Rodney County Council
Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette , 24 April 1934, Page 5
About this newspaper
Rodney County Council
The usual monthly meeting of the Rodney County Council was held in the County Chambers last Wednesday, 18th inst.
Present—Crs. W. K. Becroft (Albert), Chairman; C. F. Hooper (Tauhoa); W. R. Grant (Hoteo) ; R. H. Skelton (Arai) ; W. J. Scholium (Puhoi) ; T. A. Gubb (Kourawhero); D. Kempt (Omaha); and A. Medland (Matakana).
Prior to the commencement of Cq#ncil business, the chairman ref&fpd to the loss sustained by the recent deaths of Mr T. 0. Jenkins, late member for Kaipara Riding, and Mr Chas. Hooper, father of the Riding member for Tauhoa. The chairman stated that Mr Jenkins had been a member of the Council for some considerable time and although he had not always agreed with him on certain matters he had found him very straight and fair in criticism and a good member. The chairman's remarks were endorsed by Crs. Scholium and Skelton, and a vote of condolence to the relatives of the deceased was carried by members standing in silence for a few minutes.
Correspondence was received from: P.W. Dept., Whangarei, forwarding copy of warrant re road legalisation, Waiwera-Warkworth ; detour maintenance re Puhoi bridge ; also, Highways maintenance authorities. Health Department, forwarding inspector's report.
Audit Department, advising that the Omaha'Whangateau Harbour Board accounts to be kept seperate from County funds account. J. McKinlay, forwarding scheme plan re N. A. Worker's sub-division for Council's approval.—Deferred for investigation.
A. Ingleton, application for repairs to access road. — Left to Eiding member to arrange.
N.Z. Eailways, asking Council to make an offer for wharf and siding at Te Hana. —Decided to ask Dept. to leave wharf where it is for convenience of settlers.
Wm. Inger, application to move fence on to road reserve. —Granted, subject to Council's pleasure. A. G. Prictor, enquiring as to when Prictor's road grant is to expended. — ', Engineer to confer with P.W.D. Wellsford Progressive League and Farmers' Union, applying for formation of -Te Hana-Waiteitei road.— Deferred. ' ■ ''
J. Flamank, suggesting that Council approach P.W. Dept. to metal road Fishlock's to Gray's comer.— Decided to place work list of relief works to take its turn. s Davis Bros, re access road —Left to Eiding member.
Tomarata Hall Committee, asking Council's interest in procuring land for public hall at Tomarata. —Held over for investigation. J. Stewart, re drains at Araperara. —Left to engineer to report. ;G. A. Mainland, application to build motor shed on road, Kaipara p Hills.—Granted. '; Commissioner of Crown Lands, re drains at Streamlands. —Decided to %biring before Minister of Public !!?Works the question of clearing Hoteo Biver of willows. ;W. Sbarp, application to haul logs. Granted, subject to usual restrictions. 'D. M. Jones, offering to subsidise ■ 'hauling of Lagoon Bay shingle to Takatu road.—Offer accepted. Phillips and Hutcheson, applying for improvement to access road to Sectfons 84 and 95 Matakana Parish. —Left to Biding member and Engineer to deal with. A. B. Wilson, requesting repairs to road and bridge, Coxhead Creek road. <r£ o b e included on estimates for year. !■■,;.. P/W. Dept. and Hon. J. G. Coates, that metalling of Dyer's road approved as relief work, and requesting payment of £75, Council's contribution. A circular letter was received from the Treasury re standardisation of ■'debentures and coupons for. local body loans. 'An application from Mr W. A Dennis to haul logs was granted un-■. der usual restrictions. An^plication from Messrs Parry Bros, to stack: wood at Pukapuka. — .Permission granted to stack wood on northern side of wharf road only. Permission was granted to Dibble Bros, to take 20 yards of stone from ' Wayby quarry. ~ It was resolved to support the Waitomo County Council in any action it may take to test the liability of the State Advances Dept. for rates on properties of which it is mortgagee A donation of £5 towards any
The laying of the foundation-stone of the National Art Gallery and Museum at Wellington, the arrival of Charles Ulm at New Plymouth with air mail from i^ustralia, farewells to Mr Justice MacGregor and New Zealand's wicket-keeper, Mr K. C, James, scenes before the sailing qf the Rangitane with record passenger list, ladies' golf tournament at Shirley, revival of flax industry, N.S.W. golf team in Wellington, Synod garden party at Hastings—those and many other events of the week are pictured in the gallery of this week's "New Zealand Free Lance." Hector Bolitho gives a special interview on his return to his native land, Andy Shaw writes upon golf, "The Saint" upon racing, and "Touchline" opens the Rugby season, while Stuart Peterson, "Free Lance" cartoonist, shows "A way through the dairy impasse" and "Two, views on the Shavian Brew."
ENGINEER'S REPORT. GENTLEMEN,—-I have to present my report for the month ending 17th April, 1934. The end of last month marked the close of another difficult year, where economy in expenditure has always been the? first consideration, in ■'■ fact maintenance expenditure has been so low as to be uneconomic. Road surfaces in some localities are worn past the stage to which f they^should be allowed to go. 1* Qmm Highways construction a goCT?|job has been done by closing the Te Hana-Mangawai gap, with a well-blinded bottom course. All other metalling construction, ex.cepting Puhoi wharf and Road Govt. grant, and a few other short lengths, has been carried out by the Public Works Dept. with the 1 assissance of relief workers. Long lengths of clay have been .covered by this means, notably Wayby-Hoteo North, Wayby-Tomarata, which is nearly finished, Warkworth - Mahurangi - Mullet Point, Wright's Road, Green's JRoad. The metalling of roads in .Pakiri Block, Tomarata, carried out by P.W. Dept. in conjunction with the Lands Dept. is also nearing completion. The relief camps established loy the County at Duck Creek and at Pukapuka have not been satis- Jfactor/. ■ Work on wharf repairs and maintenance intended to be done during the year has not been carried out. No new bridges have been erected, except by the Department, on N°- 1 Main Highway. ARAI RlDlNG.—Relief workers in Sinclair's quarry will soon be ■finished, and then a start can be made with metal for Ryan's Road. I have not yet been able to arrange for the necessary formation work. Some forming has been done on Wharfe's Road in anticipation of getting some surfacing .material on. The Riding's metal maintenance bill for this year should be reasonably low, because the sur.faces have for the most part been only recently constructed. Several construction items, however, are possible, Ryan's j-oad being next in urgency on ■ -the County list of relief works. Provision should also be made in the case of Te Hana-Silver Hill .and Tomarata-Te Arai, where a little earthwork has already been done. I have not been able to pay a visit to the Riding this month as I intended. v ALBERT RIDING.—The output i from Mt. Brame this month has ■£een six times higher than the average per month over the last ,1.8 months. The most important item of work in the Riding this month has been the metalling of .Bay's Road. If further construction works are undertaken this year Te Hana-Silver Road and - Te Hana-Wellsford Valley are ■ next in importance. However, allowance must first be made for some heavy maintenance expenditure, particularly on Wellsford Valley Road, where also Brooks' culvert needs extensive repairs. ■ HOTEO RIDING is to be congratulated on the number of ratepayers who have been "placed on the metal" this year, mainly as the result of relief labour handled by the Public Works Dept., Auckland, and with a contribution ; from the Unemployment Fund. Assistance in'the way of cash or its equivalent from the settlers jhas also materially helped, and been one of the factors that led to > : issue of authority for the work. A bottom course only has been provided, consisting of sandstone .rolled and blinded, so that provision will have to be made on the Riding estimates for a light wearing course, otherwise it is quite evident that the asset will soon be
lost. At the.present time, expen|k, diture on metal maintenance in : this RWing is far too low. Ther'Acme" crusher is at present being repaired with a view to getting more maintenance metal from Petrie's quarry. r Considerable maintenance has been done on the Wellsford end of the highway. ~ ~ " Work on Woods bridge plan will be resumed as soon as possible, I have prepared a rough sketch of Spindler's Road, recently inspected in company with Chairman and Riding member. • An endeavour is being made to . , complete legalisation of deviation
at Hoteo bridge. Wayby. KAIPAEA RIDING.—Funds have not been sufficient this year to maintain metal surfaces, Ahuroa-Komokoriki has gone short of repair metal, likewise the West Coast Road. This length was completed only two years ago, but the hurried method of construction has already imposed a heavy maintenance burden.
Tenders have been called for 500 c. yards of spauls from Monks' quarry, to be stacked for crushing. The foreman has been concentrating on the bridges, so that they are now all in reasonable order except the Makarau, which is on the County boundary. Steps have been taken towards rebuilding this bridge, but some time must still necessarily elapse before a start can be made.
Recently a cracked stringer has been detected.in the old bridge, so that I would recommend that the roadway be restricted to five feet, so that only midget cars, efcc, can cross, and stock cannot bunch on the truss span.
A traffic tally was taken at the bridge during the first week of this month, and this disclosed that the severest load imposed consisted of a herd of approximately 45 cows on three days a week generally and sometimes three times a day. There is evidence also that no great hardship would result if the course I suggest were adopted.
When estimates are being framed, culverts on Ahuroa-Araparera road should have first consideration amongst any construction items.
KOURAWHERO RIDING — Expenditure has been so low this year that no work worthy of note has been achieved. Contributions have been made towards relief work, notably Mainland's road, which the P.W. Dept. has practically completed. The heaviest maintenance has been on No. 12 Highway where the condition of the surfacehas been a little above that of last year's average —due in a measure to a decrease in traffic. The amount of bridge maintenance carried out on this highway for the year has been as proposed. A very important construction item, however, Kaitoto bridge, has been delayed, and still depends on surveys that I have not had time to carry but, that is, elimination proposals at Hoteo level crossing.
Construction items for which Riding funds will be required this year are : — Warkworth-Woodcocks, top course; Woodcocks- Ahuroa, rolling and part top course; proposed relief works, contributions; Adolph's road, wearing course. Kaipara Hills roads and Hepburn Creek metal surfaces require extensive maintenance.
Matakana Riding—Most of the expenditure for the year has been incurred in assisting metalling that is being done by relief work. The gangs controlled by Public Works Department are still operating on Mahurangi Heads, Wright's and Greens roads. Fortunately most of the hauling has been done, and the dumped spauls have now to be napped on the road. Portion of the legalisation costs have still to be met.
The relief camp for single men erected by the County at Puck Creek over a year ago seems likely to be there for another year, as output is-not up to expectation. At the present time, however, a neat job is being made and the finished portion looks well. The principal liability on this work will be for hauling about 600 c. yds. —approximately £35. Cost of explosives and repairs to tents to be added. Further construction items possible for the year are Whitmore's road, Waiwhiu Mill road, Anderson's road and Falls road.
Maintenancs of metal surfaces has declined seriously during the year, and the leeway should be made up as soon as possible, on the highway, Warkworth-Matakana section particularly. Even the newly-metalled lengths on Takatu, Omaha Flats and roads require reshaping regularly. There will also be a fair sum required for re-decking small bridges.
OMAHA RIDING has had another very difficult yearin an attempt to live within its income. Fortunately its length of highway, Big Omaha to Leigh, has not suffered greatly from wear and tear,
and it is hoped that all the bridges on this length can be restored to reasonable order next season.
With the present revenue however, the maintenance of the surface Leigh-Pakiri-Whangaripo is hopeless. The construction items, Pakiri River road, Ti Point road, and Big Omaha Valley raad, will still have to be kept steadily in view.
PUHOI RIDING has had the honour of having the only available Govt. grant this year, and yet the work was not completed owing to a late start and slow delivery of metal. The construction of Puhoi-Tahekeroa road by relief work •will be a great boon to settlers and has been the Ridings's chief item of expenditure this year. The next item was hauling of spauls and other charges for the relief workers at Pukapuka, where progress has been painfully slow. It is hoped that the two lengths to be metalled in this locality can be finished off next season at least, i
TAUHOA RIDING—The principal item for the year has been reshaping of Run road and opening up the new quarry there. A portion of this year's revenue will have to be earmarked in case of construction work on that road. Tl!e work about to be started on Dyer's road by the Department will also require an allocation, and possibly likewise a length of 30 chains on Tauhoa-Wellsford road. The next in order on the list is Marcroft's to Dudding's, 220 chains,
Particular care, however, must be taken to ensure adequate maintenance for all old metal, which, fortunately is nearly all on Highways. These surfaces have been somewhat neglected this year.
Tenders have been called for 300 c. yds. of maintenance material from Ogle's quarry, Mangakura.
Public Works —In conclusion there is the question of major bridges, a major problem that was not dealt with sufficiently during the past year.
Both reconstruction and maintenance requirements are very much in arrears, and I must emphasise the need for an extra special effort.—A. J. DOW,
County Engineer
