EGMONT COUNTY AFFAIRS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 13 May 1925, Page 3

EGMONT COUNTY AFFAIRS.

COUNCIL MEETING. THE MONTH’S OPERATIONS. The Egmont County Council met at Opunake yesterday. There -were present : Councillors IV. C. Green (chairman), J. A. Pettigrew, T. H. H. Sinclair, E. A. Collins, G. Gibson, •). S. Tosland, J. Hickey, junr., and J. Young. Cr. H. Donald was granted leave of absence. ENGINEER’S REPORT. The engineer, Mr E. M. Corkill, reported, inter alia, as follows: Main Road Construction. —The metalling of the Oaomii bridge, Arawhata read section, was completed on Saturday last. May 9, but owing to the lateness of the season and the coldness and dampness of the weather, there have been serious delays in the spraying. The position of tiie road at 9th May was as under: Completed road, 04 chains; grouting course completed, hut not sealed, 10Of chains; metalled, but not- grouted, Off- chains; total length Oaomii bridge to Opua road', 180 chains, or 21 miles. I hope that the grouting will lie completed m the course of a few days, and that the sealing coat- throughout will bo finished before asphalting operations have to be closed down for the season. There have been delays in connection with the crusher plant. The result has been a total output of 692 cubic yards of 2-inch metal, or an average of 30 cubic yards per working day. Electrical.—The new transformer has arrived, and will be installed next week-end. The switchboard lias been re-wired for the bigger motor. As instructed. I have interviewed the chairman and the engineer to the Power Board as to the payment of the cost of this alteration, but they maintain that the work is part of the council’s installation, a point of view with which I agree. Bins and screens will be required at once for the Ngariki road crusher. Work is now being ist’-artecl from the Oacriti bridge, working southward. The work is now being watersealed, and will be tar or bitumensealed next summer.

New Road.—At the -request of the engineer of the Public Works Department, I have inspected with him the Wataroa and the Parihaka roads. The Watnroa road consists of two sections of road, which have been formed and pit-metalled. Between the two sections is a piece of about half a mile, which has not been metalled, as it is considered it was not necessary, as the traffic is able to spread over a considerable area of flat ground. There is a 63-foot hardwood truss bridge over the Kapoaiaia stream near the end of this road. The Parihaka road has been pit-metalled .for 60 chains past Parihaka Pn, and formed.as an earth road for two miles further. This road is well graded and culverted, but has already been a little cut up by firewood carting. Both roads are good for their chess, and I recommend their being taken over when the ford at Parihaka Pa is completed, .a work which is now in hand.

A rawhatn Road (Upper).-—Specifica-tions -for the work ordered at last meeting to be done above the Wiremu road have been sent to the Public Works Department, but there is no grant for this work, as was stated. 1 suggest that a transfer be asked for from the grant on the estimates for tiie Wiremu road (#Yrawhuta to- Ngaraki, £SO). General. —The works asked for by Mr Hopkins on the Tipoka road;' Mr Field oil tile Upper Kahili road, and Mr O’Neill on the Upper Oeo road have all been included in the riding estimates. The financial authority for the Manganui culvert (Kini road) has been received and the materials are on order. The work will not take long when the culvert pipes come to hand. Tiie report was adopted. OVERSEE’S RESIGNATION.

Mr. L. J. Karroo (couiity overseer) forwarded his resignation and asked to he reinstated in his position as foreman on the Oeo southern riding.

It was decided to accept the resignation and make the reinstatement requested, and on the motion of Or. Tosland it was decided to hand Mr. Harrop a. letter of appreciation i,n connection with the services he had rendered as overseer. TAUNGATAEA BRIDGE. The bridge foreman (Mr. E J. T. Dillon) reported, inter alia, as follows: All the work done lias been in connection with the erection of the Taungatara bridge, with the exception of the making of a couple of barricades, templates and boning rods for road work. The piles in the centre of the stream at Taungatara have all been driven, and arches placed in position, trued up and wedged. The concrete has been brought no to the spring of the arch, and all the lower network of reinforcement placed in position. The men are now busy on the upper rows of the reinforcement and connecting rods, and should the balance of the reinforcing rods come to hand in a day or so, a start will be made to put the concrete of the arch in place. I hope to have the bridge well forward before the end of'the month.

The report was adopted. HALLWAY BRIDGE. The engineer tabled copies of a telegram and letter he had forwarded to the chief engineer of the Public Works Department with reference to the site for the overhead bridge to carry the Opunake-Eltlnim main highway over the railway near the junction of that road and the Main South Hoad. The letter pointed out that the excavations being made for foundations were not being made cm the original road line, and the proposed location would result in bad approaches and necessitate the resumption of land and avoidable deviation of the straight main highway, and the council was of the opinion that the bridge should be replaced on the original road line. The engineer verbaly reported that no reply had been received from the Public Works Department, but in conversation he had been informed by the district engineer (Mr. Ball} that the site had been fixed, as it would permit shorter bridge to meet the case, and thus prove more economical than one constructed on the original road line. The Department estimated that the deviation would entail curves ot. three chains in length, which it considered would not greatly inconvenience traffic. The chairman took strong objection to the site, which for the sake of an original saving'of £I.OO would necessitate bends on the road which would prove’ costly to the council to maintain. The Department was requiring the council in this instance to make deviations worse than those which the council oroposed to straighten in other places. ... i On the motion of Civs. Sinclair ami Hickey it was decided to forward a protest against the deviation of the road to the Minister, the member lor the electorate, and the district engineer, and the chairman was also authorised, to interview the Minister if necessary.

- AUB.OA ROAD. The Eltham County Council forwarded an account of expenditure on the

Alima. Road lor the year ended ( March 31, 1925, showing the Egmontcountv’s share of expenditure to be- £451 7s 6d. The chairman said lie could not see how the council was to arrange for the amount. With Taranaki on one side of the county and Eltham on the other, boundary roads were a big drain on revenue, Cr. Tosland favoured application for a new commission, as ratepayers on the Eltham side of the road were paying twice the amount of rates paid hv” those on the Egmont side. Apparently Eltham were putting down and tar-sealing a new road. He moved that the engineer inspect the road, and if there were much more work to be done a new commission, be asked for. Cr. Collins seconded the motion, which was carried. POWER BOARD ACCOUNT. With reference to. the Opunake Power Board's account for £27 Os. lOd for the supply of power to the crusher, which the council had requested should be reconsidered, a report- was received from Messrs Templin and Toogood, consulting engineers to the board, the conclusion being, after taking all circumstances into consideration, that the council had been fairly treated by the hoard.

Referring to a clause in the report in which it was stated that the trouble was due to undersized motor and transformer, the chairman said that though the motor had been ordered by the council the Power Board had ordered the transformer and should shoulder the responsibility in that connection. Cr Gibson agreed, and. moved that the consulting engineers be asked to reconsider the paragraph mentioned by the chairman. The . chairman seconded. Cr Tosland stressed certain difficulties which would confront- the council if it refused to a event liability, and as an amendment moved that the account be paid under protest. The amendment lapsed. Cr Collins suggested that payment be deferred until a fuller understanding concerning the transformer and the whole matter was reached. Cr Gibson’s motion was carried, and Cr Collins’ suggestion was also adopted, it being further decided to make clear to- the. hoard that when the new transformer was installed the one which had been in use would be taken over hv the board at cost price and the council to be allowed the amount when paying for the new transformer. SETTLERS’ REQUESTS.

A. W. Wan and S. H. King wrote drawing attention to difficulties in gaining access to their farms owing tn the unsatisfactory condition of the f&d at the Waiaua river, Wiremn road, and asked that a traffic bridge, or as an alternative a swing bridge, be constructed. It- was also requested that the road between the Ihaia road and the ford he metalled. Cr Tosland said the ford would never prove satisfactory, and thought serious consideration must be given to the erection of a suitable bridge, which was necessary, particularly to ensure the safety of children going to and from school. The chairman intimated that in the course of previous representations, concerning the matter the Public Works Department had replied that sanction coulcl not lie given to the erection of a permanent structure costing approximately '£3ooo for the convenience of one or two settlers when other works of importance to much greater numbers required to be done. He suggested, however, that a lighter bridge which would serve immediate purposes might be arranged for. After further discussion it was decided to instruct the engineer to render a report on the matter, with a view to the erection of a light bridge. Messrs R. Bayliss and S. M. Coombes waited on the council to request that replacement of a broken culvert on the Kina road immediately. Mr Bayliss explained it was some eight months since the culvert had been washed away, and great difficulty was being experienced in transport matters.

In reply, the chairman said that the council had made every effort to get the work done. Estimates forwarded to the Public Works Department had received the engineer’s approval, and the urgency of the work had been stressed. The materials had been ordered, and lie understood that as soon ns they arrived the replacement would lie completed within, a few days. Mr Harnott waited on the council to request that the lower part of the Paora road be formed, and as the result of his representations the engineer was instructed to report on the work, which: it was intimated would be done if possible. GENERAL. Mr T. M. Ball, district engineer. Public Works Department, .forwarded set of approved proposals submitted by the council in respect to the reconstruction of nine and a quarter miles of the Lepperton Junction-Ha-\veru main highways at an estimated cost of £19,675, and five miles of the Eltham-Opunake highway at a cost- of £9IOO. A statement, was received from the Public Trust Department showing the position of the county sinking fund concerning various loans. Details were as follows (sinking fund amounts being shown in parentheses): Machinery loan of £IOOO (£l6B 13s Id); hospital contribution loan of £2OOO (£256 11s 2d).; hospital contribution loan of £1525 (£l7l 3s 8d). . 1 A letter was received from the Opunake Town Board, asking whether the council would undertake the construction of the South road through the town by contract for the board.—The chairman regretted that the council could not entertain the proposal while the council’s own. work, much of which had to he let by contract, was 1 not completed, and it was decided to reply accordingly. The following tenders were accepted: No. 488, formation, Kawcorn road, AY. Ldckley, £300; No. 489, Hone wall, etc., at county house, J. Fake £42. garage. W. E. Gunson £lO3.