| Show CITY COUNCIL mayor scott called the city council to order at 8 dec roll IV call was responded 10 to by councilmen Sp spafford efford heath pendleton james parsons lynn anderson young tuddenham hardy and hyde absent bickard sal smith th folland and karri karr ck PETITIONS were read reada and nJ referred as aa follows arthur meades asked that he be remunerated mune rated for a mule which was wae killed in emigration canyon by an obstruction in the road committee bri be claims the deseret agricultural and manufacturing fac turing company asked for the correction by the city of a certain deed transferring a piece of real estate to that society to the mayor anna terry asked that her taxes be remitted on account of poverty and old age laid on the table T P murray M array sent bent in a communication in which he be signified his bis acceptance of the railway franchise recently granted him through certain streets streeta of the city received and filed A Q G paddock asked an extension of the lease to him of the north bench sand pits upon the same terms is as the old franchise granted gustave ak H backman and others asked that the saltair sal tair railway company be not given eiven a frame franchise bise over the streets nam named pad in the petition of that company Coll Committe itil eon la streets A TWO MILLS RATE BATE the board of education sent inthe in the following which was recorded and filed we hereby certify that ane board of education of the city of salt lake on december 17 1891 at a meeting held levied a tax of two mills on each dollar of taxable property in said city for the support of schools therein for the school year beginning on the first day of july 1892 VEHICLE STANDS the mayor presented the following which was referred to the committee on streets gentlemen I 1 beg leave to call your attention to the ordinance establishing stands for public vehicles see chapter section 2 revised ordinances of salt lake city since that law was passed the conditions of our streets have greatly changed and I 1 recommend that the matter be referred to the committee on streets to report to the council at an early date an ordinance to 10 meet the existing conditions dit ions DAMAGE SWIT BUI T SETTLED the city attorney reported that in the matter rn itter of the action of W N cook and others against the citha verdict and judgment were rendered against for damages and costs ike he recommended that the amounts named be appropriated to tho the plaintiffs adopted FOR LEGAL assistance the committee on revision of the city charter recommended that they be empowered to employ legal assistance in the preparation of a bill for a new dew city charter to he be submitted to the legislature and that an amount not exceeding 1000 be appropriated to cover such expenditure adopted and appropriation made information WANTED the city engineer engineer S reported that he be had found it impossible to complete final estimates for brick laid in districts noi 2 4 6 and 17 fo for r want of positive information as to the location and extent of walks that were laid by private contract and therefore asked that he be provided with certified lists showing the lots and parts of lots in the districts named where walks have been laid by private contract the same game officer represented that he was of the opinion that asphaltum pavements should not be lalu laiu in grades exceeding 4 per cent if the grade re macneil mal neil unchanged and that if the plan prescribed for tnt intersections sections hau had coulm been carried out it would result in a disfigurement of the street inasmuch as the ordinances required him to prepare the places for such luch ment and the public p bublic held him responsible for the appearance and effectiveness of the work tie he asked that the facts be allowed to appear in the minutes granted extensions the city recorder reported that thai the notice of assessment for extending water mains on sixth and eighth south and third west streets had been published in accor accordance darce with law confirmed UNDER consideration street supervisor paul reported report fd that in reference to the petition of robert smith and others asking that the rio grande western railway company grade sixth west street between fifth and seventh north streets he had communicated superintendent welley abiley of that company who stated that the matter was now it in the hands bands of the company milaDys co attorneys EXCHANGE MADE the committee on public grounds to whom was referred the communication of L C trent relative to the exchange of land with the city near capitol grounds reported that the final exchange had been made adopted ANOTHER CLAIM SETTLED the committee of claims which has had bad under consideration the claim of the administrator of jacob ekker who was killed in a sew r trench in front of the social hall on state street re dortea that a compromise had i een effected with toe the clai claimants mante for and recommended that the amount named be appropriated adopted FROM A SPECIAL COMMITTEE the special committee to which was waa referred the report of the city engi engineer neer submitting a statement of the cost of constructing sidewalks recommended that thai the city pay one half of the cost of grading and that the balance of the cost coot of such construction be paid from the taxes levied and assessed against the abutting property and that the assessor and collector colle be directed to proceed to collect sukh such taxes accordingly adopted NATURAL GAS ORDINANCE the city attorney submitted the following ordinance tor the construction and ikid maintenance of works and lor for utilizing and Aim distributing natural or fuel gas for fuel in the city of salt lake utah section I 1 be it ordained by the city council of salt lake city utah that the said raid city of salt lake hereby gives and grants to the american natural gas gab company a corporation organized and existing under the laws of utah territory and its assigns as as hereinafter specified and provided for the term of twenty years from and after the passage of this ordinance the right and privilege of constructing ting maintaining and operating works and for the purpose of distributing and utilizing natural or fuel gas for heat and fuel only in the city of salt lake provided that the rates for such natural or fuel gas shall not exceed the charge of one dollar per thousand cubic feet to the various containers con kamers and for the purpose of furthering fur therin and assisting said american natural gas company and its assigns in supplying said natural or fu fuel elgas gas the said sad american natural gas company aad its ita assigns are hereby granted and ana given the right and privilege to use urt a any and all streets avenues and alleys of salt lake city necessary in which to lay and maintains mains and service pipes for conveying and distributing said natural or fuel gas as aforesaid throughout ghow said laid city provided that all excavations in said streets avenues and alloys alleys be speedily repaired and put in as good condition a as they were before such excavations were made or as near as may be section 2 this grant shall be void first if said american natural gas company or its assigns shall fall fail within one year to commence in good faith to lay mains and pipes from their ps gas wells to and into salt lake city for the purpose of distributing such natural r fuel gas and second if said american natural gas company or its assigns shall fall fail within one year to lay in the city of salt lake miles of main pipe not low leu than five and five eighths inches in diameter and phird third provided however that any delay caused or time consumed by injunction or any order of court or any unavoidable accident or delay or malicious interference shall neither be counted nor work a forfeiture herein section 8 3 said american natural gas company or its assigns shall use tise only the best beat and most approved system ot of for their mains and service pipes section 4 that this franchise shall take effect and the rights and privileges therein granted and giver given shall be acquired aire w whenever enever said american natural gas company shall have hav e laid its gas mains 0 or pi pipes a and conducted therein natural 0 or fue fuel gas in sufficient quantities to its consumers to and within the limits of salt lake city provided however that the be provisions of this section shall not hinder or prohibit said laid american natural glas gas company at any time after the passage of this thi s or ordinance idi nance from entering upon said streets avenues and alleys and laying and constructing therein said gas mains and pipes as hereinbefore provided in this ordinance section 5 this ordinance shall take lake effect from it passage on streets VAN HOUTEN CHARGES in regard to the charges preferred against superintendent van houton houten by the grand jury the committee or op sewerage made the following report to the honorable the mayor and city council gentlemen your committee on sewerage to whom was assigned the duty of investigating the alleged irregularities in the management and conduct of the sewer department of this city beg leave to report that with the intention of making our investigation as searching and thorough as possible we have examined all such witnesses as we had any reason or information to believe would throw any light upon the subject of our inquiry we have held six meetings and have personally examined under oath the following named witnesses peter van bouten superintendent of sewer construction st tion giles dull and maloney who have served as foremen and timekeepers time keepers in the sewer department during mr van Ho hortens houtens Houi ens one thomas van houten teamster auditor auditor hoag and mr james 0 me mc Ou tolien formerly an employed employ e in the sewer department and the person who made the affidavit charging that mr van houton had bad retained his son the pay roll for a period of four or five months during the present year while the latter was working for his father in american fork canyon we have also examined the books and vouchers in the offices of mr van houten aud and the auditor we find that for a large part of the time during doring mr iene incumbency two teams have been employed bythe by the department to haul pipe and cement to fill in to r remove e move waste earth and in the f flushing lus h lug of the sewer pipes that both of the teams were the property of mr one of them being usually driven b by thomas a son of mr nH and he other by a young man named william dull these teams were carried on the time books anti and pay rolls rolla as team or william dull or thomas team teamster sier ana and the compensation allowed was as the surn of per day for each team and driver yeung g en was driving during the earlier part of the year but bui abou june 14 went to work at his fathers mine in american pork fork canyon where he be continued until the middle of of november which time he returned to the city he wa ba never signed a pa pay roll previous to his bin departure fur for the kho mine mile as above stated J his big name having been signed in each instance by his father after his departure the team continued in the service of the city and the roll was signed by the father as before on each pay roll between june 14 and november 14 and the compensation allowed to the team was during that period as before the sum of per day inasmuch as some other employed emp loyes of the city were during that period taken from other work and pui PUE to driving it appeared that mr van houten was charging the city for a team and driver and receiving pay while as a matter of fact the city was furnishing and paying the driver prima facie the case looked very to mr houten the explanation offered by him and sustained we believe by his books is that be desired to continue the team in the name of his son since it was designed to re employ the latter on his return to the city that while it is true that be carried the team on the rolls at per day yet it is also true that the apparent overcharge in the rate per diem had been equalized by reducing the number of days for which compensation had been allowed the following table coveri covering nj the period of the sons absence will indicate mr van houtens coutens Ho method of adjusting the matter from time to time 0 o T 0 K 19 sa s D 9 a 3 16 0 sa 2 ft PAY PAT DAY nl 11 st af S 0 0 g 0 a 0 25 MA E n 4 A v 0 june 26 7 days 14 5 days 17 60 50 july 10 11 ay TO 22 6 days 22 2275 75 july 21 2 12 days 24 7 days 24 50 auguet 8 12 days 24 6 days 2100 21 00 AUgUet 22 12 days QA 24 2 5 days 1150 17 50 september 5 4 days 8 1 days 3 50 september 19 11 days 22 4 days 14 00 cnober 4 11 days 23 ax days 22 75 october 17 12 da 8 24 7 dave 24 50 october 81 9 day 13 18 4 days 14 00 2 days day 4 4 days 14 00 november 14 9 days 12 8 days 2800 28 00 totals da days ya a 64 days 00 it therefore appears that the amount paid was substantially the amount earned the question is in therefore were the rolls correct and unchanged and was the title correctly taken these rail rails s were signed on the several dates given they bearbo bear no evidence of having been corrected by erasure the time worked by the foreman of the gang in which the team worked was a total of one hundred aud and thirty four days as against one hundred and thirteen tor for the team the time worked by the other team basone was one hundred and twenty y f four r and one ode half balf days firing the manx rid and the several to remen testified hat th the time books appeared to be unchanged since nince they lefi lef their hands and that the time lime there riven given was correct your committee find further that in the month of august of this year mr van houton houten purchased a mowing machine for the purpose of cutting weeds and grass on pioneer square at a cost of 16 which he paid for with his own money this amount he subsequently reimbursed imbur sed himself by charging a sufficient number of extra days for his team to cover the amount expended mr van coutens houtens Ho Hout enfa explanation of this transaction is that in 1890 it cost the city 35 too to cut the grass and weeds on the square which he considered was too much and that when the necessity this year he be determined to do the work with one of the teams regularly employed and to b buy ay a machine for the city that might be used froni yato year for like purpose pu reposes the work cost coat M 24 including machine maybine ma obine this year as against the amount above stated dialed lor for 1890 the machine is now on th luk square in possession of the custodi custodian thew theto while your committee must as extremely irregular and im improper kb er th methods of procedure under w which le pay rolls are made to show a condition 0 of things not existing under which the t aimel im paid for was different from t the be t aimel i nerved and the rate of compensation I 1 in correct and under which the head of aj department make a purchase wit with his own money assumes to corn com censale himself by crediting time no served yet vet ne express it as our sincee sincere conclusion from a contemplation of th the evidence that mr van houten hh had neither defrauded nor has endeavored endeavor to defraud the city of a single dollar while his bis methods of bookkeeping ba haa haai i opened his management of the department to suspicion yet we feel in th the light of the facts that suspicion is unfounded and that coupled with the censure of this committee for the ir irregularities regula ir named should be the expression 0 of its opinion that mr van houton houten has been an honest official and in all other respect respects than those mentioned so HO far as has com come to the knowledge of your committee proven prudent and efficient in the discharge di of his duties adopted HE RESIGNED officer jensen jeneen who was recently recently |
