The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-11-29
County Council Questions
Legality of Appropriations
Finally Passed on Thanks
giving Session.
SEPARATE CONTRACTS
FOR TWO BRIDGES
Work on South Side Span
Would Begin About Six
Months Later Than Main
Street Bridge.
BULLETIN


Council, in Ito special session this
afternoon, stood soIidIy for the $780,
90 special appropriation for Main
street bridge but was forced to post
pone action until the week of Decem-
ber II, because a re-advertisement will
be necessary. There was question
on the South G street bridge, but It is
expected to carry.
Again the jinx has the Richmond
bridge proposition in his claws. This
time all councilmen seem to favor let
ting the $1S5,0G0 appropriation for the
South G street bridge and the $780,
when they met this morning, they
found that there were certain legal
limitations which they will have to
dispose of first.
In the first place, tomorrow is a
legal holiday When council passes
an appropriation which calls for more
than $4,000, it must meet two days
in succession. The question arose
whether the appropriation would be
strictly legal if it were voted upon
the final time tomorrow.
The estimates have been on file in
the county auditors office since the
county council was in session in Sep
tember. 1t was not generally known
until today, however, that they would
not be altered.
Because County Attorney Hoelscher
was detained in circuit court this
morning these legal questions were
l o'clock this afternoon.
William Bockhoff, who voted against
the appropriations in September, this
morning asked Engineer Mueller if it
would not be best to give plenty of
time for the completion of the South
G street bridge SO that one contractor
could bid on both bridges and thus
cut down the size of the bids.
Engineer Mueller replied that 1t is
the plan of the commissioners to ask
for bids. which will call for contract
for both bridges and for separate
bids on each of the bridges.
If one man is given both bridges,
he will be asked to start the Main
street bridge first and to complete it
in 1917 but he will not be required to
finish the South G street bridge until
1918.
"This way much time can be saved"
Engineer Mueller explained.
Again, there was much question
about whether the Main and South G
street bridge appropriations have been
properly advertised. Before today, it
was not definitely known whether ap-
propriations for one bridge or two
would be asked and no estimates for
either were published.
Members of the South Side Improve
ment association said that to them it
did not matter so much when their
bridge is erected just so the appropria-
ton is granted now. They said that
they felt, however, that it would have
been advantageous to the county to
have had the South G street bridge
erected first.
The engineer estimated that about
nine months would be required to
build the Main street bridge. If one
contractor is granted both jobs, work
on the South G street bridge will prob
ably be started about six months after
the Main street bridge is underway.
Mr.. Mueller said that many large
firms are planning to bid on the work
and that these jobs are having much
influence over the contracting fratern-
ity. Large contractors are hesitating
to take other jobs because it would
make too much work for them if they
get the local jobs. There will be
probably ten. firms who will bid on
both bridges and about six who will
bid on only one