Minutes 03/08/1927 - Laserfiche WebLink

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M~rch 8, 1927 At a regul~r meeting of the City Counci& Me, ch 8th there~ were present: Masers-- Vernon Brooks~ E.W. M~p~n, Jr., J. Alden 0est, Jo R. Stewart, L. Also the City Eanagsr. . r tnu.r The minutes of the special meetings February 21st and Notch let were read and were approved. REPORTS OF C0~ITTEES Fi~nce-- The Finance Committee presented the following ordinance and recommended that same be adopted: An Ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of Forty-seven Thousand Dollars of Refunding Bonds of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia; M~king Provision for the Form of said Bonds, and for the Payment ThereOf. On motion of Mr. Stewart, the ordinance was placed on its first reading. The Finance Committee also_presented the following ordir~nce and recomn~nded that it be adopte~d: An Ordinance for Imposing and Oollecting Taxes on Real Estate and Tangible pe.rsonal Property' Within the Limits of the City of portsmouth, yirginia, for ~he Purpose of Raising Revenue for' the Support of the Government a~d the Public F~ee Schools, and to Pay Interest ~nd Sinking Fund on the Public Debt, for the Year beginning Jant~ry let, 1~27. On motion of Mr. Maupin, the ordinance was placed on its first =eading. The following commtmications were read from the City Manager: 1st. "Notice of the merit of the following as Substitute Policemen: Joso H. Shes, 305 Third St. Berz~rd L. 627 Harrison St. On motion, the notice w~s ordered to be filed. appoint- 2nd. ~Relative to the petition of O. H. Rowe and o~hers asking that the Prentis Park bus line be restored to its former route through ~ashing~on St., which was referred to me, I beg to state that I h~ve taken this matter up with the Virgini~ Electric & Power Comp~uy and they dislike very much to consider putting this line back on ~ashi~ton St. because of the danger incurred_by the street being parked in the oen~er. I might say I have noticed the d~nger when the busline was running down this street and have been over the street ~aince the melter was referred'to me and note that with cars parked all tbs ~y down the street next to ~he'ou~b, it would be a very dangerous route for a bus Sine. Therefore, I could not urge the Power Company to m~ke a change that I deemed tmsafe. When the Comp~ny,s improvements a~e completed, I believe this section will be t~ken c~re of satisfactorily. Attached is letter from Virginia Electric & Power Co. on ~his subject." The following is the attached letter: ~*. Frank C. Hanrm~han, City Manager, Portsmouth, VirgLuia. "Norfolk, Virginia, March 8, 1927. Dsa~ Mr. Hanrahan:-- 0oncoming request which we understand ~as been m~de by some of the. citi- zens on Washington street, for the restoration of ~bus service over the old route on WashingtOn Street, south of High Street, on the ground that lhere is no ~ransportation on Washington Street, between High and South Streets, we wish to comment as follows: As you know, we are actively working am this time in bringing about the completed transportation setup contemplated by the recent street car franchise and bus ordi- nance. This pla~contemplates the operation of street cars from the lopp at the foot of High street, along Middle Street, South Street and Washingt~ Street. We are working on the Wamhingmon Street track cha~nges at this time. ~hen this work is completed, it will mean that all of ~ashingmcn Street, south of High Street, will have transportation service on it~except four blocks between High and South Streets. People £ivLug within this four block.area ca~, when the work conte~ml~.l%~ed ~s completed, reach a trans- portat~ion service by a walk of not more than ~wo blocks. Th~s~onsidered very fine transporta- tion, in f~ct, the rerouting worked out in Norfolk by the Traffic Commission was on a b~sis that a given section within aporoximately a quarmer of a mile. It should also be borne in mind that the center of Washington Street is parked and the d~iveways on each side of the parked area are narrow, m~king it most undesirable to operate buses along these n~rrow driveways where pa~ked vehicles, as well as moving ones, are encountered. We certainly feel that the section in question will, when the track arrange- msn~ above stated have ~en completed, have very satisfactory transportation, and we respect- fully ask ~hat no changes be made unit± the new transportation pl~nhas been completed and given a fair trial. Wi~h kindest personal regards, Cordially yours, FRANK MCLAUGHLIN, Vice-President.~