Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-12-30 | Page 19 | commissioner Heber M. Wells Reviews Work

COMMISSIONED HEBERM.WELLS . REVIEWS WORK Retiring Official Details Accomplishments of the Past Four Years in the City. I PRAISES OFFICERS i FOR CO-OPERATION Declares Great Credit Is Due to Fellow Members of the Municipal Board. By City Commissioner Heber M. Wells. TWO years of my incumbency were spent in the department of parks and ptiblic property and two in the department, of streets and public improvements. As associates upon the board of city commissioners I have had two different sets of officials at first Mayor Sam C. Park and Messrs. Henry W. Lawrence, Richard P.' Morris and W. H. Shearman and latterly Mayor W. MorU Ferry and Messrs. Herman H. Green, Karl A. Scheid and P. B. New-i New-i ii? n. It is the province of a city commissioner commission-er to plan and perhaps initiate public ( improvements in his department, but it requires the co-operation of at least a majority ma-jority of his fellow members to be able ' o achieve results. So that in summarizing summar-izing the accomplishments of the two departments de-partments by no means must it be understood un-derstood that credit belongs to me alone. It must also be understood that very nianj" of the improvements are paid for by abutting property owners and usually usu-ally upon their petition, so that fact detracts de-tracts again from any undue credit to he head of the department. T shall not ai tempt, to recapitulate expenditures, as the newspapers have obtained all such data from the office records. With these explanations I am happy to .say that during my four years' service a good wide driveway has been constructed construct-ed up City Creek canyon for a distance of eieht miles above Eagle gate, the work being' performed by city prison labor wit h the exception of necessary auxili-ary auxili-ary men and teams. I believe the opening open-ing of this canyon to t he public has been appreciated as frequent assurances to that effect have readied my ears. The connecting link out of the canyon as fur as Kleventh avenue was constructed construct-ed under the administration of the park department by George D. Keyser. but Eleventh avenue was fashioned into a por-(ion por-(ion of the Wasatch boulevard by prison labor. Thirteenth East street and Twen--jty-first South street, both of which are . - 'V, ect ions of the boulevard, were completed ' during the last two years. It is possible now almost to encircle the city upon a good, hard surface driveway which, for the most part, is constructed cither of concrete or asphalt, and that it is approved and appreciated hy the public pub-lic is evidenced every day by the procession pro-cession of vehicles which traverse its smooth stretches. Tmposin Spectacle. There is no more imposing spectacle n n v where than the one from Inspiration point, so named by tht; lamented Fisher Harris, as the. eye reaches out to the valley val-ley of the Great Salt Lake, which he also designated as the garden of the Lord. It has been my good fortune to assist in entertaining a great many visiting i ptcbrcLies recently and a source of gratification grat-ification to heed their encomiums of our iconic glories as viewed from the various va-rious sections of the Wasatch boulevard. Tniring the past two years fifteen and a half miles of paving in various parts if the citv have been laid and the two yea i s before that (under Mr. Morris), seventeen and one-half miles, making a total mileage of pavement for the four years of thirty-three miles, and a total mileage of pavement in the city of sc'-enty-one and one-quarter miles. T want to specially mention Beck street, from Davis county line to St. Mark's hospital, the only entrance to the city from the north, which for several years was about as mean a piece of road us a traveler would encounter anywhere. Road Completed. Hy the co-onc.'ition of the state, the county, the abutters and the traction company, a pleasing transformat ion has been wroilit in thnl. thoroughfare by the 1 completion within fhe last three months of a good concrete pavement eighteen feet wide, the greater portion of the way, but full width for a half mile at the southern south-ern end of it. I shall never cease lo be grateful to the Rotary club for the timely assistance they rendered in agitating, molding pub-f""-lie sentiment, nursing along and in every I .fcMway contributing to the success of this y... "tiuch needed Improvement. A resume of public improvements completed com-pleted during the administration of which v I , have formed a part, won hi include ninety-two miles of sewers and laterals, milking : total mileage in the sewer sys-i sys-i tern of 2T miles; thirl v-one miles of concrete con-crete sir ie walks, milking a total of "79 miles; twenty-one miles of curb and gutter, gut-ter, making a total of V0 miles; forty-six forty-six miles of water mains, making a total of :m miles. It would include also the completion of I three mammoth storage reservoirs having ! an itngregat e capacity for t ! impound- ; ing of ueatlv a billion gallons' of water of ! the purest and coldest variety to he found I anvwhere. These are Twin T,akes reservoir reser-voir and Lake rhoehe-Mary reservoir at the head of Hig Cottonwood canvon, and I Mountain hell reservoir in Parley's can-! Mm. The waters so impounded formerly j an to waste, hut now they are husbanded ayainst a time of scarcity. 1 Valuable Reservoir. The distributing reservoir at Fifteenth i Kasi street and the one in Citv Creek i canyon In so-called Pleasant vallev, are j also valuable and necessary addition t" , i he wai er system. The big Surplus : anal on t he other side of Jordan has J been widened and deepened from Williams Wil-liams lake so that it tmw finds .m outlet: into the t;re,t Salt lake, thus releasing ' tor cultivation vast areas previously inundated in-undated and fulfilling the measure of its' i'i-ea t ion. The public snfetv building lias been ac- i inhvd and partially paid for; Main street' has been iighted so h:i!liaut!v that ex-: pelts declare it to be the best lighted street in the world; numerous and note-' worthv improvements have been added; to our parks and parkways. our play- j groiiiids ami our public edifices. I I have enjoyed my m ork and h; e . st ri en to make my depart men! s etfi- ; e'ent and satisfactory to the people. ' 1 bal t he com miss toners -eiC'-t. M essrs. Neslen and Crabbe, a warm eh ome and wish them unmeasured success. M v conipliments and thanks go out to fel- ! buv members of the board, both past and piesent. for their good fellowship and cO- operation; lo all heads of depart ments for courtesy and support at all times: to ail ..'he citv- employees ior 'countenance and deference and m underscored thanks to my various jffice forces for tolerating me around.