TUAPEKA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Mt Benger Mail, 16 September 1931, Page 3

TUAPEKA COUNTY COUNCIL.

The monthly meeting of the abovi hmly was held yesterday aitentoon Present, Crs. E. U. Murney (Chairman! W, Cameron. D. McLennan. L D Reevie. R. G. Cotton R. C. Ba I. !■' MaeDunald, and d. K. Simpson. An apology was received for tie unavoidable absence ol Or. John Ben net ts. CORRESPONDENCE. The Walinen County tlnane. . t-i warded eirenlnr regarding the taking of large areas by the Government on which il declines to pay rales, thus seriously affecting the funds of the county and particularly the riding in whi eh the load is situated. It .therefore, asked tin 1 eo-op-raCon of Hv Tnapeka County in securing an amendment of the Rating Act in the direction of making such resumed lands 1 able for rates, — It was resolved that Hie Council support the Waiinea County and also write to the Prime Minister regarding the matter. The Mining Registrar. Lawrence gave notice of application for a sneeia alluvia! claim of 8 acres in Block XXI Crookston District, six miles below Beaumont, and of aiTapplicatlon for a

water race of ton heads from Bun-town Creek.- Left in Engineer’s hands to protect the County’s interest. IL Cockburn, Roxburgh, advised that (Tossan Bros, had been granted a license for a coal pit in Block i, Teviot South s.D ; that coal from this w nld be caned along main road tRoxburgh (four miles) and tovvardHie Knobbies (ii miics), but that there would not be so much eoal carted trom C-a! Greek pits, and thus no extra maintenance would be requir'd tor the main n ad. He therefore applied for a cert m ate to place fiefore the War | den to the effect that the opening o! the pit in t'rossimL Gully will not in ! crease the maintenance cost on tli main road.- App*.cation granted. I!, Henderson, lion, secretary, Rox laugh Unemployment Goi:iinitt,ee wroß stating tltnt hi* c-mmitie was a vulnn tnry b-dy without funds, and that a■ a i-eMaiii amount of exp.-use was incur red in providing work for the nnein ployed tie had in'en instructed to ap proa.-Ii H-.e G.uiiu ii for a ilonation to waid- tlie-e ex p-mses.- —Resolved that application be declined. ’Pile Lawrence Town ''ierk applied for permission to remove approximately 1 Oii vards of gravel from Tnapeka River in the vicinity of the White bridge. -Request granted subject to the approval of the Engineer. The Di partiuent of l.ands and Sur vi-y. Dunedin, advised that (lie road forming the no. Hi boundary - of the Bo L e Reserve, Wir.tnhuna (see. .‘54 Bii '-k XXXIII.) as formed and used did not follow she survey i ne. '!'" niai.e the legal boundary of t re-en agree with the position as it « vists it ineces.'Ul Y to close part of the old read .I’id add it !■■ she reserve. He forward I plan and ask-ai th" <V . c. ’■ ap p. . On tie, - suggestion ol Gi Gaim-ron consideration of this matter was held over till next meeting. Che <’hail man Main H ghw,.ys Beard •i-U -i that the standard rat- f subsidv for maintenance hud In'en ;n----i-reiH-.l to a to Cl a- from Lt Apr i HAH. I*• ■. ei v■ d. :1 :g!iw avs Hoard forwaided m - i!oi aa i'iiu s, in.nu eu£ the e-ndit ons a' i i g.ird' eo.'l oi replacing old or slum ■ . ioidg.s on mil'll highways. Re eeived. The Town t'lerk Dunedin, adv.sed that the damage complained of to the Lawreio-eAVaipori road by the Gjly Corporation ’> water race had received attention. Gr. Cotton said that when the city engineer visited the scene the county nrfaceman had improved the position.- The letter was ree.-iv ed. M-'srs Barrow-dough and HaggiU soTeitors. Dunedin, advised that they ate acting for tile Dunedin Gity Bonn ei! in procuring Gertiiicate of Title foi land situated in Buck X, Waipori >S.D. vested in the Council by “ The Dunedin City t.Waipori Falls) Vesting Act 1914“ On a plan prepared Mr E. Fletcher Robert' ha', in addition to Hie road skirting the Waipori River which was expressly excluded from the operation of the above Act, shown a further n ad e-memneing in Run 51a intersects section 11. Block X. and vwevts. the wUwvv wwuvßuved pviL.ie cOu.il. I'lie City Conned was prepared that Hi is n*ad shall be formally vested in the Grown and would In* glad if lh>' Tnapeka Bounty would have Hie forma! acceptance of such road duly esc euled a! Hie next meet ng.- -Matter held over until next meeting. dames Taborn forwarded account for £g, portion of costs inclined in linane ing boundary of section 47 at •‘DvilN Elbovv,’’ Wailahnna road, Resolved that amount tie paid. Thomas Davidson vfrote staling Dial if some gravel was put on the Wa.ta iuma West road via Breakneck aftei New Vear, lie would be [dcased I-grad, the road in preparation fur il. At pres out there were some bud ruts and two culverts were icqnird. -Gr. Cameron explained that last year 10 chains of grave! were put on th s road, and about one mile yet remained to be gravel led. The road was in a bad state, due to the snow and wet season unit he thought it a good proposition that it be gravelled. The road has been graded from time to time, but would need further attention before it was tit to be gravelled. lie moved that Mr Davidson be thanked for his offer of grad ng, and that the matter ol some gravelling be considered.

The Manager Benhulm Orchard Coy., Kt trick, asked that the road to their properties which was in si bad state be gravelled, while the motor lorry was in the district.*-Matter left in hands of Cr. Bennetts ami Engineer, ,1. Dunlay. Roxburgh, applied for permission to cross the main road op posite his house with a line of lin pipes.- Grunted.

Mr \V. A. Budkin, M.8.. advised that in response to letter from thsecretary Millers Flat Unemployment Committee, asking him to try and scone 350,000 pinus insignia trees free if charge, for planting un tailings at M l lers Flat, he had approached the Min inter and had received a promise of the trees if available. It was necessary, however, tiiat the application for tin trees should come through a local body and he suggested that the Count;. Council should make the necessary application.—Resolved tiiat the matter of title bo enquired into. Mr Bodkin, M.F. forwarded for the Council’s information the Prime M il Ester's reply to the Ed a Chamber < f Commerce’s request for legislation i. dueiug the interest an Government bonds local body debentures ami p v ‘ vale mortgages by at least U per cent. —The reply was generally adverse to the suggestion.—Received,

FINANCE COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS. The following recommendations by the Finance Committee were approved by the Council: — That the special Contractors’ Deposit Bank Account be closed and included ia the Tuapeka County Fund Account. That the tender of the Tuapeka Times Co. for the printing of the County balance-slice for the year 193031 bo accepted. That owing to the fact that this year very little new work can bo undertaken it may bo advisable for the Council to consider the advisability of holding bimonthly meetings; this would acessitate the appointment of a committee to pass accounts. That the engineer be authorised to confine purchases of oils and petrols for a twelve months’ period to Gilmore Oil Co. (bulk and case petrol) and : shell Co, (oils). COUNTY CLERK’S RESIGNATION. The Chairman advised that he had received Mr Woods’s resignation as County Clerk and all offices held by him under the County Council, and he moved that the resignation be received a dll regret. Cr. McLennan seconded the motion and suggested that u letter of appreciation of .Mr Woods’s long and efficient service be sent him.—This was agreed to and the motion carried unanimously. It was resolved that the Council cal! applications for the position of clerk at a commencing salary of £3OO per annum, condition of appointment to be drafted by the chairman and actingclerk; applications to close before next meeting. U.\ EM I ’LO VM ENT CONFERENCE. The minutes of the Otago Counties’ Conference held in Dunedin recently to consider the unemployment question were re-ad. These showed a full representation of the various local bodies ami keen interest in the matter under consideration. The chairman reported that he had atended the meeting and us the representative of a county

that was nut a till tilted to the association, he thanked the convener for the invitation to be present, in connection with the altering oi allocations without reasonable notice the following awlion w;is carried: —* * That this meeting write the Unemployment Board strongly proti sting against thte practice of alterng allocations at the last moment, pointing out the disorganisation such action causes and asking the Board to notify Unemployment Committees at least seven days ahead of the money available and after such notification iiu alteration to be made.

-Many other phases in regard to unemployment and other matters were discussed, said Mr Muruoy. Ur. Kevin said he had noticed that a lot of local bodies had difficulty in getting enough money to carry on and it might happen that if they did not make enough noise their allocation might be cut down. lie c' tod an instance that had costie under his notice where a married man with a family of live children was only getting two days’ work per week. If they did not keep asking for increased allocations there was a possibility that they might not gel their due. He moved that the clerk art - to the Unemployment Board poining out that the allocations to the i ■ kii Uounty ate not sufficient to meet the necessitous eases. Ur. McDonald seconded the motion, P< ih.ing out that last week the married men working in his riding only got one and a-haif days’ work. The Chairman explained that the V urea; Uounty had no single men working on the No. 5 scheme. They had succeeded in getting the single men employed on farms under the 4a scheme ami he thought they might consider doing something in thiswwary r in i’liapeka. RO.VGA HERE BEAUMONT ROAD. The Minister of Public Works acknowledged receipt of Council’s letter re Konguhere-Beaumout Road and in reply said he would be glad to give consideration to the representations made. —

On the motion of Crs McLennan and Himpsun it was resolved to write to the M nisier of Public Works and Chair- - man of the Unemployment Board, {wnitting uui the sound economic nature of tkii, work, for unemployed under Scheme No. o, and its suitability for the proposed young men's camp. The clerk was instructed to write to the Clutha County Council, the Balelutha Borough Council, and the Otago Expansion League, soliciting their COoperation in pressing the carrying out of this work us soon as possible. F! N AXCIAL STATEMENT. Receipts, bates 1925-9 .. £ 18 Kales 11 £9-30 .. 3 9 Kales I!»;{(>-31 .. 98 22 liates Southland E.P. Board 915 3 Goldfields revenue 40 2 0 Heavy tralTie licenses .... 21 5 0 Motor drivers’ licenses .. 28 9 0 Petrol Tax refunds 51 0 0 M ..veliaucous 5 9 0 Government grants .... 607 6 2 Unemployment No. 5 Scheme 127 1 5 Fees and fines 4 0 9 Rate Subsidy Idß4 15 d Main Highways 254 1 11 £2.731 13 5 Expenditure. August Accounts for payment this meeting £1,241 2 7 Credit Bunk N.Z. at 31st August £2046 13 10 The 1931-32 rate demands comprising Tuapeka County 2214 assessments, amounting to (inclusive of £3,359 6s 7d Hospital levy), £12,155 15s 7d (last year £1.6,542 11s fid); Southland Electric Power Board 540 assessments amounting to £3,159 Ids 9d (last year, £3052 (is JOd); Otago Electric Power Board 597 assessments amounting to £760 15s 9d (last year £760 5s 2d); were completed and sent out, RANGER’S REPORT. The County ranger reported that he had found ten head of cattle and five horses at large on th» county roads since last meeting. GENERAL. Resolved that about four chains of cyclone fencing bo erected on the main highway at a bud corner close to the Rue's Junction School. Accounts amounting to £1241 2s 7d were passed for payment. Cr Hall referred to the non-attend-ance of an O.D. Temes reporter and suggested that arrangements bo made with the local correspondent to forward report. It was decided that tenders, to close by next meeting, be called for maintenance gravel on various roads in Waitahuna Hiding.

ENGINEER'S REPORT. The Engineer (Mr F. D. Grant) reported as follows: General. The recent wet weather following the heavy frost and show of the past winter has resulted in the earth roads in the wetter districts being ina very bad state, while the poorer gravelled and metalled sections have also suffered. These will be improved with better weather the belter class gravelled roads of the county are generally in good order. Bridges. Handrail Black Jack's Creek bridge lias been painted white, the bridge is with present traffic becoming rather narrow for safety. The lower chord of Millers Flat bridge has been cleaned out. and a start s being made on the Roxburgh bridge re pa ire. Unemployment. Approximately 33 unemployed have been employed on various county works under the No. 5 scheme during the month. These have been employed on various county works of a useful nature. Waitabuaa Riding. The highway has had pothole repairs carried out and snow drifts cleared on side roads, ruts, filled on Barton’s hill, and slip shifted at Leslie’s hill. Gabriels Biding. Watertablos and road drainage at Wetherstonos have received attention ami repirrs to the duo Spur road, provided the weather is suitable, are in hand. The two corners that broke through on the Browns-Gabriels section of the hj ghway have been repaired with blue metal. Waipori Riding. Snow drifts have been cleared on the Lawrence-Waipori poitions of Wai-pori-Outram and other roads and cutoffs and surface water attended to. Browns Riding.

Water-tables have been cleared on the Falconers Valley road, slips cleared Corkscrew road repairs Crowley's road. Tnapeka Mouth-Greenfield road repaired with local rock and subsidence filled on the Endowment road. Beaumont Riding.

A short length of the highway near the old school between Raes Junction and Island Block is a hit narrow and requires widening a few feet, in the meantime a few chains of fence would render it much safer. Water-tables and culvert outlet on the highway have received attention and wash-outs repaired. Snow has been cleared on the Moa Fiat-Heriot and Heriot-Roxburgh and other back roads. Tevlot Riding. A slight subsdence occurred on the railway station highway owing to the the wall sliding; this is now being repaired. Tima Burn Road.—The expenditure of this grant has now been completed, fourteen men being employed on the work during the month. Contract No. 75.—Three Brothers Road, Gravelling 1 miles 54 chains. — Slow progress has been made by the contractor a further 295 cubic yards being delivered for the month. The recent weather has caused washouts on Wright’s and Smith’s roads which have been repaired, and further slips on the Millers Flat-Craig Flat road which road wili require considerable repair work as soon as dry. Beager Riding. The county lorry has been engaged in maintenance gravelling cn Marsh’s. Dalmuir. Heriot-Roxburgh, and other bye roads about Ettrick. Some gravel repairs are required on Benholm road but some attention with the grader is desirable first. The highway has been kept graded and is i n good order. Crookston. On the highways potholes have been repaired and culvert outlets cleared, and the metal raked in and repaired on Switzers and Shanks’s roads. Tapanui Riding. The sides have been graded off the Pomahaka-Conkal Hills highway, and other highways graded, potholes repaired and culvert outlets and drainage attended to ; and stone procured for Pomahaka protection. The Brooksdaio road maintnanee gravelling contract has been completed, and a corner partly cut back by unemployed on the Tapanui-Keiso road.