The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-06
WHERE MORR|S|TES
MADE BIG B[UNDER
Put Up Bluff in Constructing
$250,000 Sewer With
$130,0OO.
TRUTH TOLD CONCERNING
THE INTERCEPTlNG PROJECT
Plans We're Found to Be
Faulty, and Are Being
Revised.


the construction Of the interceptiDg
sewer which Is to be built on Eighth
West street, from Ninth North to Nlnth
South streets, and thence east TO MAIN
street to connect with the main gravity
sewer,
In answer to the charge that no part
of the amount OF money raised under
the bond has been used for the sower
construction II Is only necessary to re-
fer TO the gravity sewer which has been
completed from Fifth South and state
street to Ninth South and thence 10
Fourth East street at cost OF sSe.ooo.
This has been paid from the bond fund.
This bond fund, which IN ignoramus
states amounts to nearly S200,000 never
amounted to but s1e50OO, The bond
Issue was for s15o,oO0. and the accrued
interest diverted to 1t amounts TO
$1,000, 30 that in all there was
in the fund for the construction OF
the gravity and the intercepting sewer
the sum Of s165,000. As previously
stated, 900 WAS used for the construc-
tion Of the gravity sewer. so that there
now remains In this fund just $4,000.
Depended on Magic.
From this fund OF $4,000 the Morris
administration expected. through some
form of magic, to construct sewer
that, at the very least calculation, Will
cost $250.000.
Tho story Is long one and to give
the taxpayers proper understanding
OF the whole bunglesome affair 1t Is nec-
essary to go back to the tim0 when
the sewer bond issue was first talked OF.
No one seems Ito know Just where the
talk of building the sewer for $500
first started, but the story is that one
Of the Councilmen asked a draughtsman
in the City Engineers department about
-
the reply, given In an off-haud manner,
was that It ought to be built for $l5o,000.
However, the impression given out by
the Morris crowd was that the sewer
could be constructed for that amount.
no mention was made of any sum In ex-
cess Of $4,000, and the bond issue was
made on that basis. II Is a fact, too,
that cannot be disputed that the bond
issue was made before any plans for
the sewer were even outlined by the
City Engineer.
The Council had no plans or official
estimate TO 60 by. and still went ahead
and issued $15o,000 Of bonds. The cart
was before the horse, as was found as
soon as the City Engineer had his plans
prepared, for then the Engineer decided
that 1t would cost $4,000 to construct
amount to s224.oo0, which amount he
estimated would also construct the grav-
ity sewer.
Looks Like Joke.
Notwithstanding the fact that only
S16b.000 was available In the sewer fund.
the Morris administration went ahead
and on October 8, Of last year. let two
contracts to James Kennedy S29, 900 for
the gravity sewer and s148,000 for the
intercepting sewer, amounting In all to
SLIT 900. How 1t was expected to meet
the obligations involved In these con-
tracts when but s165,o0O was available
Is not known.
No explanation was ever made to the
public. The matter was kept as quiet
as possible, and the fact that the Engi-
neer had found that the work would cost
s224,000 was not breathed. So anxious
were the Morrlsltes for re election that
the matter was dropped and the work
was not ordered commenced during the
last administration.
When the American party came into
power the gravity sewer was started and
has been completed, and the intercept
Ing sewer was commenced In February.
Plans Found Defective.
Work had not progressed very far.
however. before it was found that 1t
would be impossible to continue under
the plans prepared by the last adminis-
tration. The plans called for a sewer
some twenty-six feet below the surface
OF the ground and owing to the nature
oil the ground traversed, the work of
constructing the sewer is extremely Diff
fcult and under the most favorable cir
cumstances. according to figures pre-
pared by City Engineer Kelsey, the work
could not be completed for less than
$500. 900, and even then the engineers are
uncertain as to whether the sewer could
be constructed so as to last for oven a
short time, lying, as 1t would, In q bed
of very soft mud.
When the Board Of Public Works. the
Committee on Engineering of the City
Council, Mayor Thompson and City En-
gineer Kelsey. inspected the work that
had been done thus far, II was decided
to stop the work at once and have the
City Engineer draw new plans and to
go no further with the work until II
can be done intellgently.
The plans are now being prepared by
the City Engineer, and will probably be
ready In a couple of weeks. It Is pro-
posed to lessen the depth of the sewer
about five or six feet. This Will not only
greatly reduce the cost Of construction
but 1t will insure a sewer that Will not
be likely to break TO pieces because
of an inflrm bed and also reduce tho cost
OF maintaining the pumping station which
VIII be necessary 10 pump the sewerage
from The intercepting sewer into the
gravity system.
Admitted by Fernstrom.
That the sewer could not be con-
structed under the plans prepared uu-
der the previous administration was we'll
realized by the Morrisites. and Mr.. Fern
strom, who was ono OF the advocates of
building the sewer and raising s150 900 In
the last administration. is the one. who.
months
before the City Council 20 have the pres
ent City Engineer prepare new plans for
the sewer.
Members OF the previous administration
have admitted that they realized that the
sewer would cost O quarter of a million
OF dollars. and whether they admit II
or not. there is no question but what
they must have realized the fact when
they let contracts aggregating S177, 900
for construction work alone and the
engineering expense, the expense Of con-
structing line from the pump house
to the gravity sewer, whioh 10 over one.