The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-05
ESTlMATESo Of
IMPROVEMENTS
SAME is BIDS
Only One Contractor Submits Bid
to City-Prices Identical With
ExceptiSa Of One lten.

The Moline board Of local i'm
provements awarded no paving
contracts today. There is yet one
chance. II the property owners
who are expected to pay for the i'm
provement are willing to accept the
prices submitted today, and those
offered for other projects, it is pos
sible' that there will be pavement
work in Moline this summer.
Bids which the board received
today are only one-haaf per cent be-
low the city's estimates. Property
owners were promised by the board
of local improvements that no con.
tracts would be let which were moi
at least 20 per cent below the est.
mates.
The only contracting firm which
submitted figures to the city was
the Mccarthy Improvement com.
pany of Davenport. The figures Of
this company were with one ex.
ception. exactly the same as City
Engineer A. D. Payton estimated. A
meeting for property owners will
be held in the city hall at 10 Thurs.
day morning. The board today post
poned consideration of the bids I'm.
til that time.
Although no agreement witt
property owners interested in 9th.
er paving projects Twas made, the
board seems to feel that the city is
morally bound not to accept the
present prices. At all the hearing:
on pavements, property owner.
were led to believe that the boart
was of the opinion that the bid.
would be below estimates submit
ted by the city engineer. When tn,
property owners were permitted Il
form such impression, by the mem
bers of the board, the bond marke
was not what it is today, or at leas
did not appear to be.
1t is the belief of the board mem
bers that the low price OF improve
ments bonds. which is down to s.
Is responsible IT, the high bids
Projects on which bids were re
ceived today are as follows:
Eleventh avenue B between
Twenty-fifth and Twenty-seventl
streets and Twenty-sixth street 4
from Eleventh avenue to "a poin
about one block south.
Twenty-second street from Elev
enth avenue A to Twelfth avenue
Twenty-sixth street from Elev
enth avenue to Twelfth avenue.
The bids of the Mccarthy I'm
provement company for excavatini
is 81 a cubic yard, which is tn
same as the estimate of City Engi
neer A. D. Payton. The McCarth
price for concrete foundation i
$1.61 a square yard. The city
price is $1.61. The contractor
bid for an asphaltic surfacing /
$175 a square yard and Mr.. Pay
toms estimate Is SLIT. This is tn
only variation between the engi
neer's estimate and the contrac
tors bids.
The estimates were prepared sew
eral months before bids were op
ened, a custom which is general
followed by all public improve
ments. Legal red tape causes thi.
The board hoped that the price G
material and labor would be con
siderably lower than the estimate
at the time when the work was t
be done. This expectation resulte
in giving property owners the in
preston. that the pavement woul
not actually cost as much as the es
Inmates indicated.
Mayor Skinner had little to sa
about. the fate of MoIine's 1921 paw
ing program. He appeared to b
rather pessimistic over the situa
ton. The same pessimism govern
ed other members of the board c
local improvements,