WAITAKI COUNTY COUNCIL

Evening Star, Issue 22817, 27 November 1937, Page 13

WAITAKI COUNTY COUNCIL

MONTHLY MEETING The monthly meeting of the Waltahi County Council was' held yesterday. There were present the chairman (Mr J. Hodman), Crs J. S. Adams, D. J. Ross, S. Taylor, J. D. Rutherford, E. S. Brewster,, R. B. Meek, D. Rodger, and W. E. Aubrey. The State Advances Corporation advised that the.,., corporation was nob ate present prepared ‘to make a definite offer in respect of the water'supply loan, but the matter would be reviewed in a few weeks’ time.—Received. GENERAL. Treasury notes were received as followGoldfields revenue, £ls 7s 6d; hypothecated “ thirds,” £l6 Is 6d; land fund “ thirds,” £1 8s Id. Disappointment that the bridge over the upper crossing of the Otekaiko River was not to be proceeded with was expressed by' Messrs M'Kinnon, M‘Donald. Daniel!, and Mrs J. Munro in a letter to the council. They requested the council to meet tho ratepayers on the spot to discuss tho possibility of a less costly structure.—lt was decided to call fresh tenders before the March meeting. • , Several ratepayers and others forwarded a petition drawing, attention to the state of the highway from South. Oainaru to the beach, and' asking that the. road be put in order and. tar-aealed. —The Chairman 'pointed out that the council had in prospect the tar-sealing of the Pukeuri-Kurow highway, and could not accede to the request.—The engineer was authorised to inspect the road, and, if necessary, improve it with gravel. The councils assistance was sought by 10 county storekeepers drawing attention to the growing number of unlicensed hawkers and to the fact that their activities continued on the statutory half-holiday when stores were required to bo closed.—The clerk pointed out that unlicensed hawkers could be prosecuted, and urged the petitioners to forward all the information available in order that proceedings could be taken against tho offenders. Hawkers taking round perishable goods, however, were exempt. The Highways Board’s representative advised that the highway estimates for 1937-38 totalled £5,368 for maintenance, and £10,002 for improvements.—Received.

With, reference to the requests of the joint Order of St. John, and the New Zealand Red • Cross Society,, and the Mayor of Dunedin to assist in the appeal for the Far East relief fund, the council decided to open a subscription list. ENGINEER’S REPORT.The engineer (Mr G. L. Cuthbertson) reported that the Public Works Department had just about completed the formation and gravelling of the roads in the Native reserve adjoining the Moeraki township. The survey of the road exchange in the Kakanui township for the Education Board was completed. •A small bridge was being built across the creek and the new road formed to give access to Napier street. A number of roads in the Kakanui and Incholme ridings were trimmed and improved with gravel. The contractor had nearly completed thp gravelling of the highway between Wqiareka add Westoh. The continued dry weather was hampering the consolidation of the gravel, but with the aid of the water cart and roller it was hoped to have the road ready for at least the first seal coat this summer, and if possible the second coat would be put an. The tenders for the concrete bridge on the main highway near Enfield were submitted to the Highways Board, and an effort was being made to obtain an additional vote to meet the increased cost. After repeated delays the contractor had at last made a start with the reconstruction of the five miles of the PukeuriKurow highway, and should start putting metal on the road next week. Two months had elapsed since the contract was let, and owing to the late start it was extremely doubtful whether it would he possible to put on both seal coats this summer. Under the present system of the money being made available only in the spring it was very hard to have the work completed the same

season, and the position was aggravated •by tho contractors having too much work on hand. The work of reconstruction of the road should be carried out during the winter months, to allow of sufficient consolidation by traffic, and tho sealing done in the summer. A- had corner on the Livingstone road was widened by unemployed labour. The tenders for the Otekaike bridge were referred to the Public Works Department. which stated that it was not disposed to give an additional vote, and as it ’considered the high tenders were owing to tho' large amount of work ■available at 'present, fresh tenders ’sh.duld.ibpicalled;.:at a later date. Until the loan for the Kurow water supply was completed he was unable to do anything more than the preliminary surveys which he ; had in hand. As most of the material would definitely have to be brought from England, it would be at least six months and probably longer from the date of ordering before it could be obtained, so that there was, unfortunately, no chance of having the scheme available for this summer. The Main Highways Board had now taken over the control of the Ohau-Lindis highway. Gravelling -was being carried out on the Longslip-Birchwdod road. PUKEURI-KUROW HIGHWAY. With regard to the reconstruction and sealingof the balance of this highway from Horse Gully road to Kurow, the engineer pointed out that it was very hard to give an estimate of tho cost of the work extending 'over, say, two or three years, as at present the cost of all work was going up; and appeared to be likely "to? continue to do so. However, taking the cost of the work at the moment in progress and making what appeared to be a sufficient allowance for rising prices, he thought the reconstruction and two-coat sealing could be clone for £1,500 per mile. The distance was 31 miles, making the total cost £46,500, of which the county would be required to find one-fourth, or £11,625. There was not the slightest doubt that the work could be done cheaper in fairly long lengths, and if the first year’s programme could be to the far end of Duntroon, a distance of 17 miles, the total cost would be £25,500, or £19,125 to the Highways Board and £6,375 to the county. The maintenance for a number of years would be practically nil, as the Mahono-Hcr-bert length had been down for five years and was still in good order, while the cost of maintenance had been negligible. Whether this programme was undertaken this year or not, it would ho advisable to take steps immediately to straighten the one mile and a-half from Black Point to Borton’s, so that the new; road would have time to consolidate, but tho actual formation of the new road would not bo costly. Fencing, the cost of the land, and legal expenses would have to ba paid by the county. The matter was left in the hands of the engineer and clerk to prosecute as they thought fit. Accounts totalling £2,953 0s 4d were passed for payment.