PORTOBELLO ROAD BOARD

Evening Star, Issue 18808, 5 December 1924, Page 8

PORTOBELLO ROAD BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. I I The monthly meeting yesterday after-1 noon of tho Portobello Road Board was j ' attended by Messrs W. Rowlands (chairi man), C. M’Donald, R. Lee, D. Hughes, I VV. J. Lewis, C. Hall, S. N. Muir, and 1 S. Hinkley. The Public Works Department forwarded a list of Government grants unexpended j by tho board. These amounted to £750, and there was also £350 of new grants now available. —Received. A letter received at a previous meeting | from the Health Department pointing c-nt' the need for improved drainage at Macan- j drew Bay was again cons.acred. —mo board decided to notify the residents of Collingwood, Macaudrew, and Wharfedale : Township of the requirements of the! , Health Department; also that the board would receive a deputation in regard to same. Tho board decided to call for tenders for the formation of a new road between Bacon’s property and the school reserve at Broad Bay. The monthly report of road work done during tho month showed that in Broad Bay subdivision 42yds of metal had been put on High road, and metal broken over at Coney terrace. More stone was needed to finish repairing to culvert and stonewalling near the hall.—Report approved. The matter of forming the Peninsula into a comity was referred to by several members, tho board having at a previous meeting decided to take a poll of the ratepayers, with a view to having a county ' formed It seemed that one of the ! reasons for forming a county was that the ! Beach road might be declared a main highway, and be maintained by tho Highways Board. Members wore not unanimous as to the advantage of having the Highways Board operating in any district. It was stated that the Portobello Road Board had to keep up a road largely used by motors, yet tho motor taxes were ■used by tho Highways Board for the up- : keep of roads in other districts. One member said he had been assured that j tho Highways Board could take every | halfpenny collected on rates by a public j body to maintain one road out of all the roads to be kept up by such a public | body. If the Highways Board deerfled to i j spend, say, £IOO or £I,OOO on any par- | I ticnlar road, the controlling local body had to pay one-third of such amount, . oven if that meant all the rates collected that year. ‘‘ Better have nothing to do ' wpth the Highways Board,” (said one member, who pointed out that the City Council was at present contributing 40 per cent, 'of the upkeep of the,Beach road. He gave notice to move at next i meeting that the resolution to f orm a county be rescinded. The chairman mentioned that there were forty-six and a-half miles of road in the Portobello Road Board district.