BOROUGH COUNCIL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13427, 8 July 1914, Page 7

BOROUGH COUNCIL

The fortnightly meeting of tlie Borough Council waa held hut evening. Present : Tlie Mayor (Mr W. G. fcJherrattt, Crs. H. Miller, A. Wade, G. C. Mimiis. J. Brown, \V. >*>. Black, 11". E. Hill, ii. Wildish, and T. G. Lawless. Leave oi absence was granted to Cr. Bright.' '

Mr T. .Nicol wrote stating he had received a rate demand for £'d 15s lOd, for property to which he had no access. He asked "that something be done to the road and path . (Cobden- street north), which were in* a bad condition. — To be attended to with sand at a cost not exceeding £5. The secretary ot the Fire Board wrote stating his Board had no jurisdiction m »the matter of incessant^ ringing of ftrebclls,. and suggested the Borough (.buncil's inspector cf nuisances deal with same.— Received. "•-.... '

Mr 1). F. Brewster wrote, asking for his fortnight's holiday leave, due .since December, last, as from July .8. He .pointed out that Mr. "Manstield could not conveniently arrange for him to get oft - at Christmas time, and promised to let him have his leave at the end of May, at which date the Engineer informed him that he was arranging for him 'to. take liis holiday at t'he conimencement of July.y- Tho .Mayor moved that leave be granted.— :parr*ed. The secretary ..of the Fire .-Board wrote stating the Board accented the Council's oifer to phicc a light .011 the main belfry, provided the Board paid half, cost "of erection and. maintenance.—Received. .'■■-'-■■

llie Clerk of . the Cook County Council wrote ' stating the bridge over the Waiteatea creek (on Riverside road near -Ligter-.'liospitailjf,'. which formed the boundary between; thfe -Bospugh and County"; was decayed, and was much too small jvjid too" low: -ior '-..the service required. \Phe Council Vwas requested to undertake ..-the-'- rebuilding of the bridge as early as possible, 'and the County Council" would" pay one-half the cost of a substantial cart bridge.— The Mayor said that . Mr Somervell had inspected the bridge .and; reported that it was m a, bad State of repair.— He estimated that a new bridge would cost j £1(50, of which the Borongh would have to pay £50. — It. was agreed to have the structure erected, and ..to, request that j the County Engineer- should design the plans. . Mr W. L.. Claytdn wrote .stating he had received a "letter frqm Auckland, asking him to endOavor to ascertain if there°was. any possibility of the Borough of Gisborne inqiririn'.; for a deßnite supply of say 30,0C0 to 40,000 cubic yard-? of" Goromandel granite, spread say oye-r live years. Arrangements were being made" whereby it was probable that a quotation could be givere on these lines, but these interested were trying to obtain some approximate estimate of the amount of nletal that would be Required, so as to make it worth while to instal tbe necessary plant. In his letter of lQ'th May he referred to bitximen, and his "correspond eh b* was anxi r _ ous also to know if there was any possibility of " business being likely to eventuate m this direction.. Held over for general business. . : . , ■'■■-.The Depa.r.tment of Internal -Affairs, wrote inquiring whether the Council bad appointed" an inspector of buildings as provided by section 30 of the. Alunicipal Corporations Amendment Act, 1913, and whether it had made .regulations under the Act providing for prevention of fire and" for' -'escape?. — The Mayor said that they had appointed a building inspector, but the Council had not adopted any by-laws re fire- escapes. He supposed it was > a, matter for the Fire .Board. -^Cr. Brown said that the fire inspector considered his jurisdiction ended with piihliq halls>; etc.^-R-eferred to tlio ■" IJiiilding Inspectoir to attend to.

The Valuation Departnient forwarded form of declaration to lie made m connection with the Council' £ claim for subsidy on the amount of. general .rates collected by July 1, 1914.'— Authority to be signed. . : • •* .'.

Mr W. W. Stewart, Plumbing* Inspcc- , tor, wrote drawing attention to -a plan showing- the drainage to the Gisborne hotel. He paid the plan was passed by Mi* Mansfield, and it wquld be seen that m this instance no ..ventilating pipe was provided. \ -As the .Gisbbriiei hotel Avas * one of the highost buildings./ m the town it >yas his opinion thait the ventilating pipe" referred to should' pot be dispensed with. By fixing, -a- main . veht 'fOiv- -this- building it would assist m a marked degree t^io ventilation of the sewer.— The Mayor sasd he had asked. Inspector Middleton aboi.it it, and he had reported favorably. ; ' He .donsidored the vent pipe should .'/be oilit in.— Cr. Brown asked if a permit .had been granted what was the Council's position? — Cr. Wade said the matter -was one for the by-laws. He thought m this particular case, beifig a, high building, t'bey should have a ventilator, m view hi the assertion's, re" ventilation of the sowers. . He moved that the douncfl request' that the sewer ventilating pipe be put m. Agreed to. The Department of Agriculture forwarded' certificate of renewed slaughterhouse license, duly approve! by the Minister, for 'issue to thle .. Grislborne Sheepfarmers' Frozen Meat Co. Ltd.-^— To bo forwaTded to tlie company. .

.The Public Trust OffiOe notified that 'the Tate of interest allowed by the Public Trust Office on each separate sinking >fuhd. whilst held foi* payment of debentures, had been. increased to 4_ per cent on the first £6000," and 4-J. on the. excess, as from April 1, 1914.-—-Re-ceived, i

The report of the committee meeting of Friday last (already published) was considered. ,• , . Mr G. Stock waited upon' the Council oh behalf of the syndicate promoting the new continuous picture Ihow m Chilton's hall. The works committee -had recommended a licensfe be. granted, but that tlie seating be restricted to 500. Tihe syndicate considered 500 too small, and upon the recommendation of the Engineer and of the Superintendent of the Firo Brigade, liad ordered &32 seats. The building did not comply with present . requirements,' but he understood exceptions wore made with buildings erected prior to the introduction of suoh. regulations. It was contended the cubic space proVided apcommodation. for oyer 1000 peop]©, and |ie pointed out that if, the Council adhered to its previous decision, t'he syndicate would have 130 i seats it would 'be - unable to use. Ho emphasised the ample exits provided, and urged that there wae.no danger of fire. There was .-a' 16ft riglit, of way and ample means" .of escapo.in the event of suoh an unlikely occurrence. He asked that the previous decision be rescinded, and the syndicate be allowed to use the scats ordered.— Cr. Brown declared there was no reference m the report of the Smperihtendent of the 1 Fire Brigade tq the number the seating provided for.— The Mayor concurred.—Cr Muuns pointed out that the main objection was , that the building did not front a public road. If that was the main objection and there were plenty of outlets, he did not se© why they 'should not grant the request.— Or Lawless urged that the request should bo granted if possible, and he moved that tihe matter b£ referred to the to inspect. -^Cr Muijns secbnded.^-Or'Hill said it was a serious matter, and, that -whilst not: opposing the application, Jie wanted to see provision by whioh the: public would, m the event of a fire, be able to pofar.out on to the street.— The Mayor sarit that the doors more thaii met the by-laws, and these opened into a 16ft passageway. The plan specified accommodation for 650, and ho presumed it Uirid been approved by the Fire Inspector.— Referred back to the: Works Committee. Cr Munris moved that the time of Committee meetings bo altered frpm Friday at 4.20' p.m. to any suitable evening at 7.30.— Cr , Wildish seconded. —Agreed to.— Every alternate Tuesday was selected '

Mr W, T Mansfield submitteed a report dated .July 7. as follows:— "Jnasmuph as the Council has determined that my services as Borough Engineer ol Qisborne ceased on the Ist inst., this is my last fortnightly report." The following is fny routine report upon the several departments under mi*" control for the fortnight ended the 27th June: Streets and Bridges— Repairs and other matters arising out of instructions have received attention. Other wages on streets was; Scavenging *2fl 19s Id, main*

tenance £152 ls r>cl, lighting £f. 5s Sd, watering 0s sd, plant and tools £8 17s 6d, other bridges 2s <Xl, Kaiti bridge. 14s Oil, Roebuck Road bridge <",s 1d; total, £100 7s 2d.

Quarry and Lino..— Nletal hauled from the quarry to depot, 720 cubic yards, distributed as follows: streets -maintenance 544} cubic yds. Waimata bridge 37} cubic yds, Cook County JC} cubic yds, stock account 121} cubic yds. Staff numbers 32 of whom 20 were engaged at the quarry: wages, £179 14s Bd. To cope with the demands I have found it necessary to keep both locos m commission. On the completion of the metalling of the western approach to the New Waimata bridge to permanent level, stormwater gullies should be constructed at each of the four road lines at the points of intersection with Yogel street and a pipe outlet led into the river. I have laid off a line for the stormwater drain along Sheehan street -to the river from Stout street and had level pegs inserted, the positions of which have been shown to the road foremen. Details of the construction are. plotted on a section providing lor an 18in pipe; one silt gully and two manholes. Where the ground is soft the pipe should be laid on concrete. This work would be better executed by foreman' Davoren's staff.

Waterworks'.— The head . works staff have been engaged m openingi^ip a foot track from the lower to the * upper intake and oh general maintenance, ihave placed ah joriler for the, pipe goods, air and sluice valves for the hospital water supply, which I undertook tb execute. The goods should "arrive m about eight weeks. There will thus be ample time to place m position before, the opening to the hospital late m October. The pipeline has been pegged, : its course being known to TMaher and Bayley.

Sewerage.— The recent floods scoured the bed of the river at the point where the Hall street inverted sewer crosses some three feet m depth over a length of some 100 feet, and over the given distance uncovered the pipe. I have had tho pipe lowered and again covered, and the cost can be put at 30s. ,

Plumbing and Drainage.— Sixteen drains were hydraulically tested and passed as satisfactory; 14 additional w.c.'s have been connected to the town sewers, making a total connected to date of 1830. During the fortnight 10 sanitary and drainage permits were issued.

Sanitation.— During the fortnight no house-to-house inspection has been made iri the borough, the Inspector's time being taken up m the inspection of licensed lodging-houses, halls, churches, billiard saloons, and other places of amusement. Staff numbered .11, wages £64 ,13s 7d. The labor alone, ndt including inspector's salary for locating and ljepatring defects m house drainage for tlie • fortnight, involved a payment m wages of £60 3s 3d. Electrical Department.— Four poles and 86 chains of cable have been erected m the following streets: Stout street, Clifford street, Roebuck road, and Palmerston road. Sixteen house connections have been made m various parts of the borough..- staff numbered 17. wages ' £117 13s 7d.

The. Council has not as yet settled the question of a storage battery, m resiject of which quotations and advice as to the most suitable type have been obtained through, our London agents. Messrs CowSSi«? D ft C °- The Council w "l recall Whilst it was aware that Mr Buswell had obtained prices that it determined to instruct Messrs Coward and Co. to advise on a skeleton specificatton prepared by the electrical engineer, the quotations and advice being the result. I advise that the matter receive attention. Input ™?n + &re y??T m P°Si«ori, registering current put into the car batteries, and to overcome the voltage difference I advise that cells be added to each car to equalise th 6 voltage and thus obviate the SSln r^V ne '' Set -" If "^ su^estion is acted wm ir? U ? Ch ? s< ; of 20 additional cells hiL ln l 0l )l e(i for each car, and wiil ?hi F th ? ba^ ter y voltage up to that of (the bus bar at the power station, namely 220 volts. The 'cells are quoted ,_ .o.b Nbw York at about £5 4 S each, if the -_n_ are added . the speed of the cars Tan be Sf t J }«* ■« increased speed T? neon- ?._ !L °; ir or nia B"netic brakes shohld be added to the equipment.' In sum mansed form the staff of my denartment numbered 132; wages £800. ios id a \ follows: General revenue, £715 7s 3d- loan accounts-electrical £57 5s W. iS_iS? £12 15s id, Waimata bridge £4/73 m' house connections £jo tis Bd-£8.5 X' total, £800 10s Id. 80 £8a 2s >

The report was: adopted; /:.-' i,J kk^J ■ i .? ti^*M that oiiHJic 2nd ..mst.. the fingineei-;.,. waited, -upon him: and had intimated -his term of oilke was up and had offered iiis services which he had declined. Tlie Engineer had then aud -it was his ' duty, to «he hi : m;,with a^kint^ £500 : i<& "wrongi ua y CV -Rlu^f v w^ c^eii^ at the tune. y added' thaf Sf " sem ? $■ . ;clai^ iuid papers to the Council's and .lie liad jioaixi nothing frpm,theni>;up;; to the: presenter Midler moved ti^at the Mayor's action be the motion f f vr %*>Fn, It ;\vas decided that' aiiy further cpminiinications 'with the 'laite Engineer should, pas 3 through the Council a solicitors. "■> ■ ) ■'•■■'.

_ Cor Wade called attention . to the necessity for effecting repairs to Peel street declaring: it would be 4 pity ito let this street go" for "a caatof paint."— Agreed to ; also Lowe street. ; On tlie motion of .Cr Wildish, it was decided to erect it light" in ,' the Recreation Ground. > • At the instance of Cr Wade, the question of removal of poplar; trees m the same reserve was referred to the Work! Committee. Cr Wade refewod to the' street crossings m Gladstone road.— Already, received attention, Cr Lawless brought up the condition of Hirini street.^— Referred to Works Committee ; «►!«? •' removal of treos m Childers rottdv reserve damaging . the roadway. ' The Mayor intimateel 'that it would be neoessaa-y tb havo- the two band rotundas repainted, •md repairs effected to* the bank near the" Kaiti bridge. He suggested tenders b&: called, as tlie work was provided fpr.' in the Estimates; -also the concreting of the /stable' floors and a smail shed for asphalting.— Agreed *to. Cr Black urged tliat on advertisement be inserted m the pi-ess, explaining the Council's decision yre clearing of sewerage chokes.— Agreed to. ' Cr Munns asked 'if- something , could not be done to repay; the holes m 'thi-, tramway track.^Tho; Mayor s:ud instructions had be6n given ; for same to*. be attended to.

Or Black advocated the . -necessity for separate accounts , m connection with the exfienditure on defective sewerage connections, . It Avas. he said, essential for ' tbe future /loaii,— Tho Mayor explainqd that the account/ of £60 for labor was the .first' received from -the Engineer's office. They were now keeping sparate accounts for labor and material.

On tho niot-ion of tlhe Mayor, it was decided to invite tondors for the supply of shingle tb railway .trucks at any station on the line. "