MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20892, 5 December 1929, Page 3

MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.

MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL The. fortnightly meeting of the City Council was held last night, and was attended by the Mayor (Mr R. S. Black), and Crs Mitchell, Begg, Shacklock, Marlow, Wilson, Scott, Lawrence, Wilkinson, Munro, M.P., and Scott. . GENERAL COMMITTEE. Cr Mitchell moved the adoption of the i General Committee's report. I Cr Wilson wanted to know what arrangement had been come to under the new regime at the St. Clair Baths for I masseur work. He also pointed out the smoke nuisance at the engine sheds was again in evidence. The experiment by the department with 50 tons of coal had , proved a success, and it now seemed that the trouble had recurred as a consequence of the.cost, of the particular coal which : had minimised the evil. Cr Wilkinson moved that the following recommendation by the committee should be referred back:—“ One application for a permit to erect an advertising hoarding 08 , 8 f r , onta ?:e of the Corporation Gasworks property in South road, has been declined on the grounds that the locality is primarily a residential one,"—Cr Wilkinson said he did not know on what grounds the application was being relusea. He thought the property would be. improved by a hoarding. It was a misuse of words to call the place a residential area. The council would also be neht financially and not offend anyone. Cr Marlow said he would second the amendment, though with some diffid- | cnee. He thought everyone would, how I ®T® r « a K«e that a hoarding would be a distinct improvement to the place. Cr Wilson said he could not see where , » hoarding could improve a building. The gasometer was a thing of beauty in comparison with a hoarding. i Mayor said that the councilhad Jam it down as a matter of policy that boardings should not be placed on buildmgs in a residential area. The council would have to be careful that they did not ■et up a precedent. Cr-Mitchell said the council would have to decide whether it was or was not a residential area.

Cr Lawrence held that the gasworks m a distinctly residential area. Tile, amendment was lost by a large majority. 6

Cr Scott asked if Cr Mitchell would take back the clause regarding taking action against Messrs ISelson and Beveridge. The clause referring to this firm read as follows: Instructions have been given for prosecution for breach of the city by-laws in respect of the advertising «gn erected on the' premises of Messrs Nelson and Beveridge, Kiwi Cycle Works, Cargills Corner. The firm in question has refused either to take down the sign for" ma^o A P p hc&tion for a license there-

Cr Scott said the two members of tho v P, rm £ er ®. Ul f® young felloes, and he thought they had been ill-advised. He considered that tho matter could easily be fixed up. f a wanted to know what Cr Bcott really meant. The firm had declined to take down the hoarding. ,Cr Scott said he could guarantee that the matter could be settled. Cr Mitchell: Will they take it down? i , Sgott: They will cither take it - down, or they will have to get a permit to leave it in. position, ~ Scott then moved as an amendment. ; that the clause be referred back tp the committee. v

Cr Munro seconded the motion. ■ Apparently Cr Scott, he said, would be able tjj® firm to obey the by-laws , Cr Marlow said that the matter had twice before the council * The Mayor: Have the firm been written to?

- clerk: Instructions have been IBS “® d i? regard to the matter. The Mayor said_that if the firm acceded c%ld be W d?fepel the Co,,ncil the case The amendment was lost By a large majority. B said that the committee had in view an arrangement the ® ar ried out at J^;f al . r b a* h s. but the matter was in abeyance for the present. In regard t 0 . nui - s ,“ nc * afc Kensington, all the C0 “Id do was to again press on the department, the need for an im! provement in this connection, ine, report was. then -adopted. ’ GAS COMMITTEE. r« r m , oved the adoption of the 14 i report P® said that 14 tenders had been received for the supply delivery, and erection of the new gasholder of 500,000 cublic feet capacity, proposed t° be erected at the works in Anders °? a Bay road. The lowest tender was from a British firm, Messrs .rirtb, Blakely, and Co., Leeds, 'whose price was £16,150, with a contingency regarding Customs duty, and the committee recommended that this tender be accepted. The committee also recommended that Mr Burnard Geen, Westminster be appointed to prepare the detailed drawings, specifications, bills of quantities, and description lists of the foundation work, and to undertake the inspection and testing of the steel work prior to its despatch from England. Mr Geen's fee would be £630. or 7 per'cent, of the contract* price. Cr Marlow said that he personally regretted that the gas department was not able to accede to the application by residents from West Harbour for a gas ■upply, as apart from the; application by the residents, there was an application from the large business firm which was constructing large works there. If tho West Harbour people would, however, give a guarantee to take so much gas the committee would be prepared to go into the matter again. Cr Scott seconded the motion. ■ The ' foundations for the new gasholder had, he understood, to carry the same weight as those of the retort house, and the latter was standing’well. The application from West Harbour had not been turned down for all’ time. There might be sufficient inducement in the-future-for them to take the pipes down there. The report was adopted. TRAMWAYS COMMITTEE.

Cr Scott moved the adoption of the Tramways Committee’s report. He referred to the projected tramway extension from the Caversham terminus to Lookout Point, and stated that there were, a lot of preliminary matters to be fixed up at considerable expense. Some time might elapse before the council could lay down the line. The proposed bus service would be in the nature of a feeder. A considerable amount of consideration had been given to a suggestion from the Mornington and Maryhill Ratepayers’ Association for the erection of an automatic signal at the Maryhill traxp terminus for the benefit of motor car and other traffic in the locality. The matter had been investigated, and an inspection indicated that there was ample room between the kerb .and the tram. There was also a clearance between the kerb and the tram _o£ about lift 6in. which was actually 3ft 6in more than the Government requirements. Under the circumstances the committee was of opinion that the conditions did not call for the provision of a signal, and the applicants had been advised _ accordingly. If such a work were’ carried out in Mornington similar installations would have to be made in many other places. Referring to the proposals by the Tramways Union for a new agreement Cr Scott stated that the service was not growing, and the council was not in a position to grant any increases in wages at present. The motion was seconded by Cr Shacklock, who said he thought the tramwavs manager had stated that he would send the buses to Lookout Point by alternative routes in order to find out which was the best route for traffic.

Cr Wilson said the authorisation of the ratepayers had been Riven for the establishment of a tram line to Lookout Point, and a loan for the purpose had been sanctioned. Now they had a proposal to run p, bus service. He had no objection to a bus service until the tram line was laid down, but he objected to the present proposal. Cr Wilkinson stated that the extension of the tram line to Lookout Point was decided on five years ago, and a loan was provided for the purpose. He still stood by the extension to Lockout Point. He took it that if a bus service tried out the route and Rave some relief to the people in the vicinity of Lookout Point the matter might stand over until an agreement was reached with the Works Committee regarding the preliminary cost. . In reply Cr Scott said it was impossible to, run trams by the long way to Lookout Point. They must take the short >-ay. The report was adopted. FINANCE COMMITTEE. Cr Shacklock moved the adoption of

the Finance Committee’s report. The committee recommended that an area of land at the corner of English avenue and Crosby street. Mornington, be purchased at a ; price of £6OO for providing a'childrens playground. The area was not large, but it appeared to be quite suitable for the use to which it was to be put. Cr Mitchell congratulated the committee on its purchase. He said he was sure it would be an asset for the council. The report was adopted. OTHER REPORTS. The reports of the Reserves Committee, Works Committee, Library Committee, AVater Committee, and Electric Power and Lighting Conjmittee were adopted. TENDERS. Three tenders were received for the supply and delivery of manganese steel trackwork crossings, and that of Messrs Blair, Reed, and Co., AVellington (£166 15s), was accepted. ■ There were two tenders for the grazing lease period of 14 years of approximately 4597 acres of land situate between the AVnikouaiti River and the main ridge running north from Silver Peak. The snercssful tenderers were Messrs Gilmore Brothers, who offered £llO per annum.