Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-09-13
MUNICIPAL MATTERS.
Adjourned Meeting Of the City
Council Last Evening.
Paving With Single Course Of Brick
Other City Concerns Receive
ArteD;i3n.
IOFFICIAL REPORT.

OFFICIAL REPORT.
CITY COUNCIL Rooms, Rock ISLAND,
Sept. 12.-The council met in adjourned
session at p. M, Mayor McConochie
presiding, and all the aldermen present
except Guyer. The minutes of the last
meeting were read and approved.
Aid. Bladel moved reconsideration
of motion made by Aid. Guyer in
structing the clerk to advertise for bids
for the construction of the Thirteenth
and Fourteenth street sewer. n otion
carried.
Aid. Bladel moved that the clerk be
instructed to ask the tender of private
bids from local contractors for said
work. Adopted.
The mayor submitted the following
report:
GENTLEMEN OF THE CITY COUNCIL
We, the undersigned, who in compliance
with the resolution requesting the coun-
Gil as committee of the whole to go to
Clinton to inspect their one course work
and gather such information that may be
beneficial to us in our future public i'm
provements, would beg leave to report
That we went to Clinton Thursday,
Sept, Sth. During the day spent there
we met the mayor, auditor and most of
the city officials who extended to us every
courtesy and entertained us in royal
style. The mayor devoted the entire day
| showing us the sights and giving us all
| the information possible down to the
| Minutest details. taking us in one of his
| large and elegant carriages over all their
| pavements that are row under contract as
well as that laid upwards of three years.
4 All their paving is one course work, and
4 after close inspection we must pronounce
| it fully as good as ours. Most of their
streets are wide ranging from 80 to 100
| feet; the paved space between curbs
| ranging from Soup to 80 feet wide, the for
mer being one or two blocks put in as
an experiment at the request of the prop
| erty holders, but does not give satisfac-
ton being considered too narrow. The
average width where they boulevard
| streets is 4@ feet.
Comparisons as to the cost of their
| work and ours cannot be accurately
made on account of the different method
in letting the work. The only way to
arrive at an approximate estimate of the
difference between their one aud oar two-
| course work is to select one Of their
| streets where the width, fill and grade
| Will compare with one of ours, to
ascertain the difference per front foot it
costs the property owners. making some
| allowance in their favor on account of
their superior system of assessments and
| lighter court costs; also whether the pay
| mentS are cash or on the instalment
pisa But we are OF the opinion from
whet we learned there, the price of ma
teriai and labor being substantially the
same in both cities, the only difference
in their favor would be about what it
would cost to furnish and lay the bottom
| course of hard burned brick, which is
| bout 35 cents per square yard This
would be reduced trife where there
was a cut and increased where there was
g ell. Take for example an S0-foot
| suceet without street cars. Ordinarily
the paved width would be ;52 feet or 20
feet wide for property owners on each
| side to pay for, or one foot less than
| three yards for each front foot. On this
| basis the saving to property owners on
| an S0-foot street without street
cars would be about 81 per front foot
| Streets of less width or having street cars
| would be reduced 4 cents per front foot
| foT every foot less in width. Their
| method of letting contrasts differs from
| our in this: We let eErs at SO much a
| seCare yard for excavating, grading and
| psving. no MISTER what the cut or fill may
| be. If any surplus is left after making
| the fills it is hauled anywhere the city
1 may order, not to exceed 10 blocks.
| With them their contracts are let at 80 much
! additional for every cubic yard re
| moved in cutting and filling When
! the dirt is taken from cut to make q
| fill the cut only is paid for unless tue
haul exceeds the specified limits, which
| is L 300 feet, and one cent a yard for
each additional 100 feet. In this we be-
lieve our system is superior to theirs,
! having less room for disputes as to the
| measurement and length of haul. which
| would require a check clerk to keep
| tally of the loads and distances hauled;
| so would the contractor, and both would
| necessarily be paid by the property own
| er. By our system we have a profile
| showing the cuts and ellis the entire
| lenG th of the improvement. with close
estimate of the number of square yards
of paving, the number of cubic yards of
cuts and fills, the number of cubic Yards
of sand and macadam. Having such in
formation, with the profile, bidders go
ing carefully over the ground would
have no difficulty in making bid at so
much square yard for excsvating.
grading and paving. We are also of
the opinion that our bank sand is equally
as good, II not better, for use under the
prYng, and to be thoroughly washed
into the macadam, which should be |
broken fine; that broken by a crusher |
preferred. We are of the opinion no |
benefit is derived from the bottom |
course of brick unless it is equally as |
good as the top course. Experience has |
demonstrated to us the soft brick disin-
tergates with the moisture and leaves
depressions which would not be the case
with II uniform bed of macadam Ali of !
which ia resneetfullv submitted