BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1920, Page 3

BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

HYDRO ELECTRIC EXTENSIONS. IMPOSSIBLE (GOVERNMENT CONDITIONS. Reports the. general manager of the New Plymouth Borough* Council:—During the month lengthy reports were submitted by the consulting engineers, ths electrical -engineer and myself in regard to the revised estimates, and wo are now awaiting a further report from the consulting engineer upon the question of enlarging the earthcrn race in order to give a mavimum of 3000 horsepower in connection with the partial scheme instead of the 2000 horse-power originally contemplated.

Contract No. i Intake Tunnel—A progress report in' regard to this work will be submitted by the consulting engineers at the next meeting The contractors have been experiencing the greatest difficulty in obtaining supplies of cement for their work. The assistance of the Council having been asked, and tlie matter being of vital importance to the Council, all assistance possible has been given to the contractors. The electrical engineer and one of the contractors interviewed the makers and others in Auckland, and the Mayor and electrical engineer waited upon members of the Board of Trade in Wellingtbn. As a result limited supplies have been received, ; and the work is going 'forward without any serious delay having taken place.

License for. Extended Area—The draft license for the extension and extended area has now come to hand. The Department have included several provisions, placing undue and indeed impossible restrictions on the Council. Some of these are no doubt inserted through want of sufficient information in regard to the local circumstances, and no doubt, upon the necessary representations being made, will be amended.

NEW TRAM SERVICES. WESTOWN EXTENSIONS. It was anticipated that the final estimates for this work would have been completed and the date of the poll advertised this month- Several preliminary matters have, however, yet to be settled before this can be done, the principal being the question Of the widening of Tukapa Road at certain points. When (he plan of this road showing the lines of future footpaths was completed it was found that if the footpaths were eventually to be constructed at the widths contemplated, certain portions of the road would require to be widened. This plan will be placed before the Council at its next meeting, and when a decision lias been readied provision will be made in the estimate? for the purchase money of any land to be required for the purpose mentioned. Another matter which requires attention before the poll can bo taken ia the obtaining oT the necessary consents to construct, the tramline o'n one side of the road instead of in Ilu> centre. Tukapa Road has recently been reconstructed and tar-sealed. In order to r.ave expense and to avoid the destruction of the tar-sealed road it is intended to lay down (he tram rails on the north side of the road. The Order-in-Ceuneil for the main ""'ne provides that the rails must be n'.iced in the road so, that there shall be a clear space of at least, eight feet between either side of the tram ear (running 011 the rails) and the line of the kerbing or of the roidway where no footpath? ciist. To comply with this condition would bring the greater proportion of the. rails near to the centre of the tar-sealed road. Provision is, however, made whereby with the written consents of t.fie owners of 90 per cent, of the land abutting on the road the rails may bo laid to give a clearance of at least two feet six inches hetwem the side of the car and the line of the kerbing As similar provisions are almost, certain to be included in the Qrder-in-Couneil authorising the extension, it is desired to obtain the consent of the land owners to the reduced clearance before the poll is taken. Tho Borough solicitors have therefore been instructed to prepare the necessary form of consent. and steps will be taken to obtain | the signatures as soon as the papers are available.

VOGELTOWN EXTENSIONS. The electrical . engineer, owing to the pressure of other work, has not yet been able to " prepare the estimates called for in regard to the above work As soon as the plans for the western extensions are out of hand, however, he .anticipates being in a position to have the necessary plans and cross section's made of the route, and upon this being complete he will bo. able to prepare the necessary estimates. WATERWORKS.

For the reason disclosed later the waterworks undertaking has never been treated upon a commercial basis in regard to its accounts. Ever since the original instillation in ISSS it has been the practice at the end of each year to transfer to the general aieount the net cash balance of tho waterworks account, irrespective of whether the actual working showed a profit or loss. Commercial account! l , have, howevor, been prepared from time to time for the information of the Council. From these it appears that, although in the early stages losses were incurred, there has been a small profit in each of the later years after allowing for depreciation. Tlie amounts allowed for depreciation and renewals are, however, merely book entries as the money lias never actually been set aside to build up a fund. For instance, for the year ending March 31st. lftlC, the accounts show a net prof,'; of £IOBO 2s lid. The amount transferred to general account, however, was the. difference between the actual receipts and expenditure, viz, £2021 his fid. The total amount transferred to the general account since 18S3 amounts to £33,738 Ins 7d, although actually during the, whole period the actual profit was nil. the profits of the. later years having been just about sufficient to balance the losses of the earlier years.

This system of appropriating the whole of the available cash balance each year has precluded the building up of a depreciation or renewal fund. The wants of such a fund will be severely felt during the next few years, in view of the fact that the many miles of steel mains laid down in 1905 are not likely to prove anything like the success anticipated. Had a depreciation and renewals' fund been established the replacement of these mains would not have presented any difficulty.

The amount transferred to the general account last year was £4l OS 10? 9d, To |Ta»t ths w&tarvork? li&dertoH'Mt uses.

a similar footing to the electric light and tramways departments in regard to its accounts would mean either that the general account must be prepared to lose a very substantial sum per annum, or that the water charges must be increased to such rates as wil be sufficient to provide for aieasonabie annual appropriation to a depreciation and renewal fund, and at the same time to permit of the transfer to general account of net profits equal to the average amounts transferred in recent years.

Some attempt should be made to put the waterworks undertaking upon a better footing. The matter has teen considered from time to time in the past, but nothing has been done, it being anticipated that the time would arrive when certain special rates would lapse and a readjustment could be made without any material increase in the aggregate amount of the rates paid. It is ■ very problematical, however, whether this anticipation will ever Tie rea!iscd, more especially as several loans originally floated at low rates of interest fall due in 1922, and will have to be consolidated and refloated, probably at substantially increased interest and rates. Under the circumstances it does not appear that there is anything to be gained by deferring matters, and I would recommend that the question be dealt with within the next month when the estimates for the ensuing year are being prepared. BOROUGH ENGINEER'S REPORT. Tarring Work, etc. —In Devon Street from tho tramsbeds to the corner near Mr. Taylor's store, has been relaid witli aspha'.t, along the south side, another length along the same side has received a carpet coat, and this completes the work other than a dressing' coat, which will be done in a few days.

From the Breakwater to Cutfield 'Road all the weakest patches have been strengthened, and the whole length dressed with tar and gravel. From the Terminus Hotel, towards Weymouth Street, the north side is being laid in asphalt, the work being well in handWhen this is completed there will only be the length between Eliot and Govei Streets to deal with, as 'by the time this: report reaches you the Morley Street length will almost be finished. South Road.—From Johnston's store to the boundary has been chared and tar-dressed with the first coat- To cope with the road work and keep the large quantities of tar and gravel coming forward cleared from tlie railway trucks ha? kept our teams, both trucks, and two hired teams fully occupied. The crusher has up to tlie recent breakdown kept up a full suuplv of stone for asphalt and other immediate requirements; and the asphalt mixer has been kept fully employed in meeting tho demand for tarred macadam.

General. —The Borough roller is being thoroughly overhauled, and nil parts which are badly worn are being repaired or renewed. Taking the age of the roller into consideration, tho wear has not been more than could be expected, the worst being upon the axles, both of which require renewing. The ol<V axles lmve a market value, which will go some way towards the overhauling cost. In the meantime wc :etain on hire the Inglowood roller.

ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT. Reports the electrical engineer:—The demand for electrical supply is increasing considerably, as will lie seen from the following figures. The number of applications received during the month were 40. The number of new consumers connected were 37, and the additions made to existing installations 14. A considerable amount of trouble ha; been experienced during the month at the head works. This trouble with shingle deposits, both at the intake, rare and dam, lias been more acute than ever before, and the cost of removing same wi'l ho a considerable item. It has been necessary ever since the 25th of last month to keep men working almost continuously at this clearing and cleaning work, and even then we have teen forced to reduce our load over week hours to enable us to carry oil. On Sunday last we were successful in removing approximately -IsTO yards of shingle from the race, and this has improved the condition considerably- There still remains a considerable amount to be removed from race, intake and dam. In the two latter this work can only be done on Sundays, as the work necessitates the lowering of the water, which under week day circumstances it is not possible to do and keep the plant ruuning.

The Waiwalcaiho Paver has been in flood on many occasions during t>i-> month', and this is mainly responsible f or the foregoing trouble. On Saturdav. 24t.1v January, the flood level reached 14 feet (! inches, representing a rise of !) feet 0 inches above normal river. This is the highest, rise that has been in the river during the last three years. Tho plant at Power House and Distributing Station is operating satisfactorily. INSPECTOR'S REPORT. Reports the Borough Inspector:— The building trade ccntinues brisk, permits to the value of ,E!)'IOO having been granted, the fees being' £39 Ijs. Tho usual inspections have been carried out, and all drains examined and tested. Being holiday time we have had a busy time about the streets, and a good deal of attention has been paid to the beaches and other pleasure resorts. A number of prosecutions for breaches of traffic by-laws have been taken. MrKing secured three convictions, with fines amounting to £O. Eight prosecutions are now pending. A good deal of attention has been paid to overgrowing trees and ..hedges, and 30 notices have been sent out to owners to cut fennel-

BATHS. The baths have been well patronised this month, notwithstanding the cold Weather early in the month. There have been 2570 payments for admission, and the cash taken amounts to £33 Is lid. There have been 100 liqt salt water baths. In conjunction with Mr. Pugh, a carnival is being arranged for the first week in March. Several original stunts arc being; prepared, so that there is likely to be a large attendance. The sanitary services have been regularly maintained and the tip regularly covered. The old Hobson Street tip has been finished and covered .villi clay. This is now a level section, which was at one time a useless gully.