HUTT BOROUGH COUNCIL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2356, 12 January 1915, Page 7

HUTT BOROUGH COUNCIL

_s The Mayor (Mr. H. Baldwin) presided at last evening's mooting of the Lower Hutt Borough Council, and there were present:—Councillors Hodgins, Meldrum, Kempthome, Brassel, Clendon, Parsonage, Hobbs, and-Ball.■" Messrs/-'liiglis Bros, advised' that the Dennis motor chassis for fire brigade purposes was now ready for delivery. The health inspector reported a oase of tuberculosis. It was decided to thank Mr. H. E. Leighton for a gift to the Library, consisting of several valuable works. The town clerk was instructed to take the, necessary' steps to sue for all outstanding fates. 'In this connection Councillor Ball pointed out that the council should not be in a hurry to taka this step, in view of the strenuous time, and the fact that there were unemployed, he. was of opinion that it was dealing severely with ratepayers. Upon the motion being put, Councillor Ball dissentend, asking that his vote be recorded on the minutes.

, The engineer's report stated that good progress had been mad© with the tarring of footpaths. Asphalt which had been made in the council's yard had been laid on a portion of Waterloo Road for a length of about nine chains at a total cost £27 ss. 9d., or 12.35 d. per square yard, exclusive of preparation, which was 3.38 d. per yard. The remainder of Waterloo Road from Cornwall- Street to the vicinity of Witaki Street had been completed with the tar-sprayor, and for a length of 34 chains on the south side of this road th© cost had been £38 19s, 4d. or 4.688 d. per square yard for the first coat of tar, and 6.59 d. for two coats. With I 3.38 d. preparation cost, the total would be 9.97 d. per square yard. Similar work completed in .Queen's and Knight's Roads; Cornwall and Bunny Streets had cost 9.55 d., 8.79 d., 8.45 d., and 10.58 d. per square yard respectively, ' including preparation, per square yard. Bloomfield Terrace had cost 8.56 d. per yard complete. The total costs had been £196 18s. 10d., estimate £205 Is. Id. The report mentioned that about £700 of the £750 allocated for tarring and sanding purposes had been spent, and there was also an amount of £20 out of the mm set apart for the tar-sprayer; it was recom-? mended that these amounts be spent on a portion of Knight's Road that was don© last season by giving it a painting with tar, as it was beginning to brealc up. _ Regarding experiments made with a liquid weed-killer, thd opinion of the engineer was that if it were applied after a road had been cleaned up, it was keep the road clear of weeds for a time, and greatly. minimise labour. With a view of increasing th© waterpressure in Western Hutt. it was suggested that a 4in. main be taken through Marsden Street, and continue alson the Western Hutt Road and link up with Brunswick Street. One gas connection had been made, making tfee total number to date 513. Th© expenditure for the four weeks ended January 2, 1915, had been.— District fund account, £332 7s. lid.; gas account, £352 Us. 4d. The rSport was adopted, and in regard to the clause dealing with water reticulation improvement the matter is to be considered later.

The Firs Brigade i Committee submitted' a report in connection with an inquiry into the inadequate waterpressure at the late fire at Western ■Hufcfc. Tho Mayor stated that the committee had dealt exhaustively with th© matter, having hold a. "false alarm" test, and had come to the conclusion that it was evident that before a good pressure of water could be obtained large pipes would bo necessary in this area. Tho water-main was only a 3in. one, fed from ono end, which only allowed the brigade to use one lead of hose at a time. The committeo suggested in order to obviate the difficulty that a main bo taken through tho" Fitzherbert Estate to connect with tho Western Hutt Road main, and tho latter extended up to and across Mclling Bridge and connected up with tho main at Brunswick Street and Camp Road. After some discussion it was agreed that the report of the committee be adopted, and that the firo brigade were entitled to the thanks of the council for their eft'ortu a.ti the recent outbreak, '