HAWERA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1839, 27 January 1888, Page 2

HAWERA COUNTY COUNCIL.

A special meeting: of the council was held on Thursday. Present — Councillors Winks, Foray t'n, Malone, Godsal, Godkin, Lysaght, Heslop, and Bayly (chairman).

TENDERS,

The Chairman said the first business would he to open tenders for metalling Main South Road.

Councillor Winks proposed that no tenders be opened until the question had been put before the ratepayers whether they would sanction a loan or not. He did not believe in incurring heavy liability involving heavy rates without the sanction of the ratepayers. He did not think that the ratepayers generally favored the proposal or would support the council in piling the rates on to the ratepayers. He moved that tenders be not opened until a canvass of the ratepayers had been made on the subject.

Councillor Lysaght would second the proposal simply to enable discussion.

The Chairman repeated the explanation previously given. He said it was simply a question of a road or no road. Their engineer had reported that the Main South road would break through that winter unless it were tackled. The ratepayers had had ample time to protest against the proposal, but they had not protested. Meetings had been called to enable the ratepayers to state their views, but hardly aDy ratepayers had attended. Those few who did attend had favored the loan proposed. The responsibility now rested on the council, and the duty must be faced by the council. It was the council's duty to keep the county roads in good repair, and they must not flinch from it.

Councillor Winks said the reason he had for mentioning the matter was because he understood there was a petition to be consulted before calling tenders for the work. This had not been done. The work was not urgent. The riding had already incurred considerable expense in re-metalling the Waingongoro hill. The rest of the road could be left another year, if repaired. He thought the road could stand all the traffic which would come on it next winter. If the road could be patched up with the stone now lying alongside of it, why put on burthensome rates before they were required? The settlers did not use the road through the winter. It was only for a few carters and storekeepers that the work was. needed. The settlers sent wool and grain away during summer and autumn. The council was only there as stewards of the ratepayers' money; they should first be

heard before heavy debts were incurred on their behalf. Let a petition be taken round first, before going to a poll; that should not take much more than a fortnight, and there was surely time for tbat. Councillor Lysaght was perhaps as much opposed to excessive rating as any one. He regarded the re-metalling with broken metal of the Main South road to Manaia as the most economical course to pursue. It would be far more costly to allow the road to break up. Councillor Malone would be prepared to wait a fortnight to ascertain the opinion of the ratepayers, if that were desired. But would point out that it was not the storekeepers and carters who would suffer but the settlers who would have to be charged extra freight on the goods if the road got bad.

Councillor Parsons thought if it were to be done out of loan he would favor remetalling the whole. If it were to be done out of rates, then he wouldjike the worst parts to be metalled first.

Councillor Godsal asked if the foreman might state his opinion.

Leave was given and the foreman thought that this side of the Waihi the road might carry the traffic with a little attention and repairs. But he was satisfied that the part opposite Livingston's was worn out, though it might be patched up to carry the traffic through the winter at no great cost; but it would be false economy to do so, in his opinion. The remetalling was the cheapest course in the long run, he had no doubt.

Councillor Heslop was satisfied that the loan could not be passed so long as the votes of absentees counted against the proposal. Normanby town absentees would kill the proposal. The Chairman thought if the Normanby Town District were cut out there would be little or no difficulty in getting the loan passed. He would move that the Council go into committee to open tenders. Councillor Parsons seconded.

The Chairman in support of his motion said he believed there were no men down here who understood quarrying, and he feared that local tenderers might put in at a pricejwhich would preclude the council from accepting tenders. There were some five or 6 quarrymen still left at New Plymouth, who were fully capable and experienced, and it would not be fair to hold the tenders over.

Councillor Heslop thought it would be an injustice to the unsuccessful tenderers to hold over the tenders unopened. He would also favor arrangements being made with the successful tenderers to undertake either the whole or only part of the work, according as the loan was carried or not. The amendment was cartied. COMMITTEE. The council then ment into committee and dealt with the tenders. On resuming the council reported tenders had been opened and dealt with as follows :— Contract No. 2 — Winning and crushing stone at quarry, &c. No 3, carting stone, Cameron, No 2 and 3, jointly, 4s 4d per cub yard, (declined.) Dingle and Tapp, No 3, Is 4d per cub yard, carting (accepted.) Mulree and Kennedy, No 2, 2s 10s per cub yard (ccepted.) Tippon and Co., No 3, 33 (declined.) Mulree and Kennedy, No 3, 2s. Murphy, No 3, Is 8d (declined") After the dinner adjournment, the Chairman reported that he bad seen Mulree and Kennedy, who were willing to go on with the contract for 2000 yds. Messrs Dingle and Tapp were willing to cart the metal the lesser distance for Is 3d per cubic yard. The offers were accepted. The committee further reported, and the council confirmed the proposals as follows : — Tbat the chairman try and arrange with the lowest tenderer in each case to metal to the Waibi Stream, and, upon satisfactory arrangements being made, the chairman to have power to accept the same; Tbat the chairman also instruct the contractor to put on six inches of metal on the Main South Road in place of five inches, as first proposed ; That the chairman proceed to Wellington to interview Ministers in respect to certain matters of interest to the county. REPORT ON DEFERRED PAYMENT MONEYS. The following report was handed in and read : — The committee of the council appointed to look into the matter of the expenditure on county roads by the Road Boards, and particularly by the Waimate Road Board, have to report that the Waimate Road Board have not made good their claim for the amount demanded from the County Council, viz., .£492, as a debt due by county roads On the motion of Councillor Godsal, seconded by Councillor Parsons, the report was adopted. DEFERRED PAYMENT THIRDS. Councillor Godsal moved, That the Waimate Road Board be asked to refund to the County Council deferred payment thirds accruing from section 2, Block VI., Waimate, and from town sections in Manaia paid to the Waimate Road Board in error. SCHEDULE OF WORKS ON COUNTY ROADS. A schedule of works, to be drawn out of dums accruing from deferred payment sections in Waimate riding, was passed, on the motion of Councillor Godsal, seconded by Councillor Parsons. The following sums were alloted :—: — Waimate Riding. — Opunake road, £76 Id; Main South road, £238 16s Id; El t bam road, £148 5a 4d ; Auroa road, £94 5s lOd ; Manaia road, .277 15s 5d ; Normanby road, £25 93 Bd. Hawera Riding. — Mountain road, £42 10a lOd; Boy Jan road, £12 15s lid; Opunake road, _20 15s 4d. The Chairman having temporarily retired, Councillor Heslop was voted to the chair. It was resolved that the Commissioner of Crown Lands be written to, asking him to furnish a statement showing the amount of deferred payment money which has accrued to each section on county roads in all statements supplied by the department. RATES OVEDUE. Instructions were given to the clerk to sue for all county rates unpaid on February 14. ' AUROA ROAD. It was resolved to give public notice of the proposal to raise a loan for Auroa road. (Godsal— Parsons.) NGAIRE SWAMP. Councillor Godkin moved, That in the opininion of this Council it is not desirable in the interests of settlement, that the Ngaire Swamp should be disposed of by the Government in areas exceeding 640 acre's in one block. Councillor Heslop seconded. Councillor Godkin would prefer to see the swamps in the hands of small settlers. It was near the railway, both at . Eltbam and at Ngaire: it was not as if the land was away back, far removed from road or railway. Councillor Lysaght feared it would not pay settlers to attempt to drain the swamp in small areas. The motion was carried. The council adjourned at 5 p.m.