Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-31
ST. PAULLEGISLATION

i - u Il
| Changes in the Laws Relating to the Cow
eminent of st. Paul Recommended by
| the Commi tee on Legislation.
J Last evening an adjourned meeting of
the committees on taxes and legislation of
the city council and chamber of comm cree
| was held at the council chamber. The at
tendance was not very large. Among those
present were lad. Smith, Dowlan, Robert,
| and Otis, Col. harrington of the board of
public works, William Lindeke, Ansel OPP
penheim, City Attorney Murray and Geo.
Refs, city treasurer. Capt. Berkey oc-
! cupied the chair the same
as he did at the other
meeting. The consultation was of free
and-easy, "go-as-you-p please style, the
gentlemen generally occupying their seats
while talking; and sometimes several
talked at the same time.
DIFFICULTY ABOUT ABSTRACTS.
Col. Harrington, on behalf of the board
of public works, explained to the meeting
the difficulty and inconvenience the board
labored under by not being able to get the
abstracts of title in time to enable the
board to make the assessments with that
promptness that they ought to observe.
1t was necessary, he said, to
have the abstracts before they made
the assessment, but oftentimes they
could not obtain the abstracts for a long
time. In many instances the assessments
had been delayed from six months to
year. This he said was all wrong and led
To ir,oo nd 1olo
positive loss to the city of a good deal of
money. He suggested that the board be
allowed man for the purpose of going to
the abstract Office and getting the abstracts
for the board. This was objected to as i'm
practicable. for the reason that the abstract
clerk could not be inconvenience by out
siders going into the Office and interfering
with his work, by handling over the
books and thus being in his
way. The matter was talked over and dis
cussed by nearly all present, when it was
finally decided that the best way to do was
to have the law so changed that the abb
stract Office should be made a fee Office
with the further modification that the
preference should be given to the business
of the city over all other business. That
is, that the abstracts of the city are to be
attended to first
SIDEWALKS.
Col. harrington also called attention to
the matter of laying sidewalks, and pro-
posed that in this climate no sidewalks
should be laid before April or after No
vember. To this there was no objection
and the proposition was agreed to without
discussion.
SPRINKLING THE STREETS.
At the last meeting of the legislature
an act was passed, and became law pro-
viding for assessing property along the
streets of St. Paul, for the purpose of
paying for sprinkling the streets. This
assessment is made in the same way that
the assessment for grading a street, or
constructing sewer is made. If a certain
number of the owners of property, on the
line of a street, petition the council to
have the street sprinkled, an order is
adopted by the council, which is sent to
the board of public works and the sprink-
ling is ordered to be done and an assess
ment is levied in the same way that an
assessment for any other public
improvement is levied. Heretofore
| the contract has been let for certain sum
for the whole year. Col. harrington
| thought it looked rather odd for the city of
st. Paul to be paying for sprinkling the
streets in the winter, and declared that the
law ought to be 80 changed that the sprink-
ling contract should be limited to the
period between April and November. This
was also agreed to.
THE COUNTY PRINTING.
1t was agreed that the publication of an
itemized account of the receipts of all the
county Offices ought to be discontinued.
THE COUNTY AND CITY.
Mr.. Oppenheim made a motion to the
effect that the members of the county COM
missioners from the county be elected as
they now are but that those from
St. Paul be selected from members of the
council, by the council, the same as the
city members of the board of abatement
now are. He argued that if this was done
the work of the commissioners would be
much more satisfactory and harmonious.
Comment was made in this connection
upon the way in which money was squand-
cred on our county roads without giving
US anything like the roads we ought to
have for the money we put into them. Col.
Harrington said that he became interested
in having Fort road put into good condi-
ton. With this view he went to the legis-
ia'ure anu SoI an appropriation TOT $0,-
600. With this he and others interested
went to work improving that thorough
fare, and now they had in that part of the
town the best road there is in the city.
Capt. Berkey defended the county commits
sioners and thought the trouble was that
they went to work with too little money.
In his opinion the commissioners
ought to appropriate more money
and not attempt to improve
so many roads. His idea was to take one
street and properly improve that, and then
follow up in the same way with others.
Mr.. William Lindeke also defended the
board of county commissioners. Finally,
on vote being taken, NJ. Oppenheim's
motion was lost.
THE WATER WORKS.
The opinion was expressed generally by
nearly all that the engineer of the water
works ought to be under the control of the
common council and such a change
in the law as will carry out
this idea will probably be recommended.
Having accomplished this much the
board adjourned.
Arr xDAr1&Jr curr, <rou