WAITARA BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 47, 4 June 1910, Page 2

WAITARA BOROUGH COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. (From Our Own Correspondent). The usual monthly meeting of the Council took place on Wednesday evening, there feeing present: His Worship the Mayor, Crs. Brabant, Black, Klenner, Spurdle, Rattenbury and Birdling. Correspondence was received from R. G. Sampson and F. hangman asking that King, street be opened for traffic. From the Governor's .private secretary re cancellation of engagement at Waitara. From H. N. Cossar, asking better access be provided to his property on ■Strange street. From Orbell and Mackay and tne Spira! Steel Pipe Co. re waterworks. Fr -m the Municipal Association, coveriug remits for conference. From Tlios. Borthwick and Sons and A. Kk-nne;;. applying for slaughtering ifc'..-n»is.—(.''i-.ir.U'd. The foreman's report was rea'd. It was resolved to ask Mr. W. T. .leanings, M.P., to act as the Council's delegate at the Municipal Conference in Juiy. Cr. Riattenbury moved his notice of motion that the Waitara Borough Council adopt the Motor Car Regulations Act, lfJOS.—'Seconded by Cr. Black and carried.

Messrs R. Sampson and R. F. Langman asked the Council to have the fences removed from King street so as to -permit them to have free access to their properties.—Application agreed to, on the motion of Crs. Brabant arid Klenner. The Waitara Harbor Board's solicitor submitted the -Harbor Empowering and Waitara Borough Bill in connection with the taking over of the bridge. Slight amendments are necessary oefore it is signed. Mr. W. Nichols complained of a nuisance arising from the nightsoil depot, and it was resolved to call the attention of the depot owner to the matter, with a vi»w to immediate improvement. The matter of improvements to Strange street and the street to the ( flagstaff was left in the hands of the Works Committee. It was resolved to erect a light at the comer near the Wesleyan chapel. The Works Committee were authorised to grant permission to ratepayers to obtain" fine material not required wr Council purposes from Morgan's pit at the price of 3s per load. Accounts amounting to £1964 4s lid were passed for payment and the meeting adjourned. WATERWORKS.

The Mayor referred to a .leading article in a recent issue of the Waitara I Mail in reference to the water scheme, and submitted' the following report:— "Evidence having come to me through the medium of the Waitara Mail that unfounded rumors were being spread about that the scheme would he a failure and an expense that the ratepayers would hot be able to face; I feel it my duty to report on the whole matter as far'as possible. Statements -have been made that the water is to run up-hill some two or three feet, that there is no fall, and to get one it 'will .be necessary to go back a mile further; that the fall in the tunnel was the wrong way; that the Council will have to again go to the ratepayers for a further loan, and other similar mad-brained assertions, which I feel in duty bound to contradict, if only in justice to the engineers. In regard to the up-hill run of water at the intake and in the tunnel, it hardly seems necessary to contradict such foolish statements, made no doubt with no good intent. There will be no alteration in the first place decided on for the intake, and in connection with this I might say that the open race is now almost complete, to the water's edge. I can only presume that the reason for the unfounded rumors was the action of the Council in doing wh' most local bodies an.'. private people do when a scheme of the same magnitude is on hand, and tliat is to call in a furtJher authority to substantiate or otherwise the scheme of the engineer in charge. The Council, as you are aware, engaged Mr. Climie as a 'consulting engineer, and in reporting on the scheme said that it was a good one, and from his long and intimate knowledge of water supply schemes suggested from his practical experience some alteration which he considered would improve even the good scheme we had. These were, briefly, the cutting out of the proposed reservoir, the conversion of the proposed filter-bed into a settling tank, and later on the erection of a mechanical filter close to the town. So far as the cost is concerned there will be very little difference between this and the first idea, and whiaft little there roav be will be in favor of the Council. The engineers state that the scheme will be carried out for the money granted. I might state here that the cost of the head-works is more than was at first anticipated, owing to the hard conglomerate met with in the open trench, and perhaps it would have been more economical to have continued along the edge of the river and saved the heavy work. However, the trench is a. good substantial one and will also act as a filter. The amount of expenditure to date, not inclusive of sundry accounts to be passed this evening, is £6900. I might add that a computation has been made of the amount of water that will be delivered in Waitara every 24 hours which totals 763,200 gallons." Councillors thought the whole thing emanated from the usual place, the street corner, which possessed engineers capable of carrying out bigger schemes than practical men. The Council went into committee on water matters, and on resuming it reported that the alterations as suggested by Mr. Climie were to be adopted, and on the application of the engineers it was resolved that the Council accept the responsibility >of any faults that may occur in the original scheme due to adopting the suggestions of the consulting engineer.