TOWN AFFAIRS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 June 1942, Page 2

TOWN AFFAIRS

MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL LOSS IN ABATTOIR ACCOUNT. GAS FOR COOKHOUSES. The monthly meeting of the Masterton Borough Council was held last night, the Mayor, Mr T. Jordan, presiding. An apology for absence was received from Councillor G. D. Wilson. The Abattoir Committee reported that the revenue account and balance sheet for the Abattoir disclosed a loss, including provision for depreciation and sinking fund payments, of £261 12s Id for the year’s working. Together with the loss of £584 14s Gd brought forward last year, and the sum of £297 10s 3d (being credit balance in the Abattoir account at April 1, 1940, since refunded to the general account) the Abattoir appropriation account was in debit to the district fund account to the amount of £1143 16s lOd. The committee recommended that the master butchers should be notified in accordance with the provisions of the Meat Act; that the position of Abattoir accounts should be further examined at the end of September that steps might be taken, if found necessary, to check a further drift in the finances; that consideration should be given at the next committee meeting to extending the boundaries of the present Abattoir district, and that the wages of the Abattoir manager should be increased 10s per week as from April 1, 1942. In reply to telegrams despatched to the Minister of Public Works and the Minister of Defence appealing for consideration being given to a gas installation in a cookhouse in place of oil burners, replies were received that the defence forces did not wish to be tied to systems that might be put out of service by enemy action, and further that it was essential that cooking units should be mobile. It was pointed out in a telegram sent by the Mayor that requisitions from present established camps for large supplies of municipal coke were impracticable to execute without some co-operation. The Gas Committee considered the reasons given in the Minister’s replies not satisfactory, it being instanced that in other centres the armed forces camps were liberal consumers of gas, and it was resolved that further representations should be made on the matter. “The cook houses they are building are not going to be mobile,” said Councillor G. W. Morice, who said he thought the excuse given was ridiculous. The gas manager, Mr J. Y. Douglas, said Masterton was being badly treated in this matter. In other places gas was being largely used for the same purposes. The Librarian was requested to submit to the next Library Committee meeting a complete list of all persons who were in arrear with their library subscriptions. ’ ’ Mrs Oliver Bunny’s offer of a set of Charles Dickens’s works was accepted with thanks. Mr K. E. Welch was granted a lease of a reserve in Lansdowne (Williams gift) with entrance from Opaki Road for £3O for one year. It was decided that the wages of the borough foreman, Mr H. W. Dale, be increased to £8 per week (inclusive pf wages increases) as from April 1, 1942. The council also decided to increase the salary of the Town Clerk and of the Borough Engineer to £7OO per year each, as from April 1, 1942. The Mayor paid a tribute to the work of these two officers during the year. The borough engineer was asked to confer with the Postmaster as to an alternative site for the public telephone cabinets, which were being removed from their present position on account of Post Office alterations. The council agreed to set aside an area in the cemetery as a site for a crematorium.