Water-works Ordinance

At a regular meeting of the C'ommon Cornial held on Monday cvening last, the Wnter-Works Ordiuauce referrcd to in the Aruus last week aune up for oonsideratiou. It was amended in some respecta, so as to protect the city, ordered puhlished in the several city papers, and final action postponed to a future meeting. The proposed Ordinance is: An Ordiuonce relativo to the construction of works for the purposo of supplying the city of Ann Arbor and the inhabitants thereof with water, and authorizing and encouraging the iorniation of a company for the t'onstruction of such works, and prescribing the terms of contract for the supply of water for public, municipal and other purpose, ete. Whereas, Thé Common Council of the city of Ann Arbor heretofore subniitted to the electors of said city a proposition for the construction ot works hy said city, for supplyingiaidcity and its inhabitants with water ; and Whehkas, Said proposition for the building of such works by the city was rejocted by a voto of the electors had theroon; and "Whereas, In the judgment of the said Common Couucil the ouiy practicable mode of obtaining the coustmetion of sucii works is by tliu organizaron of a company for that purpoao, by nieuws oí sucli aid trom aid city iu is teudeteJ by this Ordinance and hereinafter sol forth, it is therefore Ureby resoivad and ordainod by the Mayor, Koeorde'r aud Ald:nuen of the city 01 Aiiu Ai'uor, m t'oiuiüou Council aKMmb.ad, as Eollow'ö : That it is expedient to have coustructed work for tlie purposu of ByypLyiug tho city of Ann Arbur and tlie inhabitaiita thureof with water, nit that it is inexpedient ror said city, under the wwers vusted in ie by law or grautediu its charer, to build such works; and, WutKiiAS, UhaJUHMy H. Milieu, Elijah W. Hurgan, Philip Bach, E urn C. Soauian, Charles rripp, Cbmtian M.ick, Henry W. Hogers, Leifi.i v. Uisdon, übrutiau Lberbaun, Hir un J. Beakes, Wjiliam VV. vV'iiedon, jamei Cleineiits, Joseph C. Watts, Kbe.iu.ior Wed, Thomas M. Cooley, Andreiv üei''oreót, William W. VViues, Silas H. DouglasB, Augustus Widonmann, Patrick leKy, Jamas B. Qott, I?n N. Ixott, Joshua U. Laland, filihu B. Vuii-Í, and Charles O. Clark, nropose to orgauize a compon; tor the supply oi ratel to the city and u inhabitants, ander and by virtue oí aii act 01 the Legislaturo of the State oi Michigan, entitled, au "Actto aulhorize ;he fortSation oi compauies ior the introduction or water into tov.us, cities, and villages, in the State oi Michigan," approved April 3d, 169, and )y virtue oi thu "Acts amendatory to said act ; " Tiieeei'OKií, Be it furthor orduincd by the Mayor, Recordar, and Aldermeu oí the city oi A nu Albor, in Commou Couucil assembled, that the riskt and privilege of crecting wnter-works in said city, and of supplying said ciLy and its inhabitanM with water from vvorks in said city or in adjoinmg town and towns, and of layiqg and eoiilinuinir water pipes along and across any and all the streets, sidewalks, lancs, alleys aml public grounds in said city,ond oi supplying said city and the buildings and streets therein, witli good and wholesome water, be and is hereby grauted and secured to Cliauncey H. Millen and his associates beiore nieutioned or a majority oi them, or any company which they may organize as horein befoie speciiied, npo the conditions and under the rostrictions hereinaiter mentioned, so long as taid individuals or company shall continuo to supply water for said city and its inhabitants along the line of any street main laid for such parpase, and shall coinply with the conditions and restrictions hereinaiter mentioned, provided, howover, and tlus graat is made subject to the following conditions and restrictions, viz : That the said Chauncey H. Milieu and associates or a majority of them, shall orgauize a compauy under the acts before specified, within months from this date, with a capital stock of not less taan one hundred thousand dollars, fiïty tliousand of which shall have been subscribed and ten per cent thereon paid into the treasury of said company, and shall make and file with the Recorder to be recorded and preserved a copy of the articles of association of said company," aml wntten assent of said conipan y to the " provisions of this O'rdinance, and hall, within six months, cominence the erection f watcr-workb, and E-haU within twety months elivei water on ïvlain street, opposita the Court iouse Square, fvom a twelve inch street main under a head of not less than one hundred and ilty ieet above the center of the Court House Scrüftre and sufficient to supply water for ire purposes witliout an engnie ; and shall lay urther water-pipe over not loss than six miles of ;he streets of the city of which pipe as much as uvu thousand feet shall be as lare as eight inches, and as much as twenty-one hundred ieet shal! be as large aa six inches, and as much as ten thousand fcet as large as iour nches, and shall süpply aiid continue to supply 'lie city and all persons along tV liue of said pipe, who may suitably supply thcirpremises and buildings with suitable service pipe, and who may require and pay ior the same and sign the rules and regulations usual with water eompanies, with water at such rates aa may be lixed by the Common Council in pursuance of the act of the Legislature, herein beiore mentioned, and that thereafter aa othcr portions of ttie city become more compactly built, the company receiving satfefactory guarontee that the water rates shall pay at least flftecn per ceiit on the cost of the street main on a proponed lino of extensión, the said company shall, within a reasonable tiine after such applicatiun for that purpose, exteud water pipes andiurnish water upon the terms aioresaid to su'cli1 additional water takers. And in case the dividends of said comnany shall average to exceed Uiteen per cent peannum on the capital stock repreocuting the actual cost of said works, the Common Council may at any lime, atter giving uurty uays noiiue 10 show cause against sush ie lui_tio!('iave power to comjel said oompauy to make reduefions in the price f water equivalent to the excess oí' lts dividends over uiteen per cent per annum. And it is further ordained and agreed that in case the said Chauncey H. Millen and liis associates, or a majority öf thera, tball organize.a company for the object and upon the tenns and n the marnier hereinbüfore specifled, and this )rovisio;i is made as an inducement lor the fornation of a compuny, the city, through its Common Council, will receive and pay ior nol less an sixty-five fire hydrants, judiciously distributed on the line of the street niain, at the rate of one hundred dollars per annum for each fire hyLrant, as long as the company Bha.ll continue to supply said liydrants witii water ior tire and city jurposes, and any aclditioual tire liydrants the city may require shall be t'uruished with water at the same rate. It is further ordained nnd agreed that in case company shall construct water-works uniler lie r.fcu and fraudases herein graiited, the Common Council shall have the right to purchase said works at their cost, with an addition oi flftêen per cent per annum on said cost, from :he date of each oxpenditure, le3S all sums acuaUy paid as dividends or retamed o such sale, by the company. And it is further ordained and resolved by the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermcn of the city of Aun Arbor, in Common Council assembled, that on the flling with the Recorder of said city, the assent of said company by its board of directors attasted by the signatures of its President and Secretary thereto, to the provisions of this ordinance above set fori h, theu and from thencelorth the foregoing provisions touching the payment by said city to said company of the sum of one hundied dollars per anuum for at least sixty-five liydrants and at the same rate for such additional hydrants above that nuinber, as said city may requiro, and touching the receiving and furnishïng of such water as iforesaid, shall be binding as a contract betweeu said city and its municipal authoritics on the one part and the said company on the other part ; And it is further ordained that in case the city shall, with the assent of a vote of the electors, decide within days from this date to enter upon the construction of water-works for said city theu this ordinance, and the contract herein made, shall cease and be thereby rescinded, and be utterly nuil and void. We invite a candid examination of the above ordinance. Will the inducements it offers a company secure an early water supply ? and do its provisions and restrictions fully protect the people of the city and the city itself against extortiou 'i These are the questions. WaterWorks the city nocd3 and must have. We care vcry little whether the city buüds them or charters a company, though we have alvvays believed and yet believe that a company can do the work more efficiently and economically than the city, and that thqity eau purchase in aunual supply of water at a lesa auni thau the operating expenses of city works saying uothing of the interest orfte investment. ünr columns are open to a disoussion of the subject.