TARANAKI COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1926, Page 10

TARANAKI COUNTY.

PAST MONTH'S OPERATIONS. MEETING OF THE COUNCIL. REPORT FROM THE OVERSEER. The monthly meeting of the Taranaki County Council was Imld yesterday. Present: Councillors J. S. Connett (chairman), W. Hall, W.’Cartwright, W. Thomas. S. Vickers, L. Carey and R. Wood. The overseer (Mr. G. Meredith) reported on the work during October as follows: The crusher has been worked 11 days at the Waiwakaiho depot, crushing 805 yards of metal delivered as follows: Cowling and Elliott Roads, 648 yards; Ngamotu RoaJ.lß.yards; Veal Road. 16 yards; II Salway, 4 yards; Kirihau Road, 5 yards; Lower Mangorei Road, 16 yards; Mutton track, 4 yards; Main South Road, Omata, 36 yards; Devon Road, 36 yards; Corbett Road, 12 yards; Paraite Road, 4 yards; Mr. XJudopp, 4 yards; Mr. Blanchard, 4 yards. Eight yards of metal was taken from the Waiwakaiho dump to Mutton track. Meta! carted from Monty’s pit, Sentry Hill, amounted to 115 yards, and was delivered as follows: Brown Road, 4 yards: Kelly Road, 20 yards; Te Arei Road, 27 yards; Tate Road, 16 yards; Waitara Road. 40 yards; Mahoetahi Road, 4 yards; Richmond Road. 4 yards Metal carted from Smith’s. Pit, Henwood Road, amounted to 122 yards, and was delivered as follows: King Road, 64 yards; Hursthouse Road. 12 yards; Hen wood Road. 46 yards. The total metal carted for the month was 1050 yards. During the broken weather the staff has been erecting a fence and grubbing gorse on the section at Tataraimaka, making pipes, mixing asphalt, carting coal and putting new concaves in the rotary crusher. Foreman Jury has been engaged hauling 574 yards of boulders, 22 . yards of shingle, and ten yards of sand at Waiwakaiho depot. The Inspector of Machinery made his annual visit, and as a result repairs have been carried out to the plant. Mangorei Riding.—General repairs have been carried out, water- tables, metal patching, and blinding has been done on the Carrington, Mangorei, Kent, Albert, Korito, Alfred and Junction Roads. The asphalt has been banked up in places but requires patching, which will be done as soon as the weather permits. Waitara Riding.—A start has been made with the remetalling on the Richmond Road between Wortley junction and, the Lepperton township. The small roller is now at work on the road, water tables, metal patching an<J clay blinding has been done where necessary on most of the roads in the riding. Further erosion has taken place on the town side of the Waiwakaiho River, below the Devon Road bridge. It will be necessary to repair the stone and netting groyne as soon as possible. The flood during the month caused considerable, erosion to take place on the Mamaku Road on Karaka Flat, at one point the rivsr has washed away over half the road, leaving only about 29 feet from the bank to the boundary fence. It will be necessary to build a groyne to protect the bank. This work could not be carried out until the level the river is mtich lower than at present.

Omata Riding.—Foreman Eva has been metalling the Cowling and Elliott Roads. Approximately 65 chains of the old metal has been scarified, remetalled and rolled. Foreman Seamark has been cleaning out water, tables, patching metal, and banking up the asphalt on c!w" various roads in his length. The embankment on. the Omata hill, opposite Mr. Penwarden's dam, has been fenced off and planted with willows. Okato Riding.—General repairs have been done, water-tables, patching, blinding and banking up lias been attended to on the Puniho. Kaihihi, Hoani, Hampton, Perth. Leith. Dover, Pitone, Timaru, Surrey Hill, Alni Ahn, Main South, Koru and Plymouth Roads. Grading has been done on the Timaru and Greenwood Roads, the principal work being the shearing off of the grass edges front the metal. The grader has gone to Leith Road, where similar work will be done. A concrete protection wall below the Oakura bridge collapsed during the recent heavy floods and repairs will be carried out as soon as the bridge carpenter is available. No immediate danger to the bank is anticipated. It was decided to notify the Clifton County Council that the swing bridge over the Waitara River was in a bad condition. Taken on the whole, the month had been fairly good as far as breaches of by-laws were concerned, reported the inspector (Mr. R. Aroa). Less cattle than previously had been found at large. Unlighted vehicles at night hajl not been troublesome. Five cases had been before the court and one was pending. Fees collected amounted to £196 10s 6d. FINANCIAL MATTERS. Amounts totalling £3619 13s lid had been received from the Highways Board and Public Works Department since April 1, 1926, said a statement placed before the council. The items were set out as follow: —Upland Road, £22.5; Highway Board, Waiongona, £1496; Richmond Road, £33 6s sd; Highway Board, Mountain Road, £954 Is lid; Highway Board, Devon Road, £153 Ils lid; Highway Board, Devon Road, £258 17s 5d (all in Waitara Riding); Dover Road, £200; and Highway Board, South Road, £298 16s 3d (both in the Okato Riding). Amounts due totalled £2420 15s, and were shown as follow:—Highway Board, Waiwakaiho Flat (Waitara Riding). £943; Highway Board, half cost survey Main South Road, £42 15s; Alfred Bridge (Mangorei), £500; Moniona Bridge (Okato), £355; Kent Bridge (Mangorei), £335; Upland Road (Waitara), £245. The financial positions of the various ridings was reported on as follow by the clerk (Mr. R. O. Ellis): —Mangorei, balance overdrawn, £464 19s lOd; Waitara, balance overdrawn, £287 2s Id; Omata, balance available, £1530 2s 6d; Okato, balance available, £1144 4s Bd. On the motion of the chairman, Crs. Thomas, Vickers, Wood. Hall and the chairman were appointed to investigate matters in connection with the road improvement loan and report to the council. Mr. Connett said he thought that councillors would then have the opportunity of becoming conversant with the position. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. “The cows were put on it in wet weather, with the result that it is a tea of mud and slush for about 12

chains, and will take six months to dry,” wrote W. Moles, when complaining of the condition of Maud Road. Mr. Moles waited on the council personally and was promised that steps would be taken to remedy the trouble. The manner in which the Waitara River was eating into the bank along the Mamaku Road along the Karaka Flat, was mentioned in a letter from A. W. Petersen, of Brixton. ‘During the July flood and the present one a portion about II chains in width has gone in one place,” he wrote, “while during the seven years I have been on the road over a chitin has gone.” It was decided to inform Mr. Petersen that willows had been planted in the locality. The New Plymouth Scenic Reserves

I Board wrote thanking the council for its help regarding the suspension bridge at the Meeting of the Waters. The chief surveyor (Mr. W. D. Arrnit) wrote that his department could not undertake the survey of sections 38 and 39, Hua and Waiwakaiho district, as it was considered it was a matter for the local body and landowners concerned. Approval of the proposal to form and metal one mile 41 chains of Ackworth Road was notified by Mr. T. M. Ball, district engineer for the Public Works Department. With reference to the pollution of watercourses. Dr. T. MeKibbon, of the Health Department, notified that he had suggested a conference witli the New Plymouth Borough Council regarding

anything in the nature of restrictive measures to be imposed on farmers in the watershed district. —The chairman and Cr. Wood were appointed to represent the county in the matter. A tender of 5s a dozen for dog collars was accepted from F. G. Read, Petone. The contractor is to be asked to proceed with the metalling of the Carrington Road in the Okato Riding as soon as tlie weather permits.