Sewer Projects Advance; Martin Criticizes Council

By STEVEN ANDERSON
Of The Herald Staff

The Urban County Council moved a step closer to its goal of installing sanitary sewers throughout the community when last night a sewer ordinance was given first reading. The measure, when it . receives final approval April 7, clears the way for construction this summer of sewers serving 2,600 properties in the Meadowthorpe, Elizabeth Street and Southland-Twin Oaks areas. The cost of these ''''' projects, the first three of 22 planned by the end of tlie decade, is estimated at $5.6 million. Construction bids will not be sought until early May, when a 30-day period MARTIN for litigation will have passed. If no lawsuits are filed opposing the projects, a construction contract is to be signed in early June. Officials have said they hope to complete the projects by the end of the.._construction season next fall. ' Gary Henry, assistant to the public works commissioner, delivered an oral , "synopsized" report to council members on events at a March 14 public hearing, attended by 700 project-area residents. The most frequent question asked by those at the hearing, he said, concerned the assessmen t formula ,

which combines property value and front footage to classify properties into 10 assessment zones. In other business, the council authorized payment of a $528,000 "final judgment" to Oscar Wilson for the 440-acre landfill site he sold to the government. Chosen more than a year ago by the council, the site (near Avon) became the object of condemnation proceedings last August because there were difficulties in obtaining a clear title to the land. Martin Criticism An otherwise routine council meeting ended with a spluttery exchange between mayoral candidate Nick Martin on one hand and Mayor Foster Pettit and several council members on the other. Martin, a 21-year-old former radio newscaster, on Tuesday characterized as a "rip-off" a trip made by Pettit a nd seven council members to Florida two weeks ago. The excursion , to Tampa, was sponsored by the chamber of commerce here.. . Last night Martin_wanted to know whether council members would consjder attending conferences sponsored by "other vested interests." When he failed to get unequivocal answers to his hypothetical questions he instructed the audience to "take note. " Mayor Pettit dismissed Martin's statements as "a lot of garbage ," and added that he is "sorry all members of the council didn't go" on the Tampa trip.

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