BOROUGH COUNCIL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 114, 12 April 1940, Page 5

BOROUGH COUNCIL

NEW MEMBER WELCOMED. 'The monthly meeting of the Feilding Borough Council was held last evening, the-Alayor (Air T. L. Seddon) presiding. Also present were Crs A. C. ALcCorkindalc, W. W. Andrews, R. Burne, A. C Buist, P. B. Desmond, V. E. Smith, P. G. Guy, O. B. AleClure and H. J. Dewc. The .Mayor extended a welcome to Cr 11. J. Dowe, the newly elected member, who alter making a formal declaration, took his seat. He thanked the council for the welcome accorded him. Appropriate reference was made by the Mayor to tlio death of Rt. Hon. Al. J. Savage, who stated that ail acknowledgment had been received lrom the Government of the council’s expressions of sympathy. “It is with a personal sorrow that I refer to the death of the late Cr A. J. Humphreys,” proceeded the Alayor. “The deceased gentleman was of singular charm, outstanding ability and great kindness. The town has lost one of its most loyal and able citizens, and I an able colleague and sincere friend.” The Alayor moved that members stand for a moment in silence, and that the minutes record the valuable services rendered by the late Cr Humphreys. This was done. The emurman of the Zone E Committee extended an invitation to councillors to be presented at the unveiling of Alt. Stewart Centennial Memorial. Councillors intimated that they proposed to avail themselves of the invitation. . . The Palmerston North Baptist Sunday School forwarded a donation of £1 Is for the use of Johnston Park.—lt was stated that the park was becoming increasingly popular for picnic functions. Cr Smith brought up the matter of the acute shortage of houses in Feilding at the present time. He urged that the Government lie informed that thei'e is a serious shortage of houses and a. reejuest made that Feilding he given more consideration. The Alayor said the position was not peculiar to Feilding. He had discussed the matter with the inspector of bouses, yesterday, and had been informed that there was a serious shortage of building materials at present, but that the department bad acquired Tf) acres in Feilding for building pur--1 poses. Cr Guy moved that a letter lie sent to the Government urging the building of houses in Feilding. The motion, however. lapsed for want of a seconder. AYlien an application was made for j a cvclo stand to be erected a discussion 1 took place, it being 11 ie general opinion that flip council could not provide an unlimited number of stands. It was pointed out, that where a large number of persons were employed the firms concerned should make their own arransroments for the accommodation ol cvcles. The application was referred to the engineer for consideration. GENERAL. It was decided to make a grant of £2 2s to the AY.E.A. Permission was granted to the Feilding R.S.A. to hold a concert on Anznc night, the programme to be approved by the Alayor. __ ] It was reported that the Ivowhai Park Domain accounts would in future Ibe kept apart from the borough accounts, and it was resolved that a sum of £204 be transferred from the general account by way of a grant to the Domain account to balance it. A tender for £714 ISs 10(1 lor the final sealing coat on East Street was i accepted. It was decided to place four bicycle stands in Forgusson Street and one ill Kimbolton Road. Tlio council decided to advise the Social Security Department that it at the moment lias no proposals within the scope of the conditions forwarded for the employment of labour under the No. 13 scheme. Tt was decided to accept no responsibility. for work done on the Reid’s Line storm water drain, or any obligation for repair and maintenance of the drain in future. The decision was made after consideration of a letter from Mr J H- Alason and a report by the borough engineer. RATE COLLECTIONS.

The treasurer (Mr C. H. Tate) supplied the following figures regarding the rate collections: Kates due (193940), £18,299 Os od ; paid, £17,.001 11s ;jd ; percentage collected, 96.01; outstanding, £O3O 7s 4d ; percentage outstanding, 3.45; written off, .04 per cent. Arrears: Due, £909 11s lOd; paid, £549 19s Od; percentage collected. 50.7; outstanding, £3OB 10s sd, percentage 38; written off, 5.3 per cent. The Mayor stated the collections were most satisfactory.

Cr Desmond referred to the state of the borough machinery and plant, and suggested that figures he taken out- showing the cost of' maintenance of the various units over the past two years. It was obvious that the plant was out of date and costly to run and the council would have to face the position sooner or later and provide modern equipment. The Mayor agreed that the council would have to procure new units but to provide new machinery would require an increase in rates. RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS.

The treasurer’s statement of receipts and payments showed that revenue lor the year ended March 31, 1940, amounted to £28,135 16s lid compared with the estimate of £27,193; payments totalled £28.006 3s 4d compared with the estimated payments of £27.245. 'l'he net gain in revenue items amounted to £129 13s 7d, while in the non-revenue items there was a net gain of £lB9 13s 9d, to which was added £250 from fixed deposit on the Kowliai Park Memorial, plus £2OO from the £6OOO loan (truck hire) ; and the credit balance brought forward £52 I.os 9d brought the surplus up to £S2I ISs Id. Since tlio new sump bad been installed at the abattoir, it was reported, no solids had reached the river and thus a complaint made by the Health Department bad been removed. Referring to remarks of the librarian in her report regarding a need for a further grant to enable more books to ho purchased, Cr Smith said the council should be guided by the librarian in the matter. Air Wood took a keen interest in his work, and was to be complimented on bis initiative in arranging a display in the Centennial celebrations procession. Cr Desmond endorsed Cr Smith’s remarks, stating that the display had been a most creditable one. Ci- Desmond considered that a grant of £25 should be made to enable the purchase of further reprints, for the benefit of subscribers. Cr McClure associated himself with the remarks of the previous speakers. He felt that the council could consider the question of a free library. The treasurer said that the amount spent on the library bad been £26 below the estimates; £7B had been spent on books and £sl on

periodicals. It was decided to consider the matter when framing next year’s estimates, ft was decided to make a reduction of one penny in the hanging fees on pigs at the abattoir, subject to certain conditions.