The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-05-18

At an adjourned meeting of Coun-
Gil last night Messrs. HoH, Nc
Connell, McCahan, WEIGH, Graves, Nc
Clcllank, Engleby and President Buck
ner were present. City Solicitor Miller
submitted report on street paving
from which the following is taken
First. The city engineer should take
the plan of any given improvement and
revise the same in connection with the
lowest bid for the work and other incl
dental expenses connected with the con-
struction OF the improvement. And as
Stunning that tho engineer will prepare q
plan, upon which will be shown the en-
tire district to be improved and that
there should be ascertained and shown.
tho owner of each lot, with the front
footage OF each lot, and the total cost of
tho Improvement, as well as tho proper
tional part that each owner is to boar,
according to his front foosage.
My opinion as to the course then to
be pursued is as follows:
81. a resolution OF Council as follows:
"Be it resolved, by the City Council
for the city OF Roanoke that it is expo
with vitrificd brick Jefferson street
from tho south.sido of Campbell street
to about the middle of Railroad avenue
where granite blocks have been laid.
Such paving to be in accordance with
specifications heretofore adopted and on
file in the oilicU OF the board OF public
works.
That it is the sense of this Council
that the entire cost Of said improve
ment shall be assessed against tho
abutting owners, according to their
front footage on said jefferson street.
That the plans for such improve
mcnts made by tho city engineer for the
city OF Roanoke, together with the esti.
mato OF tho total cost of such improve
ment and OF the proportion thereof
which such abutting owner Shall pay,
be filed in the clerks office OF the City
Council, and according to said plan that
tho proportional cost of such improve
ment shall be assessed against the fol-
lowing persons and in tho following pro-
portions:'
Here give tho names OF the abutt,ng
owners with the amount to be CHARGED
to each respectively.
That a hearing be given to said
abutting owners upon said plan and the
proposed assessments. That said hear
ing shall be on the -- day of - in
the Council chamber of the City Council,
before said City Council.
That the clerk of this Council is d.
rected on behalf OF the city of Roanoke
to give notice to each of said AUDITING
owners Of the filing of said plan of i'm,
provement and Of the time and place
when this Council will give said owners
a hearing" (Here follows draft of a
notice to be served upon said owners.)
The solicitor recommends that a
written OF printed copy be served upon
each abuttinR owner ten days before
the time for SAID hearing; also the form
OF an ordinance to be adopted in the
event Council determines to have such
improvements made. in his opinion a
resolution should pass letting the con-
tract to the lowest bidder, and upon
completion and acceptance Of contract
work. Council should then pass resolu-
ton reciting its previous action and alb
solutely assessing the abutting owners
the amount originally contemplated.
City Solicitor Miller submitted re-
port on the resolution passed by Council
on April >, referring to the issuing of
100000 of bonds for street paving pur-
poses, upon the idea and plan as recon.
mended by the street committee He
said there is no general statutes of the
Commonwealth which would bear upon
this particular subject, but that the city
charter provided that an assessment
shall be made by the Council hy the
front foot, bounding or abu tting or bene-
fitted as afore said, which assessment
shall be payable within ninety DAYS
from the day it is made, and shall be
lien upon the property against which it
Is assessed from the date assessment
and that as the authority to levy taxes or
make local assessments does not exist
unless legistatively conferred, so
1T could be exercised no further than
1T is clearly given. and if the mode in
which the authority shall be exercised
Is prescribed, that mode must be pur-
sued no would stake it to be unsafe
for the city to issue bonds relying upon
tho validity OF it's assessments, if the
assessment was not levied strictly il
accordance with the charter require
ment. but that if said bonds were is
sued upon an agreement with the prop
erty owners, strictly in accordance with
the charter, and then subsequently an
agr' ement was made with said owners
by which the time of payment Of the as
sessmcnt could be extended, that
such agreement, continuing on the
part of the abuttipg owner, a waiver of
all Irregularities and informalities in
the levying of the assessments and the
various proceedings leading up to the
same, the agreement would be valid
and binding upon the AUDITING owners
and the lien Of the city would still be
preserved.
MIR. Miller recommended that bridge
be built across Lick run at the point,
where Chestnut street extended would
intersect with the Lynchburg road as
more economical and did not involve
the title to private lands. The report
was received.
Tho citu c0l;oitor l.,