GREEN ISLAND COUNCIL

Evening Star, Issue 15538, 7 July 1914, Page 3

GREEN ISLAND COUNCIL

NEW LIGHTING SCHEME ADOPTED

The monthly meeting of the Green. Island Borough Council was held last night. The Mayor (Mr E. J. Beeves) presided, and Crs Kane, Ensor, J. Geddes, Wilson, Jackson, Samson, Atkinson, Christie, Bremner, Smellie, and Miller also attended.

—Correspondence.— The Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs wrote inquiring whether the Council had appointed an inspector of buildings, as provided by the Act.—Referred to'the Works Committee fSr a report. Mr Fred Toombs wrote re petition by residents of Concord, and a4ked the council to give it every consideration. —Received.

The Otago Hospital and Charitable Aid Board made a request for levy due by the council.—After some discussion as to whether a list of those in the borough receiving relief should be supplied to the council, the letter was received.

The Bruce County Council forwarded a motion passed at their last meeting—

“ That the various surrounding local bodies be approached with a view to arranging a conference to discuss the bdst means of deriving and apportioning revenue from owners of motor vehicles.”—The matter was approved, and the (Mayor appointed the council’s delegate. -—Reports.—

Cr J. Geddes submitted the Works Committee’s report, which was adopted. The Water Cohimittee’s report stated ; Application from Mr Love for water to be laid on to Gospel Hall on the Main road. Recommend that it be granted. Recommend that the action of the clerk in procuring a new meter for the Christchurch (Meat Company’s works be approved of; ..cost of meter, £32. Recommend that a letter be sent to Mr M’Donald asking him to caution the children against throwing rubbish iu the water trough near the Post Office, as council have received complaints of same. Recommend that the request for a meter at the Commercial Hotel be granted.—-On the motion of Cr Wilson, seconded by Cr Jackson, the report was adopted. The Cemetery and Domain Committee reported having made a thorough inspection of the Domain from Kaikorai Mouth fo Blackhead. The marram grass, lupines, pines, and willows were all doing well. The lupines and marram in places had the sand drifts thoroughly checked. Recommend that the plantation of pines be extended to a point overlooking the Brighton road, and that same be fenced and wirenetted in. That the Government be asked for a‘donation of trees, also another grant. That a new gate be procured for entrance, and the contractor whose horses broke same be asked to contribute towards cost of new gate. That if funds will permit, another load of basket willows be procured and planted. That 21b of annual lupine seed bo bougth for a trial.—Cr Christie, in moving the adoption of the report, stated that the Government had only granted them £lO, whereas £IOO a year could be expended with good results.— The report was adopted. The Lighting Committee then submitted their report, which was as follows: —We recommend that a sum of. £BOO be borrowed lor the purpose of paying off the amount owing to the City Council and the erection of more lights Mu the borough; that the Finance Committee he asked to approve of tho recommendation; that the council borrow £BOO for electric lighting purposes : that the Minister of Finance be written to asking him on what terms the council can borrow the sum of £BOO from the Government for the purpose of installing electric light, and that the clerk ask the solicitor if it is necessary to take a poll of the ratepayers for the raising of the loan. Proposed expenditure of the £BOO : Dunedin City Council, £552 9s 6d ; 25 new lamps, £250: interest, £4 10s; total, £786 19s 6d. Annua! charge : Current on the 55 installed lamps, at £2 2s 6d per lamp, £ll6 17s 6d : current on the 25 new lamps, at £2 2s 6d per lamp, £53 2s 6d; upkeep, renewing lamps, etc., £10; interest on £BOO at 6 per cent., £4B; total, £228. The annual charge of £228 to be met by striking a rate of 4d in the £ on £14,500, which will bring in £258 6s Bd, leaving a credit balance of £lO 6s 8d after paying the annual charges. It is proposed that the rates will then be: General rate. Is 4d in tlie £, and the lighting rate, 4d iu the £.—Cr Bremner, in moving the adoption of the report, stated that the council were continually receiving applications for lamps, and he considered it better to face the whole position at once, and borrow’ the necessary money to put in tho 25 lamps, which would be sufficient for a long time to come. Mr Statham, M.P., had been asked whether the borough could borrow the money of the Government for the purpose, but a reply had been received that at present that could not be done, though legislation would probably be introduced shortly to make such borrowing possible.—Cr Atkinson objected strongly to the loan being raised without the proposal first going to the ratepayers. —Cr Kane agreed that the. ratepayers should have a voice iu the matter if possible, but thought that they would be quite agreeable, and the matter of tho expense of taking a poll had to be considered. Ho would vote for. the proposal, which was better than the instalment plan. A number of other councillors congratulated the Lighting Committee on their report, Cr Miller pointing out that the proposal carried with it no extra rating.—His Worship considered that, the new scheme would result in Green Island being better lighted than any other borough in New Zealand.—Tho report was adopted. The Finance Committee reported as follows:—Wages paid during the month, £36 12s; receipts for the month, £3Ol 7s 2d. Re lefter from the Deacons’ Court applying for exemption of rates on the Kirkland Hall, recommend that the request be granted. Re raising loan for lighting purposes as recommended by Lighting Committee, matter approved "of by Finance Committee. —Cr Atkinson took exception to exemption being granted to the Deacons’ Court, the hail in question having been used for other than Sunday school purposes.—Crs Geddes, Miller, and Kane and the Town Clerk having explained the position, the report was adopted. In reply to Cr Atkinson, Cr Geddes slated that the matter of tho inspection of the quarry had been left over until the summer.

It was resolved, on the motion of Cr Kane, that at all future elections in tho borough a polling booth be placed at Burnside. Cr Wilson’s motion, notice of which had been given—"That the by-laws under which ratepayers were charged half-cost of footpaths and crossings be rescinded ” was fully discussed, and carried.

A motion by Cr Atkinson—" That the ordinary meetings of the council be held on tho first and third Mondays in the month” —received little support, and was lost.

The following motion by Cr Geddes was carried:—“ That a public pound be erected in the borough, and that a plan and estimate of the cost of same be obtained, and that' the Taieri County Council be asked for a subsidy.” Cr Kane moved an elaborately-worded motion with a view to eliciting information from councillors regarding a petition on the drainage question that is said to have been drawn up and sent to the Prime Minister. After the mover had given his reasons for his notice of motion CT Samson rose and said that he know all about it. He knew a petition of the kind had been got up; he had seen it; perhaps he had signed it: but—the petition had never gone to Wellington. He knew a little more, too —the reason it did not go.—The Mayor stated that he also had signed the petition, but that was five or six months ago, when the Tainui Commision had been sitting, and it was thought they might also go into the matter of the Kaikorai drainage.—Cr Kane having reiterated his opinion that it was “not right that things like this should get into the Press,” accepted Cr Samson’s explanation, and the matter, which did not appear to be taken very seriously, dropped.