The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-29
MENDPAV ENTS
City Council Will Put a Stop
to Carelessness.
Plumbers Will Be Watched by
an officer.
TO BE CHARGED A FEE
This Will Pay Salary of ''1n-
spectOr of Excavations"
TO BE CHARGED A FEE
Ordinance Reported FavOrably
by Committee of Whole.

The question of securing proper re-
pairs for the pavements where cuts and
excavations have been made occupied
much of the time of the city council
at its session last evening. 1t has been
a source of trouble to the city engi-
neering department for long time
When plumbers and others make cuts
in the pavement to lay pipes or repair
leaks the cuts are frequently left IN
bad condition afterwards. Under the
present ordinance it is the duty of the
city engineer to give his personal at
tention to the matter and see that the
repairs are made in such manner as
to leave the pavement in smooth ana
durable condition. but owing 10 the
great increase in the amount of work
devolving upon the engineering depart
ment, this is impossible.
To remedy the trouble Councilman
Nettels recently introduced an or
dinance creating the Office of super
intendent of excavations, whose duty
it shall be to look after all such repairs
personally and see that they are done
correctly. The ordinance requires that
each person desiring to make excaVa-
lions beneath the pavement must have
a general license to do that kind OF
work and must also first secure a per-
nit for each excavation, for which he
must pay one dollar. This money goes
into a special fund for the payment of
the salary of the superintendent OF eX-
caVatiOnS, which shall be $50 per month.
1t is said that these fees will bring into
the city treasury between $500 and $500
per year.
The rules under which the pavement
may be cut follow the provisions of the
ordinance now in force, and it is pro-
vided that whenever any holder of a
general license shall be found guilty
of violating any of the provisions of
the ordinance he shall be fined and his
license shall be forfeited.
When this ordinance was introduced
NRtfRlS 1T referred the
committee on gas and electric lights.
That committee reported it back to the
council last night with the recOmmen-
dation that it be considered in commit
tee of the whole, and it was so con-
sidered.
Councilman Blossom Immediately
started a fight on the proposed or
dinance. He said he did not see the
use in creating a new office at a salary
of $50 per month when the city is hard
up, and he was opposed to it.
Councilman Morgan was also opposed
to the proposed ordinance. 4 don't
want to be considered knocker,' he
said. because 1 am opposed to their
methods of doing business, but do not
see the necessity of passing this or
dinance. The plumber won't pay that
dollar himself but he will charge it up
in his bill against the man who has
the work done, so that 1t Will really
come out of the taxpayer, and people
are saying now that the taxes are too
high. 1 don't see why the mayor can
not hire a man, with the consent of the
council, to look after this work with
out going to the expense of passing an
ordinance"
Councilman Roundtree: at seems to
me that that is an argument for this
ordinance. That is just what this or
dinance does, only it provides that the
salary shall not be paid out of the gen
eral revenue, but shall be paid by the
people who have the excavations made.
Even if the plumbers charge the dol
lar up to the man he is working for it
is not paid by the general taxpayer, but
by the man who receives the benefit of
officer his salary, but it will also turn
a small amount into the city treasury
each year"
Councilman Nettels: IF you think
the work of fixing the pavement where
there have been cuts is properly done
now there is no use in passing this or
dinance. Under the old ordinance be-
fore an excavation could be made the
plumber had to deposit S25 for work on
paved street and $40 for work on IN
paved streets. Then, if he did not re-
it done and took the amount that it
cost from the S25 deposit, returning him
the balance. In the course of time the
plumbers got into the habit of coming
to the city council and asking that
their deposit be returned to them en-
tire This practice became so common
that the deposit part of the ordinance
fell into diSuse and now the city eng1-
neer tries to compel each man to do his
work right. I have known him to make
one man go back the third time to re-
pair the pavement. This IS sometimes
necessary, because the first time it set