Levin Borough Council

Levin Daily Chronicle, 19 June 1917, Page 2

Levin Borough Council

USUAL FORTNIGHTLY MEHTIMG. Levin Borough Council met lasrfc night, Mr 0. jßlenkhorn, mayor, pre- ' ejding. There also were present Councillors Matheson, Lancaster, Broome, Aitken, Parker, Bull Rydter and Mackenzie. The borough ranger asked for an increased remuneration of at least £21 per annum, to offset the increased cost of living for man and heast. The application was referred to the streets committee for a report, with view to having the ranging put on a more satisfactory basis. A' copy of the Government regulation giving greater power to municipal igasworks in times of abnormal conditions was Laid on the council table. THE OXFORD STREET LIGHTING SCHEMES. The Lighting Committee submitted the following report: "At the suggestion of the council, a meeting of the committee was held on Friday evening, loth June, ior the purpose of reconsidering the committee's previous recommendation thai the pedestal lamps be removed and .-.'de Lip r>s erected in their ptece. Afte' full discussion and consideration, it was resolved to recommend' io the council— (1; That the pedestals Iby Mai rcnac and Bath :treet be remove 1. as | previously determined, and that two side-lamps be erected in each "'ocv'isy. (2) That for the present the Ifimps on tlhe four remaining pedestals be renewed with similar lamps to '.hoje al present in use and that such lamps be lit And extinguished by hand-lighting. (3) That if the council approves of the reoommendations 1 and 2 3 that portion of the committee's previous report dealing with the pedestal lamps and adopted by the council at its meeting held on the-21st May, be postponed indefinitely. In making these tfecommendatiionG the committee adheres" to its- opinion that'the'side-lighting scheme would be best, but recommends the removal of' two of the pedestals at the present time, a<s the best way of illustrating the advantage of side-lighting over central lighting. ;; ; JA MINORITY REPORT. A minority report by Councillor Mackenzie was as follows J "That the ratepayers only be asked to record their vjotes : by, way of a poll upon the question of ■ removal of the centre pedestals, in view of doing away with centrefftreet lighting, and replacing hy side-lightSng; and that the votes required for the retention of the centre-street lighting must ho threej-£ffchs majority upon the total votes polled."

The mayor remarked that very careful consideration had been given to the .by the council's lighting committee, matter, and his worship though their scheme a very reasonable one. Councillor Mathe&on remarked that it was from a viewpoint of public safety that the removal of the two arc lamps indicated was asked for. The sidelamps that would be put in would give an opportunity of testing the two schemes. Speaking to ihlis minority report., Councillor Mackenzie said that his reason in moving that his minority report 'be resolved upon was that he believed the giving of such a majority would justify tho gas-lighting committee in abandoning the scheme it had unanimously resolved upon after having fact and figures submitted to it. Ho oould see no other sufficient reason for departing from the resolve tihe council had come to; only a three-fifths majority would justify the substitution of sentiment for a practical business resolve. It seemed to him that the question resolved itself into simply: one of sentiment against good business practioe; to reject a vastly . superior business proposition to retain something merely artistic. The mayor seconded Councillor Mackenzie's .motion pro forma. : . 'Councillor Matheson said the oom-. mitte© was willing, to stick to its, scheme, as a whole, and that if that was not satisfactory a referendum be taken; but the committee considered that it was doing better ;by recommending as its report now showed; it would he left open to the committee to go oh with the scheme at some fu- , 're tlmd if Ri experiment they recommended succeeded. He opposed the proposal also because it providted for a three-fifths majority; he was for a bare majority, such as the council was elected upon. Councillor Lancaster also opposed the proposal for a referendum. He contended that the central lights always had given satisfaction, and' they had evoked favorable references from visiting councillors and mayors. iH'e was certain from his. own experience, too, that the present system was the best; there was more than sentiment in favor of the present scheme. . I . CounoiPor Mackenzie's amendment was lost on the voices. The majority report was taken clause by. clause and 1 adopted. . The mayor reported that it had been decided to recommend that the application for a lamp at Queenswood road be not granted at present, as the council could not finance a general scheme 'for extra 'lamps this year; and, further, a policy of "first apply, first served" was not desirable. This found' favor with the council, £.nd it was screed to.