BOROUGH COUNCIL

Waipa Post, Volume 41, Issue 3187, 12 August 1930, Page 5

BOROUGH COUNCIL

FORTNIGHTLY MEETING.

GENERAL BUSINESS DEALT WITH.

His Worship the Mayor, Mr C. G. Downes, presided at the fortnightly meeting of the Te Awamutu Borough Council on Monday evening, and there were also present Crs J.. G. B. Gifford, A. Brown, F. J. Gilbert, W. J. North, C. A. Finch, H. C. Rainey and G. Spinley (deputy Mayor). The town clerk (Mr D. Boekett), and engineer (Mr W. D. R. McCurdie) were in attendance. The Council was recommended by the Works Committee to connect the district high school with the public sewerage system for £l2 10s, and charge the Education Department 6d per 1000 gallons for water supply.— Agreed to, after discussion. Cr Finch referred to the inadvisability of incurring considerable expenditure in providing stock routes while the Council was so short of money. The Mayor said it was not proposed to commit the Council. Provision for purchase. of land could be made in next year’s estimates if the scheme is to be gone on with. Cr Gifford commented that the need for stock routes will become imperative as the length of bitumen roads is increased. It was wise to prepai’e. Stock became a nuisance on surfaced roads, and suffer damage if they fall. Improvements to the parking discs in front of the picture theatre were recommended by the Works Committee, the discs on either side of the theatre entrance to be permanently fixed, and the following wording added: “No parking after 7 p.m., and on Saturdays no parking after 2 p.m.”— Agreed to. It was explained that at last meeting of the Works Committee, a letter from the Te Awamutu Power Board was read, with reference to the proposed alteration of the power line poles in the continuation of Mutu Street to the Ohaupo road. The Board wished to know the Council’s desires in relation to poles along the eastern fence line. The borough engineer said that the Council does not at present need permanent survey lines, which he estimated to cost £2 2s 6d. The Works Committee, however, recommended that the Council supply the Power Board with permanent levels so that the work can be completed.—Referred to engineer for attention.

The Works Committee recommended that the Council defer having the drinking fountain, referred to in the engineer’s report, fixed in position.— Agreed to. The chief postmaster, Hamilton, wrote re the Council’s request that a seat be provided near the local post office for the convenience of travellers by the service cars that depart from there to out-districts, particularly Kawhia. He pointed out that it is not the policy of the Postal Department to comply with requests of this nature. “There is,” he added, always a certain amount of loitering outside post offices, and it is not desired to give encouragement to this practice, as would be the case if a seat, or a site, were provided. In actual practice, it would be found that owing to the site being so central, male loiterers would congregate there, and a nuisance would be caused by the distribution of dead matches cigarette butts and other refuse. In larger towns city councils have provided seats for ladies only, but in actual practice they have had to seek the assistance of the local police officers to keep loiterers from ‘sunning’ themselves thereon.”—Received.

Messrs Jones and Adams, engineers, Auckland, wrote re the opposition being raised to the proposal to set up a building exclusively as a library, and that the Council is being asked to virtually return to the original proposal to include the library with municipal buildings and town hall. They wrote: “Should your Council be disposed to give this matter further consideration we would be prepared to submit a revised sketch design to conform to any possible altered conditions as to plan arrangements or as to cost, in terms contained in the letter of January 30th, that is to say, “withput prejudice.” The Fire Brigade wrote asking permission to use the paddock next to the saleyards for the annual bonfire on November sth next.—Granted.

The secretary, Beautifying Society, asked the Council to appoint one of its members to represent the borough on the committee’of the society.-The Council was also invited to make a grant to assist the society’s work.— Cr Brown was appointed.

Mr J. A. Maxwell asked for improvement to the Mutu Street footpath, as he is about to erect five dwellings on his property thfere.— Deferred.

rohanga county. He had suggested a royalty of 2s per 100 feet would be necesasry to compensate the county for damage to roads.—Agreed to. Closing a road: The Crown Lands Department forwarded a tracing of plan No. 25806, and asked the Council’s consent to the closing of a road shown theeron. The Commissioner stated that it was not expected that there was likely to be any objection to the closing of the road, as it had never been formed or used.—Agreed to.

Government subsidies: The district engineer, Public Wbrks Department, advised the payment of £1685 9s 7d on account of expenditure on main highways and £1231 Is lid on account of Government grants to credit of the county fund account. —Received. Apportionment of heavy traffic fees: The town clerk, Hamilton, requested payment of heavy traffic fees payable to the pool in connection with the magistrates’ order, together with certain data required for the purposes of allocation of the fees—-'Received.