St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-09

! any proceedings for the condemnation
! OF lands, up to and until the time of the
! confirmation of the. assessment-by the
| said board of public works, shall have
! the right. 0y three-fourths vote, to
! abandon all proceedings in respect to
! the whole Improvement whenever it
| shall deem it for the best interests Of
! the city,"
Judge Macdonald took the floor at this
| time, and said he was present Oh behalf
! OF numerous taxpayers to urge on the
/ park board that the section Just read be
| enforced. Ii the assessment were pro-
! ceeded with, 1t would be an outrage on
| the taxpayers and property owners.
! There was no necessity of park at
| this time, and certainly no Justification
! or an assessment unless the park were
| public necessity. The citizens who
| were to pay the assessment had never
! had chance TO be heard by the park
! board in opposition to this park. and
/ the sentiment against 1t was almost
| unanimous. In view of the present
! state of affairs, to proceed with the as
! sessment would be gross outrage on
! the property owners. and for this rea-
| son the board should be governed by
| the section just read which gave them
the power 10 abandon the proceedings
| when 1t was for the best interests Of the
city.
Acted Behind Closed Doors.
County Commissioner Daily said all
the action taken by the board in the
| Crown Hill park matter had been be-
hind closed doors, and the people had
not been given a chance to protest
against the purchasing or assessment
for the park.
] John TouynIay- vvhO opnaarad for
thirteen of the property owners to be
| assessed, explained that he lived across
! the street from the proposed park in a
! rented house. The owner of the prop
| erty where he lived was carpenter
! named Chapman, VINO also owns the
| house adjoining. A mortgage of So
400 was on the property, and in order TO
prevent foreclosure Chapman was
/ obliged to pay $50 per week to the
! building association. For five weeks
| Chapman had been unable to secure
employment of any kind. The assess
| menI for the park would put on Chap
| man an additional burden of 1925, and
| would result in the mortgage on his
| property being foreclosed as soon as
the assessment became delinquent.
These facts would apply TO thirteen
other labOring men and mechanics who
| resided within a stones throw of the
place he mentioned.
All of the owners. he said, had stood
/ large assessments for other improve
| mentS without protest. but they did OBJ
Ject to the assessment for the park for
| several good and sufficient reasons. The
site OF the proposed park was not adapt
ed by nature for park. Ten minutes
| walk from the place would bring one to
natural grove where on July 4 hundreds
| Of people had spent the day. If park
I WI Gil TO
| which had no advantage whatever? The
only way in which the proposed location
/ could be made a park would be for the
city
To Spend 100000.
and buy the balance of the bluff. The
property was not worth $4,000. and if
the board would allow he would bring
witnesses to prove his assertion. Even
If it was worth S32 600 the people could
not afford at the present time to pay the
price asked. In closing, Mr.. TOwnIeY
invited the board to be present at a
meeting to be held Monday night which
would be attended, he said. by the poor
people with patched clothes who were
to be assessed for the park.
Commissioner ADerle thought if an
order abandoning all proceedings in the
Crown Hill park were passed it would
set the example Tor the same kind of
resolutions in all the other parks or
dered by the board.
Commissioner Horton, to settle the
matter. and as he expressed it prevent
the entire afternoon being taken up i'll
talk about something the board fully
| understood, offered a resolution direct
ing the board OF public works to
Abandon All Proceedings
in the Crown Hill park matter. Com
/ rTlTG I'M 70 Of
ms the resolution so as to take in all the
parks-CleYeland,l Indian Mounds and
! RidgeWOOd.
Mr.. Oppenheim questioned the ex-
pediencY OF this. Where there was no
objection to the parks he saw no reason
for annulling the proceedings. He
thought the people in the vicinity OF
RidgewoOd park wanted the park. 1t
! was only when there was a strong
remonstrance against the establishing
of any OF the parks that the proceedings
| should be abandoned.
Commissioner Wheelock thought the
Indian Mound park had been gone so
far that il would be impossible to
| abandon proceedings.
Commissioner Aberle thought the
times were hard and perhaps after all
tt was best to abandon the Crown Hill
and the other parks for this reason.
Commissioner Wheelock said the val
uation put on the property by the board
! OF public works was exaggerated, and
| more moderate sum would have been in
| keeping with the price OF realty at this
! time. Owing to the value placed on
the site by the board, he would be in
! favor of recalling the order. He was
! not of the same opinion as Mr.. Town
! ley as to tue site not being a good one
! tor park. While it might never be a
OUblIP mark was what M would oalI
A NeighbOrhOOd Park.
and, as he understood it, if the people
! in the vicinity wanted the park and
| were willing TO pay, they we're entitled
to it. Mr.. Oppenheim SAID If the law
had been amended at the last session of
| the legislature so as to make assess
ments for parks payable i'll ten annual
inStallments, and only make the liens
one-tenth OF the amount each year. it
would be all right, but this had not
been done.
Commissioner WheeIock said he had
been infOr med that the people i'll the
Immediate vicinity were all i'll favor of
the park. The statement was greeted
by leerS and loud laughter from the
Sixth ward delegation, and Judge Mac
donald took occasion TO say that the
people were all opposed to it because it
was fraud and a humbug.
OH6 OF inc ODJ6clOIS SAID Lnere were
not ten property owners who were not
| opposed to it.
Commissioner AberIe stated that he
had been i'll favor of the park with the
| understa nding that the assessment
would not exceed SIS or $50 per lot, but
if the assessments were 10 be from $50
to $50 on an average. the amounts were
too large. He was in favor Of LAYING
the resolution OF Mr.. Horton on the
table until the next regular meeting,
which would be week from Monday.
and in the meantime the matter could
be considered by the board.
This was agreed to by the other men,
bers, and the Sixth ward delegation
] rEithGraN. EnuntN Commissioners DaI1-