Borough Council.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3529, 1 June 1905, Page 2

Borough Council.

SPECIAL MF,F/K. NG - A special meeting of tin" Bf>. rOU Council was held on Monclay evef 1 ! 11 ® for consideration of the resoSa-tiC 11 moved at last meeting by Cr Baker, iifK reference to water and lighting. There wore present the Mayor (Mr B. Gt Gower), and Crs Coley, Austin, Gray, Ny«, Shadbolt, Moore, Frankland and Baker. Cr Baker’s motion was as follows : “That the council take immediate steps to prepare schemes to place before the ratepayers —xst, loan to improve streets and form footpaths; 2nd, to supply the town with water; jrd lighting With coal gas; and when ready to place such schemes) before a public meeting of ratepayers with the object of taking a poll upon each of these' tttaiteff}.'' In brings?# the questions up for discussion Cr Bafe«r he did not think there was any i.'cen for apology. The urgency of the vanOU# _ questions —metal, water, and lighting —were admitted. The council should study | each and see what could be done* i Several streets had been metalled, -hut needed covering with, say, 2in of gravel to make them passable. Footpaths were necessary, and could be formed by ploughing and scooping in most streets. He thought kerbing could be dispensed with at present if the pathways were sloped outward to a channel where the path met with the slope of the roadway. Tarring or metalling could be done later on. Cr Austin agreed with these remarks, pointing out that in Park Street there was a great desd of traffic, and people had to take to the middle of tth« road. The cost would not be great, Cr Shadbolt disagreed with Cr : Austin. Avenue kfoad required footbaths more) than Street. He thought, regarding meiM that it was a good thing the streetp had been metalled as far they .had. He Advocated the need for water and lighting. 1 Cr Shadbolt went ten to refer to fljf >question of Gray Street, but at this jpoint the Mayor called him to attention.

Cr Shadbolt proceeded to say that the council should go in for a good water System. Cr Coley considered that unless' footpaths were properly made and metalled it was useless to spend money on them It would be throwing ifipney away to do as Crs Baker and Austin suggested. Cr Baker explained that he had merely made the suggestions so that the council could discuss them and ’hen put them before the ratepayers tor them to say what should be done. Cr Coley said in that case he would 1 not object to the discussion. He did not wish to see a repetition of £3OOO streets loan affair—which was a waste of money. Any kerbing put down should be in concrete. • Cr Nye agreed with Cr Bakei* that it was necessary to do something to make passable footpaths in those? streets now unprovided for, so that women and children could get along in some degree of safety. One side would be sufficient for the present, and he believed the work could be

done by the daymen. Cr Coley, in reply to Cr Nye, said tha latter had been in the council before for years, and he asked was they anything to show his progressivepess ? He (speaker) had been 35 years in the town, and had never yet met with any who had done anything to push the town ahead.

Referring to sloping footpaths the Mayor thought they would do in some streets, but in others such as Avenue Road, a kerb was absolutely necessary. Cr Coley contended that kerbing would be necessary in all the streets. Cr Baker replied that in the Lower Hutt footpaths were made sloping and tarred. As to Avenue Road -he reminded Cr Coley that he had suggested turfing where necessary. Cr Coley pointed out the Hutt was clay country and in Foxton we had loose sand.

~Cr Baker said that surely even m Foxton there was sufficient soil to prevent the sand drifiting. Even if the paths were kerbed they would have to be blinded.

Cr Shadbolt agreed with Cr Coley’s contentions, Referring to existing footpaths, Cr Coley said that those in Foxlon compared favourably with any iff other towns.

Cr Nye suggested giving a trial in one street to Cr Baker’s suggestion. Cr Coley: Then try it in Cook Street. Continuing. Cr Coley offered !o pay half the cost of doingten chains of footpath in the street, The Mayor reminded Cr Coley that ratepayers would be required to do the same in other streets.

Cr B <ker then referred to roads. He considered two inches of fine metal should b& placed on the metal already on some of the roads. Cr Frmkland asked if there was any suggestion to issue borough bonds, Cr Baker replied that he thought it was understood that money would have to be raised from some other source than (he Government.

The Mayor said there had been no such proposal in the past four years but he understood it was Cr Baker’s intention to suggest the issuing of bonds.

Cr Moore mentioned that some of the footpaths already existing needed repairs.

After some further desultory discussion, the question of a water schem# was taken in hand, on the suggestion of Cr Gray, Cr Coley said he had offered the council engine power to test the flow in the present bore at the windmill, but no notice had been taken of it. Cr Austin thought that the annual cost of working a scheme of pumping at the railway* windmill would be more than the interest on a larger and more permanent gravitation scheme from the hills.

Cr Nye said no site had yet been secured for boring. As for a gravitation scheme, it was entirely beyond the means of Foxton. It would mean bringing the water at least 15 miles,

and then they had no guarantee that the people over there would allow th« water' to be impounded as. it ’ was well known that the mountain streams, after the hash was felled, lost at least 40 per cent of their volume in the summer. He thought the best thing was to put down a trial boro. If good ’water was secured they would have 'something to place before the rat,*, ■pavers. This could be done out *-> ordinary revenue, Cr Coley contended that it would be sufficient first to test the tontentg of the existing well. Cr Shad bolt supported this. Cr Nye pointed out that t.fa e o nlv place at which a hill high. enough to pump water on to was A,e qite suggested, at the railway Cr Moore asked if thy, woukl furnish any idea whether fhe site could be pumped dry. Ci Coley , (| j IR W ould be satisfied, if .he p resen j- bore cou ] c f 110 t be pumped j n t W o or three days he would <K> favourable to sinking anothei n majority decided in that direction * this point the Mayor moved bill '-' r Joley’s offer of engine ’goWer be accepted. This was scc/ jnd ed by Cr Austin, and carried. It was decide;. 1 !, 5n the motion of Cr Coley, seconded by Cr Austin, to instruct Messrs Wyatt Clark and Co to oifer by public auction the lease for fveye.ars of the Target Reserves and the P.eservefi Committee was instructed ™ Cake over the reserve from Mr H. C.oley on the expiw.tion of his lease on doth May in accordance with his a,grceme-ni!:. It then resolved to put a dav Hipa on to throw soil removed from Mr Swanson’s‘property over against the Peace to prevent storm water damaging the fence. It was moved that the overseer be instructed to repair culverts and clean drains in Nye and Brown Streets, and also to clean out the outlet drain across mill paddocks to the river. Cr Coley objected to ratepayers’ ffnoney being spent in private properly in tins manner, but Cr Nye pointed •outthat the drains Were made by the •old County Council to take water oft the roads. Tiie Mayor said he favoured the first. part ot the proposal, hut regarding the outlet drain lie agreed with Cr Coley. Cr Austin concurred in ihis view, and the part complained of was deleted, and the amended motion was carried. Cr Nye moved, and Cr Shadbolt j / seconded, That this council take steps to amend the bye-law bearing on the j matter ot w’neel traffic and to restrict j the bye-I.n\v relating thereto. Cr bvankland pointed out that the bye-iaw on the subject was very j ■Albignous. Cr Baker rose to complain that the matter for which the meeting was called had not been finished. Continuing, he said he could not agree with any proposals for supplying water from artesian sources. So far tis lie could learn artesian water was not suitable for domestic or engine or, in fact, general purposes. On the question of expense, also, he thought such a scheme impracticable. He would move, “That the services of a j practical engineer be engaged to ! prepare a rough estimate of the cost j of supplying Foxlon with water for i general purposes from the ranges; j and, further, that the Shannon people I be asked if they are prepared to unite I with Foxton in obtaining a water j apply from the hills. Fie said i that six-inch pipes would cost i . about £BOO per mile, and these would suffice to supply a town like Foxton. A gravitation scheme would be quite ! as cheap as the pumping, which would cost ('SOO or /Too to maintain in j addition, perhaps, to interest on a ; Small loan. Cr Austin seconded. •

Cr Coley pointed out that not less than fourteen miles would he required and then there would he the Manawatu River to contend with —pipes would have to get over that; somehow. The Mayor said the figures quoted were intended to refer only to a short service from the suggested pumping site. Cr Fraukland suggested that in the •vent of a good artesian flow being obtained two tanks placed on the. hill would simplyfy the matter of maintenance as requiring less pumping. Cr Nye suggested as an alternative that raft well be sunk. This would furnish a good supply, and could be pumped from. Cr Austin said he had seconded the resolution rather hurriedly. He believed the best thing was to test the artesian supply tor a start. The motion" was then put and lost, Cr Baker alone voting for it. The Council now reverted back to the traffic bye-law resolution moved by Cr Nye. The Mayor agreed with Cr Nye that the roads were being badly torn up, and Crs Coley and Austin considered the resolution unnecessary. The latter stated that one carter had mentioned that if he was to carry less weight he would have to knock oft carting altogether. Cr Nye said the road itself was sufficient evidence. The motion was put and carried, Crs Coley and Austin opposing it. Gn the motion of the Mayor it was decided that the Public Works Committee and as many of the councillors as possible visit No. i line before next meeting. Mr Gower said councillors would then sec exactly what condition the road was in. A proposal to put down a trial bore for an artesian supply of water, moved by Cr Nye and seconded by Cr Mo*re, was lost. The discussion at this point on water and bye-law matters was held over till next Monday and the Council adjourned at 10 p.m.