BOROUCH COUNCIL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1974, 9 January 1907, Page 3

BOROUCH COUNCIL.

Aii ordinary meeting of tlie Borough Council was held last night. Present: His Worship the Mayor (Mr. J. Townley), Crs. AY. AVehb, J. AY. Bright, W. D. Lysnar, J. A. Harding” J- W. AVliinray, J. Colley, and AY. Miller. Mr. E. H. Mann wrote: “On behalf of the AVhataupoko Lawn Tennis Club, X write to ask for permission to put up a few posts and rails outside the club section in Hall Street. Many of our members are country people, and there are generally about a dozen horses to be provided for on Saturday afternoons. If provision were made for them in Hall Street, between Clifford and AVhittaker Streets, the rails could bo put outside the tennis section, and the roadway woidd be clear. There is hardly any traffic along tlie road, and at present there are no houses in the part of the street referred to. Should the arrangement ever prove a nuisance to anybody, we should he prepared to remove the rails.” Cr. Harding: Does anybody know the position? Cr. AVebb: It only wants a couple of posts and rails. Cr. Lysnar: I move that the request bo acceded to. Cr. Harding: Leave it to the Engineer. The Engineer: No harm can be done by it. The matter was referred to the Engineer with power to act. “It is only protecting our road, said Cr. Lysnar . Mr. Alfred Teesdale wrote stating that the formation and gravelling of Wellington Street had been completed by the contractor, and asking that the Engineer inspect the road, with the view to it being taken over by the Council. , Cr. AVliinray said that though the j quantity put on might fill the legal requirement, the quantity was not sufficient. Cr. Lysnar: You must remember they jiut some on the footpaths. The matter was referred to the Engineer to deal with. Mr. H .J. Heed wrote, referring attention to tlie undesirable state of

the drain emptying into the river at the foot of Derby street. About BO feet had been washed away by the flood, and since then the drainage had distributed itself over the mud flat for some distance before reach-

inf; the channel. He asked that the drain he carried out to low water, as were all other drains that emptied into the river. He also asked that the footpath be put into something like repair. Cr. Colley, in the course of discussion, said he understood the drain was the one from the Royal Hotel. There was no doubt the drain should be carried to low water mark as previously. On the motion of the Mayor at was decided to give the owner of the drain notice to complete it to low water, and to have the footpath ati tended to. Mr. Francis Stafford wrote: Gentlemen, —I would draw your attention to the bad state of the road and footpath on Awapuni road. Some time ago a footpath was formed and a little shingle put on, but owing to the bad state of the road the butchers, bakers, and niglitsoil carts have been driving on the footpath, and have thus destroyed your good work. I would suggest that two or three loads of gravel per chain be put on, and a few posts put in to prevent cart traffic destroying same. Trusting yon will attend to same at your earliest convenience. lam yours, etc., Francis Stafford. Cr. Webb suggested that as there were some nice houses along the road, they should put a few loads of shingle on. Cr. Harding: Where will you get it? There has been no shingle on the beach for* months. Cr. Webb: A few loads of gravel worth! do. Referred to Engineer. Mr. Henry White wrote: “As your mains pass through my Te Punt property, I wottld like to arrange for a supply of water.”

, Tho Mayor said that this matter [■ required a good deal of consideration, ns many points would arise on those , subjects. Ho moved that Crs. Hardr ing, Bright, Miller, and the mover - be a committee to go into the mater, i —^Carried. | The Town Clerk said there were i about a dozen other applications that i could he gone into by tho committee. Sergeant Williams reported that a man who was a prohibited person and very often under tho inlluonco of liquor, was a licensed car driver, and occasionally hired his cart to carry objectionable persons. Warnings having had no effect, tho sergeant asked that tho license be dealt with. Tho Town Clerk said tho turn out had boon sold up last Saturday. Or. Bright said if lie went on the road again they should call on him to show cause wiiy tho license should not bo cancelled. Gr. Lysunr: Wo should deal with it at once in face of tile report. It was resolved to suspend the. I license in the mantime. ' Sergeant Williams submitted for tho Council’s information a report by Constable Wales, that on tho night of January 5 George Smith had kept his shooting gallery open until 11.45 p.m., tho license being only up to 10 p.m. “Tho fact of having the shooting gallery open so hitef” added tho officer, “offers an oxeuse to hoodlums and half-drunken

men to hang about the streets until the early hours of the morning.” Cr. Webb pleaded that there was some excuse owing to tho holidays. Mr. Smith had promised that it would not occur again. It was resolved to write, warning Mr. Smith that he must close at 10 p.m.

A circular was received with regard to fixing the weekly half-holi-day. The Mayor said that the formal steps had been taken to convene a special meeting. Now was the time

it people had any objection to make. A transfer of lease of Borough' section to Mr. Sheet, jnn., was approved of. Henowal of second-hand licenses to Messrs. Attwood and 0. Smith (dyer) , wore granted. j Auctioneers’ licenses were renewed: G. It. Wylie, J. W. Bright, Wuolisman, Bine, G. It. Miller, J. S. 1 Buckland. f rb.> Borough Inspector, Mr. J. It. : Little, reported:— | J have the honor to report to your • c.nme:: that the work anti- < ise I hn the committee \ ho a tt aided the a hat- ! toirs a short time ago, and suggested that several alterations should he 1 made, is now in hand, and will he completed in a few days. The fly • screen that was suggested should be made to cover the small gods I have left out for the present ,as 1 cannot see my way to go on with it, as tile head butcher says what I am going to provide for that purpose would he too cumbersome, would take up too much room, and _ not answer the purpose, for which it was intended. One of the cottages belonging to the Borough situated in Cobden street, and occupied by Mrs. Mathias, the roof of same which is of shingles, is in verv

bad repair, and leaks badly. I would recommend that tenders bo called for removing the shingles and covering the same with iron. Specifications for the work that is to be done are herewith attached.

ENGINEER'S REPORT

‘'fa’ir, —I have the honor to submit my report on the question of the metal supply for the Borough, together with my opinion and recommendation thereon.

“l''or the last two months I have given my earnest attention to the possibility of obtaining a suitable stone for the maintenance of the main roads, as well as for the construction and maintenance of tlie side _ streets. In considering the question, 1 have in mind the quality of the material to be procured, the amount available, and the cost of the same delivered on the roads. “With this object in view I obtained the Council’s permission to prospect the n aihirere reserve for the purpose of ascertaining the quality of the stone to be obtained there. The result of my operation

has ueen very encouraging, and I have obtained a stone which will prove very suitable for those streets of tho Borough which are not main roads, j here is a very large body of it, and the cost of quarrying, crushing and delivering will be very small in proportion to the cost of the metal being supplied at the present. I' 1 or the purpose of considering the metal question from every point of view, and enabling you to see how results are arrived at, I ]>ropose to discuss it under tho following heads : 1. Quantity of metal required. 2. Source of supply. 3. Cost.

QUANTITY OE METAL REQUIRE-.

“The demand for metal for municipal purposes is an increasing and urgent one. Houses are springing up in ail directions; streets, in which, until lately, there were no habitations, are now lined with dwellings, and the necessity for forming and metalling these streets becomes more pressing from day to day. A large number of the streets already metalled are fast approaching the time when it will be absolutely necessary to remctal them. , “The total length of the Borough streets are as follows: Town division, 1503 chains, or 13 miles GU chains ; Whataupoko, 7101 chains, or o miles 701 chains; lvaiti, 516 chains, or 0 miles 36 chains; giving a total of 34 miles 151 chains. “I have personally inspected the whole of these streets, tabulated their lengths, and the amount of metal required in each case. In summing it all up 1 find that no less than 36,uu0 cubic yards are necessary to wholly metal some streets ,and partially metal others, including the main arterial thoroughfares. Council will of course understand that this amount of metal is not l required at the present moment, but it will be absolutely necessary to provide for it during the next few years. . , ... “In considering the ( it is proper to consider the quality of the stone available in the district and within a reasonable distance from the Borough. Owing to the geological features of the surrounding country the choice of material for macadam is limited to two forms of rock, viz., limestone and shell rock. The' limestone at present being ex- I clusively used by the Council is un- 1 doubetdly the best stone to be ob- I , tained, and being more, compact, is I the one most suitable for the main | j thoroughfares and streets carrying > lieavv traffic, the objection to it heI in " the irritating impalpable white dust produced by traffic over it. ■ iShell rock, another variety or limestone, is particularly adapted to the requirements of the secondary streets of the Borough. It varies in colour from brown to blue. Ihe brown variety owes its appearance I to weather and to the decomposition of iron pvrites, which stains the shell and' limestone matrix. But whether brown or blue, both varieties arc good serviceable’ material anu would make first class light roads, and the screenings would serve tor footpaths to the greatest advantage.

SOURCE OF SUPPLY.

“The limestone, ns far as I have been able to ascertain, is only to be obtained in bulk at Patutahl quarry. After visiting tins place, and obseriine the dip and, formation of the several strata, it was evident that a large amount of stone cannot be procured from here for any length of time. In fact, with very little trouble, it is quite possible to estimate the capacity of the ground, it will, therefore, be necessary for the Council to ascertain if it is not possible to obtain this stone in other localities than Patutahi, as it is certain that this quarry will not meet the Borough’s as well as the County s requirements in the near future. The distance of this quarry from Gisborne is ■ 131 miles, and the whole of the stone has to be brought in by road. “The shell rock may be obtained m two places within reasonable distance of the Borough, first, at the back of Air Barker’s residence on the Ormond road, at a spot known as Barker’s quarry, and from which an amount of stone has already been obtained, and secondly, at the "Waihirere reserve.

At Harkov's quarry tlioro is a high j i'aco of shall rock of good quality, but | the physical features ol the surrounding country are of such an irnpracticablo nature, and the overburden so great, that quarrying would speedily become inqiossiblo, except at such cost that it would bo prohibitive as a source of metal supply. The distance from town is about eight miles. J lie material would require to be transported the whole distance by road, traversing about two miles ol paddocks before the main road was reached, so that the transport as well as the quarrying would be expensive. On the Waihirere reserve, situated nine miles from Gisborne, the shell rock crops out the wholo distance from the falls right down to the opening of the gorge. There are some splendid laces ol stone, and the supply appears to be inexhaustible, l have already given my opinion of the quality of the stone to ho obtained here, so that it is unnecessary to recapitulate it. The same stono 1 am given to understand is being obtained near the end of Gray’s road, and that the. quality is much improved as the quarry is opened up. J have no doubt that the same conditions would obtain with the AA'aihiroro stono. the advantage of tho AVailnrere quaiiy consists not only in tho quantity ol material to bo obtained, there, but exceptional lacilities present themselves for quarrying and transport, From where the best stono is appaicntly situated the distance to the AVaihiroro railway station docs not exceed a mile and a hall, so that the cost of carriage from quarry to Gisborne would be reduced to a minimum.

COST,

“In going into the cost of tho stone it will bo necessary to consider, besides tlio quarrying and transport, the necessary plant to be provided in each case in order that tlie material may be handled in tho cheapest and most effective manner.

“Dealing with the l’atutalii stone first: From the data available at the oliiee, together with information gained from handling tlie material, i find that tlie cost of broken stone in tho heap at the crusher amounts tj Us lOjfd per cubic yard, made up as follows:—.Royalty per cubic yard, fid; quarrying per cubic yard, 2s 6d; carting spawls to yard from Patutahi, 8s; carting spawls from yard to crusher, sd; crushing and clearing from actual test, 7id; gas, oil, amt sundries, lid; depots to roads, say Is Gd; per cubic yard, 13s 4-id.

“On reference to the Finance Committee’s report to the Council dealing with the metal question, and bearing date April 17, IUOG, 1 find that by providing special plant, the cost ol uroken scone coujd be reduced 7s fid. The estimate is eased on the following particulars:—Two seven-ton waggons and trailers, £2000; stonecrusher and screens, £500; stone crusher fixing and hoppers, £400; steam engine lor quarry, £250; platforms and hoppers, town depot, £200; opening quarry and road, £150; total, £3500. “Cost of working waggons for 7 months in year only :•—interest mi £2OOO at 5 iier cent., 1 year, £100; depreciation, 5 per cent., £100; maintenance, oil, etc., £SO; coke for 7 months, £B4; drivers’ wages, 2 at £l2 per month, £168; total, £oo2.

•estimate work to ue dune by waggons in 7 months’ haulage of i-j loads per diem, say 26 working days in month:—Total haulage m seven months, 3458 c. yds. at 3s, *.jiS. tins is only allowing to'run one trip pel’ clay, whereas one and a lialf ■/:

even two may bo accomplished. Allowing that haulage can be done at fis per yard a saving on last year's supply .can bo made of £750 in haulage alone. “Estimated cost of stono when plant is in working order: —Royalty, 3d; quarrying and breaking, fis; haulage by waggons, 3s; depots to roads, Is. Total, 7s 3d. “This 7s 3d as tho cost of the stono is underestimated, as the interest should bo calculated an the entire amount, viz., A3.'a)i, and instead of 5 per cent, depi-e nation A should be 1.) per cent, on that <-i:is.s ol plant. The waggons al-si would certainly not ru,. 26 full working days per month. Thu,, w , m '.i |, r . lm ~

avoidable stoppages for repairs and wel weather, wli'/in would ieduce the time to 24 days, rim comtv.'.t: 3 esti-. mated the cost of stone at J Is Id per cubic yard, and oabulaixd that a saving on last year's supply would amount to £IOB7 10s. line utter making all allowa ices the scheme suggested is undoubtedly the lest one and would effect a considerable sluing, but not quite to the extent estimated by the committee. I estimate the cost per cubic yard as follows: 5 per cent on £3500, (£175; 10 per cent, on £3500 depreciation, £350; maintenance, oil, etc., 7 months, £SO; fuel, £B4; wages, £108; total, £827.

Haulage.—l 9 cubic yards per diem for 24 days in mouth for V months amounts to 15192 cubic yards. Then £827 for 3192 cubic yards equals os 2d per cubic yard. This increases the cost of the stone delivered to 9s sd, which is about the correct amount, a yery considerable saving as against 14s 6d, present cost of metal in the committee’s report, and 13s 4sd as near as I could get at it. Or a saving in the one instance of £Bll and £634 13s 2d in the other, in the year’s operations. "The cost per cubic yard of the stone to bo obtained from AVailiirere reserve based on a 50-yard output 1 estimate as follows : For Plant.—Stone crusher, £500; oil engine, i£2oo; shoots and hoppers, £150; sheds, £100; l-£ miles light tram line, £1000; 10 trucks, £loU; total, £2IOO. Quarrying 50 cubic yards per diem, £1 17s 6d; crushing, £1 4s; trucking, £1 ss; oil, etc., ;s Od; 15 per cent, interest and depreciation on £2IOO, 17s 3d; railage on 50 cubic yards at Is lOd, £4 11s Sd ; total, £lO 2s lid. Then £lO 2s lid for 50 cubic yards equals 4s OJd per cubic yard at the station at Gisborne. “If the tramway woro dispensed with, and drays substituted for carting from quarry to railway station then the cost per cubic yard would be somewhat increased. “There is another method, if the Council desired, before going in for a plant, to actually test the cost and value of the AVailiirere road making, and that is by removing the present, stone crusher up to the quarry site, cart the broken metal to the railway station and from thence to town. I estimate the cost by this method at the rate of 4s 9d per cubic yard

Gisborne. “This plan, however, lias the drawhack that it would be necessary to crush right off all the spaivls at present. lying in the yard, and amounting to about 800 cubic yards, which, as the maximum output of the crusher is 26 cubic yards per diem, would take over a month’s continuous work. furthermore when more Patutahi stone was required it would have, to be purchased already broken at the quarry and be carted in.

CONCLUSION

“Knowing that the requirements of the Council amount to about 36,000 cubic yards, if nothing but the Patutahi be used, then the total cost with the Council’s own plant would amount to:—

36,000 at 14s 6d (Committee’s' estimate), £26,100; 36,000 at 9s sd, £16,275 ; showing a saving of £9825. “30,000 cubic yards at the present rate of consumption would represent a 10 years’ supply, and a saving of £9825' during that time, sufficient to have more than paid for the plant twice over. To take another view: If the Council were to substitute the Waihirere metal for the Patutahi for use in the side streets, then the following amounts of metal would bo required : Patutahi, 9000 cubic yards; ’Waihirere, 27,000 cubic yards; total, 36,000 cubic yards. Estimated costs:—

Patutahi metal: 9000 cubic yards at 9s dd, £4237; 'Waihirere metal: 27,000 cubic yards at 4s OJd, £5484; total cost, £9721. This works out:—■

36,000 cubic yards of Patutahi metal at present estimated cost, 14s 6d, £20,100j deduct —9000 cubic yds. Patutahi and 27,000 of Waihiere as above, £9721; balance, £10,379; or, Patutahi metal, 30,000 cubic yards at estimated cost with new plant (9s sd). £16,275; Patutahi and Waihirere combined. £9.721; balance, £6554.

“Thus, which over way it is looked at a very largo saving is to bo effected, biit the greatest benefit is to be obtained by the combination of the metal from the two places. Considering all things and with the view ol taking immediate steps in the matter, 1 beg respectfully to make the following recommendations to tlie Council: — • , . . “Thai, tho Council should promt :■». stono irom AVaihiroro and Pututahi in tho proportion boioro iiiontionou. Tho quantities being regulate! from time to time according to req'liron cuts. . , . “That considering the sin.nl quantity of Pntutalii metal re<Mii.rj:l, compared' with that from AVaihiroro, ami that: the amount to bo sav:;d would not be commensurate with the cost ol providing a special crushing and > transport plant, tho Council obtain this metal in thy same manner as before, until such time as the matter may come up for re-considera-tion. , . , , “That the 800 cubic yards at the depot should be crushed at once and a further 1200 cubis yards of spawls bo obtained from I'atutalii. This metal to bo used on the Gladstone, Ormond and AVainui roads, and such other principal streets as must be attended to. “That a road bo formed in the AVaihiroro reserve from the Maori settlement to the quarry site, to permit of tho cartage of material from the quarry to the railway station £125). “That I should be instructed to pro-

cure a stone crusher (£500) and portable oil engine (£200) at once, place it in AVaihiroro quarry, and start crushing until sufficient had been obtained for the year’s requirements. “That as the opportunity occurr id 1 should proceed to fully equip the quarry and construct the light tram line, in accordance with the estimated cost. : “That I should ho instructed to pro- . cure a 10-tun steam roller and scari - fier, it being impossible to make a sound road without one, except at an unreasonable cost.” E. HAIIVEY GIBBON, | Borough Engineer. j The Mayor said if they wanted to get some Patutahi metal they should do it at once. He referred to tlie difficulty of getting metal ill winter, ! and proposed that the Jkngineer s if- , commendation to get 1200 yards oi Paluitahi metal be adopted, and that tenders be called for at once. G ! they could get in 2000 yards so much the better, but ho did not think they Or. Lysnar seconded the motion, adding the stipulation that it would not deter them from going into other matters. . , | The motion was unanimously adopted. Tenders to be in that night fortnight. | In reply to Cr. Colley, the Engineer said lie had had large expedience with stone, and was quite satislied lie was right in his estimate of ; the cost of quarrying. He also pointed out that there was no handling. Cr. AVhinray would like the Council to have evidence as to the carrying and crushing capacity ot the stone, also as to whether it would bo, cheaper than river shingle. He would ! like to have seen the ground probed further. Before embarking further on tho scheme he would like to have it ■ demonstrated whether the AVaihirere metal would ho cheaper. He feared it would bo liable to bury itself in the sand. Certainly the conformation of the country was m favor or cheap quarrying. There was also the question ox a road roller. 'J’lie Mayor said the Engineer had prospected the hill thoroughly. He did not want to go up further than was necessary. They should get the Stuff Oil the roads. They had some on Childers road and some screenings near the Catholic Church. He had been agreeably surprised with the stone, and when putting it through the crushing there was loss waste than with Paluitahi. Instead of having a dozen yards on the roads tliej should have a hundred yards on. They should get in as fast as possible all the metal quarried at AATulurere. As to tho roller, he claimed that it would do effective work. Councillors agreed as to testing tlio metal, and then the question of street 1 camo up. At the Engineer’s suggestion, that was left over until next - meeting, when he said he would suggest streets. , Cr. AVebb suggested that they should decide at once to get the plant. The Engineer said he was at present inspecting a face half-way up to the falls at AVailnrere, showing a splendid face. It was as good a stone as they could get in the district for second-rate roads. It was not, he repeated, intended for main roads. They could not better it for secondary stones, as to quality or price. There was good stone at Barker’s, but the cost of .working it would be nearly as much as at Patutalii. Ho anticipated that the stono at AVaihirere would improve as they went further in. Cr. AVhinray thought that Barker’s quarry would lend itself admirably for getting the stone out, unless there was a superabundant amount of mullock in it. Cr. "Miller said he thought the Engineer was going to get them out of a big difficulty. Cr. Lysnar said he did not like losin gtlie season. His mind was to authorise to Engineer to expend the £125 he asked for the road, and then to call tenders to get in 2000 yards. Next year they should equip it with a proper plant. In reply to Cr. Lysnar, the Engineer said lie proposed to use hoppers wherever possible. Questions arose as to the relative cost of the metal; the Engineer said they might roughly estimate the cost at 5s per yard. Cr. Lysnar: Practically a third of the cost of Patutahi, and the same as shingle. , Cr. AVebb said it was bunkum to say that the stone could be crushed with the appliances. The Engineer said his idea was to got as much as possible out. First ho should be authorised to make the road serviceable to enable tho stuff

to he taken to tlio railway. They could not get the crusher under four months, but they cotild get a lot of stuff in. He thought they should get ag much in as cheap as they could. On the motion of Cr. Miller, seconded by Cr. Webb ,tho Engineer was authorised to have the road done.

A breezy argument here set in as to the capacity of the crusher, Cr. Webb holding to his view as to its limited capacity. Or. Miller said they had now arrived at the time when they should order a proper plant. After getting the assurance of the Engineer that a 10-ton roller would be more satisfactory than a heavier roller, Cr. Miller moved that a 10ton roller and scarifier be ordered. Or. Colley seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Cr. Lysnar thought they should let the ,stout! crusher stand over for the present. Cr. Miller urged that they would soon want it, even apart from Waihirere, and should order it at once. The Engineer said, after fullest considoration, lie had favored an oil eiigijio for motive power. The crusher woidd ho movable.

Cr. Bright enquired ns to the fhian cial position. The Town Clerk said their limii was £BOOO.

The Mayor said it would all come into next year.

Cr. Bright : But what is the over draft ? ■*■

The Mayor: Nothing. We are £l2 in credit.

Cr. Bright: That is juggling with loan money. The Mayor: Certainly not. It is owing to the successful collection of rates.

1 be 1 own Clerk said that properly speaking there was £IOOO that .did not belong to the general funds. Cr. Bright said the money collected would have to do them for a good part of tlie year.

A long discussion ensued as to the purchasing of crusher and engine. The Mayor thought they should give the Engineer a free hand to do the work in the most effective wav. Me moved the adoption of the report in toto .

Cr. \\ ebb : I second that.—Carried. Hie Engineer said be took that to be authority to go along slowly, getting in what metal he could as economically as he could, and ascertain the cheapest and best Way of getting the plant. Cr. Lysnur urged that they should obtain a gas producing plant instead of ml.