The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-09-09
CITY UNWILLING TO PAY SHARE.
Commission Holds That City May Be
Called Upon to Pay One-Fourth Ele-
walton Cost and This Brings Damper
to Long Negotiations.

Kenosha is not ready for t@ack ele-
walton and any action on the part OF
the North Western Railway Company on
the present proposed plan is matter
for the dim and distant future. This
was shown conclusively at the confer
ence on Friday evening between mem
bers of the common council, property
owners and engineers of the railroad
commission and the North Western
Company. There was no indication
that any one of the parties interested
was willing to bulge an inch and the
gathering was told that without COM
promise elevation was impossible. For
the first time the members Of the
council seemed to realize that elevation
would bring some expenditure to the
city and when the engineer for the
commission intimated that the cost TO
the city would be possibly one-fourth
the entire cost there was a notable
slumping off of the support for eleva
ton.
The engineers announced that the
cost Of elevation would be somewhere
in the neighborhood of million and
a half and if the city is to be called
on to pay one-fourth of this amount
the total will be close to four humid
red dollars.
This was not the original agreement
in the matter. 1t was expected that
the North Western company would pay
the entire cost of the elevation with
the understanding that the city would
be assessed for consequential damages
and the cost of repairing its own
streets to meet the grades made by
the installation of subways. Outside
the question of damages it was esti-
mated that the cost to the city would
not exceed ten thousand dollars. De-
mands made by property owners indi-
cate that the question Of damages is
going to be some. considerable question.
Fictitious values are. being placed on
land affected by the proposed eleva-
tion and If the owners of these lands
are able to make their claims hold up
in court the cost of elevation to the
city would reach the figures suggested
by the engineer of the commission.
There was nothing new or novel
came up at the conference on Friday
night. The old problems in connection
with the elevation of the tracks were
fought out all over again and at the
end Of the meeting the interested par
ties were no nearer an agreement than
before. The state railroad commission
was represented at the conference by
9. M. Larson and p. A. Atwood, both
men who bave made close study of
the Kenosha situation. These en-
gineers declared that the commission
had prepared no order for elevation
in Kenosha and insisted that they
were seeking to arrive at some con-
clusion which would provide for ele-
walton at the least possible expense to
all concerned. Engineer Finley, who
made the original plans for the Keno
sha elevation, was the representative
of the North Western company. Some
of the aldermen suggested that subways
be placed in all streets in the city.
The city can have subways at
every crossing, but it must be under
stood that such demands for subways
| will simply increase the amount to be
paid by the city. The opening of all
streets in Kenosha would make track
elevation practically impossible said
/ T 4
to which the opening of streets may
go. The commission is planning an
order for the best for all concerned.
| We want to give Kenosha something
| that will not be too expensive, but
something that will be adequate. y
/ Engineer Larson declared later that
the commission was willing to give its
sanction to any division of the cost of
elevation which might be agreed upon
between the city and the railway com
pany and in this statement is the real
solution of the problem. Kenosha is
not going to pay any half million dol
lars toward the cost of elevation, but
the city must reach an agreement. It
/ mas al SesNy bSS1A SCSOCu tudt WIN
certain concession made the railway
company would be willing to assume
the burden of consequential damages
and this would practically remove the
entire cost to be paid by tie city.
What these concessions would be is not
made public now. The question of an
agreement between the officials of the
company and the city is a matter to
be worked out by wise and far seeing
men and it is probable that in time
some time-this question will be work
ed out, but the solution of it is not in
sight at present. Completed plans and
/ specifications for elevation are to be
filed by the commission with the city
and future hearings are to be arranged
for, but elevation is now something of
the dim distant future.
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