EGMONT COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 May 1916, Page 3

EGMONT COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. The ordinary meeting of tlie Egmont County Council was held at Opunake on . Friday, when there were present: Crs. M. Fleming (chairman), R. J. McNeill, S. Campbell, W. R. Wright, W. C. Dudley and Thos. Harvey. FOREMEN'S REPORTS. Oeo Riding (Northern Division) —The staff have been employed at general surface work, cleaning out ditches and wa-ter-tables and carting out maintenance metal and napping stones, etc. I have also put in a line of 12-inoh pipes on the Eltham road. The roads treated were the Eltham, Wirernu, Opunake-Stratford, Oeo and Kiri. With Mr. McNeill, I went over the whole of the riding, and tlie roads are all in fairly good order, except the Auroa road. I would recommend the Counoil to call tenders for 150 yards of boulder stone to maintain this road through the winter and spring, as the boulders are handy to the road, and they could be procured for 4s per yard. Oeo Riding (Southern Division) —The /hands have been engaged at surface y/ork and general maintenance on the several roads, cleaning out water-tables and outlets to culverts and carting out maintenance metal on the Main South and Skeet roads. I have also graded twenty chains of unformed road on the Oeo road ready for metalling. RaJhotu Riding (Southern) and Opunake Riding—The staff has been engaged principally at water-tabling,' patching and opening outlets on Main South and Eltham roads, also water-tabling on Main South, Opunake riding. I recommend and apply for a shed, 30ft by 18ft with 2-inch flooring for the purpose of pipe-making in wet weather, thus keeping the staff employed, wet and dry. This building can be attached from the engine-shed at a cost of £25, day labor, timber included. Main Soutli road, Taunagtara Hill: I recommend widening this cutting to an extent of six feet and taking eight feet off the top and run it out to nothing, at a cost of £3O. Mr. Munro is making fair progress in obtaining boulder stone.

Rafaotu Riding (Northern Division): The staff have been constantly employed on contracts that are in progress 'between Rahotu and the southern end of this division; spreading crushed metal, scarifying, counter-sinking, blinding and delivering water until sufficient quantity had been run over the portions of new road we were laying down, so that profitable work could be done witlh the road roller, otherwise under our system of road-making, if without sufficient water to work the blinding up into a slush, it is impossible to get a smooth surface on the road. Contracts Xos. 282 and 283 have been completed by M. Coffey, having delivered 1048 yds of crushed metal. We are now working on contract No. 284, and, weather permitting, will be out of this in about three days. After completing the contracts I have about 500 yds oi boulder stone to crush for maintenance work. I was under the impression that the road roller would drive the crusher, but i find out that it has not the power to haul the crushing plant aibout, so I will be obliged to keep the two plants for this work, and so as to get through as quickly as possible I am asking permission to employ extra teams so that I can cart the crushed metal directly from the crusher. By working this way we can get finished in about ten to twelve days, shifting and all. 1 have been asked by the Parihaka Road Board to supervise the crushing of 130 yards of Doukler stone on the Ngariki road by your Council's authority. The bridge foreman reported:—Waiweranui bridge construction: The temporary 'bridge has been erected and is open for traffic ,and the abutment work of the new bridge 'has been finished and a start made with the lagging for the ardh ring. The cost of the temporary bridge was approximately £4O. Nearly all the timber in this structure has been utilised from the old bridge, excepting the stringers. TENDERS. The committee appointed to accept tenders reported that no tenders had been received for the supply and delivery of 400 cubic yards of crushed boulder stone, Oeo road (southern). Two tenders were received for the supply of pit gravel, but as he was satisfied that it was useless putting pit metal on the unmetalled portion of the road, She matter was referred back to the Council for further consideration.

After discussion, the Council resolved to accept the lowest tender for pit gravel, that of Hikaka/at 5s per yard.

GRANTS FOR ROADS AND BRIDGES.

Owing to the prevailing financial conditions on account of the war, the Council decided not to apply this year for any grants for road and bridge works, thus leaving the Minister an entirely free hand with Public Works expenditure. A letter was received from the Under-Sec-retary, conveying the Minister's appreciation of the consideration shown in the matter. AUROA ROAD. Mr. H. Catchpole drew attention to the state of the Auroa road, which had cost him nearly £lO for repairs to drays, etc. The Eltham County Council also forwarded a copy of a letter from Mr. Mayes on the state of the road, stating that as the road was a boundary road, and in fairness to the Council's ratepayers, the time had arrived when some proper control of t'he road must bo arranged in the interests of the settlers concerned. The Eltham county had left the matter in the hands of a committee. They considered that patching would be of very little use, and as the Eltham county had raised a sum of money to do its half of the road, it was hoped that tiie Egmont county would do likewise and have the work carried out in a proper manner.

Tlie county clerk showed tliat since 19U £596 las lOd had been expended on the road, whilst the traffic receipts had amounted to £402 Is Gd, the road being therefore £134 14s 4d over-spent. Prior to 1911 the position could not be ascertained, as the books had been destroyed.

The following resolution which had been unanimously passed at a meeting of ratepayers at Awatuna was also submitted: "That as the by-roads have not received the amount of rates expended on them for very many years that they were entitled to, owing to the main roads requiring renewal, and as the main roads have all been renewed out of rates only, the ratepayers ask the Council to pay back to the by-roads by striking- a rate of at least Id, instead of the %d rate, or sufficient to renew the by-roads where most urgently needed." Cr. McNeill stated that there was a very representative attendance at the meeting, 'it which Mr. Farquhar stated that in September, 1914, the road was £l6O in credit. He (Cr. McNeill) suggested that the ratepayers in the Egmont county should go in for a loan of £llOO, as those in the Eltham county fcad done, but thie they refused to do,

Failing tlhat, he suggested a special rate oi 3d. He therefore considered it would be better for all concerned if the five ratepayers on the road would merge into the Eltham county, as a boundary road was a source of annoyance.

Cr. Dudley: The Eltham County Council has refused to take them.

The chairman said that tlie ratepayers in the Egmont county were not prepared to do their share. The only thing to do was to hand over the rates to the Eltham County Council to expend; or, failing that, expend any money available for rates.

It was resolved to ask the Eltham County Council to take over the control of the road, and that the Egmont Council will hand over the rates accruing to the road.

WATINO AND PUTIKI ROADS.

Cr, McNeill stated that when the annual rate was struck on the by-roads and on tlie main roads it was stated that if the latter were found too great, a poition could be transferred to the byroads. As he understood that the main road was over £950 in credit, he suggested that a portion should be transferred to the Watino and IPatiki roads, which urgently needed repairs. Indeed, so bad was tlie latter that the settlers were prepared to pay their next year's rates in advance to get something done. It was decided to transfer £3OO to each of the roads mentioned GENERAL. Slaugliter-house license renewals were granted to Albert Tliornley. The State Guaranteed Advances Office notified payment to the Council's account of £1475.

The Resident Engineer at Stratford wrote that no funds were available for the Okahu road (Ngariki to Ncwall road). A letter was received from the Parihaka P.oad Board, agreeing to pay half the cost of the Oxford-Saunders Eoads Commission.

The Oaonui Dairy Factory were granted permission to remove soil at the side of the road near the factory in order to grade the frontage.

It was resolved to instal two pipe -culverts on the Wiremu road.

The foreman is to be asked to report on the state of the Te Kiri road. . The bridge foreman is to forward estimate of quantities of shingle required for tlie Kapuaea bridge (near Layard's, Pungarelvu), with a view to tenders being called. Accounts amounting to £BB4 Ids 2d (general) and £l2O 6s 9d (bridge loan) were passed for payment.