Local contractors on sidelines
Digger operators might be the unsung heroes of the floods, working through the night to clear culverts and save homes, but local contractors are frustrated and disappointed they have been left on the sidelines.
Four local contracting companies who spoke with the Nelson Mail on condition of anonymity have been left flummoxed as to why they haven’t been given work as the region picks up the pieces under a state of emergency, leaving diggers and trucks sitting idle and drivers out of work.
One contractor spoke of his frustration at not being able to help.
‘‘My crew of guys could have cleared Gentle Annie and most of the Cable Bay Rd to open it in probably three to four days. I would have sent all six trucks out there and we would have just smashed it.
‘‘What frustrates me is in a state of emergency all my gear sitting here doing nothing, all my drivers at home watching movies.’’
One contractor said it wasn’t that locals should have preference, but that they should ‘‘have the opportunity just like these out of towners’’.
In addition, locals were charging lower rates.
Another independent contractor stressed that he wasn’t ‘‘just a guy with a truck and a digger’’, he had an extensive quarrying and mining background.
‘‘I’m an ex Higgins operator, I’m a B grade quarry manager. I know that if something is coming down we’ve got to bench it. I know how to retain stuff, I know how to dewater it, we’ve got four inch dewatering pumps in the yard – there’s a lot we could have done.’’
One contractor said he was getting ‘‘agitated’’ about the situation.
‘‘We’ve got our gear there ready to go, but there are no jobs in the cleanup at all. We’ve been begging for it but not getting through to anyone.
‘‘I’m trying to get hold of people, no-one’s calling me back, and then they’re palming me off.
‘‘They’re sending me around in circles going to council to Nelmac to Fulton Hogan back to council. I’m getting so frustrated and I’m still nowhere the better for it.
‘‘We’re offering our services to them to help clean up, but ‘no we can’t because we’re not approved’, when I know there’s damn well other contractors out there that weren’t approved either.’’
The real ‘‘kick in the teeth’’ he said, was that out of town contractors were doing the work: ‘‘they’re shutting us little small guys out’’.
‘‘We really want to help those affected,’’ said another local contractor.
One man, who used to work for the council, said he felt ‘‘let down’’.
‘‘We’ve all got machines and trucks that we can move ground [with] ... there’s a lot of cycleways around Nelson that have slips, we’ve got the right amount of right size gear to get in there.
‘‘I’m quite frustrated because I’ve been around a long time and I have done my fair share of council work and we’re well known with the council and these bigger companies, [yet] we’ve been offered nothing.’’
The man said many of the contractors who had small diggers and trucks had worked for Fulton Hogan, Nelmac and Downer’s before.
‘‘I own six, six-wheeled tipper trucks carting 10 ton each. I own two truck and trailer units, and I couldn’t get any work.’’
He said he had pulled private work because he was prepared to help.
Nelson City Council infrastructure group manager Alec Louverdis said the council’s focus was very much on restoring access to roads, parks, and facilities as quickly as possible,
‘‘That means for the immediate work we have drawn on larger companies with local teams in Nelson that are able to mobilise large numbers of staff and equipment at short notice,’’ Louverdis said.
‘‘We fully expect this recovery will require all the resources that Nelson has to offer, and we are asking local contractors to please register their availability with Nelson City Council so that we ensure we can use local contractors where appropriate.’’
Contractor