BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 64, 7 July 1914, Page 2

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Borough Council was hold last night. Present: The Mayor (Mr W. P.. Kirkwood), and Crs. N. J. King, J. Masters, J. H. Thompson, T. Reader, J. W. Boon, J. Fredric, -J. B. Richards, and R". McK. M orison. RESERVES COMMITTEE. The Reserves Committee reported :—- Your committee beg to report that .Mr W. Spanvatb lias made an offer to ieaso the vacant shop in the .Municipal Buildings at £3 10s per week. He asks the Council to hoard up the archway hetween the front and hack portions of the shop, to instal a small stove, and to erect a shed for storing timber. Your committee has considered the offer and beg to recommend that it he accepted with the exception of that portion relating to the erection of a timber shed.

Mr Sparwath wrote that in his lease of the shop in the Municipal Buildings he desired to have a clause enabling him to extend his workshop to the back boundary detached from the shop. Objection was taken to the proposal to erect a stove, as it was considered there would be considerable risk from lire.—Cr. Boon suggested that the lease lie granted subject to the tenant doing his heating by electricity.— Cr. Thompson said he thought there should be a clause to prevent the tenant installing steam machinery.— It was decided to refer the question back to the committee with power to act. witli a recommendation that if possible electricity be nsed for heating. ABATTOIR COMMITTEE. The Abattoir Committee reported:— Re .Mr Copestake's application for increase of £l3 per annum in contractprice for slaughtering, your committee beg to report having considered .this application, and in view of the increased number of beasts being slaughtered at the abattoir beg to recommend that the application be ('ranted.

It was decided to grant the increase of salary asked for by the slaughterman. The Mayor said that a report on the amount of work done which had been prepared justified the increase. WORKS COMMITTEE, The Works Committee reported:—l. The Public Works Department have applied for an iron-crossing to their premises in Juliet Street. Your committee beg to recommend, that until this path is kerbed and channelled a concrete culvert be inserted instead n the iron crossing. 2. Explosives and dangerous goods: In compliance with instructions received from the Council your committee has considered this matter, and in view of a report presented by the Town Clerk, who made an inspection of a number of business places in the town, ;your committee recommends that the by-laws affecting explosives and dangerous goods be enforced. The by-laws provide for a license for storing these goods and for the inspection of premises by an officer appointed by the Council.— Adopted. . OVERSEER'S REPORT. The Overseer (Mr T. D. Sullivan) reported: The work of forming and remetalling Flint Road from Mountain Road to about a chain east of the showgrounds gate has been completed. The re-metalling of Mountain Road north from Flint Road to Pembroke Road is well.in band and about 33 chains has been completed. About 2i chains of this road near Craig Street has been lowered and re-metal-led. A number of largo stumps which were lying on the east side of this road were removed to Craig Street, some were put into Mv G. Hall's property by permission, and the remainder will be treated similarly as opportunity offers. Water tables and side formation have been done on Fenton Street east. It will take another day t° finish this work. Metal patching has beep done where required. The work of scraping and cleaning Victoria Bridge is in hand. Stone is being carted out from the river as opportunitv offers. The kerbing and channelling on south side of Fenton Street cast between Miranda Street and Broadway lias been completed. I woul cl advise that kerbing and channelling work be discontinued for the present owing to the unfavorable state of the weather. Channels in Broadway which were cut up by the Public Works Department have been repaired. Hamlet Street footpath: Estimate of cost of this work will be placed before you ;! t the Council meeting. -I have inspected the unoccupied cottage in Miranda Street south. The front windows and door are boarded up, but there is a lean-to at the back which has no door and has a broken window. it is not insanitary but it is unsightly. The drain which the Health Inspector had condemned was still in existence.

Mr Sullivan stated that the estimated cost of proposed work on Hamlet. Street was £9B 6s fid. . Cr. Morison said that as the dram in the street bad become covered with fern and was a source of danger,* he would move that the work on Hamlet Street be done as soon as possible. Cr. Richards asked Cv. Morison if, as chairman of the Works Committee, ho would recommend that the work be done. ; Cr. Morison said the work should be done when the dry weather came. His only idea, was that the work should be scheduled to he done in the near future. Cr. Kino; seconded pro forma. He said there were other works more important, considering the state of the Borough finances. Broadway central, for instance, was in a very bad state, and if it was left much longer a good amount of money would have to ho spent on it. The work in Hamlet

Street was necessary, but there were many more important works. Or. Thompson moved that the" work he deferred. There were streets which had not yet been formed, graded or metalled and he thought, everything being equal, that such streets should be dealt with before more footpaths were made.

Cr. Masters seconded. He thought a work of the magnitude should be put on the estimates. The amendment was carried. Tt was decided to again write to the owner of the dilapidated cottage asking him to make it secure against vagrants, and to instruct the Overseer to see that the drain complained ofe is altered to conform with the by-laws'. ABATTOIR REPORT. flie abattoir manager reported : During the month the following stock were slaughtered: Cows 58, heifers 24, oxen 22, calves !i, sheep 257, lambs -10, pigs 51; tripes prepared 46; fees, £57 0s .Id. Stock condemned: Cows, one wholly and two partially; heifers, one wholly, and two partially; one sheep wholly; pigs, two wholly and two partially. A truck of coal lias been procured and delivered at the abattoir. Mr T .0. Colson gave notice that' he would not require No. 2 paddock from July Ist. REMITS FOR CONFERENCE. The Westport Borough Council forwarded a copy of the remits it lias forwarded for the Municipal Conference, as follows: That the law be amended so as to enable local authorities rating on the 'unimproved value to make their own valuations at the same date, January, as is fixed for valuations under the annual value system of rating, but at trieniiiaT periods, and the power also be given for placing on such roll yearly any property or additional values which may have become rateable. That section 28 of the "Rating Act, be repealed, and that in lieu thereof local authorities be empowei;ed <j . to grant a rebate of ten per cent, on all rates paid within three months from the date on which the same were levied by any local authority and five per cent, on all rates paid within six. months from such date. That section 22 sub-section A of "The Fire Brigades' Act,, T 908," bo amended by adding thereto : j That where the control of a lire brigade is vested in a local authority the return above-men-tioned shall be made.,in the. same manner as if there were a Fire Board, and shall be transmitted to such local authority. , ~ .

It was decided that the . Council's delegate should support the, first remit', strongly oppose thc.seeond, and not. support the third. ; ; j THE POUND SITE. Cr. Morison moved in accordance with notice: That the motion passed on December 6th, 1913, re pound site be rescinded. Cr. Morison said his idea was to have the pound erected on a part of the .septic, tank site. 'ln that position it would be easily accessible from all parts of the "Borough. Recently he had seen a mob of cattle impounded, and some were so wild' that there was great danger to passers-by.

Cr. Fredric seconded. He thought it woidd be advisable to have the pound further out of the town. Cr. King said it would probably be difficult to get anybody to look after 'it. Cr. Boon said the pound was an eyesore in its present position when one was going to the hospital, and the odor from it was not pleasant. Cr Masters said the proposed site was a good one, but it was used as a grazing paddock, and it would be necessary to have the pound portion concreted. The .Mayor said that though other sites inspected seemed better, there was in all cases some difficulty in. getting a person to look after it. Cr. Richards said that in moving the site, the question of compensation for depreciation of the value of neighboring properties would have to lie considered, but this would not. apply in respect of the septic tank site. The motion for recission was carried, and the question of the site was left in the hands of the Works Committee to report to next meeing. A BONING CLASS.

Mr PI. L. Sprat, on behalf of the Gymnasium Club, applied for permission to hold boxing classes in the Fire Brigade hall, and to erect a punch-ball stand. He had approached the brigade, who had no objection. Cr. King said he had been assured that the class would be conducted properly, and as there was plenty of room and the brigade had no objection he saw no reason why the request should not be granted. He moved that the matter be referred to the Fire Brigade Committee with power to act. Cr. .Masters wanted to know why the club should be given the use of the hall free. It appeared that it was just a club of young fellows seeking to enjoy themselves. There were halls they could hire at small cost. There was any amount of noise in the vicinity now. Cr. King said the club would be a benefit to the members of the brigade, helping them to keen together. The cost of light would not be much extra, as it was the practice at present to keep the .lights g"iug at night. The Mayor said the Fire Brigade Committee would see that the interests of the Council were concerned. Cr. Thompson thought the light should be charged for. Cr. Fredric said the club had tried another hall and desired to get the Fire Brigade hall, as there was a bath and other conveniences there. He thought the operations of the club should be under strict supervi-

€r. Masters moved as an amendment that the Fire Brigade Committee deal with the matter and make sure that the Council lost no money over he matter. The amendment was withdrawn, and was taken as an instruction to the Committee, arid the motion was carried. GENERAL. Tire transfer of section 261 to W. E. Jones was approved. Messrs Halliwell and Thomson applied for the Council’s consent to the transfer of sections 802 and 816 from Mrs Rose Rutherford to Mr J. N. ■Berryman.—Granted. The Mayor reported that, a ter making enquiries, he and Cr. Morison could not recommend that the lecturers on town-planning be asked to visit Stratford—the cost would be fairly heavy. However, a lecture would be given in New Plymouth, and members of the. Council might attend that.—The matter was left in abeyance for the present. Thompson and Nielsen wrote objecting to the planting of any pine trees on the boundary between their property and the abattoir property.— Left to the Abattoir Committee with power to act. —Cr. Fredric said the Council should stick to their intention to plant pimis insignis, which, according to the Journal rtf Agriculture, was a valuable tree. The Committee, however, could agree with the objectors to plant the trees a. reasonable distance from the h-oumlary line. V