06-24-46 Regular
1...l,,(,,'t,
COUNCIL C!W4BER
June 24, 1946
Regular meeting of the City CoUncil of the City ot
Delray beach was held in the Counoil Chambers with Mayor M.
M. lleWitt in the Chair, Civ,r ~anager R. P. Edmond. Cdty Attorney
J. W. riow1in, and the following Councilmen present: B. C.
Butler, F. B. McNeece and C. J. White.
The Clerk presented the application of Mr. Ed. Butler
for a Duilding contractor's license, together with two letters
of recommendation. Mr. Butler had also posted a personal pro-
perty bond in the amount of , 25.00.
Upon motion of Counoi1man McNeeoe, seconded by Council-
man White, unanimously carried, license was granted to lII1'., Butler
as requested.
The application of Caldwell-Scott of ~t. Lauderdale ,
for a General Contraotor's license being in order, a motion was
made by Councilman White, seconded by Councilman McNeece. unani-
mously carried, that license be granted.
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rh~ request of Mrs. Wyeth ~ay for refund of personal
property bond paid in the amount of , 15.00 for the operation
-'of a contemplated ~mp10yment ~ureau, was granted in a motion
made by counoi1man ~utler, seconded by ~ouncilman McNeece and
unanimously carried, as Mrs. Ray was unable to secure a location
for her business.
With reference to the offer of Aaron T. ~mock for the
purchase of Lgt 2 less the E. 3', aild all fo Lots 3 and 4, Blook
69, less the S. 14' thereof, which was.aooepted by the City
COuncil on Ap~il 23rd, providing Mr. Smook could secure an in~
surab1e title to the property, upon motion of Counoilman White,
seoonded by Counoi1man Butler. unanimOUSly oarried, the matter
was deferred until the next regular meeting to be held on July
8th.
City Attorney Nowlin explained to the Council that
certain traots in Del Ide Park, known as Blocks At B &; 0, had
been taken over by the State under the Murphy Law. It bas been
assumed that they were City Parks, but no deed from the original
owners, and no dedication to the City had ever been reoorded,
Mr. Nowlin recommended that the City aoquire this land, and that
the minimum bid and cost for all three tracts would be , 58.93. .
A motion was made by Counoi1man Butler, seconded by
Counc~man White, that the City purchase these pieces of land
~lol.o~
JIlh!!l: 24~>;L945.
from the State for. 58.93, to be used as Public Parks, and
upon call ~ftol;L the motio~ carried unanimously.
The following ordinance was brought up for second
and final reading, and same was read in full:
ORDINANCE NO. 0-5
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNOIL OF THE
CITY OF DELaAY BEACH, FLORIDA, PLACING
CERTAIN PROPERTY IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED
DISTRICTS.
,BE IT ORDAINED by the City Counoi1 of the oityor
De1ray BeaCh, Florida, as follows:
SECTION 1. That the following property in the City
of Delray BeaCh, Florida, is hereby p1acecl in' the limited
business district, to-wit:
The' North Half of Block 14l, lying e as t of the
Florida Intracoastal Canal: the North half of
Block 149; all of Block 157; the SQuth balf of
Block 135, lying East of the -flor1da IntraoClastel
Canal; the South half of Block 143; all of .1:13.ook
l52 except the South,200 feet; all of B100k 3.50
exoept the South 200 feet and except the East
200 feet.
SECTION 2. The following described property in DelraY
Beach, Florida is hereby placed in Hes1dence A Distriot, to-wit:
All of Block 142 lying east of the .llor1c1a Intra..
ooastal canal; all of ~look 150; all of the Korth
halt ot Block 1~ lying east of the .if1orlda Intra;;'
coas tal oana1; the North half of .1:110011: 143; the
~orth half of Block 151.
.. SECTION 3. The following described property in De1ray
Beaoh, Florida, is hereby placed in the Special ~tel Distriot.
to-wit:
The South half of B100k 141 lYing east of the
Florida Intracoastal oanal; the South half ot
Block 149; all of B1ook158; the South halt to
Block h51; the South 200 feet of Block 152; the
South 200 feet and the ~ast 200 feet of Block 160.
PASSED in re~ar session on second and final read-
ing on this the 24th day of June, 1946.
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June 24, 1945
ATTESf:
(Signed) ){. J!.. DeWitt
President of City Council
APPROVED:
(Sl~ed) Ruth R. Smith
C ty Clerk.
(SEAL)
lst reading - June 10th, 1946
2nd reading - dune 24th, 1945
gimed) U. U. DeWitt.
ay-or.
Amotion was made by Councilman White, seoonded by
Counoi1man ~cNeece, that the foregoing Ordinance No. 0-5 be
adopted as read, and upon call of roll the motion carried
unanimously.
City Menager ~dmond presented a request from the
Fairo10th Motor Sales po. tor permission to install two gas~
oline pumps in the front of their sales-room. Restated
that there is a l3et-back of twenty feet in the f ron.t of the
building, 15 teet on the right side and 5 feet on the left
side, whioh set-backs meet the requirements of the Building
Code relating to filling stations.
It was brought out that Mr. Fairoloth had agreed
to operate his business as a sales-room and show room onJ.y,
and not to put gasoline pumps in the front of his building,
all shop and repair work to be done in the rear of the build-
ing. .L.ater he was able to make a proposition with an oil
oompany wherE;bf they would install equipment amounting to
'8})'Proximate1y 1).500.00 if he would allow them to put in two
gasoline pU1$ps 'iii., front of his building.
Council decided to defer actl~n until after build.
ing permit has been applied tor-,wUh!the understanding that
it will be specified in the building permit that the pumps
will be placed against the building.
City Manager ~dmond presented a sketch of the
building which Mr. Wesley ~lements proposed to build for a
laundry and dry cleaning plant, in the event he is unable
to get the material for oement block construction. .
Mr. Edmond explained to the Council that the proposed construct-
ion would be fire-proof and the material would meet the require-
. ments of the builning code.
Mr. 01ements, being in the audience, explained that
the building would be all steel, bolted together, with. smooth
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June 24, 1946
finish on the outside, and he plans to use asbestos sheet-
ing and two blow fans to control the heat.
As the building material and the general const~uot-
ion of the building were acceptable to the CounCil, it was ,
agree to grant permit subject to meeting the requirements ot
the building code as to design, number of windows, etc.
A letter from Councilman C. W. Hill was presented
by the Mayor, and same was read in full as follows;
June 24th 1945
.~
The Mayor and Members of the t;1ty Counoil:
Due to a shortage of available man power and the
scarcity of materials, it is necessary tbat I devote consider-
able more time to my business now than in the pastt Not be.;..
ing able to devote the time that is requued to take an aotive
part in the operation of the City and attend all the special
meetings that are required now, I find that I am unable to
continue as a member of the Council and herewith tender my
reSignation to take effeot today.
Very trUly yours,
(Signed) (J. w. aUl
...
that he
been of
ness .
In commenting on the above letter, MaYOr~Witt stated
hated to see Mr. Hill resign from the Council as he had
great assistance 'in the management of the City'/! busi-
Upon motion of Councilman McNeece, seconded by Ceunoil-
man White, unanimously carriel!, the reSignation ot Mr. HUI wa~
accepted with regrets.
City Attorney Nowlin explained to the Counoil that at
the next regular meeting of the Counoil they shall select a
qualified citizen to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Hill'S re-
signation, to serve until the next General Eleotion. In 08$8
the Counoil is una"b1e to agree upon the selection of a council"
man after two regular meetings have been held, the City Counoi1
shall call a Special Election for that purpose.
, Fourth estimates of Contraotors for iYaterPlant!m..
provement Work, baving been approved by the Finance Committee,
were ordered paid as follows:
Mike Blank Nurseries
NuWay Plumbing Co.
$ 16,15'7.93
9,525.10
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June 24, 1945
Oity Attorney then presented his report on the
Golf Oourse property, as follows:
June 24, 1946
Hon. M. M. DeWitt
Mayor, De1ray Beach
Florida.
Dear Mr. DeWitt:
In.re: City Golf Course Property.
As requested by you, I have made an investigation of
the status of the. municipal golf ~ourse ~roper~~ I find that
the City originallY purohased approximate17 147 aCres of land
from L. H.Bradshaw on Deoember 3, 1924. This deed was re.
.oorded September 28, 1925 in Deed Book 330 at page 68 of the
pUb+ic records of Palm Beaoh County, Floriaa. By this deed
the following property was oonveyed to the City of Delray
(now City of De1ray: Beaoh) :
The It of the si of the NWi of the 81i;
and the Et o.f the SW; of the SEt (less that
portion of the l!:t of the Si of the BWiOf ;'
[ , thet1~E1 lying north of the county Road ) in
, Section 18, Township 45 South, Range 43 East;
'!'he Et of the Nl of the NWi of the m;
the Stof the ~ .of the NEt; the SEt of the
~ of the NWi; the sWi of the'NEt; the xi
of the sEt of the NW:i in Seo. 19. Township 46
South, Range 43 East.
Sometime prior to September 25, 1944, the Golt Com-
mittee, appointed by the City of De1ray Beach, entered into
negot.iatiGns with llIlr.c. H. Dodson for the exchange of oertain
land in the golf course property lying l!;ast of the canal for
oertain land ad.jaoent to the golf course property lying' West.
of the canal.' 4t a meeting of the City Council held on
September 25, 1944, the following aotion was taken as shown
by the minutes of the Council:
"A letter from the Golf Commi tee and proposition
from Mr. C. H. Dodson requesting that exchange of
land near the golf course was read. After Dis- ,
cussing the metter, ""r.Waters moved that the City
accept Mr.t:lodson's proposition. The land exchanged
to.be described as adjoined to the present golf
oourse and that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized
to enter into a contract with Mr. Dodson for the
eXChange of the land."
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June 24, 1~46
On December 8, 1944, t~. bake Worth Drainage District
reoeived .~,124.42 from Mr. C. H. Dodson which represented the
sales pride of the land to be conveyed to Mr. Dobson by th. 8ity
of Delray Beaoh. This deed was subsequently executed by the
Mayor and the City Clerk and on December 14, 1944 was mailed
to Mr. Manley P. Caldwell of West Palm Beach, Florida, attorney
for Mr. Dodson. This deed conveyed the following property to
Mr. Dodson:
The Et of the SW! of the NWt of the s~ .
(South of De1ray Road)j SEt of the m1iof
the SEt (SoUth of De1raoY ~oad I; NEt I of the
swt of the sRi; Et of the RWt of the sWl
of the sEt;1!li of the S\'It ot the sWl ot the
SEt I the SEt of the SW;of' the sEt in
Section 18, TO~iP 46 South, Range 43 Eastl
The .REi of the of the NEt; the Ei of the
NWi Of the NWiiof the ~i in Section 19,
Township 46 South, Range 43 Eastl the above
desoribed lands consist ot approximately
5l.l1 acres.
On Deoember 21, 194,4 the l.ake worth l)ralnaae Distriot
wrote to the ~ity of D&l1'ay eeach as FolloWS:
"At the meeting of our Board ot Supervisors on
Deoember 18, our Board agreed to deed the tollowiq
described property to the City of De1ray Beaoh with
Lake Worth Drainage aDd state and County taxes paid
through 1943 for the payment of '1124.42 made this
Distriot by C. H. Dodson:
"Wi SWl NWt. SEt sOU...th of Delray Road, Wi NIt
swt SEt; Wi,SWl sWi SEtI NEt sWl southot
De1ray 13eaoh Hoadless Lot 115, B100k "C",
Homewood Addition, according to plat thereof
on file in the office of Clerk of the Cirouit
Court of Palm.l3eaoh County, FlOrida as reoorded
in Plat Book 15, page 23; SEt SJt, Seotion 18,
Township 46 South, Range 43 East and wi NWi NWi
NEt, NEt NEt NIt, Wi SEt q, Seotion 19, Town..
ship 46 south, Range 43 East.
"Lot 15, Block "C"t'HOmewood Addition is not
owned by. this Distriot, the taxes having been paid
by the ownertbrough 1943. We expect to use the des-
cription as shown above in the deed and will appreciate
it if you will check this with your reoords and advise
us if this description covers the area desired by the
City of De1ray Beach."
On January 2, 1945 the above letter was referred to
Mr. J. ~. Keen, CbairmaD of the ~ity ~olf Oommittee, for his
June 24, 1946
~t.,1 ~
examination and approval as to the description of the property
involved. rhe desoription o~ the property was approved by h~
and on Maroh l6, 1945, the Lake WOrth Drainage District lIlaiilllad
to the City of De1ray Beaoh,a deed oonveying the ,property de-
soribed in their letter of December 21. 1944. this property as
described in said deed consists of approximately 100 aorea.
I find that the city acq~ired approximately l47 aores
of land from Mr. Bradshaw and approximately lOO aores of' land
from the Lake Worth Drainage District. 'l!he City transferred
title to approximately 61, aoreS of land ~o Mr. Dodson whioh
_U1d leave the City owning approximately 1~6 aores of laM.
very truly yours,
J. W.NoWL in,
city Attorney.
A ~tion was made by Counoilman Butler, seconded by
Oouncilman White. that the findings of the City Attorney be
incorporated in the minutes of this meeting, and upon ea1l of
roll the motion oarried unanimou~lY'
Finance co~n~~~~~ Bi'a~o5elnt ~PigiUU Ueav~i~gi~ g~uJi3
by Mr. H1ll's resignation from. the city Counoi1. .
. In a motion made by Councilman Hutler, seconded by
Counoilman White, unanimously carried, bills totaling 16,183.18
having been approved by the Finance Committee, were ordered paid.
counoil then recessed until 9 0 'c1ook,Jat which time a
hearing had been called with offioials of the Florida Power &
Light Co. with reference to the renewal of their franchise which
expires on October 11th, 1946.
At 9 o'clock the meeting was again called to order to
oonsider the renewal of the ilorida Power & Light Co. franohise,
with representatives of that Company, oonsisting of Mr. R. H.
lite, 'lice-President, Mr. O. ti. ~llis, Division Manager and Mr.
Charles Senior, ~oca1 Manager, present.
Mayor DeWitt explained to the audience that in uotober
of 1926 the City granted an e1ectrio franchise to the Florida
Power & Light Co. for a period of twenty years. Since that time
our Charter has been revised and the City is not able to grant
a renewal of the franohise for a period of twenty or thirty
years. ne asked for comments Dr discussion from the audienoe.
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June 24, 1946
A proposed ordinance was submitted by the Florida
Power &; Light Co., whereby the City would receive e~ of the
gross revenue from residential and commercial business of the
electric oompany, less any amount assessed against the Company
for taxes. This was estimated to amount to about , 8,340.00 .
for a twelve months period, after rate reductions. fhe ordi-
nancewould be voted on by the registered voters of the City
who are freeholders, at an election to be called for that
purpose.
The form of ordinance is as fo11ows~
AN ORDINANCE GRANTING TO FLORIDA POWER &; LIGHT
COMPANY, ITS SUCCES ORB AND ASSIGNS, AN ELEC-
TRIC FRANCHISE? AND nlPOSING PROVISIONS Arm CONiiil
DITIONS RELATING THERETO: I .'
~E ];'1
F1orida:-
Section I. That there 1s hereby granted to
Florida Power &; Light Company lherein called the
"Grantee.") ,--its successors and assigns, the r;lght,
privilege or franchise to construct, maintau and
operate in, under, upon, over and across the pre~
sent and future streets, alleys, bridges, easements
and other pUblic places of the ot
Florida, lhereinoa1led the
"Grantor"} and its successors, in accordance with
established praotioe with respect to electrioal
construction and maintenance, for the period ot
thirty years from the date of acceptance hereof,
e1eotric light and power facilities \including
~onduits, poles, wires and transmission lines, and
tor its own uae, telephone and telegraph lines) for
the p~po~e of supplying electricity of Grantor,
and its sucoessors, the inhabitanta thereof, and
persons and corporations beyond the limits thereof.
Section II. That Grantor hereby reserves the
right at and after the expiration of this grant to
purohase the property of Grantee used under this
grant, as provided by the Laws of Florida, in effeot
at the time of Grantee's acceptanoe hereof, inolud-
ing Section l69.22 of the Florida Statues 1941, and
as a oondition preoendent to the taking eftect of
this grant, Grantee shall give and grant to the
Grantor the right to purohase so reserved. Grantee
shall be deemed to have given and granted suoh right
of purchase by its acceptance hereof, which Shall
be filed with the Grantor's olerk within thirty (30)
days after this ordinance takes effect.
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Ju.ne 24,1946
Seot.1on :III. That the ta0111ties shall be so
10cat~d or rdocated and so ereoted as to interfere
as little as pOssible with treftio over said streets,
alleys, bridges and public places, and with reason-
able egresa from and ingress to abutting property.
The looat.1on or relooation of all faoili ties ahldl
be made under the su,~rvlsion and with the approval
ot suoh representa~~as the governing body ot
Grantor may desie;na1:li' ''f'er the pupose, but not So
as unreasonably to intertere with the proper op~rat-
ion of Grantee's facilities and service. 'l'hat when
any portion of a street is exoavated by Grantee in
the 10oation or relocat~on of any of its fsoilities,
the portion of the street so excavated shall, within
a reasonable time and as early as practioab1e after
suoh excavation be replaced by the Grantee at its
expense and in as good condition as it was at the
time of such exoavation.
section IV. Tbat Qrantor shall in no way be
liable or responsible tor any lilo01dent or damage
that may ocour in the construct10b, operation er
maintenance by Grantee of its facilities hereunder,
and the acceptanoe of this ordinanoe shall be
deemed an agreement on the part of Grantee, to
indemnity Grantor and~~ld it harmless against any
and all lliibili ty , loss, COf1t, dllmlllite or expense,
whioh may aocrue to Grantor by reason of the neg-
1eot, default, or misoonduot of Grantee in the
,oonstruotion, operation or maintenance of its
facilities hereunder.
Seotion V. That all rates and rules and re-
gulation established by Grantee fro~ time to time
sabl1 at all times be reasonable and Grantee's
rates for eleotrici ty shall at all times be aub4eot
to such regulation as may be provided by law.
Section VI. Tbat within thirty days after
the first anniversary date of this grant and within
thirty days after each sucoeeding anniversary date
during the existenoe of this grant, the Grantee,
its successors and assigns, shall pay to the Grantor
and its suocessors a sum equal to the difference be-
tween six per cent of (a) the amount of its revenues
. from the sale of electric energy to residential and
oommercial oustomers within the corporate limita 01'
Grantor for the twelve oalendar months preceding
the applicable anniversary date, and \ b) the amount
of any taxes, licenses or other impositions levied
or imposed by Grantor against Grantee's property,
business or operations for the preoeding tax year,
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June 24, 1946
Sect1o~ VII. As a further consideration of this
franchise, said,Grantor agrees not to engage in the
'business of distributing and selling e1ectrioity
d~ring the life of this franchise or any extension
thereof in competition with the urantee, its success-
ors and assigna.
Section VIII. That failure on the part of Grantee
to comply in any substantial respect with any substantial
respect with any of the provisions of this ordinance,
shall be grounds for a forfeiture of this grant, but no
such forleiture shall take effect if the reasonableness
or propEiety thereof if protested by Grantee until
a court of. competent jurisdiction I wi th right of appeal
in either party) shall have found that Grantee has fai1~
ed to comply in a substantial respect with any of the
, provisions of this franchise, and the Grantee shall have
six (6) months after the final determination of the
question, to make good the default before a forfeiture
shall result with the right in urantor at its dis-
oretion to grant such additional time to Grantee for
compliance as necessities in the case require.
Section IX. This ordinance shall takE effect
as soon as it shall have been duly passed and adopt-
ed as required by'law and accepted as required herein.
section X. That all ordinances and part of
ordinanoes, in conflict herewith be and the same
are hereby repealed.
Mayor ~eW1tt pointed out that the length of the
ffranohise would be important, Mr. Ellis stating that the Florida
~ower & Light ~o. would prefer to have all franchises cover a
period of thirty years if possible.
Mr. Ellis stated further that this is the first time
the Florida ~ower & Light Co. has offered to pay anything tor
a franchise, that the proposed franchise ordinance is similar
to the original ordinance. with the clause pertaining to pay-
ment of 6,. of gross revenue to be paid to the City added, the
20,.' discount allowed on Gity bills to reDlain the SBJIle. It was
assured that any territory annexed to the City of uelray Beaoh
in the future would be covered by this franchise.
Mr. Fite emphasized the fact that they were paying ~o
premium to any City whioh t bey now service, that it was the desire
of the Company for the Oity to partioipate in profits to this
extent, and to aid SOmewhat in the riomestead ~xemption question.
'1'0 establish this policy it will be offered to other Cities in
tbi!! future. tlates will be sub ject to Whatever regula tions are
provided by law, as stated in the proposed ordinance.
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June 24, 1946
The members of the Council were not particularly in
favor of the canoellation of City taxes Which would be assessed
to the Florida Power & Light Company, but Mr. Fite explained
that the 6~ offered by his Company would be very sensitive to
the gBowth of the City, whereas the amount of taxes are more or
less fixed. In addition the City is profiting by a 1~ utilities
tax from.their oustomers, and since this tax was put on the
electric rates have been reduced by somewhere near the amount
being colleoted for the City from their customers,
~t was suggested that the Council might make a counter
proposition to the Florida Power & Light co., whereupon Mayor
DeWitt stated that he would like to turn the matter over to the
Finance and Ordinance Committee to make a stUdy of it and report
back to the councll at the next meeting. -'-his would give us a
chance to make whatever changes would be nemessary to conform with
our Oity Charter, and we could then submit our revised proposition
to the Florida Power & Light Co. It would also give us a chance
to study their proposed Ordinance and obtain a little more public
opinion. It was requested that this proposed ordinance be printed
in the newspaper, and that the election requirements be emphasiz-
ed for the information of the public.
When questioned as to the possibility of making the
oontract retreactive to a certain d te, ~r. Fite made the fo11ow-
'. ing proposition to the Council - If I;'ln agreement can be reached
within the next month, and we set an e1eetion date when it is
reasonable any time this year, aM the ordinance is passed and
adopted, the Florida Power ~ Light Co. will make their payments
retroactive to January 1st, 1946.
The matter was then passed to the Finance and Ordinance
Committee for their study, recommendations to be made at the next
Council meeting.
Counoil then adjourned.
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City Clerk
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