MATAMATA COUNTY.

Waikato Times, Volume 99, Issue 16485, 2 May 1925, Page 8

MATAMATA COUNTY.

THE MONTHLY NESTING. MATTERS BEFORE COUNCIL. The montlhy meeting of the Matamata County Council was held at Tirau yesterday, the chairman (Mr ,T. W. Anderson) presiding. .Members also present were: Crs. J. Pohlcn, \V. 11. Allen, E. J. Darby. K. S. Cox, S. It. Judd, J. P. Keeley, M. E. Fitzgerald (engineer), and the county clerk (Mr H. Lewis). Classification of Lorries. Arising out of a resolution of He Council advocating distinctive lettering on the sides of motor lorries indicating the class of such motor vehicle the Chiif Engineer of the Public Works Department advised tliat the matter would be carefully considered when any amendment of the regulations was being made.—Received. Dumping of Rubbish. The Putaruru Chamber of Commerce drew the attention of the Council to the fact that rubbish was being dumped on the roadside on the Tirau road between the Oraka Bridge and the Putaruru Post Office. The Chamber asked that the Council have a notice erected in the vicinity warning offenders not to dump rubbish at the spot in question. It was resolved to have a notice board erected as suggested. Fencing of Gullies. It was decided to support a suggestion tliat. landowners having frontages on the lower side of steep sliding i roads be invited to put their fences on the edge of the formation, subject > to the approval of the local body in charge of the road, the local body undertaking to respect such fence when clearing the road of slips or rubbish, and not to count it as an obstruction. It would be mutually agreed that the erection of the fence in such position would not constitute an adverse possession of the land enclosed thereby. It was said that such fences would make the roads safer for all kinds of vehicular traffic, and would j be a great advantage to the travelling I public. Taking of Land. The Surveyor-General forwarded 1 plan of road to be taken through I Hora Hora block, and asked that the i Council complete by having it signed ■ and the seal of the Council affixed. I The clerk was instructed to reply ' that this would be done when the ] work was completed to the satlsfacI tion of the engineer. Farmers' Union Request. I The Waikato branch of the New ‘ Zealand Farmers’ Union asked for the i support of the Council with a view to ; having the dog tax abolished, as few : dogs kept by farmers were for other I than working purposes, and those i Councils levying the tax, which in , effect was an infinitesimal source of income, had found no appreciable in- ' crease in the dog nuisance. No action was taken, the letter ! being merely received. Public Works Grants. The Public Works Department ad- . vised that authority had been given ■ for a grant of £Bl for formation and culverting of 281 chains of Nicholson’s road, and another of £250 for

metalling of 130 chains on the Te Poi- , Okorolre road. I General Items. A transfer of a slaughterhouse I license from Madill and Holmes to Robert .Marcus Madill was granted. Mr F. G. Whytecross, of Te Poi, reported that sections in the Kalmai, oft the Te Hona road, had no owners that he could find to assist with boundary fences, and he asked perI mission to erect a gate across the To I Ilona road, which was a blind road, | until such time as the land adjoining his block was claimed and the fences I were repaired.—lt was decided to j grant the request. The officer in charge of the ValuaI tion Department at Auckland reported that an application had been received for revaluation, and as the Assessment , Court might alter the valuation he advised that the entry be omitted from the rate book for this year. The department would advise the Council of the alteration in the valuation as soon as the figures were available. The amended valuation would take effect as from April 1, 1925. The Council granted assistance to a soldier settler by allowing one year’s remission of general rates. The Thames Valley Electric Power Board agreed to adhere to the request of the Council that the engineer be , notified before poles are laid out for erection work done in the county. Advice was received reporting the completion of tile taking for purposes of a road land out of Messrs A. A. McGowan’s and W. H. Barnett’s, properties. It was resolved to take immediate steps to classify county roads—metal and gravel roads, 4 tons; subsidiary and other roads, 2J tons. On the, motion of Cr. Judd it was also decided to take steps to obtain .and erect road signs indicating the class of road. Engineer’s Report. The following is the monthly report of work in the county as submitted by ' the engineer (Mr M. E. Fitzgerald) :—I During the past month the horse I grader teams have shaped up the' Buckland road and sanded a good i length of Lower Buckland. The Cletrac has completed the grading of roads in Karapiro riding, and is now in the Hinuera Valley area. The Fordson has done grading in the Tirau, Okoroire and Waiomou areas. Unmetalled formed roads in Putaruru were graded by Cole. The top coating of metal is now being put on to the Waharoa-Turanga road. Taumangi metalling is nearing completion, and the same may be said of Puketurua metalling. A start has been made with shingling the road past Selwyn School. The sanding of a part of Scheerer’s road is completed, and sanding of the road north of Turanga is in hand. A good deal of sand and shingle repairs have been done to the Maungatautari main road and repairs with rock are in hand at the eastern end. Much repair work has been done to the highway between Pairere and Karapiro, and this work is still in hand. Sanding of the soft length of the Hora Hora-Arapuni road is in hand. Tenders are before the Council for the following works: —Carting shingle to parts of tlie Whitehall main road, carting shingle to Totman’s road, and carting soft rock to Maungatautari main road. The Council’s inability to raise certain loan moneys during the past year very materially hampered metalling works, and has resulted in a lot of unfinished work. In many cases foundations have been constructed, and though sometimes rough they may be regarded as metalled surfaces. The

approximate mileage of surfaces constructed during the year, as coming under the heading of "permanent con L struction” as distinct from “maintenance," is 34J. There were also several short lengths done where work had to be held up shortly after commencement, and present metal was widened out in readiness for surfacing on the Matamata-Tauranga highway and the Matamata-Te Aroha main road. The Main Highways Board is calling for estimates for expenditure on main highways durintg the year 1925-26. Similar estimates for the past year were prepared at a time when there was a considerable element of uncertainty as to what the position would be. The Board had only recently come into existence and the county loan proposals had not yet been to the poll. The estimate for maintenance totalled £6456. This allowed for a good deal of sanding and other light surfacing, which it was hoped would be unnecessary if the county loan were successful at the poll and construction work could be got on with during the summer. These hopes were not realised. However, theifgeneral fund of the county had to carry the burden of several loan works for which State Advances moneys were expected, but which failed to materialise, and this resulted in work estimated for being left undone and the estimate being considerably unspent. The maintenance expenditure on the three main highways reached approximately £4300, being made up of Waitoa-Taupo £lBOO, Hamilton-Rotorua £lBOO, and Mata-mata-Tauranga £7OO. The last item includes the “flood damage” expenditure. A detailed provisional estimate for maintenance during the year 192526, totalling £7500, is before the Council, and this again includes much work which will be unnecessary should the county loan works be got well under way in the near future. “Construction” expenditure last year on main highways was approximately £5500, made up of Waitoa-Taupo £3350, Hamilton-Rotorua £9OO, and Matamata-Tauranga £1250, which however, omit metalling done at Kaimai, for which about £5OO was paid during the year under review. The estimate for that year covered the items mentioned, but otherwise was very indefinite. Had the then proposed loan been carried, as it was, and commenced to function at once, as it did not, a very considerable amount of metalling and bridge construction would have been done during the year. I A similar position affects the propara- I tion of the new estimates, and no pro- ' visional estimate has yet been prepared. The report was adopted.