CITY COUNCIL

Evening Star, Issue 21820, 8 September 1934, Page 24

CITY COUNCIL

COMMITTEE REPORTS BATHS OIGHT-OF-WAY The General Committee will recommend to the City Council at its meeting on Wednesday night that an oiler submitted by Messrs Brown and Ailoo, on behalf of Messrs Allbell Investments Ltd., to grant to the City Council a right in perpetuity in common with other tenants of the company over the right-of-way adjoining the tepid baths building, on condition that the council arranges immediately to put the right-of-way in repair and covenants so to keep it in future, be accepted. This proposal, if approved, will enable the council to secure the continuous use of the right-of-way for ns long as it so ref|uircs without payment of rent, the City Council retaining the right to terminate the arrangement on giving twelve months’ prior notice to the owners. The estimated cost of reconstructing the right-of-way with a tar macadam surface, providing necessary storm water drainage, and reconstructing a mud tank is £lO5. The annual rental hitherto paid by, tbe council for the use of the right-of-way was £lO. If the above proposal be approved there will be no need to proceed further with the proposal already approved by the council for providing access within the building from the Moray place front for taking.in coal. WORKS. An application has been received from Messrs N. and It, S. Paterson Ltd. for consent to a plan of proposed subdivision of allotment 15, block 11., township of Clyde Hill. The proposal submitted is to subdivide this allotment into two portions, giving the rear lot a sft entrance from Forfar street. Adjoining the property is a strip of land 10ft wide, which was transferred to the council in 1927 for the purpose of giving more direct access for pedestrians going between Forfar street and Bridge street. This, of course, is available tor use by the owner of the rear lot of the subdivision, and, in conjunction with the sft entrance provided by the subdivider, would give actually a loft access to such rear lot. After consideration of tbe matter the Works Committee is unable to see its way to agree to a sft. entrance as shown on the plan, but recommends that a modification of the by-law governing tbe .minimum frontage to building allotments be granted in this instance to permit of a legal frontage to tbe said rear lot ol tlie subdivision being fixed at 10ft, and that the plan of subdivision, amended in this respect, be approved. The effect of this will be to give a 20ft approach to the lot in question. Applications for consent to plans of proposed subdivisions of land have been approved as follow:—-(a) From Messrs Moore, Dawson, and Aitken, plan of subdivision of allotments 3,4, 5, and 6, block VI., township of Ascotvale, fronting Bouverie street, _ subject to exemption from the provisions of section 128 of the Public Works Act, 1928, being

obtained, with a building line restriction of forty links from the centre line of the street, (b) From Messrs M'Gcorge and Gordon, plan of subdivision of part sections 9 and 728 r, block 11., Upper Kaikorai district, fronting Highgate and Passmore crescent, subject to the corner of these streets being cut off 10ft each way from the point of intersection for 'street-widening purposes, and to exemption from the provisions of section 128 of tbe Public Works Act, 1928, being obtained for tbe portion of Highgate affected, with a building line restriction of 33ft from the centre line. Tbe city engineer has been instructed as follows:—(a) Act in respect of the undernoted matters; —(1) liaising the footpatli in Stuart street at the entrance to the Central Mission yard (estimated cost £5 10s); (2) reconstructing two culverts on Leith Valley road, about six chains above Sullivan dam (estimated cost £80); (3) forming a stone-))! tebed channel in portion of Abbotsford road to prevent the possibility of seepage of storm water (estimated cost to the council, providing for relief labour, £l3). (b) Record the undernoted matters lor consideration with next year’s allocations: Erecting additional street lighting in Sidcy street (estimated cost £90); (5) erecting an additional light in M‘Gvegor street at Botting street (estimated cost £5). WATER. The Water Committee, reporting on the progress of the’ works at Deep Creek, states that the contractors for the benching contract (No. 910) have completed a further length of benching of approximately 430 ft, and the contractors for the ; trenching contract (No. 918) have excavated ■ a further length of trench of approximately I,oooft. The contractors for the trenching contracts (Nos. 921 and 922) commenced work on August .30, and on the same date the contractor for trenching contract No. 920 was on the_ ground erecting his camp. Corporation labour has been employed on road repaint, cattle stops, erection of mile posts, sinking trial shafts at Deep Stream, and excavation for abutments of the Deep Stream bridge. in order to permit of the works department proceeding with the paving of Taieri road from Nairn street to Dean street it will he necessary to lower the main in the street from its present average depth of about 12in to a depth of 2ft below the surface. Portion of the main between Farley street and Dean street will also be required to be replaced with the class C 4in main. Authority has accordingly been granted for the carrying out of the work at an estimated cost of £386. TUNNEL WORKS AT WAIPORI. The E.P. and L. Committee reports that the report of the consulting engineers on the progress made on the tunnel works at Waiporl for the last fortnightly period is laid on the table. Thirty-one men are at present employed on the various sections of the work. A further 49ft of the pressure tunnel was driven,, bringing the total up to 498 ft. A further 40yds were excavated for the bench at the surge tank, bringing the total excavation at this point up to 1,090 cubic yards. Concreting work is proceeding at tbe portal, and various other miscellaneous works arc also in band. During the period it was found necessary to make fresh arrangements regarding the site of the surge tank. The site originally selected proved, on excavation, to be unsatisfactory, and it was deemed essential to move to a fresh location whereby the foundation of the surge tank will be supported on the solid rock. The change in site of the surge tank will also involve a slight alteration in the line of the tunnel. The consulting engineers advise that the alteoation to the surge tank site will involve . a considerable “extra” of probably about £1,200, and as they advise that it would be unwise to proceed on the original plan they have been notified to proceed as necessary to give effect to the new arrangement. CONVERSION LOAN. The Finance Committee reports:— The prospectus of the city’s conversion scheme contained a provision reserving to the council the right to repay any debenture that is set to mature after 1940 at a date prior to the maturity dale to he shown on the new debenture. The option might he exercised in a variety of ways, and as the maturity dates of the new bonds after April 4, 1940, extend to April 1, 1958, there is a range of eighteen years during which the, council might or might not determine to exercise its right of repayment. It is now felt that this arrangement does not sufficiently conserve the interests of the bondholders, due to the uncertainty of the currency of the bonds, and that the fairer wny for the council to exercise any option would be to express on all bonds maturing after 1940 the right to repay at any time within three years of the new maturity date. In that event the holder of a bond set to mature on April 1, 1958, would be assured that his investment would .run to within three years of that date for certain, and tlie market value of the bond for resale at any time during the period could be calculated with certainty. As it is desirable that the interests of the bondholders should be fully conserved, the proposed alteration in the provision for exercising the option. at above outlined, has been approved.