New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1902-01-29

EW III
/ II. lE' I. FOR '299 800 .251
NEW ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT NOT WHAT
THE ORIGINAL PLANS CALLED FOR.
FORT WAYNE COMPANY GETS THEJoB.
ONLY LIGHT FOR STREETS PROVIDED
FOR. POLES REDUCED TO IS FEET.
On Thursday, Jan. 10Th, the city
council opened bids for the Lew munic-
ipal electric light. plant, and bids for
the plant according to the original
plans and specifications furnished the
council by the engineer amounted to:
between $4,000 and $4,000. For
some time after the bids were opened,
the council was IN executive session,
and finally rejected all bids, and then
proceeded to amend the plans and speci-
ications so as to. provide q plant to
cost less money. The power pump was
thrown out, the building portion was
omitted, and the cost scaled in every
possible respect. The council then in
vited the contractors to submit bids for
the plant according to the amended
plans. The bids ran. from $50, $50 to
$39,sO0. :
These bids still being above the
limit of the bond and not desiring to
excede that limit the council rejected
them, and after consulting with the
engineer decided to omit that part of
the plant necessary to produce the com
mercial power and lighting, thereby
doing away with the necessity Of re-
modelling the present building, Saving
thereby an expenditure of from $4,000
to $4,000, rejecting also the plan of
using electrical apparatus for pumping
water in the tower, in fact cutting the
cost about one-h half. This. new specif-
6cation was given to the bidders AID
the Fort Wayne Electrical works get
the contract for few dollars less than
the bonded amount. -. "A
It can readily be seen that even this
incomplete plant will cost from $4,000
to $4,000 more than the contract price.
1t is true that it will be modern and
according to schedule and when finally
completed for which extra bonds must
be issued will be matter of pride, but
It's cost all told IN the end will not fall
far short of 100000.
No doubt if the council concludes to
build this electric light plant, 1t will be
credit to the city and source of pride
to the taxpayers. We doubt very
much however in future years when the
tax payers are called upon to, pay for
this beautiful thing that they will re-
gard it with the same degree of pride
and admiration that they do now. The
city already has bonded Indebtedness
of $4,000, made up as follows:
City improvement bonds, $4,000
General fund bonds, $4,000
The new bonds when issued will
l make total bonded Indebtedness of
$4,000, and in addition to this, there
7 is still deficiency of 100000 to make
up in the cost of the new plant over and
: above the bond issue. This represents
total indebtedness of $4,000; sub
9 stantlallY 10 per cent of the assessed
valuation Such an enormous indebted
ness ought to lead the tax payers and
councillors to consider seriously where
> the money IS to come from to meet
! these bonds. It must also be consider.
ed that not one tax payer in ten de.
Z. rives any benefit whatever from the
construction of this plant. Certainly
not one in ten will ever use city light
D Whether it is worth while to tax sc
e many for the benefit of so few is {
question. .z ..,
> At the present time the city is paying
the old company about $4,000 per yea
for street lights. That sum is hardl,
. equal to the interest on the amour
j which it is proposed to spend on til,
e new plant. We fail to see the wisdom
: OF a scheme BY which the tax payer
will still have to pay this $4,000 a year
q and in addition keep the plant j,
: repair and pay its running ex penses
and eventually pay the whole cost q
!. the plant.
4 To be sure, the present company ma,
o. he Cpsarvinr "a non rn 81 IN SnortaI i,