LYTTELTON’S YEAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXX, Issue 14973, 20 April 1909, Page 8

LYTTELTON’S YEAR.

THE TOWN CLERK S REVIEW. At last night’s meeting of tho Lyttelton Borough Council, tho Town Clerk, Mr G. A. Lewin, presented his annual report on the works of the borough. Tile year had. he said, been one of exceptional activity, owing to the erection of a now power-house rt Heathcote and the installation of a producer gas plant and the construction of tho water-carriage sewage system. The latter work involved the greatest capital expenditure ever undertaken by the Corporation. The active operations of drain-laying had been commenced in July last year. The main intercepting sewer was finished, and very satisfactory progress had been made with the branch drains. The report detailed the progress made with tho drainage works, and referred to the innovation of the system of laying each service from the dwelling to tho main street in order to ensure the general adoption of tlie new system as eoou as possible. More than half the house connections had been made, and, given fair weather, all the mains should be laid by the end of July, and the services should all be n-ected up a couple of months later. An idea of the magnitude of the work could be obtained from the fact that over fifteen miles of- pipes had been laid, and 650 gully-traps, 400 disconnecting traps and special pipes of all kinds had been put in. The general maintenance works of the town had gone on much as usual, without notable features. Coreair Bay had increased much in popularity and in fame, and the proposals for its further improvement would add to its popularity. In regard to finance, the report stated that tho year had commenced with a debit balance in the revenue accounts of £l9lO Is-. The position at the end of the year was:—General account debit, £4051 12s Id; water supply debit, £730 11s 4d; total, £4782 3s sd-; gas supply account credit, £732 4s; net deficiency, £4049 19s sd. The receipts during the year had been:—Balanco, April 1, 1908, £1340 3s 6d; district fund account, £14,519 13s lOd; temporary loans account, £20,072 5s 6d; drainage loan account, £10,114 13s sd; total, £47,508 13s Bd. The expenditure had been:—District fund account, £16,414 19s 3d; temporary loan account, £20.719 19s 8d; drainage loan account. £10,373 4s 9d; gas loan account, 10s; leaving a debit balance of £1461 17s sd.

In. the gas department, tho Council had takeu a. bold step in reducing the price of lighting gas froiii 8s 4d to 6s 8d per thousand feet; but in. spite of the resultant yearly concession to the consumers of £320, the receipts from the department were within £SO of those of the previous year, and the ascertained net profits were actually higher, £7BO as against £787. The profits were roughly 8 per cent on a capital of £20,000, ,while the Council's predecessors were only able to make 8 on hall that amount of capital, though charging 10s per 1000 ft for the gas. Refering 10s per 1000 ft for the gas. Now that the concession in price had proved a wise step, it should be kept prominently in view during the coming year, especially as little or no revenue would be needed for extension purposes. Tables appended showed that during the year 884 tons of coal had been carbonised, producing 10,005,000 feet of gas, or 11,854 feet per ton; 346.4 tons of coke, and 10,159 gallons of tar, or 12.03 gallons per ton. Of tho gas made 96.89 per cent had been accounted for. The net cost of the coal per 1000 feet of gas was 2.95 d. The revenue from the department was: —Gas sold £2891 13s 9d, tar sold £246 13s Id, coke sold £483 15s, totalling 96."21d per thousand feet of gas. The cost was as follows: Coal £Bl4, manufacture £826 16s, interest £784 10s, renewals £lB3 2.? lid, administration £125 _lss, incidentals and lamp-lighting £157 7s lid, totalling 70.71 d per thousand feet. The profit, plus profit on fittings sold and incidentals, was £869 11s lOd. Tho report stated that tho year had marked a distinct epoch in the history. of water-supply, producer gas, with high-lift turbine pumps, having superseded the old steam plant. The saving in fuel was sufficient to pay 4J per cent on the total capital expenditure, and then there remained a yearly surplus, which, if invested as a sinking fund on a 4 per cent basis, would in sixteen years extinguish the £3OOO spent on the plant. The success of tho new plant raised the question of reviewing the pumping plant at. the Lyttelton sub-station, the growing demand on the higher levels, and the further demand to be created by sewage work necessitating not only additional storage but a more efficient plant and a rising main of increased diameter.