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OUR CITY \ FATHERS.TlieyA^ee to Try AsphaltSidewalks.TO EXPERIMENT OH TWO BLOCKSFIRST.Then If Satisfactory, to Continue theGood Work,, The City Council met in special Beamon on Friday night, with MayorDusenberry in the chair. The absentees were Alderman. Iloldaway and Councilors Tanner, Bean and DixonJudge Dusenberry stated, in behalf of the D. R. G. W., that that company was ready and willing to empty sixty car loads of gravel on First Street, tohelp the city grade that thoroughfare. The offer was accepted and the matter referred to the committee on streets and alleys, with authority to take such steps In having it spread on said street as may be necessary,A petition wa3 presented from Mr, John Deal, of theD. R. G.W. eating house, asking permission to reconstruct the sewer leading from their kitchen. The petition was granted, on condition that the matter be done under the direction of the supervisor of streets.The matter of paving the businessstreets of Provo with asphalt was then taken up, the agreement between ProvoCity and the Utah Asphalt Co. presented by Alderman Alexander at the last session coming up on its second read*iug,AJr. Scott stated that he had, in company with some other members of the Council, inspected the asphalt walks laid around Judge Duse □berry5's residence by the Utah Asphalt Co. lie had to confess that if that was the be£t work the company could .do, that it would bo a great disappointment for the city to undertake the enormous expense of laying such asphalt walks, for they would not be as good as the public expected. He would favor experimenting on one block before too much work was done. He did not know but what gravel walks were as endurable and as satisfactory as asphaltum, anyhow jthey were certainly cheaper.Judge Dusenberry, President o£ the Utah Asphalt Co., here arose and stated that life was too short for the council to say that gravel was as good as asphalt. If such was the stand to bo taken by the council, then it would be no use to argue in favor o! asphalt for sidewalks. He claimed that the eye of experts had pronounced the walks laid around hia residence as being the finest walks In Utah Territory, and that they would endure when other walks had gone. The men constituting the Asphalt Company were not men who were In the habit of engaging in wild-cafc schemes. They were men who had looked well into the matter before doing anything materialin-ojganizing for the carrying on of thebusiness of laying asphalt walks. An expert was to be bent for from St. Louis to undertake the supervision of the laying of the walks, and it would net pay for the company to guarantee anything tnat they were not confident th^v could perform.Mr. David Ho Ida way thought the city wouliLundertake a big affair on limited experience if it signed a contract for the laying of asphalt walks, on the conditions specified in the agreement read* No one knew definitely the enduring qualities of this article^ and he would sooner favor experimenting on a small scale firBt. He did not advocate spending the people's money lavishly on something no one seemed to know anything about. Were the material known to be what it is represented, then lie would say let the sidewalks be laid. But until it was known he would notfavor any expenditure of the city’s revenues.Judge Dusenberry suggested that if thecouncil had any doubts as to the genuineness of the article, that only a coupleof blocks be contracted for.The Mayor here suggested that a half block be laid.Judge Dusenberry replied that the eonpany would not bother over such a small distance. There was no sense in such a proposition.Mr. Brown thought the city would be doing a foolish thing to contract for the laying of asphalt'walks on such limited demonstration. He would like to see it thoroughly experimented.Mr. Hansen liad seen asphalt roads, where tens of thousands of people passed over them every day, and he was prepared to say that the walks around Judge Dusenbeny's residence was as good and apparently as lasting as any he had seen; still he was in favor of waiting to see what effect the frost and the ole meats generally would have on them.Mr. David Holdaway said that he would favor experimenting on uot more than two blocks at the least$ then if it proved a success, continue the good work on all the other walks.Mr. Alexander stated that tbe property owners who had some time ago expressed their willingness to pay a special tax for the laying of asphalt sidewalks, now complained of the shape the matter had taken, and were not as willing now to stand the expels. as they were when they first heard hi the Bubject; besides which they thoughtUrovo waa not metropolitan enough as yet to stand tbe expense of asphalt walks.After considerable more discussion Mr, Maiben moved that the agreement be referred to tbe committee on streets and alleys, with authority to .contract with the Utah Asphalt Co *j‘for the Jav-iug of two blocks and one crossing- The Council then adjourned till tbe resular session.
Newspaper Details
Provo Utah Enquirer
Provo, Utah, US
Tue, Jul 16, 1889
Page 1
Full Page
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USA 22 Aug 2022
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