WALLACE COUNTY COUNCIL

Southland Times, Issue 23332, 16 October 1937, Page 20

WALLACE COUNTY COUNCIL

MONTHLY MEETING The monthly meeting of the Wallace County Council at Otautau was attended by Councillors J. H. Smith, W. T. James, A. Roy, B. C. Horrell, G. E. Stroud, F. J. Linscott, W. B. Hopcroft, W. J. A. McGregor, and D. Teviotdale. The chairman referred to the death of Mr J. G. Johnston who had been a n representative of the Wallace Hospital f . Board for many years. A motion of ?. sympathy was carried in the customary i, manner. Mr G. E. Stroud was appointed as his successor on the Wallace Hospital Board. The town clerk of the _ Invercargill City Council wrote advising that _ a meeting of the centennial executive committee would be held next month, 5 > when it was hoped that the councils >■ will have indicated their willingness to contribute by making provision on the ’’ estimates spread, if necessary, over a 'J period of years. A resolution was carried that the 5, council could not commit the ratepayers st of Wallace County to the request made by the Southland Centennial Commit--11 tee Mr H. C. Gimblett, clerk of the Southland County Council, advised that - the council was in receipt of a report c that the Waimatuku channel bridge reIj quired considerable repair, the decking, i; sheathing and wings being all rotten, y He asked if the Wallace council was : prepared to contribute towards the cost : of reconditioning this bridge to make it reasonably safe for traffic. It was resolved that as the bridge was in Southland County the Wallace Council could not see its way to con- - tribute to the cost. f Mr E. B. Rout, secretary of the Clif--5 den Lime Co., Invercargill, asked that the council consider the following appli- } cations about the company’s lease of a section 6 and part section 4a, Merrivale settlement: (1) The right to place a tramway across the Gorge road about f ten chains from the corner according 1 to the specifications and direction of the f council; (2) the right to place the 1 stripping on the side of the road from t the new quarry which the company is ! about to open up; (3) the right to remove at the council’s direction any limestone from the roadside. It was resolved that the requests be , granted under the usual conditions. Mr W. Pearce, the board’s representative on the No. 18 District Highways Council, asked to be advised if anything further had been done about the financing of the footway on the Waiau , river bridge at Tuatapere on the Tua- ’ tapere-Clifden main highway. The chairman said that in company : with the engineer he had interviewed 1 the residents interested but nothing _’ had been finalized. It was left in the hands of the en- , gineer to draft a suitable reply. r Mr A. L. Adamson, secretary for the Southland provincial district of the s New Zealand Farmers’ Union, wrote ■ stating it was suggested that any fur- ’ ther action about the Dipton-Castle-rock main highway be withheld until ' later before the termination of the . present arrangement under which the 1 highway subsidy is allowed on this por- : tion. He requested that the council in- : dicate the best method to adopt to obtain the desired results. Cr Roy thought the matter could be held over until the annual review. He ; moved that the Farmers’ Union be thanked for the interest taken in the t matter. i RAILWAY CROSSING Mr T. Genge and 14 others, Wairio ratepayers, residents and tradespeople, using the new road over the Government railway crossing at the north c end of Wairio township, petitioned the t council to have the crossing over the Ohai railway on the main Wairio- : Nightcaps road altered so as to make i it less abrupt, as it was highly danger- : ous to all kinds of traffic in its present state. ! Cr Stroud said it was a reasonable j request and it was decided that the ' matter be attended to. He stated that E the railway officials at Wairio had i been very obliging and it was resolved ; that the Railway Department be requested to keep the lower crossing open for traffic. Macalister Bros, solicitors, Invercar--1 gill, submitted copies of a Bill they had ; drawn up under instructions from the Southland County Council which is intended to amend the Southland Land Drainage Act 1935. It was decided that the council support the Bill. Mr W. Pearce, the board’s represen- • tative on the No. 18 District Highways : Council, acknowledged receipt of a ; letter advising that the council intended to take no action in improving the r view of the level crossing at Wairio, . and reminded councillors that they had ■ first drawn the attention of the High- ■ ways Board to the dangers of this crossing on the occasion of the board’s recent visit. He submitted that the council was now failing in its responsibility as a road-controlling authority in refusing the suggested improvement without supplying any reasons for rejecting the proposals, and was not prepared to effect a material improvement in the visibility at a cost of £75, of which the council’s share was only £lB 15/-. Cr McGregor said the proposal of the department would not improve matters, and it wai only a waste of money. Coming from Wairio to Otautau the visibility was hopeless and it was | quite impossible to see anything un--1 less one was on the track. Cr Mcr Gregor stated that it was not the re- ’ sponsibility of the council to contri--5 bute money to overhead bridges, see- ■’ ing that the Government had wasted 1 money on crossings which were far 5 safer. He did not see his way clear to 1 contribute to the cost. ’’ In endorsing these remarks Cr - Stroud said it would only make it ' more dangerous if the work as sug--5 gested were carried out. ? It was decided that the letter be rej ceived. 1 Cr Teviotdale moved that the following amounts be voted for expenditure in Otautau riding: Maintenance gravelling, Bayswater and Gladfield roads, £200; gravelling the west side of the road at Drummond township, £75; total £275. CONTRACTS The following contracts were let: Invercargill-Tautapere main highway (Colac-Round Hill section), cleaning and deepening ditch: Mr R. G. Riddell, £74 10/-. ’ Maintenance gravelling, Bayswater- ; Gladfield-Ballyhooley road: Mr T. 1 White, subject to conditions, 5/6 a ’ cubic yard. Formation and gravelling west side J of main road, Drummond township: Mr L. Bye, gravelling only, 4/6. . Maintenance gravelling, Wild Bush ‘ road: Mr T. White, subject to condi- ; tions, 3/6 a cubic yard. ! The engineer (Mr J. G, C. Baker) submitted the following report: Since 1 last meeting there has been a continuation of mild weather conditions and road surfaces are as usual. The Merry creek overflow bridge is now finished ” and a good job has been made. The ’ Mararoa river bridge work is not yet finished because of the delayed arrival of Australian hardwood. A new twofeet pipe culvert. 84 feet in length, is to be put across the Pourakino _oad and under More and Sons’ railway at the high embarkment just south of Traill road junction. The work is to be done by tunnelling, and is necessitated through the existing culvert having collapsed at the junction of the road and railway embankments. About]

Mr S. Morris’s request for improvements on part of the Pahia-Wakapatu road along the north side of the railway and fronting his property at 1 Ruahine, Cr B. C. Horrell inspected it J and decided that a small Government > grant of £5O, £1 for £l, be applied for for metalling. About the proposed al- ■ ternative site in the proposed new ■ Pourakino river bridge, I have con--1 suited the Government Departments likely to be concerned and have been * advised to hold some form of plebiscite ’ in the matter confined to people living adjacent to the west bank of the river.