UPPER HUTT BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Upper Hutt Weekly Review, Volume II, Issue 2, 24 December 1936, Page 1

UPPER HUTT BOROUGH COUNCIL.

STILL ANOTHER SANITARY SITE. RESIGNATION OF TOWN CLERK. The ordinary fortnightly meeting- of the Upper Hutt Borough Council was held on Monday evening last, the Mayor presiding. Also present Crs. Keys (De-puty-Mayor), Howell, Sutherland, Greig, Purvis, Blewman and Guthrie, an apology being received from Cr. Baskett. A letter received from the Town Clerk -was read by the Mayor asking that his resignation be accepted, and thanking the Mayor and councillors for their able assistance to him since his inception. The writer asked that he be relieved of his duties by January 27, 1937. Mr. Heald wrote asking pex-mission to screen a picture at the Majestic Theatre on Christmas Day, also stating that the alterations required by the council to the theatre had been completed. On the motion of the Mayor, permission was granted for Christmas Day, also that the license be granted now work had been completed, providing that the Inspector had passed same.—Carried. A letter from the Municipal Association of New Zealand, dealing with the forthcoming conference of local bodies to be held at Timaru, was received, and on the motion of Cr. Blewman, seconded by Cr. Howell, it was decided that the Mayor be the borough's representative. It was also decided to grant leave of absence to the local inspector to attend the annual conference of the Royal Sani-tax-y Institution at Auckland on January 25. Dr. Maclean wrote approving of the well sunk on the Trentham Racecourse property. "When a supply of water- has been obtained tests will be taken to see if the water is suitable for domestic purposes. Subject to the compliance with the stipulations and the satisfactory structure of the 'well, he would approve of the use of the well water for the purpose of augmenting the borough supply. The secretary of the Wellington Rac- • ing Club also wrote granting permission to put down a test bore. The outcome of this correspondence was a conference recently held at the Trentham Racecourse between the Borough Council arid the Medical Officer of Health (Dr. Maclean), Mr. Cowdrey and Mr. Bay (water experts from Messrs Turnbull and Jones). It was decided on the motion of Cr. Greig seconded by the Mayor, that a tx-ial well be sunk on a site selected on the Racing Club's property and if the water is found to meet -with the Health Department's approval after the required analysis, that Mr. Hayley be advised of the position and asked to place before the Racing Club the question of the council securing the proposed site.—Carried. Mr. Yarnell, Inspector, reported that all the -work required by the Health Department for public halls had been carried out satisfactorily, with the exception of the Silverstream Social Hall. The Town Clerk reported that two letters had been sent to the secretary o± that hall, but they had not received a reply. Cr. Purvis: Are not the council responsible for the work at that hall ? The Town Clerk; Yes, "we are, but we await a reply from them as we offered to take over the outside lavatoi-y at a peppercorn rental, but cannot do anything until we receive their reply. The Inspector: I would like to explain that nothing has been done to the sanitary conveniences inside the hall, and that is really what I am objecting to. Cr. Purvis: In that case we are not to blame if any complaints are made by the people down at that end.

The Mayor: The only thing for the Inspector to do is to close the hall if they do not reply to the letters sent. Cr. Guthrie-: Well I shall move that all licenses be granted -with the exception of the Silverstx-eam Hall, and that the council requires an urgent reply from them to its two letters. Cr. Howell: Have there been any licenses granted ? The Town Clerk: No, -we were waiting for the final report from the Inspector before granting any licenses. . Cr. Guthrie's motion was carried on the show of hands, and the Inspector is to see that the necessary sanitary arrangements at the hall are carried out. The Town Clerk reported that the bank overdraft was £286, as against £745 last year. A letter received from a farmer in the district complained that an Alsatian dog was worrying his sheep and that some of them had been attacked. The Mayor: That is correct. There were four sheep killed and six or seven not expected to recover. Cr. Howell: Was it Alsatians that did the damage? The Mayor: No doubt about it. Ci-. Howell: You don't know if it really -was, so there is a doubt about it. It was eventually decided on the motion of Cr-. Purvis seconded by Cr. Blewman, that the license for the ensuingyear for Alsatians be £l. —Carried. The chairman of the Fire Preventions Committee (Cr. G. Guthx-ie) brought down the folio-wing- x-epox-t: Fire Prevention Report. Minutes of the Fire Prevention Committee meeting- held in the Council Chambers on Friday, December 18, 1936. Present: His Worship the Mayor, Cr-. Guthrie (chairman), Cr. Greig. Request from Silverstream Fire Bri-g-ade for working trousers: The committee points out that to provide -working trousers for fire fighting- purposes would involve a considerable sum of money, but recommends, as in a reply to a similar request from the Upper Hutt brigade and -which has been approved by the council, that any trousers damaged at a five or at drill will be replaced. Carried. Complaint—Upper Hutt Fire Brigade —Markings and surroundings of fire plugs: The committee recommends that this matter be referred to the Overseer for attention. —Carried. Rubbish fires on private propex-ty: - It has been bi-ought under the notice of the committee that fxi-es have been found bux-ning in the open spaces at the rear of business premises after they have been closed down. The committee recommends that the firm in question be asked to pi-ovide a suitable metal incineratox- in which to bui-n its rubbish. A drum might be used the same as a plumber's fire pot, px-o-viding it has a lid and care is taken to see that no petrol vapour is present before being used.—Cax-ried. Competition team expenses to Nelson, March, 1937: The committee recommends that in view of the keen interest taken in bx-igade mattex-s by the members of the Uppex- Hutt Fire Brigade in local demonstx-ations, a sum of £35 be gx-anted, towards the expenses of the team.—Carried. Temporary tower in Maidstone Pai-k: The committee recommends that the application for a temporai-y tower, for tx-aining pux-poses by the Upper Hutt Fire Brigade, be granted. Referred to the Works Committee with power to act. Speaking to the report the chaix-man stated that the local brigade had put up a wonderful performance at Lower Hutt in the demonstration and he would

like to see that everything possible was done to allow a team to compete in the New Zealand competitions at Nelson next year. The report was received and adopted on the motion of the Mayor, seconded by Cr. Guthrie. The Mayor: The committee was unanimous on the matter and we all hope that they do well, but I am afraid that £25 is too little. Cr. Howell: Make it £3O. The Mayor: I suggest £35. Cr. Howell: Good on you; I will second it. Cr. Keys: We must not lose sight of the fact that the team is going to uphold the honour of the town and we should give it every support. The motion was put and unanimously carried. The chairman of the Works Committee (Councillor - J. Purvis), stated that his committee have to report that, prior to the date of the Ratepayers' Association meeting- and the receipt of the resolution passed by them, the council had adopted and made arrangements for the cleaning' up of the streets in the borough before the Christmas holidays, a horse mower being purchased for this pur-pose on November 24, 1936. Crushing plant: The committee have no recommendation for the purchase of the crusher at the "Blue Mountains" and enquiries are still being made for a suitable crushing- plant. Sanitary Depot-—Housing of Vehicles: The committee has made the necessary alterations to the sheds at the Sanitary Depot to house the sanitary vehicles. Municipal Band-—Disbanding of Upper Hutt Band: Ci-. Purvis—-Cr. Greig: That His Worship the Mayor, the Town Clerk and staff be g-iven authority to take over the band material on Thursday, December 17, 1936, in accordance with the letter received from them .dated 10th instant.-—Carried. Band instruments: The committee has given, instructions to have a ceiling put in the Town Clerk's office and a ceiling on the public office side, -with suitable apertures for ventilation, to accommodate the band instruments. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by the Mayor, the report -was adopted. Cr. Keys: Did the council receive the resignation of the band in writing-, as it is with regret that I heard of their disbandment. It is a retrograde step for the bo.rough, and I think it .was necessary to call the band together to meet the council to see if some amicable arrangement could not have been come to. The Mayor-: We received the letter from the band on the 16th, and the instruments handed over on the 17th. Anyhow the motion has been carried and I cannot allow any discussion on it. Cr. Keys: That is what I may have expected. A meeting of the special committee set up about the railway service met and the following recommendations were made: (1) That workers' tickets be made available for trains arriving

at their destinations up to 9 a.m.; (2) that a rail car be run to bridge the gap between the 6.14 p.m. and the 9.31 p.m. as a trial for a month, and not to start earlier than 8.15 p.m. and not later than 8.30 p.m. Sanitary Site. Cr. Keys asked that the letter- handed by him to the Town Clerk, which he had received from Dr. Maclean that afternoon, be read. It was as follows: "Dealing- with the proposed site in the Moonshine the Medical Officer advised that the site may be considered satisfactory so far as its removal from habitation is concerned, but as a site for the disposal of night soil it suffers from the following drawbacks:— "1. The soil is close and non-absorb-ent and trouble may be experienced in carrying out satisfactory burial. "2. A large portion of the section is swampy and could not be used in the winter. "3. Access is by a narrow hilly road. It is doubtful if the present horse carts could be utilised without considerable soiling of the road. "4. If the sealed pan system is adopted it will be necessary to provide a water supply and to erect the necessary buildings in which the pans can be washed and stored. "The nature of the soil is such that I am very doubtful whether satisfactory burial will be possible, especially in the winter. If, however, your council wishes to use the site I have no objection to the experiment being tried." "The offer of a site at the Moonshine," continued Cr. Keys, "the property of Mr. Barton, should be accepted and the council should make the necessary arrangements to transfer- the sanitary dump from Whakatiki as soon as possible." Cr. Greig: In connection -with this matter the Public Service Committee has done all in their power to find a suitable site outside the borough, and have gone to a tremendous lot of trouble. Cr. Keys: It was also the duty of every councillor to try and find a suitable place "and I have never given up trying. Many places I have inspected -were not suitable, but I think at last we have found the place. The Mayor: There is a letter from the owners of the property agreeing to lease us the land, and I understand the conj ditions are foi- us in return to supply I water free to Mr. Whiteman. The value j of the land is about £l/5/- per acre. I Cx-. Keys: It is right away from hu- ! man habitation, and certain suggestions I made by the Medical Officer of Health as I regards spillings can be i-ectified by iron flanges on the carts. The doctor is not in favour of the present cart entirely, for it's too much of a climb, but it is possible to get an extra horse tohelp pull the weight up the incline, and I do not think it would cost much to put the place in order. Dr. Maclean is not objecting to this site whatsoever, and we are not justified in staying down at Whakatiki. Cr. Howell: I have seen Mr. Blackley, of the County, and he is not objecting. In fact he thinks it is the right place. The only difficulty he saw was that picnic parties camp there and drink | water in that vicinity.