The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-08-05
City Council Formally Dscides on
Erection Of a New City
Hall for Ker0shs
TO COST ABOUT SIS. 900
Council Spends Hours Wrangling Over
Old Stumbling Blocks and Hears
Mayor Defend His Policies
in Many Speeches

meeting of the Common Council on
Monday evening and what is more to
the point it is to be built during the
years 1910 and 1911. Councils in
Kenosha for years have discussed the
matter, but the present Council acted
last night and acted swiftly. 1t
took just ten seconds by the watch for
the Council to decide to go ahead and
raise the money for the new building
and unless plans fail the work on it
will be started early next year. Alder
man G. F. Stemm of the Sixth ward
promises to have the title of Father
of the New City Hall' as it was the
Sixth ward Alderman who presented
the resolution which started the ball
rolling. 1t is an interesting fact that
Alderman Stemm when mayor of the
city nearly twenty years ago purchased
the site on which the new building is
to stand. In presenting the resolution
to provide funds for the city hall AL
derman Stemm gave an interesting lit
tie history of the city declaring that
the growth it had shown warranted
the city furnishing the officials with a
business. In closing he presented a
resolution demanding that the sum Of
$4,000 be appropriated from the tax
roll in 1910 for starting the work and
that the remainder of the money need
ed be appropriated in the following
year. The resolution was adopted by
a unanimous vote Of the Council. al
derman Stemm presented a set of
sketches drawn by Architect Gaastra
but no action was taken on the plans
and it is probable that all the archi-
tects in the city will have a chance
to make plans for the proposed new
building. The work of carrying out
the plans for building the hall was re
ferred to the committee on buildings
and water works composed Of Alder
men Werner, Disch and Marlatt with
the mayor and Alderman Stemm added.
All Of the members of the committee
are heartily in favor of the building
of new city hall and it is ee-tain
that they will rush the plans as rapidly
as possible. The city must surrender
the building now occupied early in
1911 and it is possible that the new
building will be ready by that time.
The Council spent hours in discus
sion and outside of the plans for the
new city hall there was not great
deal of interesting business came up.
The mayor talked many times defend
ing his policies and went over the
ground touched many times before in
defense of the employment of men to
grade the streets. He declared that
he would take the same steps again
if he thought it was necessary to pre-
vent people of the city appealing to the
pauper committee for aid. He also
had lot to say in regard to the re-
cent street carnival and objected very
seriously to the carnival being called
la Ffizzle.' IF this had been the first
time that the mayor had broken out
into oratory it would have been inter
esting, but it was an old story to the
members of the Council. The old
question of street and sidewalk grades
responded to the usual encore and the
Council took up an hour in useless dis
cussion which ended in no action being
taken beyond the members of the
Council agreeing to go to the corner
of Strong and Congress streets on Sat
urday and investigate proposed
change in grade.
Alderman John Hegefnan and the
mayor had wordy war over the en-
ployment Of one Johnson as an inspec-
tor on the sewer on Dayton street.
The alderman held that an Inspector
was not needed on the job at all and
that Johnson had not been attending
to business The mayor had named
johnson as an inspector in his capacity
as chairman of the street assessment
committee. The committee refused to
allow his salary and the fight on the
question will come up at the next
meeting of the Council. In airing his
views on Johnson as an inspector and
the method of his appointment the al
derman from the Third ward bearded
the mayor in his den and it looked for
time as if there would be something
doing.
The report Of the city treasurer
showed that all the funds were still
on the right side with the exception of
that of the -pauper department. The
quarterly report of this department
showed that the paupers were costing
the city lot Of money, but 1t was
declared that the expenses OF the de
lpartment were being greatly reduced
and it is expected that the amount de
manded for this fund this year will not
be 50 large as in the preceding year.
The balance which the city had
in the bank amounted to $44,043.S0, but
the appropriations made at the meet
ing last night including $4,000 ap-
preparation for the work on Market