TE KUITI BOROUGH

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIV, Issue 3240, 9 December 1930, Page 5

TE KUITI BOROUGH

MEETING OF COUNCIL. The Te Kuiti Borough Council met last evening, Cr. Blackman, Deputy-Mayor, in the chair, there being present also Crs. T. Carroll, K. W. Low, W. Taverner, T. M. O’Connell, R. Fenton, G. Hitchcock, E. J. Peterson, V. W. Lorigan, also Mr. C. H. Tate, town clerk, and Mr. B. J. Drake, engineer. His Worship the Mayor, Mr. W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., who is at present in Wellington on urgent business, was granted leave of absence. The following business was dealt with:— UNEMPLOYMENT SCHEME. A scheme for the relief of unemployment, propounded by the Mayor of Eltham, Mr. I. J. Bridger, was forwarded. The scheme in briefproviding for the treating of lands suitable for settling families. It was suggested that the sum of £1,000,000 be expended over five years; this would include expenditure of £4OO on dwelings, etc., for each family settled. Five hundred families could be settled per million invested, it was considered. While there would be no income for five years, it was held that the increased production in each locality dealt with, would eventually provide a profitable return on the outlay. Cr. Blackman, pointing out that there was really nothing new in the scheme, said, it corresponded more or less with the ideas of the member for the district. Cr. O’Connell: I agree that money should be spent oh reproductive works, but as I have said on previous occasions, not for instance on the widening - of roads as is being done in the Ongarue Valley, where thousands of pounds are being spent on the widening of roads. Cr. Lorigan: Through country that is not being improved. Cr. Carroll expressed the view that the roads referred to by Cr. O’Connell were beneficial. Cr. Low: Considering the numbers in the House who have the question before them, I think only they can handle it; it will not make any difference what view comes from us. Cr. Low moved for the reception of the letter. An amendment moved by Cr. Lorigan, however, to the effect that the Council support a scheme on the lines of that forwarded by the Eltham County Council, was carried. In connection with unemployment, the Public Works Department, Taumarunui, advised that the Department had agreed to provide a subsidy up to £75 on a basis of £2 for £1 on labour only for the relief of unemployed in the Te Kuiti Borough. INADEQUATE WATER SUPPLY. A letter signed by three ratepayers in South Street drew the Council’s attention to what was considered an inadequate watqr supply to dwellings in the above-mentioned street. The letter set out that there was only a 2-inch pipe to supply six connections, so it would be seen that in the event of a fire that fire-fight-ing facilities are nil. Cr. Blackman: I think they are pretty badly off. Cr. Low: The same position exists in many parts of the town. Cr. O’Connell remarked that now the 2in. main had been proved practically inadequate for fire fighting purposes it was useless to install such.

Cr. Taverner: We must try and give some service as far as water supply is concerned. I think we would find these people very reasonable. It was pointed out that if the Council gave relief in the case before it, it would be establishing a precedent. A report on the question of fire-fight-ing facilities had previously been supplied to the Council. Cr. O’Connell: As far as fire-fight-ing is concerned there are about 26 streets in the Borough which are inadequately supplied. After a discussion the engineer was instructed to prepare a report on the matter. MEAT. ILLEGALLY SOLD. Following upon a report made at the last meeting of the Council, to the effect that meat had been killed out of and brought into the Borough and sold, the following recommendation was received from the Works Committee: That it be a recommendation to the Council to take the necessary steps to have the boundaries of the abattoir district extended to include those properties facing Te Kumi Road for a distance of one mile from the northern boundary of the Borough, and that the Waitomo County Council be approached for its consent to such proposal. Cr. Low pointed out that the weakness was in the legislation. If the law prevented any meat not killed at the abattoirs from being consumed in the Borough, that would meet the position. After a discussion the recommendation was adopted. Cr. Lorigan: If that does not meet the case we will have to apply to Wellington for protection. In view of the fact that the present contract for slaughtering at the municipal abattoirs expires on February 1, and acting on . the recommendation of the manager, it was decided to call alternative te’nders for slaughtering by wages and by contract. GENERAL. The Shell Oil Company, which is erecting a petrol dump at Te Kuiti, wrote thanking the Council for its offer to arrange for two crossings to give access to the depot. That a few of the water channel crossings at the south end of the town which now have no use and which are frequently becoming blocked should be removed, was suggested by Cr. Carroll. The engineer was instructed to look into the matter. In response to an inquiry by the Council respecting tariffs in the event of the formation of a fire district in Te Kuiti, the Auckland Fire and Accident Underwriters’ Association stated that the classification of Te Kuiti was reduced in 1922 on the understanding that the fire brigade would continue under municipal and or

volunteer control —or in other words —that the insurance companies would not be called upon to pay half the cost of fire extinction. Consideration of this matter was deferred, pending further information. VISITING CHILDREN. A. Mercer advised that a party of 33 children from the children’s home at Hunterville would be making a tour through the King Country and back via East Coast, expecting to arrive in Te Kuiti about January 1. The Council agreed to a reduction in the Domain camping ground charges for the party.