SPECIAL MEETING OF THE HARBOR BOARD.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 66, 14 February 1884, Page 2

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE HARBOR BOARD.

A special meeting of the above Board was held on Tuesday night, in the Borough Council office. Present: —His Worship the Mayor (T. W. Porter) in the chair, and Members Townley, Lewis, Tutchen, Kenny, Joyce, Hepburn, Brown, Tucker, and Smith. The Secretary stated that the meeting had been called for the purpose of receiving over the new wharves and considering the matter of extras, together with the penalty for overtime. The following report from the Public Works Committee was then read :— The Public Works Committee of the Har’ior Board beg to leport as follows:—The Committee (with the exception of Member Joyce) together with the Engineer inspected the wharves on Saturday, the 9th inst., at 8 p.m., when a careful inspection of the whole of the wharf was made, and so fa - as the Committee can judge, the contract apo er s to have been completed in a wo.kmaulf 4 manner. In ha di ago /er this work to the Board the Committee believe that the structure has been built in a thoroughly sound and substantial manner. The Committee also wish to state that the Contractors have during the building of the wha. es offered every facility to shippers, so that no unnecessary inconvenience has been occasioned. The matters of final payment of extras andpena’iy a.e referred to by the Engineer in his repo.t. The Committee agree with the Fngincar in recommer ding certain additions to the shockyard applied fo ■ by Mr. E. Ca neron, the material to be formed from ti.r i- taken from the old stock-yard. J. Townley, Chairman. Member Lewis moved, and Member Brown seconded, the adoption of the report, which was carried unanimously. engineer’s report. To the Chairman of the Harbor Board. Sir,—-I beg to report that the work on the new wharf contract was finished on Saturday last, 9th instant, and was on that day inspected by the Public Works Committee, whose report, approving of the work, has been placed before you. I append a statement of the amount owing to the contractors, with a note showing the amount of penalty to which they are liable for overtime, and also the claim they make to be paid extra for certain piles. With regard to the extras, of Which I gave a list in my report of December 27th, 1883,1

inay state that, notwithstanding assertions that have been made to the contrary, it is perfectly clear that none of them are included in the contract, and I shall be glad to explain the matter to any member that feels any doubt on this point. I am, &c. t B. J. BEYKOIiDS, Harbor Board Engineer.

The following letter from Messrs. Wells Bud Gardiner was also read •• We write this letter for consideration of the Board before taking into consideration the question of overtime on the wharf con. traot. We may state that our being behind time is entirely due to the great difficulty we hid in procuring the necessary piles, and not through any neglect or fault on our part, We also claim the favorable consideration of the Board when we state that a large portion of the wharf has been used by the Board Since some time before our time expired up to the time the wharf was taken over. This portion of the wharf was prepared at the request of the Works Committee, and has been a great convenience to the public. Then we have a claim for time on account of extras. Taking the above into consideration, we hope the Board will kindly remit the penalty for overtime. In regard to the extras and also the six piles near the search-ing-shed, we have only to say that the Board has got full value for the money charged.”— We are, Ac., Wxxas & Gahdxxxh, Member Lewis wished to know how much the whole extras amounted to. The Chairnun said there was the £97 4s. for the extras which had been authorised, Bnd. the £B6 for the six extra piles, which in&de a total of £133 4s. Member Joyce was of opinion that some of the extras were included in the specifications. . The Engineer explained that such was not the case. Member Tutchen would think the specifications meant that the portion of the wharf. fißck which was taken up should be re-laid at the uroper level of the new wharf. Member Brown could not agree with this. After further discussion, Member Lewis moved •• That this portion of the extras (£97 45.) be paid.”—Carried. Member Joyce wished to know what caused all the extras for the stock-yard 7 Was it not built according to specifications ? After a short discussion i the extras for the six piles, amounting to £36, were passed. . On the question as to the penalty (£102), Member Tutchen moved, and Member Lewis seconded, “ That no portion of the penalty be imposed, because the delay had occurred by circumstances over which the contractors had no control.” He was certain the contractors had done their best. Member Townley moved and Member Tucker seconded as an amendment “ That only one half be remitted.” Member Smith opposed the amendment. This was not the first time the Board had attempted to impose a penalty; He argued strongly against the proposed action on account of the work having been done in a thoroughly honest manner; fie hoped the Board would well consider the matter before deciding to impose any penalty. Member Joyce could not see the force of Mr Smith’s argument. He thought that as all the extras had been paid in full, imposing half the penalty was fair to all alike. Mr. Wells said the Engineer had cut down all the extras to the lowest farthing. After further discussion the original motion was put and carried.

Amount of Contract .. .. Extras as per report of Dec. 27, 1883 £ s. d. 1,885 0 0 97 i 0 Six piles alongside wharf not shown in plans 86 0 0 Total £1,518 4 0 Less progress payment and de* ductions through alterations of plans 896 6 10 Balance due .. .. £621 17 2