PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2758, 18 March 1890, Page 3

PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL.

Special Meeting. A special meeting of the nbove Council was held on Saturday, nt 11 a.m. Present : Chairman (Mr W. P. Chepmell), Cry, , Mills, Murphy, Hortell, Hunt, - Heaney and Hanmer. Te Aroha Main Road.—Cr. Mills moved that the special order vesting the control of the mam road, through the town" district of To Aroha, in the Town Board be He thought he need not say, much about it, as tho matter was - well understood by the councillors. When the deputatimu waited upon the Council, they asked for the control of the footpaths, but did not expect to be saddled with tho road. The ratepayers paid £115 per annum, i.e., with ajd ra t o « an d> at present, all they received in return waa about £14, their share of the charitable "id money. At present, he was sorry to say, there was not much traffic on the road, but, he hoped, times would improve and that the goldfields might prove of considerably more value than was placed upon them at the present time. —Seconded by Cr. Murphy carried unanimously.—Cf." Hanmer thought should also be taken over by the Council, and subsequently gave notice that he should move to that effect at the next monthly meeting. Ordinary Meeting. The usual monthly meeting was then held, Crs. Brunskill and Williams also being presents. The minutes of the previous meeting f were read and confirmed. A Disputk.—Or. Hanmer reported that he had interviewed. Mr E. Y. Cox te spreading thestuff taken out Of the drains on tnfTe 'Aroha-Licbfield road neat 1 his (Mr Cox's) property, with the result that Mr Cox declined to do the work unless the Goitncil would pay two-thirds of the cost of doitag it.—Cr: Mills said in his letter Mr Cox stated the work would relieve the road of water,' whereas, the soil thrown out made a bank that kept the.water on the road.—The Chairman thought they had paid sufficient to have the work properly done. The Council would never allow a contractor to leave work in that state. They would be very careful not_ to let work in tfnt way again, for it was robbing tho ratepayers,—CjvHanmer said the job had been dearly done. A mob of cattle going along the road would knock a great portion of the dirt into the drains again.— The Chairman said he should not vote for the money been paid until Mr Cox had completed the work. He then moved: '!That Mr Cox be informed that the money already voted for this work will be paid upon completion of the said work, i.e., when the stuff taken from the drains is properly spread upon the roads, and that he be allowed one month from this date to do so ; and in the event of it not being so completed within that period, the Council wiH cause the same to be done at his expense." --Seconded"by. Cr. Mills and carried. Gates 5 on- RoAds.—"A similar letter to the following had been forwarded to all who have-gates upon county roads:— Cambridge, February 25th, 1890. Messrs Murray Brothers, Walton, —I have the honour, by direction "of the chairman of the Piako County Council, to inform you that complaints have been made to the Council as to the condition of the gates erected by you upon the public roads near your property, and : to* inform 'you that if you wish to have a gate upon av.y road under the control of the Council, permission to erect same must be obtained from the Council,* 'and, in the event of the necessary permission being given, that the gates miist be erected in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Act, ISB2, and the regulations of the Council. —I have the honour to be, &c.—Chas. Tuck, County Clerk.—The Messrs Murray wrvte asking permission to keep the existing gates upoii the roatjls near their property.— The Chairman thought a gate at each end of Mei.»rs Murray's property should suffice. —Or; Hjnmer said very few used the roads, except the applicants, and the gates had been up a long time —The necessary permission was granted, subject to the gates being erected strictly in accordance with the Public Works Act.—Cr. Heaney referred to two gates on tho road from Lichfield ; one at Orakau was tied up with rope, and at another were two dogs, evidently , intended to ! keep sheep away from it, but they barked furiously, and as he was upon n young horse he had great difficulty in getting through. The Irrepressible Mn Isaacs.—Mr A. Isaacs, of tho Okoroiri Sanatorium—whose motto we fflnoy must be ''Nil Desperandum " —waited upon the Council and asked permission to make the proposed roid from the Okoroiri flag station to tho Waihou river at, the Hot Springs at his. own expenso. He stated the Auckland Agricultural Company had agreed to dedicate the land, and he was prepared to make the road and substantially bridge the Waihou river arid Orakan creek, to the satisfaction of the County Engineer, if the Council would pay for the survey. H& would; undertake to make the road as good as the Te Arolia-Lichfield road. — The Chairman said the offers of both Mr Isaacs and the company should be in writing.—Mr Issacs suggested the Council could deal with the matter subject to the > guarantees being given ; he could then order the necessary timber for the bridges. 1 - Cr., Brunskill then moved, and Ct*. Mills seconded : " That this Council agreed to 1 survey the road in question, provided that. ■ the Auckland Agricultural Company will ! dedicate tho said road, when surveyed, free of cost to the Council ; and that Mr Isaacs will form the road in the manner above stated; and that the Chairman be authorised to approve of the guarantee, when submitted."—Cr. Heaney failed to see why the Council should have anything to do with it. Let tho i road be made and the Council could them take it oyer: The ratepayers had already! decided against tho road being made.—Crs. Mills and Horrell pointed out ' that it was against borrowing money to ' make the road that the rate-payers had de- i cided, and not against the road being made. —Cr. Hunt': The work should be done s under the supervision of the engineer.—Mr Sandes: There must be a road made across that part of the country at an early date, and it will surely be better to get someone olse to make it, and save tho country funds. Cr. Ileaney ; I shall oppose the Council * paying for the survey. If Mr Isaacs wants the rofid, let him pay the whole cost. The ' Council have no right to spend £25 or £30 when tho ratepayers of the riding have' 0 twice voted agaiust money being spent on - tho road.—Cr. Hanmer: I think the pre- C posed road will suit the Thames Valley Land Company better than the Oxford I one.—Cr. Heaney: The road would havo f been made long ago if it had not been for Mr Rich's muddling; m fact he hardly seems to know where the road would best - suit the company.—Cr. Horrell: I think the Council should do the survey, in opposition to the ratepayers or the company. I understand there was a great deal of perso- f nal feeling at the late poll.—The motion was then put and carried, Cr. Heaney being the only ono who voted against it.—The Engineer undertook to connect the proposed ' road with the Te Aroha-Lichfield road—a * small portion across a paddock being incom- f plete—free of cost. ~] Struck tkk Wrong Body.—Mr A. Bossons, of Te Aroha, wrote re cutting a flax, but no one knowing anything of the c matter it was thought it must be for the i Ohinemuri Council, and was accordingly c Bent on to them. 1 Trues at Level Crossings.—The Railway Department wrote, thanking the Council for calling attention to the danger of ' planting trees near level crossings, and stating that as far as possible the trees obstructing the view at such crossings would be cut ] down.—The Chairman said he had noticed several places .where the trees had already been cut down. Ciio\«f Lands.—The Commissioner of ' Crown Lands notified the Council that the i Bum of £11 5s had accrued from Deferred Payment and Perpetual Lease Lands.—lt !: was decided to let it stand over until the ' amount was more substantial. ] Goiidon Special Settlement.—Mr B. 1 Montague, the Chairman of the Gordon Settlement Association, wrote, under date t March 10th, " I have the honour to intimate to you that at a meeting ot this Association, held on 27th January last, it was resolved to offer your Council the sum of £'10, on condition that your Council will subsidise it ■ £ for £. to be spent on tho county road within the block. The Association's money would be available in May next, but before paying over the money the Association must be satisfied that the specifications must be more definite than has hitherto been the case on this part of the road ; that is to say, levelling pegs must be put in and a proper plan submitted, and that plan thoroughly worked up to, The road south from. Mr Hamner's block is in a most dejupidated state, and a bridge next the township of the settlement in a most, dangerous state, a rider caunot now with safety puss over it. It is feared that some unforgoing alonjj will lojq hiti

life. There is a fall of 10 feet right across to the middle of the road, and a drop of another 7 feet into a deep waterhoie close beside it. The Engineer and Cr. Mills both passed over the bridge since it became 1 dangerous for traffic; though not in such a - frighfu l . state as now. We are surprised , that neither of those gentlemen reported , the matter to your Council." —Or. Mills said Mr Pavitt thought the cost of repairi ing the bridge would be about £15. He ) (Cr Mills) had not reported the matter as i he.thought. the work would be done at tho i same time as the Wairere bridge.—Cr HanI mer said the bridgn was hanging by hardly i anything.—lt was rosolved to repair the i bridge at once, and to inform the Association, that the Council would be prepared to consider the subsidy, when the hssociation i had the necessary £40. Thames-Waikato Road.—Mr H. Buttle wrote, calling attention to the necessity of opening a drain on the above road near the Piako bridge.—Cr. Hanmer was asked to report upon the matter at the next meeting. Valuation Roll. —No objections having been received to the proposed alterations of the valuation roll submitted at the last meeting, they were ordered to be made. The Ownerless Horse.—Cr. Hanmer reported he had inspected the filly at Waiorongomai, supposed to be the property of tho Council." Mr Hanks had possession of it,-and offered the Council £4 10s, less 30s cost of grazing and breaking, for the animal, —Mr Hanks' offer was accepted, after considerable discussion about another 10s being due to a boy forgetting the animal otf the run. Watering TrouCxH.—Cr. Brunskill moved that a water trough be placed on the Cambridge-Oxford road near Mr Cud worth's farm; He stated that he had frequently seen teamsters cross the Waikato bridge into Waipa County to give their horses a drink; There not. being money available for the purpose, he withdrew the motion. Adjustment of Representation.—ln accordance with'Section 4t» of the_ "Counties Act, I860," the Council took into consideration the representation cf the several ridings, and found that no riding was insufficiently represented. The representation will therefore, be as at present,. viz : —Waitoa, 3 members; Te Aroha, 2 ; Matamata, 1; Patetere, 1 ; and Taotaoroa, 1. Committee.'—At this stage the Council went into committee, to-discuss several matters of importance ; after which progress was reported, and the Council resumed. Engineer's Report.—The Engineer (Mr T. G. Sandos) reported as follows:—"A very large number of trees have fallen across the bush track on the Cambridge-Tauranga road, and in consequence all horse traffic is now stopped. I estimate the cost of clearing the obstructions at £7 10s, of which I consider that the Thames Valley Land Company should pay half, as there is no doubt but that the bush clearings are responsible for a lot of the damage. The natives are prepared to clear the road at once for £7 10s. I have had several complaints as to travellers losing their way on the Cambridge-Tauranga road, and would suggest that two finger posts should be erected, which would do away with the difficulty. The cost of these" posts, etc., would be about £3 10s. As a great deal of traffic now goes over the Cambridge-Tau-ranga road, I would suggest that a track, be cut from the Lichfield-Te Aroha road to the bush, say 12 feet wide, and waggon crossings be made at the Waianui and Raparapa creeks, also across the Paraiti gully. This work I could get done for £7. I think also that the bridge which is standing at the East side of the Taotaoroa range, on the originally proposed Matamata deviation might with advantage be shifted to the Paraiti creek if the traffic warrants the bridging of this road. The repairs to the Brookside bridge are nearly finished and tho structure will now be good tor some years to comc. The Maungawhara bridge, which was partially destroyed by fire, is in course of re-erection and will be finished in about three days. The cost of this work is £22 9s 3d, which however will be slightly reduced, as I can utilise some of the old timber and also some spare planks for other road works in the district."—The fallowing resolutions relating to the above report was carried : That the bush track be cleared as suggested and that the Thames Valley Land Company be asked to refund one-half the cost. —That the road from the the junction of the Lichfield-Te Aroha road with the Cambridge-Tauranga road to the crossing of the Paraiti creek be cleared as recommended by the Engineer.—That , the proprietors of the Matamata estate be asked to contribute one-half of the cost of the Mangawhara bridge.—The Engineer said it was set on fire by the spreading of ■ fires that had been lighted on the Mata- ' mata estate, but ho had no proof of the ' fact.—Cr. Hunt thought the Council were to blame for not having had the fern, etc. i cleared away round the bridge.—A resolu- < tion to erect the sign posts mentioned in the the engineer's report, was tabled, but was i withdrawn in consequence of there not be- j ing funds available. [Later in the day tho engineer received word that the whole of ' the trees had been removed from the bush track on the Cambridge-Tauranga road, by the Thames Valley Land Company, so the County will benefit to the extent of < £3 os, by the company's promptitude.] i Accounts.—The following accounts wero ( passed for payment : E. VV. Hanmer, £4 i 7s ; W. A. Prime, os (id ;J. Emmett, 12s ; ; W. McG'lear, £1 4s ; Breham and Willis, i £10 12s Gd ;H. . Candwell, £1; railway froight, £2 5s ; P; Hani, £9 6s ; Kawahia | and party, £10 ; Ngawhaka and party, £10 ; Coult.haid Brothers, £9 4s 3d ; J. c Copeland, £5; Kauri Timber Company, £14 9s 2d ; G-. Walker, junr., £55 17s 4d ; 1 G. Floyd, 18s 9d ;T. G. Sandes, £5 9s ; F. t Pavitt, £2 10s 9d ;A. Heanev, £4 7s ; C. c M. Brunskill, £1 Is ;C. Tuck, £16; T. x Wells, £3 15s ; J.llott, £3 lis. ( This concluded the business. „