FLOOD DAMAGE RELIEF

Taranaki Daily News, 5 June 1935, Page 7

FLOOD DAMAGE RELIEF

EXTENT OF ASSISTANCE LOCAL BODIES’ DISAPPOINTMENT. INGLEWOOD COUNTY’S BURDEN. CONFERENCE AT WELLINGTON. Disappointment is felt by members of the Inglewood County Council At the measure of relief that the Public Works Department has decided. to give local bodies towards the repair of the extraordinary damage caused by the February flood. At yesterday’s meeting the council decided that the chairman, Mr. A. Corkill, should represent the council at a conference which is to be held at Wellington next week in an endeavour to secure further assistance. ~ A letter from the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. J. Bitchener) notified that after considering special reports on all bridges in the Taranaki Public Works district that were damaged or lost during the heavy rains, with a view to arriving at an equitable rate of assistance, it had been decided to grant a £ for £ subsidy on six west riding and two south riding bridges estimated to cost £2890. The six bridges in the west riding were the Waitepuke Stream (Bedford Road), Waitepuke Stream branch (Bedford Road), Dombroski’s bridge (Bedford Road), Waitepuke Stream (Derby Road), Suttons Bridge (Hursthouse Road) and V>aiwakaiho River (Alfred Road), carrying a total subsidy of £lOOO. The south riding bridges were the Waiotu Stream (Rugby Road) and Manganui branch (Tanki Road), carrying a subsidy of £445. it was to be understood, the Minister added, that this represented the maximum assistance available for the Public Works Department. On roads other than highways which had been damaged by flood the Minister said that the only assistance the Government was-prepared to give was. that already arranged with the Unemployment Board. * _ , It was stated that the Unemployment Board would provide 35s and the council 25s fob a five-days’ week for the men employed at 12s a day. The engineer (Mr. S. C. Judd) said that in addition the council had to find £994 for the replacement of culverts, £1125 for metal that had beer, washed away and £93 for groynes, etc., making a total of £3657, or 72 per cent, of the C °Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., wrote that in conjunction with Mr. W. J. Polson, MP he was endeavouring to arrange a conference at Wellington on June 11 between Taranaki members of Parliament, representatives from county councils, the acting-Minister of Finance and the Minister of Public Works in an endeavour to obtain more adequate relief than had been intimated by the Minister of Public Works during his recent visit to Taranaki. He asked the council to be represented, if convenient. Members expressed appreciation of the action of Mr. WilkinThe Local Government Loans Board notified sanction of a proposal to raise a loan of £lOOO in the west riding for flood damage repairs. The opinion Was expressed that ratepayers were already under a heavy enough burden without having to face an additional rate for the repair of flood damage, but the hope was expressed that as the result of the conference at Wellington some further measure of relief might be given.