Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-30
PRATT PLACE PEOPLE.
Bring Their Grievances Before the
 Board of Health.

Board of Health.
 Hugh Keenan of Pratt place ap- peared before the board of public health yesterday afternoon and entered a complaint against. himself and oth- CTS for maintaining nuisances in that I street. He cited the number of sur l face closets and cesspools there and | stated that the conditions are almost unendurable at any season, and espe- l cially during the summer months. MT I Keenan did not oyerstate the case at all and it is a pity that the charter of | the city prohibits the city from con Structing a sewer in that street so long as a portion of the people refuse to pay their proportionate share of the
 cost. If it were a public street the aldermen could order sewer laid in it and the abutting property owners would have to settle whether they liked it or not, that is provided public necessity and convenience required it.
 Some of the people whose houses front on Liberty street claim that although their lots run back to Pratt place they have no rights whatever in that tWen- ty-foot street and on this account they should refuse to pay for the construc- ton of a sewer that could never be
 
 property owners on the south side would be willing to pay, but this is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the charter, which states that when ever sewer shall be laid the board of public work shall assess the sum of S1.50 per lineal foot of frontage upon all property abutting upon any sewer if drained by it and not otherwise as- sessed." The charter makes provision for exemptions on corner lots, streams or ponds, church and railroad property and property used for cemetery pur- poses, none of which has anything to do with the Pratt place question. The board of public works ..Wrestled with this problem and the <mbers of that body were anxious 1o help the people out of their difie-<ty, but after looking at it from all points of view they con- cluded that they had no power to do the work and voted to give people there permission to connect with the sewer in South Main street, which seemed to be the only alternative. The city has no option in such matters. All the boards, the aldermen included, are simply creatures of the legislators at Hartford. The health authorities ex- amined very minutely the resolution passed by the board of public works, and after satisfying themselves that they could not improve upon it, voted that the Pratt place people be ordered 10 aDate the nuiSances on their prem lses, which means that they will have 10 excavate to South Main street at their own expense and then pay S1.5O on their frontage for the privilege of connecting with the system.
 MT heenan explained the situation very cleyerly, pointing to the fact that the rate bills in Pratt place are as high ln proportion to the value of the prom 3erly as they are in any other part of the clty, and that 1t was a gross in- Justice to tax them on the same basis as others while denying them the ben ents or public improvements unless they go to the additional cost to get tbem The collectors bills have found lhelr way into Pratt place. and it is sAasperatlng to the people why they nave to pay them while their neigh DOTS who are no larger have all the advantages of the sewer and other nnh- ilc improvements. You can attribute this unsatisfactory condition to two evils, legislation that admits of no nro- slslon 10 meet such contingency. and the work of land speculators, who sell property to honest people, get their money and then leave them to shift for themselves.
 Such things should be a warning to every man not to purchase a foof of anu upon any street that has not bean feet. ioi'S