BOROUGH COUNCIL

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 10826, 24 March 1932, Page 3

BOROUGH COUNCIL

Grant of £SO to Relief Committee. ELECTRICITY DISCOUNT DAY. Tll ,, fortnigh'ly meeting of the T'-uranva Roronch Council was held Chambers last night. Present: His Worship the Mayor. Mr n r Robbins (in 'ho chair), Crs J. A,incs h Norris, C. Whiling. J. f-w A. H Ncwsham. J. F. Russell VVnliacc. r. M. Bloor and A. N. lies. The 'favor apologised for the absence of Cr A Holy. Leave of absence war granted. Relief of Distress, per. C. H. Tavlor. Acting Secren - of the Tanranca Relief Coramit/V wrote statin:' be was directed by ,|i„’ Committee to make application !0 the Stewart Trn-t for a, grant of -.-a to be used Hr 'he Commitee for the 'relief of die Tc-s. IP- stated it a anticipated that a iar;.- amount 0 f relief will !><■ tf-ces-ar;, during the mnroachina winter months and the timely assistance of the Council will greatly appretdated, fiie Mayor stated that under the g.pvrart Trust the revenue was to be devoted for helping (lie poor cf Tanra'nga. The Trust, was in credit, Tho” funds of the Relief Committee were practically exhausted. The ramniitl.ee had done a vast amount of good, and more fund.- were needed The Council would he acting in terms of the will hy voting money from the Trust. Cr Whiting moved-—That the sum of £SO be granted from the Stewart Trust Fund. The motion was seconded by Cr Dnines and carried unanimously.

Application for Fish Stand

Mr C. Rouse wrote applying for the rHit of a fish stand in Wharf Street, next to Mr Finn’s, for which he is agreeable to pay the sum of £3 ,3s per annum. Mr A. Reid applied for a stand for the sale of fish on the Strand. The Mayor said a. stand had previously been offered in Hamilton Street' and another in Wharf Street. Only one hail been let. Cr Whiting said there was only one stand now available, and that was in Hamilton Street. He moved —That the applications be not grant-

ed. The motion was seconded by Cr lies and carried.

Noise from Machinery

Mr P. Munro wrote, as owner of Lot 157, Section I, and buildings thereon, complaining of the noise froifi the adjoining property-owner’s electric machines, which, he said, militated against the letting of his (Mr Munro's) cottages. He had spoken to the owner, but he does not appear to see any way' of mitigating the noise. Mr Munro asked if the Council could do anything in the matter. He thought if any of the councillors heard the machines in fml blast, as he dfil recently, they would he compelled to, admit it was high time, in the interest of the peace of the neighbourhood, that remaking was done to abate the nuisance. ■

. The Mayor said the. question had been previously before the Council. A legal opinion had been sought and was to ilic effect that the people having a complaint could apply to the court. The business was not only a nuisance but also caused depreciation of property. The Council should consider the question.

Cr Wallace moved- That Mr Munro be advised that the question is one for the parties concerned; also, that the question he referred to the Works Committee and the engineer for further investigation. Cr lies, in seconding, said the Council, as a governing body, should look into the matter.

Cr Whiting said it was merely a question of law. He did not sec that it was auy use referring the matter to the Works Committee.

It was suggested that the latter part of the motion be a-ltered to refer Hie matter to the Mayor and Town Clerk.

The motion was altered accordingly and in this form was put and carried. Overdraft Liability. - The Secretary of the Municipal Association, Wellington, wrote stating the Executive Committee has had brought to its notice the fact that certain local bodies will have extreme difficulty iu meeting the requirements of the Local Bodies' Finance Act in regard to their overdraft liability for the year ending March 31, 1932. In order to be in a position to make adequate representations to the Government to pass legislation for the relief of local bodies in this direction, the Executive desires to receive, as early as possible, from each local body that is experiencing difficulties in the way of complying with the provisions of the Act, a statement setting out its position as at the end of this financial year; also, the causes operating to prevent such local body being able to meet the requirements of the Act.

It was decided to reply that the Council was not affected. Electricity Discount Day.

Mr G. C. Maltby wrote as follows: “I wish to draw your attention to the annoyance caused through discount day for electric accounts being fixed on the 24th of the month. In my own case the meter is never read until the ISth, and usually about the 20th, and I believe that others have their meters read at a later date. If a week-end intervenes, or the account escapes one’s attention for a. day or two, the discount is probably lost, owing to the short time allowed for payment. Surely the date could be extended to the end of the month to give everyone a reasonable opportunity of obtaining the discount. Last month the 24th fell on show day, and 1 called at the office to pay accounts in the afternoon, but found the office closed. I therefore called next morning first thing, and was informed that discount could not be allowed as an advertisement—which I had not seen—had appeared in the paper giving notice that payments would have to be made on the morning of the 24th. I was also informed that I could have posted the money or pushed it under the door in which case discount. would have been allowed. Any business concern that I know of, and even Government Departments, allow payment on following day When payment falls on a holiday, and , seem s to me ridiculous not to follow the course adopted by other Business concerns. Apparently, no one in the office is allowed any disretion in these matters, and that , .-4th of the month has some special significance not realised by , e Public. If this jg so. the Council i, ,)u t on an extra meter reader ■ . uliow reasonable time, after rej. mn ii. lh - account,- in which to pay '. e amount involved is often ‘ ; but the annoyance caused is siderable and quite unnecessary, not calculated to make «ricity popular with the public.” hrJ i aia - yor said the question had een before the Council from time in s 6, T b.e readings had to be oy a certain date so that the ac-

counts could be written up. The Audit Office had ruled that the discount could not be allowed after the fixed date The Town Clerk, Mr Shearman, explained that if discount day fell on a Government holiday an extension was made regarding discount, but theer was no extension on a holiday such as that for the Show. Cr lies was in favour of the meters being read earlier. They were continually receiving complaints. He suggested that the meters in the southern portion of the borough be read first, and those accounts posted from the Town Clerk’s Office. He moved—That the matter be referred to the Electricity Committee to consider and report upon. The motion was seconded by Cr Norris and carried. ATilidntion of Jubilee Expense. Hon. C. B. Macmillan, Minister of Agriculture, in acknowledging a letter from the Council regarding the validation of Jubilee expense, stated: “As this is an emergency Session and no Committees of the House of Parliament have been set up there will be no legislation, except urgent Government measures, submitted. I shall have pleasure in having the necessary legislation prepared for the next .Session. Long before it takes place you will bo able to slate to the penny’ what the excess amounts to, because taking too little or too much leads to further complications.” The letter was received. Bitumen in First Avenue.

Mr W. A. Paterson, President of the Chamber of Commerce, advised the passing of a resolution calling the Council’s attention to the need of widening the bitumen on First Avenue, as the edges have broken away and the bitumen portion has become too narrow' for the la-rge amount of traffic on the street. There are also numerous pot-holes on the edges of the bitumen on Cameron Road.

Cr Whiting moved —That the letter be received. Cr Bloor seconded.

Cr lies said he hardly thought it was necessary for the Chamber of Commerce to point out repair works on the streets. It did not come within the sphere of the Chamber and Was belittling to the Council and its staff. •

The Mayor said he was sure no member of the Chamber desired to belittle the work done by the Council and he did not think any umbrage could be taken to the letter.

Cr Whiting’s motion was carried Repairs to Truck Cabs.

The Electricity Committee recommended that the engineer be authorised to procure prices for repairs to truck cabs and have the work done. The Mayor moved—That the recommendation be adopted.—Seconded by Cr lies and carried. Electric AVires. The question of service wires to Mr V. Muuro’s building in Wharf Street was reported upon by the engineer, Mr Boa.k, who said an arrangement had been made with Mr Munro to change the position of the wires. The arrangement as made with -Mr Munro was approved. Waimapu Metal.

Cr Bloor moved—That the engineer oe asked to make an estimate of the quantity of Waimapu metai that would be required for the ensuing year. Cr Newsham seconded.

Cr lies said the quantity of metal that would be required would be governed by the money available. The engineer, however, might estimate the quantity required for maintenance. Any further works woull have to be provided for on the estimates.

Cr Bicor’s motion was carried How of Meeting.

Cr Whiting moved—Thai in futme the meetings of the Council commence at seven o’clock. — Seconded by Cr Res and carried.