NELSON CITY COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 15 June 1907, Page 2

NELSON CITY COUNCIL.

FORTNIGHTLY MEETING. The fortnightly meeting of the Nelson City Council was held last evening. Present— Tha Mayor (Mv J. Piper), Cis. Grace, Hampson> McGonchie, Bisley, iTranklyri, Snockrass, Field, Robertson, Cr- Llphtbarid was excused owing to indisposition. The minutea of the previous meeting were read, and confirmed. The fortnightly statement of accounts was as follows :

£ s. d. General Account 173 10 3 Gasworks Account 282 6 1 Waterworks Account 15 0 0 Abattoir Account 42 6 G fridges Ml 9 I Gas Reticulation ... 814 0 Interest 156 3 0 Contractors' Deposits 3 0 0 Drainage 104 8 0 Trtal £804 15 5 j The repmt showed the state ot the j Baku Balances to be as follows :— Dr. <->'• , £. s. d. £. s. d. General A/c 12 802 8 4 £*" ;; ™7« * Interest 1415 16 0 Abattoir,, 410 18 7 Hospital and Cbalitable Aid £_!! £19^07 5 3 £435 11 6 Cr, Cemeteries Trust Account 87 910 Contractors' Deposits Account 280 U u Trafalgar Pant Account 33 1 1 Drainage loan Intest Ac 173 5 0 Oas Reticulation Loan Ac. 4 gg , i h Renewal Loan Account do 10 ° Bridges Reinstatement Loan Account 2496 8 6 Pr. Bank Balance ... JE19.159 0 7 CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence was read and considVtveat many letters were received complaining of the state of roads and footpaths, and these with others in reference to minor matters were reterred to Committee. Mr W Newport wrote stating that he could not renew the contract for the sanitary service on the same terms as Deviously as his men would have to be paid mote, an additional hand would bo r«qiured, and there were other increased expenses. He could not renew the contract unless he was paid 5d for each service.— Referred to Finance Committee with power to act. Mr F. W. Fairey informed the Council that he intended c'.-eoting a plant for the treatment of . offal from the AKatfkir, and suggesting that he should meet the Abattoir Committee or the Council to discuss the matter.—Hesolved that the Abattoir Committee would be pleased if Mr Fairey would wait upon them. Messrs Langlands and Co. offered to sell the plant at the Brook-street quarry for £350.— Resolved that the writers be informed that owing to lack of funds the Council could not entertain the offer. FINANCE COMMITTEE'S REPORT. The Finance Committee reported : On letter from residents Toi Toi Valley: That the gas main be extended at the earliest opportunity provided the residents sign a guarantee to take the gas. On letter from Citizens' Band : 1 Consideration deferred. On letter from elson Tinware Company : That I£tnch gas main from Blorrison-street be connected with the Tinware Company's premises, and the Jinch main in Sel= I wyn Place be extended to connect with the Hindi main in Mo:V:son-street. On letter from Mr J. Day : That Mr Day be refunded half the amount paid. As' to the arrears of rates: That tne persons named in the list be given three days', notice, and sued if arrears ;i.'B not paid. On letter from Mr E. T:ask : That this letter be referred to the Special Abattoir Committee. That 1 (he form of the return of expenditure sugegsted by Cr. Hampson be adopted in lieu of the form at present in ! use. ; As to clause 1, the Mayor said he ■ would like it to be known that the ■ Council must know how many people 1 would take the gas when extensions ' were asked for. The repr'.t was adopted. • WOItKS COMMITTEE'S REPORT. TTie Piibli'i; Works Committee reported: — On. letter from Mr , A. F. Moore :. That Mr Moore be granted permission to cut down the tree in Victory Square under the supervision of ■ the foreman of works. On letter from '< residents Toi Toi Street: Consideration deferred. On letter from Mr E. Rishwcth : That a small footpath about 4ft 1 wide be formed along the line of the ; fence, cost about £7 10s. On letter from Mr Woollett: That a few loads of ashes be placed on the track. On letter fiom residents Weka-street : That the dtch be cleaned out, the bottom filled in with boulders, nnd the top with gravel, cost about £30. As to destructor for tip : That the recommendation of the Inspector of Nuisances be carvied out; that the roadway to the tip be closed fnr heavy traffic. As to Wai-mii-street: That the matter stand over till the pipes for drainage are laid. As to fences, Botanical Reserve : That orovided a suitable tenant can be found for grazing, the fences be put into Tood repair. As to Examinee-street : That this road be patched. As to application for drain connector's license 'Eames) : That this application stand iver until the appointment of the new drainage engineer. It was resolved to defer the first -natter referred to in the report until he next meeting, and to spend a sum not exceeding £3 on patching Examin-"■-.•-street. The remainder of the report was adopted. SPECIAL COMMITTEE'S REPORT. The Special Abattoir nnd Water o;>mmitf<\| reported: — 1. As to Abat•oir: That information be obtained 'rom Invercargil), Timaru, Napier, Wanganui, and Greymouth as to the system upon which the Abattoirs in 'hese places are worked — contract or lav labour — the number of animals ! killed per day— number of men employed and wages paid amount of killing fees per head, and whether the Abattoir is self-supporting. 2. As to Waterworks : That inquiries be made from Auckland, Wellington, Napier, Timaru, Wanganui, and Greymouth as to the charges fa.' water by meter with minimum, and as to the make of metsr used and cost of same. Adopted. MAYOR'S REPORT. The Mayor reported as follows : — 1. Permits had been granted Mr Grimmett for additions to drain, Central Hotel, a(nd for construction of cesspit on behalf of Mr Gascoigne. 2. The footpath, Milton-street, had been completed at a cost of £2 5s 6d. 3^ The new bridge, Bronti-street, had 'been put in hand, and was expected to be completed by next meeting. By substituting some of the timber from the built-up beam f ronu. Normanby Bridge, in lieu of concrete, a saving of about £20 would be effectod. He called attention to the need of a place to store ths timber from Normanby Bridge, and recommended a vacant section behind bell tower, H&rdy-street. Thte old building in corporation yard, if removed, would give more "room in the yard, and enable the Council to erect a shed and place under cover the sweeper and other plant and material which perish by exposure, besides giving more light to the gas fitting department shop. 4. The following was the report of the gasworks foreman for the month of May :— Coal carbonised : Westport, 193 tons scwt; Abermain, 69 tons 6cwt ; shrinkage, 13 tons 2cwt ; total, 275 tons 13cwt. Gas produced, 3,228,600 cubic feet, or 11,712 feet psr ton of 19 candle power. Coal in stock, 23 tons; coke, 600 bags. Residual products were sold to the amount of £162 17s lid. (Note.— 44 tons of coal wa-e used in May, 1906, in excess of May, 1907.) This was eminently satisfactory, as 40 tons of coal were used in April, 1906, in excess of April, 1907; seeing that 84 tons less coal — representing a money value of £100 16s — have been used in addition to which there had been an excess of cash received for gas in April 1907

of £21, and in May ol £5, a tct.il o) £26. In othor words, theeo figurci showed lhat, an u result of proper attention to leakages a saving of £12fc 16s had been effected in two months. He called attention to the following let ler received from the foreman of tin -»aswoiks : — "June 11, 1007. — f wish V 1 I call your attention to the merits of thc 1 j following coals : Newcastle and un I j screened and slack Westport. — My cx ?)prit' ( iico with Newcastle ioal is a, ollows : (1) With good nut coal il saves the fire bars; (2) makes the tai thin, and so prevents blocked pipes (3) it makes good coke (sold at ls 3c. per bag); (4) increases tho illuminat I ing power. Lately we have been us I ing Westport unscreened. and slack coal. The two coals are workin-. very well together, and will produce I about 11,000 cubic feet of gas pei ton. This from coal of gcod quality : if wo can get a hard coal„ so much thc better. There is room in the retort house lv: 60 or 70 tons of good slack. In most of the New Zealand gaswork; unscreened and slack coal is burnt. J think we should burn the same witl: good results. During the last few I days the candle p(>wer of -'the gas has increased to 19. The photometer is in good working order. We shall be able to see the results of Westport coal before the Newcastle arrives. (Signed) James Ht-.-t." He also enumerated certain goods needed for the gas department. Cr. Field complimented the Mayor on his report. Very few ratepayers knew how much time the Mayor devoted to the work of the city. He moved that the goods required be deredCr. Snodgrass seconded the motion, and endorsed what had fallen from Cr. Field. Motion carried. The Mayor thanked Councillors for their remarks, and said he would continue to do his best for the city. OTHER REPORTS. The Inspector of Nuisances reported that the City was free from infectious disease. The Mayor suggested that Mr Graham be appointed Building Inspector and Drainage Inspector. Cr. Field moved that Mr Graham be appointed Building Inspector, and that the question of a drainage inspector be held over until the _ drainage bylaws were framed. — Carried, The Abattoir report showed that the number of cattle slaughtered for the fortnight was as follows :— Cattle 75 calves' 9, sheep 552, lambs 117, pigs' 41; total 774. TFNDERS FOR TRENCHING. Only one tender was received for pas trenches in Collingwood-street, viz from Messrs Cody and Finnigan, at 18s a chain.— Tender accepted. ORDINARY BUSINESS. Cr. Grace moved that the Gas Committee report on the impro.ved gasreticulation, and submit a comprehensive scheme for expending the money raised. Many were out of employment, and there would be many ad vantages if the money was more rap idlv expended. Cr. Field seconded the motion. Cr. Hampson rem/ - kecl that h-p thought they were pushing on with the work. Cr. Snodgrass moved all amendment that specifications be immediately prepared for the Cambria-street trenches half the street to be done by con tract and half by day labour, as 'a test of the respective methods. Cr. Fcanklyn seconded the amendment. The amendment was temporarily withdrawn and the motion carried. The Council at 10 p.m. adjourned for 10 minutes. On the Council resuming, Cr. Hampson moved and Cr. Field second ed that the usual rate for siuh pur poses be charged for the water used fee the organ at the Presbyterian church. Cr. Snodgrass moved that specifications be prepared and an equal length of trenching for the gas main in Cam-bria-street be done by day labour and by contract, and thgt the Gas Committee have power to call for tenders. Cr. Hampson thought in view of the money avails bis it would be advisable to thoroughly define the scheme before doing anything farther in the reticulation scheme. Cr. Robertson said there would be er.ough money. Cr. , Bisley supported Cr. Hampson'? remarks: The motion was carried. Cr. Bisley asked that the Town Clerk prepare a statement showing the names of thc various Council employee? and the amount paid them. — It- was stat-d that the statement would be prepared. On thc motion of Cr. Snodgrass it was resolved that Ihe Council men turn out at fires, as was done formerly, ancl give assistance. FOREMAN OF WORKS POINTED. Cr. Franklyn moved his motion in regard to the appointment of Mr R. Kenny as foreman of works at £3 10f a week. C-. Grace seconded the motion. Cr. Field asked Cr. Franklyn to add that Mr Kenny be appointed fcr six months. Cr. Franklyn agreed to the suggestion. Cr. Bisley would support the motion now that the appointment was for sis months. The Mayor supported the motion, which was carried unanimously. The Council went into Committee on Drainage matters. Mr Roberts, Clerk of Works, wrote drawing attention to an error he had made as to the cost of extra pipes, and the explanation was accepted. Mr Mestayer wrote stating that he saw no reason for cancelling section "C" in connection with the outfall sewer and substituting "B, M as the specifications made it clear that the engineer-in-charge had power to substitute if that was necessary. Mr Mestayer requested levels of streets that he at present knew nothing about. Cr. Bisley expressed surprise. How could Mr Mestayer say that the drainage scheme .would cost £55,000 if hc did not know the- levels? It was something like the Harbour Board. The drainage scheme might cost £100,000. instead of £55,000. It Wii3 resolved that the new drainage engineer take the levels required. Messrs Langlands wrote in reftcence to a progress payment in connection with the septic tank contract, and it was resolved that the matter be held over until next meeting. The Council rose at midnight.