/•’
SEWARD’S
All-cWeathec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Seward Sea
Vol. V, No. 87
oil R cord
SEWARD, ALASKA, TUESDAY, MAY 3, 1949
Price JO Cents
Utility Board Asks $116,000
Create New City Court,
Pass Auto License Law
NEW MUNICIPAL
COURT HERE FOR
CIVIL CASES
Under a suspension of rules the
City Council passed a new ordi
nance. Number 193, creating a mu
nicipal court in ttie City of Seward
having jurisdiction in civil cases
involving amounts of not more
than $100.
lhe ordinance rules that a quali
fied attorney he appointed as
judge of the court, but that if
none is available, the city clerk
shall be appointed in that capacity.
Tax collections
One of the many effects of the
ordinance will be to enable the
„ city to collect taxes on real pro
perty by civil action instead of
having to resort to tax sales.
The same rules of procedure will
apply to the new city court as
those governing courts of justices
of the peace. There will be no jury
trials. Witnesses may be subpoened
and will receive a fee of one dollar.
City Pays Off Debf
On Housing Project
The City Council voted to pay
to Fred C. Howard, contractor,
the sum of $10,714.68 as final pay
ment for work on the Seward Vet
erans Housing Project. This sum
was determined* b.. I e audit re
cently made by the Housing Ad
ministration, although Howard had
submitted a bill for more than
$11,000.
The $1,000 which was not allowed
for Howard was the sum he paid
for plywood he bought from the
Alaska Railroad when that mate
rial was very scarce.
Estes out $1,500
An item of $i,5UU lor engineering
work by Bill Estes was not accept
ed by the auditor. This sum was
to be payment for three months
work on the part of Estes during
construction of the project.
Prior to the time Estes took over
the former engineer on the project,
who had already been paid for the
job, left before it was completed.
The audit permits City Attorney
Carl Hutton to receive the sum of
$200 for his services.
City out $2,000
The final audit shows that the
City has so far taken a loss of
$2,000 on the project, plus a great
deal of grief. However, there is
an annual payment of $1,020 for
payment in lieu*of taxes, and the
City receives S750 each month from
the rental account. Councilmen
pointed out that management and
maintenance of the project eats up
the entire $750.
Out in 1952
In the year 1952, if the units are
not rented, it will be possible for
the City to dismantle and remove
them from the site. The project
was intended to be temporary and
will be of no permanent good to
the City.
The City received a bid of S315
for three lots and a fraction of a
fourth lot. Members of the City
Council turned the bid over to City
Attorney Carl Hutton, since there
was some doubt as to whether the
City actually owns the lots in ques
tion. Some council members
thought the $315 was too low a
price for that much ground.
LICENSE PLATES REQUIRED
BY NEW CITY LAW
The City Council suspended rules
to pass two amendments to Ordi
nance 162, by which it removed
automobiles from the personal
properUy tax lists, and, instead,
requires that all car owners pur
chase city license,rj. The license
will be applied to all cars on
i equal fee basis, regardless of
J whether th*e car is old or new.
The owner of an old car will
have to pay more, and the owner
of a new car will pay toss. The
purpose of the law is to charge
for the use of the city streets.
Drivers licenses have been reduced
from five dollars to one dollar.
Fee for trucks will be $35, pas
senger cars $20, taxicabs $25, buses
$35, commercial delivery trucks $25,
and $10 for motorcycles.
Suspend Trash Hauling
Rules for Clean-Up
The City Council made the de
cision Monday evening to suspend
the rules regarding the hauling of
trash to the city dump during
clean-up month.
During this limited period only,
any resident who wishes to haul
trash to the dump may do so with
out paying for a special .permit.
spot will be set aside for the
dumping of such trash and as
much of it as possible will bo
burned. Either signs will be put up
to designate the proper spot for
dumping or some one will be
there to point it out.
No garbage
The council warned that no gar
bage may be included in the trash
haul to the dump. Garbage will
I be collected as usual,
i Any resident who does not
, wish to haul his own trash may
gather it up in piles at the front
or rear of his lot and the city
trucks will pick it up as soon as
time permits.
i Council Appoints New
City Clerk
At the request of the City Coun
cil, City Clerk Troy Bogard sub
mitted his resignation at Monday
night’s council meeting, to be
effective May 15.
The specific reason for demand
ing his resignation was not men
tioned at the meeting, although
it is known that the City's rec
ords have not been up to date.
For that reason the annual audit
has not been completed.
At the same time the council
accepted the application of Mrs.
Martino Johansen for the office of
city clerk at a monthly salary of
$350. In addition to the clerk’s
salary, the clerk also receives a
salary as judge of the municipal
court and fees for issuing licenses.
Mrs. Johansen, whose applica
tion was in the form of a telegram,
said she would be in town to take
over the office on May 15.
• ' “
Regular meetings of the Veter
ans of Foreign Wars will be post
poned until after the first of Sep
tember. It was said that special
meetings will be called if the
necessity arises during the summer
months.
Fr. Edward M. Turner
Appointed To N.Y.
Mission Office
The Reverand Edward M. Turner,
pastor of St. Peter’s Episcopal
Church in Seward, has been ap- 1
pointed assistant to ,the director'
of Overseas Department of Mis
sions of the Episcopal Church.
! Father Turner said the appoint
I ment was a complete surprise to
] himself as well as to his Bishop,
I since the appointment was made
j directly from New York. His im
I mediate superior in New York will
be the Right Reverand Bishop
J. B. Bentley, former Bishop of
Alaska.
Five years in Seward
Father Turner has been pastor of
St. Peter’s Church here for the
past five years. When he came, he
had a choice between Seward and
Juneau. He' chose Seward because
he had always liked this city and
had many friends here.
Although not Porn In the Ter
ritory. Father Turner was raised in
Alaska. While the new appoint
I ment in New York is a great pro
motion and a great honor, he feels
that he is leaving his home when
! he leaves Alaska.
In New York his work will be
I concerned with all the phases of
: mission work in Episcopal mis
sions outside the United States.
Seward To Mow*
Word has boon received from a
i reliable source' 'Thhf new cold
, storage otant will be constructed
in Seward in the near future. The
plant will have 500 lockers for
rent*»i hire •> holding rooms and
possibly a bottling plant.
Although the names of the op
; colors of the plant could not be
disclosed at this time, it was said
the plant will be located near the
railroad track within the citv.
The cold storage plant will be
built for the nurnoso of serving
tiie entire Kenai Peninsula. It will
then be possible for small bus
inesses to buv larger quantities
of foods at one time, and it will
then be possible to keep them in
one of the holding rooms until
needed.
i At the present time Die nearest
beverage bottling plant is in An
chorage. This makes it necessarv
' either to ship tlie bottled goods
j by air from Anchorage, or bv rail
| to Seward and then by truck to
i points on the peninsula.
The additional 500 rental lockers
should not be an excessively large
number, because local cold stor
age operators have stated from
time to time that they could rent
many addiional lockers if they
were available.
CITY TO HAVE CINDER WALKS
While the city has ooncrete side
walks only in the business district,
plans arc being made to provide
cinder walks through the city.
During Claan-up Month residents
are asked to see to it that all trash !
and obstructions are removed from
the sidewalk snare in front of'
their property. The plan is to grade
the pathways before overlaying
them with cinders.
The fourth regular meeting of j
the 4-H cooking group, The Kenai ;
Kooks, will meet Wednesday at the ,
home of the leader, Mrs. Dan Rose. ;
The project, for the afternoon will
be preparation of a selected type I
of food.
Needed To Pay Debts,
Buy New Equipment
Tho Utility Board appeared .be
fore the City Council Monday eve
ning at the regular meeting to re
quest that the city raise $110,000 to
pay off present indebtedness and
purchase a new generator for the
City Electric System.
Chairman of the Utility Board.
H. J. Amend, states that the need
is absolute. With the power load
increasing at the present rate, dur
ing the winter months present
equipment in the plant will be far
from adequate.
New Deisel Generator
The Utility Board asked that the
city find means of purchasing a
350 kilowatt diesel generator, which
would cost about $45,000.
The present plant cost S9G.000
about ten years ago, and there is
at present a debt of $66,000 against
the plant. While the city is behind
in its installments, it is now mak
ing double payments, amounting
to $10,000 a year.
Within two years the payments
should be brought up to date, and
after that time tire current pay
ments would amount to S5.000 an
nually.
If the city could raise the $116,000
now, it could pay off the $66,000
owed to the Reconstruction Fi
nance. Corporation and buy t lie
new $45,000 generator, with enough
left to pay for installation.
By bringing both the old debt
and the financing of the new equip
ment under one bond issue the
city would end up by greatly in
creasing its power capacity and
still have a debt not much larger
than the original $96,000.
$90,000 Approved in 1947
In October 1947 the voters of
Seward approved a $90,000 issue of
general revenue bonds for this pur
pose. This authorization has never
been used. Instead, the city pur
chased a diesel generator with 250
kilowatt capacity for the sum of
$11,000. Theoretically this brought
the capacity of the plant to some
what more than 550 kilowatts.
Another disturbing .factor,
Amend said, is the need for reno
vation of the distribution system.
He said that many of the poles
were rotting out and that some
provision should be made to make
| repairs and replacements,
i There will be.,^special meeting
! Wednesday nighr^Jl 8:00 in the
| City Hall, at which time it is ex
pected that a committee will bo
; appointed to investigate the pos
sibilities of a bond issue and to
make recommendations concerning
the type of bonds best suited to
the purpose.
Ee3l<;rs A^U. Limit on
Number of Licenses
The Seward Liquor Dealer's As
sociation requested by letter that
the City Council take steps to
limit the number of liquor licenses
in the city.
[ No action was taken by the City,
since there is no known way of
limiting the number of such !i
censes, by zone or otherwise. One
councilman pointed out that the
ruling would be for the protection
of certain businesses, and that no
i other business receives that pro
tection.
Individual members of the Coun
cil. however, agreed that there are
more than enough bars and liquor
stores in town and that they would
be reluctant to issue any more
licenses.
Mother-Daughter Banque
Friday, May 6
Plans are nearing completion for
the annual Mother and Daughter
Banquet to bo held Friday evening
May 6. in the social hall of the
Seward Memorial Church. Tickets
ares being purchased rapidly, ac
cording to Miss Vera Bogard, who
is in charge of the sales. A full
course dinner will be served by the
ladies of the Church, after which
both the youngest and the oldest
mothers present will be honored.
P. R. A. HAS NEW RADIO
STATION
The Public Roads Administra
tion office in Seward is getting a
new 250 watt radio station to ef
fect communication with Portage.
Girdwood, Hope, Moose Pass, Mile
58 and Mile 52.
The 250 watt set in the office
itself cannot reach Hope and the
other stations, but the more pow
erful set located in the loca’
shops of the administration can be
used in connection with it.
r+.
C' S'Large
: Operating Loss
The Alaska Steamship Company
, report for the first quarter of 1949
I shows a $459,643 97 operating loss.
I Mr. G. W. Skinner, president of
i the company, announced recently,
i Some loss during the less active
i winter season is ordinarily ex
| peeled in the Alaska trade, Mr.
! Skinner pointed out. However, a
1 loss of this magnitude in the face
i of the heaviest winter traffic in
j the company’s history presents a
| serious situation.
| Clearly these circumstances are
I directly attributable to the demise
i of the Interim Agreement on July
1, 1948. That agreement was nego
tiated in May, 1947 to offset the
need for an additional 50 percent
revenue increase. Under its terms
the government furnished Alaska
j operators freight vessels at nom
i inal charter hire and paid marine
insurance charges. Since July 1.
1948 the Alaska Steamship Com
pany has paid full charter hire
i and marine insurance on all ves
j sels. The difference in operating
| costs is approximately that re
flected by the present loss.
This matter was recently dis
cussed with officials of Alaska and
an understanding was reached
that a revival of the Interim Agree
ment would meet the requirements
of the situation that now exists.
This solution can only be insti
tuted by an act of Congress.
Shipping News . . .
The Coastwise freighter James
W. Cannon left Portland Saturday,
April 30, bound for Valdez, Whit
tier, and Seward, and is expected
to arrive at Seward May 9.
The SS Baranof of the Alaska
Steamship Company is scheduled
to arrive at Seward Thursday and
depart some time Friday. The
freighter Ring Splice is expected
hpre at 1:00 p.m^ Wednesday.
AMERICAN LEGION Post No. 5 $1A A As PRIZE f»r the W>NN,Np FLOAT
Has Pledged the sum of - - - «pivU In‘Ward’s JO1’' 1 ’’'FADE