The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-29
URGES PEACE
Indications That Scrap Over
Contract Work Is Ending.
OFFICIALS ARE AT SEA
AUDITOR REISER'S SUGGES-
TIoNS UNAPPRECIATED.

Instead of offering resolution at
last evenings meeting of the city co1n-
ell, as had been intended by the men,
bers who feel that the board of public
works should be called to account y5r
letting Pat Moran and other contract
ors have a free rein in the matter of
executing contracts for improvements
to the waterworks system, and those
also who want an investigation to de-
termine whether Chairman Dooly is
acting improperly, as has been alleged,
by letting a company in which he is
financially interested become surety on
the indemnity bonds of the contractors,
policy prevailed and the propositions
that were considered related to the ac-
tons of the board in ignoring the city
engineer IN drawing specifications for
contracts and inspecting materials and
supervising work.
Under this head City Engineer KEEL
sey presented a communication calling
attention to the action of the board of
public works in the matter of changing
specifications for contract work The
city ordinance, stated the communfca-
ton. which is made a part of the law
defining the duties of the board. gives
the city engineer equal authority with
the board in the matter of preparing
specifications, and it has been the GUS
tom for the past ten years for the en-
gineer 10 prepare all such specifica-
tons.
Under a recent contract awarded by
the board and under specifications for
water pipe, on which the board is now
asking for bids, the engineer has no
authority to supervise the work, inspect
the materials or issue the estimates, as
contemplated by the law. Therefore,
the engineer respectfully requests that
hereafter no estimates or bills for ma
terials be furnished under contract I'M
less certified by him.
Calling the Board Down
The engineers communication was
= I followed by a resolution from Council
man Davis directing the board of pub
:. lie works to award all contracts for the
! purchase of materials on the specifica-
a | tons to be prepared by the city en-
gineer.
Speaking in opposition to the resolu-
ton, Canning declared that the board
had followed the engineers specihca-
7 lions of kinds of materials and work.
L manship in all contract work, because
he had seen the blue prints himself.
2 Buckle quoted from the statute and
the book of ordinances to show that
!, the board and the engineer jointly
should prepare specifications for con-
a tract work. and he proposed to amend
the resolution accordingly.
Fernstrom praised the wisdom of the
board BIZ undertaking the engineer S
4 Judgment and skill as an expert until
> WhittemOre called the member from
the Third precinct TO order for what he
i, termed personal attacks upon the engi-
+ neer.
: The outlook was stormy, but Robert
20 son, Hewlett and Thomas came to the
# rescue by proposing With motions and
n amendments to refer the engineers
n communication and Davis resolution
= to the committees on waterwOrks anC
d municipal laws, with directions to re-
port next week 1t was agreed in tht
! action taken that the members of the
Ia board and Engineer Kelsey be invited
), to the committees meeting TO explain
s their differences with a view to bring
p ing the cOntending factions together OF
harmonious lines.
l. Better Use of Money.
=, Councilman Beatty offered a resolu
10 ton reciting that the construction o
1f the pipe system for distributing wate
ID from the Jordan and Salt Lake City
10 canal for street sprinkling has beel
D delayed until it is too late to complete
Is the same in time TO do much good thi!
a. season and directing that the oil,
IN twelve-inch Kalamein pipe be stored
Of in the city supply yard for future use
as the balance of the work be ordered
$ stopped and the amount authorized 70
Id this Improvement be expended on Othe
n WaterWOrks Improvements.
er Because Of the fact that Dr.. Beatt
" had been called away from the meet
ing just before the resolution came VI
ID consideration of Il was deferred 70
Ii one week.
In the matter of the city engineer
ip final estimate of the Greene & Reev
company for laying a water main OF
-, Seventeenth East street from Farley
= conduit to All HallOws college ney
-, grounds. the board of public work
- recommended that the estimate as mod
- flied by it be approved. The eStimat
- called for 81, 1856, less a penalty of $50
. for fifty-tWO days delay in cOmpletin
- the work according to contract, bu
, the board recommended that the est
= mate be allowed without this deduc
: ton, for the reason that the cOntractO
> was not at fault. The cOntracto
- claimed s1,0693S for extra excavation
~ but the board disallowed this amour
- The matter was referred to the com
40 mitteeS on waterwOrkS and municips
~ laws, with the city attorney assoei
y. ated.
81 To the mayor. the city attorney an
a Chairman Canning Of the street sprink
% ling committee was referred, with pow
= er TO act, the difficulty the contractor
in are having in going upon privat
-. ground to take uD the Old pipe acrOs
Il the river intended to be used for til
VI canal pine stand system. The referee
n were authorized to expend not to e1
ir coed $25 to get the desired easement.
he Troubles of the Auditor.
Sc With reference to the appropriate
ic last week of $17.5e to William Shovel
MS assignee Of P. Walk, an employee {
ne the health department in the latter pal
e, Of August 1892. Auditor Reiser sui
or mitted a communication stating thu
or a copy of the pay roll of Sept. l. 1S9
in the health department office, show
only $1,000 due to Walk, and that til
original roll doubtless shows a receiI
for the full amount.
Ii Despite the auditors warning thu
there might be a mares nest ahead, ii
council ordered the warrant drawn fl
ng the larger amount.
Use The auditor submitted the official
Oh pay rolls for August, aggregating 81
Se- 3S0.S3, the amount Of which was appr'
ev priated.
III The auditor also called attention
to the appropriation of SIS to the Won
ms ans Rescue home for the month
49, August This sum was also apprOpT
yp3' ated in a motion by Buckle s2rcast
p cally thanking the auditor for h