TEMUKA.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18499, 21 February 1930, Page 6

TEMUKA.

BOROUGH COUNCIL. The monthly meeting of the Temuka Borough Council was held on Wednesday evening. Present—The Mayor (Mr T. E. Gunnion), Councillors A. E. Smith. A. W. Buzan. R. Jamieson, L. A. Robins, E. B. Cooper, junr., Chas. Davidson and A. R. Beck. Condolence. The Mayor referred to the death of Mrs J. Cross, Mr M. Kennedy and Mr Eric Johns. He went on to speak of the death of the late Sir Thomas Mackenzie, and also of the recent tragedy at the Hermitage. He moved that a vote of sympathy be passed to the relatives of the deceased. Councillor Buzan seconded the motion, which was carried. Mayor’s Statement. The Mayor stated that the finance of the Council was very satisfactory, and that there would be a credit balance at the end of the financial year. This was not so with the Domain Board. Subsidies in connection with the Main Highway and with the unemployment work had been received. The remaining debentures in connection with the Orari water works had been sold at a slight reduction.

Correspondence. Mr F. M. Martin wrote thanking the Council for their expressions of sympathy and appreciation of the services rendered to local bodies by his late father. The secretary to the Municipal Association forwarded a legal opinion re sale of Reserve 757, which stated that in his opinion this land cannot be sold. The Mayor said that this seemed to be finally settled. The sections in question were going to be a burden on the Council for all time. Councillor Smith urged that something further be done. The sections were useless so far as the Council was concerned, and perhaps they could find ways and means to get rid of them. Councillor Robins said that these sections were not originally set aside for public recreation. In the early days the Government had tried to dispose of them, and finding that they could not do so they handed them over to the Borough. The Mayor said that the section in question contained an old building, and the owner of this building wanted to buy the section. It was a chance that would not be repeated. Councillor Davidson said that there was something in the Municipal Act to authorise the Council to sell. The secretary to the Local Government’s Loan Board wrote asking for further particulars re the Fire Brigade loan. The Mayor said that the officials of the Department ’had visited the town, and the application was being proceeded with. The Town Clerk of Feilding forwarded a circular re urban farm land rating, and forwarded a number of questions to be answered. —Received. The secretary to the New Zealand branch of the Cancer Campaign Society, wrote asking for details of any campaign which would be opened in this district, and enclosed a form of appeal which the committee have decided to adopt in Christchurch. The Mayor said that it was up to them to do their little bit. The Association was putting a lot of work into this effort, and he thought that the Council should head the list and make an appeal to the public. • Councillor Buzan moved that the sum of five guineas be granted. Councillor Smith said that it seemed to him that if the Council was going to assist, a committee should be formed. Perhaps a Ladies’ Committee could also be appointed, or it might be better to wait until the Council could get more information. The Mayor said that the Council could try and get Sir Lindo Ferguson to call and give some information, and a public meeting could then be held. Councillor Robins seconded the motion, and the Mayor’s suggestion regarding Sir Lindo Ferguson’s visit was agreed to. The clerk to the Geraldine County Council advised that, pending information as to the duties of the proposed traffic inspector, the matter had been deferred to a later date. Mrs Beattie again made application for a culvert to be placed over the water-race in front of her property, situated on the Ntfcth Belt. She stated that application had been made to the Geraldine County Council, who were making inquiries as to what body was liable, but in the meantime they had referred her again to the Temuka Borough Council. The Mayor said that 28 years ago the easement had been granted to the Council, with the provision that access had to be given to each section. Since that time the sections had been cut up. and the legal opinion was that the Council were not required to put in a culvert giving access to every 4-acre section. Councillor Buzan said there would not be many culverts asked for, and now that they had a plentiful supply i of water a pipe could be l?id on to the I channels on each side of King Street, and the water race could be ploughed in.

Councillor Cooper seconded the motion. The Mayor: “It’s a great pity you did not move that before the Council went to the expense of getting a legal opinion.” Personally, he thought that they should wait until the Geraldine County Council got a reply to their inquiry. Councillor Smith, whilst repudiating the Council’s liability, said that he thought that the job should be done, as it would only cost a trifle. The motion was carried on the voices. The Clerk to the Pleasant Point Town Board advised that Messrs Blisset and Christie had been appointed to attend the meeting re appointment of Traffic Inspector. The clerk to the Levels County Council advised that the matter of appointing a traffic inspector had been held over until next meeting of the Council. The Mayor said that the proposal should go on. It was not going to cost the individual Councils a great amount of money, as a subsidy of £1 for £1 was received from the Government towards an inspector’s salary. The fines went to the local authorities. The manager of the Hume Pipe Company advised that they were unable to take debentures as part payment of their account, as this would create a precedent. Mr and Mrs McCunn wrote requesting that attention be given to the long grass in Ormsby Street.' Councillor Davidson also read a letter which he had received regarding the damage done by silver poplars. Councillor Buzan said that it was in a disgraceful ' state, and me Mayor said that this was one of the reserves that the Council had no authority to sell.—Referred to the overseer. Mr C. E. Knight wrote asking permission to hold open-air gospel meetings in this town. The Mayor said that he had granted the request, provided there was no disturbance. It looked ugly the previous night, but apart from a lot of barracking, nothing had occurred. The Mayor’s action was approved.

The secretary to the Municipal Association lorwarded particulars of the conference of the Town Clerks to be held in Invercargill on the 4th March, 1930. The Town Engineer, Invercargill, wrote asking permission for the engineer of the borough to attend their conference to be held in Invercargill. —Received. Mr F. Downes wrote asking if the Council was enforcing the drainage in newly-built houses in the drainage area of the Borough, and if so was it necessary to submit a plan of the drainage to the Borough. The Mayor said that the Council could not enforce the drainage, but if a drain was to be put in, an approved plan had to be submitted to the Coun 7 cil. The secretary to the Temuka District High School made application for a refund of three months' sanitation rates.—Granted. Mr A. Brogden made application to have a culvert put across the water channel to give access to his property on the main north road, also to have the water supply laid on as soon as possible.—To be attended to. The Health Inspector forwarded his monthly report. The poundkeeper (Mr J. R. Bradshaw) reported having impounded 9 head of stock during the month. Building permits were granted as follows: Mrs J. Downes, Allnutt Street, estimated cost £2O; Presbyterian Church. Railway Terrace, estimated cost £879.

Finance. The Finance Committee reported that j the paysheet of the District Fund Ac- j count amounted to £1027/9/4, and re- j commended that the accounts be pas- ; sed for pdyment. Sums amounting to £1513/4/1 were received during the month, and there was a balance of £451/15/1 standing to the credit of the General Account.—The report was approved. Committee Reports. The Works Committee recommended that no new works be set out, as there is sufficient work on hand to keep the staff fully employed until the end of the financial year. The work of topdressing the streets was going on satisfactorily, and given good weather, all except King Street would be completed this week. The Mayor said that next month every Councillor should inspect the Borough before the estimates are framed for the year. The Lighting and Reserves Committee made the following recommendations: That tenders be invited for the leases of 8 reserves, tenders to come before the Council meeting on 19th March; that a further block of approximately two acres be taken from Reserve 820 to use for the disposal of nightsoil; that Mr D. C. Mills’s acreage and rent for Reserve 820 be adjusted accordingly. The overseer reported that the staff had been engaged in grading and shingling a number of streets, and that tar-sealing has been carried out in the following streets: Railway Terrace to Wood Street, Ewan Road, High Street, Commerce Street, and Wilkin Street. The main in connection with the Orari water works still required a great deal of attention.

General. The Mayor said that since last meeting the .Canadian bowlers had visited the town, and the Council had joined with other bodies in paying for the production of a photo booklet of South Canterbury. In conjunction with the local Bowling Club, he had arranged to present each of the visiting bowlers with a packet containing 12 views of the town. He asked that the sum of £2 be passed towards the cost.—This was agreed to. Councillor Buzan said that the Council should experiment with the water supply for flushing the channels. If this was a success, then they could save the cost of upkeep. He moved accordingly. The Mayor said that with royalty and upkeep the water race cost the Borough about £SO per annum. If this could be saved, it would help to pay interest on the loan, but he doubted if it would be advisable to have such a drain on the supply. There was an excellent flow in the channels at present. He thought that something should be done with the business people who swept dust, papers and every kind of r&bbish into the channels. He thought that this was not a fair thing, as the Council had a rubbish cart that made regular visits. It was agreed that the experiment regarding flushing the channels, as proposed by Councillor Buzan, be given a trial. The acting Town Clerk reported that Mr F. Downes had called at the office and produced, a shilling for a copy of the by-laws. She had to refuse to take the money, as there was no copy of the by-laws available. The Mayor said that the Council would have to go into the question of revising the by-laws and having them printed. The acting Town Clerk reported that some time ago the Council had made a grant of £5 to the wireless set fund for the Timaru Hospital. This had not yet been paid. The acting Town Clerk was instructed to forward this amount as soon as possible. The Mayor said that the Water Works Committee should inspect the outside supplies, and revise the charges if necessary. There were quite a number of new applications, and several suppliers in Buxton Settlement were willing to sell the main in that vicinity to the Council, and this could be continued to the top-end, where several other residents were willing to be connected up. If these could be completed by the beginning of the financial yeai it would mean increasing the revenue. This was agreed to. and Councilloi Cooper was added to this Committee.

TENNIS. The following will represent Temuka Tennis Club, against Opawa at Temuka on Saturday, at 1 o’clock:— Ladies —Misses N. Poultney, Pearse, Mrs Dick, Misses D. Sheen, Bremner, C. Roddick. Men.—R. Lee, J. Smart, J. Hardy, J T. Smart, L. Hunt, Cameron.

BOWSERS. At the last meeting of the Borough Council, Councillor Davidson brought up the question of who was responsible if an accident arose through a collision between a vehicle and a kerbside bowser. The Council placed the matter before the Municipal Association’s solicitor, and at the meeting held on Wednesday evening, this officer stated that should such an accident occur, with any consequent explosion, the Borough Council would be liable for the damages arising. In his opinion the Council was taking a very big risk. The Mayor said that some time ago the Council had written to the insurance company, and the premium was £2 for the first bowser, and 2/- each for any additional bowser with a minimum charge of £2. The Council was not going to pay this amount, but the owner should insure, as it was not right that the ratepayers should stand the risk. Councillor Davidson moved that each

owner of bowsers be asked to take out an insurance policy, and that these policies be retained by the Council. Bowser owners paid £lO per annum for ! permission to erect a bowser in Timaru, and each had to be insured, and the Council had the policy. Temuka charged only £2 for a permit. Councillor Smith said that the risk ; was very small, and even if a bowser j was knocked over that did not mean that an explosion would occur, as the j tank was on private property. Councillor Davidson’s motion lapsed for want of a seconder. I