THE PUKENUI KAURI.

Northern Advocate, 18 June 1920, Page 2

THE PUKENUI KAURI.

MILLING THE TIMBER

TENDERS TO BE CALLED

With the object of formulating a definite pl"n upon which to proceed with the mining and sai 6 of the timber recently acquired. by the Borough Council at the Pukenui Forest, a special meeting* of the Council took place last evening, the Mayor presiding over a i'uil attendance of councillors.

A proposal, underffiev c headings, reiu.ive to methods of dealing with the timber, was submitted by the Mayor. It coveted a range from cutting and putting the logs on skids at the edge of the bush to delivery of the sawn timber in Whangarei.

The opinion tendered by Mr Martin, solicitor for the Municipal Corporations Association, was reviewed, and Cr. Pickmere was most insistent upon the need for exercising cai'e in dealing with the sale to the public of the surplus, beyond what was required for the Workers' Homes scheme. The clear definition oi "surplus" was the chief obstacle.

Cr. Holmes said it should be well known that timber would only be available for the general public in Whangarei after the workers' dwellings had been provided for, and then only by Special Order in Council. He submitted that judging from the legal opinions, the Council was bound down in its dealings by the requirements of the £10,000 loan expenditure for workers' dwellings.

So far, Cr. Pickmere pointed out, four of the 13 dwellings provided for by the loan were being built, and the balanc e of the 27 applications had not been gone on with, owing partly to the shortage of timber. He wanted to get th c timber for the borough but the real difficulty was whether f he Council had power to deal in timber. Some of the councillors were trying to do ao under the guise of the workers' dwellings scheme, whereas, at most,, the Council could use only 23,000 odd feet that way out of a total of approximately 2,000 000 feet of kauri, rimu and other timbers, and he contended that it would be a flimsy pretence to justify sale of that balance as a surplus. Mr Martin had had the position put before him in a different light and unless h e realised that the surplus was greater by far than the demands for the workers' dwellings, the speak-

er was certain that the Council should exercise more caution, even if they went to the extent of having a private authorisation bill piit through the House, to enable th 6 Council to deal with the full amount of timber. At present only a surplus actually arising after dealing with all th e . demands for workers' dwellings could be sold to the general public, and it might take three or four years before the demands from that source could be assessed, especially if, as was probable, further loans were obtained in connection With the scheme.

Cr. Jackson pointed out that the Council had 27 applications already to deal with and he contended that, if necessary, the Council should advertise for more. The number thus obtained could be provided for from the timber available; the scheme should then b e closed, and the Council would have the balance available and clear. The Council could then, under legal authority, dispose of the balance, as the surplus, to the general public.

The Mayor agreed with Cr. Jackson's views and declared that h e was convinced that the timber could be sold by the corporation.

The Mayor's resolution, to the effect that the Council should consider ways and means of milling, was carried.

Cr. Holmes favoured milling the timber in Whangarei as it would mean less waste, would be more in the interests of the borough, and cheaper to cart in logs than sawn timber.

The Mayor thought that the price of handling and milling could be best settled by calling for alternative tenders, and a long discussion ensued upon the form they should take.

Cr. Tibbits wanted a regulation put i to prevent logs being cut more than 100,000 ft ahead of the milling operations, to prevent the worm getting into big logs lying around in the bush.

Crs Carter and Pickmer e wanted expert advice before deciding upon a definite cours e of action, and the latter wanted th e legal aspect put right first.

Cr. Jackson suggested that tenders be called for felling the trees and cutting the timber at the bush with alternatives, although personally, he was strongly in favour of milling in Whangnrei, and would fight tooth and nail against milling operations being carried out at the bush.

Cr. Carter then moved that Crs. Cutforth, Tibbits, Holmes and himself be a committee to draw up specifications, but the Mayor put in a word for himself and declared that he intended to be on the committee which was to meet an expert and draw up the specifications. Consequently he, and Crs. Holmes, Tibbits and Carter wer c formed into the committee with power to confer with Mr Cliff and to call for the tenders.

Before any tenders were called for, Cr. Jackson contended that the specifications drawn up by the expert and the committee should be again discussed by the Council, and he moved to that effect, seconded by Cr Pickmere.

The motion that the sub-committee should confer with Mr Cliff, draw up specifications and call for alternative tenders to be submitted to the Council, was then carried.

It was decided to obtain an option over certain sites for mills and an outlet, through the committee already

set up; although perhaps the optioi would never be taken up by a sue cessful tenderer.

Cr. Pickmere then queried the attitude the Council should adopt concerning prices at which timber should be sold to th c general public. It seemed to him that if the Council adopted tne policy of selling as low as possible, they would provide benefits for those who were actually using the timber for building, but he thought that the whole of th e ratepayers should benefit by the Council's timber transactions.

That aspect could be left until later, the Mayor contended, and he made a point, without unduly stressing it, that he would provide the timber as cheaply as possible to the workers to build their homes.