The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1901-03-29
The Paving Question.


Several months ago and before the
board of public works secured esti-
mates for paving West Main and North
Washington streets, majority OF the
residents of West Main street petit
toned the council to macadamize that
street from the bridge to the railroad
crossing. AS result OF this petition
the board Of public works secured an
estimate on a macadam road along
with estimates on asphalt and brick.
The estimates i'm round numbers were:
Asphalt, $4l 900; brick, $3l, 900; mac
adam, $4,000.
Having secured an estimate on mac
adam nothing further was done for
this kind Of road. The question
which the board had difficulty in set
thing was whether to recommend that
1877 900 1.-THE amount favored by the
asphalt mem or $4,000 1.-THE amount
voted for by the brick advocates) be
raised by bonds for paving purposes.
Two meetings of the board were held
the board of public works was con-
cerned. At the first meeting an alder
man who had been appointed on a
committee to confer with the board i'm
reference to the matter, voted for the
1877 900 recommendation and tied the
question. At the subsequent meeting
of the board, which was a warm SeS-
sion, the alderman was present but not
allowed vote. The $4,000 or brick
recommendation was carried by the
board by vote of to 2. The action
called forth a statement from an alder
man present to the effect that the &C
tion of the board in recommending the
$50, 900 bonds virtually tied up the paw
ing for this year. Does this indicate
indecision as to the kind of pavement
to be put down, when 100000 would
pay for any kind under consideration
excepting for asphalt? At that time
it was evidently asphalt or nothing.
When the boards recommendation
was brought before the council the al
derman who had voted for 1877, 900 at
the first meeting of the board Of pub
lie works and who had been denied a
vote at the subsequent meeting, sub
mitted report favoring the $37 900
worth of paving bonds. The report
was adopted.
AS soon as the residents of the
streets in question heard of the coun-
Gil S action and realized that their petit
tion for macadam had been practically
ignored and that asphalt was to be
forced upon them, they arose in their
might and almost to man signed
remonStrance against paving this year
and set forth their reasons for the
same. The remonstrance with the
names signed thereto has been pub
lished in this paper. The remon-
STRANGE was presented to the council
at its special meeting called to fix up
as to its legal points the $37 900 as
phalt proposition. The remonstrance
was unheeded by the aldermen who
voted unanimously, with one excep-
tion, for the $1,000 bond proposition
which will be voted upon next Monday.
The asphalt champions, or those who
were its active champions until the
1877 900 proposition was finally settled
by the council, having secured every
thing in sight up to date, now profess
to favor the cedar block on concrete
Their professions are
about thirty days too late to have the
weight they should have. Actions
speak louder than words and no action |
except that which favored asphalt was
taken until the 1877 600 proposition was :
fixed.
During the present week an estimate |
on the cedar block pavement has been
same has been published |
in this paper. Had an estimate on this
style of paving been secured thirty |
days ago-and it could have been got
ten at that time as readily as during
the past week, the paving proposition
would be in far different shape than
1t is today.
Everybody and everything had to
yield to asphalt until asphalt was
and now the erstwhile as
Dhalt sticklers are profuse in their
for any kind of pave
nent that the people want One thing
s certain, the people do not want as
)halt, and the safest way to have their
wishes respected in this matter is to
vote mo" on the $37 900 bond PROPOSE
lion next Monday.
y
ANNAPOLIS CADETSHIP.