The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-11
LIGHTING CONTRACT GOES
TO BOARD OF WORKS TO-DAY
Specifications for City's Illumina-
ton to Be Reported from
City Engineer and Attorney.
MODERN AND COMPLETE
City VIII Abandon the Moonlight
Schedule and Will Have Light
All Night Long.


Specifications for ten-year lighting con-
tract, on which City Engineer 3. J. T. Jeup
and City Attorney Henry Warrum have
been at work for weeks, will be presented to
the Board OF Public Works at this morn
ing's meeting. This contract will be for all
public lighting for the city of indianapolis
for the period extending from April l. 1905,
to April /, 1915. 1t will be one of the most
important contracts ever let by the city.
The old contract for the city lighting,
which was held by the indianapolis Light
and Power Company, expired July l. 1903,
since which time the Indianapolis Light and
Power Company has been furnishing the
citys public lighting under a verbal agree
ment with the Board of Public Works
pending the awarding of a new contract
The Legislature of 1903 enacted a law per-
hitting the city to make a public lighting
contract for a period of ten years, without
specifying an appropriation for the purpose.
Such law was made necessary by the
fact that the courts have held that, under
it's charter, the city cannot make a contract
for a longer period than year, or the
time that any stated appropriation can run.
The new lighting contract, specifications for
which will be presented to the Works Board
this morning. will therefore be made under
this new law of the State Legislature.
The new contract will provide for mini
mum number of 900 lights, an increase over
those now in use of approximately 400 lights.
This number may be increased. if the city
chooses, to 2,1O0 The specifications require
that the plant of the successful bidder for
the contract shall be constructed by April /,
1905. allowing over year for the completion
of the. power house or houses and the
| structive work through the streets
| The general plan OF lighting will be much
| the same as that of other cities a
modern basis, requiring types of lights:
| First there is required the boulevard"
! type of light. in which the light Is fixed to
| the top OF a pole (height not definitely
stated), on the corners OF streets, and this
| type is to be used, roughly speaking, in the
| one-mie limit
MANY ARM LIGHTS.
Outside of this district. the lights will be
| attached to the end Of an arm on the top
| of a pole, except where the streets are
wide the arm is not long enough to give
efficient service. when the light can be
strung a wire stretched across the
street, or can be put below the level of the
foliage. There are to be two types of lamp,
the open arc and the closed arc, the prac-
teal difference being that the closed arc
will have the light reflected downward,
| while the open will make the light
more diffusive. The needs of a particular
locality are to determine the type of lamp
| to be used in IL.
Incandescent lights, supplementary to the
arcs, to be placed where there long
! stretches of streets between the corner
lights, Will also be called for I'm the con-
| tract The incandeScentS will be of fifty
| candle power and are not to exceed in num-
Der 70 per cent. of the total number of
other lights. This provision is made neces-
sary for technical reasons having to do
! with the efficiency of the service affected
by the distribution of the current.
One feature of the new contract that will
he hailed as a welcome Improvement over
the old and that will do much to redeem
nighttime Indianapolis from the provin-
/ abandonment of the moonlight schedule"
| For this will be substituted dusk to
| dawn" schedule, that will light the city
every night in the year from one-half hour
| after sunset to One-half hour before sun
| rise, or longer If necessary. No light, how
ever, can exceed a limit of 400 hours serv-
! ice a year.
In a general way the new contract pro-
! vides for the equipment of 2 plant and the
| construction of a system in every way up to
/ date. thoroughly modern in every respect.
/ To insure that such equipment shall be con-
! tinuOusly complete and modern, the contract
provides for the future control of such mat
ters by the Board of Public Works. through
| which the city can, from time TO time call
} for such improvements in the system as In
the judgment of the board are deemed neces-
| Sary and reasonable
Five per cent. of the gross receipts of the
company securing the new contract will be
paid into the city treasury. What this
means can be seen when it is known that
the Indianapolis Light and Power Company,
| under a like provision of it's old contract
now pays annually into the city treasury
| nearly $1,000. All other of the several com
panieS that hold contracts with the city for
commercial and domestic lighting also pay
per cent. of their gross receipts to the
! city. If the company that is granted the
new contract is one now holding a contract
from the city, it will also pay 5 per cent
| of its gross receipts on private business
| This ii will be allowed to carry on by a
provision of the new contract granting ii a
franchise for such business.
RIGHT OF EXTENSION.
Extensions of the electric lighting service
into outlying parts of the city can be re-
quired by the Board of Public Works, on Pc
! titions of residents, in the same way that
extensions of the gas and street car services
can be demanded at present. The city will
also have the right through the Park
Board, to require extension Of the service
into the parks.
Any minimum charge for commercial or
domestic services will not be allowed in
| the new contract, although the cIty's pres
| ent contract with the Indianapolis Light and
Power Company allows a minimum charge
prospective bidders the new contract
wanted a minimum charge of 80 cents, but
this was not allowed The maximum charge
| will be 10 cents per 1000 watts.
AT the expiration of the ten-year con-
| tract, the city will reserve three options.
| The first will give the city the right to
| purchase the tangible property of the COM
| pany at a fair cash value; the second will
| give the city the right 10 sell that tangible
! property TO the company which shall sue
| Cessfully bid for it, the sale 10 be made at
| the fair cash value; the third will give the
city the right to lease the tangible property
Rod In any event the fair cash value of
the plant is TO be determined by a board of
| three mcmbers-one appointed by the may
or, one by the company, and the third to
be chosen by these two, to be nonresident
and DISTINGUISHED party. The finding of this
| board is to be binding on all parties. In
case the city does not exercise its right
under any one of these three options, II
shall have the right TO make con-
tract.
These options are similar to the munich
! pal ownership" provisions of the franchise
now held by the New Telephone Company,
drawn up by City Attorney John W. Kern
under the second Taggart administration.
| and recognized of the most COM
plete and binding in the country.
The new contract specifications will be
! reported to the Board of Public Works to-
day, but will not be adopted to-day. They
Will be published TO give the public every
opportunity TO know just what the city is
| proposing TO do for lighting for the next
ten years. The board will have the benefit
of the public comment thus drawn out, and
may revise the specifications materially SO