BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIX, Issue 55, 21 February 1913, Page 3

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

monthly meeting. : 1 The monthly meeting of the Balclutha Bnrougli Council was held on Wednes- , v evening. Present: His Worship the ' MaY° r Stewart) and Councillors , JteEwan, J. Wilkins, S. H. James, (J. ! Wood, J. Clark, C. E. Naish, Jas. , gheddan and G. Smith. CORRESPONDENCE. | g r, Grigor wrote that Mrs 0. E. ' glaikie's lease of section 20, block VII., j, ( il been sold to Mrs J. Danskin, and lor the council's issue of leases {5 enable Mrs Danskin to get a transfer. to borough solicitor. jliss M. M. Mitchell wrote asking to hi re!ie ve( l of her duties as librarian at jhe cud of the month, as circumstances jgve arisen which make it impossible for hf t0 co n tinue. —The Mayor said f jjijs Mitchell had been a very attentive librarian, and he thought all the countil regretted that she was resigning. ITu j moved that an expression of regret be I jjcorilpil, and that her resignation be : jjferrcd to the Library Committee.—■ !■ Seconded by Councillor Wood and car- ]). Coghill and Of. H. Reid, sinking 1 S {and commissioners, drew attention t 1 ) } \ [if fact that last year's deposit of £7O i ! towards the sinking fund has not yet 'W P a * ( ''—T' ie Mayor said this should ' ijve been paid a year ago, but was over- : {poked, while this year's deposit was f almost due. —Decided that the two de- ' posits, totalling £l4O, be paid. I Thomas Weir, dayman, renewed his I ' application for increase of pay.—Re- ' ceived. I J, B. Hislop, secretary Balclutha I Bowling Club, wrote that his club was ' agreeable to pay proportion of cost of j upkeep of entrance to bowling green, ; ami suggested that equal proportions of, | jav, £•'! be borne by the borough council, ; bowling and tennis clubs respectively, j I -L. Gibbs, secretary tennis club, wrote that his committee considered that the Iwork at the entrance to bowling and ; tennis grounds would be done best by p the council, and the club would be agree- . ; able to pay proportion of the cost in ' [■ conjunction with the bowling club.—lt [ was resolved that the borough take conr trol of the upkeep of the ground, and that each club be annually charged £8 towards the cost. 1 Captain Pollard, officer in charge 6i the local branch of the Salvation Army, • wrote asking for the use of a separate key for the reserve, as the Army horse was out early and late, and it was thus > inconvenient to call on the gatekeeper ; every time.—After some discussion and a show of hands, a motion to allow a ': separate key was lost by five to four, those opposed to the motion being averse t to setting up a precedent. I > 6. W. Hutchins wrote asking that the footpath on the north side of William street be asphalted.—Resolved that tenders be called for kerbing and channelling in Renfrew street, and asphalting ' t of footpath on north side of William street, the borough to supply the i material. !, John Chirnside, dayman, wrote that i ( the shed used for storing tools, etc., had ' j been entered by unscrewing the nut off i, the bolt pulling it out. Fj-om ap- j pearances i{ looked as if a "smoke" hail been held in the shed. —Referred to ; the police. ij FINANCE. I

The Finance Committee recommended:—(l) Payment of accounts, amounting to £235 .'is 3d (wages, £llO !s I'M; Otago Hospital and Charitable Aiil Board, £R7 las 4d; general, £57 5s M). (2) That all kerbing, channelling and asphalting, half-cost of which has to be paid by the property owners, be done by contract and not by day labour. The bank book shows a credit of £2Ol Os 2d. The committee regrets that it cannot recommend an increase in Mr Weir's wages, owing to the fact that the wage he receives at the present time is the same as is paid by adjoining boroughs and counties. Councillor Sheddan moved, and Councillor Wood seconded, that the report as read be adopted. Councillor Clark moved as an amendment that clause (2) be deleted. He wuld always be opposed to contract fork. If the council did the work br contract it would need to employ an inspector to stand' over the workmen. Councillor Wilkins seconded the amendment.

Councillor Wood said the cheapest way to get work done was by contract.

Councillor McEwan supported the amendment, while Councillor Naish spoke ni favour of the contract system. The motion was carried, allowing the re port to be adopted. WOBKS AND WATERWORKS.

•I. C'hirnside, head dayman, reported 'hat the following works have been ear"e<l out during the month—viz,., cutll"R weeds, kerbing and channelling William street, mixing asphalt, shifting M fitting up weighbridge, and.general surfacing.

Jolui Sheddan, waterworks engineer, Sported that there had been two applitatiojis during; the month fer water, bail been attended to. He had •ittei! l ia ]] t a p S on street water ' r °uj<hs situated as follows:—One at the f oriH'r of Clyde and Renfrew streets, 011p at Bain's corner, Clyde street, one Kyrie street, and one at Technical >ol. He had also put two wooden ,rou glis. in the saleyards, tapping the at Grant's corner. The troughs with half-inch ball taps, all of are working ,satisiactorily. Since report there lias been pumped into w tower 470,000 gallons of water, ' r '_h is an increase on last month. A ■ tol) siilerable amount of that has been 'H" at dead ends in order to improve qualify of the water.

The committee recommended:—(l) 'at the water trough which was originii 'V at the bridge in Prances street be er eeted on Hasborough road, near Thorn®°n's comer. (2) That a new weigh''dge office, built of iron, be erected, ') That the River Board be consulted 'wi reference to » supply of gravel be*

ing obtained by means of the gravel pump. (4) That the x'ostal Department be requested to put in an iron crossing where vehicles cross the water channel. The reports were adopted in toto.

• RESERVES, LIGHTING AND SALE- | YARDS. H. McFeeters, sanitary inspector and , yardman, reported that he had visited the Coronation Park with Councillor Naish and found things from satisfactory. The bathing shed is in a ■ j fearful state of filth. He had never > | seen any building in a public place in ■ j such an abominable condition. , All the ' windows have been broken, doors cut ■ | and locks removed. Something definite j should be done to prevent this nuisance. 1 ' Some young trees have been cut by people mowing grass. Several boys are in the habit of using pea rifles iij the reserves about the town, and consider- , able damage may result. The cattle in the reserve were finding their way | round the pieis at the railway bridge, \ and to prevent this he had swung, a , hurdle from a stringer of the bridge. I The Caledonian ground requires a new ] gate to stop people putting cattle in there late at night. Since .January 14 he had impounded 14 lioyses and five cows. , The Reserves, Lighting and Saleyards Committee recommended:— Reserves.—-(1) That a new gate be procured and placed at the entrance to the Caledonian ground, the present one being beyond repair. (2) That the fence , from the borough office to the .traffic bridge be repaired. (:i) That with re- | gard to the sanitary inspector's complaint of the filthy condition of the j bathers'' shed, he be instructed to proseI cute anyone committing a nuisance in !the shed. j lighting.—That the action of the Mayor in securing 30 Horstnian's gas i controllers and instructing the reinain- ■ ing 20 to be cabled for be approved. j Saleyards.—(l) That owing to numer- , ous conjplaints from the yardman a new set of locks be procured for the yards, i the keys to be in the custody of the yardman. (2) That the gate leading | from the asphalt yard be removed and placed facing Charlotte street. (II) That the shed at the pound be kept solely for the use of the poundkeeper. (4) That material to build stalls for bulls at the j yards be procured at once, the yardman ' being prepared to go on with the work, yard dues on bulls to be-6d a head, (o) That printed notices be procured stating that all horses and traps not for sale bo removed from the yards, ((j) That any vendor, whose stock has been advertised, may, by payment of the sum of 2/6, in addition to yard dues, secure subject to the yardman's approval, as many pens as he may require, and that the various auctioneers be notified of the alteration in the rules. The reports were adopted. GENERAL. At a special meeting the resolution declaring docks noxious weeds within the borough was confirmed. Building permits were granted to I). T. Fleming and .John Begg, subject to the building inspector's approval, and the use of 15 feet of street frontage was also given for building purposes. Tenders for painting the Council Chambers were dealt with as follows: Frank Mitchell, £l(s 10s (accepted); G. F. Mitchell, £22.