The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1903-08-18
HAS BEEN CUSTOM
FOR MANY YEARS
=
Alderman du Bignont Has
Card Concerning Lease
of Lots
TAX PAYERS CAN LEASE
He Says City Has Already Received
rs Per Cent. of the Actual Value
of the Property Which He
Has Released.

Brunswick, Ga, Aug. II, 1903.
To the Editor: The articles in The
News of Saturday and Sunday relative
to the renewal of the lease of the foot
of George steet are calculated to leave
very wrong impression upon the
mind of the public, and in order that
the people of Brunswick may thor
oughly understand the situation,
! would be glad if you would give this
communication space in your columns.
In the first place, it has been the
customI for over thirty-fve years for
| the city to lease the western foot of
streets to tax payers owning the ad-
jacent water lots, charging for these
leases an annual rental which would
amount to about 2 per cent. of the
value of the adjoining property. The
improvements placed on the leased
property is subject to THE same rate
of taxation as all other similar prop-
erty in the city. and the revenue real
lied from this source has placed many
thousands Of dollars in the city treas
ury. The city has already received
for leases alone over rs Ler cent of the
actual value of this property, which
would otherwise be nCn-productive.
besides having built up at no expense
TO the treasury a regular wharf line,
and shutting out from view unsightly
mud flats at the termination of each
block. There are about twenty foot
OF streets that are now under lease,
and in 1896 quite number expired,
but i'll every instance they were
promptly renewed by the city, and in
one instance to holder who was then
an alderman of the city of Bruins
wick, but there was not a word said
IN opposition to tine renewal.
Only a few MONTHS ago the holder
Of the lease to the foot of one of these
streets petitioned council to cancel his
lease that had Deen renewed in 1886
fo.e twenty years, having still about
thirteen years to run. and grant him d
new lease for thirty years. His re-
quest was acted on favorabiy by coun-
Gil. No opposition from any source to
this lease. The wants of the city, SO
far as free dock facilities are concern
,AH n hn lIH III
snt demand The foot of Albemarle
street, which has never been leased
can at any time be put in condition
lOr the additional wants of the public,
but so far. although there is a resolu-
ton Of force since December, 1892. au-
horizing the committee on public
works TO eXpend one thousand dollars
.or the erection Of landing place
thereat, the dock of landing place
has never been erected; evidently
the committee has not deemed it nee
Cssary
Suppose the leases TO the foot of all
the streets should expire now. Would
it be best to renew them. thereby
: ilacing several thousand dollara in
the treasury of the city, or refuse 10
renew the leases, pay for the improve
ments which amounts to thousands Of
UP Che improvements which would
GmOunt each year to many thousand
dollars more, or let the whole thing
90 into the drink. | think the answer
is simple enough Lease the foot of
your streets. reserving enough to meet
the requirements of the public, and
put money into, instead of taking It
unnecessarily out of, the treasury Of
the city. Unfortunately the latter
course has been so long and persis-
tsntly INDUCED in that row that a
change has taken place. they howl
against those who are trying to pre-
serve the former course All of the
streets: that have been leased have
been leased to the owners of adjoin-
inG property and not to SPECTATORS,
who seem anxious to have chance
to bid on this kind Of property The
hue and cry of few people, VINO
never raised the slightest objection to
any renewal Of leases in all the thirty
seven years that leases have been
granted, is not enough to make the
city council do what has never been
done before in the history Of Bruins
wick put up to the highest bidder
a piece Of property Of itself too small
to be OF any use TO any one except
the owner of the adjacent water lots,
Xho ha. spea! thousands Of dollars
during the term Of his lease impro'