USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1929 > Part 6
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Police Department-Town Hall-George O. Sheldon
Fire Department-Leander M. Clark
Highway Department-William Blanchard
In attempting to make the drainage change in the Heywood Bros. and Wakefield Co. yard as part of the General Drainage System and as voted by the Annual Town Meeting, the Board found that the recommendation of the Drainage Engineers for which a specific appropriation was made by the
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REPORT OF SELECTMEN
Town could be improved. Although this improvement would save the Town money in the long run, yet the cost of the revised project would exceed the money appropriated for expenditure on the Heywood-Wakefield property. Accordingly the Board did not spend this appropriation and will make a specific recommendation at the Town Meeting with respect to the Drainage proposition as a whole.
It is felt that the engineering phase of the Drainage project can be worked out by our Highway Engineer without incurring the expense of Drainage Engineers. We have at hand the Drainage Survey of the Town as submitted by Weston & Sampson and we are of the opinion that this will give sufficient information for the Highway Engineer to effect proper results.
After studying the situation and consulting with the State Department of Public Works, it was decided to place "Slow-Traffic Artery" signs at the intersection of Chestnut and Emerson Streets, and Chestnut and Cedar Streets. We believe these cautionary signs will materially reduce the danger at these intersections.
Construction work has been completed on Strathmore Road and Morn- ingside Road. Work has been started on Overlake Road. These streets were accepted by the Town at its last annual meeting.
The dangerous curve on Lowell Street between Main and Vernon Streets has been eliminated.
The road from the Stoneham line to Byron Street has been rebuilt and makes a better approach from that section.
North Avenue, particularly between Chestnut and Church Streets should have attention. The Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway, in conference with the Selectmen, have agreed to take up one track so that the vehicular traveled portion of the street can be widened.
The Street Railway Company has also agreed to take up their abandoned tracks on Albion Street between the railroad and Byron Street.
They have asked the Town to postpone for a year work on Main Street between the Junction and the Melrose line. They are studying the trans-
son problem between Andover and the Everett Terminal particularly with reference to whether cars or busses will be used. The State has agreed to postpone work on the Andover-Reading road to give the Railway Com- pany more time to come to a decision. We feel the Town should comply with the request.
Traffic Regulations have Lean adopted and printed for distribution. The Town Counsel gave able assistance in drafting them in their final form.
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Rules and Regulations governing submission of plans to the Board of Survey have been adopted and printed.
The Board, particularly Selectman Sheldon, took steps before the embers of the ice house fire had cooled, to safeguard the interests of the Town with respect to Porter Milton Ice Company land left vacant by the fire on the southwest shore of Lake Quannapowitt. As authorized by the Town, the property was purchased and has been turned over to the Park Depart- ment for supervision.
The two large pictures on the north and south sides of the stage in Town Hall auditorium have been put in a proper state of preservation an d repair.
About four hundred chairs in the Town Hall auditorium have been repaired. Their life has been materially prolonged.
As voted by the Town, a six hundred gallon Seagraves Pump was pur- chased and placed in the Greenwood Hose House. This piece of apparatus is a needed and efficient addition to our fire fighting equipment.
At the beginning of the administrative year a conference was held at which were represented practically all the Town Departments. Its purpose was to bring about a better co-ordination of effort and results. A few meet- ings of a Sub-committee comprised of the Supervision Heads of the Depart- ments were held later. The Board feels that much more can be done along this line so that there will be less duplication of work and less lost labor due to improper meshing of the activities of one Department with those of another.
The co-operation of other Town Departments and of Mr. Simonds and Mr. Clemons has been valuable and is appreciated.
(Signed) NED C. LOUD, Chairman, EUGENE J. SULLIVAN, Secretary, WILLIAM BLANCHARD, GEORGE O. SHELDON, LEANDER M. CLARK.
83
REPORT OF WATER AND SEWERAGE BOARD
20th Annual Report of the Wakefield Water and Sewerage Board
The Wakefield Water and Sewerage Board presents herewith its annual report covering operations of the Department for the year ending December 31, 1929.
Detailed figures will be found in the report of the Town Accountant.
Receipts
Expenditures
Water Rates
$94,967.86
Maintenance
$39,529.21
Services
4,718.79
Services
5,219.17
Construction
235.00
Construction
3,978.27
Rents, Summons and
Turn Ons
541.60
Bonds Retired
34,000.00
Insurance, Fire Loss
1,763.00
Interest on Debt
10,895.00
All Other
1,403.67
Commissioners' Salaries 300.00
93,921.65
Credit Balance
9,708.27
$103,629.92
$103,629.92
In accordance with the recommendation of the New England Insurance Exchange it should be the policy of the Department each year to replace at least two miles of the old cement lined pipe with cast iron pipe. This is imperative if Wakefield is to continue enjoyment of the present favorable insurance rates.
On Nahant Street, for several years past, breaks in the old six inch cement lined pipe laid in 1883 have been frequent. The cost of necessary repairs each year becomes more excessive. Last year the cost of repairing breaks was approximately $1,500.00. Thus, good business judgment and economy seem to require this year the replacement with twelve inch cast iron pipe 5,636 feet of the forty-six year old six inch pipe on Nahant Street from Main Street to Oak Street.
On November 28, 1929, a fire was discovered about 3.45 p. m. in the lantern room at the Water Department shop at the Pumping Station. It
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
caused about two-thousand ($2,000.00) dollars worth of damage to the build- ing and contents. The room has been reconstructed of metal lath and plaster with cement floor and a fire door provided on the opening to it.
The Filter Plant installed in 1927 is operating very successfully and the Engineer's reports indicate that the filtered water is almost sterile.
Lake Quannapowitt has received the usual care and attention during the year. Copper sulphate has been applied to abate the algae on the fol- lowing dates: June 9, July 28 and September 26.
The Board recommends that the services of the engineers, Weston and Sampson, be retained.
In view of the probability of using water from Lake Quannapowitt to augment the supply in Crystal Lake, it would seem advisable to make every effort to prevent contamination of the lake.
In the event that the water is used, it will be advisable to erect a dam across Crystal Lake to provide a settling basin for storing it.
The Superintendent's report which follows gives in more detail, in- formation as to construction, improvement, etc., which will be of interest to the Town.
H. M. TUTTLE, S. F. ADAMS, W. B. STANTIAL,
Commissioners.
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REPORT OF WATER AND SEWERAGE BOARD
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
To the Water and Sewerage Board:
Gentlemen :
I respectfully submit the following report for the year ending December 31, 1929.
WATER EXTENSIONS
Marion Road, 114 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from Greenwood Street westerly to dead end.
Lindbergh Road, 20 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from present dead end easterly.
Mt. Pleasant Avenue, 734 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from Nahant Street southerly to dead end.
Pleasant Street, 220 feet of 8" cast iron pipe from dead end opposite No. 123 northerly to Central Street.
Pleasant Street, 530 feet of 8" cast iron pipe from Aborn Avenue south- erly to Wave Avenue.
White Avenue, 100 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from dead end to Pleasant Street.
Coolidge Park, 200 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from present dead end northerly to dead end.
Salem Street, 235 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from dead end opposite house of Giles westerly to dead end opposite house of Gray.
Overlake Road, 345 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from Prospect Street south- erly to dead end.
RECONSTRUCTION
Elm Street, 2,485 feet of 8" cast iron pipe from Prospect Street north - westerly to existing 6" cast iron pipe.
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Vernon Street, 160 feet of 8" cast iron pipe from opposite No. 144 to opposite No. 148. This pipe was relaid to make room for the trunk sewer.
Nahant Street, 65 feet of 6" cast iron pipe from near No. 135 westerly to make room for relocating electric poles.
HYDRANTS
The following hydrants have been installed during the year.
Elm Street between No. 22 and No. 24.
Mt. Pleasant Avenue opposite house of S. Bent.
Stedman Street opposite No. 20.
Emerson Street, corner Prospect Street.
SERVICES
New Services laid this year
68
Services relaid during the year 53
Number of feet of pipe laid on private land
3,282
Number of feet of pipe laid on public land
1,467
Number of feet of pipe relaid on private land 1,683
Number of feet of pipe relaid on public land
1,301
MAIN BREAKS DURING YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1929
TIME
Size
Location
Cause
Date 1929
Occurred
Water On
February
8
1.00 p.m.
10.30 p.m.
4" C. I. 6" Cem.
Pine St., cor. Francis Ave. Salem St., opp. house of Stowell
March
9
9.30 p.m.
7.45 a.m.
Nahant St., opp. No. 222
March
20
11.30 a.m.
6.30 p.m.
6" Cem.
April
30
8.00 a.m.
6.00 p.m.
6" Cem.
Nahant St., opp. No. 227 Nahant St., near Oak St.
May
20
10.45 a.m.
6.45 p.m.
6" Cem.
Nahant St., opp house of H. Morgan
June
5
11.45 a.m.
7.30 p.m.
6" Cem.
June
5
11.45 a.m.
7.30 p.m.
6" Cem.
Nahant St., opp No. 63
June
5
7.30 p.m.
11.00 p.m. 3.15 p.m.
6" Cem.
Spring St., cor. Greenwood St.
August
11
4.30 p.m.
9.36 p.m.
6" C. I. 6" Cem.
Vernon St., opp. Aborn Ave.
September
18
11.00 a.m.
6.00 p.m.
October
24
8.30 a.m.
3.15 p.m.
6" Cem.
October
28
3.30 p.m.
8.15 a.m.
6" C. I.
December
20
4.20 p.m.
11.00 p.m.
6" Cem.
Main St., Gr., opp. Lee's Barn
HYDRANTS BROKEN OFF BY AUTOMOBILES DURING 1929
January
15
October
18
4.15 p.m. 4.40 p.m.
December
23
11.00 a.m.
Gould St., cor. Highland Ave. Main St., opp. house of Beebe Elm St., cor. Winn St.
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REPORT OF WATER AND SEWERAGE BOARD
Cracked Water Hammer Old Age
Old Age Old Age Blasting for gas pipe Blasting for gas pipe Blasting for gas pipe Pick hole by M-M Gas Co. Joint Leak Old Age
6" Cem.
Nahant St., opp. No. 63
July
15
2.00 p.m.
Tamworth Hill Ave., cor. Morgan Ave.
Vernon St., 150 ft. north of Wave Ave. Mt. Pleasant Ave., opp. Joliffe's
Old Age Cracked Joint Leak
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
PUMPING RECORDS
1928
1929
January
19,857,000 gals.
22,604,000 gals.
February
17,637,000
20,435,000
March
19,471,000
66
21,925,000
66
April
18,075,000
66
20,423,000
May
19,765,000
66
21,764,000
June
19,648,000
66
24,817,000
66
July
21,270,000
66
26,195,000
August
21,881,000
66
23,360,000
66
September
19,611,000
66
22,798,000
66
October
21,347,000
6.
22,218,000
66
November
20,421,000
19,861,000
66
December
23,145,000
60
21,389,000
66
242,128,000 gals.
267,789,000 gals.
Average daily consumption 1928
661,552 gals.
Average daily consumption 1929
733,668
Average daily per capita of estimated population 1928
41.3
66
Average daily per capita of estimated population 1929
45.8
Total pumped 1928
242,128,000
66
Total pumped 1929
267,789,000 66
PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS
A Ford Roadster has been purchased to replace one which had been in service three years.
A large number of stumps in the south-west cove of Crystal Lake have been removed and burned, greatly improving the conditions in that section.
Both intake cages have been rebuilt and the copper screens renewed.
The retaining wall at the Pumping Station has been repaired and re- painted where it was damaged by ice last winter.
New windows and doors have been installed in the Pumping Station where needed.
Stand Pipe No. 1 (Stoneham) has been cleaned and painted two coats of red lead and oil; also the grounds around the stand pipe have been cleared up and partly graded.
The poles and wires which connect the Pumping Station with No. 1 stand pipe have all been renewed, greatly improving the service.
4
66
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REPORT OF WATER AND SEWERAGE BOARD
REFORESTATION
Continuing the reforestation of the water shed of Crystal Lake, about two-thousand pines were planted on the west shore.
WATER SUPPLY
Crystal Lake, Wakefield's water supply, is at present fifty-five inches below high water mark which is due to the lack of fall rains.
LOW LEVEL SEWER SYSTEM
The low level sewer system has been in operation nearly three years and has thus far given satisfactory results.
SEWER MAINTENANCE
The entire sewer system has been cleaned and brushed during the year; also all manhole covers that were below the street grade have been raised to grade.
SEWER CONNECTIONS
Application for house connections to date 1,512
Number of connections made 1,412
Number of connections made during the year 70
Number of connections waiting
0
SEWER CONSTRUCTION
Oak Street, 299 feet of 8" tile sewer from Main Street easterly.
Eustis Avenue, 1,391 feet of 8" tile sewer from Elm Street westerly.
Nichols Street, 401 feet of 8" tile sewer from Eustis Avenue to Prospect Street.
Prospect Street, 471 feet of 8" tile sewer from West Chestnut Street westerly.
LOW LEVEL .SEWER
Construction
The trunk sewer was extended from a manhole on land of L. E. Ben- nett northerly across private land to Fitch Court, thence northwesterly
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
under the Boston and Maine Railroad across private land to a manhole on land of Charles Goldsmith, thence westerly across private land to Vernon Street. This sewer is cast iron pipe, 18" in diameter and 2,956 feet in length.
Vernon Street, 524 feet of 15" tile sewer from Wave Avenue to Aborn Avenue.
Vernon Street, 415 feet of 10" tile sewer from Wave Avenue to Law- rence Street.
Lawrence Street, 645 feet of 8" tile sewer from Vernon Street westerly.
Wave Avenue, 739 feet of 8" tile sewer from Vernon Street westerly.
In conclusion, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to each and every member of the Department for his hearty co-operation in all emergencies.
I also extend my thanks to the heads and members of the various Town Departments for their support and co-operation during the year.
Respectfully submitted,
MORRISON MERRILL,
Superintendent.
91
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PENSIONS
Report of Committee on Pensions
Wakefield, Mass., February 25, 1929.
To the Voters of the Town of Wakefield:
The Committee appointed at the Adjourned Town Meeting on March 31, 1924, to investigate the subject of a contributory pension system for the Town Employees and to investigate the desirability of the acceptance by the Town of the provisions of Section 85 of Chapter 32 of the General Laws which, if accepted, provides for pensions to members of the Police and Fire Departments, herewith submits its report.
The following articles appeared in the warrant for the Town Meeting of 1924:
Article 39. To see if the Town will appoint a committee to investigate the subject of a contributory pension system for the town employees.
Article 40. To see if the Town will accept the provisions of Sec- tion 85 of Chapter 32 of the General Laws, which if accepted provides for pensions of members of the Police and Fire Departments.
At the Adjourned Town Meeting held March 31st, 1924, under Article 39, the following vote was passed:
That the Moderator appoint a committee of five to investigate the subject of a contributory pension system for the town employees, and report at a future town meeting.
Under Article 40, the following vote was passed:
That the subject matter of this article be referred to the com- mittee appointed under Article 39 for investigation and report.
The following were appointed members of the Committee:
Thomas G. O'Connell, Willam A. Mann, Patrick H. Tenney, Harry F. Eaton, George H. Stout.
The warrant for the Annual Town Meeting in 1925 contained the following article:
Article 30. To see if the Town will authorize the special committee on pensions, appointed under Articles 39 and 40 of the
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting of 1924, to employ an actuary to ascertain the cost of establishing a pension system for the town employees, and raise and appropriate the sum of $300 therefor.
On Motion by Finance Committee-
Voted: That the Town raise and appropriate the sum of $300 to carry out the purposes of Article 30.
The Committee organized by electing Thomas G. O'Connell, Chairman and Patrick H. Tenney, Secretary. Mr. William A. Mann, who was ap- pointed a member of the Committee, attended the meetings when the Committee was first organized, but has since removed from Wakefield to Portland, Maine. The vacancy has not been filled.
When the Committee started its investigation in 1924 it learned that. the Legislature had provided for the appointment of a State commission to investigate the workings of the present system of retirements and pensions for public employees including state, county, city and town and teachers retirement systems, and the laws providing pensions for judges and all other public officers and employees. Inquiries at the State House revealed that the commission was considering the possibility of a new retirement act to. apply to all state, county, city and town employees on a uniform basis. This commission's report (Senate Document, No. 340) was submitted to the Legislature of 1925 and provided for a uniform law applying to all state, county, city and town employees in place of the fifty-seven or more different varieties of pension laws now on the Statute Books applying to certain classes of employees. Your committee deemed it advisable to see what action the Legislature took on this uniform law before incurring the expense of an investigation of the cost of a local pension system for the Town of Wakefield. The Legislature considered in 1925, 1926 and 1927 the proposed Massachusetts Retirement Act recommended by the State Commission on Pensions, but this uniform retirement act has not been enacted. Strong opposition developed on a part of the City of Boston to having its retirement system merged into a state-wide system, particularly as the benefits which the State Commission on Pensions felt that the public treasuries could afford to pay, were less than those of the Boston Contributory Retirement. Act of 1923, which has very liberal benefit.
When it became apparent in 1928 that the passage of a state-wide retirement act for all cities and towns was problematical, your committee deemed it advisable to make a careful investigation of the local situation in the Town of Wakefield. Edmund S. Cogswell, Consulting Actuary, who was Secretary of the Stat Commission on Pensions and who had been previously Secretary of the State Teachers' Retirement Board, was employed to ascertain the number of employees of the Town of Wakefield who would come under a Town Retirement System and the cost of establishing such a retirement system.
93
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PENSIONS
With Mr. Cogswell's assistance the Committee prepared a form for the furnishing by the heads of the different town departments of information regarding employees in their departments. As is usual in towns of the size of Wakefield, certain departments such as the Highway, the Water and Sewerage Department, and to some extent, the Municipal Light Depart- ment, employ extra men during the spring, summer and fall, but these are laid off during the cold weather. It is, therefore, difficult to form a defini- tion of "regular employees." Your Committee took notice of Chapter 131, Acts of 1927, which provides for vacations for persons employed for the period of thirty-two weeks or more in the previous year and in determining who were regular employees of the Town in 1928, the Committee was guided by this law.
The information furnished your Committee for each regular employee as above defined includes the name, the department in which he was em- ployed, the occupation or kind of work, date of birth, the present annual salary or wages, the number of months employed by the Town in 1927, and the annual salary or earnings for each of the last five years, and information regarding previous service in any Town department other than the one now employing him.
Before the form for reporting the data for employees was definitely adopted, it was shown to certain Town officials and heads of departments to see if the inquiries were clear and if the information could be readily reported.
Your Committee is pleased to report that all departments of the Town returned the blanks in a satisfactory manner and that each department has given the Committee and the Actuary complete co-operation in securing the data.
As the public school teachers are covered by the provisions of the con- tributory State Teachers Retirement Act, and as it is the general policy of the Legislature to include this group of public servants in the state-wide system rather than in local systems, your Committee did not obtain in- formation regarding the teachers, but did obtain from the office of the superintendent of schools, data regarding the janitors, clerks and other school department employees.
Information was not secured for temporary employees, including certain employees of the Department of Public Welfare, where in certain occupa- tions such as garbage collecting, the rate of turn over is extremely high and there appears to be no permanence to the personnel.
In the contributory retirement systems adopted for employees in cer- tain cities such as Boston and Newton for example, officers elected by the people are not included as members of the retirement system, consequently your Committee did not seek information concerning public officers like the Town Clerk and Town Treasurer, who are elected by the voters, and
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
did not include officers like the Dog Officer who devote less than half of their time to the service of the Town.
Table "A" attached to this report shows the number of regular em- ployees by departments in December, 1928, who were considered as eligible to membership in a Retirement Association for Town Employees, should one be established.
The Actuary prepared a table of the years of service (see Table "B" attached) showing the length of service of employees as reported to your Committee. At the time this Table was prepared (December 31, 1928) there were 148 regular Town employees (exclusive of teachers) as listed by the various departments.
Forty years of regular service were reported for two Town employees; thirty-five to thirty-nine years of service for three employees; thirty to thirty-four years of service for five employees and twenty-five to twenty- nine years of service for seven employees, so that there are 17 Town employees reported to have served the Town for twenty-five years or more. Ten employees have served the Town between twenty and twenty-four years and 21 have served the Town between fifteen and nineteen years, so that 48 employees, or more than one-third of the total, have completed fifteen years or more of Town service. Sixty per cent of the employees, however, have served the Town less than ten years.
In modern retirement legislation, such as the State Teachers' Retire- ment Act, the Boston Retirement Act and the Newton Retirement Act, which are on the contributory basis, retirement on an allowance may be granted after the employee attains the age of sixty. The amount of retire- ment allowance depends on the length of service, but the minimum super- annuation retirement allowance requires at least fifteen years of service. Consequently, information was secured concerning the ages of the employees, which appears in Table "C." Wakefield seems to have an unusually large number of employees over fifty years of age, 68 of the 148 regular employees being reported as fifty years of age or over. Forty-one regular employees are reported as having passed the age of sixty, there being 22 employees between 60 and 64; 12 between 65 and 69, and seven over 70. The oldest regular Town employee is 79 years of age. Some of these older employees, however, have entered the Town employ late in life, and therefore have com- paratively short periods of Town service to their credit.
Your Committee was appointed to investigate the possibility of the contributory system, that is, one by which the employees make regular con- tributions from their salaries or wages, and contributions are also made by the public treasury. The Committee has reached the conclusion that when a retirement system is established, it should be on the contributory basis.
Various State commissions have investigated the subject of retirement allowances for public employees, such as the Commission on Old Age An-
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