ELTHAM COUNTY COUNCIL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 15 July 1912, Page 5

ELTHAM COUNTY COUNCIL.

Bute to h ls memory. One of the most useful members of the Council andh£» community had answered the call an!" crossed the great divide, and as a ma?k of respect to his memory he move?tha adjournment of the Council for ten mm! The Council adjourned accordingly INWARD CORRESPONDENCE. Upon resuming the following inwardcorrespondence was dealt with--nWm i sitz'5 itz ' Awatuna East, comtt mfx °f the state of the Eltham road opposite his place.— The Engineer reported that a new road had been put down there and he could not undertake any further responsibility as to side-tracks.-Letter received. lu-om the Government Health Department reporting on the recent case oF diphtheria at Mangatoki and giving details of certain sanitary improvements to be made to the premises.—Resolvedl to send a copy of the report to the* owner of the premises with a request." that the Department's recommendations be given effect to From the New Plymouth Harbor Board stating that, owing to the death of Mr Swadling, there would be a vacansy on the Hawera-Eltham ward, an# that the Governor, by warrant, would make the appointment.—Resolver that Mr Jacob Marx, of Mangatoki, be recommended.

From the Wanganui Education Board asking the Council to repay the Board's, legal costs, amounting to £6, in connection with the Rotokare-Campbell road deviation.—Agreed to. From D. Malcolm, asking permission to erect a nnard fence.—Granted on theusual conditions.

From the Eltham Borough Council suggesting the postponement of the work on the Waingongoro bridge. When granting permission for the work to be undertaken the Borough Council did not appreciate the fact that it would necessitate the closing of the bridge for two months and they considered th& present an inopportune time to do so. —On the motion of Cr Phillips, seconded by Cr McGuinness, it was decided to postpone this work till some more suitable time.

APPOINTMENTS

Cr Phillips was appointed to the Hawera Hospital and Charitable Ai(t Board in succession to the late Mr Swadling. Cr Barr and the Engineer were appointed to go into the question of road grants.

ENGINEER'S REPORT

The Engineer's report, as follows, was then read: — * Kaponga Riding Loan.—Manaia Road: Metalling on the Upper Manaia road is completed and the road is now \ in' good order. On the Lower Manaia road the old metal is being scarified and the boulders broken and the road then rolled.

Mangatoki Riding Loan.—Eltham Road: The contractor has completed delivery of metal on this road, and witk the exception of small gaps at the Stuart road and the Kapuni, the roacl is finished between the Borough boundary and Palmer road. The Borough Council hare agreed to the proposal to encase * the steel nirders of the Waingongow* bridge into a re-infbreed concrete sfrue- ' ture. As the joists and decking •are sc* rotteit I have put this work in hand. The tstal cost will not exceed £130. The total amount expended on the roai to date, which includes re-decking, raifc.^. ing painting, the Mangatoki aui Kapuni bridges, the retaining walls at the Doctor's Drop, and all resrading work is in round figures £14,850 wiik a fow refunds due to the road amounting to about £75.

Omona Riding Loan, No. 2. —Rawhjfeiroa Road, £3000, £ for £: This work is »ow completed, the total cost feeing £4005 4s 9d. Towards this we have received £769 by way of Government grants (£ for £), and there is a further arrxjnnt of £165 available, which will maEs a total of £934, leaving a balance of £M6B yet to be granted. THm; should be applied for at once.

GENERAL. All work possible in the way of maiatenance has been done during the month but still the roads generally are badly broken up. The consideration of the estimates for the Eltham and South Ridings, submitted to you to-day, involve some serious problems. The first is the large' amount of money required for the work recommended;, which, on the face of things appears too large to raise hy way of rates in one year, but as the Mangatoki and Kaponga Ridings have* good credit balances, it might be possible to come to some arrangement t« borrow from them and repay the money in two or three years. As I have frequently stated in past reports, the roads in these ridings are worn out and it is for you to decide what steps shall be taken to remedy this.

The question of how the work is to be done also arises. It is evident, from tiso amount of work in hand for next seasoa in connection with the loans, that the rollers will be fully occupied till the end of March n^xP. This leaves two alternatives, either to spread the metal direct on to the road without rolling (which I do not recommend) or to heap the metal on the roadside until the rollers are available and trust to a fairautumn and winter to complete the* work. This latter course will entail the? extra expense of loading the metal and carting on to the roads, but I f the benefit of the rolling will more than compensate for this. If the work that I have provided for in the estimates is carried out, t; ■ roads so treated will stand ?or fire or fi years with very little maintenance. I strongly recommend that no reductions be made in the amount of metal as shown in the several estimates, unless it is considered advisable to raise money by loans and do work of a more substantial nature. . DEPUTATION. "•

Mr Burke waited on the Council ar?F mentioned that the recent alterations to the road on tße top of the hill at theentrance to his property had left a piece* of high narrow land not fenced, and in a really dangerous state, with a considerable drop on to the main road. He> requested that the Council should a§sist» in fencing, and asked what tenure ho could have of the two or three chains of road which he metalled, leading from the main road to his eate.-->ResolTe& to get a solicitor's opinion, on the le^nl position, and to leave the matter w* the chairman's hands with power to act. ESTIMATES..; The estimates for. the coming year were then considered seriatum. ; Omona Riding.—Dr. balance. £ 9952 2s sd. against which/there; would be a refund from loan g.dvances "of £2232 15s ; lOd. The amount* required in wages, would be £450: administration, £7t>: hospital and charitable aid,; interest &nr! general, £315.^Aer<?ed.tc> strike a txt& of If d prod ueing £778£ J&OTernment &übsidt on rates, £70. ;t ** '" - Eltham Bidin^^-Dr.. .balance, £301 i9s lOd. Estimated required. "]

o« Rawhitiroa road, 600 yards shellrock, £300; 3,400 yards metal, £2,380. Mangawhero ioad, £780; Horoi road, £25; Hu road, £300; wages, £500; administration, £160; hospital and charitable aid, interest and subsidies, £425; total, £5261 19s lOd. This was the .most serious position of any riding in the county. A rate of ltd would producd £1969 only, and the riding members were emphatically of opinion that a loan was out of the question. The engineer warned them that five miles of the Rawhitiroa road was in a serious state, and would be almost impassable by the end of October. Cr. Belcher suggested putting on 1,600 yards of metal and doing a couple of miles. After some discussion it was decided to strike j>, l£d rate for this year, and do the best they could with the money to keep th« roads oDen.

Mangatoki Riding.—Estimated expenditure: Hunter road, £750; Duthie road, £200; Eltham road, tarring and san'cftng, £600: wages, £300; administration, £263; hospital, charitable aid, and general, £400; loan interest, £1,000; toll-gate, £150; sundries, £100, and half-share boundary roads, £500. Total, £3263. Estimated receipts: Cr. Kalance, £4688 ; outstanding rates, £24; "Government subsidy, £430; toll-gate, £',1,170; general, £40.—Resolved to strike a rate of id. producing £1743.

3outh Riding.—Dr. balance. £135 ; contract outstanding (Buckland), £247; Uovian road, £75; Dalziell road, £700; Mangawhero road, £302; Campbell road, £'420; Mountain road, £40; Skeet road, ;P100; Skeet road concrete culvert, ;Ci2o; wages. £500; administration, £155; Hospital and Charitable Aid Hoard, interest, and sundries, £400; total, £2812. Estimated receipts: Outstanding rates, £87; Government subsidy, £230. The chairman said the proposed expenditure was impossible. It must be cut down, as it was only a matter of saving the roads in the meantime, and going in for a loan when the machinery was available. There were about 10 or 11 miles of unmetalled roads in the riding, and to do the work now proposed would mean a 3d rate, which people on these unmetalled roads would have to pay to keep up the main roads. It was far better just to keep the roads going in the meantime, and then, when the plant was available, to go for a loan and a comprehensive scheme. —Resolved to strike a rate of 1-J-d producing £1672.

Kaponga Riding.—Estimated receipts: Cr. balance, £718; outstanding rates, £21 Government subsidy and tfanerai, £225; Waimate West County Council subsidy, £100; toll-gate, £375; refund advances, £452; total, £1893. Estimated expenditure: Eltham road (tarring and sanding), £4^o■s wages, £300; administration. £160; subsidy Auroa road. £50; subsidy Kaponga Town District, £50; subsidy Kaponga Town District, toll, and Waimate West, £37; lio.soital and charitable aid and sundries, £350; interest, £341; total, £1738. Resolved te strike a penny rate, producing £10.58.

A CONFERENCE

Messrs Guy, Mills^Betts, Death, Melville, and Cook, representing the Kaponga Town Board, waited on the Oauncil to endeavour to bring to a conclusion the basis of the agreement between the two bodies in regard to the maintenance of the Eltham and Manaia »oads within the boundaries of the Kaponga Town District. It appears that some three years ago the Eltham County Council paid to the Kaponga Town District by way of subsidy one-half of the rates collected on 2% miles of the Manaia road Iving immediately north and south of the Town Board's boundary. This was to assist in the upkeep of the Main Eltham road. This subsidy had not been paid or applied for durinc the last two financial years, but the Town Board contended that the wording of the Council's original resolution was such as to convey the clear impression that the subsidy was to be an annual one. The Council, on the other hand, would not admit this point, especially as no mention of the word "annual" was made in the resolution. Considerable argument ensued, and the ultimate CTvnrrlusion arrived at was that the Council would pay the Board two-fifths of these rates: that the subsidy for the year just closed and one year retrospective (not two, as claimed by the Board} would be paid, and that the subSKiy should in future be paid annually. The Council declined absolutely to take any responsibility in regard 'to the Board's debt to the Waimate County Council; it agreed to reoay the Board £150 exnended in material* and culvert on the Eltham road, and deduct saire out of the £2000 loan to be raised It 0 greed to allow the Board to sr.end t^is £2,000 loan subject to the Council's engineer's supervision. The Council agreed to lend the Board its plant, when convenient to both parties, at a fairremuneration, but the chairman laid it down emphatically that the Council vwild maintain its control over the main h-tham road. This was an arterial mad, and the Council was determined that it would take no risks of the road becoming in a similar state to the Norman by Town Board's roads at the present time.

These were the contentious clauses, of ths suggested agreement, and having Imen settled, Mr Guy thanked the Conn" oil for meeting them and bringing these troublesome matters to a conclusion. The deputation then withdrew, and the Council adjourned.