BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 204, 4 September 1901, Page 3

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

•j The ordinary meeting of the Council was r held last night, there being present : The Mayor (Mr Townley) and Crs Hepburn, 3 Harding, Morrison and Jones. 3 Mr T. J. Tunks wrote, enclosing a copy j of a petition, urging the Government to authorise the construction of a telephone ; line from Frasertown to Lake Waikaremoana. The Mayor was asked to take , the matter in hand and obtain as many 1 signatures to the petition as was possible. The Mayor said they should give the i movement all the assistance they could. Crs Harding and Jones also spoke in favor of the proposal, and it was agreed to support the prayer of the petition. Mr W. Peryer wrote: Be Grey street contract, as I am unable to get Waikanao gravel to complete the above contract, having only been able to collect about fifteen yards in sis weeks, I would respectfully ask to be relieved of that part of the contract, as I expected to be able to collect the gravel while working at the formation. I would be willing to accept the Overseer’s estimate for the formation, which I expect to finish in a few days. The Mayor : The formation is no use unless it is covered. Cr Morrison : It is only waste of money to leavo tho formation without shingle. When the contract was let the beach I gravel was being carted day after day. There was an unlimited supply. i Cr Jones : But it has gone now. In reply to questions the Overseer said that something had been done to the road from end to end.—Matter deferred until Overseer’s l'eport was read. Mr J. J. Bourke wrote as follows : —I beg to offer to your Council my property j at Matawhero, comprising about four acres, as a suitable site for the Gisborne [ abattoirs. This property has a frontage of five chains to the Waipaoa river. An

excellent supply of water—equal to that obtained at Mr Score’s factory—can be obtained at a small cost. There is on the

property a five-roomed cottage, comparatively new, built on a sledge, and which could, if found necessary, be easily removed. The price I ask for the house and land is £SOO.

Cr Morrison said that the Waipaoa river hank was an ideal spot, and it was time they were moving in the matter. Cr Jones said there was a good scour in that river. The Mayor: We’ll refer the matter to

the Abattoirs’ Committee. Cr Morrison: They want waking up; ihe.y will do nothing. The Town Clerk ; The whole Council.

Cr Morrison: Well, the whole Council want waking up. Mr A. F. Bridges, Secretary of the Gis-

borne Beautifying Association, wrote : “ I am directed to forward to you the following resolution, which was carried at a recent meeting of the above Association: ‘ That the Borough Council bo approached with regard to taking Waihirere Gorge, comprising about fifty acres, under the i’ublic Works Act, at once, in order to prevent the destruction of the Native bush now going on—irrespective of its being required for water purposes or not.’ ”

Cr Morrison : It is a big ordor. Cr Harding : It would be easily carried out.

Cr Hepburn said that it was going too far from home.

The Mayor said that tho part was not included in the watershed to be taken.

Cr Hepburn : Why not buy and plant piece near home ?

Cr Harding : Ivaiti Hill ? Tho Mayor: Wo can't plant trees like that. Cr Jones : Tho troublo is we have no funds.

Cr Morrison ; Could wo not give HI for T 1 subsidy ? Tho Mayor : They have not tho funds.

Cr Harding said that while sympathising with the request he did not sec how they could at present assist. lie moved that they reply that they had not the funds to take the area suggested.

Cr Jones seconded the motion. Cr Morrison said he would like to see 50:112 encouragement given. Ti e Mayor said that the plans alone tor the taking of the land would cost about .hot). The motion was carried.

Seme more correspondence was received n regard to road machinery, etc.

Messrs A. Parnell and Co. wrote quotng prices for a street sweeping machine

at J 655, and a steel mud-cart at .£5-1. as per specifications enclosed, the articles to be delivered in Gisborne. These machines, it was added, had been supplied to several of the London vestries, and are the newest and most approved apparatus. On the motion of Cr Harding, it was resolved to reply that the Council was not at present ordering such machinery, but thanking them for the information supplied. The Cemetery Trustees reported as fol-

lows :—The committee appointed by the Council to select a suitable site for the cemetery met on Friday, August i!0, and have to report as follows :—Your commit-

tee, consisting of the Mayor, and Councillors Harding, Lysnar, and Miller, proceeded to the proposed site at To Awapuni, and had the land tested to ascertain at what depth water was to be found. The first trial was at a very low spot near the lagoon, where water was reached at a depth of four feet. Upon going further in'and another hole was sunk to a depth of seven feet, without water being reached, and a third hole resulted in water being reached at seven feet, a result which the committee deemed very satisfactory. They would therefore recommend that the Council take steps at once to secure the site of 51 acres, as per rough sketch, on the proposed arrangement, the Borough paying two-thirds and the County one-third of the cost of same. The suggested area is that portion of land between the Council’s present property and the road near the Awapuni lagoon extending from the sea beach to the hapu on the Gisborne road. In reply to Cr Hepburn, the Mayor said that the site was on the sea side of the road.

Cr Hepburn : And a very line spot too.

Cr Morrison : What about reaching it'? The Mayor : Wc will have to make a road, as wo might have to do anywhere else.

Cr Hepburn : There is a site for abattoirs and everything else there. Cr Jones : It was the worst time of the year to go. The Mayor: Yes, the best for testing it. At the other cemetery the other day water was struck at 4 feet and the sides of the grave fell in. Cr Jones: There is no fear of it being washed away, is there ? The Mayor : I think not; the land is making. Cr Jones said it might ho better to defer the matter for a fuller mooting. Cr Harding urged that there should be no delay. There could bo hardly difference of opinion, and they had the experience previously of losing a valuable piece of land through delay. On the motion of the Chairman the report was adopted, and then on the motion of Cr Jones, seconded by Cr Morrison, it was resolved to take steps to obtain the land.

On the motion of Cr Harding, seconded

by Cr Hepburn, it was resolved that Mr Matthc.vs he authorised to make the survey. The Overseer, Mr M. Morgan, reported as follows :—Grey street contract : This

contract is progressing slowly. I expect that the formation will bo finished by next meeting. Mr Peryer complains of the difficulty in getting gravel from the beach for his contract. Makavaka Domain : Visiting the Domain with Mr Robinson, the Town Clerk, on the 22nd of August, wo found that almost the entire row of willows planted on the river bank by your Council were dead. They appear to have grown for a while, and then to have died off. I think the cause has been the planting of the trees too close to the river’s edge, or that they were planted at too low a level. As soon as the roots strike towards the river they get the salt water from the high tides, and their death is the result. If the Council desires to replant this row, I would recommend the planting to be further from the river’s edge and nearer the fence. The ornamental trees around the boundary fence have very much improved in the last twelve months, with one or two exceptions. The dead plants will require to bo replaced to keep the rows good. I would also recommend that a double row of ornamental trees be planted at the west end of the domain, and fenced off to protect them from the cattle, the length of the fence to

be about seven or eight chains. There is under offer to your Council a very suitable and cheap building for a tool shed and workshop, which is much needed, and should your Council sec fit to purchase the same, I think you will find it sound and good. Day labor, £'2l 19s Gd.

In regard to Poryer’s contract the Town Clerk said that 630 yards had to be shingled. The Mayor said it would bo bettor not to have touohed the work than that it should be loft only formed, for tho sand to he blown away in tho summer. In reply to questions, the Overseer said that beach shingle was specified. At present tho shingle was not obtainablo in large quantity. When any came up all tho carters wore at once after it.

Cr Jones said that if ti>c shingle could not be obtained it gave them a difficult matter to deal with ; the contractor would have something to bo said for him. Cr Hepburn : Let him go on until next meeting. On tho motion of Cr Harding, seconded by Cr Jones, it was resolved that tho matter be referred to the Works Committee. A discussion took place as to the trees. Cr Harding thought that tho trees should ho planted this season, and it was agreed to plant the willows as early as convenient. It was also resolved that tho ornamental trees bo replanted and fenced off. Cr Hepburn suggested that trees known as tree lucerne bo planted. In reply to a question, the Town Clerk said that the Domain Board had plenty of funds.

The question of a tool shed was allowed .o stand over.

Mr .T. 11. Little, Sanitary Inspector, reported that the tanks were being cleaned ; the few that had not yet bom attended to would be cleaned before he gave a certificate. By next meeting ho would give the approximate tankage capacity in tho Borough ; in some cases the tankage was insufficient under tho by-laws. As to the drain between Derby and Grey streets, there were only two ways of getting the water from the sections. One was to fill in tho sections, and the other was to take up tho drain pipes laid across Grey street and re-lay them, with additional pipes to the end of Kahutia street, and from that point by open drain to the Waikanae.

In regard to the drain, Cr Harding said that the suggestion was to open up a drain that they had previously closed. Councillors thought it was not their duty to go to expense for draining private sections in this way.

The Mayor proposed that tenders be called for a supply of 1000 yards of metal. They might be able to arrange with the railway authorities for river shingle, but would require all the Patutahi metal they could get for the main road. Cr Hepburn seconded the motion, which was carried.

In reply to Cr Jones, the Mayor said they would not be able to get the metal yet, but should call for the tenders as soon as possible. Cr -Jones : What about funds '? The Mayor : We must have the metal. The Mayor said that no reply had yet been received from Mr Carroll in regard to the loan. It- was agreed to send a letter again calling Mr Carroll's attention to the matter.