GREYMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL

Grey River Argus, 3 July 1914, Page 7

GREYMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL

ORDINARY MEETING. The ordinary meeting" of the Greymouth Borough Council held last night ■vas attended by the Mayor (G. E. Perkins, Esq.,) Cts. Greenslade, J. Coodall J. McGinley, A Doig, J. W. r.tnbbs J. McGinLey, F. C. Wade, H. F Doosran, G. T. Grace and E. M. Sheedy. CORRESPONDENCE. From G. R. Nazer, with reference ■•■> the drainage connections of three •ouses rAn Shakespeare Street North.— deceived. It was decided to : -nfo-rm the writer 'hat Mr. Russell had been instructed o -carry out the work. From* C. Rose,. Sexton, .asking for the installation of a hot water service ■t his residence.— Received. Referred to the Finance Committee ihe Engineer to fumoish a report. From the Plumbers Board of Nevv Zealand acknowledge receipt of n6ts>. fi cation of the appointment of Mr. W. . O'Donnell as inspector of sanitary plumbing. The Board asked whether •hey were to understand that prior to \pril 23, Mr. o'Donn.ell had not been nspector of sanitary plumbing under the Borough. — Received. The Mayor moved that the Board be informed that the Engineer had always acted as Sanitary Engineer. This was seconded by Gr. Doogan! and carried. From the Dispatch Foundry siting that the Council's inquiry as to whether the hot water service at the foun dry would be available for the proposed tepid swimming baths would be considered at the next meeting.— Re ce/ived. * From tho Greymouth Master Butchers' Association in reply to the Coun cil'? ouestion as to the proposed method of treating th* offal at the abattoirs, and statiner that it was proposed 'o use a steam digester, erected to the satisfaction of the Health Officer, con nocting the blow-off tap. with a saveall containing water to ensure that there • would be no offensive smell vhen blowing off. The offal would be treated daily, the Abattoir manager to have full authority to direct on matters of cleanliness, disinfecting etc The Association considered that the rent of the land required should be .C 1 per annum. —Received. Held over until Committee's report was considered. From (F .D. Thomas, of Epsom, Auckland, stating that _ the non-pay-ment of the ra.tes on his property had been due to an oversight, and asking the Council to accept the amount vwthou'. the interest charged on overdue rates. — Received. The !Mayo ; r moved that Mr. Thont'as hn informed that it was beyond the Council's power to rebate the 10 per cent imposed on all overdue rates. This was seconded by Cr. Grace and carried. .From the Greymouth Harbour Board notif jiJng 1 that the Council's" application for permission to lay gas and water over the bridge from Preston Road to Blaketown had beion referred >o t)»o Board's Engineer with power 0 act. Received. From M. J. Fogarty. secretary of th^ Grevmonth Votor Bus Company, asking the Coimcil to r,efra."n from male ing any alteration in the present arrangements for the Company's service, as if they had to remove from their present tand in Tainui Street, tho convenience of the public would V seriously i n erf ered 'with. He claim »»d that the pnesent stand did not interfere with traiffic or cause annoyance to anj'one. He therefore asked that the motor bus be excluded from onv charge that might be made. — Rereived. Dealt with in committee's report. From the Westport Borough Council forwarding a copy of the remits adopted by, them for consideration at the biennial conference of the Municipal Association in Wellington. — Received. COUNCIL IN COMMITTEE. The Council in Committee met on Thursday, June 25th. at 7.30 p.m. and beg to report as follows: — Treating- offal at Abattoir.— The. question oi permitting the Greymouth Master Butcher's Association to establish a boiling down plant at the Abattoir was considered opinions on the matter having been received from Drs Mor ice, McßTeartv. Junr, and Usher, 'Messrs Cochrane, (Borough Inspector 01 Nuisances). Wilton (Abattoir Inspector), the Secretaries of the Christchurch Meat Co. and the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co.. Mr. Fletcher, Health Inspector attended in person, and plac <»d h;«> views before the Committee. It ■was recommended that the Associa- 1 tion be written to requesting them to f urnish particulars in writing of the process by which it is intended the offal shall be treated during its various stages'; details of the boiling down plant, .area of ground required for binding, etc, the rent the association s prepared to pay to. the^ Council for use of the ground, and how the residue from the digester will be dealt with. Cab-stand. — Regarding the petition presented- to the Council by a number of business people in Tainui Street, praying .that the taxi-cab, motor caT. -.nd cab-stand be removed frgm its nresent position in Ta.inui- Street. It j •s recommended that the stand be re•noved from Tainui Street to Hospital | street, the cabs to stand on the North s : de and the taxi-cabs and motor. cars en the south side, the front cab- taxi' rab. or motor car to take up a posi- ] ion at a point opposite the upstairs entrance of the Post Office, the distance in feet from Tainui' Street to ■o defined by the Borough Engineer: Tenders for the repaars and maintenance of bicycles. — Two tenders for the repairs and maintenance of bicycles used by Borough employees were received, and it is recommended that Vr. Alf White's tender of £21 be accented it being the lower. - : Drain through tMrs. VolhaMe's property. — It was recommended that pow°r h<* given the Mayor to consult with he Engineer re tbp drain to be put -'irouorh Mrs. E. J. Volheide's property- : n Shakespeare Street, with a view todetermining the point where Mrs. Volheide's drain is to connect -with the Borough drain. Street sweeper and scavenging cart. — -It was recommended that the Mayorconfer with the Borough Engineer with ihe 'object of working the street sweep r in conjunction with the scavenging, cart, and that a report be furnished•y next meeting. "The Mayor mentioned that during the discussion ?n committee on the question of the offal treatment, Cr. Doig, who was an ■ interested party, took no part. Cr. Stubbs moved that the letter be referred back to the Master Butchers' as they had not replied to the Council's query as to what would be done with- the residues from the digester. Th'«s was seconded by Cr: Doogaa who said that people living in the vicinity Objected to the -proposal : on health reasons. ""Many quoted the opinions of doctors and pointed out that the district was not too healthy a one already. Even' information should be procured before coming to a final ar-

Cr. Greenslade ..said that the best people to get unbiased reports from were people living in the vicinity of similar digesters^ He wished to help the butchers but not to the detriment of people living in the vicinity. The motion was carried. . The Town Clerk was (instructed to write to the Department of Agriculture with reference to the matter. Cr. Sheedy moved that the road sweeper be suitably housed, or covered with a tarpaulin. This was seconded by, Cr Stubbs pro form. He said that the Council would soon have to face the question- of form ing a Borough yard for housing all gear. Cr. Grace moved as an amendment that the question of housing the Borough plant be deferred till next mretvuT" of the Finance Committee. Cr. Greenslade moved as a further amendment that the housing of , the street sweeper be left in the hands of the Mayor and Engineer with power to act. Cr. Doogan seconded Cr. Greenslade's amendment which was put and carried. Cr Stubbs moved that the Engineer report at the next Finance Committee on the various sites suitable for a Borough yard, and that the matter be then gone into. This was seconded by Cr. Goodall, iTid carried. BOROUGH ENGINEER. The Engineer reported as follows: —"I have to report, that, the usual maintenance works have been carried on during the month where required. That the footway in Preston Road hasbeen completed. In company with the Mayor we visited the part of Prestonu Road between the Harbour Board's railway lines to see what could be done in the construction of 1 cycle track and concluded it was better to let the present track be oised for eyeliner on there being no house abutting on it. and would suggest that the police be asked' not to prosecute for riding on this track from this side of the first railway crossing to the butcher's shop at Lake Street.. The construction of Sawyer's Creek road from Shakespeare St. to Winnie Street : s row in hand. The Contractor for High Street has started his contract and the Milton Road contract is going on as fast as the weather will permit. The plans of Marlborough 'Street are now ready 'or calling for tenders for its construction." The footway in Shakespeare Street has been pegged out and the work will be put in hand next week. On the motion of Cr. Grace, secon ded by a Cr. Greenslade it was decided to call for tenders for the work in Marlborough Street. It was decided to connect Nelson Street with the Abattoir drain, the work to be done by day labour. Cr. Greenslade moved hat the Engiainer report as to the cost of putting Tainui Street from Wade's corner to the Post Office in a good state of repair. This was seconded by Cr. Doig and carried. Cr. Doogan moved that the matter of the crossings in William Street be': left in the hands of the Mayor chairman of works, and Engineer, with power to act. ; This was seconded by Cr. Greenslade and carried. Cr. Doig moved that the Engineer be asked to report on the cost of taking away the water that was running from "Tainui Street to the State School grounds. >.. This was--;.secondej3^)jL-Cr.. Poogariand carried. GAS MANAGER. The Gas 'Manager reported as follows : — Regarding the question of heat .ng water at the Gasworks for the pro posed tepid baths. I may say that there is no waste heat there that could 3e utilized for that purpose. Even if boilers weTe erected at the Gasworks, there may be a difficulty in keeping r> the desired temperature of the water which would have to travel a considerable distance to* the proposed site f the baths. It seems advisable that the boilers should be as close to the site as possible. In this matter I would however suggest that the Council ascertain how tepid swimming baths are heated^in other towns of the Dominion. I believe it will be found that the question of heating the large volume of water required for this purpose is no light matter. It certainly requires careful consideration. Cobden Bridge Lighting.— Four new lamps are needed one at each end of the bridge and two at equail distances on the bridge. I think it only fair that the County Council should pay half the cost of this installation and upkeep of same. As it is intended to keep the bridge open for traffic while the repairs ar.r> being done, light will be needed. I would therefore suggest that th.c County Council be approached^ «n the matter. - RE GAS EXTENSION TO PRESTON ROAD AND BLAKETOWN. As instructed, I have considered the question of supplying gas to Blaketown The whole route has been carefully inspected by His Worship the Mayor. Town Clerk, Borough Engineer and myself, and I beg to submit the following for your consideration: — The best source of supply has first^ to be considered. This as at a point in Leonard Street, close .to the ■Greymouth Club, where a connection was left a few years ago for extension in the direction now under consideration. From that point. I, propose that a 5-in main be laid through Leonard Street past th.c asphalt shed! passing thence to the track leading to Arney Street. The main would then continue over Atrney Street (Bridge on to Preston Road and along the said road to Swift Street, which is at the end of the lagoon. From this point the mar 'a would be reduced^ to 3-in, and continue along beach road to a point near he sale yard. At' Swift Street (at -nd of the lagoon) the main would also be reduced to 4-in . and would he continued around the lagoon through Swift Street to Flowers Street and along Blake Street to Coakley Street. O'Grady, Doyle and the end of Blake , Streets would be supplied by a 3-in main. Reid Street can be supplied from .Blake Street by extending the services through the sections fronting Blake Street. Connections Will be left at various points for future extensions, but what I have outlined will suffice for a considerable period. The distance is 166 chains and the total cost including mains, " : labour, meters, lamps, cartage, .tools, etc. .would be close on ;£ 1.800.. This, how ever, asvfar-as labour items are con cerned. may be reduced as in all probability our regular staff would be able to. do a deal of the" work during Summer months. The whole of the mater ,ials would not be ordered at once. . ■•' The number of dwelling the owners of which have . expressed their willingne's to take gas according- to the petition presented by Cr. Stubbs. is 213, and assu/king that T2O are svnplied and the "tJprage used would be i.ooofti per m-|«h that would mean ■\ . consumption jf\ 1, 200,000 ft Der an•.niim: *'n'- ■wh-i.r.TiV-garm'lfl V>p, adflprl

street lighting- which on the whole route would probably number 25 lamps would bring the consumption up 'to 1,500,000 ft. and the revenue therefrom would be ,£422 18s" 4d. ' From this could be duducted interest and manufacturing charges which would I not be less than £22 5 leaving a net 'profit of £217 18s 46. It must also 1 be. remembered that the interest charges would be* ' gradually reduced and disappear altogether when the capital was paid off in .3 years. The mains proposed to be laid, would also serve a much longer population than 'it present in Blaketown. The cost of fitting up the dwellings 1 of consumers could 1 bo arranged for on the slot meter system >y wrnch payment? for gas A consumed is collected and also small instalments for fitting' at the same time.. Tihis^ is., accomplished by charging, for instance is per t ,000 ft. instead of 7d, the usual price,, the ■fitting account ■■ being credited with the extra sd collecting, so* that at consoimpion of * I,oooft per month ari amount of 4s 2d would go towards liquidating the fitting, account. 1 hav.e no hesitation in recommending the proposals to the ( Council. In my opinion the Blaketown residents ire as much entitled to gas and street lighting as any other part of the Borough. The consumption of gas there .may. equal that registered in more pretentious quarters. In any case one cannot but sympathise with tbA residents of Blaketown in the want ->f light. The street lighting by oil lamps is practically useless— "sttlc loss thnn a waste of. money. The report on the lighting of Blaketown was referred to -he Finance Crvm mittee. . . ,