NEW PLYMOUTH BOROUGH

Taranaki Daily News, 17 January 1933, Page 4

NEW PLYMOUTH BOROUGH

MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING.

REPORTS ON DECEMBER" WORKING.

The monthly meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council was last night. Present: The Mayor (Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths), and Crs. R< W. D. Robertson, F. J. Hill,. J. Brown, J. W. Darby, p. E. Stainton, R. J. Pentecost, F. Amoore and T. P. Aiiderson. Adjutant S. S. i Green wrote acknowledging consideration at the hands of the Mayor, councillors and staff duting his term at New Plymouth. His requests on behalf of the Salvation Army or ; the poor had always been dealt with kindly by the council and staff, he said. A letter was received from the New Plymouth Swimming and Old Boys Surf Club expressing the committee s appreciation of the splendid work by the council in connection with the improvements at the public swimming baths. ' The New Plymouth District Nurse Association was granted permission to hold a house to hotise and street collection on May 19. A letter was received from Mr. Benoni White concerning storm water drainage in Leach' and; Lemon Streets. As the council took exception to the terms used with reference to the Mayor,; certain councillors and officials it was decided not to receive the letter. Mr. White forwarded a bottled sample of thick, muddy water taken from potholes on his section. On the recommendation of the works committee it was decided that Mr. White be informed that the council entirely disagreed with the totally unwarranted inferences which he. had. in his. letter of December 24 attempted to draw from the council’s, letter of December 20. ■Reporting .on...work by his department in December,/, the. engineer (Mr. Clarke) said that five' hew services were laid, 190 feet of pipe being used, 264 feet of 1-inch pipe was laid on Devon Road, Bell Block. Ten old services were re-laid, using 325 feet of pipe. Seven chains of 10-inch spiral- steel main were re-laid on the new level and line on the stock route through Mr. Weston’s property. Kerbing and channelling had been car?ried out as follows: Dartmoor Avenue (completed), Pendarves Street (completed), < Mission Hill (in hand), Powderham Street (completed).- >’ .. '

Footpaths' have been formed and gravelled in Ariki'Street (both sides), Pendarves Street (Gover to Camerpn, south 4ide), Young; Street (about 4 chains), Dartmoor Avenue (both sides) j Belt and Gladstone Roads (about 8 chains). ■ Sewerage’ trenches: in contract No. 6 were asphalted as required. All the tar plant was overhauled in readiness for the tarring season. .Several manholes ■were installed on. the; old, sewer lines and manholes brought to road level as, required. Relief works were carried out on the stock: route,. Mission, Hill, Dartmoor Avenue (footpaths); Te Mete Park, abattoirs (fencing), and in various parks, and reserves. . 7 .. ■ On sewerage contract . No, 4 every endeavour was made during the . month to push on the outfall sewer.. Three Bft. pipes, a length of .24 fee.t being laid.. Weather conditions again, prevented bet-, ter progress being . made. On- contract No. 6 fair progress was made, and the contract' wass.hearing ■ completion. In connection with the borough endowments at Ngaere it was reported that the works committee would inspect the; farms of Messrs. E. A, Stallard and C. B. Nielsen onThursday*. ... in connection with tire: correspondence; with Mr. Sutton i regarding relief labour at Ngamotu Domain,, the engineer re-: ported that he had made satisfactory arrangements for Mr. Sutton to; carry on the works. \ v i' ! Inspector Day reported that. the. insurance company had paid. £96 in respect to the boilerhouse at .the sani--tary depot destroyed by fire. ; It was decided .that , £l2l. should be : paid from the-.general account , into the fund established under the New Plymouth Borough. Council Empowering Act, 1929, for. the .repair, renewal, replacement or improvement of the office furniture, appliances,, property and.fixtures in the inspectors' department; and for the purchase of additional, property, plant, fixtures pr appliances of the class for which the fund was established; this amount to be. particularly set aside or allocated for the purchase of th? cash register proposed to be taken over, from the borough treasurer’s department. SPOTSWOOD WATER SUPPLY. Subject to the following conditions the engineer was authorised to lay approximately 60 chains of 2-inch water pipe along Pioneer Road, South Road and Ngamotu Road at an estimated cost of £236: (a) All the residents of the Spots-, wood district who have signed their names to the list attached to Mr. E. Jackson’s letter signifying their desire for the water supply, to sign the formal application and agreement for water supply and to pay prescribed charges at the rates already intimated by the council; (b) the engineer first to obtain the permission of the Taranaki County Council to the laying of the water mains.

A motion was passed constituting as relief works the digging and back-filling of the trenches for the laying of water mains in Pioneer Road, South Jload and. Ngamotu Road and connections from the mains to the boundaries of private properties and the labour of carrying the pipes to the positions in which they are to be laid.

Mr. E. Jackson will be informed that the charge for each connection to the water mains referred to is fixed by bylaw and that the council could not waive it,-or to capitalise it. The engineer was authorised permanently to seal Pioneer Road from Harbour Street to Parris Street. The estir mated cost was £535, less £96 previously authorised. The term attached to the consent ■ to the dedication of land for Seaview extension by Mr. F. B. Haughey were approved. The borough engineer was authorised to do the., following kerbing and channelling work: Nobs Line, Devon Street to McLean Street (western side), eight chains, £4O; Mangorei Road, Girls’ High School to WaiWaka Terrace (channelling only), 16 chains, £4B;'Waiwaka Terrace, Mangorei Road to Baring Terrace, five chains, £25; Beach Street, Devon Street to end (western side), 21) chains, £lOO. On the recommendation of the finance committee-it -was-decided to inform the Auckland Suburban Local Bodies’ Association that: the council could not take any action.tp oppose the clauses in the Municipal Corporations Bill relating to the procedure .for the amalgamation of boroughs. . The appointment of Mr. G. H. Birch as junior clerk in- the borough treasurer’s office at a salary of £5O a year was approved. Twelve applications for supply were received in December, reported the electrical engineer (Mr. W. H. Huggett). Thirty-nine alterations and nine new connections were made. The Waiwakaiho River was normal to low throughout the greater part of, the month. Two- rises above sft. as measured at the intake were recorded, the lowest levels being Ift. 6in. The Mangamahoe lake level was maintained between full and 2£ inches, over the spillway, with the small spillway gaps'closed. . Power' had been drawn continuously from the Public Works bulk supply with the exception df one pre-arranged shutdown and feeding back on five occasions. . The ; maximum load recorded at the

■power station was 3200 k.w. and the greatest number of units supplied in any one day was 54,940, with a total of 1,356,950 for the .month, including 411,050 supplied by. the Public Works Department and 36,700 supplied to the depart-, inent, as against 2850 k.w. and 48,083 and 1,338,502 units for the corresponding period of last year. ' ■ TRAMWAYS REVENUE. ' Over a mileage of 6100 miles the buses 'during December earned £262 Ils 4d from 28,029 passengers, these figures constituting increases of £3l 16s lOd ■in .revenue and -3150 passengers, compared w.ith the corresponding period of last year,' reported the tramways manager . (Mr. G. J. Wyatt). Special services were rim. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and on special holidays. The ' trtimS -earned £l4lB ,19s 7d from 172,823 passengers, showing decreases of £53 11s 4d and 15,202 passengers. . Details of the tramways workings were:—Main route: Mileage, 16,355; passengers, 133,291;. fares, £lll7 6s lid. Westown route; Mileage,, 7635; passengers, 39,532; fores, £3Ol 12s Bd. A return of passengers and revenue respectively for December for 12 years was: 1920, 165,925, £1241 2s 8d (fares raised to 2d first section, Id each section after; concession cards, 12 at Is 6d, 12 at 2s 6d, 12 at 3s). 1921: 156,824; £l6BB 13s sd. 1922: 165,082; £1794 Is lOd (concession reduced to 12 at Is 4d, 12 at 2s 3d, 12 at 3s). 1923: 159,199; £1745 17s lOd (Westown route opened; concessions raised to 10 at Is, 11 at 2s, 12 at 3s). 1924: 235,593; £1989 7s Id (Pukekura Park line opened). 1925: 233,134; £2074 8s 4d. 1926: 245,093; £2105 7s 6d. 1927: 239,238; £2066 9s 7d. 1928: 243,298; £2086 15s 9d. 1929: 233,147; £2009 Is 3d (concessions raised to 8 at 15,..12 at 2s 6d, 12 at 3s). 1930, 177,980; £1586 Is 4d (concession reduced to 10 at Is, 11 at 2s, 12 at 3s). 1931: 190,025; £1472 10s lid (3-sectidn concession cards reduced to 12 at 2s 6d; all concessions made available on every day of year). 1932: 172,823; £l4lB 19s 7d. On the recommendation of the electricity and tramways committee it was decided to constitute the following relief works, the tramways engineer being' authorised to effect the repairs referred to with relief labour; “The repair of -the tramways track throughout the boroughwhere deemed necessary by the council and all work in connection therewith, such work among other things consisting of stripping track to bottom of sleepers, lifting and re-packing sleepers, straightening track, filling in and replacing metal on top of road surface and finishing same,' cleaning up and removing all surplus material.” The chief inspector, Mr. R. Day, reported that fees for licenses and permits during December totalled £4OB 17s Bd. - -