POHANGINA COUNTY

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3247, 18 January 1926, Page 5

POHANGINA COUNTY

MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING. ■ The first moating since the holi. days of the Polmngii.a County Council was held on Saturday when Cr. H. W. Smart occupied the chair, other members present were: Crs. F. W. Arbon, T. E. Cralne, G. Stracbau, W Howell. W. T. Pratt and A. Brooking. Correspondence. A copy of an extract from the New Zealand gazette relative to th* alteration of the boundaries between the Woodvllle and Pohaugina Counties was received from thv. Department o! Internal Affairs. The Public Trustee, advised that as a result of the succasful progress of the Public Trust office in recent years it has been found possible to increase the rates of interest allowed on certain classes of funds held in tne common fund of the office. Accordingly the Interest allowed on Local Body Sinking Funds and Superannuation Funds will be increased by *ne quarter per cent. The Department of Agriculture wrote acknowledging receipt of a special order declaring fox-glove a noxious weed. Stop? were being taken to have the Order-in-Council gazetted. —Cr. Arbpn reported that he had seen foxglove on the reserve. The letter was merely received. The Wellington branch of the Dairy Farmers’ Union asked the Council to reconsider its deci s ’ o ’ l regarding the buying of birds’ eggs from schoolchildren in view of the fact that the small bird nuisance .was rapidly increasing and the pests were multiplying.—The chairman stated that he could not remember tha time when the Council bought egga and he did not think that the birds had as yet become a pest In the district. —It was decided io take no action In the meantime.

Copies of the Wellington West Coast Counties Joint by-laws were received from Messrs Higgitt and Elliott of Feilding. A complaint that one of the Council’s horses, In harness was wandering on the road to Klmbolton on January 12 was received from A. O. Hansen, who wrote stating t»f; •: when he came abreast of the animal It turned and ran straight to his motor cycle. He managed to accelerate and get past the animal to a certain extent, but it kicked the rear wheel rendering the cycle useless. He asked the Council to indemnify him for the expanses incurred in getting th( cycle repaired, —The matter was held o«er until the next meeting Ccs. Stiachan and Pratt and the engineer to make further enquiries. The Public Works Department advised that it had been decided that a moss concrete culvert was more suitable than a reinforced concrete culvert to replacet the old bridge over the Dundas creek. Plans for the u ork were also forwarded showing the approximate estimate of the work

1 to be £2700, that Is £I3OO for the filling and £1,400 for the culvert. Engineer’s Report. The engineer (Mr D. Watson) reported that although the working t : mo was short, goed progress had been made wltn various work. The concrete bridge which was built at Awahou south last month had been metalled over, the approach widened out, and the bridge opened for all traffic before tl>'» holidays. The timber on the new concrete bridge at Apitl had also been removed the filling at the back of tte abutments had been complete 1, and the bridge was now open for traffic. This was done immediately the specified time for concrete to dry had -xpirod. Ho had also built a reinforced concrete culvert underneath the old bridge that spans the Totara Reserve Crhok. This work was carried out with very little Interruption to traffic. The culvert had a clear waterway of nine feet by six feet and was twenty-two feet long with earth retaining walls nt bath ends. The present bri Ige, which was badly decayed, would be removed as soon as possible. He had had about 100 cub ic yards of riverbed metal carted, which would be enough t>‘- gb'e a start at building a long concrete culvert to replace Dundas bridge. Plans etc., for this work had not yet been returned from Wellington. The old structure was advancing in decay ana in consequence, was dangerous for heavy traffic. If the new work was undertaken at once a big saving would be effected in the cost, as it would be difficult to carry it out during the winter. As Instructed, he had again inspected the branch road, and found Hi condition was similar to what it van when he last reported on the matter. To his knowledge, it had been in a very bad state of repair for tho last eight years. However, it was quite all right to ride through on horseback, as the permanent roadman gives It sufficient attention .to maintain it for that nurpoie. With regard, to the condition of the road giving access to the Engineer’s residence from, the Main Highway Road, the drain in places was choked with willows and Immeiiately in front of the house it had scoured to a depth of e'£ht feet, and was extremely dangerous for children. The fence on the adjoining property was in a very tad state. Tho road and the entrance to it had a most dilapidated appearance, and, as it was the property of the County, ne thought some Impi ovement which would give it a more respectable appearance might be affected. The Main Highway Road from this point to the township was similar In appjaram e. The drain, which carried quite a lot of water, was much too close to the road, parts of which had already been tramped In by cattle. As a result the road was not too safe for vehicles passing each ether, and was much less than the width (that Is 18ft) required by the Main Highways Board. Therefore, a rew drain was required, the cost of which Including that of filling the old drain, would be approximately £37. The usual road maintenance work had been .carried out throughout the County. Three men had been employed for a few days shift'rg boulders in the bed of Diggers’ Creek and this should assist in scouring a more stralghter course under the bridge.

General. Permission to build a house on the Education Reserve at Coal Creek was granted to Samuel Hall, subject tr the approval of the Council. An application for 300 fencing posts was received from E. Fried lander of Komako and was left In the hands of the Engineer. The treasurer reported thqt the following accounts weie incrcdit:—No. 1 Loan Account (£46/5/8); Loan Account (£2698/6/8); Cemetery Account (£54/19/9); County Fund Account (£3503/11/4). The question of the addition of 10 per cent to all votes outstanding was discussed, Cr. A.rbon pointing out that some confusion had arisen regarding the date when the addition would be added owing io the wrong date being advertised.

It was decided to rescind the motion regarding ihe addition of 10 per cent on all rates outstanding after December 22 and that the time be extended to February 1, The clerk was instructed to call tenders for :he collection of dop tax and supply of collars, the tax to be the same as last week. Accounts amounting to £1333/4/8 were passed-for • payment.