AT THE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 1, Issue 61, 21 January 1913, Page 1

AT THE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Weekly Meeting. Those present at Wednesday night's meeting of the Pukekohe Borough Council were—The Major (Mr C. K. Lawrie), Crs Hamilton, Pollock, Hart, Johns, Comrie and Berrimaq. WORKS COMMITIEE REPORT. Cr Hamilton, on behalf of the Works Committee, reported that, in c impany with the foreman, they had icspec'ted Adams' Hill and had come to the conclusion that they could not do what Mr Adams wished; thty recommended that ths gate be placed farther up. The Committee had inspected the loads and had come to the conclusion that the most important r ;ads which should be done first, after Manakau road, weie Puni road and East street, there wa* a motion in the minute booK that the allocs tions for the by-streets be spent, but the Committee t sought the roads which led into the town should be done first. The Mayor moved, That the report be adopted. This was seconded By Cr Pollock and carried. WATER ENGINEER'S kEPORT. The water engineer (Mr Wyatt) reported that the following m«ins had been extended during the month ended January 11th:— Berriman's road 360 feet, Station road 800 feet, East street 200 feet. "Eleven meters had been placed in position, making a total of 55 now connected with the supply. Now that the new meters were to hand he intended to push the work on as speedily as possible. "He had tested the supply and fuurd that with one bore the pumps could be run continuously. On January 3xd he ran the pumps at full load for 11 nours without lowering the water in the well at all. "He suggested that the water reserve at the power house be fenced so prevent cattle from polluting the Btream to the irnake at the well, and that the amne be cleaned out; also that a drinking trough be placed on Dalton's road opposite the power house and connected with the main." It was decided to adopt the suggestions to .erect a trough and fence. Cr Comrie moved, 1 hat a trough and tap be also fixed in King street for the use of the public -This was carried. The Mayor and Cr Comrie were appointed a Waterworks' Committee to advise upon any water matters that may arise. ABOUT THE SALEYARDS. The foreman (Mr Clews) reported—"Owing to the improvements now being made in Manakau road, 1 would respectfully urge upon the Council the necessity for the removal of the saleyardssituated at the corner of King street and Manakau road: (1) It iB a source of danger to pedestrians, as cattle are being driven continually along the road, and are more or less scampering up and down the footpaths; (2) it is impossible to keep your footpaths in order owing to damage being done b* horses and cattle; (3) owing to the situation of the vard being so close to the main street, and the state of the yards iu winter time the interests of the township generally demands the removal of these yards as soon as possible."

The Mayor taiu this was rathtr a big question, but it wss one thty would have tj *.' it on to. Cr Hamilton: Yes, some time. Cr Comrie: "It is quite tims now !" One saleyards, he said, was quae sufficient and the new yards were ample. They should try to have the sales all held in the one yard. If they made a by law to shift one they would shift the two. Cr Hamilton moved, That Crs Comrie and Johns be a committee to enquire into the matter ai.d report. Seconded by the Mayor and carried. "WETTING" I HE SUPPLY. The Mayor said it had btin suggested to him that some sort of a certmony ought to be held in connection with the opening ot the water service, and that the Prime Minister, as member for Franklin, should be invited. After some ciscussion it was decided to hold a functicn, and Crs Hart, Pollock, Hamilton and the Mayor were appointed as a cumin ittee to go into the matter. WANTINu THE WATER. Mr J. Potter waited upon the Council and said that certain people on the hill wanttd the ws'ter, aid would take it if suitable conditions could be arranged. There were seven would-be customers - Graham, Kussell, Fraser, J. Bilkey, Potter, Miller and Willis. He had interviwid nearly ail of them and thought they would all take tne water, but they all wanted to know what the cost of laying the pipes would be. They would want aIJ inch main, with half-inch pipes from it He thought the piping that had been used to the reservoir m'ght be sold, and if they could get it at 4d per foot they would take it; the pipe was second-hand and had cost s|d. The Mayor: And if we don't let vou have it at 4d what will happen?

Mr Potter: l won't feel inclined to go on witn it. It would cost £SO to get tne water through my property alone. He pointed out that the people would have to agrse amongst themselves as to the amounts each would have to pay; it was not fair that the man with 4 acres should pay as much towards the main as the man with 100 acres. Cr Berriman said the people who had rated themselves and undertook the responsibility of the water supply should be served first; before, these outside people were so extremely cautious—and perhaps they could not be blamid for that—that "they would come in at all. The speaker knew that Mr Wyatt could rot get all the required work done. He himself could not get the water on, and he did not see why the labour should be taken away to outside consumers before he and others were supplied.

In reply to Cr Hamilton, Mr Wyatt said these pipes would now be better value than if they were new, as they had all been tested and there was no danger of getting split pipes.

Cr Comrie said the pi?es cost 7d per foot landed, and he moved that they ba supplied to thesj peopL' at 6d. The Mayor said if the Council requited the pipes they should not sell them for anything less t an they could be replaced at. Cr Pollock seconded the motion which was carried The Mayor intimated to Mr Potter the Council's decision to charge 6d per foot. Mr hotter: "Then I won't go any further with it. You should not forget," he added, "that the service would be a source of r. venue to you." The Mayor: The position ia that others are taking the pipes at the price, and we cannot make fish ot one and flesh of the other. HARD WORK REWARDED. The Mayor brought unr'ec notice the fact that Messrs Wyatt (water enigneer) and Clews (foreman) had done a lot of work during the holidays and other overtime. Since they had not been able to take their holidays it was suggested that they should be paid something extra. After discussion it was decided to pay Mr Wyatt £5 and Mr Clews £2 extra. A SHED. W. H. Fausett, builder, wrote offering to remove small shed at power house to site indicated, put it on blocks and do other work specified for £B. The same builder asked permission to remjve, re-erect and alter Mrßoulston's residence.—lnstead of having it removed it was decided to purchase the shed, which was Mr Fausett's, for the sum of £3 as it stands. Building permit waa granted. A BAD ROAD. E. McGough drew attention "to the very rough state of the road from the factory corner up to the cross roads between Mr Keyes and Brownlee's. The ruts would shake a drav to bits." He asked if the Council could spare a team of horses pnd a plough for 2 or 3 days to fill in deep ruts. $ Left to Crs Hart and Pollock with power to act. WILL YOU PAY? The Spiral Pipe Co. returned to the charge about the unpaid interest which the Council said it had no legal power to pay. "Will you kindly inform us," said the Company, "whether it is the intention of your Board to pay this or not? Certain progress payments were not made and your borough was saved interest, and we think we are entitled to a reimbursement lor our lo. n s of interest." On the Mayor's motion it was decided that the Council could not recognise the claim for interest. FOR A SPOT BEAUTIFUL. - The Prima Minister wrote saying that he would confer with the Hon. Mr Hemes relative to handing over to the borough the ground on which the railway goodshed is situated, with a view to its conversion into a public garden. INSURANCE. The South British and ths Government were the only offices proposed as the company with which the Council should insure its workmen, and the "local company" won. Cr Johns moved for and argued strongly for the Government, and the voting for it was three for (Crs Johns, Hamilton and Pollock) and four against (Crs Berriman, Comrie, Hart and the Mayor). The work was then placed with the South British, Cr Johns alone dissenting.