St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-09
THEY WANT IMPROVEMENTS.
Citizens Besieging the Council
With Requests for Sewers and
Paving.

With Requests for Sewers and
Paving.
There was large gathering of alder
men at the city council chamber yester-
day, brought there by the notice served
on the committees on water works. sew
ers and pavings to come together to dis
cuss the state of the permanent
Improvement. Aid. Vogt, chairman of
the sewer committee, mounted PreSi-
pent Johnson'S throne as chairman, the
comptroIler's books were opened, and
Mr.. Caldewood read the alderman
columns of debts and balances until
their heads swan. City Engineer
Rinker added his mite, the
city fathers Clipped remarks
at intervals, and citizens who were
present volunteered advice, and at 5
o'clock the conference adjourned, after
referring the subject under discussion
to a special subcommittee composed of
the chairmen of the sewer, paving and
water works committees and the COM
mittee on ways and means, which will
meet to-day. The Situation that
called forth the conference is
this. The city's permanent improve
ment fund is short because of the eX-
traordinary demand for permanent i'm
provements on the part of citizens. 1t
seems as if there never before were so
many people who had such confidence
were willing to go in for expensive i'm
provements. The city engineer has
been besieged for the last three or four
weeks, by citizens who came to his Of
flee to learn if there was not some way
il which they could advance the
money for these improvements in
stead of pursuing the usual order which
is to take the improvements first and
kick about the size of the assessments
afterwards. He has found great diff
Guilty in explaining to them that sewers
cannot we'll be built until the city has
the money to do Its share of the work.
Last spring large number of per-
manent Improvements were cut off in
order to curtail expenses, and the cOun-
Gil is now confronted with the question
how to put these in and accede to the
requests for new works that are con-
stantly coming in.
The permanent improvement fund for
next year will contain. at maximum
estimate, $4,000 derived from the
following sources, authorized but uniS
sued bonds S105,O00; tax levy of two and
OuC-lldll illllS Ou SlOS.uOU,OOU
allowing 10 per cent for delinquenceS
permanent improvement revolving
fund, s125, 600; total s527, 600. The work
already ordered for next year amounts
to about $4S0,0O0, divided as fol-
lows: Paving contracts of
1889 postponed one year, $4,000;
of which the city's. share is $4,000;
sewers, 1926. 900, of which the city'S
share is S272, 200; water mains, S162, 000.
of which the city's share is $4,000; to-
tai, $4S0,00O. The city's share of the
paving and sewer contracts is really
less, but under the law of 1887, creating
the permanent improvement revolving
fund, assessments for these improve
ments come back to the city treasury 20
Ter cent per annum for five years,
SO that the city the first year
has practically to advance
all the money, except one-fifth of the
prOperty'S proportion, which will come
back at the June settlement each year
before much work has been done. The
principal work undertaken for next
year is the construction of 36-inch
main from Prospect park to the Single
creek pumping station, at cost of $780,
600, the cost completion of the large Du-
pont avenue intercepting sewer, the
completion of the northeast and south
east sewer tunnels, the large
amount of paving mentioned above
and a miscellaneous order of
curb and gutter contracts. The
question the committee discussed
Yesterday was whether some of the
suburban sewer and paving orders
could not be annulled in favor of
sewer system for the Central park re-
gion, which badly needed it. The abut-
ting property would pay for the smaller
sewers, but the city would have to pay
the heavy end OF twelve blocks of
sewer from Dupont avenue along
Erie, and down Lyndale, to con-
meet with the Hennepin avenue
sewer. This main sewer would
cost about 100000. AT the next meeting
something will probably be agreed
upon in this direction, as action will
have to be taken before August goth in
order to make the assessments return
able at the next June settle
be undertaken this year because
the permanent improvement fund
is not likely to reach $527.000, as the
board of tax levy, which meets in De-
tober, will hardly allow the full two and
One-half mills. There is, however, a
balance of unused bonds amounting to
about 100000 which may be,some alder
men think, turned into the permanent
improvement fund. There is an unused
balance of 33,0O0on the North Mime
apois sewer tunnel, SIS, 600 Oh the south
west tunnel. $4,000 OH the southeast
tunnel. and $4,000 on viaductS and rail-
way crossings. The city attorney will,
however, have to decide whether these
bonds, which were issued for one specific
purpose. can be used for any other.