PROPOSAL TO CALL FOE TENDERS REJECTED.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14483, 15 August 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

PROPOSAL TO CALL FOE TENDERS REJECTED.

ACTION DEFERRED INDEFIN-

ITELY

/(From "The Colonist," August 9th.) | A special meeting of the Nelson liWpii.-ai and Charitable- Aid Board was he id yesterday for the purpose of considering' )vwirv-v,- in connection with the new hospital. There were present Messr-s. T. Neale (chairman), C. It. Fell, W: N. Frankiyn, G. Macmahon, G. H. Allan, E. S. Hoult, and. Mrs. "11. Watson. The chairman said that Mr. Griffin, tile ai'ciiii.ecfc lor oiie new building, was present, and would place ail information before members. He urged that the matter of rebuilding ha approached with great r-nufcion, and thai members should be satisfied that the suggested course of building separate blocks would noT, involve the Board in such .«, position that they would find fchein&eives thousands of pounds short of money when the building was concluded: He ttought tho Boasd should -ascertain the pie-war cost of the building and the present day cost, and then decide whether they should invite tenders. Should the Board decide to call for tenders, they mu«t be prepared to pay certain costs; if they did not accept a tender. The I Board knew what they' had in', hand, and would know what the cost would I be. The Board must not be entangled j financially. He was absolutely sure1 that if the Board was not prepared to find fcio money to put up the building in its entirety at present day values they should not proceed with the work. Mr. Hoult said it appeared that the enainnan was approaching the matter with fear and trembling. The Board had had the same position before them

Mr. Maemahou said he would like to know the difference between the pre-. war and present day cost. Mr. Giiiiiri agreed ivitl: the chairman that the only' proper, course would he to find out the cost before calling for tenders. Ti.e irt P a of building separate blocKs was so that it would not. interfere any more than was possible with the present building. Since his visit to Wellington he was convinced that there was not much prospect of prices coining down for' years. He recommended that definite prices be obtained for..everything required before deciding to call for tenders. He thought if the contract was broken up into several small contracts the work could be done more cheaply. If the Board decided t» erect the building the specifications would have to be altered to provide Irick in place of reinforced concrete, because the prices of the lat•J material had advanced very considerably since the specifications were drawn out. He agreed with tr.e chairman, that the Board should not accept a separate contract without ascertaining what the other contracts were going to cost. Mr. Griffin, in a written report, stated:— "I may state that each interview in (Wellington strengthened ibf^ impression that it would be a wise policy to proceed as soon as possible with \ the <e:ork proposed. It is the general opinion^ that building material will be in such enormous demand for many years after the war that there is little prospect of prices fal'ino;. except:in one or two lines. It. is also au " ..undisputed opinion that-by the time materials 1 drop m pnee many new difficulties wiil have to bo raced rcgnTvlinjr. la bow, and the cost, of sn?Tie wili be "considerably more tha.a at rjre.seiit. Then again delay will Jio doubt mean facing a rise in price of some materials at present not" much affected by the war. Taking the foregoing facts into consideration, I feel I am justly recommend.the board to proceed with the work, if this is not done che probability is that the work will be held up for about ten years, and nothing gained. "The question of increased cost "will have to fee faced. I have already made! certain. suggestions in this connection:' these will be foand scheduled at the I close of specifications originally supplied to the board. T ran make a few snoro adjustments which will not mate-l-iallv jdrect the strength or finish of i the building, and will help to- reduce the! cost. I also again submit tho-proposal to divide the work into smaller, con-" "tracts and would now go into this niore i'ullv. , • "The more usual way in connection•wit!} large; contracts is for one' man "to"' ■ take the v/holc contract. This man ■'■risually lets, meat-of .the work by sub-.! contract-, and expects to receive' 10 per! cent. on^ nil prices for controlling the work. Each- sv'o-contraefcor acts, in ■"' a measure, r;r>d^>' him; and directs the particular liup. for which ha is suf>-con-1 tractor. The architect controls the lot. fJTo my mind there is no reason' why the' architect should'not. by giring practi-1 tally p.llhis ".tim? to the one work; "control .the .siib-cunt-raciors,. find aroicl.the i necessity of about the most costly man j vn the work, ■•■■ I am quite sure that | with proper care tills 'Would work out! satisfaetorilv and "ensure good 'results. For the architect it-would mean making careful r-reparations for the various j contracts, fo t!iat -oito" would not inter- i fern v.ith ppothcr. anrl it iscertain that; his fittPtitioo v.-nnld bure:::i6\ he given ■pretty well v.'holly to the one Ayork.' Titroupliout the xrork' fcherc' TroMd, of cc-r.rFo, bf> about irjn contractors to cleai ivith in place of one. J therefore mako tl.'e loN^.vinj?; offer, namely, to arrange

!or and control the work in'this way for an increased payment of 2£ per cent. on1 the cost of work; in other words, - my commission for plans, specifications, detail drawings, arranging . for, ~con- ■ trolling,' and supervising the carrying out of contracts, to'be 7J per cent, on cosfc. 9.1 Tvork (less all payments already received "from the board' prior to' this date).' I.think in this way-1 "can cut fennS ie costof Mlding by .about;

In reply to Mr. Macmahon, Mr. Griffin said that ,it was-difficult to estimate the difference in cost by breaking lip the contract into several'smaller contracts, but he should say a savin" or 20 per cent, would be effected. °, Replying to the chairman, Mr (xiuffin said that the estimated cost of the building at pre-war prices, excludes the maternity ward was £32,310. With the alterations suggested by himand by breaking up the contracts, ho estimated the cost of the building, including the maternity ward, would be £40,000. • . ■

The chairman said te liad made inquiries locally and elsewhere with a view of ascertaining the difference between pre-war and present day prices, and the opinion was that it was 33J per cent., but certainly not less than 25 per cent. Even with the reductions made by Mr. Griffin the Board would have to provide £40,000. Mr. Allan: £10,000 more than we have £ot. Mrs. Watson: And tl:en there is the furniture.

The chairman said that the original estimate was £47,000. Mr Griffin explainpc! that the original plans provided for a maternity ward .and chronic ward, and provision for 110 beds. The estimate, owing to some wards being cut out and the number of beds reduced to 86, was £40,000. Mr. Fell thought that the Board should call for tenders. Tie only extra expense would be the architect's fee for altering specifications to present day conditions. If the tenders exceeded the estimate then the Board should consider whether they should not arrange their finances accordingly. Personally ho was prepared to raise £10,000 in excess of tie estimate if he thought there was no prospect of prices coming down. Mr. Macmahon said the Board after the long delay should call for tenders. Mr. Eranklyn pointed out that the Government expected the ratepayers to provide any cost in excess of the Cawthron gift and the Government subsidy, lie ratepayers were very heavily burdened at the present time, and* could not afford it.

The chairman assured Mr Frankiyn that the Board would not accept any tenders unless the Board had tho money in hand. Mr. Hoult said the ratepayers were not in a position to be further taxed. Could not Mr. Griffin prepare plans for a building costing not more than £33,000?

Mr. Jtfranklyn suggested that the matter should be postponed until after the election of country members in November next.

Replying to Mr. Fell, the chairman said that the total cost if the Board went to tender and no further would be about £200, including extra tracings and copies' of specifications. The chairman said the position that had been arrived at was that if Mr. Griffin was able to make certain alterations with a view to reducing the cost, the estimate would be about £40,000, with £2000 commission, and £3000 for furniture, a total of £45,000. He was prepared to accept a motion. Mr. Fell moved that tenders be invited for the erection of the new hospital on the lines suggested by Mr. Griffin. If the work was postponed for ten years it appeared, that it would co&t as much then as now. He thought if the matter was postponed the Cawthron Trustees would come down on them and ask that the gift bo returned. The Board had a gift of £33,000, and if the building ■ cost £10,000 more, ho would be prepared to raise the balance of the money required. Already the Board had «pent £700 on plans, and this' would be thrown away if the Board decided to go in for/ fresti plans for a building to cost £33,000. Mr. Macmahon seconded the motion. Notwithstanding that it was anticipated that the cost would be more than originally estimated, there was *a. prospect that the tenders might be within tiieir means.. Ho considered it the Board's duty to call for tenders. Mr. Fell pointed out that the interest earned would be more than the estimated cost of procuring tenders. Mr. Allan said he did not desire to hamper the Board as he was nearing the end of his term as a member. The ratepayers were already heavily taxed for charitable aid expenses. He did not think the new hospital was necessary. Mr. Fell: Would you give the money back? .v _ Mr. Allan: "No, but I consider the time inopportune to go on with the new ! building." Continuing, Mr. Allan said that the Minister in his letter had fc:iid that the time was inopportune, and the rebuilding of the hospital shoujd be postponed for five years. He never had advocated the new hospital and Bad always voted against the proposal being gone on with at the present time. He urged the Board to wait for better times. What was the use of calling for tenders for a building which CQuld not be erected without calling upon the ratepayers for uore money? Tre charitable aid tax on his districts was more than they had to spend on roads and bridges. He intended to oppose, any expenditure on the hospital unless it came within their means.

Mr. Hoult moved, as an amendment, that Mr. Griffin be asked to amend the. plans to bring them within an estimate of £33,000. The' time had come for v? iJo^rd to practise economy. They did not want an elaborate building, all that was required was comfort inside. Mr Franklyn. said he would have notning to do with the matter, and would send in his resignation when he got home.

Mrs. Watson seconded the amendment pro forma. The chairman opposed the motion with regret for the reason that they «ad to face an expenditure of £45,000 at least. Mr Pell had been consistent m his argument. The Board did not know what was going to happen within the nest "ten years, but he thought the prices of materials woujd come dowravithin that time. Tie Minister of Public Works had set an example, aiid advocated not going on with works at ■excessive costs. He was not prepared to,, spend £200 to find gut that the building would cost £45,000. He had not the shadow of fear that the Minister would. withdraw the subsidy if the. Board did not go on witl the building at the present time, or thai,the. Caw-- | thron Trustees would try and get tno gift back. He would not advocate the mutilation of the plans to bring them ■within £33,000, and he thought when c c caino tte as designed shoura be proceeded with. There was no.dire necessity for a now building today. The Board could M-aifc for one or two' years without any jrrpiit loss. i Mr. Macmahon R!\i'd from, the turn things had taVen tTie ral-ppayers might as well have left the old members' on the Board.

Mr. Fell: Except that we secured the subsidy.

Continuing, Mr. Macmahon said that the hospital served a purpose, but the

position was going to bo the same as it was three 'years ago. ■ - Mr. Fell .said the matter of the subsidy was now on a sound footing. He regretted tt.at the opportunity was lost of going on-with the building when* it cou.u >iuve been obtained for' 25 per cent. leas. Then* expert advised them that the price was not going to drop for "ten years, and he was prepared to take his opinion. For that' reason hr moved the motion.

, The amendment was lost, Mr. Hoult only voting in favour. The motion was then put and lost. &yes: Messrs Macmahon, and Fell. Noes: Mrs Watson, Messrs Franklyn, Allan, Hoult, and the chairman.