PATEA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 13 June 1928, Page 8

PATEA COUNTY COUNCIL.

■ANNUiAIi AND' MONTHLY MEETINGS. The annual and monthly meetings oi the Patea Cbunty Council were held at Pa tea yesterday, tlie members present being Crs. J. Gibbs (chairman), W. H. Watkins, C. Johnston, W. Back, 111. S. Scown, J. Taylor, W. G. Belton, G. Alexander a lid D. Sutherland. The county' engineer, Mir G. AY. King, reported as follows : —- Alain Road and General. —All the work at Kakaramea has been finished up for this season and the roller and party have been attending to the metalled section of the Manutahi gorge. The shoulders of the road between, the Manawapou bridge and ManutaJii have been atended to. and the Alain Hoad is now in good condition at that end. The rough sides on the \Y henuakura hill oh the Waverley side have been attended to and widened. It is proposed to get metal at Aloumahaki and Wavenley tor attending to the sides of the main road where required. Otoia YY'est. Sitrengtliening too metal on the length of tile Ball highway between the main road and the raiiiiwey hfis jbeen proceeded with us metal arrived. The contractor for the earthworks on the Pukerata creek improvement has made a good start with the work. Aletal has been patched on the lower Taumaha Hoad. Metal lias been carted onto Wills Road and the culvert at Barclay’s has been put in. Otoia East.—GeneraL surfacework lias been attended to and extra work has been done 'on. various roads in the Lower portion of this district. It will be necessary' to proceed with tiio necessary' alterations to the freezing works road, necessitated by the new railway siding to the works. Waverley Riding.—Aletal has been carted onto 1 the Kanahake, Wybourne’s and Aliss Watt’s roads. Lupins on the beach roads below the racecourse have been cut down and metal is. now coining to hand at Waverley fo.r Stewart s and other roads.

Aloiunabaki Riding. Aletal on Syme’s Road is nearly complete and Aiken’s Road will be metalled at a veryearly date. Metalling is nearly finished on the Waitotara Beach R-oad and culverts required on this road have come to l band and are being put in. The new culvert on the Valley Road near the bottom of Dickie hill lias been put in. The State Farm Road is being lightly' scarified with the motor grader where required and further metal added. Aletal is coming to hand for repair work on the Block VIII. and A alley Road iand also for metalling on the latter road.

Kapara Riiding. —The TawJiiti bridge, reported a.s being complete at last, meeting, has passed the Public Works Department. Aletal ling on the Lower Waitotara Valley Road under the £2 for £1 grant has been proceeding well, over 420 yards having been carted out. A new culvert far the Upper Waitotara Valley Road to go in above Kaimanuka liais been carted and will be put in place at an early date. The report was adopted. The members of the council were invited by the Alayor to attend the civic L function to be tendered toi his Excellency the Governor-General and party at Patea on June 16. The invitation was accepted. CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence was received from the Bank of New Zealand advising the sanction of the continuance of the limit of £15,000 overdraft for the county fund .account. A circular letter was received referring to regulation 16 of the Motor Vehicles Act, in regard to the erection of signposts, etc. It was resolved that the matter be placed in the hands of the engineer to report to the council at the next meeting. A letter was received from the Public Works Department in. connection with the road work to Messrs Ross Bros, property. The secretary was instructed to advise the department that the council was awaiting plans of the new road. Annabell Bros, wrote asking the council to assist in giving a legal access to their property by means of a new road, ft was decided, as there was no money, available for such work at the present time, thlat no action be taken. A letter was received from the secretary of the South Taranaki Automobile Association thanking the council for its assistance in clearing the Manawapou bridge. A letter was received from the Patea Freezing Company relative to stock wandering on the road near Portland Quay. It wag pointed out. that wandering .stack were a danger to traffic at night. It was decided to instruct the engineer to employ a ranger with a view to clearing the roads and prosecuting owners of wandering cattle when necessary. GENERAL.

Mr Follett was granted an increase from 4,s to 6s per yard for carting me tail on the Lower AVaitotara Valley Hoad. The Patea Borough Council wrote stating that it had extended the elecbrio light lines from the Ivakiaramea dairy factory to the Ivakaramea township. The work was approved, hut it was requested that the thorough: Council be instructed to obtain permission from the County Council before proceeding with further work of the kind outside its boundary. ft was decided to tar-seal the road between Allton gorge and Ball Road railway station. Slaughtering licenses ■were granted to the Patea Freezing Company, Higginbotham Bros, and S. Barclay. The engineer was instructed to> complete the metalling of the Karihake Hoad, the work to he carried out as soon as possible. It was decided to notify ratepayers in the Moumahaki, Waverley, and Otoia (Hidings that a Id in the £ rate A oil Id be struck, and 2d in the £ in the Kapara Riding for this year. _ WIDER ROAD WANTED AT MAKAKAfIO; Mr D l . O. AValdie, of Makakaho, Upper Waitotara, wrote asking that the road from A. Chesswas"' track to hi« house be widened to dray width, lie asked that the council apply for £l5O of the £50,000 vote for back-blocks roads for this purpose, Mr H. G. Dickie, M.P., having promised to do his best to assist the council in obtaining the grant. He and his son were prepared to l do the work, having waited fori years to get ffais part of the road widen-, ed to dray width. j The engineer. informed the conned that the road had been widened on two or (three occasions. The. letter was received. Various accounts were passed for payment. DEPUTATIONS. I Messrs Barrow and .T. Lu.pton waited on the council as a deputation representing the Motoroa district in respect to the Gorge Road, ■\yLicii was in a* bad condition. It was pointed out to the council by the deputation that several particular portions required metalling. The settlers on this road were prepared to have a separate rate levied op them for this purpose, if the

oouncil would subsidise them £ for ~ for the money thus collected. The chairman gave the deputation a sympathetic hearing, stating that the settlers of the district were entitled to every consideration of the council. It tvas resoWed to accede to the request of the settlers of flic Motoroa Gorge Road, ami strike a rate oi Id in the £ for tivo years, such money to ho used for the repairs and maintenance of the Gorge Road. Air Gregor McGregor ivaited on the council, asking for the council’s attention to the McGregor Road. The speaker stated the settlers in this vicinity Avere complaining that nothing had been done. The road Ayas covered with sand and clay, and Avas rough. The last mile of the road was (according to the speaker) in a shocking state. “The settlers were not asking for any undue consideration; all that Avals wanted was that the road be kept in repair,” he said. Considerable discussion ensued As to ways and means of acceeding to the Avisihes of the residents of McGregor Road. It was decided to leave the mater of repairs in the hands of the engineer and to report at the next meeting.