USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1903-1905 > Part 43
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The policy governing work and expenditures has been that recommended by the Finance Committee, and acquiesced in by the Town when making the appropriation; that the money should be expended mainly in an endeavor to keep the streets in as good condition as they then were.
The appropriation has been practically all spent in mainte- nance and repairs, doing all that could be done with the amount available, with regard to the principle of securing the greatest degree of permanence, thus there has been expended quite a sum in paving gutters, the construction and repair of drains, laying concrete sidewalks and setting edgestones, all
87
of which may be classed as permanent improvements. It is believed that a larger proportion than usual has been spent for cleaning and patching.
Following is a general summary of expenditures:
Administration,
$210 70
Equipment,
544 21
Tools, .
239 29
Sign and guide boards, .
30 65
Bridges,
131 90
Fencing,
80 77
Cleaning,
2,827 58
Patching and removing loose stone,
1,541 61
Drains, including paved gutters, .
1,492 55
Construction,
1,915 5I
Engineering,
278 75
Concrete walks,
1,179 75
Edgestone, .
,
766 86
Snow work, .
· 1,427 09
Administration includes expenses of office and those for material for operation of plant ; equipment, those of machin- ery and permanent tools, and their repair; under tools are in- cluded the purchase of the smaller and frequently renewable variety, their repair and sharpening, and such hardware as the department has used.
There has been added to the equipment an improved road machine which has worked very satisfactorily, and proved its worth in all seasons. Its use has effected a material saving in labor and in time ; being of stronger construction and re- versible it has done more and better work than the old machine could have done.
Repairs to the steam roller have exceeded the amount ap- propriated; the excess, $90.22 has been paid from the gen- eral appropriation.
The crusher plant has caused an outlay for repairs; only
88
such as were necesssry for its operation have been made how- ever.
Four new street signs and posts and eight "Private Way Dangerous" have been placed.
Greenwood bridge has been replanked and the iron work painted; the bridge on the way leading from Valley street to Wright's gravel pit has been replanked and a new railing put up.
The 200 feet of plank sidewalk on Spring street in Boyn- tonville, has three times been temporarily repaired; the plank forming this walk also serve as a cover for a culvert; all the plank is in poor condition. The culvert should be replaced with pipe and a gravel sidewalk made.
Fences have been built on Brook street opposite Elm where the brook is close to the travelled way; on Nahant street near Farm and on Water street between Brook avenue and Farm street, this last made necessary by the removal of bush by the moth men. Existing fences have been repaired on Elm, Church, Broadway, Bennett, Main, West Chestnut and Lowell street.
All the streets with one or two exceptions have been cleaned once and some more than once, grass and brush cut, and the patrol cart has been at work throughout the season.
Something has been attempted and done in the way of patching and removing loose and projecting stone.
The bridge or plank sidewalk on New Salem street was found to be unsafe, and has been in part removed and filled in. The sidewalk from said bridge to near Preston street has been brought up to grade. A walk had to be made on Val- ley and Melvin streets in accordance with vote of the town. On Richardson ave. the walk on the south side has been raised to an established grade. Sidewalks on Lake, Byron, Main, Salem, Albion, Warren ave., West Water, Pleasant, Bennett, Railroad, North ave., Church, Park, Otis, Nahant,
89
Franklin, Cedar, Lowell, Lawrence and several other streets have been repaired and patched. On nearly all gravel walks projecting stone have been removed and taken to crusher.
In the work on drains there is included the cost of paving gutters on Park, Main, Stedman, Otis, Crescent and Eaton streets. New drains have been put in on Church, Crescent, Valley, Richardson, Main and Albion streets. Catch basins have been cleaned and repaired, and twelve new ones built. Several drains, culverts and catch basin outlets have been cleaned and relaid.
Franklin, Park, Valley, Pine, Otis, Oak and Eaton streets have been resurfaced wholly or in part. Main street has been extensively patched at the Junction, Water street from R. R. crossing to bridge has been re-shaped, and a small amount of new material put on. Salem st. near house of Henry Stowell has been improved by rebuilding sidewalk.
The amount expended for engineering is for work done in establishing and setting grades for resurfacing, gutter work, drains, sidewalks, concrete walks and edgestone. Surveys, plans and estimates have been made in the matter of improve- ment of Centre Pond. Levels and cross sections for estab- lishing grades on various streets in preparation for future work, and data for the design of a drainage system have been obtained.
Concrete sidewalks have been constructed on West Chest- nut, Albion, Richardson, Avon, Gould, Cedar, Pleasant and Richardson ave. Patching has been done to walks on Park, Eaton, Crescent, Centre, Salem, Bryant, Albion, Gculd, Pleasant, Water, Main, Lawrence and West Chestnut. Con- crete crossings have been repaired and relaid on West Chest- .nut street.
Edgestone has been set on White ave., Main, Avon, Al- bion, Richardson ave., Prospect, Eaton and Pleasant, curved corners at West Chestnut and Cedar, Salem and Pleasant, Gould and Cedar and Lawrence and Pleasant.
90
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
Balance reported Feb. 1, 1905, $309 67 Appropriations, . . 12,275 00
Received for labor, 16 10
66 from sale of material, 127 70 ·
" abutters for concrete, 242 3I
" edgestone 192 42
6
" Richardson st. for stone, etc., 80 00
66
" concrete bill of 1904, II 82
Total receipts to Feb. 1, 1906,
. · $13,255 02
There are bills receivable for concrete and edgestone amounting to
$249 58
There are bills unpaid amounting to ($96.13 of this due to Richardson st.)
199 87
There is an overdraft in this department equal to the short age of the Street Railway tax, which did not reach $6,000, the amount which the Treasurer was authorized to borrow. This overdraft will be met by the appropriation for the en- suing year.
EXPENDITURES.
1
Administration,
.
$210 70 ·
Water rate,
$45 00
Coal,
90 51
Oil, paint, waste, etc.,
34 94
Stationery and printing,
23 25
Freight and miss. bills, .
17 00
Equipment, .
·
.
Snow plow (1994),
. $75 00
200 00
544 21 Road machine,
91
Tool house (1904),
6 90
Forms for concrete, .
34 37
$316 37
Steam roller repairs.
Buffalo Pitts Co., labor and material, · $141 74
G. H. Taylor, labor and material, . 6 85 .
G. M. Kelley, labor, 5 05
Wanamaker & Feindel, labor,
3 50
Boston Bolt Co., bolts, .
I 35
Ashton Valve Co., rating gauge,
50
American Express Co.,
4 23
J. H. McNeill, inspection,
2 0Q
$165 22
Crusher repairs, labor and material,
$53 12
J. H. McNeil, inspection,
2 00
$55 12
Bin structure, repair,
7 50
Tools, . .
$239 29
New tools and hardware,
. $104 23
Repairs and sharpening,
135 06
Street signs, repair, painting and erecting, 30 65
Bridges, . .
131 90
Linden ave., labor,
$II I7
lumber,
63 44
painting,
23 00
$97 61
Vinton St., labor, .
4 38
lumber,
8 82
$13 20
92
Spring St., labor, .
II 75
lumber,
.
9 34
$21 09
Fencing,
80 77
Brook St., labor, .
$3 37
material,
5 50
$8 87
Nahant St., labor,
11 44
material,
14 30
$25 74
Main St. (1904), .
4 97
Lowell St.,
I 18
Church, Broadway, Bennett, Elm, Main and W. Chestnut, labor,
12 50
material,
9 76
$22 26
Water St., labor, .
17 75
material (unpaid) .
$17 75
Cleaning,
2,827 58
Labor, general,
. $2,094 28
Patrol, .
608 00 ·
Grass and brush,
125 30
Patching and removing stone,
1,541 61
Labor patching,
.
. $1,106 44
Material for, .
161 66
$1,268 10
6
.
-
.
·
93
Labor removing stone, .
192 19
Main St. patching,
61 32
Greenwood St., do.,
20 00
Sidewalks, .
.
658 89
New Salem, at bridge, .
$62 17
." beyond bridge,
46 00
$108 17
Melvin and Valley, labor,
71 00
material, .
17 30
$88 30
Richardson Ave., labor,
27 32
material,
38 00
$65 32
Lake St. repairs,
20 52
Byron St.
13 00
Main, [.
18 00
Salem, .
22 II
Warren ave.,
8 00
Richardson St. walk repair,
2.12
Other streets repair and removing stone, 313 37
Drains,
1,492 55
Paved gutter Stedman St.,
$21 00
Crescent, .
18 00
Park,
322 62
Main,
50 51
Eaton,
203 25
66 Otis, .
88 70
·
.
$704 08
.
94
Centre and Main, cleaning and relaying, 31 52
Foundry St., culvert repair, 3 88
Stedman St., ditching, . 6 00
Albion St., relaying culvert, . 18 73
Main and Charles, new catch basins,
77 00
Church St., C. B. outlet,
78 00
Crescent St., drain and catch basins,
178 24
Albion, C. B. outlet, 55 84
Main at Railroad, repair,
II 50
Salem and Main, cleaning culvert, .
14 00
Elm, cleaning and new C. B.,
45 75
Main and Central,
10 00
Cedar and Auburn, new C. B.,
23 75
Cleaning catch basins, .
IOI 75
General repair, labor,
$71 60
Material,
60 81
$132 41
Construction,
.
· 1,915 51
Park St., labor,
$103 00
material,
51 85
$155 05
Water St., labor, .
$311 12
material,
2 50
$313 62
Valley St., labor, .
$194 18 ·
material,
28 90
$223 08
Franklin St., labor,
·
$359 38
material,
48 10
$407 48
95
Pine St., labor,
·
$229 63
material,
.
20 50
$250 13
Otis St., labor,
$70 70
material, .
16 50
$87 20
Oak St., labor,
$74 00
Eaton street, labor,
$187 20 ·
Material,
22 20
$209 40
Main street, labor,
$102 50
Material,
30 80
$133 30
Salem street, reconstruction, .
$62 25
Engineering, .
278 75
Concrete work.
1,179 75
Labor, pay roll and bills,
$924 05 .
Material and mis. bills,
255 70
Edgestones, .
766 86
Labor, .
$243 51 ·
Material,
504 85
Snow work, .
1,427 09
December, 1904, .
· $27 75 .
January, 1905,
520 52
$548 27
February and March, 1905,
· $674 69
December, 1905, .
· $165 13
January, 1906,
.
39 .00
·
96
The following is a partial list of the requests made of this Department during the year which could not be met.
1. For improvement, resurfacing or rebuilding roadways on :- Highland, Wave ave., Emerson, Main, Pleasant, Cres- cent, Crescent Ct., Greenwood, Forest, Otis, Central, Laf- ayette, Church, Pearl, Sweetser, Birch Hill ave., Foster. Richardson ave., West Water, Albion, Foundry, Gould, Lake, Bartley, Converse, New Salem, Vernon and many others.
2. For improvement or rebuilding sidewalks on : High- land, Emerald, Wave ave., Main, Pleasant, Crescent, Cres- cent Court, Greenwood, Spring, Otis, Central, Church, Sweetser, Richardson ave., West Water, Converse, Green- wood ave., Albion, Gould, Lake, Hart, Nahant, Eaton, Lawrence, Prospect, Water, Farm. Vernon and others.
3. For improvement of conditions due to defective drainage on :- Main, Greenwood, Pitman ave., Forest, Summer, Na- hant, Railroad, Bennett, Traverse, Melvin, Valley, Vernon, Wave ave., Sweetser, Central, Lawrence, Pleasant, West Water, Richardson ave., Centre, Crescent, Otis, Pearl, Church, Lafayette, North ave., Chestnut, Foster, Albion, Lake, Foundry, Gould, Bartley, Broadway, Jordan ave., Stedman, Park ave., Dell ave., Converse, Cedar, Cedar Ct., Prospect and Elm.
All of the requests received were reasonable, but in many cases a complete remedy involved an expenditure beyond the reach of the appropriation; by complete remedy is meant going far enough to remove or care for the source of the trouble.
The work involved in the above enumeration can be done in two ways; repairs may be made of a temporary nature which would answer for a short time, perhaps one season, perhaps two ; or the cause of the defective condition may be first found and remedied, and repairs then made which will be well nigh permanent. In nine cases out of ten the cause
97
for defects will be found to be a lack of, or defective drain- age; in the remaining cases the cause will be unsuitable material, defective grade, or infrequency of repair.
The general condition of the Town's streets is unsatisfac- tory, to say the least. This condition, which has existed for years, and is in a general way attributed to such causes as large mileage, lack of money, sewer construction, deficiency of material, etc., should not be accepted as necessary and in- evitable.
The streets of a municipality are an index, pointing di- rectly and unmistakably to its general character ; by their condition, they reflect the thrift, public spirit and pride of its citizens. Good streets are a necessity ; they promote growth and prosperity, and poor streets preclude or retard it.
The causes which have led to the present situation in our Town are not different from those which affect all towns ; there is abundant evidence to show that where the necessary investment has been made, a sure return has been received from it.
Whether we are to continue in the present rut or not, it will profit to consider the question of improvement, ascer- tain mistakes of the past, and plan to avoid .them in the future.
The destructive influences of weather and travel are the streets greatest enemy ; they cannot be entirely overcome, but may be resisted with success in just such measure as the construction is good ; good construction for the sake of econ- omy should be the best obtainable.
The "best" will be extravagant and short lived unless put upon a good foundation, and supplemented by thorough drainage and systematic repair and maintenance.
Good streets will mean observance of the essentials, which are :
98
1. Foundation, which may or may not entail drainage of the subsoil.
2. Drainage of surface water, which includes the laying of pipe and building catch basins.
3. Construction of road, which should be of material best suited to withstand the wear of the travel coming upon it, and at the same time satisfy conditions of grade, cleanliness, noise and cost of repair and maintenance.
4. Repair and maintenance, which will be always neces- sary, and must be thorough and unceasing.
In any form of construction the foundation as its name implies is of first importance, it carries the weight ; the ma- terial of surfacing resists the wear ; the poorest or the most expensive material for a wearing surface will become full of holes and unfitted for use in a very short time if the founda- tion be imperfect ; dryness and solidity are essential, and these conditions are only obtained by perfect drainage of sub-soil and of surface water. Water may reach and de- stroy a foundation by percolation through the road surfacing, or by seepage from the gutters if not allowed to run off as rapidly as it accumulates ; or it may, from the nature of the soil be present in the form of springs.
The accumulation of water in gutters in addition to the injurious effect as above noted, allows on flat grades a de- posit of the road wash which in turn produces a fine crop of weeds, and the gutter thus constantly encroaches upon the road ; on steep grades the carrying of water for any distance will wear away the surface, and any temporary obstruction in the gutter will so divert the flow as to cause a damage of many dollars.
The importance of drainage therefore' cannot be overesti- mated for it affects the integrity of the road in every par- ticular, and if deficient increases the cost of repair and main- tenance.
We have at the present time 45 miles of public street, on
99
which there has been expended in the last twenty years in round numbers $289,500, an amount sufficient to build or resurface anew an equal mileage, install a complete system of drainage and still leave a handsome surplus. For 20 years then we have expended annually $14,475. On their face these figures clearly indicate that the amount of our annual expenditures must be increased if we are to hold what we now have, and if improvement is desired some means must be found whereby work may be made more lasting and lessened in cost.
The recommendations which follow are made with this object of desired improvement in mind and are the result of careful consideration and study.
1. That the work of the Department be organized, and that the natural divisions of the work be recognized, and each receive full measure of attention.
2. That a beginning be made in the construction of an adequate drainage system.
3. That the Department be provided with a full equip- ment of labor saving machinery, yard and buildings.
4. That the method of doing a little here and there be abandoned, and a plan whereby all sections of the town may receive their just proportion of work be adopted, the fol- lowing is suggested : That there be six districts, North, Centre, East, West, Junction, and Greenwood, and that in every year there should be some work of construction and repair performed in each ; (maintenance and repair should cover the whole town) this work to be done, as far as prac- ticable, on the most travelled streets first, provided that its doing would not conflict with the general principle which should govern all work, which is to so combine jobs that surplus material may be used near where obtained and that material when needed for any work should be obtained if possible from the streets themselves by making advanta- geous changes in grade, etc.
100
The natural divisions of the Highway work above re- ferred to are, Construction, Repair and Maintenance ; in effect one cannot be effective unless the others are made so.
"Construction" is of two kinds, one of a permanent na- ture including drains, paved gutters, sidewalk pavement and edgestone ; the other, surfacing of roadways and walks, approaches permanence in a degree which is regulated by the character of the material employed, the quality of the work, amount of use, and the efficiency with which the work of maintenance and repair is performed, In this di- vision expenditures may well be larger for the permanent forms ; drainage should invariably precede, that the cost of maintenance and repair may be kept down. The obser- vance of the essential requirements of good work, which have been enumerated, should be always adhered to.
"Repair" will or should extend over the entire street sys- tem ; it will comprise those jobs on road surface which are too small to rate as construction and too large to be called patching ; the patching of concrete sidewalks, the repair and cleaning of drains where excavation is necessary, and such other work as does not properly fall to the share of the other divisions belongs to this.
"Maintenance" includes cleaning, patching, removing loose and projecting stone, the cutting of grass and brush and burning or removal of leaves.
With regard to the recommendation concerning a system of drainage, sufficient has already been said to clearly es- tablish the fact that it is needed. The statement that nine out of every ten instances of defects are due in a greater measure to deficient drainage, or an entire lack of it, than to any other cause or causes is true and is susceptible of proof.
An intelligent development of property should be based on the requirements of drainage ; the acceptance of streets in the past has brought with it, through inattention to this
101
question, an added wear and tear on the older streets from the increased amount of surface water thus concentrated and discharged upon them.
Every severe storm and winter season brings with it in justified complaints a very forcible evidence of our need of drainage. The list this year, while the season has on the whole been a favorable one, is of very large proportions.
Concerning the third recommendation regarding "Equip- ment," it may be said that no other department of the town is so poorly equipped as this to do its work economically and well. Doing a business each year representing a capitalization (at 4 per cent. ) of over $350,000; with the streets in poor condition and the certainty of their remaining so if past and present conditions under which its business is done are not changed and improved, it would seem to be absolutely nec- essary that every requisite and aid for economy of time and labor and the doing of more and better work, for the same annual outlay, should be provided.
This Department should have teams, a yard, stable, sheds and storehouse ; a portable crushing plant, street sweeper, new steam roller and watering cart.
The recommendation that the Department have its own teams is not new ; I am told that the argument has been that ownership of teams would be unprofitable, or would effect no saving ; that they were needed but little in winter and that the expense of keeping, during that season would offset the saving made during the summer or busy season. This supposition, for it can be nothing else, cannot be sup- ported.
It has never been considered perhaps that the work of the Highway Department has been regulated by necessity and not by expediency ; this is particularly true of winter work. The practice has been to do the necessary snow work only and pay no attention to the other work, which might and should be done at this season in preparation for the busy
102
season to follow which, for best results should be devoted to work of execution.
There will be a large amount of stone obtained during the work of the busy season, which should as far as pos- sible be piled near at hand and hauled to the crusher dur- ing the winter. It is perfectly practicable to operate this during cold weather and the stone thus hauled could be crushed and returned in that condition to various points, be there piled and left ready for use in early spring patching ; the use of crushed stone for patching gravel roads may be questioned, but the quality of stone obtained as above, not being of the best, is very well suited for this purpose.
The cleaning of catch basins is another item of work that should be done as far as possible in this season, and it can be done as well and would be less offensive to the public com- fort.
For certain conditions of travel crushed field stone makes excellent road material, the teams should be used during the winter in obtaining a supply of this.
Material such as wood, cement, brick and pipe could be gotten in also.
There is also an earning capacity which the teams would have to offset in part the lost time.
A great consideration in favor of ownership is that of effi- ciency of service, that there is an undoubted gain and sav- ing effected in this direction which cannot be well estimated in dollars goes without saying. This fact has been demon- strated in the case of other departments in the town which maintain their own teams. One of the best informed men in the State on highway work estimates the value of teams owned over teams hired as being 50 per cent.
For the purpose of arriving at some conclusion expressed in figures as to the merits of the "Team question " let us make a comparison of a year's work based on the following assumptions.
.
103
1. That the work of the Highway Dept. be organized as before outlined.
2. That the team force of the Maintenance division would be 2 single teams or two horses, which will work from about March 20 to about December 1, on this work alone.
3. That such winter work as can be done be performed from December 1 to March 20.
4. That the team force of the Construction and Repair divisions will be 2 double and 1 single team or 5 horses, on all working days from March 20 to December 1. (This year's average was 6 horses).
5. That the time on snow work will be 18 days, which is an average of the last 20 years.
6. That the teams will have some earning capacity.
7. That there will be work for the regular men (drivers) when not employed on teams as follows ; on snow labor, cutting brush, care of signs, repairs to tools, painting, work at crusher and ledge, making and repairing concrete forms, making concrete covers, etc.
8. The cost of a hired horse is $1.50 for 8 hours (the amount actually paid). The cost of keeping a horse is esti- mated as 50 cents per day as follows :
PER YEAR FOR 7 HORSES.
Hay and grain,
$765 00
Shoeing, .
·
.
175 00
Veterinary,
50 00
Water rates, ·
16 00
Repairs to carts and harness,
100 00
$1,106 00
Depreciation, 10 per cent.,
$110 60
Contingent, 5 per cent., .
60 83
$1,277 43
or 50 cents per day per horse.
104
Comparison based on foregoing assumptions :
WORK PERFORMED, 7 HORSES.
Cost of hiring
Cost if owned
2. 2 horses on Maintenance, cleaning and patching from Mar. 20 to Dec. I, 219 days,
$657 00
$219 00
3. 7 horses on winter work other than snow work, 24 days,
252 00
84 00
4. 5 horses on Construction and repair from Mar. 20 to Dec. 1, 205 days, .
1,537 50
512 50
5. 7 horses on snow work. 18 days, (price for snow work is $2.00 for 8 hours),
252 00
63 00
6. Earning capacity estimated $50.00. Keep of 7 horses when not employed after deducting earning capacity,
349 00
Totals, which show a gross saving of $1,471. $2,698 50 $1,227 50 Deduction to be made for repairs and de- preciation of building, insurance, loss of tax revenue, etc., . $II0 60
$2,698 50 $1,338 10
A net saving of $1,360.40.
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