Adjourned town meeting held

10/26/1885 |

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The adjourned town meeting was held.

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A. E. Burr reported on the committee on the sale of the old town farm.

22 of the 192 lots had been sold as of today, and these were along Collins and Woodland Streets and along the existing portions of Ashley and Huntington Streets.
The first lots sold at lower prices, and new houses were quickly built and sold.
Sales to date totaled $15,691.95, $377.75 of which was paid to Hiram G. Loomis for conducting the survey of the property.
The committee had received many inquiries about the lots that would be on the new streets, which hadn’t been pushed through yet.
The committee anticipated that sales would ultimately equal $125,000.

The following motions accompanied Burr’s report:

Authorization for the committee on the sale of the old town farm to build and construct sewers and roads on the old town farm property
Authorization for the committee to utilize funds generated by the sale of building lots on the old town farm property and to borrow against those funds as necessary.
Authorization for the committee to negotiate with the owners of adjoining properties to take steps necessary to straighten out the lines of the sewers and roads.

The report on the sale of the old town farm was then accepted, and the three resolutions passed.
Then, three additional motions relating to new town farm were made:

The board of selectmen was authorized to spend up to $87,000 to construct a new almshouse and other buildings on the new town farm property;
The board of selectmen was authorized to withdraw up to that amount from the fund created by the sale of building lots on the old town farm property; and
The town treasurer was authorized to borrow on the fund as necessary for this construction project.

In the debate that followed the introduction of these three motions:

Frederick P. Lepard objected to “the whole thing” – he believed that the committee had sold almost all of the lots that they would be able to sell and that “the selectmen were trying to drive the town instead of waiting for the town to drive them.”
George Fowler responded by giving “facts as to the whole situation and especially as to the present and prospective demand for lots from the old town farm,” and he added that potential buyers were only waiting “to be sure that the old almshouse was to be removed.”
G. Batterson stated that he was “strongly in favor” of passing the three motions, saying that these actions “should have been done ten or fifteen years ago and would have added $200,000 to the grand list of the city.”
E. Burr “again explained the situation, the necessity of a new almshouse, the sale of lots and the demand for them, etc.”
Morgan G. Bulkeley requested an explanation of the plans, which along with the elevations had been hung on a wall. He then stated that he “should prefer to have the expense made according to the actual receipts from the old property.”
G. Batterson said that he was certain the sale of the building lots would cover the cost of constructing the new almshouse: “To leave the old almshouse standing and build only part of the new one would be bad economy.”

Fred Lepard moved that, if the construction work was put out to bid, the contract for the work would be awarded to the lowest bidder.
Morgan Bulkeley moved that only $50,000 of the $87,000 should be expended during this upcoming year.
Alexander Harbison opposed the amendments as “not just or economical.”
The amendments failed, and the original resolutions passed.
At the end of the meeting, a motion passed that authorized the Board of Selectmen to

remove the buildings of the old town farm once “they have provided accommodations for the town poor on the new farm,” and
to dispose or use materials from the old buildings as “they may deem best for the interests of the town.”

And then there's this

Along with the report and resolutions on the Town Farm, the meeting also took the following actions:

Received reports from the board of selectmen, the auditor, the town treasurer, the treasurer town deposit fund, the town physicians, the high school committee, Hartford Grammar school committee, the North burying ground committee, the town collector, and the board of school visitors.
Established the year’s mill rate and authorized the treasurer to borrow money for current expenses.
Appointed members to the committees overseeing the North Burying Ground and the Zion’s Hill cemetery, “pound keepers,” “haywards,” and a sealer of weights and measures.

Why this is important

While the report and resolutions didn’t offer anything that hadn’t already been made public, this meeting allowed some opposition to the plan to sell the old town farm property to be aired.

Trust but verify

The dollar figures were difficult to make out.

The past recalled

On October 22, 1885, George Fowler issued his annual report for the year October 1884-October 1885 in his role as First Selectman of the Town of Hartford.

The future foretold

The annual reports for next year will be issued on October 22, 1886.

It’s rather fun to see the CEO of Travelers and the president of the board of Aetna Life Insurance Company debating the most economical path to building a new almshouse – and of course they did this, because they were both members of the Town Board of Selectmen.

Old Town Farm

History

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Adjourned town meeting held

More details

And then there's this

Why this is important

Trust but verify

The past recalled

The future foretold

Neat little tidbit

Caught my eye

For the record

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History

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