Evening star., 1953-07-09

Sanitary Chiefs
Call Builders
Attack Smear
Commission Officials
Deny Waste Of $500
For Euch New Home

tary Commission officials said
builders who accuse them of
wasting $500 for every new house
built in their district are "just
picking figures out Of the air."
Raymond w. Bellamy, COM
mission chairman, added, "I
haven't got any respect for
people who make a smear at
tack and haven't got intestinal
fortitude enough to sign their
names to it."
The accusations came from a
committee of the Home Builders
Association. Only one builder,
and the associations executive
director, would permit use Of
their names.
Seven other speakers asked
to be nameless, saying they
feared the sanitary utility would
retaliate by holding up water
and sewer line installations in
the speakers projects.
The accuSers said the sanitary
boards $299 fee for connecting
a house to water and sewer mains
Is twice as much as it should be.
Claim Cheaper Way.
The builders said private
plumbers could do the job much
cheaper than the commission
crews.
Harry Shaw, the commission's
chief engineer, said the law re-
quires all jobs to have the same
fee.
Each customer gets the same
service. he pointed out. It would
be unfair, he said, to charge more
for one installation than another.
simply because one property
happened to be farther from the
mains than the other.
And he said the law intended
for the jobs to produce a profit,
to help pay off bonds and main
CdIIl CIle system.
AS for private plumbers doing
the installations, he said the
commission used to hire private
outfits but that results were not
satisfactory.
Charged Needless Delay.
The builders also charged the
commission with needless delays
in obtaining rights of way on
new home projects.
Chairman Bellamy said it's
true there have been delays but
that a reorganization is in
progress now. It will turn right
Of way proceedings over to the
commissions legal department
and will speedVthe work, he said.
L. s. (Ted) Ray, another COM
missioner, said there haven't
been many delays. He said the
accusation was fantastic.
The builders also accused Mr..
Shaw of letting plans sit on his
desk three or four weeks waiting
his signature. Work and money
are tied up until he signs them,
the builders said.
Mr.. Shaw said he does no such
thing. And Robert Mcleod, en-
gineer in charge of the plans and
surveys division, said the charge
Is absurd.
Claims Prompt Action.
Mr.. Mcleod said Mr.. Shaw
signs almost all plans within "a
hours after receiving them. And
there never has been q delay
longer than three days, he said.
Mr.. Shaw said commission
policies may increase the cost
OF new homes in the district,
but he said the expense was
necessary.
The builders said he could
have his men lay lines long be-
fore they do. The builders said
he requires them to have a street
graded, ready to be surfaced,
before lines can be laid.
Mr.. Shaw contends he has to
require that. If he didn't, he
said, some streets wouldn't be
graded right. He said that has
happened before.
Might Break Lines.
And if he did lay mains before
the street was graded, the grad
ing equipment itself could break
the lines, he said.
The builders said construction
is being driven out of the COM
missions district in Maryland.
Mr.. Shaw, in reply, suggested
they look at the record of new
construction in his district.
His critics said their own en-
gineers could draw up plans and
do the work his men now do. He
said it would be a touchy Situa-
ton if he were called on to de-
eide what private engineers were
qualified for such jobs.