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Show Iill City lay Establish a . Plant V ;A ;;!f !j Garff and Son Submit in ' jj :!!;! J Writing a Very Liberal ! j Ij:!; J Proposition. ' ; I fleeting' Will Bo Held Tliis Aftor- i ( 'i noon, at Which. Definite Action if : I May Be Taken, j r ''b ! 1 ' ! "'jW .fmHAT Salt Lake City may yet, and ' 1 ' t 1 K I t,,at witnln a sllort timet own Its I ; M' j own electric lighting system is ; ( J 1' becoming- more than a, probability, i ' :j S Plans nre rapidly shaping thorasclvps ' ' Jij Jn such a manner that It would not be '! 1: surprising if the erection of a lighting ' I SB plant were commenced In tho very near I ji2 future. Messrs. Garlt &. Son of Logan, 'I al n' mRQ a proposition to the city ii'H Home time ago to put In a lighting plant. J ! have prepared their proposal in written I !j , T j form nnd a meeting with the Mayor and i I special lighting committee has been ar- ' ' ,ij ; ranged for 2 o'clock tills afternoon In j i m the Mayor's ofllce. ' ' ' i The question of municipal ownership ' ,i I; of lighting for Salt Lake City is broader l( ' j (', , than it appears on the surface and there , j Mil1 are urgent reasonB why tho ndmlnistra- r j ; " tion should do something along this I , I Ing into financial difficulties. The 11 j ' - (S bonded Indebtedness of the municipality 1 ! V H Is nearly $3,000,000 upon which interest IJ . , iijSS is being paid amounting to more than I) 'l $125,000 per annum. I '. j 'ff Action of the Mayor. . .1; jl Mayor Morris, under date of April 11. i ' ! 1 KCUt a communication to the Council I ''MS recommending that a sinking lunl be !j ' ,jlt created for the redemption of fSOO.OOO ( , ij!: of the city's bonds 10-20-year Isjjuo of t ,,,J May 1, 1891, which mature in 1904. $ '. Placing tho valuation of city property !! ' I at S.'JS.OOO.OOO he recommended that a tax l ( j levy of 24 mllU be made to create the 1 1 , redemption fund. By a levy of 24 mlllB K ' ; i he estimated that JS0.000 codld be raised J I !) ; each year, thus giving $SOO,000 at tho 'I time the bonds mature. 1 ,1 ' The Mayor's communication was re- 'I j ferred to the Finance committee on 1 , fji April 11, and there It has remained, i' , ' , ( The revenue of the city was increased i last year between $11,000 and $12,000 by j i ' the Issuance of liquor licenses to res-i res-i it 1 taurants and drug stores, but the 6ur-J 6ur-J j . plus revenue was all used in meeting ln-! ln-! , creased disbursements. jU , j - A The statute provides that a special t '4 ) i tax may be levied for a municipal light-' light-' i t 'lk 7 ns plant. For this purpose a tax of 1 10 mills may be imposed, but the reve- , i 1 , I secured cannot be used for any ' ' J ' , other purpose than that for which it i ' 'i Is levied. If a lax, however. Is levied ( j, 1 for this purpose and a lighting plant is i secured then the city Is ahead the j ! a amount being paid out each year from I, j" ' ' ,1' the contingent fund for' lighting under I ) J i' ,i the present arrangement. The money, I V 'tli cwS between $35,000 and $40,000 that is now . l' being paid the Utah Light &, Hallway i' i , I ' I company for street lighting each year (( i , ; il l would thus be saved, and the funds sell se-ll 1 1 . , ' A cured far the erection of the city's own i: If : J .'-B . lighting system could be secured by I J i 9 special taxation for that purpose and I' li i H tne nioney is not taken from the con-'' con-'' iH !a tingent fund. In,,, J. f,.;! "Wfcat Garff Will Do. ( '!' ! j In their dealings with Garff & Son i I fill ne Councdlmen and the Mayor may bo !' 11 i iEr tlntn they know. The plan, as . I j ,! J . I now to be presented by tho Garff's, Is 1 1 ;, ;! ;! j somewhat different from their original . I ! propositlMii- They, it Is understood, in IJ ' !M their written agreement propose to put i 1 4. j i! in a plant that will furnish the city j , 1 j with considerable more lights than it is 'I , ' ';.. now getting for the price now being I ' ( ,1 paid and give the whole system to the I , i ! ' ij city at the end of ten years. Their I , former proposition was to Bell the plant l, H ' ; to the city at about one-fourth its cost ,J i i.l j at the end of four years. The plant I i 1': they propose to install will cost In the ;,i neighborhood of 4200.000. They figure I ' i their running expenses at about $15,-I $15,-I ? 00( Ppr annum, maldng their total cx- penditure In the venture in ton years $350,000. During the ten years the city Would pay them at the rate It is now paying for Its light, 535,000 to $40,000 per year, between 5350,000 and J400.000. Able to Do It. There is little question ns to Messrs. Gartf & Son's ability to carry out their part of the agreement. They are experienced ex-perienced men nnd know what they are doing. The electric lighting plant at. , tho mouth of American Fork canyon, put in by them In 1000, ban been attended attend-ed with complete success. Mr. Garff Raid yestcrduy that the people of American Ameri-can Fork, Lehl and Pleasant Grove were receiving light at an extremely low figure, but that tho investment in the plant paid 11 per cent Interest the aeeond year. Now, In order that the city may be benefited immediately by owning Its own lighting system It will be necessary to make some other agreement with the Garft 's whereby they can levy a special tax for a lighting plant nnd secure tho ownership at once. By paying the Logan Lo-gan firm down the nmount they Intend to make out of the venture they, no doubt, would be willing to put in the plant as proposed in their agreement to be conpldered this afternoon. |
