The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-09-28
OF

City Hall on Friday, September 10, 1898,
at 1880 o'clock p. NJ.
Pfesent-President Hitler and Messrs.
Bedeli, Detwiller, Fraser and Simpson (5).
Absent--None.
Ihe-ca!l for the meeting, which was for
the transaction of general business, including
the receiving of the proposals for the pur-
chase Of assessment bonds was read by the
Clerk.
OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS.
JERSEY Cry, n. J., Sept. II, 1893.
Hon. Board of Finance:
Sirs At the request of your President I
have again examined into the questions in-
VOWED IN building Of the proposed Ravine
Road Sewer outlet and the assessment to be
made to meet the expenses thereof. The
report filed with the last preceding Board of
Finance on March 81, 1898, by the Commits
%sioners, appointed by Judge Magic of the
Supreme Court, fully sets out the scope and
object of the enterprise. the plan adopted by
them and the engineering and other diff
culties encountered This report will be
found on pages 100 and 10 of the printed
minutes for last year. No action was taken
by that Board, as it held practically no
meetings after the receipt thereof. Mayor
Pagan. Of the city of Hoboken. has recently
written to me on the subject, urging action
on the part of Jersey City. enclose his
letter for filing with your Beard.
The nuisance complained of in his letter
actually exists, as will appear from the report
of the Commissioners Ii aas been a matter
of complaint before several Grand Juries.
and On one occasion a presentmeut was
made.
The sewage so cast upon the meadows
come wholly from Jersey City, while the
cost of the proposed extension will be nearly
800, 900. The expense will be borne not
by the city at large, but by assessment on
the property benefited on the Heights in
Jersey City. The law provides that the
sewer shall be built under the supervision Of
the Commissioners appointed by Judge
Magic, who shall certify the cost thereof to
the Commissioners of Assessments in Jersey
City, by whom the assessment is to be made.
AS the work progresses Jersey City will is
sue improvement certificates or bonds to pay
the contractors, precisely as in the case of
ordinary improvements. These certificates
will in turn be taken up by the assessments
when paid.
On nearly all of the sewerage area on the
top of the hill is now provided with lateral
sewers. Nearly the whole cost of the i'm
| provement will become an immediate lien
upon. the property assessed. In my opinion
the city will be forced to abate this nuisance
and construct this outlet sewer. If done
under the present scheme the cost thereof
will fall wholly o the property benefited.
No part of that cost can be charged against
the City of Hoboken or property in lower
Jersey City.
l would advise your Board to pass a res
olution requesting said commission to pro-
zozl -.4l-.I1 a~n-ata~+ 11aaI TO 11,,1r tho
necessary right of way and to build the sewer.
and pledging the credit of Jersey City for
the payment thereof.
Yours respectfully,
WIN. d. EDWARDS,
Corporation Counsel.
Referred to the Committee of the Whole.
The communication of Mayor Pagan, of
the city of Hoboken, N. J., referred to in
the above communication of the Corporation
Counsel, was also referred to the Committee
of the Whole, and is as follows:
HoBoKEN, NJ, Aug 30, 1898.
William D. Edwards, Esq, Corporation
Counsel. Jersey City:
Dear Sir,-I desire to ascertain from you
the present situation of the proposed extern
sion of the Ravine Road sewer, to be made
under the commission appointed by Judge
Magic some two or three years ago. I write
to you because you have acted as counsel to
the commission, and because have learned
that they have embodied the result of their
labors in the shape of a communication to
the Board of Finance of Jersey City recon-
mending the construction of the sewer, and
outlining a plan for this important work.
This report has been pending before the Board
of Finance of Jersey City for some months and
while the City of Hoboken does not desire
to unduly hasten the necessary preliminaries
for such a large undertaking, | respectfully
submit that the time has now cone for
action on the part of your city.
The City of Hoboken has suffered from
the overflow of this sewer for twenty years;
it has created an intolerable nuisance, which
is increasing every day. should any cpl
dernic break out in either city, this sewer
would be an active power for evil in spread
ing the same. This nuisance is created
wholly in Jersey City, not one drop of the
sewerage going down through the sewer has
its origin in Hoboken, and yet for years our
city has been made a dumping ground.
While the growth of Hoboken has been
seriously retarded in the vicinity of this
sewer, the nuisance has also iniuriously
affected Jersey City.
II IOr no Otne1 reason lnan the preSeTVa-
ton of public health, to say nothing of the
public comfort, this sewer should be built to
tide water.
Unless some action is taken by Jersey
City very soon, it will become my duty, as
Mayor of this city, to devise some means to
compel the proper solution of the problem.
l trust that you will put this matter before
the proper Boards in your city in such a
manner that relief will come speedily.
Yours truly,
LAURENCE PAGAN,
Mayor.
The following communication was pre-
sented. received and ordered filed:
JERSEY CITY. Sept. IA, 1898.
The Honorable Board of Finance:
Gentlemen I'm the matter of the man.
damus proceedings of John Nolan against
the Mayor and Aldermen of Jersey City and
the City Comptroller, no decision has yet
been rendered by the Court.
The case was argued before Judge Lippin-
colt on August 81 last, and he then reserved
his decision; and same has not yet been an
nounced Pending the final decision of the
above matter, and resolutions looking to
the payment of other similar claims from the
license funds in question, should, in my
opinion, be held in allegiance, and no further
action be taken for the present.
Yours respectfully,
JAMES t. ERWIN.
Fron, fba Ro,rd of Fire Commissioners