Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1884-05-08
Thursday, May 8, 1884.
The County Commissioners.

A Lively Contest About a WaHhOuC ON the
Shore I'm the Borough OF West Ha-
ven-whO Shall Ike the Repairs
Beach Street?
There was lively contest before the board
of county commissioners yesterday. The
contest was between the New Haven and
West Haven horse railroad and the borough
of West Haven as to whether the company
or the borough was responsible for the wash
outs on Beach street below the Sea View
House. Since the wsshout last fall and win
ter from the storms and high tides the road
way has remained in an unsuitable condition
for travel. The borough officials claim that
the amount of money placed at their disposal
for expenditure upon highways is not sufi
cient to meet the expense of placing the street
in good order. They further claim that the
horse railroad company ought to assume the
whole expense of the repairs, inasmuch as the
road is private property. Since the occurrence
of the washouts, which left the street in
a practically impossible condition, the horse
cars have not been run over the wrecked
section, the terminus of the route having
been fixed near Kelsey's wharf instead of at
the end of the line some distance below.
This arrangement did not at all embarrass
the company during the winter season, but
with the rush of travel during the summer
season the case would be different. The
borough waited for the company to place the
street in good repair. The company
waited for the borough to do the same
thing. Consequently nothing was .done
on either side. In the meantime a number
of citizens, who presumably desired to occa-
sionally ride through the street without risk
ing their lives applied to the county COM
missioners to order the necessary repairs to
be made at the expense of the borough. At
ter this petition was sent in counsel for the
borough prayed out a mandamus in the Su-
perior court citing the officers of the horse
railroad company to appear before the court
at Waterbury, May 10, and show cause why
they should not restore the street to sRita-
BILE condition for public travel.
In the hearing yesterday s. E. Baldwin ap-
peared for the borough, John w. Alling for
the horse railroad company and J. Gardiner
Clark and II. G. Rogers for the petitioners.
In yesterdays hearing before the commits
sioners Simeon E. Baldwin represented the
borough, J. w. Alling the horse railroad
company and J. Gardiner CLARK and Attorney
Rogers the petitioners. AT the outset a mo-
ton was made for the dismissal of the petit
ton on the ground that there was nothing
before the board to show that a GER
tilted agreement bstween the town
of Orange and the borough regarding the di
vision of funds appropriated for the msinte-
nance of highways had ever been filed with
the Secretary of State as required by law. It
was further argued that the hearing before
the commissioners should be deferred until
the mandamus process had been disposed
of. The statement was made by counsel
that the whole sum which the borough
was authorized to expend upon the roads
was only $500, while the repairs on
Beach street alone would call for the ex-
penditurs of more than this amount. The
commissioners having refused to post
pone the proceedings on the grounds men
toned, another motion was made to dismiss
the petition on the plea that the division of
the fund had not been made in accordance
with the law. The statute required that
three selectmen of the town and three bur-
gesses of the borough should assent TO the
division, whereas 1t had been made by three
selectmen on one side and the warden of the
borough and two burgesses on the other.
These technical objections the commissioners
refused to entertain, and in the afternoon
testimony was heard regarding the condition
of the street and the necessity of repairs.
Warden Hine was on the stand ia the at
ternoon and testified as to his understanding
of the matter.
At 4:3O the hearing was adjourned until
next Monday morning at 10 O'Clock.