Wilbraham annual report 1932-1940, Part 39

Author: Wilbraham (Mass.)
Publication date: 1932
Publisher: The Town
Number of Pages: 956


USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Wilbraham > Wilbraham annual report 1932-1940 > Part 39


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Article 28. Voted not to appropriate any money for side- walks on Weston Street.


4


12


Article 29. Voted not to raise the salary of the Town Collector.


Article 30. Voted not to have the Town Collector elected for three years.


Article 31. Voted to pass the article.


Article 32. Voted to raise and appropriate $200.00 for the purpose of further grading of the Pines School grounds.


Voted that the town authorize the Selectmen to take necessary action to clarify the title to the No. 1 Stony Hill School property, and further authorize the Selectmen to dispose of said property by sale.


Voted that $10,000.00 of the total appropriation be taken from the free cash in the treasury.


Voted that all money appropriated at this meeting be raised and assessed on the poles and estates of the town unless otherwise provided for at this meeting.


Voted that the thanks of the voters be extended to the Finance Board for their printed list of appropriations and recommendations.


JENNIE T. ABBOTT, Town Clerk.


The Town has on hand a large supply of town histories which may now be purchased for one dollar each at both the Library and the Selectmen's office.


13 Town Clerk's Report


January 1, 1940 to January 1, 1941


Births recorded


46


Births of prior years recorded


8


Marriages recorded


85


Deaths recorded


37


Personal property mortgages recorded


44


Other instruments recorded


2


Oaths administered


43


Gasoline permits, renewals


21


Dog licenses, male


224


Dog licenses, female


46


Dog licenses, spayed female


63


Dog licenses, kennel


3


Resident Citizens' Fishing licenses


149


Resident Citizens' Hunting licenses 128


Resident Citizens' Sporting licenses


74


Resident Citizen Women's and Minors' Fishing licenses


63


Resident Minor Trappers' licenses


2


Resident Citizens' Trapping licenses


4


Resident Citizens' Sporting and Trapping licenses, Free 14


Duplicate licenses 2


JENNIE T. ABBOTT,


Town Clerk.


Town Clerk's Expense


Appropriation $60.00


Jennie T. Abbott, Reimbursement for cash paid for envelopes, postage, dues and expenses to Town Clerk's meet- ings $53.15


A. H. Bartlett Co., birth certificates, mar- riage intentions, 5.35


Robinson Seal Co., cards, marriage cer- tificates 1.50


$60.00


14


Report of Board of Selectmen


The year 1940 appears quite definitely to have been a year in which definite progress in economic rehabilitation has made itself felt in Wilbraham as well as in many other places.


The report of the building inspector indicates that permits were granted during the year for forty new homes of various types. Some were of very small design, many were of the usual medium sized type of home that is now so popular, and a few were of the larger type of home. The estimated values of these homes, using the figures furnished by the builders of them, is in the approximate neighborhood of $130,000.00. This figure is a conservative one, inasmuch as there is a presumption, that most people will not exaggerate the values of their property when they make a report to the town for any purpose which is even remotely related to taxation. The importance of these figures lies not in their accuracy but in the fact that they con- clusively show that home building is going on in a steady and progressive manner in Wilbraham, and each new home is an addition to the corporate assets of the town because each new home brings increased sources of valuation and tax revenue.


As a corollary to this it is well to remember that expenses of government increase as the population increases, and it therefore evolves upon the people and the officers they choose to maintain a healthy ratio between expenses and ability of the tax payers to pay the expenses, and therefore careful planning and a careful policy of financing all new endeavors which pro- gress requires, is of most vital necessity. The Board of Select- men have felt it necessary to attempt to look into the imme- diate future when they have performed current duties and given thought to current plans and problems.


We feel we have been most fortunate to have had the benefit of the advice and counsel of the Financial Committee very many times during the year, and to the members of this Committee we express the appreciation of this Board and the Town for their most willing and most helpful availability and interest in all problems on which we have sought their coun- sel and opinions.


The increased industrial activity makes it possible for the Board to report that the costs of general relief in Wilbraham have declined somewhat in comparison to the costs of recent years. Whereas the expenditure for general relief in 1938 was


15


$15,313.28, the expenditure for the same purpose in 1939 was $11,656.93 and we are pleased to report that the expenditure for 1940 showed a still further decline and the actual amount ' expended was $8,509.35.


In spite of the tendency of Old Age Assistance grants to show a general increase in 1940 throughout the Commonwealth, the figure expended in Wilbraham, $17,850.13 was but slightly larger than the sum of $16,949.82 which was expended for that purpose in 1939. There appears to be a definite and most steady tendency toward the liberalization of eligibility for Old Age Assistance from both State and Federal sources with an accompanying liberalization policy of reimbursement. The net cost to the Town for 1940 for Old Age Assistance grants was $2,965.09.


As anticipated in the report of this Board in 1939 the Federal Government promulgated an edict in early 1940 that all persons who share in any way in the management and administration of the relief catagories in which Federal funds are expended, namely Old Age Assistance and Aid to De- pendent Children, must meet standard qualifications of training and experience in that field of work. This regulation applies to all persons except the elected or appointed members of the local Bureau of Old Age Assistance and the Board of Public Welfare.


The State Commissioner of Public Welfare established therefore a Merit System and incorporated in said Merit System was the fact that all agents, visitors and clerical workers who were incumbents on April 15, 1940 could qualify by taking a noncompetitive examination. All persons who are appointed in these capacities after said date must be chosen from a list of persons who have successfully passed a competitive exam- ination. It is expected that the 1941 Session of the General Court will completely provide regulations in respect to appoint- ments, tenure and qualifications for the positions, in a manner completely in harmony with the Civil Service laws and rules.


During the month of December the necessary excavation of the hill was made on the land purchased by the Town in 1939, near the home of Felix Bombadier on Springfield Street.


Because of the fact that the Governor's message indicates that Chapter 90 construction will again be available to the cities and towns in 1941 and 1942, the Board has taken the necessary steps with the Board of Public Works and County


16


Commissioners to plan at least a two year program for the general improvement of the western end of Springfield Street.


The Federal Government greatly curtailed the operation of the Works Progress Administration in Wilbraham during the year, and from late spring until early winter there were no Works Progress Administration projects in Wilbraham. At the end of the year the program of water main extensions which was planned and provided for by the Town Meeting of 1939 was still not wholly completed. At the end of 1940 the short extension of the northerly section of Stony Hill Road was completed to the point where authorized, and the extension of the water main on Springfield Street was resumed at the point where the work ceased in 1939.


Is is the opinion of the Board, derived from present in- dications, that the Works Progress Administration program, at least in the smaller communities such as Wilbraham, will face even greater curtailment or even total abolition in the very near future, because of the change of Federal policy in this regard and the recognition of the fact that a more abundant opportunity exists in private employment than has existed in many years. We therefore counsel the people of Wilbraham that in the planning of further water main extensions, street acceptances and other improvement ventures, that it is im- possible to count on the complete availability of the Works Progress Administration in the future to assist in the under- taking of these improvements.


The Board wishes to call the attention of the people to the fact that there are several necessary undertakings to which we should devote both planning and financial consideration in the immediate future. We believe that the time has arrived when the highway department should own one or more trucks. The policy of truck rental has many advantages and our thought would not be to eliminate the employment of private trucks in our highway program, but to supplement the use of private trucks by the use of one or more town owned trucks. We believe that trucks owned by the Town should be available for snow removal especially, inasmuch as the present nature of the business interests of our inhabitants calls for immediate clearance of all highways.


The Board also offers the opinion that a location should be found where a town barn could be erected and serve for the housing of all highway equipment, and as headquarters for


17


the highway department. We believe that such a site should be in a central location, slightly isolated so that the presence of high- way equipment outside of the building would not detract from the sightliness of the neighborhood in which it is located. The present town barn does not afford as great usefulness as would a building of different design located in a less prominent loca- tion, and it would appear that were another site procured which would more completely answer the purpose, that the town should sell the land and building where the town barn is now located.


There is also need of larger quarters for the town offices, as many of our people will attest who have come to the office in recent years on a day or evening when more than one town board was in session. We have been unable to render either the privacy or quiet which the town business requires.


The Board believes that the time has arrived for the Town to consider an adoption of a by-law which would prevent the removal of loam from Wilbraham properties into other nearby communities. It has been most distressing to view the pursuit of this practice in neighborhoods which seem to have very fine future possibilities.


The Board also believes that definite plans should be made for the liquidation or other disposal of the various school house properties not in use. Inasmuch as reversion rights are alleged in some of the properties we believe that a planned course of action with the ultimate purpose of placing the properties into useful tax revenue sources should be formulated and carried out by the Town. In accordance with the combined wishes of this Board and the late Charles A. Brewer, and with the approval of the annual Town Meeting in 1940 a petition for a declaration of title of the Stony Hill school house property was entered in the Land Court early in 1940 but as yet the Court has not released its findings.


During the year the Town through its counsel effected a settlement of the several suits against the Town, which had been brought by various land owners along the Glendale Road re- lating to the taking under a County layout in 1937. Where new construction had not been made the whole taking was abandoned and the property lines of abutters reverted to where they were prior to the taking.


Late in the year the State Department of Public Works, acting on the recommendation of the Board of Selectmen and


18


Safety Committee established a 30 mile per hour zone from a point on the Boston Road east of the underpass to Nine Mile Pond, and the State Police report that the present arrangement is very satisfactory in the enforcement of highway safety. We believe that some thought should also be given to the pos- sibility of obtaining the cooperation of the Department of Public Works in establishing a 35 per mile hour zone along the section of Boston Road known as the Plains where there is a considerable amount of foot traffic.


The Board wishes to express its appreciation for the very excellent service and protection rendered our people over a considerable period of years by our volunteer fire department. We are apt to call on them whenever needed as a matter. of routine, and give but little thought to the personal sacrifice that membership in the department demands. It is impossible for reasons of availability, for the members of this department to leave town for even a short while, without spending some time in making arrangements for coverage by a sufficient number of members who would be in town should a call arise for the services of the department. The excellent service which this department provides often must be exercised at irregular times of the day and night, and also under unpleasant weather conditions of storm or cold, and the enthusiasm which this group has for community service is both a tribute to them and the town in which they reside.


We also wish to pay commendation to Mr. J. Loring Brooks, Jr., and his Defense Committee who have rendered such con- sistently loyal service in the duties delegated to them. The Defense Day Program held at Corbin Memorial Field under the direction of this Committee was inspiring as well as suc- cessful.


In the month of October the Board learned from the Commissioner of Public Works that it was contemplated to change the course of the present Route 20 in the immediate future, with a view to eliminating a traffic congestion in the Town of Palmer and the hazard of the low underpass there, together with the elimination of the dangerous location of this highway along the Chicopee River in Wilbraham. As near as we are able to learn the new highway will deviate from the present highway somewhere near the western boundary of the Town of Brimfield, and will join the present Route 20 at some point in North Wilbraham. We have been further informed


19


that the department has not decided exactly where in Wil- braham that the new route will intersect with the present route As an auxiliary venture to the proposed change it is also planned to establish a new highway from the present Boston Road at North Wilbraham to Westover Field, over Cottage Street in Wilbraham, across the Green-Towne Bridge into the Town of Ludlow, running along the present Chapin Street and across the Ludlow Plains. We are authoritatively informed that serious thought is being given by the State Department of Public Works to undertaking this new construction in the near future.


The Board wishes to call the attention of all town officers and town employees to the recent Superior Court ruling in the so called Medford case which has made it more plainly ap- parent than ever that the authority given to officers of the town to incur liability is distinctly limited by the appropriation made by the people at town meeting for such purpose. A short portion of the opinion follows-"If, at the time a bill was in- curred (when the city made a purchase or a contract) there was not a sufficient unencumbered balance in the appropriation to pay the bill, such a bill was illegal, and the city could not properly in a later year vote an appropriation for its payment. But if at the time a bill was incurred there was a sufficent unencumbered balance to meet that bill it was an enforcible obligation even though the balance might later have been spent illegally, for other purposes."


The Board believes that Wilbraham has a great future if it is governed with foresight. The populace of our Town have been very understanding in all things that its officers have tried to accomplish. We recognize that the availability of good roads, and a sufficient public water supply is a necessary pro- vision for all future development of home building in the town. However, we offer our conviction that the program of develop- ment should be a program planned methodically and system- atically over a period of years and that each year some exten- sion of these services should be provided for. As an economic necessity these programs cannot all be undertaken for imme- diate completion, and if they were it seems quite apparent that they would be detrimental rather than helpful to the healthy growth of Wilbraham.


WM. H. McGUIRE, ALBERT L. MARTIN, GEORGE E. MURPHY, JR., Selectmen.


20 Town Officers' Salaries Appropriation


Appropriation


$5,800.00


Selectmen:


George E. Murphy, Jr.


$400.00


Albert L. Martin


400.00


Wm. H. McGuire, Chairman


450.00


$1,250.00


Assessors :


E. Ray Pease


$256.10


Charles W. Vinton


187.43


Henry I. Edson


303.52


$747.05


Town Collector: Frank B. Dobek


$800.00


Treasurer: Walter F. Berry


500.00


Town Clerk: Jennie T. Abbott, Record-


ing Licenses, etc.


50.00 and Fees


Jennie T. Abbott, Administering Oaths


10.75


Jennie T. Abbott, Recording births, marriages and deaths


103.00


Auditor: William E. Porter 75.00


Clerk and Visitor for Board of Selectmen and Board of Public Welfare: Helen C. Boden 1,040.00


Bookkeeper for Selectmen: E. G. Burbank 123.25


Sealer of Weights and Measures : Charles W. Vinton 200.00


Building Inspector: George G. Herter 100.00


Cattle, Barn, Slaughtering Inspector: James M. Pickens


66.00


Milk Inspector: James M. Pickens 35.00


Moderator: Frederic T. Steele 15.00


$3,118.00


Registrars:


James F. Keefe 39.00


21


Harold R. Porter


$31.85


William L. Dempsey


24.05


John J. Powers


24.05


Jennie T. Abbott


24.05


John F. Baldwin


39.00


$182.00


Canvassers for Registrars :


John F. Baldwin, Jr.


160.55


George Keyes


87.75


248.30


$5,545.35


Unexpended Balance


254.65


Report of Board of Public Welfare


Appropriation


$12,000.00


Total number of cases aided


72


Total number of persons aided


226


Having a settlement in Wilbraham


178


Having a settlement elsewhere or unsettled


48


Wilbraham cases living elsewhere


16


Aid rendered settlement in Wilbraham


$6,532.86


Aid rendered settlement elsewhere or to un- settled cases


1,896.72


General expenditures


79.77


$8,509.35


Expenditures in Wilbraham


Care


$1,107.31


Cash


161.77


Clothing


27.29


Food


2,463.36


Fuel


95.55


Medical Aid


1,120.31


Miscellaneous


274.00


4


22


Rent


Not charged to individual persons


$255.50


79.77


$5,584.86


Miscellaneous Account:


Burials $252.00; Mattress $5.00; Transportation $17.00 $274.00


Not charged to individual persons :


Administrative expenses of Surplus Commodity Division


69.43


Crutches


2.90


Fees-Social Service Index


3.18


Springfield Cold Storage, storage of butter, cheese, lard 4.26


$79.77


Wilbraham cases living elsewhere:


Brookfield


$14.50


Hampden County Children's Aid Association


219.34


Holyoke


312.50


Ludlow


390.19


Springfield


1,579.39


In care State Division Child Guardianship


408.57


$2,924.49


Monthly Expenditures in Wilbraham


Personal


Not charged to Individual.


Accounts


Persons


January


$279.31


February


238.02


$69.43


March


473.65


April


671.96


3.18


May


316.78


2.90


June


374.95


.88


July


456.02


.73


August


448.35


September


525.26


1.54


October


747.24


23


November


$420.06 $1.11


December


553.49


$5,505.09


$79.77


Total Expenditures in Wilbraham


$5,584.86


Total Expenditures outside Wilbraham


2,924.49 .


$8,509.35


Chargeable to other cities, towns and


Commonwealth for cases aided in Wil-


braham and not settled in Wilbraham $1,896.72


Net Cost to Wilbraham 6,612.63


$8,509.35


Total unexpended balance


3,490.65


Report of Bureau of Old Age Assistance


Appropriation


$12,000.00


Federal Grant


8,084.74


$20,084.74


Number of cases aided residing in Wilbraham 50


Number of cases aided residing elsewhere 8


Number of cases aided in Wilbraham having a Wilbraham settlement 35


Number of cases aided having a settlement elsewhere or having no settlement


15


Number of cases aided having a Wilbraham settlement 43


Total number of cases aided


58


Aid rendered settlement in Wilbraham


$13,331.66


Aid rendered settlement elsewhere or having no settlement 4,518.47


Total Expenditure


$17,850.13


Federal Funds received during 1940


8,084.74


Expended from Town appropriation during 1940 $9,765.39


24


Received from Commonwealth for period of January 1, 1940-April 30, 1940 $2,167.70


Received from Cities and Towns for period of January 1, 1940-June 30, 1940 282.14


$2,449.84


Net Cost to Wilbraham for 1940 $7,315.55 (Of this net amount of $7,315.55 there is due from the Commonwealth $4,178.86 and from Cities and Towns $171.60 which brings the final cost to the Town of $2,965.09.)


There is due from Federal Funds December 31, 1940 and available for expenditure without appropriation in 1941- $1,290.74


Old Age Assistance Administration


Federal Grant:


Amount brought forward from 1939


$103.42 269.45


Amount received in 1940


$372.87


Helen C. Boden, services administering Old Age Assistance cases, uses of car, etc.


$125.00


Conklin Office & School Supply Co., clips, ink, paper, etc. 12.90


Carlisle Hardware Co., humidifiers for office


10.00


Hobbs & Warren, binder, forms, etc.


6.35


James B. Logan, envelopes and postage


19.00


Manifold Supplies Co., carbon paper


8.63


Price & Lee, directories


18.50


Royal Typewriter Co. Inc., cleaning and adjusting typewriter


10.00


Social Service Index, fees 4.02


Weeks, Inc., brief case


3.25


Unexpended balance


$217.65 $155.22


25


Aid to Dependent Children


Appropriation


Federal Grant


$1,000.00 297.17


$1,297.17


Number of Cases


2


Number of Persons


6


Cash


$841.00


Unexpended Balance


156.17


Aid to Dependent Children Administration


Federal Grant $5.75


Social Service Index (Part Payment)


$ .80


Conklin Office & School Supply Co., envelopes, clips, ink, etc. .94


$1.74


Unexpended Balance


$4.01


REPORT OF FOOD AND CLOTHING DISTRIBUTED BY SURPLUS COMMODITIES DIVISION


Cheese


Evaporated Milk


Eggs


Flour


Smoked Hams


208 Lbs.


Dry Beans


260 Lbs. 1666 I.bs.


Fish


256 Lbs.


Canned Fruit


267 Cans


Canned Vegetables


383 Cans


Rice


398 Lbs.


Bacon


232 Lbs.


Tomatoes


734 Cans


Lard


784 Lbs. 890 Lbs.


Prunes


2944 Lbs.


Applesauce


1743 Cans


Oranges


1557 Lbs.


Corn Meal


32412 Lbs. 310 Cans 8161/2 Doz. 922714 Lbs.


Raisins


26


Butter


Apples


46712 Lbs. 1575 Lbs. 19612 Lbs.


Salt Pork


Potatoes


1975 Lbs.


Canned Carrots


2113 Cans


Wheat and Oat Cereal


785 Lbs.


Grapefruit Juice


1475 Cans


Grapefruit (fresh)


521 Lbs.


Pears (fresh)


29712 Lbs.


Bloomers


52


Shirts


309


Dresses


346


Slips


179


Jackets


10


Shorts


89


Layettes


3


Boys' Suits


31


Nightgowns


90


Overalls


52


Pajamas


100


Union suits


4


Pants


162


Cotton Blankets


24


Rompers


6


Sheets


78


Board of Health Appropriation


Appropriation


$4,000.00


G. Alberici, rent and services, waste dis- posal ground


$150.00


Dr. A. L. Damon, services


8.00


Mrs. Irene Donovan, transporting pat- ient to Westfield Sanatorium


4.00


Dr. Louis E. Hathaway, rabies serum treatment


4.00


Lakeville State Sanatorium (1 case)


366.00


The National Drug Co., rabies vaccine


2.97


Rutland State Sanatorium (1 case)


549.00


Westfield State Sanatorium (6 cases)


1,448.00


Unexpended Balance


$2,531.97 $1,468.03


27


Dental Clinic Appropriation


Appropriation


From Reserve


$600.00 50.00


$650.00


Dr. Irving P. Dinneen $600.00


Dentists & Surgeons Supply Co., powder,


brushes, belt, etc.


41.93


Jerry Donohue, moving dental chair


8.00


$649.93


Unexpended Balance


.07


Dental Clinic Report


Clinic open half days


70


Visits


82


Patients


72


Total Visits


154


Dismissed


107


Amalgam fillings


192


Porcelain fillings


13


Cement fillings


10


Zinc fillings


85


Filled permanent


181


Filled temporary


98


Total filled


279


Extractions permanent


23


Extractions temporary


42


Total extracted


65


Abscessed


21


Silver nitrate


124


Proplnylaxis


128


Total number of operations


644


Pre-school children at clinic


2


DR. IRVING P. DINNEEN, SIGNE L. POLSON, R. N.


28


Well Child Clinic Appropriation


Appropriation


$300.00


The Visiting Nurse Association


$263.75


Unexpended Balance


36.25


$300.00


Well Child Clinic Report


THE VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION


Wilbraham


Report for the year January 1, 1940-December 31, 1940.


Cases under care January 1st, 1940


158


Cases taken on during the year


84


Total cases carried during the year


242


Cases discharged during the year


123


Cases carried over to January 1st, 1941


119


Visits made during the year:


Nursing


44


Maternity


40


New Born


29


Prenatal


44


Health Supervision


Infant


49


Preschool


260


Adult


19


328


Behalf of patient


3


Absent


48


536


5 days July 9, 10, 11, 12, 23, 1940 Well Child Conferences Attendance 80.


29


Cases carried January 1st, 1941 :


Nursing


1


Maternity


1


New Born


1


Prenatal


8


Health Supervision


Infant 18


Preschool


87


Adult 3


108


119


34 days service given by nurse and 5 days Well Child Conferences.


Board of Selectmen-Soldiers Relief


Appropriation


$1,200.00


Number of Cases


6


Number of Persons


17


Cash


$602.96


Food


234.15


Fuel


5.00


Medical


51.45


$893.56


Unexpended Balance


$306.44


Police Appropriation


Appropriation


$300.00


Ernest L. Bacon


$5.00


Wm. E. Day


5.00


Augustus F. Friend


14.50


Patrick Fitzgerald


1.00


Everett Pickens


5.00


John B. Tupper


5.00


$35.50




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