COUNTY ROADING

Taranaki Daily News, 15 April 1935, Page 6

COUNTY ROADING

WORK OF THREE YEARS REVIEWED

CHAIRMAN REPORTS TO COUNCIL.

As Saturday’s meeting of the Stratford County Council was the last before the local body elections on May 8, the chairman, Cr. T. R. Anderson, reviewed the chief works completed or attended to during the council’s term. The principal work entailed early in the term was the reconstruction of roads and bridges damaged by floods in the Mangaehu riding, the chairman said. The main work was done under the unemployment scheme and while that system was much appreciated, it involved extra work on the part of the council. Two bridges were erected. The one over the Mangaehu stream at Puniwhakau was built of entirely new material. The other was placed over the Waipapa stream, the work involving the re-erection and conversion of a 60-feet railway truss to a traffic bridge. ' Eight miles of roads in the Ngatimaru riding were metalled under the subsidised unemployment scheme. The work of linking up the metal on Mangaehu Road and one mile on Taihore Road was also carried out by the Unemployment Board, as also were parts of the Salisbury and Croydon Roads. All the works mentioned were done under the direction of the Public Works Department. .. Tenders were called for the conversion of an 80ft. railway truss bridge,. together with the erection of a 25ft. landing span. The bridges mentioned were a. great convenience to the • residents of ridings. Two bridges on Opunake No. 2, each of 40ft. spans, were erected to take the place of others which had served their time and were getting into a dangerous condition; concrete abutments were placed to carry four rolled steel joists, with brushbox decking. The Waiwiri shingle pit was opened and continued to supply a good class of shingle. No doubt an improved sample could be obtained if the shingle could be water washed. The difficulty in screening, grading and freeing the fine sand should then be got over. . A tender was let for the erection of the bridge over the Patea stream, Skinner Road, and the contractor made a start with the work. The structure would consist of an 80ft. railway truss with a landing span of 34ft. and one of 24ft., making a total length of 134 ft. The roads throughout the county were maintained, as well as possible during the three years and all expenditure was carefully handled, with the result that all ridings finished with surpluses. The county was fortunate in not suffering more damage during the last two floods. The road breaks were in the main repaired. A certain amount of scour took place, involving the replacement of metal. “We are on one of the lowest scales of wages and I think the new council should consider restoring part of the cuts made,” added the chairman. “It is many years since the Mangaehu riding has shown a credit,” Cr. T. T. Murray commented. “I went back as far as 1920 looking for a previous credit, and then gave it up,” the clerk, Mr. C. J. Campbell, stated. COUNTY LOAN CONVERSION. RATE MUST BE CONSOLIDATED. The position regarding differential special rates and loan conversion in the Eltham county was defined in a legal opinion from'the New Zealand Counties Association 'received by the Eltham County Cour.cil on Saturday,

The opinion said that the council could not, as suggested, convert, the loans in the Eltham riding by a separate scheme and secure this conversion loan by sev-i eral special rates over the defined portions of the riding. It was stated that there was no provision in the loan conversion Act for the conversion of loans over different defined portions of the district without consolidating the security rate. The opinion further stated that as the •special rating areas were not legal subdivisions the rate could not be struck upon a differential basis in respect of these areas. It would, therefore, not be possible to obtain authority for the conversion of loans over this area unless the rates were-consolidated.

The clerk, Mr. A. Tiplady, said he differed from the conclusion of Mr. Francis over the matter and decided to seek a legal opinion. The chairman, Mr. A. L. Campbell, added that Mr. Francis was of the opinion that conversion over separate areas could be arranged, but apparently he was wrong.