LAWRENCE TOWN COUNCIL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 298, 16 October 1873, Page 7

LAWRENCE TOWN COUNCIL.

The ordinary meeting of the Council was held in the Assembly Room on Monday evening, at the usual hour. - Present : The Mayor, and Councillors Hill, "Walker^ Armstrong, Hay> and Hayes. The minntea of the previous meeting were read and; confirmed. The Town Clerk read a copy of the mortgage deed for the £2000 borrowed j for the purpose of building a Town Hall. The Mayor read the following letter, which had been received fr» m Mr. R. A. Lawson, architect, with the altered plan of the proposed Town Hall : — Dunedin, October 10th, 187& L. C. Holmes, Esq., Town Clerk, Lawrence. Sir, — I have to acknowledge receipt of your two last favoiß, ; and in reply to yours of the Ist inst, , I nave to state that I simply followed thq %«t^ course, ijn, takings oar dimension* given

in letter of 4th September .as meaning internal measurements. Therefore I adhered to them as near as I could, and had no intention to 1 do otherwise. i On considering the plan* as to tho best (node of reducing sizes, I hare found it better, aa you approva the front elevation, to leave that untouched, but curtail the depth of the main hall 10 fee.t, removing the partitions in front,, and thus still retaining the same floor area ; but the cubic of the hall proper would commence at the line of the three arches indicated on plan of upper flour, and at any time this could be screened off for meeting rooms, &c. The Mayor's room I have placed alongside of Council Chambers, which is now slighly curtailed, but j still, I think, large enough for all your require- | ment*. _ Still the dimensions of this design, keeping in view your own figures and intentions regarding same, produces a larger building than that first sketched by me as not to exceed £2000, and I now enclose first sketch that you may compare dimensions. In the first sketch it was my intention to have the hall along the entire front of building ; but to get the hall anything like 80 feet, it must be as second sketch, and causes more building. The | second design or sketch could not be finished j under £3000 ; but it is certainly the best arrangement of the two, and if offers opportunity to extent the hall to large dimensions hereafter, if that should be felt necessary. In regard. to the sketch in your letter of 4th I inst., forwarded as to the depth required for front wall, that exceeds my expectations as to ! the foundations required, and this and addi- ! tional cellarage referred to ia yoar last will cost i about £250. I The cellars oould readily be made ; but lam j afraid they will be liable to be wet in spite of the best precautions which could be taken, from their natural position in bed of old creek. I presume it will be best for the Corporation to do any extension which may be necessary, but that may be considered later. I think I have referred to all matters requiring explanation , but if fresh explanation is required, I shall be glad to furnish same, and await you for inßtruo:ions,— Yours truly. K. A. Lawson. Cr. Armstrong moved, and Cr. Hayes I seconded, " That the letter be received." I On the suggestion of Cr. Armstrong, j the discussion of the subject of the letter j was delayed till the other business of the Council was considered. The following accounts were then disposed Of :— II. Vye, sumlries, MA 18a., referred bo Public Works Committee ; W. Ferguson, labor, £2 10s., referred to [ Public Works Committee ; Downie and I Detert, 15 loads stone, £1 17s. Cd., re- ! ferred to Public Works and Finance Committees ; L. C. Holmes, salary, £17 10s., referred to the Finance Committee ; R. Tuckey, £13 6s. 6d. There was considerable discussion with reference to this account, which extended over 18 months. Cr. Armstrong thought the Public Works Committee should bring up a report of these accounts, as the Council would by that means be saved a deal of trouble in passing them. . He suggested that the Committee referred to should csrfcifyto the correctness of these accounts before they were submitted to the Council. On the motion of Cr. Hill, seconded by Cr. Armstrong, the account was referred to the Public Works Committee. The following letter was read and referred to the Reserves Committee :—: — Lawrence. 13th October, 1873. The Mayor and Corporation, Lawrence. Gentlemen,— l am instructed by the Committee of the Lawrence Grammar Sohool to lay before you their views in the matter of a site for a proposed new school building. The School Committee having for some time past been pressing the Education Board for increased accommodation, in the shape of an additional class-room, are informed that it would be better to look-out a site elsewhere, and thereon erect new and more suitable premises, inasmuoh as in a short time the railway station will be inconveniently near to the present building. Our Committee, considering the market reserve in Oban-street to be a suitable site, and having heard that rit may not be quite suitable for the purpose intended by you, hereby beg respeotfully to request you to concede to the Education Board your right and title to the said market reserve, with a view to having new and extensive school premises erected thereon. Permit me to point out that were this proposal carried out, the prosperity of this town would be greatly increased : not only by the improvement in the value of property in Obanstreet, butthajjifceof the present buildings, which is intendecTto be sold, would then yield a considerable addition to your revenue. -I have the j | honor to be, gentlemen, you obdt. servant, j William Jamison, j On behalf of the School Cemmittee. j A petition was read from 13 ratepayers j I living in the vicinity of the hospital, | asking the Council to make a footpath from the culvert to the corner known as ; Tonks's. The petitioners also wished a culvert constructed over the creek that crosses Eden-street, to enable drays to 1 approaoh the houses in that street. The petition was received, and referred to the Public Works Committee. Cr. Hay moved, and Op. Hill seconded, " That the raie for the current year be Is." ; Cr. Hayes moved, " That the assessment roll now on the table be adopted." Cr. Hay seconded . Carried. Cr. Hayes moved, with reference to the plan of the Town Hall, that it be adopted. It would be a handsome building, and although £2000 was their limit at the start, still he thought with an effort the sum of £3000 or even £4000 could easily be raised ' Cr. Hill, in seconding the motion, said this was a progressive age, and if they attempted to ourtail the hall it would make it a shabby thing. , Cr. Hay suggested that in moving the adoption of fch© J>1»I1S, Or, IIaYC3 tnigllt as well »34 *' and that w orfcing plans and specifications be at onco procured." The rates, he thought, would be about £900 this year, and there were very few works of any moment that required doing. He therefore saw no difficulty in raising the extra sum for the building. \ Cr. Walker said there was no councillor rn^re anxious than he was to see a Town ■ Hall erected that wcmld be a credit to ; Lawrence, but the Council had agreed ; upon a sum which he thought ample for I the purpose, via., £2000, and now cmra- : oillura were about to adopt a plan which i he felt confident would coat the ratepayers \ very little short of £4000, or double the [amonnt agreed upon. Hy adopting the motion before the chair, he considered the Council would be running the ratepayers into unnecessary expense. He would Boove. aa an amendment, "That the plans be returned to the architect to be curtailed, to bring the amount as nearly as possible to the sum at first named." He was firmly convinced the ' Council was not prepared to go oa> with a building which would cost £4000, and he believed the ratepayers; as a body were of his opinion. There were many public works that required the attention of the Councill They had water unfit for domestic purposes, and he thought something should be done by the Cod cil towards purifying it - •*

The Mayor quite endorsed the remarks made by Cr. Walker. He suggested returning the plans to Mr. Lawson, with a request that he would curtail the cost >v much as possible, and prepare working plans and specifications. The Council ould then advertise for tenders, and ascertain what the building could be erected for. The motion that the plans as snbmitted be adopted was carried. Cr. Walker was the only councillor opposed to it, but his amendment was not seconded. Cr. Hay gave notice of motion for the next Council meeting, "That the footpath on the Beaumont Road be extended, and the water hole at the back of Peelstreet be filled up with the stuff from the cutting.*' Cr. Hill drew attention to the stagnant water in Ross Place. Cr. Walker said it was owing to the surfaceman being unable to attend to his duties. The matter would be seen to. The Mayor remarked that parties who wished to keep pigs within the boundaries of the town should ask permission of the Council. Although the Council could prevent them from being kept in the town, he thought it would be a hardship to some people to do ho ; still, the least those who keep them could do would be to ask permission of the Council.