Omaha daily bee., 1911-09-10
Council Bluffs
WATER BOARD LET'S CONTRACT
Bidders for $4,000 of Machinery and
Work Get Jobs.
INJUNCTION WOULD MAKE DELAY
Fremont BENJAMIN brings Action
signed by Frank A. MessmOre 10
Force Expenditure of Money on
Water Main Extensions.

water Main Extensions.
Not FASTENED in any degree by the knowl-
edge that an application was being made
for an injunction restraining them from
carving out the carefully prepared plans
for the enlargement of the water plant,
the Board Of Water Commissioners yes
terday afternoon went ahead and COM
pleted the contracts for the construction
Of a new 5000 900 gallon reservoir at Thirty
seventh street, the equipment of that sta
ton with electrical power and the purchase
of a new 5000, 600 gallon high-efficiency
pump for the main pumping station, Broad
way and Thirty-seventh. All of the con-
tracts we're signed before notice OF the
suit was served on the commissioners. The
total amount of the contracts let approx
mate $4,000.
The members of the board and Snperin-
tendent Etnyre assisted by c. s. Burns
of Kansas City, the hydraulic engineer en-
gagged by the city to assist the board for
the next three years, spent the day in go
ing over the bids filed on Thursday after
noon by dozen or more bidders from
many eastern cities
The construction Of the reservoir was the
largest item and the bids for the work
were first considered. All were local bid
ders The bid of e. A. Wickham & Co.
was $72 800; the Lana Construction COM
pany, $43,7g712; c. c. Norgaard, $4l,5OO. The
wide difference in the bids was the cause
of much surprise to the members of the
board and the engineers, who considered
the lowest bid considerably In excess of
the amount the Improvement should cost.
A careful examination of the figures and
consideration Of the character of the work
led to the award of the contract to Nor
gard.
Bids for New Pump.
There was a wide range also in the bids
for furnishing the new pump. The high
bid was filed by the Cockburn Pump COM
pany of New York, $31. 1885, and the low bid,
so, $40, by the Snow Pump company Of
Buffalo. The Plat Iron company Of Day.
ton o.. filed a bid OF $3l, 5O0athe William
Todd company of Youngstown. o., S25, 700,
and the Allis-Chalmers company of De-
troit, S26,O36. The highest bid approximated
very closely to the estimate Of cost placed
by the board and the low bid made a saw
ing of about $1,000
There was very little difference in the
offers to furnish the two 1OO-horse power
motors for use in the Thirty seventh street
! station. The highest bid was filed by the
Israel Lovett company Of Council Bluffs
and Omaha, s.. 16S.64. The Allis-Chalmers
company furnished the low bid Of 81, 5O4 and
! got the contract
The 5000 barrels of cement is to be furn-
shed by the Hoagland Lumber company of
this city, Monarch cement at 9S cents per
barrel. This cement is to be turned over
to Contractor Norgaard and the price is
/ -.
! struction of the reservoir.
The new pump is to be of the cross COM
pound opposed type. The high pressure
cylinder is twentyfour inches in diameter
and the low. pressure fifty-four. 1t will
cover floor area Of 1926 feet and will be
twelve and a half feet high Its total weight
| will be 2S5,0OO pounds. 1t will have a fly
wheel fourteen feet in diameter. weighing
$4,000 pounds. The stroke of the pump will
be thirty-six inches. This pump doing
more than twice the amount OF work Of the
present old style machinery and having a
duty efficiency of elevating IA. 900, 900 pounds
of water one foot every minute will require
only half the bailer capacity now required.
All contracts require completion by April
l, six months. Work on the reservoir will
be begun at once and viii be pushed until
cold weather stops it.
| Apply for Injunction.
The threats to appeal to the courts to
prevent the Water board carrying out its
program for the Improvement of the Coun-
Gil Bluffs water plant materialized yester-
day afternoon when an application was
made to Judge Woodruff in the district
court for a temporary writ of injunction.
The application was signed by Frank A.
| xasI,n Dc q I0o
foreman in the employ of the Northwestern
Railroad company in this city. Judge
Woodruff refused to grant the temporary
writ, but made an order fixing date for
hearing it. providing for five days notice
upon the members of the Board of Water
Commissioners. The date of the hearing is
set for September 16 at o'clock a. m. The
board is only sought to be restrained from
constructing the reservoir at the Thirty.
seventh street station.
! The application is based upon the allega-
ton that the board is proceeding unlaw-
fully and is exceeding it's authority, that
all the authority 1t has is to operate the
plant and that the power to make exten.
sions of the system and improvements of
the plant is vested wholly in the city coun-
Gil The plaintiff alleges that he is a tax
payer and that he win be greatly damaged
IL the contemplated improvements at
Thirty street, reducing the cost of
operating that section OF the plant from
5000 to less than $1,000. are not prevented.
Hunting for Complainant.
1t is said that the few people who are
opposing the Improvement OF the plant and
seeking to embarrass the Water board had
considerable difficulty in finding a man to
sign the application. The petition was
drawn in blank by Attorney Fremont Ben
jamin early in the day and 1t was late in
the afternoon before a signer could be
found.
Mr.. Messmore appeals to the court in the
interest of people who are now without
water. his attorney says. and asks to have
the money 10 be expended for the proposed
reservoir used for the construction OF new