Lester v. Walker

9 S.W.2d 323, 177 Ark. 1097, 1928 Ark. LEXIS 245
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 1, 1928
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 9 S.W.2d 323 (Lester v. Walker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lester v. Walker, 9 S.W.2d 323, 177 Ark. 1097, 1928 Ark. LEXIS 245 (Ark. 1928).

Opinion

Mehaeey, J.

The Pulaski County Court entered an order directing the issuing to Cordon Walker warrants in the sum of $16,576.70, to be made payable on the first day of September, 1929. An appeal was taken from the order of the county court, the petition for appeal alleging that the order was void for a number of reasons, but all of the objections to the order except one have been abandoned.

It was alleged that the county does not own the land on which the proposed jail is being constructed, and that the county was therefore without the authority to make the contract for the construction of the jail on said land.

The circuit court held that the order was valid, and that the county was the owner of the land. The case was tried in the circuit court on an agreed statement of facts, and the appellant in his brief says:

“'Consequently, the only issue now before the court is whether or not the property now in dispute is the property of the county. Inasmuch as all other allegations were abandoned by the plaintiff upon the trial of the cause, we do not deem it necessary to set out the pleadings in full. The appellees both filed a reply, or answer to the petition, denying the allegations in plaintiff’s petition, and asserted affirmatively that the county was the owner of the property upon which the jail is now being constructed. The issue therefore was properly joined in the court below as to whether or not the county was the owner of the property, and this is the only question before this court for determination. ’ ’

'Since this is the only question to be determined by this court, it is not necessary to set out the pleadings in the case.

Appellant’s contention is that the city was without authority to pass the ordinance authorizing the conveyance of the property to the county, for the reason that it had already passed an ordinance, on April 14,1924, which ordinance is as f ollows:

‘ ‘ Ordinance number ' 3476. An ordinance setting aside all city property or property controlled by the city on the river front, and holding same to be beautified and made into public parks, and for other such purposes.

“Be it ordained by the city council of the city of Little Bock:

“'Section 1. That hereafter no leases or sales shall he made or extended on any land belonging to or controlled by the city of Little Bock on the river front, and all city lands on the river front shall from this date be held for public parks, to be improved, beautified, and made into parks for the use and benefit of the citizens of Little Bock.

“Section 2. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed, and this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from .and after its passage. ’ ’

The city of Little Bock owned a tract of land bounded on the north by the Arkansas Biver, and it is the contention of the appellant that all the land the city owned in that part of the city 'constituted the river front, or a part of the river front, and that therefore the property in controversy on which the jail is being constructed had already been dedicated to the public, and could not be sold by the city. We think, however, that the river front meant only that tract of land fronting on the river north of the Missouri Pacific railroad; that it was certainly not the intention of the council to make a park of land south of the Missouri Pacific railroad tracks. It had already sold to the county many years ago the land on which the present .jail or old jail stands, and had never devoted or dedicated any part of the property south of the railroad tracks to the public. We think it would be unreasonable to hold that that part of the land owned by the city south of the railroad tracks was the river front mentioned in the ordinance; but, whether it was or not, we think the city had a right to sell the property in controversy to Pulaski 'County, notwithstanding the ordinance set out above had been passed.

It is insisted by the appellant that, when property is once dedicated for the use and benefit of the public for park purposes, the city no longer has authority to cancel or set aside such dedication and convey the property for other purposes. Appellant relies on Dillon on Municipal Corporations, 5th ed., 3d volume, § 1102, and on 20 B. C. L., 645. The section of Dillon on Municipal Corporations relied on .'by appellant reads as follows:

“A municipal corporation has no implied or incidental authority to alien or dispose of for its own benefit property dedicated to or held by it in trust for the public use, or to extinguish the public uses in such property, nor is such property subject to the payment of the debts of the municipality.”

One of the cases cited under this section is Beebe v. Little Rock, 68 Ark. 39, 56 S. W. 791. In the opinion in that ease will be found a history of the ownership of the land in controversy by the city of Little Bock, as well as the manner in which it was held, and it was not held in trust, but it was held, according to the decision of this court, for general purposes. In that case it was said:

“It may be 'considered as well settled that municipal authorities cannot sell the streets • of the town or city dedicated to the public use, and the reason is, in such case the city or town is a mere trustee for the public, and a trustee cannot dispose of the property of the oestui que trust, except by special authority. In Searcy v. Yarnell, 47 Ark. 269, 1 S. W. 319, this, court said: ‘A municipal corporation has power to dispose of property held for general convenience, pleasure or profit.’ The property there involved was the town’s interest in a railroad lying mostly without the 'corporate limits of the town, and constructed for the purpose of connecting the town with the Iron Mountain railroad, three or four miles away, and that for the general convenience, pleasure and profit of the inhabitants of the town. It was in no wise a necessity in or factor of the municipal government.” Beebe v. Little Rock, 68 Ark. 39, 56 S. W. 791.

We think it will be found that the authorities referred to and the oases cited by them are all dealing with property conveyed to the city in trust for a specific purpose.

The next authority cited by appellant is 20 R. C. L. 645. The authority referred to states:

“As a general rule, property dedicated for use as squares, parks or commons, cannot (be sold or leased by the municipality, and the Legislature has no power, as against the dedicators, to authorize such disposal. Where the fee is vested in the public, either by condemnation or otherwise, the Legislature may, as against the public and the property owners in the vicinity, control the use, although the use proposed is inconsistent with the one before designated.

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Bluebook (online)
9 S.W.2d 323, 177 Ark. 1097, 1928 Ark. LEXIS 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lester-v-walker-ark-1928.