ELTHAM COUNTY COUNCIL

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXII, Issue LXII, 10 June 1912, Page 3

ELTHAM COUNTY COUNCIL

Tho monthly meeting of the above Council was held on Saturday, when there were present—Crs. J. Quin (chairman), Swadling, McGuinness, Pease, Phillips, Best, O'Neill, and Belcher.

INWARD CORRESPONDENCE. From the Mangatoki Co-operative Dairy Company, asking permission to put a 9-inch covered pipe from the Mangatoki River to past the company's office along the edge of the Eltham Road. —Granted.

From Mr Forbes, Eltham toll gatekeeper, applying for an increase of salary. The chairman and councillors paid a compliment to Mr Forbes's carefulness and reliability rind increased his salary by 10s per week.

From H. Robinson, Rawhitiroa, asking the Council to erect a new house as the one he was living in was in a delapidated state. —Application not entertained.

From the Stratford County Council protesting against the decision of the Government in limiting the amount to be advanced by the State Guarantees Advances Department to local bodies to £5000 in any one year; contending that such restriction was against the development of the county and asking the Eltham County Council's endorsement of such protest. The chairman mentioned that whilst in Wellington several delegates attending the conference waited on the Hon. Mr Myers in reference to this matter, and he gave it as his decided opinion that the Government's decision would not be varied and that in cases of Councils which had not borrowed up to £5000 they would receive priority over the Councils which had borrowed up to the limit.

From Ernest Dive, Eltham, asking the Council to do part of the road fence repairs bounding his property and stating that the Council's surfacemen had filled certain of the slips from above the road on to his property. —Left with the engineer to deal with. From the Wanganui Education Board stating that on September 22. 1910. the Eltham County Council was advised that the Board would accept compensation at the Government valuation for the land taken in connection with the R^+o-kare-Campbell road deviation. The Board had not the valuation, but the Council probably had, and asking ir they would look the valuation up an' 7 send the Board a cheoue. —Resolved that the request be complied with. ENGINEER'S ESTIMATES. The following estimates for 1912-13 were submitted by the engineer:— South Road: Boylan road, 150 yds metal at 10s, £75; Dalziell road, 1400 yds metal, at 10s, £700; Mangawhero road, 550 yds metal, at 11s, £302 10s; Campbell road, 700 yds metal, at 12s, £420; Mountain road, 80yds metal, at 10s, £40; Skeet road, 200 yds metal, at 10s, 1 £100; concrete culvert, £120; wages, £357; total, £2107 10s. Mangatoki Riding: Duthie road, 500 yds metal, at Bs, £200; Eltham road, tarring and sanding, £600; wages, £300; total, £1100. ! Eltham Riding: Rawhitiroa road, 600 yds shellrock, at 10s, £300; Rawhitiroa road, 3400 yds metal, at 14s, £2380; Mangawhero road, 1300 yds metal, at 12s, £780; Haroi road, 50yds metal at 12s £25; Hu road, 400 yds metal at 15s, £300; wages, £350; total, £4135. Kaponga Riding: Eltham road, tarring and sanding, £450; wages, £250; total, £700. Omona Riding: Wages, £450. On the motion of the chairman, it was decided to defer consideration until riding members had had an opportunity of studying the estimates, examining' roads, etc. SPECIAL LO^TRANSFERS. The old ques£ion#ts again introduced and Mr Tristram detailed a conference he had had with Mr Stringer, of the Hawera County Council. After a short discussion, the matter dropped, it being tacitly understood that as the position now was nothing tangible could be done. KAPONGA TOWN BOARD. The suggested basis of agreement between the Kaponga Town Board and the Eltham County Council was gone through. Whilst substantially correct, the chairman pointed out that there were one or two points that required to b« more clearly defined, and he suggested that the old committee.—the chairman and Crs. Phillips, Pease, and O'Neill —again meet the Town Board and finally settle any points at issue.— The suggestion Avas adopted. LOCAL BODIES CONFERENCE. As a delegate at the recent local bodies' conference in Wellington the chairman reported to the Council that the full report of the proceedings was 'being printed, and when completed would be circulated amongst members of local bodies. Until members had those copies and had studied them, it was useless in discussing the matters in question. He would first mention that as the outcome of the conference it was clear that the number of county councils —now 120 —would be very considerably reduced, and that the areas of the remaining councils would be greatly increased. For instance, it was almost certain that the Egmont and Waimate Councils would be absorbed in a new county embracing the county lying Avest of- the Wellington-New Plymouth railway line, with a southern boundary running through Princes street, Hawera, to the sea. The north- ■ crn boundaries of the new county would probably be some road running up from Stratford to the mountain reserve (wherever the traffic leads to Stratford), and on the other side of the mountain on some dividing line to be decided by the tendency of the traffic to gravitate to New Plymouth, or to Opunake— probably somewhere near Rahotu. The whole of this area would be one* county, and all the local bodies within that area

would be merged into the county, with the execptions of town boards of over 500 population, which would be formed into boroughs. For such a county it would be necessary to have a central depot—probably in the vicinity of Kapuni, where from 20 to 40 acres would .be required for the erection of sheds for plant and machinery, residences for foremen, and probably Council offices. A glance at such a county area would show that no toll-gates would be necessary, nor would any county have to pay subsidies to another county. The" first ' charge on revenue would be for the maintenance of arterial roads, administration and hospital and charitable aid board rates, and special rates would be for by-roads, '["he county should be cut into ridings, with equal representation as nearly as possible. The chairman want on to pay a tribute to the tactfulness of the chairman of the conference. No other man' in the dominion could have handled the 62 delegates as he did, and the work they got through was remarkable. Although at least 50 of the delegates were hostile to the Government, politics were not introduced in any shape or form, and the 62 delegates approached their work in a thoroughly business-like manner, and in a manner which -would have done credit to any Parliament. NEW OFFICES.

The clerk l-eported that he had secured new offices next to Carman's. From a question put, it was mentioned that the Council paid £40. a year rent for the clerk, and £28 a year for the engineer, c Cr. Belcher incidentally remarked that that sum capitalised at

£1,100, and hut for the uncertainty of the existence of the present council it might have been worth while considering erecting ' the Council's own offices. The chairman said that they could not entertain any such idea pending the passing of the new Local Government Bil. ' . ' TENDERS. The following tenders were accepted: Contract No. 149, T. and R. Parkin, 6s 7d; contract 148 (crushed and screened river boulder), H. A. Julian, lls 3d. ENGINEER'S REPORT. The engineer reported as follows: — Kaponga Riding Loan, Manaia road. —A total distance of 83 chains has been sheeted, blinded, and rolled, leaving a distance of about 17 chains to be completed. Mangatoki Riding Loan, Eltham road —Work on this contract would have been completed this month had the weather permitted. About six days' carting still remains to be done on the Waingongoro Hill, to complete the new metal Lo the bridge. Omona No. 2 Loan (£ for £), Rawhitiroa road.—This road will be completed in two or three days. General.—The continued wet weather during the past month has necessitated constant patching on all old roads, in order to keep them open for traffic. The concrete culvert on the Skeet road is completed. The report was adopted, and the Council adjourned.