STATUTORY MÈETINGS OF ROAD BOARDS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2314, 10 May 1887, Page 2

STATUTORY MÈETINGS OF ROAD BOARDS.

Taotaoroa Road Board. Tub members of the Taotaoroa Road Board met at Bach's Hotel, Cambridge, at 11 a.id. on Saturday. Present Messrs C. M. and H. R. Brunskill, G. Halley and Kallendar. There not being a quorum of ratepayers the public meeting lapsed. Captain McPhersnn, the returning officer, reported that Mr N. Hunt had been re-elected, and that Mr H. R. Brunskill had been elected in the place of Mr Seinmens. On the motion of Mr Hally, seconded by Mr H. R. Brunskill, Mr Hunt was reelected chairman, and Capt. McPherson secretary, treasurer, etc. Mr C. M. Brunskill (in the absence of Mr Hunt) was voted to the chair. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The only correspondence was a letter from the Property Tax Commissioner, notifying the board that Is Id rates on Crown Lands had been forwarded, and a circular from the Railway Reform League, whiqji the chairman was authorised to sign on behalf of the board. . Mr H. R. Brunskill called the attention of the board to the fact that the French Pass road, upon which they had spent about £100, was not in thair district, but in that of the Cambridge Board. The road was inside the, confiscated boundary line, so it could not possibly belong to the Taotaoroa district as that was all outside the line. He saw that Johanson had lately been paid 24s for work done upon it, so he thought it better to bring the matter forward and have it d«cided. Mr Kallender: It is no doubt inside the confiscated boundary. The Clerk : Then it does not belong to Taotaoroa, for that was the first district formed outside of the confiscated line. ■ ,Mr H. R. Brunskill: Shall we be able to recover the money spent upon it from the Cambridge Board? The Clerk: It would be a difficult matter. I think you may,look upon it as gone. Mr C. M. Brunskill said the road needed repairing. He proposed that the clerk be instructed to write to the Cambridge Board informing them that the road was in their district, and also call their attention to the present state of it. Seconded by Mr H. Brunskill, and carried. Mr H. R. Brunskill was authorised to get sign boards made, and have t hem erected at Morris' corner, at the junction of the Tauranga and Oxford roads; indicating to where the various roads led. It was reso'.ve'l to strike a rate of id in the £. at the next meeting of the Board. Messrs. N. Hunt and C. M. Brunskill were deputed to view the Bridgwater road, and report to the Hoard at the next meeting as to its state, when—if deemed necces-aiy —tenders would be called for repairing it. Complaints were received about the state of the road at the Oororo, some of the members thinking that Wattain—the surface man" —did not pay sufficient attention to it. One of the members also complained that no work had been done on the main road between Mr Bruce's and the boundary. This was all the business. Cambridge Road Board The meeting of ratepayers called for noon on Saturday lapsed, no one being present at the time appointed. The members of the Board met at 12. 20. p. in. Present: Messrs J. Forrest, «T. P. Thomson and Pickering. Captain McPherson the returning officer reported that Messrs Pickering and Smith had been re-elected. Mr Forrest said he had hoped to see a full meeting. They had the minutes of two or three meetings to confirm and several other important matters to discus*, so he thought it would be advisable to adjourn until they could get a full attendance. He also wished to bring forward a personal matter; for he understood that one of the members had made remarks about him after he had left the room, at the conclusion of the previous meeting, he could not let pass unchallanged. Mr Thomson : We have a quorum. Let u? get on with the business ; you are generally the culprit that is last. I have been waiting since two miuutes past 12 o'clock. Mr Forrest: Very well! Go on then. On the motion of Mr Thomson, seconded by Mr Forrest, Mr James Taylor was rejected chairman, and Captain McPherson, Secretary, Treasurer, Returning Officer and the person authorisd to serve notices uuder the Public Works Act. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Capt. McPherson for the manner in which he had performed the duties appertaining to the various offices held by him under the board. After some discussion Mi Hugh Fitzgerald was appointed collector, at (i per cent, on a rate. Mr J. P. Thomson, was voted to the chair, and the minutes of the two previous meetings were read and confirmed. Mr Forrest said works thit were ordered at the previous meeting had not yet been sent out by the engineer. The Clerk said Mr Sandes (the engineer), had been laid up with lumbago, and no doubt that was the cause. Re Thomas Brothers' account. Mr Forrest said it would be remembered that Mr Sandes had at the last meeting disputed the measurement of the gravel pit, and that Mr Thomson was appointed referee. He (Mr Thomson) made the quantity more than the contractors had originally charged for, and of course they would now expect to be paid on his (Mr Thomson's) measurement. Mr Thomson said he had made several appointments to meet Mr Sandes at the pit, but that gentleman being unwell had prevented him coming. He had measured the pit that morning, the contractors and Mr Forrest being present, and —unfortunately for the road board—he made the account £1 2s more than the one rendered by Thomas Brothers. By measuring the pit—and he had done so very carefully— lie made the amount taken out of it 550 yards, as against .128 charged in the original account. Another test he had applied was examining the road, which he considered had had quite 12 yards to the chain put upon it. 54 chains had been gravelled, so that would make 648 yards. They were therefore gaining a considerable advantage by paying on the measurement of the pit. It was resolved to pay the extra £1 2s to the contractors. Mr Forrest: Mr Sandes was very positive about the correctness of his measurements, but I think no engineer should measure work without the contractors being present. I can quite understand how Mr Sandes made the mistake. He allowed for strippings, when there were none whatever. The collector (Mr Fitzgerald) wrote suggesting that several properties should be re-valued previous to the compiling of the rate roll for 1887-8, as they had buildings erected on them, or had been otherwise improved. Notably the properties of Messrs W. A. Graham, J. Martyn, Gemmell and Clifton. After a discussion, in which Mr Thomson doubted the legality of the proceeding, the collector was instructed to re-value the properties of the above-named individuals. The chairman was authorised to sign a petition from the Railway Reform League on behalf of the board. A communication was received from the Colonial Treasurer, saying he had decided to exchange the debentures of the board for inscribed stock in the Treasury. It was resolved to strike a rate of id in the £ at the next meeting of the board. The balance-sheet was taken as read and approved. The following accounts were passed for payment :—Thomas Brothers (balance of account) £7 10s; A. J. Forrest, £4 lis 10d; (G. W. Russell, 18s; T. Wattain, £2 lis; and H. Fitzgerald, £4. This was all the business. Rangiaohia Road Board. The annual meeting of the ratepayers of the above district; was held in the Rangi-

aohia schoolhonso on Saturday, 7th May, as advertised, Mr J. B. Teasdale being voted to the chair. The Chairman read the advertisement convening the meeting, ;ind the balancesheet was presented, having been certified as correct by the Provincial District Auditor. Mr R. Cunningham moved, "That the balance-sheet as read be adopted." Seconded by Mr C. Storey, and carried unanimously. Mr Storey stated since the appointment of Mr Armstrong as engineer t<; the board the works had been satisfactorily curried out, and tho -money judiciously expended. Mr R. Cunningham wished to know what steps (if any) had been taken to have the Rangiaohia. Road Board District merged into the Wai pa County Council. The Clerk read the motion to allow the matter to stand over for the present, on account of tho Government subsidy, which decision the meeting approved of. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.