town and the warrants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Commitment August 1, 1918 $4,588.00
September 30, 1918 286,793.40
December 20, 1918. 5,995.79
$297,377.19
State tax
$30,030.00
County tax
12,133.33
Metropolitan Park tax
6,561.31
Charles River Basin tax
1,088.26
State Highway tax
1,684.13
Street Railway tax
5,081.65
Gypsy and Brown Tail Moth tax
1,738.41
Street Oiling tax
5,311.64
Sidewalk tax
21.00
Town tax (including overlay)
254,603.96
$318,253.69
Less amount to be returned by the State
20,876.50
$297,377.19
1
VALUATION OF THE TOWN
$13,044,862.00
Number of polls assessed . 3960 Number of residents assessed on property .3261
1
198
All Others 69
Number of non-residents assessed on property 1342
All Others
37
Number of horses assessed
366
Number of cows assessed
469
Number of cattle assessed
34
Number of swine assessed
109
Number of fowl assessed
4610
Number of houses assessed
.3925
Number of acr'es of land assessed
9393
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN F. DWYER,
FRANK H. TORREY,
CHARLES H. CLAPP,
CLAYTON B. MERCHANT,
THERON L. TIRRELL,
Assessors.
1
199
REPORT OF TAX COLLECTOR
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Weymouth: I present to you my report of taxes and inter- est collected, and the amount turned over to the Town Treasurer from January 1st to December 31, 1918.
1913 Street Watering tax collected .. $3.11 Due Treasurer on 1917 account 10.00
Paid Treasurer
$13.11 13.11
1915 Poll, Personal and Real collected $1,953.89 Moth tax collected 12.02
Street Watering tax collected 36.28
Sidewalk tax collected 164.85
Interest collected 216.67
Paid Treasurer
$2,383.71 2,383.81
1916 Poll, Personal and Real col't'd. $26,324.05 Moth tax collected 193.16
Street Watering tax collected. . 400.18
Sidewalk tax collected 370.41
Interest collected 2,435.54
-
$29,723.34
1917 Poll, Personal and Real col't'd. $73,743.39 Moth tax collected 398.74 Street Watering tax collected .. 964.35 Sidewalk tax collected 248.03
Interest collected 2,248.32
Paid Treasurer
$77,602.83 77,602.83
200
1918 Poll, Personal and Real col't'd $187,237.53 Moth tax collected 1,084.54 Street Watering tax collected .. 3,221.32 Interest collected 129.37
Paid Treasurer
$191,672.76 191,672.76
Two taxes for the years 1913 and 1914 are in the hands of the Town Counsel for collection.
Respectfully submitted,
WINSLOW M. TIRRELL, Tax Collector.
201
REPORT OF WEYMOUTH COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
This Committee reorganized April 1, 1918, with about fifty members.
A. C. Heald was reelected Chairman; Bates Torrey, Sec- retary, and George W. Perry, Treasurer. Wallace H. Bick- nell was chosen Vice-Chairman.
The following sub-committees were retained: Finance Committee, Allan C. Emery Chairman; Publicity Commit- tee, Bates Torrey Chairman; Committee on Food Produc- tion and Conservation, Charles W. Kemp Chairman (in September succeeded by Bowdoin B. Smith); Committee on Co-ordination of Aid Societies, Wallace H. Bicknell Chairman; Committee on Protection of Public Works, Fred 0. Stevens Chairman; Committee on Hygiene, Medicine and Sanitation, Dr. John C. Fraser Chairman; Emergency Guard, Joseph A. Fern Chairman.
The Chairmen of the foregoing Committees, with Chair- man A. C. Heald, Treasurer, George W. Perry and Chief of Police, Arthur H. Pratt, were made to constitute the Ex- ecutive Committee.
The Executive Committee during the past year has held eleven meetings. The questions presented have related to protection of public works, gardens, a public market, Home Guard, vocational schools, the ice situation (at North Weymouth), recognition of war heroism, the influ- enza, transportation of district nurses, non-war construc- tions, community singing, etc.
At the last meeting of the Executive Committee it was voted that the balance of cash on hand $238.95, together with the supply of undistributed $2.50 gold pieces, be placed in the custody of the Town Treasurer, to be ex- pended later for a celebration in honor of the home-coming Soldiers; and that the light equipment provided for the Home Guard so-called be turned over to the Chief of Police.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.