BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13171, 3 September 1913, Page 8

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting of the Gisborne Borough Council was tteld last night. Present : His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. R. Kirk), Crs. W. G. Sherratt, D. Hepburn, H. E. Hill, G. Wildish, H. E. Bright, G. Smith, J. Collins and Ji Brown.

Mr J. R. Shaw wrote, asking the CJouncil to put the footpath m front of Ms section at the corner of Rutene road sand Harris street m order. He also asked tho Council to delivet on to the.se£ tion as many loads of spoil as possible at ls 6d per load, as' he intended to live on the section. — .Reply to be sent stating that the spoil would.be supplied, and -stating that the Council's firmness would not permit of the footpath being formed.

Li reply to a letter from the Borough Cound: the Cook County Engineer.. Mr deG. Fraser wrote, explaining that a few months back tlie Cook Council expended about £70 , m trimming up and snaking the Abattoir Road passable for "wheel -traffic. He had no further funds at his disposal for expenditure, and to do any permanent good' on the road il would be necessary to undertake metalling. — Received.

Messrs Nolan and 'Skeet, acting under instructions from Mr Enoch Kirk, of Gisborne, applied to the Couftcil for, payment of the sum of £10, the cstimatr ed value of two bridges removed from the front of their client's property m Hutene road, Kaiti, by the Council's employees, whilst kerbing the footpath. They asked that a cheque for , the amount be sent. — Liability disclaimed. Th© cler!_ of the Waikohu County Council, Mr Geo. Warren, forwarddd the following resolution passed by the Waiifcohu County Council: — "TVat the Council of the Borough of Gisborne. and tlie Cook County Council be written to asking them to support this Council m making an experiment with the metal recently found at °i Motu, by laying down 5 chains of roadway m Read's Quay — locality to be chosen by the engineers to the several councils — and the expense to be born equally by the three Councils. The Mayor said the request was complied with at last Council meeting excepting m respect of Read's Quay.—- <GrWildiih said he would like to see some ■placed m Peel street. — The.. Mayor paid it had been decided to plate the metal m Childqv r s road from Lowe street to Oustomjj.'ouse street.

ENGINEER'S REPORT. The" report, of Mr W. T: ; Mansfield;' Borough Engineer, contained the following:-— Repairs to bad holes m the carriageways, crossings and footpaths out of general account have been executed fully within the limits of the quarry delivery to ihe following extent, i.e., 4091. cubic yards of general grades of limestone, at 12s, £2.5 7s; labor £}37 6s 7d, total £382 13s 7d. Loan works on formation. of footpaths has resulted m the following expenditure: Cobden street 112_ cubic yards, £7(5 3s ' 7d; Aberdeen street, £35 13s /3d; Herbert street, £7 0s Id; Ormond^ road, £14 2s 10d; Wainui road, £i; Clifford street, 16s; Fltzherbert street, l{js;> §allance street, 15s 6d; Customhouse street, 15s 7d; total £137 3s 2d. /'Repairs toMaQnrit--way permanent way have been effected to the extent of 10_ cubic yards qjejal at 12s, £6 6s, and wc^rks arising, out of,instructions have also been 'given '' effect to.

Formation of footpaths are In hand In the following streets: Cobden street, Aberdeen road, Herbert road, Walnut road. The- other wages on streets are as follows: Watering £38 5s lid, lighting £6 Os 9d, plant £3 13s 9d, total -£SO '5s sd. j,The following is a t statement of the broken metal hauled from the quarry: To depot for distribution 670. 'cuMc'SardS.' Cook County (Niven's) 60 cubic yards, Cook County (Royal Oak) 45 .cubic v yatds, total 775J cubic yards; the mileage -8721 : yard miles. "'

The number of men at the quarry and engaged on haulage and their wages can be stated at: No. of men 22, wages £106 6s lOd. ;

Waterworks: Men employed laying services m tbe following streets: Grey/ Aberdeen, Carnarvon, Clifford, Berry. Cleaning air valve_ m main line; repairing leaks m Childers road and Lowe street; repairing taps m Read's quay, Childers road and Grey street; a w.c. "m Council property; fixing vent pipe at v ' sanitary depot, and tallying sewerage l _>ipes m the various yard's and carting Sewerage pipes to main yard and stacking-. Owing to the unsettled state of tlie weather, very little progress has been made with the" reservoir. ■• I propose to deal with this subject m my separate report at the earliest possible date. The, number of men engaged m this department Is as follows; Waterworks, general 3, wages £10 2s; reservoir, 15, wages £77 14s 2d. The trunk main is m a satisfactory state'of maintenance.

Engineering workshops: The staff totalfive men and two boys, and their wages are distributed over the several works. Three of this staff have been dispensed with, and their places will not be filled.!

Sewerage: Whataupoko Point— The outfall pipes from tho pumpipg station have been laid, also four chains of 61n . sewer. .The concrete walls for fUe pumping Ration and collecting tank have been.^constructed. Excellent work "has been done this fortnight with the sewerage connections; 87 w.c.'s were connected by the master plumbers, constituting a record for* the number fixed during any fort* nightly period. I, am collecting the large stocks of earthenware pipes and fittings from the several points now stored -at, and . stacking them conveniently , at the borough depot, where they will be under observation; this, whilst entailing -a small cost, will provide against damage and other probable loss. The staff totals 22 men, and their wages amount to £107 2s 6d.

Sanitation (Mr Ferris' report): House m: , spections have beeri made m the various parts ot tbe borough, principally m the' most congested areas, and the conditions existing at the time of Inspection- at the majority of places were satisfactory; and a great improvement ls noticeable at the dwellings which Wave been connected with the Rpwoage, ■ where m the past the waste water was distributed over the land. At several business ptfaces m town large quantities- of inflammable matter are allowed to accumulate. Notices have been served on the responsible persons to have the storage improved forthwith or information v»ill be laid against them; also at section m Gladstone road, occupied by Aboud Hassen, Assyrian hawker, where hor.se. 5 ; are allowed to run and no proper accommodation provided; notice was previousi3 r jlven with reference to this nuisance; an information will therefore bo laid against him. Kaiti beach— As previously instructed, I have placed pegs at ilifferent "points on the beach showing the portions to be reserved and the portions allowed to campers. It ls now necessary to have the campers' parts chained off into -30ft sections frontage measurement. Infectious diseases— l also beg to state that during the fortnight I have, attended to the infectious diseases m <thb* borough. Inspector York being unfortunately indisposed. Three cases of scarlet fevtr and two cases of chicken-pox wel_ notified and attended to. Traffic inspection—As' regards this branch of the service, I beg to state that I have not been able to devote any time to it during the past three weeks. The staff engaged on nightsoll and rubbish removal and disposal numbers 14 men, and their wages amount to £72 14s 7d. I hope to submit a detailed report upon this section at an early date. In the meantime I have arranged for more effective disposal of the nightsoil and rubbish and a general tidying up of the disposal site.

Plumbing and drainage: Fully 75 per cent, of the premises m the congested area are now connected with the sewerage, and an early date will see the whole of the town area connected. The usual inspection of the sanitary plumbing and drainage has been made, and with few exceptions has been found to be carried out satisfactorily and m accordance with the by-laws. Eleven private drains have been laid by the Council's, workmen and five connections laid from sewer to fence. During the fortnight 57 sanitary plumbing .i.nd drainage permits were issued. The staft engaged on drainage connections nud private drainage numbers 21 men, and their wages* total £56 19s 4d. This wov'f is- proceeding with the construction of the sewers within the limits of the street boundaries and otherwise.

Tramways: The following is a return of tho tramway trafflc:^— Passengers 19,370, revenue £67 Os sd*>car mileage 1621, power expenses £14 13s 6d. The tramways .'■ receipts to 3lst August, 1913, are: Fares £760 7s Gd, advertising £25— £791 7s 6d. Expenditure: Including fortnight ending 30th August, 1913, £707 10s 4d— £23 17s 2d. The two Edison battery cars have been maintained, and are m gppd order.- 3?he staff totals 8, .wages to ; £54 16s 9d. The following is a statement' of the vialues for which protection from fire Is sought: Car-barn, already covered; two Edison battery cars, £5000; sundries m ( buildings, machinery, shop and tools, i £€37. Electrical: Fifteen poles and .173 chains

and Grafton road; 18 house connections nave been made m various parts of the borough; wiring work m connection with smithy has been completed; distribution and house service work has been proceeded with as usual. The staff at the power station engaged on distribution numbers 17 men, their wages totalling £85 12s 3d. The following is a statetneht of values for which protection from fire is sought:— Power-house buildings complete £2901, switchboard £676, engines and generators (two sets) £3827, ctane £242; total, £7646.

Deserves: I am arranging for a detailed report on this section for the future. In summarised form the staff of my department during the two weeks numbered 192 men, their wages totalling £1094 14s Bd.

Abattoirs: During the month of August 1913, there were 271 cattle, 1576 sheep, 9 calves, and 106 pigs slaughtered at the Gisborne abattoir for consumption within the abattoir area; as against 287 cattle, 1551 sheep, 5 calves, and 167 pigs for the corresponding month of the previous year. There were 20 cases of cattle affected with tuberculosis, of which five were wholly condemned, il were partially condemned, while the remainder, the affection being only slight and confined lo the viscera, the carcases were passed. Of ll cases of tuberculosis m pigs, 5 were wholly condemned, the remainder being partially condemned, one sheep was condemned for lympho adenitis, l for icterus, i for emaciation, and 2 were partially condemned for septic pleurisy. In addition to the pigs slaughtered during the month pf August at the abattoir, 11 which had been killed by farmers were inspected m the butchers' shops; of this number l carcase was condemned for tuberculosis.

I regret that pressure of work precludes my reporting fully upon the waterworks undertaken, the sewerage and streets, but my investigations are now nearlng completion, and I anticipate being able to do so by or before the next ordinary meeting. The reports, by their nature, will be somewhat voluminous, and it is important that careful consideration is given to their terms, ,and this the Council will appreciate involves time.

THE QUARRY. ..Cr Brown inquired if there was any. report on the committee's visit to the quarry. He said it was generally reported that there 'had been a considerable reduction m the number of hands at the quarry. He would like to hear something definite as to what was actu-ally-going on. A report was going about town that there was a .quantity of blue stone, something similar to Patutahi stone, discovered, but instructions would not be^given for it to be opened up. He would like to know if there was any truth m these rumors or not. As a jjCou_icillor-_Jie had .heard nothing about kwj&t was being done m these matters. I The Mayor said it was unfortunate Cyr. Brown had been laid up, and not able to attend meetings lately. The Council had always been taken into the confidence of the officers, and what was being done was uone with the Council's knowledge. "Regarding what Cr. Brown has heard," added the Mayor, "I am afraid Dame Rumor is proving a tricky jade. There is nothing m what you have heard about the reduction m; "the quarry staff, and the metal is as good and as bad as ever it lias been. About the find ojpjjlu© stone, I have heard tonight for Y-ifehe, "first time. The thing to my mind jifr-.a patent absurdity. If ;\ve could strike blue stone there we would be only -ytoo pleased to open it up." /

Cr. Brown thanked the Mayor for the explanation, and said that a number of ratepayer* were inquiring about the matter. , • ;.-•_ Cr. Bright 's^id, it was suggested by Cr. Brown .that, there was not so much •metal as : - usual coming m from tho quarry, and asked how the 775 yards pojnpared with previous tallies. The Mayor: Rather mo/c than usual. .He said one of the locomotives was under repair, and that had handicapped them for a while.

Cr. Wildish : What is the average number of men that have been employed at the quarry?

The Mayor : About 22. THE WATERWORKS

Regarding the waterworks, Cr Brown asked if there was any report from the committee who visited the waterworks, as to how things were going on, and what was being done. The Mayor : There has been no report submitted. I intend to make a verbal report to-night m committee, and if the Council approves of it I will -make a statement to the press on the matter. He said he was not going to make a statement on his own responsibility j he wished to consult the councillors first, particularly as some of tlie councillors were not at the head works. He had asked the Engineer to prepare a comprehensive report, which would be circulated amongst councillors during the next fortnight. "1 may state,'' said the Mayor, "so it Avill .not be thought that the Council is not giving its attention ,'to the matter, that ' for the last three .pr four months the question of the waterworks has been engaging very seripus attention." It Was only during the last fortnight that councillors . had been able to make a visit to the headworks and see' for themselves what the state of affairs was. However, he hoped to have something to say on the matter later on.

Cr. Brown said if the matter • waa to be discussed later he was quite satisfied. ,- , v

.. At a later stage the matter was considered m committee, and the Mayor informed a reporter that the Council deemed it unnecessary for him to make a public statement m view of the Engineer's report that was being prepared.

THE TRAMWAY EXTENSION. Cr. Smith asked what the position was about the extension of the tramline to Cook street. The Mayor : There is no money at present. Cr. Brown urged that there should be spare parts for the cars. He thought it had been decided to get spare parts. The Mayor said a report was obtained' on the matter, but as the amount/ was too high it was referred back to him, | and he got a report for a lesser amount, and it was proposed to order on that report v - the material would run mto about £130.

Reverting to the subject of the line, Cr. Hepburn said it had been decided to go on with the extension to Cook street. The old councillors concurred m this. Cr. Sherratt: You can't make bricks without straw.

Cr. Bright asked what the position was.

The Mayor said while he thought it desirable that the extension should be made, the question arose whether the work should be done by day labor or contract. The late Engineer gave an estimate which nobody would accept. They had never got past that stage. The financial aspect was looked to, and it was found that there was not enough money to do it. They could not order the spare parts and do the line. Cr Collins remarked tliat an estimate was not accepted until the report was placed before the Council m writing. That report was never presented. /The Mayor; That is so, and the position goes further now, it is a matter of .finance. He said he was ue anxious as anyone to push on with the line, and he moved -that the matter be referred to thp finance and tramways committees. "It will be necessary to pay some- attention to the reports that are reaching us from all over the world practically," observed Mr 'Kirk,' "of the inadvisability of extending tramlines, and the advisability of giving our attention to motor buses." Or. Collins said unfortunately the ratepayers had granted an amount for a specific object— the tramway over a certain area — and they could not- get out of that.

The Mayor's motion was carried KAITI SEPTIC TANK.

Cr. Hill, referring to the Council's visit to the Kaiti septic tank, said tliat after seriously considering the positfon, a matter had occurred to him as to the failure of the Kaiti septic tank. He j was afraid that for the purpose of being | too careful,, some ratepayers had been 1 using too ,-huch disinfectant material, with the result that the stuff had got into the septic tank, killing the microbes that were essential to the successful working of the tank. He suggested a notice should be given by the Council, pointing out the danger ' of using too much carbolic and other disinfectants. The Mayor said such notices had been printed and issued. Mr Hill ; Well, they liave not been put up. • The Mayor said lie doubted whetliur

Accounts amounting to £1314 7s 8d on the general account, and £51559 Os'ld'on the loans accounts, were passed for .payment.

The Council went into Committee . at 9.10 to consider various niattjars, and rose at 10.46 p.m. When tlie motion was moved that the Council go into committe.e> Cr Hill voiced his objection to committee meetings, stating that, information was allowed to leak out.