Evening star., 1934-10-08
.|CKES S|GNSPACT
TO BEGIN SEWAGE
WORK THIS FALL
City Heads Approval of
Contract Will Make Funds
Available Soon.
COMPLETION OF PLANT
BY JULY 1886 FORESEEN
P. W. A. Head Will Deliver
$s,0O0,0O0 on November l if
Commission Will Speed Job.


Public Works Administrator Harold
L. IckeS has signed and forwarded TO
the District Commissioners a new con-
tract for the proposed $8,OOOOOO
sewage disposal project, designed, it
was announced today, to speed up
work on the project by at least two
years. 1t provides a new schedule,
which calls for completion Of the plant
on or before July /. 1886, and its
operation by September OF that year.
Contingent upon the Commissioners
approving this new agreement, 1ckes
will advance any part OF the S8,OO0O 900
from P. w. A. funds or the entire
amount in lump sum. as the Com
missioners may desire. Payment would
be made on or before November l.
Stressing the need for putting men
to work quickly on the site, IckeS said:
Immediately, upon my receiving the
incloSed agreement duly executed by
the Commissioners, l shall advance
funds in such amount as may be ad-
visable'
Secretary Ickes established a prec-
edent in signing the contract before
forwarding it Saturday night TO the
Commissioners. He did this. it was
explained in order to save time and
pave the way for work being started on
the project at the earliest opportunity.
In all the billions Of allotments he has
approved the public works admins
traitor heretofore has never been the
first to sign a contract with bor-
rover.
Repayment Clause.
Except the "Speed-up" clause in the
new contract and a second clause re-
garding repayments by the District
government, the new agreement is
about the same as that returned to
Ickes by the Commissioners on Oc-
tober l. P w A officials claimed the
new contract in one important respect
is more advantageous to the District
than the former agreement.
Under the new terms the Commits
sioners are required to pay back 70 per
cent of the amount expended" on
the Blue Plains project instead of the
whole amount Of the S0,0000OO. Any
balance of funds unexpended at the
completion of the plant shall be re-
turned to the Public Works Admin
istration.
The remaining 80 per cent of the
loan obtained is in the nature of a
Federal grant for which no repayment
is demanded.
Drawings by December 1.
With the advance of funds to get
the working plans in shape, request
stressed by the Commissioners, the
drawings for the first work on the
project are required by Ickes to be
ready December l. This is for the
pumping station and the grit cham
ber. Bids would be received January
Is, 1885, and construction completed
October l.
A complete working schedule was
drawn up by the Engineering Division
ofs P. w A and submitted to the
Commissioners in a separate letter
from IckeS accompanying the new
contract. This was done. Ickes said,
lin order that the program I have
proposed may be clear and explicit"
Ickes' work schedule provides for
the activated sludge equipment pre-
viously recommended by the Commits
sioners. Since this equipment cannot
be installed until the sludge tanks are
completed, the schedule requires that
its plans be ready by November l,
1895; bids received by January l, 1896,
and completed by July l, 1886.
Final o. X. Reserved.
AS in the case of all P. w. A.
projects, the administrator reserves
the right to pass finally on all con-
tracts in connection with the sewage
plant.
The financing clause, in which 1t
was said the District gets break"
provides that interest shall not start
until three years after the date of the
first advance and thereafter at 4 per
cent on the annual balance on June l
of each year. The speed and economy
with which the work is pressed, under
this agreement, will work TO the ad-
vantage of the District.
Under the former agreement the
District was to repay 70 per cent OF
the full So ,000 900. The new agreement
would require such repayment only on
the actual amount expended, which
may be considerably less than $8,O00,-
900.
Would Advance Sum.
Secretary Ickes has not asked for
nor seen the ruling by Controller
General McCarl requiring the $8,0OO,-
900 to be put in a lump sum to the
credit of the District. If the Com
missioners desire the full amount by
November l, he will advance the sum
in accordance with the terms Of the
contract now awaiting their signature.
Referring to the Commissioners
earlier request for an advance of
funds to get the plans in working
shape, Ickes said: "To advance funds
without a meeting of minds on vital
points would not have been consistent
Continued on Page 2, Column g.
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