COUNTY CONTROL

Taranaki Daily News, 22 July 1929, Page 12

COUNTY CONTROL

STRATFORD COUNCIL MEETING. MAINTENANCE WORK REPORTED. TJ)o monthly meeting of the Stratford County Council was 'held on Saturday, Mr. T. R. Anderson presiding. The county inspector (Mr. J. W. Spence) reported:— North Riding.—Most of the metalled roads have received attention in the way of metal patching and the old wooden culvert on Cambria Street, Miaairst, has been replaced with a set of 21-inch concrete pipes. The recent wet weather has delayed the refacing of the lower Pembroke Road but the upper portion of this road has been repaired with shingle from the Barclay Road pit. Stumps and logs have been removed on the upper Pembroke where the formation will later be widened. It is reported that the work on the clay portion of the Cross Road has been completed. Three sets of concrete pipes have been put in. Further quantities of shingle and boulders have been carted out of the Manganui stream and dumped on the eastern crushing site. South Riding.—During the time the refacing of tho Skinner Road has been held up on account of the weather, possible attention has been given to the banking of the metal previously put on and to the widening of the formation. General maintenance work has been carried out on the Mountain, Sole, Chea! and Wingrove Roads. On the Wingrove an old wooden culvert has been replaced with concrete pipes. Maintenance metal has been crushed and dumped on Wingrove No. 1, lower Skinner, Sole, Warwick and Victoria Roads.

East Riding (Toko). —-Watertabling and metal patching have been carried out on tho Ohura, Ahuroa west, Toko Nos. 1 and 2 and Waiwiri Roads. The fence at the junction of the Toko and Raupuha Roads has been shifted back and the formation at this point widened. A set of concrete pipes has been placed on tho former. Several small slips on the i Beaconsfield, Makuri and Mangaehu Reads have been removed.

Last Riding (Douglas). —The OhuraMangaehu, Crown, Oruru and Gordon Roads have received attention, the metal patched and banked, watertables and small drains cleaned and slips cleared away. A cut has been put in to lead the ’water from the metal pit to the gully on the Douglas south saddle. The metal on some of the corners on the Ohura Road has been widened and the watertable recut.

East Riding (Huiroa)The watertables ou the Douglas north and south, Makuri, Mohakau and Akama Roads have been attended to and the grass edges on Kota and Akama Roads have been trimmed. Metal patching has been done on the Makuri, where a sharp bend has been cut back

IMPROVEMENTS AT CARDIFF.

V/est Riding.—Or > hundred and twenty yards of pit shingle have been dumped on the sides of the Cardiff Road and this material will be used for blinding the metal when the road is refaced. Parts of the formation have been straightened. The filling on the Opunake Road on Mr. Gadsby’s frontage has been widened. When this has been consolidated it is hoped to increase tho width of the metalling. Portions of the bitumen surfaces on the Opunake No. 1 and Manaia Roads have been repaired. Metal patching has been done in tho Ronald, Poto, Hastings, Opunake No. 2, Cardiff, Waingongoro and Rowan Roads. The recent vriud and rain storms were responsible for a quantity of timber and tree limbs being deposited on the roads. Mangaehu Biding.—On the Mangaotuku Read metal patching and culvert cleaning have been done. On the Tututawa Road the fern has been cut and watertables have been cleaned. On. the Mangaehu south and Tauwharenikau Roads small slips have been removed and the water has been cu', off. On the Mangaehu south severs,! drains, which silt had filled, have been cleaned and deepened. The break-away on the roadside has been partly made up- Additional quantities of filling will be used further to widen the formation. Several small slips have been removed and the metal has been patched ■where necessary. On the Puniwhakau Road slips took place, bringing down not only clay but also scrub and timber and in one case it has been possible to clear only a track throimli. This work will be further im--1 proved when it is possible to handle the slip material. A six foot track has also been cut through the slip on the Taurakawa. After the slips had been cleared on the Manga Road further slips came down. The work of clearing lias been put in hand. A deviation has been put in on the Taihore Saddle to enable stock to use the track. Ngatimaru Riding—The wet weather experienced during the past period lias been responsible for a number of slips and extra labour has been employed to keep the roads open. The watertables on tho Junction, Mangaoapa and Matau north and south roads have been attended to and the slips as far as possible cleared away. The work on the Waitara Valley track is still in hand but the money available will allow for only a limited i mount of further work.

WORK OF THE INSPECTOR.

Poundage had been collected on uO head of stock, reported the county range? and inspector (Mr. S. J. Cull). Ovuieis of two separate teams of bullocks found wandering on the Opunake and Manaia Roads at midnight would be prosecuted. On the whole the stock trouble was not bad and any complaints had been attended to. The renewal of drivers’ licenseshad been carried out satisfactorily. To date 1125 licenses had been issued from the office. Of that number of drivers 20 were first applicants.’ Fourteen had been encountered driving without renewed licenses but as these had renewed promptly no action had been taken. A total of 1192 dogs had been registered land general fees collected amounted to l£s ls° . , , , , It was decided that motorists had been rdven ample time in which to renew .licenses and the inspector was instructed to prosecute offenders. j The railway district engineer at Wanganui advised that a lease of a portion of the railway reserve in the Stratford station yard with a frontage of 40 feet and a depth of 20 feet hud been granted to the council.

Tho Inglewood council was investigating the question of maintenance of the Purangi bridge, wrote its clerk. Five ratepayers wrote asking if the council would metal the Ronald Road on the grounds that the mud strip was badly cut up. The engineer was asked to report io next meeting on the probable cost of the required work.

ACCESS FOR SETTLERS.

Referring to the council’s letter requesting to be advised whether it would bo possible for his department to erect a vehicular bridge over the Waitara stream to give access to Messrs. Ammon Bros.’ property, on the understanding that the settlers would arrange for the formation of the road, the Hon. L. A. Ransom, Minister of Public Works, thought the Government would be justified in financing the erection of the bridge, which was estimated to cost £2OOO. There were other settlers interested in the bridge, however, and before he could see his way clear to recommend to Cabinet that the necessary funds be provided for the erection of the bridge it would be necessary for the local body, Messrs. Ammon Bros, and the other interested parties to enter into an agreement freeing the Government of all future responsibility insofar as the construction of the Pita track was concerned. Mr. W. Ammon, who waited upon the council said that he had been paying rates to the Clifton County Council for years but had been unable to get access. “Well the Government is not going to build the bridge unless it is freed from liability as far as the road is concerned, said the chairman. The Government had expressed its intention of assisting backblocks settlers where possible, said Cr. Pitt. The offer to build the bridge costing £2OOO was a generous one of ■which advantage should bo taken. They should give the assurance the Government required. On the motion of Cr. Mounsey, Ngatimaru riding member, it was decided ,to give the Government an understanding freeing it from .responsibility as far as tho formation of the road was concerned. The engineer was authorised to erect a steam bitumen heating plant.

GENERAL ITEMS.

Mr. E. W. Baker, manager of the Pembroke Co-op. Dairy Co., won. the New Zealand championship for cheese at the Wellington show. On the recommendation of the finance committee the Stratford County Council struck the following rates for the ensuing year: North Riding, 1 7-8 d (last year 2d) f south. 2d (I 5-8 d); east, 2d (2d); west, l|d (1 5-8 d); Mangaehu, 5d (3d) ;■ Ngatimaru, Is Id (Is Id),