Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 20-JAN ORDINANCE LEVYING assessments against property abutting on Avenue E from the south line of College Street to the north line of Royal Street; n the City of Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas, and the owners_ thereof; and against railroad property and the owners thereof for a share of the cost of improving said portion of said street; fix- ing 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; authorizing the issuance of special assessment certificates to the contractor, 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 Avenue E from the south line of College Street to the north line of Royal Street in said City (except street intersections already im- proved), all as specified in the Resolution ordering such improve- ment, 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 8th day of September, 1931; and said contractor executed and delivered to the City proper construction and mainten- ance 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 also duly approved by the City Commission and a time and place was fixed by the City Co=dssion 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 wqs held at the time and place specified 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 Commission 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 complet- ed 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 Commission with a revised statement showing a description of the respective par- cels of property abutting said portion of said street aforesaid, toge- ther with the names of the owners of said respective parcels of pro- perty " ro®perty, 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 portion of said street as corrected by him from actual measurements on the ground dur- ing construction work, and an itemized statement of the actual cost of said improvements in front of each respective parcel of property as t the property ownerts share of the cost thereof, as well as a state- ment of the railroad and street railway share of such cost; and, 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 a s follows: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: Section 1. That the work of improving said Avenue E from the south line of College Street to the north line of Royal 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 again- st each respective parcel of property above named, abutting said por- tion of said street aforesaid, as well as against the property of any railroad or street railway company using, occupying or crossing the same, and against the respective owners of said respective par- cels of abutting property and the owners of said railroad or railway property, the respective sums of money mentioned and itemized in said statement aforeaaid, 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 owner's 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 railroads 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 and railway property, and such personal obligation and lia- bility 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 stuns of money hereby assessed against said respective p arcesl 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 reasonable attorney's fees and costs of collection, if incurred, are hereby declared to be and are hereby made the personal obligation and liabi- lity of the real and true owners or owner of said respective parcels of property so assessed, whether correctly named or not above and a lien is hereby creatdd 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 lia- bility and charge as well as said lien may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. The owners of property named above are here. by ®pea 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 property may be correctly described or not. Section 5. The lien hereby fixed and created as to all of the property 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 rail- way property and the respective owners thereof, shall become. due and payable (except as hereinafter stated) as of the date of the complet- ion 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 (7%) per annum, payable annually as it accrues, and all past due interest shall bear interest from the matu- rity thereof until paid, at the same rate per annum, payable annually as it accrues. Provided, however, that if the owners of any of said res- pective parcels of property shall have contracted with the contractor making said improvements for the privilege of paying said assessments on the deferred payment plan, then said respective assessments shall mature at the times and in the manner provided for in said contracts in which event said assessments shall bear interest at the rate of seven per cent (7%) per annum from date until pad, payable annually as it accrues, and all past due interest shall bear interest from the maturity thereof until paid, at the same rate, payable annually as it accrues., and in all cases of deferred payments, , each such owner or his her or its successor in the title thereto, and�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 principal or interest on said respective assessment, 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, in- cluding reasonable attorney's.fees, if incurred, shall be collectible as a personal obligation of the owner of said respective parcels of property, with the superiorities hereinbefore set forth and stated, and such personal liability and lien may be enforced in 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 attorneyls 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 but said contractor and his assigns or other holder thereof shall look solely and only to said property and the owners thereof for the payments of said sums of money, but the City of Beaumont shall, upon request of the laeler holder of any of said obligations and liens, exercise all Of its lawful pourers 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 fi rRt i napmni f'4 nA +-- ; �.. --4-.t-- For the purpose of evidencing the obligations and liens aforesaid and to aid in the enforcerne.nt 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 by its Mayor and attested by its City Clerk in the name of said City, ' 4 with -its-- cor-por-a-te..-seal affixed to each certificate, but it shall not be necessary to affix tie sea_ o any coupon. Said certificates shall be payable to the contractor or is,assigns at the times and in the manner hereinbefore specified, 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 description as shall be sufficient to properly identify the same; shall state the rate of and how the principal and interest shall be payables shall pro- vide that the owner or any successor in the title may pay off the whole of the same at any time or any installment thereof upon payment of un- paid principal with accrued interest; shall recite the date of the ordinance by virtue of which a.id certificate is issued, as well as the date of the contract for such improvements, and the date of the com- .pletion of same and acceptance by the City; shall provide for acceller- ative 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 attorney's fees, if in- curred; shall recite the personal liability and liens and the super- iority thereof as provided for in the Charter of said City and shall further recite that the proceedings with reference to mddng said im- provements have been regularly had in compliance with the terms of the Charter of the 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 be required but in all courts the said proceedings and prerequisites shall without fur- ther proof be presumed to have been had and performed. Said certifi- cates, in the event owners have Qontracted 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 simile signa- tures of theMayor and City Clerk. Said certificates need not be in the exact language specified above but may be in any form sufficient to carry into effect, under the provisions of the Charter of said City, all recitals necessary to make the same prima facie evidence of said obligation and lien and the right to enforce the same as hereinbefore provided, and if substan- tial conformity with the provisions of the Charter and of this ordi- nance shall be sufficient. Section 10. The fact that said portions of said street haize been completed 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 be- coming liable for interest on the assessments, creates an imperative public emergency necessitating the suspension of the rule requiring ordinances to be read more than one time or at more than one meeting, wherefore., such rule is hereby suspendedl..and this ordinance shall be in full force and effect immediately from and after its passage and approv- al. Passed and approved, this the day of , A. D. 1931, by the affirmative vote of a1 members of the City Couanission YOR 6f the City of Be aumont, Texas.