REGULAR MEETING

September 11, 1967

The regular meeting of City Council was held Monday, September 11, 1967 at 7:30 P.M. with Mayor Carroll presiding. Councilmen present were Messrs Biggs, Harris, Hastings, Hayes, Holpp, Hughes, Jackson and Smith.

The invocation was said by Reverend Leonard Taylor of the Edgehill Community Church.

MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting of August 28, 1967 were approved and bore the written approval of Mayor Carroll.

REPORTS

Report of the Chief of Police for the month of August was accepted.

Report of the Building Inspector and Fire Marshall for the month of August was accepted.

Report of the Acting Alderman for the month of August was accepted. Fines in the amount of $288.40 were remitted to the City.

Report of the J.P Court #7 for the month of August was accepted. A check in the amount of $1,851.00 was remitted to the City.

Report of Cash Receipts, General Fund, for the of August was accepted.

Budget Report, General Fund, for the month of August was accepted.

Cash Report, Electric Revenue Fund, for the month of August was accepted.

Cash Report, Electric Improvement Fund, for the month of August was accepted.

Report of the City Manager for the month of August was accepted.

GENERAL FUND INVESTMENT

Settlement of the sale of the old Post Office to Wesley Methodist Church took place last month and the City Manager at this time requested permission of Council to invest approximately $300,000 of the money that was put in the General Fund in U.S. Government Bonds until a decision is made on the construction of new facilities for the City Hall. On motion of Mr. Holpp, seconded by Mr. Hastings, Council authorized the investment, setting up a minimum investment period for the bonds of six months.

PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS & TREES COMMITTEE

Councilman Smith presented a written report of the meeting of the Parks, Playgrounds & Trees Committee held on Monday, August 30, 1967. On motion of Mr. Harris, Council accepted the report as presented.

SILVER LAKE BOAT DOCK

A revised plan has been submitted by the builders of the Lake Club Apartments for the construction of a boat dock on Silver Lake adjacent to the Lake Club Apartments. The proposed dock would be 78' long and extend out from the shore line 6'. On motion of Mr. Harris, seconded by Mr. Hastings, Council approved the plan submitted by the builders, and also stipulated that no loading and/or unloading ramps were to be built on their property. They would be required to use the municipal loading ramp.

SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS

The Dover School Board had proposed the use of the tennis courts on the South Elementary School property for the combined recreation facility of the City of Dover and the School District. The school has two or four tennis courts that are in good condition and would need only a little work to put them in A-1 shape. The cost would be approximately $5000, with the cost to be shared equally between the City and the School. The School Board has requested that the City take action on this matter. On motion of Mr. Hastings, seconded by Mr. Smith, Council directed the City Manager obtain costs involved in putting this playground and tennis court in shape, and report back to Council for their decision in reference to the participation with the School Board.

SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

A written report of the meeting of the Safety Advisory Committee held on August 30, 1967 was presented to Council by Councilman Smith. On motion of Mr. Holpp, Council accepted the report as presented.

DOWNTOWN BUSINESSMEN’S ASSOCIATION

A letter was received from the Downtown Businessmen’s Association announcing the appointment of Mr. Bernard Ettenger as the president for the coming year and expressing a willingness of the Association to cooperate in any way with the City of Dover in the growth of the Downtown Dover area.

RECESS

At the request of Mayor Carroll and City Solicitor Buckson, Council recessed at 8:15 P.M. to caucus and discuss the recent court case of the City of Dover vs. Ehrlich Realty Co., and the pending law suit against the City of Dover brought up by John Burger, Park Scotten and George Pyatt concerning special assessments and the levying of same. Council reconvened at 9:15 P.M.

TRUCK TRAFFIC ON STATE STREET

Councilman Hughes brought before Council the problem of increased truck traffic on South State Street in the vicinity of the Green. Some of the people in the area have complained about the tremendous noise problem that these trucks create in the late night and early morning hours. The State Highway Department maintains State Street in its entirety and therefore controls the use of this street by vehicle traffic also, even though it is within the corporate limits of the City. City Solicitor Buckson stated that the only control the City would have over this problem is by an ordinance to control the noise of these trucks, but the difficulty in providing the loudness of the trucks would be a problem as far as the City would be concerned. The feeling is that these trucks are using the entire length of State Street to avoid the traffic lights on the U.S. Route 13 by-pass around Dover, during the nighttime hours when there is little or no traffic on State Street. This problem will be further investigated by the City to see if there is any solution that can be reached.

SIDEWALKS ON KINGS HIGHWAY

Councilman Hayes wanted to know if the City could install curbing on Kings Highway north of Division Street to eliminate the flooding of properties on Kings Highway, as occurred during the recent heavy rains that we had in Dover. City Manager Neylan stated that the State Highway Department just recently repaved this portion of Kings Highway and it was not until they were ready to start that the City knew anything about it, or a public hearing on the installation of these curbs and gutters could have been held, and they could have been installed along with the project of repaving. Mr. Neylan stated that since this was new construction and would require tearing up part of the new paving to install these curbs, he would recommend that the City wait until next year to undertake this project.

Council adjourned at 9:30 P.M.

Jay R. Dougherty

City Clerk

All ordinances, orders and resolutions adopted by City Council at its meeting of September 11, 1967 are hereby approved.

                                                                                                                                                            

September 12, 1967                                                                             Crawford J. Carroll Mayor