BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 March 1916, Page 8

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

ENGINEER'S MONTHLY REPORT. The monthly report of the borou«li engineer (Mr. E. 0. Clayton) on the progress of works for the period ending March 1, 1016, is as follows: ■< Baths.—The attendance at the baths during the past month has been very good, and wa s as follows:—Men 3283, ladies 28S1 total 0164; hot-water baths, 102; receipt swimming pool, £36 2s Id; hot-water baths, £4 19s, making a total of £4l Is Id. . Barrett Sewer Extension.—The costractor for this work has made good progress and the.making of the various connections to the boundary of the occupied allotments is now being dose. Tarring and Sanding. Owing to shortage of tar in Auckland it has been found impossible for the compauy supply Soltar to forward supplies. This has had the effect of holding up the work work of tarring, etc. along the tram route during the past fortnight. Every effort was made to .obtain a supply and I think the touble will be overcome in a few days. The loss of time incurred is unfortunate on account of the fine weather that has been experienced. Gill Street.—The formation, metalling, and tarring, etc., of portion of Gill Street is in hand and will not take long to complete. Hine Street Drarn.—The necessary permits from the Railway Department and other owners of land .having been received the work was at once put in hand, and the pipes are now being laid. This will get over the trouble as regards storm water, etc., in this locality. General.—A large amount of sundry jobs, drainage and water connections have been attended to during the past month, BUILDING AND SANITARY INSPECTOR'S REPORT. The building and sanitary Uspector, Mr. R. Day, reports:— Dangerous Goods.—l have examined the places where dangerous goods are stored, and in some cases a serious state of affairs existed. While some firms were taking care that their benzine was kept where it could do little harm, although not in accordance with the bylaws, others again showed utter disregard of all precautions against fire. In one yard in a congested area 200 cases' of oil were stored close against the wooden walls of a neighbour's, washhouse. I have issued 22 licenses. In the most urgent case 9 I ordered the instand removal of the stock and made satisfactory, arrangements, for temporary storage, with notice to provide proper accommodation in a stated time. I have examined the local, boiling-down works and have visited meat, fish and other shops where food is sold. Without going inro details, some of these places are most unsatisfactory, and I propose to have several prosecutions in the near future if a decided improvement is not effected. Among other matters calling for mention is the complete overhaul of the sanitation of a large block of buildings in the centre of the town. Several bad smells have been traced, ineluding an escape of sewer gas in Liardet Street and a serious nuisance under some shops in Devon Street. Barrett Street Sewer.—This contract is proceeding in a satisfactory manner. I have tested half the length and found it a first-class job. I carefully inspected the People's Theatre before the license was granted and also visited it on three occasions during the opening rush to make sure that the management were observing the by-laws. Eight buildings and three drainage permits have been granted to the value of £12,626.