BOROUGH WATERING AT WAIPUKURAU

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 180, 17 August 1937, Page 2

BOROUGH WATERING AT WAIPUKURAU

Our Own Oorreapond'ent.y

Coancil and Power Board at Loggerheads LENGTHY DISCUSSION

/From

WAXPUKUBAU, Last Night, ! Legal opinion is to be sought by i tEe "%aipukurau Borough Council as to the interpretation of an eleven-years-old agreement with the Central Hawke's Bay. Power Board, concerning the houra the borpugh water-pumping plant shall run, Ever since the Power Board ac-. eused the council of pumping on a vpeak hour almost a month ago and eut off the- power on one occasiom, tensiou between the two bodies has ' been Jgrowing, Two solicitors' letters and a reference of ■ one . matter to the police figured in corxespondence that was read at the ; Borough Council 's meeting to-night, . when the matter was -freely- dis-. : cussed, at times. with some yigour, Correspondence dating back to Jul/ 26 was read to make the passage of events since last co>uneil meeting quifce clearfl ' , On that date the 'l'own Clerk, Mr H. B. Smai't, wrote to the Power Board, pointing out that alterations were being made in the suction lines at the pumping station, ancl that for at least a week . the centrifugal pump would be ouV oi action, It would therefore be neeessary to operate the ram' pump, which woul.d 'require- to-be run- approximately 17 hours • per day. The letter said the council would be -pleased if the board would advise- its "peak hour" so that pumping could be arranged accordingly, Acknowledging the letter, and referring to an interview .wi,th .the Mayor, Mr I. W. N, Mackie, an.d the Town Clerk," the secretary-manager of the Power Board, Mr G. E. Fowler, .wrote that the 'position was that the hours of pumping under the per unit charge were 10 pim. to 6 a.m. "We, as you know, fwitEout prejudice whatever, agreed temporarily to allow you to pump at the fyl rato from 9.30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m:," -the- letter went on. "As regards the request to- pump extra hours^ this can only:be. carried out in certain, hours on eondition that, if the board 's maximum demand is exceeded during the extra hours in which the council is pumping, tlie council shall pay the extra cost thus en.tailed by the board, plus id . per unit. Every endeavour, will be made to, keep you off peak, but . no guarantee, can be givonthat this wijl be achieved. It. is dottbtful whether 17 hours can ba managed, but we will do our best." The Plot Thickens. On Jiuly 27, the council sought the opinion of their solicitor, Mr A. M. White, who, in a written reply, stated he ha-d peruse.d "the (original) agreenxent of September 30, 1926, and -the correspondence between the two bodies on the subject of water pumping. He understood that the alteration in hours of pumping as agreed to in correspondence of 1930, actually did not eventuate, and that until July 10 last the question had not arisen. Under those circumstances^ in his (Mr White '3) opinion, the proposed agreement of 1930 set out in the Town Clerk 's letter of September 3 (1930?) and the. Power •Board.'s detter of September 20 (1930) was intended.to become effective only when the Borough Council installed the automatic central Hue. The waiver of rental for the latter was the only con-i •sideration the Power Board -was to give for the borough concession. -As this contro'l was not put in the - agreement did not become .effective. . "The agreement ds . very loosely worded, and in -case fof doubtful construction - a Court would naturaliy look to see how the parties had interpreted it. Here the parties for seven years treated' it as- non-existent, and I think the Power Board will be unable to set it up now," he coneluded, A Special Meeting.' ' A special meeting of the council was held on July *27 with |he result that> on July 28, the Town; Olork wrote to the Power Board informing them that the foilowing resolution had beeii passed:. — "That the Power Board- be vlsed that this council adhers to the original agreement, dated September 30,, 3$26, and that the board be again asked to furnish its 'peak hour' to enable the council to regulate its pumping to keep off same, and every ehdeavour will be made . to .dQ so.'.'- . , > . "From the above resolution," con tinued the letter, "it will be seen that the' council does not intend to pay,mor'e ' than per unit unless pumping is carried out during the 'peak hour' as provided for in the original agreement. ' ' Mr D. W. Neild, solicitor,, replying on behalf of the Power Board, stated that, on the same date, for. 'preeent purposes, the board was willing to'admit, without prejudice that, as mentione'd in the council 's letter of July 15 "the only existing agreement which* refers to the hours' of pumping is that entered into on September 30, 1926;?' That agreement provided that "peak ioad hours" (not hour) were to bo fixed by the fcoard and regulated by ,'a time-'switch controlled ;by the boarfi. The board had fixed its off-leak load hours during which the council couldpump at id per unit, at, 10 p.m. to 6 a.jn« These had been temporarily • modified, to suit the council 's convenir ence, to 9,30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m. Owing to its inereasing daily load; the board could not agree to an extension of the first-mentioned hours, as it would incur seti.ous danger to high peak loading at any part of the day. If the council found the hours mentioned insuffieient atid. wi^hed to pump afc other hours, the board was willing to supply eurreiit on the terms set out in the agreement, that is, "such current shall be metered through a maximum demand meter to be grovided by the board. etc," The ,

board offered to instal such. a meter immediately. Mr Neild emphasised that the fixing of the hours for cheap supply was a matter entirely for the board, and, further, that the time-switches on the pump supply were under the control of the board. Any interferenee with the switches was a "serious matter." "Aa no assistance-has been obtained from your council in fixing the xesponsibilxty for the interferenee which has already- taken place," the letter went on, "the matter is being placed in the hands of the police, and steps are being taken to nullify such interferenee in the fuTure. The Power Board holds the council responsible fpr payment at full rates for all current consumed at the pumping station during periods when th® docks should have been off, and the board would be obliged by your advice as to the hours of pumping done at thwse perioda." Power Out Off • In hls reply, written on July 29, Mr. Smart said the council did not agree with the board 's interpretation of the "peak" nor* with the hours the board fixed as its "peak hours." The council' was quite agreeable to the- instal-' lation of a maximum demand meter, and was willing to carry out the terms of the agreement as to extra ' charges in the event of pumping occurring dur--ing peak hour. However, the council could' flint -accept the board 'is! jpeakl hour or- hours as from 6 a.m. :till910 p.m. The council haj at all times tried to, co-operate with. the board and its offlcers, but in the -present circumstances, nece'ssitating longer pumping hours than usual, no effort had been made by the board to assist, without an indemnity, which. the oouneil was not prepared to give. Of necessity the council. must have an adequate supply of /water, He (tfie TeVvn Clerk) had informed the Power Board '3 engineer on the previous evening of the hours the con6il intended to pump — namely, 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. — unless he (the engineer) could suggest more suitable koura. . "He said he would let me know later,f' continued the Town Clerk 's letter, "but I .heard nothing further from him. "At. 8 o'cloek this morning I found the power had been cut off at, approximately 6.30 a.m. by the . disconnection of the lines outeide the pumping station." The council called on the- board immediately 'to reconneet the supply, and stated tkat they would' hold the board responsible for any damage resulting from a shortage of water caused, by the board's xefusal to supply. current. Replying. to- Mr Smartfs letter, the secretaa-y-manager. of the Ppwer Board stated that h^wa# giving instructiong for ihe immediate insta'llation of.the maximum demand meter. With regard to pumping hours f and charges generally,v the position, when the meter was installed, .wbuld be that the Council would be charged 4d. .per unit. for clockea hours (through, meter) except when. the pumping coiRci.ded with. a peak, when the higher rate would. be ckarged as provided in the agreement. The board was and always had been ready to endeavour to meet the' council 's requirements, but coul no.t agree to the claim for -uncontrolied liours of pumping tnrough tlme-clocks. Acknowledging the board's letter, Mr Smart, again stated that the council "did not agree to the peak hour or hours as advised by thq. board, and again called on the board to supply them with reasonable definite peak hours. Mr Sinart's letted added that the council did not accept any responsibility for additional charges under the board's proposed arrangement. 1 £20 Fine Threatened. On August 3, Mr. Neild .wrote again, • pointing out that the Power Board maintaiued its previous attitude regjarding !tfie fixing of peak hours. At the same time they were willing to giye the council all information which might enable theno to judge at what ' tiiiies pdmping' could' be done with . least dangier of creating a peak. The writer invited the council members to inspect a graph .showing. the board's load for "the last month. With reference. to the matter of time-switches, Mr Neild drew the council' s attention to Regulation 71 — 12 of the Electrical Supply Regulations, which read: — "Every. person who, without lawful authority, tampers with any electric line or apparatus subject to > these regulations, commits an offence against the regulations and is liable to a fine of £20." The May.oi; explained to the meeting last night that the day after it had beenr arranged to pump extra hours, he and the clerk were asked to meet the board's works committee, and were accused of having pumped between 10.45 a.m. and 12, thus creating a peak. "We were arranged, charged and convicted all in one hit,'» Mr Mackie remarked-. Subsequently, the council were invited to payf. for this peak, but subsequently they were able to show that they had not created it. 'Later Mr Fowler had admitted there had been a higher peak since, and that the council had not been pumping; then. As rega,rds the cutting-off of • the power on the morning of the 29th he, the Mayor, had rung up the board's ehairman. to give him a chanoe oi re- ' storing the gervice. He had received a fiat refusal and had no ehoice but to invoke . the .aid of the Health Department. In the meantime, the new iueters had been installed. "Ae regards the alteration of, the clock," Mr Mackie went oh, "we claim it is our clock and no.t their s. After the alteration* we , pumped of necessity. Their act incutting the wires is more or less crim•inal as compared with ours. We had only 7ft. of water in the reservoir in- . stead of 16, ,and the position would have been very serious in the event of a confl.agration." * Actions Endorsedi Cr. J.'McCarthy said he thought the council should endorse the actions of the Mayor and Clerk. He, personally, congratulated tho Mayor on the action he had taken. He had had to stand all the rebuffs and was eondemned befote he was tried. On Or. McCartliy's motion, seconded by Cr. Martin, it was decided to endorse the Mayor 's and Clerk 's actions. Cr. J. Brathwaite said it seeined, from the graph he had seen, that the board should increase its load. The Mayor said that to appreciate Mr Fowler 's difficulties^ councillors

should have a look at the graph. He apd the Clerk were both of the opinion that, withput t&king any risk, the board eould have given them the 17 hours asked foy. As a general rule there were £ our and five hours avery day they could give the council after Iunch. In answer to Cr. McCarthy, the Clerk ' said that pumping had been going on aatisfaetorily for seven years. Cr. McCarthy: Why hafe the eudden difficulty arisent The Mayor: We both Want to know where are. Why not wait till they say we create a peak then let them try to collect th©. money through the Court ? > Cr. Windle: It'.e moat indefinite. As it is, they can say we create any peak there ie. Cr. McCarthy; I think the council* should be allowed to proceed, as theyhave done for the past seven yeara, any dispuie to be settled by arbitration. • The Mayor: They want us to take the risk- of saying when the peak ie. Cr Martin: Don't you think we should find how we istand with , regard to the interpretation oi. the first agreement f Do you think it would be .better to let it go on. to a, deadlock .and then fight it out? * • The Mayor: Personally,1 1 do. * , : • "Young Waikaremoana. " Asked for his- opinion, Mr Smart said it seomed. to him the matter should be definitely fixed* now, Th# position wajs most unsatisfactory as it was. The number of time-elocks'and meters wa* "silly." Mr Fowler had said the board now intended to control it from outside. That would be most unsatisfactory. "They've got a young Waikaremoana down there now," he said, "and I don't know quite what they are going to. do.,", The board's statemeat that it was willing to co-operate was contrary to fact. The speaker quoted an instance where the board's refusal to let them run a pump during what was alleged to be a peak hour had - held up work on the welL The Mayor and the speaker had found out, on sfuoying the ' graph, that that time had not been a peak. Cr Windle said the .difficulty should not arise, now that th© two pumps could work together. They could pump more than enough between 10 p.m. and ,6 a.m. Cr. McCarthy: But we 'haven 't anything definite. They say they have the riglxt to say - when we- shall pump and when we ishall not. pump. They could eay these hours "were peak hours. The , Mayor: They can whittle us down to four hours in the next year or two. The Clerk here pointed out that last year £280" had been paid for water pumping. This was clear profit to the b'oard ' so long as they could keep the council off peak hours. ' 'They want ua to pump -at night," he added, "and they don't want it-to cost them a bean to let- us do it." ' : * : ; Cr Brathwaite said he thought it should ■ be allowed' to- stand until the •next ' account eame'ift. Cr, Windle: We don't get any further with that either,. Ti .-would still be. indefinife. . Cr. McCarthy suggested that the Public • Works Department should be asked to give an opinion on the posiCr. Windle said he did not think it was any good " digging up trouble." Cr. McCarthy: Ii's the Power Board that's dug up the trouble. The same thiug happened in Palmerston North, and the borough won in the finish. We're not looking for any concessions. We're looking for' the same privilege we've enjoyed for 11 years. \ He went on t© say it .was very bad taste on the board 'is part putting the matter in the hands of the police. "It makes us' look like a lot of criminals," he added. Councillors, in chorus: "Ludicrousl " "Ohildishl" •* On the motion of the ehairman, seconded by Cr. Brathwaite, it was agreed that, before anything further was done, an interpretation of the original (fyhfij agreement be obtained from Mr White, the council 's solicitor.