KAIAPOI BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3740, 16 January 1873, Page 3

KAIAPOI BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Tuesday, Jan. 14.

The Council met at the usual hour for the! transaction of their ordinarily fortnightly business. Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Councillors Hall, Parnham, Blackwell,andM‘Dbnald.

The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, the clerk laid a statement of accounts upon the table which showed that the receipts for the past fortnight had been—from rates, £2 7s ; rent of bridge, £23 5s sd; fines from Resident Magistrate’s Court, £4 se; total, £29 17s sd. The overdraft at v the bank was shown to be £27 11s Id. The outward correspondence was read; consisting of a letter to the Secretary of the Insurance Association in Christchurch, informing him of the annual cost of maintaining the Fire Brigade, ■ ; Letter to the Colonial Secretary, informing him that Mr E. Q. Kerr had been re-elected Mayor. -■■■■■" A letter was read from the Town Clerk, who was absent on leave, stating that he had been informed, by Mr Craig, Secretary of the Insurance Association, that the insurance offices had-:decided to contribute’ £25 per year towards the maintenance of the Kaiapoi Eire Brigade. No official letter had yet been received, but Mr Craig had desired him to mention the matter to the Council. j A letter was read from the Clerk to the Mandeville and Rangiora Road Board, wishihg- the-Conncil to inform the Board whether they would treat with them in the matter of forming and metalling the Beach road at the northern boundary of the municipality. A letter was read from Mr A. M‘Donald, requesting permission to erect a verandah in front of his shop in Cookson street. . 1

A letter was read from Mr Millar, F.S. A.; Dunedin, explaining that he was collecting impressions of the various armorial bearings and corporate seals of municipalities in thfe Southern Hemisphere, and requesting to be furnished with a duplicate impression of the Kaiapoi borough seal. ! The Mayor ' laid the annual balance sheet of the Christchurch City Council on the table for the information of Councillors.

Referring to the letter from the Clerk re the insurance companies’ annual subscription to the Brigade, the Council expressed an opinion that it was much less than they expected Would be contributed, but as the letter. Was a hbn-offleial one, no further notice was takeh of it. ' - ; , On the motion of Councillor Blackwell, seconded by Councillor Pamham, the application of Mr A. M'Donald was granted,, subject to the usual regulations being complied with. Councillor Parnham .said that with regard to the letter from the Mandeville and Badgioraßoad Bdard on the subject of the Beach Boad, he might'say:that the pubstance of it had beed cpmpiunicatedto him personally by several members of the Beard. The road in question was a chain vride in some places, and only half a Cham wide in others, but the halfchain pieces hda nbt been taken but of the Borough side, pf ...the road. The road from its narrowness tf4s very dangerous; for traps dr drays to pass along, and he believed 1 that if on arrangement were, oodie to between' the Council and’the-Bdad Board, the latter perfectly prepAidd to purchase the half-chain m width which! was required topped, the road bhe brdinaiy Width {torn bne’ edd withe other;The'latter condition woiildohly be carried out provided the Qduncil agreed to pay the half cost of' the formation of : the whole road, dr the metalling of half of it. The ratepayers in the Mandeville district would be better satisfied to have the whole of the road formed than a port of it metalled, as in the latter case the metal Would all fall into the ditches on either side, which were each about six or seven feet wide. If this road were completed it would be a great benefit to the town, as people could drive down to the sea beach comfortably. He would like to see some action taken in the matter.

The Mayor said he fully endorsed what Councillor Parnham had stated, that it would be an advantage to the town to have the road opened up, but there were other works in the town of far more pressing importance than the Beach Eoad, which could not be carried out while the demount of the Council was overdrawn at the Bant. It would not be wise for the Couhcil to act hastily in the matter, and he should suggest that the consideration of the letter be deferred till next meeting, and Councillors could think over it in the meantime. So far as the matter had gone he did not admit that the Council were bound to expend any money on the Beach Road, unless they thought proper to do so. Councillor Hall agreed with the suggestion to defer the consideration of the letter.

Councillor Blackwell expressed a similar opinion, and moved—“ That the receipt of the Mandeyille and. Rangiora Road Board’s letter be acknowledged, and that they be informed that the Council will consider the letter at next meeting, and at once communicate the result.” Councillor M'Donald seconded the motion, which was carried.

Referring to Mr Millar’s letter it was resolved on the motion of Councillor Hall, seconded by Councillor Parnham—“ That the request be granted.” Councillor Parnham handed in the report of the Public Works Committee, of which the following is the substance; —They had inspected the Swing Bridge as instructed by the Council, and found that the contract of repairs by Mr Bowmaker had been completed satisfactorily. The underneath portion of the bndge was in a very dirty state, and the working gear of the swing was almost rendered useless from neglect on the part of the person whose duty it was to oil it. They reoom- ‘ mended that it should be properly oiled at, least once a month. If the under structure

of the bridge were not cleaned the timber would soon Degin to decay. ■ They also recommended that two extra girders should he put’ in between every bay pf piles, in the new part, of the bridge, to prevent so, much vibration,, which,’ atjpreabrit, was very injurious to the bridge. Tne cost, of; the latter would net exceed £2O. During the fortnight tha foreman ,0f works; had been Kept at work clearing sidle channels and footpaths. . I The toll collector was called into the room, and his attention was drawn to the jvorks committee’s report about the oiling apd cleaning of the bridge. He was informed Jby the Mayor that he must oil the machinery’ of the swing at least once a month, and keep the planking of the bridge thoroughly clean. The toll collector promised to do so, and withdrew,

On the motion of Councillor Hall, seconded by Councillor Blackwell, it was resolrbd that the report of the Public Works Committee be received and adopted, and that the clerk be instructed to prepare a specification of the repairs of the bridge in terms of the report, , The Fire Inspector (Mr J. O. Porter) had an interview with the Council, and informed them that he had received £4l 9s from the former inspector (Mr Wright) when he (Mr Porter) took charge of the brigade. The money referred to was subscriptions which had been received in aid of the purchase of A steam fire engine, and they had been received on the understanding that if an engine were not purchased they would be returned. He wished to know whether he was to keep possession of the money or pay it over to the Council. He had spoken .to bis Worship on the subject, and he advised that the former course should be adopted, as if the engine were not purchased, and the money were paid to the Council, there might be some difficulty in getting* it out of the Borough fund. He might say that he would look up the other persons who had promised subscriptions and collect as much as he possibly could. After some discussion Councillor Pamham moved—That the Fire Inspector retain possession of the amount ef subscriptions now held by him in aid of the purchase of a steam fire engine until called upon by resolution to hand the same over to the Council, or refund the amount to the various subscribers.

Councillor Hall seconded the motion, which was carried.

The Fire Inspector stated that No. 1 enginewas out of order, and wanted thorough repairing. - ■

It was resolved that the Fire Inspector be, authorised to get the engine thoroughly repaired at once: The following accounts were passed for payment:—Foreman of works (salary), £7 13s lOd; toll-collector (salary), £9; insurance, £3; clerk (salary and commission)-, £5 6s; total, £2419s lOd.

Councillor Blackwell asked what steps were being taken towards purchasing a steam fire engine for the town. The Mayor said the whole delay was on the part of the insurance companies, who did not appear to he willing to adhere to their former offer of a subscription in aid of the purchase of an engine. The Provincial Council had voted £250 towards its cost; the inhabitants of the town had promised subscriptions towards it to the extent of over £100; the Council were prepared to pay their quota; but the insurance companies, who were directly benefited, could not as yet be induced to adhere to their former 1 not very liberal offer of £75. He thought the Council should communicate with the Insurance Association once more, and if, a satisfactory answer, were not received, let the whole: matter drop through. Councillor Blackwell thought some definite action should be taken id j the matter, and he would move—“ That the -clerk be instructed to write to Mr Craig, as secretary for the Insurance Association,; requesting an answer at once, as to whether or not the*insurance companies intend contributing the £75 formerly promised by them in aid of the purchase of a steam fire engine.” Councillor Hall seconded the motion, which was carried.

The Mayor stated that , the year - for which the Lyttelton Times had been appointed the official newspaper of the Council had expired, and, by a previous-standing; resolution, the Press should be appointed as the official paper for the ensuing twelve months. : On the motion of Councillor Hall; seconded by Councillor Pamham, the Press was apr pointed as the official newspaper to the end of the present year. The Council then adjourned; .