CITY COUNCIL. FORTNICETLY MEETING.

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13497, 17 August 1912, Page 6

CITY COUNCIL.

FORTNICETLY MEETING.

Tii-y ordinaly :r;otiug of the City CavM ai was hold .r.ot night, there bpmg pvei:o'-t: lii'j Jiaiov (MrT. A. H. Field) and Councillor::. Morshaw, Foil, Mercer, 'Adams, Hampton, Snodgrass and I aster.

FINANCE. Ta«> statement «»f balances was presented as follows :—

Correspondent c »vas read and dealt vlth as t'oliov.is :•--• From the J;Vc;,.:yteriaii- Church authorities askiu^ t.~e Council to remove trees at te-e i.oi.' cemetery shading tjie Fresbytoriaa ■>~,.,. ground.—Referred to Committee-. From the iru-tkute of Local Governmont Engineuit. i-.i tifying its formation and inviting iii? ; o-operation of local foodies. —-Rscoivod.

From the ijc-.n.wfyin.e; Society, agreeing that ccuy or. v,v.s necessary in planting treos in ;a; streets, .and stating1 ffchai no planting would be undertaken rvvithout tiu; Co^;:.cil's full approval.— flEleferrcd to !.■• • , tv Engineer. From the Commissioner of Crown ELanc;s stutmg t,-r.t the necessary repairs wuuid h-j ,::.,do to the retaining wail at tlie old av-'>ol site in St. Vincent Btv&oi.

From Mr. [•". St. John, suggesting that the Cos::. ::1 Living purchased part of the Dun Zv-.-oiu; Lain'property, a way tehould b 3 o]>o::cc: ii-om the Third House twidde right a^::_. round the ridge un±ii it wmtfc. v: I Uto the open at the .top of Jenkins' liill. This would enable Hjodostriane to make a complete round trip, and aiforti oae of the most enjoy»ble walks near the city. t Two visitors •to tho place hfi'ji made him flu offer- to subscribe towards, the cost if'tho wolk v. ra.s carried o^i Alt it was pro-nosed •to do was to clear thei way of obetrjiietions aad maxt u-y direexion in places. He understc-od it could bo done for Quito a reasonable sum, and if the Council would s.-rant permission, he v/ouid undertake 1 o collect subscriptions end get the- w--"»rl" done to the satisfac•tion of the City Engineer. About £20 be estimated would be required.—Mr. St. John was t v.C7-kedfor his letter, and authorised to cake the steps he proposed.

An auctioneer's license was granted fc> S. H. Robiiwi (Taslwr and Levies).

GENERAL COMMITTEE

The committee of the- whole Council reported as i'olb.vs: Or letter from Mrs ■ill. Greens.ado : Consideration deferred and that in th,-> .r.^antimc Mrs. Green-K-ad© be writton to and informed that s lhe Council su■/■zests the easiest and cheapest way ending any extension of Ttna now &eivjr will be to <lrain into the feld on 9in H::iii>x street. On letter rfrom 'Mr. 1\ H. Xitchingrrian: 'That the .■Avstor table be iilkd up in its turn, cost iibout £5. As to turbine for pumping: ds/;>rred until the City: •Kngineer has r?;.orted upon the drainage system. As to account for valuation fees : That the fees for adjustments ho paid for in izrma of Mr. Pettit's agreement and that the remainder of •the account be f ,;.id. As to Maitai lands: That tho matter b& referred to £fae nee-ib mooting of the. Council. That t .1 licensed cab driver he nailed upoii to show cause why this iliconse r.hould T.ot he cancelled, he hayiiig been co;:\ :<-ttd on a charge of using obscene language, drunkenness,,and reejj&tinpc the police. That a"'driver's .•(passengers') license has "been granted t& James Th^.'fis. As to City Enfdnocr's repoj-fc--' (a) Queen Gardens: ,I'hat the. matter he referred to the next .K2.oetinc: of the Council, the City Engineer to. subuut p. £,eheme of alterations -t-o the Hardy etxeet frontage. As to Ga,s Engineer's it-port: (a) Gas main, Tutuka "street': That the matter of laying a main in 1 iituka street bo refer»rod to the Council for decision, (b) lLamp, Mount sutraet: That a- lamp be «>rscted._ cost r.lrjut £6. (c) Lamp corner Vvaimoji ro. _d and Motueka street: TCliat the Gas Engineer report as to the feasibility of placing a lamp at t3io csorner of Kawai street near the Infectious Disea&es Hospital, (d) Offer of '■street lamps from Gisbarne: Tliat the fPown Clejk inquire as to whether the Crisborne Counci: will supply tlie posts toeparate from tiii& lanters. The following letters have oeen received -and conteidered by the Committee- since the date jef the last Council meeting, and they fiog to report thereon as follows: ..^a) iFrom the. secretary of the llugby Union (requesting the ro-erection of the pavilim\ at Trafalgar Park: Consideration deferred: the "Council to visit, (b) FrOwi ifcho Tramway Engineer, Bradfoid, {Yorkshire, fluaiihing information as to jrail-less trams: iliat the letter be referred to the Special Committee, (c) iii'rorn Sir. Pi-. B. Duncan offering to uwntor purchase land in Milton. Grove: Consideration deferred; the Council to ;«u'sit. (d) Fioin Mrs. Clougher, as to idiainago comiectjon: That the connection be put in to the boundary and the cost charged to Mrs. Clougher. (c) From Messrs Adams and llarley_ making a claim of £19 15s foi\ re-painting the front of their pi*raises in Hardy etitxst: That the Council considers the

amount of the eLiim excessive in view of tho damage {:ctually sustained, and that tho original offer'of £10 in full settlrmont without brfjudice be' repeated, (fj From tho Asr'.staut Uudor-Secretary of"Public Works Department, a-sjbo .laying off of E'Jiott s-trec.t: That the lefctei

ba acknowledged, (g) Citation to appear -iixjforo the C'^c-iiiatiou Commissioner, ro labourers' iv.vf.id: That the City Engineer represent the Council, (h) From %ho Secretary, General -Post Office, as to maintenance" of Tost Office clock: That the letter bo acknowledged. On letter from -residents, Kusscll street: 'That the Council is uuable Lo undertake so large % work at prosoijt. On letter from Mr fi. P. Was:ib-:si"nc: TJiat tho trees b© ,romovod, and usod to iill the gaps "%p-----twoon tho eve'e tiack and the footpath. On lcttar from Captain Graham: That tfhev have no recommendation to make. On "letter from Mr. A. Rliller re hoarding: THat the application be. granted. 'As to Sands reserve: That the fence is required l:or tJis protection of the cycle track v.nd the trees, and that the stiles across the fer.ca are sufficiently conven- - it and that no exception can be taken { • fche barriers -at the ends of the track.,^ '[ho. report vrzt 1 adopted; THE DRAINAGK JiY-IxAWS. Messrs. F. A. Carlisle, Laird. Mc-•t-ney, Carter, H. Kidson and Wilmot - vreeenthig drain layers, waited on tJie -'. -v^ncil to discuss ■ tlie nature and ad■i.:inistration tof the by-laws and other matters touched on in' oorre.spondonco between the drain-layers and 4ke CH# Enginoor and the Council.

In reply to the Mayor, ivii. s. . Carlisle said it was impossib.e to confine tho representations entirety uj tuo correspondpnee. Strong gtatomcntb iegarding Ul& drain-layers-had been made by tho C-ity Engineer, and tlfey owed it to themselVes to explain, 'libeir grievances were the administration o. Lie by-laws. ,the oity iiingiueer's manner, his inconsistency, and Jus inability to supervise their work. If the Council was not willing to hear them on those matters the deputation would not go on. .. -- j The. City Engineer asked if th© deputation represented the licensed drainlayers. ! Mr. Carlisle, replying to the Mayor, I said they represented by far the major- . ity of the aram-a>crs and citi/.enii. I 'The City Eng.neor said one member of the deputation was not a licensed drain-layer. Tho Mayor said the Council would hear what tho deputation had to say. Mr. Carlisle said the trouble aroso out of a circular issued by tlie City Engineer regarding the drainage bylaws. Against that circular tnoy left compelled to protest. They waited on thp City Engineer and made representations jn writing, and ho sent them a letter containing unjustifiable statements. Tlie circular made drain-layers responsible, whero they could not find a junction of « -sO'.vor, to .search four feetcither way. It was frequently impracticable to"go I'our feet. With regard to tlu> plans demanded by the City Engineer, it was .quite impossible for drainla\ers to supply the details required. , Hitherto the plans they had been in the habit of supplying had been accepted as satisfactory.

At this stage the further hearing of the deputation was adjourned until the meeting of the Council in committee on Friday nest. GAS ENGINEER'S REPORT. The Gas Engineer (Mr W. J. Hookey) reported as follows: Exhauster: —We have at the present t time only one exhauster, and with our limited holder capacity, we should be in a serious posi+iou with regard to the supply, of gas if a breakdown occurred to the exhauster. I beg to recommend that we order another exhauster to pass 20,000 cubic feet per hour. In a works the , s iz-c of ours, it is necessary for safety to have a duplicate, especially as before mentioned, when the.storage capacity is so limited and there would be so little time to repair a break, down. I estimate the cost of the exhauster erected, will be about £210, including necessary connections. Retort renewals: I beg to recommend that retorts and firebricks be ordered to renew ono bench of retorts. We have at present sufficient material to renew one b-fir.ch, but next ■summer it may be nee- i ■eagiary to renew another as well. It is i:ar sr.W and more economical to make provision for renewals every year, than to let th c plant go until it is necessary in one year to spend an abnormal amount on renewals as was the case last year, when retorts and materials for three settings had to be purchased. I estimate the cost of retorts and firebricks re-quired will be , about £l£f). Supply of gas to Vanguard street: The supply of gas to Vanguard street south of Hardy street, is taken oif the Hardy street main, which-is 3in. There is a 4in main in Vanguard street, running from the. old Custom House corner up to Buxton's store, and I would recommend that this 4in main be extended on to the present 3in main at the Hardy street corner. This wiUcost about £30 and will give <a more direct supply to ( Upper Vanguard street, and will be advantageous in view of the extension j about~to be made in Upper Vanguard street and Motueka street. Proposed lamp at corner of Motueka and Kawai street: I find that I was correct in stating that the Fever Hospital on this •corner is not supplied with gas, therefore it will not be feasible to supply a lamp with gas from this quarter. The nearest source of supply would be Waimea road, a distance of about 6 chains. The cost of laying an inch pipe together with the lamp, would be about £15, ! whereas a lamp on the corner of Wai- j inea road and Motueka street, as al-'j ready reported, would be about £6 10s. Payment for holiday: As the Council's j workmen in the City Engineer's Department are to be paid for the holiday i on the sth inst, I have put the three j yardmen at the ga.s works on the same basis in the current time sheet. Accident to J. Millican: On Saturday the 10th inst., when not at work, Millican ! fell off his bicycle and sustained injuries:, which will keep him from work for about a fortnight. He is no longejr stoking, but is a yard hand, and I shall be glad of instructions as to his wages, j .Purifying material tester: I shall be glad for authority to order a tester^ for spent oxide, which will cost £2 in England. At present we have no testing appliances at the works, and this little piece of apparatus will be very useful." GAS COMMITTEE. The Ga s Committee reported ?.,s follows: As to Gas Engineer's report: (a) Exhauster: That a new exhauster be ordered from Home to arrive here at the beginning of the now financial year, (b) Ac to retorts: That a new bench of retorts, together with the necessary fire-b ricks, be ordered from Home to arrive with the. exhauster. (c) Gas main Vanguard street: That the 4in. main near Buxton's store be connected with the 3in. main at the corner of Hardy street; cost about £30. (d) As to proposed lamp corner of Motueka and Kawai • streets: Consideration deferred; the Committee to visit. (e).iAs to wages during holidays: That the yard men -at the- gas works be placed on the same footing as the street labourers. _(f) As to accident to J. Millican.: That in,consideration of his lengthy service, and as a matter of grace, Miliican be paid half, wages for a fortnight, to take effect from! the date oil which he received hfa injuries, (g) That an instrument for testing spent oxide be ordered from Home; cost about £2. The report was adopted. CITY,ENGINEER'S REPORT. Tho City Engineer (Mr. J. G. Little~john) reported inter alia as follows:-— 'streets and iootways work completed and in progress were detailed. About 130 yards of Uoukler Bank metal had been*-delivered. Drainage: Tho old I sewer • between Trafalgar street and i Richmond Avenue was found to bo-, I broken in, <and a length of Gi feet had ' Ito be ic-laid. A pjpo drain in the right-oi-way off Richardson .stieet waw bwekI ed, and it was found, on opening up, to be completely filled with silt, and iaid at a depth of nine feet. He proposed to re-lay them much shallower-, and to put thorn across the- street into a culvert .which discharges through the Rocks road wall. Abattoir: Tho cleaning out of the storm water drains had been completed as far a>s possible; but one of the worst portions of the ground could not be drained without the deepening of the drain along Mr. Fairey's fence. He would endc-avour .to arrango with him for the deepening and future maintenance of the part in question—a length of about 4 chains. Places of public recreation: Work at the Sands Reserve had been completed as far .as possible this season. The whole of tho Church Hill had been raked over and cleaned up generally. A start would bs made very shortly with the steps. Tho plantation at Milton's Acre had been- dug over. Work was required to " the fence; r Tho Botanical Reserve fence" hid -been repaired and made sheep proof. By-laws: Fotxr building permits and. one drainage permit had been granted. Twenty general nuisances had been dealt with. Fire prevention: The nevv firebell tower for liardj street was being erectod. • . ' In a special report, the Engineer s*vbmitted a plaai of proposed alterations in. the Hardy' street frontage of the Queon'e Gardens. The work would cost

about £60, and comprised filling up along tho street.frontage, layi:£g out all \>atlis afresh, and repairing tho fence. GENERAL. • • '■ I Tho manager of the abattoir reported tliat -the following stock had. been slaughtered at th© abattoir-during tho past .fortnight: Cattle 59, calves 6,, she-op 695, iambs 31, pigs 45; total 38G. 'i Jio City Engineer presented a schedule of works authorised, and the. ©x•priidituro upon them. In reply to a question, ho said there was no chanco vi tho al.oeations for the year being sufficient.

Cr Fell moved that the City Engineer be instructed to ooniino expenditure to mum streets and necessary repairs. If they had followed that policy throughout the year, it would have been much better.

Cr. Hampson said they.must consider the needs of outlying streets. He agreed that only urgent expenditureshould be undertaken, but they could, not lay down any hard and fast rule. Or. Tasker seconded tho motion. It was tiino they stopped fnttoring_ money away. Ho agreed that the less .important streets should h?.\o attention, but tho main streets wero used by everyone. Tho motion was carried.

A report by Cr. Fell on the legal opinion regarding the acquisition of land in the Maitai Valley, was read. Cr. Fell si.d th© Council must be prepared to pay for tho river bed together with reparian and fishing rights. Cr Harley agreed with Cr. Fell and considered they should take a smaller area than that proposed. (Cr. Snodgrass said they had spent a good deal of nroney on reserves, and they had opened Mill street. Ho did not think it wise to take up further reserves, and h<? gave notice to move that no further steps be taken in the matter. Cr. Fell said ho had been as keen, as anyone to acquire, this land, but.in view of the state of tho, finances, he "did not think they were justified in going on with it. Even if the Government granted £1,000 be did not know where the rest of the money was to oomo from.

The Mayor said the matter should be well considered before they decided to throw it out.

The City Engineer was instructed to alter the paths at the Qiieen'e Gardens at the approach of tlie Tra.sk Memorial gates in accordance with his' report. It was decided to request Mrs. Trask to formally open the gates when tho .work is finished. No action was taken with regard to improving the fence. No tender was accepted for digging gas jbrench in Vanguard street. On the Mayor's motion, the matter of constriicting a gravel trap above the upper weir was referred to the Committee.

Cr. Hampson moved that_the Council at its next committee meeting consider the matter of finance, and means of paying off the overdraft. The motion_,was seconded by Cr. Tasker and carried.

On Cr. Snodgr.ass' motion the Gas Engineer was instructed to report on unaccounted for gas. Tho Town Clerk submitted^ a statement of expenditure in general account for the quarter ended June 30th, showing that the allocations had been over expended by £689 18s 6d. This sura included. £464 5s 6d for the stone crusher.

The Council then rose.

Ds., Gb. v £ s. d. £ s. d. OeiieralA/c ... 19 ;N89 11 0 "Water „ ... M Si. 8 2 Gaa , ;2,146--13 2 Interest „ ... 1,771 19 3 Abater,, ... 195 10 10 Hospital a d <1 A/c -51 5 7 Balance Dt. 23,393 S 0 A i-i;i 7 7 0 7 0. CR. £ s. d. Cemeteries (Trcst account) ■■ 324 18 2 Contractors' deposits 38 10 0 Trafalgar i'iaii c- . 60 19 11 Payments wore a.utiionsed as toliows: Oeneral accour-t 5 m2o 15 9 rtVator accouac 223 11 9 iGas acciHuit , 0 0 !Abattoir account '18 3 0 Clemoferies iiccouut 1/0 Total £1037 7 6 CORRESPONDENCE.