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01-05-53OrgMtg 1 -A JANUARY 5TH, 1953 The organizatioo meeting of the new City Council was held in the Council Chambers at 7:30 P.M. The recently elected, members of the Council, Mr. Lowell D.Kern, and Mrs. Alma K. Woehle were given the oath of office by the City Clerk and took their places at the Council table. Councilman Kabler moved that Mr. Kern be nominated as }Iayor, and the motion was seconded by Mrs. Woehle. Councilman Jacobs asked for a secret ballot, Following the original custom. Councilman Kabler objected to this method. Councilman Holland then moved that Mr. Kern be elected by Acclamation, and this motion was seconded by Councilman Kabler. Upon call of roll the motion carried.. Councilmen Holland, Jacobs, Kabler, and Councilwoman Woehle voted in favor of the motion, and Councilman ixern did not vote. Mayor Kern then took the Chair. Councilwoman Woehle nominated ~lr. Holland asVice-Mayor, and Moved that he be elected by acclamation. The motion was seconded by Councilman Kabler, and upon call of roll carried. Mayor Kern, Councilwoman ~'oehle, and Councilmen Jacobs and Kabler voted in favor of the motion, and Councilman Holland did not vote. A motion was then made by Councilman Holland and seconded by Councilman Kabler, that for the ensuing year Robert A. Lovelace be reappointed as City Manager. Upon call of roll the motion carried unanimously. Upon motion of Councilman Kabler, seconded by Councilman Hol- land, and unanimously carried, Attorney John H. Adams was reappoin- ted as Municipal Judge for the current year. Upon motion of Councilman Holland, seconded by Councilwoman Woehle and unanimously carried, Attorney meil E. MacMillan was reappointed as City Attorney for the current year. The following letter from the Delray Beach News was read, re- ferring to the marking off of-parking spaces for newspaper person- nel in front of their building on N. E. 4th Ave; "January 4, 1953 To: City Council Delray Beach, Fla. Mrs. Woehle and Gentlemen: The Delray Beach NE~S respectfully requests your consideration of the following matters: According to the latest figures available from the Florida Press Association, the Delray Beach NEWS apparently is now the second largest weekly ABC* newspaper in the State of Florida. The area now covered by the NE~qS extends from Lake Worth to Pompano Beach. We mention these facts to substantiate a reques~ for suit- able parking space for four me~bers of our staff of 30 employees and correspondents. As a druggist must have available immediate transportation to rush medication to sick persons in the area which he serves; as doctors must have their cars parked at places adjacent to their offices, in order to answer emergency calls; as the efficiency of police and fire departments depends upon automotive equipment ready and available to roll at a moment's notice; so a newspaper must have the Cars of its editorial and reporting personnel available and ready to go whenever an accident, fire, fatality or other news event is occuring. 1 - B JANUAI{Y 5th, 1953 Last Wednesday afternoon, the editor of the News abruptly was ordered by a city patrolman to remove immediately from the area in front of and. adjacent to the NEWS building all cars belong- ing to NEWS personnel. The officer stated that "a reasonable length of time - one or two hours" ~uld be given. When asked at whose direction he gave such an order, he replied, "The City Coun- cil's". The editor promptly retorted that she did not believe the city council had given such an order. It is not only the duty of a newspaper to attempt conscien~ tiously to cover and report all local news events, it is the duty of every thinking citizen to make certain that nothing prevents newspapermen and women from gathering the news; that no obstruc- tions, re,-tape technicalities or petty animosities be permitted to hamper or deny editors and reporters the freedom to gather and disseminate news. If the foregoing sounds like an editorial, it is because we be- li~ve that any attempt %o threaten, intimidate, hinder or con- trol the actions of any American publication, however humble, should be exposed and "editorialized". We now request - Not as a favor or special consideration - that provisions be made-~or four cars belonging to NEWS staff members, to park in front of or immediately adjacent to the ~EWS building. At a ratio of one reporter per 1,000 paid circulation, we are basing this request upon our circulation of last November. Circulation normally rises 10 to 25% during the height of the season, in February and March. We already have provided a parking area on a small Aot ad- joining the NEWS for those of our employees who are in %he NEWS building all day, thus removing 4 to 7 cars from the congested. street. However, our cars now are not able to reach that lot, since the city has removed the red line from in front of the drive- way entrance. We request that said entrance way be repain,%ed red. We ask our city council only to grant to us that considera- tion which the duties of the public press deserve. In our appeal to the council of the city of Delray Beach, we feel certain we shall receive prompt and just treatment. Respectfully, /S/ Georgie Lapham (Mrs.) G. Moore Lapham Edito r-General nanager THE DELRAY BEACH NEWS and COUNTY NEWS *Audit Bureau of Circulations" Councilman Holland explained that three years ago he had been appointed Chairman of a Traffic Committee, to work with the Chief of Police in making recommendations to the Council whereby parking conditions could be improved and loading zones could be created where needed. These loading zones consisted of one space to allow the loading or unloading of merchandise in connection wit~ that business. After receiving requests for the extension of these zones in accordqnce with the spaces in front of the Delray Beach News Building, he had asked the Police De- partment to check, and found that their space had been extended to four spaces, he had instructed the Police Department to put the red lines back as they should be, and ask the "News" to make their request for more space to the City Council, with their. reasons for wanting it. If granted, the policy established by Traffic Committee would have to be changed, Mr. Holland stated, as one unloading zone is the established policy, and this zone is not to be used for parking for any length of time. He felt that occupants of other buildings would have the right to make the same request, and it would set a precident that could not be coped with. 1 - C JANUAI{Y 5TH, 1953 Mrs. Georgia Lapham, Editor of the Delray Beach News claimed that they had had a parking space across the front of their entire building and now it is reduced to 20', which is a definite hard- ship to their reporters, photographers and personnel who are in and out of the building constantly. City Manager Lovelace then stated that he felt the diffi- culty was in having Council Committees, which create over-lapping jurisdictions, and cause confusion, as in this case. fie consider- ed t~e Finance Committee essential, but no other Committee is war- ranted. Councilman Holland agreed with the City Manager, and stated that he would like to resign as Chairman of the Traffic Committee of the City and turn those duties over to the City Manager. City Manager Lovelace then advised the Council that the Po- lice Department is making a survey of where loading zones should be to accommodate existing businesses. When completed rules and regulations governing loading zones will be established and it will become an administrative function to allow or disallow a request for a loading zone. Exceptions must come to the Coancil for con- sideration. This being agreeable to the Council a motion was made by Councilman ttolland and seconded by Councilman ~abler, that all existing Committees be abolished with tile exception of the Finance Committee. Upon call of roll the motion carried unani- mous ly. The foregoing request of the Delray Beach News was referred to the City Manager £or recommendation. Upon motion of Councilman Holland, seconded by Councilman Kabler, and unanimously carried, the meeting adjourned. City Clerk A Special ~eeting of the 'City Council of the City of Delray Beach ws.s held in the Council Chambers at 7:30 P.~'~. with ~syor r,. J. ~Tolland in the Chair, and 'City Attorney ~'~eil F. iViac~illan, City Mans- get Robert Lovelace, and the following Councilmen present: W.A. Jacobs, John N.Kabler, O. D. Priest, Jr. and Walter A. Roth, s quorum being present. ~City Manager Lovelace advised the Council that Mr. Fred B. Scott, owner of the Seacrest Hotel had verbally agreed to dedicate the south ~' of his property next summer from Andrews Ave. east to the driveway to the Seacrest Hotel Garage, if the City' would construct a side- walk on the curb line in connection with c~rrent Atlantic Avenue im- provements, but he did not want the wall and fence east of the drive- way disturbed during the present season. · ~r. Lovelace stated that he had requested Mr. Scott to write a letter to the Council stating what he would do and what he would expect the City to do in return, which he was unwilling to do. It was explained that it was the purpose of the City to have the sidewalks constructed while the ~ontractor is on the job, in exchange for the dedication of the land. I¥,.r. Lovel~ce felt that it would be better for pedestrian traffic to cross Atlantic Ave. at Andrews Ave. as this sidewalk would dead-end at the Hotel Garage; and he also considered I~.r. Scott's proposition unsatisfactory for the 'City. The Council agreed that if l~'~r. Scott wished to improve his propo- sition to warrant attention, it would be reconsidered. Councilman Priest presented a Plat of a~Subdivision, the S.~,~ 1/.;~ of ~..~odel La~d ~Company's Lot 13, Section ~0, Twp.~6 S.,Range~ E, to be known as Plat No. ~, Southridge Subdivision, which the Council hsd tentatively approved at a previous meeting. Upon advice from the City l;'~anager that size of lots, street dedications, etc, were all in order, a motion was made by Councilman Roth and. seconded by Councilman Jacobs that the plat be approved, subject to final ~pproval of the City ~isnager. Upon call of roll the motion carried unanimously. Councilman both then stated that he wished to express publicly that he felt City i~snager Lovelace has done an excellent job, and should be highly commended for his work. Councilman ~abler also expressed the appreciation of the Council for the services of Councilmen Walter A. Roth and O. D. Priest, Jr., w~ile serving on the Council, and to the community. As there was no more business to come before the retiring CouDcil, a motion was made by Councilman Roth, seconded by Councilman Priest, and unanimously carried, that the Council adjourn sine die. citY" tler~( AP P R0 VED: