The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-12-08

hydrants and q lot of other things
was taken Into consideration and
still they had what most Of them con-
sidered safe margin, SO they closed
the deal and went ahead. Now they
are short!
How 1t Happens
AS an example or now careful and
how unsuccessful the council has
been in living up to its own ambi-
ti0ns, we mentioned some time ago,
how they estimated for remOdeling
the city hall to get more rooms for
use, and after every item had been
checked up and agreed upon, they
made the order for construction
work and at the close, when 1t was
time to pay the last of the bills It
had oyerrun something like 2 per
cent of the estimate and Chairman F.
W. Bergman Of the finance commit
tee made them account for every
fifteen-cent piece of their mistakes
and oversights, and then showed
them that there was no money for
that other 2 per cent unless they
violated their own agreement not to
transfer funds from one account to
another to patch up mistakes. He
finally showed them that there was
$500 in the appropriation for hose
that had not been needed and al
lowed the shortage In construction
on the city hall to be paid out OF that |
and the whole council humbly con-
fessed their. fallibility as construc-
ton men and ,f1nanciers. They took |
their whipping, SO to speak, and con-
fessed that it was a good lesson for |
them. ae
Oversights in Building
When the plans were adopted,
there was some doubt about Just how
far the city should go In making the |
connections of the new system with
the old, and 1t meant quite a diff
ference in cost. In the course Of the
construction work they saw the mat
ter more clearly and decided to
change their plan. and save some
money on one count and spend more
on another. They had estimated and
contracted for. 800 connections, and
they decided to raise the number and
IN the total they made 525 connec-
lions at cost of $12 or. $14 APIECE,
but they were getting what they
wanted and the way they wanted it.
The net result of these changes was
that it absorbed some of their
The New Wells j
The contract for wells called for
them to be drilled 10 feet deep, and
the amount of water actually tapped Il
at that depth was sufficient to sup
ply the old style of pumps, but they
became uneasy for fear it would not
supply the new centrifugal pumps
it might suck the wells dry-so they
drilled on down fifty-seven feet
deeper at cost of $14 foot, till
they tapped another flow of water
and got also this additional storage
depth for water. The hour the new
pumps were set to pumping, they
were glad they had this extra depth
to draw upon, for they were pouring
water like millraces, but this extra
depth OF. wells absorbed some more
of their margin Of bond money.
The Extra Valves
In the course of the summer they
discovered where they could, by plac-
ing some extra valves in the mains,
give the town some valuable and ad-
ditional control Of the pressure in
case OF leaks or breaks, by installing
some additional valves, so they or
dered them in at extra cost, and that
had to come out of the margin we
have been telling you about. Some
If these valves had to be rushed
rom the factory by express to get
hem delivered in time to go in with