The Key West Citizen Newspaper, September 14, 1954, Page 1

Yey West, Florida, how the country, with an range of only 14’ Fahrenheit VOL. LXXV_ Ne, 218 5108000 Price Quoted On'Syit Filed To Recover en West Citisen SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER THE Angela, Simonton Property City To Name Appraisers To Check Value By MARGARET FORESMAN A price of $100;000 has n asked for 60,000 square t of land on Angela and Simonton Streets, a pl o't ‘which the city is interested fn acquiring for use as a city parking lot. The selling price was dis- closed last night at the re- sumption of the recessed meeting of the city commis- sion. : City Traffie Problems Are Aired At Commission Meeting A number of problems relative to city traffic were brought before the city commission last night, including speed limits, parking ahd one-way streets, Cops Commended The city clerk was instructed last night te. send a letter of commendation to the police de- partment for their outstanding competence and speed in clear- ing up the robbery of the Twins Garage Sunday. City Commissioner Louis Carbonell, whe moved that the letter be sent, said that he felt that the police who are se often the target of “brickbats” shovid also be given “bouquets” when they are deserved: Street Paving Requested For Staples Ave. Commission Assures Re-Paving When Sewer Is Finished Thirty-six residents of the val| area on Staples Avenue be- yer,” | (Ween First Street and Rifth Street’ have requested — re- ,| pairs'to be made on Staples. z283 A ae 2 8 TELA on Simonton 2 has a value of about $20,- Appraisal Suggested we no objection” Dion’s let- went on, “ to an appraisal, city to select one, I to repre- owners, and the two to name mission decided that to their advantage to independent appraisal three disinterested local , Tather than standing the of having an appraiser of town named. ‘They felt, that only a person ith a working knowledge of Key ‘West property could'form an ade- quate notion of the value of the land in question, City Manager Lang was instructed to name the appraisal board, and further action on the matter was rested until such a board reports. PARKING PROHIBITED Placement of a No Parking sign in the alleyway at 809 Eaton Street was ordered last night by the city commission. iff. 8 BE ¢ Bs #e aU a 2 A letter to the city manager, Vic- tor Lang, signed by the group was read at city commission meeting Jast night, with the commission in- structing Lang to take action in the matter. Text Of Letter “We, the undersigned, are com- Plaining about the deplorable con- dition of Staples Avenue and re- questing repair of the road. This road is being used as a public thoroughfare by Suddath Transfer Co. and Holsum Bread Co. “The trucks and automobiles cause considerable dust, holes and tuts, which is damaging to homes and automobiles. Staples Avenue has been piped for sewerage. Therefore improvement is asked.” * Program Set Commissioner Louis Carbonell said that it was his understanding that a first class paving program was to be started as soon as the Sewer project is finished. City Manager Lang assured the commissioners that this plan is to be followed and that the streets will be put back in shape as soon as it is certain that the sewer line is satisfactory and no more ex- cavation will be necessary in the immediate future. The condition of George Street, in the vicinity of George Allen a- partments was also brought before the group, and a check into the matter of paving it was referred to Lang for action. Carbonell Will Ask Information Of Shipping Co. Commissioner Louis Carbonell Protest of parking in the alley told the city.commission last night ‘was made on the basis that a car parked there completely blocks the area, creating a fire hazard. DID YOU KNOW THAT Banquets, Luncheons, Ships’ Parties, Wedding Receptions Are Given Special Consideration —at— RAUL’S of the receipt of a letter from a New York attorney, written in be- half of a shipping firm in that city. The letter requested informa- which could be acquired by a steamship line coming to Key West, together with conditions to be met by the company. ; The letter, written by Benjamin H. Whitestone, of Whitestone, Tep- per and Harros, was read to the | & regarding terms of a lease A recommendation, suggested by Corporal Howel: Gillett of the Flo- rida State Highway Patrol, was approved increasing the speed lim- it on Flagler Avenue, from First Street to Roosevelt Boulevard, from the present 25 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour. The school zone area speed limit would be re- tained. The commission agreed to this proposal, saying that it is wiser te establish a higher limit and en- force it than to keep to the lower limit whch is not enforced. Petronia Street City traffic engineer C.'R. But- ler has recommended to the city manager that Petronia Street from Simonton to Emma be made a one- way street. Butler, in a letter to Lang, said that after extensive study made by him, Police Chief B. G. Perez and Fire Chief Charles Cremata, it was decided that the change on Petro- nia would reduce accident hazards along this street. The flow of traffic will be from the east to the west, with parking on one side of the street only. Butler pointed out that there have been 10 accidents on this street and its intersections this year. School Crossing The question of the danger to school children of crossing Tru- man Avenue at Georgia Street was discussed. The commissioners ex- Pressed the feeling that the pre- Sent provision of. a guard at Tru- wen and White sould still be ade- quate, and instructed the city ma- nager to direct Truman School per- sonnel that children are to cross the street at Truman and White. They can thence go down Truman to Georgia, if that is the route they must follow, Captain R. §. Simpson, com- manding officer at the U. S, Naval Hospital, asked the commission, in a letter read at the meeting, for changes to be made in the park- ing and speed limit along Roose- velt Boulevard between the inter- section and Eagle Avenue, The area which has been used as a parking space for hospital visitors is to be developed and can no longer be used as a parking lot, so Captain Simpson sought to have angle parking provided in the area in question, No Angle Parking The commission, however, feels that angle parking would prove dangerous, and will seek to pro- vide alleviation of the problem by marking the street for parellel parking on both sides. Captain Simpson also asked that the speed limit along this stretch be lowered to 15 miles per hour, The commission flet that this would prove a traffic bottle-neck, so the declined to approve the request. The question of changing park- ing on Duval Street from the right to the left side of the street was touched on, but it was decided that instituting this change would take further study. Insurance Bids Received By City Bids for insurance, pertaining to fire and extended coverage and liability for the city of Key West, were opened last night at the meet- ing of the city commission, City clerk Victor Lowe read bids submitted by Crusoe Insurance Agency, Porter-Allen Company and Key West@Insurance. All bids were referred to the city manager for study. LICENSE FEE SET A ordinance setting a $25 license fee. for the operation of numisma- tie (coin collection) and philatelic (stamp collecting) businesses was ordered drawn up by the city at- torney for later action by the city commission. commission. ee decided that Carbonell regarding the company and its Plans if it should decide to begin Operations here. es Big Stocks Plywood For Shutters — at Strunk Lumber 120 SIMONTON ST., near Bank | aa KEY WEST, FLORIDA, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1954 HE U.S.A. a Bridge District Funds ATTORNEYS GEORGE DAYTON AND JAMES McEWEN are shown this morning as they filed a suit forthe State Road Department to recover a quarter of a million dollars of allegedly mis- spent funds. Commissioners of the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District may later join in the suit which names as defendants Brooks Bateman, former general manager of the district; Alonzo Cothron, a contractor; D. M. Andrew. former district employe; a bonding company; and Floyd Lamb, owner of. construction company.—Citizen Staff Photo, Sybil. All Parking Meter Bids Are Rejected By City Commission...) The city commission vot- led last night to reject all bids which have been re- ceived for parking meters for the city. Commissioners present, Mayor pro tem Jack Delaney, Delio Cobo and Louis Carbonell, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the me- ter which would be supplied if they accepted the low bid, as required by ite law. Fire Dept. Needs Are Discussed; No Action Taken The need for more firemen was discussed by the city commission last night, but no action was taken. The city budget can not be stretch- ed to provide added personnel, City Manager Lang pointed out. The matter was brought up in connection with a fire which gut- ted the Tropical Cigar Factory Sunday night. At the time of the fire, all men on duty at No. 1 sta- tion were needed on the truck, so there was no one on duty at the station. Fire Chief Charles Cremata in- formed the commission that since personnel has had to be split to provide three shifts, and also to| provide a night shift at Poinciana | Station, it is impossible to keep more men on duty, Department; members who are on a stand-by status are now being used regu- larly to fill in while other mem- bers are on vacation. In connection with the fire de- partment, renovation at No. 3 sta- tion was discussed. Cremata told the commission that he has pre- :sented the matter to the men who |serve there, and is awaiting their decision as to what is most need- ed at this time. tion was brought up, and sugges- has been allotted $2,000 in the city budget for this project. Various aspects of the renova-! Carbonell asserted that he had! studied the low-bid meter, taking it apart and inspecting it thorough-! ly, and that it is “no good.” Meter Described City Manager Victor Lang gave {a run - down on this meter, dis- closing that it has 239 moving parts, as against less than 50 in some of the other meters. There are 18 springs in it, he said, whereas some others have as few as five. Lang feels that such items are of particular concern here where rust is a greater problem than in some other locales, Lang said also that while the company mking the low bid supplies a number of other Florida towns with meters, the particular meter offered) to Key West is not in use elsewhere in Florida. The company makes four types of meters, he said. ’ Another unsatisfactory feature of the low-bid meter is the fact that the clock isnot sealed to keep out dirt and dust, and the meter must be wound by hand at least once a week to keep it in operation. Trial Offered After the commission had’ voted to throw out all bids, and issue a later call for new bids with more exacting specifications, a represen- tative of Micrometer parking me- ter company made the group an offer which was accepted. Micrometer company, a Miami concern which supplies meters to Coral Gables as well as othe: cities, will install 50 of its meters in places to be designated by the city for a 90-day trial period. The me- ter in question has inner workings of bronze and stainless steel. The only expense to the city for this trial will be the erection of the posts at $3 each, which can be used later for any other type meter if the Micrometer device is not wanted. The company attached no strings its trial offer. The commission voted to accept the trial offer, which will provide to tions were made. The department |the city with 50 meters for use | pending the call and opening of new bids. | | NOTICE City of Key West Journeyman Electric exam- inations will be held at the Key West High School, Room 211, United Street entrance, at 7:30 P.M., Wednesday evening, Sept. 15, 1954. (sd) HOWARD A. OIKLE, City Electrical $$$, — LSS Auto Inspection ’ Deadline Oct. 15 The deadline for auto inspec- tion has been extended to Oct- ober 15. The city commission voted the new deadline last night in consideration of the fact that the inspections got off to a late start this year, and many car owners have been delayed through no fault of their own in getting the check made. Inspections are being held at the No. 2 fire station at 12th and Seidenberg, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p. m. to 5 p. m. on weekdays and from 9 a. m. to 1 p. m. on Satur- days. Explanation of Leaks In New Sewers Asked Engineers of the Key West Sewerage Improvement Company are to be asked to meet with the city commis- sioners and city manager to which has been in operation less than a year should have 18 leaks already. The decision to call for such a meeting was made by the commis- sioners last night when a storm of protest arose following a request from the company for a reduction in the amount which the city with- holds from its payments to the company. Contract Provision The contract permits the city to | withhold 10 per cent of payment to the company to meet contingen- cies or penalties which may be im- posed under the contract. The re- iquest for reduction was made in |a letter signed by Norman A. D. | Cruger, resident engineer for the company. Cruger’s letter, which was read jby city clerk Victor Lowe asked that the amount withheld be re- duced to two per cent, as the com- pany felt that the continuance of | withholding the 10 per cent work- jed “an unnecessary hardship.” | The request was refused by un- janimous vote of the commission- jers present, Jack Delaney, Delio |Cobo and ‘Louis Carbonell. explain why a sewer line! Suit At Court By DENIS The State today sou of a million dollars all and Toll Bridge District The suit for accounting, Bridge Dist. Board May Join In Suit Road And Toll Commission Will Meet With Attys. Commissioners of the Ov- erseas Road and Toll Bridge District may join the State Road Department in a suit to recover a quarter of a million dollars in allegedly misspent district funds. The commissioners will meet next week with two attorneys, James McEwen and George Day- ton, who filed the suit today for | the road department. ‘The com- ‘thission can later join in the suit, McEwen, Hillsborotigh County State attorney, and Dayton, road dept. attorney, met with Anthony Demeritt, commission chairman, this morning. No Quorum The two attorneys had expected to meet with all members of the commission but, said Dayton due to a misunderstanding of the time and place of the meeting, a quorum of the commission was not avail- able. “The fact that we didn’t meet with the commission,” Dayton added, “does not indicate an atti- tude of non-cooperation on the part of the commissioners. It was be- cause of a misunderstanding as to time and place of the meeting.” Demeritt agreed, saying: “I didn’t know the time definite- ly. I thought McEwen and Dayton would be here two or three days, time enough to get a quorum.” Dayton said he had given De- meritt a copy of the bill of com- plaint in the suit begun today and that earlier he had sent him a copy of the audit. To Call Meeting Demeritt said he would call a meeting of all the commissioners to decide whether to join the suit against Brooks Bateman, former general manager of the district; Alonzo Cothron, a contractor; D. Road Department, named f company as defendants, They were: a M. Andrew, former district em- ploye; a bonding company; and Floyd Lamb, owner of a con- struction company. Speaking to reporters, McEwen said: “If I were going to make a guess, I would guess the commis- sioners would join the offense.” McEwen said he and Dayton definitely will be back here next week for the meeting of the com- missioners. The meeting, probably in the county court house, will be open to the public. McEwen and Dayton left for their homes on the 2:50 p.m., plane to- day. |RENEWAL OF CAB |LICENSES OKAYED Renewal of licenses for local taxicabs and drivers were ordered | approved ‘in toto’ in city commis- sion action last night. This applies only to those cabs and drivers now on the list, and | will not change the status of any |who have been deprived of their licenses. WARDLOW'S SERVICE STATION (Formerly Hargis) Charlie Wardiow, Owner FLEMING PHONE 2-9241 McEwen, Dayton File Civil House Today SNEIGR ght an accounting of a quarter egedly misspent Overseas Road funds, filed on behalf of the State our men and one bonding Alonzo Cothron, a contractor. Brooks Bateman, former gen pa manager of the toll dis- ict. Floyd Lamb, owner of the Floyd Lamb Construction Com- Pany. The Fidelity and Deposit Com- pany of Maryland, which had bonded Bateman for $25,000. D. M. Andrew, former em- Ploye of the district who, ac. cording to the bill of complaint, received $24,975 from Cothron in violation of a contract which said no employe of the district could share in the contract. 's The bill of complaint, filed in Circuit Court here, was signed by James M. McEwen, state attorney from Hillsborough County (Tam- Pa), and George C. Dayton, State Road Department attorney, They filed the papers in the suit on behalf of members of the State Road Department Cecil M. Webb, chairman, and M. Johnny Walker, F. M. Turner, Jr., and Francis P. Whitehair, Assisted Marsh McEwen assisted John Marsh, Dade County solicitor, when Bate- man and Cothron were tried here earlier this year on grand larceny charges ‘involving district funds, A jury found Bateman and Coth- Ton not guilty. The 18page bill of complaint, which begins with a short history of the toll district, says th:t Bate- man fraudulently entered into a conspiracy with Cothron and Lamb to defraud the road department of “large sums of public monies by means of.certain agreements and other devices conceived and car- ried out through fraud, covin, guile, and deceit...” The complaint continues: “By reason of these fraudulent, unlawful financial manipulations and machinations, the determina- tion of the actual amounts due and owing to plaintiff has been render- ed very complex, and in orde: to ascertain the torrect amount due by defendants to the plaintiff it is necessary that discovery be had of and from the said defendants of additional information concerning (Continued on Page Five) smoother tas kit Blue Ribbon Beer