USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1942 > Part 6
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1. Buildings and land off Thicket Street containing 410,200 square feet more or less and bounded as follows: Northerly by lands of Edward E. and Sarah B. Jordan and of Alice A. Nash, and, by lands owner or owners un- known; Southerly by land of Helen S. Tirrell and Westerly by land of Isaac R. Jackson and by land of owner or owners unknow ; or however
otherwise bounded. 2. Land containing 759,300 square feet more or less bounded as follows: Northerly by land of Isaac R. Jackson and by land of owner or owners unknown; Easterly by land of owner or owners unknown by land of Helen S. Tirrell, by land of Michele and Lucia DiCicco and land of Vera MacCormack; Southerly by land of John E. Orcutt, and Ann Street; and Westerly by Ann Street and Town of Holbrook; or however otherwise bounded.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
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ARTICLE 30. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved : That the Town take no action upon this Article.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.,
ARTICLE 31. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved : That the Town take no action upon this article.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
ARTICLE 32. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That the Town authorize the Board of Selectmen to convey to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA for, purposes of National Defense such land within the area actually acquired for the Naval Lighter-than-Air base in South Weymouth as its owns under foreclosure of tax titles and such rights to effect foreclosure as it may have on such properties now held under tax titles.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
ARTICLE 33. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That the Town raise and appropriate the sum of $200, to be expended under the direction of the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of stocking ponds and other inland waters, located within the Town, with the fish and game in accordance with Chapter 142 of the Acts of 1938 as amended. $200.00 Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
ARTICLE 34. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That the Town take no action upon this article.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
ARTICLE 35. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That the Town take no action upon this article.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
ARTICLE 36. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That the Town take no action upon this article.
Selectmen Warren moved a substitute motion as follows :-
That the town raise and appropriate tlie sum of $4,000. for the renova- tion of the Town Hall, said work to be done under the jurisdiction of the Board of Selectmen. Unanimously adopted. $4,000.00 Selectman Lane moved to take up Article 37 after Article 38 has been considered. So voted.
Selectman Callahan doubted the presence of a qorum. Tellers reported the presence of 171 members. A quorum not being present the Modera- tor declared a five minute recess. Meeting duly re-opened the Modera- tor being satisfied of the presence of a quorum.
Selectman Callahan moved that Article 38 be considered as last in the Warrant. Moderator declared the motion as lost.
Judge Nash moved to take up Article 41 at this time. So voted.
Selectman Callahan moved to take up Article 42 after Article 41 had been disposed with. Motion adopted.
Substitute motion of Selectman Warran unanimously adopted under Article 36.
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ARTICLE 41. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That
the Town raise and appropriate the sum of $881.11 for the purpose of reimbursing Ernest W. Thomas for expenses and damages incurred by him as a result of a suit brought against him by Mary Suppa. Unani- mously adopted. $881.11
ARTICLE 42. Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: That the Town raise and appropriate the sum of $550.00. $550.00
for the purpose of maintaining during the ensuring year the mosquito con- trol works as estimated and certified to by the State Reclamation Board in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 112, Acts of 1931.
Motion of the Appropriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field was unanimously adopted.
Selectman Callahan moved to take up article 48 at this time. Moderator declared the motion as lost.
Selectman Callahan further moved to take up Article 44 at this time. Moderator declared the motion as lost.
ARTICLE 38. Mr. Emery's report for the Committee on the Laban Pratt Hospital and referred and recorded under this Article by vote of Select- man Callahan under Article 3, is as follows :-
REPORT NO. THREE
REPORT TO THE WEYMOUTH TOWN MEETING
by the Special Committee on the Laban Pratt Hospital February 27, 1942
First of all, your Committee would like to pay tribute to a former resident of Weymouth, the late Laban Pratt, for his generous bequest to the Town of Weymouth of a large sum of money-now amounting to more than $544,000.00-for the erection and maintenance of a hospital to be built in the portion of Weymouth known as Weymouth Heights, in the neighborhood of the Old North Church, which section of the Town was evidently very dear to him.
Your committee on the Laban Pratt Hospital has endeavored to carry out the instructions given it by the Town. We have understood our in- structions to be as follows: (1) Recommend a suitable site for the Laban Pratt Hospital. (2) Bring in plans and the estimated cost of a hospital not to exceed fifty beds.
Regarding the recommendation of a site, we have examined several loca- tions and have unanimously arrived at the conclusion that the present loca- tion of the Town Infirmary is the perfect location for a Town Hospital. This location had already been accepted as a site for this hospital at a Town Meet- ing some years ago.
This site has many advantages: The Town owns this property, thereby making it unnecessary to go to any expense in purchasing additional land. The present Town Infirmary building could be efficiently used in connection with the new hospital. There are many acres of land comprising this site permitting whatever expansion might be found necessary in later years. The location is on high ground, and in a quiet neighborhood-making it ideal for a hospital.
In consideration of all these features, your Committee is unanimous in believing, that this is the best possible location for the Laban Pratt Hospital.
Your Committee has had in mind that the site selected might not be ap- proved by the Town or accepted by the court as coming within the terms of the will. Therefore it seemed unfair to request any architect to draw plans at his own expense; neither did it seem good judgment for your Committee to spend any of the Laban Pratt money for this purpose, knowing full well
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that if a different site was accepted by the Town these plans would be of little value.
It appears, however, that some years ago the Town Meeting appointed a committee of which Dr. Libby was chairman. A certain architect by the name of Mr. James Purdon of Boston, Massachusetts submitted plans to this committee which-we understand-were at his own expense. Tliese plans have since been made available to your present Committee.
Mr. Prudon advised the chairman of your Committee under dates of October 9th and November 7th that he had on file at his office tentative plans for a sixty-bed hospital and a twenty-six-bed hospital, and the estimated cost of construction. They were designed for the Town Infirmary lot, having in mind the present infirmary building as a possible nurses home. He stated that the reduction of a sixty-bed hospital to a fifty-bed hospital is a com- paratively simple matter.
Shortly after the Moderator at the Town Meeting appointed your present committee, and before it met for organization, one of the members-Mr. Daniel Cummings- on his own initiative interviewed a certain architect by the name of Mr. James H. Ritchie. It seems that Mr. Cuinmings' father had built the new Boston City Hospital 'and Mr. Ritchie was the architect
Mr. Ritchie submitted plans to Mr. Cummings at his own expense cover- ing a fifty-bed hospital; and it appears he drew these plans having in mind the previous vote of the Town Meeting to have the hospital built on the location of the Town Infirmary. Mr. Ritchie has submitted these plans to your Committee.
Mr. Ritchie has utilized the Town Infimary as an administration build- ing; and he has given us his opinion as to the cost of the building as covered by his plans. His estimation of the cost is as follows :-
Building-144 ft. long x 47 ft. wide x 37 ft. high $175,000
Additional cost of altering Infirmary 10,000
Equipment 18,500
Architect fees 10,500
Total
$214,000
X-Ray Equipment
12,000
Salary of Clerk of the Works
4,000
Grand Total $230,000
(not including the grading or roads to the building.)
When Dr. Howland made his reoprt regarding the hospitalization needs of the Town and the estimated cost of a fifty-bed hospital, which was em- braced in the report of your Committee as submitted to the Town Meeting in March, 1941, he gave as his estimate the total cost (including architects' ' and engineers' fees, equipment, etc.) as being $263,925., which is $33,925. in excess of Mr. Ritchie's estimate
This difference is occasioned largely by the two estimates of the cost of equipment : Mr. Ritchie's estimate being $18,500 and Dr Howland's $40,000., a difference of $21,500.
Having in mind the present costs of construction your Committee would be inclined to believe that a fifty-bed hospital-complete-using the present Town Infirmary, would probably cost close to $300,000. That is, provided the hospital could be built today - and it is our opinion that priorities could be secured owing to the fact that this is a defense area.
Your Committee has not selected any architect but has considered what- ever plans have been submitted to the Committee gratuitously. A third architect by the name of Mr. Louis E. Jallade of New York City wrote the chairman of your Committee under date of December 5th and enclosed plans for a suggested hospital. Mr. Jallade estimated the cost of this hospital at $5,000. a bed. In his letter, he made several recommendations which a build- ing committee might well consider.
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Some architects have inquired about this matter, and we have told them frankly that if they wished to present any plans without expense to the Town, we would be glad to consider them and file them with other plans.
Your Committee recommends unanimously that the Town accept this recommended location, and instruct the Town Counsel to submit same to the Probate Court, asking the permission to build the Laban Pratt Hospital on this location. It is very evident that the Court would not approve any location that did not carry out the terms of the Laban Pratt will which were accepted by the Town when it accepted the money.
There has been some publicity given to what has been called a "first" report by Dr. Howland when he was asked by your Committee to investigate the hospitalization needs of the Town of Weymouth. Your Committee has only recognized ONE report-the one which was submitted to the Town at the March, 1941, Town Meeting.
In the so-called "first" report, Dr. Howland failed to limit his recom- mendations to what your Committee requested, in carrying out the vote of the 1940 Annual Town Meeting. When this was brought to his attention, Dr. Howland requested your Committee to return this report to him-which was done. Shortly afterward Dr. Howland submitted a report which carried out the instructions of the Town. It was accepted by your Committee and sub- mitted to the 1941 Annual Town Meeting (and accepted) together with a report of your Committee on the Laban Pratt Hospital.
We would point out that in Dr. Howland's report which your Committee submitted to the last Town Meeting, he estimated the yearly operating ex- penses of a fifty-bed hospital to be $85,848. He estimated the operating re- ceipts at not more than $56,000 annually, making a loss each year of at least $30,000. Please have in mind that Laban Pratt's will calls for both the build- ing and maintaining of a hospital.
The Laban Pratt bequest of $300,000 has increased to over $544,000 now. Deducting the cost of the hospital of about $300,000, there would be a bal- ance of $244,000. left to maintain the hospital. At the present low-interest rates, the Town certainly could not hope to receive more than 3 percent per annum on the $244,000., or $7,320., which would go only a very short way to- ward paying the yearly deficit.
Therefore your Committee would recommend the importance of building a hospital which could be maintained at the lowest possible expense.
A letter from a firm of architects named Markus and Nocka, Boston, ad- vises the chairman of your Committee under date of February 2nd, 1942, that they have a modular hospital plan developed by their firm which they believe will reduce the ordinary cost of a building by about 25 percent. We pass on this information for, the benefit of any Building Committee which may be appointed by the Town.
Of the money appropriated by the Town for the use of your Committee, we have found it necessary to spend only $300.
Your committee would like to refer to its report made at the Annual Town Meeting in March, 1941. We quote as follows :-
"We recommend that, in order to insure the economical and ef- ficient operation of the hospital, and to remove it from political interference, that a group of citizens be selected as incorpora- tors of a hospital to be known as the Laban Pratt Hospital; and said corporators shall constitute the Board of Trustees, with powers to appoint its successors and operate the hospital as the agents of the Town; and in order to effectuate this purpose, it is recommended that the Moderator appoint a board of fifteen citizens to act as such incorporators, and that a petition and aot be prepared for introduction into the legislature as soon as the determination of all pending litigations may be consumated.
- We do not consider it necessary to arbitrarily have the number fifteen; but it is our opinion that this would be about the right number of citizens.
"Granting that fifteen would be the number acceptable, we would recommend that five be elected for one year, five for
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two years, and five for three years, etc. It might be well to have the number established divisible by three so that you would not have more than one-third turn-over of the Trustees in any one year."
This report of your Committee having been accepted by the Town at the Annual Town Meeting in March, 1941, your Committee has requested our fellow-member, our Town Counsel, Judge Kenneth L. Nash, to draft an act for introduction into the legislature, thus carrying out the above-mentioned recommendation.
This act is attached to and made a part of this report.
If. the Town votes to proceed with the construction of a hospital, we recommend that a Building Committee of five or seven members be appointed by the Moderator.
Respectfully submitted, SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON LABAN PRATT HOSPITAL Allan C. Emery, Chairman. Russell A. Stiles, Secretary. Dr. Harris E. Bowmar. John L. Gallant Judge Kenneth L. Nash
Dr. Robert R. Ryan C. Parker Whittle, Jr.
AN ACT RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HOSPITAL FOR THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF WEYMOUTH
Whereas, Laban Pratt late of the city of Boston, deceased, in and by his last will and testament and codicils thereto, did make provision for establish- ing and maintaining a hospital within the Town of Weymouth and for the use of all its inhabitants, by a generous bequest, now amounting to more than $530,000.00. Now, therefore, to enable the inhabitants of said Town of Weymouth to receive the benefits of said generous bequest of said testator and effectually to realize and meet the benevolent intention expressed in his said will and codicil, therefore,-
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :-
SECTION 1. and all of said Weymouth, and their successors who shall be residents therein, are hereby made a corporation by the name of the Laban Pratt Hospital, for the sole purpose of establishing/and maintaining a public hospital for the use of the inhabitants of the said town and others who may be admited thereto under the provision of said will and codicil who may require medical and sur- gical treatment.
SECTION 2. £ Said corporation shall have authority for the purpose afore- said, and no other, to hold real and personal estate to the amount of one million dollars.
SECTION 3. The Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, the Town Account- ant and the Town Treasurer, severally for the time being, shall be trust- ees, ex-officials during the terms of their respective offices, and together with the corporators above named shall constitute the Board of Trustees, of whom the chairman of the Board of Selectmen shall be ex-officio chairman, and whose terms of office except as above provided shall be as follows: The trustees shall in the year next following the enactment of this act, elect five of their members whose terms of office are not fixed as above, who shall hold for the term of one year from the first day of the following February, and five of their own number who shall hold for the term of two years from said first day of the following February, and the remaining five shall be elected to hold for the term of three years from the said first day of the following February, and who shall severally hold for the terms for which they are elected and until their successors are chosen, and there- after each class in succession for the period of three years. Six members
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of the board shall constitute a quorum except in the election or removal of trustees, when a majority of the board shall be required. Whenever a vacance shall occur in the board of trustees by reason of death, resigna- tion or otherwise of the members so elected, the remaining trustees shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. If the board of trustees shall fail for three months to elect its members in accordance with the provisions of this art. the board of selectmen of the Town of Weymouth shall forth- with proceed to an election by concurrent vote. No members of the board as such shall receive compensation for his services. And the Town of Weymouth is hereby authorized and empowered to place in trust in the hands of the trustees of said corporation all funds, gifts, and bequests, which are or may be held by it for the purpose of establishing and main- taining said hospital, especially all sums it has or may from time to time receive from the trustees appointed under the will of the said Laban Pratt, deceased. And said corporation shall, upon the acceptance of this act by the Town of Weymouth as hereinafter provided, receive and hold all past and future bequests and gifts that may be made for the main- tenance of said hospital, and the same shall be appropriated, held and used by said corporation for the sole use and purpose aforesaid as a trust in behalf of and for the inhabitants of said town, and to such other per- sons as may be permitted to enjoy the benefits of said hospital in pur- suance of the provisions of said will. And said trustees shall render to the board of selectmen annually as of the first of January a report of their proceedings, with a statement of the condition of the hospital, the property and funds pertaining to the same, with an accurate account of all receipts and expenditures, together with such other information or sug- gestions thev mav deem desirable, which report shall be published by the board of selectmen in the annual Town Report. And said trustees shall in behalf of said town carefully and considerately carry into execu- tion the generous plan of the testator as contemplated by the said will and codicil.
SECTION 4. And said trustees shall appoint a treasurer, and shall require of him a bond with satisfactory sureties in the penal sum of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars for the faithful discharge of his duties, and his books of account and vouchers shall at all times be open to the trustees aforesaid, or any one of them.
SECTION 5. The trustees shall appoint a clerk whose duty it shall be to keep a full and fair record of the proceedings of the board, and to dis- charge such other duties as they shall from time to time prescribe. The compensation of the treasurer and clerk shall be fixed by the board of trustees.
SECTION 6. The trustees shall have full power to elect such other officers as they may from time to time think necessary or expedient, and to determine and appoint the tenure of their offices, and of those of the treasurer and clerk: to remove any trustees who shall be incapable through age, removal from the town, infirmity or otherwise for the dis- charge of his duties as said trustee, or who by unreasonable absence from the meetings of the board shall fail to discharge the duties of his office, and generally to do all acts and things necessary or expedient to be done for the purpose of carrying into full effect the provisions and purposes of this act.
SECTION 7. It shall be the duty of the trustees to safely and securely in- vest, or to hold invested, the trust funds derived under said will or other- wise, and they shall have regard at all times to all the provisions of said will affecting said trust and the desire of the testator as expressed therein.
SECTION 8. Nothing in this act contained shall be held to alter or impair any trust created by said will. And the corporation hereby created, act- ing through its trustees and proper officers, shall be deemed the agent of said town of Weymouth for the proper execution of all trusts arising
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under the provisions of said will. And nothing in this act contained shall be construed as releasing the Town of Weymouth from any obliga- tion arising from the acceptance of said bequest under said will, or from any condition made therein.
And the said.
is hereby authorized and empowered to prescribe the time and place for the holding of the first meeting of said trustees and to notify them thereof.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect upon its acceptance by a majority of the town meeting members of the Town of Weymouth present and voting thereon at a meeting legally called for this purpose not later than five years after the date of the enactment of this act.
Mr. John Wm. O'Donnell moved: That the Committee be continued and the Town Meeting thank the Committee for presenting such an ex- tensive and detailed report and that printed copies of the report of "The Committee for the Laban Pratt Hospital" presented to this Town Meet- ing be mailed to each Town Meeting Member (who is a Town Meeting Member after March, 1942,) not later than May 9th, 1942. That no action be taken at this time but the Committee report again to next Annual Town Meeting, and the cost of such printing and distribution shall be a charge upon the sum provided the Committee. Moderator declared the motion as lost.
Selectman Callahan offered a motion as follows: That a committee of seven be appointed, consisting of two Weymouth doctors, the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, the Chairman of the Planning Board, and three others appointed by the Moderator, for the purpose of requesting and receiving bids for the constructing of a Laban Pratt Memorial Hos- pital on the site of the present Town Infirmary and that said committee be instructed to report to the Selectmen when sufficient information is re- ceived. T'he Selectmen are hereby instructed to forthwith call a special Town Meeting for the purpose of acting upon the further construction of said Hospital. Moderator declared the motion as lost.
Mr. Field for the Appropriation Committee moved: (a) That the report of the Special Committee on the Laban Pratt Hospital be accepted, its recommendations adopted, and the committee continued. (b) that the subject matter of this article be held in abeyance until after acceptance by the Town of the proposed special legislative act for the establish- ment of incorporators for the proposed Laban Pratt Hospital. (c) That the Moderator be empowered to appoint a committee to petition the next Legislature for enactment of the enabling legislation contained in the committee report and that the Moderator be empowered to appoint the fifteen incorporators provided for in the proposed legislation.
Mr. Allan C. Emery moved to amend the recommendations of the Ap- propriation Committee as offered by Mr. Field as follows:
That the Town build and equip a Laban Pratt Hospital of 50 beds but no such work shall be undertaken until the Town has authorized the ap- pointment of a committee with sufficient powers and provided no such committee shall be appointed until after the Legislature has enacted legislation consistent with the terms of the act proposed by the Laban Pratt Hospital Committee and the Town has accepted it.
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