Town annual report of Weymouth 1926, Part 11

Author: Weymouth (Mass.)
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: The Town
Number of Pages: 346


USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1926 > Part 11


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Engineer


Drinkwater, Rotheus


90


Main


Merchant


Ewell, Andrew V.


36 Water


Commercial


Salesman


Hobson, Joseph L.


398


174


Pearl Draughtsman


Kidder, Carl B.


17 off Putnam


Clerk


113


Lothrop, Robert W.


Oakden Ave.


Draughtsman


Lukeman, William H.


391 391 Summer


Farmer Iceman


MacDonald, John J.


772 Pleasant


MacFaun, Herbert T.


731 Pleasant


Shoeworekr


Marr, Sidney F.


397


Bridge


Laborer Elevator Worker Retired


Martin, Josiah F.


76


Park Ave.


McGonigal, James


20


Richmond


Quarterman


McNamara, Edward P.


169


Neck


Prop. Gas Station


McPhee, William P.


479


Pleasant


Carpenter


Melville, James L.


268


Main


Laborer


Melcher, Nathanial E.


146


Central


Fireman


Melville, Thomas H.


268


Main


Shoeworker


Merrick, Charles T.


134


West


Shoeworker


Merrill, Frederick T.


370


Main Salesman


Metcalf, Byrd


80 Neck


Fore River


Metcalf, Charles H.


2 Shore Drive


Retired


Millette, Elie


Narragansett Ave. Shoeworker


Moore, James


68


Kensington Road


Carpenter


Moore, William K.


999


Front


Machinist


Nightingale, Irving R.


35


Laurel


Salesman


Niles, Thornton F.


179


Washington


Agent


Noonan, Edward P.


19


Washington


Chauffeur


O'Connell, Cornelius


371


Front


Leatherworker


Our, Ellsworth J.


32


Cain Ave.


Carpenter


Parker, Edward W.


9


King Cove


Shoeworker


Parker, Murray G.


18


Pierce Ct. Machinist


Perry, George E.


497 Pond Ice Cream Mfg.


Pratt, Harold C.


23 Lafayette Ave. Electrician 32 Mechanic


93


Front


Manufacturer


Price, John F.


701


Front


Manufacturer


Randall, Horace M.


574


Broad


Real Estate


Rapperport, Harry


86


Washington


Merchant


Reed, Albert H.


593


Main


Shoeworker


Reidy, Daniel Jr.


1060


Pleasant


Druggist


Remick, Joseph E.


215


Washington


Machinist


Rideout, Cyrus B.


46 Summer


Fore River


Ripley, Winfred F.


Off Union


Painter


Rix, William J.


22


Cottage


Salesman


Rogers, Chester H.


60 Commercial Superintendent


Rounds, Clarence P.


8 Sherwood Road


Manager


Ryerson, Walter F.


53 Cain Ave.


Machinist


Salzgerber, John H.


37 Grand View Rd. Auto. Agent


Santry, John P.


87 Union


Laborer


Saunders, Ernest L.


234 Pilgrim Road Main


Inspector


Seabury, John W.


298


Retired


Seabury, William T.


141 Northı


Merchant


Shaw, Charles E.


237


Middle


Manager


Shaw, Albert W.


240


Union


Farmer


Shea, Thomas E.


21


Granite


Chauffeur


Smith, Ernest A.


753 Commercial


Salesman


Sowden, James C. B.


67 Pleasant


Salesman


Spear, Theodore F.


330 Main


Salesman


Sproule, Matthew C.


333 Columbian Artesan Well Borer


Sprague, Marshall P.


1 Liberty Square Laborer


Pray, Roger E.


Philips


Pray, William E.


208


Winter


McLeod, John R.


114


Printer


Stackpole, Lester C.


201


Randolph


Salesman


Stiles, Clifford E.


24 Pierce Ct.


Salesman


Stone, Charles W.


478


Main Contract Agent


Sturtevant, Charles E.


11


Rosemont Elec. Engineer


Sweeney, Thomas


12


Shaw


Carpenter


Tegg, John H.


450


Main


Shoeworker


Thayer, Elmer W.


233


Randolph


Operator


Tirrell, Alfred S.


284


Main


Merchant


Tirrell, Charles Q.


836


Washington Farmer


Tirrell, Marcus L.


10


Hollis


Shoeworker


Tolman, Fred P.


218


Main


Machinist


Tonry, James H.


79


Chard


Printer


Trainor, James L.


19


Sterling


Manufacturer


Trudell, Joseph A.


11


Kensington Road


Clerk


Turner, Charles N.


933


Pleasant


Shoeworker


Vallas, Louis


84


Broad Newsdealer


Waberton, Henry B.


32


Granite


Painter


Wagner, William A.


266


Pleasant


Claim Agent


Walsh, John D.


129


Central


Shoeworker


Welch, Emery E.


483


Pond


Machinist


Welch, Phillip M.


14


Reed Ave.


Shoeworker


White, John F.


7


Worcester Ter.


Shoeworker


White, Walter


162


Front


Shoeworker


White, William H.


21 Baker Ave.


Fore River


Whitmarsh, George L.


359


Pond


Salesman


Whyte, William F.


548


Union


Harness Maker


Wilder, William W.


24


Cedar


Motorman


Williams, Charles R.


25 Lincoln


Shoeworker


Wright, Edwin C.


104


Front


Clerk


FRED E. WAITE,


WINSLOW M. TIRRELL,


WILLIAM B. DASHA,


H. FRANKLIN PERRY,


THERON L. TIRRELL,


Selectmen of Weymouth, Mass.


A true copy attest :


CLAYTON B. MERCHANT Town Clerk


36 Highland Place


Lumber Mill


Sullivan, Herbert I.


12


Franklin Janitor


Taylor, John


319


Pond


Clerk


Thomas, John F.


24 Pierce Ct.


Stiles, Charles E.


115


, 1


JURORS DRAWN DURING THE YEAR


William E. Beach George W. Beane George E. Bicknell Grant B. Chase


Roy H. Cushing


Timothy L. Gannon


William H. Goodwin


Arthur M. Hiatt


Willard H. Holbrook


Minot E. Hollis


Charles H. Leary


Henry S. Litchfield Wallace W. Lyon


Warren Menchen


John J. Norton John F. Poole Lawrence E. Pray Harry Rapperport Chester F. Rogers James C. B. Sowden Rupert L. Stone Elmer W. Thayer Alfred S. Tirrell Marcus L. Tirrell Timothy White William H. White Fred L. Whittemore Percy O. Miller


116


TOWN CLERK'S FINANCIAL REPORT Hunting and Fishing Licenses for 1926


Number of Licenses Issued


488


445 Resident Sporting


@


$ 2.25


$1001.25


1 Non-Res. Sporting


a


15.25


15.25


1 Alien Sporting


a


15.25


15.25


24 Minor Trapping


a


.75


18.00


8 Res. Cit. Trapping


2.25


18.00


5 Res. Lobster


1.00


5.00


4 Duplicate Licenses


@


.50


2.00


448


$1074.75


Less fees retained under provisions Chapter 295, Sec. 9.


120.50


Paid Division of Fisheries and Game


$ 954.25


DOG LICENSES 1926


Jan. 1, 1926 Cash on hand from 1925 licenses


2 Male


@ $ 2.00


4.00


1 Female @ 5.00


5.00


Number of licenses issued during 1926


771 Males


@ 2.00


1542.00


164


Females


@ 5.00


820.00


108 Spayed Females


@ 2.00


216.00


1 Breeders


@ 25.00


25.00


4 Breeders @ 50.00


200.00


1051


$2812.00


Less fees retained


210.20


Paid County Treasurer


$2601.80


MISCELLANEOUS LICENSES 1926


6 Auctioneer Licenses


@


$ 2.00


12.00


23 Fish, Fruit and Vegetable


@


10.00


230.00


43 Gas Reregistration


@


.50


21.50


10 Junk


@


25.00


250.00


9 Oleogarmarine


@


.50


4.50


5 Pool


@


5.00


25.00


$ 543.00


543.00


Paid to Town Treasurer


117


REPORT OF THE TOWN ENGINEER


To the Honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Weymouth


Gentlemen :-


I submit herewith my twentieth annual report on the town survey work, so called, and no other surveying or engineering work done during 1926.


Under the head of town survey work is entered all the la- bor and expense appurtenant to the maintenance of a system of Assessors sheets covering the entire town which involves a com- plete revision each year of 65 sheets, each full sheet embracing about 200 acres, and includes the location and addition of all new buildings, obtaining all transfers of ownership and changes in property lines, and in general making the many alterations ne- cessary to furnish the Assessors with maps correct as of April 1st, the date of assessment, each year.


Included in the revision which must be made on the sheets each year are the addition of new streets, the widening or change in line of others, the rounding of street corners, the addition of land company developments from which lots have been sold and are taxable to grantees, the elimination of buildings destroyed by fire or otherwise, or removed to other locations, and other chang- es of yearly occurrence.


The most important change in streets during the year, as regards to cost and extent, was the widening, by the State, of Bridge street between Quincy Bridge and Hingham Bridge, it new being 70 feet in. width from Quincy Bridge nearly to Bick- nell Square and in general 60 feet in width the remainder of the distance.


The State also installed a drainage system for the entire length. As this widening was on both sides of the street and eliminated the whole or part of many of the rounded corners of the intersecting streets on either side of Bridge street, it will probably be necessary or desirable to relocate the ends of all such intersecting streets as already contemplated by your Board.


In 1926 there were about 1265 transfers or an increase of approximately 15 per cent over 1925 showing a further continu- ance of the yearly increase. The number of transfers or deeds does not show the number of changes as many deeds contain sev- eral different parcels.


About 275 dwellings, approximately 249 other taxable build- ings, and the new brick school building at North Weymouth were added to the sheets for 1926. This also shows a marked in- crease over 1925.


I hoped last year to replace, from the appropriation, one or two of the original tracings, some of which have been revised 16 or more times, but with the increase in transfers, etc., there was nothing left for this purpose. Several of these tracings are al- most completely worn out, contain many holes and are in such shape that a proper negative or print cannot be obtained; these should be replaced, one or two each year if possible.


I would recommend an appropriation of $2000 for the town survey work the coming year.


118


I would again call the attention of all land owners to the importance of property recording deeds in order that the correct name may appear on the sheets and the property be taxed to the proper person.


Many unrecorded plans are of value and might be of great assistance in determining some obscure or doubtful line and I would be very glad to have any such brought to my attention; and I take this opportunity to thank those who have thus assisted me in the past.


During the past year there have been 92 town survey sheets sold showing a slight profit ($16.45) to the town. The above includes a complete set of prints with index map sold to the Land Court.


An appropriation of $500 to be used in setting stone bounds on town streets was expended as follows :-


65 stone bounds were purchased in addition to a few on hand and bounds were set at the following places: Pierce Road (11,) Idlewell Street (5,) Great Pond Road and Pine Circle (9,) Fisk Avenue (10,) May Terrace (8,) Broad Street, near Central Square (1,) Lovell's Corner Playground (2,) Narragansett Ave. (7,) Delorey Ave. (10,) and Parnell Street (11.) In addition a stone bound was set to mark a town point on Sea Street at pri- vate expense to replace one dug out in excavation for a cellar; 1 and 4 stone bounds were set to mark the corners of the layout of Idlewell Street over the railroad, these latter being charged to the Country.


It is needless to say that this work should be continued.


I would once more call the attention of your Board to the desirability of a system of bench levels throughout the town for use by different departments on various town work, and to which all topography, street profiles, levels for drainage and similar work could be referred.


At the last annual town meeting an appropriation of $1000 was made for the purpose of preparing a complete set of street numbering plans covering the entire town including the unaccept- ed streets and private ways as far as possible.


On account of marked changes in many parts of the town in the character of the development since the original numbering was done nearly 25 years ago, it has been a somewhat difficult task to do this work without making more changes in the exist- ing numbers than it was hoped would be necessary, but it has been the aim to fit all present numbers whereever practicable. In certain districts however this was impossible. For example in Washington Square it was necessary to allot numbers every 12 1-2 feet for some distance and a like condition prevails in many of the business centers so that in some instances the original scheme for the entire street had to be modified. Conditions re- mained more nearly the same in the residential districts and in most cases it was possible to adopt the present numbers.


At this writing the work is nearly completed and I hope to send the sheets to the binder during January, 1927.


119


General routine work in Weymouth during 1926 was as fol- lows:


Precinct maps, surveys, plans for hearings, record plans and descriptions of streets recommended to the town for acceptance, taking profiles of various streets, staking streets, establishing and giving grades for street construction, taking profiles, staking and giving grades for drains, giving street lines when so instruct- ed by your Board, testing street lines as shown on plans of land filed for registration in the Land Court, staking, giving grades for, and measurement of permanent sidewalk and curb construc- tion, with schedule in each case for the Superintendent of streets and for the Assessors; gutter profiles and grades, street widen- ings, descriptions for takings, and other incidental work for vari- ous departments of the town, together with work on the street layout over the railroad to Idelwell, and work at Washington Square the last two being charged to the Country.


To your Board, to other town officials, and to the citizens of the town I wish, in closing, to extend my thanks for any and all assistance rendered or courtesy shown to me or my assistants in the work throughout and for the town.


Respectfully submitted, RUSSELL H. WHITING, Civil Engineer


REPORT OF THE ELECTRIC LIGHTING COMMITTEE


To the Honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Weymouth:


Gentlemen :-


Your committee signed a contract with the Weymouth Light & Power Co. to light the streets of the town until April 1st, 1927, the contract being similar to that of last year, with the excep- tion of a few changes made necessary by the abolishment of the moonlight schedule, the town now being lighted all night every night, this being the only change of importance during the year.


We have discontinued two large lights and installed eighty- eight new lights, mostly forty candle-power, bringing our total number up to eleven hundred ten.


The company has replaced about one hundred worn fixtures and expects during the coming year to add a third circuit to the street lighting system, thereby giving the town an improved and steadier service.


At the special Town Meeting of June 7th, 1926, $2000 was raised and appropriated toward improving the lighting condi- tions of Washington Square and this matter was referred by your board to this committee and Mr. J. E. Mulligan, subject to your approval.


The above appropriation was sponsored by the Business As- sociation of Weymouth and East Braintree and we have had sev- eral meetings with their committee, whose proposition is to in- stall nineteen large lights at an approximate cost of $4600, the town having already appropriated $2000 and they to raise the balance, which having been only partly done and the widening of


120


the Square being as yet incomplete, no work of installation has been started. If this program is carried out, the cost of opera- tion alone will be about $2000 per year.


Owing to the improvement and . widening of Bridge St., we consider it advisable to increase the lighting and recommend $500 for this purpose.


$22,215.84 will be required to maintain the present number of lights for the coming year and we recommend $1000 additional which will install about 100 new lights.


Respectfully submitted, MATTHEW O'DOWD


ALFRED S. TIRRELL JOSEPH A. FERN J. HERBERT LIBBEY


REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD


To the Citizens of Weymouth:


In submitting our first annual report we wish to say that we have met each month since elected to consider the most urgent present and future needs of the town.


Some of our several recommendations to the Board of Se- lectmen have been favorably acted upon, among them being the rounding of the corners of streets leading into Bridge Street since the State finished widening the same; and the abandonment of the triangle at Fountain Square and the installing of catch basins to take care of the surface water, which we felt was very much needed.


Other recommendations included zoning, abandonment of squares and triangles in different parts of the town, and the wid- ening and elimination of hedges and ledges at various street cor- ners.


Next to our water supply we feel sewerage is a matter which must in the near future be considered by the town.


The Superintendent of Schools appeared before our Board to tell us of the needs of the schools. We are unanimously in favor of his plans as presented, which included the building of a Junior High School at the High School building; the necessary addition to the Pratt School building at Lovell's corner, and a new six room building at Pond Plain section of South Weymouth.


After several conferences with reference to conserving our water supply, we arranged a joint meeting with the Water Board and as a result of that meeting we unanimously recommended the taking of the land which forms the watershed of Great Pond. In taking such action we feel that the land around the Pond can be purchased for much less value now than if in


purchased years to come. This is the most vital question confronting our town today and one which every citizen of the town of Weymouth should be interested.


Representatives of the Planning Board attended the State Conference of Planning Boards at Salem, Mass., on October 19 and 20, which proved to be most interesting and instructive.


121


We had as our guest at our December meeting, Mr. Edward T. Hartman, State Consultant on Housing and Planning. About forty citizens of the town were present, including town officials, as well as members of both the Quincy and Braintree Planning Boards.


Respectfully submitted,


FRANK A. PRAY, Chairman. ARTHUR I NEGUS, RUSSELL H. WHITING, ALLAN C. EMERY THOMAS J. KELLY, LEWIS W. CALLAHAN. RALPH H. HASKINS,


Clerk.


REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT ALEWIVE FISHERY


42 High Street, East Weymouth, Mass., January 5, 1927 To the Honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Weymouth: Gentlemen :-


I herewith submit my second annual report as Superinten- dent of the Alewive Fisheries in the Town of Weymouth for the year ending December 31, 1926.


Work was started on April 20th, and continued until approxi- mately seventy thousand (70,000) alewives were deposited in Whitman's Pond for spawning.


The results from stocking the pond this year proved very successful, as an endless number of young fish came down to the salt water in the latter part of the sesaon.


The run this year did not prove to be as successful as was ex- pected, owing to the fact that the first and third runs were very small, as compared to the previous year, but this will be over- come by properly stocking the pond.


The building is in fairly good condition at the present time, with the exception of the floor which, after another year, may need to be relaid.


In closing my report, I wish to say that in my opinion all the citizens were courteously served during the season.


Respectfully submitted, FRANCIS H. MAGUIRE, Superintendent of the Alewive Fisheries.


At the last annual Town Meeting a Committee was directed to investigate and report on the needs of the Town for office space to handle the various Town Departments.


The Committee herewith offer the result of its investiga- tions :-


The Town now rents offices from the East Weymouth Sav-


122


ings Bank, consisting of two small offices and two large offices. There is a vault connected with the large office.


The two smaller offices are occupied by the Water Depart-


ment. One of the large offices is used by the Selectmen as an office and hearing room and also contains the desk of the Town Clerk and the desk of the Superintendent of Streets. The other large office is used by the Town Accountant and assistants and the Assessors and Tax Collector.


The records of all the Departments are kept in the vault off the Selectmen's room and in so-called fireproof portable safes.


The Committee is of the opinion that the quarters are entirely inadequate for the number of people working in the various of- fices, together with their various books and records, that the business of no one department can be conducted without inter- fering with other departments and that the records of the Town are in grave danger of being destroyed by fire or lost, or taken by unauthorized persons.


No provision is made for many officers of the Town, whom we believe should be located at the Town's offices or at least their record kept there, such as Tax Collector, Building and Plumbing Inspector, Tree Warden Board of Health, Sealer of Weights and Measures, Town Treasurer, School Committee etc.


Some departments have urgent need of a hearing room where the full board can act on Town affairs. It is necessary that some of these hearings be held in private, such as request for abatement of taxes, questions concerning the poor of the Town, etc. There is no place at present where such hearings can be held unless it so happens that other Town officials are not in at the time such hearings are held and even in that case other citizens waiting to be heard are forced to wait in the hall.


The Tax Collector's relations with the Tax Payer are more or less of a confidential nature and he should have an office sep- arate from the other officials for himself, his assistant and his records. This is not possible with the present arrangement.


The same thing is true, to a certain extent, with the Town Clerk and also the Town Accountant, not so much perhaps from a question of privacy but due to the difficulty of doing their work efficiently with several other departments operating in the same room simultaneously.


The toilet facilities are not adequate and there is a question whether or not they comply fully with State laws regulating them.


One of the most serious objections to the present quarters in the minds of the Committee is the question of vault space. All Town records have to be kept in a vault 6 feet by 15 feet. There is insufficient room to keep all records and as a result many records are kept out or in temprary safes. If the present build- ing should burn there is no doubt but what records of great value would be lost.


Records are also open to the public for inspection in a way that is not proper. This is especially true in the case of the As- sessor's records which, of course, are of a semi-private nature.


For the above reasons, your Committee is satisfied and hereby reports that in their opinion the office facilities afforded


123


the officials of the Town in their present quarters are entirely inadequate, have been outgrown and should as soon as possible be materially improved.


This can be accomplished in any one of three ways;


1st-By renting more space in the present building.


2nd-By purchasing the present building, building an addition thereto and renting the downstairs portion now occupied by them to the present owners, the East Weymouth Savings Bank.


3rd-Build a new building on a suitable location, de- signed to best serve the requirements of the Town.


In the opinion of your Committee, the first solution will not prove satisfactory. It is a temporary expedient as it is only a question of a few years when the enlarged quarters will prove as inadequate as the present quarters now are. It does not provide enough additional space to warrant the expenditure which would be required to make the necessary building alterations. It would be difficult and expensive to enlarge the vault space.


The second solution, while it is open to some criticism, will undoubtedly prove the most economical method of getting addi- tional space, provided arrangements could be made to purchase the present building at a reasonable figure. The total cost of present building, plus an addition to be built at the side, would be less than the cost of a new building large enough, and in addi- tion the Town would be assured of a rental from present owners sufficient to carry the part now occupied by them. The price paid for the building would naturally influence the rent to be re- ceived by the Town.


The third solution, of course, will fully satisfy the present and future requirements of the Town for office facilities but will probably prove the most expensive both in first cost and operating cost in the future.


Your Committee therefore desires to report that after inves- tigation it finds the present quarters of the offices of the Town entirely inadequate for the purpose for which they are used and recommends (that a Committee be appointed with authority to employ a competent architect, with whose assistance they shall prepare plans and specifications for a new Town office building to be located preferably within a quarter of a mile of Weymouth Centre, and also plans and specifications for an addition to the building a part of which is now occupied by the Town and which is owned by the East Weymouth Savings Bank and that such Com- mittee be directed to secure, if possible, written option on the Savings Bank building. We further advise that if a new site is selected for a Town office building that effort should be made to procure a large enough lot to provide ample parking space and room for the erection of other buildings in case the Town should later desire to develop the same as a civic centre, and that a written option be obtained, if possible, on any property so select- ed.


We advise that the sum of $2,500 be placed at the disposal of said Committee to enable them to carry out the above recom- mendations.


124


We recommend that the aforesaid Committe shall consist of the Planning Board and one citizen from each ward to be appoint- ed by the Moderator, said Committee to report as soon as the plan and cost of each of the recommendations is determined.


Respectfully submitted,


COMMITTEE


BRADFORD HAWES 1 FRANK E. LOUD


GEORGE W. PERRY


REPORT OF THE SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES




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