NEW PLYMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1919, Page 3

NEW PLYMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL.

GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE. The General Purposes Committee of the New Plymouth Borough Council met last nigh.t, there being present: His Worship the Mayor (Mr. C. H. Burgess), Crs. J. Clarke, J. W. Hayden, F. J. Hill, W. A. Crillis, A. S. Brooker, E. L. Parkin, and V. H. S. Griiliths. RESERVES COMMITTEE'S REPORT. The Reserves Committee recommended as follows: That the footpath in Fulford Street, from Robe Street to Brougham Street, be put into good repair; that the load lettering and concrete work at the base of the Maori War Monumen,t at Marsland Hill be repaired; that the gun known as "Dicky Barrett," now en Marsland Hill, be handed over to the Museum Committee; that, in accordance with the terras of .their lease and the extension of time granted by the Council, Messrs Webster Bros, be required, within six months, to commence the erection of new buildings upon allotment 3, Storehouse Reserve; that, in view of ,the altered conditions in regard to the period of the council's occupation of the reserve in question, the Railway Department be requested to authorise ,the council to permit the erection of temporary seaside whares, of approved design, upon the Railway Reserve, between Belt Road and Bayly Road.; that an expert landscape gardener be employed to prepare a comprehensive plan of improvements for ,thc East End Reserve and at Byron Domain; that Mr. R. Bennoch, sexton, in addition to his present duties, be placed in charge, under the borough engineer, of the fol- j lowing reserves: Marsland Hill, Fort Niger, Mt. Byron, and that at the foot, of Dawson Street, and that, in considera- | tion of such increased duties, he be granted an increase of £25 per annum; tha.t, in order to enable the sexton to carry out the further duties placed upon him, further assistance be engaged for the work in the cemetery; that the nursery for trees at .the cemetery he extended, and that. the Works Committee be recommended to lay out a further nursery at the Reservoir Reserve, to be in charge of the caretaker; that the suggestions of Mr. R. W. Davis in regard to planting at Marsland Hill be referred to the new caretaker of reserves; that the lights in the East End Reserve be placed upon the street lighting circuit, the Reserves Committee being charged £2 10s per annum for each light. Cr. Collis (chairman of the committee), in moving the adoption of the report, stated, in regard to clause fi, that ho had the authority of the chairman of the Pnkekura Park Board for the council to employ the curator (Mr. W. W. Smith). The report was adoptedSTREET SUB-COMMITTEE. • The Streets Subcommittee made the following recommendations: That five surfacemen be kept at work as continuously as possible in general cleaning work, and that the men lie not taken from this employment, unless absolutely necessary or unavoidable, the committee to be notified when such is the case; that, in accordance with the report of the borough engineer, a disc crusher bo , procured for breaking stone to "fines" at the quoted price of .COGS, subject to the terms set out in the correspondence submitted, housing, belts, screens, and other equipment £315 additional; that the borough engineer interview the secretary to the High School Board re the delay in installing drainage to divert storm water under the path at the High School entrance; that the committee inspect Carrington Road re piping present open channel from Leach Street to the Good Templar Hall, Courtenay Street; that, in accordance with the borough engineer's proposals, the following works take precedence of others:— General account: Repairs to he completed as quickly as possible to Devon Street' East (Gover Street to Waiwakaihc bridge), Cnrrie, Gill, and St. Aubyn Streets; loan ; metalling: Complete Carrington Road (in hand), South Road, Gover, Queen, Liardet, Dawson, and Barrett Streets; paths (kerbing and channelling): Powderhom Street, Carrington Road, Gover, Eliot, Robe, Cameron, Brougham, and Young Streets; tar works: Gover and Vivian Streets', Mangofei and South Roads (if in suitable condition); that the committee inspect the various areas to consider the allocation for paths, commencing with Central East area. Oh the motion of the Mayor, seconded by Cr. Parkin, the report was adopted. HOUSING WORKERS. The Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. W. Russell) wrote acknowledging receipt of a copy of the report presented to the council by the Housing Sub-committee and also the letter asking if the Government would lend £IO,OOO at a low ra.te of interest for the purpose pf erecting dwellings for the council's permanent employees. The Minister stated that the matter of lending money for the purpose stated was one for Parliament to settle. He suggested the council should consider the desirability of exercising the powers conferred in Section 325 of the Municipal Corporation Act, 1908, and Sections 52 and 53 of the amending Act of 1913, dealing with workers' dwellings. The letter added that the scheme outlined in the report should be self-supporting and it should not be necessary for the council to strike a rate to' meet the expenditure after the houses had been erected and occupied. If the council could give such assurance,.,it,ivas. stated, there did not appear to,be any difficulty in the way of carrying a poll authorising the borrowing of the amount required- The Minister stated that he was fully aware of the importance of the question, not only in so far as it affected New Plymouth, but for the Dominion as a whole, but he was unable to state' at present what action Cabinet would decide upon. A letter was also received from the Acting Minister of Labor (the Hon. W. H. Herrics) calling attention to the fact that the Department had authorised the erection of 200 workers' houses, and that in the allocation of those places it was anticipated that a proportion would be given to New Plymouth and tenders called for their erection at an early dateSome comment was made on the fact that the Government was not prepared at present to lend money for the purpose, and yet the Minister suggested that the borough should raise a loan under its own powers. Councillors did not feel disposed to ask the ratepayers ,to sanction a loan at present. It was decided to defer consideration of the matter until it was ascertained what the action of Parliament would be in regard to the question. GENERAL, The Prankley Road Settlers' Aspocia,tion wrotft asking that the council should

attend to Govett Avenue, which is at present in a very bad state. The engineer reported that the road had been temporarily patched, but needed re-metalling to make a lasting job. Messrs Duncan and Davies wrote drawing attention to the state of Wallath Road, which was said ,to be practically worn on'.. The engineer said that requests of the kind were pouring in at such a rate that it was not possible to attend to all the side roads at once. To do so would require more than double the numbt, of teams available. Instructions had been given to patch the worst places.