Invercargill Borough Council

Southland Times, Issue 19035, 1 May 1903, Page 3

Invercargill Borough Council

THURSDAY, 30th APiUL

The fortnightly meeting was attended

by the Mayor (Mr C. S. Lpnguet), the Mayor-elect (Mr G. Froggatt), Councillors McGruer, D. Roche, Crosby Smith, R. B. McKay, S. McDonald, Stirling, Scandrett, Ott, J. Stead; J. F. Lilllcrap, W._ Stead, and R. Cleave. The Mayor welcomed the new Council to office, congratulating- tho old members in the proof they had received of tho confidence of the ratepayers. Tho Council he had had the honour to presido

over had been one of the very best the

town had had, and his relations with them had always been most pleasant. He congratulated Councillor Scandrett on topping the poll, and made special reference to Councillor Ott, who was second, a very creditable position. Councillor Ott was practically a young lnvercargill toy when ho joined tho Council, but from the beginning he had made his presence felt, particularly in connection with matters of finance. He <the Mayor) had also taken an interest in the finances, and, notwithstanding the criticisms of the morning paper,, thought he had as good a grasp of the borough finances as anyone nt the tnbJe. During his term he had had the pleasure of welcoming thrte new members—Councillor^ Smith. Stirling, and McGruer, *and they had each proved themselves worthy citizens. Councillor noche was the father of the Council, and all would be glad to sue his familiar form in the old seat. Messrs McDonald and McKay were now member. 1 !, but lio was sure tho ratepayers had made no misinkp in ending them to the Council. lie trusted the Council would work well under their new Mayor, and would use their best efforts in the interests of the town. ,( Applause.)

Councillors Scaudrett and Ott thanked the Mayor for his k,indly -references*, the former adding that he hoped an opportunity would be given to the Council to recognise their appreciation of the. Mayor's services by a special minute.

The Department of Lands and Surv#y asked for a statement as to what improvements had been effected at Grasmere, and .other particulars. A similar request w,as .made dealing with the Sandy \feqint. Domain.— Referred to the Committee. ' ;: . ....'.-'•.

The Appleby Cricket Club asked fo» permission to level and top-dress a portion of the reserve in Teviot street, and to have a gutewajttshifted to about the middle of ths reserve. — The Mayor said that the reserve was one of those which was used as a short cut by citizens. —

Referred to the Reserves Committee

Several transfers of corporation leases were sanctioned on th& usual conditions.

Messrs T. 31. MacdoaalU and Son forwarded conveyance of part of section 1 5. block 59, from T. A. Wallace to L. U. Roope, for consent to the right-of-way referred to. The right-of-way was 32ft. wide, but as it was created in 1804. the provisions of the Municipal Corporation Act. 1900, restricting the width to 20it, did not apply. — Referred to the Works Committee.

The S.R.F.TJ. drew nttention to the fact that grazing was being permitted in. the southern half of the Western Reserve, though that portion had been withheld from public auction at the request of the Union.— Left to the* Mayor. J. Crowther applied for a license for the Zealandia Hall —The Mayor said

that the hall had been licensed temporarily on previous occasions, but not as a theatre. Mr Crowther had agreed to place A 'door on the west side for fire escape purposes. — Referred to the Sanitary Committee for report.

Messrs Mackenzie and Wilson inquired whether the stage for the* Town Hall was to be 00 feet in depth or width (the instructions said depth). Such a j depth was most unusunl , oven in the largest theatres in the world, whereas GG i feet was the minimum width for a good working stage. The great depth would, materially affect the cost— The Mayor said that there was no mistake—Councillor J. Steu<l said that the matter should be referred to the committee for consideration. — Councillors Ott and Scandrett supported the GG feet depth—Councillor Smith held tha-t the time to alter was the present, if desired, but he did not see that it was at all necessary. —

Instructions to stand

The Christchurch Association of Architects wrote that several of its members wished to compete for the Town Hall designs, but were unable to do so on account Of the conditions being such that they could not work under. They forwarded « copy of a pamphlet " Suggestions for the" conduct of architectural competitions," with a request that the clauses indicated should bo included in the conditions. The Otago Institute forwarded a letter making similar suggestions.—Councillor Ott and Lillicrap said that the Council had gone very carefully into .the matter, and it was too late to talk about fresh conditions. There were plenty of applications coming in, and if Dunedin and Christchurch did not compete it would not greatly matter. They moved that the letters be received.— Councillor StirMng said that the Committee 1 had followed the conditions of th» Wellington Opera House competition. — Councillors Smith and Scandrett ob-

jected

to any alteration— The Mayor

said that it was absurd that the Dunedin and Christcmirch Societies should! try to dictate what the Council should -j pay in commission, etc.— Letters received No tenders were received for reclamation- on the foreshore.— Councillor Cleave said that there was an impression abroad that no compensation would b» given for improvements. — The Mayor said that compensation would be giyen for all improvements except the wall — Referred to the Harbour Committee. The Works Committee recommended (1) that a cycling track be formed on the west side of Clyde street from Forth to Biggar street: (2) that the pond in No. 1 block of the gardens he tilled up ; (3) that the drain in Clyde Mre«t be j continued to the railway culvert at the railway station. The committee reported' f,4) having held over the question of abattoir district for furtherconstileration ; (5) having requested the -mayor to reply to the letter from the South Invercargill Corporation in reierenee to the account in dispute; !G) that 1 further consideration of Mr Anderson's (engineer) report <m the i,uestion of drainage is held over, pending an estimate from the town engineer of the cost of the work and the scheme of drainage proposed by Mr Anderson. On the first clause, the Mayor said that the- cost would be £12— Cr. Smith said that the road wns impassable for cyclists in winter and for threo parts of, the summer. I/t was intended to chip the grass under the trees on the w»stern side, two or three feet wide. It was not proposed to asphalt it now, as cyclists, by using the track, would ktep the grass down.— Cr. Stirling said the cost would not be more than 4s per chain.— Cr. Ott moved an amendment referring the clause back to the commit-

j tee. It should be either a proper track or none at all. IE a ' track was put down it should l)epn an.arterial rood, such as Kelvin and Nith streets.— Cr. Lillicrnp seconded the amendment. The track 'should^ be of a pewn&nwit nature. TfuT'theT'oiie proposed voUM he used only in winter, and in summer 'tho grass would glow over it.— The Mayor said that the other streets wore always passable, and the reason for recommending the present track was that Clyde street was no wet.— Cr Roche said that the proposal was the thin end o£ the wedge. The Council, with their present finances, should not emcQurage the asking of such concessions for cyclists.>-Cr. Mcßmcr said that they all. knew that Clyde street was impassable for bicycles i» winter. The proposed track was away from dray traffic, and the wear of the bjpycles would keep it 4n good order.— Cr. Smith having replied, the amendment was carried .

Ou cluufe 'J. Cr. McKay asked lot' n. re&Kon. — Cr. Smith said the pond

looked upon ii.s ii jmid-holu, and it was in an insanitary condition. — The

clause was adopted

On clause 3, the Mayor said that Ihc work would prevent tho "blocking 'Of tho Clyde s-lrect drain.— ltcfcrring to cluu.se G, Cr. Cliuivu asked wlmt check the Council hud on tlie moat supplied to the new shop in town from the Wnlincetowii works — The Muyor repliud Hint the

owners had given an undertaking to supply proper returns.— Cr. Lillicrap said that the returns wore supplied, and them was no reason to suppose they were incorrect.—Tho report as amended was ad-

opted

The Finance Committee recommended—

(.1) that a copy o

if tho revised regula-

tions for gasfitters prepared be forwarded to the Master Plumbers' Association, in case they should desire to make any suggestions ; (2) that the wages of the three stokers at the gasworks bo inoivasod to 9s per day ; (3) that S.

liuxton's withdrawal of his lender for

supply of lime be allowed, and Ihat his deposit bo returned ; (4) tihat fresh tenders be called for th© supply of lime to the gasworks, and also for coal for I tho waterworks. The committee reported—(s) having authorised the Mayor to obtain two trollies from tho Kailway Department for the Jetty, failing which that tenders bo called for same . i.fi) having held over for a fortnight the Nightcaps Coal Co.s offer to supply coal for the gasworks : ("") having procured furniture and fittings f o r tho Fire brigade Station at a cost of £48 18s Gd ; (9) having examined accounts nmoujiting to £1254 13s lOd, ,uid recommend that they be passed for payment, viz. : Works £Is+ 5s Sri, reserves and cemetery £39 4s 9d. sanitary £51, 1 3s 2tl. abattoir £20 18s 7d, harbour £'?8 18s 10d, gas £552 9s Od, water £110 0s 2d. fire £8 6s Od. municipal £218 5s fid.

On clause 2 the Mayor suit! that the increase vms Oil sl day— On chuise 4 a I nt pi- from Mr W. Ilundyaide w.is read, offering n i«* test of the capabilities of Nightcaps coal, un<( was referred to the <?«■« Committee.— On clause C, (_Y- .Stirling said that it was currently reported that the fne station wns most elaborately furnished, and it would be- well to disabuse the minds of the ratepayers on the point.— Cr. MoGruer said that the cost was about £4 15s per man for ten men, and Cr. w. Stead said the figures spoke for themselves.— Cr. McGruer asked for details of the gasworks account and was informed that £392 o f tho amount was for coal.— Report adopted.

The C.'as Mana/ger reported that the stock of coke was rapidly increasing. Tt had been remarked that the. railway charges were too heavy ns aga.inst coal rates, and suggested that the Department be asked to bring the charges into line with those for carriage of brown coal — Referred to the Gas Committee.

A report was submitted by the Gas Manager on trials of coal, and it was resolved to accept the lender of J Mills and Co. for gas coal.

The sanitary inspector reported that a careful inspection had been made of vehicles for hire. During the fortnight only two notices under the Public Health Act had come to hand— diptheria and scarlet fever respectively.— Councillor Roche drew attention to the cab stand not being sufficiently kept to by the cabmen. Another imuttc-r was the bellman, from whom he thought the Council should have a licensee fee. Several carts laden with straw had passed through the streets % lately and created a nuisance.— Referred to the Sanitary Committee

11. S. S. Kyle reported that 111 cattle. 929 sheep. « pi RH and 4 calves had been slaughtered af the abattoir during the fortnight, one cow being condemned. The total number slaughtered during the ,Year ending 3i s t March was 2833. condemned 28.— Referred to the Abattoir Committee.

Councillor Smith drew nttention to the rails laid down over Clyde street, which were some height above the road level, and were dangerous to foot passengers. Attention of the Railway Department to be drawn to the obstruction.

Councillor Stirling mentioned that the siding at Spey street leading to the gasworks fiad lately been continually Mocked by trucks.— Railway Department to be requested to avoid this inconvenience.

Tina-nee Committee was instructed to prepare for the opening of the Fire Brigade station next Wednesday afternoon.

Councillor Stirling reported that ho had received an offer to remove some trees at. the upper end of Yarrow street, tor £2. — Power g-iven to accept offer.