BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 June 1917, Page 7

BOROUGH COUNCIL.

ENGINEER'S REPORT. T>e report for the month ending May 91, which will be submitted to the next meeting of the New Plymouth Borough Council by the borough engineer, Mr. W. H. Cooke, contain* the following clauses:—

Baths. —The swimming pool has not been in use during May, ar.d only 4:4 hot baths called for, or an average of less than 1% ■per day. The committee recommended that these foe also closed down. In'connection with hot baths, a return shows 1036 for the year ending March 31, and the Cos* for fuel £2O 6s 6d, so that approximately the duel cost per bath is 4%d. K, say, depreciation, interest and labor wer« added the actual cost for producing one bath will not be far short of 7d. Whether the baths as a whole can be popularised and made to pay their way is a question not easily answered, as experience of other Rnd very large towns i 9 that it is an extremely hard matter to do so. The receipts for the month ( £1 lQs) fire abeurdlv low, when one looks at the other side of the ledger, and it is going to be a matter of some anxiety to keep up the baths in anything like a decent condition in the next year or two. Waterworks.—There appears to be an undue number of leaks in valves, fireplugs, etc. In reply to my enquiries I am informed that those in charge of the Are hydrants are given to turning them off' 'quickly. If this is the case serious shocks will ba cast upon the pipe mains and services with resultingly large rtumbet-B of leaky taps and more or less serious damage to the older mains. Carrington road.—Not much progress can be reported, the wet weather prcl venting any serious attempt being made to haul cut spoil from Messrs. Bellringer's section. I have hesitated closing up even a portion of the road at this season of the year as I do not wish to cause -unnecessary annoyance to travellers. If the weather will hold up I can push the work; if not it is a question whether to get the spoil from Carrington road and close a length at il time, say froih Vivian street to Cotirtenay street. Even then it will be very difficult to make any kind of a good job of the metalling. On the whole I am inclined to leave the old *oad\vay untouched till after the wet season. General—Several streets have been temporarily patched, and during June other streets will .be attended to. Where a surface- is worn to such a degree that heavy repairs are necessary only the minimum patching will be done as otherwise much waste 'will tak« place when resurfacing takes place: «■ ■'