St. Paul daily globe., 1893-05-24
new PARK NOTICES
Must Be Served, Under the
Late Supreme Court
Decision.
Board of Public Works Un-
settled by the Finding OF
the Bench.
Hereafter Money Must Be Paid
Within the Six Months
Limit.
The City Attorney Holds the
Finding Will Be a Public
Benefit.

The decision of the supreme court
regarding the manner in which the
board of public works is to proceed in
| the condemnation of lands for public
Improvement, published in the GLOBE,
| caused deal of discussion about the
city hall yesterday. The decision held
| that the law passed in 1891 securing to
the owner of the land to be taken COM
pensation from the city within six
months after the confirmation of the as
sessment, whether the persons assessed
had paid in the amounts or not. was con-
sttutional. The. decision. however,
went further and set aside the partlcu-
lar assessment OIL which the case was
taken, up on the ground that the board
of public works had invalidated the
proceedings by defining the assessment
district for the improvement in advance
of a bearing.
The members of the board of public
works were not inclined to discnSs the
decision, but simply called attention to
the provision under which they had
proceeded in the matter. The follow
ing are the two section under which the
proceedings were had:
Section rs, City Charter.
Local Improvements and Special Assess
ments-Whenever any order is passed by the
common council by virtue hereof, for the
making of any public improvement lmen-
toned in section 2 of this chapter, save as
herein otherwise provided which shall re-
quire the appropriation or condemnation OF
tInn Nnrf nF MI n
lie works shall. as soon as practicable, pro.
ceed to ascertain and assess the damages ana
recompense due the owners of such lands re-
spectively and at the same time to determine
what real estate will be benefited by such I'M
prOYements and assess the damages, to-
gether with the cost of the proceedings, on
the real estate by them deemed benehted, IN
proportion, nearly as may be. to the BEN
eft resulting to each separate lot or parcel
thereof.
works shall then give fifteen days notice by
one publication IN the official newspaper OF
the city of the time and place of their meet
ing, for the purpose or making said assess
ment i'll which notice they shall specify
what said assessment is to be for, and they
shall describe the land to be condemned as
near as may be done by general description,
and all persons interested in any such I'M
provement shall have the right to be present
and be heard, either in person or by counsel,
anu Lu6 CITY dLLOTLcy, do COuuSCl LUZ GLC CIty
OF ST. Paul, shall be permitted to appear be
fore them at such hearing to represent the
interests of said city.
Assistant City Attorney Phillips. when
called on for his views, said there was
no doubt as to the point made by the
supreme court being a good one. The
result would be that in the future the
board of public works would
have to make assessment districts IN
each proceedings on the day set for the
hearing Of the first notice and not be-
fore. The decision would affect few
cases pending, and in these instances
the board would have to give new first
notices. 1t is is very probable that new
first notices would have to be given in
all the park proceedings, as in all but
one OF them. he thought, the board had
determined the assessment district be-
fore giving the first notices. Tie citi-
zens, he thought, ought to be very
much gratified at the part of the de-
cision which held that the change in
the law made in 1891 was declared all
right. This law provided that the city
must pay to the owner Of the land taken
the amount awarded within six months
after the confirmation of the assess
ment, with interest at per cent. Prior
to the enactment of this law the prop
erty owner never knew when his land
was condemned as legal right, nor
when he would get the money. Before
this law was enacted the owner whose
land was taken was paid out of the as
Sessment paid into the treasury by the
persons assessed. In many cases it was
uncertain when the requisite money
would be in the treasury, and there was
always doubt as to whether the proper
notices had been given. Now it was
| known that as soon as assessments had
been confirmed the city would have to
paw in six months whether those as
sessed had paid in the amount of assess
m1ntS or not