COUNTY ADMINISTRATION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 11 August 1928, Page 9

COUNTY ADMINISTRATION.

MEETING OF HAWERA COUNCIL.

THE MONTH’S WORK. Members of the Hawera County Council present at the monthly meeting to-day were Crs. J. B. Murdoch v chair), T. A. Minks, J. Rotherv, G. \V. 'Williams, A. G. Larcom, B. C. LyI saglit E. A Washer and T. Walsh. ’ ENGINEER’S REPORT. The engineer reported as under:— The scarifying in Wliakamara is going on satisfactorily. From the top of Scott’s Hill for a distance of a mile the work' has been oompleted. The scarifying of the Ingahape Road from the hall in a southerly direction to the end of the metal is now in hand and should be finished next week. When this is done it is proposed to scarify the metal from the hall in a northerly direction for about a mile and a half. The Manawapou Road has been scarified from Dive’s Avenue to Mr ho .ertson’s property, a distance of about two and a half miles and is now in readiness to be sealed this season. The Main South Road on the Tongahoe Hill, has been widened for five chains making it very much safer for traffic. As it was very narrow and a deep water table was on one side, this was very necessary work. The Beach hoad from the Manawapou Road to the abbatoins has been metalled, stones knapped, blinded and rolled. Good progress is being made with the building of the Patea swing bridge; there is about one hundred feet in position at the present time. The fence on the Tongahoe Hill that was to be reported on is in a bad condition and the gome is growing right up to the road, making the visibility bad in places. The principal work to be done this season is on the following roads:—Otoki, Mells and Ingahape, scarified and sealed, 2i miles; Manawapou, Meremere, upper end, one mile metalling, one mile grouting. Meremere, sealing five miles; Tawhiti and Ohangai, widening and sealing, o miles; Hawera-Kete-marae Road, metalling and grouting, two miles; Ohawe Road, metalling and grouting, one mild; Normanby Road, metalling one mile, two' miles metalling, flanks, three miles; Ketemarae Road, Austin and Boylan Roads, metalling Hanks one and a-half miles; Tempsky Road, metalling one mile; Makino l?oad, metalling; More a- Road, metalling Whareroa Road, sealing three miles. RANGER’S REPORT. The County ranger . reported some owners of land with boxthorn hedges who did not keep them well cut and which also were a danger to stock when cut because clippings were not raked together. Notices to cut were given to several owners.

He had impounded 38 head of cattle, and eleven horses. He reported a ase of a cow turned out suffering from disease of the udder and said he proposed to prosecute if such a caifee reeured. The chairman said that in such cases a prosecution should be instituted at once. GENERAL. The Taranaki Local Bodies Association advised that the next quarterly meeting would be on 'Wednesday, August 29. The town clerk advised that the amended offer of the Council for damage on aWihi Road had been accepted and the work was now under way.

The secretary of the South Taranaki Automobile Association wrote to say that" the sharp turn at the Tongahoe ridge going south caused motor vehicles to skid dangerously. He asked that the bridge surface he tarred. He added however that Mr Muggeridge would find a remedy, and do what was required. A Gazette notice was received that parts of Turuturu, Austin and Fraser .roads had been declared additional highways. GENERAL.

Refering to the question of Main Highways Hoard operations, the clerk paid ai tribute to the expedition with which the work was carried through. He quoted a case where lie sent in a requisition on July 26, the inspector came to report on August 3 and the claim was paid to the Council on August 7. He added that there had been some difficulty at the beginning but there was no trouble now. COUNTY CLERKS CONFERENCE Advice was received of a conference to be held in Wellington on September 26 or all county clerks in the Dominion and the hope was expressed that the county clerk would be able to attend. The chairman said the matter had een brought up at the Counties Conference and approved. There were, he said, matters of administration in which discussion would be useful, and The county clerks could help one another.

Mr. Winks said that a conference would be all right, but there was just the danger of the formation of another union. He noticed that in a discussion iv another county, the question was asked “If there would be any strikes.” The clerk said the idea, of the association appealed to him and he was strongly of opinion that good would result. He instanced a meeting and discussion he had had with a southern county clerk and said that Main Highways Public Works grants and new regulations under Motor Vehicles Act were subject on which good could be secured by a conference. Anything in the nature of a union would not be countenanced by him. The chairman said there was apparently a move to insist that all county clerks must be qualified accountants mid this might interfere with officers who had been in such positions for a long time. He did not think this would be a good tiling. Or. Winks said the idea of the Counties' Conference was to have the other conference at the same time as their own and so be able to keep control. Permission was granted to the clerk 'Mr Harding) to attend the conference.