WHANGAREI COUNTY COUNCIL

Northern Advocate, 16 April 1932, Page 9

WHANGAREI COUNTY COUNCIL

MONTHLY MEETING YESTERDAY. GENERAL AGENDA ITEMS. The monthly , meeting of the Whangarei County Council was held yesterday, the chairman, Mr L. Webb, presiding over a full attendance of members. Traffic Inspector. Tha clerk was authorised to draw up specifications for the appointment ofa county inspector to replace Air W. H. Gillespie. The salary will be £240 per annum, with travelling allowance. Roadside Bowsers. An Onerahi resident made application for permission to erect a bowser on the side of the road. The chairman moved that die charge be £2 2/ in place of £1 as hitherto. He pointed out that the local authorities in the towns charged from £d to £7 for the same consideration. Cr. T. N. Blake thought that the convenience of the bowsers to settlers should be considered, and that the value of a bowser in a town- was in proportion to the higher fee charged. Ho and Cr. A. J. McKay.opposed the increase being made. O’CarroU’s Road. Cr. Walker was given permission to call for tenders for the improvement of o’Carroll’s Road, Avhieh, he said, had been neglected for several years. Cr. Walker will spend the £l2O surplus Government rebate on the road. Overdue Work.’ An agreement made eight years ago which had not been carried out, was mentioned by Cr. T. Blake. It was for work on a road through Alexan-, dor’s xu-operty, and the engineer andl riding member were given authority to act. Tauraroa-Omana. Road. ' An exxdanation of the delay on the Tauraroa-Omana Road and for an indication when the route would be legalised was asked by the District Engineer. The clerk said that he had pointed out that under the x>rcsent conditions the council could not carry out the necessary survey work. Air Norris was going to peg.the road out, so that work could proceed, and the Public Works Department had agreed to this On Russell Road. The reply of the Public Works Department, that consideration of a bridge at Alathcson’s, on the end of the Kaimamakau highway, would bo considered in the. draft estimates, was co 11 side i- e d unsatis fact() ry. 'Hie chairman said that a bridge had never been built at this point, where the only access was by way of a ford on private property. Traffic to Russell was often held nj) on account of flooding. On his motion it was decided to request the department to make the provision of a bridge a. special item. Kiripaka Bridge. The Alinister of Public Works wrote accepting Governmental responsibility for the Kiripaka bridge, the rebuilding of which, he admitted, would have to be faced at an early date. With the completion, however, of the urgent repairs at present in hand, the period o l ' usefulness of the present structure should be extended and the Consolidated Fund relieved of the necessity of making early provision for a subsidy towards the cost of the new structure Cr. Morrison said that after repair the bridge was in fairly good condition. A new bridge was necessary and this should be pressed for in the near future.

Flood Damage. The Government advised that the council’s application for flood damage relief in the Waipu district had been declined. The member for the riding, (Jr. A. ,T. McKay, said that steps must be taken to make the roads passable by winter, and lie was given authority tj take the necessary action. Handed Over. Notification was received from the Public Works Department of the handing over of control of the road between the Kiripaka bridge and the Ngunguru post office to the Comity Council. Ur. Morrison said that on account of the heavy cuttings, big slips had occurred. These would be expensive to remove, and ho thought the Public Works Department should bear half the cost, - It was left to Cr. Morrison to make representations in the matter. Cr 1 . Elliott thought that, failing derating, the reintroduction of toll gates would bo a good tiling. The bulk of those using many country roads today were not ratepayers. They certainly paid the benzine tax, but so did the settlers, in addition to their county commitments. The chairman said that unless some assistance was forthcoming from the Public Works Department, which had constructed much higher standard roads than the county would have undertaken, stretches such, as KiripakaMarua and the 'Russell Road through his riding, could not be maintained as thev should. •