PUBLIC BUILDING AT PUTNAM, CONN. MARCH 1, 1915.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. LONERGAN, from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 15436.] The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 15436) authorizing the acquisition of a site and the construction of a public building thereon at Putnam, Conn., and amending the public building act of June 25, 1910, having considered the same, beg to report thereon with the recommendation that the bill pass amended as follows: Page 2, line 13, strike out the figures "$100,000" and insert in lieu thereof the figures "$75,000." The purpose of this bill is to authorize the sale of the present postoffice site at Putnam, Conn., the purchase of a new site, and the erection of a building. The act of June 25, 1910, authorized the purchase of a site and the erection of a building at this place at a limit of cost of $65,000. The site was purchased at a cost of $8,500, leaving available for the building the sum of $56,500. The site selected is highly unsatisfactory to the Post Office Department and 90 per cent of the patrons of the office, being inconveniently located with respect to the business center of the town and the factory district. This bill seeks to authorize the sale of the present site and the acquisition of another, more conveniently located. As the sum of $65,000 has already been authorized for a building and site at Putnam, it will be readily seen that this bill only authorizes the expenditure of $10,000 additional, or $75,000 in all. Reports from the Post Office and Treasury Departments are as follows: Hon. BRYAN F. MAHAN, House of Representatives. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, MY DEAR MR. MAHAN: With further reference to the selection of a site for a Federal building at Putnam, Conn., I wish to inform you that the department is in receipt of a report from an inspector who recently made an investigation of this matter, în which it is recommended that the building be erected near the intersection of Elm and Richmond Streets, rather than on the site already acquired. The following is an excerpt from the inspector's report on the subject: "The greater portion of the population, nearly all of the factories, and all of the principal business places are located west of the railroad. Access to the site 'B' already acquired) can be gained from the business and principal residential sections only by passing under the railroad tracks, where a public passageway has been provided, or by passing through the depot subway provided by the railroad company in order that passengers may reach the various platforms without passing over the tracks at grade. More than 75 per cent of outgoing mail originates in the section west of the railroad, and fully that percentage of the incoming mail is delivered in that section. If the post office should be removed to site 'B' the operation of a station in the business section would be imperative; and it is not doubted that under those conditions more than 50 per cent of the postal business of the city would be transacted at the station. "The site marked 'C' (proposed location) is within 80 rods of the depot and is fairly centrally located. It is very much more centrally and conveniently located than the site marked 'B'." In view of the foregoing, it has been represented to the Treasury Department tha: the Federal building should be erected west of the railroad tracks, near the intersection of Elm and Richmond Streets, rather than on the site already acquired. Very truly, yours, DANIEL C. Roper, First Assistant Postmaster General. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., June 27, 1914. CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS and Grounds, House of Representatives, Washington. MY DEAR SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th instant, requesting an immediate report on H. R. No. 15436, which provides for the sale of the present site at Putnam, Conn., and the acquisition of a new site and the erection of a public building at an increased limit of cost. Your letter was probably dictated prior to the receipt of department letter of June 23. Neither this department nor, in so far as it knows, the Post Office Department, initiated any move for any change in the location of the site for the public building at Putnam, Conn. Before acquiring a new site this department always seeks the opinion of the Post Office Department as to the convenience of the recommended site, considered purely from a postal point of view. Following this course, the department would desire the opinion of the Post Office Department regarding a proposed change in the location of an acquired site, unless, of course, the latter department had already requested the change in the site. In accordance with the department's letter of June 23, the Post Office Department has been requested to state whether it would recommend a change in site of the building at Putnam, Conn. This department is endeavoring to obtain as prompt a reply as possible, but until it is received, is unable to submit the desired report on H. R. No. 15436. The department regrets this unavoidable delay, but trusts that the chairman of the committee appreciates the circumstances. Respectfully, W. G. McADOO, Secretary. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, January 6, 1915. CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. SIR: In response to your requests, dated June 5, 19, 25, and September 29, 1914, the following report is submitted on H. R. 15436, which provides for the acquisition of a site and the construction of a public building thereon at Putnam, Conn., and for amending the public building act of June 25, 1910. The act mentioned above authorized a site and building within a limit of cost of $65,000. Of this amount $8,500 was expended for a site, leaving a balance for the building of $56,500. The bill under consideration contemplates the sale of the site heretofore acquired and the acquisition of another site and the erection of a building thereon at a cost for the new site and building of not exceeding $100,000. Relative to the disposal of the site now owned by the Government, your attention is invited to department letters of June 27 and July 2 and 29, and there is forwarded herewith for your further information a copy of the report submitted by the Postmaster General on September 14, in which it is stated that the present site is unsatisfactory, and a site at the corner of Richmond and Elm Streets is mentioned as being satisfactory. From information received from the postmaster at Putnam, the site mentioned in the report as being satisfactory is assessed at $5,000, and its probable cost to the Government would be between $10,000 and $12,000. An independent investigation of the site question has been made by this department through one of its site agents, and in the judgment of the latter the site owned by the Government is not a desirable location for a post-office building on account of its being isolated from the business district, owing to the indirect means of reaching it. In the agent's opinion, a better location would be at the corner of Elm and Richmond Streets (the same site as is recommended in the inclosed report). A proposal was obtained from the owner for the sale of the property in question for the sum of $12,000. The only branches of the service requiring accommodations in the proposed new building are the post office and Civil Service Commission. The post office requires 3,000 square feet of floor space and the annual rent paid for the present quarters is $1,000. The Civil Service Commission requires 500 square feet of space and pays no rent for quarters. The postal receipts for the fiscal year 1913 were $17,216.01, as against $11,853.36 for that of 1903. The population last census was 7,280 and the reported population now served is 10,150. It is estimated that a one-story building of 5,000 square feet will be sufficient for the accommodation of both post office and Civil Service Commission, and that the cost of such a building, fireproof throughout and using brick with stone trimmings for the facing, will be $75,000. BYRON R. NEWTON, Acting Secretary. Respectfully, O |