Town of Norwell annual report 1960-1969, Part 62

Author:
Publication date: 1960
Publisher: The Board
Number of Pages: 2480

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Norwell > Town of Norwell annual report 1960-1969 > Part 62

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

acres of land at Queen Anne's Corner, with over a thousand feet of frontage on Pond Street. A supermarket is to be erected on this site, but at present it is in the planning stage.

During the year Frederick Truelove was appointed to the board to fill the unexpired term of Charles H. Crombie, who had resigned to take up residence in another town.

Respectfully submitted,

LORING H. JACOBS, Chairman JOHN E. ANDREWS, Clerk HENRY ABRAHAMS DENNIS F. MEDEROS

FREDERICK TRUELOVE

REPORT OF THE DOG OFFICER

Selectmen Town of Norwell Norwell, Massachusetts 02061

Gentlemen:

I submit my report as Dog Officer of the Town of Norwell for the year 1964.

Dogs returned 61

Complaints investigated 44

Strays

Dead dogs picked up (does not include those by C. Joseph & Wadsworth) 1

Badly injured dogs picked up 2

A reminder to all dog owners -- All dogs must be licensed at 3 months and the license runs from April 1 to March 31 of the succeeding year.

Respectfully submitted,

ROBERT L. MOLLA, Sr., Dog Officer

REPORT OF THE

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

The past year again shows a continued growth in the demands on the

Center in direct proportion to the increased growth of population and activities in the Town. During the past year a total of 22,676 calls were handled by the Center.

Our thanks again go to the Town Hall secretaries who handle the calls during office hours, and to the men and women who so faithfully follow a demanding schedule to provide coverage at night and during the weekends. A modest increase in hourly pay, as voted at the last Town Meeting, is much appreciated and has helped in keeping our operators, although the pay is not yet sufficient so that we may require the operators to stay awake all night, as they must all have other jobs during the day.

Through the cooperation of Dr. Richard Cugnasca and Mr. Clarence Joseph, we now have a plan of operation which greatly improves the handling of the many calls we receive for assistance with dead and injured animals on the streets. This has long been a difficult problem and its solution has been a great help to all parties concerned.

A new card index system has improved our task of trying to keep track of all the residents and businesses in Town. This is another problem that has grown by leaps and bounds during the past year. With so many families moving in and out of Town, this problem would be simplified by notice, by people moving in and out, as we now find this information from records of sales or by hear-say.

With the addition of the alarm system to alert the operators if the fire sirens at Stations 2 and 3 are out of order, as well as the fire alarms from all the schools, the walls in the Center are becoming a hodge-podge of alarm boxes, lights and buzzers. It is regrettable that our budget does not permit the installation of a central system to which new alarms could be added as they become necessary.

Residents are requested not to call the Center when the Fire Sirens blow. The operators have all they can handle with essential phone and radio conversations, and must not be bothered with unessential calls from the curious.

Under a separate article we shall ask the Town Meeting to approve an appropriation for the installation of a two-way radio system for the Town- owned vehicles, on a frequency for the Town use only, as separate from the Police and Fire frequencies which also cover many other towns. Such a system would provide greater efficiency in the Highway and Tree Depart- ments at all times, and would lead to greater control of all trucks (and plows) during storms and hurricanes. These radios would also provide more firemen during the daytime when manpower is short, as most of the Town employees are firemen and could be called on the Town frequency when a fire occurs. The workmen would also be provided with greater safety, as help could be called at once in the event of an accident. Such

communications would lead to better use of the manpower and equipment at hand and hence the cost would be offset by the increase in efficiency.

Respectfully submitted,

Emergency Communications Center Board

W. CLARKE ATWATER, Chairman KENNETH J. BRADEEN WARREN P. MERRITT

REPORT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Board of Fire Engineers submit to the Board of Selectmen and the citizens of Norwell the following report covering the activities of the Fire Department for the year 1964.

The Communications Center handled 7284 calls for the Fire Department from January 1, 1964, to December 31, 1964.

These calls consisted of the following:

Building fires (includes electrical, chimney & burners)

Grass and Woods fires

Dump fires

Automobile

Resuscitator

Investigations

Accidents

Lost Children

Mutual aid received

Mutual aid given

Fire Permits

2531

Mise. Calls (for information, etc.)

4452

Total

7284

During 1964, 301 emergency calls were answered, which is an increase of 31% over 228 in 1963.

Many of these fires were serious and time consuming which accounts for our sharp increase in payroll.

One of these fires occurred in the Church Hill Fire Station on January 6, 1963, causing extensive damage to the building and contents. Fire insurance re-imbursements totaling $4,111.00 paid for building repairs and contents lost. The engines were removed from the station in time to avoid any damage.

The newly installed Supervisory Alarm System, operating fire sirens at Stations 2 and 3, is giving added protection by indicating any alarm failures.

This year the Board of Engineers appointed Capt. Robert Barry as Drill Master for department training. Capt. Barry attended the Summer session of the New England Drill Masters School held in Hyannis during August.

At the Annual Town Meeting the Board of Engineers were voted $13,000.00 to purchase and equip a new engine for Station #1. The contract was awarded to Farrar Company of Woodville, Mass., low bidder. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the truck will not be delivered until the latter part of February.

There is a growing concern among the members of the Board of Fire Engineers regarding adequate daytime response to serious emergencies. The Board feels that the proposed installation of radios in Town-owned vehicles would help to alleviate this situation.

The Board of Fire Engineers would like to commend the operators of the Communications for their efficiency in handling Fire Department calls. and to thank the citizens of Norwell for their cooperation in complying with Fire Department regulations.

Respectfully submitted

WARREN P. MERRITT, Chief LORING L. WADSWORTH, Deputy Chief JOHN J. WINSKE DONALD H. NEWTON ORVILLE DEVINE JAMES T. KING, Clerk

REPORT OF THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

I hereby submit my annual report for the year of 1964.

The winter of 1964 proved to be a stormy one. We had almost five feet of snow and because of this amount of snowfall it became necessary to get emergency funds to carry us through December.

The materials that were required will startle you. We used approxi- mately forty snow plow blades, three thousand yards of sand, six hundred tons of salt, and fifteen tons of calcium chloride to keep the roads safe. I hope you realize that we are a small town and cannot afford to have our roads like the expressway, but we try to strike a happy medium. We have been forced to use chemical salt to get the extra heavy traffic through town safely and as conveniently as possible without letting them run over us or

anything that gets in their way. We have to protect some drivers from themselves.

By the time Spring rolled around we were busy cleaning the drainage system, catch basins, and sand from the intersections. Because of all the housing developments and underground structures we have got to be thinking of getting mechanical equipment for this work.

The Chapter 81 work was begun in the Spring with the approval of the Selectmen and the Department of Public Works of District #7, Middleboro office. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their coop- eration and excellent assistance. A breakdown of this work follows this report.

The Chapter 90 project on Main Street was carried out by first putting two layers of mix from the Hanover line to South Street. Some of the money for the mix and labor came out of the 782 account.

The second section of Main Street done, from South Street to Hilltop Service Station, was approximately three thousand feet. We installed new pipe, moved the stonewalls back, and completely dug up the old surface. Gravel and three layers of mix were put down. This, too, was done in conjunction with the 822 and Chapter 90 accounts.

Because of the very dry Spring and Summer there is still a little bit of shoulder work and seeding left to be done. These two sections will give us a little more than one mile completed.

In 1965 the drainage will be installed from Hilltop to the schools and some pavement will be done. I am asking for a special sidewalk article to be carried on in conjunction with this project.

The special articles for mix and place on River Street and Oak Street were completed in July.

Construction, street painting, sign work, drainage work, installing water services, etc., were some of the other activities of the Highway Department in 1964.

We are asking for the mix and place project to be carried on in 1965 and we are also hoping to get a new building to work from, which is badly needed.

I wish to express my sincere thanks for the cooperation of all the town officials, the various committees, and departments and the citizens of Norwell with whom I have had the pleasure of working this past year.

Respectfully submitted,

E. ARNOLD JOSEPH, Highway Surveyor

REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS

Board of Selectmen Norwell, Massachusetts

Gentlemen:

As Inspector of Animals for the Town of Norwell, I have completed my duties for 1964 and report as follows:

Inspected barns and reported same to the State.

Reported to the Division of Livestock Disease Control the census of animals in the Town of Norwell.

Quarantined and released approximately twenty-seven dogs.

Respectfully submitted,

RICHARD E. CUGNASCA, D.V.M. Inspector of Animals

REPORT OF THE BUILDING INSPECTOR

Board of Selectmen Norwell, Massachusetts

Gentlemen:

Respectfully, I submit my third annual report as Building Inspector for the Town of Norwell. Home building has increased steadily over the past year and undoubtedly it will continue to increase. In fact, since 1962 each year has seen an additional 10 percent increase in new dwellings. Old Colony Knitting Mills' building was begun in 1964, bringing a small industry to the Town. The quality and attractiveness of some of the current new housing developments are drawing higher income families to our Town.

Along with this report, I hope a few personal observations regarding the Building Inspector's job will be considered appropriate. It is evident when riding through some of the surrounding towns and seeing what we in the trade term "cracker box" construction, that in less than 10 years these houses will become eye-sores. Built much too close together, row on row, many without cellars, and poorly constructed; they are built to sell for a low price -- but is the price worth it?

We in Norwell take pride in our charming country town. Progress we must, but with a careful eye to the future. It is my endeavor as Building Inspector to preserve this charm as much as possible, with GOOD building, adequate materials and proper construction.

There may be certain things which occur in new building of which I as a private citizen do not wholly approve in some small way, such as design or location; but the building inspector can make sure that all Town Building Laws are abided by, thus maintaining a high standard of construction quality as well as protecting public safety and health.

A constant vigil must be kept, checking applications, blueprints and plans as they are submitted, and a series of inspections is made at each building as the work progresses.

The builders working in Norwell have been very cooperative and a fine friendly relationship has been established among us.

It might be informative to the townspeople to know that the Building Inspector's salary does not come out of tax money, but is apportioned from building permit fees received.

I should like to say that I enjoy this responsibility. Building is my livelihood, my chief interest, and it pleases me to see it well done from the first basic construction, eventually hidden from view, to the finished product -- a sound building.

A summarization of building permits issued and inspections made during 1964 are as follows:

RESIDENTIAL

New Dwellings 73

Alterations, Additions &

Out Buildings 54

Garages

COMMERCIAL

New Buildings 1

Alterations & Additions 3

OTHER

Repairs -- Town Buildings

Buildings Demolished

Moving Building 1

Swimming Pools 4

TOTAL PERMITS ISSUED 143

The helpful cooperation extended to me by Town officials, boards, committees and builders is greatly appreciated. Special thanks to Mr. Harry Chase and Mrs. Mildred Sundwall at the Town Hall, for their valued assistance.

Respectfully submitted, CHARLES E. WHITE, Building Inspector

REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR OF WIRES

Board of Selectmen Norwell, Massachusetts

Gentlemen:

During the year of 1964 there were 227 electrical permits issued and inspections made.

Salaries paid the inspectors from fees collected were as follows:

Raymond A. Hansen $1,299.00

J. Lee Turner 433.00

$1,732.00

We wish to express our appreciation to the townspeople for their cooperation.

Respectfully submitted, RAYMOND A. HANSEN, Inspector J. LEE TURNER, Alternate Inspector

REPORT OF THE JAMES LIBRARY

Norwell Board of Selectmen

Norwell, Mass.

Gentlemen:

The report of a year ago told of increases of some 40% in the use being made of James Library facilities and the need for correspondingly in- creased librarian service outside of the regular hours in order to keep abreast of this greater public demand.

As predicted, the increased level continued throughout 1964 and grew even further. Through September, circulation had risen 14% above the high figures of the year before to a projected annual total of 20,300, consisting of approximately 7,000 adult fiction, 3,300 non-fiction, and 10,000 juvenile. Despite the prospect that this increased workload will continue in 1965 and may again increase, the devoted effort of the Library staff is making it a possibility that the Library may be able to continue within the same budget as in 1964. That is the present expectation.

Donations of time and money have provided important improvements through freshening the interior with new color and providing an entire new juvenile floor ready for further expansion. A bright, sunny Children's Room with new equipment opened on June 25 in time for the usual large increase in summertime activity.

Deepest appreciation is due the librarians and the many friends of the Library, as well as the patrons, for the joint effort which has produced an outstanding year of community service.

Respectfully submitted Trustees of the James Library

HARRIET MEYER, Secretary

MILDRED HASTINGS, Treasurer WILLIAM C. BENNETT JOHN M. KOLBJORNSEN QUENTIN COONS, Chairman

REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD

Board of Selectmen Norwell, Massachusetts

Gentlemen:

The Planning Board reorganized after the March, 1964, Town Election with Richard A. Housley as Chairman, Charles W. Bayley, Jr., as Vice- Chairman and Gilbert A. Cummings, newly elected for a five year term, as clerk. The board meets on Monday night at eight o'clock each week. The current schedule provides for open meetings on the first and third Monday of the month, with the remaining meeting nights allocated to problems of general planning.

ZONING BY-LAWS AND PLANNING BOARD REGULATIONS

One change in the Zoning By-Laws is being presented at the March,

1965, Town Meeting. This is to change the control point for building set- backs to the "center-line" of the road rather than the present "way-line" control point, increasing the required distance from 35 feet from the way-line to 75 feet from the center-line. Many older roads in Norwell are of less width than required by Planning Board Rules and Regulations for new roads. This change would prevent new buildings from being located so they would be too close to the roads when improvement becomes necessary.

The work on changes of the Rules and Regulations of the Planning Board, started last year, has been completed. A hearing was held May 7, 1964, and after minor changes were adopted by the Planning Board and became effective July 9, 1964, having been filed with the Registry of Deeds and the Recorder of the Land Court as required by Law. The new regula- tions are being printed for insertion into the loose-leaf binders of "Town of Norwell, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations."

SUBDIVISIONS AND SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW

Hearings for only two subdivisions were held, both late in the year, so that definite plans have not yet been approved. The total number of lots involved is 26.

This represents a reduction in subdivision activity as compared to the past two years but will not represent a slowdown in actual construction. There are 160 lots not built on in approved subdivisions where the de- velopers have installed the major portions of the required facilities. It is to be expected they will push forward as fast as circumstances permit. Several other developments are in the discussion stage and preliminary plans will be forthcoming. Two projects, "Simon Hill" and "Country Acres" have additional available land for which plans have been projected but not submitted.

During the year we examined and endorsed 45 plans containing 83 individual lots which were not subject to the Subdivision Control Law.

GROWTH OF THE TOWN

During the past year building permits for new dwellings issued num- bered 73 as against 62 in 1963 and similar figures of 50 to 60 for the several years preceding 1963.

With five subdivisions in full swing, and several more expected in 1965, this higher rate can be expected to continue and if maintained could bring the town's number of dwellings to 2500 with a total population of 9000 by 1975 as against previous fairly constant figures of 2250 dwellings with 8000 population.

SCHOOLS

School population has increased at a faster rate than has been anticipated necessitating a request for the acquisition of an Elementary School site and funds for plans at the 1965 annual meeting as recommended in last year's report. Construction of this new school should be undertaken at the earliest possible date, with completion no later than September, 1966.

In 1966 funds for plans for the expansion of the High School will be needed. These two projects will be followed immediately with the need for additional Elementary School capacity and then the expansion of Junior High classroom facilities could well be required. This means that between Jan. 1, 1965, and Jan. 1, 1971, we may well have built, be building, or planning to build four new schools or additions.

CAPITAL OUTLAY SCHEDULE

The costs of school construction are and will continue to be a burden, but other capital expenditures that have long been postponed are now upon us and articles in the warrant for the following are vitally necessary: Con- struction Sidewalks, Town Garage, Fire Equipment, extension of Water Facilities, and Communications. In addition, we will undoubtedly be assessed $27,000 for the Union Street Bridge plus $10,000 for Elementary School sanitation which may not be postponed. These necessary capital outlays total $175,000, of which the water facilities and Town Garage can be financed, leaving $100,000 to be raised. It will be continually necessary to maintain the Stabilization Fund at no less than $100,000 to take advantage of available state funds in connection with school construction.

In 1966 the Road and Sidewalk projects should be continued. Additional Water Facilities including new wells and a new water tower are needed. An Athletic Field, Police and Fire Station and Additional Town Office facilities are urgent. Funds equal to or greater than those requested in 1965 will be required.

The Planning Board will continue to be active in trying to develop a long-term capital program but for at least the next two years will have to work closely with all other town departments in the allocation of funds to projects that are vitally essential on a priority basis. Long term planning will have to be developed under these adverse circumstances.

GENERAL

There is still a great deal of land in Norwell suitable for development. There is also a large amount of "Green" or "Wet" lands that are not. It is essential that the Planning Board, the Boardof Health, and the Drainage Committee work on this problem and develop any zoning changes and new rules and regulations that are necessary to forbid the use of such lands.

Failure to do this will result in health hazards and aggravate drainage problems which will eventually involve heavy town expenditures to correct.

The Planning Board supports the efforts of the Conservation Commis- sion to obtain available preferred land at today's market prices for possible future development as recreational facilities for the town. Land values are continually rising and sites suitable for this purpose are becoming scarce.

Respectfully submitted,

RICHARD A. HOUSLEY, Chairman THEODORE R. LOVE

CHARLES W. BAYLEY, Jr., Co-Chairman JOHN A. RANDALL

GILBERT A. CUMMINGS, Clerk

PLYMOUTH COUNTY AID TO AGRICULTURE (Plymouth County Extension Service)

Robert B. Ewing, County Agent-Manager

The primary responsibility of the Extension Service is as the 1914 law states "to aid in diffusing among the PEOPLE of the United States useful and practical information on the subjects relating to Agriculture and Home Economics and to encourage the application of same."

Resources of the University of Massachusetts and the United States Department of Agriculture are available to the Staff of the Plymouth County Extension Service because of a mutual assistance agreement.

To make this service available to you, funds are provided by the Federal, State and County governments. Thus the name - Cooperative Extension Service.

Since 1915, when the Plymouth County Extension Service was organized and established, educational information pertaining to Agriculture, Home Economics and 4-H Club Work has been given free to citizens of Plymouth County.

The Extension Service office is located in the Court House, Brockton, Massachusetts, and is staffed by agents who conduct programs in Agricul- ture, Home Economics and 4-H Club Work by furnishing educational in- formation through farm and home visits, letters, newspaper articles, radio talks, meetings, office visits and telephone calls.

You are invited to make full use of the services provided by the Ex- tension Service but should remember that although the Extension Service

furnishes the information, it is you who makes the decision as to how the information may be used to best advantage.

Requests for information can be directed to the Plymouth County Extension Service, Court House, Brockton, Massachusetts.

The Board of Trustees, appointed by the Plymouth County Commis- sioners, administer the Plymouth County Extension Service program and is composed of the following members:

Mr. Gilbert Blackledge

Whitman - Chairman

Mr. George Ridder

East Bridgewater

Mr. Robert Chisholm

West Bridgewater

Mr. Lewis Billings

Plympton

Mrs. Mabel Chandler

Duxbury

Mr. John Duffy

Halifax

Mrs. Gladys Gibbs

Hanover

Mr. Robert Hammond

Wareham

Mr. John Howe

West Bridgewater

REPORT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Board of Selectmen Town of Norwell

Gentlemen:

The first nine months of 1964, according to The Uniform Crime Report, published by the F.B.I., shows an increase of 13 percent over a comparable period for 1963. When categorized by population, cities over 1,000,000 actually represent only 6 percent of this figure while suburban areas under 10,000 averaged 22 percent. Another sobering fact is that over 40,000 people lost their lives on the nation's highways during 1964.

How does this affect our quiet little town? It is important to remember that crime is a social problem and, therefore, a concern of the entire community. Percentagewise Norwell will be affected in direct proportion to its population.

To better understand our police problems, we invite all interested per- sons to visit our facilities. We will be most happy to discuss any matter within our authority.

Below is a partial list of our activities for 1964:

Calls received

10,496

Arrests

Breaking & Entry

Court Complaints

122

Larceny

Accidental Deaths

Prowlers

Insane committments

Auto accidents

Cruiser Ambulance

Stolen Cars

Emergency messages

Violation (M.V.)

310

Domestic trouble

Mutual Aid

Missing persons

Vandalism

Summons

242

Our sincere thanks for your cooperation.

Respectfully submitted,

KENNETH J. BRADEEN, Chief

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Town of Norwell annual report 1960-1969, Part 62

Author: Publication date: 1960 Publisher: The Board Number of Pages: 2480

Author:
Publication date: 1960
Publisher: The Board
Number of Pages: 2480