The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-12
COUNTY WANTS THE LAND.
COMMISSIONERS AND CITY COMMIT
TEE DISCUSS EsTILL PARK.

he Returned to the County for
Term of Years and That in the
Meantime the Appropriations
should Accumulate, Did Not Meet
with Favor-The County Wants
the Property for Its Very Own and
Nothing Less, Absolute, VIII Sat-
isfy 1.-THE City's Title said to BE
Forfeited.
The January meeting of the Board of
County Commissioners yesterday after
noon was signalized by the appearance be-
fore that body Of a committee of the City
Council and the discussion of the ques-
ton of Estil Park. No conclusion In the
matter was reached.
The aldermanic committee consisted of
Mayor Myers and Aldermen Williams,
Mills and Bacon. The committee was ac-
companied by City Attorney Adams. who
sat at the Mayors right hand and made
frequent suggestions while The discussion
was in progress. Commissioner Gucken-
heimer is i'll and was absent from the
meeting. but Chairman Dale and Commits
sloners Lathrop, Lyons and simkins were
present. County Attorney Saussy was al
so on hand.
1t was seen at once that there was
a wide difference of opinion between the
commissioners and the comm ttee of
Council as to the proper disposition to he
made of the park. The difference con-
tinued throughout the conference and was
not reconciled when the committee excus-
ed itself and departed. As briefly stated
by Mayor Myers the position of the city
is that in the near future the property
will be available for park purposes and
that, by the expenditure of a reasonably
large sum Of money, at one time, it can
be made valuable and useful TO the city
and its people, as resort where rest, rec
reaton and innocent enjoyment are to re
had. The commissioners secuted this idea
as a pleasing. but entirely fanciful pros
pect, declared that the larger proportion
of the land embraced within the park linn
its was swamp, and that nothing less
forceful than a pumping station could
transform it into a resort. The further
position of the commissioners was thar
enough money had been spent en- the park
already and that there was no use to spend
more. The announced conclusion was
that as the land was of no use to the cify
and could be used by the county, it would
be best to cancel the deed of gift and per-
init the county to take possession and use
the land for agricultural purposes.
With these views and these conclusions
of the commissioners the city fathers
could not bring themselves to agree. May
or Myers suggested that the best thing to
do would be for the county to change the
conditions of the deed, so that the county
might have possession of the property for
a term of years, and that in the mean
time the annual appropriations OF the city
for the Improvement of the park might be
suffered 10 accumulate and be applied at
the end of the term 10 a consistent plan
of transforming the land into such a park
as was first contemplated and would be
useful and profitable to the people.
This suggestion Chairman Dale and his
conrerees would by no means entertain.
II tell you, Mr. Mayor" said the chair
man of the board. this land can never
be made into a park. Two-thirds of II is
swamp and the property is totally UNIT
for the uses to which you would apply
it, 1t cant be of any use to the city. Why
not give it 10 the county, permit Us 70
use 1t for raising supplies for the county
convicts and thus help to decrease the
taxes of yourself and of all other citi-
Zens who pay them?'
But" retoTted Mayor Myers, there
seems TO be some difference of opinion as
to the feasibility of the project for making
the property into a park. Some time ago
| mentioned the ma ter to the chairman OF
the Park and Tree Commission, and he
told me that ii was entirely practicable.
Because there Is this difference of opinion
l suggest that we permit the matter to re-
main in statu quo for year or more, that
IN the mean time the county shall have
control of the property and the city have
1nfN u IN 10 ono inI IN
vestigated by a competent engineer. who
win render a report as 10 the feasibility
Of the project of park Improvement II
he decides that we cannot have such a
park as we would like to have on the
property then il is very likely that COun-
~ss,,As6ssxs.1-xx - II favor OF the County
Commiss>S-e ~ ~-S-a--.s-e.rs-as. s.usss.s,..-,.
hat would be Of no value to us. IT, as
you say, the property is valueless for the
purposes to which we would apply IT, and
the only purpose to which under the deed
we can apply IT, The county would lose
nothing, for when the unfavorable report
of the engineer was received the city
would probably grant the county's re-
quest"
But the commissioners were obdurate
IF you can convince me" said Chairman
Dale, that the property can ever be made
of any real Use to the city as a park. then
l shall he in favor of having it used in
this manner and of having the County
Commissioners render whatever assistance
is in their power. In the course of the
next few minutes MIR. Dale demons trated
that his mind on the subject was made up
and that nothing short of a miracle would
suffice TO convince him that every penny
spent for the improvement of Estill Park
was not a clear waste of good money
Alderman Williams suggested that IL
might be practicable for the city TO ex-
change the low lands, least valuable to It
and most valuable to the county. for a
part of the adjoining high lands Of the
county farm. With the high land thus
secured to the city, and with additional
adjoining land that It might purchase, IL
would be possible to turn the properly
into a cemetery the provisions of the
deed being so changed that this would be
legal. This proposition also met with no
favor from the commissioners, and 1t was
very evident they felt that they held the
controlling cards and meant 70 play them
to their best advantage
Most Of the talking at the conference
was done by the Mayor and Chairman