NELSON HARBOR BOARD.

Colonist, Volume XLV, Issue 10407, 13 May 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

NELSON HARBOR BOARD.

i The usual monthly meeting of thisj c Board was held at the Union S.S. ) Company's offices yesterday, May! s sth. Present— Messrs J. Graham, c M H.R. (chairman), Webster, Pin-] •* ney, Talbot, Trask, Hanby, P. Best, ] n Franklyn, and R. McKenzie, M.H.R. j (t Captain Cox, harbormaster and secre!t tary, was also present. Minutes were read and confirmed, and the Chairman made a statement c as to the Board's finances. There c was, he said, £548 19s 3d to credit on '" current account, while £3,000 was on fixed, deposit, so that after proe viding for the day's accounts, c amounting to £67 12s, there would c be a sum of £3481 6s 7d to credit, but c members should bear in mind that : " this included £273 of subsidy overpaid, so that next quarter the subi sidy would be diminished by that ' amount. The revenue for April was c £169. against £180 for the month 0 previous. It was a good average s month, however. c Correspondence outward was read, c and inward correspondence cona sidered. w Resolved, that a letter from Mr ,t Jacobsen lie on the table } and be c available for the perusal of any mems ber who might desire to do so. 0 The Auditor-General forwarded ;" balance sheet to 31st March, duly certified to. — Resolved to forward c copies of balance sheet to other f Harbor Boards and local bodies in--1 te rested. ■ It was resolved to accede to an application from the Marine Department that the Harbormaster should act as an examiner in connection ' with the examination of dredge c masters, provided that the exarnin- } ations took place in Nelson. ' The Chairman reported that he J had had a conversation with the [ General Manager of Railways with r~~nrd to the foreshore leases, and ho 3 found that it was the intention oil the Government to resume all the wharf leases. He pointed out that Franzen's and Lukins' wharves had not been resumed, and if they were [ a cash equivalent of the rents deriv- > able from these sources should be ' made the Board. Mr Ronayne agreed 1 that this should be so, arid promised 1 to commtmicate officially with the > Board, but so far nothing had come 1 forward. Resolved to thank the Marine De- ' partmerit for furnishing the Board 1 with Mr Leslie Reynolds' original plans. . Resolved to thank the Union Company for permitting Captain Mc--1 Arthur to act as pilot during the time of Captain Cox's holiday. , The Pilot's Report. Captain Cox in his monthly report 1 stated:— -"The weather has been fine, with the exception of a heavy ground swell, with no wind, on the 29th : and 30th April, which caused 1 material differences in the soundings, viz., a decrease from 5 feet 6 inches to 3 feet 9 inches just clear of the line of leading lights. The toe ot the bar had advanced 45 feet S.E. of its former position, the significance of which will be appreciated when it is borne in mind that the remaining navigable width in that locality is less than 300 feet. " . i Members remarked upon this fresh evidence of the necessity for the work the Board had in hand. Tenders for Dredge. Before the Board began the consideration of tenders for the construction of a dredge according to Mr .Leslie Reynolds' plans, letters were load from three or four ironfounding fiVms in different parts of the Colony, as dng that they should be furnished wiih copies of the plans and specificatioV.s at their own centre, in order thafe they might be in a position to tendVr. „ ' , . . „ MrV McKenzie said that in his opinion it would still -be better to extend\the t time Jor the receipt of

tenders for a fortnight or three weeks, in order to meet the difficulty which had arisen through the plans, etc. being on view at Nelson only. The Chairman referred to thej Pilot's report as a reason for as little 1 delay as possible being made, and pointed out that there was no bar to any tenderer in the plans lying at Nelson, as one firm at Dunedin had sent a representative to Nelson, and i that firm had sent in a tender.

It was decided to -deal with the three tenders which had been sent in

According to the Board's by-laws the Board must deal with all tenders in committee unless a special. resolution was at the time of opening tenders passed to open tenders in open Board meeting. It was considered, advisable to adhere the by-laws* especially in yiew ,of the possibility of the Board being unable to definitely accept any tender, when, it would of course be requisite to keep secret the amounts of the several tenders.

Mr Reynolds, on Saturday last, being In Wellington, on his way to Dunedin, telegraphed to the Chairman that he Would be willing to come to Nelson for t-be meeting if. the. Board desired it. Mr Graham haying obtained the .opinion of the Available' jrtembef^ telegraphed to Mr Reynolds that it would be well for him to come to Nelson. Mr Reynolds accordingly arrived yesterday morning, and sent a note to the "Board, intimating that he 1 ' was at ,his hotel, and would be glad to wait on the 5 Board if required. , It was . rosolysd to request Mr Reyinolds to be present when tenders were dealt with, and upon his arrival the Board at once went into. Committee, and tenders 'were opened. | The tenders were . under discussion in committee for. £ long time, and it was. finally resolved that the tender of The. Dunedin Engineering Company, Limited, being the lowest, be accepted upon certain conditions, which will be conveyed to the tenderers. Failing this, that the next lowest tender; that -of Messrs John McGregor & Company, Dunedin, 'be accepted, on similar conditions