BOROUGH MATTERS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 493, 21 August 1912, Page 3

BOROUGH MATTERS.

To the Editor

I Sir, —Kindly allow me space in your paper to reply to the report of the re lations existing between the council and myself up to the time we mutually agreed to part, and also the remarks made by various councillors about the stone crushing plant. Cr Forsyth id reported to have stated that there had baen considerable friction between the council and me for some time and instanced various streets through which the residents were wading through mud. As to the friction which existed, I fail to see how there could have been anything else, considering the manner in which a certain section of the cuuneil, since their election, has treated me, making a shuttlecock of me, and instead of working with me, ignoring me, endeavouring to ridicule and belittle my work on every possible occasion, and only employing me when they could not do otherwise. For instance in the case of the permanent levels of the town, when within about a week they refused to call for fresh tenders for the sewerage when told that a tender (not mine) could be got to do the work at my estimata, being about £4OO below the lowest tender received, on the ground that it would be unfair to other contractors who had tenoered, yet at the same time they stated that my tender for the permanent levels was too high—and it was resolved to call for fresh tenders. In response one tender was received for about £3 lea 3 than mine, with provisos attached which the council considered they could not agree to. The matter was then left to the present Mayor to fix up with ras, and at his request I submitted a modified price for the principal srteets 33 per below my original price. Meanwhile a ' random tender was received to do the work, which, of course was eagerly snapped up, but for some reason or other was not gone on with, and this man had to be paid for putting in a tender. Needless to say I got nothing for two tenders. Meanwhile the permanent levels are in status quo, and any frontager wishing to build has to guess what the street level opposite his property will eventually be notwithstanding that the statutory time for preparing these plans has now expired for some time, and any alteration that may now be made to ill be at the borough's risk. With reference to residents wading through mud, what I would ask, can be expected, when comparatively good roads of pumice are formed during winter months, and which would be, if 1 were asked, far better left alone until the summer, to say nothing of the extra cost involved. Here I might also state that my estimates were not framed for winter work or of letting contracts when practically no competition exists, with the natural corollary of abnormally high prices, and it is a significant fact that the chairman of the Works Committee, who always strenuously opposed the late Mayor's desire not to see the council thus hampered or competition restricted, was the councillor wi.o moved to rescind his previous motion that all work should be done by contract. A foreman to carry out loan works was J believe, appointed, although I was never informed of the fact, and shortly after his appointment a resolution was passed shutting down all work for the winter, as the council at laat began to recognise that the cost of winter work was too great. In all this backing and filling, I was not consulted, although, of course, the overrunning of estimates waa blamed on me. On the question of underestimating, apa?t from the great amount of money squandered through the obstinacy of certain councillors in persisting in adhering only to the contract system, I would like to know what amount has been expended on work not provided for in my original estimates and which were unnecessary. If such waste and expenditure were allowed for, and the unforse.en rise in wages and material taken into consideration, and had not all initiative been taken out of my hand, I venture to say that my estimates, as far as rough preliminary estimate on the data I had when these were made, would not have have been so very wide of the mark. Re Stone Crusher. —In this matter throughout, the main issue and crux of the whole question ht>s been obscured, and a herring drawn across the scent by bringing in small matters of detail which have been remedied at a very small cost. The main issue is that the council is afraid that they have a machine which they decided to get, and which will not do the work as specified. Their decision was, as usual, arrived at without consulting mo. I, again, am to be branded with their folly. The "abortion" and "disgrace" are theirs, and they are the fathers thereof. With regard to the delay alleged to have taken place over placing the plant in position, on December 13th, 1911, I wrote to the town clerk stating that it would be necessary to excavate a "good deal of earth from the west side of the quarry to give room for the plant, and that I was preparing plans and specifications accordingly and would be glad, as time was short, if he would get the necessary consent, to advertise the same. This was done by the council on December 18th, 1911, yet for some reason or other which I am ignorant of, the work was not put in hand until April, 1912, with the results well known to residents cf that locality. With regard to the bridge, immediately I know that the structure was laterally unstable,! acquainted the council with the fact, and took steps to have the same remedied, and anyone who haa to deal with timber in Te Kuiti knows that difficulties and delays occur in procuring it epecially if the sizes differ at all from that generally used. The bridge was ready on April 15th to take the plant over, of which fact Messrs Porter and Co., were informed. Yet it was May 7th befoe their representative arrived here and the engine and crusher crossed the bridge on the following

day. Touching the reported statement of Messrs Porter and Co. to Crs Forsyth and Young, that the engine would not be suitable: This appears to me to be an extraordinary confesssion on the part of a contractor, viz., that what they had contractpd to do would not be done, and if the engine is not suitable it appears to me to be the contractors business to make it so.

j Re the Mayor's remark that the | hoppers were a disgrace, I would like him to be a little more explicit, and say how, if necessary, they should be altered, or how they should have been made. I can only say that ithey are similiar to those I designed and erected in 1903, which have been working satisfactorily ever since. Possibly the elevator is working rather quickly for the amount of stone the crusher is putting through, but if the latter were working up to its specified quantity the present speeri of the elevator would not be found very much too fast to elevate this quantity considering the size of the buckets. Re Messrs Porter and Co.'a explanation published in your issue of 13th ult. on December 27th, 1911, I wrote them, inter alia, as follows: —"In reply to your letter of the 16th inst. re stone crusher and engine the council is not prepared to purchase from you a separate engine to run the crusher and desire you to arrange so that the road roller shall do so in terms of your, contract. With regard to how the screen and elevator are to be palced, I hope to send you a sketch within the next day or two; how the power is to be applied sn as to get the maximum of efficiency, I must leave to you as I do not wish in any way to hamper you in the carrying out of your contract, and any statement or rather, suggestion, I may have made to you or Mr Price must be taken as only my opinion in the matter, and not necessarily acted upon." Hence, Messrs Porter and Co. cannot say but what they had nractically a free hand in setting up the machinery. Similarly as with the council an endeavour is made to lay at my door the apparent inefficiency of a machine, which, as I have eaid before, I had no voice in choosing. Now, sir, I've heard a good deal of my "blocking progress. "I will give an instance of the council's "progression." The 8 inch main was laid into town last October and in that month I brought before the council the fact that it would be necessary for the by-laws to be got into operation. I was informed by Cr Fozsyth that they would be ready in a week. Well, they might have been, but I believe I am right in saying that they did not come into operation until May of this year, and this, combined with the dilly-dallying over laying the reticulation pipes, with the Railway Department's charge on the latter for storage, has lost the ratepayers, so I am informed about £350, for, aa every tyro knows, no water rate can be collected until the by-laws become operative. In conclusion 1 would like to say a lew words about the river breastwork. The breakaway is caused by a culvert, laid by j the Railway Deparment, which collects a , considerable quantity of the Awakino road storm water, discharging into the fascine work, which, hav- | ing clay as one of its component parts, is naturally washed away. Naturally disintergation of the other component parts must follow. The pipes can now be seen all broken up in the filling. Although I drew attention to this matter nothing has been done, and for the expenditure of about what it haa cost to fence and light the gap, the damage, taken in time, could have been made good. But, then, a black mark might not have been made against me. At the same time it is the ratepayers' property, and not mine. lam glad to say, now knowing what I do of Te Kuiti pumice that I left the far side alone, and did not make a new cut in of what "engineers" may say; otherwise I am convinced that the borough would have had to pay heavy compensation ere this. What I have provided, with reasonable maintenance, will be sufficient for Te Kuiti requirements for several years to come. Cr Forsyth states that there was no personal feeling in the matter; well, if pure unadulterated venom throughout the piece, trap laying, and the endeavour to influence other local bodies against me, all of which at any rate one of his satellites has been guilty of, does not constitute personal feeling then he is quite right.—l am, etc., L. G. P. SPENCER.