The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-03-29
PAVING NORTH E STREET.

A week from Monday night it will
be up-to council to determine whether
or not North Z street shall be paved
and otherwise improved, as the man
ufacturers located along that street
have presented their remonstrance
and stated their determination to dc
their utmost to persuade council tC
prevent the proposed improvement
sunless~the city pays the total cost oil
paving. Last Sunday we expressed
tour approval of the plan proposed by
Ihhetcity, sby which it was to pay not on
nyfor administrations but also for ter
hper centsof the cost of the curbs and
sgutters, besides paying one-third the
cost. assessed against property owners
Hor.paving. The manufacturers interest
,sed Showever, declare they have no as
Insurance the city will carry out this
Eproposition, as the resolution ordering
hheSinlpEovement of North e street in
mo- wise mentions the city's respon
sibilitysfor ten per cent of the cost OF
the curbs and cutters and one-third
thesamNInttthat will be levied against
fthe$property owners for paving. The
manufacturers in~this contention are
quite right. as the resolution does not
contain any such provision. Further.
more, the resolution can not contain
any such clause providing for the
citXs responsibility in this connection
as asstate law prohibits it. The reso-
luton, however, does say this, "The
cost of said improvement shall be as
sessed upon the real estate abutting
on said North E street and on all
property abutting on the streets or
alleys intersecting the street or alley
proposed to be improved, and on prop,
erty within $50 feet of the line of the
street or alley to be- improved, and
upon the city Of Richmond, Indiana,
If the said city Is benefited by said
Improvement, -" That. clause
which we have emphasized is the one
under which the city Is allowed to pay
the proportion it has agreed to pay
That proportion is not in the resolu
ton, as stated before, nor can it be on
account of state law. The board of
public works, however, representing
the city of Richmond, has stated that
the city would pay the proportions
stated above and we believe the city's
word, as expressed by its board of
public works, is binding and one that
; can he relied upon by the manufact
turers.
Nowras to the merit of~the conten-
tttion ofsthe manufacturers that the city
tshould bear the entire cost of paving
North E street Before stating ou1
topinion on this subject we will show
fwhatsthe city has done heretofore in
(every case where a street has been
tpavede with brick. In the first place
twhen Mainstre was paved'with brick
&he city paid for one section between
ASixth and Ninth streets, one-fourth the
assessment against the property own
kers besides the intersections. The rest
from Fourth to Sixth streets and from
lNinth~to Twentieth streets was settled
entirely by the property owners with
the exception of the share borne by the
street railroad company and the inter.
sections which were paid for by the
city. In this latter case the total cost
of the improvement was $6O,o24el. OF
this amount S13,177.90 was paid by the
street railroad company, $S,OS2 covered
The city's share for intersections, and
the remainder, $3S.963.9o, was met by
the property owners. When Fl
Wayne avenue was paved with brick
the city besides paying for the inter
sections also paid one-third the cost
assessed against the property owners
a proposition that is not as good as the
one now open to the property owners
along North E street, where the city
has agreed to pay ten per cent. of the
cost of curbs and cutters. in addition
to one-third the assessment against
property owners for paving When
North E street from Eighth TO Tenth
streets was paved with brick the totaI
cost amounted to $6,33o.56. Of this
the city paid $2,o7S1S, or less than. one
third the cost even including the inter
sections. But by far the most inter
esting case is that of Gaar Scott K Co
In 1904 this company, possibly the lar
gest manufacturing plant in the city
petitioned to be allowed to build &
brick pavement on North Sixth street
from the railroad to North f street
and asked TO be allowed to stand two
thirds of the cost, the city TO bear III
remaining one-third And mind you
Caar Scott G IN nv +b;c ,,r0,,oe;+;o,,