NELSON CITY COUNCIL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 20, 25 January 1919, Page 2

NELSON CITY COUNCIL

v fortnightly meeting, The . fortnightly' meeting of the Nelson City - Council was held last evening. Present: —The Mayor (Mr W. W. Snodgrass), Crs. H. Baigent, F. A. Carlisle, J. W. Marris, J. A. Stringer, R, Watson, Crs, Pettit, Hampson and Gibbons were excused. ACCOUNTS. The statement of bank balances as at January 23rd were as. follows:

CORRESPONDENCE. From Newmarket Borough Council, suggesting legislation to provide that the upkeep of all fire brigades be shared equally between the Government, insurance companies and local bodies.—Endorsed. From Mr Will Lawson, applying for subsidy, of £3O towards cost of production of a book descriptive of Nelson.Referred .to. Committee. From Senior-Sergeant Barrett, re bad language by youths, stating that the- police were , giving the matter attention. Growing larrikihism , about parks and street corners made more effective measures-necessary to deal with the nuisaneb. From Mr R. Allan, requesting extension of sewer in Hampden street, and stating that- he- proposed to erect' another building and. ahso io cut up a fi.ee‘/.on into 'building sites.’—Referred to Committee. . .

From Mr V. iC, Thomason, as tb condition of . fences, Maitah Reserves.— City Engineer to have repairs effect-ed,-each party to pay half-cost. From J. Watt, as to drainage,, etc., on premises in Waimea street,—lt being- a Very lengthy communication the reading of it was deferred till the Goxn-mitte-o meeting,. - From Mr F. V. Knapp, asking" that higher .portion of Afred street be registered as on the high ..-levels, and that he bo granted a permit to water in :th e special hours.—Granted. From residents Tory street, request-’ ing repairs to footpath.—To be attended to in turn.

■ From Baptist Sunday- - School, apply: in? .for use of Han by’Park on- Saturday, February Bth, for picinir purposes. —Granted. COMBINED- COMMITTEE’S EEPUBT The Committee reported:—On letter from secretary, Navy League, Christchurch, /asking for a donation; That the writer be informed that, the local branch of the Navy League has already made direct contributions to the fund for killed and wounded sailors.— On . letter from M r A, G. Thompson, -requesting extension of water service to his properties in, Momit street and Nor:h Esk street: That he be granted an' extraordinary water supply to the North Esk’ street property at a special charge of £1 per annum.—On letter from Mr B. Saniiazzaro, requesing erraission to keep pigs:. That permission t> e granted to keep a pig oh this ; occasion until it i s ready to kill, but 1 'tnat no further permission be granted. l—As to electric lighting to Abattoir Manager’s house: That an estimate of the cost, fpr lighting both houses at the Abattoir be obtained —As to motor cars: That a case be -submitted ,to the city, solicitors for their opinion upon the following points: (a) . Whether the - Council is entitled to become a registrar, ion body under the . Motor Regula- , tion Act; (b) whether the, Council has power to insist upon all, motor drivers being licensed after passing a satisfac- . Tory - test; (c), whether the Council has power to Charge a license fee for motor vehicles, whether for hire, carrying mails, or used as private cars.— As to City Engineer’s report: PI antiag at Old Cemetery: That a sura not exceeding £lO ,be expended in prepar-, ing the ground for planting; S*. Vincent street ditch: Consideration deferred, the Committee to, visit; as to trees, at Cemetery : Consideraion deferred ; as to invert at back of Baptist Church: • That the water be diverted l"°m the Queen’s -Gardens overflow, into the Majtai river, and improvements, in connection with the two gullies oh the northern side of : Bridge'street be carried out; as to Electric Power Board: (a) ,Consideration deferred,. ,(b} that a special committee of the Mayor and Councillors, Pettit and Baigept be ap pointed to make - arrangements in connection with the Visj: of the Government expert, and the members of the

Blenheim Borough Council.—On letter from Mr J. H. Bharland, requesting carrying-j out of:* drainage work- to - his premises, in Milton Grove: That the drainage be carried out to the boundary- of the property at Mr ’ Sharland’s expense.—As to blocked water course, Parere street: That -, the Committee was unable to come to any decision in the matter. Adopted.

ENGINEER’S REPORT. The City Engineer (Mr J. G. Littlejohn) reported : Streets and Footways; Repairs to watertables , are in hand, Trafalgar Square and Richardson street. Tarring of .metal for the Port road has been proceeded with. The concrete bottom has been completed a Saltwater Bridge and some further progress , has been made with the invert in the ditch. A shortage-of cement has caused_ a temporary suspension of all work requiring this material. The shortage, I understand, is directly attributable to short coal supplies, all available ships being engaged in coal carrying.. For the same reason the sand for tar work has not ye t come to hand. Spraying of the amin block has been continued every week, and all the ditches have been done. Some of the credit for the fact that Nelson had the smallest death "rate during the late epidemic might bo attributed to these operations. The Council will not e that the whole of the accounts for ‘the disinfectant used Have beep. rendered against, the. Council. Water.—The high-level main has been tested . from the Weir to the Rocks. No defecf has been found, and from all- appearances the shortage on the high levels is entirely due to abnormal consumption during the day and watering out of hours during the night. A ranger has been appointed and is now on duty. Places of Public Recreation: I would call the Council’s attention to the wooden breastwork on the northern side .of Trafalgar Park, large sections of which have fallen,‘avray, , allowingthe filling to escape.- ’ Gas.—The cleaning out ,of the tar 'Wells, is proceeding. This, twork has been delayed by the w’ells being filled up with water from the roofs and yard after every rain. I, propose to have the water- diverged into the main drain as soon as opportunity offers. Wbrk will be resumed on the coal store almost, immediately, , and I propose :to make .every effort to get in a .good sup : ply- of coal as "'soon as the store is finished. Some 470 tons, of State coal came;.to hand last -week, but no Westport has been received.

Miscellaneous.—The lights 1 at the Post-■ Office clock were report ed to be completely disarranged. It is practically impossible to maintain the chim neys and mantles and to keep the gas alight with the present system, which 'in any case is useless as far as illuminating the dial is. concerned. I have therefore ordered the gas to be turned off. , 'Building penults have been 'issued 'or eight works valued at £7Bl 10s. Referred to. Committee. . In his ; report, the - Inspector of Nuisances stated:—T beg tp- bring under The notice of the Council ; th«Tstate of. the -sewer which crosses culvert near Saltwater Bridge. . Thd're 'are. eix premises , including '.’thb .Jsdhool, ; connected with this piece of-sewer,...which is in such a statg as to allow all. the .contents to be discharged s into culvert, which’ eventually opens, out. into'an open ditch near the roadway. I am of opinion that this .should be attended to as soon as possible, in order to abate the nuisance before the. school reopens. ■ A' property in New street requires Thebe is no drain or sanitary;i convenience, and nighteoil is, buried on a small piece of land. This is a case, where. notice .should ‘ be given to connect w£EB sewe r and provide sanitary- converiiehcas. • ■ , • There is a nuiknee in Hampden street East, wher e the sewer needs ex* tending a short distance to enable a to be connected, the owner bemg willing ; to connect. At present the drainage from the premises discharges across the road and into the street ditch, which is objectionable and should be rectified. Referred to Committee. I beg to call the attention of the Council to several items in my reports dating back a s far as May, 19i7, which do not appear to have' been dealt with.

ABATTOIR REPORT. The Aba'toir Manager (Mr G. W. Mitchell) reported that the stock slatighered during the fortnight comprised 54 cattle, 6 calves, 471 sheep, ,216 lambs, 21 pigs; total, 768. GENERAL; It was resolved to notify that 10 ,per cent, would be added to overdue rates. The City Engineer was instructed to attend ,to the pump on Hanby Park. In reply to a question, the Engineer stated,that -the nuisance on lh e vacant section opposite the Post- had been abated. ! The Council rose at 9.50 p.m. ,

Dr. iS General Ac. 24,384 15 Wlater Ac. Gas Ac. 4,025 1 Interest Ac. 2.202 0 Abattoir Ac, Hospital and Charitable ' Aid 241 8 Temporary Loan Ac: Balance Dr. Cr. t. £ s. d. 2 860 7 10 9 , 3 152 2 0 3 20,008 0 0 9,832 15 6 £30.853 5 4 30,853 6 A Ct. £ s. d. Cemeteries '(Trust Ac.) Contrac ors’ Deposit Ac 32 2 2 22 0 0 Trafalgar Park Ac. 29 17 3 Drainage Extension 188 0 C. . Loan Ac.. 0 £ s. d. Amount owing to Bank on Overdraft 9,832 15 6 Amount owing on Ternporary Loan 20,668 0 0 £29,840 15 6 - £ s. d. Amount of Overdraft at present allowed by the Batik! 13,994! 0 0 Pre rent) Statutory limit of Overdraft and Temporary Loan*’ 34.000 0 0 _ PAYMENTS Payments were; passed' as, follows 'Ll, £ s. d. General Account 300 9 9 Gas Account' , 453 15 9 Water Account 74 17 4 Abattoir Account 53 6 3 Cemeteries Account 17 17 9 Trafalgar Park • 2 12 0 Drainage Loan 6 2 11 ‘Total £957 1 9