§ 124. Contracts for paving. The common council shall, by general
ordinance, prescribe, approve and adopt the materials to be used in
paving, repaving, repairing, surfacing or resurfacing the streets and
public places of the city, and fix the standard of excellence and test
required for each such material. The city engineer shall prepare
standard specifications, in accordance with such ordinance, for the
performance of the work involved in such improvements with each kind of
materials so prescribed, approved and adopted therefor. Whenever the
common council shall determine to make any such improvement, and the
proceedings provided by law as preliminary thereto shall have been
taken, the board of contract and supply shall advertise for proposals
for the furnishing of the materials and the performance of the work
involved in such improvements, and specifications shall be prepared and
proposals shall be invited, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter,
for the construction of such improvement with each kind of paving
material so prescribed, approved and adopted by the common council. In
case the expense of any such improvement is to be assessed upon the
property abutting upon the street, or part thereof, to be improved and
more than one kind of material is prescribed, approved or adopted
therefor, the secretary of the board shall, within one week after
proposals for such work have been received and opened, cause to be
published in a daily official paper for four successive days, exclusive
of Sunday, a notice containing a summary statement of all such
proposals. A majority of said property owners, owning not less than
one-third of the feet front of property abutting on such street,
exclusive of city property, may present to the board of contract and
supply a petition or other writing designating the general kind of
pavement or material to be used in making said improvement. If no part
of the expense of such improvement is to be assessed upon the property
abutting upon said street, or if such expense is to be so assessed, but
the property owners shall not have made a designation or shall have made
more than one designation, as herein provided, the common council shall,
not later than at its next regular meeting after the expiration of ten
days from the service of such notice, designate the kind of pavement or
material to be used in making such improvement, and the contract for
such improvement shall be awarded for the kind of pavement or material
so designated by the property owners or common council as aforesaid, and
to the lowest bidder for doing the work with the kind of pavement or
material so designated. In case, however, two-thirds of the owners of
property, owning at least three-fifths of the linear feet fronting upon
said street, or part thereof, shall designate a particular make, style
or brand of the kind of pavement or material to be used in making such
improvement, the contract therefor shall be awarded to the lowest bidder
for such make, style or brand of such kind of pavement or material,
although the same is not the lowest bid for such kind of pavement or
material so designated. Where a street surface railroad shall be laid in
any street which it is determined to improve as herein provided, the
proposals and contract for such improvement shall include the
improvement of the space between the tracks of such street surface
railroad, the rails of such tracks and two feet in width outside of such
tracks, and the work of improvement in such space shall be done at the
same time and under the same supervision as the work of improvement of
the remainder of such street. After opportunity to be heard has been
given to the company owning or operating such street surface railroad,
the board of contract and supply may prescribe the materials to be used
in improving such street within the railroad space above described. The
entire expense of the improvement within such railroad space shall be
assessed and levied upon the property of the company owning or operating
such railroad and shall be collected in the same manner as other
expenses for local improvements are assessed, levied and collected in
the city; and an action may also be maintained by the city against the
company in any court of record for the collection of such expense and
assessment.