EGMONT COUNTY AFFAIRS

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1931, Page 2

EGMONT COUNTY AFFAIRS

WORK ON ROADS AND BRIDGES GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY ON RATES. MONTHLY MEETING OF COUNCIL. The monthly meeting of the Egmont County Council was hold yesterday, there being present Cre. W. C. Green (chairman), J. Young, J. S. Tosland, GGibeon, A. E. Collins, J. F- Shepherd and R. C. Watson. n Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., notified that he had made inquiries in respect to the authorisation of the Government grant of £l6OO in connection with the Taranaki-Egmorit County Council joint loan of £BOO for the Puniho Road and had been advised that the requisition was now awaiting Cabinet approval. As soon as that was obtained autlior'ty would be issued for the work. “That is derating,” remarked Cr. Collins, when a letter was read announcing the subsidy on rates, “a principle that the chairman does not subscribe to.” 1 The chairman: I do not agree wit. de-rating. This, however, is not derating but taking it from one pocket to nut part of it into another. Replying to Cr. Shepherd, the chairman stated that the money was being taken from the Highways Fund. Mr. P. Keller, Main Highways Boards representative, wrote that the btn. would subsidise expenditure in the construction of main highways during trie current year as follows: Oeo stream bridge £650 on a £2 for £1 basis, an Oeo stream deviation; £l3OO on a ±3 for £1 basis. . f The Assistant Under- Secretary of the Public Works Department forwarded copies of the proclamations taking lant at the Oeo deviation for the purposes of a road and closing the old road. The offer of Mr. J. S. Tosland tri pay 30s for the right to cut gtSSs Seed on the Main South Road from the Tatingatara River arid on the WatinO Rorid to his homestead was accepted. ENGINEER’S REPORT. The engineer (Mr. J. G. MclVor) reported as follows on the work done during the month ending December o: Punehu hill has been patched and blinded. Deck repairs have been made to Otahi, Wadau arid Waiteika bridges. A fair amount of banking and draining Have- been done and asphalt S r , where needed. On Eltham Road 6 chains of drain has been cleared, shoulders made up with pit metal and gritting attended to. On Skeet Road the metal portion has been patched, blinded' and water-tabled. Banking and blinding have been done on Ihaia Road and 0b chains of drains cleared, Oeo Riding: Nopera Road has been patched and blinded throughout. Watertabling and blinding have been done oh Oeo,' Patiki and Kiri Roads. Opua Riding-: Patching has been done on Naniu and Kaweora Roads. A further 39 chains lias been pit-metalled and rolled on Upper Kiria Rofid. An old Wooden culvert on the Lower Waiteika Road lias been replaced with concrete pipes and drains cleared. Rahotu Riding: The lower pOftaon of Rahotu Road has been cleared of gorse, drains cleared and culverts lowered. Tipoka, Upper and Lower Parihaka Roads and Cape Road have been graded, patched and rolled. Water-tabling and blindinn- have been done on Uppei Kahui ami draining on Ngariki Road. Drains have been cleared and a culvert replaced oil the Tipoka Road. Newall Riding: pungarehu, Wataroa, Bavly, Burgees and Stent Roads, have been graded, patched and rolled. A little draining has been done on Newall Road and water-tabling and blinding on W&rea- Road. The Ruakere Road pit was. fenced. Mirikau and Newall Road contracts are practically completed, trimming oiily remaining to be done. Forty-five feet of concrete pipes were made at the depot. Cr, Tosland drew attention to the necessity for draining a very bad hole on the bpha Road. He considered that in the interests of the settlers unemployed relief men should be put on to carry out the necessary draining. Tll6 engineer stated that he had the matter in hand. RANGING OF THE ROADS. The county rangftr (Mr. W. Weaver) reported that during the month he had seized 14 cows, 3 yearlings, 7 horsed and one bull, alt of which had been released. He had also seized the Rahotu riding horse wandering on the roads in Rahotii. The roads were fairly clear of wandering stock. He also applied, for the position of dog tax collector at the same commission as last year—ld per dog; The application was granted. The chairman said that last year the same collector had collected a total of £lO4. After paying commission and collars there would be about £3B left for the council. The tender of W. N- Brewer, Ashhurfet, at 6J)d was accepted for the supply of collars. Two other tenders were received. The chairman and councillors would have preferred to have given the tender locally, but in view of the difference in the price it was considered not expedient in the interest of the ratepayers to -do so. WAITEIKA ROAD BRIDGE. The engineer stated that with the assistance of the unemployed he had stripped the bridge on the Lower Waiteaka Road. The material was in worse order than anticipated arid it Would require a complete new bridge. It would cost more than £25. Cr. Collins opposed eormtructing a temporary bridge. He favoured the whole council viewing the bridge with a view to erecting a concrete structure. The chairman stated that councillors had given an assurance that the bridge could be repaired for the amount allocated and now it was discovered that it could, not. He would like to see the bridge renewed but he pointed out that if the extra money was expended there would be very little available for further expenditure in the riding. He considered it would have been better policy to have placed a rail across the bridge and closed it until after March 31.° Cr. Shepherd said he did not consider it was fair that the riding should haie to find the funds for the erection of the bridge. He asked whether the bridge on the Rahotu Road had been built by the riding. The chairman pointed out that that bridge had been built out of loan, as it was included in the loan ridings. Cr. Shepherd said that the riding could not find the money. _ Owing to the increased subsidies on bridges there would be a balance of the bridge loan, and application should be made to tho Public Works Department for permission to divert some of that to this bridge. The chairman said that, could not be done without the consent of the ratepayers. He favoured deferring the work till after March 31. when it could, be constructed, out of revenue. The engineer stated that he had the material on the Bpot. Cr, Tosland suggested that the works

committee should inspect the bridge and come to some decision. The bridge would be in the Oeo riding next year. It wan resolved that the works committee visit the site that afternoon. NEWALL ROAD METALLING. At the request of seven ratepayers of the Lower Newall Road w'ho asked that the council should have the road cut to tent the depth arid quality of the metal before taking it over from the contractors, a committee of the council visited the road. Reporting on behalf of the committee, Cr. Colline said the metal was cut in several places and showed that the full quantity of loose metal had been spread. Iri Several places the quality of the metal was certainly not very good, but the committee pointed out to the ratepayers that it was a question either of accepting the metal from a slightly inferior cut and so completing the length required or leaving a portion of the road incomplete. Seven dr eight ratepayers were present when the road Was cut in three places. Though the road had consolidated through having been rolled and , rerolled the metal was 7 incnes and 7J inches in thickness, showing that it must have been quite nine inches when first spread. At the top end the material was not quite as good as it might have been, but the specifications had provided for it being taken from that particular pit so as to enable the work to be completed with the money available. He thought the ratepayers had been well satisfied aS the result of the tests, some of them expressing surprise at the depth of the metal. Air. G. H. Hutton, manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Opunake, notified that he had placed the question of a reduction of the interest on the council’s antecedent liability loan of £12,500 before the Bank of Now Zealand Officers’ Guarantee and providential Association, by which the debenttircs wore held. The association was not at present prepared to accede to the request. The chairman said the application could be renewed lator. ■ The secretary of the Opunake Electric Power Board notified that the board was bound by regulation to test cverv consumer’s installation at intervals of not more than five years. The inspections unfortunately had been delayed, but it was anticipated that the council’s installation would be dealt with shortly. He pointed out that if any consumer was dissatisfied with the recording of a meter, siich consumer upon payment of 10s could request that the meter be tested and the board was bound to carry out the test. Meters w r ere inspected at the same time as the installation, and if there were any apparent defect it would be removed, but the onus was on the consumer to have the meter tested if lie was not satisfied with its recording. It was decided to seal two miles of the Main South Road from the Walleska bridge to the Watino Road.