WAIMEA COUNTY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 14 January 1938, Page 2

WAIMEA COUNTY

MONTHLY MEETING OF COUNCIL ENGINEER’S REPORT ON RIDINGS The monthly meeting of the Waimea County Council to-day was attended by Councillor J. Corder (chairman), R. Teece. L. A. Higgins, J. Balck, L. M. Palmer. Horatio Everett. G. Manson, F. W. Gibbs, and L. Baigent. The bank balances as at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 13th January, were as folDr. £ s . d. Waimea County Fund Ac. 3245 12 7 Cr. Bridges Loan 1929 Ac 1336 7 10 Contractors’ Deposit Ac. .. 232 15 9 Land Fund Ac 205 1 l f Road Sealing Loan Ac. 1550 19 11 Imprest Ac 245 13 5 The total expenditure on main roads 1937-38 to end of December meeting, 1937, was: General £43 18s 6d, wirenetting £305 7s 9d. Wangamoa £59 5s lOd, Stoke £lll 5s 2d: Appleby £224 2s lid. Wai-iti £554 17s 0d: Motupiko £274 0s 3d: Wangapeka £634 16s lid, Dovedale £586 13s lid, Motueka £486 3s lid, Moutere £535 12s Od; total, £3866 3s lOd.

The total expenditure on main hoghways 1937-38 to end of December meeting, 1937. was as follows: Stoke £3l 9s 3d, Appleby £9B 17s Id: Wai-iti £478 17s sd, Motupiko £9Ol 15s Bd, Wangapeka £IO3O 6s sd, Dovedale £BBB 0s 6d, Motueka £419 7s 6d. Moutere £1067 10s Bd. State highways £llOO 19s lOd, traffic tally, £44 2s 6d; total £6061 6s lOd. Accounts amounting to £4310 were passed for payment.

ENGINEER’S REPORT

The monthly report of the Engineer. Mr Bullivant, stated:— Whangamoa riding.—Repairs to defective portions of the plant mix surfacing on the Blenheim-Nelson S.H.. Wakapuaka, are in hand. Grading has been done on the Cable Bay and Glen roads. Approaches to the Pole Ford bridge. Maitai road, have been com pleted, and the No. 13 relief scheme gang is now engaged on general road widening work. Stoke riding.—Patching with plant mix on the Jenkin’s Hill M.H. has been carried out. Traffic lines and railway crossing warning signs have been repainted. Grading has been done on various roads. Footpaths were cleaned up before the Christmas holidays. Appleby riding.—A little gravel patching has been done on the Hope byroad, Chisnall’s to Field’s. A decayed wooden culvert on the Upper Waimea West road will be replaced by concrete pipes shortly. Together with the riding member the Engineer inspected Newman’s road in connection with the requests laid before the council at its November meeting by Mr Coote. Cutting out of the formation with the grader has been authorised.

Wai-iti riding.—Grading has been done on the Wakefield-Woodstock M.H. and 88 Valley road. Unemployment relief gangs are engaged on the Pig Valley and Wniroa Gorge road?. Gravel patching has been done on the Wairoa Gorge road. The renewal of a small wooden bridge on the 88 Valley road near Palmer's has been completed. Motupiko riding—The renewal of certain stringers and the complete redecking of the Stanley Brook bridge Stanley Brook-Thorpe road, is in hand, and is proceeding satisfactorily. The Motueka-Kohatu and Korere-Tophouse M.H’s. have been regraded. A survey has bene made of the proposed bridge site at the splash crossing near Mr W. R. Hunt’s on the 88 Valley road. The stream immediately below the road should be diverted and the course straightened. If this is not done the construction of a permanent bridge at this site will involve three bends in the formation. The Engineer understood that the settler concerned opposed the straightening of the stream, but he (the Engineer) was unable to recommend the construction of a permanent bridge unless th's was done. Pile driving at the Quail Valley bridge has been completed, and renewal of decking and stringers in hand, together with the renewal of the motor bridge on the Quail Valley stream.

Wangapeka riding.—Grading has been done on various roads in the Tadmor district. An old wooden culvert near Lines on the Sherry road has been replaced by 18in pipes. An inspection has bene made of the rock cor* ner on the Tadmor-Bush End road. It is considered that the cutting back of the corner would be expensive, and arrangements have been made to widen the road on the outside when the grader is available. The fencing on the flood water stopbank between the Motueka river and the Tapawera-Baton road near Glen Rae has not yet been carried out.

Dovedale riding.—Dove and Hodgens craeK bridges on the Wakefield-Wood-M.H. have been completed and were officially opened by the chairman at the invitation of the Dovedale branch of the Farmers’ Union on 6th January. The Little Pokororo bridge contract is | nearing completion. Slow progress is | being made with the gravelling contract ori the Clarke Valley road. A start has been made with widening on the sidling and building up a sunken section of road near the bluffs on the Motueka-Kohatu M.H between the Baton and Stanley Brook bridge. Motueka riding.—The road ditch near Farley's on the Waiwhero road has been cleaned out and widened. White posts have been placed on the ends of culverts on the Rocky River-Shaggery road. Patch work has been done on the | Umukuri read. Brooklyn Valley, Little j Sydney, and Riwaka Valley roads. | Bridge decking on Anderson’s road i bridge and on a bridge on the Little | Sydney road have been repaired. ToI gether with the riding member the I Engineer inspected the Riwaka school i road in connection with the applica- ( tion to have the road sealed from the j highway junction to the school which j came before the last meeting of the I council. The distance requiring to be j sealed in order to abate the dust nuis(nnee is approximately 14 chains, and I this i? estimated to cost £l4O This sum would appear to be beyond the capacity of the riding funds. Many of the by-road> in Riwaka carry a heavy amount o' - vehicular traffic. A tally was taken in August at the junction of the Umukuri road and the Richmond-Co!-lingwood S.H. extending over seven days. The Umukuri road showed a daily average of 132 vehicles between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m while the small byroad down to the river carried a daily average of 30 vehicles. We have a large

number of sections of main highway carrying less than 100 vehicles end some even carrying less than 36. The Umukuri road is very difficult to maintain, and the council should consider the question of sealing the road when framing its estimates, and possibly with a view to having the work done following the sealing of the Richmond-Col-lingwood S.H. Moutere riding.—Patch gravelling has been done on Rosedale and Central Moutere roads. The contract for the raising of the road formation over a section of the Appleby-Jubilee bridge M.H. near Horton’s road has been commenced. No. 13 relief scheme gangs are engaged at Mapua and on the Rosedale Hill.

Rabbit Island.—Discing of firebreaks on the island have been satisfactorily completed The caretaker reports that the cut fern and rubbish is dying, but should be raked up and burnt.

Councillor Higgins moved that the matter of a bridge near Mr Hunt’s. 88 Valley road, be deferred, and that if the cost fell in the future it should be 1 econsidered. The motion was carried.

It was decided that the Council could not afford to seal the Riwaka School road at present. The Engineer’s report was adopted. The Health Inspector (Mr H. Coltman) reported that there had been eight cases of infectious disease and 68 sanitary inspections. The report was adopted.

The registration fee for dogs was fixed at 7s 6d, and 2s 6d for working dogs.