HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3027, 24 April 1926, Page 3

HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD.

APRIL MRETING. The Horowhenua Power Board met in Levin on Tuesday, Mr. G. A. Monk being in the chair, and there being also present Messrs. D. W. Matheson, A. A. Brown, W. Barber, C. Kilsby, W. H. Gunning, A. I. Mackay, A. Seifert, A. Ross, T. R. Overton (consulting engineer), J. A. Smith (engineer), and P. W. Goldsmith (secretary). ENGINEER’S REPORT. Mir. Smith's report stated, as follows: —• Construction. —The pole gang have erected 92 poles in different districts, and have run out wire for the wiremen following. No. 1 Wire Gang have run 390 chains of E.11.T. and 130 chains of L.T., run five services; built one transformer set, also usual maintenance work. No. 2 Wire Gang have run out 144 chains of L.T., erected nine poles and run 21 services, made alteration to feeder jumpers, so as to feed north end of Oxford Street off the Queen Street West transformer, instead off main sub. No. 3 Wjrc Gang have run 453 chains of L.T., erected three poles and run 14 services in Raumati, Otaki and Paraparaumu, erected two earth guards and a line switch. • Livened up Waikanae beach and Raumati. Transformer sets have been built and livened up at Mr. Akers-, Humes Road, Waikanae Beach Road, and Raumati. Queen Street East, Levin sub. has been built ready for panel and transformer. Installations. —C. H. Marriott has made a start wiring the Raumati beach group. The more important consumers connected during the period are: —Huia Flaxmill, Foxton, 55 h.p., Tokomaru Flaxmill, Tokomaru, 30 h.p., Levin Dairy Co., 25 h.p., Maliara House, Waikanae, 48 points. During the period 40 new applications have been received for power and lighting and 20 applications for extensions to existing installations. Workshop. —Four 11,000 . volt switch panels and two sets low tension fuses have been made up. Details of routine work were given. Accounts passed for payment totalled £4211 10s 7d. BOARD’S SOUND POSITION. Five members of the Board representing counties retire next month having completed three years’ service. They are Messrs Monk, Brown and Seifert (Horowhenua), Mackay (Hutt) and Barber (Manawatu). Mr. Mackay who is retiring from local body work does not intend to seek re-election. At the conclusion of the meeting the chairman (Mr. Monk) referred to the approaching elections, and thanked the members for the position they had honoured him with as chairman, and for their courtesy and support in carrying out the business. When they came back three years ago the construction work had little more than started and they felt that they had a right to come back and see something of its completion. He was pleased to say they had seen that. He could say without hesitation that there was no power board in the Dominion that had made greater progress for the time that they had actually been operating, nor was there any Board that had placed themselves in a better position than what this Board was to-day. That was due to a large extent to the efficient staff they had with them —the engineers and the office staff, assisted by a Board that had taken a very deep interest in the whole of the construction and trading. He also wished to acknowledge the fine manner in which the people of this Power District had come forward and helped the Board to build up its load. Within ten months of the time that the power was switched on they had exceeded the allotment of power for a period of five years. That was largely the factor responsible for the excellent position they were in to-day. “It has been a very great pleasure, so far as I am concerned,” continued the chairman, “to work in the interests of this Board. One very fine feature is that we are able to say that no rate will need to be struck to assist our finances. There arc power boards collecting rates in this country that are staggering and it is due to the fact that a very bad odour has been created in regard to electric power. This district is certainly to be congratulated on the position it is in.”

RETIRING MEMBERS. Five members of the Board, continued the chairman, were retiring, anil Mr. Mackay did not intend to seek re-election. He would like the Board to place on record its very high appreciation of Mr. Mackay’s services. He had been very helpful particularly in the southern end of the district and the people there were very much perturbed because they were losing his services as a member of the Board and as chairman of the Hutt County Council. He had given the work a great deal of time and now had orders to give it up. He was a wise man to obey those orders. Personally the speaker greatly regretted his retirement, but Mr. Mackay could tell the people in the southern end of the district that they had a very good job in their power board work. Mr. Seifert also expressed regret at Mr. Mackey’s retirement, and the vote of appreciation was carried by acclamation. Mr. Mackay thanked the Board very much for the kind remarks and vote. In one way he was very sorry to leave the Board, but his wife’s health demanded that he

spend more time at home. He had put in five and a half years of local body work. He felt proud of his association with the Board and its staff. The work took up very little of his time, but as he was very often away from home four days a week, the time had come when he had to give up his public work. He wished the Board the success he felt sure it would have. Mr. Matheson extended to the other retiring members the good wishes of the Board in the election. The meeting then adjourned.