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Home My WebLink About09-25-19365 ---_ Minutes of an adjourned :ape cial meeting of the dommon Council. Of the City of Rochester; Minn esot a; held in the Council Chambers; in the City j Hall; in said City on Beptember 25; 1936% ' The meeting was caLl ed to order at seven thirty o'-clock R; M�, by • ! i President L' iddle; and on roll call, the following members were presents. Liddleq Ammdsen, 7x7er�. Green; Lemmon, Moody, end.Ricbman. Absent: Nonee I The following cmmuni cations were presented by the Rochester Pub- I ' lie Library Board, and 'on motion by Aaundsen second by Ricbman, the same were ordered placed on filet "September 251 19364 The Honorable Meqor & Common Council, City of Rochester; , Rochester; Minnesota. Gentlemen: In view of the delay occasioned stone work on the new library building, reasons for which are given in the. attached c mmuni oat ions from Federal Hnergency Administration of Public Works; II. S: Reemployment Service and the Contractor; the Library Board regaeststhat labor hour limit6ions for this project be allowed to conform to PWA regulations in regard to stone setters and stone cutters only. Yours very respectfully; Rochester Public Library Board By W: W: Chur chills Cbmi " "FEDERAL EMERGENCY APINISrRATION Or, PUBLIC ADRKS State Engineer Inspector's Office 109 Uptown Post Office Station St. Paul; Minn: Sept: 22; 19m 0 In reply refer to INSPECTION: JS;mb Docket Minn. 1062-R Mr. W. W: Churchill; Library - Rochester President; Rochester Public Library Board; Rochest er , Minnesota: Dear Mr4 Churchill: Replying to your letter of Sept: 17th; 1936; in view of the fact that the questions. of wages and labor is entirely under the control of the Owner; my reply thereto will have to be confined to PWA regulations and the effect of local Laws or ordinances in connection' with the samea In connection with your docket; Public Works regulations specify a 130-hour month: Subsequently; owing to local shortages of labor in c.ertain classifi- cations; provisions were made so that the lei-hdur month could be relaxed and increased to 176-hours a month: As under. PWA regulations men can work up to 48 hours per week just so they do not exceed the prescribed monthly hour; it is possible to better plan your work to carry out aAftiln sections of it so that the trades behind can make proper progress* i PWA eegulations make it neoessary,for us to comply wi.tin JLOCBL js t&w, a in gear }_ case with your ordinance of a 3D -hour week; you are handicapped ed in pushing certain -' portions of your workso that the trades can make the best of the tine availableo 174- phis is particularly so with your stonemasons who are very scarce in your section: -y. The City of SE. Paul in connection with f certain of their work faced the same • situation, as they, too have a 30-hour week ordinance for all city w6rk: They . 'F recognized the handicap however to the progress of their work and abbrogated the ordinance so far as PWA work was concerned: Consequently tYiey were able to make a better labor schedule and expedite the progress of their constriction. Working the straight 30-hour week; you are unable to manipulate your trades by in- creasing the hours weekly so as to expedite the progress of such of the work that is -not making the proper. time to get out or the way of the other tradesmen. Unless you can relax this situation; .with winter coming on you are. going to have a very serious delay in the progress of work on your building. It might be also; that the work will be cauht unroofed- and have to lie through the winter without any pro- . 3 gress•being made unless immediate steps can be taken to increase the progress of all trades and coordinate them -,with better timing than now exists. If the building can be expedited and closed -in it means that you will be able to work all winter, thus giving continuous employment: Unless the work can be expedited, you face the pro- bability of having to shut down fox many weeks; and thus leave men, out of employment The fundamental purpose of the PWA is to put men to work, and we trust that your people will take the proper course to sad that this work be expedited now to the end that the men can have steady work instead of having to shut down during the severe part of the winter as outlined above: Yours very truly,$ JOHN STEWART I 3 cc Wash: State Engineer Inspector, PWA. 1 o A.C.Lundholm,REIa " Ui S: DEPARTMENT OF L ABOR , U 811 .EnploAmht Service Old Post*Office Building Raochlester; Minnesota Rat ional R e employ ant Service & Schwartz & Cos i Sept i 17 19 36 Rochester; Minn4 Dear Mr. Schwart zs %f Re: Stone Setters for. Library Project I am unable to fill completely your requisition for stone setters which I received from you August 3 and 21; due to the fact that men @Aalified t6 do that type of work are not available in Rochester or.. thi s locality. So doubt there are qualified men available in the State but it is not likely we can get them to come very far; due` to the 30 hr week. Especially if they are able to secure some work at home: Yours very truly$ George L. Sergeant National Reemployment Service Rochester; Minn: " "C" SCHWART Z & 4 COMP MY GFN M A-i CONTR ACTOR S RO CHESrER; MINNs Sept enb er 179 19 36; Mr: Wr W4 Churchill; Pres _ Public Library Board Rochester, Minna • Dear Sir%- . Referring to our contract far the construction of the Rochester Public Library; we wish to bring to your. attention=the fact that this build- ing is still being wri.ously delayed due to the fact that the National Re- employment Service has not and cannot provide us the necessary labor r*- gaired to carry on this works This failure is due to the fact that there is a scarcity of certain classes of mechanics, and they are notavailable in this to cality3 This condition has prevailed on this job since August 8th. We have requisitions in for nine stone setters; and have to date only been fur- nished with three capable men, and indications --are that we will be compelled to carry on -this work in freezing weather• As these delays are thru no fault of ours; we feel that we are justified in' asking that we be reimbursed for any such extra expense that we are put to; due to these delays; and we be- lieve.that it would be advantageous for the City; since men are not available in this locality; to have this work under the PWA regal cations as .to the em- ployment of held and hours of employment: Under the PWA regulations, the f " NRS could then endeavor to secure such mechanics as are not available in this locality thru other sources and if it was found advisable the PWA would then s be in' a pgsition, if it was proved that an emergency .exists; to allow us to employethe men forty hours in excess of the present ruling of one hundred thirty hours per months Yours very truly; g .SCHWART Z , & COMPANY F GS:MC , BY G4 A numberodf people were present and spoke in, favor of and against the request as outlined in the foregoing communicationn Aldermen Lemon introduced an Ordinance entitled "An Ordinance regulating the number of hours of employment per week for skilled and unskilled kbor upon public works by contractors when performed, for the City. of Roch- ester, and also by the 'City of Rochester in performing such work not. under contract. ", which was given its first readings , Alderman L emmon moved that the rules be suspended and said rdinance given its second readi.�ng: Motion seconded by Amundsen and Amundsen, er; Green; .Lemmon and Richman voting in favor thereof and Alderman Moody ing against, whereupon President Liddle declared said motion lost-4 , ° . ^ c , ,