NEW PLYMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 March 1918, Page 8

NEW PLYMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL.

WORKS COMMITTEE. The Works Committee of the New Plymouth Borough Council met last night. Ihe Mayor (Mr. C. 11. Burgess) presided and yiero were also present- Crs. .1. Clarke, J. W. Hoyden, F. J p Tli 11, W. r. Short, \\. A. Collis. and G. YY. Browne. CORRESPONDENCE. The secretary of the North TaranaU Head Centre of the lioyal Life-Savin," Society wrote asking the Council to grant the society an annual subsidy The letter o ut the good work done by the centre in connection with nfe-sa\:ng methods and swimming Generally and that all the work undertaken b,v the society was done giatnitouslv, being for the common benefit of lmmaiiJty- .. Oa.the motion of the Mayor, seconded j>v Cr. Collis. flip loiter was referred to thb estimates committee. . The secretary of the Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board wrote ask in? that no definite steps he taken in reference to the closing of „ section of Downe ■ street until after the next meeting of 'he .Hospital B—' >r., 2 0, as there was- a ! possibility of the Board askin" for West street to be closed also Ro" ceived. The secretary of the Ciey Institute Trust (\\. A. Collis) wrote on behalf of the trustees respecting the proposal to build five cottages on sections 01 and "I'ltelev asking that the council should refuse to sanction any breech of the Borough'by-laws in that lOP'Hltv. - ' E. Griffiths wrote asking that as he was making an amended application in I to t ' le el ' cclion of five cot tages in \.hitelev street his previous application be allowed,to be withdrawn. The amended application for a building permit provided' for the building of four cottages. The locality plans submitted showed that the two 'smaller areas were nearly % acres, and had an aii space of nearly 8300 feet, each having a frontage to Whiteley street of 00 feet The two larger sections had an area of 1 rood 0.5 perches but the frontage tu Whiteley street were only 1.1 fret eacli and a special resolution of the Council would be necessary for a buildir.g permit He stated that the application was practically identical with a. permit granted some 18 months ago.—The c.iginoer reported that the whole question appeared -to be the n>"''-- the amount of street frontage. The by-laws demanded that a frontage of not less than 40 feet must be provided where a building is to be erected and used as a dwelling. It was pointed out that it was possible to »ive the <•0 feet frontage to the four dwelling on Whiteley street. ° Cr, Browne asked permission, nn behalf nf-Mr Griffiths, to submit an amended plan, providing for the fronting of the four cottages to Whitelev street, giving each a frontage of 40ft Oin. It was decided to defer the matter pending receipt of the plan as suggested. The engineer reported bavins '"interviewed Mrs. O'Brien who had stated her willingness to ellov the Council to baUcr haelc the bank along her property on Staiidish Hill such a manner as to make it safe from falling on to the nath beneath. Mrs. O'Brien, in return for the land given, required the spoil carted on to her sect on. A subsequent proposition had ocen made liv Mrs O'Brien that th<> Council level over' t»i* land between the bank and her verandah, -"' 1 that she pav the whole cost; of the work to the eounpil in monthly instalments. The engineer said (hat if the council entertained tho proposal It should V executed bv private contractors us he would not have the teams or labor for some time. It was agreed to accent the offer of Mrs. O'Brien in regard to the battering of tho bank on to her propertv, subject to the signing of such documpnts as wore considered necessary to secure payment for the work. Mrs. O'Brien wrote asking for permission to fence off a blind road at the foot of her property on Standish Hill, she undertaking to keep it free from noxious weeds. —T||p engineer reported the portion of street referred to was unformed and was more or less unsightly, There was little probability of "the street being formed for years to come, and ho recommended granting the application provided that fences were erected widih a given time and that they should be of approved type. 1 Tho application was granted on the usual terms. ' Twelve ratepayers owning property in Vivian street, between Brougham street and Carrington road wrote expressins disappointment at the attitude of the Council in respect to a former a-ppliea-tloiv for the kerhing of the north side Of Vivian street, which is disfigured bv a ditch', The petitioners urged ihtf they had' bci»n waiting for the Council to redeem its implied promise of ;u years age when it'was stated that the work could not be undertaken till the road forma • tlon on Carrington road was taken in hand. It was pointed out that in 1014 they had asked for the footpath to- bn kerb«i and channelled and the culvert to- be made tjie full width of the street, *Jhe. latter work being regarded as mct-e .essential than ever, now that the way from Carrington road to Leach street was being opyied up. Tt was also pointed out that the construction of the street, where it turns into Carrington road, constituted a danger and was an additional reason in favor of the widening of the culvert. It wad also claimed li'lt" i l '" payment of £153 per annum in rates by the property on that section of the street warranted the outlay on the Improvements asked for. The Mayor oaid the engineer had estimated that to put the road in proper order would cost, about £l4O, and that did not provide for widening the culvert. It was a nuestian. whether the kerbim' anil eha"™!!;"" 'hould be done without the grading 'A the road. He said if theCouncil did authorise the whole work there was no likelihood of it being dona before the coming winter. Crs.' Collis and Short considered that simetliln" ml"ht be done in the matter of a compromise, and that if the regradin? of the road tire widening of tho culvert conbi -pot l'" (1 improve- '■* effected to lessen the danger that existed -t vvnsenl. through the ditch on that side of the street. It was —— J --u.- decided that" the Council could not set its wav to alter its decision as communicated to Mr. R, C. Hughes some few weeks ago. Goo. B. Purdue wrote thanking the council for giving him access to all his property in Richmond street. He asked that, as the portion of'tho street that had been fenced off was in a bad state with lupin, gorso. and blackberry, the council would have the northern end of the street cleaned up. Tho engineer re- . ported that the lupins had been purposoi ly left to keep the sand down. To do any permanent good tlie-street required con■idtrable ci«wrtog up, the traffic on

ft hardly warranted such expenditure at present. It was decided to send Mr. Purdue a copy of the engineer's report. •Seven ratepayers wrote asking that aa the council had resolved to tar the footpath on the west side of Queen street, from Devon street to King street, they would at tile same time have the path on the other side, from King street to Young street, done. They also drew attention to the dangerous condition of the manhole at the intersection of King and Queen streets, and to the exceptionally bad state of the roadway .from King street to Young street. The (engineer reported that the whole of the works mentioned, with the exception of the piece of footpath between King and Young streets, were to be carried out according to the council's resolution. It was decided to send the petitioners a copy of the engineer's report on the matter. A resolution passed by the Auckland City Council, respecting the retention of the occupied portions of Samoa wrested from Germany, was received, and support of the same asked for. On 'the motion of Cr. Collis, seconded by Cr. Short, it was decided to endorse resolution. LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS." Fifteen ratepayers and residents of Paynter's avenue and Wilson street petitioned the council to erect suitable street lighting in those streets. The electrical engineer reported that' the cost of erecting three lights, as suggested by the petitioners, would Amount to approximately i'loo. It was decided to grant one. light. . Archdeacon Evans wrote Suggesting that a street lamp should be erected at the junction of John street and Avenue road. The electrical engineer reported that the cost of fixing the lamp in position would be £2, and the annual charge for such a lamp would be £2. The corner in question was somewhat dark, and "the matter was worthy of consideration. The application was granted, subject to the engineer reporting as to whether he could remove a light from any other place to the corner in question. It. Bennoch (secretary of the East End Bathing Reserve Committee) wrote asking the council if it could erect a new street lamp over the new footbridge leading from Watson street. The electrical engineer repotted that the cost of the light would be £25 10s 3d, and the deI partmcnt would need to receive a minimum of £4 10s per year to maintain the lamp and cover expenses.. The application was declined. J. B. Connett and Jour other petitioners wrote, calling attention to an alleged error iu the removal of a street lamp from the corner of Devon street and Baring terrace, which was re-erected at Te Henui bridge, formerly the light served the main thoroughfare and also the large number of people using Baring terrace going to the East End beach; at present it only served the mair. road. They suggested that a lamp' might be placed about four chains from the corner of Devon road and Baring terrace, leading to the borough reserve ami the East End beach. The electrical engineer reported disagreeing with the suggestion of error in removing the lamp, and it was' not until after careful consideration by the borough engineer and himself that the removal was agreed upon. ' There is a lamp of 100 c.p. at the corner of Mangorei road, only 2J chains from the entrance to Baring terrace. To erect a lamp as suggested would cost £9 Bs, and the annual charge due to the department would be £2 10s. The application was declined. LADIES' REST ROOM, Cr. Collis submitted a report by the sub-committee set up to consider the question of the future location of the ladies' rest room. In speaking to the rupoit, Cr. Collis said the committee suggested giving up the upstairs room in the museum, and utilising instead the present custodian's room and the draughts room, which could, with slight alterations, be adapted for the purpose. It was suggested that the entrance be from the right qf-way leading from King street, that the right-of-way be fenced oil, and the entrance to the public convenience be from Ariki street. The whole proposal was set out on a plan submitted. Consideration of the report was deferred till next meeting.