I have a problem
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 11:51 am
Two single family subdivisions were done in 1920 and 1922. The two divisions are comprised of 84 individual lots with a 60 foot wide future street extension at the mid point of the 1922 division. Monuments were set at the center of this future street. The 1920 division also placed monuments where the future street would tie in.
In March of 1930 the city survey crew goes out and recovers the original monuments and sets ties at one specific intersection. I will call this tie book March 30. In June of 1930 the city again visits the area, finds additional original pipe, decides a final city centerline and ties out the same intersection and two additional ones. I will call this tie book June 30.
Tie Book June 30 has a note on it that says " Ties for final centerline for Oak Street".
Tie book March 30 has two notes on it. The first one says "See Tie Book June 30 for new ties". This note is most likely circa 1930. The second note is dated 10/25/2010 by a city party chief who had reset some PK straddlers and had crossed out the original swing tie values with his own creations.
From June of 1930 until October of 2010 this certain intersection had remained pristine. Properties were surveyed, walls were built, houses constructed.
In 2003 a local surveyor uses June 30 intersection and files an RS. In April of 2004 another surveyor uses the same intersection and files a CR. In June of 2008 I use this same intersection and I file a CR as well.
Last week I was called upon to survey the NE corner lot of this intersection. I pull city ties off the web and there is a new tie listed for this intersection dated October 2010 on one of the city cad field book pages.
However, there is a problem.
The October 2010 party chief had decided, on his own, without supervision, to "FIX" the errors made in June of 1930. He shifted this intersection 0.47' south. Where the 1930 work had showed an 11 minute angle point from one intersection to another, we now have a nice clean 180° line.
I contacted the president of the local PPC last week when I discovered this and he in turn contacted the survey supervisor of the city, who said, "We are in the process of correcting the errors that were made way back when". It appeared that the supervisor was going to take a look at it and get that 2010 position set back to the June 1930 position that has been used for over 80 years.
Today, I get a call from the supervisor who said he spoke to the party chief and asked why the intersection was moved 0.47' south (Like I said "No supervision". If the chief was supervised under this LS supervisor, then he would have been familiar with this intersection". Anyway, he told me "They are correcting the errors made in 1930.
I was pissed. He hung up on me. I contacted the PPC immediately after my conversation with this LS supervisor.
The ONLY way one can correct a bad intersection is if one has verified original monuments to go from, and those puppies have been gone for many decades.
This is the first letter I am writing about this. I told the supervisor that I was going to write a letter over this travesty to the City Engineer. I changed my mind on that, I am addressing it to the Director of Public Works and I may carbon it to the Mayor of the city.
I think I am done for now.
Edit: I am holding off of writing more letters and naturally, filing a CR detailing this whole ugly mess. I will give the PPC pres. a chance to talk some sense into the LS Supervisor. I would rather this work out peaceably and I really don't want to write any letters, but if you push me to hard, I will push back a lot harder.
In March of 1930 the city survey crew goes out and recovers the original monuments and sets ties at one specific intersection. I will call this tie book March 30. In June of 1930 the city again visits the area, finds additional original pipe, decides a final city centerline and ties out the same intersection and two additional ones. I will call this tie book June 30.
Tie Book June 30 has a note on it that says " Ties for final centerline for Oak Street".
Tie book March 30 has two notes on it. The first one says "See Tie Book June 30 for new ties". This note is most likely circa 1930. The second note is dated 10/25/2010 by a city party chief who had reset some PK straddlers and had crossed out the original swing tie values with his own creations.
From June of 1930 until October of 2010 this certain intersection had remained pristine. Properties were surveyed, walls were built, houses constructed.
In 2003 a local surveyor uses June 30 intersection and files an RS. In April of 2004 another surveyor uses the same intersection and files a CR. In June of 2008 I use this same intersection and I file a CR as well.
Last week I was called upon to survey the NE corner lot of this intersection. I pull city ties off the web and there is a new tie listed for this intersection dated October 2010 on one of the city cad field book pages.
However, there is a problem.
The October 2010 party chief had decided, on his own, without supervision, to "FIX" the errors made in June of 1930. He shifted this intersection 0.47' south. Where the 1930 work had showed an 11 minute angle point from one intersection to another, we now have a nice clean 180° line.
I contacted the president of the local PPC last week when I discovered this and he in turn contacted the survey supervisor of the city, who said, "We are in the process of correcting the errors that were made way back when". It appeared that the supervisor was going to take a look at it and get that 2010 position set back to the June 1930 position that has been used for over 80 years.
Today, I get a call from the supervisor who said he spoke to the party chief and asked why the intersection was moved 0.47' south (Like I said "No supervision". If the chief was supervised under this LS supervisor, then he would have been familiar with this intersection". Anyway, he told me "They are correcting the errors made in 1930.
I was pissed. He hung up on me. I contacted the PPC immediately after my conversation with this LS supervisor.
The ONLY way one can correct a bad intersection is if one has verified original monuments to go from, and those puppies have been gone for many decades.
This is the first letter I am writing about this. I told the supervisor that I was going to write a letter over this travesty to the City Engineer. I changed my mind on that, I am addressing it to the Director of Public Works and I may carbon it to the Mayor of the city.
I think I am done for now.
Edit: I am holding off of writing more letters and naturally, filing a CR detailing this whole ugly mess. I will give the PPC pres. a chance to talk some sense into the LS Supervisor. I would rather this work out peaceably and I really don't want to write any letters, but if you push me to hard, I will push back a lot harder.