Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-10-20
BUSY NIGHT FOR BUREAU OF ASSESSMENT.
Two Old Matters Bob Up and Cause Endless Trouble -nessrs. Rodman and Scully Have
 Just Grievance.

conduct of city officials in placing a school in an out of the way place and locating 1t on the lot in such a man. ner that valuable property had to De seriously damaged in making ap- breaches to it. There was no ques- tion i'll his mind but such expenses as had been created there would have to be paid by the city. He understood that the school board with view Io strengthening out the matter appoint ed committee to confer with his eli ent but they never called upon him. He claimed $4,000 damages in case the street should be laid out as per plans. George Tracy, representing Tracy Bros, claimed no damages. This pro- posed layout does not touch their property at all Mir Tracy also claim ed that they wanted to help straighten out the tangle by offering to sell to the city as much of their land as is situ- ated north of Lounsbury street for what they paid for it ten years ago.
 Martin scully, who was member of the department of public works when the question first came up, said that with such layout as any board would recommend he would have five building lots on this proposed street, but according to the plans he hasn't any. The line drops when 1t reaches his land and keeps going westward until it reaches the end, leaving a " shaped strip between him and the street and making roadway with an angle of about forty-ive degrees which could and should have been straight Mir Scully said there was no use mincing things about how this came to be so and stated that the whole scheme was put through with out any order from the board of alder men or the department of public | works, although the latter as soon as they found out that there was some thing wrong resorted to every method known to them to ascertain what was being done there, but were foiled by replies of the engineer and kept in to- tai ignorance of the real situation uu- til the school was practically complet- 1 ed. At this time sewer and water main had been constructed in one place l without the knowledge of the board, and this strip has since been laid out and called Lounsbury street. He claim ed that every interest was lost sight of with view to benefting property south of tlae school and termed the method resOrted to in order 10 bring it about as nothing short of systematic, legal robbery. Chairman Spencer said
 the bureau of assessment could take no notice of how things came to be in their present shape; they would have
 to deal with the situation as it came to them, no matter whether the work
 had been carried along legally or not. Colonel Burpee agreed with Mir Spen. cer, and Mir Scully, while not denying this, inquired of Colonel Burpee if it was not rather rough to think that Il such things can be done and the ag- grieyed have no redress except by ill., curing expense in defending them selves in the courts. Mir Scully said l tlIat so far as he knew everybody who q owns anything in that neighborhood came by 1t honestly and that he didn' t think the city of Waterbury wanted work done iii such way that 1t eRf riched one man at the expense of his
 neighbor. The only persons Mir Seully
 knows to have had anything to do with the street question are City En- pineer Cairns and former Mayor kil- duff. The bureau of engineering shifts
 the blame onto the school board, but after all the engineer knows hds duty and is aware that he is not subject to orders from the department of educa- ton. Primarily the school board was responsible, but the engineer let him self liable wllen he ran lines for streets and gave levels for water
 mains and sewers without at least re- porting the fact to the board of public
 works. This he not only failed to do, but positively denied all knowledge that anything was being done With
 reference to streets at the MulcahS
 school. As soon as the former board
 got out of office he announced through the papers that the Mulcahy school
 streets were fixed and determined and cuuld not be changed and that if the hoard of education wanted to lay side I walks on them all they had to do was call at his office and get the grades.
 An item to that effect appeared in the Democrat and was dictated to Mr
 Scully by Engineer Cairns.
 In answer to question from Chair man Spencer regarding damages. Mir Scully said that he was hemmed in on five building lots and would claim
 S2.5O0. On another projected street south of the Mulcahy school Mr Sculiy
 is shut in from the east end of the school to Sylvan avenue, distance of
 about nine hundred feet, so that in all the spite fence constructed about him
 puts a narrow strip between his land and the street on over eleven hundred
 feet of property. He would have DO
 fault to find with this if the work had
 gone through the regular channels
 and if the streets were such as the
 district ought to have. but 1t hurts
 him to see bis own property ruined
 and work done in manner which Is | vindication of a practice which to
 his own personal knowledge the city has been fighting against for tbe past
 twenty years. that Of public officials
 exceeding their authority and laying out crooked streets where there is an opportunity ro have straight ones.
 Patrick F. 0'ReiIly was opposed to
 the layout because he didn't think the
 place should have such a street It will put him almost in a court where he never can see beyond the house
 next door to him. where fl his and ev- cry other interest had been looked out , for when the school or nothing else . inuerfered with the laying of a sightiy , street things would be quite different He said if it goes through he will claim damages.
 Some of the Waterville street peo- pIe claimed damages. but none was ! -,-silir,xy fs, nav benefits foT the laTour.