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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 30-JAN ORDINANCE LEVYING assessments against property abutting on Austin Street from the west line of Main Street to the east line of Pearl Street; in the City of Beaumont in Jefferson County, Texas, and the owners thereof; and against railroad property and the owners thereof for a share of the cost of improving said portions of said street; fixing personal liability on the respective owners thereof and fixing liens on said respective parcels of property; providing the time and terms of payment of said assessments and penalties for default; authoriz- ing the issuance of special assessment certificates to the contract- or, evidencing said obligations and liens; accepting the work of said improvement, and. declaring an emergency. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Beaumont in Jefferson County, Texas, heretofore ordered the improvement of Aus- tin Street from the west line of Main Street to the east line of Pearl Street (except street intersections already paved and improv- ed), all as specified in the Resolution ordering such improvement, to which reference is here made; and, WHEREAS, after due advertisement for bids as required by the Charter of said City, contract for making said improvements was awarded to Scott Shambaugh, who entered into contract with said City under date of the 28th day of July, 1931; and said contractor execut- ed and delivered to the City proper construction and maintenance bonds which were duly approved by the City Commission of said City; and, WHEREAS, as provided for in the Charter of said City, the City Engineer furnished to the City Commission a written statement showing a description of property and the names of the owners there- of, with an estimate of the cost of such improvement to each proper- ty owner as required by said Charter, which statement was duly ap- proved by the City Commission, and a time and place was fixed by the City Commission for .a hearing to be given to such owners, and notice of the time, place and purpose of such hearing was duly and legally given as required by said Charter; and, WHEREAS, said hearing was held at the time and place speci- fied in said notice, and after all owners and others interested had been given a full.and fair hearing, said hearing was closed and all protests acted upon as shown by the proceedings of the City Commi- ssion heretofore had and entered on the minutes of said City, to all of which reference is here made; and, WHEREAS, thereafter said Contractor commenced and completed said improvements to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and the City Commission of said City; and, WHEREAS, the City Engineer has furnished the City Commiss- ion with a revised statement showing a description of the respective parcels of property abutting said portion of said street aforesaid, together with the names of the owners of said respective parcels of property, and a description of railroad and street railway property and the names of the owners thereof; which statement also shows the number of front feet of each parcel of property abutting said por- tions of said street as corrected by him from actual measurements on the ground during construction work, and an itemized statement of the actual cost of said improvements in front of each respective parcel of property as the property owners share of the cost thereof, as well as a statement of the railroad and street railway share of such costs; WHEREAS, the City Commission has examined such statement and is of the opinion that same as corrected is in all respects now correct and should be approved, which statement is as follows: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT CRDAINED BY THE CITY CO1VMISSION OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: Section 1. That the work of iniproving said Austin Street from the west line of Main Street to the east line of Pearl Street, be, and the same is here now accepted as being complete, in compliance with the plans and specifications and contract for said improvement. Section 2. That there be and there is hereby levied and assessed against each respective parcel of property above named, abutting said portions of said street aforesaid, as well as against the pro- perty of any railroad or street railway company using, occupying or crossing the same, and against the respective owners of said respec- tive parcels of abutting property and the owners of said railroad or railway property, the respective sums of money mentioned and item- iged in said statement aforesaid, with the total amount assessed set opposite the description of the respective parcels of property. Section 3. The sums of money hereby assessed against the property of railroads and street railways and the owners thereof, (otherwise than abutting property) is for the improvements made between and under the rails and tracks, and two feet on each side thereof, and the sums so assessed is the cost of such improvement in such area and shall be payable at the times and in the manner hereinafter specified for the payment of the abutting ownerts share of the cost of such improvement. And to secure the payment of said assessments, a lien is hereby fixed and created against and upon the rails, tracks, fixtures, rights, franchises and other property of said rail- roads and street railways, which lien is hereby made first and superior to any other lien, claim or title, except liens for ad valorem taxes. Said assessments are hereby declared to be and are hereby made the personal obligation and liability of the real and true owners of said railroad or railway property, and such personal obligation and liability as well as the lien hereby fixed to secure the payment of said assessments, may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. Section 4. That the respective sums of money hereby assessed against said respective parcels of abutting property and the owners thereof, as aforesaid,, and interest thereon at the rate of seven (7/) per cent per annum, payable annually as it accrues, together with reason- able attorneys fees and costs of collection, if incurred, are hereby declared to be and are hereby made the personal obligation and lia- bility of the real and true owner or owners of said respective parcels of property so assessed, whether correctly named or not above and a lien is hereby created and fixed upon said respective parcels of pro- perty to secure the payment of said respective assessments, which lien is hereby declared to be superior to all other liens, claims, or titles, except City, County and State taxes, and said personal liability and charge, well as said lien, may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. The owners of property named above are hereby declared to be personally obligated to pay said assessments. The lien hereby created against said respective parcels of property shall exist against the same, regardless of whether the name of the owner be correctly given above or not, and regardless of whether such #3. Section 5. The lien hereby fixed and created as to all of the proper- ty aforesaid shall relate back to and become effective as of the date of the original resolution ordering the improvement as aforesaid, (except as may be modified by any applicable general law relating to such relating back) and shall operate from and after said date in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of said City. Section 6. The sums of money hereby assessed against abutting and railway property and the respective owners thereof, shall become due and payable (except as hereinafter stated) as of the date of the completion of said work and the acceptance thereof by said City as evidenced by a resolution of acceptance, and if said assessments are not paid at said time, they shall bear interest from such date until paid at the rate of seven per cent per annum, payable annually as it accrues, and all past due interest shall bear interest from the able as maturity thereof until paid, at the same rate per annum, payable it accrues, annually. Provided, however, that if the owners of any of said res- pective parcels of property shall have contracted with the contract- or making said improvements for the privilege of paying said assess- ments on the deferred payment plan, then said respective assessments shall mature at the times and in the manner provided for in said;con® tracts, in which event said assessments shall bear interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum from date until paid, payable annually as it accrues, and all past due interest shall bear interest from the maturity thereof until paid, at the same rate, payable annu- ally as it accrues. In all cases of deferred payments, each such owner or her, his or its successor in the title thereto or any one interested therein, shall have the privilege of discharging the whole amount assessed against him, or any installment thereof at any time before maturity upon payment thereof with accrued interest. In the event of default in the payment of any installment of either princi- pal or interest on said respective assessments, then at the option of the holder thereof, the whole of the same may be declared due and payable, without notice, whereupon all unpaid principal and interest together with all costs and reasonable expenses for collecting the same including reasonable attorney's fees, if incurred, shall be collectible, as a personal obligation of the owner of said respective parcels of property and shall be secured by a lien on said respective and. stated of pandesuch personal liabilitywith the ties and lienmaybeeset enforcedtin and. stated., any court having jurisdiction. Section 7. If default shall be made in the payment of any installment of either principal or interest, when due, then at the option of the contractor or other legal owner and holder thereof, said obligation shall at once mature in full, without notice, and the full amount of the principal thereof then unpaid, shall be collectible with accrued interest, costs and expenses of collection, including reasonable attorney's fees, if incurred. Section 8. The City of Beaumont shall not in any manner be liable to the contractor or other holder of said obligation and liens .for the payment of any of the sums of money so assessed as aforesaid by said contractor and his assigns or other holder thereof shall look solely and only to said property and the ovmers thereof for the payments of said sums of money, but the City of Beaumont, shall, upon regUe�of_ UI -M; iIU_LUU.LU1 <a.11y V1 OU.L%A UU.L.L6UU.LU1175 UL111 11C: 115, Gh(�i'Ci1L�'C� d.11. Vi 1. 1,5 lawful powers to aid in the enforcement of said obligations and liens; provided, however, that before said City shall be required to render such aid, it shall be first indemnified to its entire satisfaction against the payment of all costs and expenses of such aid, in what- ever manner such aid may be rendered. Section 9. For the purpose of evidencing the obligations and liens aforesaid and to aid in the enforcement thereof, assignable certifi- cates shall be issued by said City to said Contractor or his assigns, upon the completion of said improvement aforesaid and its acceptance by the City Commission, which said certificates shall be executed in the name of said City by its Mayor and attested by its City Clerk, with its corporate seal affixed to each certificate, but it shall not be necessary to affix the seal to any coupon. Said certificates shall— be payable to the contractor or his assigns, at the times and in t`R manner hereinbefore specif ied, and shall state the total amount of the assessment, the name or names of the respective owners of such proper- ty, with a description of said respective parcels of property by lot and block number and addition to said City or by such other descrip- tion as shall be sufficient to properly identify the same; shall state the rate of and how the principal and interest shall be payable; shall provide that the owner or any successor in the titly may pay off the whole of the same at any time or any installment thereof upon payment of unpaid principal with accrued interest; shall recite the date of the ordinance by virtue of which said certificate is issued, as well as the date of the contract for such improvements, and the date of the completion of same and acceptance by the City; shall pro- vide for accellerative maturity in the event of default in payment. of any installment of principal or interest when due, with penalties for such default, including costs, of collection and reasonable attor- ney's fees if incurred; shall recite the personal liability and liens and the superiority thereof as provided for in the Charter of said City and shall further recite that the proceedings with referdnee to making said improvements have been regularly had in compliance with the terms of the Charter of said City and that all prerequisites to the fixing of the lien and claim of personal liability evidenced by such certificates have been performed, and such recitals shall be prima facie evidence of the facts so recited, and no other proof shall, without further proof, be presumed to have been had and per- formed. Said certificates, in the event owners have contracted for deferred payments as aforesaid, may have coupons attached to said certificates evidencing said deferred payments in such form as may be satisfactory to the Mayor and City Clerk and shall be signed with the fac similie signatures of the Mayor and City Clerk of said City. Section 10. The fact that said portions of said street have been complet- ed and should be opened to traffic for the safety of the traveling public and the further fact that said work should be accepted at once and settlement made with the contractor so as to prevent the City from becoming liable for interest on the assessments, creates an imperative public emergency necessitating the suspension of the rule requiring all ordinances to be read more than one time or at more than one meet- ing; wherefore, such rule is hereby suspended, and this ordinance shall be in full force and effedt immediately from and after its pass- age and approval. Passed and approved, this the 19th day of April, A. D. 19321 by the affirmative vote of all members of the 911Z Commission. �r MAYO, City Of eaumont.