CITY COUNCIL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 78, 1 April 1892, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting; of the City Council was held last evening. Preeent: Hie Worship tho Mayor, and Crs. Trenwith, Farrell, Holland, Dignan, Atkin, Swales, Patereon, Layer, Howsod, Luks, Warren, Julian, Kidd, Garratt, Dr. \Valker. Rktaininq Wall.—Messrs T. and Cooke wrote calling attention to the position in which thoy aro placed by the collapse of a retaining wall .in front of theisr property in Upper Queen - street, which they stated was, no doubt, bo be attributed; to the soakage of the earth in front of thttwall by water flowing from defective wat*? , mains and sbreeb channels. They asked the Council to reinstate the wall.—The City Engineer reported that the water main is on the other side of the street, and has not been affected by tho slip. The Boie cause of tho trouble, he added, was a defective retaining , wall above T. and H. Cooke'e establishment, built by private individuals. —Messrs Bycrof t and Co., owDers of the property, wrote that they would repair the wall if it was their duty to do so. They thought, however, that its was the duty of tbo. Council to do the work, and asked ior consideration of the subject by that body. The Mayor stated that the Streets Committee visited fcho spot in question on Wed- ■ needay last, accompanied by members ot the Legal Committee. Mr Bycroft, who was on the ground at the same time dig.- , , played great reluctance to do anything,,' the work to be undertaken being considerable.— Cr. Atkin proposed. "That the proprietors be recommended to fill in their property to a slope."—Cr. Farrell seconded the resolution.—Cr. Warren thought tho Council should simply intimate that they did not see their way to , build a wall.—ln reply to Cr. Heweon, the.' Mayor stated that tho Council had no. liability.—The motion moved by Cr. Atkim having been carried, the City Engineer' was asked for an estimate of cost, which he. gave as follows : —Filling in at Cooke'e, £32; ditto at Bycroft's, £21 ; stone wall at Cooke's, £151 ; ditto at Bycroft's, £133. —The Mayor moved, "That the work of rilling in be done by the Council, provided the property-owners contribute £30."—Cr.. Atkin seconded the motion.—Cr. Hewsoa' did not think the Council should do t.Sus work.

Hospital and Charitable Aid.—H. If. Garland, Secretary of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, wrote requesting pavmenb by the Council of £2,460 15b 6d on'or before April 30th, 1892, this being the; amount allocated to be paid by the Auckland Borough Council. Water Metees.—R. Whitson and C0.,----applied for refund of an overcharge in respect of water consumed, it having been ascertained by the Council's turncock that the meter had been wrong for a considerable period. The alleged overcharge was about £7.—Dr. Walker thought the whole question of water supply by meter should ba taken into consideration. —After some dis-, cussion it was agreed to refer the matter to.the Streets Committee, with power to act. >■: —An amendmont to refund £3 10s waa,' lost.

Footpath.—W. Price asked theactentionj. of the Council to the state of the footpath leading from Kyber Pasa Road to Eden Vine Hotel, in Upper Symonds-street, about 2 chains being neither kerbed nor channelled. He also urged the need of a street lamp midway between the Edinburgh Castle and Eden Vine Hotels. — Ther Engineer estimated the cost of kerbing and; channelling at about £6 10s, and of tarringand sanding the footpath between Kyber" Pass and Mount Eden Road at £4 12s. H& saw no necessity for extra gas lamp.—Referred to the ward members to report.

Blackberry Nuisance.—Wm. Tole complained of the spreading of blackberry creepers on an unoccupied allotment, adjoining his propertyth Upper Nelson-street, and asked the Council to take steps Co abate the nuisance.—lnspector Goldie reported that the growth complained of was. one of personal inconvenience.—lt waa resolved that the letter be received.

Water Supply.—Wm. Cameron asked for reconsideration of his request for water mains to be laid in Bella Vista Road, Ponsonby.—lt was agreed to replace the existing half-inch pipe by a one-inch pipe. Williams' Smoke-stack.—Wingate and Co. wrote strongly urging that Mr VVilliams be compelled to alter his smoke-stack in accordance with the regulations. Ehrenfried Bros, made a similar complaint, and attributed the fire on their premises to this chimney being defective. —The Engineer reported that the fire at Ehrenfried'e occurred about 30 hours after the fire in Williams' chimney had been extinguished. He stated that further alterations were being made by Mr Williams, and that in the meantime fire would not be used there. —The Mayor stated that the Council's solicitor was instructed to take proceedings against Mr VVilliams. In the meantime it was reported that the chimney had been placed in a satisfactory condition, and the solicitor was instructed not to proceed provided Mr Wingate, occupant of the adjoining premises, was satisfied. The matter was referred to Mr Wingate, and in the absence of a reply from him the solicitor had not proceeded further. —Ifc was resolved that the letters be received.

Absence.—Cr. Grey was granted leave of absence for a month, and Cr. Wright leave for a fortnight.

Streets Committee. — This Committee recommended :—(1) Letter from residents Lower Hepburn-street re footpath.—That the Engineer be instructed to make the street suitable for its requirements. (2j Letter from C. Joynt re channelling, Pictonstreet. —That the Engineer, in terms of hii suggestion, keep the place in repair until the ground is consolidated. (3) Memo, from Engineer re additional lamp standards, etc., tenders be called for ten lamp-posts and forty heads and frames.—ln reference to the latter paragraph the Mayor moved that the Engineer be instructed to prepare a design for new lamp-posts for Queen-street. —This was agreed to and the report as amended was adopted. Painting.—The following tenders for painting cottages afc Western Springs were received:—F. S. Shepherd, £31; Soamee and Phillips, £174s (accepted); J. Benuetfc, £17 9e ; T. Longhill, £25 14s ; D. Simpson, £17 12s 6d.

Coal.—Tenders were received for coel supplies for one year or three years from James Smith, J. J. Craig, Taupiri Reserve Coal Company, and W. and G. Winstone.— The tenders were referred to the Streets Committee, the Engineer to report. Domain Account. — Cr. Atkin moved ( " That the resolution of date Bth January, 1891, charging £50 per annum as proportion of officeexpenses to the Domain account, be rescinded ; that to the Domain account be credited an amount oqual«to any charge against it under euch resolution." —Cγ. Atkin said they received services from the Domain ranger in the city amounting to considerably over £100. They pub £600 through the books annual'y in respect of these accounts, and he thought the services rendered to the city by the Domain ranger should be a quid pro quo for the service rendered to the Domain Board by the office. He also urged tb»* £50 odd was spent in the Domain for the benefit of the city. The pubjfjct was Su| cussed at length, and it was resolved '' That tho matter be referred to tlie Finance Coui" mittee to adjust the accounts."