CITY COUNCIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19902, 23 September 1926, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

The fortnightly meeting of the City Council, held last evening, was attended by the Mayor (Mr H. L. Tapley), in the chair, and Crs Clark, Bcgg, Taverner, Wilson, Shacklock, Hancock, Hayward, Larnach, Scott, and Sincock. The Mayor welcomed to the Council Chamber Cr Leadley, who is chairman

of the Reserves Committee of the Christchurch City Council, and is also a member of the Christchurch Hospital Board. SUNDAY CONCERTS. The Hon. Secretary of the Dunedin City Tramway Band wrote asking for permission to uold sacred concerts in the Empire Theatre on Sunday evenings, October 3 and 17, with the right to take up a collection in aid of the band funds. Cr Scott moved that the application be granted on the usual terms. Cr Larnach seconded the motion, which was carried without discussion. Charles Powell applied for permission, on behalf of the newly-formed Dunedin Professional Orchestra, to hold Sunday night concerts monthly at the Princess Theatre, to raise a fund solely for charitable purposes, the first concert to be held on Sunday, October 3, and the proceeds to go to the unemployed fund. The application was granted. Cr Taverner said it should be made

quite clear that there would be no right to make a charge for admission to the theatres —a collection only could be taken up. RESERVES COMMITTEE. Cr Hancock moved the adoption of the Reserves Committee’s report. He said that arrangements had been made with the Knox College Council for the tenancy of a portion of the Knox College property which lay between Lindsay’s Creek and the Main iNorth road for a term not exceeding three years at an annual rent, of £5. It was intended to lay off this area as a children’s playground for the district. This matter had previously been brought before the committee by the North-East Valley Ratepayers’ Association. Cr Bcgg: Query. Cr Hancock said it was the only area suitable. Cr Bee-; Nonsense. The council has ground of its own available. Cr Hayward seconded the motion. He was pleased that the council had come to a settlement with the Exhibition directors in

connection with Logan Park. Cr Taverner said ne would like the committee to consider the question of getting a children’s playground at Momington. Cr Begg said he objected to the playground being placed on the Knox College property. He thought the committee could have obtained a more central site, considering the population. The playground was situated quite near the Gardens, where they hnd acres of ground. If the committee had taken into its confidence some one who knew the locality it might have received suggestions which would have obviated the necessity of paying the £5 rental and moreover it could have got ground already under the control of the city, C'r Larnach: Perhaps Cr Beg"? will give us the si*e of the two sections he has refered to. They might not be suitable, Cr Wilson said he thought the area was about a quarter of an acre. The section lower down might be more suitable. Or Clark said they had had two deputations from the North-East Valley, and had obtained data from them. The local people had not been passed over. Cr Hancock said the area proposed to be taken was for a period of three years only. The section referred to by Cr Begg was a tip and quite unsuitable. Cr Begg: Thai’s not the site 1 referred to. Cr Hancock said if Or Begg would come forward and assist them his committee would be quite pleased. The report was adopted, GENERAL COMMITTEE.

The adoption of the report of the General (’omniittec was moved by Cr Sincoek, who asked permission that the matter of two applications for licenses that had been refused should be referred back to the committee for further consideration. The permission asked for was granted, and the report adopted. WORKS COMMITTEE. Cr Wilson moved the adoption of the Works Committee’s report, and. referred to negotiations that had ben going on for eight years for a small piece of property in Leith street. The negotiations had fallen through, and the engineer had been instructed to put kerbing on this corner so as to keep the traffic off it and make it less dangerous. If this wore not sufficient something heavier still would bo placed there. The report was adopted. WATER COMMITTEE. Or Begg moved the adoption of the Water Committee’s report, and referred to a serious slip in the Silverstream race. The engineer now recommended piping the whole distance affected at an estimated cost of £270. . , Cr Clark seconded the motion, and asked the chairman if his attention had been drawn to a leading article in which very serious charges wore made against his department. . Cr Begg read a portion of the article

referred to alleging that in many parts of the district the size of the water mains was inadequate for the requirements of fire-fighting. He said that for the last few years the Water Department had been spending a large sum every year in renewinff old mains. They were now taking up mams that had been in use in the NorthEnd for 40 or 50 years, and replacing them with 4in, sin, and 6in mains according to the requirements of each district. The poljcy of the department in new and suburban areas was to lay down nothing less than 4in mains, which should give all the pressure required. Unfortunately, ill some of (ho hill areas which had been reticulated bv suburban councils, there were sin mains laid down, and some of even less diameter. As opportunity occurred these wore being lifted and replaced. Ho could assure them that tlie Water Department was quite alive to its responsibilities. The report was adopted. ELECTRIC POWER AND LIGHTING COMMITTEE. Or Shacklock moved the adoption of the Electric Power and Lighting Committee’s report, which was adopted without discua-

£l ° n ' GAS COMMITTEE. Cr Scott moved the adoption of the Gas Committee’s report, which was adopted without discussion. TRAMWAYS COMMITTEE. Cr Scott moved the adoption of the Tramways Committee’s report, cie said that renewed application had been received from the Otago and Southland Coachworkers’ and Wheelwrights’ Union for further consideration of the union s request that coachworkers in the tramway department should participate in the Exhibition bonus. The council on one occasion and the committee on two occasions had decided that the payment of the bonus should be limited to the traffic staff. The

committee was not prepared to recommend any variation of that decision. Cr Sincock seconded the motion. Cr Clark asked if provision had been made for a caretaker for the merry-go-round, etc., on the children’s playground at St. Clair. It would be a waste of money unless somebody was placed in charge of the playground. As regarded the committee’s recommendation regarding the bonus, he intended to move as an amendment that the request he granted. The inside staff had worked loyally and devotedly during the Exhibition period, and he thought no differentiation should be made. The amendment lapsed for want oC a seconder. Cr Sincock wanted to know if the com mittee would go into the question of considering an alteration in its policy so that there might not be any suggestion that the Maori Hill line was robbing the Roslyn line, as had been stated by the manager. He did not like the suggestion that one line was robbing another. It had been set clown that the Maori Hill line had robbed the Roslyn lino of £750. Cr Wilson said the grading at the children’s playground at St. Clair had never been properly carried out. They should make a job of the ground while they were at it.

Cr Scott, in reply, said his committee would take steps to look after the St. Clair ground. The new service up Pitt street, it was recognised, was going to take away a certain portion of the traffic on the Roslyn line, with a consequent reduction in the lares on the latter line. The department had, however, really endeavoured '.o relieve the traffic on the Roslyn line. As regarded the Roslyn line, it was not the pink-eye child that some people thought it was going to be. — (Laughter.) He did not favour the suggestion of Cr Sincock that the tramwais power house might he shifted from the valley to the top -f (he hill. The report was adopted.

FINANCE COMMITTEE. Cr Taverner moved the adoption of the Finance Committee’s report. He asked that authority be granted to treat with the Early Settlers’ Association for the sale of the present Art Gallery building to the association at the price of £4opo for the building as it now stood, and that a proposal submitted by the association that it pays £SOO in cash, the balance of £3500 to bear interest at the rate of 5J per cent, per annum and to be paid off by instalments of not less than £250 Per annum, be approved. The committee also asked that a further grant of £550 be made to the Otago Provincial Court Executive to enable that body to meet the balance of its outstanding liabilities. The proprietors of the London Times intended i.-.iing a New Zealand

issue of The Times, which would be confined solely to matter- relating to the Dominion. The Government had taken considerable advertising space, and space had been reserved for the use of the four cites. The committee recommended that in the event of each of the three northern

centres deciding to take up a page, authority be granted to purchase a full page in the issue for the purpose of advertising this city. The charge per page was £OOO. Cr Taverner said as regarded the grant to the Otago Court Executive, the executive had been faced with a loss of £ISOO. It had been evident quite early that there would be a loss, and this had been brought about primarily by the re-shuffling of the space area which had been accessary. Twenty-five local bodies had contributed to the sum of £SOOO which had been collected. Various methods had been resorted to to

meet the shortage which had occurred, and £950 had been obtained. The amount outstanding had thus been reduced to £550. The total cost of the court in all was £9587, and there was no doubt that a fine display had been provided. , It might be thought by some of them that the other local bodies should have been asked to contribute towards the shortage. As a matter of fact the Harbour Foard had given .them an additional £SO, which, after ail, was very good of it. Oamaru district had made' a grant of £650 and they had no wish to make a further request to that body, seeing that the Exhibition was held in the city of Dunedin. As regards the offer from the London Times his committee

had approved of the proposal subject to the other three centres also taking advantage of it. Christchurch, however, had turned down the proposal, and the recommendation therefore went by default. Cr Hayward seconded the motion, and expressed disapproval of tho idea of spending £6OO in advertising in Tho Times. It would be money spent for absolutely nothing, and they would be far better to give it to the Expansion League. Cr Clark said that one centre had not decided yet and to put the matter in order ho moved as an amendment that the offer be declined. Cr Larnach seconded the amendment pro forma.

The Mayor said he would not like to see tho amendment curried. There was evidently some misapprehension about it. This was a 32 page supplement to be brought out by The Times simultaneously with the Duke of York’s visit to New Zealand and distributed to its 300,000 subscribers. The New Zealand Government was taking the matter up. He thought tho original motion was the correct one. Dunedin could not afford to be the only city standing out, but if Christchurch refused to take part then Dunedin would do tho same. . Cr Taverner said there was a probability that the space would not be available.

The amendment was lost, only three councillors voting for it. Cr Scott moved as an amendment that the clause regarding tramway concessions to Territorials be referred back to the committee to permit a tally to be taken. On being informed that the matter could be adjusted at the end of the year, Cr Scott expressed himself as satisfied and withdrew his amendmen.

Cr Sincock spoke in support of the con cession to the Territorials. The report was adopted. TENDERS.

It was decided to refer back the tenders for the construction and delivery of a steel dredge punt for Lake Mahinerangi to the committee, with a recommendation to call fresh tenders both in wood and steel. The tender of John Burns and Co. (Christchurch) of £787 10s for a “Whitecross " rope for the Roslyn lino was accepted. The tender of the Otago Brass Works for lOcwt of scrap brass at 4d a lb was accepted.