GREY AERODROME

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1935, Page 4

GREY AERODROME

1 LABOUR COST ESTIMATE £BOOO. Construction proposals iu connection with the Grey aerodrome were referred to at last evening’s meeting of the Greymouth Borough Council, when the following letter, written on August 2 by the District Engineer of Public Works (Mr. R. Trevor Smith) to the Borough Engineer (Mr. A. J. Fairmaid) was read: —

“Replying to your letter of 20th ultimo, I have to advise that my Department would be prepared to take over the work of constructing the aerodrome, if your Council so desired. Under such an arrangement, it would be necessary to utilise unemployed labour for their allocated time each week, and they would be given contracts at prices calculated to enable an average good workman to earn 12/per day. My estimate for labour on this basis is £BOOO.

“Due to the nature of this particular work, a considerable sum will be required for supervision, plant and tools, haulage, seed, protection work, etc., and such expenses would have to be found by your Council or the con tributing .local .bodies. After carefully considering the figures compiled by yourself, and estimating as the result of experience on several other aerodrome works which are proceeding on similar- lines, I find that £2400 would be required over and above labour which is found by the Unemployment Board. . “The above estimates are for the aerodrome only to the size approved by the Director of Civil Aviation, and shown on plan P.W.D. 88,413.' The road work would be carried out by your Council. ' “If the contributing local bodies were able or willing, to provide more than £2400 above-mentioned, the surplus could be used to give workmen a greater measure of working time, and this could be arranged whether the work was carried out by my Department or by yourself. To enable you to give consideration to any such extra time allowance, it will no doubt help you to know that, to give the men one day’s extra work per week, would cost the local authorities £2OOO, or one day per month £5OO, and the cost to the Unemployment Board would be correspondingly reduced for this particular job. “I trust that the above figures will enable your. Council to make its decision regarding the work, and that every effort will be made speedily to carry this most-important project to completion.” The Mayor (Mr W. t Meldrum) stated that he had convened a conference of representatives of the Grey County Council, Grey Power Board, Greymouth Harbour Board, and Borough Council, to be held this evening, to discuss the matter. It was decided that the Mayor and Crs. F. F. Boustridge and R. J. Williams should represent the Council. The policy of the Council regarding the construction of the aerodrome was discussed in committee. The Greymouth Harbour Board ad vised that its representatives at the conference would be Messrs P. J. McLean and D., Tennent. The decision of Mr. H. Morgan, S.M., confirming the proposal to close Beach Road and the unnamed street adjoining, in connection with the proposed aerodrome site, was received. The West Coast United Aero Club acknowledged receipt of a copy of the letter from the Kumara Borough Council, regarding a suggested site for an aerodrome' near Kumara, and stated that the Kumara Borough Council had been written to.