Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-03-28
keypOrt To Purchase
Beach Park Tract:
Mayors Vote Decides

KEYPORT, March 28:-At the
regular meeting of the borough
council held Monday night the ordi-
nance governing the purchase of the
property on the waterfront known as
Beach Park was read and passed on
the third reading. The vote was as
follows: Affirmative. DR.. H. T. Hop
kins, H. Seabrooke Schanck, Robert
Rothwell; negative, Dani'l Van Pelt,
Ernest G. Bailey and Albert Wander
bilt. Mayor Smith decided the ques-
tion by casting his ballot in the af-
f1rmative. Thus Keyport at last will
own a strip of waterfront property.
At the recent election the matter was
placed before the voters on the bal
lots and was carried in the affir ma
tive side by a great majority. 1t now
remains to be decided as to how the
property shall be purchased, whether
long term bonds reaching over a
period of tWenty-siX years and retir-
ing one $500 bond each year shall be
decided upon as the best means of
paying for the park or whether the
bonds shall extend over a period of
thirteen years and $1,000 bond be
retired each year. A special meeting
will be held next Monday night to
determine this.
The improvement of Maple place
is, now an assured fact, the ordi-
nance being passed on the third
reading. The street will be con-
creted for a considerable width by
the board of freeholders and the
borough will pay the engineering
cost;
Mayor Smith reported that the
council as committee had visited
the section of the borough known
as the Apple Orchard and was
unanimous in favor of selling the
borough rights to the Architectural
Tlls Company. An ordinance for
the vacating of Cass street from
Jackson street to the Gordon J..
Schanck property was then intro
duced and passed on the first read
ing.
H. A. Stockton, vice president and
general manager of the County Gas
Company, addressed the council in
response to a request from the board
to attend and show cause why the
gas rate should not be reduced and
the service charge Of twenty-five
cents per month removed. Mr..
Stockton talked for more than an
hour giving detailed history of the
present company since it was or
ganiZed a year or so ago. He said
that when the County Gas Company
assumed charge of the old Standard
Gas Company, which went into
bankruptcy the newly formed com
pany spent over s150,000 for i'm
proyements, which included laying
new mains, adding new machinery,
etc. He stated that next year It
was the plan of the company TO
build large storage tank which will
cost an enormous amount of money.
He said there had been a deficit this
year of over $4,000 and that no
dividends had been paid to the
stockholders for over three years.
He stated that the company hoped
to accumulate a reserve fund and
as soon as possible place the busi-
ness on a sound financial basis and
after that objective had been reach
ed the company hoped to reduce the
gas rate. He stated that at this
time it was not possible to reduce
the present rate nor to remove the
service charge, but that by neyt
January 1, the company hoped 10
materially reduce the present rate,
The service is considerably better
since the new organization has taken
over the manufacture of gas, even
if the rate has not been reduced.
The consumers have not been sub
jected to the great inconvenience
suffered some seasons ago when
more than half the time it was al
most impossible to get large
enough flame to cook with.
Mr.. Bromberg was present and
asked that he might be given per-
mission to place a gasoline tank in
front of his store at the corner of
Warren and Broad streets. He was
informed that the State Highway
Commission had stated that no more
tanks were to be placed along the
highway.
John Cosgrove of Second street
stated that the condition of the