USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1947 > Part 3
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
29
School Purposes." This will be explained at greater length later when we give you the actual dollar figures.
Other considerations of course, are the cost of "street", "water", "sewer" and "electric" connections, and here again we have the addi- tional consideration of the value to the Town of these facilities for other than school purposes. Last, there are two intangible considerations.
The first is "Beauty of Setting and Freedom from Smoke, Noise and Traffic Congestion." Most authorities list this consideration second only to acreage in importance. And the last factor on which all the sites can be compared is "Freedom from Disruption of School Activities During Construction."
Description of Sites
Now let's look at these sites one by one, first locating them on the Town Map (Exhibit 5).
Birch Meadow
The first is Birch Meadow. (Exhibit 6) As those of you familiar with land know, the name "Birch Meadow" is a misnomer-at least so far as the proposed building site is concerned. The level part of this area was at one time a farm and was later flooded by a mill dam. In fact, the sluice-way is still recognizable near the northwest corner of the plot. The total area under consideration consists of 38 acres made up of the hill on the eastern side, where it is proposed to build the high school, knolls, and fields, 33.2 acres are now owned by the Town, and the area to be taken if this site is chosen is 4.8 acres with an assessed valuation of $3,300.00. Including the land to be taken, there are now 20 acres of high or filled land south and southwest of Waverly Road. Of the bal- ance, some is already filled ; some requires no fill; and some is gradually being filled with clean material by the Public Works Department.
The 20-acre filled area now has a softball field, tennis courts, and other athletic and recreational facilities which will be described later. On this drawing we have outlined the building which the School De- partment had designed for this site, so that you can form a better idea of relative areas.
Junior High School
Next is the Junior High School site (Exhibit 7) where the entire area under construction is 24 acres including that used by the Junior High School. Of these 24 acres, the Town owns 16, and 8 acres with an assessed valuation of $85,325.00 would have to be taken. Here again we have drawn an outline of the proposed school. Of course, this is probably not the design that would be used at this site, but it does serve to in- dicate the amount of space for the building. The land to be taken is
30
the entire frontage on Summer Ave. between King and Temple Streets and the frontage on Temple Street down to its end. The land between the school and the railroad tracks is low and most of it is unfilled.
Senior High School
Next is the Senior High School site (Exhibit 8) of which the Town now owns 1.59 acres. The 1.54 acres that should be taken if this site is to be used, have an assessed valuation of $38,675.00. It is impractical to take land to the south in this same block because of the nature of the property, which includes the First Baptist Church and parsonage. An- other objection is the fairly steep slope of the land to the south of the present school property. The total acreage available here is 3.13 and is too small to show an outline of the high school building.
Sunnyside Ave. and the Washington St. Playground
The Sunnyside Avenue area (Exhibit 9) totalling 20 acres consists of the Washington Street Playground now owned by the Town and hav- ing 5.5 acres and 14.7 connected acres having an assessed valuation of $5,200.00 which would have to be taken. The Washington Street Play- ground contains the only regulation-size baseball diamond in Reading. It is well laid out and in good condition. The area around the diamond isn't quite as great as is desirable, but the diamond is used for high school games. There are also two tennis courts and other facilities which will be described later. The 14.7 acres that would have to be taken is made up of about 60% of land now being farmed and 40% of woodland. The land being farmed is good, solid ground which would be suitable for a high school building. Much of the woodland however, is low and swampy.
Sweetser Field
Sweetser Field (Exhibit 9) consists of aproximately 6.75 acres. We understand that some of this land is available to the Town as a gift. At least there was an item in the Chronicle to that effect two or three years ago. However, it is understood that the owners would want to retain a house and barn which are on the western side of the property near the intersection of the railroad tracks and Main Street, and they would want to keep a suitable amount of land around these buildings. The whole area is assessed for $16,425.00, of which $3,950.00 is for the build- ings.
Here again we have not traced the proposed building, but the draw- ing of the Sunnyside Avenue site shows about what proportion of the space it would occupy. Here, as at each of the other sites, the ground is suitable for foundations.
31
Comparison of Sites
Now, let's see how these figures you have seen compare (Exhibit 4). First, the factor of available acreage. As we have seen, at Birch Meadow, there are 38 acres ; at Junior High, 24; Senior High, 3.13; Sweetser Field, 6.75; and Sunnyside Avenue, 20. To score these sites we have given an arithmetic score of 1 to sites having 20 or more acres and have scored the others in the same ration to 1 as their acreage is to 20. In the case of Junior High School we have given a score on 14 acres in order to give effect to the 10 acres which is deemed necessary for the Junior High School's own use. This gives a score of 1 to Birch Meadow, .7 to Junior High School, .15 to Senior High School, .34 to Sweetser Field, and 1 to Sunnyside Avenue.
On the other 23 factors the arithmetic scores range from 0 for the poorest to 1 for best. In the case of acreage now owned by the Town, for instance, Birch Meadow with 33.2 acres so owned, gets a score of 1, whereas Sweetser Field gets a score of 0. Although some of the Sweetser Field land may be available as a gift, the Town would be losing the assessed valuation, and this was deemed a proper score. Scores on the other sites fall into proper ratio.
On the factor of acreage to be purchased, the scores are .73 for Birch Meadow, .47 for Junior High, 1 for Senior High School with the least acreage to be purchased, .57 for Sweetser Field and 0 for Sunnyside Avenue with most acreage to be purchased.
In the case of athletic and physical education facilities now available, we have given the highest score to the Junior High School site, where there is a regulation football field with the bleachers, a cinder track, a softball field with back stop, an indoor modern gymnasium, and a bas- ketball court. The football field gives occasional trouble by being slip- pery and sometimes creates a considerable traffic problem in nearby streets. Incidentally, this also happens when there is any well attended event at the school. However, the athletic facilities are the best in Town and give this site a score of 1 on this factor. At the Sunnyside Avenue there are a baseball diamond, two tennis courts, six electrically- lighted horseshoe courts, a wading pool, a basketball backboard, swings, and one of the Rube Goldberg arrangements of pipes known as a "Jungle Gym", giving it second place with a score of .7. Birch Meadow with its six tennis courts, five of which can be lighted for night games, a handball court, wading pool, hockey rink, its larger skating area, a softball field with bleachers, Jungle Gym, swings, and two outdoor fireplaces, rate third. The Senior High School does have a combination basketball court and gymnasium which is inadequate. Both this site and Sweetser Field where sandlot ball is played, have been given a score of 0 on this factor.
32
The next two factors are scored on the basis of land available. In the case of "future extension possibilities" we have given consideration to extension of both outdoor and indoor facilities.
In the case of "suitability for normal building foundations" we found that there is practically no difference in the various sites. Although conditions are different, type of construction would be adjusted accord- ingly and costs would be about equal, as near as this committee could determine without detailed plans and engineering investigation.
The same is true in the case of the next factor which includes drain- age and landscaping of the actual building site and land immediately ad- jacent thereto. Here again, although the work would be different at the various sites the cost as nearly as can be determined need not vary appreciably.
On the next factor, "availability of space for parking area" the scores are again, of course, based on land available.
In the case of "freedom from injury to existing facilities" there would be none with the exception of the Junior High School, where land now used for play or parking would have to be built on.
Scores on "distance to population center" (Exhibit 5) and "distance to geographical center" are mathematically exact. The distances are given in miles. The "population center" is calculated to be a little south- east of the Highland School just across School Street from the end of Dudley Street. It is interesting to note that the distance from the popu- lation center to the Birch Meadow building site is only 12/100 of a mile farther than to the Sunnyside Avenue site. This means that a shift northward in the population center of 6/100 of a mile, or 317 feet, would make these two sites equally distant from the population center. This fact, no doubt, will come as a surprise to many people who remember Reading when its population was only half of what it is now. On this factor the Senior High School gets a high score, with Junior High and Sweetser Field tied for second place, Sunnyside Avenue 4th, and Birch Meadow, last with 0.
"Distance to the geographical center of the Town" is also an im- portant consideration because the probable trend of the "population center" is toward the "geographical center". For instance, of the 75 homes built in Reading in 1945 and 1946 36 are north of the Birch Meadow Site, and 14 are south of the Sunnyside Avenue site. 47 are north of the present "population center" and 28 south thereof.
In discussing location it perhaps should be pointed out that a new high school might benefit by having certain facilities available elsewhere for a while after the new building actually goes into use. For instance, if the new high school did not have a football field as is the case with the present high school, the squad would go back and forth to Junior High School for practice. Listed in their order of convenience from this point of view, the sites are: Sunnyside Avenue, Senior High School, Sweet-
33
ser Field and Birch Meadow.
While discussing the geographical aspects of the problem, a few other facts should be brought out. According to the Planning Board Map as Revised to 1941, there were at that time 90 homes in Reading more than 2 miles from Birch Meadow; there were 200 'homes more than 2 miles from Junior High School; and there were 216 homes more than 2 miles from the Sunnyside Avenue site. This would be an important consideration if it is ever decided to transport high school pupils 2 miles or more distant from the school.
Another interesting fact is the available acreage suitable for build- ing above and below a line drawn east and west through the center of population. There are approximately 1471 acres north of such a line and 640 acres south of it. We calculate that if all land in Reading suit- able for building was built on, the center of population would be near the western end of Weston Rd.
On the next two factors the scores are again exactly mathematical on the basis of dollars. Although it is realized that actual cost of pro- perty to be taken would be more than assessed valuations and that there would be demolition expenses, the assessed valuation figures do give us an accurate comparison.
In the case of "value to Town after conversion to school purposes" the figure given is the assessed value of land only; that is, in the case of property where there are buildings, it is the value after the buildings have been removed.
Again, in the cases of street, water, and sewer costs, scores are pre- cisely based on estimated dollar costs. It was found that the cost of electrical connections was approximately the same at all sites. This seemed a little surprising at first but a double check was made and it was found to be so. In the case of the sewer connections at Birch Meadow, it should be stated that cost figure is based on bringing in a sewer from the Hartshorn Street or westerly side. It would be possible to bring a sewer in from the Main Street at a slightly less cost to the Town, but the Public Works Department feels it would be of greater benefit to the Town to come in from Hartshorn Street.
The "value to the Town for other than school purposes" of these three utility additions is evaluated next. It is interesting to note that the additional eventual cost to the Town of sewerage at Birch Meadow, an item which has caused many qualms in early discussions, is actually only $10,000.
The next two factors are the only ones where opinion replaces fact as a basis of scoring. In the case of "beauty of setting, etc." our Com- mittee very carefully studied all the sites, under both summer and win- ter conditions, and we have scored them according to our best judg- ment. Birch Meadow which has been given the highest score is 38 acres of fields and wooded knolls and is surrounded on the west and north by
34
woods, on the east by a hilltop with a few houses, and on the south by woods and houses with the tennis courts lying along the edge of the tract.
The Sunnyside Avenue site, which ranks next, is bounded on the west by some wooded land, a greenhouse and houses, the north, by a house and greenhouses; on the east, by an entrance to Washington Street Playground, houses and other buildings; and on the south by wooded land.
The Junior High School is in an attractive setting, except that the railroad tracks run along its northeastern side.
The Senior High School is in a congested area as is Sweetser Field, which in addition abuts on the railroad tracks.
As to the final factor, there would be no disruption of activity at Birch Meadow, Sweetser Field, or Sunnyside Avenue. At the Junior High School, there would necessarily be some interference with school activities, and at the Senior High School there would be considerable to complete disruption of school activities.
Degree of Importance of the 24 Factors
Now, it is obvious that some of these factors are more important than others, and our next task was to evaluate them. The committee members had this in mind from the time our analytical approach was decided upon. We had discussed the matter with Mr. Russell Mack of the State Department of Education and with our own school officials before beginning to work out our figures. This part of our job was done with painstaking care over a period of several weeks.
Most authorities consider that primary requirements in a school site are : first, adequate space for present needs and future expansion of both building and outdoor facilities; second, suitable surroundings with freedom from noise, smoke and traffic congestion; and third, "conven- ience of location" a slightly higher score than "suitable surroundings", having given a weight of 11% of the total problem to "distance to popu- lation center" and 4% to "distance to geographical center", compared with 10% for "beauty of setting". We have grouped the factors as you see, having given a total weight of 50% to all the physical factors, 15% to location", 15% to "value of property to be purchased", 5% to "utilities costs", 3% to "utilities value to Town for other than school purposes", and 12% to the two intangibles.
We grouped these factors because to some extent the weight given in certain cases is interchangable with others, and it is really the total that counts. For instance, "available acreage", opportunity for develop- ment of "athletic facilities", "future extension possibilities", and "avail- ability of parking space" are really almost the same thing, so that the total of the weights given these factors is really the weight given the overall area factor.
"Acreage now owned by the Town" and "acreage to be purchased",
35
though temporary considerations, are important both from the point of view of cost and of inconvenience to owners of property which would have to be acquired, particularly in these days of housing shortages.
As stated earlier, there is no important difference in the sites under consideration in the case of either suitability for normal building founda- tions or cost of preparing the actual building sites. Therefore, each of these factors has been given a weight of 0, but as in the case of electric- ity they have been left in this list to show that they have been studied.
"Freedom from injury to existing facilities" such as the recreational or parking areas, at the Junior High School, has been given a weight of 3.
"Assessed value of property to be taken" has been given a weight of 13 in consideration of the importance of costs, particularly under present conditions.
"Value to Town after conversion to school purposes" is weighted at 2 because the amounts are comparatively small, and the likelihood of sale by the Town slight for several decades at least.
Each item under "Utility costs" has been given a weight correspond- ing roughly to its relation to the cost of the whole project, as is the case in their "value to the Town for other than school purposes."
We have already discussed the next factor and, although "freedom from disruption of school activities during construction" would be im- portant in the case of the Senior High Site, it would be a temporary condition and seemed to us to be about 2% of the entire problem.
Final Score
Now, the scores which you see at the bottom of the statistical tabu- lation are the totals of the arithmetic scores times the degree of import- ance. That is, in the case of Birch Meadow, for instance, the arithmetic score in the first factor, is 1 and the degree of importance is 22, giving us a weighted score of 22 times 1. These final scores are
Birch Meadow 78.39
Sunnyside Avenue 71.405
Junior High School 53.16
Senior High School
37.79
Sweetser Field 37.36
So much for the factors common to all sites.
Special Considerations
As stated earlier, there are also a few considerations special to two of the sites. First, the case of Birch Meadow. The photograph (Exhibit 10) shows only a very small part of the area. It does, however, show the hill on which it is proposed to build the new school. It is taken from the softball field looking east. The hill, as has been said, is on the
36
southeastern edge of the Birch Meadow area, and the proposal is to build the school along the side of the hill which you see. There are now twenty acres of good land available here. In addition, there is another 18 acre piece, some of which requires fill, which is already owned by the Town on this location. Another advantage is the shape of the plot which lends itself to efficient use.
The other site on which there are special considerations is Sunny- side Avenue. The photograph (Exhibit 11) which are taken at the Sunnyside Avenue Site, as in the case of the Birch Meadow picture, shows only a small section of the area. However, it does give you some idea of the tract's appearance. It is taken from the edge of Washington Street Playground looking west across the cultivated area which lies south of the greenhouses. In fact, you can see a corner of one green- house. The houses you see are on Sunnyside and Fairview Avenues.
One special consideration at this site is the lowness of the land to the west and south of the area now under cultivation. The greater part of this land is swampy. There is a brook with a tributary which flows through it all the year round, and judging by the erosion we saw, this brook overflows its banks for many feet in some places at some times of the year. This lowness probably accounts for the fact that the land has never been developed. One of the owners of the adjacent cultivated land said he did not even consider it worth using for horticultural pur- poses. When a garage was built on Main Street just to the east of this area, it was necessary to put in piles under one corner where workmen struck about 15 feet of peat, under which were 4 feet of hard pan with soft running sand under this. As a matter of fact, the previous commit- tee to report on available high school sites rejected the Sunnyside Avenue area from further considerations because of this swampy con- dition. However, the acreage is there, the brooks could be routed through culverts and the land filled and made suitable for play fields or a parking area.
There is one other situation which affects this area adversely as a site for a high school. Although the cultivated area here is simply farm land assessed for only $5,000.00, it is used in conjunction with the green- houses which you saw on the tracing of this site. The greenhouse pro- prietors told us that they use the land to change soil in the greenhouses. It is also used during some of the summer months in growing carnations. These plants are started in the greenhouse in winter and transplanted outdoors in early summer, left there for a few weeks, and then re-trans- planted back into the greenhouses. According to the greenhouse own- ers, their entire property, including the greenhouses and boiler plant, would be worthless for their purposes without this land. When asked for their idea of the extent of the damage to their business in case the land was taken for school purposes, they gave us a figure of $150,000. They told us that this would be approximately the cost of replacing the
37
greenhouses and boiler plant some where else or moving the present buildings. We asked other greenhouse proprietors for their ideas and were told that greenhouses could be and are used without changing the soil by some growers, particularly of vegetables. It is obvious, there- fore, that although taking the land under consideration make the prop- erty valueless in the eyes of the present owners, it probably could be given some value if used for different crops. The Town Counsel, advised us that in the case of land taking in Reading, there is no limit, as there is in cities, on the amount the Court could award an owner.
That completes our presentation of facts about these five sites.
The work of this Committee was done at a cost to the Town of un- der $100.00.
The Committee wishes to thank the State Department of Education, the Reading Public Works Department, the Municipal Light Board, the Board of Assessors and the Reading School Department for their willing and indispensable co-operation.
Respectfully submitted,
G. WARREN COCHRANE, JR., Chairman WILLIAM E. BURPEE HERBERT C. COPITHORNE E. LEROY FROST WALTER M. FOWLER
LEWIS E. GILMAN GEORGE B. PEASE LINCOLN T. PRESCOTT HAROLD W. PUTNAM JOSEPH H. REED
C. SUMNER TEEL, Secretary
Article 22. On motion of Alexander Glover it was voted to take up Article 22.
That the Board of Selectmen be and they hereby are authorized and empowered to acquire for and in behalf of the Town, by purchase, eminent domain or otherwise, certain parcels of land with the buildings thereon in or adjoining Birch Meadow, so-called, being the Northeaster- ly portion of Lot 61 containing approximately 3.37 acres, which lot is shown on Town of Reading Assessors Plat 35, Lot 41, 47, 117, 118, 122 and 123 as shown in Town of Reading Assessors Plat 64, and to dedicate certain other parcels of land now owned by the Town, being Lots 33 to 40 both inclusive, Lots 42 to 46 both inclusive, Lot 116, 119, 120, 121, and 124 and 125 all as shown on said Town of Reading Assessors' Plat 64, including that part of Cold Spring, Hillside, Glendale and Oakland Roads, Private Ways as may be determined by the School Committee or such portions of the above lots or parcels as said Committee may deem advis-
38
able, for the construction of a new Senior High School, and that the sum of ten thousand (10,000) dollars be raised and appropriated for such purchase or taking.
125 voted in the affirmative. 17 voted in the negative.
Article 3. On motion of Kenneth Latham it was voted to take up Article 3.
On motion of Kenneth Latham it was voted that the following be chosen to serve as Measurers of Lumber for the ensuing year: Harold B. Currell, Fred F. Smith, Maurice H. Donegan. And that the following be chosen to serve as Measurers of Wood and Bark: Percy N. Sweet- ser, Harold B. Currell, Thomas F. Brogan.
Article 3. On motion of Harold Putnam it was voted that Mr. Newell H. Morton be and he hereby is elected a member of the Recrea- tion Committee to fill the vacancy created by the Resignation of Charles N. Sweetser.
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.