The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-02-12
They Have Troubles Of Their Own
to Deal With.
An Improvement That Will Cost Some
thing Like $1,000.
Discuss the Lighting Matter, But No
Action Was Taken.
Other Village Matters Receive the At
teation of Council.
From Tuesdays Daily.

From Tuesdays Daily.
j. B. Nielsen, president of the village
council of North Mankato, and A. L.
at last well enough to attend a council
meeting last night, SO the long deferred
session was held in the village hall.
Quite a crowd of citizens was in attend
ance throughout the long meeting which
lasted until about twelve o'clock. A
petition was presented for the grading
of the easterly two blocks of Charles
street, to make that street passable
away up to the river bridge, and was
signed by H. P. Christensen, Fred Kron,
j. S. Rolf and w. D. Willard, the latter
representing the First National bank,
all these parties being greatly interest
ed in the proposed improvement, which
was calculated as quite a benefit to
their lots, along the proposed fill. These
petitioners all wanted the village to
stand the full legal limit of half the cost
of the fill. There was great deal of
opposition among the citizens outside of
the council to SUCH course, and the
councilmen themselves couldn't see why
the village should stand so much as half.
w. H. Tidland thought the village
would be going as far as could be reas-
onably expected if twenty five per cent
of the improvement, provided the cost
did not exceed $1,000, should be paid
for out of the village treasury. The
council finally decided to act on this
basis. The improvement is to be made
as far as 81 200 will do it, and the vii.
lage will pay $500 of that sum. Filling
to the extent of what $1,000 will pay
for, will by no means bring the street up
to good permanent grade, but it will
make the street passable. To grade the
street as it should be- faf all time to
come would require about $4,000. How
ever, if the street is made passable now,
it can be further improved later on. Such
was the theory of the council.
Bids for the grading will be advertised
for, and the contract will be awarded to
the lowest bidder per load of filling.
Bert Tidland presented a petition for
the extension of Wheeler street two
blocks westward to Sherman avenue.
Mr.. Tidland at present cannot get out
of his own yard without walking or
driving over the property of the neigh
bors. Some of the neighbors do not like
this and Mr.. Tidland would like very
much to reach the public highway with
out doing any trespassing. In order to
extend the street, however, as he wants
it, the house and lot of T. ]. Sherk
would have to be purchased as they
stand directly in the way of the pro-
posed extension. Perhaps some arrange
ment could be made whereby the house
could be moved off to another lot, and
the lot on which it stands purchased.
1t is not likely, however, that anything
will be done in regard to this matter
very soon. Several of the citizens gath
cred in the village hall last night thought
the proposed improvement would be an
act of public extravaganza. The petit
4;op ,roe c;rop1x, foh1od
W. H. Tidland brought up the matter
of the village street lighting. He sug-
gested the matter of village lighting
plant. This question was discussed at
some length but no definite conclusion was
arrived at as to that proposition. The
last contract with the Mankato Gas and
Electric Light company expired last
Sunday. The light had been good and
the rates reasonable and nobody felt very
much like disseminating the present SER
vice. At present the village has five
good arc lights run on the moonlight
schedule and are paid for at the rate OF
$6s per year per lamp. The councilmen
all felt that the best thing to do was to
let the company go on lighting the
streets at the same rate for the present.
An election is soon to come on and
the present councilmen do not care to
take any decisive steps just yet. On the.
first Tuesday after the first Monday in
March, the people will choose officers for
the coming year and the newly elected
council can wrestle with the lighting
question in any way it sees fit.
The attention of the body was called
to the fact that certain parties have been
cutting timber off strip of village prop
erty, sixty-six feet wide and running
from the foot of the hill at the westerly
end of Belgrade avenue in a Southwestern
Iy direction to the river bank. The strip
is owned by the village in fee simple,
but is traversed by public road. The
recorder was instructed to notify the
parties who have been doing this timber
cutting that that timber belongs to the
village and they must let it alone.
IL .x,cf r.