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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-08-40 Council Meeting MinutesBe it remembered that the Common Council of the City of South Bend met in regular session in the Council Chambers in the City Hall, Monday, April 8, 1940, at 7:44 P.M.. President McCarthy presided. Councilman Richardson was absent. The minutes of_the previous meeting were waived. COMMUNICATION April 2, 1940 e I We are a representative group of mothers, one hundred and ten in number, who are a member of the South Bend City Council of Parents and Teachers. We are vitally interested in the milk problem which confronts our Health Board in South Bend. If other cities larger than we, can put out a better bottle of milk and sell it for three cents a quart less, what's the matter with South Bend? If we are paying for Grade A milk, why can't we have it? We are not interested either, in changing the cap, to fool ourselves, and we don't want to be fooled either. What we want is Grade A Milk, to conform to the State regulation of Grade A milk. Farmers in other localities, I know, have had the same expense in putting in adequate equipment in other states or had the preference of not being able to sell their milk. It is being done and since we are so proud of our city, I'm sure the civic planning committee would be a big booster for this increased milk quality. We are most sincere in saying, we are anxious to have our children enjoy their milk, and we cannot feel that way, if we know we are giving them an inferior product. Trusting you will consider we are all zealous citizens of South Bend, only too anxious to assist in any way possible, in building a better South Bend. Sincerely, MRS. WM. F. BLACK, Pres.- 1002 W. Milton St. St. Matthews Parent Teacher Assn. Councilman Hull made a motion to accept the communication and place,it on file. Councilman Brannon seconded the motion. Motion carried. COMMUNICATION April 3, 140 THE PROGRESS CLUB 601 W. Colfax Ave. South Bend,Ind. (President City Council South Bend, Ind. Dear Sir: The Board of Directors of the Progress Club are heartily in favor of the U. S. Public Health Ordinance and hope it will be adopted at your next meeting, Monday evening, Apr. 8. The 500 women of our club are extremely anxious to improve the quality of milk sold in So. Bend, for we are always in favor of any sanitary movement that tends to improve health conditions, especially where our children are conce ed.. Very truly yours, PARS. B. D. COON, President Councilman Hull made a motion that the communication be accepted and placed on file. Councilman Pulaski'seconded the motion. Motion carried. PETITION PETITION TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND We, the undersigned, residents and property owners of the City of South Bend, residing and owning property in River' Park, hereby represent to the Honorable Common Council of the City of South Bend: That we are occupants and owners of residential property adjoining and near certain property owned by the heirs of the late Frederick H. Kops; that the heirs of the late Frederick H. Kops, owners of certain property on Mishawaka Avenue near Twentieth Street in the City of South Bend, directly south of Pottawotomie Park and south east of the new John Adams High School, have leased part of said property to a construction company of Mishawaka, Indiana, and the said construction company has for sometime prior-to April 6, 1940, the exact length of time being to us unknown, been devoting said leased premises to the use and enterprise of excavating and taking therefrom gravel and furnish- ing the same for commercial purposes for the improvement of the streets of the City of Mishawaka. Your petitioners further represent that said use by the construction company has resulted in the creation of a large, dangerous and unsightly and offensive gravel pit on said premises and, if continued, will increase in size, danger and offensiveness all to the detriment of the owners and occupants of the surrounding residential property. That said gravel pit is not only unsightly and detrimental to the beauty of this section of South Bend but also is depressing the value of the property of petitioners herein as residential property. That in addition to depreciating the value of said surrounding property and homes as residential property, in its unguarded state it is a menace to the safety of the children of this section of the City of South Bend and will be increasingly dangerous as the enterprise develops. Your petitioners f urther respectfully represent that in a comparatively short time said gravel pit has been extended and has now become nearly thirty (30) feet deep and two hundred (200) feet long; that unless digging therefrom is immediately stopped it will.result in further irreparable depreciation of the value of petitioners' property, will result in further desecration and devastation of this section of the City adjoining the beautiful Pottatrotomie Park and near the new John Adams High School and will result in further and greater menace to the safety of the children of River Park. Your petitioners further respectfully rrepresent that this deplorable and offensive situation has been brought to the attention of the City Attorney of South Bend and the Building Commissioner of South Bend, but, because of a question as to the scope of the present Zoning Ordinance of the City of South Bend not yet determined, no action has as yet been taken. Now therefore, we earnestly and vigorously - petition the Honorable Common Council of the City bf South Bend to take this lamentable situation under advisement and thoroughly to investigate it and thereupon take such proper'steps as will promptly and effectually stop the continued devastation of the land done in utter disregard of the rights and sensibilities not only of the people of this section of the community but also of the rights and sensibilities of ,the community as a whole. Respectfully submitted: 171 SIGNERS' Councilman Hull made a motion that the petition be referred to the Board of Safety. This motion was amended to include that the petition also be referred to the City Attorney for consideration. Councilman Jordan seconded the motion as amended. Motion carried.' REPORT OF STREETS & ALLEYS COMMITTEE (attached) A joint meeting of the City Traffic Commission, Streets and Alleys Committee of the City Council and the Safety Council of the Chamber of Commerce was held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall at 7:50 P.M. on Tuesday, March 19th, 1940, with the following members present: Ernest H. Miller Henry Lowenstein Harry Driggs Horace Williams Serg. Ellsworth Butz Harry Bolt George Heideman George Hull Chief William K. Ingram Clyde E. Williams Milton Brannon, Paul Butler P. Minczewski Harry Bolt opened the meeting, stating that the purpose of this special meeting was for calling the different Commit. tees together to discuss the installation of parking meters in the city. A discussion followed with Mr. Bolt stating that when a cut in the city tax rate was made by the State Tax Adjust- ment Board, the -City Traffic Commission lost funds appropriated fort raffic safety in the city. The Commission is reviving-the question of installing the meters in the hopes that revenue realized from their operation will in the future finance the operation of the Traffic Commission. He named over several cities which now have parking meters, as Indianapolis, Kokomo, Muncie, Anderson, Marion and others, and they have all met with success. Mr. Heideman asked Mr. Lowenstein what reaction the merchants of the city had taken concerning parking meters in the city. He stated that he thought approximately twenty -five percent of the merchants were against them. In his dis- cussion he mentioned that he had talked with Mr. Carpenter of Kresges, who had written all the.stores in his district and in every city where they had a store where there were parking meters, they were all very much in favor of them. He also stated that if this was the only way any revenue could be derived for the Commission to carry on, he was in favor of it, but wondered if South Bend was ready at this time for them. (Mr. Hull suggested that if South Bend does intend to have them, he thought it a better idea to buy them outright and not on trial. A discussion followed and it was decided that the best way was to get them for a trial period. Mr. Clirde Williams suggested that the meters be given a six -month trial so they could decide about the appropriation for the Traffic Commission f or 1941. If the revenue was enough to take ,care of the expenses of the Traffic Commissic then there would be no need to make an'appropriation in the 1941 budget. The Commission asked if they could use all the funds that were derived from the parking meters, but Mr. Driggs said that this money would have to go into the general fund and be disbursed as such. Mr. Butler asked Chief Ingram if the installation of. parking meters would make it easier on the police force. The Chief stated that i-r would still take two men, but they would be able to do a better job than they are now doing. By the elimination of marking tires with chalk, it would enable the patrolmen to cover more territory. He was then asked if it would be easier to enforce overtime parking and double parking., and he stated that it would be impossibl( to apprehend every person for overtime parking, but the constant threat of arrest for overstaying the tide limit, would aid in the parking law enforcement. Paul Butler made the statement that now since the parking regulations are-so rigidly enforced, that the traffic is so much better that 'he does not think it wise to install the parking m ters at this time. Mr. Bolt stated that the installation of these parking meters would do several things for the city, among which was the reducing of the number of property damage accidents caused by improper parking, regulating proper parking spaces and to set a specific time limit on parking. Mr. Ernest Miller then described the different types of meters, and stated that he thought many objections would be withdrawn if the meters having dual fees were installed, that is 5¢ for parking an hour-and 1�_for parking 12 minute He mentioned the fact that the meters would be installed at no cost to the city and at the close of the trial period they would be removed if the city does not s ee their need.. Mr. Butler suggested that a further study be.made as to how they could raise money some other way. Mr. Driggs re plied that they have studied it for some time and there is no other possible way to derive lthis revenue. The sugges tion was then made that money be taken from the Water Works to buy these meters, to.w hick r. Driggs objected,statin they did not have the funds available. Mr. Hull made the suggestion that the streets be marked up so that the cars should nark within a certain space, and in that way there would be more parking space on the streets. Is ,- . Mr. Butler approved of this idea of Mr. Hull's and he mentioned that if this was done it would help educate the public in parking their cars and would be a help if the city decided on installing parking meters. The Commission informed Mr. Butler and Mr. Hull that there were no funds available for this work. He then made the sugges tion that the cit use VJPA labor for marking the streets in the area where the meters would be used. Mr. Clyde Williams stated that he would investigate the cost of the labor for doing this. Mr. Bolt stated that he would like to call a special meet- ing of the Traffic Commission at some future time and discuss whether marking lines for cars is more important to safety than marking crosswalks. Mr. Lowenstein then commented that if the Commission needed the revenue to carry on their safety program and that if the only way to raise this money was through parking meters, he was in favor of their installation. IMr. Bolt suggested that an ordinance be introduced at the next meeting of the Council putting them in on a trial basis. (Meeting adjourned at 9 o'clock P.M. S P, eretary Note: On April 4th a group of men consisting of George Beamer, Chief W. K. Ingram, Ernest miller and Sergeant Butz stopped at Kokomo and investigated their meter installation. They failed to find any unfavorable reaction towards them. Kokomo has 2.84 meters installed and.the revenue derived from these meters amounts to between $400.00 and $500.00 a month. The passenger car registration in the city of Kokomo is•about 12,000 automobiles. They also stated that not only do they receive this extra revenue, but their traffic situation has been improved one hundred per cent. Before the parking meters were installed, an ordinance was passed by the Council whereby all revenue derived from these meters was placed in a fund to be used only for the furtherance of their traffic program. TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: April 8, 1940 The Committee of Streets and Alleys recommends that the Council direct the City Attorney to draw up an ordinance for the installation of parking meters on a six month trial basis - said ordinance to specify that the funds derived from such meters be set up in a fund for purpose of traffic safety. MELTON 0. BRANNAN, Chairman ' Councilman Pulaski made a motion that the report be adopted. Councilman Niezgodski seconded the motion. Motion carried 6 ayes - 2 nays (Hull and Bishop) -1 Absent. REPORT OF STREETS & ALLEYS COPt[MITTEE ITo the Common Council of South Bend, Indiana: April 8, 1940 It is the recommendation of the Streets & Alleys Committee that the ordinance governing the obstruction of public property be enforced 100/. MELTON 0. BRANNAN, Chairman Councilman Bishop made a motion for.the adoption of the report. Councilman Niezgodski seconded the motion. Motion lost by -a vote of 4 ayes - 4 nays (McCarthy, Jordan, Hull, Pulaski) - 1 absent. Councilman Hull then made a motion that the report be referred to the Committee of the Whole. Councilman Jordan seconded the motion.. Motion carried 8 ayes - 0 nays - 1 absent. REPORT OF C0104ITTEE ON MINUTES To the Common Council of the City of South Bend: Your Committee on the inspection_ and supervision of the minutes, would respectfully report that they have inspected the minutes of the.previous meeting of the Council and found them correct. They therefore recommend that the same be approved. Meeting - 1/22/40 Committee- " 2/2640 it Spec - 2/26/40 it 3/11/40 " 3/25/40 Councilman Pulaski made a motion for the acceptance of the reports. carried. Councilman Heideman seconded the motion. Motic IREPORT OF THE CITY CONTROLLER OF THE CITY,OF SOUTH BEND - For the month of February, 1940 Balance on Hand First of Month - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------- -$1,155,687.95 -- Total Balance andReceipts - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1,305,148.37- - Balance -------- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1,146,312.08 -- Councilman Pulaski made a motion for the adoption of the report. Councilman Bishop seconded the motion. Motion Carried. ORDINANCE NO. 3316 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SALE AND CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PERSONAL PROPERTY BELONGING TO THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, Va'ITHOUT APPRAISEMENT. (6 garbage hoppers or boxes) This ordinance was given first reading by title and second reading in full. Councilman Hull made a motion for the suspension of the rules. Councilman Pulaski seconded the motion. Motion carried. Ordinance given third reading by title and passed>by roll call vote of 8 ayes - 0 nays - 1 absent. I ORDINANCE ITO. 3317 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SALE AND CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PE RSONAL PROPERTY BELONGING T'0 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, WITHOUT APP RAISEMENT. This ordinance was given first reading by title and second reading in full. Councilman Jordan made a motion for the suspension of the rules. Councilman Bishop seconded the motion. Motion carried. Ordinance given third reading by title and passed by roll call vote of 8 ayes - 0 nays - 1 absent. ORDINANCE NO. 3318 AN ORDINANCE DIRECTING THE INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGNALS AT THE INTERSECTION OF WASHINGTON STREET AND WALNUT STREET. This,ordinance given first and second reading. Councilman Niezgodski made a motion for the suspension of the rules. Councilman Jordan seconded the motion. M6tion-carried-by 8 ayes - 0 nays - 1 absent. Ordinance given third read- ing. Ordinance passed by roll call vote of 8 ayes - 0 nays - 1 absent. RESOLUTION RESOLUTION ALLOCATING THE SUM OF TWENTTY -FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2 5,000.00) FROM THE AVIOUNT APPROPRIATED FOR WAP AND PWA IN THE 1940 BUDGET UNDER ACCOUNT NO. H -27, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO- SPECIAL 11IPA ACCOUNT. 192 BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana. That the sum of Twenty -Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) be and the same is hereby allocated from Account No. H-2',, Department of Public Works in the 1940 Budget to Special YTPA Account, and that this amount so allocated by the Common Council may be used during the year 1940, for the purchase of materials, labor and other items chargeable to the various City NrPA projects, subject to the approval of the Board of dorks. The amount so allocated shall be deducted from the amount of One Hundred_ Seventy -Seven Thousand, One Hundred Ninety Dollars ($177,190.00) appropria e in the 1940 Budget under Account H -27, Department of Public Works. Councilman Pulaski made a motion for the adoption of the resolution. Councilman Brannon seconded the motion. Motion carried by 8 ayes - 0 nays - 1 absent. There being no further business, Council adjourned at 8:48 P.A.Q. ATTEST: CL E? APP ROVED: PR S E TT