KILBIRNIE RESERVE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1167, 30 June 1911, Page 8

KILBIRNIE RESERVE.

£2030 TO BE SPENT. DECISION OF THE CITY COUNCIL. In its report, considered by the City Council yesterday, the Finance Committee recommended that the sura of .ilOO!) .-hould be spent this year upon the Kilbirnie Reserve. This did not s;iti>fy Councillor Fitzgerald, who had a motion on the order .paper proposing that £2&M) should bo allocated this year to (he suburban playing area. "If ever the City Council violated its promises," remarked Councillor Fitzgerald, "it has done so in regard to this matter." He then touched briefly upon a scries of allegations impugning the policy of the City Council towards the Kilbiruio Reserve, which have recently been fully ventihled in these column!:. A recent deputation to the council had stated, said tho councillor, tint tho council had diverted j>2ooo ef lean money intended to bo spent upon the Kilbirni'o Reserve, and in lieu of this sum had only cxpcnc'.rd .£250 on improving it. Tho Deputy-Mayor said the sum actually spent, was about ,£9OO, and asked the City Engineer to state the facts of the £j>se. Mr. Morton stated that the council had cxnondad .£6OO in shifting and culverting a stream which had originally traversed the Teserve. In addition the council had laid out about ,£3OO in levelling and topdressing tho playing area. At the lowest estimate fully «£SSO had been expended on these improvements. Councillor Fitzgerald: "Do you consider it fair to charge the whole cost of culverting this stream to the Kilbirnie Reserve? AVould it not have been done whether the reserve was there or not?"

The Deputy-Mayor replied that the sum mentioned had been properly charged to tho reserve. The usual practice in the cas3 of fresh-water streams had boon followed.

Councillor Fitzgerald said this altered the position a good deal, but tho least the council could do was to spend i"200O on tho reserve this year. One must bs exercised lest tho council should lose the reclamation area (adjoining the reserve) altogether. He would move as an amendment:—

"That tho sum of ,£2OOO be placed on this year's estimates for the purpos3 of improving, planting, and extending tho .Kilbirnie Fiecreation EoFcrve."

Seconding tho motion, Councillor Barber contended that the council must not look upon this area as the Kilbirnio Reserve only. It was going to be a city reserve, and every effort should be made to securo tho reclamation urea adjoining, which had been granted by Act of Parliament before tho grant lapsed. Tho council had decided that night, tbo councillor continued, to spend JJ2BOO upon a bath-hoiiFC at Lyall Bay. He did not object to this, but it was doubtful if the council, in this instance, would be recouped for its outlay. Tho , ground under consideration had a much better claim. '

Several .councillors expressed the opinion that the reserve was entitled to a larger allocation, but considered that there would be a difficulty in making good the deficiency by setting aside a lump sum in one- year. The difficulty might ht overcome by distributing tho expenditure to somo extent.

This view was supported by tho DeputyMayor, who staled that the idea of the Finance Committee had been to sot aside .£IOOO this year. !Next year an additional .£IOOO, or po-sibly n larger sum, might be applied to the improvement of Kilbirnie Reserve. There would to no difficulty about finishing tho reserve once a start, had been made to expend money upon il. But meantime fhe couucil would h.ive enough to do in finding the sum of /;lOtia proposed. Tho sum of .KGOO could only be provided by way of an overdraft, which would )x> additional to the overdraft of eight, or ten thousand pounds with.which it was now estimated that fhe council would conclude its financial year.

Councillor Hindmarsh stated that if tho ,£2OOO had boon spent when . originally allocated, it would all have teen sunk in a concrete wall, with little benefit to the reserve. Apart from (ho expenditure or at least ,£SSO on tho reserve, it had been improved by a considerable amount of spoil from corporation works being de-

po-ifed upon it. Of I his no-account had I:.-™ t.ilii-u.

Un a division Councillor Fitzgerald's iimcmlmenl was carried by <?iglit vulcs lo fivp. The Deputy-Mayor said tbp position fixated was somewhat anomalous. The Finance Cornmittpo would have a difficulty in finding JC2OOO instead of .£IOOO. "Tb? committee is not to override Iho council," said several couiicillors in chonif, and at that tho incident terminated. ... •