BOROUGH COUNCIL

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2422, 10 February 1909, Page 6

BOROUGH COUNCIL

FORTNIGHTLY AIEETING

The ncual fortnightly meeting o! the Borough Council was held last night. Present: His Worship the Mayor (Mr. W. D. Lysnar) and Councillors Sheridan, Pettie, Somervell. WJiiiirav, and Bright. An apology for non-attendance was received from Cr. Mann. CORRESPONDENCE. A letter was received from Air. W. Lissant Clayton respecting the damage done by one of the Council’s carts to the fence of the property occupied by Mr. T. A. Crawford, and owned by Mr. A. *F. Kennedy. 4 lie cost of the repairs was given at £3 18s, and the letter asked the Council to have the repairs effected.—Discussion followed the reading of the letter, and some councillors were of opinion that as precautions against accident had been taken by the driver of the cart, the Council were not- legally liable. It was eventually decided that the overseer be instructed to have the necessary repairs effected. Air. H E. Hill. Registrar of Electors., wrote regarding the election of the Licensing Committee on March 9th, and stating the cost of such election to be £265. —On the motion of Cr. Sheridan, it was resolved that the presidents of the No-License League and tlio Licensed Victuallers’ Association be communicated with, with a view to arranging for a conference to endeavor to arrange a compromise, by means of which the expense of an election would be avoided.

Air. H. AL Porter, as Returning Officer, formally notified the Council that the recent loan proposals had been rejected. Cr. Bright asked that the Town Clerk be instructed to prepare for the next meeting of the Council a statement of the actual cost of putting the recent loan proposals before the ratepayers. The Alayor said that as the ratepayers had seen fit to refuse the proposals, great care must be taken in the matter of expenditure, as not Is would be available for any new woi'k. as the finances of the borough were so limited.

A petition was received from a number of ratepayers, owners of septictanks, protesting against the proposed enforcement of the by-law to charge £1 yearly for each closet flushed with water within the borough.—Cr. Bright gave notice to move at next meeting of the council that the existing by-law be rescinded, with a view to acceding to the request. A letter was received from Aiessrs. Pilcher Bros., butchers, protesting against the proposition to abolish the hawking of meat in the borough. The Town Clerk read the by-laws existing on the question in other centres, and it was decided to hold the matter over pending a report Horn the Sanitary Committee. A number of other unimportant letters were received, and at the conclusion of the reading of the correspondence, Or. Bright asked leave to withdraw., as he had an important engagement to attend to in connection with the Townley presentation in the Garrison Hall. The Mayor and Councillors expressed regret that the function had' been fixed for the night on which the Council met. Cr. Bright was, however, authorised to represent the Borough Council at the function, and to convey to Air. Townley the hearty congratulations of the Council. REPORTS. The following reports were received and adopted:— NIGHTWATCHMAN ’S REPORT. ilr. IV. Frazer, night-watchman, reported that since the last meeting of the Council there had been no fires in the borough. He asked for a fortnight’s leave of absence. On the motion of Cr. Pettie, the request was granted, and appreciative remarks were made of the excellence of the n-ightwatohman’s services. OVERSEER’S REPORT. The report of the Overseer (Air. TV. Morgan) was as follows: —“The work in the town has been very sparing of late. Tarring.—l have had the block between Lowe Street and Customhouse Street patched. This should re. ccive a coat of tar over the. whole block this season. I am tarring the path in Upper Gladstone Road. This path was in a very bad state, and much needed tarring. Other general repairs -are "being done as far as possible with the present staff. The tanks at the fire-shed used for filling the water cart have given out beyond repair, and it became necessary to replace them, as there was no other means of filling the watering cart when the water was cut off. The hoppers at flic quarry are now at work. The rails "are being laid at the gravel pit for the engine. Aiessrs. Chambers and Son’s representative has arrived to put the engine together.” SANITARY INSPECTOR’S REPORT Mr. C. H. Ferris, Acting Sanitary Inspector, submitted the following report:—“Town Sanitation. —Since your last meeting J. have the honor to state that I have again inspected lin various parts of the borough, including the brick area. I find the sanitary condition of the brick area is steadily improving. Those who in the past allowed their paper and other matter to accumulate to sonic extent now have it cleared regularly. In reference to the receptacles lor household rubbish, I may mention that a large number of places, have -installed the regulation bin, which is undoubtedly a great improvement, both from a sanitary point of view and also as regards cleanliness. There a re ,i however, a great number of places which have not yet complied with the Council’s request in purchasing these articles, and summonses will be issued at an early date. Smell in River.—As requested, I have given this matter considerable attention, and have investigated every drain and other places which would bo likely to cause the nuisance, from tiho Wliafcaupo'ko bridge to the Gut Factory above Nelson Bros., and I have no hesitation in saying that the Gut Factory is responsible for; the bulk of the smell. At the place where it enters the river, it comes through -a wooden drain, which is in a- bad state of-re-pair, and -allows the stuff to spread over the mud„ and when I visited the place again this morning, in company with Mr. Little, the stench was almost unbearable. This; in conjunction with the septic tanks at the works above, which are equally as

.-ad, is-to my mind an abominable muancc, and the - only way to deal with b is to prohibit anything draining in.o the river from the works.

..“River Drains. —These drains, I have no doubt, not being extended lo low water, and emptying as they .do on the mud, all help to further Jin nuisan.ee referrred to above.

“As previously requested, I instructed tlio School Committee to extend the Derby Street drain to lowwater,. which I believe is receiving attention; others will receive notice in due course.” , ' .

The Alayor said that the smell in the river was exceedingly bad, and some steps would have to be taken to remedy the existing evil. There, was no doubt that the stench arose from the drain into the river at Messrs Nelson Bros.’ factory above the works it Taruhe.ru. After considerable discussion, it was resolved to give notice to Aiessrs,Nelson Bros, to have the nuisance abated, and also to notify the District Health Officer regarding the position. Notices of motion standing in Crs. Darton and - Sheridan’s names were allowed to stand over until next meeting. Accounts amounting to £447 l’ls 6d were passed for payment, and the meeting adjourned.