WAITOMO COUNTY COUNCIL

Waipa Post, Volume XVII, Issue 963, 3 July 1920, Page 6

WAITOMO COUNTY COUNCIL

[.ORDINARY MONTHLY MEETING. IMPORTANT BUSINESS DEALT r WITH. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Waitomo County Council took place on Thursday last. Present: Crs Wall (chairman), Potts (Te Rau-a-Moa), Were (Mairoa), Tolme (Aria), .Andrew (Tangitu), Hargreaves (Te Kuiti), Lee (Hangatiki). Murphy (Otorohanga), and Johnston (Waitomo). Aria. u Cr Tolme reported on the meeting held at Aria in connection with the .proposed loan of £2300 for improvement to the streets of Aria. —The report was adopted, and it was resolved that a poll he taken in regard to the raising of the loan of £2300. Ik Kitkepnkii.

W Cr Potts reported on the meeting lof ratepayers of Kakepuku, at which ■he had explained that the Waitomo ICoJunty Council was raising a loan for ■the ratepayers in the Kakepuku special rating district for forming and ■culverting Alexander’s Road, a road ■from'Webster’s gate to Harris’ bounI daryi.and for fencing Alexander Road. V The .Council asked the ratepayers to [ inakl' an allocation for fencing. The |fact|6fi the ratepayers raising a loan of which was for fencing) ■was something out of the usual, conIsequelntly they would like a resolution I ]the ratepayers allocating so the loan for that purpose. I AftelrVdiscussion it was decided that [ ask the Council to alloM jfce [ Kakepuku loan of £ISOO as ||W|pw‘s': £6OO for fencing Alexander’s [ both sides through Mr C. property, both sides Sh portion of Mr Wilkinson’s ty, and one side along the bal;o the junction with the road l from Webster’s gate to Harrd. Also, the Alexander Road ( side fronting Mr Harris’ prop- | erty*-'Gand the balance of £9OO, toGovernment grant of ’spent, in forming and culvefefgk Alexander’s Road 'and the roaaifrom. Webster’s gate to Harris’ bottiiary. ' [ L ' 'CjjßPotts also mentioned in his rethat the meeting decided to ask gthj|f®puncil to submit a proposal to Pfr*sj&tepayers f or metalling the OuRoad from the present metal atftlie Maiigaohao bridge to the county Rbcuyi ulary u 4he Kakepuku Road Board metal from there on. | was of opinion that the Coujfetl should make a grant towards f maintaining the road from factory to the Ouruf' wherb Road, as, although the said rbajUis in-the Kakepuku road district, pvitigiyes-access to a considerable numsettlers in the county of Wai►ftOmci.’ j-;f v ?Ci; Potts’ report was adopted. Aratoro. k?’'Cr Hargreaves reported on the meettin ratepayers held at Aratoro in | connection with steps to be taken in ' connection with the metalling on the 1 'Pukerimu, North Mapara, and Kurukuni- RoadS. After discussion the ’"-meeting resolved, on the motion of f .Mf.tfulian, “That this meeting of rate--I,'payers adopt, the proposal of the Council, made through Cr Hargraves, , to blind the royolito already put down ‘on tpe Pukerimu, North Mapara, and I’Kurukuru and South Mapara Roads.” It was further resolved by the meeting pf ratepayers that “ the Waitomo s, County. Council be asked to fame a loan of £3OOO, to be known as '.’the' Kopaki loan No. 2, for the purpose of putting four inches of blinding on .the royolito metalling put down under the original Kopaki loan.” The meeting also expressed its opinion in favour of the Council procuring a motor truck for hauling metal - in the district. The report was adopted. WsiitomoHlangatiki Road. ■ The Minister for Tourist and Health Resorts (Mr Nosworthy) wrote saying'that as the result of negotiations in regard to the Waitomo-Hangatiki - he was prepared to renew the Department’s subsidy of £2OOO (£ for £) on this year’s estimates. With regard to the request that this subsidy be paid into the interest account of the Joan proposed to be raised either for this road or a new road, he had carefully considered this aspect of the question; but could not see bow under the existing conditions it, was possible for a Government subsidy to be paid into the interest acount of any county before the work had been actually carried out or the loan had been even raised. During his visit to Waitomo he was asked what assistance the Department would he prepared to give in connection with the proposed deviation from Waitomo to Te Kuiti. This inquiry was. he presmed, made on the assumption that the road would he made purely in the interest of tourist traffic. This was far from being the .case, as there was considerable settle- ; menl beyond Waitomo which had no - connection with the Department whatever. The Minister was therefore of the opinion that any grant made for this particular road should not come ■ out of the Tourist Department’s vote l but out of that of the Roads Deparrnent, under the heading of public works; Moreover, it seemed to him 'Ural' if the Tourist Department contributed towards the proposed new road it; would not be very long before it was again ipproached to meet some ''share of the upkeep of the present < Waitomo-Hangatiki Road. In view of all the circumstances he was not prepared to give any support to'the proposed deviation. Damage lo Roads. The question of damage to roads caused by sawmill owners hauling timber was brought up by Cr John- • sfon's report on a visit of inquiry paid by him to the Manawatu and Rangitikei counties, as to the means taken to conserve and protect the roads in those counties used by mill owners and others. The system adopted in jhose counties was to get the pull owners to sign an undertaking to keep the roads in repair together with a secured “bond” for the carrying out of the agreement.

The report was adopted. In this connection Cr Hargreaves said he thought a firm stand should 'be taken at once, and, referring to the carting of timber on the Aratoro

Kopaki Road at present, said there might not be very much damage done, but they had to look to the near future wear and tear of the road. He thought the fairest thing to not only Mr Barr but also to the Council and the ratepayers would he to stop all carting of timber on the road until an agreement was drawn up. They must be just and fair, though perhaps it was hard on the saivmillers using the roads.

Cr Were and others spoke, and it was pointed out that under the by-law of the county a load could be confined to a minimum and a standard width of tyres insisted upon, but it was thought that the stopping of carting could not be insisted upon under the by-laws, though it could be stopped under the Public Works Act. After further discussion it was resolved, on the motion of Cr Hargreaves, seconded by Cr Were, that the Council insist upon the agreement being signed by Mr Barr, sawmiller, of Aratoro, as regards carting timber on the Kopaki-Aratoro Road. Failing this that the Council take steps to i stop the cartage of timber on the road either under the county by-laws or the Public Works Act. It was also resolved that the engineer' be instructed to insert an advertisement in the local newspapers notifying all carriers that the Council intends enforcing the county by-laws so far as they relate to heavy traffic and width of tyres, during the months of May, June, July, August, and September, and that proceedings will be taken against offenders without further notice. Otciva-Otoroliaiiga Road. The following letter was received from the Minister of Public Works: “ I am in receipt of your letter of the 10th enclosing a letter from Mr E. H. Oudaille, of Otorohanga, in which he urges that a sum of £IOOO should be placed on the current estimates for the Tauraroa Valley Road. 1 note what Mr Oudaille says in connection with this matter, and will have pleasure in considering the request when the estimates are being dealt with.” Kinva Road. The clerk read a Letter he had written to the district engineer calling attention to the fact that the Council had spent all loan money (£3500) and a portion of the subsidy in connection with the Kavva special rating area, and that there was still a considerable distance on the Kavva Road towards the bridge to metal and all the Ouruwhero Road from its junction with the Kawa Road towards Otorohanga, and suggested that the district engineer would realise the necessity for increasing the subsidy to £3500, which the Council naturally expected the Minister to do. Soldier Settlement.

Mr McPherson, of the Mangawhero soldier settlement, was introduced by Cr Murphy as a deputation from the settlement, and presented the following petition:— “ We, the under-signed holders of sections in the Tahaia soldiers’ settlement situated on the new Tahaia road (not yet formed), and being close to Otorohanga. and being desirous of milking on our sections this coming season, would urge upon you the necessity of providing road access to our properties. At the present time our only means of access is by the “ new ” Tahaia Road, which crosses the Mangawhero Stream by a small bridge. As this stream is not sufficiently deep to carry the swamp waters it has a tendency to flood over the road at the least provocation, and it is almost impossible to travel the road on horseback. We therefore beg you to. give your earnest consideration to our proposals and earnest need of a deviation or linking up with the present Otewa Road, which would mean better and shorter access to Otorohanga. This would mean a dry track, good formation, iwith a metal pit close by. It would also do away with the necessity for re-bridging and deepening the Mangawhero Stream. It would also give shorter and more direct connection between Otorohanga and the outlying district. Whilst praising the Government’s action in acquiring such a splendid block of land for soldiers’ settlement we think it a shame to hamper bright prospects by the absence of proper access.” It was resolved, on the motion of Cr Hargreaves, seconded by Cr Potts, that the engineer and Crs Murphy and Lee be asked to report on the proposed deviation from the Mangawhero Stream Road through the Tahaia Settlement to Otorohanga-Otewa Road, and that they have power to act. A letter was read from the Minister of Public Works stating that he was obtaining a report on the position for consideration when dealing with the estimates. General. A settler on the Hauturu Road wrote calling attention to the unsafe condition of the Otorohanga-I-lauturu Junction Road, and stating that it was impassable, and that they were unable to get their winter stores in. ' The clerk said lie had referred the settlers to the Minister of Public Works for assistance, as the Council could not do much, and it would be unfair to saddle the settlers with a loan for formation work which ought to be done by the Public Works Department. Mr Oudaille wrote stating that, the ford over the Waipa River at Otewa had quite disappeared, and he thought, this had been caused by someone having made a cut from the Waimahora Stream and deviated its water into the Waipa.- Cr Lee endorsed this, and said that now the ford was gone a bridge was absolutely necessary.—The chairman said the Council had given no authority to any person to deviate the stream into the river. The matter was left to the engineer to report upon. Flood Damage. Cr Hargreaves drew attention to the many items on the pay sheet, in regard to flood damage. The chairman stated that, the Public Works Department had asked the Council to keep a record of these payments, and he presumed that this was with a view of re-jmbursing the Council. He would urge the engineer to make his estimate, so that there was a saife margin for possible expenses in tlx is respect. Cr Hargreaves said he thought, they ought to have finality in the matter, and that the chairman should see the

Minister for Public Works when in Wellington in regard to the matter. Messrs Orr Bros, wrote through Cr Potts asking for a grant of £25 in connection with their road—a road which they had formed after paying all expenses and obtaining the land needed. They had done about 70 chains, and Cr Potts said he thought they deserved assistance, and he urged that their request he acceded to.—This was seconded by Cr Wall and carried, the amount of the grant to be charged to the Te Rau-a-Moa riding.

Cr Andrew called attention to the rate of pay for casual labour in connection with removing slips, etc. —It was decided that the matter be left in the hands of the engineer. It was decided that the clerk call tenders for the temporary position of dog tax collector and collector of outstanding rates.

On the motion of Cr Andrew it was resolved that the clerk he instructed to write to faie Public Works Department asking it to open up the north end of the Mokauiti Road so as to allow the settlers to get their cream out. COUNTY (ifAIRMAN’S REPORT. ACCESS PROBLEMS FACED. During last Thursday’s meeting of the Waitomo County Council the chairman, in the course of a report to the Council, made reference to damage done by the recent floods. He first apologised to those members who had had meetings in their ridings during the month for not being able to attend, but he had had so much of his time taken up with public matters that his own private affairs were being neglected. The report read as follows: “ I am sorry to say that, since last meeting of the Council the county has experienced very heavy floods, considerable damage being done to roads and bridges, so much so that our liabilities have been increased by £3OOO or £4OOO. The public works engineers have asked for an estimate of the cost of the damage done to the county, no doubt with the idea of getting us some assistance from the Government.

“ T regret to inform you that one of the officers of the Public Works Department lost his life in the execution of his duty during the flood.

“ The Council is making an effort with the labour available to open up the roads for traffic. Further than this it would be inadvisable to spend money removing the whole of these slips at this time of the year. I regret that many of the ratepayers were seriously inconvenienced on account of the damage done to their road access: in some cases communcation was cut off for days. “ The appreciation of the Council is due to many of the settlers for the ready response they made to our appeal for assistance to open up the various roads for traffic. I refer particularly to those ratepayers in the more isolated parts of the county, who have only tracks to their holdings; flooded rivers and streams made communication impossible, and the second flood following the first so quickly made the period of isolation a very long one. “Access to these ratepayers is a problem that the Council must face in the near future, especially in the eastern part of the county. The necessity for one or two interior roads and the bridging of the various rivers and streams in that district is very important.”