Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1870-04-22

Total....... .................. $599 IS
! The present Indebtedness, including railroad
| bunds coming due in lS72 and the coupons there
to, the School Debt, and other sm ,ller indebted
! ness Of this village. will amount at present in
round numbers TO about s60,000. To meet the
greater proportion Ot this Indebtedness the pres
ent Council is cal0d upon to provide. Besides
these expenditures a large uulayis demanded fnr
| the building and repairing Of sidewalks and
street ratings. Tho sidewalks between the
| corner near the First Presbyterian Church, on
| Louisiana Avenue, upon both sides Of the street,
should be made permanent through the entire
length Of the street until 1t reaches the po.nt
where it is intersectcd by Front Street. On
Front Street, the sidewalks, up rs far MS Nortons
/ Exchange at least, should be put h good repair.
| Those old brick sidewalks present an air Of d.
! lapidation aud poverty not justly belonging to
our village. should advise the passage Of an
ordinance requiring each land owner to put the
sidewalks in guod repair within a time to be
! fixed BY ordinance, or in default OF repairs by
the owners within such time an assessment per
! foJ frlnt be mAds topay for the making OF such
| sidewalks. Ii my owners of land or LOIS along
! the line propose for tAese repairs are too puor
| to pay their sidewalk assessment let the sum
| be made lien on the land. according to the
provisions of the code, and let the lots be sold
| and the sidewalks be built Our town cannot
afford to allow its most public places to be left
shabby and without good sidewalks merely be-
cause II teW lnulflNual tdnu owners are 700 poor
t. pay for them. Ii too poor to pay for first
class sidewalks in the most public part Of our
village, they are also too poor to own such val
liable real estate and In the central part Of the
village. To use a familiar phrase, II they can
not Ak up their Own sidewalks so as 10 render
the walking, in the most conspicuous part OF our
town, comfortable aud safe and cause the walks
~ present nm appearance Of thrift, they should
"sell out Il those who can" afford to do so. The
making Of such walks will enhance in value
any OF the real property along the proposed line
thereof, equally at least in amount to the aSsess
ment for the making VI the same. Another rca-
son why such repairs should, not only on the
line speak Of, but througoul the entire village,
be made by assessment and not by general tdration
of the property of the village is this: We shall
be obliged in order IN meet the current expenses
Of the year aud pay our debt, to place on the du-
plicate a very heavy levy of taxes. And the
general sidewalk tax should be as light as It can
b. and keep the sidewalks about the more remote
streets in as good repair as they w are. You
cannot consistently, place on the duplicate the
} entire amount which by law you are author ized
{ TO levy for sid.walk purposes. The people are
borne down nov with weight Of general ta xa-
ton, which merits some consideration at youl
hands. The debts must be paid and paid by
! taxation. And, as say, in order 10 do this anC
not overburden the taxpayers Of the corporation
will require at your hands careful reflection and
well considered action. If an ordinance cnulC
be so passed as TO assess Louisiana Avenue anC
Front Street for the improvement Of sidewalk
and ratings by the foot front. and at the sam
e time not place tDo heavy burden On the owner
of the land, should like to see it done. pro
pose to you therefore that the Sidewalk Com
mittee obtain an estimate Ot the probable cost u
y I different kinds Of sidewalks, stone, brick AM
{ plank, and thatsOme action be at once taken b.
: you in providing The same through our most.pub
lie streets.
> The former Mayor and Council passed whole
some resolutions regulating the closing Of place
+ Of business, where liquors are suld. on Sunday
With their acts in this regard ind no taul
= and so far as | am concerned, shall favor lk
, restriction, until, at least, some good reason 70
a change can be given. While, as you know,
= am not stralght.laced upon this subject, yet
assure you SO far my duties as conservator c
> the peace and orderly government Of the tOrw
=. is concerned, shall take care that the sam
: does not retrograde during nv administrative
vagrancy, druukness, nightwalking or rowdy
81 ism will find no apolngist in me. shall endeay
4 or 80 far as can to preserve good order, goo
e morals and quiet safety in our village, and
: hope may receive your support and approba
. ton in this endeavor.
, As the warm weather advances ii will becOm
necessary for health committee To visit tl'
n various streets lanes and by-places of the towr
a and see to it that such regulations IN regard
cleanliness be enforced as shall DO promUtive
, the general health Of our village.
i ! would here suggest that the Council tax
:, some steps towards the organization Uf an etfec
a i've fire department. Our town is growing
wealth, and it seems to me that every property
- holder will feel willing To contribute somewhi
" | 10 the effeciiug Of this object. do no wish To b
- understood MS urging the purchase of a lire en-
gine unless thought best, but Snch an organiz'
- ton as shall insure order and effective work
any fires that may occur, and buckets aud in
In plements with which to resist the ravages Of III
devnuring element successfully, II possible.
Some years ago, Understand, this village hn
an interest in the so called PERI ysburg Hydar,
p, lie and am Informed that certificates ofthe stoC
of this Improvement belonging 10 this villag
=, have been in some way abs,racted from the pr
vate desk Of the forDer Recorder, and that II
"a contract under which the same was original
., sold Or leased TO private parties, can mt now
ne found, having been, perhaps, mislaid. wOu
6 suggest that an investigation Of the precise col
q dition Of this water p 'wer, and Of any intere
-, | in the samo the village may now have nr be e
a. titled tf1k be asc,rtansd and reported n III
~ Council ."VAriOns ruuOrs exist as to the stat
of the matter, and regard il as my duty to cu
s your attention to it, so that YOU may set the mini
as Of the people arrest aud lot them feel that any
ng terest they may have in this work is proecte
90 Ifihs water power is to be kept up, and repairI
- and m lde useful tn tile growth of the village,
az the private owners il is al.wel but If it's to
- allowed TO run down, All up an I be finally aba
doned, am qnite clear that we should tai
snme measures winch will, II possible, ma
~ that water power subservient tnthe improveme
=. Of our town and encouragement of mannta
',' turers at this point. hope this matter will n
IS be neglected by YOU. but win be Looked aft
u vigorously. shall take pleasure in reportiI
the result Of your investigations to the people.
th The present railroad debt wi u become a su
I'd iect with which you will be obliged to grapp
nd | advise that separate COMMITTEES on raiiro
sr' debt and stock be appointed, and instructed
r. ascertain how much stock belongs to our villa
is in the Dayton 4 Michigan railroad, and wi
its value may be. and how il can be disposed
To towards paying the debt. That they alsn ase'
at tain and report to this Council the amount
ty Railroad Bonds held against the village, and