The courier-index., 1920-02-20
PAVING PLANS FORMED
SECOND, OR BINDING PETITION, BEING DRAWN AND WILL BE PRESENTED TO PROPERTY OWNERS SOON.

Major E. A. Kingley, recently with Errncle Sans engineering forces in France in charge of the construction
 of roads leading from the supply
 bases to the fighting front, was in Marianna this week preparing maps of the city's streets and gath ering data incident to drawing the final plans for the paving of most of the streets in the city. At the meeting of the city council on Mon day night of last week the ordinance creating all the territory within the limits of the city into street paving district was passed. Under the law the property owners have ninety days in which to present the second
 or binding, petition asking the coun-
 cil to appoint commissioners and pro-
 ceed with the improvement. The
 total assessed valuation of the real
 estate in the district is little over
 one million dollars. The total cost
 of the improvement contemplated
 must not exceed twenty per cent of
 the assessed valuation of the real
 property. This means that approx
 imstely $200,000 is available for
 street paving. It is believed the
 streets can be improved with per
 msnent type of paving and proper
 drainage system in1talled for less
 than this amount. Of course, the
 improvement will be made with an
 issue of bonds to run from fifteen
 to twenty years, so the annual pay
 ments will not be heavy on the prop erty owners. The business district
 is included in the new paving district for the reason it is necessary to get the benefit of the assessed valua- ton of the real estate in the busi- ness district in order to enable the district to issue the amount of bonds necessary to pave the streets. The aSsessment of betternerts against the property in the business district which IS now embraced in Street Im- pavement District No. 1, will only De nominal, and the improvement of the streets will lay only a very small additional tax on the business prop erty.
 Those who are interesting them selves in this very necessary public move are endeavoring to get all the prliminaries out of the way as rap dly as possible so an advantageous contract may be secured before the contractors get themselves overload ed with road work in the scores of districts created by the last extra session of the Arkansas legislature.
 So far no opposition has manifest ed ntself to the project to pave the streets. The past winter has been sueh a severe one on the streets and the public has become so disgusted s,th mud and slush that nearly all lne property owners are willing to assume the small annual tax in order .nat Marlanna may be lifted out of Vae mud and placed along side of 9lher progressive cities in the state. IS further pointed out that the sssy ss IS now spending approximately go'VoO a year on the streets in an endeayor to keep them in a passable sondition, and most of this money :s sheer waste because none of it goes "to permanent improvement.
 u IS not anticipated those who cir euiated the final petition will have asF asF oificulty in securing the names oa oa a vast majority of the property SeherS as an evidence of their hearty approval of the movement to pave the streets.