THE TOWN HALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13780, 19 June 1908, Page 6

THE TOWN HALL.

AN ADDITIONAL £30,000. LARGER, SCHEME ' FAVOURED. QUESTION .FOR THE RATEPAYERS. In the course of business at the City Council meeting last evening; the report of the committee of the whole Council relative to the Town Hall tenders was presented. This report was published hi the HERALD of last Friday. It will be. remembered that the committee found that Messrs. Ferguson and Malcolm, of Auckland, were the lowest tenderers, their price for the whole work, including tower and front comer ten-ace, being rather over £87,000, or £82,689 without the tower and terrace, and the committee resolved to recommend that power to borrow an additional £30,000 be sought. The committee also pointed out that a Town Hall could bo erected for £60,000, but it was decided to- give the ratepayers the opportunity of choosing between that and a much finer one that could be erected as per the lowest tender. < The Mayor said there had. perhaps, been some misconception in the minds of some people regarding the Town Hall tenders, and as one who had always claimed that the methods of the Council were businesslike he desired to state the position clearly. When it was decided to erect a Town Hail, a Town Hall Committee was appointed, and it decided the amount the ratepayers should be asked for, namely, a, loan of £80,000, allocating £60,000 for the Town Hall. It was agreed to call for competitive designs, stipulating, of course, that the building was not'to cost more than £60,000. The awards were made according to merit, and when the tenders were called the lowest was considerably over £60,000, and it was clear that the first prize design was fori building considerably better and in every way more suitable than what was originally interred by the committee. there was an impression that the committee thought the Town Hall, as designed by Mr. Clarke, would cost only £60,000. All the committee did was to decide that £60,000 be the amount to be expended on the Town Hall, and it now found that it could get a ! better plan and better accommodation for the increased sum proposed. It would be very easy to reduce the plans by taking out ! one of the halls and making other alteraI tions, and thus bring the cost down to j £60,000, but after due consideration it was decided to let the matter go to the ratepayers, so that the responsibility .would rest upon them. ,As the building was for all time, the committee felt justified in asking for the larger amount. It was not that the committee was unbusinesslike. The committee could have a Town Hall for £60,000, but it would not be anything like the hall that would be erected to Mr. Clarke's design if the full amount was forthcoming. . Mr. Clarke's design was for a more elaborate hall and more accommodation than the committee thought of when it suggested £60,000. . • Mr. L. J. Bagnall said the committee was wise in making this recommendation. In Wellington sufficient accommodation had | not been provided, and Wellington miinici- : polity had to get accommodation elsewhere ; that* it -.should have provided when the Town Hall was erected. Mr. W. E. Hutchison- did not think any councillor had expected that the Town Hall, according to Mr. Clarke's plans, would be built for £60,000. ; At the time the committee ..set down the sum : of £60,000 it had no plans before it. ; There was a good deal of questioning outside as to why the Council did not now accept the second prize design, the first one having failed to secure a tender at £60,000. As a matter of• fact a building on the second prize design would cost a long way over £60,000, probably more than the accepted one, while the planning was far better in the accepted one. Mr. R. Tudchopo thought the Town Hall Committee deserved credit for bring- j ing the opportunity before the ratepayers j of having such a splendid Town Hall m j had been planned. . I Mr. C. J. Parr considered that the J right course had been adopted. The Town Hall was one- that would require to serve the needs of the city for a century | at least, and that' being so, . it was abso- i lutely necessary to have a commodious and ornamental structure, and they could not get such a- structure for £60,000. • If the city was to have an edifice worthy of even its present needs, then the talepayers should be told, in plain language, that they would have to find another £30,000. He believed they would vote it readily. It was true that Mr. " Black, the architect of the second design, came before the Council and offered to carry out the design for £60,000, but the Council felt it wanted something more than the mere word of Mr. Black. He might be a very eminent architect, but he was an utter stranger to the Council, and consequently the Council wanted guarantees, arid that was business-like method. The Council was advised by its engineer and by practical men on the Council and by other advice that Mr. Black's design could not bo carried out for much less thar) £80,000. Even to a lay mind the first" design was the best, and if there was only the second design to consider, he, for one, would not vote for the expenditure of £60,000 upon it. Mr. A. E. Glover said someone had blundered. The Mayor: No one has blundered. Mr. Glover: Then why did we go to the ''ratepayers for £60,000, when it requires £30,000 additional? Mr. A. J. Entrican remarked thai every business man in Auckland who had had occasion to build within the last-year or two had found his estimates exceeded by 30 or 40 per cent. When the committee decided on £60,000 it disregarded the advice of its one practical member—Mr. Hutchison. It set out the . accommodation it wanted, and then said: "We must have that for £60,000." There was nothing extraordinary in the experience of the committee; many firms had found the cost of labour and material steadily going up, and the longer they waited the higher prices seemed to get. , Nearly 30 years ago the City Council purchased the site of a public-bouse and borrowed £20,000 for a Town Hall that was only a-quarter of a century ago, and it showed how wonderfully the city had progressed. He believed the ratepayers, were far-seeing enough to ■ vote for the larger sum for a proper Town Hall. The Mayor said the statement' that someone had blundered might be taken as a reflection upon the city engineer, but Mr. Bush was not here when the £60,000 was estimated. Of course the city could have a Town Hall for £60,000, but it would be unwise not to give the ratepayers the opportunity of saying they would have a better one. " The report recommending an additional loan of £30,000 for the Town Hall was then adopted unanimously.

VIEWS OF CORRESPONDENTS - TO THK KJUTOn. Sir,—! shall be obliged if you will allow me ; space in your valuable columns to make a few remarks on the City Council's proposals in connection with the Town Hall,, as reported in your issue of the 12th inst. Firstly, L consider j that, their attitude with

regard to the designers of the plans Is ''open, to strong condemnation. Some time ago it was advertised that the Council would pay a premium for the best plan that would not 5 exceed £60,000 completed. They receive the works of competitors in due course, and make tlio first selection; but, on receiving l lenders according to the . plans given the pride of place, it is found that the contract ; figure is some £28,000 above the stipulated price. Surely this should put that- competitor out of the running altogether: but, instead of following such a count, the Council proposes to go " ! with the plan (omitting, however, the paying of the premium to the , designers), and asks/the ratepayers to sanction another £30,000 loan for the extra cost. I notice Mr. Black, the designer of the plan which was awarded second: place, addressed the Council, and asked that he now be given a chance, and tenders be called for his plans, a* he considered he had kept within the price limit. This, surely, was a reasonable request; but the Council would have hone of it, and in that I think they committed a grave error. Apart from the Town Hall itself, the Council saw fit to open a competition under certain conditions, and the firm which were first given preference have failed in those conditions, and failed badly, inasmuch as they exceeded the price by nearly 50 per cent. That being so, their work should be instantly disqualified, and work of firm No. 2 considered. If that also is unsatisfactory, then go on to firm No. 3, or shut down the present contributions altogether. This would be the proceeding in any kind of competition, whether in the schoolroom or in commercial life, and I consider the Auckland City Council should stick to the. stipulations they first saw fit to make. Then, sir, to come to the most important question. ,"'The Town Hall.' Wiien our worthy Mayor and councillors put. the first proposition for this all-import-ant building before us ratepayers, they stated that £60,000 would be ample to supply a building worthy of our city, and which would meet all requirements for very many years. They now Wish to make us believe; that labour, material, and one or two other items have increased the cost 50 ; per * cent, within 12 months. This I cannot swallow, and I .sincerely trust it will-be a sticker to a great many others. For a town hall to cost £90,000 I consider a scandalous waste of money, and a sura far beyond the amount needed for the requirements of Auckland to- i clay, arid 50 years hence. It is all very well for' Mr. Myers to hold -up his progressive policy, and state that all these things can 1 be done without increasing the rates, but is j the public always to be blinded by these j utterances? Truly. Mr, Myers has not in- | creased the. rates during his Mayoral term, but values have gone up considerably, and ratepayers are burdened to a much greater extent than they were three years ago. Probably in their jubilation over their holdings being increased in valuation they forget the fact that their outgoings increase correspondingly, but their rentals in most cases remain as they wore; consequently their pockets are not so full. If Mr. Myers' policy included . lightening the burden of' the ratepayer, by economising in some directions; and slightly reducing rates as values rise, I think it would be more commendable.. However, my desire a3 a ratepayer is to enter an emphatic protest against any further sum being expended on the Town Hall than is already authorised, and I trust that when the Council's proposal comes to the poll the rate-, payers will show backbone, and condemn it entirely. > Limit TO • Everything.

Sir,—Allow me the. privilege of occupying a little space in your valuable paper concerning this unheard-of expenditure as our ; city seems bent in going for, when the Council intends to borrow another £30,000 on. the top of what has already been granted for the Town Hall. Some 15 to 18 months ago- (if not more) the City Council was granted power to borrow £80,000 for the Town Hall; £20,000 went for the purchase of the land and the furnishing of the buildings, and £60,000 was reserved for the " buildings." Now, when the drawings have been completed, and tenders received for the work, tno lowest tender comes to £37,410j' 50 per cent, above what was allowed. If the braidings are to be proceeded with at this figure, it means that £30,000 extra will, have to be borrowed to make up this deficiency. The amount, then, will be £107,410,; and if the architects' fees of £5000, the clerk of work*' lees at the rate of £5 per week for four years £1000, and allowing £8000 for a few extras which ore bound to come, are added to first total! we have a '-rand total of £121,110. All this would not he so bad provided all parties were treated fairly. "When the first design could not bo erected for the amount stated in the conditions, the author of the second design should be called on to submit plans for ten-.. deling. In all fairness to other competitors, the first design should bo discarded; for, when theieis any competition, it, is always understood that if tho first design cannot, be built for the money the second design is n'dsd .'in to have a trial, and so on. When the. designs were on view at the Society of Arts building, I. too;,; particular notice of all the plans submitted, and found that a great many of them violated the conditions laid down, by the, Council as a guide for the competitors. What is the use of (having conditions if they are not to be kept?. The JMclg&s should have observed these conditions when judging. Johnson Clark, Architect (not a competitor).