THE BIG LOAN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 298, 10 September 1920, Page 7

THE BIG LOAN

MEETING AT TOWN HALL

IMPORTANCE OF THE WATER SCHEME

Only a handful of ratepayers attended lit the Town Hall last night for the second public meeting called by the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) to consider the lean proposals, on which a vote i? to be taken on Wednesday next. The Mayor said fhat the hrst matter he wished to discuss was the water supply. The Orongorongo tunnel was necessary to bring the water' of the Orongorongo Biver into the Wainui basin, and so to the Karori reservoir. The council was bound to go oji with the york. provided the ratepayers approvod of tho loan. An; offer was received frcm experienced miners to pierce the tunnel, and the council was convinced that the arrangement made with those men ivas satisfactory. A committee was set up, which, after consultation with tho men, reduced the original price to .£6 lis. 9d. per'foot. Others might have contracted at i 5 per foot, but there would have been no guarantee that they would be able to do the work. Mr. Luke read a letter which had been put in by the City ingiueCT, in which ho. Baid that the original price asked 'by the men was extremeIt high; be was of opinion that the orice was still high, but taking into consideration the urgency of tho work it might be'carried out satisfactorily. The estimate for the wholo work was ,SO,OOO. The committee was successful in reducing the price per foot from £1 10s. to .£u 14s. 9d., and he thought that they had made the best arrangement nossiblii under the abnormal' conditions prevailing. The council was absolutely that it had the Tight port, of men to carry out the work. In 1910 Mr. Morton had reported thai the old 30-inch main would for a population cf 150,000 people based on a call of 50 gallons per head per day,, hut !t had been found'that the consumption <ras 75 gallons per head. The only alternative to RO in for a mj»Ter sys- • tem, which the Mayor did not think the. C* lie wanted. The co-operative party to' be responsible for the carrying out of tho whole of the new work proposed. If fliey could do tho work m two years they would make' very good money ; if in three; years very fair money. In view of the nature of the work they deserved, to make good money Road Works. The Mayor referred to the various ;oad works that it was proposed to do with loan money, and • in connection with the 'Wakefield Street extension oi the tram lines, said he was advised that an'alternative line was absolutely necessary. The old lines in Manners Street and Willis Street were almost done, and would have to be replaced shortly, so that another line was necessary to enable the council to do the work satisfactorily. In any case, traffic was becoming so heavy at rush hours that it was impossible to handle the people as they should on the existing lines. A voice: Can the line go through Hunter Street?

The Mayor said that the corners of two buildings would have to bo knocked away. Mr. Luke .also gave particulars of the proposed new power station at Evans Bay. He detailed the economies that would be effected by the establishment of a new power station, and pointed out that the station at the bay would only cost ,£291,000, the balance being for the sub-station. The station in Harris Street would be useless as a standby for the Government supply, as it was on a different system altogether. Moreover, the new boilers now being installed at Harris Street would bo transferred to Evans Bay, and would not have to be scrapped. The estimated cost of generating energy at Evans Bay, based on current wages and prices of material, was lid. per unit, and the estimated saving would be between ,£40,000 and X 50.000.

In referring to the Haioa Eoad tramway extensibn, the Mayor said that t.he lino would be a surface one (no tunnels), nnd there would be a. uniform gTado of one in Ifefeen. He also spoke of the necessity of improving the road between Oriental Bay and Balena Bay. It was not a safe md for the increasing traffic. They could not cut into the hill, because it was of a, mullocky character, so a sea-wall had to bo constructed to widen and make tho road safe. In respect to the proposed new tunnel .through Mount Victoria, lie gave it ,n.» His personal opinion that the time had not arrived for ilhis to 'be undertaken. Still, if it was approved, it was a work that siioiild be pushed on with as quickly as possible. Ono feature in favour of the Tunnel was that Miramar had jusF come into the ci»Jr, and /would be a partner in bearing tho cost. ' TTia New Rates. The Mayor said that tho new rates of tho city with Miramar in would be 3 fl-IOOHis of a penny, and without Minima?, 'woMu oe^M.— EHe present rate. A oaving wovfla "sft effected it _ they could bring about Hie consoltflaKon of the rate as he had suggested. 7TBnrns> spole in favour of file Earoa "Road fijfemon of tho Vam; ways, p<s}nfing out £nat it would put Te '4ro nnd Wellington South in.'more direct touch with the besn! of suburbs-. Karoril It would further relievo the congestion' on the Tinakori Eoad cars. The city would be wise to carry tho loan schedule as it stood. ' MEETING AT WADESTOWN. A meetitag to consider the loan proposals was held last evening under the auspioes of the Wade3town Municipal Electors 'Association. Mr. S. G. Nathan was in the chair. Councillors Wright and Bennett attended the meeting and spoke. Before proceeding Mr. Nathan asked the councillors to take a message to the Mayor to the effect that the residents were disgusded with the position in regard to the promise made by the Mayor that immediately after the war, one of the first things "to be done would be the extension of tho trams towards Wilton's Bush on to Northland. Councillor Wright explained tho proposals fully, and Councillor Bennett epokje principally on the water scheme. Two resolutibns carried were as follows: (1) That this meeting regrets that thero are no works mentioned in the schedule for Wadestown, and urges that the counc:l shall immedia/.tely carry out improvements on.tho main rond from tho tram terminus to Wilton's Eoad. (2) That this meeting is of opinion that it & in the best interests of Greater Wellington that the whole of tho loan proposals brought forward by the Oity Council should be supported. A vote of thanks to the ccaoclttora ww passed.