CIVIC AFFAIRS

Evening Star, Issue 23496, 9 February 1940, Page 9

CIVIC AFFAIRS

COMMITTEE REPORTS Extracts from reports of committees which will Come before the City Council on Monday night are given below; — SUPPLY TUNNEL AT WAIPORI. The reports of the consulting engineers (Messrs Vickerman and Lancaster) on the No. 2 supply tunnel at Waipori Falls, which have come before the Electricity Committee, show that the contractors have 38 men employed on the work, and. in addition, the upper adit tunnel has been driven to the point of junction with the main tunnel. In respect of the lower adit tunnel, a further 37 feet has been driven, making a total of 163 feet. A good class of country is being met with in both cases, and at present three shifts are being worked. LIBRARY REPORT. The report of the Library Committee shows that adult tickets for the Lending Library issued to December 31 totalled 26,880, as compared with 24,237 in 1938. Juvenile tickets totalled 4,193. as compared with 2,128. During December 117 adults joined the library, as compared with 145 for the similar month in 1938; In December 25,654 volumes were issued for home reading, at an average rate of 1,069 volumes per day. The total stock of books on December 31 was 82.663. LOGAN PARK SERVICE. A petition has been received by the Transport Committee from some 100 residents in the Harbour Terrace area requesting that the Loyan Park buses run via Harbour Terrace to Dundas street in lieu of the present running between Harbour Terrace and Logan Park. Tallies have been taken of the Harbour Terrace-Logan Park section, and show that the, average number is .80, or less than one per trip. On some trips the average is considerably below this figure, and it would appear that the bus could be diverted on a number of trips with very little inconvenience to the public. Authority has been granted’ the transport manager to arrange for 12 trips per day to run via Harbour Terrace to Dundas street, as requested. In the meantime these trips will run on Mondays to .Fridays only, and the question of diverting further trips and Saturday trips will be' considered 1 when the needs of the district are better known. TRAFFIC RETURNS. A total increase of £4.174, or 2.68 per cent., is shown in the transport manager’s statement of traffic receipts from Ajril 1, 1939, to January 27, 1940 (43 weeks), as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. GOVERNMENT HOUSING BLOCK, WAKAHI. The question of a water supply to the Government housing block at Wakari was reviewed by the Water Committee as a result of representations made by the Minister of Housing, and an agreement arrived at. In view of the fact that the council has already laid the mains and services for a portion of this subdivision, the committee has agreed to complete the block, and the Housing Department, has undertaken to assume responsibility for water mains and services in all future subdivisions, including the education block at Wakari and Calton Hill. > “ JOHNSON T’AMILt' HOMfi, ' WAKARI, The question of the remission of rates on the Johnson family house at Wakari, which was raised at last meeting of the council, has been investigated by the Finance Committee. The official records disclose that during 1936-37 the council decided to assist the Johnson family to the following extent: —By making a monetary grant of £IOO, and! by making available, free of rent, an area of 32 poles of council land! at Wakari as a site for a dwelling to be erected for the family by the State Advances Department. The latter department charges the Johnson '.family a rent of 25s per week and pays the rates, amounting to £23 9s Bd, to the council. The file shows that the matter of rates arose unofficially at the time, but was not the subject of any determination either by the Finance Committee or the council. It was then made known that there was no: statutory authority to remit rates in such circumstances. TRAMWAY LOAN (No. 2), 1939, Advice has been received by the Finance Committee from the secretary of the Government Loans Board) to the effect that the council’s application for authority to raise the tramway loan (No. 2), 1939, £6,500, has been approved, and that the necessary Order in Council authorising the raising of same has been gazetted. The interest rate has been fixed at 4i per cent. The term of the Joan is seven years, and repayment is to be made by equal aggregate annual or half-yearly payments of interest and principal.