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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 8-JLEWING assessments against property abutting on Laurel Avenue from west line of Tenth Street to east line of Eleventh 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 portion of said street; fixing personallliability 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. VTHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Beaumont in Jeff- erson County, Texas, heretofore ore ordered the improvement of Laurel Avenue from the west line of Tenth Street to east line of Eleventh Street (except street intersections already paved or improved), 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 improvementV was awarded to Scott Shambaugh, who entered into contract with said City under date of the 28th day of July, 1931; and said contractor execu- ted and delivered to the City proper construction and maintenance bonds which were duly approved by the City Coumission of said City; and, WHEREAS, as provided for in the Charter of said City, the City Engineer furnished to the City Commission a written stat3mnt showing a description of property and the names of the owners thereof, with an estimate of the cost of such improvement to each property owner as required by said Charter, which statement was duly approved 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 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 pro- tests 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 completed said improvements to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and the City Commission of said City; and, VVHEREAS, the City Engineer has furnished the City Commission with a revised statement showing a description of the respective parcels of property abutting said portion of said streets of oresaid, 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; and �_ s x�u 11 n r,c r a s -v vccz, wI11C L1 S Gni em �i1L is as I o Ows: \ Z.'(�t.! � CV •-_,.J'.nl'�f `,! �"• �-'�%\, `4�1'.:`._i d -....V ` � \,� ��"1 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: Section 1. That the work of improving said Laurel Avenue from west line of Tenth Street to east line of Eleventh 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 assessedagainst 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 rail- way property, the respective sums of money mentioned and itemized in said statement aforesaid, with the total amount assessed set oppo- site 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 propertyl 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 ownerst4 share of the cost of such improvement. And to secure the payment of said assess- ments, 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 or railway property, and such personal obliga- tion and liability as wellas the lien hereby fixed to secure the pays ment 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 onnners thereof, as aforesaid, and interest thereon at the rate of seven (7%) per cent per annum, payable annually as it accrues, together with reasonable attor- neys fees and costs of collection, if incurred, are hereby declared to be and are hereby made the personal obligation and liability 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 property to secure the payment of said respective assessments, which lien is hereby de- clared to be superior to all other liens, claims, or titles, except City, County and State taxes, and said personal liability and charge as well as said lien may be enforced in any court of competent juris- diction. 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 again- st the same, regardless of whether the name of the ovraer be correctly given above or not, and regardless of whether such property may be correctly described or not. 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 dgainst 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 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 perannum, payable annually as it accrues, and all past due interest shall bear interest from the maturity thereof until paid, at the same rate per annum, pay- able annually as it accrues. Provided, however, that if the owners of any of said respec- tive parcels of property shall have contracted with the contractor making said improvements for the privilege of paying said assess- ments on the deferred paymentplan, 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 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 annually as it accrues. In all cases of deferred payments, each such owner or his, her 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 installzhent thereof at any time before maturity upon payment thereof with accrued interest. In the event of defaul�_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 sa,e 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 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 con- tractor 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, in&luding 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 pay- ment of any of the sums of money so assessed asaforesaid 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 holder of any of said obligations and liens, exercise all of its 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 certificates shall be issued by said City to said Contractor or his assigns, upon the completion of s aid improvement aforesaid and its acceptance by the City Conmiission which said certifica- tes 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 the manner herein- before specified, and shall state the total amount of the assess- ment, the name or names of the respective owners of such property, with a description of said respective parcels of prof rty by lot and block number and addition to said city or by such other des- cription 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 title may pay off the whole of the same at any time or any install- ment thereon" 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 provide 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 collec- tion and reasonable attorney'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 ahall further recite that the proceedings with reference 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 per- formed., and such recitals shall be prima facie evidence of the facts so recited, and no other proof shall without further proof, be pre- sumed to have been had and performed. 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 simile signature of the Mayor and City Clerk of said City. 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 hereinbeforeprovided, and if subs- tantial conformity with the provisions of the Charter and of this ordinance shall be sufficient. Section 10. The fact that said -portions of said street have 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- ccning liable for interest on the assessments, creates an imperative public emergency necessitating the suspension of the rule requiring all $ord.inancesto be read more than one time or at more than onemeet- ing, wherefore, such rule is hereby suspended and this ordinance shall be in full force and effect immediately from its passage and approval. Passed and approved, this the 15th day of September, A. D. 1931, by the affirmative vote of all members of the Cyty Commission. Ma:vo of the itv of ReM'-jmnni V-