HOSPITAL HILL ROAD

Opotiki News, Volume VII, Issue 802, 3 November 1944, Page 2

HOSPITAL HILL ROAD

BOROUGH COUNCIL OFFER WILLING TO DO WORK BUT WILL NOT TENDER, TIME LIMIT ON OFFER At the--monthly meeting of the Opotiki Borough Council held on Tuesday night the council further discussed the question of sealing the Hospital Hill Road. Mr. Briggs read the first lot of specifications and in comparing them with the new specifications Or. Whitfield expressed the opinion that they had been made more difficult. Cr. Short said that it was on those estimates that the suggestion of £6OO as a basis, of oft'er was made. Nothing was said about the period of consolidation in the first set of specifications. Cr. 'Whitfield said that the new specifications were totally different and he did- not know why the borough council was worrying its head over the matter after having made a fair offer. The Mayor: We offered to give them £6OO to spend in their own county. Cr. Short: Wc also reversed the offer and they could not understand the position. Oi'. Whitfield ■ said he wondered what the county would say if they were asked to assist in putting dowji one of the borough roads which county people are using every day of the week. Cr. Short said that the harder the conditions put on the borough the harder it would be for the county. After the clerk had read a letter from the county council on the subject in which the council was informed that fresh tenders were being called for the work and that the borough council would have the opportunity of submitting a tender, the Mayor said that Or. Short’s motion made the offer to do the work because the council thought that there was no tender for the work, and he suggested replying along those lines. Cr. Burnett said that they should say straight out that the council had no intention of tendering. •Or. Short said that the county should" let the borough council do the job under the engineer’s supervision as a. safeguard, and it was decided to write along tho lines suggested.

Mis-Reported? A further letter from the County Council took exception to remarks reported to have been made by Cr. Davidson and the Mayor, in The "Opotiki News., and asked that these statements be substantiated. Mr. Briggs- said that subsequently CT. Davidson had informed the council thaf,.»what he had said was not so and he withdrew the statement. Cr. Davidson claimed that what he had said was that “whether or not the tender was too late he did not know.” The Mayor said that if the county council would take exception to a thing like that they must be “thin skinned.” The county had held the work up for two years. Cr Short said that he did not think that they would be as “thinskinned” as that. Mr. Briggs said that the council could reply that Cr. Davidson said that he had been mis-informed. Cr. Davidson: No-, the Press got the statement wrong. Ho said that the -whole council was unanimous that the county council was sidestepping. The Mayor said that he thought that any councillor was at liberty to pass a remark like that. The job had been on the go for two years and the borough council had offered to give them £6OO and they had not done anything. Or. Burnett said that the county council would be able to- say that as there was no tender in they would do nothing. The County Council’s letter was “received.”

The Mayor : The offer is not going to be open very much longer. Several councillors suggested putting a time limit on the offer. Cr, Short said that where the borough, council was apparently wrong was in questioning how the work was going to be done by the county. The borough council did wrong in offering to do anything. Or. Burnett moved that if the job was not done six months from that date the offer be withdrawn. The motion was seconded by CT. Boe' and carried. Cr, Whitfield: We’ll teach them to send letters like that. The statements reported in The Opotiki News, and referred to in

the above report are as follows: —

Cr. Davidson said that one local contractor wanted to do the whole job and the engineer, it was alleged, would not allow him to tender. Later, the contractor, who took the trouble of going to Tauranga to get information 011 the matter, put in a tender for the whole contract, but it was too late.

Cr. Short said that when the County Council had stated that they had failed to get a contractor they thought that it was genuine. If what Cr. Davidson had said was correct, the council should have extended the time to admit a late tender.

The Mayor:-■■They’ve just been sicle-stepping.