Marine Parade.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5186, 5 April 1888, Page 2

Marine Parade.

At the Borough Council meeting last night there was an animated discussion on the state of Marine Parade. Cr. Faulknor drew attention to tho suggestion of tho Overseer, and said somethingshould be done with the sea wall. A good' deal of help could be got from Mr Black if a sub-committee were appointed to deal 1 with the matter. Prison labor could be got, and it was no use letting the thin* go on from month to month as they had done. The Mayor said with reference to tho sea wall or the making some permanent improvement on the Marine Parade, which" was rendered absolutely necessary now that the late high tides had played such havoc with that portion of <f the town and also endangered the ! water supply, by laying bare the pumping main, it was a very serious matter indeed, to think that the only high presaure supply they had should bo rendered useless from the defective protection they had for the main. It was a matter, whioh the / Council were aware had been under con- f sideration for a long time. He had taken action in the matter, and he was of opinion the time had now arrived when some really concerted and definite action should bo taken for a permanent work. To do anything short of that would be bad policy, and with a view to do something to remedy tho ov-U they were suffering under, a meeting would be callod in two or three days' time of property owners and those who were inclined to coincide with the scheme that would be put before them. He did,not think it would be wise under the present circumstances for the Council to come hurriedly to any definite decision on the matter. It would be admitted that the time had arrived when they ought to work to-' gether for the good of the whole borough, and do what, he believed, would be a verygreat good, and would be of general advantage, that -was to make a thoroughly permanent work, a solid and permanent wall on the sea frontage. There could not be two opinions about it, it would be advantageous to the whole Twrough, the only question was how to go about the work. As he stated at the outset a meeting—a semi-private meeting—prior to calling a public meeting was contemplated - ;to be held within the next few days. . j Cr. Graham, bearing in mind everything the Mayor had said, thought it was needful a committee should be put forward to show how the rating would be made. It was all very well for them to say do this and that ! and the other, but he did not think it was a borough road at all. Whenever there came up a road to be done, for instance Sea" ■" Point-road, tho Council said it had never been handed over, and ho did not remember Marine Parade being made a borough road, or of it ever having been made by the public, or handed over to the Council. All these things ought to be taken into ooni; sideration. If any one at Onepoto or tho Spit applied they were at once met with objections. There wore a good many people in the Council who had property on Marine Parade, and it came with bad taste to proposo an expenditure in their own street without having some scheme for whioh they would pay. He hoped that His Worship, who had taken pains to show the necessity of the work, would take paina to show how the rating was to be. Cr. Cohen was glad tho Mayor had been at work quietly and to the purpose in the direction of improvement to Marine Parade. There was a far larger danger than the water mains being exposed, in fact if some permanent works were not taken in hand, they might find the whole town swept away.

Cr. Graham: No fear of us. Cr. Cohen would ask Cr. Graham as a favor not to interrupt. The larger question than the water main was the safety of the town, and councillors should throw away all idea that only the properties in the imine-

, diato neighborhood would be benefited, and *~- J they should not stand idly by quareUing aa,*.**. to what proportion should be paid by the ■" \ property holdprs, or they might sco the . " town swept away, and perhaps life saori- '* ficed through their neglect. The whole of the property-holders in the town would see it : was to their advantage to oarry out a work * J that was necessary for their safety. Most ( of them recognised that a work of this im- ( portance should be undertaken at onoe, and , lot the question as to tho payment by pro- ! perty-holders rest until the greater question was discussed, and the plan of tho'scheme bo well ventilated. It would then be time i enough afterwards to discuss the payments, 1 and if the ratepayer's on the Marine Parade ' objected to pay, the Council should do its [ duty, and protect the other parts of the town, which would come' to grief unless something be done. Sea' Point was a mew; bagatelle as compared with this question, for if a large wave came along 'the : savino-s of years of three-fourths of the' property owners might be 8 away, ' *'.•■'"- Cr. McVay thought thord was considerable unanimity as to the absolute necessity of some protective work. He should just like to mention in reply to Cr. Graham, who wished to put up an obstacle at the start, that the road had never been dedicated. In, that he was right, nor had the owners abutting on Marine Parade formed it. Cr. Graham had been iuformed before that tho owners of property did not make the road, but it had not cost tho Council anything to make. The road was commenced and the prisoners supplied the stono to make it, and in supplying the stone ttay c<*ok oat'that much rubble, which the CoufnOil got the benefit of, and the calculatiok was made that the road cost the Council hothhu. The then owners of property did not contribute, the borough did ■ not contribute' and consequently Cr. Graham contributed nothmg. Jhe formation of -omeprofectivS wall would.be a matter tf to He hndnot tao slightest doubt but that thoso persons receiving most benefit would contribute according to the benefit they derived. The. continuance of heavy seas would damage the flat more thar. any other part of the town, and the water would he longer on the roads there than on the Parade. A special rate wotdd be necessary to enable the Counoil to provide tho 11 neoeßsar y for the work, and the rate would be of a graduated character. Th_ residents on the hills would even gain by a really substantial and good roadway alonithe beach. When the wall was built from the corner of Emerson-street, the persona owning property abutting contributed our half the cost, between £70 and £80 beW contributed by them. Like others he ,Z quite willing to protect his own nronortv without any assistance from the provided any other works were m»d„ n. ~' ■ S»t hoshouldnot be taxed.* X* neighbors were prepared to protect ___£ own properties a t their own cost * Cr. Smith said if the meetimr v.-ero «_u_ for protective works for the town the i- epyers would have to bear the cost Vhero was no uoubt vi his mind the tovu must be protected, but beautifying the 7ava.de' -WU j ' . - ' - ->/'•• '.v" -

another question altogether. He would "ToSffSSXtSe" eßtioa was f * 80 narrow as to be C confined to the propertyo wn™utting on the road entirely it was Question for the ratepayers. Ho objected the scheme brought forward by the Mayor many months ago, and ho would obiect te works on au elaborate scale as then proposed, though he would be prepared to spend a couple of thousands One-third of the cost should be contributed by the property owners abutting on the Parade, and two-thirds by the Council. The Mayor said the idea of the meeting was to formulate a scheme to lay beforo the public. It would be a sort of committee m the first instance to recommend thoadoption of a particular kind of work The ratepayers would have to assent to a special rate, the matter to go to them for a vote. The meeting would be of those immediately interested, and any others who took an interest in the work. _ The matter then dropped.