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Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 367, 12 April 1918, Page 3

jt OTAHUHU BOROUGH W COUNCIL.

I«AST NIGHT'S MEETING

At the fortnightly meeting of the Otahuhu Borough Council held last evening there were present the Mayor (Mr A. McDonald), Crs H. J. Hall, H. J. Moffitt, R. Todd, A- J. Wildman, H. V. Stringer, with the Town Clerk (Mr W. J, pinnison). Cr Clements, owing to his being away from home, wrote asking that the Council should grant him leave of absence for three months—On the motion of Cr Moffitt the request was acceded to. TELEPHONE BUREAU GRANTED.

As the result of representations made by the Council for the establishment of a local telephone bureau a letter was read from the Telegraph Engineer, Auckland, stating that authority had been given for the establishment of a telephone exchange at Otahuhu and that as soon as sufficient wire was available the work of installation would be proceeded with. ■ Other similar works, he said, were handicapped in the same manner at present but he hoped to be able to overcome the difficulty before long.

On the motion of Cr Wildman the letter was received, the news conveyed by the communication being regarded as highly satisfactory.

, WHO own's the whahf ? In connection with the damage done to the wharf as the result of

the recent gale the Secretary (Mr H. B. Burnett) of the Auckland Harbour Board wrote in reply to the Council's enquiry as to who

owned the wharf that it was not

under the control of the Harbour Board and that he had no knowledge as to who the owner was. The Mayor remarked that if that were the case then it belonged to the Council. Cr Hall: Our misfortune ! On the motion cf Cr Todd the matter of the necessity of repairs at the wharf was referred to the 'Works Committee. alleged discourtesy. With reference to the claim of the Mount Wellington Road Board that in the Council's negotiations for the purchase of the St. Ann's bridge quarry the Board had been ignored by the Council, as mentioned in a letter from the Board read at the last meeting of the Council, the Clerk of the Board f (Mr Albert Ross) wrote that the Council's reply to his communication had been considered by his Board, who had passed the following lesolution thereon, viz. : " That the selfish and unneighbourly action of the Otahuhu Borough Council be placed on record and that the whole of the . correspondence be forwarded to the Hon. Minister of Lands through the district Member of Parliament.

Cr Stringer : We are a bad lot. The Mayor: Letter received without comment.

ROWING club's shed.

Following the inspection by the Committee appointed of the Rowing Club's shed and the offer made by the Council to purchase the same, Mr C. Arlington, on behalf of the Club, wiote accepting the Council's offer and it was agreed to take possession of the shed as from Monday next.

POOR PIGGY !

Application for permission to keep a pig was made by Mr John W. E- Lyne, of Church Street, who stated he had one acre of ground and was prepared to build a sty 80 or 90 feet away from his door.

The Town Clerk having reported that the By-law of the Council would not permit of this being done, Cr Todd contended that the by-law was an unreasonable one.

After discussion Cr Moffitt moved and it was resolved that the Town Clerk reply to Mr Lyne -informing him of the Council's by-law requiring a sty to be 198 ft. from any building and enquiring if he could comply with the same.

A SATISFACTORY RFt ORl» The Town Clerk presented a statement of finance for the year ending March 31st last. The Mayor considered that the were in a very satisfactory condition. During the year the Council had been able, he pointed out, to reduce the overdraft on the District Fund Account by £37(i and all the other accounts were in credit. His Worship went on to say that in accordance with the promise made at the time of his election he proposed to call a meeting of ratepayers at an early date when the Council's financial position would he explained to them.

Fn t'RF work

In connection with the preparation of the estimates for the coming year's work the Mayor suggested that there should be combined meeting of the «orks and Finance Committee soon as possible so that the requirements for the coming year could be ascertained. In this connection Cr Todd remarked that when the roads were inspected it should he by the whole Council and not by a committee. He contended that the roads were not in such a good condition now as at this time last year.

Cr Moffitt differed from the

last speaker and said that there was not so much patching required as twelve months ago. It was not what the Works Committee would like to do, said Cr Moffitt, but the amount recommended to be spent by the Finance Committee.

Cr Stringer considered the roads were better than they had been before.

Cr Todd said he was pleased with the state of the back roads but such roads as Mangere, Great South, Sale yards, and Faijburn roads needed more attention. After some informal discussion it was arranged that an inspection should be made of the roads so that the Finance Committee would be in a better position to consider the requirements for the coming year. SANITARY DEFAULTERS

Cr Stringer, in drawing attention to certain premises in the Borough which were not connected with the drainage system, moved that the Town Clerk should prepare a list of those not connected and the same was agreed to. Cr Stringer remarked that in one instance where several employees were engaged the sanitary condition of the premises were far from satisfactory and should be reported upon for an improvement to be effected. Cr Stringer also commented on the unsatisfactory condition of a house near Luke and Church streets. It was, said Cr Stringer, as unsightly as any property could be. —The Council decided to draw the attention of the Health Department to the complaint.

The annual meeting of the Otahuhu Patriotic Committee will be held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday next when the annual report and balance sheet will be submitted Residents are invited to attend.

Cable news has been received that Private Fred Fothergill, the youngest son of Mr Fothergill, ot Clevedon Road, Otahuhu, has been killed in action. The deceased soldier was highly respected throughout the district and prior to enlisting was employed in Mr W. E. Lippiatt's nursery. He was also a prominent member ot the Methodist Church choir and was identified with various social organisations in the township.