CITY COUNCIL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume xvx, Issue 228, 25 September 1880, Page 2

CITY COUNCIL.

The ordinary fortnightly meeting Was held last nigbt. Present: the Mayor, Crs Trask, Levien, Greig, Hnrley, Hounsell, and Everett. A letter was read from certain ratepayers in Washington Valley asking the Council to take over the road leading to their property, and 'to repair tha same. The City Surveyor, on being applied to. said that the road only led to the houses of those . signing the petition. Sbme discussion ensued 1 as to the desirability of the Council taking" in hand private roads, Cr Harley advocating that they might at least allow a few loads of gravel. -Ultimately it was referred to the City Surveyor: to report upon, Cr '.Harley voting against tbe motion. A letter, from Mr james Penny asking the Council to gravel Kawai-street for about 100 feet beyond the present formation was referred to the Works Committee. | A letter from Mrs Simmons complaining 1 of the insufficiency of the water supply "in Kawai-street was referred to the Gas and Waterworks Committee. A letter was read from the Town Clerk, Melbourne, stating that a new.stone-breaking machine had just been patented which could be supplied for £190, or on a portable carriage for £210. -: • -•■'- ■y ; / Permission waß granted to Mr James , Gorrie to remove the fire bell tower' from Waimea to Hardy Btreets i Atthe request of- Mr Engel it -was resolved that repairs should be. eff ected in i Alfred-street as soon as possible. ' ' - ! The following letter was read":— . ~ ! r , } /:«Sepietnl?er^3, 1880. j "To the Mayor ard City Councillors. '■ " Gentlemen— This is ! to' giVtfybu notic& jthatl^the undersigned- will remoVe^ the bai«^ ricades which Stop"-traffi<s /ba^Xlollin^wbbdf 'street Bridge, of tbis city, if ybudbnotbbm^ imence either to rebuild or repair the t> .Baid ;

•bridge] w.ithin\one: month from the above date, as you have : no /right to stop-th£ Queen's highway.— l an^ gentlemen, yours, &c., ; / ;.'/<• "^ " Albx. Robertson, • . , " Dyer, &o." Cr Levien proposed that the letter be lajd on tbe table, and expressed his opinion tbat Mr Robertson must have very bad advisers. Cr Harley said that, though a member of the Council, ho entertained a strong^opinlon that they had no right to close a public highway, and was prepared to act upon that opinion. = The letter before them was frpm a ratepayer, who, aa Buch, had a perfect right to be listened to. He (Cr Harley) had brought forward a proposal for re-opening the bridge that had been endorsed by 250 ratepayers, but the Council had defeated him by carrying; otft&r , propositions. , He believed now, as he did then, that by the exercise of ' ecdnomyrtb'fey^eUTd have "built" a hew bridge withont the aid of a loan. Now, however, they had insisted on closing the bridge, and a ratepayer came forward aud was prepared tjl^flptTtb/aa'So, a^"hpMffifgfit' say ihat'iie ■wrould : 'support hyn wlth^honfty and $y every jegili&iate meafls in hiSivpow^r. ■;Cr Eyerett"; sail that' the writer? of the letter woUldiu cat ryifig out "hia threat W doing so at his peril. .the Jtatter.lie.pn. the ttjble. /7 • Alette4w^s received from /Mr ..Akersten in whip^ he offered to effect substantial repairs to Collingwood street bridge, making it-fit for Ordinary traffic, within six weeks, apd keep "the -'sanae. in repair\fbr/one, year; also to • substantially repair the Nile street' cart bridge,Vwith'oufc stopping the 'traffic,-, and k»ep it in repair for- two years ; also tb repair ,the, Hardy fopt bridge, ,and keep, it in repair for eighteen months, finding- all materials, labor,' &c, for the whole of the work,, and.to complete the same witbin six months^ for,. /ther sunr 0f :£250. He also offered to remove and rebuild all ihe bridgos uamediTthe-Barae tp be^of'.a- more" durable character t^an.the 'presedt ones were when "new, fof the sum of %2006~. *' % ' Cr Everett thought, before considering Mr ")pei^£eh , g^ffeTr" l tbey^Bhpi|l'dTwaifc to see -$hesherljthb!>ratep£yers ythtQ) willing to |anpsbn ihe proposedd&an.; 1 , " : ) "XfHarle^ suggested that" Mr Akersten -|.hpuld be askeg to permit his pffer toehold ?!g;6bd unfcilithe result of the!; poll-! re the:: loan *wa« taken^This was agreed' to. On the recommendation of the Finance 'Committee it was resolved, tbat the stable keeper's wages be reduced to £2 2s a week, and that he be allowed the use of the new cottage rent free. « GrSig's nacdb/ . be added ,tp ihe Public Works Committee..? j ' //C* Harlby/ Would like~ io bqo the Public' Woirks, and Ga : s ahd Waterworks Committees; combined as. before. At present with three j Conimittees;ifc ,was difficult to get a.quprum,! besides: which -the present plan r 'g'aYe' tihe; Mayor too much power. Aa chairman of .each Committee, he had a casting tote, and another in the Council which thus was virtually over-ruled by a single member, as he had eight votes to "any other Councillor's one He would therefore ask the Council to reconstitute the.Committees, and would propose that Crs ;Everett, Greig, Trask, Little, and himself, should form the Public Works Committee, which Bhould also, deal witb the gas and water works,- with Cr Everett as chairman, j It was ruled that before bringing forward "such _ a" resolution notice ol motion must be given for the discharge of - the present/and reconstitution of the proposed Committees. This, Cr Harley undertook to do. Cr Greig was then appointed a member of the Public Works Committee; - : .•! Or Harley said ttititihe was hot aware whether the members , of- tbe Gas and Waterworks Committee ever attended to their duties; if not he would tell them what he had himself seeh {at the early part of thia week. Of late there had been much sickness in the town, aud the Council being the body to which the people looked to take every precaution to preserve the publio, health, he confessed tbat he had been much surprised on visiting the reservoir the other day is company with Mr and Mrs Morey, who bad that day Bailed for Taranaki, and his own wife, to find that oyer the whola of the surface of the, water there "was floating a green fungus-like matter at least two inches in thickness. , The water must have been lying stagnant there for mon ths, and he felt sure tbat none of the Committee could have been there Since he had ceased to be a membet of it. Cr Everett said that this was ' a most serious charge not merely against the Council, but against the City Surveyor, whose special duty ib was to see ,that tho water was kept perfectly, puro and supplied, to the town people in that state. This was the first he had heard of it, and he considered it the duty of the Mayor to call upon Mr Lightfoot for an explanation. Mr Lightfoot being called upon, said that he was afc the reservoir, a short time after Cr Harley and there was then but. five, feet of water in the reservoir and that had.not be«n in.it many hours. The reservoir had been scrubbed out a month ago, and would have been later again bufc for the frtihes in th« stream.'. '" -' "•*'- --" .•-,''; • -■■ Cr Everett : Have you heard any com* plaints of impure water being supplied to the public ?■ - v ■...--- Mr Lightfoot: Certainly Upfc. The reservoir ia emptied out once r k fortnight, whenever it-is possible to dp io)- . -•••--• - - Cr Trask Said that,-being the only member of the Gas and Waterworks Committee present, he would endeavor to pilar them frbm the serious charge how brought against tbem. They all knew that Gr Harley was never particular as to facts in making statements, and he certainly had not .been now when h« i deliberately asserted that none of the Committee had been to the rrtei-vpir since he bad ceased to be a member, the , f act/being that they visited it regularly a/month., and hhr*e r * himself had r bee"n/ther8 i: with-Mr Crewdson last Tuesday fortnight, whan ther* , certainly wa 5 s no green, matter Soiling on the v w£ter, : and if ~ Ot Hariey'fl- statement was correct he could-only :i aay -that the fungus must have been of- unusually rapid 0 growth. He cerjaittly .ffas surprised /that Cr, Harley., who,jrpuid v hayo'bebnTJfar/better employed hj»d/hf /attended to his own duties, should havalmado/ao.'f oul ajshargo. - JBl Harley waß sorry itpjhaye to make.auob a'cbargei.but it, was hia/dut3|to dofßp,/and^he now The sur|ace,x)f /tj^ej water was - a^/mas^ j of . green matter, Which- wai eh^hghUospbison (anyone. *'. j i : ' ; ' ' ' * r Cr""Traiir.prpbosed that Stone, the reßervpir lteeperj should be'exacdined as to'/thb . cohdltibhoif thb'reservoir// -'•- -' 3 / /.";.".. -"Or Harley :,'ls he likely/td" tell the truth ?. ' 'Cr Trask.; /I -would "sooner believe f him thin sbme of tfieCoiihcillors. / , / ' '"! ■ Cr Everett said that if Cr Harley's state-, ment waß correct there* muat 1 have been very i great negligence on thoTparfc of theiCouDcil's ; officers, and it was imperative that a full and ! searching enquiry, should be made. I It was then resolved that the. members of 'the Council should visit th« reservoir, and thata_spißcial meeting td enquire' into the • matter shbulcf beheld on Tuesday evening./ T The ■ '"following- •' tenders f for .painting Normanby Bridge were Opened : T. Crooke, £11 ; Jameß Graham, £11 ; T. ■• B, Louisson, £17 17b. On lots being drawn to decide j which of the two/fprrher should hove the {contract, the result w»b in favor v of Mr Graiham; " f . . .. .. " •'• , I#l Cr '•- Trask hsd observed/ a. letter.; Bigned '"Ratepayer" suggesting that, the '^City ; Fathers " should remove any dead animals I that might be lying about, r He scarcely ! thought that this was . what '.the /Councillors, were elected for, but suggested that the Surveyororjnspector of Nuisances when travelling about Bhould, if they saw such nuisances,' jbe instructed to order the Corporation laborers to remove them.-^ r\ ;.•? ; A letter was received ■'"from the Rev. J. Beckenham, asking permission, tp „ use ttw Botanical .Reserve for the ' prbposfed 4 Sunday school 'gathering next mouth.' Granted 1 . l - The Council .then adjourned.