Honorable Mayor & Commissioners,
City of DeLand,
120 S. Florida Ave.,
DeLand, FLA 32720.
Subject: Annual Budget Plea #1
Back in the 1920s, the City fathers arranged for us a legacy of roadways and debt. The roadways, being built of concrete, managed to outlast the debt - though the latter was stretched by the depression.
Many of these good concrete roadways, though constructed sixty or seventy years ago, remain in service today. Compare the more recent asphalt, macadam, and tar-mac roads: rarely will one last twenty years, even with diligent maintenance.
I have seen the City ‘‘maintain’’ our good concrete roads by dumping a layer of paving material-of-the-month over them. These purported repairs often last longer than the coat of motor oil applied by driveway paving bandits. Within a few months, the original joints and cracks come through. Worse: after a few of these ‘‘repairs’’, it is necessary to mill off the old material, in order to start the material-of-the-month cycle again.
It costs less today to dump a load of material-of-the-month than to do the job right. I call this a false economy: we are doing little more than spreading money over the roads.
The City Commission should consider a long term solution to our road needs. Remember the advantages of concrete streets: they last several times as long, they are cooler in the summer, and they require far less maintenance.
When building new streets, and when re-paving existing ones, the Commission should therefore use concrete. The initial cost is greater, but the longer and better service justifies the investment.
As concrete costs more than pouring monthly material, we must plan for our needs. To avoid the cost of bondage, we must pay cash. I urge the Commission to do two things, therefore: for the most urgently needed roads, pay immediately for concrete. For the other roads, Commission should set aside funds annually, saving until we have enough for several miles. The money should be set aside to earn interest, in order to hasten the day that we can properly rebuild our streets. This will allow us to leave our children streets at least as good as those left to us.
Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
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P.O. Box 1208,
DeLand 32721.