EGMONT COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 July 1923, Page 3

EGMONT COUNTY.

MEETING OF THE COUNCIL. GOVERNMENT GRANTS. The Egmont County Council met at Opunake yesterday. Present: Councillors W. C. Green (chairman), R. Ferguson, J. Hickey junr., J. Young, G Gibson, J. S. Tosland, H. Donald, E. A. Collins and J. A. Pettigrew. The following Government grants will be applied for:—Cape Road, £2OO (£ for £); Kahui Road, £2OO (£ for £) ; Wataroa Road, £1300; Pauhaka Road, £300; Newall Road, £1000; Okahu Road, £300; Wlremu Road, Waiau Bridge, £2250 (£3 for £); Wlremu Road, Ihaia to Arawhata, £200; Kaweora Road, £6OO (£3 for £1); Taungatara Bridge, Main South Road, £6OO (£l. for £2). Councillor Tosland said the chairman was to be congratulated on the list submitted. He understood that the Government would grant £ for £ on by-roads, and he thought that the council’s future policy should be to obtain their quota of grants each year, even if It meant the settlers of the particular locality having to raise loans. He considered that for the past 20 years they had been nursing the opportunity of obtaining Government grants for by-roads through not knowing that they were available. HIGHWAYS DISTRICTS. The Public Works Department notified the proposal to divide the Dominion into a number of highway districts, of which the Taranaki district (No. 7) comprised Clifton, V. hanganomona, Taranaki, Inglewood, Egmont, Stratford, Waimate W., Eltham and Hawera Counties.

Notification was also received that the Main Highways Board approved of the grouping, and as it was necessary that no time should be lost in constituting District Highway Councils, so that the board might properly perform its functions without delay on the date appointed for the coming into operation of the Act, viz. April 1, 1924. They therefore asked each council to Indicate whether or not they concurred in the suggested grouping. It was suggested that a conference of delegates from each county within the group should be convened at as early a date as possible. Where the suggested grouping was agreed to arrangements for the constitution of the group as a highway district could be made immediately ,and so enable the District Highways Council to commence an investigation of its requirements and the preparation of its recommendations to the board. Where this grouping was not concurred in, and modification was considered necessary, the board would be prepared to send a delegate to confer with delegates. The point was emphasised that the setting up of these Highway Districts Councils was a fundamental basis of the operation of the Act. Councillor Tosland said that the members of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association were pleased that the Taranaki counties were grouped, as there wvuld be no difficulty over the allocation of the tyre tax and the expenditure of the money. Councillor Ferguson asked whether it was proposed to allocate the tyre tax according to valuation irrespective of whether the county had its roads down or not. Councillor Tosland stated it was proposed to borrow about £3,000,000 or £4,000,000, from which fund local bodies could borrow. It was resolved to approve the suggested grouping. GOVERNMENT LOANS.

Mr. O. Hawken, M.P. for Egmont, forwarded a letter from the Hon. J G. Coates (Minister for Public Works) stating that while at Opunake recently Councillor J. S. Tosland asked that the limit of advances to local authorities by the State Advances Office be increased from £5OOO to £lO,OOO in any one financial year. The Minister stated that he had submitted the matter to the superintendent of the State Advances Office, who had replied that the matter had received careful consideration, and it had been decided that owing to the large demands at present being made on the funds for loans to settlers an'd workers, and In view of the proposed extension of the State Advance. Act, it was not possible at the present time to increase the amount available to local bodies. That did not, of course, prohibit a local body from raising money from other sources, and very considerable amounts were advanced yearly by the Public Trust Office and other Goverifment lending departments. IHAIA ROAD LOAN. The Advances Board notified that the council had been granted a loan of £5OOO for the purpose of widening and metalling the Ihaia Road. The chairman said the council had not deckled where the money was to be expended. He considered that a committee should be set up to go over the road with the overseer and decide where it was best to spend the money. Councillor' Young said that it must be apparent that there would not be enough money to complete the work. The chairman stated that he did not think they were bound to tar-seal the road. In that case there might be enough money to complete a water bound road. Councillor Hickey said that a good metalled road would satisfy the settlers. It was resolved that a committee consisting of Councillors Hickey, Y’oung, Ferguson and the chairman be appointed to meet the settlers, the committee to have power to go on with the work when a decision was arrived at. BRIDGE LOAN. Regarding the bridge loan of £5OOO the superintendent of the Advances Department notified that owing to a still further reduction having been made In the area of the county, he considered it would be preferable to again submit the loan proposal to a poll of the existing ratepayers. It was stated that there were eleven bridges to be renewed out of the old loan. Councillor Tosland thought the council should place a loan before ratepayers to embrace every bridge in the county. It was stated that it would cost £15,350 to complete the bridges that required renewal. It was decided to leave the matter in abeyance until the loan for tar-seallng had been dealt with. TAR-SEALING. The committee appointed to consider the question of a loan for re-constructlng and tar-seal-ing roads reported that it was considered that about 36 miles (Eltham Road nine miles and Main South Road 27 nilles) should be tarsealed, and they recommended that the councl’ proceed with a loan for re-constructlng and tar-sealing certain roads in the county. They also recommended thUt Mr. C. Skitrop the consuiting engineer for Messrs. Ellis and Co.. Auckland, be asked to furnish an estimate of the cost. Mr. Skitrop attended the meeting and submitted n report, in reply to questions he gave estimates of the cost of the necessary plant, which as far as the council was concerned would mean sprayer, tanks, horse broom etc. He favoured the road being 15 or 16 feet wide, and considered that four Inches of metal well bound was sufficient. A bltumenous road did not require much camber. Covering the road with sand gave ft slippery surface, and he favoured the penetration system. The report was adopted. TENDERS. The Works Committee reported having accepted tenders as follows:—500 yards pit metal, Kahui Road, Tame Waiwirl, 4/11 yard: I Tlpoka Road, formation and metalling, O. G. i Northcote, £132 and 30/- per chain for drainI ing: drain cleaning, Upper Witeora Road, I Chris Thompson, 9/6 per chain.—Adopted. 1 The tender of E. Cox, at 2/9 per yard for filling in a cutting on the Kaweroa Road, was accepted. OVERSEER'S REPORT. The overseer (Mr. lan Campbell) reported that be had inspected Gregory Road, Rahotu Ridin". Nothing of a permanent nature could ;be done till the road dried up. The work on I Ngariki Road had been attended to by Mr. 1 lames He had communicated with Mr. ' Chrlstofell regarding complaints made about 1 the bad state of the Newall Road. Fifty > yards of shingle and broken metal had been ! received for patching the Ihaia Bead. A start ; had been made with the Upper Kahui Road m»tal Contracts had been let for forming and 1 metalling the Tlpoka Road. The tenders for formation work on the Kaweora Road were too high The Lower Walteaka Road work would i he put in hand at once, and alternate " tlons were prepared for work on the Iha.a ■ Hoad special loan. H. Munro had made a start with erushing on the Main South (thamas and Crawlord baJ complototl th«

Road contract, and H. Bartie had completed the Arawhata Road draining. The report referred to the recent accident to the Ouri bridge. Repairs had been carried out, and the bridge was now in a safe state for any reasonable load. Road drains were giving a lot of trouble at present, and he suggested that tenders be called for cleaning all drains In each riding. He also asked authority to call tenders for scaling and painting the steel bridges in tile county, particularly the Waiaua and the Ouri, on the Eltham Road. Oeo Riding (Northern).—Metal patching and general maintenance work has been done on Eltham, Stratford-Opunake, and Oeo Roads. Oeo Riding (Southern).—On Eltham Road the riding staff had been engaged spreading and rolling metal delivered under Munro’s contract, and patching metal after the crushing stopped. The Patlkl and Skeet roads had suffered a lot through extra traffic while the Ouri bridge was closed. Opua Riding (Northern).—General maintenance work had been done on Eltham Road, Opua, Te Namu, and Kina roads. The surfaceman on the upper part of the riding had been patching holes on Arawhata and Kina roads. Opua Riding (Sonthern).—General maintenance work had been done on Eltham and Main South roads, draining and metal patching on Upper Waitelka Road, and carting out metal and filling holes on Ihnla Road. Rahotu Riding.—Repairs had been done to Pungarehu bridge. General maintenance and patching had been done on Main South, Lower Kahui, Parlhaka, Cape, and Opourapa roads. Newall Riding.—Maintenance and metal patching had been carried out on Main South Rond. Two days’ crushing was done and metal carted out for maintenance. Metal patching, etc., was done on Warea, Pungarehu, and Paoro roads. Tenders are to be called for clearing drains as suggested. Double time wljl be paid the men who worked on the Ouri bridge all night. GENERAL. The resident engineer (Mr. Ball) wrote stating that the balance of £57 on the Okahu (Ngariki-Newall Road) could be expended on any permanent improvement, such as concrete culverts, side drains, raising formation, Improving grades, etc., but not on any work In the nature of maintenance.—The overseer is to proceed with the work. The Lands Department notified Its Intention of declaring the Wataroa and Kekeua roads, in the Parlhaka block, as public roads. Crs. J. S. Tosland and Pettigrew reported that they had cut and measured the metal supplied. on the Opunake-Stratford road, and recommended that payment be made in full. Adopted. Gibson and Hessell, on behalf of A. E. Jeffries, Oaonui, asked what the council was prepared to do regarding forming the Hitona Road.—It was resolved to ascertain the amount of rates available for expenditure on the road. It was decided to expend up to £2O on urgent repairs to the Arawhata Road, £lO to the Opua Road, and £25 to the Bayly Road. The chairman was appointed the council’s representative at the counties’ conference at