The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1915-05-27
IS A KNOTTY PROBLEM
Misunderstanding Between Council
and Property Owners.

HOW is tnat Sl0,UUU.UU TO De. dp
piled by the city administration to
ward defraying the expenses of the
North II street and G avenue pave
ment?" And the problem was OF sui
ficient weight to defer action on the
part of the council until next regular
session to give both council and prop
erty owners more time to view the
business from different angles.
Tuesday evening was the time sci
for making final assessment of the
paving against the property AUDITING
the streets for the First ward i'm
provement. Word had gone out that
the administration had designs upon
that thirteen thousand dollars fund
obtained by the city for the vacation
of NJ avenue crossing to the M. & st.
l.. Railway, and pledged to First
ward improvement. The city intend
ed to apply the money toward defray-
ing the cost of paying for its inter
sections, excess grading and incident
al expenses. Then there were nu'
merous properties that would not
provement. The city has to make
good the amount of difference be-
tween the legal assessment the city
can make. one-fourth the assessed
valuation of the property, and the
amount of the bill for pavement. In
some cases the amount of assess
ment cannot be over twenty dollars
and for many lots twenty-seven dol
lars, while the price of the pavement
mounts to $4,000 and upwards. The
city has to make good the amount be-
tween the $50 or $27 and the $500.
The proposition before the council
was to apply the balance of the $13.-
900 on the city's end of the bill. The
city is now responsible for over S12,-
900 that cannot be legally assessed.
for intersections, etc. and there is
less than that amount in the fund.
Some of the money has already been
paid out for excess grading.
Paying this money against the
City's share of the expense will leave
absolutely nothing in the fund to be
applied against the property assess
ments. Something wrong in this ad,
justment somewhere" said the prop
erty owners. Some lots have practi-
Cally all of the cost of the paving paid
by the city. while others get not one
cent. That is not according to the
agreement made by the city with the
property owners of these streets and
the owners of places were out in
number Tuesday night to protest
against the action of the city fathers
in applying the paving money that
way. These property owners had
been given to understand in the be-
ginning that the thirteen thousand
dollars,-not a part of it after Ger.
tain expenses had been paid, but the
sum total, the whole of the thirteen
thousand dollars,-would be applied
against anything the city might have
to pay for its share of the expense.
In fact, general impression prevailed
that the city was willing and anX-
ious to help the people of the ward
secure this Improvement and would
do its full share toward making the
thing possible. City Engineer Earl
Bridges was ordered to make an es-
innate of the cost of the improve
ment, to ascertain how far toward de-
fraying the cost against property the
100000 would go and the infOrma-
ton was given to property owners
that the money obtained from the
railway company would come near
meeting six-tenths, more than half of
the cost of the pavement. 1t was
stated that this money applied on the
assessment against properties would
take care of at least three and pos
sibly four annual payments, on the
seven year payment plan. And 1t
was on these terms that the people
along the street and avenue in ques.
ton agreed that the improvement
should be made.
In the beginning the SO 100000, NJ.
& St l.. Ry. money. was to be spent
by the city in erecting a viaduct, a
steel and concrete foot bridge across
the NJ. & st. l.. tracks on NJ avenue
for the accommodation OF residents
in the First ward. When this was
shown to be impossible by reason Of
the expansion of the NJ & St. l.. prop
erty, the people of the ward gave up
the idea OF the viaduct provided the
money be applied by the city toward
defraying the expense of putting in
a pavement, the benefit Of the cash
fund to be shared by the individual
owners, pro rata. For eX-
ample say John Smith owned one
fourth of the assessable property on
the street, one-fourth of the proper
ty owners cost would be assessed
against his places He would there.
fore be entitled to one-fourth of the
thousand dollars to be ap-
piled against his assessments What
ever percent of cost in the pavement
each property owner was assessable
that same percent of the thirteen
thousand dollars was to be applied to
defray the bill. ....... .fr
Now comes the city Of Oskaloosa
and says, we first pay for any ex.
penses for which the city may be
intersections. excess
grading, incidentals. advertising. in
spection. miscellaneous. and few
other things. Added to that any
amounts for which the city might be
legally held by the contractor are TO
be first taken out OF the money post
ed by the railroad company. II any
thing be left the property owner
might have that. In other words.
the pavement. according to the coun.
40. a.