Minutes 11/08/1921 - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 8, 1921 ~00 · .app. White moved that an appropriation not to exceed $300.00 be allowed to pay the President of the Then Mr. expenses of such a Committee,. the Committee of three to be appointed by the CoUncii. The motion was adopted by the following vote: Ayes-- Esleeck, Hall, Hutchins, Oast, ~mith, White, 6. Nays-- Brooks, 1. The following report was read from the Mayor and City Manager concerning their attendance at the 2?th Anmial Convention of the American Society for Mcnicipal Improvements in Baltimore October 25-28th, 1921: "November 8th, 1921. "Honorable City Council, Portsmouth, Va. "Gentlemen:-- :In accerdmmce with authority granted by the Council, we attended the twen- ty-seventh annual convention of the Americam Society for Municipal Improvements held in Balti- more, Md., Octobe~ 25th to 28th, 1921; also the Mayor's conference called by the Mayor of Bal- timore on October 2?th, 1921. This convention gave an opportunity for the exchanging of thoughts much valuable information was obtained both in ideas and in a practical way. Reports on street lighting were of special interest and value. The proper spacing and power of lig~.ts was gone into fully ahd it was shown that for residence streets, lamps from 100 C. P. to ~00 C. P. spaced one block apart would be sufficient, while on business streets lights as high as 3,000 C. P. were u2ed with a spacing some times as small as 100 feet. Bpecial forms of reflectors and poles were also exhibited. It was also noted that the greater power of the light, the higher it should be placed. In San Francisco pe.rticularly, lights on business streets ame placed at great heights. Reports on sewerage amd sanitation were also of great interest. Special attention was paid to the purification of sews~e a~d it was shown that the sludge from the septic tanks was readily disposed of as fertilizer. Tht~ question wilI tu~doubtedly be of great interest at an ea~ly dmte in Hampton Roads where the p~llution of the harbor is already serious and will soon affect adversely the marine life of our waters. An intersting address was also made on public comfort stations and am illustration of the type cf station used in northern cities shown to the audience. These st~-. ticns were splendidly fitted up for both men and women, including for women rest rooms, etc. The cost of such a station is about $40,000. An interesting trip was made a~ound Baltimore, harbor on a City boat and an cpportumity given to inspect both municipal and private piers, both of which have been de- veloped on a very large scale. Several reports were given on city planning and city zoning. The question of zoning should be tmdertaken at an early date in Portsmouth as the longer it is delayed, the more diffiomlt it will be to be accomplished. Our zoning problem will also be seriously a~- footed by the race question which is not a preblem in northern cities. In order te properly continue the g~owth_of cities, a State law should provide Shat plats of suburban ~WAs, for some miles beyond the city limits, should be approved by the City government before being recorded. There is such a law cn our statute books ~ut it applies to Norfolk only. 'In City planning and zoning, proper topographical maps are essential. In Baltimor~ s~oh maps covering the. entire city an~.sub~ban~t~r~tory have ~een made and as a resul~ ~Ee lay cut of.streets, establishing ef grades, construction of sewers a~d water mains, etc., a~ ' simplified. A start in that direction has been ~ade in Portsmouth and we will a.f$: the enti~e city within a~few months. Our lack of funds Will n6t permit us ng a~ a map as ~ that of Baltimore City. On Th~$dmy the.Mayor's conference was held. The principle topics discussion were the un-employment situation amd the metering of water supply. ~o. fa~.as the ~u-employment situation is conce~ed, Portsmouth has taken about ~he s~e steps as has taken in Baltimore. The Water supply of Portsmouth is much ~ed than that of Bal- timore. It is interesting to point out that in ~re which is metered the average da~lF per capita consumption of water gallons, while in the u~metered part it runs from 130 to 160 gallons per capita. In the afternoon the Mayor took the 'visiting mayors em an extended tour ~h~ough the Ctty,~and visited the water shed of the city water supply. The great dam at Loch yen was also visited. We were also much impresse~with the development of playgrounds in the City parks~ PlaygrOunds m~re~itted for both white snd colored children, including base ball fields, tennis courts and swimming ta~ks in addition to the usual playground equipment. The park and ~laygroumd development i~.B~ltimore has been carried on on a very extensive scale without expense to the ta~ payers, as the Traction Companies of .~he City have since their original construction t~ pmy into the City treastt~y a their' gross receipts which is required ~y.law to be used~exclusively for parks~an The City's income from this sottrce at present is over · In the evening the Mayer and delegates of the convention attended enterts~imment given by the Press Club of Baltimore where exoellen~ adcl~esses were h~ard by various distinguished men.