The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-02-19
Auditorium Project Encounters
It's First Serious Obstacle.
Property Owners Refuse to Part
With Their Land.
MAY HAVE TO BUY Them OUT
Condemnation PrOcee ling S
Might Tie Up Whole Matter.
Once in the Courts End Could
Not Be Seen.

Trouble may be experienced by the
city in securing additional land for the
enlargement of the auditorium. Fear
of that was expressed by city officials
and officers of the Commercial club
at a meeting held this morning at the
city building. 1t may be found neces-
sary to purchase all of the different
properties affected, instead of the
forty feet required of each for the
actual construction of the addition.
Early in the agitation over an en-
larged auditorium property owners
became anxious and two of them called
upon Mayor ]. E. House to find out
! where they stood. The project was in
a nebulous state at that time and
Mayor House told them to have no
| fear; that it would probably be some
| time before they had cause for anxiety.
| Since then the auditorium project has
materiallzed mere fully and there are
| rumors of legal procedure to tie the
| hands of the city.
| All these matters were discussed at
| the meeting this morning and while no
| decision was reached it is probable
| that advances will be made to the
property owners by members of the
| Commercial club committee. George
Hayden, city attorney. has held that
the city has full authority to condemn
the property and purchase it from the
| owners but even with that authority
| in the hands of the city, the property
owners have it in their power to delay
considerable
! Injunction proceedings.
1t was suggested at the meeting that
perhaps it would be better for the
city to buy the properties outright and
pay fair price for them than to at
| tempt to force the sale of forty feet
| off the back end of each piece of prop
erty. That is a matter that will be
gone into thoroughly by the CONNER
! cial club directors before any action is
taken. Because of this situation there
n ha cir 11at
| of petitions calling for a bond election.
Bond Issue Must Cover It.
| The committee must put the maxi
mum amount of the bond issue to be
asked for in the petitions" said W.
H. WATSON, commissioner of finance,
| and it must necessarily know how
much the city is going to have to pay
for the land before the amount is
fixed
Providing any bonds are asked for
Commissioner WATSON is in favor of
asking for enough to cover everything
without skimping anything. But he is
also opposed to having a surplus after
the original plans are carried out in
the construction of a building.
! The committee should know OK
actly what it is going to have to
spend" he said today, Il can see no
harm in asking another architect go
over the plans submitted by Mr.. Hol-
land and checking them up. Mr.. Hol-
lard is an experienced architect and
knows his business but there could
be no harm in having the judgment of
two experienced men on this propo-
sition. And after two men have passed
judgment believe the plans should be
submitted to a practical builder to see
if the IDEAS of the architects can be
carried out within their estimates
FaVOrS Serial Bonds.
| W. w. Webb, president, and J. Will
Kelley, secretary of the Commercial
club, spent over an nour this morning
with Commissioner w. H. WATSON,
Commissioner W. i. Porter and
went over all the different phases of
the matter with reference to the vot-
ing of bonds. Instead of the usual
ten or twenty-year bond Commission
or WATSON favors serial bonds in this
instance.
Il believe ceriaI bonds would be
easier to handle" said Nj. WATSON.
although we have found no law or,
the subject to da tie. We issue serial
bonds for all internal improvements
such as paving and sewers For in
stance, if we should have serial bonds
for the auditorium fund it could be
arranged so one-tenth could be paid
off in one year, another tenth at the
! end of two years. and so on. I he
lieve that would be better way of
paying the debt than to have it come
!! due all at one time at the end of ten
or twenty years. 1t would also mean
n big saving III interest"
George Hayden, city attorney, is
looking up the law On the question of
/ issuing serial bonds for such a pur-
pose as the remodeling Of the audi
forum.
City officials have been more or less
skeptical of any proposition calling
for a new or remodeled auditorium
but the interest shown in the project
ant, the har I'd work business men and
Commercial club members are putting
in on it has won some of them over.