BOROUGH OF DEVONPORT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 44, 22 February 1927, Page 11

BOROUGH OF DEVONPORT.

t itETIRING MAYOR'S REVIEW. FOUR YEARS OF PROGRESS. Mr. T. Lamont, Mayor of Devonport, rho is retiring from office at the end >f hi 9 term to take a twelve-months' our of the world, last night addressed he ratepayers*'of the borough on muniipal affairs. The Masonic Hall was filled with an nterested audience. Mr. J. Henderson,: leputy»mayor, occupied the chair. Mr. Lamont prefaced his address with i vindication of his policy of publicity n borough affairs. He had enjoyed his .erm of office, despite many contrary ■riticisnis, for he was convinced that lefinite and permanent progress had been ichieved by the borough during the past our years. The councils over which he lad presided had handled weighty probems of finance and administration, and iltogether had spent £402,000 of public noney. A review of tlie permanent ■vorks undertaken by the borough during .hat time would prove that all expendi;ures had been wisely undertaken. The principal items had been concrete roads, >f which six miles had been laid during lis term of office; in addition to which •.he borough had constructed eight miles jf kerbing and channelling, had laid two miles and a-half of sewers and storm water drains, four miles of new water mains, and had reconditioned three miles and a-half of water supplies. The speaker reviewed at length the amalgamation of tlie borough's electricity undertaking with the Waitemata Power Board, and then exhaustively reviewed the problem of the borough's water supply, declaring his intention while absent from the Dominion of studying existing systems of these municipal utilities. The changes now impending in local body government due to the projected operations of the Local Bodies' Loans Board were also reviewed by Mr. Lamont, who expressed himself as in favour of the regulations in the Act, as a safeguard to the ratepayers from injudicious borrowing schemes. In his concluding summary of borough improvements either completed or under course of construction, Mr. Lamont mentioned the new fire station, the seawalls at Vauxhall and Queen's Parade, the electrification of the pumps at Lake Pupuke, the erection of a refuse destructor, the reclamation of Stanley Bay Park, the borough's plant shed and the new road on Rangitoto. These he considered were all outward and visible signs of progress, which effectively demonstrated the business .ike administration of the borough by the councils over which he had had the honour to preside. a In conclusion Mr. Lamont thanked the ratepayers for their continued confidence in him as testified by the recent election for the Waitemata Power Board, and declared his intention of again offering himself as a civic servant on his return from abroad. On the motion of Mr. E. Aldridge, supported by Mr. D. W. McLean, the Mayor was accorded a vote of thanks and appreciation for his interesting review and for his capable tenure of office foi the past four years, grateful mention being also made of the splendid service rendered to the borough by Mrs. Lamont as Mayoress during that period. The meeting then dispersed.