Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1922-01-05
FACTS
In West Elm Street Improve
ment

In all public improvements more or
less objection arises to the proposed
method of procedure, and our West
Elm Street improvement is no excep-
ton.
The same foreign element, the peo-
pie that are interested in the manu-
facture mad sale of road building ma
treials that they hake a desperate
effort to have used in the construc-
ton of any proposed street or high
way Improvement, and their method
of procedure is always the same: They
solicit the support of some local
citizen and in the case of the street
in question, the editor of one of our
local newspapers, the same man that
in an arrogant manner as has been
/ in all public matters, pretending to
be bell sheep, is directing efforts of
the mentioned foreign interests. He
mislead the citizens of Wausoen on
the recent issue of vote on the ques-
tion of an additional mill levy for
the purpose of providing funds, part
of which were to be used to pay off
debt that was created way back in
1914, a bona-fide Indebtedness that
the village must pay, and which, if
we had voted favorbaly for the mill
levy, could have been payed in a
short period of time by an additional
tax rate that would not of exceeded
$1.00 on the $1,000 of taxable pro-
perty that we might own. The only
alternative our village officials had,
was to provide for the issuing of the
villages bonds to provide funds with
which to pay off the indebtedness.
AND WE ARE THE GOAT. Because
the interest must be payed with the
principal.
The same facts are being used in
your West Elm Street improvement.
Is it any wonder that it is almost
impossible to get citizens of our Will
age to serve as Councilmen, when in
their efforts to do what they think is
fair and just, they are assailed from
every angle for every move they
make. During the last two years
council term, no less than three coun-
cilmen resigned, the fourth man
threatened to resign and the fifth
man, Mr.. Socie has just submitted his
resignation. 1t is an alarming situa-
ton. The business men of Wauseon
should make a united effort to see
that this unjust criticism is stopped.
! In the original construction of West
Elm Street you were mislead by the
same element in question; your en-
J gineer had plans for a brick pave
ment on inch portland cement
foundation, reinforced concrete pave
lment 8 inches thick, / part cement
liz parts sand and parts crushed
! stone and on a macadam street. You
received bids on the three types, and
most unfortunately for the people
who payed the bill, the macadam
type of pavement was accepted, with
Stag as the material to be used in the
Iconstruction, material recognized
as the poorest road building manu-
Ifactured. Had you placed the brick
or concrete pavements in either of
: which you would have been receiving
|. more pavement for each dollar spent,
, at slight additional cost, your street
would be in good condition today, es-
pecially had you placed the 8 inch
concrete slab.
In the proposed improvement were
the officials in charge who are
making every effort to enlighten the
public, planned for the improvement
with not only to-day in mind, but
. with the future in particular. With
the engineers who are local taxpay-
r ers and who have the villages well
fare at heart, as the men who will be
in direct charge of the improvement,
|. and who will assure you, will see that
: every bit of material that is supposed
| to go into the street is of the requir-
ed quality and quantity so that for
every dollar you spend you will re-
ceive a dollars worth of street.
In the last issue of the newspaper
in question, vicious attact was made
on the local representatives of the
state highway department,
Not one single statement made can
be verified as the truth He states
, that the Highway Department fixes
the width of village street, and that
/, in the case of West Elm Street If
! must be "a feet wide or nothing. They
+ do fix the width, but it is the mini
mum width requirement, 16 feet in all
$ cases. The village is at liberty to build
t 16 it. or any width that they may
4 desire, greater than 16 ft.
t In planning for the street, the kind
d and volume of traffic that the street
f must take care of in the immediate
:. future, was given serious thought
e West of the city you have a 16 ft
4 pavement, and in addition to this II
: ft. width you have ft. of earth sur.
face on each side, giving a cleal
roadway of 26 feet, providing ample
parking and passing room. Part Of
your present street width is only x
: feet; When automobiles or other We
hicles are parked within the villag,
e they must be parked on the pavement
/ You can not drive over the curb. TIL,
e width of a machine is about feet
Place one on each side of the stree
directly opposite on another, and yol
y will have 8 feet left for traffic. How
can two vehicles pass on an 8 foo
space.
No person of fair judgment dar,
q question the advisability of widenin,
the part of the street that is now q
5. it. to "a ft. at the time the improve
ment is made.
That part of the Improvement be
tween Clinton and Fulton Streets
d to be 40 and 48 ft. wide, which vii
provide the much needed parking
room.
T. The Village Council designates tn
width. Absolutely nothing will b
done until after the approval of plan
by the Director of Highways, an
his cretification of that fact to th
n county commissioners, who, where
II village eo-operates, turn the matte
n over to the village council.
e. They must then adopt a resolutio
r stating as to what width the stree
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