Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1903-03-27
FIRST MEETING OF
VILLAGE COUNCIL.
The New Council Net in the New
Village Hall for the First Time
Last Tuesday Night.
A SPRlNKLING OF VISITORS
PRESENT AT THE MEETING.
President Young Submits His First
Message 10 the Members of the
Council.

Last Tuesday night was the date Of
the first meeting of the council for the
ensuing year, and II was very tittingly
held in the handsome rooms provided
for that purpose in the new village hail,
il being the first time they had been
used for that purpose. Quite number
OF visitors were present TO witness the
starting out Of the guardians of our
welfare during the next twelve months
and considerable interest was manifested
In the business brought before that
august body. The only matter of i'm
portance that was acted upon was the
question of building of a sewer on Wal
nut st. A resolution was passed instruct
ing Jas q. Chase, the village surveyor,
and w. A. Bahlke, TO draft an assess
ment roll aud ascertain the property
that would be benefited by the sewer. AS
an innovation President Young had pre-.
pared message TO the council, in which
of improving the business, sanitary and
moral conditions of our village. Below
Is the message in full
Gentlemen of the Council and Fellow.
citizens
Il take pleasure in this, my first oppor.
tunity of meeting with you in council
as representatives. of the taxpayers and
citizens of Alma, and wish TO outline
few of the important duties involving
on us as president and trustees Of this
municipality. | hope that We will be-
come a unit in most of the affairs that
may come before US. at the same time
giving each matter proper consideration
before acting, also being as brief as the
occasion may present, as | fully bs.
lieve no good comes from allowing
matters TO llnger that are brought before
Us for consideration
Il believe it TO be our duty 20 assist in
furtherlng the best interests of our
village IN every possible manner Let
US set some good example, no matter how
small the Importance, and some Of our
neighboTs are sure 10 follow You are
all fully competent and have more or
less influence. This, my fellow citizens,
make known by what you do There is
plenty OF work % be done by willing
hands. While we know the duties of
the officers of this village are not other
than honorary, We must consider that
they have TO be done by some one;
therefore, let us do them as we'll as we
can.
We have streets TO clean, streets 90
grade aud repair, sidewalks TO build,
sewers TO construct waterworks to
extend. streets 70 open, building To
construct, and many things that cannot
be seen until they are presented there
fore, we should get TO the front and see
that every effort is made TO accomplish
al much as possible IN "a limited time
The welfare Of the village Is in our
hands. our friends look TO Us for great
things. Let Us not be found wanting
IN any respect. We should act. and act
on time. as our neighboring towns are
ever reaching out TO grasp what we
neglect. We have opportunities before
US such as few villages have.
Mature has given US certain al
vantages over other locations for acoming
city. We are blessed with beautiful
stream of water, ever winding its way
through our village, assisting in making
many beautiful pieces OF scenery. Our
eastern suburb lfas shown itself equal 20
the emergency and made beautiful
lake from its once stumpy pond. Shall J
we still look back on what we once
might have hadf No, gentlemen, let us
see TO IL that Alma's pond is cleaned out /
and made "a beautiful sheet OF water |
that our citizens may be justly proud Of. !
This should be looked % in sanitary
light, if for nothing more. What is It |
that gives Alma reputation through !
out the state? It IL its resources And |
the resources OF Alma are "a bountiful |
supply of pure water. pure air, and |
fairly good morals What we need are |
some good public wells on our streets, |
where our citizens and visitors can /
quench their thirst. We also want 1
some respectable looking and service
able drinking tanks for horses, etc. OF |
course cur wants are many, but we can
not gain IA better reputation or hold the |
one we have for being an up.to date /
town unless We keep pace with the |
world. We have either TO go ahead or |
90 back, for n we stand still, we are |
simply IA stumbling block.
Il bell, We our morals may be improved |
without material injury TO business, for |
l see young men, minors as it were, In |
quite an intoxicated condition on our
streets. Some one is responsible for |
this Should we not investigate the
cause? Again see men. young and old,
congregating on the street corners, us
ing vulgar and profane language, insult.
ing ladies as they pass. These are not
good morals. nor is IL good government.
believe they can and should be stopped. |
"Too much pains cannot be taken by |
our Board OF Health To see that pools Of
stagnant water are dispensed with and |
that the garbage from alleys, back Of !