£42.000 LOAN

Grey River Argus, 20 June 1947, Page 3

£42.000 LOAN

DRAINAGE AND WATER FOR GREYMOUTH A decision to apply to the Local Government Loans Board for authority to raise loans of £42,000 for improvement to the existing water supply system and in drainage work throughout the borough, was reached at the monthly meeting of the Greymouth Borough Council last evening, as recommended by the Engineer,'Mr A. J. Fairmaid, who reported as follows—

The report, “Loan Proposals, 1946”, dated August 20, 1946, provided for a total expenditure of £132,790. Existing economic conditions 1 question the advisability of seeking authority to raise such an amount. Towards a reduction in the total, the relative urgency of the various proposals must be considered and my recommendation is as the following' schedule, the first mentioned item, waterworks exceeding in urgency any oTher proposal which might be put forward, unless an alternative gravity supply scheme be an economic possibility, all investigation to date being to the contrary.

Schedule of Works: Waterworks: Pumping station £14,627; 12in rising main to main reservoir £1619; Cobden reservoir £5729; Sin rising main to Cobden reservoir £1033; 9in trunk main to Nelson St. £6213; 6in trunk main to Elaketown £2409; total £31,630.

Drainage: Alexander Street storm water relief (between Murray and Puketahi Streets) £6643; Alexander Street storm water relief (Town Belt north area) £1168; Range Creek improvement £2569; total £10,380; grand total £42,010. This total is cal-| culated on the basis of the 1946 proposals with the addition of the second item of drainage, which was inadvertently omitted therefrom after being reported upon as at September 17, 1945. To the pumping station item has been added: (a) the sum of £lOOO to provide metering equipment to check the efficiency of the pumps; (b> to the estimated cost of the pumping plant 20 per cent, has been added; (c) to each other amount 10 per cent, has been added, the percentage additions being to allow for rising costs*, a matter very difficult to estimate precisely under ruling conditions. The total amount to be raised may be put at £42,000, in which sum no provision is made for any cost incurred in obtaining the loan or towards any other charges in connection therewith. The amount shown covers construction costs only. The period of a loan for the work in view will probably be 25 years with interest at 3’ per cent, per annum, on the outstanding amount from time to time. On a table mortgage basis with yearly instalments of principal and interest, and a rateable unimproved value of £393,383 as at March 31, 1947, charges will be as follows:—Yearly instalment of principal and interest to repay £lOO £6.0674; total annual charge on £42,000, £2548.308; rate of £ of rateable unimproved value 1.71017 d. Note: The rate shown allows for statutory addition of 10 per cent. The Mayor, Mr F. A. Kitchingham, said the Council could not do all the work, and these two works had been selected as the most urgent. The waterworks had had to run 20 hours daily, so that members would appreciate that the Council was meeting the demand under the greatest difficulty. The only thing to do in the meantime was to pray that they could carry on.

Cr. F. Boustridge: “Other people are doing the same thing—take the Harbour Board, tor instance”. “As at March 31, 1947. after taking into account the accumulated sinking fund, the next indebtedness of the borough was under £lOO,OOO, whereas a few years ago it was £140,000”, said the Mayor, who added that the actual figure was £97,764 5s lOd. The Engineer and Town Clerk were empowered to take all necessary steps to bring the matter to finality.