PORT CHALMERS BOROUGH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22708, 22 October 1935, Page 18

PORT CHALMERS BOROUGH

MEETING OF COUNCIL The monthly meeting of the Port Chalmers Borough Council was held last night, and was attended by the Mayor (Mr 1. Scollay), Crs F. C. Smith, D. Forsyth, H, S. 'Watson, L. Jack, r J. Armstrong, R. Willmott, J. Annan, E. G. Bouse, and J. Farquharson. Cr Watson, on behalf of the council, expressed pleasure in seeing the Mayor in the chair after his recent illness. It was hoped that he would soon recover his normal state of health The Mayor referred to the deaths ot several well-known residents—Mr VV. Lysaght, who came to Port Chalmers in 1874: Mrs Carey; Mr W. Lunn, who was a member of the council for seven years; and Mr W. M'Ewan, who was a leading business man in Port Chalmers for nmny years.—A motion of condolence with the relatives was carried. CORRESPONDENCE. The secretary of the Port Chalmers Progressive League wrote requesting that the council remove the seats from the band rotunda to a more suitable place, ihe league expressed its regret that the council was unable to erect a drinking fountain in King Edward square, as this would have been of great convenience to the public—The request was referred to the Works Committee. In reply t*o the councils letter asking that a portion of the work of overhauling the motor vessel Maui Pomare should be carried out at Port Chalmers, the Prime Minister advised that it was considered essential that all work on the vessel should be done at Wellington, where it could be supervised by the technical advisers of the Department of External Affairs. In these circumstances, therefore, it was not possible to accede to the council’s request.—The Mayor said it was evident the Prime Mnuster failed to realise the importance of the request, but the council could not do anything further in the matter. —The letter was received. ' . , , „ ~ A letter was received from Mr W. K. M'Cormack complaining about the state of the bank in Island terrace, which was being used as a general dumping ground for garden and household rubbish. Ihe bank, the writer stated, had become a disgrace to the locality. The council was asked to attend to the matter at the earliest possible opportunity. —Cr bmith said he had visited the locality and had seen rubbish of a very offensive nature lying there—Cr Armstrong said he had also Visited the place, and found that Mr M'Cormack had every reason to complain.—The council decided to instruct the borough inspector to clear away the rubbish and to erect a notice board notifying residents that offensive material must not be deposited on the bank. The district traffic manager of rail- ■ ways advised, in reply to the councils letter of September 6, that the price ot workers’ and of season tickets had been referred to the head office of the department in Wellington. The council would be advised when a reply was received. With regard to the council’s suggestion m connection with rail cars, the traffic manager advised that at present this matter was being investigated, and the suburban areas would receive every consideration, along with other proposals. The letter was received. The Port Chalmers Ladies’ Cricket Club applied for the use of No. 2 ground at Mussel Bay every alternate Saturday.—The request was granted. Circulars were read from the Municipal Association of New Zealand in connection with the next conference of delegates to he held at Napier in February, 1936, business dealt with at the last executive meeting of the association, and a special memorandum in relation to motor taxation. MUSSEL BAY DRAINAGE. The borough engineer (Mr F. J. Williams) reported that the work of laying the main sewer at Mussel Bay was proceeding satisfactorily, and it was hoped to be able to record its completion in the next report. During the past week the tides were very unsuitable, and very much retarded progress. There was always one week in the month when working was difficult. The men had now completed 1190 lineal feet of 42-inch sewer, together with tffiee manholes, and there were .132 feet to lay. The length of sewer laid since the last report was 218 lineal feet. In addition to this work, the outlet had been advanced, so that the stone wall could be continued. —Cr Annan said the report was very satisfactory, and excellent progress had been made during the month. The work would be completed before the nest meeting of the council. MAIN HIGHWAY. The Works Committee reported that the main highway from the cenotaph to the railway bridge was now in good shape for sealing, and the committee accordingly recommended that tenders be called for carrying out the work by contract, the engineer to prepare the necessary plans and specifications for submission to the Main Highways Board. —Cr Smith expressed satisfaction that the Works Committee had decided to carry out this important work.—The report was adopted. GENERAL COMMITTEE’S REPORT. The General Committee submitted the following report:— An application had been received from the management of the Laurier Pictures seeking permission to screen a picture programme on the evening of Christmas Day. The committee recommended that the request be granted. It had been reported that cycling on footpaths in the borough, and also without lights at night, was again prevalent, and the necessary action was being taken to institute proceedings against any nerson who may be caught offending in this direction. The committee had given a good deal of thought to the provision of suitable shelter at the cemetery, and suggested to the council that a belt of pifuis radiata be planted from the gate above the quarry around to the main gates, the belt to be planted well outside the present birch trees. The acting gas manager in his report for September, stated, inter alia, that during the month 241 tons of coal were carbonised, yielding 337,700 cubic feet of gas, an average of 14,070 cubic feet per ton. The plant had given no trouble during the month, and at present was in good working order. Two purifiers were cleaned out and filled with fresh oxide. The hydraulic main was also cleaned out. A further quantity of tar had been prepared in readiness for use by the Works Department. Complaints of a minor nature only had all received prompt attention. The painting of the house and office had been completed, and prices were being obtained for painting the picket fence from Wickliffe terrace to the recreation ground. Having recived intimation that the Government Railways Board would be visiting Dunedin on October 22, the committee took the opportunity of making arrangements for a deputation to meet the board to discuss suburban railway matters. The co-operation of other suburban boroughs, together with the Otago Expansion League, was also solicited, and satisfactory arrangements had been made for a combined deputation to meet the board at Dunedin.—Moving the adoption of the report, Cr Forsyth said the comdttee had decided to take a firm stand to prevent cycling on the footpaths in the borough. In regard to the provision of suitable shelter at the cemetery, he said if the recommendation was approved something would have to be done immediately. Referring to railway matters, ho said a very succcessful conference of local bodies had been held in Dunedin. It had been decided to urge on the Railways Board the necessity of duplicating the line from St. Leonards to Port Chalmers, and to go fully into the question of a reduction of workers’ and season tickets. — The Mayor said the committee had done well so fur. and he hoped the conference would be satisfactory to all concerned. — The report was adopted. BOROUGH WORKS. The engineer submitted the following report on borough works:— Macandrew road had been kept in order and another 12 yards of screenings had been spread on the road. The use of the grader had provided an excellent surface. The work of completing the storm-water drain through Mr Chaney’s property, in Coombe Hay terrace was in hand, pipes and material having been forwarded. The work in William street had made considerable progress and should be completely finished as far as construction was concerned by the end of the present week. The path required top-dressing, and the stone retaining wall was to be finished. At the reservoir the men had been employed in cleaning and burning gorse and

generally cleaning up the reserve. Cleaning up had been carried out in the following streets: —Henry, Bellevue place, Kaio lane. Island terrace, Top road, Harbour terrace, Ajax road, and Wickliffe terrace. At the quarry stone was being prepared for William street. Noxious weeds and broom were being cleared on the north side of the Cemetery, and a large number of men were employed levelling the sand at Musssel Bay and top-dressing with clay. In respect of this latter work, if it was possible to get the grass seed away before any heavy gales, the work should be successful. AH the old water mains had been carted to the council yard, and most of them had been cleaned. An effort would be made to re-coat them during the incoming week. In the recreation ground grass had been cut and the edges cleaned up, while elderberry had been cleared from the cemetery bush. Seven yards of soil were carted to the recreation ground from Henry street. The storm-water drainage work in Cemetery road had been completed, and it was thought that it would overcome all the drainage difficulties in this locality. Levels had been taken for the purpose of improving the grade of Henry .street near the railway. It was recommended that between three and four feet be taken from the top of* the hill and the road regraded. This should make a great improvement to the crossing. It would involve an expenditure of approximately £lO in screenings after the work had been completed. The footpath had been formed, and when it was covered with some screenings the outlet from this locality would be much improved. . , ~, . On being cleaned up it was found tnat the track between Harbour terrace and Macandrew road was much too steep to be of use to pedestrians, and it was suggested that if some ashes were placed on the lower portion opposite Mr Sutherland’s residence that was all the work that could be usefully done. The following works were still in hand:—Reservoir work; balance of William street construction; work at cemetery; levelling and ton dressing Mussel Bay: reclamation and forming of footway to cemetery along Quarry road. The report was adopted. WATER SUPPLY.

The borough engineer submitted the following report on the water supply: — During the month the water officer had been engaged in cutting gorse and broom and repairing fences. He expected this work to be completed in about a week’s time. The sanitary contractor had been engaged in erecting paddock fences and sowing down crop. The silt and sand had been cleaned out from tbe small reservoir, and the race had also been attended to. At the main reservoir the main race had been cleaned out and all cracks cemented. The flash _ boards had also been fitted into the spillway. The main pipes at the tower and the bottom of the reservoir had been scoured out. The reservoir was filled to two inches above normal, but owing to the dry weather it was now down six inches. There had been only 18 points of rain in 28 days. The fhains were scoured on October 17. Unfortunately the engineer was unable to be present, but the borough foreman reported that everything was carried out satisfactorily. Sand and cement had been delivered to the reservoir for plastering the silt basin. A section was cut from the Kaio lane water main, and while it was to a certain extent corroded, the corrosion was not sufficient to cause the small pressure available. It was apparent that there was a complete blockage in the main near Constitution street, and an endeavour would be made to locate the obstruction.—The report was adopted: