Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1913-05-20
MANY IMPORTANT MATTERS ARE
CONSIDERED At LAST
NIGHTS MEETING,
GARBAGE DISPOSAL IS Up
Temporary Arrangement Is Made
Council Defines It's Policy With
Regard to Improvement Districts
The Proposed Industrial Track
Building inspection Ordinance.

Last nights session Of the city
council was even more protracted
than the one week ago, the mayor
and aldermen showing keen interest
In their work and apparently being
unwilling to quit until all pending
matters had been disposed of.
Improvement Districts.
In adopting q report by the street
and alley committee, the council def
nitely declared its policy with regard
TO the creation Of Improvement dis
tricts. This report, which was lis
tened to with marked interest, was
as follows:
The following report from the street
and alley committee, which was adopt
ed, Is specially important as defining
the future policy Of the city with re-
spect to Improvement districts:
Gentlemen:
Your committee on streets and al
leys beg leave to submit the follow
Ing report for your consideration to-
gether with such recommendations as
we deem advisable
No little consideration has been
given by your committee concerning
the creation of special improvement
districts under the new law adopted
by the last legislature. 1t has been
forcibly brought to the attention of
your committee that it will be abso-
lutely necessary for the city council
to adopt set policy In the disposi-
tion of all improvement district mat
ters In future, In order that the citys
interests may be properly safeguard
ed
While the new law referred to gives
the city council almost unlimited dis
cretiOnary power In the matter of
initiating Improvement districts, it
also provides that 81 per cent Of the
property owners and those interested
in such district may defeat its crea-
tion by protesting against the same
Before arriving at the point in the
procedure where protests may be
filed, the city engineer is required to
survey the proposed district and COM
plete other necessary work incident
to making an estimate OF it's com
pleted cost. After this work is COM
pleted, the city is required to pub
lish resolution setting forth the en-
gineer's estimated costs and calling
for protests. Up to this period all ex-
penses incurred necessarily falls up
on the city, approximately $50 per
block, and in the event of successful
protest, the city is liable and must
pay the expenditures thus far incurred
without the slightest hope of REIN.
bursement.
In view of the above facts, your
committee would earnestly urge the
adoption of the following or a simi-
lar resolution for their future guild
| ance on thes ubject of creating i'm
provement districts in this city:
Be 1t Resolved, That all applica-
tions for the creation of Improvement
districts within the city of Lewistown
must be accompanied by petition
bearing the signatures of at least 25
per cent OF the property owners af-
fected by the creation of such dis
trict, together with certified check
of $50 per block for each and every
block or fraction thereof included IN
the proposed district, the amount SO.
deposited, or as much thereof as.
might be necessary, to be used to de-
fray the expense incurred by the city
up to the date set for protest In the
event of the successful creation of the
district, the amount SO deposited will
be returned and the entire cost will
be charged up to the district as pro-
yided ylaw.
Be 1t Furthe rResolved, That the
requirements of this resolution shall
in no way apply to or interfere with
the creation of improvement districts
by the city council when, in their
judgment, the creation of such a dis
trict will serve the best interests of
the city as a whole.
Your committee further recon-
mends that in the event of the adop-
ton of the foregoing resolutions, that
the city clerk be instructed to notify
those having petitions for the crea-
ton OF improvement districts before
the council at this time that said pe-
titions be withdrawn and new ones
submitted to conform with the above
resolutions.
Respectfully submitted,
H. ]. KELLY,
G. ]. WIEDEMAN,
T. A. BERKIN,
The Industrial Track.
The cOmmittpo to whom, u,oc -