THE BOWLING GREEN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5170, 26 August 1927, Page 3

THE BOWLING GREEN.

difference over agreement.

VIEWS OF CLUB MEMBERS.

At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Paeroa, Bowling Club a letter was received from the Domain Board advising that the rental for the green this season would be £BB 2s 6d. Several members expressed surprise that the sum should be so- great. The chairman (Mr E. Edwards) explained that, the annual rental was based on the cost of maintenance of the green together with electric light used and plus one-fifth of the capital cost of the night-play installation. The returns of hours worked by the domain superintendent had been gone into fully, and the committee was sati.fied that they were correct. The ; mount asked for rental looked large, but under its agreement the club had little alternative but to pay. Speaking of the agreement entered into, Mr W. Forrest pointed out that the only person who could instruct the superintendent was the president, who was often a busy man, and the superintendent often acted on his own. The bowling green .was rented by the club and the dub should have more say in the maintenance of it. The speaker contended that better results would obtain if the club appointed its own green superintendent, and unless the Domain Board would agree to that b :ing done, in his opinion the soonei the club got its own rinks the better. The rental charged wa.s far too high, but he admitted that under tihei agreement the club could not pay less than £6O a season. The chairman pointed out that the maintenance for the season, plus lighting and installation expenses, w uld be the rental for the coming season. Last year an additional expenditure had freen incurred b> manuring and general maintenance work.

A question was put by Mr W. J. Towers to the effect that if the, president had authority to instruct the superintendent, why had it not been done in the past sea'on. He thought that approximately 12 hours a. week were required on the green. If the cli b was “paying the piper,” then it should be in a position to stipulate what was required on the green, and it should not be at the mercy of the superintendent. The chairman maintained that the committee had the right to look into the hours and figures, given by the board, and if approved of they must be accepted by the club. This statement brought forth a remark from Mr Towers that he was prepared to challenge the hours worked on the green as submitted by the superintendent. Mr Forrest said .that he had no desire to accumulate, money at the expense of screwing down the work, but he did not believe in paying so large an amount unless a satisfactory service was forthcoming. Mr Towers said he wished the meeting to understand that in his opinion the rental was not too high provided service was rendered. ‘Wt'vas suggested by Mr J- W- Silcock that probably the fault lay with the committee in not getting more voluntary labour on the green on Saturday mornings. He, thought that the solution might be arrived at, if defin-, ite hours, of labour on the green were recommended to the board. Mr W. H. Thylor contended that it was almost an impossibility to stipulate a definite number of hours. If that was done it would place the superintendent in an invidious position. Mr C. T. Mettam thought it would not be fair to limit the hours of the superintendent, and he considered that the rental asked for was reasonable. In his opinion the president. should not he given full authority to dictate to the superintendent, who should be credited with knowing his job. At this qtage Mr Forrest moved to the effect that unless the Domain Board was prepared to allow the club to nominate a substitute in the absence of the president, the agreement be terminated. The resolution lapsed for want of a seconder.

It was pointed out by Mr Towers that the question of the care of the green was shelved every year, and the time had come when something would have to be done. It was an impossibility to elect a president who could give the time necessary to supervise the green, and for that, reason the committee should be given power, or as an alternative a green superintendent should be appointed. Then the members would know where: they stood in the matter. Attention was drawn by the chairman to the fact that allowance had to be made for seasonal growth on the green. If definite hours were laid down the result would never be satisfactory. In his opinion the agreement generally was satisfactory, and under t|he circumstances was in the best interests of all concerned. After further discussion it was resolved, on the motion of Mr W. T. Power, to leave the whole matter in the hands of the incoming committee.