Nelson Evening Mail SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1902 THE CITY SURVEYORSHIP. THE COUNCIL'S QUANDARY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 39, 15 February 1902, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1902 THE CITY SURVEYORSHIP. THE COUNCIL'S QUANDARY.

1 1 is hoped tlial the Nelson City Council will nol make a mistake in Iho appointment of a new City | Surveyor. At last mgliCs meetI nig it. was resolved to" write to four v\ the applicants who had l>een iijisucecssfii'i when a final selection was recently made aji/J to select one of them, probably alter a personal interview. But there are certain circumstances connected with the original advert isomcnl calling applications which should bo considered before final and decisive action is taken. * ♦ • If we are not wrongly informed, t-he original advertisement did riotspecify that the new City Surveyor .should be a duly qualified civil engineer. That is to say, the applicants may be anything, f rom overseers upwards. I n such circumstances, the question naturally arises whether, if the officer, need nut, be a profession al man. it iii worth while to pay the present bal■iry of the office. A ca§e in point aroae at the meeting la^t mglit. The Mayor drew attention to the ; desirableness of proceeding as soon * a* possible with the extension of

Ihe waterworks, in accordance with he sanction to the proposed loan )f £15,000. He asked that a local •ngineer be authorised to take the nitial steps to test the recommenlations of Mr Jickell as to site, )tc— recommendations that have been endorsed by Mr Mestayer, of Wellington. It was resolved after iliscussion to interview the local engineer as to his charges for testing and checking the work of engineers who are as well qualified as himself, and the debate gave the impression that the Council would not be unwilling to let the local engineer in question carry out the undertaking to conclusion notwithstanding the engagement of a t il> Kngineer and Surveyor. ♦■ * » Now, apart from tbe question of testing a scheme that 1 as already been endorsed by an acknowledged authority, which may or may not be necessary, the issue of vital importance to th-t ratepayers is whether tbe City Surveyor is to confine himself to mere'slreet maintenance jobs and the minor municipal works, while alt important undertakings are conducted by a consulting engineer : or whether tre City Surveyor is also to be a duly qualified professional man, wljp is capable of carrying on at least ordinary construc-ti-'c engineering If an overseer is wanted and no more, then it is anomalous to term the holder of the position an engineer or a surveyor, and many men would prove efficient ovei seers at half the present salary of the post. Again, if only an overseer is required, there is hardiy need to go out of Nelson for an officer, for many think tho experienced mac already in tho Council's servico has a just claim to consid.ratioa in the matter oi promotion. On the other hand, if the post of City Surveyor and Engineer must be held by some one who is both an engineer and a surveyor, then it is due to the ratepayers that the most qualified man available should be selected. It appears, however that, by the 'tonus of the advertisement calling applications, no candidate need ol necessity be duly qualified for the posi tion by diploma, but only by experience In which case the local officer who was immediately subordinate to Mr Jickel] should have as much right to apply fot the situat ion and to get it as outsiders We are not urging the appointment ol the latter, but merely showing by way ol argument and deduction tha* the bash of application has opened the door U. anomalous conditions and endless complications. No one knows solely from th* terms of the advertisement whether th< four men from whom the final selection may be made are qualified oivil engineers or not. Thoy may be, and their testi monials may s-bow them to possess dipIloinas. If this is so, the issue wi Ibt simplified. But if not. then the Council has not sufficiently considered its position in the future in regard to the designing and carrying out of work demanding engineering skill and pract ice. The question at is*ue is not *o much whether the officer to be appointed shall be a diplomaed enginee', but whether ht shall draw a salary hitherto paii to a diplomaed engineer while at the aamt time all engineering work to be done in the f utu*e may have to be paid for ai extra outside his duties and capabilities A case in point is in regard to th* w»ter works extension scheme. Mr Jickell, C.E., designed it, Mr Mestayer, C.E., en dorsed it, Mr Roberts, C.E.. is perhaps t< check it. But who is to carry it out • Will it be Mr Brown. Jones, Oi Robinson. C.E. - (the new City Surveyor and Engineer to be appointed); Mr Brown, Jones, or Hobinsot (not C.E). (Ihe new City Kngineer and Surveyor to be appointed) : or some professional man employed specially and paid accordingly r Admittedly, Mi , Jickell, C.E.. was able to do the work unaided bv outside advice or help, as his plan was endorsed by a qualiflod expert from elsewhere specially engaged to pre- . paie an independent report. If Mr Brown Jone- or Robinson (not C.E.), when he takes Mr Jickel l's place, is unable to do what Mr Jickell. C.E.. could have done, and if an outside cngmeei , has to be employed, obviously Mi i Brown, Jones or Robinson (not C E.) , should not be pa ! d as much as Mi Jickell, C.l_., was. It will be seen that the Council is in a > dilemma from which it can extricate it- ' self only if the man selected from among tbe rriginal applicarts be a qua'ified engineer ; if frcb applications be invited I from duly qualified engineers ;or if it be i decided once anl for all tbat the officer j need not be a professional man and if his i salary be lowered accordingly. Some hold that a duly qualified civil engineer is not needed in Ne'son, and that in the lousr run the construction of the more important works by a consulting engineer would be better and more economically done. But tbat is not tne issne under consideration. The Council 'has'all but committed itself to tbe appointment at a professional salary of an officer who may 1 or may not be a professional man. That is not fair to the ratepayers, and hence tho outcome of the proposed method of final selection, will not be satisfactory unless the man chosen can show that h9 is a diplomaed engineer as his predecessor was. The easiest way out of the difficulty 1 seems to be to rescind la«t night's resolution and re-consider the whole position, either cilling for applications from persons who will be willing to be practically on .y an overseer at an overseer's wges, or calling for applications from duly quali- , fled civil and gas engineers The Council has already been taught a lesson as the outcome of its original advertisement, and it has been proved boyond doubt that the wording of the advertisement must be more or elss faulty, and open to misconstruction by applicants. Hence it is folly to go ovrfr the same ground again, with all its traps and pitfalls.