COUNTY ADMINISTRATION

Chronicle (Levin), 15 February 1947, Page 4

COUNTY ADMINISTRATION

Council's Monthly Meeting The monthly meeting of the Horowhenua County Council was held yesterday, the chairman, Mr. G. A. Monk, presiding. Present, were: Crs. J. D. Aitchison, JYH. P. Liggins, A. M. Atkins, W. Taylor, W. Jenkins, A. M. Colquhoun, A. J. Gimblett and D. K. Guy. Also the county clerk, Mr. F. H. Hudson, and acting-engineer, Mr. W° H. Fraser. Building Work . A letter was received from the building controller regarding building ajid construction work applicacions. It was pointed out in the letter that under the Building Control Emergency Regulations, 1939, all constructional work involving ihe use of building materials and including additions to buildings, civil engineering projects such as bridges, drainage schemes, road construction, wharves, maintenance works, came under the authority of the building controller and' could not be commenced without his approval, whether the work was undertaken by Government departments, local bodies or private enterprise. The building controller added that his attention had been drawn to the fact that certain local bodies were carrying out constructional work which had not been submitted for his approval, apparently under the impression that they were not obliged to obtain a building permit, since they themselves were the issuing authority

for the area, and did not require } the building controller's approval. i In future, the letter continued, - it was required that all such constructional works should be referred to the district building i rmtroller prior to the calling of : tenders, or the commencement of > the work if carried out other than : by contract. In cases where men 1 were employed for carrying out maintenance and small jobbing work involving the use of materials, it was suggested, in order to avoid a multiplicity of applications for such work, that the matter be discussed with the local district building controller, who would as far as possible arrange for a rninimum weekly or monthly quota of materials to be made available to ensure economic and full employment of the labour involved. TJhe weakness of the scheme, said Mr. Monk when referring to the letter, was that when an emergency arose. such as the washing away of a bridge by flood, the council would be compellca to make feplacements quickly and he envisaged delay unless some reserve was built uo. He reccmmenutu that the council take this into consideration when forwarding a statement of their requirements. Commenting generally on the position, Mr. Monk said he thought the timber position must be more serious than most people imagined, otherwise. this extreme measure would not have been introduced. It was agreed that steps be taken to inform the controller of tn council's reauirements. No New Highways Planned The annual rewew of highways was the subject of a letter from the Public Works Department in which they advised that they could not recommend the declaration of any additional main highways, or classification . of any existing highways as State highways. The letter continued that the department was anxious to extend the highways system and thus grant more relief to thc- local authorities, who were experiencing difficulty in financing the cost of road improvements in their respective areas, but after carefully reviewing its own financial position it had decided that all its existing revenue was necessary to maintain ohe present highway system, without accepting further liabilities. The letter was received vrith little comment Complaint About Roads The Manawau! Potaio and Opiki Growers' Association wrote draw.ng attention to the condition of he Makara-Tane Road, Ashlea Road, and Tane-Tokomaru Road in he Opiki area, and also the railway crossings at Makara and north of Tokomaru, requesting that they je put in order immediately in view jf the approaching harvesting .eason in the area. The letter added that many members of the association had described the condition of the roads as deplorable', and expressed the fear that serious damage would be done to trucks engaged in carting produce unless the roads were attended to. The council agreed that the traffic on the roads in question was very heavy, and that something hould be done. In regard to th railway crossings, it was decided hat the acting engineer be authorised to approach the Railways Department with the probiem. Mr. Monk said that the department had been very cooperative in the past and was always agreeable to attend to the areas up to their boundary. Waikanae Matters The Waikanae Beacn Progressive association wrote thanking the council for the imnrovement to the /ater supply. The- -colour anr1 aste was said to be considerably improved. Thanks were also expressed for the action of the council in erecting conveniences on he domain. 4 A further letter was received drawing the council's attention to he dargerous condition of the oadside-; at the corner of Heperi md Tutcre Strcets. where there was % drop of six feet at the cdge of the road. It was sugge-ted that a few -oads of sand might rectify -the position. Mention was also made of an open culvert at the side of the road, almost in front of the resi-

— 7 dence of Mr. C. Udy, Waimea Road. This culvert ran under the road and was an open drain, which was a source of danger to pedestrians. The matters were referred to thc engineer and Cr. Jenkins, with power to act. Damage To Fence A complaint from Mr. W. J. Galloway, of Rahui Road, Otaki, that a fence on his property had been wrecked by council employees engaged in clearing a slip off Waimanu Road 'was received, together with an account for £1 17s, which he stated was the cost entailed in having the fence repaired. The engineer explaingd that when the slip was pushed off, the men had no knowledge of the fence being there. Cr. Guy: We did the damage and should pay for it. Mr. Monk: The cost does not seem excessive. The council approved payment of the account. General Business Mr. G. S. Crimp wrote advising the council that its portion of the Waimeha Stream, which was at present being cleared," had this year ;iven considerable trouble with a new weed which was blocking it badly, and which required considerable labour to get out. The matter was referred to the engineer. A request for the tar sealing of Tararua Road was made by Mr. J. C. Moodie, a resident in the area, who said that the dust from the metal road on .sale days was regarded as a nuisance to householders. Cr. tJolquhoun said the area requiring attention was only about 15 phains. There was an enormous amount .of traffic on the road, particularly on sale days. It was decided to refer the matter to the works committee. The Palmerston North City Council wrote advising that it had made application to the Cornmissioner oi Transport for additional licenses enabling it to ply for hire to race meetings within • a 45-mile radius of Palmerston North, and to.let a bus, on a contract jDasis to parties for special trips within the No. "2 iicensing district. \ It was pointed out by the council that the proposed licences would not permii ihem to. compete with the existing -egjilar services over their regulai routes, but would apply to specia] crips only. The council offered nc objection.Mr. R. S. Brown, of Koputaroa wrote to ascertain if there was a possibility of the road opposite his ;tcre being tar sealed in the neai future, as dust constituted a nuisance. The matter vwas referred tc ffie engineer for a report.