Main St. To Be Paved

Mayor Hisoock's flrst anuual message whicb was read at the council meeting last Monday evening was a careful business like document, and the mayor indulged in no flowers of rhetoric, but made a number of exoellent recommendations. The main parts of the message are given below witb a snmmary of the omitted sections, and every taxpayer of tbe city should read it. Mayor Hiscock at the oommencament of his address referred tothe bonded indebtedness of the city which foots up to $55,500. Of this, $28,500 he said was for lateral sewers bondB and was only a nominal debt as it is provided for by tas levied on the several districts, thus "leaving onr net bonded debt at the reasonable figure of $27,000 and as there is a balance of $7,000 in the treasnry our fiuanoial condition is certainly an enviable one. " Beferriug to the stieets of the city he said: "I recommend the paving of Main st. Our oity has nearly all the modern improvements aud it is a source of surprise that no work has been done in this direction. A good brick pavenient can now be laid for $1.30 to$1.50 per square yard and I would snggest that immediate steps be taken to foriu a paving district on Main st. from Catherine to William, and if the oonsent of property owners can be obtained that work on tbis needed impiovement be eomtnenced and carried on to corapletion. With one street paved and its advantages shown, others would follow and the business part of onr oity soon present a modern appearanoe. Our restdenoe streets are in a deplorable coudition and sotne actually impassible in Pebruary and March. When %ve consider that iu the last eight years there bas been expended on the streets of Ann Arbor the sum of 177,917 it is humiliating to think how little we have received in return for tbis vast espenditnre of money and I protest against tbe further continuance of this system of street work. "The oouucil of '96 made an effort towards a chauge by oidering Detroit sti'eet macadam ized. It was in the nature of an experiment and while the work met with many nelays and difficnltios, thereby euhancing its oost, I believe the ïesult and the coudition of the street the past winter and spring proves it a snccess. "I would advise that the usual sum of $10,000 be raised for street werk and of this amonnt not over $1,300 be expended for the usual spring work, $2,000 be retained for gradiug and opening streets, $500 held to repair any damage done by storms and the balance, $6,000, used for permanent improvements. I am informed that three miles of macadam road, using four inches of stone, can be built for this sum. Under this plan it will only take a few years to place the streets of Ann Arbor in good conditiun. "If in your judgruent any other sys;em is better thun macadam it will aave my snpport as my object is the securing of better roads. " He referred to the condition of the sewer system of the city which so far as he conld learn is working satisfactorily, although few house oonnections had yet been made oonipared with the number of branches that had been laid - 3,380 branches with 426 connections - this he attributed to the hard times. The dnties of the board of public works were charaoterized as having been carefuHy and intelligently performed nnder instrnctions from the council and the two bodies eeerued to be working in harmony. For a mure detailed statement of their operations he referred the council to tbe report of the council proceedings of Maren I, 1897. The message spoke in glowing terrns of the effioiency of the fire department which last year oost the city $7,048.08, and recomrnended the approval of any reasonable appropriation asked tor by the board of fire commissiouers. Refetring to the proposed city buildings the mayor said he did not favor the erection of au expensive oity building afc this time as the city now bas atnple accommodation at a reasonable rental. He did however, favor the erection of moderate priced buildings for polling and registration purposea in the second and seventh wards. The different corporations baving dealings witb the city were referred to in the following words : "Corporations having franchise or contract rights in a oity the size of ours are seldora a menace to the people but often are of great advantage to the growtb aud developineut of a city. The Aud Arbor Water Co. has nearly 81 miles of streets rnaios and all its surplus earnings the past two years have ?ODe into the betterment of its plant. [n the last year au auxiliary purnping station was erected at a larga expense and the company have a daily pumping oapacity of 5,000,000 gallons, a daily snpply of 2,300,000 gallons, while the average daily consnmption is 1,000,000 gallons, the water furnished is of good quality and suitable for domeatio use. "The Ann Arbor Street Railway dur ing the past year oonsolidated with the Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti Street Railway and tha whole line is equipped with electricity. While never a souroe of proflt to its owners, I believe it has been of value to our city. It has complied with all orders of the cuuncil exoept placing its traok in the center of the road east of Packard and that will be done at an eaily date. "The Adu Arbor Electrio Co. has a five year contract for lighting the city at $(5 per lamp which is regarded as a reasonable figure and the service, so far as known, is satisfactory. The oity has au option for all-nigbt lighting at an advanoed price and while I wonld not reooinmend this for the whole system, if a circuit could be formed osing 12 or 15 lights and covering the business portion of the oity, part of State st. and part of Broadway, I believu an allnight service would be an aid to our pólice forcé and better safeguard to the property interests of our oitizens. "The Ann Arbor Gas Co. under its present management, has pursued a liberal policy. Withiu the past 10 years it bas at different times, reduoed the price of its produot until gas eau be obtained here as cheaply as in rnaay cities haviug a largeï popnlation." The saloon question was referred to in the following language: "The saloons of this city are now under the operation of the state law which allowa them to open at 7 o'clock in the morning and oompels them to close at 9 o'olock at uight, standard time. There is a great diversity of opinión among our citizens on this subject. I believe, however, that soine reasouable coucessiou can be made and would recommend that an ordinance be passed allowing them to open at an earlier hour and permitting them to reraain open until 10 o'clook local time and as the tax is due May Ist, it would appear no more than reasonable and fair that the questiou be settled at an early date so that the parties eugagod in thia business may know when tbey pay tbeir tax the hours in which they are permitted to do business and whatever is finally determined it is tny duty and intention to enforce the law." The next olause of the message contained a complimentary allusion to the different oity oflïcers for the able manner in which they had done their work, notably the clerk, city assessor and treasurer, and the document wound up in the following words: "Gentlemen, I desire a safe, careful and economical admiuistration and do not besitate to ask your assistance in attainiug this result and I can assure jou that in all your efforts for the advanoment and prosperity of our city, you can commaud my eamest and hearty support."