The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1911-06-13
TOWN WANTS SHARE
COUNTY ROAD WORK
Paid $500, 900 in Seven Years
and Received Nothing.

That Morristown has paid over
$780, 900 in county road taxes to the
board of freeholders and had not re-
cetved one cent in return on the re-
pair of county roads in this munich
pality was one OF the points made at
the special meeting Of the board of
aldermen Friday evening. The ses-
sion was for the purpose of deciding
what was to be done about the repair
of Morris street, Speedwell avenue
and two sides of Park place, these
thoroughfa1es being county roads.
The two first named thoroughfares
are in dangerous condition.
1t was Alderman IIinchman who
made the assertion about the lack of
money spent in Morristown and he
asserted that in the past seven years
the county has appropriated annually
$4,000 for road repairs. He pointed
not that last year Mt Kemble av-
enue and South street, also county
roads, We're repaired but the funds
came from the state road department
from the automobile funds and not
from the county.
A resolution was offered by Alder
man Gill, of the street committee,
empowering his committee to con-
clude terms with the county for the
repair of the streets. The county,
it seems, has made proposition
that Morristown accept these county
roads and maintain them after the
county expends $4,000 on them, the
difference in the cost of the repair
ing and that amount to be borne
equally by the town and the Morris
County Traction CO.
Alderman Clifford, in speaking
against the resolution, said that the
county road authorities had for years
been making excuses for not doing
any road work in Morristown, using
the trolley and sewer construction
work for that purpose. He was in
favor, he said, of dropping the ques-
tion of repairing these thoroughfares
and appealing to the state road de-
Ipartment, which, he believed, would
compel the freeholders to make the
repairs needed, the town devoting it's
attention to its own streets and not
to those of the county.
Town Counsel Charlton A. Reed as
II
, serted that the freeholders looked
: upon Morristown as a productive COW
to be MIXED for the benefit of the
rest of the county and that the free
! holders would not sacrifice the other
: sections of the county to do work
? in Morristown.
, An amendment was finally passed
with the resolution. giving the com
, mittee no power to conclude terms
but only to treat with the freeholders
! and report back to the aldermen at
a special meeting Tuesday night.
: The county has several times tried
to throw the maintenance of the
d county roads in Morristown back up
on the town. But there is strong
feeling against the proposition it be
. ing argued that if this was done the
town would still have to pay its
share of county road taxes and would
also have the burden of caring for
the additional streets.
The town, cooperating with the
county and the trolley company, re-
Gently asked for bids for repairing
Speedwell avenue, Morris street and
Park place. Only three bids were
submitted and they were for a btu
lithic pavement. At Friday night S
meeting they were formally rejected
{ and the checks ordered returned to
the makers. 1t was said that the
bids We're in the neighborhood of
$3.50 per square yard while the street
, commissioner was satisfied he could
get the work done for $2.16 per
square yard.