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03-17-41 Special :1663 CITY "!AJ,L Harch 17, 1941 The Council met in special session, at 7:30 P.M., upon call of the Mayor, for the purpose of discussing and going into the subject of Delray Beach's existing problem of san- itation, garbage disposal &c. The City Attorney, Supt. Baker, the Building Inspector and City Engineer, and the following members of the Council were present: J~r. Jacobs, Yr. l'iller, J'r. Sabath and Hr. Scott. Mr. Hill was absent. The J!ayor announced his reason for calling the meeting was for the particular purpose of going into a matter which had been discussed some around town, but in regard to Which, he believed the public was not thoroughly or properly informed. He said the garbage tax levy, tentatively proposed by the Chamber of Commerce, would be cons idered unwarranted by citizens unless it was shown that the~e was a definite need for same, which on the surface of things, did not appear to be the case since the City was apparently taking care of garbage collection satisfactorily and meeting the expense out of general taxation. He stated that, OQ.ntrary to the general impression, however, the sanitary condition of the City presented two very grave problems, ,~ich if generally known by the public, would demand immediate correction. These problems he outlined in a letter as follows; which the Clerk read to the Council. ]<'e bruary 26, 1941 Board of Directors, Kiwanis ClUb, Delray Beach, Fla. Gentlemen: It is my desire to bring to your attention two very grave and important problems confronting Delray Beach at this time, which seriOUSly affect the sanitary condition of the City and may at any time become a menance ,to public health. Both of these conditions. are so serious that if' generally known the public would' demand their immediate correction. But, at the same time, if' t'1e tax payers were told that the correction, of' these conditions would add $40,000.00 to their bonded endebtedness, they would take a definitely opposite view. No other reaction could be expected from maintenance taxpayers then that they would resent higher taxes or added bonds, for it is well known that the burden of the city maintenance is largely borne by taxable business property. It is not well known or admitted, however, that hundreds of homes in this city which pay no maintenance tax (due to Homestead Exemption) receive the larger part of City services at \ :1664 March 17, 1941 no cost to them. These properties receive pOlice and fire protection, street lighting, sewer maintenance, garbage collection, trash oollection, building and sanitary inspection, and other equally important services, all at no cost. It is only fair and just that homes, regardless of their worth, should contribute something towards the City services they receive. Surely it was not the intention of the Legislature, in enaoting the Homestead Exemption Law, that municipa1ties should serve homes, in every way, at no cost, but that is just What happened. Growing towns, such as ours, cannot possibly prosper, under such a tremendous handioap without resorting to some other means of taxation to pay f'or be nef its re ce ived. A general utility tax seems to be the answer to th is . Our t,~ serious problems, mentioned at the beginning of this letter, are sewage and garbage disposal. Our sewage disposal amounts merely to a large drainage system emptying a continuous flow of raw sewage into the canal, contaminating the water and creating great danger to publ ic he al tho To complete this sewage disposal system West of the. Canal, it would cost around $20,000.00. Sewage disposal East of the oanal is another problem, which is not serious, but will demand attention soon. Our garbage disposal amounts only to a garbage dump, merely hauling the garbage to a certain place West of the City and dumping it on the g~ouftd, where it is left to decay and rot away. This has beoame a horrible sight and a disgrace to any community, and it is not only foul and sickening, but it is surely a menance to the health of this community. The garbage situation can only be corrected by the purchase of an incinerator, that ,dll consume all garbage and trash. A disposal of they type would cost the City at least $15,000.00. Financing of these two disposal plans could be accomplished by issuing water bonds against the income of the water plant and interest and bond retirement could be easily met by a utility or garbage tax. But Itcwould be difficult indeed for any Council to sell this idea to the people, as it is their belief that garbage and sewage disposal are well cared for. This could only be expected since those officials who did know better realized the f'acts, were afraid to publish it fearing they WOuld have the Board of Health on their necks before night fall. :1665 March 17, 1941 So it lies with the civic bodies of Delray Beach to apprize the people of these facts and sell the need for such disposals to the public, for its own, as well as for the protection of everyone. I, and every member of the City Council, I am sure, will be pleased to meet with you and to visit these two disposals and give you the information and plain facts first hand. I am making this statement only because of my sincere interest in public welfare and my motive is to place before you the exact facts and conditions and their much needed cor- rections. Yours very truly, A. L. MILLER, Mayor The Mayor suggested that the various civic organizations of Delray Beach be contacted, either personally or by letter, with a view to having these clubs, in turn, present the situation to the public through their memberships. The first matter taken up for discussion was the sewage disposal plant located in the City Park. The Mayor stated that the final unit of this system (a large pipe running from the disposal plant to an area West of town for the purpose of carrying off' the sludge from the settling tank) had never been installed, and now the sludge basin had become f'illed, 'mich resulted in raw sewage being emptied directly into the canal. The City Engineer reported having been in touch with Mr. Brockman, representative of the Dorr Company, original contractors for the sludge pumping station and settling tank, and from him he had learned that the existing plant was incomplete, in that it lacked a digester. In the process employed by the City's system the sludge is supposed to be pumped from the tank we have, into the digester tank, and from that tank to drying beds where it is powdered up for fertilizer. To install th:ls digester tank and camplete the system, as originally planned, it was estimated the cost would run in the neighborhood of $18,000.00. Means for temporarily relieving the situation were discussed and it ,~s decided to proceed as previously ordered by the Council, viz to empty the sludge basin by pumping it into the City's water wagon and hauling it off to City property, West of town, for drying and converting into fertilizer. The Mayor stressed the need fbr working out a plan to permanently meet the City'S need in connection with sewage disposal and garbage collection, and for finding a means of financing such. Mr. Sinks outlined a plan of garbage reclamation Which he stated was being used by some municipalities and which he thought would be practicable for Delray, and preferable to an incincerstor plant. :1666 March 17, 1941 It was rinally moved by Mr. Scott that the City Engineer, Supt. Baker, and Mr. Sinks be authorized to work out a plan for garbage disposal, Which they consider best adapted to Delray Beach, and present such paln, together ,d th approximate cost, to the Council, who in turn will through the various organizations in the City, present to the people the eXisting situation and some conorete plan for correction, as well as the proposed method of financing. ~~. Sabath seconded the motion, and on roll call the vote was as follows: Mr. Jacobs yes, Mr. Miler yes, Mr. Sabath yes, Mr. Scott yes. The mdltion carried. In this connection it was further agreed that the City Counarl, be appointed a committee, as a whole, to investigate further and WClL"k out a plan of garbage collection charges or other means of financing these proposed sanitary department improvements and services. The City Engineer brought up the matter of government airport appropriations, stating that ~100,000.00 had been allocated to Palm Beach County for the construction of four landing strips in various sections of the County, and that Delray undoubtedly could secure one of these if the City really went after it. It was there~ore moved by Mr. Scott that the City Attorney be authorized to contact County Commissioner Byrd with a view to having one of the proposed land ing strips located here, and report back to the Council. w~. ~acobs seconded the mdltion and on roll call the vote was as follows: Mr. ~acobs yes, Mr. Miller yes, L~. Sabath yes, Mr. Scott yes. The motion carried. The City Clerk presented verbal offers tram 'J. N. Kabler, for purchase of ci ty properties as fbllows: $1,000. for Lot 7 Bloak 2 Ocean Park 5,000. for the S 50' of the N 65.5' of' Ocean Beach Lot 15 The offers were discussed, but no action taken. The Clerk reported that Mr. Hofman the former owner of Lots 23A and 24A, Which are strips of waterway in Ocean Breeze Estates, contends tJ::at this property had been deeded to the City, and theref'ore should not be ass.essed to him. According to J,~r. Hofman this deed had come through the office of his attorney, Mr. Byrd, but the City Clerk stated she had never received it. It was therefore moved, seconded and carried that the City Attorney get in touch with Iu-. Byrd and obtain these two deeds if possible. There being no further business, it was regularly moved, seconded and carried, that Council adjourn. .. APP~ ~~ C-I)' Q~ C ty C erk .