ELTHAM BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 19 May 1928, Page 6

ELTHAM BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

MEETING OF COUNCIL. The monthly mesting of the Eltham Borough Council was held last evening, when there were present: Hie Mayor Mr I J Bridger). and Councillors L. Nairn A. C. Ricketts, G. W. Peebles, R. L.' Garden, G. W. Tayler, J. O’Hagen and A. H. Kemp. HOSPITAL RADIO FUND. The Mayor of. Hawera wrote, stating that a public meeting of all societies and clubs within the hosiiptal board area would be he'd in the Hawera Borough Chambers on Monday, May 28, and asked the council to appoint delegates. (The meeting would decide whether the effort would be proceeded with, and ,if so. ways and means of raising funds would be discussed. On the motion of Cr. Tayler, the Mayor and Crs. Ricketts and Iveinp were appointed to represent tho Council. The Main Highways Board advised that the following amounts had been allocated to the council for subsidy on main highway maintenance up to March 31. 1927 : Aucdtland T Wellington, £369 •3s; Ei’tham-Rawhitiroa, £l9l 19s; El-tham-Opunake. £77 8s @d ; total, £638 lOs 6d.—Received. The secretary of the South Taranaki Returned Soldiers’ Association wrote, stating that the trustees had made a grant to the council of £lO, and asking 'or particulars of the cases. The council had obtained a grant for a similar ■mount from the Eltham Progress Committe. and together with the council’s own subsidy this would he expended on labour, making improvements to sections recently acquired by the council, xt which unemployed .soldiers would- be employed.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. Heads of departments reported on the month’s operations as follows: Borough Overseer. Roads. —'The metalled portion of York Street (12 chains) and 15 chains of Con wa v Road from Derby Street to North Street was scarified, graded and clay binded. The 18-inch culvert at the dip, Conway Road west, was lowered. . Footpaths.—Footpaths m Tayler Street, Bridge Street west, Stanners Street, George Street, Conway Road, Mountain Road south and Aloir Street near the railway station have received attention. Water and Drainage.—This service ■ dill remains good, and strict attention to same is being maintained. Sanitary Inspector. Infections Diseases.—Three cases of a notifiable nature were reported— Jipiitheria two, pneumonia one. The usual steps to prevent its spread were taken in each case. Drainage and Plumbing.—One new sewer drain was tested and found satisfactory. a ant-ary. —Inspections were made luring tne month with the council inspector. Steps were taken to remedy sanitary defects where- found. Rubbish Depots.—Both the depots in Eltham Road and Castle Street were seen by tne medical officer of Health. Dr. Mecredy is of opinion the Eltham. Road depot should be closed on account of the unsuitability •of the site. The whole of the rubbisii should henceforth be deposited in the Castle Street depot-, or alternately a new site in lieu of the Eltham Road might be found. The site in Castle Street was found to be- levelled off, and presented a tidy appearance. Foodstuff Premises. —As was mentioned in my last report, notices have been served in several instances, in order to bring premises into compliance with the requirements of the regulations and a stricter measure of cleanliness ensured for the future.

Abattoir Manager. The. slaughterings at the municipal abattoirs were: One bullock, JOl cows, three calves-, 277 sheep, six iambs, 37 pigs. One sheep and two cows were condemned. Inspector and Ranger. In conjunction with the health inspector a general inspection was earned out. in tue case of butchers’ premises and eating houses, notices were served where necessary before relicensing. Eight head of stock were impounded and released. COMMITTEES’ RECOMMENDATIONS. The Finance Committee recommended : That the council contribute the sum of £4 13s towards the elimination of the South Road railway crossing at Hawera in term® of arrangements made at a meeting of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association; that Air. A. E. Lethbrdge be appointed traffic inspector for the borough of Eltham; that the Taranaki Electric Power Board he requested to give consideration in respect of the amount paid by the council for street lighting in estimating the amount payable by the council for the availability rate.

The Works Committee recommended that the following works be undertaken during the current financial year, in addition to the usual maintenance work: —Mangawhero Road : Resurface tarred roadway from Castle Street to High Street (40 chains). Castle Street: Resurface tarred roadway (70 chains). Conway Road: Widen tar sealing and resurface from Higli Street to Castle Street (17 chans). Collingwood Street: Widen tar surface between Bridget* Street and Clifford Street and resurface entire length (50 chains). Mountain Road: (a) Cut down mound two feet at Anderson Road corner and widen tar surfacing to 18 feet, with a backing of metal three feet wide on each side; (b) widen tar sealed roadway at various parts where required. Moir Street: Tar surface portion of roadway between Bath Street and Meuli Street (seven chains). Cornwall Street: Tar surface footpath on western side between Bourke Street and Moir Street (14 chains). Preston Street: Kerb, channel and asphalt footpath on western side from Bridge Street to- domain gates (six chains). Hill Street: Kerb and channel balance of footway on western side and tar surface entire length' (nine chains). Moir Street: Kerb, channel and asphalt footpath on northern side from Meuli Street to Hill Street (four chains). The above works, together with usual annual standing charges (less refunds and subsidies) will involve an appropriation of .-£2500 from the general revenue. That the- application of the Men’s Hockey Chib for the use of the hockey ground on Thursday afternoons during the forthcoming hockey season be granted, subject to a payment of £1 Is towards the funds of the Domain Board. That the Ladies’ Hockey Club he also granted the use of the grounds, subject to a payment of 10s 6d towards the fund® of the Domain Board. That pinus insigni.s required to plant a shelter belt round- the

eucalypti plantation on the Soldiers’ Memorial Park be procured', also 6000 eucalypti trees to replace failures in the plantation. That . authority be given for tlie purchase of a children’s chute-slide for the Taumata Park at a cost not to exceed £l3. The foregoing recommendations were adopted. Receipts for the month totalled £1167 5s 9d, the main sources of revenue being:—Rates £202 2s, gasworks £282 14s Id, town hall £294, motor lorry license fees £256 Is lOd. The principal items in an expenditure of £638 Is 9d were: —General account £241 10s lid, gasworks £lO9 l&s lOd, town hall £254 6s 3d. A statement, as at April 30, showed the following bank balances in credit: —District fund £1062 5s 4d, domain fund £1 17s lOd, cemetery fund £26 7s 9d, sewerage loan £4O 17s Id on fixed deposit £IOOO. A comparative statement of gasworks receipts and expenditure for the month of April in 1926, 192 1 and 1928 showed : —Receipts —1926, £3OB 14s 2d: 1927, £283 0s lOd; 1928, £282 14s. Expenditure —1926, £314 0s lid; 1927 £2OO 8s 3d; 1928, £lO9 10s lOd. Gasworks sales for tlie month were: —Fittings (£8 4s 2d, coke £39 lis 6d, tar £6 15s, ashes 6s; total £55 2s Bd. Accounts amounting to £634 15s 8d were passed for payment. GENERAL. The finance committee proposed to hold, a series of gas-cooking competitions at an early date. The Town Hail and Picture Committee had allocated expenditure on picture publicity for the ensuing year as follows;—Local newspaper advertising 36125; outside newspaper advertising £SO; general publicity, £75. The Mayor and Cr. L. Nairn were appointed to represent the Council at tne annual meeting of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association to be held m Eltham on Wednesday, May 30.