The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-08-06
CHARTER COMMISSION IS READY
TO GRANT DEMANDS OF
PARK BOARD
AMENDMENT is TO BE
SUBMITTED TO VOTERS
1t Provides for Improvement and Main
tenance of Parks, Sum Equivalent to
One Mill on Each Dollar of Assessed
Valuation-SurpIus to Be Retained.

After a struggle of nearly years
duration to induce the charter commits
sion to amend the charter to give the
park board the right to use the money
1t earns every year in making improve
ments and also to have any uneXpend-
ed balance of the yearly appropriation
| at the end of the year carried over to
the next year, in addition to that years
| appropriation, the matter was finally
| settled at a special meeting of the
| charter commission last night by that
body granting the request of the park
board by adopting the following re-
! port of a special committee:
Report of the Committee.
ITO the charter commissions:
your committee, appointed July %
| to consider proposed amendment to
! the charter of the city of st. Paul,
submitted by Mr.. Wheelock, president
of the board of park commissioners,
met pursuant to notice on July 81,
| 1902, all the members of the commit
| tee being present.
after fully considering the amend
ment proposed your committee unani-
mously approved and hereby submit to
! this commission the following amend
ment to said charter, to-wit:
THAT subdivision numbered 81 of
| section of title of chapter 5 of the
present charter of the city of st. Paul
| be and the same is hereby amended
to read as follows:
"To provide for the Improvement
| and maintenance of the public parks,
park ways and drives, and the ac-
| QUESTION of land for park purposes, not
| exceeding, however, In any one year q
| sum equivalent to one mill on the dol
lar of the assessed valuation of the real
and personal property of the city, to-
| gether with the estimated amount of
any and all moneys which may be re-
! ceived by the board of park commits
| sioners from miscellaneous sources as
| contemplated by the provisions of Sec
! ton sc of title 1 of chapter 10 of this
| charter; provided, however, that any
uneXpended balance remaining to the
! credit of the park fund herein provid-
| ed for at the expiration Of any fiscal
year shall be carried over to its credit
as an increase of the appropriation for
| the ensuing year.
DIR. G. H. Bridgman,
III. w. Childs,
| Norman Fetter,
| u. B. Gribben,
| &c. J. Cannon
The above amendment submitted by
! the committee appointed at the last
meeting of the commission at the
meeting last night was not adopted,
however, without considerable discus
| sion. DR.. Bridgman, chairman of the
committee, in moving for the adoption
of the report and the amendment, said
| the conditions that weighed most
! heavily with the committee were the
| facts of the Increased cost of material
and the larger amount Of ground the
park board had. to take. care of than
| in former years.
over to discussing the technical work.
| ings of the proposed amendment by
| Franklin. H. Griggs.
Gen. Childs seconded DR.. Bridgmans
motion to have the report of the COM
mittee and in speaking in favor of
the amendment said: @s'tA
Chain of Parks.
eve are at present laying the
groundwork of a system Of parks that
will both benefit the city of st. Paul
and be a credit to it, and the park
board should have a sufficient amount
with which to carry ON its work in the
future. AS an Illustration. look at the
banks of the Mississippi river. 1t is of
Importance that the city should i'm
prove the banks of the river within
the city limits and also that boule-
wards should be built along its banks
The amendment was unanimously
adopted and it is now up to the people
to vote on it at the fall election.
Under the present provision in the
charter the money that the park board
earns is placed in the general fund
and the board has no benefit from it.
Besides this if there happens to be a
balance of the appropriation left over
at the end of the year that amount
is deducted from the coming years ap-
preparation. Realizing the fact that it
would need more money in the future
to properly take care of the city parks
and improvements, the park board
sought the aid of the charter commits
sion to have the charter amended so
that instead of having to turn it's earn
Ing, Which at present amount to about
$4,000 per year, into the general fund,
these earnings in addition to the ap-
preparation would be placed at the
disposal of the board to be used in
making improvements in the parks.
The amendment also provides that in
case the board does not use for it's
entire appropriation by the end of the
. year, the balance remaining shall be
carried over to the boards credit as
an increase Of the appropriation for
the ensuing year This will give the
board, should there be any money at
the end of the year, a chance to use
it in making additional improvements
as the occasion may demand in the fu-
ture.
improvements IN View.
i President Wheelock, in speaking OF
the matter after the meeting last
night, said the park board wanted to
build new pavilion at Como, wanted
to make new improvements at Lake
Phalen and il fact wanted to make
a number of other improvements that
would tend to help beautify the city
but that under the present charter
they were only allowed $4,000 pei
year and in case anything was left
over at the end of the year it was de-
Quoted from the next years appro-
priation.
Besides all the money earned by the
. board during the year had to be turn
ed over to the general fund of the
city, and could not be used by the
board in making needed improvements
; Anticipating the growth of the parl
= system the board found it necessary
h to ask the charter commission tx
amend the charter so as to give the
board more money with which to make
the necessary improvements. The pres
ent assessed valuation of the city i.
. $SS,000,000 and if the amendment i:
e pass the council if it sees fit car
give the park board an annual appro.
n priation of $SS,000, which would be a
the rate of / mill on the dollar, beside:
. the earnings derived from the parks by
i the board.
Il SERGEANT BLAIR DIES