PAEROA BOROUGH.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5253, 19 March 1928, Page 3

PAEROA BOROUGH.

MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING. ROUTINE BUSINESS. Tlie monthly meeting of the Paeroa Borough Council was held on Thursday night last, His Worship the Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) presiding over Crs. HjttJ. Hare, P. E. Brenan, E. A. PorrllT/ F. E. Flatt, J. W. Silcock, E. Edwards, J. Pinder, and Mr W. C. Alexander (town clerk). APPLICATION FOR CROSSING. Application was made by a resident in upper Hill Street for a crossing from the footpath to her property. Granted, subject to the usual conditjpus. ; FENCING OF PROPERTIES. An Auckland solicitor, writing on behalf of the Coote’s estate with reference to fencing a section in Normanby Road near the swimming baths, and also another section, statj ed that he had been instructed 1 to pay , one shilling a foot towards the cost ... of erecting a fence as per the terms offered by the council in February.— Referred to.the swimming baths committee for attention. . FLOODING OF SECTION. A letter was received from a resident in upper Normanby Road drawing attention to the need for immediately cleaning out the roadside drain. The writer pointed out that during the recent heavy rain the drain had overflowed and flooded the sections, • causing inconvenience. It had been Accessary.to wade through the water *at one o’clock in the morning in order to rescue two clutches of chickens. “I consequently caught a severe cold, ■ and it is a great pity some of the unemployed men. were not given the / work of cleaning the drain, which is full of sand, ferns, and all kinds of z growth,” the letter concluded. The Mayor said the letter raised the old question, that there was no onus on the council to keep open drains clean.' so that low-lying sections should; not.be flooded. -It was resolved to reply that the council Would clean the drain as opportunity offered, but it was to be >JWiderstood that the council could not accept any responsibility for adequate . drainage on low-lying sections in the borough. LIFE OF STREET LIGHTS. The Thames Valley Electric Power Board forwarded a report showing the average life of street lamps during 1927 in the following districts : Matainata, 1209 hour ; Morrinsville, 1017 hours; Paeroa, 1780 hours; ’Waihi, 910 hours; Turua, 1285 hours; Ngatea. 1460 hours. It was explained that , that the low lamp life shown at Waihi was due partly to voltage regulation and partly to the type of lamp. It was resolved to thank the board * for its information,. and to pay the fee for supplying it. VISIT OF MINISTER. £ Advice was received from the Mine of Education that he expected to reach Paeroa at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, and' would leave again for Waihi about 10.45 a.m. after visiting the f / - district high school/ ft Similar advice was also received from Mr A. M. Samuel, M.P. The Mayor said that the Minister would I )have very little time in.Paeroa, and ft was desirable that as many councillors as possible would meet the Minister at the schboil. ■ In answer to Or. Flatt the Mayor said the council had nothing to bring under the notice of the Minister, but the school committee had several matters to bring forward. • ANNUAL BALANCE-SHEET. The Controller and Auditor-General 1 the council’s annual balanceIpieet for the year ended March 31, 1927, duly certified to, and asked for a printed copy. It was resolved to congratulate the town clerk on avoiding a “tag ” .on the balance-sheet. / i HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES. The borough council solicitor (Mr . C. N. O’Neill) wrote with reference to the .steps taken against Mr J. H. Evans to recover fees 'owing under the Heavy Traffic and Motor Lorry Regulations. , After taking the matter to Court the nett i'esult was that Mr Evans had to pay fines totalling £45 (including a penalty of £3) and costs x £5 14s. The whole amount lhad to be paid on or before April 5 next. The Mayor said that £42 of the £45 was due as fees to the council. -jfr. Pindar said that if a mai\ was Vfractieally down and out he should hot be - put to unnecessary legal expenses, such as the issuing of two summonses. The Mayor explained that the council, had not pressed for heavy penalties. Cr, Brenan considered that Evans had been on “a very good win.” over the whole business. The Mayor agreed, and said that Evans had not been unduly pressed, and had been fined a nominal amount , only. KERBSIDE PUMP. An application was. received from the Paeroa Hardware Co. for permission to erect a kerbside pump opposite its business premises. A plan - s WTd estimates accompanied the appli- -’ cation. —Granted, subject to compliance with the regulations! and the work being carried out to the satisfaction of the council. MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE. The Municipal Association forwarded a copy of the order paper for the forthcoming conference, which was to 4 connmenced at 'Nelson on March 14. a copy of the president's address. PURCHASE OF DEBENTURES. In a lengthy telegram Mr A. M. Samuel, M.P., advised that he had re•ceived a w|re from the Public Trustee stating that he had pleasure in advising that the Public Trust Investment at’its meeting on March 1 had '’yecided to purchase from the Paeroa Borough Council £250'0 worth of debentures maturing on January 25, 1943, subject to sufficiency and legality of security. On the motion of the Mayor the usual resolution for affixing the seal and signing the Deed of Covenant was carried.