The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-30
OVER MAYORS VETO.
COUNCIL PASSED THE ORDINANCE
FOR PAVING CASTOR STREET.
THE VOTE WAS UNANIMOUS.
ALDERMAN DIXON LED THE FIGHT
FOR BRICK PAVING.


of the Mayor Went at Length Into
Figures-Hfs Endeavor Was to
show That II Would Be TO the
City's Interest to Restore Shell
aVement-AIdermnn Dixon Re-
piled to Show That 1t Would BE
Economy to Lay n Brick Pave
ment.
The CASTOR street paving ordinance was
passed unanimously by the City Council
last night over the veto of the Mayor. All
the aldermen were present save Alderman
Thomas, who is absent from the city. All
voted as before, save Alderman CAVITY,
who voted against the ordinance when it
was originally passed. He was under
some misunderstanding then and changed
front to get with those favoring paving.
The ordinance was the last and warmest
of the measures brought up. The even
tenor of Councils way was a bit ruff1ed,
and the lookers-on were conscious of just
little more asperity than is often seen.
The Mayor returned the ordinance with
his veto. Clerk of Conucil Bailey read
the message accompanying the veto. AL
about the figures that were quoted by the
Mayor, saying that they were correct as
far as they went but that they did not
show all that should be shown. The May
or replied that the figures were taken
from the reports that had been submitted
to the Mayor from the Office of the direc-
tor of public works, and that they should
l.
the information required in arriving at
an estimate of the comparative cost of
brick and shell pavements.
Director of Public Works Gadsden ex-
planned that the statements We're made
up from the records for all the shell and
all the brick pavements, and that thor
ough details could be secured of CASTOR
or any other street, if the Mayor desired
| them.
Alderman Dixon then gave his figures.
| Upon concluding his showing, he seconded
motion offered by Alderman Watson to
pass the ordinance over the veto of the
Mayor The Mayor Estimated that it would
! be we'll for the aldermen to take a little
more time to consider figures. Alderman
| Dixon replied he thought the aldermen
had given the matter enough considera-
ton already. The Mayor thought such
was not the case, but that the aldermen
had taken the opinion of two or three
! members of the board. The vote was
then taken, and the ordinance was passed.
The Mayors Message.
The following was Mayor Myers mes
sage:
ITO the Board of Aldermen: Gentle
nj hoo fn raft A1r itL
disapproval, the ordinance passed by
Council at its meeting of May Is, 1901, pro-
viding for the paving of Castor street
| with brick.
MY duty to the public compes me to
| do this. l would prefer to defer to the
| judgment of Council, even when l do not
| entirely agree with it's views but in this
| instance l believe that the work contem-
| plated involves an unnecessary expendi-
ture of public money.
There was no necessity for repaviug
| CASTOR street before the city tore up
portion of that thoroughfare to lay the
| house drainage system. But for that work
| by the city the pavement there would,
| with some repairs, have continued in use
for many years without the suggestion
that it be repaved with brick or other
material. If any necessity now exists for
| such repaving the city created it. and is
responsible for its existence. To make the
! property owners financially responsible
for the results of the work of the city's
own forces does not appear to me an act
| of equity.
| The property owners on CASTOR street
| with almost an unanimity, earnestly pro-
| test against this change. The pavement
| as it was before it was torn up by the
| city was satisfactory, from sanitary or
| other standpoint to the abutting property
owners. They are citizens fully quail
| fed to judge as to what is best for them,
| and they have expressed their deliberate
| and intelligent choice. l do not mean to
| say that this choice is absolutely con-
| trolling, but only that it is entitled to
| very great weight. An investigation shows
| that the property frontage Directing to
| the repaving amounts to 3,431 feet, excud-
| ing Forsyth Park, while that favoring it
is but 444 feet. The residents on the
street are particularly interested in the
! question. CASTOR street is peculiarly
residence street 1t is not desired by
| those owning property on it, or by the
| public, that ii shall be made thorough
| fare for general traffic. There are no
reasons of business or public character
which make it proper to disregard the
wishes of the property owners interested.
| Citizens should BE Recognized.
Whenever it does not conflict with the
| interests of the public at large l believe
] IN submitting TO the wishes OF citizens
whose interests are directly involved. To
| large extent l agree with the views
| held by the Committee on Streets and
/ Lanes that shell paYements are not desr-
able for growing city. At the same time
| those that have been laid at the expense
| of the property owners and the city
| should not be ruthiessly destroyed or al
| lowed, for lack of reasonable repairs, to
| go TO ruin. No more shell pavements
| should be laid, but those already in exist
ence should be given proper attention and
preserved as long as possible 1t appears
slightly more expensive 10 keep up a shell
| than a brick pavement, but this dsad-
! vantage bears upon taxpayers generally,
including the property owners on such
streets and the experiments of previous
administrations are not justly chargeable
to the citizens owning property on such
! thoroughfares. They should not be made to
suffer because of errors of judgment the
city may have fallen into in the past If
the pavement had been destroyed by the
ravages Of time or of use the case would
present different aspect But such does
not seem to be the case
From the engineers estimate the cost
| OF repavng with brick will be between
$4,000 and $4,000. The city's portion of
the expenses will probably be 60 per cent.
or say 5000. and may be more from a
! probable inability OF the hospital and Ii
| brary to meet their share of the burden
| This will more than consume the balance