The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-04-06

guarantee the work and to maintain it
at his own expense for five years; the
following streets to be named as the
ones on which the work is to be done:
First. Between curb of Jefferson street
from south side of Campbell street, to
the Belgian blocks laid by the Norfolk
and Western Railroad Company on Rail-
road avenue.
Second. Paving between curbs on Nell
son street, including public square at
market house, from south side Of Rail-
road avenue to south side of Robertson
street.
Third. Salem avenue, between curbs,
from west side of Commerce street to
foot OF Randolph street bridge.
Fourth. Henry street, from the foot of
the bridge to south side of Robertson
street.
Fifth. Campbell street, from east side
OF Commerce street to Holiday street.
Sixth. Robertson street, from east
side of Commerce street to Holiday
street.
Your committee took up and discussed
with the board of public works the ques.
ton OF how this work was to be paid for
and decided by unanimous vote that the
whole expense of the paving was to be
borne by the abutting property-owners,
the work to be laid off in sections and
to be taxed on the property. owners &C
cording to their front foot III said Sec
tions. Your committee was led to come
to this conclusion by the fact that the
money in the hands of the city for the
purpose of improving the streets is so
very small that it will be impossible for
it to do, itself, any paving to amount to
anything, and they were led to the con-
clusion further by the advice of the city
solicitor that no assessments would be
payable by the AUDITING property owners
until ninety days after the work was
completed. Under these circumstances
the city would have to have certain
amount of working capital to complete
the sections until they were REIN bursed
by the property-owners therefor. 1t
would require all tho money that will
be available to furnish this working
capital and will leave nothing for
proportion Of the streets to be paid for
by the city. Your committee has had
various conferences with citizens and
property owners of the city and have
thus discussed the best mode of collect
ing this money so as to burden the peo-
ple in the least amount. They find
that If all the money for paving is col
lected within ninety days after the work
is completed it will impose a very
serious burden upon the city and
may materially cripple and in
1ure the finances of number of the
less prosperous member of this COM
munity. Under these circumstances
they have tried to devise some mode by
which the payment of the money could
be spread over a longer period and
thereby make tho burden less onerous.
They find that in Ohio that q system
exists of issuing street Improvement
bonds. These bonds are issued for
eight years and sold and the money
used in paying for the improvements.
Every year ono-eighth of these bonds is
taken up by assessments collected from
the AUDITING property owners upon the
streets improved; and at the end of the
eight years tho whole indebtedness is
wiped out. Unfortunately there is no
such provision in the charter of Roam
oke or in the general laws of Virginia,
but your committee is led to believe and
hopes that similar plan can be de-
vised here, which will carry out the
same object.
The idea is that the city should issue
100000 of bonds payable ten years
afterward, but with the privilege in the
city of taking up by lot one tenth of the
said bonds every year, the money de-
rived from the sales of these bond to be
used in paving sections of the CITY,
to be assessed and one-tenth of the
amount with interest collected each
year and applied TO the retirement of
the bonds. In this way one tenth of the
bonds would be retired each year and at
the expiration of five years $50, 900 of
the 100000 would be paid off. The
city itself would pay nothing tho prop
erty owners paying the assessment and
interest on the bonds. Your committee
strongly recommends that this matter
be referred to the city solicitor with the
request that he examine into the cues
ton thoroughly and report as to whether
it is possible to carry out this plan I'M
der the laws Of Virginia. If it is, it
will remove the objection to paving
and will enable the city of Roanoke to
pave not only its main and important
streets, but practically all Of the
streets in the city, either with perma-
nent pavements or with macadam, as
the necessities of the neighborhood
may require.
Your committee would further report
that the macadam work has been pro-
crossing in some portions of the town
with some satisfaction and in others
with no satisfaction at ALL that the |
contractors have not resumed work on
West Campbell avenue, which leaves
''"o sNNoAOi III VOL AOuBh IOr
travelling. This is caused by the trouble
between tho contractor and the city. |
which is being settled by the board of
public works, who make a report to- |
night; and your committee hopes that |
it will now be ended and the work will |
be completed rapidly.
Jefferson street to where the mac. |
adam was laid by the Gas and Water
Company, will be completed in the |
next day or two, thus making one out
let to the southern portion of the CITY !