TARANAKI COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 June 1927, Page 10

TARANAKI COUNTY.

MEETING OF THE COUNCIL MANY OPERATIONS REPORTED ON. REQUESTS MADE BY RATEPAYERS. The Taranaki County Council held its monthly meeting yesterday. Present: Councillors J. S. Connett (chairman), W. Hall, W. Cartwright, R. Wood, S.. Vickers, L. Carey and W. Thomas. The danger of undermined sandpits on the Alanutahi Road was pointed out by the Lepperton School Committee. Children playing in them were running a risk.—Referred to the overseer. A request that a culvert on Oxford Road, Okato, should be lowered two feet to enable him to drain his property, was made by W. E. Haylock.—Referred to the chairman and the overseer. The Public Trustee notified in reference to an application for an increase of £75 on the Oxford Road loan of £750 that the matter would have to be referred to the Loans Board. —It was decided to apply to the Loans Board. The Local Government Loans Board wrote asking local authorities to furnish a return of estimated loan proposals for the year ending March 31, 1928. Loans, or parts of loans, for renewal, would have to be shown separately. The chairman was deputed to represent the council at the opening of the West End School on Friday. Messrs. Stead and Pritchard forwarded £lOO 2s (id in connection with the financial adjustment with the Waitara Borough Council. The Westown Progressive Association wrote asking for a street light at the junction of the old Cowling Road and Eliot Road. The road was unmetalled, slippery and dangerous, and was darkened by the cutting. A light would serve the purpose of lighting both roads. —lt was decided to inform the association that the ccum-il could not grant the request. DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. The chairman and Or. Thomas were authorised to approach the Hon. 0. J. Hawken to-day with reference to a proposal to metal the Saunders Road, south from the Oxford Road factory. This is a matter about which the Egmont County failed to come to an agreement concerning a contribution, and it is now suggested that the riding in the Taranaki county should pay its sflare, the Government to be asked to pay a greater subsidy than £ for £ in order to make up what would have been received from the Egmont Council had it agreed to the proposition. The District Highways Council notified that it would subsidise any repairs necessary to the Waiwakaiho bridge. A hire purchase agreement for the hire of the following plant from the Main Highways Board was forwarded by Mr F. W. Furkert: One 10-20 special McCormick Deering industrial tractor: two Leyland trucks (model G.H.2), and one Leyland truck (model A). The terms of payment would be half-yearly, 0 per cent, being charged for outstanding instalments. The first instalment of £5lO 19s lOd was due immediately. The county inspector (Mr. R. Aroaj reported all heavy traffic licenses had been collected for the time being. In most cases farmers had either cleared up road frontages or were attending to them. Unlighted vehicles had not given much trouble. Drivers’ licenses were coming in steadily. Fees collected amounted to £55 2s 6d, including £44 10s for heavy traffic licenses. WAIONGONA AND MANGAORAKA BRIDGES. On behalf of the District Highways Council, Mr. Y. M, Ball wrote that the superstructures of the Mangaoraka and Waiongona bridges on the Devon Road were built of puriri and were generally in a fair state of preservation, but the abutments required immediate attention as outlined in Messrs. Sladden and Palmer's report. The strength of the bridges shoud be carefully checked to see what factor of safety existed under present-day loading. It was recommended that this should be attended to without delay, and, if no plan existed, new plans should be prepared giving particulars of sizes of timber and general dimensions. The joists should be strengthened. The repairs to the Waiongona bridge were likely to be fairly extensive, and it was quite possible that the best thing to do was to make temporary repairs only, and to make provision for re-building in the near future. The submission of proposals was asked for as early as possible; repairs would be subsidised on the ordinary maintenance basis. The matter was left in the hands of the chairman and overseer. It was stated the bridges had been up 50 years and the opinion was expressed that it would be advisable only to stay them up to the margin of safety, with a view to building new bridges in a few years' time. The overseer (Mr G. Meredith) reported as follows for the month of May:— The rotary crusher was worked at the Oakura depot 12 days, crushing 1230 yards of metal, delivered as follows: Main South Road, Tapuae Hill, re-met-alling 1005 yards, dumped for asphalt patching and repairs to edges 22 yards; Croydon Rond, 50 yards; Ahu Ahu Road, 23 yards; Waireka Road, 20 yards; Mr. Hare's entrance, Omata, 32 yards; Koru Road, 6 yards; Koru school committee, 3 yards; H. Looney, 2 yards; E. Looney, 10 yards; G. Meredith, 6 yards; Mr. Hare, 2 yards; and Mr. Bagley, Tataraimaka, 48 yards. The crusher was then shifted into the Waitara riding, and was set up at the lower end of the Tate Road. Four days’ crushing had been done and 378 yards of metal had been spread on the Tate Road. WORK IN THE RIDINGS. Metal and chips from Fitzroy quarries were; Mangorei Road, 4 yard? metal; Junction Road, 10 yards metal and 3 yards 7-Bin. chips; Devon Roan, 0 yards metal; Ngamotu Beach and <

Sealy Roads, 51 yards metal; and 8 yards concrete material to pipe depot, Waiwakaiho. The Hope crusher at Penwarden’s depot, Pitone Road, lias crushed 1691 yards of metal, delivered as follows: Greenwood and Beach Roads, 705| yards; Pitone Road, 770 yards; Pitone Road, repairs to hill near crusher, 24J yards; re-metalling Gatenby’s Hill, Beach Road, 91 yards; delivered to Mr. Richardson, 100 yards. The metal crashed during the month was: Rotary crusher, 1608 yards; Hope crusher, 1691 yards; a total of 3299 yards. Metal and chips carted in county lorries was 16'82 yards. Main Highways.—The 28 chains of construction work, metalling, penetrating and sealing with bitumen at Sentry Hill has been completed. General maintenance work has been done on the Auckland-Wellington, New PlymouthKaimata, and Lepperton-Junction Roads. Mangorei Riding.—The surfacemen have attended to water tables and patching the various roads in their lengths. Foreman Jury has the grader at work removing the grass shoulders from the metal on the Ixiwer -Mangorei, Alfred, Albert, Korito, Kent and Upper Mangorei Roads. Waitara Riding.—On the Ackworth Road, the old metalled portion at the lower end has been rocoated with metal and rolled, and the loan work (1| miles of metal) has been rolled and blinded. The Kelly Road contract is practically at a standstill owing to the wet weather. There is still about 20 chains of metalling to do and two small hills to grade to complete the work. Corbett Road metalling is completed, and the rolling and blinding is now being curried out. Johnson Road metalling (25 chains) is finished, with the exception or the rolling and blinding. Mr. Borthwick has completed his grading and metalling contract on the Richmond Road. The surfacemen have been metalling on the Johnson, Corbett, Ackworth and Tate Roads. Omata Riding.—General maintenance work has been carried out. The approach to Mr. Hare’s property has been metalled and the hill near Air. Hart’s cowshed on the Waireka Road has been repaired. Okato Riding.—The lower Pitone, Beach and Greenwood Roads’ metalling (loan work) has been completed, with the exception of the roll’ng and blinding. The re-metalling of a portion of Beach and Pitone Roads is now being attended to and should be completed in about three days. The re-metalling of the Tapuae Hill on the Alain South Road is completed. A portion of the Upper Weld Road has been ploughed and rounded up. The old South Road at Okato, from the main road towards the Kaihihi stream, has been repaired. The surfacemen have Leja spreading metal on the Greenwood, Beach, Pitono and Main South Roads. A considerable amount of patching has been done on the Kiribati and Puniho Roads. The 6J chains of metalling on the Croydon Road has been finished. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. Cr. Carey asked whether it would be possible to widen the wing on the Pitone corner. At present it was difficult for two vehicles to pass on the mud. The-'matter was- referred to the overseer. The foreman was instructed to report on the question of forming the upper end of Carrington Road, from Oxford Road to Air. Julian’s property. It was decided that councillors should inspect the sheds at the Waiwakaiho. It was agreed that if Air. Tremlett would put up £lOO, the council would metal the Dorset Road, at an estimated cost of £l2B. Thanks were expressed to Messrs. O. Penwarden (Greenwood Road), A. Richardson (Pitone Road), and V. Shotter (Weld Road) for work done on the roads. Cr. Wood asked whether it would be possible to widen the Ratanui Hill Road.—The matter was referred to the overseer to deal with. The question of metalling the lower end of Timaru Road was referred to the riding councillors. Permission to shift his fence out to include a waste corner covered with gorse, fern and blackberry was given A. J. Harrison, Alanutahi Road, Lepperton, subject to the approval of Cr. Cartwright. Grants approved for submission to the Public Works Department for inclusion in next year’s estimates totalled £5lOO and were distributed among the ridings in the following proportions: —Mango - rei £4lO, Waitara £2130, Omata £4BO, Okato £2OBO. The individual items are as follows: —Richmond Road £BO, Ackworth Road £550, Kelly Road £250, Te Arei Road £5OO, Waitara River bridge £750, Korito Road £4lO, Frankley Road £4BO, Carrington Road £330, Weld Road £250, Timaru Road £750, Saunders Road £750.