The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-05
THE BOARD WAS KIND
MADE STREET REPAIRS THAT con-
TRACTORS SHOULD HAVE DONE.
Street COmmissioner's Evidence Be.
fore FnvestiEating Committec-More
FOur-Inch Catch Basins.

afternoon, to the Investigating committee,
showed more cases where the work had not
been done according to specifications. He
found that the basin on the south side of
Lincoln lane lacks several inches of being
as wide as it should be and is only feet
BIZ inches in depth, when it should be
feet inches. The walls are only four
inches thick, instead of nine The bottom
contains no brick at ALL the cement being
laid on the clay bottom. The entire inside
is fairly well cemented, SO that an inspec-
ton, except by cutting into it, would not
disclose its defects. The brick are all too
soft. The same conditions, except as to
size, are true of the weghorst-street basin,
with the additional defect that there is no
mortar between the bricks. The Gresham
street basins are both in bad condition.
The one on the north side is built with al
ternate single rows of bats and headers
making three-fourths of the number of
brick which should have been used The
south basin on this street has an eight
inch wall. but it is poorly cemented and
in a short time will have to be cemented
again. These are all the catch basins which
have been examined. Others will be ex-
amined as soon as the engineer can get
to them.
Mr.. Brown, continuing the subject of
phalt which was discussed at the meeting
Thursday afternoon, said he had completed
the table which he had been working
for some time, showing the saving to the
property by the fall in the price of asphalt
streets, and had also made q comparative
table showing what the sewers, built last
year, would have cost at the prices paid in
1893 In asphalt streets, he said, the saving
had been between $4,000 and $4,000. He
could not give closer figures than that be-
cause, he said, his work was to some ex
tent, estimates, but he said he is confident
that the saving is between the amounts
named. He said brick sewer work cost
about 30 per cent. less last year than in
cost about Is per cent. less; The cost OF all
kinds of improvements, last year, was
about $2,000000. He estimated that nearly
$4,000 had been saved on this work. or, in
other wards, that the work would have
cost $2,500,000 if the prices of 1898 had been
paid, or net saving to the property own
erS of 20 per cent. on every assessment
made during the year.
Street Commissioner Fisher was on the
stand a few moments and asked to stone
contracts. He said he had formerly bought
all the stone used on the streets, but that
the Board Of Works took that authority
stone was needed. The board paid $l.10 a
yard for stone which he said he could have
bought for 81. He said he had often re,
paired streets which had been left in bad
condition by sewer contractors, but had al
ways done it on the order of the Board Of
w OrkS.
KIND TO CONTRACTORS.
f. f. Norwood, street foreman, made
the same statement in regard to repairing
streets left in bad condition by sewer con-
|. tractors. He said he had spent s36 in re-
pairing a cavern on East Washington
street, which was caused by the contractor
improperly filling the ditch after building
sewer He said most street repairs were
made necessary by excavations made under
public or private contract. He had sold
some dirt, but had paid the money re-
ceived to Controller Trusler.
"You did not give the tickets to the chill
dren to play WITH asked MIR. Allen, hav
ing reference to the testimony OF Foreman nl
to play with dirt tickets and in that way
had lost them. Mr.. Norwood said he had
not been guilty of any such carelessness:
John Howard, a stone dealer was the
next witness. He corroborated the state
ment of Mr.. Fisher, that stone had been
sold to the city at $1.l0, which could nave
why did you bid higher than you had
previously offered to sell the stone:
mo other dealer had any stone that
could be delivered Immediately and knew
it. so / took advantage Of the, circun,,
stance, the same any other dealer would
have done If Mr.. Fisher had bought the
stone he would have saved the city Sl2 ON
that purchase.
of stone dealers, last spring, when an at
tempt was made to form pool but said
he had worked against the scheme prefer
ring to attend to his own business and
make his own price.
Mr. Mendenhal Street Commissioners
Fishers clerk Sis on the stand w for n ie@
portant.
The balance of the afternoon was con-
sumed In questioning NJ. l.. Jefferson chlef
of the assessment bureau. He said the err
rors made in his department since he was
placed in charge amounted TO $780, an OF
planned that under the mode OF making the
assessments the bureau has no way of
proving its work on sewers but can prove
the work of all other kinds of assessments.
He said all the sheets had been proved be-
fore, leaving the, Office except the sewer
building a sewer in Clifford avenue came
before the old Board of Works the residents
of Woodruff Place asked to make connec-
ton with it, agreeing to pay their portion
of the cost The board ordered the assess
t he' wonld he # was found to be about
1900 according to the figures of the old
assessment bureau, and the Board of Works
then entered into contract with the Wood
ruff Place Town Board for that town to
pay that amount. This estimate, he said,
did not include any part of the cost OF the
carry the water from the Clifford-avenue
sewer. After the sewer was built and the
assessment rolls completed by the former
bureau it was found that William III. En-
glish had been assessed about $500 too
much This caused an examination d n n OF fo tne
that Woodruff Place should have paid $500
its portion of the cost of this sewer. in
stead OF $4,000. the contract called for.
ASSESSMENT ERRORS.
what remedy would you suggest to pre-
vent these errors creeping into the assess-
ments for sewers?"
In very few cases are they errors of the
assessment bureau. i suppose that not
more than 10 per cent of that siS7 is on ac-
count of mistakes in my department. Most
of them arise from mistakes in the county
plats. For instance, there are number of
streets and alleys which have been opened
of which the plats show record. In fig
urng the sewer assessments the total area
of the district drained is taken and por-
toned out according to the area of the sep
arate lots. Where an alley has been cut off
of lot and it is not shown on the plat,
we can't do otherwise than figure the area
of that alley in with the lot from which it
was taken. because we have nothing to in
dictate that it is not correct. The error is
not discovered until some person complains
that he is assessed for ten or fifteen foot
alley, and then that amount has to be paid
out of the erroneous assessment fund. The
remedy for all this would be new plats.
Some of those now in use have rot been
chapoad since 1921 The rit eboliId own