PUBLIC SWIMMING BATHS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3674, 4 August 1927, Page 2

PUBLIC SWIMMING BATHS.

TENDER FOR £BOS ACCEPTED. WORK TO BE COMPLETED BY OCTOBER 22nd,, 1927. A special meeting of the Borough Council was held on Tuesday evening to again go into the question of erection of public swimming baths, and on this occasion finality was reached, the tender of Mr. Harvey, of,Levin, to erect the baths for the sum of £BOS being accepted. Those present were His Worship the Mayor (Mr. M. E. Perreau) and Crs. Thompson, Walker, Parkin, Rand, Spring, Ross and Lueinsky. An apology for absence was received from Cr. Cowley. HISTORY OF THE BATHS.

The -Mayor in outlining the object of the meeting said/ that the proposal to erect swimming baths in Foxton had been brought forward several times for very many years.

THE QUESTION OF THE SITE was for a long time a controversial issue. Plans and estimates for enclosing a portion of / the river foreshore near the Rowing Club shed were obtained in 1918. The estimate at that time for a bath 75 feet by 35 feet was £BOO. At this stage the Harbour Board refused a lease of the land required. Negotiations were.then entered into with the Public Trustee to take a piece of land in rear of the Family Hotel, but as the Trustee demanded 000 gallons of water every day to be supplied free to the hotel in retnrn, the negotiations fell through. In 1919 the Harbour Board offered an area opposite the Pound Cottage, 100 feet in length, but being deemed unsuitable for the purpose nothing came t'o this offer. An endeavour was then made to secure a portion of the foreshore on the northern side of Levin and Co’s shed, where the Harbour Board shed now stands, but.’difficulties with the Railway Department were encountered. In 1923 the Harbour Board offered to lease a strip of land between the railway terminus and the Rowing Club shed for 1/d per annum, and this offer was accepted by the Council, on the 10th September 1923. FRESH PLANS AND SPECIFICA-1 TIONS were then prepared at an estimated cost of £1024 12s Od. These plans were adopted subject to the size of the bath being reduced from 75 feet by 35 feet to 75 feet by 30 feet to reduce the cost. At a public meeting held on the 2ndi November 1923, considerable discussion as to the' site of the baths took place and subsequently Easton Park was adopted. The amended plans were then estimated at £llO2, the cost being increased because it was proposed to build the baths out over the drain. In 1925 the -site was again altered to the rear of the Council offices, and a LOAN PROPOSAL to borrow £I4OO was submitted to the ratepayers on the 18th March 1925. This was turned'down by 88 votes to 59. Last year, however, as a. result of a Carnival the sum of £9OO was raised by public effort, and at a meeting held in December 1926, the executive asked the Council to proceed with the erection of the baths in. Easton Park. At that meeting Mr. Edwards who was present stated that the baths could be erected for the money available, and this was later confirmed by Mr Edwards in writing. The'Couneil on the 14th February of this year asked Mr. Edwards to proceed with his plans on an estimate of £9OO.

PLANS APPROVED; TENDERS CALLED. A sketch plan submitted a, month later was approved and detailed plans were awaited. On the 11th April these were definitely approved by the Council and the Engineer was asked to call tenders. The tenders were opened at a meeting held on the 25th May last for the • purpose. The tenders received were as follows: — . J. W. Fairhurst £2634 5 0 Spencer Bros. Ltd. £2216 17 10 W. A. Baldwin £2148 10 0 Lord & Maeguard: £2128 0 0 W. Candy & Co. £1955 9 0 F. Needham Ltd. £lß7l 0 0 Stevenage Con. C0.‘£1671 0 0 Quigan & Rush £1576 15 0 T. W. Hunt £1349 0 0 PLANS NOT ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS. At this meeting the Engineer admitted that he had not based his plans on an estimate of £9OO as instructed, and he was asked to amend the plan to comply with the money on hand, such plans after being- approved by the Works Committee to be submitted to the three lowest tenderers for revised prices. The amended tenders were submitted to the meeting held on the 11th July and were as follows: — Quigan & Rush £1439 0 0 . T. W. Hunt £1147 0 0

It was then decided that no tender be accepted. Since that meeting, however, it has transpired that several prospective tenderers aware of the extreme unliklihood of tenders being accepted at a figure so far in excess of the money in hand did not bother to tender on the elaborate plans prepared by the engineer. DAY LABOUR NOT FAVOURED. Being guided to some extent by the recent unenviable experience of Invercargill its ,day .labour scheme for erecting baths, the Council has been loath to undertake

the work by this method until every other source had been explored.

SUITABLE PLAN SUBMITTED

Negotiations were then entered into with various contracting firms on a more modest proposal and as a result, a plan has been prepared which will undoubtedly give every satisfaction for very many years to come. A contract has accordingly been let to Mr. J. Harvey of Levin, for the baths at £865, excluding the 4 inch water main and intake valve.. The plan now adopted provides for a bath 75 feet by 35 feet, strongly reinforced with A inch mild steel rods, with concrete steps, and surround, channel dirain, 14 dressing rooms, and lavatories, shower baths, etc., springboard, and a ladies’ retiring room, in addition to caretaker’s office and vestibule. A 3 inch dwarf wall runs right round the outside; the space between this wall and the wall of the bath being packed \yith sand from the excavation. The maximum depth of the bath is 8 feet 6 inches, rising to 5 feet 9 inches at one end and to 4 feet at the other. In conclusion the Mayor said that he desired to point out that the delay in proceeding with the work has been due primarily to the excessively elaborate plans prepared by the engineer, and also to the Council’s earnest endeavour to have the work completed for the amount of money available, without having to call on the ratepayers to sanction further borrowing by way of loan. He felt confident that when the baths are completed they would fulfil a long felt want and at the same time would be a credit to the town and to the citizens who gave willingly to the carnival funds.

ENGINEER’S SERVICES DISPENSED WITH.

Civ Parkin then moved, seconded by Cr. Spring that the Council cannot see its way clear to undertake the erection of swimming baths by day labour, and as this proposal was the only solution offered by the , engineer, that Mr. Edwards be paid his fee of one per cent, on the plans and estimates prepared by him on the basis of a £9OO contract, and that the Council now proceed to deal with the matter in its own way. The matter was carried unanimously. LOCAL CASUAL LABOUR TO BE EMPLOYED. Thq Clerk read a letter from Mr. E. G. Martin asking the Council how it was employees of a certain outside contractor who had been working locally recently were able to say that they would be coming back to Foxton soon to erect.the baths? Cr. Rand) said that the impression, was abroad locally that if Mr. ' Harvey’s tender was accepted no local labour would be employed on the job ns he intended bringing all his men from Levin. He was perfectly satisfied with the Council’s action up to the present juncture but before a tender was accepted he would) like to see some provision made in the contract that local men should be employed on the job. The Clerk said that as far as he knew it was the intention of Mr Harvey, if successful, to employ local men.

Before any action was taken, however, Mr Harvey was communicated with by telephone and he assured the Mayor that if his tender was accepted he would employ none but local casual labourers.

The Mayor said he had a big list of local men seeking employment, which he would submit to the successful contractor.

MR. HARVEY’S TENDER ~ ACCEPTED.

It was then moved by Cr. Luc insky, seconded by Cr. Walker that Mr. J. Harvey’s quotation to erect swimming baths as per plan and specifications before the Council for the sum of £865, exclusive of 4 inch water main and intake valve be ac cepted, the work to be completed by the 22nd of October 1927, and that the Council notes with gratification Mr. Harvey’s offer that he will employ none but local casual labour on the work.

Cr. Spring asked if the Carnival queens’ had been consulted on the matter and their approval of the plans obtained. The Mayor said- that the Carnival had handed the money over to the Council and requested them to erect the baths and they had every confidence in- what the Council would do. He did not think that it was necessary to obtain the sanction «f the young ladies concerned. They had done' excellent work in raising the money but were quite prepared to leave the erection of the baths to the Council.

The motion was .then put and carried unanimously. MR, VARNHAM CLERK OF WORKS.

Mr M. Varnham was appointed clerk of the works.