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It was ‘“‘bargain night’’ as the Carthage City Council authorized purchase of 64 feet of frontage on the south side of the Square for an opening to Fifth Street and a new downtown mall. The city will pay $20,001. What’s the $1 for? Originally, the city was to purchase 54 feet for the € 20,000 the property consisting of business houses destroyed Nov. 3 by fire. But Dale and Thelma Hegner, owners of the Western Auto Store(one of the businesses destroyed) have agreed to deed the city an additional 10 feet if the city will clear away the debris. The Council Thursday night approved the purchase proposal, with two amend ments: 1. The purchase will be from Mr. and Mrs. Parker O. Rogers and Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Smith, who acquired the property in a trade with the Hegwers; and 2. That Mayor John Sheldon contract with the Hegwers to clear the fire debris in exchange for the 10 additional feet of frontage. The Hegwers acquired 54 feet of property from Rogers and Smith in the transaction, as new location for the Western Auto Store, which has been operating in temporary quarters on the east side of the square. City Atty. Elza Johnson said the cost for clearing away the debris had been estimated at $4,000. Mills Anderson of the Bank of Carthage, which will finance the $20,000 purchase, told the Council the acquisition of the additionl 10 feet was a “real bargain’’. He said when the Bank acquired its present location several years ago, frontage space cost $1,000 per foot. Anderson said the agreement allows for a 24-foot mallway and said it would be considerably better than the 14-foot space which the Council had originally planned for. Using a Carthage Press aerial photograph taken by Mike Bizelli, Anderson pointed out that 24 feet would allow for two-way traffic plus a possible “green area” or garden-ype development. The city would sell the additional 40 feet to the highest bidder, Anderson explained. Four buildings were destroyed in the early November fire. The extra 10 feet the city is acquiring in cludes the east side of the old Roxy Theater. Approval of the proposal was unanimous. Earlier Thursday, two Councilmen Clyde Blackwell, R lst Ward and Clarence Chapman, R-3rd Ward — said they were un decided as to how they would vote. An unusually large crowd was on hand in the Municipal Courtroom for the session. The purchase will be financed by Bank of Carthage, with the $20,000 to be retired by payment from city parking meter funds and sale of the excess property. Along with presently-owned city property, the land could be included in a mall ex tending from Seventh Street to Fourth Street, between Main and Grant Streets. MILLS ANDERSON
Newspaper Details
Carthage Press
Carthage, Missouri, US
Fri, Dec 29, 1972
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USA 29 Aug 2026
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