OTAKI BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Otaki Mail, 13 January 1922, Page 2

OTAKI BOROUGH COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. The ordinary monthly meeting of the above Council was held last night His Worship the Mayor presiding! There were also present: Crs. J. R. Bills, A. W. Broadway, H. Cockrell, R. Carkeek, H. Taylor, and C. Kilsby. Correspondence. Correspondence was read and dealt with as follows: From R. J. Staveley, asking that his land at the Otaki beach, which required a chain road according to the Act, bo exempted from the provisions of the Act.—Referred to Works Committee. Irom C. H. G. Joplin, applying for an auctioneer’s license.—Granted, the Mayor and Crs. expressing a hope that Mr Joplin would do well. From N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. also making similar application.—Granted. Inspector O’Brien reported that the condition of the borough was satisfactory. He had only seen a few indications of rats, and found residents vigilant in dealing with the animals. He asked, however, for improvements to be effected at. the Native meetinghouse. Cr. Carkeek said the latter matter was lo be attended to. —Loft to Or. Carkeek and the Town Clerk to attend to.

From S. Kbrgrove, suggesting tlie lowii clerk be sent to Blenheim to inspect the water and drainage works now being carried out, and which, he •said

ou’d be similar to the oue to bo nstullcd at Otaki.—Decided to thank -Mr Norgrove lor his letter, and to refer the matter to the water and drainage committee.—Cr. Cockrell thought good results may be obtained, especially as regard pipes, if the Clerk was sent, while Cr. Broadway said he would like the matter settled at once. Th« Mayor thought it best held in abeyance! pending particulars being obtained* Cr. Kilsby agreed, stating there was no immediate hurry.

I-rom It. J. Staveley, msking for permission to remove a building from Katihiku to Otaki.—Clerk to inspect the building before .granting permission, the owner of the building to pay oxpenscs - .

From Harper and Almore, stating the question of drafting new by-laws would have their immediate attention, and hoped they would be prepared so as to. allow the Council to deal with them shis month.—Cr. Hilsby thought the matter one which should bo expedited and it was agreed to hasten the matter as much as possible. Other Crs. agreed. From Health Oflicer, stating it was important that an active campaign should be inaugurated against .rats, and asked the Council to take precautionary steps. He also suggested improvement in the way of dealing with rubbish at the municipal tip, and recommended that nightsoil be ploughed in, it being essential that it should be covered.—Decided to take precautionary measures. ., M

From Engineers’ Association asking that the Council’s engineer be allowed to attend a conference to be held short-ly-—Cr. Kiisby moved that the Clerk attend, agreeing with the Mayor and Cr.- Broadway that it would be money well spent. Cr. Cockrell seconded.— Carri ed.

X From Miss Wethey. asking who was 1 responsible for weeds on tbc Church - Mission properly.—Attended to. 1 From W. Chandler (poundkeepor) - stating that during the month 25 head of stock had been impounded.—Received. From the Hon. Downic Stewart relative to a wedding gift (o Princess Mary, . and asking that the Council support the move by opening subscription lists in the borough, subscriptions to bo confined to Is each.—On the motion of Cr. i, KHsbl. seconded by Cr. Taylor, it was . agreed to open subscription lists. ■> Field Gun. Tho Mayor stated that the field gun allotted to Otaki was now at the State ; School, where Mr Joplin had given a , ve ry interesting address to the children. . Until the rest resort was ready ho thought the school site a good one. Cr. Broadway thought that the gun should be left at the school, but Cr. Bilk doubted if the Education Board would allow it to remain there.—Decided to i leave the gun at tho school for the j time being. Borough Section. ; The Mayor drew attention to the state of the Borough section which had become overgrown with weeds, and on ’ hi* suggestion it was decided to have ' improvements effected. Best Besort. The above matter was the means of 1 the rest resort coming under review the Mayor regretting that it was in ' «uch a deplorable state. He did not like to resign his position on the com- ’ mittee as some would say he had re- ' signed because he did not get bis own , way, but at the same time he had no wish to continue to be a member a*s nothing was being done. He would like to see improvements made. He considered the section was more beautiful when it was covered by a laundry and Chinese market garden than at present. Cr. Sills, Chairman of the Committee, said funds were not available to do work, while there was an overdraft of £l3O. He had, however, decided to call a meeting, and he would suggest that material now laying about bo sold. He added that he had endeavoured to gat labour for clearing the place, but, although he had asked a dozen persons, no one seemed inclined to do the work. The Mayor expressed satisfaction that a meeting was to ba called; and hoped good would result. Cemetery Committee’s Report. The Town Clerk stated that the number of unoccujted plots was very much reduced and suggested that another 50 or 60 be laid off. The Committee anthorised the writ to ba proceeded with. The matter of digging

feet for the purpose of allowing tw persons to be buried in the same plo •was considered. The Committee are o the opinion this should not be encoui aged, and recommended that plots b charged £2 5s when intended for sepal ate persons, and that undertakers b notified. Finance Committee’s Report. The Town Clerk reported that thougl rates were coming in better than previ ouslv the respond to date was unsatis factory. On the motion of Cr. Cock roll, seconded by Cr. Taylor, it was do cided to send a letter to each ratepay or who rates were not paid, pointing out that whilst the Council was justified in suing after 14 days they were reluctant to exercise this power and ask for prompt- settlement. Cr. Carkeek brought forward the arrears.on Market, Reserve and explained that a new committee had been set up to look after this land, the income of which was used for renovating the Native Church. At present the funds were very low. Cr. Taylor moved, and the Chairman seconded the motion, that if £5 was paid off arrears of £22 5s along with the current rates the remainder bo wiped off.—Carried. The Committee considered the accounts and recommended them for payment except the amount, of £llO 2s, claimed by Valuation Department for re-valuation of the Borough. This account was referred to Council, the Committee considering the same to be excessive. Foreman’s Report. The foreman (R. Webby) reported:— 'All roads are in fair order at present, but I will require a good deal of metal about the end of March. The principal work done during the month has been forming and tarring footpaths in' Aotaki Street, both sides having been tarred. W. Thomson has finished his contract of carting sand, while W. Cootes has also finished his contract for grubbing gorse on the Council s section. I have in the yard 45 yards ot sand and 15 barrels of tar. I must report that the tar which comes from Petone is wasted through leaky barrels. I have made a start to clean the dumpini' ground. There have been no signs of any rats yet. W. McLeod has finished the Mill Road path. I would like the Council to prohibit any stock from being driven through the mam street' at any time. Ranger’s Report. The ranger (T. Swensson) reported: 1 impounded 24 head for November, bringing the total for 12 months to 372 head. lii December seven head was impounded. Two old offenders “shine up” again in the pound book. Sunday Trains. An article from the “Otaki Mail,” in which it was shown that Mr W. H. Birid. M.P., was taking an active interest in Sunday trains, was read, and it was derided to give Mr Field all support possible. It was agreed that the train was of great advantage, and besides bringing City folks to the country for week-ends was valuable inasmuch that it carried large quantities of eream and milk. It was agreed that the train could be speeded up, and thus give visitors more time in the country districts. The Engineer’s Position. The Mayor stated that Mr Davies’ term with the Council had expired, and ho thought, in view of the water and draina’ge proposals, that his services should be retained. The, matter was considered in committee, when it was decided to leave the matter of drawing up a iresh agreement with the Mayor and Cr, Kilsby, while it was agreed to offer Mr Davies 2} per cent, on the water and drainage works. Eulogistic reference was made to the capabilities of Mr Davies, who, in acknowledging the compliment, said he was anxious to see the proposals put through, feeling confident that the work would be very successful. » Hydro-Electricity. The Mayor said it gave him pleasure to nominate Cr. Kilsby as the Council a representative on the £ owe* ® oaT This Councillor, he said, had always taken a keen interest in the matter and had already done splendid work. Or. Kilsby stated that the undertaking was too big for him, and considered the Mayor best suited to the positron. On being pressed, howeveT, Cr. Kilsby accepted, and stated he would do his best Cr. Cockrell stated that he thougiS7 ?^i^yrj^'^r d vi , e ™ * ho Manguhao' ivas glad Cr ’ Kilsby.had deyffied to take.a party. NoxiousAVeeds. The matter or blackberry bushes growing on a section on Beach road was brought forward by Cr. Cockrell, and after a brief discussion it was decided to instruct the owner to clear his property. Tenders. The tender of Mr Humphrey for .fainting notice-boards for the pound at £6 was accepted, and that of Mr "Watts at £5 10s for painting the field gnu--WATER AND DRAINAGE. v SCHEME T OR OTAKI. ENGINEER’S REPORT. Mr Jickell, engineer, reported to last night’s meeting of the Borough Council:—ln accordance with instructions received from your engineer and town clerk (Mr F. G. Davies), to -report on the proposed scheme for supplying " the Borough with water for domestic, fire extinguishing, and industrial purposes I beg to submit the following.—For the pwposc of gaining knowledge as to .the geographical and topographical layout and conditions of the Borbugb, and the proposed source of supply and head-works, I - have paid two visits to Gtaki and in the company with Mr. Davies closely in rpected the surroundings, both of the town and route of the tnink-main up bo £be selected site far tise intake on t

. ~ ■ i vo the left bank of the Waitohu stream ot about four miles by air line up stroan of from the centre of the town. ir - Watershed and Quality of Water. b 0 Although stock is depastured on t goodly area of the watershed the analy sis of the stream water made by Dr McLaurin, Dominion Analyst, on the 21st of February, 1921, proves that the ;h said water is of good potable quality 1- and therefore suitable fpr domestic s- use. population and Consumption per capita. ° The present population of the Borough is taken at 1200, and assuming f daily consumption of 70 gallons per head, the total daily consumption for . all purposes will be 84,000. gallons per C day of 24 hours, but fully half of this quantity will be drawn off in about , eight or ten hours during the business or working part of each day. The alj, lowance of 70 gallons consumption per head may seem a large quantity, but g from past experience I am sure that j for a town like Otaki, with its numert pus gardens and good climate, this ligJ urc will be about the- mark. ~ Pressure. The height of the intake and reser- ■ voir water level above the average ' ground level of the town is, according > to the plans about 285 feet, and this r will give pressure per square inch after ' allowing for friction ,at the points ' named as under. At Post Office corner 1181bs. At junction of Mill road and Railway 105.651b5. At junction of Main road and Waorenga road 107.201b5. I These pressures will be suitable for firo extinguishing and all other pur- , poses. Intake. i i To faciliato working, cleaning, and ? general convenience the intake wells . should be in duplicate, as shown by' the 1 appended hand-sketch, and be fitted s with valves and screening apparatus f ns depicted. If this is done it will ro- - suit in a great saving in working. Service Reservoir. The service reservoir should be of capacity to insure at least a two days S full supply for 1 the whole daily consumption, the floor to have a good fall to a given point where the wash-out C valve is to bo fixed. This will greatly 1 faciliate the cleaning of the reservoir when required. The wash-out should be eight inches diameter with funncl- : shaped pipe taken from below floor lev- , cl. I Trunk Main. 3 This main should be laid below the - hydraulic gradient line all the way from the reservoir to the railway crossing, and be fitted with valves at > about 30 chains apart and scour valves at points where the main crosses small ’ creeks or ditches, the valves to be conj nected to and discharge into the latter; two-ineli air valves to be fitted, 0 at all high points and immediately at the reservoir side of all main valves, the main to have as few bends as possible. Where such are unavoidable . they should bo of the greatest radius t obtainable; the fitting of valves on 3 the trunk main faciiiates easy working , and saves much time when it becomes necessary. To turn the water off or on as the length of main to fill or empty is in proportion to the number of valves ’ on the main, whilst at the same time 1 the danger of fracturing the main by 1 shock when Miming on is reduced to s the minimum. ’ Venturi Meter. s . . r It would be good practice and money r well spent if a Venturi meter were fitD ted on the trunk main anywhere below 0 the reservoir towards town, and at a B point before any supply is taken off. j. This meter shows tho exact consumption for every hour (separately) of the a day or night, and is at all times a ? check on the efficiency and state of re- } pair of the whole system. Town Reticulation. 1 On the 6in and 4in mains valves 3 should be provided and affixed at each s end of each street reticulated in order that large areas will not have to be 3 shut off when repairs are necessary or 1 new house services are being put in. Ball hydrants, with Sin. vulcanite balls, 3 should" be affixed at distances of not 3 more than four ehuins apart on all rei ticulation mains, and I would suggest - that these be placed (by means of 3 short 3in. branch pipes) just inside the i kerb (or -where the kerb will be) on ; the footways. In this position no eon- . dete blocks are required. The plugs never get overgrown with grass and weeds and no dirt gets inside of the hydrant cover box, whilst every fire 5 brigadesman can easily locate them on 1 a dark night by means of the black and ’ white indication posts at" the back of " the footway opposite each hydrant. Air Vessels. Air vessels-(two) should be placed in connection with the mains by 4in. : pipes and valves, ope at each end of [ Matene Street, these vessels to be of steel each with a llin. valve at the top and bottom for the purpose of filling and emptying. These vessels, which are to be 6 feet high .by 2' feet diameter, are to proproviding an air cushion and will save their cost many times over by preventing the bursting of mains caused by > sudden variations of pressure. Filtration. 1 Filtration by means of shingle, gravel ' or other similar form of filter, is only • satisfactory when the filtering area is ‘ very large and the quantity of the fil--1 tering medium extensive. Even then ‘ they become clogged and have at coni' siderable expense to be cleansed" at in* 6 tervals, the material having to be re-‘ B moved at each cleansing. The best form of filter is the mechanical filter (either Mather and Hiatts, Bells, or f Candys), these axe self-cleansing, by e starting the agitators and reversing the 1 flow, the original material being used ' over and over again indefinitely. MeB chanical filters are installed in.a, jura- ? bar of \owns in New Zealand (includ- * - -J.- • •* '"““X.'.— l A \ “ 1

u,, ing Palmerston North) and are found m to give every satisfaction* Many £ towns, including the largest in the Do--1 minion, have never had a filtering process and from what.l have seen of the Waitohu water- at the proposed intake ’ lam of the opinion' that the question of filtration may be allowed to stand in 1 abeyance for the present, and if found necessary in the. near or distant future meehanical filters (two) can be installc ed then without any additional cost beyond that necessary to instal them now. f- General. Finally I am of the opinion that the r proposed water "supply scheme for Otaki, if constructed in accordance with r the plans, and with the suggestions made herein, will be quite successful * and satisfactory to the Borough. 1 s avc no knowledge as to the summer 1 r dry weather flow of the Waitohu 1 ;tream, but I am informed that there s ample water at all times, but should t greater storage capacity be required it ;an be provided at a future date. Town Clerk’s Report. The Town Clerk (Mr F. G. Davies) reported:—This form agrees that the proposed water scheme, as submitted n my earlier report to Council, can be ’ -arried out successfully and is quite suitable for the Borough. They, how 1 ever, make one or two valuablovsiiggestions which should be embodied in the ' original scheme, notably at the intake well. The type of well proposed has worked very successful for several " .-ears at Palmerston North. With re- 1 gard to filtration they are of the opin- ’ ion that such may not be necessary ! whilst the proposed method is only satsfactory with large area of filter. Mr ' fickell further stated that a mechani- ' cal filter could be installed later if * round necessary, without additional * 1 cost due to the delay. I would, how- 1 1 ever, suggest that the proposed filter ( 1 be erected, but increased to 2(fft. in ' length. Without a filter the water ‘ may become discoloured during floods, whilst the Public Health Department have approved of the scheme, and any 1 alternative would have to be submitted , to them. If the suggested filter is too costly in operation then a mechanical I one could be installed and the space 1 occupied by the gravel filter would add 1 , additional storage capacity to the sys- 1 . tern. ft was not my intention to instal ’■ I a main meter (Venturi), but Mr Jickell’s recommendation is a good one, and I will givo increasing efficiency. With 1 regard to town reticulation: These 1 were allowed for in my original report, ; but the suggestion placing the fire hy- ( ? drant boxes inside the kerb will appeal ; A to all members of the Fire Brigade, ! whilst tho additional cost is small com- 1 1 pared with the reliability of finding the hydrant when required. It is in- * tended to make an early start in getting out detailed drawings and specifications. Tho matter to be dealt with ’ first are the head works. I would suggest that a horse and gig be purchased ’ to take myself, man and instrument out to the site. The turn-out could be sold when the work is complete. 3 1 Clean-up Week. >• With regard to “Clean-up Week” as 3 suggested at last Council meeting it v ik proposed to hold same on Tuesday, r Wednesday ancj Thursday, 24th, 25th, 3 and 26th inst. Occupiers of all i ses will be requested by advertisement * to have the rubbish placed on the footpath by 8 o’clock on a certain day when the same will be carted free of charge. The Council Inspector wiy later visit all grounds and report upon each place irrespective of its condition. Where rubbish still exists the occupier will be liable. The Council should de--1 cide if Rangiuru should be included. ' It is suggested that a temporary inspector be appointed for about two months "’ to give say two days work per week.