The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-11
PUBLIC WORK DURING 1896.
COMMISSIONER wILLINI< TELLS
HOW THE CITXrs MONEY WAS
SPENT,

| ment of the Receipts nnd Expen-
dit1res of Bach Experimentation
Interesting Figures street
WOrk-AsphaIt the Most Costly
Pavement 10 Clean and Repair
and Granite Block the Cheapest.
The Sewerage system Severely
CriticIsed-A New CrematOry Rec
commended.
The first annual report of Commissioner
of Public Works Willnk has been filed
with Mayor Myers. 1t shows a total ex-
penditure through his Office during the
year 1896 of $172, S722 In five departments
| there was cash balance of the appro-
priations on hand at the end of the year
| of so, 527.s9 In three departments the ex-
penditures were slightly in excess of the
| appropriation, the total being $772.9l.
practically all of which was due to the
improvements to the city exchange.
The regular work of the departments,
outside of paving streets, and including
minor Improvements such as new cross
ings, new catch basins. new sewers, I'M
provements at the exchange, etc, were
| sl27, 6O4.04. Out of the regular departmental
appropriations, the report points out, new
and greatly needed improvements to the
extent of $994O.1S were made. These inn
portant improvements include the new
city stables, lotman's house, etc, on which
So, $500 were spent, the new roadways
along the S. F. and W., on which the city
expended in labor S1,25296, and the new
stack and other improvements at the
crematory costing SlSOO.OO. Including the
street paving the total amount spent on
new improvements was $A7s3.1S.
The salary of the clerk and all the Of
flee and other incidental expenses of both
the commissioners office and the office of
the city engineer came out of the streets
and lanes and dry culture appropriations.
The commissioner recommends a separate
| appropriation for these expenses, so that
nothing except the work of the DEPART
ments may be charged to them. The rec
ords kept in some of the departments in
! previous years, he says, were so made
quate as to be almost Valueess, the re-
ports in some cases being largely guess
work, as instanced by the report of what
the crematory is alleged to have consumed.
The commissioner points out that care
full tests demonstrated that it was a sheer
impossibility for the crematory working
at full blast all the time to have con-
sumed the cubic yards of garbage accred-
tied to it in past years. 1t is now posi-
bic, as result of the system introduced.
to give reliable data which, basis for
future estimates and comparisons, will be
of steadily increasing value.
Especial pains, the commissioners states.
were taken to obtain full value for all
moneys paid out, prices and samples be-
ing secured from reliable houses on any
purchases of magnitude. By encourage
ing competition, preference being always
given the home dealers, and by carefully
scrutinizing all goods on delivery, the
citys interests have been protected, I've
states. The receipts from the depart
ments he says, were larger in 1896 than
in any previous year, owing to contracts
having been entered into for the sale of
all stable manure, street sweepings, Gro
matory ashes etc. Money he declares,
was also turned into the city treasury
for the sale of articles for which their
appears to have heretofore been eithef, no
market or no accounting"
In streets and lanes, the main depart
ment, the expenditures were $f S94.S7,
there being balance on hand of S6,lO5.1S.
From the report which gives all paved
streets in detail, it is found that Savan-
nah has at present a paved area of 40S, 400
square yards, as follows: Asphalt, 81, 1872;
brick, $50; ebert, 2,761; cobble. IT'S 1853;
granite, 4l,519; shell, 10000. The cost of
cleaning streets was as follows Asphalt,
$4,15506 an average cost per square yard
VI F.NtoOs tOphic anu 81 dAlAAts 4A,ooosV9s al
average of $.00S7; shell, $1,215.47, an aver
age of S.C0S6. The cost of cleaning asphalt
streets, il is pointed out, is five times that
of cleaning either of the other class Of
pavements. Whatever the expense, as
phalt streets require to be cleaned by
hand continuously. Granite pavements
are the cheapest so far as cleaning is con-
| cerned.
Repairs to pavements cost S7.56456 as
follows; Asphalt, 6O,S5O square yards, on
which contract has expired, 81, 3664, an
average cost per square yard of about $07
In the fall the streets needed repairs, but
the plant of the company was not in con-
| dition to proceed. Later, as the city eX-
peeted to make new and better contract
the repair work was held up until it was
made. If the necessary repairs now in
, | progress, had been made under the old
contract, they would have cost the city
S. 900 additional AS it is. under the new
contract, the asphalt company must keep
every asphalt pavement in the city in good
condition for an entire year for $500. The
city councils work in securing this new
maintenance contract is strongly COM
mended.
Repairs TO cobble pavements cost ST.
9.40, an average to the square yard of
$.OO74, and to shell, $1.904.S2, an average of
S0133. Twenty-Five thousand, eight hun
dred and thirty-five bushels of shells were
used in repairs to that class of streets.
OF the l,5l9 square yards of granite paw
ing in the city. only ten square yards re-
quired to be repaired at a cost Of 50 So
which shows the granite block to be by
long odds the cheapest paving to MAIN
tain.
Other items of street work were shown
by the expenditure Of $t,8i0 in cleaning
crossings. $,072.95 in cleaning catch basins
from which 6.llS loads of waste were re-
moved 81 966.5O in cutting and removing
weeds, etc. and $7Sl.9l in grading streets
, | of which SOILS was expended south of
| Anderson street.
There are S07 catch basins in the city
the expense Of cleaning which was 81, 7O2 95,
Glib loads of waste being taken from them
and hauled to the outskirts of the city. In
some instances, owing 10 the character OF
the waste, 1t was necessary to take Il to
the crematory. on this subject the COM
missioner says: This was due to the mis-
use of catch basins by unknown persons
converting them into receptacles for night
soil garbage and other foreign substances
Offensive odors arising from them were