The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-31
THE PAVING QUESTION
A Free Discussion of the Matter
by the Council.
1T WAS A FAMILY AFFAIR
No Formal Protests Were Mada-The
City Engineer Thought 1t Would
Cost More Than the
Estimates.

Great Falls, May 3o.-The purpose of
| the city council meeting yesterday eve
| ming seemed to be the general and free
discussion of the paving question. Ev-
| eryone participated in it and it was
quite apparent that as yet the commit
tee on rules and order of business had
| not reported. The mayor, who occupied
| the chair, took part freely in the dis
cussion, acting as sort of genial in
| terlocutor and approving or disapprov-
| ing of ideas as they were advanced. 1t
was, indeed, quite little family affair
| No formal protests against the paving
were made. Messrs. Wren, Wegner and
| Graham stated that while they were OPP
posed to paving First avenue south and
the street leading thereto under the
special improvement district plan, they
would not do anything to prevent the
paving in that or any other way. The
| trouble seems to lie in the distribution
| of the costs, owners of corner lots on
Central avenue feeling that they ought
not to pay for improvements which do
not directly benefit them, and the own
ers of inside lots believing that corner
| lots ought to pay in proportion to their
street and avenue frontage. The ques-
ton was discussed pro and con for over
an hour without any definite conclusion
being reached. Andrew Rinker, agent
of the townsite company, stated that
| the interests he represented were indif-
| ferent as to the manner in which the
work should be done as the cost to them
was about the same either way. He had
| made the estimate of the cost at 81 per
square yard on the basis of figures
| given to him by the Goodrich Lumber
| company, and he believed it very good
| and very cheap pavement. He under
| stood that the city engineer did not
| agree with him on the estimates, but
| had not the same figures on lumber and
| blocks.
| City Engineer Sweringen addressed
| the council. He took a very gloomy
view of the subject. He eaid he was
afraid it was going to be a big job and
| that it would cost much more than the
| property owners thought. Work cost
| more in Great Falls than in any other
| place he had ever visited. Dealers in
| materials would make a price before
| they were asked to bid and then fail to
| failed to keep their contracts, as in the
case of the Central avenue paving. All
| the men working on the job would have
| to be educated to their business. There
was no one in town fit to attempt such
| work as paving. He had learned that
| on the Central avenue job. He was
| afraid there was 9 heap Of trouble in
| store.4 r. &
| Mr.. Rinker stated that he had laid
| between 40 and so miles of just such
paving as that proposed and in Min
| neapolis the cost was sometimes as low
as rs cents per yard. He had advised
| this kind of paving in Moorhead when
| There gravel had to be brought by rail
| some Is miles and the lumber pur-
chased in Minneapolis. In spite of the
| fact that lumber was IA cents higher
than under the proposed plan for this
city, the entire cost of the paving was
but $1.0S per yard and conditions in
Moorhead, with the exception of labor,
were worse than here. The blocks and
the .curbing would be far cheaper here.
Then the city engineer found another
| mares nest in the sidewalk ordinance,
which prescribed u foot sidewalks in
the proposed district and it had been
planned in the paving to have 10 foot
sidewalks. He did not see how that OBJ
stacle could be avoided unless the coun-
Gil repealed ordinances wholesale.
Alderman Wadsworth thought that
it would be an exceedingly simple mat
ter to either conform to the ordinance
or amend the latter. The roadway could
be narrowed without any great diff
Guilty. Alderman Mcdonnell summed
up the whole matter by stating that the
paving was a thing for the property
owners interested to decide. They
might as well make up their minds to
the fact that there was but one plan on
|
the special improvement district plan.
The other involved expense to the city
which the latter not only was unwill-
ing to incur, but in it's present financial
condition could not incur legally. The
property owners had simply to make up
their minds whether they wished paw
ing on that plan or none a ALL and
when they had settled the matter
among themselves the council was will
ing to go ahead. He suggested that the
paving be laid over for one week. The
mayor called for ayes and nays on this,
but it was suggested that there was no
motion before the house. When the
motion had been properly made all
voted to lay the discussion over.
The next proceeding in the queer
mess was the reading of the same reso-
luton to make the same special inn
provenent district and appointing next
Monday evening as the time on which
L.
1t passed the first reading.
The city clerk presented a list of per-
sons liable to pay poll tax and the coun-
Gil approved and ordered it turned over
to the city treasurer for collection. The
latter was also instructed to suggest
some plan of collecting this tax.
The judiciary committee presented an
ordinance amending the license ordin-
ance The principal feature was the
raising of the license on circuses from
| 500 to 1925 per day and lowering the
| licenses on breweries from $25 to SIS per
month. II also provided for the pay
ment of S. per night by all shows which
| do not occupy theater paying a
| monthly license. AS there is but one
! of these it meant that a show arriving
| in town must either rent the opera
house or pay S. per night for playing.
! Alderman Mcdonnell noticed this de-
feet after the ordinance had passed it's
| first reading and the rules had been