The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-01-21
City Council Invites Expert Build
ers TO Draw Ordinance for
the Use Of the City
MAY DISPOSE OF POOR FARM
Council Orders Mayors Down Town
Office Closed and Dispenses With y
Clerk Hire in Mayors and
Health Officer's Offices

The City Council at its regular meet
ing on Monday evening laid the founda-
tion for the passage of a building ordi-
nance to govern building in Kenosha
for after this matter had been in the
hands Of a special committee for more
than three months the Council decided
to invite a Commission of expert build
ers to take up the matter and draft
practical law The Commission which
was named on the motion of Alderman
Marlatt, one Of the members of the
special committee formerly appointed,
is to be made up of Frank Foulke, Fred
Larsen, Charles H. Goodman, D. J.
Harff, William Butler and HI. G.. Clark.
All of these men have consented to act
on the Commission without pay and
they will at once take up the matter of
preparing the ordinance in order to
have it ready for passage by the City
Council before the opening Of the spring
building season In hGnOS0a.
The committee which has been in
charge of the ordinance has felt that
the matter was one for experts and as
Alderman Tully was the only builder
on the committee it was thought wise
to have commission named to act in
aunison with the committee and prepare
the ordinance. Several ordinances will
be presented to this Commission, but
there will be no effort on the part Of
the Council to hamper these men in
their work.
The meeting Of the Council was not
devoid Of interest as one of the first
matters of bust u ass to be brought up
was the question of disposing of the
sdown town Office of the mayor. The
soffice had failed to fulfill the function
splanned for it by the aldermen and it.
was found to be a useless expense.
However, there was a determined fight
ito keep the office open on the part Of
the friends of Mayor Scholey, notwith-
standing the fact that the report of
the. finance committee asking for the
closing of the Office had been adopted
by q unanimous vote several meetings
ago. At the first meeting of the year
the matter was not taken up and when
it was brought up last night in report
from the committee on building and
water works an effort was made to
again delay action on the matter.
However, a large number Of the mem
bers Of the Council were ready to act
and when the matter was put to a vote
the office was ordered closed. The
vote on the question was as follows
Ayes, Aldermen O'Brien, Timme, Mar
latt,>> Simonds, Dsch, schend, Schultz
and Mayer. Aldermen Swift, George
Wade, John Wade and Willems voted
! in favor of laying the matter over.
The order for the closing Of the office
directed that the mayor be given desk
room at the City Hall and that the
furniture Of his so-called private office
be removed to the City Hall while the
other furniture in the office be removed
to the police office for temporary stor-
age. The order dispensed with the
services of the private secretary of the
mayor and later IN the meeting similar
action was taken in regard to the clerk
employed in the office Of the city health
officer. The latter proposition passed
the Council by unanimous vote
There was considerable discussion in
regard to the city poor farm and after
the special committee had reported that
the County Board had refused to take
any action in regard to the securing
OF a county poor farm, the Council re-
ferred the matter back to the special
committee with a request that it make
some recommendation in regard to the
disposition to be made at the farm.
Keeper Robert Grant died at midnight
last night and it will be necessary for
the city to take some immediate action
either to secure a new keeper or rent
the farm to some other party with a
view Of his taking care of the inmates.
Many Of the members of the Council
seem to regard the poor farm as a
white elephant on the hands Of the
city and they believe that if it was
disposed OF at a profit the inmates now
cared for there could be cared for at
one Of the city flats. The whole matter
will be gone into by the special com
mittee and report will be made to the
Council at it's next regular meeting.
/ The poor farm has never been entire
~ self sustaining, but it is possible that
were it under the charge Of practical
truck gardiner it would prove a differ
ent story.
At the order of Mayor Scholey an eff
fort will be made to have the Kenosha
Water company pay portion of the
cost of the maintenance of the office
Of the city engineer which is also used
as the office of the water works. This
matter was referred to the chairman Of
the committee on building and water
works with orders to report at the next
regular meeting. There is some ques-
ton as to the right of the city to de-