Omaha daily bee., 1899-01-17
NO DECISION YET REACHED
Special Committee Of Council Hardly Knows
What to Do with Railroad Ordinance.
MEMBERS ARE SAID TO LEAN BOTH WAYS
Want to Encourage h Fort Dodge
a. Omaha Road and at the Same
Time want to Protect Rights of
Property Owners.

The special committee to which was re-
ferred for examination and amendment the
ordinance submitted by the Fort Dodge &
Omaha railroad, providing for the vacation
Of certain streets, avenues and alleys. has
as yet done little or nothing with the mat
ter. The committee has not got together,
and beyond informally discussing the ques-
ton, the members have reached no decis-
ion as to in what respect the ordinance
should be amended. Unless the committee
takes some action today, 1t will not be
ready to report at the adjourned council
meeting tonight. City Attorney Wadsworth
stated yesterday that he did not believe that
the committee would be prepared to report
In any event tonight, and that the council
meeting would have to be postponed until
1t was.
The committee is In somewhat OF a pre-
dicament. and hardly knows what to recon-
mend. While on the one hand II realizes
that every encouragement should be given the
Fort Dodge & Omaha road to enter Council
Bluffs, and that 1t should have the same
trackage and depot facilities as the other
roads. still on the other hand, the mem
bers Of the committee feel that property
owners in the immediate vicinity OF the
streets sought to be vacated have rights
which must be protected, and further, that
the city should receive a reasonable con-
sideration in return for granting the privi-
lsgss sought by the railway company.
Committee Requires Certain Things.
The committee is in favor Of so amending
the ordinance that 1t will contain a clause
providing that the railway company shall
in return for the granting by the city OF
the privileges asked for, agree to spend a
certain sum Of money on a passenger depot,
which will be an ornament to the oily, ana
expend other money in improvements OF a
like nature. It also believes that before the
city vacates the streets and avenues as asked
for. som provision should be made requir-
ing the railroad company to protect the
crossings at the intervening streets.
As the Fort Dodge & Omaha road owns
all the lots in the plat Of Burket place.
there can be no objection to the vacation OF
! the streets and alleys running through II.
Under the law, as 1t owns all the lots In
the plat, it has the right to vacate the
streets. There Is little or no opposition to
the vacation Of avenues H. I, J and X, as
all these t~horoughfares are already closed
at Twelfth street by the yards OF the North
western railroad. Almost as little objection
ia raised against the vacation OF avenue A
a. this thoroughfare west Of Thirteenth
street is practically closed 10 tramc ~ the
tracks Of the motor company. The prin'
cipal objection to the closing OF this por'
tion az avenue A comes from the Lake
Manawa Railway cmpany, which claims cer.
tain franchise rights therein, but 1t is q
question whether the Manawa company hal
not already forfeited whatever rights 1t ma.
have held under its franchise through fail
ure to extend its line as agreed.
There Is. however. considerable oppos1
ton to the city vacating Avenue c., as !
xHa.5. n htohwov for oaqf and west tram
hat is valuable because the next avenu
north does not run through. 1t is expecte'
this will be compromised by the city vacat
ing Avenue d in place Of c. The For
| Dodge & Omaha road people say hat
Is absolutely imperative that one OF tn
two avenues at this point be vacated so a
5 to afford them standing room for thei
3 freight trains. Without one Of the avenue
. being vacated the company would all tn
time be compelled to cut its trains in two
Location OF Depots.
The company expects to build its freigh
, , depot facing on Twelfth street SO that
a will cover more than a block In length. 1t
o passenger depot, as already noted, will fac
t on Thirteenth street, with the south en-
abutting on Avenue A.
= The most strenuous opposition to tn
7 ordinance comes from those property own
= ers who have lots abutting on the avenue
y sought to be vacated and in the blocks ad
joining. They insist hat the council shoul
take no action looking to the vacation {
: these streets and alleys until a settlemeI
between them and the railroad company hs
: been reached. The company has acquire
: practically all Of the property in the blocl
Immediately AUDITING on the avenues sougl
to be vacated, but there are fifteen on
g lots that still belong to private partie
n These the owners declare they are perfect
n willing to sell. but that the Fort Dodt
& Omaha railway people are not willir
= to purchase at the price asked.
u On the one hand 1t is said that the pric'
asked are reasonable and on the other Il
railway people say they are not only t.
ID high. but are exorbitant and further II
IS sinuate that these property owners a
playing a game of hold up"