BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 22 May 1923, Page 2

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

I MONTHLY MEETING. The ordinary meeting was hell last night, there being present the Mayor I (Mr. L. A. iionej, Crs. j3urdekin, I Rogers, Surrey, Goodwin, Morrissey, i Townseud, Brunette, Champion, and ! Reid. I Aii application from Messrs. Hurrell ■ Bros, for relaxation of by-law re No. 1 j brick area, enabling them to erect a ■ subdivision of shop, was carried. | Messrs. Curtis and Spragg asked per- ! mission to erect a temporary wood and j iron shelter shed for storing vehicles, j 114 feet from High Street and 50 i'eet from Victoria Street. Cr. Townseud moved that it be held over until the inspector's report had been received. Or. Morrissey said it was not good to encourage wood or iron in the brick area. He would move as an amendment that the council cannot accede to the request owing to its being in the brick area. Cr. Burdekin suggested that it be held over until it is seen where it will be located. He would like further inform atio*. ;.. Cr. Champion agreed and said it could bo dealt with when the report came. : The amendment was lost, and the motion was then, carried. An application was received for the erection of skin and hide works in Albion Street. : Cr. Burdekin moved that it be not granted. i Cr. Brunette .said that all such busij nesses should bo outside the borough. lln the old days there was a fellmongery and tannery near the present abattoirs j Cr. Pcwnscnd a.sked if'they were affected by the present position of the council having similar business on a Lorough lease. j Or. Morrissey considered it should be left to the sanitary inspector to say if ;it is right or wrong. The sanitary byj laws should be followed. If it were i becoming a nuisance the council had very full powers. He could not sup- • port the motion. | The motion was carried. I An application was received from the; Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society for | Prison Gate Work for a donation.—lt ■ was agreed that no donation could be : given. ■, In reference to the question of com-' bined drainage, Or. Burdekin said it was proper to keep the council's rights open, and that instructions be : given, to the inspector to refer such a. j question to the council. It was a matter of policy and the by-laws might j need further modification.—The mat- | ter cropped up as the result of a change m tenants. I 'The matter of the old site of the Technical School being used as a library , was referred to the Library Committee. » It was decided that Messrs. J. G. Osborne, H. L. Spratt and J. G. Grant ,be the council's appointees to the Fire ,- Board. ) It was resolved that the council meet' ;on May 30 to go into the question of . the new borough leases, and that the ' . Library Committee meet on Monday, i May 28. y'\ | Tfc was shown that the council had ' power under the Health Act. ' Hodder and Tolley's application to store benzine was granted. The question of some all night j lighting in High Street was referred to the Lighting Committee with power to act. ; The Greater Hawera Committee's report was confirmed. , WORKS COMMITTEE. j The Works Committee recommended that three lamps (about 50 c.p.) be placed in High Street, at the corners of Princes, Union, and Victoria Streets, same to be lit from midnight till dawn. GENERAL COMMITTEE. The General Committee recommend;- --; ed: That application by Mrs. Loreta 1 Mary Parsonson for a second-hand dealer's license be granted'; that relaxa. j tion of building by-laws be granted as Lasked by Hurrell Bros.; that the matter of verandah re Hurrell Bros, be left in the hands of the Works Committee, with power to act; that J. { Harrington's application for relaxation of building by-law be granted, subject to inspector's approval; that Mrs. { Henrietta Gilmour's application for i lodging-house license be granted; that | application by the Hinemoa Ladies' Hockey Club for use of Park grounds to hold tournament on June 4 be grantj ed, and also permission be given to ■ charge Is admission; that Railway DeI partment be informed that the council j cannot see its way to alter conditions Ire fire water service; that the council support the Stratford Borough Council lin respect of a resolution re motor speed ! records; that a remit be sent to the Municipal Association that in lieu of . the present system the Mayor be elected by the council from among its own ! members; that a remit be sent to the Municipal Association urging that the Government be approached* with a view •to arranging, if possible, that all build- ! mg operations on behalf of the Crown shall be subject to and comply with the by-laws of the local bodies concerned; • that the Mayor and Cr. Burdekin be appointed as the council's representatives on the general executive re the "Week for the Empire"; that the or.ganiser re Empire Week be granted permission to erect three arches as desired, subject to the Winter Show Com. pany. accepting all responsibility and the work being carried out to the inspector's satisfaction; that the matter of repairing council buildings lie" referred tr> the Works Committee, with power to act re calling tenders, etc.; that the Electric Company's letter re permanent pole at Park stage be considered by the council nest November; that the Works Committee report, re dead end in Little ( R«geht Street; that the matter of selfcontained drains be referred to the By- ; laws Committee; that the recommenda- . tiori of the last council relative to up- ! keep of cemetery plots be adopted; that , the matter of garden plots re new subdivision be referred to the Parks and Reserves Committee; that letter and statement received from the SwimminoClub in March be referred to the Baths Committee; that a copy of the sanitary inspector's report r e water used at the public school be sent to the Education Board, also a letter stating that fail- - mg steps being taken to comply with i the suggestions, the council will be forced to consider the necessity of charging for the water used. . ENGINEER'S REPORT. j The engineer (Mr. J. Sturrock) reported as follows: — Tar having at last arrived at the end of a tar and bitumen famine, repairs are being effected to footpaths and streets. It is almost too late in the

season for such work, but cracks and similar repairs must bo attended to before the wet season sets in. Ther« is little to report upon this mouth, the, work having been that duo to oVdiuary maintenance. 1 would like to try to get some of the loan moneys as soon as possible to avoid having to dispense with the services of one or Wo of the staff. You are well aware that the present staff lias been selected from time to rime from the gangs'employed in the loan works, in part at least, and most are expert workers in one brunch or another. There is scarcely enough in the maintenance of the borough to keep them all employed to the very best efficiency, and yet we should not lose their services when there are still some loan works to be clone. Just at present they a,re all profitably engaged, but it may be more difficult shortly? It would be better that their wages should be paid out of loans than out~of the general account, if we are in a position to again proceed with some of the loan works. LIBRARY REPORT. The librarian (Miss Newland) reported that 32 new books were added during the month. Ten new members joined, and 18 left for various reasons, leaving 424 on the list, the same number as for corresponding month of last year. The plan of keeping several copies of weeklies in one holder in the news room is not at all satisfactory, and I would suggest that extra holders be provided. The present arrangement means that one reader has the mon- . opoly of all four papers, and so it is quite a common thing to find them scattered all over the table in a hope- ; less state of chaos, which takes a considerable time to straighten up. Many' complimentary remarks have been passed by new members on the books supplied, but we really need more than are at present being bought; also ex- . tra copies of the best and popular s novels. In the past two years two, and often three, copies have been bought SANITARY REPORT. I The sanitary inspector (Mr. F. G. . Coleman) reported that during the month of April one plumbing and two drainage permits were issued; 77 premises were inspected and any necessary notices issued; 4 plumbing jobs were in- , spected, and 4 drains of a total length ; of 310 ft were inspected and tested. I INSPECTOR'S REPORT. 1 The borough inspector (Mr. Phelan) reported: During the past month I j have not had the time for many house j inspections, most of my time being taken up in. getting licenses renewed for the coming year. In company with Mr. Welton, Government inspector of , dangerous goods, I visited all the firms storing benzine, etc., and inspected all ] the different storage places for same. ! This year there is a far greater quan- I tity being stored by different firms than previously. Several well constructed I depots have been erected, or are under j way, capable of holding large quanti- ', ties. The plans for these have been j passed both by the Government in- \ spector and by myself. I issued serera.l notices during the month to have hedges trimmed. These were all attended to except one.