It was music to the ears that the Milton Pipe Band will get its hands on a $12,000 fund left behind by another musical group in the town.
The Clutha District Council yesterday agreed to hand over the fund to help the band safeguard its future, which has been threatened by rising power and insurance costs and falling membership.
The council had originally considered providing the band with the annual interest income from the fund and that the band reconsider its long-term future with the possibility of the entire fund going towards a long-term solution.
Two band members spoke in support of getting the entire fund.
The issue became briefly complicated when a letter from the Balclutha Brass Band was tabled. That band was also asking for the money which was left behind by the defunct Milton Brass Band.
But the council considered a new motion, allowing the Milton Pipe Band all of the fund.
Long-serving band member Bill McDonald rejected a suggestion the band should consider selling its building and moving into the Coronation Hall, claiming there was no suitable area in the hall for the band's use.
The council agreed to hand over the entire fund but added a proviso that the band change its constitution, allowing all of its assets to be handed back to the council if the band ever winds up.
