Council Moves Ahead on Municipal Building, Restricting Jitneys, and Will No Longer Fight Fires in Suburbs, Manufacturing Plants Since They Don't Pay for Services, Dec. 3, 1919

From The Hickory Daily Record, Wednesday, December 3, 1919

Municipal Building Plans Approved by Council; Jitney Ordinance Passed

Members of the city council last night had their first view of the proposed municipal building and it looked so good to them that they ordered Architect C.C. Hook of Charlotte, who submitted plans, to draw up working plans and submit them as soon as practicable. The building will cost around $100,000 and will be complete in every detail.

In addition to quarters for the various city officers, the building will house the fire department, contain court rooms, fire station, police station, a rest room for ladies and a semi-public toilet. It also will provide for a lobby in which will be a placed a table or tablets commorative of the Hickory soldiers who lost their lives during the war. The idea submitted by the local post of the American Legion appealed to the board and it was believed that the lobby leading from the entrance to auditorium, which will seat about 1,000 people can be made a place of beauty and pride.

So great is the need for an auditorium in connection with the municipal building and anxious have the people of Hickory been for such an assembly room, that everybody will wait with impatience until it is completed. Mayor Elliott, who is a contractor, and Mr. Hook thought the building if begun early in the spring, could be completed next year and would be ready by the first of 1921.

Mr. Hook showed the plans in detail. The Record has ordered a cut of the building, together with a brief description of it, and expects to present it as soon as the architect can submit the sketch to the engraver.

Council met last night in its temporary quarters over Deitz’s barber shop, having been forced out of the old room to let the express company occupy the much-needed space. For the time being the new location will serve.

The first matter acted upon by the board last night was the passing of the ordinance held in suspension a few weeks ago requiring jitney cars to keep off Federal street between the railroad and Ninth avenue. The two telephone installed in front of the sun dial in the park sidewalk also were ordered removed and jitneys may approach the depot on the south side only when trains arrive. Much complaint, it was stated, had been heard on many sides and the ordinance went into effect at noon today.

The sun dial has been ordered removed from the sidewalk in front of the depot park and the city manager will have it carried to the cemetery and placed at a suitable spot there.

Hickory firemen, in accordance with an ordinance on the books, will not be permitted to respond to fire alarms outside of the city limits in future. The matter was brought up by Chief H.E. Whitener, who said that he wanted to know what the department must do. Inasmuch as none of the suburbs has sown a disposition to assist in equipping the community with apparatus, the board felt that they were not entitled to the services of the truck, and no alarm out of the city will be answered. Should the manufacturing plants or towns in the outlying districts care to take the matter up, the city will be willing to meet half way in an effort to agree on terms. Otherwise, the city will attend to its own fires.