Vincent County Council

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXI, Issue 3167, 15 June 1931, Page 5

Vincent County Council

iThe annual meeting- of the above, held in the Council Chambers :»< Clyde, on Thursday lust, was attended by' ("is A. Scoular, K. Butcher, S. Stevens, W. D. Naylor. Jas. Ritchi-. F. Partridge, D. Crquhart, and C Weaver. The. clerk took the (hair, and called for nominations for the position ol chairman. t'r Weaver .proposed - That C r Ritchie be re-elected chairman. Seconded by Cr Scoular. There being only one nomination, the clerk declared Cr Ritchie elected chairman amidst applause. On taking the chair C'r Ritchie returned thanks, and remarked that lie would continue to do his best for the county as a whole. Ho was pleased to know thai he retained the confidence of the couii'il, and took the opportunity of thanking the staff for the loyalty extended to him in the past. He referred'to the progressive bridge policy, mentioning that eight bridges had been built vvriv out having to call on the ratepayers. for interest. In connection with Mns Mr Ritchie said that, J.hoy were pine tically committed to the re-erection ol the Clvde bridge this year, which meant thev would have to find /,25.x}. TJie position was that the bridge was in such a* state that it simply had to be undertaken. Regarding the financial outlook be could see, daylight ahead. By the elimination of H e punts- thev were saving .£3™) per *}''■- mini, while the antecedent habdiy of £845 would cease in 1033. All things considered he thought that their financial position was quite sound, but he issued a word of warning i'uit they would have to be careful. Vincent could congratulate itself on the fact that tbe rates had come in very , much better than had been the experience of their neighbouring counties. The minutes of the previous me3tingl were read and confirmed. Correspondence was read and dealt with a% under:

The secretary of the Clyde Fire Brigade wrote asking that a donation be made to the Funds. O Stevens supported the application and suggested that £5 should be granted.—Seconded bv Cr Scoular and carried. Mr A. GutselJ, C'hatto Creek, wrote for and was granted permission to take some gravel from roadlme. Mr Chas. Templeton wrote offering to purchase for £2, waste " material from old punt at Albertown. —Accepted, the inspector to act. Mr-C. F. Watkins, Hawea Hat, wrote asking that the road' to his farm lands be formed and graded. Cr Crquhart said that he understood that it would cost £.5 to Granted. Mr B. S. Matthews', Chatto Creek, wrote complaining that water from a ditch was creating a nuisance in front of his hotel. The engineer stated that he had written to the Railway Department asking them to attend to same. A reply had been received from 1 s the blmrtment suggesting tha.il the county should cut a channel to connect the two pipes. Cr Scoular remarked that the water was certainly a great nuisance. —The inspector tot do the I work with unemployed. The secretary of the Hospital Boa: i submitted Statement agid clainv for lew for the coming year ol £")s(> ns. The chairman said that this was lower than last year. The Government had cut the subsidy by 10 per cent, realising that hospital upkeep was Decerning veiv heavy, which meant that the Hospital Board was laced, with reduced revenue—Tb« quarterly lew was passed for payment. An application from the I I>l> -« Nevis Dredging Co., lor rebel in the matter of rent found sympathetic ears and it was decided to recommend I the Minister to reduce the rent by 50 per cent. Applications were made by the two petrol companies asking lor permission to cross Firewood Creek bridge \v;rli delivery lorries.—Refused. Kinlavson Bros wrote cancelling contract No. carting gravel. Irom Allan's Hill.—lt was decided to return the deposit, less cost of advertising tor new tenders. The Under-Secretary for Mines wrote stating that the grant of £ 100. £ h>i ; r for Nevis Valley roads liad| been withdrawn. The Commissioner ol ( rown Cauls wrote re closing road at run 224'r ■ . 1 iger Hill, thai Ihe la.;t that the road to' be closed was not advertised, as this was not necessary, as it was done under Section 12 of the Land Act. The Otago Motor Club wrote thanking the council for the cut ling of willows at Dry Cully. ft had maue n distinct improvement. The Otago Central Electric Pow >r Board wrote requesting that a necessary road be made under No. 5 scheme in 'connection with the suggested harnessing of the Roaring Meg scheme. The chairman thought it quite a good suggestion, but consideration was held over pending the Power Board om • pleting arrangements with the Sta'.e. The council would! be glad to cc- I

operate. A letter was read from the Mayor ol Cromwell, agreeing that local unemployed be engaged to improve mam roads leading into the town. Ihe chairman remarked that he understj>J 16 men were available, and it was agreed to comply with the request. Mrs Catherine Connolly wrote askr.ig permission, to erect a swing gate on road sections 50 and 60, Lower liawea.

—Granted. The luncheon adjournment was len

taken. On resuming at 2 p.m., the iuil council was present. The chairman mentioned that lie had just had an interview with the Town Trust regarding unemployiyi labour. He "had explained? that men had been put on to do urgent work on the roads. He assured them that the work in the town should he done. —The clerk was instructed to notify the Health Department to get sections in the town cleaned up. The chairman said that tlie fcelin.tr of the deputation from the Town Trust was that the town should be cleaned up first, but he was pleaseJ U{ say that they had accepted his explanation. A letter 5 was read from Mr J. 1.. Stewart Wright, Cromwell, asking Hie council to support his application for a seat on the Railway Board. —The letter was received on the motion of Crs Stevens and Scoular. A petition from Messrs O'Connor, Carruth, and 14 others ;it Poolburn, was read asking that the road recently closed be re-opened. Cr Butch r supported the petition, and expressed the opinion that it' the fact that the road was to be closed' had been notified that il would never have been closed. The chairman said that with regard to the hardship imposed on the children, Ihe closing of the road meant that the children would have to walk a quarter of a mile further, but on the roundabout way they weve usin.i a good road, while the short cut was untorineel ami muddv at times. Cr Scoular remarked Lhah if I hey :e----opened the road they would have to bin the land hack. The Land Board had cloyed the road.

Cr Butcher reiterated his previous statement that the ratepayers should have hud an opportunity to object. The c liaii mat) thought it was ;• waste ol time and mon.n- 10 re-open the road. He could s.-e no real reason why it should be re-opeued.. In reply, ( r Hittclicr moved t!ial 'lie road be re-opened. Seconded by L r \\ eaver.

Cr Seouiar moved as an amendment, thar. the/ petitioners be informed that the council had no recommendation to make and that the matter be referred back to the baud Board. On being put to the meeting, Crs Seouiar, i\aylor, Stevens, and the chairman voted for the amendment, and Crs Butcher, [Jrqufiart, Partridge, and Weavei against. The chairman gave his easting vote in favor of the amendment. A petition from residents of Omakau asking for a drainage scheme,! rind the raising of a loan, was received. The chairman remarked that it meant a loan of about ,£l4O. Cr Scoui-tr supported the petition, and moved tha< steps bo taken to carry out the wishes of the petitioners.—Seconded by Cr Butcher and carried. Residents of Omakau also asked that an asphalt footpath be put down, ihe council to supply 75 per cent. Mr <>■ Harvey asked that a concrete kerbing bo extended to the hall. L'he chairman remarked that the residents were prepared to pay 50 per cent when he interviewed them. The clerk aid the work was estimated to cost ,£6l. This meant the council would have to pay 2,45. —The council agreed to pay half, the cost of asphalting and kerbing; the work to be done, by unemployed if possible. The road inspector's report was read and dealt with as under:

The inspector said that the windmill at llawea had done good work, but damage had been done (he understood by children). It was decided to ask the residents to repair the iiil thcVn selves.;

The inspector was instructed-to repair the decking of the Upper Haw. a bridge. The road at Gawn's is to l>e repaired. A petrol company to bo notified 10 remove, a sign on the road at Ha won. Cr Partridge asked that water tabis-s at Mt Pisa be cleaned out, and suggested that unemployed men be put on.—Agreed to ; the lorry to pick 'he men up to carry out the work.

At Cr Nay lot's request repairs at Tanas road are to bo undertaken : nd the bridge near Mr MiddJeton's to be repaired. Cr Stevens asked that extra warning boards be put on at Spriugvale roiid.—Agreed t<>Cr Butcher said the relief work was doing well in the valley, lie suggested that gang might pull down the old Poolburn bridge when nothing else could he done. —Agreed 10. Cr Scoular asked that repairs 1- • made to road near Mr Frank Dennelly's, and that a ditch be cleaiud out.—Agreed to, Cr Butcher suggested Mint the i'uL'if Works Department had done ronsi Viable damage to road in Ida Valley, and [bought that tluty should apply for

t'r Weaver suggested that unemployed should be j;ut on I'rom the lower boundary. lie understood that men jwould .-ia/.tA be avail dm,' from Dimodin. liooct work was being done near the Alexandra bridge. The road, in Sector's repoi L was adopted. The poundkeeper reported Ukit -.mi.c last meeting he had impounded lli/ec head oj stock found wandering on i lie eouut.v roads.

The dog registrar reported thai to dale lie had registered (171 u.t 2s 6d, 145 at ss, and 18 at 10s.

The council then went into committee, the report on resuming being:

Resolved that the schedule of :c----couuts amounting to ,£10.28 14s jd. be passed for payment. The treasurer was authorised to arrange for an overdraft at the bank. was voted for the purchase of poison for the destruction of injurious birds.

The sum of /Too was voted the chairman lor travelling expenses.

Mr Caldwell, Omakau, was recommended as an official tester for motor licenses*.