NAPIER TRAMS AND ELECTRIC SUPPLY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume III, Issue 166, 28 June 1913, Page 5

NAPIER TRAMS AND ELECTRIC SUPPLY.

STAFFING Tllli WORKS. WERE APPOINTMENTS CUT AND DRIED ' QUESTION DISC ESSED BY THE COUNCIL A special meeting of the Napier Borough Council was held this morning to consider matters in connection with the tramways and electric lighting nJjcme. His Worship the Mayor presided. There were pre sent Councillors W. Plowman, T. H. Silenth. W. Smith, T. P. Williamson, W. Spence, J. J. Niven, W, J, AlcGratli. E. Crowley.

Some discussion took place upon tiie proper houses. It wm pointed out that it was possible for people to unknowingly use bad wire and cause trouble, it was resolved to get a specification of wiring pre pared for the guidance of the public. It was resolved, to embody th» Christchurch qualification for el»ctric fitters in the Napier by-law#. Tin- by-laws for the electric lighting and tramways were adopted firm Invercargill. A 1 TO IN T M EN T (.) F ST AF F. The Tramway ( 'ommittce reported as follows : ■

“That applications be called, returnable on the 9tb July next, for the combined positions of station superintendent and works engineer at » salary at. the rate of .£3OO per year ; also for the combined positions of • traffic and business manager at a salary at the rate oi £2OO per year. Applicants to have New Zealand experience and to forward copies of references with applications. Mr. Black, consulting engineer, wrote strongly objecting to th« course proposed. He thought they should appoint A borough electrical engineer instead °'f having dual control. He wanted his objection placed on record, Mr. Niven asked how Mr. Diack '■ knew what was proposed. His Worship tire Alayor did not know.

C’r. Crowley said that he had told Mr., Black-what was "proposed and as chairman of the Tramway Committee he felt justified. He protested against the report of the committee which he declared was cut and diied before the meeting. They certainly should have a competent engineer. There was a scho’riie which had <<>~t £50,001) with valuable machinery to look after. Any man who could run the theatre plant could not run the power-house. It «.i, puie pillle to ‘-av that he could. For thcii fir-t year they should take care to have proper supervision and not put any mftn in charge wlio was not thoroughly competent. If the man was not competent there would be ri«ks to the ratepayers. The macliiuery had to deal with the pumping of water mid sewage, and if there was ft breakdown wlio would be to blame'? The Council If anything should cause the water to go wrong or the sewage ■ I lit-i ■ ■•light hr -• nulls dangri in the summer time. Wnngntmi and Gisborne had experienced disastrous re-mlts fn-m appoiutimr men v.ho were not electrical engineers. They were no doubt good men in their «vn -i-lieti- but 'they were not electrical engineers. It' was not right lor i hem to experiment, when -imilin experiments rUesi here hud proved such failures. They should consider the rutepayers first and mu play into the hands of the Gas Company by mismmnim meet. He formally moved that the report bo referred back to the committee'and 1 hat the . o:ni< 11 rail tor applications for the combined position of electrical engineer and --t at ion superintendent at a salary of £KHJ per annum. NOT CUT AND DRIED.

Ur. Niven warmly 1 epiuiiuted the statement that the report of the commitec was cut and drjed. Quito the reverse was the ease for Mr. Black and. Cr. Crowley had had it cut and dried for a certain mum Thu miu' appointed must be an electrical engineer. He had no objection to the word electrietil." but hr* did strongly object to the outlay gested on the paltry little t wo-jyi'ffo truck which should never liav<» been built, (ilearl Hear ‘.I absurd to spend £7OW for running such a t rack. ? The Mavor 0"n(!-d out that an elec! t'iea l enij.duH-rr would not necessarily kjyn'-V anything about suction gas nts. T) ley eo 11111 oa si I y R® t a dozen young men from Nivcn’i works to run the gas plant. ( R. PLOWMAN DEFINITE.

Cr. Plowman said lie d’d n°l ngree with tiie finding of the committee. lie looked at tiie mattei from a purely busim-sw v>oiut of view. All his property was m Napier and if the sdicme was a failure it. would moan a serious loss to i,imHe had no sentimci’t and no personal feeling on th<" inntt.er at. all. There was no ’< SP loading a paltry system out of proportion to the business they could do. TTte.v would not only avrook the suhcriv' fuKuicb nllv but also alienate the sympathy of‘the public'. .It Moult! be belter to box up the whole box •■! tricky anil make the fit st loss the last Some councillors took too momentous a view of the power-house. 1 licit - eyes Stood out .'lf the switchboard like a Chin.-nmn’s in a joss bouse. They wandered round the 1 Louh.like bunnies round a t tgt 1 N cage. 11- moved they combine the position of electrical engineer and i.upcim teiident. am! that they appoint Air. Hnrsthmise. He had had tl- ni-si,-illation work at the .beatre nvd power-house, and they had got a good man for the gas plant, and d not they could get plenty ■’ ;"'r. fl* thc Spit. AN EXPERT NT’< I’SSAHY (McGrath seconded Cr. ( rowlev’s motion. Iu reply to (. r. Plow m-n he il he had every confidence in Mr. H’u-.tlmme in his present it i<ci., litir lie was tiot tin cle‘ , - imgimwr. Freqiientli wiiin the e.'ttticti vai.ii-d plan and sport f,cations. Mr. Hurst house had m>’ time to go into them. It j «<H» fn him I.l’ do the work ot 1 f ' '"mi r du; fdf "p

NAPIER TRAMS AND ELECTRIC SUPPLY. (Continued from page sy. both borough and electrical engineer. Tile offices < f Luruugh and electrical engineer shuidd be separate. The y required :>.n export at £‘4oo a yen*-. They had to take into consideration the lighting cf the town which was the life blood of the scheme. Cr. Niven had laid stress that they only had a miserable m mil* scheme of tramway. But would they stop at two miles 1 The 'trams would ge right out through Taradale and near Hastings. Before many months they would want an extension in Napier South, and light in every street of the town. He hoped to sec the trams to Loth Napier South and Taradale before long. The ItCi’.t set down was for a complete staff from the engineer to the typt'.v; -ter, but they would not wan; the t■'! staff at first. He took it that ail the work could be controlled fior.i the Town Clerk’s office. They had plenty of staff now. and that part of the work could, be taken oft the £6OOO. They should appoint an engineer at £4OO and let him engage his own staff. The tn st cm had to be made to pay and could not ;.e locked up as Cr. Plowman staged. He never heard a more ridiculous statement from a sensible man. The system should turn in £15.000 a year at first. but no councillor thought it would yay from the start. If they had carried out the first scheme at £13.000 it would have paid a dividend. WHERE IS THE SAVING ? Cr. Williamson was not unite clear as to the -position following upon the appointment of an electrical engineer. If they had an electrical engineer, would they have to have a station superintendent as well l Who would do the practical work? He did not want a figure bead. If Crs. McGrath and Crow- j ley could show him where an clectrie>l engineer could earn his salary he was with them. He was not going to vote for an electrical engineer and then employ two 'men under him.

Cr. Crowley said that if they combined the position of electrical engineer and station superintendent they could get a good man —the class of man they wanted. Mr. Black had allowed £6OO for these positions. If they got a good man for £4OO the council could save £2OO a year. Cr. Sheath : That is the man we want. Th"- Mayor said .Mr. Black hail reported on the staff to the council and then when the council disagreed with him he said it could be altered. The staff suggested was far too elaborate. FULLY SATISFIED. Cr. Sheath said that he was fully ; satisfied tlfat the committee had .thrashed the whole matter out. If they had a superintendent and works engineer it was till they wanted at present. They should go slow, and he strongly supported the recommendations of the committee. REPORT ADOPTED. The Mayor pointed out that Cr. Plowman’s amendment had not been seconded. Cr. Plowman said he supposed if bo one had the pluck to second it he would have to withdraw it. The Mayor : I have pluck enough to second it. but I don’t agree with *it.

The motion to adopt the report was then put and carried on the following division : — Ayes: Niven. Spence, Williamson. Smith, Sheath, Plowman and Brown. Noes: Crowley and McGrath. The meeting then rose. MR. BLACK S OBJECTION. ELECTRIC ITY UN DERT A KIN G STAFF. I desire to bring to the notice of the council that the decision arrived at to-day by the Tramways Com mittee re appointment of staff, is so completely at variance with my views and advice on inc matter that I feel it necessary to disasso • ate myself fron* it at the earliest posmcni'mr. M hen asked to re-

po»tX I r ’ el ,r "'‘ and it - -b-'- c ’ !1 undertaking >: . - one heaL viz-n oti.i.ri liciAi.ipr a m: m* ?' “-V *' I ’* - 1 ! '’ ’ * trical ere.r.-’’' . .•'■•’’■ > .’..tnager: further ’er. " j would then 1.-v .nsd l undertaking’s c«.; : rot ;-nd e;n "*C- i to the council, 'm ■ ‘ » >' the opportunity of i •?<■■ 'tni: T-umnc > the staff he thought ne<. -m. f“; furnish some idea of what v -?’i■>. •< ' involved. I outlined an organ-er.ion ; that could be assumed suitable uc I stated I did not think this should Ifixed and thus leave no >ptd in to the borough electrical engineer who might he appointed. I have no confidence whatever in the system of dual control which the committee Las seen fit to recommend. I am at a loss to know how it or the council can possibly define the duties of each position so as to avoid either overlapping and conflict of authority or the neglect of numerous matters, which though mostly small in themselves are essentia’ to the proper running of the whole undertaking. I feel that the committee does nut adequately recog nise tiie full force of the statutory obligations in regard to the conducting of two monopolies which the council has undertaken, when it re cornmend- a hybrid system of control. which in my judgment must lead to an imperfect fulfilment of some of those obligations. Further. I do not think that in a combined tramways and electricity supply business, where it impossible to rigidly separate the two departments, that the undertaking can be efficiently controlled and developed and made a success for the ratepayers who own it, unless it is placed under the management of one man whose position depends upon the results he can -ecu re. 1.1 d-•-.■x.ni.c the works winch i 1 ■' 11T "i I' i. S 111 <" tlPCiCitd. K,ix-.Q I have laboured to give Napier a system c-. oroc t effien. .we and the power plant in particular i bebete to V.- in nova tree o . k 1 mu >'-irtci_o tut-

will make a great mistake if it decides to bring in a controlling staff selected from men who have had no opportunity of assisting in its erection and gaining an insight into its principles. The system of gas generation embodied in it is being used fur tLe first time in this country and the operation of the plant for a year or two will call for more individual i.'iire than in ordinary plant 1 ;. In return for this the borough will obtain a fuel consumption much lower than is the case with less 'efficient types of plant. One of the reasons for my selection of the clerk of works and the reasons for the power station contractors seleetirg their erecting staff, were that each had 'mid good experience in the working of producer gas and therefore could the more readily assimilate the principles involved in the new type of plant to be installed. I submit that this factor can only be disregarded now to the injury of the ratepayers’ I interests.

I have written this letter as the responsible adviser to the council, believing that the interests of the citizens and ratepayers of Napier who are the owners of the electricity undertaking, can only be properly conserved by the appointment of a borough electrical engineer who snail control the whole of the tramways and supply departments and be responsible to the council. If the council sees fit to secure a false economy .as I believe it. by adopting a dual control, it will do so in direct opposition to my advice, and I in this event- I shall a«k that my. dissent be placed on record.