BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 June 1922, Page 5

BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

NEW. PLYMOUTH COUNCIL. LOAN WORKS AUTHORISED ' The New Plymouth Borough Council met' last night. Present: The Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson), Councillors J. Kibby, T. N. Blackball, E. Dingle, R. A. Large, R. L. Parkin, W. Rumball, and V. Griffiths. A special sub-committee, consisting of the Mayor, Councillors Griffiths and Large, reported : The committee conferred in regard to the acquiring of the balance of the Mount Eliot Reserve, at the corner of** Queen and St. Aubyn Streets, from the Harbor Board. The committee conferred in regard steps to be taken to obtain sufficient information to enable it to recommend the appointment of a specially-qualified drainage engineer to report upon a comprehensive scheme of drainage for the borough. That the borough engineer be authorised to proceed with the following works: £57,000 Loan.—Re-grade and gravel footpath on north side of John Street (amount provided in loan schedule, £52). £lO,OOO Streets Loan.—Footpaths vote: Devon Street, continue asphalting of path on north side to Henui Bridge, £190; Courtenay Street, asphalt path on north side from Liardet Street to Currie Street, £6O; Watson Street, kerb and channel path on west side from Lemon Street to Leach Street, £2O; Eliot Street, complete the kerbing and channelling on both sides from Devon Street to Gill Street and from Devon Street to Courtenay Street, £lO5. That the cost of the kerbing and channelling in Cutfield Road already authorised be charged to the £3OOO Streets Loan ns far as the unexpended balance of £43 9s Id in that loan will permit. That application be made to the State Advances Office for permission to repay the small unexpended balance of the £lO,OOO Housing Loan in reduction of the principal. That the unbuilt-upon section in Beach . Street owned by the council be cleaned up, with the object of disposing of the same when t*.. council deems the time opportune. • A REPAYMENT LOAN. A special order has been passed authorising the raising of a special loan of £3OOO for the purpose of repaying the loan of that amount falling on October 1 next. It was intended that this loan should have been included in the £142,000 loan recently floated, but through an oversight it was omitted. An effort was made to induce the Department of Internal Affairs to permit the loan to be included in the £142,000 loan, by means of a validation order; but the department intimated by letter read that it could not see its way to do so under the circumstances, and a separate loan must be raised. It is not anticipated that any difficulty will be experienced in raising the loan on equally as good, if not better, terms than those upon which the £142,000 loan was floated. FIRE BOARD. The secretary of the New Plymouth Fire Board wrote: “Relative to our correspondence in regard to our superintendent’s report on the Whiteley Church and the plans previously submitted to him, I beg to advise that our superintendent objects to the spiral staircase therein, and requires a staircase built with square landings.” RUBBISH TIPS. It is becoming more urgently necessary to provide room for rubbish tips, and at the same time it is necessary to extend a culvert at Lome Street dump (wrote the inspector, Mr. R. Day). This culvert is a very difficult problem, owing to the fact that there will be two bends in the completed culvert. If one or more sections were bought, I believe it could be made straight.—Left in the hands of a sub-com-mittee. “The long haulage and the increasing number of houses makes it more difficult every day to cope with the removal of refuse with horses,” reported Inspector Day. “On a recent day, owing to a lame hone, I was compelled to use a lorry’. My experience then makes me feel that the work could be done as cheaply by hiring a lorry by the hour when required, and tn gain more particulars, I suggest that I be authorised to try the lorry for, say, a week, at a probable cost of £lo.”—Referred to a sub-committee. TRAM DELAY REDUCED. Arising out of an enquiry made by Councillor Kibby at last meeting, Mr. R. H. Bartley (electrical engineer) reported that an experiment has been tried in connection with the complaint as to the delay of the lunch-time car at Hobson Street loop, which promised to reduce this delay considerably, if not entirely. It means the 12.4 p.m. Fitzroy car being speeded up to arrive slightly ahead of time, whilst the 12.3 Breakwater car is delayed, running approximately two minutes late at Egmont Street. The Fitzroy car does not leave ahead of time, but is speeded up en route. GENERAL. Mr. J. W. Spindler wrote in reference to the Fulford and Morley Streets road formation. He had by some wrong reckoning under-estimated his contract, and found it difficult to met his outstanding expense. He asked the council to meet him, also io extend his time further.—He will be informed that the council is unable by law to grant his request. The Taranaki branch of the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers wrote thanking the council for the opportunity given on the occasion of their conference at New Plymouth of visiting the works now in progress at the hydro-electric scheme. Thanks were expressed to the Mayor for his kindness, the resident engineer (Mr. Peerlees), and consulting engineer (Mr. Lee).