CITY COUNCIL.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14530, 6 October 1917, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

FORTNIGHTLY MEETING

Tlig fortnightly meeting of the City Council, was held List nigtt, and was attended by the Mayor (Mr W. W. Snodgrasa) "and Councillors Stringer. Baigent,- Gibbons, Watson, Pettit^ llout, Ha-mpson, Carlisle, and Marris.

FINANCE. The statement of bank balances as at October oth, 1917, was as follows:— Db. Cb.

CORRESPONDENCE. Uorre&ponuence was dealt with as follows:— From the 12th Regiment Band, requesting permission, to play at tho Church Steps a,t the service of national prayer on Sunday, 7th inst., the Mayor Having asked tie band to attend the ■service. As the band had previously been notified that they could not play' at the steps or in the vicinity on Sundays, they concluded they must get special permission to play at the service.—Permission was granted. < From Commissioner Hodder, Salvation Army, re appeal for funds for work among soldiers.—The Council endorsed tte appeal. From secretary Municipal Association, as to contribution towards the cost of a test case to ascertain whether gas mains are rateable.—lt was .decided that the Council contribute its share of the expense. From the Prime Minister, acknow-1 lodging the Council's resolution re .bonus to civil servants.

From ten residents of Halifax street east, complaining of the state of the footpath and watertable on the north side of the street.—Referred to tho Works Committee. From Messrs Hallenstein Bros., Ltd., applying for remission of half rates on premises t>olely used by the Lady Liverpool Fund Committee.—Referred to Finance Committee. From Mr J. Ingram, secretary of the Nelson Labourers' Union, re war bonus to the Council's employees, stating that Komo misunderstanding bad arisen. It was not the case that they already received a; bonus of Is per day. Tte 1915 award v/a.s Is lid per hour, and the previous Council granted a bonus of one penny per hour, bringing the pay up to Is 2£d. In April, 1916, there was a fresh award of Is 3d per hour. The union asked for reconsideration, of the request owing to the liigt cost of liviug.—On the motion of Cr. Pettit, seconded by Cr. Hampson, the- matter was referred to the Finance Committee for further consideration. From churchwardens of the Cathedral, stating inability through the state of finances to contribute towards cost of upkeep of tie Church Hill. From_ Mr J. A. Orsman, requesting permission to cut grass in Victory Square, and applying for right' of grazing at nig^ht for three years, offering £10 per annum as rent and to ■sowgrass seed free of cost to the Council. Referred to Works Committee. From Mr M.S. Smith, asking permission to re-lay water service on the surface of land corner of Grove and Tra-

falgar street, used for a tomato garden.—Granted. From Mr F. C. Pott it, City Valuer, applying for increased remuneration in view of the high cost of living. He stated that tho amount paid tim was very low compared with what was paid in other cities of about the same size. Mr Pettit submitted letters from Wanganui and New Plymouth, showing that in the first-mentioned place the borougb valuer (who acts also as returning officer) receivevs £225 per annum; and in New Plymouth £325 every third year, and £25 per year in intervening years.—Referred to Finance Committee. _ The Council was cited before the Conciliation Council in the Neleon Plumbens and Gaafittors' Union's application for an award, the sitting to be held on October 18th.—It was decided that tho City Engineer appear and apply for exemption from the award.

COMBINED COMMITTEES

The combined committee reported as follows:— -Oii letter from Messrs. J. ]>. Moriarty and Dodson and Son," requesting permission to rent land in Milton Grove: (a) Ttat the land be let for the present to Mr. Moriarty on the .same terms as the previous tenant; (b-> that Messrs. Moriartv and the Baptist Church Trustees be"informed that a new valuation will shortly be -made. On letter from Mr. H. G/Kingsland, applying for payment of £1:2 10s for trees: That the amount be paid. On letter from Mr. B. C. Neale, requesting permission to erect a motor stcd on part of Examiner street: That the 'committee has no recommendation to make, but would suggest that in view of the early widening of the embankment Mr. A'eale should make an entrance from Waimea street into his own property. On letter from Mr. J. Oomtjie Scott, quoting terms for visitin.-; Xolson and reporting upon an electric lighting scheme for tlis city: That pending a report from the "City ."Engineer further consideration of Mr. Scott's offer be deferred. On letter iron; Mr. B. B. Jones, requesting an extension of the sewer in .Beachville: That the City Engineer interview the property owners and ascertain w hotter they will allow a sewer to be laid through their properties, how many of tiicva Mill be prepared to connect with cho sewer, and what amount Mr. Jones would contribute towards tie cost of laying the sewer. On letter from Mrs. Leah Atkinson, as to storm water over, flowing her property in Trafalgar street north: Consideration deferred. On letter from Mr. L. T. Bowdcn. requesting the cutting of the.hedge around Yio-! Tory Square: That the committee is of' opinion that tbe hedge does not require cutting at present, and' that the matter be left in the hands of the City Engineer to attend to when he thinks fit. On letter from residents Maori road and Beachville Terrace, requesting an extension of tli'e gas main: That the .Gas Engineer report further upon the

matter. On letter from residents Ka\yi\i street, requesting an extension of ."the gas main: That they be asked what amount they will be prepared to contribute towards the cost (£66). On letter from Mrs. H. L.'Jennens, as to' footpath Grove street: That tbe footpath on the south side be formed from .'■ilton street as far as the eastern side of Jerinens's shop, provided the fences at present not up to the.street be inov-

\ -v to the boundary. (This proviso refers to Westley's and part of the Dii.ioiuing frontage.) "Cost not to exceed £10. On letter from Messrs. Pitt and Moore, requesting consent to survey plan of land in Vanguard street belonging to Dalgety' and Co.: That the plan be approved and the seal of the Council affixed thereto. As to Post Office clock: That the Gas Engineer and City Engineer report as to what !;\>v- would suggest in the way of imnroving the system of lighting'and improving the condition of the clock respectively. As to repairing gas meters: Consideration deferred until '<-vails for the present half-year are roadv. As to culvert. Parere street: •>) That Mrs. Holmes'be given notice to abate the nuisance on her property •■:msod by the accumulation of stagnant v.:itor; (b) that the putting in 0 F a culvert already authorised be deferred until a roniy has been received from ■i;is. Holmes. As to Nile street cart

'•■■■•kloto: Consideration deferred for tho •'•ospnt. As to culvert, St. Vincent street: Consideration deferred.

It was decided to offer to connect Messrs Jones' and Hart's premises witl; the gas main on their paying £10 Ss 9d towards the cost.

in view of the Committee's recommendation^ Cr. Carlisle withdrew his notice of motion regarding the I'arero street culvert.

CITY ENGINEER'S REPORT. The City Engineer (Mr. J. G. Littlejolin) reported as follows: —Streets and 1 (A.tways : The- preparation of material for tarring operations has been steadily proceeded ivith to the exclusion of ail other work except a little patching. I Ma re made an inspection of the city, and would suggest as a programme for street tarring that such parts of the j i'ollowing streets as are in proper shape should be proceeded with : Haven road, Bridge street, Collingwood street, Wai"•oa street, "Waimea road, Washington' VmUov and Lower Hardy street. There v.iil also be the usual top-dressing of footpaths and watertables where necessary, and a few authorised works, such .* Elliott street watertables and kerb-1 •^ for the Labour Department, foot•mL'is in Franklyn and Grove streets. ■l is important that the street surfaces '.■(mid 'be done as early as possible in' '— season, but it would not bo advisable to proceed if the weather is at all doubtful. I should like some assurance that the streets treated will not be opened up immediately tho work is completed. Drainage : 'Nothing outside routine work has been necessary. Water: Two new services have been put in and 8 services, 14 fireplugs and 6 stopcocks have been repaired. Place's of public recreation: Routine work only has been done. Miscellaneous: I attended the Arbitration Court as directed, and was granted exemption in tbe ma-tter of the painters' dispute. Five building permits for works valued at £249 havo been The report was1 adopted.

UNACCOUNTED FOR GAS. The Gas Engineer (Mr. A. Neil) presented the following report on unaccounted for gas to the City Council last evening:—The figures now available show that the gas unaccounted for during the period from March 3Lst to September 30th was 13.8 per cent, of the total gas manufactured, against 23 per cent, for the same period in 1916. The reduction in the leakage account by 9.2 per cent, is entirely duo to the efficient system of dealing* with the gas account, adopted by the Council in March of this year. ' By a careful comparison from 'month to month as shown by tie gas ledger, defective meters to the number of 320 have been replaced. Many of them were passing gas unregistered. To cope with the demand of accurate meters it wa-s necossary to havo 114 of tho above i meters repaired in Wellington at a> total cost of £166 5s od. The revenue from gas sales shows an increase of £653 13s Sd over the corresponding \ period of 1916. Tte above increase in revenue is not entirely due to the reduction in the leakage account, as there- was an increase in the selling price of gas by 3d per 1000 ft, which took effect from May Ist. It will bo j ( clearly seen from the results attached ! ; hereto, showing tl:e gas revenue and other particulars, that the gas distribution department is in a better posi- ! tion to-day than it has ever been. For comparative, purposes I have taken the period from March 31st to September 30th during tre past five years, and it will be seen that o\v revenue per 1000 ft jof gas manufactured is 2d higher this I year than in 1912. Revenue for gas only :-—1912, £5760; 1913, £5723 2s 4d; 1914, £6309 0s lid; 3915, £6469 13s 8d; 1916, £6373 15s od; 1917, £7027 11s Id. Selling price per 1000ft:—1912, 6s 8d and os lOd; 1913, 5s lOd; 1914, 5s 10d: 1915, ,~s 10d; 1916. 5s lOd and 4s 5W ■ 1917, (Js Id.

! Revenue per 1000 ft manufactured :— j 1912, os ; 1913, 4s 7d ; 1914, 4s 9d : 1915, 4s yd; 1916, 4s 7d ; 191/, 5s 2d. Tlie report was referred to committee. | ! ABATTOIR. MANAGER'S REPORT. The abattoir manager- (Mr. G. W. Mit-eliell) reported that tbe following! ■stock were slaughtered during the fort- ! night:—Cattle 42, calves 11, sheep (629, lambs 44,.pigs 36; total 762. ORDINARY BUSINESS. The^Motueka Borough Council'l aving asked for a quotation for tar, it was decided to offer up to 5000 gallons at 4d per gallon. The matter of the magazine on the tip was referred to the Works Committee. After dealing with other matters the Council rose at 10 p.m.

£ s. d. £ s, d. General A/c ... 23,938 1 G Water „ ... 5L4 5 11 Gas ,, ... 5,575 5 7 Interest „ ... 2 16 3 Abattoir „ ... 332 m kj Hospital and Charitable Aid 105 9 11 Balance • 29,797 9 10

. .£30,133 2 11 30,133 is 11 Cemeteries (Trust Ace.) dr. 74 3 C Contractors' Deposits Account 33 0 0 Trafalgar Park Account 30 9' 2 Drainage Extension Loan Account. 5i4 (> 7 Maitai Lands Purchase Account 700 0 0 Amount owing to Bank on Overdraft 29,097 9 10 Amount of Overdraft at present allowed by the Bank 3-1,000 0 0 Present statutory limit of Overdraft and Temporary Loan 34,000 0 0 Accounts were passed for payment a» follows:— £ a d General Account 260 19 0 Gas Account (330 9 2 Water Account 108 13 3 Abattoir Account 54 13 0 Drainage Extension Loan Ac. (JG 17 3 Total £1121 11 8