Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-08-05
PUBLIC WORKS BOARD
Listened 10 Many Complaints
 From Properly Owners.

The board of public works met last night at s o'clock and remained
 in session until almost midnight. The weather was warm and prop erty owners who dropped in from different sections of the city added
 to the temperature. most of them aiming a few sharp thrusts at the board, and to make matters worse they had a short tilt among them~ selves towards the close of the ses- sion. Everybody with the exception of a delegation from Edward street, and few others appeared to be out of sorts and addressed the board with all the contempt they ] could put into speech. The best. and about the only defense put forward by the commissioners was that there is over $200,000 worth of street l work on the waiting list and the present year the sum of $60,00O was appropriated to do it with, but | this only made those who felt they
 will not get what they want all tho
 madder and after giving vent to their feelingss they left in very disturbed state of mind.
 N. ]. Sheehan thanked the board l for the excellent work done on Ed | ward street, adding that while the street is far from what he would
 like to seq 1t, yet all things consid' cred he was free to state that the board did well and thought it only i fair to come in and say so after so many years of fault finding. The presiding officer congratulated MT
 Sheehan and his friends and saic
 his few cheering words in the midst of so much adverse criticism were quite a relief. % i Complaints were entered relative | to delayed work promised on Cooke street, Hill street, Catherine avenue Wall street and half dozen other places.
 Several recommendations were | received from the street committee one recommending that West Sixth
 street be done by the day instead of by contract. This last one was | strongly opposed by MT Dennison who stated that the day work plan is a failure and should be aban- doned in the interest of the taxpay- | CTS.
 "The records don't bear out that
 statement" remarked MT Scully. "Ir ! looking over some of the work done | during the present year l find il cost considerably less than the esti- | mates. The water department is do | ing work for less money than the
 city ever got such service and so far
 as I know everything else Is being
 done at reasonable figure" MT Dennison: "The water de- | partmert is doing work all right, but
 1t is shame the way they are vast | ing money on Pine street. I have
 no fault to find with confining the l work to local men, but it would I be better to let 1t by contract and | then have the contractors see tha; their help earned their money" Mir Scully: Have you any proof l that this Is so."
 Mir Dennison: "No, never
 looked into 1t myself, but several
 people called my attention to 1t and
 said it was shame" T Mir Scully: "One should have
 something better than hearsay In
 support of such charge before
 bringing it to the attention of this | board. People who work for the city, especially if they belong here
 have always been shining marks foI ! everybody. I know, there is a feel
 ing that If the work was done by
 contract the money would go far,
 ther, but my own opinion is that
 every employe of the city is giving
 a fair return for what he Is get'
 ting"
 Mir Dennison: ''The money Is go | ing fast and when 1t is all gone
 we'll have very little to show fol | it." MT Scully: "It may be true that the money will soon run out, but when it does you will have done 2
 vast amount of important work with it. and every dollar of it will have | gone to people who live here"
 All the recomniendations of the | committee were adopted.
 Hearings were held on America
 and Emerald street. Almost every
 body on Emerald street opposed the
 widening of the street. There wa: no opposition to the other project
 and 1t went through. The Elmer
 ald street matter will be investi'
 gated.
 The opinion of the city attorney
 relative to the right of the trolley
 company to collect two fares in Wa
 terbury bore out the contention oi
 Mir Lawlor that such course Is il'
 legal, and 1t was voted to instruct
 Mir Kellogg to notify the company
 to govern itself accordingly and il
 case it should nos heed the warning | to take tho matter into the courts
 Two other opinions were received from Mir Kellogg, one stating that the city has no authority to compe
 owners of ponds not abutting or | highways to fence them in to pre-
 vent drowning accidents. and an-
 other informing the board that there
 Is no need of an ordinance rela' tive to trees, these being covered by
 statute and ordinance and under tho
 supervision of the board of public
 works.
 Ii was then voted that Superin
 tendent Walker be delegated to looh
 after the trees in the parks and or
 the highways of Waterbury.
 It was voted to designate August
 IS for hearings on the following
 matters: Lay out, grade and estab-
 Iishment of building lines on Co
 lumbia boulevard, condemnation oi