CITY COUNCIL.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10887, 12 February 1901, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

« The City Council met last night. Present —His Worship the Mayor (Mr W. Recce), Councillors O. M. Gfay/W. 11. Samuels, W. H. Cooper, J. Clarke, U. Pay ling, H. 15. Sorensen, W. Prudhoe, J. Clarke. H. H. Loughnan, J. L. Scott, J. T. Smith, Gre.en. C. Morris, A. Appleby, and Andrews/ 1 An apology for absence was received from Crs. Wood and Andrews. The debtor balance was stated to be £1985 14s Id, as compared with. £10.643 Is. The balance at last meeting was £1650 8s 4d, receipts £229 18s 3d, payments, February 4th, £346 5s 10d; February 11th, £202 18s 2d. The general rate for 1900----1901 was £13,669 l'6a 9d, of which £12,718 9s 9d has been collected and £'951 4s was outstanding. The Mayor announced that the gentleman appointed by the Government had at tended on Saturday, and with some of the membETs of the Social Committee had inspected the proposed site for the abattoirs at Sockburn. Hs had gone carefully into the questions of drainage, water, and suitability of the soil. Mr Reukes had bKn informed of the different sites proposed. They would hear nothing of the matter till it had been, submitted to the Government, when a. reply would be received from the Minister of Agriculture if tb? sate were suitable or not. His Worship asked the Chairman of the Finance Committee to consider the question of loan for the construction of the destructor and abattoirs, ard ascertain the powers of the Council respecting the works and the extent to which the Council could borrow, and report to the Council. 'Mrs Sandstein wrote acknowledging the receipt of the Council's kind letter of condolenc? on the death of h;r husband, the late Councillor Sandstein. Messrs Mason, Strath ers and Co. asked for permission to put down a well in the right-of-way between Lichfield and Tuam street*". It was decided that the matter should be de«it with by the Chairman of the Works Committee and the city surveyor. The city surveyor reported that the lowest tender received for the East belt bridge, that of Mr A. Swanston. was recommended for acceptance: that the two tenders received, each for 4000 yards of metal, be accepted. He submitted a plan of the Colombo street bridge for approval. The Chairman of the Works Committee stated that the amount of the lowest tender for the Kast belt bridge was £1890 19s— a little more than the estimate. In reply to Cγ. Appleby. the Chairman of the Works Committee stated that the price of metal was Is per \-ard higher than last vear--the total amount in excess of last year's expenditure wa-s £400. Cγ. Appleby considered the Council ought to b: the owner of its stone quarries. Cr. Samuels swi-d the Works Committee had carefully considered the matter. Cr. Scott said the Council had been getting ths stone at a price which did l not pay the contractor. The price they were getting this year was a fair one. and not at all exorbitant. An the Council were taking the metal this year unscreened they would get 25 per cent, mors stone. Or. Appleby moved that £re*h tenders be callsd. This wa-s not seconded, and the tenders were accepted. Th? plan for the Colombo street bridge was approved. The city surveyor was authorised to carry out the details, and the Works Committee call for tenders for the work. The report as a whole was adopted. A petition regarding certain improvements necessary in Hi<*h street -was referred to the Works Committee to consider and report. The By-law Committee recommended the granting'of certain applications for renewal of license-", and reported that with regard to traction engines' traffic it bad included sections in the by-law regulating the traffic. The report was agreed to. After other burner', reported elsewhere, had been transacted, the Council adjourned.