The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-31
The Culmer : Jennings Company's
Grievances Considered.
OFFICIAL ORDERS IGNORED
CONTRACTOR ALLEGES PREJU-
DICE ON THE CITY'S PART.
The Defects Pointed Out, But, Their
Existence Denied, and the Gull
mers Plead For Mercy-Promise
to Make It Acceptable-Proposi-
ton to Work the Chaingang.

/ A warm controversy respecting the
condition of the Culmer-Jennings Pay
ing company's asphalt pavement on
Main and First and Second South
streets was on last evening before the
joint meeting of the board of public
works and city council committee on
streets. The contracting paving COM
pany was represented by Messrs. ii.
L. A. Gunner, w. H. Gunner, Joseph
Boehmer and Attorney Andrew
Howat. City Attorney Hall was there
also in an advisory capacity. But the
talking was done mainly by Harry
Culmer and City Engineer Kelsey.
The meeting was called to hear the
contractors protest against the
boards threat to utilize the retained
percentage of some $500 to put the
| pavement in that perfect condition re-
quired by the terms of the contract for
J the final acceptance of the work, the
paving company having, as alleged,
failed to make the necessary repairs to
the satisfaction of the board of public
works and the city engineer.
In support of the contractors con-
! tentions. Mr. Harry Gunner stated
that cracks in the pavement are in
evitable in cold weather, but that in
warm weather the contractionS eX-
| panded, leaving the asphalt surface in
generally good condition. Last fall
some 5000 square feet of patches We're
made to the asphalt surface, ten times
more than was necessary. But it had
to be done to meet the exactions of the
| city engineer and the board of public
works. Then Mr.. Gunner made a
pathetic plea on the virtue of en-
couraging home industry and be-
seeching the municipality to deal justly
and tenderly with the contractor. In
conclusion, Mr.. Culmer promised that
as soon as the weather settled and con-
ference was over the work of making
the reDairs would be resumed, but
owing to the peculiar skill known only
to the Culmer-Jennings company in
handling Utah asphalt, the repairs
would be made in the manner his COM
Dany desired and not to meet the
whims Of the city's representatives.
PHOTOGRAPHS EXAGGERATE
City Engineer Kelsey submitted a
lot of photographs of the defective por-
lions of the pavement, but Mr.. Gunner
protested that they were unfairly
takens and revealed some untrue and
exaggerated conditions.
BY way of reply to Mr.. Gunner. The
city engineer stated that last fall
section Of the pavement on lower Main
street had been condemned and ordered
relaid with asphalt, but the contractor
needed not and went on patching the
cracks. Patching in the wedge-shape,
feather-edge fashion of the contractor
would not. the engineer contended,
satisfactorily repair these defective
parts. In places the surface should
be relaid with properly mixed material
and in other sections the cracks would
have to be cut out foot in width and
new stuff put in to give the repaired
pavement solid and durable footing.
Mr.. Gunner took issue with the
engineer and demarked that the COM
pany would have clear sailing ii it
We're not for Engineer Kelsey's arhi-
trary and prejudicial actions.
"Mr. Gunner" replied Engineer
KELSEY, knows that it not true The
bulk of the pavement is first-class, and
only about a fourth of the area is de-
that Utah asphalt when properly mixed
and skillfully laid makes as good
pavement as any in the world. l have
certified to this statement reneatedly
for the Culmer-Jennings Paving COM
pany and have also answered many
letters to this same effect. / ask moth
ing that is not required to be done in
the contract. There are portions OF the
pavement on First South and Second
South streets that will have to be re-
laid The many big holes cannot be
repaired by patching"
AS TO UTAH ASPHALT.
Then Mr. Culmer said that the con-
tractor had never been required to fol-
low the specifications because the Gull
mers were the only ones who knew how
70 1ox Ttol
to the peculiar qualities of the home
paving material they would not yield
the right to the engineer and the board
to dictate how the repairs should be
made. To do so would cost from $40,0 900
to $4,000, q sum far in excess of what /
is required to put the work in condition !
for final acceptance. His company in
tended to make the work satisfactory /
by a reasonable Interpretation Of the
contract requirements and according to |
his own methods.
Before closing, Mr.. Culmer remarked |
that because of the feud existing be /
tween the contractor on the one side /
and the board of public works and the /
city engineer on the other, the city /
council about five years ago took a !
hand in the controversy and paid the |
amount due over the protest of the en-
gineer and the board, who maintained /.
tract.
we are ready now to finally accept |
such parts of the pavement as are in
good condition" said Engineer Kelsey.
That's the first assurance we have
ever had" replied Mr.. Gunner, that
the work would be accepted, unless it
were laid with beaten gold"
There's nothing to warrant that
Mr. Culmer," retorted the
city engineer.
II have not been a member of the
board of public works many years, said
Mr. F. A Hale. land 1 would like to
know who constituted the board that
MIR. Gunner speaks of as having been
in dealing with this paving company,
and who was the city engineer who so
bitterly pursued the contractor"
THE FORMER CRITICS.
The response came that A. F. Dore-
mus was city engineer and c. L.
Haines was chairman of the board, and
The members were Spencer Clawson,
Governor Wells, Major Downey and W.
p. Noble.
Those are pretty good names, and 1
IAN hardly credit the charge of I'M
ETC., attributed to them How
ever," continued Mr.. Hall, AL this
BOARD has to do is to see that the con-
.ract is lived up to. Much of the pave
nent is good, but the rest is in scan
lalous condition. If the contractor will
make good the defective work it will
De accepted, but L don't believe the
Culmer method of repairing the bad
surface is the correct one 1t is not
reasonable to suppose that members of
he board have at any lime been an