RAETIHI BOROUGH COUNCIL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 300, 18 December 1937, Page 5

RAETIHI BOROUGH COUNCIL

MONTHLY MEETING HELD. The usual monthly meeting of the Raetihi Borough Council was held at the Council Chambers on Tuesday evening .The Mayor (Dr. W. J. Feltham) presided, and the following councillors were present:—J. R. Ciochetto, \V. H. Sandford, J. H.-Stanley, A. M. Laing, F. Lee, and C. Lynch. The town clerk (Mr. C. M. Turner), electrical engineer (Mr. W. Journeaux), and the borough foreman (Mr. C. Davis), were also in attendance.

Mrs. J. Cunningham wrote thanking the council lor the bonus granted and the reference given to her on vacating her position on the staff. Mrs. L. Ashwell wrote protesting against the town water supply being cut off without notice being given.— The town clerk notified that he had advised that the non-supply was due to unforscen circumstances which made it impossible to notify consumers without considerable further delay in the restoration of the services. If any prolonged disconnection of the service be found necessary for repair service then consumers would be notified accordingly. The chairman of the works committee (Mr. T. Shout) stated that the trouble was caused by not sufficient pumping being done.. An electrical warning device had been installed and such happenings were unlikely to reoccur.

A. Foster complained that the grass along-side the footpath of Grey Street had not been cut by the motor machine while other streets had received attention.—The town clerk reported that Grey Street had not been neglected, and the work had been done.

Mr. H. Thompson made application to screen a suitable picture on December 25, 1937. It was suggested that Mr. Thompson might be asked to submit the name of the picture . Mr. Laing: Could we not appoint the Mayor and deputy-Mayor to see that a suitable picture was screened. Cr. Sandford: I agree that there should be some supervision. The application was granted subject to the approval of the proposed programme by the Mayor and deputyMayor.

The Minister of Lands (Hon. F. Langstone) wrote in connection with representations affecting the inspection of stock slaughtered for human consumption in the borough of Raetihi. The Minister stated that he would consult with the Minister of Agriculture and would communicate would the council later.

. The controller and auditor-general (Mr. J. H. Fowler) in reply to the borough’s suggestion that business relating to the Domain be dealt with at council’s meetings and that the Relative financial transactions be dealt with through the district fund account of the council, notified that only the control and management of the Domain was vested in the council and the domain itself remained the property of the Crown. In these circumstances the council, acting as a Domain Board, must be treated as a separate legal entity, and it was necessary therefore to hold separate meetings as the Domain Board.

The Municipal Association of New Zealand notified with reference to the Local Government (amalgamation schemes) Bill, local bodies would be given an opportunity of submitting their views and asked that any representations be forwarded to the association. The council discussed the question of amalgamation to some length.

Cr. Shout: We don’t want to lose our identity. We should put forward good reasons why we don’t favour amalgamation. Fire Boards and Domain Boards should be amalgamated but by the correspondence from the auditor-general to-night that doesn’t seem possible.

The Mayor: Most of the information would probably be presented by the Municipal Association.

Cr. Sandford: We should have a committee to go into the matter and draft an opinion. The council is of one opinion so this could easily be done.

Cr. Sandford’s suggestion that a committee comprising the Mayor and chairman of committees should draw up a report and forward it to the Municipal Association was agreed to.

The Chief Inspector of Films advised that a personal inspection of the tire exit facilities at the Theatre Royal would be made as soon as possible with a view to notifying the proprietor of the alterations and extensions required to be made to bring the exit facilities up to the standard required by the department. He further pointed out that when theatres were built before the regulations were made the licences were allowed to be renewed, but in the event of any alterations being carried out then the regulations were enforced.

The town clerk (Mr. C. M. Turner) reported that a letter had been forwarded to the Chief inspector of Films stating that his inspection and directions would be welcomed by Mr. Thompson, the proprietor of the theatre, as he intended to renovate and alter the interior of the Theatre Royal in the near future.

Letters were received from the Under-Secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs and he Joint Council of the Order of St. John and N.Z. Red Cross Society where in it was stated that the Government was making a grant of £lOOO to the Far East Relief Fund and seeking a donation from local bodies, which would be validated during the present session of Parliament. On the motion of Councillors Laing and Sandford, it was resolved that a grant of £5 be made to the fund.

The N.Z. Standards Institute wrote re the standardsation of local by-laws. Cr. Shout informed the council that the matter had come before the works committee which decided to leave the matter to the full council. He thought much good could come out of it.

Cr. Sandford: It would be difficult to agree to conditions that would have to apply throughout the whole of the country.

The matter was finally referred to the previously elected committee to frame a report and submit it to the other members of the council. The district resident engineer of the Public Works Department (Mr. G. W. Sampson) notified the proposed visit of the Main Highways Board on December 6. The Mayor reported that he and the town clerk had met the board. He had asked (1) that the section of the National Park-Wanga-nui State Highway within the borough (48 chains) be tar sealed; (2) tar sealing of approximately 28 chains from the Makotuku stream bridge to the borough boundary be undertaken(3 that tar sealing of 38 chains of roadway from the corner of Seddon and Duncan Streets to the intersection of the Pipiriki, Ameku and Hukuroa Hoads, be done. In connection with this latter work he had pointed out that for the council’s share in the expenditure he offered the supply on hand of “Colas” emulsified bitumen. He stated that though nothing delinite was promised he felt that something would be done, hough naturally it would take some time to see the completed work as the preparing of a ready ior tar '- seal i r >g was a long

Sanitary Inspector’s Report The Sanitary Inspector (Mr. W. H. Roy) notified that one sample of the borough water supply had been forwarded to the Dominion analyst. Also that following the service of requisitions relative to defective State Advances dwellings he had been interviewed by the property supervisor of the department who had advised that tenders for renovations were being called tor the work.—Report adopted. Ranger's Report The Borough Ranger (Mr. F. Sandels) reported that he had impounded 15 head of stock and served eight final notices to owners of dogs. The latter had since been attended to. —Report adopted. Committee Recommendations The following committee recommendations were adopted:— Finance Committee.— (1) That the Waimarino County Council's offer to do the ranging and dog tax collecting for f4O per annum be accepted from January 1, 1938; (2) That the fire bell ringing apparatus be sold if possible at a price to be determined by the electrical engineer; (3) That cemetery plots 13/14, row 16, be taken over from R. H. Dodd at fl 10s each; (4) That when the lire siren is installed the hose hoisting gear be reviewed by the electrical engineer. Works Committee—That a halfinch water pipe be extended to the electrical workshop tor alarm purposes.

Electricity Committee.—(l) That eight No. 5506 sora sodium fittings be placed on indent order for delivery in April, 1938; (2) That the council subscribe £l5 in three annual installments of f 5 to the fund to establish an electrical court at the centenary exhibition. Accounts amounting to £6Ol 3s 5d (general department) and £3Ol Is 9d (electricity department) were passed for payment. General It was decided to close the Borough Council ollices from December 24 to January 4, 1938. The next meeting of the council was fixed for January 18. His Worship the Mayor and Cr. Laing were granted leave of absence from this meeting as they both will be away on holiday. A grant of £5O was made towards the cost of installing shower baths at the camp site. The Mayor reported that the Automobile Association had been approached for a grant. Cr. Shout, on behalf of the Waimarino Acclimatisation Society asked the council to take steps to secure as a sanctuary the lake at the power house.—Agreed to. Cr. Shout considered that when the Makotuku stream was low it was dangerous to allow swimming below the rubbish tip site. The drainage from the town’s septic tank and the public hospital seemed to be evident when the stream was low. He thought that the health ofticer should be asked to inspect the stream and make a report.—Agreed to. Cr. Laing slated that he had watched the results following the use of the motor mower and they did not seem very satisfactory. The foreman (Mr. C. Davis) stated that a proper cleaning up had not been attempted, but when that was done he expected a satisfactory job. In reply to a query by Cr. Sandford, Cr. Shout stated that the question of grading the roads before the holidays would be attended to. The Mayor, at the conclusion of the meeting, extended the season’? greetings to councillors. These were heartily reciprocated by the councillors.