MOUNT ALBERT'S PROGRESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15004, 28 May 1912, Page 5

MOUNT ALBERT'S PROGRESS

T HE.- AY ORAL IN STAjLLATION* " J RATES " AND ' "ROAD§r^ n Mil. M.' J. : Cotus was installed to the position, of Mayor, of/ Mount JJbert -at a : special, meeting of thft : CottHC% held ; I&-L evening. He was heartily congratulated upon his re-election. • Mr. Coyle, in returning thanks, referred particularly to the future of the borough. • The district, he said, continued to .. maintain the steady , progress which had been so marked during recent years. A great deal ; of land had changed''hands of late, and , ~ in consequence large additional areas vfoilri.' he thrown open for settlement in the near . future. .Tie roads on'the Rakau Estate at Edendale,. and the Mount Albert Park' ; Estate '.at Morningside, were well in ; hand ': t as regards formation, while a start" had'. been made with the formation of roads on . . that, portion of the Gribble Estate"; lying to the east of Kingsland Road. V . These three estates alone comprised some > 64 acres, which has all been : subdivided! -for', sale. With the extension of ,the tramways v . to Morningside it was only reasonable to ;; assume that building operations in the locality would greatly increase, and that therefore it was only a matter of a short ; period before the tramway .would be fur- .. ther extended into the district.- f Ufefriy ' 100 men were now engaged on the .various ; works under the Council, Icq that the j-jre-. sent time was the busiest ever experienced in the history of the ■ district. . Their ex- " perience of day-labour had been very satisfactory, and one great advantage; was ' the ; fact, that under this system, it was possible •' to ensure that only the best material was ' M used, and that only faithful work was done. It would be their endeavour to posh on air works now in hand with all possible speed, and thus help to advance'the popularity of Mount Albert ' as a residential suburb. The finances of the borough we're in a very sound state, the - district fund showing a balance at . March 31 last of £2240 credit. _ Cash assets at same date were £784, with outstanding liabilities amounting to £621. There was thus a net credit balance :of over £2400, but it must be borne in mind that this included sink-, ing funds on old loans, amounting to £754. In view of the pledge given by members of the late Road Board it would always be his endeavour to keep the rating within the limits of the total during that particular year, when, the rates amounted to lgd in the £. Last year the total was lfd, and for the current year it would be practically In connection with the recent £.50,000 loan, while it would be necessary to strike every year an annual rato of id, the actual amount to be collected would be much less. This year the rato would amount to one-sixteenth of a Id only, but it must be remembered that less than half the amount to be borrowed had been expended up to date. To these rates would have to be added a sanitary Mite struck over the whole of ward D. , and the greater part of C ward, in order to cover cost of the refuse removal service, which is about to be greatly extended*. The question of placing'the sinking funds con-. nected with the old loans upon a sounder basis had been discussed, and every effort would be made to make all credit balances productive. It would be worth while when considering this matter to see whether it , ! would not be possible later oh to con- ! solidate these loans, amounting to £28,900 ; 5) when raising future loans. Of the; special •/ £30,000 loan, up to date nearly half KM ; been expended, but even at. this stage :■ it was quite apparent that the scheduled ' works f f | could not be completed for' the amounts | allocated. ,The cause of this WW not fw, ' to seek: the estimates were made oyw tiiro - - years ago, and the cost of both labour *nd v materials had advanced substantially then. It would, therefore, be necessary to ask the ratepayers to sanction a further loan, and this ■ matter, • have to be dealt with at an early date. ; c " The Mayor also stated that the •d«rira-' bility : of closing the Government scoria pit '■$ on Mount Albort had not been -lout, sight of, and the Domain Board had made very .strong representations'.V'to^)^Kt»p6nv'tliia- v '',' matter. A public meeting would bewailed I shortly .to ventilate the : subject, a and -he ■ Mfc sure . the proposal would pieet, the. »|h I proval of every resident of the bowogh. ■