Hungry Horse news., 1955-07-15
Dogs, Hydrants Worry City Fathers

~Sss>s~
Dogs, fire hydrants, sidewalk To-
cations, water problems and per-
Sonal attacks concerned Columbia
Falls city council at their Julv meet
ing Monday.
The four-hour long session also
marked the first time that Columbia
Falls has paid its mayor and coun-
cilmen. Mayor Herman Benzien eff
fective July l went on a salary of
$50 month, and the councilmen-
Fred Krona, George Ridpath, L. A.
Schoenberg, James Clark, G. w.
Fleming and Lamar bud" Orndorff
now get $12 meeting, not exceed
ing $24 a month.
DOG LAW OUT
The council decided that the con-
troversial ION leash or in a pen"
dog ordinance that was passed June
Is and was to 60 into effect July Is
would be decided at the polls. A pc
tltion with Al names was presented
through the city clerk asking for an
election on the new ordinance. This
is slated for the next city election in
April, 1857 and in the meantime the
new ordinance will not be enforced.
Attorney James Cumming advised
the mayor and council that the law
provides that if more than 5 per cent
of the registered voters sign a pc
titiOn, a new ordinance must be dec
ided at the polls.
Council sentiment toward dogs anG
cats reflected in motion put te
vote that failed for a majority thai
would have prohibited any new rem
ter in the city-owned housing projec
from having a dog.
Councilman Boots SchOenber,
commented: "It's natural thin,
/ for cats to have kittens, and how
are you going to tell a youngste
that she can't have a kitten, if tn
little girl next door has one." Ca
reduction provision of the propose,
regulation was eliminated.
Favoring the dog restriction TO
new housing project renters-thi
would be legal, advised Attorne
Cumming-were Fred Krona, Georg
Ridpath and James Clark. The res
ulation failed for lack of majority
FIRE HYDRANT LOCATIONS
Fire hydrant problem was tn
matter of eliminating boulevard
and then accommodating fire hyC
rants in or alongside sidewalks.
was pointed out several times dul
ing the discussion that the fire by
drant just outside the city hall ha
been knocked over and broken tWic
. by cars. Dogs didn't enter into TIL
phase of discussion.
O. S. Kronkright, former council
man, and AL RierSon, his neighbo
and highway patrolman, appea
ed before the council regarding sid
walks. They said their block {
Third Avenue East wanted to put
sidewalk.
Kronkright urged that the sid
walk ordinance be amended so tn
the walk be at least a foot or
inches from the property line. TIL
would result in the shutoff valv
4 for water being in the sidewalk al
> not in the streets in event that the
were no boulevardS.
RierSOn said that cities are doll
away with boulevards in favor
3 wider streets. He added: 'narrt
N streets with cars parked on be
3 sides creates a situation where Oh
n dren dash out from behind cars ir
q streets, and drivers have less chan
q to misss~them" There is a bett
81 chance if distance is more betwe
81 parked cars and the stream of tr
fic.
AGREE ABOUT SIDEWALKS
The council after more than
= hour discussion tentatively agre
that the present sidewalk ordinar
: and specifications should be chang
II so that henceforth sidewalks be thu
feet from the owners property l
d. instead of from the property Ii
or Result is that curbs and sideWa
"a will be together, streets would
I'm wider, and there would be space
ao the three feet for fire hydrants.
e. Howard Greene, water comm
Oh sioner, explained that if there
MS no boulevards and the sidewalks
or, on the property line, the hydra
ECU must be either in the sidewalk
De street.
The sidewalk ordinance calls
ne four feet widths east of Nucleus
IN. enue and five feet west. Added p
lat vision scheduled for adoption at
ne later meeting will be to put fut1
nj sidewalks three feet out from
to property line and eliminate the pr
at ent seven and eight foot boulevar
he WATER FOR NEW ADDITION
Start of the meeting saw H.
ric Satterthwaite, AAC plant manas
)se and Jack Hoerner representing HI
for ner brothers, appear in behalf
for getting water mains for the SO
and southwest sections of the C
gi- AAC owns 38 acres just outside
,oI- city south of the Kennedy addit
mo and west of the new Hoerner al
esS ton.
ion Mayor Benzien and the council
|, a vised the two men that they "
favorable to extension of water
ate vice and city limits, if the l;
ew owners would take care of cost
It'll mains. John Morrison of MOrri
Maierle, Helena, consulting en-
to GERS, is to work out costs of a
ion inch main extension plus latte
t a to service this new area for hOr
lies THE CRESCENT BATTLE
Over an hour at the meeting
taken up with personal clashes al
the proposed Estensen-Crescent
| dition. Present favoring the e
ton were M. C. EstenSen, Joe 4
egan and William Ramey, with
ervations.
this Opposed were a dozen other
i'm dents including Mr.. and Mrs. j
that Barnum, j. R. Young, Mr.. and
the Roy Allan, Mr.. and Mrs. Perry
ton gett, Arthur Kamrud, George Gu