MOTUEKA BOROUGH COUNCIL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLV, Issue XLVIII, 8 July 1914, Page 6

MOTUEKA BOROUGH COUNCIL

• . MONTHLY MEETING. [From Our Own Correspondent.) The usual monthly meeting; of the Motueka Borough Council was held last evening. . There were present —His Worship the Mayor (Mr P. G. Moffatt), Crs. llnmbold, Staples,,- Grooby, Buckeridge, Brougham and Fry. Accounts amounting to £265 4s Sol 'were passed for payment. CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence was read as follows : From the- secretary Nelson Hospital and Charitable Aid Board (Mr S. Bloirfield) re the vacancy on the Board caused through the death of Mr Peter H'ggins, asking the Council to appoint a member in his etead. —Resolved that the Council support the appointment of Mr J no. Corder. From Mr H. O. Mumford. Lower Moutere, asking for pen-mission to remove a cottage from the Lower Moutere to the end of Queen Victoria-street. — Granted. \ From the secretary Motueka V oluntesr Fire Brigade (Mr A. Canton) drawing the Council's attention to the fact that the pipe for fire prevention purposes agreed to in front of Ma- Hudson's house has not been laid, and asking the Council to <nve the matter its immediate attention. — Left to sub-committee consisting of Crs. Frv, Brougham, and Buckeridge. From Mr'C. L. G. Beatson, secretary Motueka-Tapawera Railway League,.enclosing form of a petition, praying for a survey of the proposed- course of a railway 'from- Tapawera to Motueka, and. asking* the 'Council to put the/ matter before the people of Motueka.—Resolved ' that the petition be endorsed, and steps v lie taken to put the matter before .the electors. Mrs S. Fry was-.. recommended as canvasser. , _ . ~ From Messrs Adams and Harley. solicitors, Nelson, claiming, on behalf ot the proprietors of the "Motueka Star, the sum of £75 as compensation.unto the Public Works Act, 1908, directed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1908, . for the loss of the use ofl 18 feet frontaoe to their property in High-street ne- I ccssitated in compliance wtfh by-law Ho. 55.-The matter was referred to the ; solicitor to the N.Z.M.C.A. (Mr 1. I«._ Martin), and also the Borough spelters (Messrs Easton and Nicholson). Considerable discussion ensued as to .wlietntr a letter from the solicitor to the ' NZM.CIA. (Mr T. F. Martin) advising the Council re lodging appeal against the recent decision of the Court in. the case of William Boyce, Town Clerk, v. «■• C Holyoake, in re party wall,should be published. It was resolved that ter be dealt with in committee ,at a latei , stage. '.;. . j REPORTS. The reports of the foreman and , ', the caretaker of ,the lighting were .re-.i ceived. Arising out of the latter it w resolved that the wmdmill pump, at the gasworks be overhauled. DEPUTATIONS- . Mr C E. Lowe waited .on the Councif with a petition hy numerous rodents on High Street South, requesting that a .footpath be formed ,on the western :side of Hrgh Street. plained that he . heard . .that had been suggested-that a. footpath ne formed on tlfe eastern side,. and,thepetition- • ers prayed that,the footpath-be. formed on the western side.: -Hp stated the, needs of a footpath on this side of the The Mavor expressed his syinpathy 1 with the project,-' 'and read the portion of the Act relating,thereto. .'. Cr Brougham considered; the lorma- " tion 'of a footpath :;as' too. large an un, dertaking at owing to. the present state of the finances, but-; suggested., temporary work jn'the , clear-. " ing the side of the-road, as a first step, towards the formation of a ■Crs Buckeridge, .-■'• Rumbold, Grooby, and "Fry sixjke strongly .in .support, ot the request of the'residents,:of Higli Street South. :'.- -, , -i' j Resolved, that the foopath.be formed as requested at such time as funds are available for such ,a-work. STANDINGS-ORDERS. The Mayor introduced the matter of standing orders, with>£yiew to-the betterment of the conduct-of the* Council s affairs. He moved that,;:a',.committee consisting of Crs- Grooby.-Buckendge, Brougham, and the mover-. be set up to , draw up standing orders,' and submit , to ' . the next meeting. —Seconded by Cr. Rumbold, and carried.-; . y ' GENERAL. Resolved that the ; Commissioner of .■ Crown Lands, Nelson, be ".communicated with re road on. foreshore, and that he . be asked to supply i.tracing of the locality. . "."."■;.'.-." LOAN PROPOSALS. In accordance with no'tice tabled, the •Mayor moved "That with a view to wiping off the bank overdraft, performing road improvement, and other necessary matters, it is desirable to take a vote of the ratepayers on the question of raising a loan. He reiterated his proposals, as submitted to the last meeting of the Council. Cr. Buckeridge, in seconding the motion, said that in his opinion such a step , was .inevitable. He had gone thoroughly into the Condition of thevborough finances, with the res.nlt that- it transpired that the, sum of £SOO. only was/available for the upkeep'' of*.'the -reads and bridges. He found that the; overdraft, was due to establishing a gas-plant out - of ordinary revenue, instead of by • a loan. He submitted that no great improvements can be effected by the rates, in spite of the raised valuation of.properties. He strongly supported the measure,- which was a progressive one, and only in keeping with the. requirements of the times. ",y ' , i _ Cr. Brougham" would not support a' Joan unless the main "street from- the bridge; to the mill corner -be put in I thorough order. The cost of this should i be ascertained, and in view of the,! amount of traffic on' High-street comiti"- I from Riwp.ka some assistance should be derived from that quarter. In any case, he J could not see his- wav clear ; to support a .proposal of ; the' nature, beeausp the time is not suitable. V Cr. Rumbold considered , that the etreets are not so bad as made out. He estimated the cost of putting streets in thorough renair at' no less °thah £2OOO a mile. He considered that if tne overdraft is deleted, it will appear again ! and. the same remedy will ao-ain be re- ' sorted to. He opposed the ' oi the rates of the Council. Cr Grooby said that it was. evident that necessary work' cannot be. effected at a penny rate. To put. the roads in repair he favoured the raising of a loan. The longer the question'was de- . ferred the worse the matter would be- ' •come. ..".■;• j ■Civ Fry quoted Takaka as an instance of a township whose roads were put in repair and the situation ?a--rd by the raising of a loan. He strondy supported the movement.

The motion was- carrird by four votes to three. Ayes: The Mayor, Crs. Buckeride, Fry, land Grooby; Noes*:. Crs. Staples, Brougham, and .1! inn bold. It was resolved that a qualified engineer be appointed to draw up a report 'of necessary works and approximate 1 cost thereof. I Resolved, that Mr F. Mace, M.I.MH.. of Messrs Mace and Nicholson, be approached on the matter. BUILDING BY-LAWS. * The Council tlien went into committee to discuss the letter referred to above. It was resolved that the letter be published. The following is the advice of Mr T. F. Martin, solicitor to the M.A.N.Z. : "Building By-laws. —Boyce v. Holyoake.—l. It appears from the judgment that the lean-to is open on all sides except the side adjoining the stable, j From the-statement of the case subj mitted to me and dated 4th December last I did not understand this to be the case. 1 thought the lean-to was open at the end thereof only, having walls at the sides. In my opinion a structure consisting of a roof and of posts could not be regarded as a "building," even under the wide interpretation of that term contained in . the by-laws. I regret that the inis- | understanding has occurred. I .2. With reference to the remarks made by the Magistrate concerning the I By-laws I consider that the superfluous | word "to" in By-law J'7 should be disregarded. See Auckland Citv Council jv" Davidson, 25 N.Z. LJR., 497 ' C.A., 'where the Court of Appeal read' a bylaw in other than its strict grammatical ; sense, reversing the decision of the [Judge of the Supreme Court, who had ! construed the by-law according to its strict grammatical sense. I 3. The definition of "party wall" ! including sub-clause (b) agrees with the i like definition in file London Building Act. 1894, 5.5 (16), and with the Wellington 'By-laws. See by-law 82. 4. The model By-laws as used by the Local Government Board (England) reJ quire external and party walls to be carried up above the roof. ' 5. Against openings being made in wall. This should be" especially limited to the case of party walls. 6. Plans and specifications. By-laws generally required these to be prepared and submitted, in eo far as the work is affected by the by-laws. I consider, however, that the too general language ■ of by-law 57 would not excuse a. per- j son from submitting plans, etc., of work that is affected by the by-law. See the language of by-law £B. 7. As the three informations all depend oh the lean-to being a "building," and /as I 'am of the opinion that it is not one, Ido not advise an. appeal." j T. F. MARTIN, ' •■' Counsel to' the M.A.N.Z. j