The Alaska daily empire., 1913-01-30
For a Greater Juneau
 and How It Can Be Done
co,I Cub Committee Discusses Limitations of the Pres ent Townsite and Points Out How Its Necessary
 Expansion Can Be Secured

The report of the committee of the Juneau Commercial Club "in rela tion to the redemption of the Juneau tide flats" presents mass of inter esting information aside from the matter dealing with the tidelands The committee is composed of E. Val entine, F. Wolland and T. Radonich.
 It was intended to have been read at the Commercial! Club banquet, but owing to the illness of Mir, Valentine was not presented The following eX tracts are taken from the report:
 The townsite of Juneau embraces 126IA blocks of eight lots each, 5Ox1OO feet; four of the blocks being reserved by the United States government Eighteen lots are used for churches, hospitals and other public buildings; three lots are owned and used by fra ternal organizations, and S6 lots are now used for business purposes. Eff, ty.two lots are on steep hillsides and unfit for building purposes, other than cabins
 The total number of lots for all pur- poses is 1,Ol2, and of these 191 have been set aside for different purposes, and there are still S21 lots suitable for residential purposes, and some of the latter will be used for business purposes, with the growth of the town within the coming year, and at the expiration of that time there will probably be not more than 75O left for residential purposes, which" says the committee, means that Juneau can accommodate 75O families. If we allow three persons for each family, which is the average of the families of Juneau, We will have room for about twenty-two hundred and fifty persons; and owing to the steep mountains and the water surrounding the Juneau townsite, there is no room for expansion. In making the fore going estimates we have not consid- cred the Shattuck addition, or the ground below the saw mill, which would accommodate about one hun dred more families.
 Juneau's Present Population.
 "There are now about two thods- and people within the corporate linn it's of the town of Juneau; and there is every reason to believe that our population will more than double within the next twelve months. More ground for residential purposes must be secured in some way; and in this connection We recommend the re- demption of the Juneau or Gold creek tide flats.
 Tdeland Reclamation.
 By building a dyke of stone and brush at height of one and one half feet to twelve feet in height, along the line of low water mark, these flats can be reclaimed at cost of about $45,OOO; and the amount that can be reclaimed in this way will be over seventy-seven acres in area. Divide this reclaimed land into town lots, the size of those now in the Ju- neau townsite, and We would have GIG lots, 5Ox1OO feet, reserved for a park and public buildings. This amount would give us a plot of ground one thousand feet square, which would be sufficient for a baseball park, a public school building, an armory building. a school of mines building, a fisheries building, a territorial uni versity and the territorial capital building; and other public buildings that may be required as the capital of Alaska increases in importance. If Lle SuSS6SIlOuo hGAC ACSOAAAAASAN'NN should be carried out, we would have left for building purposes, fifty-two blocks, of eight lots each, which could be sold, at very low estimate, at $25O per lot, or a total of $1O4,OOO. This money should be used in de- fraying the expense of the reclama- tion; and the construction of afore- mentioned buildings.
 A New School Building.
 Tt is well known that in the near future, Juneau must have a new school building. The one now in use is old. too centrally located and en- tirely too small for even the present demands, and with an utter lack of playgrounds. The lots now occupied by the present school buildings, could be sold, and the sum realised, which should not be less than $12,OOo, be used in the construction of a new concrete and fireproof building. Cost ing not less than twenty-five thous