The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-04-19
Amendment Passed BY Last
Legislature Gives City the
Power to Sprinkle Streets
on Assessment Plan.
DECLARES DUST IS
MENACE TO HEALTH
Board of Works May Pass
Resolutions - Engineer
Charles Says Sprinkling
Damages Streets.

Through an amendment made dur
ing the last session of the state legis-
lature, it is possible, according to
City Attorney Bond, for the board of
works to order all streets in the city,
sprinkled at such intervals during the
summer as may be necessary to allay
the dust, the cost of the sprinkling
to be assessed to the property owners
and the assessments for the work due
November 1. State laws passed in
1905 made possible this plan only for
paved streets but recent amendments
makes the law apply to all streets.
According to the law of 1905 re-
garding the sprinkling, oiling and
cleaning or sweeping of streets per-
manently improved, the board of
works has power to order this done
at the cost of property owners. The
ordering of sprinkling or oiling of
streets by this law is done in the
same manner in which a street i'm
prove is done. The necessary speci-
f1cations for the work must be pre-
pared and filed and the resolution or
dering the work done must be pub
lished. Remonstrances can be filed
against the work and the original
resolution may be modified, confirmed
or rescinded. The bids for the work
are received in the usual manner and
the contract let to the most favorable
bidder.
Another method Of paying for the
work is provided in the law. The
common council may appropriate by
ordinance, any, amount necessary for
the work for one year. The money
would constitute special fund which
would be drawn from the taxes.
Menace to Health.
By taking advantage of the present
law as it has been amended, the board
of works may pass a resolution, order
ing any streets or all streets taken by
sections or by system, sprinkled for
certain months during which the dust
is so heavy that it is a menace to
public health.
Whether or not a majority of the
property owners may cause a resolu.
ton to be rescinded through a remon-
OIL C@hSO 40 nv, GO y y0e, hho"h A, cas ~ -,
believed by City Attorney Bond that
this could not be done as the question
of the allaying of dust is regarded as
a matter of public health and there
fore could be ordered by the board OF
works. AS an entire copy of the law
as it has been amended, has not been
obtained up to the present, it is i'm.
possible to decide this matter now.
Methods of sprinkllns.
Mr.. Bond believes that the city
streets may be divided in sections for
the purpose of letting the contracts
as it would not be possible to let the
contract for sprinkling all of the
streets of the city by one bid No def
mite plan for the method of letting
other plan suggested is the letting OF
the contract for one street at a time
The question of providing for means
of allaying the dust has been interest
ing city officials for several weeks as
the warm weather has made it neces
sary to sprinkle the paved streets.
1t is the opinion of health authori
ties and city officials that the flying
dust is a menace to health. Oiling the
streets in the past has proved unsat
isfactorT and another method has beer
sought, but until the law was amend
ed by the legislature, nothing else
could be done.
According to Fred Charles, city en-
gineer, the streets are damaged BY
| being sprinkled with water. He says
that the water washes ruts in the
streets and where puddles are formed
the streets remain muddy and are ther
torn up by automobiles and other We
hicles.
In his opinion if some good oil ol
other preparation could be found il
should be applied to the streets rather
than sprinkling with water
Not Properly Oiled.
"A large part of the criticism of oil
ed streets in Richmond has been due
to the fact that the streets have moi
been properly cleaned before the oi
was applied or it is because the streets
were not constructed right in the frs
place" There is no complete solution
| for the dust question that we know
of at the present time but / believe
that some oil preparation properly ap
piled will come nearer solving the
question than any other process" Mr.
Charles said.
On the new macadam road which
was constructed west of the city par
of it was billed with Tarvia and work
al into the construction hut this was
not a complete success.
Mr.. Charles is making an investiga
ton of experiments that have beer
made in other cities in road construc
ton and how other cities have han
died the dust question He viii make
q report to the board of public works
at its next meeting.