WAIHEMO COUNTY COUNCIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17937, 17 May 1920, Page 3

WAIHEMO COUNTY COUNCIL

The usual meeting of the Waihemo County Council was held on Saturday; present—Crs O'Connell (ciiairman), Miller, O'Neill, Clark, Aitcheson, Mathieaon, iKitchie, Chapman, and Ross. The Chairman welcomed Mr Ross to the council INSPECTOR'S RErORT. Tho Inspector icportcd that to redeck tho Shag River bridge would cost* £IX4O. Tho bridge was in a passable state of repair. He thought that if the rest of the planks were turned and about 40 new ones put in place of thoso that were rotten, and running planks put on, the decking would hist as long as tho rest of the bridge. Sooner or later a good deal of repairing would have to be effected. He could not get quotations for any class of timber owing to the unsettled conditions. No black birch was procurable. Tito timber required for running and new planks would probably cost £240. Maintenance gravel had been spread on the Dunback-Palmerston road, and the abutments on Wilcox's bridge completed.' The Taieri Peak road had been graded from Perry's to the town boundary, and gravel spread on some of the worst places. There were still ' a few bad places on the road, particularly near tin. boundary road. Six chains of cutting had never been gravelled, and was very greasy in wet weather. It was impossible to get gum or black biroh in Dunedin for the Sweetwater and Pigroot bridges, and he could not get a definito offer for miro, which, ho understood, the Public Works Department would accept for decking. Substantial repairs had been effected to the culvert at the junction of the Moonlight, Hyde, and Horse Flat roads. Work on the Ounce road was completed and passed by tho Inspector of Mines.—The report was adopted and the inspector authorised to repair the Shag River bridge, in accordance with his recommendation. • CORRESPONDENCE. Wn. Currie (Hyde) wrote informing tho council that he had decided to accept £150 as the price of land for a road through his property.—lt was decided to offer £20, which councillors considered was a liberal allowance, and to notify the owner that if the offer were not accepted the council would take the land under the Publio Works Act.

The County Clerk, Maniototo, advised that his council had decided to adhere to ita decision not to place running planks on the Hyde bridge, as tho work was not of an urgent character. —The inspector was instructed to report on the state of the bridge, the responsibility for which is shared by the Maniototo and Waihemo counties. The Chairman remarked that tho action of the former council was most discourteous, to say tho least. John Oraig (Glenpark) asked for repairs to the road leading to his property, stating that nothing had been done to it for years. The road from tho Alexandra Hotel to Glenpark siding also required attention. — Left in the hands of the inspector.

The District Engineer, Public Works Department, wrote expressing the opinion that tho gravelling of Shag Point road was unnecessary, and that authority for that part of the'repairs would be cancelled. —The inspector explained that the department would hot agreo to the reduction of the gravelling from 570 yards to 200 yards, and the council would either have to put the whole lot on or none.—lt was decided to offer the contract to the original tenderer at the eld price, failing which fresh tenders will be called for.

Tho Under-secretary for Public Works asked the council to make early application through tho district office for the grants that it desired to have included in the yearly estimates for road or bridge contstruction.—Received, applications for unexpended grants to be renewed. In replying to a letter from the council supporting fche Waipa County CouncilV resolution urging tho Government to initiate a vigorous immigration policy, Mr J. M. Dickson, M.P., stated that the matter would receivo his attention.—The Hon. E. P. Lee replied hut ho had placed the council's request beforo the Prime Minister, who said that the Government fully realised the importance of immigration as a means 61 filling industrial vacancies throughout the dominion, and that a good deal hud already been done towards attracting population to the country. The outstanding difficulty up to the present had been the shortage of shipping accommodation, but it waa hoped that this would improve shortly and thu3 enable the thousands who wore awaiting passages to roach Now ZealandReceived. Tho Director-general of Agriculture wrote pointing out that tho council now had power to declare prickly pear a noxious weed: —Received. The Hon. E. P. Lee wrote agreeing to support the council's protest against the proposed rating of country districts by the Otago Harbour Board.—Received GENEHAL. Sittm" as the Domain Board, the council granted permission, to 11. Oliver (I'alnierston) to plough about three acres of tho Puketapu Domain for growing potatoes and green crops. Mr D. Guffie waited on the council on behalf of himself and a neighbour,.. and requested permission to put a gate on an unused road near the quarry on Dermis Peak. He reminded the council that it had granted permission to Mr Kitchen the vear before to use the road for growing potatoes, but he.(Mr Kitchen) had failcu to tako advantage of it—Granted.