WAIWIATE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12912, 1 March 1906, Page 6

WAIWIATE COUNTY COUNCIL.

The Waimate. County Council met yesterday. Present: Messrs P. • Studholrae (chairman), Lyall, Hardie, Walker, Elworthy, Hart, Rhodes, and Breen. -j ENGINEER'S REPORT.

The engineer, Mr Bremner, reported on the various works, in hand and: asked for in each riding. .In Upper Pareora riding, the contractor had abandoned the contract for/Howell's •roaSy-as: it was unfit for the work- -when, his teams were there. This being second time this had happened, the Council's teams had remodelled and" drained the length,, and the metalling was held over in the .meantime. Anderson's road had been finished under very difficult ciroriTristances, the : road being much, damaged: by the. contractor's operations. In company with Gouncilloir Elworthy he had inspected Pringle's arid R. A. Smith's roads, and recommended metalling from. Maxwell's ford to- Smith's Toad as far as thirds may be available. : (Approved.) Terms had been arranged" (subject to the Council's sanction), with -the. Mackenzie Council.to form; the recently fenced off lina Carmjrigton to Cliff crossing. (Approved.) In Lower," Pareora, miscarriage of. correspondence* had caused .failure of conference re drainage at .Treves', and delay in repairs of Beach, road. .'ln Otaia riding progress on contracts; was reported and Arrangements, for work to be done after harvest on Teschemaker's road. In Makikihi -ridisg repairs -to.-, road would, be* undertaken when labour,; was availableV Groins and fordway at Adams' and Bennett's had been completed, and urgent surface patching done on Hook,iroad. In Deep Creek riding surface repair's authorised.on Tiinaru North and Guildford's roads were finished, and repairs made to Rattray's road : bridge. Contracts in Waihao riding were reported on, and improvement of Haka gorge road. The dispute re balance of a vote had been explained to a Minister, and the Department had been further written to. An order had been given for fencing material for the road through to the Hatcheries bridge site/ The metal carting for the main North Road .was finished, and stone breaking was nearly /finished. • Orders to clear gorse, passed at last meeting, had . been sent out. Authority was asked to purchase a. horse to replace one no longer suited to the work. (Authority to purchase given.) The engineer submitted a list* (including amounts already incurred) as f6!|pws:—Kohika woolshed gully road, JBlofe; Haka access to bridge, £B2 10s; roads, £210; Wallace roads, £6O. . (Applications to be made for these 5nm5.). : .,r,. i ..

Mr Rhodes reported on his inspection of a piece of work ask6d for by iMr Harris, and he., advised that the Council do not grant the request.—Report- adopted.

The chairman mentioned that. he had not. been ab s le x during this month to look into Mrs Young's grievance. Mr' Rhodes asked for and was given permission, to run a line of telephone poles ■along the roadside from Holme Station to Blue Cliffs. ' v- SHEARER'S HILII- - engineer submitted a separate report on the proposed ;demfiigi;;pJ'.road; at Shear•er's Hill. The' di&erenceyjal-length was' 8 chains in fayMrr-bf. wJad.; but ..in-the matter of, gr^ent>fVtne" v deviation:would' .k&ye.^great>;,a^yaStkgesiv altitude;|iiieit; ,td>- from &ei'Starting poiiit is over-a, uniform even, ascent on both sides, the highest grade being one in 20, over a; length of 21 chains on the Red Cliff-and 42 charas- on the Waihao Downs side of the saddle. The altitude on the present line.,entailed a rise of of sections encumbered with ■ excessively' 6teep grades, the most abrupt of which is 1 in B£, so that an •unnecessary- lift of 137 ft had been introdnced in a little over a mile in length: selection 'of this route was only one among., many, in. the county of violation of -the "first principles of The present road negotiates/vthe highest, saddle in the, locality hj six grades-,from, the Downs side,-rang-ing from';Tin;i4".to 1 in 8£ over a distance of 105 charnsV* In. the "matter of metal the deviation-would have ah advantage over the present .line, as metal could be got near the middle instead of .the .end,. and the .cost of repairs .would jbe t less.,on the,.flatter grades> r ;-Hfe opinion was in favour of the deviation. Appended -were estimates of cost of making... the deviation; —fencing, £244; compensation for land-(at 1 £2O per acre forsreeholdj> K £46B 5s £257 19s 8d; drains, culygrtjs, bridges, £lll 12s Id; metalling, £414; sundries, £3O? total, _£l2Bi.: 7s sd. The estimates might be reduced by cmittinig some of the matalling by £2Bl 7s sd. Surveys, deeds, etc., would, be'additional.

After a discussion it iwas resolved on the motion of Messrs 'Rhodes and Hart: "That a committee consisting of the chairman, Mr Hart, and the Engineer. be • appointed to deal with the acquisition' anil opening up of road for the deviation of Shearer's Hill road through Cochrane's and Harrison's." It was agreed that the expenditure should toe limited at present to £IOOO, including the Government grant. i CORRESPONDENCE. Mrs E\ Baird, r Kapua, applied for payment of compensation for loss caused bv a horsa drawinig heir milk cart shying at some timber-placed by. the Council's employees on the roaside. The horse was injured by rushing, into a wire, fence, and a quantity of milk was lost. '; She-asked for £5 as a moderate rum'.—The engiricier and' the man who placed the. timber i made a, statement--b'f the circumstances,/ on which the Council declined to recognise Ql9. claim,

as it appearsd that the,-horse could n have sMed at the timber.

On the request of the Levels .County Council for assistance in resisting Messrs Wigley and Thornley's , appeal, Messrs Rhodes, Lyall - and;, Elwbrthy were appointed to interview the Levels Council, and ask the latter to arrange a conference of local authorities. Mr A. Slee .a-sked to hare the access to a bush section, made .passable:—-Engineer to

report.-".,,"./ .'•-'■■■■--' A'■"■?■' : J. 1 Mr F. Joyce offered to clear an unused road now choked with, gorse if he were given the use oi it and allowed to erect gates.—rApproved, if the legal notices are given. Mr Jas. Henderson ; wrote re demand for removal of boulders from a water course on Scotston. He denied that; any water course exists.—The Engineer to interview him and show where the boulders axe.

Menzies Bros, asked for work at Dip Creek.—Held' over. •'- -~

Mr J. Black asked for regrading of his road:—To be done when the - grader team is available. - . . . :

.Messrs White and Munro's application for a slaughterhouse license at Hakatararaea will be forwarded; when the notices have been completed. Mr R. White asked for return of his £5 deposit on the Howell's road contract, and in view of special difficulties- the Ert gineer. exonerated the contractor..- ,Mr Rhodes asked for a written' report as .a safeguard against the concession being tod easily used as a precedent. ' ' .*

Messrs Park Bros., Waihao, asked for i-cmethinig'tc be.done on their-roaeL, and tneyTvere willing to assist.—lt was objected taac.the road as' a private one, and the Council could not legally spend any monev upon it, it being a road laid out by a-ior-mer owner when cutting up his propercv. .in the xeurse of a long discussion Mr -Breen suggested that as the Council had taken over all the Waikakuhi roads on a. £ for £. basis,, the same rate might be ajv plied in this ca.se. It- was resolved that if the applicant wiii form and lightly metal the r0a0.,, to the satistactiou of the eu - gineer, the Council wiil take over iiio road.

Mr C. Mc-Laiichlin asked fur shingle on the worse part of the road to iiis place.— Hela over, the-riding being short or funds. Mr M. Ci»we asked that/ levels be taken to see 1 if the drainage, from his land can be improved.—Reterrea to the engineer. Mr Lyall asked for scone shingling and grading in a Pareora settlement road," damaged by Government' contractors, and ten- ' r ders were ordered for next meeting. The chairman ask'e£ ior soaaa Improvement to road from Kapua School to the Forks bridge, and tiiLv was' agreed to. A Government grant- ,is. 3tT ; aila.bie~ . Rev. A. S. Morrison "was reappointed a member of the:' Wahiiaie.; High - -School Board, and Mr of the Tecarucal Association. ■=.>;.-;'. :\\ ['■'■-

It was resolved to- April 2nd, the Motor Registration Act, and soui« correspondence re by4aws'was. read ' from T)r Barci;:.y,' President? of the Automobile Club.

At Mr Walkers reqrrest two members were requested to- inspect Parsonage road, for which he had pressed for a SBtall expenditure. ■ ;.';■■ -SMASE-BIEIXS; ■',- '-. •.•■i'\ < It. discontinue \fh.e ; : " puxchase.of birds'; head-onth'&iOfch 3lareh, '•'■' The r chaiiinaiiv roEomihsnded- :tSe; Coancil to "order/.iomeV'of •'King's; bird traps, % for use in ...thewinter.•-. ". /'v : ; -. '-. '.- Mr Walker thffr must have expert; bird-catchers to work the net. or it' would be waste of money to buy them. After a discussion the matter was held over till next meeting; ABANDONED WATER RACES.

Mr Rhodes brought up the easements granted by landowners in the Otaio district for the Lower Pareora water-race, and as the race had" apparently, been abandeced, the title deeds might as well be freed from the encumbrance of these easements.—lt was agreed that the solicitor should be consulted.

! Tenders were dealt with:— Contract 546. Haka Yallev and Hilles road. A. Cochrane £llß 8s 8d : (accented) R. White,. £127 -15s. Contract 558. Fletcher and. Fox's road. A. Cochrane £Bl 14s od (accepted). A yhu--1ey..£93 15s; R. White £llO 18s 3d. .. 559,. Hook, • Rattray's and- Brownlee'sroads', A. Shirley, £B9* 15s—(accepted), W. Cochrane £96, A. Nicol, £132 2s. ACCOUNTS. The clerk reported that the balance sheet for the half year had beea received from tie Auditor-General, "-with the nsual tags." Accounts were passed for payment amounting- to £1294 10s sd. .-' The Council rose at 3 V 45 p.m. ;