POWDERHAM STREET CULVERT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 79, 12 July 1910, Page 8

POWDERHAM STREET CULVERT

CONTRACT FOR RETAINING WALLS. At the Borough Council meeting last night a letter was read from the District Railway Engineer, granting permission to the Council to allow the toe of the filling at Powder-horn street to extend on to the railway land (the abandoned railway line), providing that i>he earth is to be removed if required at any time by the Department Considerable discussion took place upon the reception c»f the recommendation of the executive committee to let to Messrs. Boon Bros, a contract foi constructing concrete retaining walls, al £035. The Mayor explained that the executive had adopted this course with a view of saving time, and giving the,public the use of the street at the earliest possible moment. Cr. Wilson objected to the tender being accepted, on the ground that the work had not been submitted to .public tender, tt had been explained that the reason why Messrs, Boon Bros, alone •had been approached was because they were on the spot. They were not, for the Council had now taken over the bridg* from them. He would move that the work be done by/day labor, under the engineer's supervision, tinder that system, and under that systeim only, the erection of the retaining walls and the" earthwork- filling could' go on simultaneously. Cr. Hooker seconded. Cr. Dockrill also condemned any suggestion to carry on walls and filling at the same timev Cr. Watkins said that this was* not even suggested 1 . Cr. Bellringer was of opinion that the Best method was to complete the street oir the southern side by raising the wall to" the permanent level, and allowing tlie earth to run where it would on the northern side. i

Cr. West believed in throwing the jobopen to public tender, or else that tihe engineer carry out the work. He was opposed to letting the contract privately. Cr. Bellringer favored accepting the present offer. He didn't believe other firms would tender on work that nad already been partly constructed by Boon Bros. That was an accepted axiom;-

In replying, Cr. Wilson remarked that the Executive Committee' was mistaking its functions. The executive was set up to deal with matters of urgency, o/nd matters referred to it by the Council J This was not a matter of urgency, and it need not have been dealt with by the executive on Thursday morning, for the Works Committee met the same evetting, and neither committee could have its recommendations adopted by the Council until after this evening. He recognised that the committee had effectively prevented other firms from tendering. - i The motion was negatived, on the rollowing division.—Ayes: Crs. Dockrill,. Wilson, West and Gilbert. Noes: 'tfie Mayor and Crs. Bellringer, Watkins, Clarke and Browne. p The Mayor said that Cr. Hooker'svote should be recorded with the "ayes," but he was out of the room. He had! seconded the motion. | Cr. Wilson, the mover, however, remarked: "Yes, and left the room in the. middle of it, as he alwaye does. -1 1 moved for a division, so that the ratepayers might see how the voting went.' If he chooses to go out of the room' when there's a division coming on, let him stand down. I

Several Councillors expressed the hope, that there would be no "extras" on the contract for erection of tne walls, they remarking on the costly experience in, constructing the culvert. The engineer said that one could never be wholly certain of foundations, but he thought the estimate safe.