The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-09-06
JACOB J. DETWILLEF
REUBEN SIMPSON,
JAMES S. BAILEY.
THE MINORITY REPORT.

BY consent of the entire board it was
ordered spread in full on the minutes
AS soon as Clerk Finck had announced
the vote he informed the board that
there was also report from the min
GRITTY of the Committee of the Whole.
He was directed to read it. 1t was as
fellews:--
The Committee. of the Whole to which
by the Board of Street and Water Com Com
| Tnissicners August 13, 1885, awarding a
contract for new supply of water for
this city for the term of twenty-five
years, under. specifications approved June
4. 1895, to the Jersey City Water Com
pany, also the resolution of said board
of the same date. awarding the contract
for new supply of water for the term
of one year and thereafter for such ad-
ditional term as may be agreed upon, to
the East Jersey Water Company, re-
spectfully report as follows
The committee upon taking up the con-
sideration OF the latter resolution felt
doubt as to the power. of the city to
legally award a contract for tempo
rary supply for the specified term of one
year to the East Jersey Water Com
in their supplemental proposition No. 4,
| under which the award purports to be
| made, and accordingly reported reso-
| luton which was adopted by the Board
August Is, 1885, requesting the Corpora
| ton Counsel to furnish it with written
| opinion upon this point.
meeting of the board by the Corporation
Counsel affirms the legality of the award
and relieves the committee of its doubts
upon that head.
| The proposition of the East Jersey
Water Company is that it will furnish
the new supply oron1 from the pipe line now w in
the water of the Peouannock River to
Newark. and that the water will be the
that noW bt frnshd t in6sa dNefwdk of p
water will terminate in the year 1900,
when the works pass into the possession
of Newark.
The cost of daily supply of $50 900
gallons, the city's present consumption.
is axed in the bid at s524O amounting
expenditure which win cause an annual
deficit in the water account estimated
at $500 The committee, while it
tract at a rate so high as this for a
longer period than one year, neverthe-
less thinks it expedient in view OF pos, pos
be reserved to the city to extend the
term of the contract by successive an
nual renewals to cover so much of the
period from date to the year 1900, as may
be hereafter deemed necessary: also.
that. the Water Company, having an
ample head Of water for the purpose;
into the city'S mains at Belleville under
such pressure, not exceeding that of q
head of 22o feet above high tide, as will
supply of water adequate to the wants
of the city, thereby obviating the ne
cessity of providing an additional main
at present.
In view of the urgent demand for the
immediate Improvement of the water
supply and the ability of that company
to furnish the new supply within a
period of six months and for the further
reason that under this proposition the
city will not be compelled to incur any
expenditure either for a new main or
for the purpose of connecting its present
mains with the works of the Water
Company, the. Committee. recommends
that the resolution awarding the CON
tract for temporary supply to the East
An examination Of the plan submitted
with the proposal of the Jersey City
| Water Company, under which the con-
tract for new supply of water for this
city for the term Of tewnty-five years
was awarded, as stated above by the
Board of Street and Water Commission
ers shows that its main features are
identical with those Of the .plan, attached
to the proposition made by that COM
pany, March Is. 1895, under which con-
tract was awarded to 1t by the Board
of Street and Water Commissioners, April
90 1885, which award was non-con-
Cured i'm by the Board Of Finance,
May O. 1895. That the plan claimed to
embrace a watershed of forty-seven
square miles. the control OF which with
the necessary reservoirs and pipe lines
was offered to the city for 81, GOO, zoo: the
area of the watershed has been increased
in the present proDosal to 65.46 square
miles, Of which e.sS square miles 1s un-
available water surface ana 5s.B square