Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 09-13-1955 Regular — reading text

12 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 1955 PRESENT: Mr. Stacy, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Bas., Mr. Harbeson ABSENT: Mr. Williams, Mr. Mill er, Mr. Walker, Mayor Brooks VISITORS: Mr. Estergren, Mr. Jones and other residents of Bel Air SiD, Elbert Davis, Mr. Prescott, Mr. Basil Boles, Mr. Curtis Sullins, Mr. Tom Patrick, Charles Stewart, City Attorney. The meeting o- Tem Stacy at 8: l5 p. m.. was called to order by Mayor pt, He told the residents of Bel Air Subdivision the Council would hear them first. He advised themothat the cost of the curbs and gutters for Bel Air, based on the same type which is being installed in Elliotts Point, would be $ l. 35 per lineal foot over lO, OOO feet and $ l.45 per 1eneal foot under 10, 000 feet. Mr. Estergren said that there was a rumor going around that if the. people decided to go on with just the paving, they would be forced to put in curbs and gutters wi thin a year or l8 monts and asked if this was so. Mr. Roberts replied that if the streets held up he did not think they would have to. Mr. Estergren said he had some doubts about whether curbs and gutters would help save the streets, and that they would need a drainage system. Mr. Roberts replied that people park on the side of the streets and cause the streets to chip off and break. Mr. Estergren replied that he had not noticed that happening on Hollywood or Highway 85 and those streets were used a great deal. Mr. Roberts replied that Highway 85 is thicker than the streets in subdivisions and Hollywood had chipped and broken along the edges. Mr. Estergren asked how the project would be financed in the people agree to put in curbs and gutters, if the city would put them in and assess the property owners. Mr. Roberts replied that he believed the matter would be handled by the mortgage company or by a FHA loan. 1tr. Estergren said that many were concerned abaULi the money set aside for curbs and gutters beiftg fdr that purpose only. Used,,' He said they would like to be assured that in some way the money set aside for curbs and gutters would go for curbs and gutters and kept seperate from the paving money. He said they were also concerned as to how the city sewer system would effect the curbs and gutters, they wanteJi to knew if thecc11bbs and gutters would have to be taken up when the system was installed and if the residents would have to pay for them again. They also wondered what would be the disadvantage in going on with the paving now and putting in the curbs and gutters later and if there would be an additional cost in putting them in later. ' Mr. paving contractor, said that if they had to go back and Prescott, put gutters after paving the streets they would have to in curbs and have extra paving and expenses, that if the curbs and gutters were put in with the paving they would have a better job and a cheaper job in the long run.  13 Mr~ Estergren asked Mr. Prescott what he thought of the estimates of the cost. Mr. cPrescott said he thought it was a fair estimate of that I type of curb and gutter and ' Wa!, Mr. a rf*lsonable price. Estergren asked Mr. Davis how he proposed to finance the curbs and gutters. Mr. Jones asked if the curbs and gutters 'Would, be l~ ke those on Bea1 Street. Mr. Stacy rep1i~d, no, they would be like those on Elliotts and would be a concrete curb. Mr. Jones said he understands that if they have curbs and gutters there would be a 18" drain~ge line put in, and if this is true he wondered about the streets in Vesta Corp., if they would have curb and gutters and drainage, Mr. Bass said they would have to have drainage. Mr. Jones asked if the streets would be engineered, and was assured that they would be. Mr. Stacy told him that the streets '!' ill have to meet city. specifications. Another resi- dent asked if there. were. over lO, OOO feet in the entire subdivision. Mr. Davis replied that there is not 10, 000 feet. He then asked if a person owned a 75 ft. _lot and a 12 ft. driveway 'Would they be assed for the entire 75 ft. He was told that the curb would be rolled back to make an entrance for the drivewaJl. Mr. Davis told them he had 2 bids which were tenative which ran from 101 to $ 112. He !, aid that back in the beginning of the subdivision, before it 1iQS b~ lt,it had to be approved by the FHA and VA and to do this they had to have street profile and drainage plan. He said they got those and went to the contractor and got a tentative bid and the bid was ~ igned by the City Manager and Ci ty CI~rk and was sent to Jacksonville and accepted. He said Mr. Sheppard from Atlanta was sent I down to work out the drainage plan. upon a 18 ft. street, single surface. number of people got together. At that time he said he agreed He said that after awhile a The City Manager stopped the pavement in behalf of the residents, but it ~s stopped 3 different times. He said several people came back and said lets put in better streets. A number of people got together and decided to put in curbs and gutter~ and a number asked the cost and he had a figure of $ 101. 25, but in lieu of 18 ft. streets, agreed to put in double surtace streets if he had the curbs and gutters put in. are He said th~t in ,the other sections of the subdivision they will put in curbs and gutters and if they put in curbs and gutters in the present section he would put in double surface treatment streets and put in drainage plan which ~ ll b~ in- spected by the city engin~er before they are accepted. He said they also have to be inspected by the city and. state and FHA. He &aid they have ag~ eed ~ o put in 22 ft. wide streets at no extra cost and a drain- age plan at no extra cost. He said all the property owners would be required to pay for would be the curbs and gutters in front o~ their property. He told th~ council that he had letters from people who could not com.e to the meeting who wanted the curbs and gutters, and that the que~tion. was whether the people had rather pay $ 101 for curbs and gutters or have a 18 ft. street. Mr. Estergren asked that if the people agree to put in curbs ~ nd gvtters and they went ahead with the work. woulc;i it be permissable to apy for them after the streets are accepted by the city. Mr. Davis. said nothing 'Would be paid until the city, FHA and all approval is made. I Mr. Estergren asked if they agreed, how soon would the panngsof th~ streets start. Mr. Davis said as Tloon as the bids could come in and could finish the they contracts. 14 He said he only had bids on curbs and gutters and not on the streets. Mr. Jones reminded Mr. Davis th~tjbe h8.dtnot answered Mr.' Estergrens question on the method of financing. Mr. Davis replied that they had agreed to finance, that nothing would be paid until after approval and that they could pay in one sum or get a title 1 improvement loan from FHA at 5%. Mr. Davis added that when he was discussing curbs and gutters and he did not want to put them in, Mr. Bass told him they were trying to make progress in the town and, that they could work out something with the city. He added that the financing could be worked out in many ways. Mr. Estergren asked Mr. Davis if he ' WOuld sign a written agreement with the property owners and get a definiteofigure that would not change, agreeing that the property owners pay after the curbs and gutters and streets are put in and accepted. He also asked if Mr. Davis meant for the' paving to run for the length of the street. Mr. Davis replied that they would only have drainage where the engineer says it is needed and that the drainage will-be provided for.' Mr. Davis was asked if they do not have curbs and gutters, if he would only put in single surface streets. Mr. Davis replied, yes, since that is all that is re- quired by the city. Mr. Bass said that was all that was required when Mr. Davis' houses were bmdt but that the city has new specifications now. He said he thought' the city' would have to handle all agreements in order to assist in the collections. He told the people they would be given assessments before the work was done. He explained that there is an ordinance on the books now which specifies what is required in the streets and that FHA and VA had been asked not to approve the streets in new subdivisions without allowing enough money to meet our specifications, but in the old subdivision we did not have the ordinance and that FHA and VA did not allow the money. Mr. hit has taken a long Davis said he knew -. ogl'eaf many peop1eetMnl~ time to get streets and he did too, but that everything that has been done was done for the property owners and that he was- willing to do whatever the Council says. Mr. EstergreJI asked if there were any samples of double surface streets in town. Mr. Sullins, a property owner in Bel- Air, replied that he could not think of any in town but assured Mr. Estergren that it would be well spent if he paid $ 112. 00 for the street and explained the difference in a single surface and a double" surface street. Mr. Ester- gren said lot of people would be satisfied if. there was some way that the curb and gutter money could be seperated from the other money. Mr. Davis replied that the funds can be put in escrow. He told the property owners that they would sign an agreement that they would pay for the curbs and gutters when they are finished and accepted. Mr. Estergren said they would like to know how much - they were going to pay and when they were going to start work. Mr. Davis said there would be no con- tract tonight, that he would have to have bids first. Mr. Jones said he was ready to see action at once. He said the people were just tired of waiting and that they have not repudiated their request for iJlDllediate paving- of the streets. He added that the estimates are  r:. 1, better than he had thought they would be and he thought they had enough people here to vote on it and decide.