MIRAMAR MATTERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1589, 5 November 1912, Page 3

MIRAMAR MATTERS.

: . DRAINAGE LOAN PROPOSAL. : ; About fourteen ratepayers assembled in •the Miramar Town Eajl last evening, to discuss the proposals. regarding the. raising of a loan of .£9OOO for the completion of the drainage' works/ "

. As the Mayor is in 'Australia,' Council-' ■Bowie occupied the chair, and explained the position. He stated' that the original scheme was estimated to cost, including first year's interest ■ and other - charges, which loan ' ivas sanctioned' by. the ratepayers .in December, 1907, together with £23,000 for water supply and reticulation. Owing to the tightness of the money market the loan could not be economically floated for some time, but when the Government Advances to Local • Bodies became law," the Council seized this opportunity to obtain the .£48,000 at a very cheap rate. Eventually the work was put in hand, tie wa,ter. supply being done first,' while the drainage is now Hearing completion. Unfortunately, it "was now found that the laying of 'stoneware sewers ,ivas under-estimated, the nature of the ground not having been quite realised. Owing to the running sand and -ivater met with in the trenches da Miramar flat, and the solid rock in parts of the foreshore, this part of the work would cost iS6OOO more than ha=d been anticipated, and this fact had oftly been discovered as this, part Of the work pro-i gressed. . An unfortunate point about this shortage was that the expensive part' of work (such as ejector stations, air mains, pumps, and oilier machinery) had been completed within the estimates, and the shallower drains to connect the residential streets with the deep drains cannot be completed without this extta .£6OOO. The:position, therefore, was that,, unless this loan was sanctioned by the ratepayers, the usefulness of the .£25,000 already spent would be- practically nil, although interest and sinking fund must be paid out of rates. Also the water supply, which was also a heavy charge on the borough rates, could not be fully, appreciated except in conjunction witfi the drainage. As- an example On Miramar Plat (which of the £25,000 has had more thafl. its proportional share provided by the' original estimate) the work done to date jvould only allow nine houses'! to be connected,' whereas, if the ■ loan, were carried, it would permit of 108 alreiidy-erect-ed houses being connected right away; besides providing for fully tan times the number of connections in future.. As regards Seatoun and Karaka Bay, the carrying of the loan, proposal would allow twice a 9 many existing houses being connected as could be done now. Since the original loan was sanctioned in 1907, several parts of -the borough had become residential .sections. This was not con. templated at that time, and' the proposal to borrow a further <£3000 was to provide for districts such as York Street (which includes the Town Hall and several houses) and King's Koad (which includes the gas works and Bongotai Terrace). Those districts required drainage -as urgently as any part of the borough._ It was moved by Councillor Bowie, and carried unanimously, "That this meeting of ratepayers approves of the proposal to obtain the necessary loan." It is understood that a poll of the ratepayers will take place to-morrow. ■