OUTGOING COUNCIL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4825, 29 April 1925, Page 2

OUTGOING COUNCIL.

—-■ LAST NIGHTS PUBLIC MEETING. RESUME OF ACTIVITIES. There was only a sparse attendance of electors at the Gaiety.Theatre last night to hear the Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) and members of the outgoing Council give an account of their stewardship during the last two years concerning the activities of municipal affairs. Mr W. J. Towers, ex-Mayor, presided, an<! seated on the stage with him were His Worship the Mayor and Crs. E. Edwards, T. P. Vuglar, F. E. Flatt, J. W. Silcock, H. M. Shand, and the town clerk (Mr W. C. Alexander). Apologies for absence were tendered on behalf of Crs. P. E. Brenan, W. Bain, and G. P. Lamb.

In opening the meeting Mr Towers said that it was customary for the outgoing councillors to call a meeting ano give an account of their doings. It was possibly a good omen that so few electors had felt it encumbent to attend the meeting, as it was significant that they were well satisfied with the work and administration of the outgoing council. He had pleasure in calling on the Mayor to address the meeting.

The Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) said that ha regretted there were not more ratepayers present, and it was a pity that more burgesses had not thought it worth their while to attend. He heartily thanked the burgesses for returning him unopposed for a Second term to the Mayoral chair. He thought that the civic spirit in the borbugh stirred a little stronger than at the last election, which was a gratifying sign. Nothing was more disheartening ,to the council or more conducive to slovenly work than apathy shown by- the ratepayers in borough matters. The policy of the future council would be touched on, and the meeting would be given every opportunity to learn what bad been done during the last two years. Information would be freely given, but he did not intend to quote a lot of figures. He would gladly welcome inquiries of any kind, and the last balance-sheet would be explained fully to any ratepayer wno called at the town clerk’s pffee. The Mayor briefly touched on the various accounts, and the position in regard to the various loan moneys raided. The public debt- at the end of March last stood at £36,796 19s 4d, or about £2O per head of the borough’s population. In his opinion the finantes of the borough were in a satisfactory state. Administration charges were a little higher during the past, two years, but were not unduly high when the large volume of work taken in hand had been considered. Since its inception the borough had been fraught with fundamental difficulties, in addition to the war period, when definite policies were so hard to adhere to, and later, the post-war period, when prices soared so high. and had hampered the progress of public works. Paeroa was .as yet only a young borough, and he thought its future success and' development was assured. Dealing with maintenance, the Mavor said he thought that the ratepayers -would agree that the streets had not gone back in condition, and many of them, including 10% chains of Puke Road, had been reformed and put down in permanent materials, thereby reducing future maintenance to a-minimum. Water reticulation had also received consideration, and a number of extensions had been made, and with, the raising of’ the money recently authorised by the ratepayers important extensions could be carried out, and that work was already under way. and no time would be lost tn pushing it to a successful conclusion. His Worship explained at length the leasing of the Ngahina wharf, street improvements, sewerage, establishment of a hospital, muhicipalising the public library, office organisation, and many other works which were fully dealt with in a public statement made by the Mayor and. published in the "Gazette” on April 17. Ooniinuing, the Mayor uaid tha many permanent improvements had been made out of general rates. Sneaking of the present borough ot£ces, tae speaker said that they weie unfair to the staff. The room in whien the town clerk and he had to work was one Uft by Bft. There -were no facilities for proper protection of records or plans, many of which had te be housed in his private office safe. He took the opportunity of explaining the position not so much as to voice a complaint as to absolve himself from responsibility if the borough was unfortunate enought to have its valuable records destroyed. Or. Edwards, Deputy-Mayor, followed and explained in detail the negotiations which led up .to the acquisition of the Ngahina wharf. He said that the point of paramount importance to the council in connection with securing the wharf was the fact that the biidge to carry the Paeroa-Poken) railway over the Waihou River would be erected alongside the Puke traffic bridge, .and that provision would for ever preclude vessels berting at the present Puke wharf. The acquisition of the Ngahina wharf should result in a net gain of about £l5O a year to the borough of Paeroa. With the establishment of its own port. and wharf, and the fact that the borough had a representative bn the Thames Haibour Board—the speaker had been selected as the first' representativtothe ratepayers could rely on the borbugh interests being zealously guarded.

Outlining the future policy of the incoming council, the speaker said that its first care should be the construction of good roads leading into the town. He favoured the surrounding near the new post office being taken in hand and beautified and improved. An adequate water service was urgently required, and would be put in hand immediately. A lot of criticism had been passed because a number of jobs had been undertaken, not completed, and a fresh job commenced. • If returned it would be his endeavour to have every job completed before a new work was undertaken. He favoui’ed the filling in ot

open drains, but it would be necessary for householders to connect with the sewerage system before that work could be undertaken. He hoped to see many of the subsidiary streets cleaned up and graded. The speaker condemned the existing wooden bridges in the borough, and favoured raising .a email loan sufficient to erect concrete culverts. By so doing heavy maintenance charges would be reduced, and the saving effected would be more than sufficient to pay interest and sinking fund on the loan money needed for the purpose. Cr. Edwards mentioned that the borough was now in possession of a set of by-laws second to none in New Zealand, the compilation of which had cost the members of the outgoing council many weary hours of work. During the last two yeais he thought that the borough had progressed beyond all expecta-,. tions, and he trusted that the next two years would see even greater strides. In conclusion he asked for support for himself and his feilow-councillois Cr. T. P. Vuglar endorsed the remarks of the previous speakers, and intimated that he was confident that the policy of progress had been duly carried out by the. retiring council consistent with the borough’s finances. He pointed out that, contrary to statements frequently made, the streets jh had not gone back in condition. In conclusion he solicited support at the ballot box. Cr. F. E. Flatt returned thanks for his return ais representative on the “ Thames Valley Power Board. He quoted figures showing the progress made by the board since its inception, ' ’ - and stated that there was no prospect of the ratepayers having a rate added this year, as the latest figures showed that there would be a credit balance of £200'0... Cr. Flatt detailed the-levy-ing and effect of the non-consumers’ rate in so far ais it effected the ratepayers in Paeroa, and the steps taken by His Worship and the council tbcornbat the rate, or at least seek a. reduction. He believed that a considerable reductoin would be made so far as boioughs were concerned when Parliament met again. He also detailed the steps taken by the council to purchase electricity in bulk for the borough, anil said that althougn the attempt had been unsuccessful ne , would see that the matter was not lost sight of. Touching on fire brigade matters, Cr. Flatt said that the council had expended £540 in providing a new fire station, and £lOO had been contributed towards the maintenance of the brigade. It would be necessary to face the purchasing of a and | adequate fire alarms, as soon as the water reticulation scheme was completed. The speaker said that the Mayor had set a pace in the council which would make the position a hard one for future Mayors to follow. Each of the outgoing members had had a great deal of work to do, and there had been no quarrelling or bickering of a serious nature among them, and — each had worked loyally in the. interests and welfare of the borough. He concluded by- appealing to the meeting to return only men of wisdom and judgment who would be prepared to (support the Mayor in his progressive works for the benefit of the town generally.

Cr. J. W. Silcock briefly outlined the work that he had undertaken as chairman of the Domain Committee during his term on the council. The piping of the drain had cost about £79, but that amount had been paid by the council, and the committee was left witii its loan of £1999 intact for domain improvements. When the full improvements were completed adequate room would be available for all. classes of sport. The sportsgrounds would be up-to-date, and he ventured to say that Paeroa. would be in possession of playing fields second to none in the province. Up-to-date B'ani- 1 - tary arrangements would be erected in due course, the chief difficulty to be overcome in that direction being the long distance to connect with the sewerage system. Referring to the noxious weeds on Primrose Hill the speaker said that the matter of eradication would be taken in hand immediately. if returned, he was.anxious to see a proper track formed to enable pedestrians to reach the top of the hill in comfort. He paid tribute to the work -.of'the Mayor during the past two and eulogised the elforts of Worship in (successfully finalising the arrangements in connection with the acquisition of the Ngahina wharf. He contended that the outgoing council had done its best for the ratepayers. There was a great deal yet‘to be done, and he was anxious that .the ratepayers would return those who were, prepared to put their shoulders to the wheel and loyally assist the Mayor to carry on. Ur. H. M. Shand referred to the installation of electric light for night play on the bowling grqen. An amicable agreement had been made between the bowling club and the council. and he was pleased to say that it was working satisfactorily. He concluded by asking for support for himself and the outgoing council at the election. QUESTIONS. Mr W. H. Taylor asked if steps would be taken immediately to rebuild existing bridges in concrete. Cr. Edwards said that if returned he would endeavour to have a loan raised immediately. t Replying to Mr Taylor, the Mayor said that regulations provided for half rates on all transhipped cargo for Te Aroha. It was not a question of preferential tariff, but an agreement entered into with the Northern Company and the Crown. Mr H. J. Hare explained the efforts, he had made as a member of the Hauraki Plains County Council in getting better roads leading from the Plains into Paeroa. He realised that in the interests of the retailers in Paeroa it was necessary to encourage the settlers to visit the town.

The Mayor thanked the meeting for the patient hearing accorded himself and the other speakers, and called for a vote of thanks to Mr Towers for presiding.—Carried by acclamation.