Waitoa Drainage Board.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4450, 17 August 1909, Page 2

Waitoa Drainage Board.

A MEETING of fhe above Board was held in the Board!s office yesterday afternoon, when there were present : Messrs M. Henry (chairman), T. Bellamy, R. Matheson, and H. Makgill. The Clerk explained that he had misread the Chairman’s letter re notifying members of the adjournment of the meeting. The Board was satisfied with the explanation. . Minutes read and confirmed and inward and outward correspondence dealt ivith.

A similar letter was read from the Fencourt Drainge Board, asking for the Board s assistance in securing an amendment to the Act, with reference to sub ■ classification of land. The Chairman’s action in signing the circular was endorsed.

Owing to ill-health, Mr Campbell, Clerk to the Board, handed in his resignation Avhich was received with regret, the Chairman and members expressing their , high appreciation of Mr Campbells worth. The further consideration of the letter was left over till next meeting.

—The Engineers’ Account—

The Clerk read the following letter, which he had forwarded to Messrs St. Hill and Thompson:—

I am directed by the Waitoa Drainage Board to write you with reference to your account for £4B 4s against the Board for the preparation of plans and specifications of No. 1 Road Drain contract, and your claim for payment of 50 per cent of the amount on the furnishing of such plans and specifications. Your account was placed before the Board at its last meeting on the 12th inst.; and exception was taken to your claim of 50 per cent of the amount on the grounds : That it was a departure from, and not in accordance with the terms of the resolution of the Board passed .on the 15th December last appointing you Engineer to the Board. I enclose for your information a copy of the resolution referred to from which you will perceive that no reference whatever is made to a payment of 50 per cent, on the furnishing of plans, etc., the intent of the resolution being, that you be paid a remuneration of 4 per cent on all moneys spent on drainage works carried out under your supervision.

While the Board regrets, if there has been any misunderstanding op your part regarding the mode of payment of the remuneration referred to, it cannot see its way to, at present, make the payment of 50 per cent, as such a course was not contemplated by the Board, and has not been provided for, by the terms of the resolution referred to, which reads : —“ Proposed by Mr Bellamy, seconded by Mr Corrigan and carried : That Messrs St. Hill ard Thompson be appointed Engineers to the Board at a remuneration of four (4) per cent on moneys spent under their supervision. Their duties to be, etc., etc.,” . . . Mr St. Hill, who ivas in attendance agreed to accept the position.

In reply to the foregoing, Messrs Gillies and Gilfillan, solictors, wrote as follows :—We have been consulted by Messrs St. Hill and Thompson, engineers, in regard to their dealings with your Board. We would be obliged if you would lay this letter before your Board.

Our clients asked for a price last December, and in consequence of the repre" sentations- made by the Board, as a whole, that the work would be proceeded with at once (which would then have been completed within 12 months) our clients tendered a price of 4 per cent on the outlay, 50 per cent to be paid on deposit of plans, and 50 per cent, on completion of the work. This on an outlay of £IO,OOO would mean a payment to them of £4OO. At the meeting which Mr St. Hill attended there can be no doubt that 50 per cent, on preparation of plans was the figure mentioned by him and understood by the Board. Our client s letter of 17th December confirmed this agreement, but as our client’s have already pointed out 5 per cent, in lieu of 50 per cent, was put in as a clerical error. That the agreement was 50 per cent, is proved conclusively by two things (1) the scale of the Institute of surveyors is 50 per cent, on the deposit of plans; (2) our clients have spent somewhere about £IOO in wages, exclusive of the firm’s field and office

work. It is quite unconceivable that the agreement would be made at 5 per cent, or to put it in other words our clients would only receive £2O and wait till the last item of the whole scheme was finished before being entitled to the balance £3BO, while all the time they would be actually £BO or so out of pocket. Now we are instructed to take definite action against your Boards. [Here follow the amounts due on, estimated cost of work.] By resolution of April 14th, our clients are entitled to payment for the work done by them to obtain the information required by Mr Breakell. This work was quite outside the agreement already referred to, and is a charge against your Board on the ordinary engineering scale. For thi6 item there is due our clients £25 traverse and taking levels, being 2.} miles at £lO per mile. We have, therefore, to demand immediate payment of £B6 2s. On the other hand, there seems t) be very good reason to believe that yor.r Board has no immediate prospect or intention of carrying the scheme to completion. If this is so, our clients are entitled to damages, The agreement as to 4 per cent, set aside, and our clients are entitled to damages on the scale of what they have actually done, i.e., fair remuneration for work done. Our clients are entitled to kuow from the Board whether the Board is goiug to cairy the work to completion immediately or not, and we wold ask for a reply upon this hand.

If the Board is not going to carry out the work to completion immediately our clients’ claim against it is as below. These figures are made out on scale. Wo are also iustructed to inform your Board that our clients will issue a writ against your Board for the amouut, The expenses of a Supreme Court action will then be added, but if at the next meeting of the Board resolutions are passed (1) t o Eay the amount of £264 2s 6d to Messrs t. Hill and Thompson; and (2) to Btrike a special rate to (enable the Board to pay this amouut, we will hold over procedings.”

A detailed account totalling £264 2s 6d was enclosed.

After some discussion it was resolved qn the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr Be]lamy, that a special meeting be hqld on August 30th, and in the meantime legal advice be taken on the mutter.

IVfr Dfakgill said that seeing Mr P. Qilchrist is one of the best authorities on Jocal government matters he be consulted. Seconded by Mr Bellamy and carried.