Show THE CITY COUNCIL there was an unusually large attendance at last tuesday evenings session of the city council of bountiful city the council room being literally filled after mayor holbrook had called for order and the recorder called the roll and ascertained that all the councilors councillors counci lors except benson were pres ent and had read the minutes of the previous session the object of the special meeting was made known by the recorder reading the following resolution which had bad been made a special order of business for the evening resolution whereas the city of bountiful was incorporated to more securely maintain and hold the rights of the people secured by long to the water of the different streams running into the city against theat ened encroachments encroach ments of speculators and unprincipled men and whereas the owners of the water have shown uneasiness and lack of confidence in the city control controlling linol r regulating and distributing the water and have fought against tho the collection of the hie necessary means to pay for the labor and improvements necessary to equitably distribute the water to the co owners in the different branch ditches thus making it a very difficult and undesirable position for the council to 1 he e placed in as well as their employees laboring 0 at a gabat disadvantage in distributing the water waler therefore be it resolved that where proper application is made by petition signed by the owners of the water agreeing to relieve the city of bountiful from all liability to damage suits or expense in maintaining the ditches or road crossings or waste ditches or from any other cause by the use of water in the district paying up all assessments to the present time that are due and agreeing 0 to pay their pro rala of the expense in maintaining and bold the rights of the people in the main channels of the creek that their water comes from above the divide where they take taka the water from the main channel that dial they shall tie he declared a water district and shall be set act oft off to themselves to handle and distribute the water belonging t to such district as the in good and be it further resolved that the attornies att ornies of the city be authorized to draw up the necessary ordinance or to fully carry out the provisions of this resolution starns hatch F D grant we shall only attempt to give a a synopsis of what was said on the file resolution by the respective members of the council and by the water claimants present councilman heywood said he be was opposed to the passing of the resolution that for forty years prior to the city taking the control of the water in in hand there had bad been scarcely any ampro improvement made to save the irrigating water that more bad been lone done in two years of incorporation than in the forty preceding years lie ile said we did not incorporate altogether to keep unprincipled men from taking our water but also to improve the channels and ditches to try to save some of the 70 per cent of the water claimed by people who have made this matter a study that Is continually going to waste ile he claimed there had been much water talk but that only the people watering from north canyon bad taken steps to flume their water and tile first year saved enough to pay for the material he looked upon tile the this resolution as a wedge to split open the city and laying the foundation for its destruction adding that it would only take a few taps after it had been started ho he mentioned that the city would have the right 0 to bond the city to flume or pipe the water and that if it were done that in ten years the people could coald lave have it all paid off and besides have realized a reat benefit t b count colin man hatch said he had been con considering the matter set forth in the hie resolution for fl a year bear and it a half and could not see how bow the resolution if passel passed would defeat the object for which bountiful city was incorporated while on the other hand it would give those people on the branch ditches who desired it the privilege 1 of controlling their own ir rogation water he added that some of the people had opposed the council and that without their encouragement it was impossible for the council to make the improvements that are necessary he was of the opinion that the water could be controlled cheaper and better by the city than it could if set off in smaller districts but if the people wanted it so go lie was ct cf granting then this privilege managing 0 M the water he claimed was no small amount of work and if the people wanted to do this it would take a great burden off from the city officers yet he did not want to get out of it on that account but was willing to continue to serve the people if they wanted him bim to 10 ile he related that when the council took hold of the controlling of the water that it was something r new to thein and possibly some ml minor mistakes had been made but b it that the council had now become thoroughly acquainted with the divides and head gates and things necessary for the distributing of tie water it was mr hatchs hatcha opinion that the people did not understand that they had the right to petition the council to be set off in water districts which the city attorneys said could be done thought the hie lawsuit now in the courts with all its expenses could have hare been avoided it if the claimants on that ditch had petition ed cd the council to be set off in a water district by themselves he asserted that the council had lone done the very best it could 0 to o distribute the water to the alie best interra in tereA of it ilir people and abat hie city lad bad never tried to gain possession or ownership of it simply 0 it willey said that le he was not of the resolution that it seemed to lafin like petitioning the people to petition tin the council for what they want lie ile was in ill favor of hearing any petition that clial might 0 bo be brought in lie ile N vas alfraid that if numerous districts were set off as tile the resolution provided that it would have a 1 11 bad ad effect upon the improvement of 0 the ditches councilman grant favored the resolution being passed I 1 thought thou r glit such steps should be taken as would result in the greatest good to the greatest numbers inasmuch as the people had bad raised objections to the city controlling 0 the water he be favored d letting them try it A L buckland joseph wood lamoni call alfred Burning 0 haro liam I 1 samuel naylor aylor NT charles pace aarn call joseph corbett corbeit Cor belt james green and P P willey spoke brielly briefly upon the resolution mr buckland eulogized the council for the good work that had been lone done but said that the people who had started suit against the city did not recognize the city as having any right to control the water and they did not want the resolution to pass all the other speakers except mr BIT green were opposed to its being passed he be however thought it would be just the thing for the other creeks which and barton are not interested in ill any lawsuits mr P P witley willey thought thou glit if this resolution were passed that next week a petition would be presented to free the dogs from taxation and the following week a second petition asking for ing else to be repealed and so on oil until 1 the city would have no nothing thing to do 10 the votes stood two in favor of passing the resolution and two op posing it so the mayor had to decide the matter with his vote which was cast in favor of the negative and the resolution was lost the mayor said he did not like the way the water was handled before the city was incorporated and he favored the city controlling it until the courts decided that it should be controlled by some one else adding that four of the best athoney alvirney ali irney s in salt lake had bad given it as their opinion that the city has the right to distribute the water adjourned lo 10 wednesday feb 13 1895 |