STRATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 38, 15 June 1915, Page 2

STRATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL.

j MONTHLY MEETING. Last night’s meeting was attended by His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. \V. Moon), and Crs. A. J. Davoy, E. W. Hancock, S. B. Hunter, T. Lawson, (j. W. Mills, J. H. Thompson, E. S. Kutherfnrd, A I). Stanley and W. H. 11. Young. CORRESPONDENCE. R. D. Lowers, Stratford, through his solicitor, Mr H. E. Lawrence, drew the Council’s attention to the necessity of taking proper precautions against damage to his stock during the operations of pulling down the supporting wall.—Received. J. K. Stone, Stratford, offered to surrender lease of shop in Municipal Buildings for £4O, as he thought of competing for one of the other shops in the building.—Received, C. J. Wickham wrote asking the Town Clerk for a testimonial as caretaker of the Town Hall.'—The request iwas favorably considered by the CounIcil, and it was left in the clerk’s hands to carry out. Hon. W. H. Kerries,' Minister of Railways, acknowledged receipt of resolution urging the Government to take over the railway reserve leased by Mr F. W. Wake, the contents of which were being considered.—lt having been reported that the buildings were to be re-built, the Council decided to simply receive the letter. Hon. W. F. Massey, Prime Minister, acknowledged receipt of resolution urging the removal of restrictions governing the Fishing Industry, and stated the matter was being brought before the Marine Department.—Re- ! ceived. I The Under-Secretary for Public [Works wrote enclosing, for the Counjcil’s approval, the proposed license | to be issued to the Stratford Electrical Supply Co., Ltd. The license would give the Company no further rights than it has at present, and was issued simply that the existing law might be complied with.—lt was resolved on the motioh of the Mayor, seconded by Cr. ’Thompson, that if the Borough solicitor offer no objection, the Council agree to the issue of the license. Letters from Mr Marfell, Mr and Mrs Fryday, and Mrs Helen Brown, thanking the Council for letters of sympathy, forwarded to them, for the loss of their sons at the Front, were received. C. W. Robinson, John Blake, R. F. Rudings, Mrs H. Collingwood, T. Brown, P. Lennon, H. Sander,sfm, R. J. Gray, M. Loveridge and J. Dodd, petitioned the Council to have a light placed in Falstaff, opposite Mrs Collingwood’s residence; failing this being done, they suggested that the gully he fenced off to avoid accidents. —Dealt with in Works Committee report.

H. McClelland applied for an access to Ids section in Hamlet Street.— Dealt with' in Works Committee report. TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

The Instructor of the Technical School (Mr A. Cray) waited on the Council and asked the Borough’s assistance in augmenting the Technical Schools’ funds. If the Council saw their way clear to make a donation, that sum would be used at the Stratford branch. It was highly desirable to keep the technical classes going, especially the plumbing class. Last year two members from Stratford used to travel right to New Plymouth for the plumbing classes. From this it was evident that a class in Stratford was desirable. A .voluntary donation would bear a Government subsidy, Cr. Young moved that £lO be voted to the School, and Cr. Hancock seconded. Cr. Thompson moved an amendment that £2O be allocated.—Cr Hunter, in seconding the amendment, waxed reminiscent of plumbing experiences, about which he was thinking of writing a book. The amendment wa s lost and it was decided to vote the sum of £lO. WORKS COMMITTEE. Matters Referred to Committee for Consideration.

Mr W. F Clemow’s application for water.—Your Committee recommend that application be granted provided Mr Clemow pays £1 10s per annum | for service to one house in the County Jin addition to the ordinary rate for the j Borough property. Shelter at Cemetery.—Your comjmittee has no recommendation to make. j Path on Hamlet Street South.—We recommened that application be held over lor consideration with loan proIposals for street improvements. Applications for Works Since Last Meeting. W. .1. Crofts. Application for entrance to property, Cordelia Street North. We recommend that the Overseer be instructed to have the necessary work done to take water away from this locality and to place •some gravel between the roadway and 'Mr Crofts’ gate. ! H. McClelland.—Application for entrance to property, Hamlet Street North.—We recommend that ditch 'alongside the road b e tilled in and filling gi;aveiled, , Falstaff Street residents asking for j street light or for hollow in road to be fenced.—We have no recommendation to make in this matter. Wo recommend that the necessary material for laying water to the septic tank paddock for sanitation work be obtained. The report was adopted. TOWN HALL COMMITTEE. The Committee reported having made arrangements with Mr F. T. Foley to rent the Hall as from 10th June for 12 months at £5 per week, and recommended that repairs be effected as follows:—Spouting oil north side, lire escape on north side, stairs leading to stage landing. I ‘i

Til c Chairman (Cr. Him tor) ,s:» id that the circumstances caused h.v the exigencies <>f the war had led the committee to let the Town Hall for £5 1 a week to Mr F. T. Foley. He added 'that il times were normal the Committee would recommend that the Council retain control of the Hail. Ihe question of bookings would now lie in the hands of the Town Clerk, so that there would be no trouble with bookings in future.

in speaking on Hall matters, Cr. Hancock moved that in future no furniture be let from the Hall. —Cr. Davey seconded the motion, which was carried. OVERSEER’S REPORT. Mr Sullivan’s report on the progress of works for the past month was as follows : A crusher site has been prepared at the stable paddock, and the crusher placed in position, and is almost ready for crushing operations. Depots have been prepared to receive crushed metal. 1 Watertables in Falstaff, Antonio, .Portia, and Page Streets have been cleaned out. The grass edge has been clipped off 'the Opunake Road footpath from Mr Dingle’s residence to Breckon i Hoad. j The sides of Seyton Street between I Miranda and Hamlet, Street have been , levelled. 1 Two culverts have been inserted at the junction of Portia and Seyton Streets. • The re-metalling of Fenton Street from Swansea Road to Cordelia Street is almost completed. ■ | f intend putting the work of remetalling Cloton Road in hand tomorrow. j Mr Marehant gave me permission to cart the stone necessary to strengthen the intake of the waterworks over his paddock at a price of 10s per nay while the work was in progress, as it took 3i days to carry out this work I would ask the Council to forward a 'cheque for £1 15s to Mr Marehant as .soon as convenient.

Getting stone out of the river is progressing, approximately about 900 cubic yards being carted out to date. j One sewer connection and one water "service have been put in during the ■ month. I Re estimate of cost to lay water to IMr Clemow’s property on Breckon Road—The scaled distance being 25 chains, 1 estimate the cost oi linch pipe at £52 7s. The report was adopted. THE MAYOR DEFEATED. The Mayor moved that the waterworks by-laws be amended in the direction of making a charge of £1 per annum for water closets under the heading of extraordinary water sup- ■ ply, where there is one closet, and in cases where there are two closets 10s be charged for each extra closet. In speaking to the motion, the Mayor said that in most boroughs a ratepayer who was putting in water closets had to pay fen* the length of pipe from the sewer to his residence. In this Borough, the Borough Council put in the pipes right up to the residence. He thought that the only equitable way of raising funds for proposed drainage would be to tax those (ratepayers who had the flush system. | The ratepayers would not carry a loan (for the purpose, as many ratepayers [were paying rates for drainage but rejeeived nothing for their money. The I revenue from the tax on the flush [closets would pay tiie interest on any loan that might be raised at any time. Cr. Young seconded the motion. Or. Hunter opposed the motion on the grounds that the procedure of specific taxation was unfair. He contended that ratepayers who were paying a water rate and at their own expense put in improvements should not be penalised. Cr. Thompson agreed with Cr. Hunter.

O. Mills held that a loan would doubly tax ratepayers who had flush closets installed. The small amount received from a tax on present users would only provide for the installation of about 200 yards of drainage. The only means would be a loan, and a loan would not be carried. Cr. Lawson opposed the motion. The Mayor pointed out that all works were now being done out of general revenue. He pointed out many ratepayers would willingly pay the £ tax in addition to paying the cost ol having the connection put in. The question of unimproved value rating was out of the question. The present connections would pay the interest on £SOOO. Stratford was behind times in the matter. The motion was lost, the division being as follows:—Ayes—The Mayor, Crs. Young and Rutherford; Noes— Crs. Hunter, Thompson, Hancock, Stanley, Lawson, Mills. GENERAL, On the motion of Cr. Lawson, it was agreed to refer two matters lor rectification—dangerous ruts on Cordelia Street, from Romeo Street to Warwick Road, and an unsightly place at Victoria Bridge—to the Works Committee!.

The question of erecting a shelter shed at the Kopuatama Cemetery was discussed. Cr Mills was strongly <d opinion that some shelter should he erected. It was decided that, as the Council’s funds would not enable the erection of a respectable structure, the matter he held over. The Mayor moved that a Committee, consisting of Crs. Hunter, Thompson and th<> mover, he appointed to draw up conditions and call tenders for the removal of night-soil and of rubbish. Councillor Young seconded, and the motion was carried. The Mayor moved that the following rates he struck: Cenoral rate of dd, specials of id, 5-l(kl, id, 1-T2d, lighting rate of ,\d, water rate of 6d.— Seconded by Cr. Lawson and carried.