The Coconino sun., 1922-08-04
FLAGSTAFF WANTS CLARK RANCH FOR HIGH SCHOOL
 AND MODERN CITY PARK
Continued from Page One.)

| pdIk. ISNOuKu WOulu Dc icil lOI aSii- letic field and race track.
 Mir. Harrington called attention to the fact that the present race track is plotted into city lots and will ulti- mately be sold. Part belongs to the Normal and part to Rabbit brothers. The town authorized S275, 900 high school bonds, MT. Harrington said, and $175,OO0 have been sold. Another $25,000 will have to be sold to com plete the high school, leaving a bal ance of $75,000 authorized which will not be sold. In reply to question by Dick Bongberg, he said he did not believe it wise for the school board to buy the entire ranch with the idea of reselling part of it. as this is not the province of the school board, but he believes the city could do it to ad- vantage. and should.
 R. A. Car,eron said he believed the ranch good buy. that while the price seems a little high, it never can be bought for less; that the price on a portion of the nresent athletic field is S10.GO0. and it is not large enough nor favorably located.
 John Francis said it is a splendid buy. The town can't go farther east or north unless it takes in the ranch. He had seen downtown lots sell in years past for S25, and lots in the residential section that are now bring ing $500 sold for s15. If in course of time we want to sell part of the land it will bring a big return, while the increase in the value of the prop erty will more than pay the interest on the bonds. We need a lake and winter sports, he said. There is a place there where by damming the River de Flag we can have lake. Winter sports are as necessary to the development of a city, almost, as summer sports. It is sensible, good buy.
 c. B. Wilson said Flagstaff is rap idly becoming famous as school cen- ter and may in time become the school center of the whole southwest. There are great possibilities in the city's ownership of this 160-acre tract. It will help to make this the winter as we'll as the summer playground of | the state. We are crowded in our present park. The vocational train ing boys are taking up large section and the auto tourist camp grounds another large section, and we want them to. Our camp ground is now favorably known all over the United States. With enlarged facilities and improvement. it will be of inestimable value to Flagstaff We never can get land at lower price. Much of it is a natural mark susceptible to easv and economical improvement and develop l ment. It is sulendidly lor''ted. Be- sides. it is the only avail able spot. This is the time and opportunity to get it.
 | M. T. Powers said he had just re- turned from A.000-rnile auto trip | throuoh six states. Where vor found mark development vor foun, the live towrS The towns that provide rec | ~eatioral prnunds for their ,eople and rar.i, ond ~ncrea+iopal conver fences for their tourists are the ones that are prosperino. Cost ron,narel to the advantages to he derived from such improvement. is unimportant. We have got to figure Flagstaff not on a basis of one year or twc years from now, but on basis of twenty, fifty and a hundred years. The Norma. school board. of which he is member, was offered land near the Normal for nothing. They didn't take it. Later they needed it and had to nay S11 300 and the people they boupht it from have been kicking ever since because they sold it too cheap. He told about | Cody, near the Yellowstone National park, founded by Buffalo Bill. It was COW town. 1t is now tourist town. It has all kinds of conveniences for tourists, including big dancing pa- villion. The auto traffic supports the town, and they recently had 1893 au- to tourists in one day.
 | F. s. Breen moved that the meet ing recommend to city council the calling of bond election to vote bonds enough to buy and improve the Clark ranch. He said city council should know what the improvements will cost and should call for bonds of sufficient amount 70 carry out the inl- provements. whatever the amount may be. He said it is the duty of council to put the matter before the people in concrete form and then it is the duty of the people to put the bonds over. There will always be ob- structionists and kickers. When he came here they were paying 25 cents to dollar for rain water-when they could get it-but lot of them kicked against the water improvement. If the town grows it will be because vhe city council has guts enough to map out constructive program and ask for the money. The amount involved is nothing. We came here and squat ted. The town has grown in spite of us. It is now up to.us to stand up and help it grow. There is no other di- rection in which it can grow, unless it busts and part of it jumps some where else.
 M. I. Powers seconded the motion and it was carried by unanimous rising vote.