TAIHAPE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3470, 26 April 1920, Page 5

TAIHAPE BOROUGH COUNCIL

REPORT OF OPERATIONS FOE

PAST YEAR

The Town Clerk and Treasurer (Mr J; F. Menzies) submitted fho following reporton the operations_ of the Taihapc Borough Council for the year ending March 31st, 1920:

GrEl\"i‘L.EMh}.N .-—— 1 beg to submit herewith the f-'JI~ 10wiu'g reyort of the proceedings, works, and -accounsts of your Council for the year ending 3151: Mal‘c.ll,, 1920. The present Council entered upon its duties on 7th of‘ May, 1919, and whilst uul'l'_';'.illg out the mziny and v:.L:'icd' duties that are inseparable from the

civic management of such an progresslve and rapidly developing town :15 ’l‘aiha.pc, has -also devoted much time to the furthcraxlce of several important matters which will ultimately count in the establishment of our town as

one of the most progressive and up-t.o-dute boroughs on the Main ‘Trunk line. I UNIMPROVED VALUE.———A new departure in ’.l‘aihape’s experience, was I the introduction, during the past )'(é:ir, of rating property on flie basis of the unimproved value thereof. This alteration meant a I'eacljustnlent of rates and accounts, entailihgeonsideirable work. ‘but from -.111 oflice point" of view, leverything aflected by the change. has lturned out satisfactorily, and.ro.tepay—*ers have had the benefit of a yeai-’s ‘ experience of what I consider to be the most equitable of our rating systems. £17,000 LOAN.—The succes'sful flotation of the £17,000 loan, through ‘the Public Trustee, was effected during the year, without brokerage or advertising costs. The position‘ of this account at the 31st l\'[o.rc.h last is’ shown herein. £BSOO was received in Oetobel',_l9l9, £4500 of this amount was‘ placed on fixed deposit with the Bank of New Zea.l:Lnd for one year, and arrange-im-ents were macle with the Public Trustee to hold the balance (£8500) until same was required, on payment by the Council of {L sum equal to 1 per cent per tannufif on the amount set aside. These arrangefiients have meant a saving ininterest payments, and have further assisted you in the matter of obviating the necessity of striking the new special rate this Yfiéar. RE-VALUATION.-—ln June, 1919, :1 motion was passed requesting the Gov- E ernment Valuation Depa'l"'fi‘nent “toil revise the valuation roll for ’ the] Borough of Taihape as soon as pos-' siblc.” The Va.luer—G-eneral some months later sentfla repres'én'tative of his Departlne’n't to proceed with the. work, but, unfortunately, he was re-: called before the assessinents were} completed, and this year we will havei to ‘strike and levy our rates on the old I figures. I

l This is exceedingly ‘disappointing, as [with the increased cost of material and lab«"'_lr, and other urgent demands [on the Borofigh’s financial resources more rating power is required, and lsuch can only be obtained by fixing [the valuation of rateablc lands and Ibuildings at a figure approaching the E selling price of to—day rather than the gobsolcte assessment of 1913. WORKER-‘S’ h"oMES.—’l‘his matter occupied your attention on sevcra] ocV casions, and ultimately it was decided ‘to assist the Workers’ Homes Departlment to procure a suitable piece of ‘land in the town for .this purpose. In [July last it was noted that the Com- | niissioner of Crown Lands intended to | sell section 82, on the Main South road, land successful representations were made to the Minister of Lands in relgard to having this land \Vll?'l1(l1'%lWI1 lfrom sale. Considerable correspondlencc has also taken place over the proposal to acquire section. B]., adjoiniing the above, from the Agricultural ;Department, but without result. How|ever, during my recent visit to Welllingtou I arranged with the Q‘onlmis—- ; sioner to withhold Section 82 from sale for at least another three months. and in company with the Deputy Superinltendent of Workers" Homes, and fol‘ilowing an interview with the Superinitondent, I called on the Director-Gcll~ tom] for Ag‘ricult.ul'C and placed the position before him. ‘He Sw-as‘ent.irely sympatlietic towards the proposal to obtain land’for such it purpose, but would not consent to accept section 80 in lieu of 81. We then. suggested his DcpL'u‘tnlent inking Section 82,‘ if it could be secured by the Workers’ Homes Department. This suggestion favourably impressed hiin, and he arranged for an interview _with his chief inspector, stating he would abide ‘by his decision. This gentleman agreed to recominencl the transfer, providing the Workers’ Homes Department would remove the iron shed to the new -site and extend the "present wéter supply from'Section 81 to 82. This the Deputy Superintendent agreed to do. I am assured that steps will be taken iminediately to have Section 82 vested in the Workers’ Homes Department‘ and the transfer ‘effected. The matter of calling for tenders for the erection of dwellings,_l. am given to under-l stand, would. follow soon after thel completion of the abdve arrangements. NEW GENERA'I‘OR.——-The erection of this 75 l.<.m. machine-during the year just ended, and the necessary al-K tcrations to the Power Station in con-

sequence of the above was made pos—sible by the generous action of Messrs Lawrence and Hanson in agreeing to the cancellation of the order placed. with them for a new machine, and the purchase of the machine installed from the W:—lng:l.nui Borough Councii, ‘through P. R. Baillie and Co. The cost’. of the above-mentioned machle and its installa?ion, etc., exceeded the amount (£1000) scheduled on. the loan

proposal by £259 17/2, £252 10/11 af this sum being made :1. charge 011 revenue.

£17,000 LOAN WORKS.—The plans nml specifications for drainage", kcrbs, and channels anti concrete footpaths and concrete foot‘f)‘a.ths and Toad construction Wol‘kS came to hand‘ from the engineer during the“ year. Tenv ders received were so much in excess of the estimate for drainage work that it was decided td complete the work by day labour, -and same is now pro~ ceedingly satisfactorily. The letting of a portion OFFHE kerbing and channelling ‘and the concrete slab path work ,to a Wanganui firm at :1 fair pr-ice_.'was regarded as satisfactory, but unfortunately the contractors failed .to make satisfactory progress, and have obtained a release from their con.tract on conditions known to you. I have been advised that the plant on order, i.e., a. crusher and 10-ton motor traction engine, is believed to be en route to New Zea.land.~’lt would probably be advisable for the Council to decide What further plant should be’ procured to facilitate the construction of tar maeadam work.

SECTION 10, BLOCK I.———lntima—tion has been received that steps are being taken to have the t._ranrsJ:‘er of this section to the Rangitikei County Council completed upon terms arranged. lt perhaps would be advisable to decide in the near future on the purchase of a suitable piece of land to replace the land sold in keeping with the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act in respect of the sale of land ‘vested in the Municipality as 21 Municipal Reserve.

-WATER SUPPLY & SEWERAGE EXTENSION SCHEME.——A considerable amount of time was devoted during the year-yto the solving of this problem, and several expert opinions were obtained on the various schemes. The su!btel'l'anean and pumping propositions were eventually “shelved” and after very ‘careful inkquiries had been ‘made it was eventuially decided to employ H Too,good, Consulting Engineer, of Welrlington, to report on ‘a gravitation water supply and sewerage extension !scheme. Mr Toogood has completed ’his preliminary survey and expects :t,O present his report and estimates [to you at the May meeting. "--- ' j OVAL DOMAINS CONVENIENCES AND REST ROOM.——The erection of these improvements on the Recreation Ground has filled a long felt Want, and it is highly creditable ‘to the sporting bodies of Taihape that they were so public spirited asto financially assist the Council to provide the above. LEASE OF TOWN HALL.——-The old lease having expired tenders were called for a. new lease for a further ’term of three years This was ‘obtained by Mr H. Carr at £7 per week; an advance of £4 on the rent.paid previously." Mr Carr has since transferred his interest to Mr Cuff. ‘ PUBLIC LIBRARY.—This institu‘tion was handed over to a Conimittee O? Citizens to control as from Novem‘ber 1919, and a subsidy of £lO gras:t‘ed towards the cost ‘of upkeep. In respect of -this matter I wish to Point out that owing to the ‘calls that iuv:-zt be made on the Gen: 'll ‘Account for the year 1920-21 and the limitation of rating power resulting from the low valuations, it will be impossible ~:> increase this or any other subsiugly to any great extent. However. Section 90 of the Municipal Corporation Act seems t'o provide the necessary machinery for striking a rate for this purpose, but this is a matter of policy and the decision rests with you. PUBLIC BA'l‘HS.——-The control of the baths was handed over to 21:»;Swimming Club and I am co:n'ili¢:ecl that this is‘ the {better course, and that the Club is deserving‘ of much Credit for its management of same, and the

jiinferest. shown in making the past. ‘season so successful. 1 SANITARY CONTRACT.——The de[cision to make an annual charge in [lieu of a sanitation rate and ‘the pq-'=r~ fisonal collection of all fees by the icontractor has been given effect m as {from the Ist inst. A new set W‘? Fbooks has been opened in this COnh;s.";— ition and the first quarterly accounts ihave been rendered E BELMONT METAL.—~ThI:!e bun» gdred tons of this ‘material has been ;ordered'for main traffic roads and should commence to arrive -here this month. With the advent of the roller and the above, necessary. repairs to main roads should be carried out in a most satisfactory and profitable .r.-.:—’ ner. ‘ BY-LAWS.-~TZ:ese are stili in course of preparation, the solic~‘ztmhaving already 150 foolscap slxeetz sf same typed.

é STAFF.———Vel'y few changes during the year. The resignation of ‘Mr Maben as Electrical Engineer, and the appointwrnem‘-M‘ of Mr A. Thomsozi, of Gore _,in his'p'lace being the most

important. » Without exception the members of the staif under “fny personal control have worked well together, the members of the office stalf bearing cheerfully the extra work asked of them during the last few months. Although perhaps it is invidious 7:0 make ‘dis--'.E.‘urthel', I suggest th:l.t. you consider pass without. I°cfol'ring fo t.‘n'e loyal and

* conscientious work of Mr Jamison, the Bol'ougll fm'onl:fil, who ‘has earnestly devoted his time, at all hours, towards furthering and protecting the Coun- ‘ cil's interesfs.

Time and space will -not permit of a further review, excepting’ my » comments on the aecounf balances attached hCl'C’fo,_bU.f I would point out that a request for public convenience and a dangerous goods magazine has been beforethe Council, and it would be as well to i-nform the ‘po’t.itio_llel'S that permanent works of this nature can only be provided ’ou?-of loan moneys. Further, I suggest that you conisder the advisability of adding these items‘ to the next. general loan. 2.