The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-06-04

70 talk WATER AGAIN
City Officials Will Meet on
Monday and Discuss
the all Important
Question.
LOOKING FOR AN ENGINEER
Street and Water Board Meets
and Provide for Several
Improvements.
LOOKING FOR AN ENGINEER

The first step in the direction of procur-
Ing q new water supply will be taken by
the new administration at a conference
to be held in the Mayors private office
next Monday afternoon at four o'clock.
This fact was decided upon by the Street
and Water Commissioners at a meeting
yesterday afternoon AS soon as the
Commissioners had agreed upon a day,
Mayor Heos at once communicated with
the Board of Finance and requested the
members of that body to attend the con-
ference. AS far as can be learned the
officials will work harmoniously. The first
question to be discussed is the employ
ment of a suitable engineer to advise the
officials. Who the engineer will be no
one knows As yet no names have been
suggested. Mayor Hoos insists, however,
that the appointee must be a man who
has never before been identified with any
attempt of the city to acquire a new sup
ply.
There are abroad already rumors that
certain plans are favored. This is em-
phatically denied by ali the officials in
terested. who declare that before taking
any definite action they propose to as
certain what sort of--a supply will be
most advantageous to the city. One thing
rev supply must be by gravity. The OBJ
ject in procuring a gravity supply is to
enable the city to forever abandon the
expensive pumping stations at Belleville
and High Service Bids it is understood
will be advertised for, for a filtered sup
ply as well as supply gathered in the
northern part of the State. An effort is
to be made, the officials say, to so frame
the specifications as to permit every in
dividual or corporation in the water busi-
ness to bid. By inviting wide. competi-
ton it is expected that low prices will
prevail. It is said that after Mondays
conference several trips to the various
sources of supply in the State will be
made by the officials who will have to
pass upon a contract.
City Treasurer S. D. Dickinson notified
the Street and Water Commissioners yes
terday that he is ready to make a second
payment of $4,000 to the East Jersey
Water Company. Under the agreement
existing between the city and the company
the city is compelled to pay the city
100000 out of the first monies received
for water rents. There has been paid
S50,00o- The remainder will be paid prob
ably in a week or ten days. When the
company is settled with, 100000 will be
set aside for the payment of the interest
on the water debt. When that is out of
the way persons having claims against
the water account will stand some chance
of being paid. That will probably be in
the middle of July Until that time no
claims can be paid. This condition of
affairs never occurred before, and is due
to the fact that the Republicans drained
the water account even to its last dollar.
Petitions were received for the i'm
provealent of Vroom street, from Summit
avenue to Van Reipen; Poplar street, from
the Boulevard to Nelson avenue; Orient
avenue, from Jackson avenue to Ocean;
Montgomery street, from the Boulevard
to West Side avenue; Cambridge avenue
from Griffith street to South; Lexington
avenue. from Bergen avenue to the
Boulevard.
Complaints were filed against the i'm
provement of the lower end of Arlington
avenue and the construction of a sewer
IN Nevada avenue Chief Engineer Rug
giles submitted specifications for the re-
paving of Montgomery street, from Hud-
son to Warren street; Eye avenue, Green
vile avenue. Summit avenue, Hudson ave-
+. White dedicated strip of land on
West View avenue. between the Boule-
yard and West Side avenue. for street
Specifications for the reconstruction of
receiving basins were adopted. Contracts
were awarded tcs Philip Tumulty. for the
Improvement of Gleenville avenue; Henry
.Sl}yrne, sewer In Canal street; w. HI
Neill, pipe sewer in Germania avenue: /:
8 Beniamin Evans was appointed inspector
OF the Improvement of Mercer street east
of the viaduct. Permission was condi-
tionally extended to William Muirhead TO
pave the roadway in front of his land in
Briton street, Heretofore people doing
work at their own expense were allowed
t9 do 1t as they saw fit. AS a conse-
qpenee some streets have been damaged
rather than improved. In future all such
work will have to be done in accordance
Engineer and approved by the Board.