RECORD OF PAST SERVICES

Southland Times, Issue 23498, 3 May 1938, Page 8

RECORD OF PAST SERVICES

Campaign For City Mayoralty MR JOHN MILLER TALKS TO ELECTORS An outline of the policy and achievements of the Invercargill City Council during his term as Mayor was given by Mr John Miller, who is again contesting the mayoralty, in his address to the electors at Sylvan Bank hall, East Invercargill, last evening. Mr G. Dempster, who presided over an attendance of about 40, briefly introduced the speaker. Mr Miller said that he was recently asked by a deputation representative of all classes of the community, that he should again be a candidate for the mayoralty. Many of those present expressed the opinion that there never was a time in which his experience was more required and that a continuity of his services was more desirable in the best interests of the city. “I have had a long experience in the City Council both as councillor and as Mayor. I was elected to the council in 1919 and served as a councillor till 1927,” Mr Miller said, “when I was first elected Mayor. Many of you will remember that that election was fought on the question of bringing in the Dunsdale water supply, for which a loan of £140,000 had been authorized, or continuing our underground supply. There is no question or doubt but that I was elected because of the stand I took on the water question. Time has proved it was a correct one. It was stated at the time tha; the underground supply would not be capable of supplying the town by 1931. It is now 1938 and the output at the waterworks has increased enormously during the intervening years, and although we have lately had the driest period in the history of the waterworks, it was not necessary to restrict the use of water

for domestic purposes, as was done in some of the other cities and towns in New Zealand.”

DUNSDALE SCHEME

Mr Miller then quoted the following statement which he said had been made recently by the city engineer: “Had the Dunsdale loan of 1924 been proceeded with, and even if the proposed work had been completed for the £140,000 intended, the annual loan charges alone would have been £9lOO a year , since then, and there would have been operating costs for patrol and upkeep in addition. Actually, the present supply had cost, during the past 10 years £4160 a year for running expenses and £B4l for capital charges (new pipes and wells) making a total of £5OOl. In the past five years the cost had averaged only £4385. The running expenses include all costs of pumping, power, wages, repairs, building and reservoir upkeep, and even the upkeep of the grounds.” “Since the financial aspect is the important one, these figures show that the present system is unquestionably more economical for Invercargill than would been the Dunsdale supply,” Mr Miller added. “No promise can be given that the present supply will continue to suffice, but much expenditure on it is yet justified before another source is developed, and when that time comes there are other sources more attractive than a distant upland supply.” ' During all. the years in which he had served the people as councillor and Mayor he had given of his best in the interests of the citizens as a whole. Being a member of the council had not brought him any business in hjs professional capacity as a veterinary surgeon. “I have always endeavoured to let the people understand that what I mean I say, and what I say I mean; and I have never yet been described as a rail-sitter in the City Council,” he said. UNEMPLOYMENT YEARS

“These years of service®’have given me the experience in municipal gov-

eminent which is absolutely essential to anyone who aspires to the position of Mayor. Even in the period from 1927 to 1929 when unemployment was making its appearance and also during the trying years of the depression, I was active in trying to relieve the position, at all times endeavouring to secure anything I could on behalf of those out of work, and to provide work under any schemes offering.” Mr Miller read the following extract from the editorial columns of The Southland Times of May 4, 1933, after the election in that year: “We think the large vote Mr Miller secured was due to his personal efforts, his persistence in keeping in personal touch with the people of tile city, and his activities in connection with appeals for relief. That Mr Miller scored such an emphatic victory left no room for any excuse.” PRICE OF ELECTRICITY During the term of the present council three separate reductions had been made in the price of electricity to consumers. (1) In June, 1936, the unit rate was reduced from 6jd to 6d a unit, representing a reduction of £450 a year. The floor space and power rate were reduced from 3d a unit for the first 200 units a month to 2|d a unit. This estimated annual reduction represented £3lOO a year. (2) In August 1937, all electricity charges were consolidated, the principal alteration being the deletion of the minimum charge of 2/3’ for lighting ! and cooking. This reduction involved approximately £2OO a year. (3) In September 1937 the charge for electricity for cooking or cooking and heating combined was reduced from IJd to Id net a unit. The 10 per cent, surcharge had been abolished and a straightout discount of 5 per cent, substituted for prompt payment. “It will be my endeavour if I am re-elected to bring about a furI ther reduction in the price of electricity,” Mr Miller said. In co-operation with the Southland Radio Club and the Post and Telegraph Department, tests at some expense had been carried out to endeavour to eliminate tramway noise interference. It had not yet been decided whether such tests were sufficiently satisfactory to warrant the expense involved in installing elimination devices throughout the service, which would cost approximately £2OO. The council should make every endeavour to get rid of that interference. LIGHTING AND TRANSPORT The modern and much improved electric street lighting system had been installed in both Dee and Tay streets at a cost of £l5OO. The question of the gradual replacement of trams by buses had been under consideration for a long time, Mr Miller said, and the special committee appointed by the council to make recommendations had decided that the total outlay would be £lOO,OOO, this being £50,000 for buses and £50,000 ' for strengthening the roads. The council had decided to ask the Local Government Loans Board for permission to place a proposal before the ratepayers at the municipal electionfe to borrow the sum of £25,000 io make a start with buses, but the Loans Board had not been satisfied with the suggestion and it would therefore not be possible to submit the poll at the forthcoming elections. GAS AND RESERVES “Some months ago the council was faced with the expenditure of some £9OOO for a new gas holder,” he continued, “but it hoped that this expenditure has been deferred for many years by the installation now taking place of an article of plant known as a pressure booster, which will probably cost about £4OO. “The city’s reserves have received the maximum amount of maintenance, and improvements possible with the funds available for the purpose,” Mr Miller said. “These funds have been considerably increased during recent years. For each of the past two years the total expenditure has been about £B5OO, involving transfers of more than £4OOO each from general rates.” The improvements to TurnbullThomson Park had been maintained and very considerable improvements had been made to the playing area purchased in North Invercargill. BATHS AND LIBRARY Mr Miller said that neither the baths nor the library had shown much profit. The baths were continually growing in popularity and within the past two months arrangements had been made with the Education Board for improved tuition for school children who were getting full advantage of the pool. The “Learn-To-Swim” week had been a great success. “The Public Library,” he said, “has its difficulties in the severe competition from book clubs, but the council gave similar opportunities to the people and books may be obtained at a fee of 2d without the necessity of paying an annual subscription. On several occasions I have brought forward the question of a free library and I am satisfied this is a question which must be dealt with by the City Council in the near future. The present trend is towards free libraries throughout the Dominion and library authorities have made up their minds that they are coming. The position is that there are only about 2000 subscribers in Invercargill out of a total population of 25,000. When it is considered that a subscriber who takes out three books is counted as three subscribers, this brings the total considerably below the 2000.

RECONSTRUCTION OF FOOTPATHS

“During the depression the rates were reduced considerably and the vote to the works department cut to a minimum, with the result that the footpaths deteriorated very considerably,” Mr Miller continued. “In August 1935, the town clerk and I conferred with the Unemployment Board representatives and succeeded in making an arrangement involving an expenditure of £20,000 spread over a period of three years, and of this amount the Unemployment Board undertook to subsidize the wages to the extent of £5OOO. The council has completed its obligation, which means that to March 31, 1938, the sum of £21,588 11/7 has been spent in all on footpath reconstruction, of which the council has found £16,588 11/7, besides in 1937-38 providing from revenue £lOOO for ordinary maintenance of other footpaths. The sum of £6OOO is provided in a loan for sealing the footpaths, which were broken up and gravelled. This will be done during the summer.

“A programme of street sealing from revenue has been maintained and several streets in the city have been sealed. During 1937-38 there was provided £2500 for maintenance of streets already sealed, and £2OOO for new scaling. It is my ambition to seal as many streets as possible each year.” Mr Miller said that extensive negotiations had been in progress with the. Southland County Council with the object of having Stead street sealed, but so far without success. The City Council was asking that a commission be set up to adjudicate on this matter. The preliminary stage in the town and regional planning had been completed and the council’s provisional scheme had been submitted to the Town Planning Board. Aboit 269 acres were amalgamated with the city on August 1, 1937, and loans would be raised. These would provide for the expenditure of £68,000 on these areas for sewers, storm-water drains, water supply, streets and footnaths. The total cpst was £68.000. the

labour cost £24,000 and the Government weekly subsidy on labour at £2 10/- was £ll,OOO. The sum of £3891 10/5 had been expended in sinking new wells and the provision of pumping apparatus for the city’s water supply and in addition a sum of £20,000 would be expended for the much-needed purification, plant. Considerable work was involved in carrying out the housing survey, and although cases were found where improved conditions were most desirable, he felt confident that Invercargill compared more than satisfactorily with other cities of the Dominion.

Considerable improvements had been made in co-operation with officers of the Health Department in the control, supervision and regular testing of milk supplied in the city. CIVIC AIRPORT By arrangement with the Public Works Department and the Unemployment Board, extensive work had been carried out under the supervision of the Public Works engineers in the preparation of the new airport on the reclamation area. On their recommendation the position of the pumping station had been altered and a new pumping station erected. The airport had cost the council to March 31, 1938, the sum of £1760 8/5. The ’ council should seek a commercial licence, so that it might have regular communication with northern centres. No picture tenant was available for a while for the Civic Theatre, but lat-. tei-ly the theatre had again been used for pictures and the revenue had been •set aside for the provision of additional new comfortable seating. Apart from this, there had been installed during the term of this council a most satisfactory central heating system which was much needed and was financed from revenue. v repayment of loans During the term of the council, a most important decision had to be reached about loans exceeding £lOO,OOO maturing in London and the council, wisely he thought, after sending the town clerk to Wellington on the subject, decided to repay the London loan by raising the full amount in New Zealand, which was done at 3£ per cent, per annum with no brokerage charges. Within a few months the council would complete its arrangements to raise two loans of £47,000 and £70,500 respectively, both substantially subsidized bv the Employment Division of the Labour Department for carrying out much needed work in the city, including amenities for the newly amalgamated areas, a water purification scheme and improvements to footpaths. Street and footpath construction in the new area would cost £6700, water supply, sanitary and storm-water expenses in the Burton area £2BOO, and river embankment and reclamation on the east side of the Waihopai river, on the city frontage, running from the north side of Puni creek to the Spey street bridge, £9OOO. The Labour Department recently stated that that was one of the best jobs as far as labour was concerned. Street extensions betwen O’Hara and Elizabeth streets and King and Burke streets were' other works contemplated. “The City Council is to be congratulated on its sound financial position,” the Mayor concluded. “The financial report of the town clerk shows that there has been careful control of the finances of the city, without detriment to a policy of solid and progressive development. t “If I have the honour of again being elected Mayor of Invercargill, I shall continue as in the past to give of my best in the interest of all classes of the community, and to see that the duties of that high office are given the time and attention that is required to do justice to the position.” Mr Miller was accorded a hearty vote of thanks and confidence.