MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Taranaki Daily News, 4 February 1930, Page 11

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

TOWN OF NEW PLYMOUTH. REQUESTS FROM RATEPAYERS. A meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council was held last night when there were present: . The Mayor (Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths) and Ore. S. G. Smith, M.P., F. J. Hill, J. W. Darby,; J, Brown, P. E. Stainton, R, J. Pentecost, F. . Amoore and G. M. Spence. On behalf of the Pukekura Park Board the secretary (Mr. P. E. Stainton) forwarded an account for £lOO Is lid for permanent improvements to the sportsground and asked that this amount should be credited to the board’s guarantee to the council. Detaile of the improvements were net out as follow: New Press stand ( £35 7e 6d); new rail fence at south-eastern corner (£9 10s 6d); new rail fence at the northern end ( £24 Ils sd); taking down and reerecting iron fence along Fillis Street ( £25 s°s 6d); extending rail along southwestern corner ( £5 7s). It was resolved to credit the amount as requested, with the exception of the amount for the re-ercetion of the fence along Fillis Street* (£25 5s 6d), which it was considered could not be regarded as new work. "However ’trivial’ or ’humorous’ matters may appear to some councillors, I beg to inform you that to me they are serious and important,” wrote Mr. Benoni White, in asking the council to review his solicitor’s overtures regarding storm-water drainage in Leach Street. He considered he wan warranted in his persistent appeals for expedition in effective remedial measures. Another letter on the same subject was received from Mr. White, and both letters were referred to the works committee. The New Plymouth High Schools Board applied for permission to dose Hendrie Street, the matter having arisen in connection. with the proposal tO' re-build the headmaster’s residence. The board leased certain sections from the council, it was stated, and owned the freehold of all the other land on both sides of the street from Eliot Street. —It was decided that action could not* be taken immediately, and the matter was referred to the works committee. A letter asking the council to remove a bank on its land in Belt Road so 'that Mrs. Cockburn might erect a garage was referred to the works comniitThe "shocking state” of the footpath on the eastern side of Carrington Road at Vogeltown was the subject of a letter from Mr. A. G. Anderson. About two months or more ago, he said, the path was dug up for the purpose of laying water pipes, The holes were filled in and had been left in such state since, with the. result that the path was now of clay and was exceedingly muddy in wet weather, while in dry weather the dust lay inches deep. Recently more loose day was spread and this, too, wan rapidly becoming dust. A few loads of screenings were suggested as a remedy.—The matter was referred to the works committee. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. On the recommendation of the works committee permission wan given for a house-to-house and street collection in aid of the Obstetrical Society’s fund for the endowment of a chair of midwifery at the Dunedin School of Medicine. A complaint by Mrs, Stringer that service cars were blocking the entrance to her boarding-house in Silver Street was referred to Inspector Day. At the suggestion of the works mittee it was decided to make the following replies to various requests made by the recent deputation from the Fitzroy Progressive Association: (a) Kerbing in Mangorei, Road overgrown with grass; the engineer, has been instructed to attend to this, (b), That .no action be taken in respect to the following matters: Condition of roadway and footpath in Mangorei Road beyond Rimu Street; Rimu and Chilman Streets overgrown with grass; Lismore and other streets in subdivisions, (c) Turehu Street will bo included in unemployment relief works next year, if possible, (d) Record Street: Borough engineer will have temporary repairs effected to the footpath on the western side, (e) Beach Street: This han been sealed to the borough boundary. The roadway into the seaside reserve is outside the borough and the council lias, no power to expend money on it. Mr. G. Grey will be informed that no funds are available for widening the approach from Carrington Road to Ballance Street, but that the engineer has been authorised to tar-seal a portion of the street, if funds and time permit. STREET WORKS AUTHORISED. A petition for the formation of part of Clawton Street was referred to the engineer to submit an estimate. Should his duties permit the borough engineer was authorised to attend the conference of municipal engineers at In-j vercargill on March 5. . The engineer was authorised io carry out the following works: Gilbert Street, re-metal and seal all unsealed portions of street; Dawson Street (St. Aubyn to Hine), seal; Hine Street (Dawson to Weymouth), re-metal; Hine Street (Belt Road to Cutfield), seal; Belt Road (Hine Street to camp site), seal; Morley Street (Hine to Bulkeley Terrace), seal; Gaine Street (Cutficld to Morley Street), seal; Bulteel . Street, seal;, Fulford Street (Dawson to Robe), seal; Ngaio

Street, re-metal and seal; Mahoe Street, re-metal and seal; Chilman Street, seal; Paynter’s Avenue, seal short length southern end; Rimu Street (Wilson to Chilman), seal; -Vivian Street (Morley Street westwards), re-metal and seal. It was decided that upon Mr. Newton Allen lowering hie ehop to the permanent levels of Tukapo Street the engineer should be authorised to effect improvements to the footpath in front of the shop. The Taranaki County Council reported that the engineers to the county, the borough council and the Public Works Department had arrived at a plan of reconstruction for the -* Waiwakaiho bridge weir? the work to proceed at once by day labour and that the Main Highways Board had decided to pay a subsidy of £3 for £1 towards the cost. The tramways manager was authorised to purchase 200 sleepers ex the Poolta at 8s 9d each, plus landing charges. The. recommendations of the. engineer with regard to the tramways and bus service were referred to both finance and tramways committees for consideration. Cr. S. G. Smith, M.P., said that the position as represented to him in his capacity as chairman of the electric light and tramways committee was that the swimming people could not get the private bus proprietors to undertake the work for them. The part of the letter relative to tfie agreement made by the council was not correct, continued Mr. Smith. The agreement was that the tramway manager should not undertake trips outside the bprough, with certain specified exceptions, unless with the written consent ‘of’the electric light and tramways committee, and this "Would not be given without careful consideration. • Members of the council could not sec how the writers of the letter computed their mileage. The tramway manager (Mr.. G. J. Wyatt) explained that one firm definite?, ly stated in the first place that it could not supply transport. The other firm submitted a price per head and the proprietor apparently then left for Wellington, leaving no instructions with his subordinates, but apparently making some arrangement with a neighbouring firm to carry out the arrangement —a thing that the neighbouring firm w*as unable to do. While agreeing that in this case the tramway department had apparently come to the rescue of the swimmers, Ur. P. E. Stainton said that the council should be very careful indeed about entering into trading and competing unfairly with private concerns. He thought that if municipal conveyances were to be used for transport outside the borough a standard mileage charge should be agreed upon. At a later stage in the meeting jCr. Stainton, in discussing the statement of estimated receipts and expenditure in the electric light department for the coming year, said that £lO5 was much too small an amount te show for rent. Similarly £lOO for motor-car maintenance was too small, and also there was no allowance for “spare time.” On his motion £2OB, £250 and £250, were substituted in each case in order that the matter should be put on a strict commercial basis and the true position of the trading department shown. The electric light engineer (Mr. W. H. Huggett) assured Or. Stainton that the annual balance-sheet would be presented on a strict commercial basis.