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Minutes 12-03-51~Ii~UJTES OF TI~ REGULAR ~L~ETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BOYI~TON BEACH, FLORIDA, ~ELD AT THE CITY HALL ON DECE~BER 3, 1951. The City Cotuucit convened at the City Hall on December 1951, and was called to order by the ,~ayor at 7.30 Councilmen Present: }~. F. L. Purinton Mr. C, H. Hood Mr. Alva Shook ~ir. Henry Merkel Jr. Mr. Clifford Province. C~6y Clerk Dorothy V.~illiams read the minutes of the previous regular meeting of November 19, 1951- Mr. Johnson objected to the inclusion of the words "No decisive action was taken~ in connection with his request for a taxi franchise, as the Com~aission was agreeable to a franchise, conditions to be worEed out at a later date. Er. Shook made a motion, seconded by ~r. Hood, that the words ~No decisive action was taken~ be stricken out and that the ~inutes thus amended be accepted. ~otion passad unanim- ously. The bills O'Kayed at this meeting were read o~ and the Mayor asked if anyone wanted information on any of them. Mr. Johnson said that people did not seem to understand the expenditure for lighting, ~nd asked if the charge was according vo the 1smith of time the lights were on each night. The ~ayor said no, the charge was a~proximately ~2i.00 for each lamp per year, whether it was on for 24 hours a day or less. This means thatbthat the more lamps are added the higher the bill wll be. The Florida Power & Light bill for the month of November for ~276.15 was for pumping water only. A letter was read from the Pipe Company regardi~ their outstandin~ bill for ~1,672.12, requesting a remittance. It was suggested that the matter be taken up wit~ Broci~ayo Building permits for the month of November amount to $~7,950. A meeting was arranged for 5 P.M. W'ednssday, for veri- fying the ballot of elections. -2- The Committee appointed ~o report on the suitability of Caroline Boa~m To be granted a liquor license reported that the people concerned seemed to be ~uita satisfactory. ~ license be granted to ~s. Caroline Boshm, Motion passed ~uanimously. ~r. William Beers referred to a license which had been granted to the %?ct-Not Shop two years ago, but which had not been exercised, and asked whether this prevents anyone else from having a license less than the 500 feet from the ~z~%~ license. I~. Griffith explained the working of the law in this connection. The Eayor suggested something should be added to the Ordinance covering such a case, The matter of Taxas was then taken up by the Mayor who hoped that things could all be ironed out to the satisfaction of everybody. He referred to one case where 25 acres were laid our in 10ts but taxed on acreage, which ~mrked out at five cents a year per lev. He added that as far as the Commissioners are concerned they are adversely affected more than most of the objectors. He said things cannot be changed by politics but only by fair adjusvmenv, and if anyone can prove-that their objection ~o their taxes is fair, everything can be wor.~ed out. He aisc said that all good taxpayers should make a point of investi- gating anything they consider should be investigated. That many of the rumors going arom~d were absurd; for instance ~. ~m~s had been told that the brush fire truck had cost $22,©~ The City Clerk verified from the records that it had cost $2,241.41. ~ ~imms, whose tax bill had been adjusted at the last meeting, again objected on the ground that his tax bill was now slightly higher instead of less on the adjustment. It was explained h~ this had happened, and that the charge was now on Lake Front footage onl~. He said h~s naigh~o~ss ara payinM less · ~ ~ ~ ~ than h~lf o~ ~he ~30 front foot he was charged ¥~th. - After a long ~zscusszon, the Council ~thorized the City Clerk ~o re-figure ~oe ~irm~s' tax bill ~ ~!5.~ front foo~ ~ Lake frontage for a depth of 131 feet, and $8.00 front ~ balance facing Oak Street, They also authorised her to correct errors made by the appraiser in the original cards as received by her covering the properties of Ernesv and Fred Wilhelm and Yohn Treehouse. ~r. Johnson~ referring to Mr. Futrelte's complaint about the increase in his taxes, said he found nothing wrong with the valuation of $1~,000, and that ~r.Futrelle is asking $25,000 for the proper~y. -3- In the matter of Breeze Inn, he questioned the valuation of the property to see if it is properly assessed. The build- in2 may be over valued. ~. Brandewie asked, if property had been equalised, why did a front foot on the west side of the Federal assessed at $20 a front foot bring a ~mimum of 430 when sold, while on ohe east siSe of the _ederal property assessed at $30 a front foot ms bri~ng up to ~65 a frqnt foot. ~ir. goa Renick said he was paying the highest tax on the highway. He was told that the~tand right across from him is at ~25 a front foot as this ~nd went back to the Canat, he is only paying $15 a front foot. assessed w~ile The mat~ar of Mr. Burr Trayler's tax was brought up, it having been increased from $19.25 to $109, although the build- ing is not yet completed. The ~ayor said there should be some period set when it should be completed otherwise it might not be finished for years. ~. Adams said the delay in completion was on account of illness. The ~ayor said that under the circumStances a great deal of leeway would be granted and that the tax would be adjusted. ~rs. Klemons referred ~o ®roperty which she ow~s in colored to~m, with no road or other entrance to the property, which is taxed at $4 a front foor, while other lots in the vicinity are taxed at ~2 a front foot. She also referred to a house which had been valued too high as it has been sold for approximately ~1~785. She was assured that the mattsrs would be investigated. I~r. V.B.~etear produced his tax bills saying he thought they ~ere higher than they should be. After a long discussion ~. Hood said that this matter could not be adjusted a~ this meeting, and smggested that Joe Hatless, ~. Melear and ~.~.Johnson get vogether and thrash the thing ou~, reporting their findings at the nexv meeting. ~. Jonson asked if Mr.Hariess would explain whether ~Mr. Meiear was being assessed a~ the lowest figure for pastmre land inside the City limits compared with others in similar locations, it was agreed that this matter also would be dis- cussed further by the Co~mmittee. ~k. Melear asked why he k~s assessed $,6,000 on equipment, end ~tr. Johnson suggested that an itemised statement could be obtained from the County and that this wes the d,~ty of the City. The Board agreed to do this. }~rs. K!emons asked, on behalf of PO~, whether there was a law whereby the City could go in and clean up a lot whi0h was unsightly with weeds, ezc., and whether the law had teeth in iz. The Mayor said that,as a general rule,would lead to hot waner and that it had to be proved that the ~o~dition of the lot was a danger from snakes etc.~ or a fire hazard. He added that it would mean practically constant work for about four men, as things grow so quickly; that he would iook up the Ordinance and have the City Attorney explain whey could be done, and also find out would mean three more employees, costing aoproximately $100 a week extra. - Mr. Anderson said burning off such lots meant a grea~ deal of smoke da~.age ~o houses in the vicinity. Mr. Shock made a motion, seconded by D~.Province, that the trustees of the Internal improvement Fund be forwarded a check for ~!00 for land now owned by the State ~nder the Murphy Act. Motion passed unanimously. Mrs, Potrekus requested a decrease of $500 i~ her valua- tion to cover widow's exemption, which would mean $12 tess in her taxes annually. The Mayor suggested this be done if satisfactory to the Commissioners. Mr. Province made a motion, seconded by ~.Hood, that the widow,s exemption be granted ~o Mrs. Potrekus. Motion passed muanimously. There was a discussion on the lots offered-to the colored m~ in exchange !'or those he wanvs to swap, and it was decided that the lots should not be bought until the man had seen them. Mr. Merkel made a motion, seconded by Mt. Hood, that the City with ~.Harless will agree ~o work with a Committee of no~ over th~-ee, ~o be appointe~ by P0~/IA, to go over certain parcels of land, etc., and reach agreemenz on valuation. Motion passed unanimously. Er~ Merkel said the County publication will be ready for distribution in about two weeks. 0~er cities have contracted for certain numbers and_~b asked whether Boynton would like to buy any at 25 cents each. ~r. Hat!ess said he would su~Dl~ 550.00 _ Y worth of them for the City to distribuve. There was a discussion on the R.D.B. and the work it was ioing. There being no further business, the L~ayor adjourned the meeting. Mayor City Clerk.