The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-16
Mayor Davis Receives a PROPOSE
ti0n Today.
Kansas Avenue Property Owners
Will Sign Petition.
ONE CONDITION MADE.
City Must Establish an Asphalt
Plant.
Believed That the Cost Will Not
Be Large.

The proposition was made to Mayor
Davis this morning that if the city of
Topeka will establish a municipal
asphalt paving plant that a petition
will be signed at once by a majority of
the property owners on Kansas ave-
nue., between Fifth street and Sixth
avenue, calling for the repaving of the
avenue.
A further tentative promise was
made that similar petition would be
circulated and signed by the property
owners on Kansas avenue between
Sixth avenue and Seventh street, under
the same conditions.
This proposition came from several
property owners as a ''feeler,'' the I'M
derstanding being that if the council
looks with favor upon the municipal
asphalt plant idea that the property
owners will then openly declare them
selves and will sign the paving petit
lions.
1t was stated to Mayor Davis that
many of the larger property owners on
Kansas avenue do not object so much
to bearing the expense of repaving as
they do of paying the price, if the
work is done by contract. which they
look upon as an exorbitant price. They
claim that there will be 80 per cent diff
ference between the cost of paving
Kansas avenue by contract and if the
paving is done by the city and that
an asphalt plant will not cost to exceed
| s., 900 and they think the cost of the
plant would be not more than 900 to
| "a 900.
| The agent of one asphalt company
says the cost of resurfacing Kansas
avenue, under a contract with his COM
| will he from 81 40 to I'm D6r
square yard. The advocates of the
city asphalt plant claim that the ave-
nue. can be resurfaced for so cents or
| less per square yard.
| 81 think we only need a two inch
asphalt surface on Kansas avenue,
lsaid Mayor Davis. Minneapolis, Mimi,
owns it's own asphalt plant and paving
is done there for 81 cents. AS Mime
material used than Topeka would pay
| the cost to Topeka would be less than
| 81 cents, I believe. 1 do not think that
there is any need of laying a three inch
surface; a two inch surface would be
| thick enough. Some years ago, about
the time the first asphalt paving was
being laid in Topeka, had a talk with
a contractor from Washington. He
said he understood that Topeka put in
| a maintenance clause in the paving
contract and he said this was unneces-
sary. He said we did not need to pay
for the maintenance of the asphalt for
| the first seven or eight years, at least,
for the life of the pavement should be
ten years. The maintenance was a
needless expense. A two inch surface
will wear until the asphalt rots.
City Attorney Dreaming is going tc
stop, while he is away, in Minneapolis
and he will investigate the situation
there, the cost of the municipal plant
and the cost of paving and will have a
complete report to make when he re
| turns.
THE city has a two year repair con-
tract with the Barber company. 1 dc
not know what effect that would have
on the situation relative to a city plant
and having the paving done by the
city"
1t has been figured that the cost OF
resurfacing Kansas avenue with as
phalt, under a contract with some COM
pany, would be from $1.40 to $1.65 per
square yard and that the cost for re-
surfacing with brick would be $1.25. II
the city ownership of an asphalt mill
would mean that the paving could be
done for less than 80 cents, without the
cost of the plant materially increasing
this figure then Sixth street might be
repaved with asphalt, as it would be the
cheapest material.
Denver has city asphalt plant, which
is reported to have brought much
cheaper paving to Denver. Mayor Dav-
is thinks he will make a trip to Den
yer to investigate the situation.