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Show -. - CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 11 AND OGDEN ENGINEERS OPPOSE LIGHT BONDS Reports Say City Has Failed to Present Definite Plans for Municipal System; Two Bodies Differ Widely on Recommendations. Rec-ommendations. 4 TWO reports giving information and recommendations in connection with the special bond election March 20 were given out for pub-lication pub-lication yesterday. One was from the Ogden chamber of commerce, which gave out i!i" fiinliiis and recommendations oi the -iP- committee which investigated inves-tigated the proposed bond election and the purposes for which the bonds were t. be issued. .. ... ine other was a report to the board! of directors of the Ogden chapter of I the American Association of Engi-! Engi-! neers. This report wns compiled by j a committee of engineers H. J. Craven, Cra-ven, E. K. Kidder and C. II. Parker. LIGHT BONDS OPPOSED. I Both reports advise tho taxpayers to vote against the proposed issue of I bonds to build an electric light plant. The engineers say the city ha- failed to present a definite program or report : on tho proposition of a city-owned l electric light system. I The chamber of commerce declares ' the proposition of a municipal plant j should not be considered until efforts I to get the utilities commission to lower present rates have been made. This I report also says there Is a lack of definite defi-nite plans for a city light system. THEN' REPORTS IHFFE31. I But here the reports differ. The en-1 en-1 glneers indorse virtually all other items of the proposed bond Issue while 1 the chamber of commerce report Ilm-' Ilm-' its its Indorsement to tho sewer es-j es-j tensions and the Washington avenuo I bridge, holding other improvements I should be paid for from current funds. In the matter of water supply, the i chamber of commerce favors more de- velftpment at the site of the artesian 1 wells. The engineers on the other I hand declare that in their opinion it will be impossible to increase, other l than temporarily, the supply of water j from the wells. REPORT OP COMMITTEE Tho chamber of commerce report ; Fays. "We. your committee on civic affairs, af-fairs, beg to report that we have had two meetings with the city commissioners commis-sioners regarding the subject of the bond issue which has been proposed i and outlined in the Standard-Exaju-1 InT issue of February 2. 1921 At the first meeting we (lid not enter into a ! discussion of the bond Issue because it i was tho regular weekly meeting .1 I the city commissioners and of public character. We. therefore, simply received re-ceived such Information as to com-I com-I mlsaslonors cho.su (o glvo us regarding the various Issues. At the second meeting meet-ing the city engineer and city attorney attor-ney were present and a long discussion was had regarding this proposal to considerably more than double the present bonded Indebtedness of the city; which, we believe, would require an Increase of approximately 70 per cent of the city taxes to meet the Inter--', charge of jio.ooo a month on the bonds or $120,000 a year, and to provide a 5 per cent sinking fund would require another $8000 per month, or $96,000 a year, making a I total of $216,000 per year to be raised by additional taxes. FA VOR I M PRO V EM ENTS "We favor all such improvements as there Is a real practical need for and as may be consistent with the city's ability to make. Wo favor the consideration consid-eration of street paving, sidewalks, guttering, curbing, and grading pf streets, and public parks and fire de- partment Improvements, but believe ! they should be financed from the gen-' gen-' oral fund, as has been the usual practice prac-tice with such Improvements hereto-' hereto-' fore. We believe that snjiitary sewers are Justified by the needs that exist for them, also the Washington avenue bridge la a civic necessity and would favor tho bonds providing for these two improvements LIGHT PEA VI -"It does not appear that the City officials have any definite detail as to the plan or cost of a city lighting plant or of the dum at Skull Crack, neither does Oieii plan contemplate any home or commercial lighting service, as is evidenced by the $500,000 proposal which would not be more than sufficient suffi-cient to provide for street lighting, and therefore the cost of current for home consumption would not be reduced. re-duced. ' The object to be obtained under this proposal should be a Reduction in the cost of electric current to tho citizens of Ogden, and since the city's franchise to the Utah Power & Light company provides that the city has the right and It la their duty 10 demand de-mand that the utilities commission review the rates and fix a lower schedule sched-ule if the physical valuation of the property Involved in the system justifies justi-fies It. regardless of the amount of stucks and bonds which the company have issued. We therefor recom mend thut our commissioners exhaust this remedy before thev undertake tho very uncertain experiment of building a municipal lighting plant, reserving that sis 11 last resort should their efforts ef-forts to secure relief under the above plan fall. This Is the way lu which sound business management would proceed to meet a like problem a"d we olso think that the importance of the subject would Justify any necessary neces-sary delay occasioned, and therefore we oppose the Issuance of bonds for this purpose until such time as our needs are more definitely known. SKI LL CRACK DAM "As to tho dam at Skull Crack at the time of our meetings with the i commissioners they were proposing for water works $3ofl.000. but now we observe that the legal notice published (Continued on Pago Two) CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ! AND OGDEN ENGINEERS OPPOSE LIGHT BONDS I (Continued from Page One ) oallfl for 1616.000. It Is our belief that the possibility of developing ufflcle It water for the city's nee,, for main vears to come has not been exhausted in the locality of the prasen city wells. From the north well to the outh well Is a distance Of over hair rmlle which Proves that the artesian basin 8 at least this wide. Which. WltJ Its estimated depth and length would seam to insure many times its present flow. If this be true an adequate water supply may be had at a nominal nomi-nal expense. We therefore Oppose bonding for this purpose until I W Question be dstermlm d VI e do. ho - ever recommend that the city safeguard safe-guard its water rights for any possible future need. We look with favor upon up-on the Improvement and extension OI city water mains but bellee that the net revenue of the system, which amounted to 571. nnO last year. Is sufficient suf-ficient to take care of these Improvements, Improve-ments, provided they are extended over a period of time "In vlw of the facts above and In conclusion, we. your committee, feel I thot the following are all good n i-' i-' sons Why the taxpayers should approach ap-proach this question wlth-tho utmost caution and conservatism. ..piret The principal amounts asked for under th's plan are not. in our opinion, based upon definite knowledge as to the sums which will be needed to accomplish the results "Second The enormous increase la bonded Indebtedness would far exceed ex-ceed our legal limit to borrow "Third The resulting heavy in- crease in taxes required to meet these added obligations would prove exceed- lnglv burdensome "Fourth The unfavorable condition of the bond market. Fifth The general unsettled aiiu unsatisfactory business conditions now prevailing; , , "Respectfully submitted. P HIGKT.OW. "GUT JOHNSON, "W. M SHEARMAN, H M U 'WI .. "T S BRoWXlNO. "J. N SPAROO. "The report of the committee was received and on motion unanimously accepted and concurred In, and we therefore recommend to the citizens of Ogden careful consideration of same l Signed , F. M. Driggs. president, I. X-Pierce X-Pierce vice president: Frank J Stevens, Ste-vens, treasurer: Charles H. Barton. A P BlgelpW. Jam.-s Rrennan. Jamfs H' ln.ugias ;or- iPo n H L. Her-rington. Her-rington. 1 S 1 ewis. i red M Ne Joseph M Parker, Fred ll Taylor. Warren 1, Wat l Is, O. J- Stllwell. secretary." sec-retary." ENGINEERS' REPORT The engineers report is begun with a utatemeni city finances In which n Is pointed out that the amount of the proposed bonds added to those already al-ready issued by the city gives a tula I of 5250.000 more than the lawful ' ThJ report explains that authorization authoriza-tion of the sale ot the bonds would be distributed uvfr a period of years ana that a competent authority on bonds has declared tht- proposed issue Is 1 C ff c 1 The report declares there an- nine ' refundings of previous bond issues to the amount of M5.000 and the re-, re-, port attacks thlH method ot handling I bond issues as u makeshift policy and expensive In the long run to the taxpayers, tax-payers, as it delays the day of settle -; ment ' and increases the interest j charges Answering the question as to whetn-I whetn-I er the proposed Improvements are needed, the report answers ..mphati-1 ..mphati-1 cally that the Items relating to water supply, fire protection, public health a,re needed. Indorsing the Item of $200,000 for the clty'B share of street paving, the report says there .ire now 22 miles of I paved streets and that the amount I named will pay the city's share of I about 20 more miles of paving. M The report recommends that future paving be narrowed to the needs of 3 the street except In streets where I there are car lines. In connection with the item of j $025,000 for water supply and dis- j trlbutlon, the report says I he present E system of water mains was laid "with- out system and the chaotic state is I the result of allowing men with noil training In waterworks system or de-1 I sign to have charge of this depart- r mont.1' The engineers say there Is J groat demand for improvements to i prevent the growth of Ogden being I retarded. . Si Ppl "S l WELLS The report also recommends the I procuring of additional water supply ! sources. S The engineers saj It Is their opin- I ion that the supply from the wells B cannot b lncr.-as'.-.l except temporarily. temporar-ily. The report recommends the meter system to prevent what the report ' calls 2". per cent waste in the sum-' m e r mouths. Concerning the procuring of ad-ditional ad-ditional water sources the reports' says: I Ihe city has a filing on the flood, waters at the head of the South Fork . of Ogden river. This filing Ib good : till 1922. There are two proposed 'dam sites, the upper one called Skull crack, locateu at tne commence or 1 the right hand fork of South fork and Skull Crack branch; the lower, called Magpie located on the main South j Fork and five miles below Skull I Crack. "A dam 180 feet high at Skull Ora'Ck would Impound SOOO acre feet or a continuous flow of 11 second 1 feet. "The flood water Impounded by the dam would be released during the ir- j rlgating season, of about 90 days, to the farmers who have the priority right on the regular flow to the amount taken by the city of the regular reg-ular stream flow. "As the Fast canyon dam, 140 feet high, at a similar site on the Weber river was built for less than $15u.OOO, it is thought that the estimate of 5300.000 for the Skull Cruek dam is conaerv atlve. PROBLEM or PIPING "There would still be the problem of piping the water from the dam to' the present intake at the city wells, a distance of about 15 miles, for which no provisions have been made. ; At the present time the city Is al-! most to its limit of water supply. With the demand for sewer extensions and the continued growth of the city an additional supply of water diusl' be secured and we deem it of the utmost ut-most Importance that thij additional supply should be of the same pure charai tet as the present supply. 1 This supplj can only bo had by piping the water from the two main springs that supply the minimum How of South 1'i.rk. ! "These tn npiings have a steady' flow of about 20 second feet each anil the minimum flow of South Fork hear the Col. hi,, i p i k dam site Is from 42 j to 4G second feet. "As stated the Slcull Crack rese.r-voir rese.r-voir could Impound 8000 acre feet, ! I equal to a continuous yearly flow of 11 i second feot. j voir Impound SOOO acre feet, equal to , a continuous yearly flow of 11 second ! feet. INCREASE SUPPLY "Thus by building tho Skull Crack' dam and piping the water from the ! springs to the present city intake the' city can secure an additional 11 sec-! I ond feet of pure water. "Assuming that the present supplv j remains constant and adding to thiV the 11 second feet from Skull Crack reservoir, we have approximately 31 second feet as the ultimate supplv of pure water under the combined pres-l ent and Skull Crack combination " As an alternative the engineers j point out mere is the .Magpie dam lte, for which the farm bureau holds' ! filings. But It is pointed out that the i city and farmers could build a dam ! Jointly. LIGHT PLANT REPORT I In connection with the proposed l ctri. light plant the report y.i The hydro electric development of' l South Fork is so interwoven with ex-1 jistlng rights and Its possibilities ,.t j such a character that your committee; I deemed it advisable that this should j be made the subject of a special paper! to be presented to thc association at ' some date in the near future to the' I end that tho citizens of Ogden may be 1 acquainted with full and definite In-I formation relative to the hydro-electric possibilities on South Fork and the city's interests therein "The committee docs not in any way disparage the idea of municipal ownership own-ership of light and power." The report says the new outf it I j sewer is urgently needed aa well us storm sewers and the proposition of .building a good bridge across t ig.l.-n I river at Washington avenue is favor- I ed. Fxpendlng suras for pari: Improve-1 : ments. improving the lire department facilities and for sidewalks, curbs and .gutters also are indorsed SUMMARY OF REPORT. The report closes with this sum-' roary; "From a hurried survey of Ugden In, I i the light of th, proposed bond Issue, vour committee fin. is that the present' Inadequate water d is-rtbutln lystem places this item to the frout as or paramount importance. "Improvement of the distributing i system immediately creates a demand 'or more water to meet, not only fu- lure demands, but present needs. 'After the development of a water I supply the city, as a community, baa no legitimate excuse for not protert-; Ing the health of the taxpayers and ; those dependent upon them, by fur-, fur-, nlshing all districts with necessary SH.nl tary sewers. "The committee has been unable to find any definite program, report or Investigation on the question of a municipal mu-nicipal lighting plant. IT SKK.MS UNJUST, j "It seems unjust to ask the taxpayers taxpay-ers to impose a tax upon themselves without so much as a preliminary tn- vestlgatlon or report upon this sub- Ject. that would enable them to form j some idea of the benefits to be derived deriv-ed from such an expenditure. . "The other Items in the proposed bond Issue might be considered as current cur-rent and to be expected expenses for I any growing community. "Nothing Is to be gained by post- ' pnnlng the expenditures necessary for thsae items. These improvements will DSvVs to be made now or later and It Is fitting that the citizens of Ogden should at this time express their faith In the future of Ogden by supporting the current issues of the proposed bond lisuc." |