GREATER WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 274, 13 August 1920, Page 7

GREATER WELLINGTON

NEW LOAN SCHEDULE

THE PROPOSALS EXPLAINED

MEETING OF RATEPAYERS

NO DOUBLING OF THE -RATES

A meeting of ratepayers to consider the sew loan, schedule of .£1,708,916 was held, in the Town Hall last night.' There was a large attendance, over which the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G., M.P.) presided. On the platform wiiih the Mayor were Couuoillors L. M'Kenzie, J. W. Henderson, M. P. Luckie, J. Hutchison; J. .31. • Dale,. J. Burns, T. Forsyth, B. G. H. Burn, C. J.-.8. Norwood, ~tp. H.Chap.man, and P. Eraser, 31.P., the City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) and the Town Clerk (Mr. J. R. Palmer). The Mayor said that the people of Wellington "should bo proud of the city and the progress that had been .made in the ■ last few years. (Applause.) The proposals fc be submitted to the people would not mean n doubling of the rates. Tho .• only increase that would result would be . one.ofl.Jd. in the .£l, llherefore the suggestion that the proposals/ if adopted, would result in'an increase of 3d. in the , ■■'£{, was absolutely incorrect. The increase in the rates would not be burdensome. In Tegard to street widening, Mr. ■ Luke said that he considered' the policy '•' that had been embarked upon years ago , was absolutely sound. The net cost of ' street widening to.the city had<been •*73,000-r{applause)-and he iihought that fiuin would' be materially reduced when the city .was revalued-in four or five years the sum would almost have vanished; Dealing with tramways, the'Maybr said that: the amount put into this undertaking was .£274,000, and it would not bo said that either the tramway or electric light concern was bankrupt. The Water Supply.

The Mayor outlined the proposals regarding the extension, of the water supply from Orongorongo,' the total cost of which, would be .£561,913. The wafer from Orongorongo would be used not / only for adding to the water supply, but for balancing the pressure. .The schemo would mean that Wellington would have double the amount of water thais" was nt present available from Wainui. The tunnel at Orongorongo was a very important work, but it was impossible,.because of. labour and other difflculiiies, to assess ;. the cost of the undertaking. •. The work could noS be carried out under contract, jhni. the engagement of day labour would be altogether too costly. As it was urgent that the city should have adequate supplies of water, it y was decided to carry out the work under the co-operative principle, and as a re- / . fiult.of negotiations with the contractors (Messrs. Semple and'party) the council has been able to reduce the first estimate .by JSOOO. Oh this work .three shifts would be employed continuously, for it was (imperative that .the , undertaking should be completed as soon as possible. The conditions provided that there should be no strike', and no "go-slow" policy. "We have got theso men to do what has never been done in this country before," 6aid Mr. Luke, "and that'is,, to s'urren,'der the strike option,—there are to be no strikes, in connection with this work." : (Applause.) In his opinion the City Council could bavo done nothing 'better than close the contract that it had entered into with the men. (Applause.) ; The work would bo costly, but he,could ■not see that they could-have got it done cheaper by any othea' method. , Passing on to street,works, Mr. Luke ifaid it was proposed to expend iln putting down permanent pavements on certain of the most important thor- ' ' oughfares, in providing improved access to Roseneath; Khandallah, Brooklyn, and Vogeltown, and in carrying out : storm-water drainage and fpre9hore improvements at Island' Bay. The perman•'ent pavements would consist of foundations of concrete, with "cushions," con--sisting of bituminous asphalt. Grafton Roseneath, would be widened, arid a lift would be-installed to convey the i people to the high levels. By the wid- ' -i'ening of Grafton Road it would be pos-;-Bible' for a mo'or-bns service to run between Roseneath and Hataitai. It liad been suggested that tho trams should :iun to Roseneath, via Hawker Street, ■but this would cost anything- botween '£90.000 and £100,000, and the council was jiot prepared to ask the ratepayers to face that expenditure. The road round 'Evans Bay would be widened to Kilbirnie, and it was proposed to carry the ' foreshore wall from. Oriental Bay to Ballcno, Bay. ; • '"

Tramway to Northland.

' • In regard to the'suggested new tramWay to Northland,- Mr.-Luke said that this lino would have considerable earn- ' ■ ing power, and, continuing . from ,Aro /Street, via Raroa Road, would tap tho '' districts of Taitville and Highbury. Contrary to what 'he had stated, at the City Council'meeting-,-the.lino would not pass over the Karcri Tunnel, but would come • out at the same level as the entranco to the tunnel, dipping down by the Presbyterian Church, and extending to Northland. The line would terminate at Russell's Store, but later on it. would extend to the Wilton Estate, and, in years to come, -lie hoped to seo it linking up with Wndestowu. The Toute, to North- • land, via Aro Street and Raroa Road, would actually be one mile shorter than the present circuitous route followed by the Kurori tram, and .'the Duke of Mil-, borough corner would serve as tho distributing centre. What particularly appealed to the council in regard to this route was that tliero would be a uniform grade of 1 in 15. ... ' After stressing tho need for providing a new powcr-houso at Evans Bay, Mr. Luke passed on to the matter of.fte proposed new tunnel to Ea'taitai. The estimate for this work was ,£101,251, but he held that Ihe time was not yet opportune for Ihe construction of tho tunnel. A tunnel that, was going to cost ,£161,000 did not appeal to him at present, and lit bad expressed that view to tho council; but it had been includecMu the schedule •by vote of the council. The tunnel undertaking, be maintained, would only liariiper the p'rosecutiou of tho other schemes mentioned in the schedule. He considered that an improved road round ■ Evans Bay Would serve tne purpose cif sivin" better access to the eastern suburbs He would lie. prepared to vote for tho-tunnel when the opportune time "speaking of the loan proposals gencratlv the Mayor said that tho works should bV carried out. as rapidly as possible It the schedule was adopted a sum ot iron 4100,000 lb ,£125,000 per annum would be - spent; and lie thought .the whole'irflrk • would spread over a period of faro years He was confident that, the proposals were sound He had" been Mayor, for seven years, and he,was very pleased with the work that had been done in that lime, a considerable amount having bee completed out of revenue. Not one pioposnl ' ] le had made had been turned- down, am. the council was solid in regard to he present proposals. "The council asks that the ratepayers shall vote for them, said the Mayor in conclusion. "All we want is-that you shall supply the ammunition and we will fire the gun." (Applause.) Money Can ,Bc Found Locally. Councillor Luckie said that while it was now proposed to borrow a large sum of money, it had to be remembered that no loan proposals had been put before the ratepayers for a very long time. Had it not been for the war, proposals woulfi have been placed before the ratepayers in 1914, and the city was suffering because this had not been done. It had to be borne in,mind that the great bulk of the money to be spont would be either interest-earning or interest-saving, ana would not come directly or indirectly upon the rates. In the interests of the health of the city it was imperative that a good water supply should bo installed in "the shortest possible space of time. The tramway proposals wouiu pay for themselves. It was absolutely necessary that provision should be made for hot salt water and Turkish baths. Before very long the Thorndon Baths would disappear. Speaking- of tho Basin Reserve, Councillor Luckie said it was imperative that a now pavilion should bo provided. It was apparent that a better outlet should be providod for the eastern suburbs. A great blunder had been made when the city put through only a tram-

way, and not a traffic timnel. The population must extend to Seatoun, Miramar, nmbLyall Bay, nnd 'ill 8 only way of giving setter access to-those districts was by means of a new tunnel. However, lie was wi vet sure as to tha best 6ito for pierciiU the hill. Owing to tho growth of theHcity more, fire-fighting facilities were necessary, and for this purpose it was proposed to raise a sum of 6021,500. The city would continue to progress, but to that end it.would bo necessary for the peoplo to find tho money, for urgent works. Ho felt sure that the whole of tho'. money required could be found in the Dominion, and that no difficulty .would bo experienced in, getting it. '■ Councillor Norwood said that if the loan proposals were not carried the city would go back, and the financial position of the municipality would not be so 6trong as it -was to-day. The speaker strongly commended every item in regard to tramways and the new power station. The provision of the new power station would mean an ultimate cheapening in the cost of electricity. ■An alternative route to tho extension of tho Aro, Street lino to Northland would cost over .£70,000. and it was for thatjreasoii that the council favoured the laying down of a fine via Raroa Boad. The Aro Street line might not be paying now, but. when the new route wa's in operation the result would be very different. In addition., access to the city by this lino would be quicker than by any other route. Councillor Norwood considered, that the provision of a new tunnel to Hataitai was most urgent, for the city, was expanding eastwards so rapidly. Should this proposal be carried, it would take five years to .construct tho tunnel, and in the meantime the population would bo growing fast.- Would it be wise, therefore, to "turn down" tho proposal and put it off until a later date?

'Councillor M'Kenzie said the city was in a similar position now to what it was in 1904. "Urgent works were now needed on all hands, and it was easy to see that tho population in the outlying districts would' continue to glow faster than ever. Better ronding facilities were proposed for the outlying suburbs, and these would be capable of carrying the trams when they were required. Immediate relief should lie available regarding power for the trams, and it was for 'that reason that he differed from the other councillors concerning tho proposed erection of the- new power house %t Evans Bay. Still, he felt that the other proposals were Absolutely necessary, and he trusted thai) the majority of them would be carried.

A Suggested Postponement. After the case for the council had been put before the meeting, Mr. A. Blake submitted a resolution, passed by the Eastern Suburbs ' League, to the effect that the loan poll, should be postponed for a) month, with the object of reconsidering some of tho proposals, and regrouping Oiem. At present, he said, there was a doubt about tho new tunnel to Hataitai, and some councillors had stated that ,thoy did not know which would be die best route. Generally; the league was in sympathy with the proposals, but thought that they should bo further considered. The various ratepayers' associations ought to be consult*ed by the council >. , •': ' The Mayor said he did not know whero the city would get to if it had to submit its! proposals to fihe ratepayers' associa-. tions, for approval., or otherwise., The council must' interpret the' wishes of tho general public, and he felt sure the councillors would not vary their schcdulo. It was unthinkable that the council should have to oonsult with a lot of "nebulous" bodies and ask them what it should put before the people. Regarding the now . Hataitai 1 tunnel, he was opposed to going iihrough the College grounds, but considered that Ellice Street should be widened, and the hill pierced from there'.

Mr. Burbidge, chairman of the Roseneath Ratepayers' Association, supported the proposal of the Eastern. Suburbs League. There were a number of matters on which his association differed froni the council, and he thought the proposals should be submitted to the,various ratepayers' asociationsfor consideration, and in order that <\hey mis-lit mako suggestions, regarding them to the council

Further Explanation Wanted.

The Hon. T. W; Hislop.did not- think that any -sufficient explanation had : .been given, regarding the urgency of the water supply. Ho- disagreed with, the proposed expenditure on electrical works, and said it was n6t right that the .proposals should have been sprung on the citizens so suddenly. Ho wanted some .better reasons advanced before he could be convinced that various-Items in the schedule wore necessary, The meeting had not had Hie information that was necessary to induce the ratepayers to vole for the proposals. (Hear, hear.) t. The Mayor said the City Council had been absolutely frank in its proposals, find he regretted that an ex-Mayor of the city should have come to the meeting and taken up such an attitude. With' regard to the Morton dam, tho Mayor 6tated that, ho had visited tho dam at times when no water was running into it beeauso of a change in climatic conditions; and he was convinced that it would be unsafe for tho city to place reliance for its water supply on- that dam alone. He emphatically denied that there was any leakage fronn the dam, as was suggested by a_member of tho audience. The reason why it was proposed to convey water from Orongorongo to Karori was to get the highest pressure possible, so that the high levels could' be supplied by gravitation, and thus save 9d. per thousand gallons for pumping to reservoirs in tho various districts. ' ' ' Mr. A. Leigh Hunt (president of the Town Planning Association), wanted to know whether the proposals would dovetail into town-planning schemes that mfght be set forward in the coming years. He did not tlink that anything tangible could be proposed until the city was properly demarcated.- His association'wanted all the proposals relating to transit to he grouped together because they hiid reference to the question of housing, which was most urgent. The Mayor 6aid he could not conceive of the City Council splitting up its schedule to suit the wishes of various gi'u'un. of individuals. To do that would only nieaw a delay in the prosecution of tho work. V • ■

After a number of other speakers had addressed the meeting and the Mayor had replied to .various questions, Mr. H. F. von Haast moved, and Dr. Platts-Miua seconded: "That a hearty vote of thanks be accorded the Mayor, ■ councillors, and officers of the council for the work they have dono and are doing on behalf of, the city." The- motion was carrietf by and the meeting terminated.