The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-03-07
A BOARD OF 9PUBLIU WORKS.


Gig IF IH6ladeipliG.
Section l. BE it enacted, etc., That here
after there shall be in the city of Philadelphia
Board of Public Works. which shall consist
of the five following commissioners:
A. Miskey, Delos p. Southworth, Lewis O.
Cassidy, Thomas j. Barger, James d. Whe-
than, and Henry w. Gray.
Section q The said commissioners shall or
ganize within ten days after the passage of
this act, by electing one of their number
president, and one, not of their number
clerk. The said commissioners shall hold
their offices until the first Monday of Novem-
Der, in the Year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and seventy.six, and until tReir
successors shall be duly qualified, and shall
each receive an annual salary of three thou
sand dollars ($30O0).
The said Board of Public Works shall have
exclusive cognizance, control and manage
mept-
/. Of all highways, and of the opening
altering, regulating, grading, tagging, curb
ing and guttering of all streets, roads, places
and ayenues, and of the right to purchase
control, and use all materials connected there
with.
9. OF the repairing and construction of pub.
lie roads aud bridges.
3. OF all public buildings and property not
i'll charge OF the commission appointed to
erect Public Buildings, in accordance with
A. ID. 1S70 the Park Commission, Board of
Education, Inspectors of Philadelphia County
Prison, Guardians of the Poor, Trustees of
the Girard Estate, Board of Health, and
House of Correction.
4. OF the filling up, leveling, and cleaning
of supken end other lots.
5. OF public sewers and drainage, and the
construction and repair thereof.
&. OF paving, repaving and repairing
streets, and keeping the same in order.
Z. Of cleaning the public streets, roads,
and alleys
8. The said board shall have the right to
take the property of any turnpike or plank
road company within the city of Philadel-
phla, and the price OF land and other pro-
peIty taken by the commissioners, or the
damages for the taking thereof, shall be
determined in the same manner and under
the same laws as the price of land taken by
the Park Commissioners, appointed under
the provisions of an act entitled an act appro-
priating ground for public purposes in the
city of Philadelphia approved March 26, 1867,
and the various supplements thereto.
Section B. Said board shall make requisi-
ton on the Councils of the city of Philadel-
phia, on or before the first day of December,
in every year hereafter, for the amount of
money required by them, for the purposes of
the Board of Public Works, and said Councils
shall, within thirty days thereafter, pass an
ordinance levyiug a tax sufficient to raise the
amount so required.
Provided. That Councils may at any time
make appropriation out of the annual tax in
aid of the purposes of this act.
Section A.. All appropriations made by the
Councils of the city of Philadelphia to the
Department of Public Highways, to the
Board of Health, for cleaning the streets of
said city, to the Commissioners of City Pro-
peity, to the Department of Surveys, SO far
ss the same relate to public sewers and
drainage and the construction and repair
thereof, be and they are hereby transferred
to the Board of Public Works; and hereafter
the Treasurer of the city of Phia lelphia
shall pay money out of said appropriations,
as well as ont of the appropriations here
after made, only upon warrants drawn upon
the Treasurer aforesaid by the Presi-
dent of the Board of Public Works,
attested by the clerk thereof, with the
seal Of said board attached; and hereafter the
said Treasurer shall open an account as that
of the Board of Public Works, and enter in
said account the items of appropriation trans
feIIed by this section, as well as all appropri-
atoms hereafter made by Councils to said
board; and it shall be the duty of the City
Controller to countersign all warrants drawn
by this board in the manner aforesaid, upon
being furnished by the board with certif-
cate that the work has been done, or that the
amount for which the warrant Is drawn was
contracted according to law; and it shall be
the duty of the Treasurer of the city, upon
presentation, to pay the same.
Section 3. The said Board of Public Works
shall have the right to determine of what ma
terial the streets shall hereafter be paved;
and for all streets paved with material other
than cobble stone, under the direction of the
board, the Board of Public Works, in pay
ment thereof, is thereby authorized to issue
the bonds of the city of Philadelphia, to be
marked OH the face thereof, and to be drawn
as "City Paving Bends, bearing interest at a
rate not exceeding six per centum, maturing
in thirty years; and said bonds shall be exc
cuted by the President Of the Board of Pub
lie Works, attested by the clerk thereof, with
the seal of the board attached; and it shall be
the duty Of the Receiver Of Taxes to add
to the tax rate annually an item sufficient to
pay the interest accruing on such bonds, and
to raise one-thirteenth of the amount of said
bonds each year, for the payment of said
bonds at maturity, which sum shall be credited
by the Treasurer of the city to fund for the
payment of the same, and the fund raised as
aforesaid is hereby exclusively dedicated Il
the payment of the same.
Section g. 1t shall be the duty of the Board
of Public Works to cause the streets, lane
and alleys laid out on the public plan to bt
opened, and such as they may deem necessar!
for the public interests to take possession of
and to cause the same to be paved curbed
and, when necessary, culverted: Provided
That it shall not be lawful for the said boar
to take possession of any street, road, avenu
or highway until they have given or tenders
to the owners of property fronting on tn
streets, roads and highways opened or abou