PETONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2440, 20 April 1915, Page 6

PETONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

' PROGRESS REVIEWED, FINAL MEETING BEFORE ELECTIONS. The final meeting of the Petone Borough Council was held last evening there bedng present the Mayor (Mr. J. W. M'Ewan), and Councillors List, Forsyth, Cos, Anderson, Brocklebank, Finlay,'.Townsend, Jones, and Trueman. . The Health Inspector notified a case of scarlet fever. Messrs. Findlay, Dalaell, and Sim wrote, asking in respect to the Hutt Park railway, .if the. council would agree, to an .adjournment of mis case until the end of June, owing to the absence of Mr. Myers, who is acting on behalf of the Hutt Park Railway Company. It was decided to reply, stating that the council regrets its inability to accede to! the request, as it has important work pending that the case has a bearing upon. , A petition signed by, five residents, asking that the engineer be requested to report upon the road in the locality of the:sandhills was considered, and the council decided to instruct the engineer to make the necessary report. . The Petone Wednesday Hockey Club were granted permission, to use No. 1 Cround on the Recreation Ground on Wednesday on condition that, they pay £1 per year rental. St. David's Football Club accepted the offer of No. 4 ground at a rental of £6 for the season. The Wellington Rugby Football Union accepted the council's offer of Nos. 1, 2, and 3 grounds on terms of 60 per cent, of net takings to "council, and 40 per feij-t. to the union. It was decided to enter into an agreement with the Rugby Union. ..

In respect .to a communication from the Mayor of Wellington in connection with the Belgian Relief Fund, in which it was suggested that the borough should adopt the quota system of contributing, it.' was pointed out. that Petone's quota figured out at £34 per month/ and the borough was already contributing much more.—lt was agreed* that a reply to that effect should be forwarded. '■ /'« • . MAYOR'S REVIEW OF THE YEAR, In a review of the work executed by the council, the Mayor stated that the year had been the- busiest one in his experience.. The total expenditure had been £57,000, which constituted a record- for the borough. Mr. M'Ewan added that he wished to thank councillors for their support, and he trusted that those who were seeking re-election would bo , returned. Several councillors congratulated the Mayor, on! the. statement for the year. The statement pointed! out that the' demand' for dwellings was greatly in excess of the supply. Workers were advised to_ take advantage of tho Workers' Dwelling Act, 1910. By paying a deposit of £10 a dwelling and section worth, say, £550, could be secured at a teiijtal covering rates and insurance of 16s. per week. In twenty-five years bhe property would become the absolute property of the occupant. The opinion was expressed that the' Government .should encourage the Labour Department, who were about to erect three dwellings on . these conditions. Reference was made to the. fact that by purchasing lands for workers' homes, tho_ borough was deprived of one-sixth jf its rating area, and it was suggested that the land should be disposed of to the workers at a loss, rather than wait in in the hope to better a bad bargain. Hie capital value of tho borouirli had increased to £1,400,722 (the Government' loans amounted to £43,345). Re- 1 xarding the public debt, the. repayments if principal on account amounted to £14,769. tho reduction for the year being £1057. A sum of . £28,200 of the public debt of £104,890 was roproluctive. Tlie borough assets were set lown at £91.783. The estimated debit if the general account was £550' 2s. srl. file waterworks account showed a credit if £507 lis. Id., and the gasworks ac:ount a credit of £198 lis. Id. The 1 :oal account showed a debit of £4. i