STRATFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 57, 16 June 1910, Page 2

STRATFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

MONTHLY MEETING. The usual monthly meeting of the Stratford County Council was held yesterday, when there were present: Crs. Merchant (chairman), Thompson, Hathaway, Maxwell, Astibury, Marfell, Walters, Porritt and Christofl'ell. •MANGAEHU AND EAST RIDINGS. The committee (Crs. Astbury and Hathaway) appointed to go into the question of the adjustment of the debit, as between the Mangaehu and East ridings, reported that they had decided that the amount due by the Mangaehu riding to the East riding should be £250. It was 'difficult, or .practically impossible, they reported, to arrive at an accurate amount .based on the information to hand, but taking the debt on a valuation basis, the amount should be the fourth: or thereabouts of the debit, viz.. .£2484, which would be £O2l. Taking into consideration the fact that the railway has been running for about four I yearn to Douglas station, and that two 1 miles of the Ohura road largely sufficed to carry the heavier traffic of the Mangaehu riding, that the dairy industry had been established for some years between Douglas and Stratford, togetner with the wear and tear of the road due to sawmills, they were of opinion that £250 should be a fair charge to the Mangaehu riding.—The report was adopted. ENGINEER'S REPORT. The engineer reported as follows: The gravelling of a portion of Upper Flint road has been completed, but the work lias ibeen left in too rough a condition to pass until further dressed up. The gravelling of a small portion of Rut-, land road .has also been completed. The work asked for iby Mr. Harris on the Makuri road will be done at a cost oi £l6. The Radnor road east of the railway line can be sufficiently improved at a cost of £3. A circular letter has been issued to the foremen re keeping bridse | decks clear. The Opunake road bridge repairs have been put in hand and gravel is being delivered for renewing another bridge. Two and a-lialf miles of metalling on the Makuri road, Huiroa, has been completed, with the exception of a little dressing, etc. The weather breaking caused difficulty in finishing, and the contractors are to "be commended on the thorough manner in which they carried out the work, considering the late start and the delays owing to only a limited supply of metal being available. The surfacemen are attending to the cleaning of the drain at Douglas river istop ban|c and first bridge. The bridge at the cor-' ner of Waiwiri and Malum roads is in a very shaky condition. It could be replacd with a tunnel and' filling at a cost of about £l5O to £175. A low place on Mokahau road, near Heao road junction, needs attention, being covered with water after the Tain. A small fMjngjand 1 drain cleaning would meet the case. 'Crushing of metal on Toko rqad. for the ' new .bridge has been completed, but only 1 a portion of what is required for the road, the cold and broken weather rendering the work of obtaining the stone from the stream too difficult and costly, whilst the cartage over the road was doing harm. A .plan has been obtained of the new Kopua drainage area. Only a further eight chains of metalling on the Mangaehu road has been done during the month. The contractors have ; now closed down for the season, as it is practically hopeless to do any more at present. The Taihora road metalling contract has been commenced, and the shell rock has now been quarried, but it is now too late to cart it on to the road. A survey has been made of continuation of Mangaehu road through Mr. Perry's property to give access to subsection 1 of section I', .block 5, Omona S.D., and .it will be necessary to obtain the consent of the Council to the road the balance of loan money available for formation can be expended. —The report was ar'rwted, and the. work suggested is to be carried out. Cr. Walters gave notice of motion that the cost of the tunnel and filling at the Waiwiri and Makuri roads be taken out I of the bridge fund. I The necessary steps are to be taken. ! for raising- a loan for the drainage of the Kopua area. TENDERS. The Council went into committee lo discuss tenders, and on resuming re-' ported that the tender of F. M. Grayling (viz., £1038) had been accepted for the following three works: —Erection of Norris bridge- (Mangaehu road), erectiop. ef Makuri bridge" (Toko road), aniji erection! of bridge,' over Mangaehu stream. FOREMEN'S REPORT. The foremen's reports were dealt with as follows.— North Riding.—-Foreman Brown report.; ed that a bridge on the Surrey: road was in a 'bad state. It could he repaired for £3, or a new one erected for '. £ls. Several 'people were damaging ! Radnor road by carting. firewood, and* he ', suggested that the heavy traft'ip by ;laws be enforced. Thirty-six yards of bqulders on Denbigh road could be obtained at a cost of 2is per yard. ' ' The Road Board is to 'be asked to contributejhalf of the estimated cost of the Surrey road bridge, on Receipt of which the work will be proceeded with. All the foremen are to be instructed tct notify the Council of any cases iri "which people are contravening the heavy traffic by-laws, with a view to action being taken,- Tne boulder stone for Denbigh road is, to be purchased. Foreman Kovaleski reporteid that all the roads, with the exception of Ackland, Stanley Cross and Croydon roads, were in .good order. On the Ackland road a slip 4ft. wide and 8 or 10 eliam3 long required removing, ijt a, cost of : £1 per chain. Sixty chain's of'ihe Stanley, Cross and Croydon roads, from the school upwards, required re-metalling. Thirty-three chains of picking up,, breaking and relaying on the Stanley „ rpad have been let,to Mr. Savage at 19s per chain.' The slip on the Auckland- road Is to be repaired. The riding members ■'were to confer with the Settlers ton,-the Stanley, Cross and.fSJvoydon roadso with the object of, getting .tne Stanley road re-metalled.' r South Riding.—The foreman reported that the Waiongongoro 'bridge* ? on'i the Finnerty road required repairs,-The engineer is to report, , East Riding (Douglas)—Tlie foreman reported the East road was in a good position fa the" top of the saddle, from the 15-mile '-peg to the boundary a lot of work was required. He asked for an extra man for two months.—lt wa& pointed out that he already. had two men, 'find tlie finances would toot 'stifnd another. J Huiroa.—The Heao road was not pass,able. In one place it had slipped awaj and was only a foot wide. It would cost £ls to, repair.—The foreman was authorised to do work to the extent of £l2. Cr. Walters referred to the amount of blinding that had baen put on the East rqad beyond Toko. It looked very nice in, the dry weather, but now it has sunk into the metal, which is lying loose on the top. He suggested j that in future the foreman be instructed not to place so much 'blinding on the metal. The engineer was of opinion that

J too much had been put on, and had noti- | fled the foreman to that effect. West Riding—All roads are in fair order. A small bridge ou the Opunake No. 11l required attention. Two charges have been laid against Mr. Moller for overloading, and will come on next Court day. Mangaehu Riding.—The mud roads are cutting up, and last week's rain brought down some slips, especially oil the Mangaehu South road. The ranger reported that he had impounded 11 bullocks, 22 cows and 10 horses during the month. DEPUTATION. Mr. H. Watson interviewed the Council in connection with a filling which had been placed across a swamp on the Makuri road, thereby 'backing up the water on to .his property. Some culverts had 'been put in, but were not sufficient to carry off the water. After some discussion it was resolved that the engineer made a careful examination of the locality and report at next meeting. OIIURA ROAD. The Under-Secretary of the Public Works Department notified that Mr. W. | S. Short had been appointed cominisi sioner -to enquire into tlie cost of apportionment of expenditure on the Ohura road from Douglas to Stratlimore, <md the Council would be duly informed of the date on which tlie commission would sit.

THIRDS. The Commissioner of Crown Lands forwarded a schedule of thirds, amounting to £3GS 12s, accruing to the Council, and asked that the Land Board 'be informed how the money was proposed to be spent.—The engineer is to prepare a schedule of the proposed expenditure of thirds; and submit same to the Land Board.

WAIPUKU BRIDGE. The clerk of the Taranaki County Council wrote that in accordance with the request of the Stratford County Council, nothing would 'be done to the Waipuku bridge, pending the settlement of the control of the bridge. COUNTIES' CONFERENCE.

The secretary of the New Zealand Counties' Association wrote, stating that the Prime. Minister had intimated at Winton that ''he proposed to affirm certain .principles by resolution, and upon that being done the Local Government Bill would be circulated, and full opportunity for its consideration would be given to those interested. The matter was a most important and necessarily a far-reaching one, and presented many difficulties Which, he trusted, would be overcome." As this announcement had considerably altered tlie position of affairs, it was proposed to defer fixing the date of the conference until the resolutions' had been placed before the House. !

T The stated that there was] 'ino doubt some great changes were fore-' .shadowed, but he did not see how anything could be done until the Bill was '•circulated. GOVERNMENT LOANS.

Mr. J. W. Poynton, Superintendent of Loans to Local Authorities, State Guaranteed Advances Department, notified that the amount of security under the new Act for the Wingrove road loan would only cover a loan of £1145, instead of £I2OO as applied for under the old Act. He further asked if the Council required tlie whole £1145. Cr. Thompson protested against this, as he stated the amount had practically been .promised. under the old Act, and, moreover, tenders had been let. He suggested tliat this should be pointed out to the Government. Councillors were of opinion that it was useless reopening the matter, and" it was resolved to reply stating that the Council required the whole £1145, and were disappointed that, through the change in the legislation, they could not get the £I2OO. BACK BLOCKS TELEPHONES.

Several- 'feoifiiMnications were received from Mr.Jj.cE. Logan in connection with telephone #jnpections guaranteed by the Council. The first was in regard, to Konuratahi telephone, which showed'' 'a' 'efficiency of £lO 18s 8d on the fifth ! year's' working. The receipts were £l2 7s Bd.' Expenditure included interest ( £lO 6s 3d), maintenance (£5), stationery ( £2), and proportion of salary ( £6). He intimated that when this account was paid, the bond would be returned.— I yljt. was resolved to refer the account to Whangamomona County Council, .which now had control of that district: 1 The balance sheet of the Huiroa telephone was also forwarded. This showed a credit of 13s lid. 'ihe revenue was £2l Us lid. Expenditure: Interest £5 Bs, maintenance £4 Os, stationery £2, salary £9,. , As this office was now selfsupporting, the bond was cancelled. A bond was also forwarded in connection with the proposed PuniwliakauTaurakawa" extension. The expenditure was estimated ; at £l7 ss, and the bond was, as usual, for five years. The chairman was authorised to sign the bond. ' •GENERAL RATE.

The 'Colfncil proceeded with striking the general rate for the ensuing year. The chairman introduced the discussion by stating that member* knew how the finances were. There were two ways of i improving Matters—either decrease expenditure or increase the finances. The valuation throughout the county .had considerably increased. Rates were then struck on the Improved value as follows: —North Riding, 2d in 'tlie £'; East Riding, 2d: West | Riding,' 1 %d; South Riding, l%d; and Mangaehu Riding 1 , "2d. i • Cr. AstbUry gave notice to move that Ifcbe Ridjng, rate be rescinded and raised to lVsd. Cr. Porritt gave notice to move that the West Riding rate be rescinded and raised to 2d. 'OUTSTANDING RATES. The chairman stated that a fair proportion of these had been received, in response to the solicitor's demand, and the question was that, unless the bal-. ance wasv;c<3l'leeted by June 30, the! Council would lose the subsidy. It was resolved that all outstanding rates be placed in. the solicitor's hand, with instructions to collect within seven days. ■NOTICES OF MOTION. Cr. Porritt -moved, in accordance with j notice of motion, that the Radnor road j separate rate be subsidised £ for £ j I from , the . North Special Riding Fund.! This was seconded by the chairman, and i carried. Cr. Marfell moved, in accordance with 'notice given, "That the Council, having in view the reorganisation of its crushing and road metalling operations, give £he engine driver, three months' notice of the termination of his engagement." In speaking to the motion, he said this did not necessarily mean dispensing with the' Services of the engine driver. Before any reorganisation could take p>ace, he would like the Council to have a full report shoiving detailed cost of crushing, etc. Seconded by Cr. Astbury and carried. GENERAL. . The riding foreman is to be instructed, to repair the Finnerty road bridge.

A case of scarletina was reported from Ngaere. | It was decided to take the necessary! steps to have a portion of Fenwick! street, in Waipuku township, closed, as asked by Mr. J. C. Blanchard (chairman of the Waipuku Cemetery Board), and to have the same gazetted as a portion of Waipuku cemetery. R. Rogers drew attention to the state of the Pembroke road, and asked that a man be put on to repair the road. — Referred to the foreman. The Public Works. Department forwarded £l2 to assist in putting the gazetted portion of the Matau township to Manga-opa road in repair. Mr. C. Lovett again asked the Council to contribute towards the loss sustained by him through a bridge on York road collapsing whilst he was crossing it.— Resolved that the Council cannot re consider its decision in the matter. Mr. Baskin asked permission to re move earth on Kent Terrace, Midhursi —Left in the hands of the foreman. Cr. Hathaway gave notice to move that a contribution of £ for £ be given from the North Riding Special Fun 1 towards the construction of a bridge on the Salisbury road. ACCOUNTS.

Accounts to the amount of £2197 were passed for payment. NOTICE OF MOTION. Cr. Astbury moved, in accordance with notice of motion, "That the Co:mty Council desires the favorable consideration of the Counties' Conference o.i the following remit: 'That the Co : ntb3' Conference take into consideration tie advisability of obtaining an amendment to the Local Bodies' Loans Act, 1908, in the direction of enabling ratepayers in a county or riding to consolidate into one loan on the same security the loan-? of a county or riding, after the necessary statutory proceedings liava taken place as pertain to the taking of a poll of the ratepayers, tak-n in a manner as prescribed by the afo'-esaid £<t, a uniform rate to be ftruik o\ or aforesaid security to pap interest ard principal.'" Cr. Astbury soil-'! at tome length on the inequality of the present system. Or. Maxwell seconded. Crs. I'onitt, Thomson and Waiters snoke against the motion, which was Jos:, only fdve mover and seconder voting for it.