Affairs in the Pohangina County

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6626, 13 August 1931, Page 2

Affairs in the Pohangina County

BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT YESTERDAY’S MEETING.

Tho monthly meeting of the Pohangina County Council was held yesterday, there being present: Crs. S. J. Strahan (chairman), T. Close, W. Howell, J. Maclvenzic, W. McKay and G. M. Arbon. Cr. Craine was granted leave of absence. Correspondence. Mrs. A. L. Saveli wrote asking for permission to have the fence fronting her property moved nearer tho road at various points, also asking permission to fence in a small reserve. —Granted, subject to the usual conditions. Table Plat Road. The Hon. J. G. CoDUc wrote advising that as a result of representations made by him the Minister of Public Works had approved of tho Government financing the total cost of the formation of Table Plat road. The Public Works Department District Engineer sent advice that authority had been issued for expenditure of £174 free on the above road. The engineer suggested that it would cost twice tho amount to metal the road alone. There was no chance of making it a road for £174, he added. Cr. MacKenzie: It has been agreed that it is a mistake to form a road without metalling it. Unless it is metalled the problem will be keeping it in repair after it has been formed. Tho chairman: With money so hard to get it is a pity to throw it away. The engineer: If the Government wishes to give access to tho properties it is not for the county to objeet. The chairman: That is so. ]\lr. Howell: It looks as if the riding will have to metal tho road before long. The chairman: How about leaving it in the hands of the engineer? Cr. MacKenzie: The Public Works may carry out tho job. Cr. McKay: We will probably get a better job done if the council rotains control. , , , . The matter was left in the hands of the engineer. A circular was received from the Treasury (Wellington) drawing attention to tho Local Authorities Loans (Rate of' Interest Bill), pointing out that under it the rate of interest on loans prescribed by any Act would be reduced by onc-lialf per cent. The letter was received. The Department of Lands and Sur- ( vey wrote requesting information concerning timber taken from scenic reserves. —Received. Te Awa Bridge. The Minister of Public Works, ac-

knowledging receipt of the council’s fetter seeking warrant to erect the Te Awa bridge, stated the council’s representations would receive attention. —The letter was received, it being pointed out that the Pohangina County’s share of the cost of the bridge would not exceed £OOO. Heavy Traffic Pees. The Kairanga County Council forwarded cheque for £143 14s Id, Pohangina’s proportion of heavy traffic license fees collected for quarter ended June 30.’—Received. A circular was received from the Manawatu Employers’ Association, re unemployment levy, outlining employers’ obligations under tho Act. The circular was tabled. A circular letter was received from the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) stressing tho necessity for whole-hearted co-opcration between tho local bodies, the Unemployment Board, and the community, with regard to the unemployment problem, and asking members of local bodies not to overlook the fact that they, along with the Government have very real responsibilities with respect to the matter, and local bodies should not allow the cost of transport to interfere with their efforts to provide employment. —Received. The chairman of the Unemployment Committee wrote with reforenco to tho transport of relief workers and the utilisation of unemployed on drainage work on private lands. —The letter was received, Cr. McWay remarking in a district whore no drainage board was in existence, arrangements for private drainage work could be made by the county. The District Inspector of Factories (Mr. J. Lowden) wrote asking for information as to the amount of work and the reproductive nature of work performed under the No. 5 scheme. The engineer was instructed to forward the required information.

School Ground Improvements. The secretary of the Utuwai School Committee wrote outlining tho work proposed to be done under No. 5 scheme, stating 12 chains of fencing would bo reconstructed; 15 chains repaired; 7 chains of now drains to be dug and the floor of the play shed to bo concreted. J.t was estimated that two men would be employed for 192 hours.—Tho engineer remarked that iu a job of this nature it was difficult to get proper supervision. The Api'ti School applied to have the following work done under the scheme. Levelling and removing stones from basketball ground; levelling and improving football ground; removing cabbage trees from school garden; levelling and concreting playing and drill area. It was estimated the work would take 16 days. —It was decided to advise tho committee that labour would be engaged provided satisfactory supervision was arranged. The Counties’ Association forwarded a circular concerning the submission of evidence re highway finance and

stating it was not intended to introduce legislation amending the Rating Act making the Crown liable for local body rates. —The suggestion was put forward by one councillor that pressure might be brought to bear on the Government where a Crown tenant cannot pay rates that he be replaced by a man who can pay the rates or that the Government should see that a Crown tenant is in a position to pay his rates. Further circulars dealt with the question of penalty on overdue rates and other matters concerning county councils. Engineer’s Report. The report of the engineer (Mr. D. Watson) was as follows: General: As a result of the continuous wet weather during the past two months, with the- exception of a fair amount of gravel that was carted for Mangaonc and Pohangina Main Highways, this class of work, owing to tho flooded state of the rivers and gravel pits, could not be continued, and very little work was done with. the. grader, as practically all of the council’s employees have been engaged shifting slips and repairing washouts on quite a number of roads in Awahou, Coal Creek, Tamaki, Mangaone and, particularly, Uniutoi Tiding, where quite a number of settlers, in order to keep an opening of traffic, assisted in the work. A number of cement pipe culverts have been put in and a good quantity .of first-class totara timber was used for building up where washouts had occurred. Pohangina amd Mangapikopiko ridings wero more fortunate, although quite a number of slips that partially blocked the roads wore soon removed, and general maintenance work attended to. A start has been made in Mangapikopiko riding with the motor truck and power grader to cart repair gravel, and trim up the main highway. Pohangina and Oroua rivers on one occasion were in very high flood, but fortunately no damage was done to any of the protection work. Treasurer’s Report. The treasurer’s report was as follows:—Credit at Bank of New Zealand, cemetery account, £99 2s 4d; loan account, £6BO 17s lid; plant account, £1538 15s sd; county fund account, cr. £1372 ,13s 9d; accounts for payment, £1899 19s 7d; dr. balance, £203 13s 7 d.