COUNTY ADMINISTRATION

Chronicle (Levin), 10 February 1949, Page 4

COUNTY ADMINISTRATION

Horowhenua Councfl Meets , . ' X . • The Horowhenua County Council held its monthly meeting yesterday, the chairman, Mr. A. M. Coiquhoun, presiding. Present were • Crs. D. K. Guy,. L. F. Brown, J. D. Aitchison, J. H. P. Liggins and R. W. Jenkins. Also" Messrs. F. H; Hudson (clerk) and W. -H. Fraser (engineer) . Leave of absence was granted to Crs. A. M. Atkins, E. R. . Winkler and W. Taylor. Fire Control at Waikanae -- A petition for some steps to be taken in regard. to fire control and prevention at Waikanae Beach was received from seven ratepayers- in that area. The letter pointed out that there had been several fires recently Which had endangered houses and property, and, further, that when representatives had call- . ed on the county c.erk some , months ago in regard to /this matter, .they had been informed 'that . the council had no juris-diction. The petitioners understood that the coiincil had now appointed"'an officer whose duty it was to deal with this subject, continued the letter. The engineer, Mr. Fraser, who is the. council's fire . officer, suggested that a deputy fire officer shoul'd be appointed in that area to give permission to light fires and keep a "general eye on things." Cr. Brown pointed out that there was a real danger at the beach and he thought that notice boards should be' placed in prominent places Warning people not to light fir.es where they were .'ikely to spreaa. It was decided to refer the matter to the councillors for the rid- „ ing and the engineer, this subcommittee being given power to act. Grand Jury's Presentment The secretary of the New Zea- . land Counties' Association, Mr. T. M. McKewen, forwarded a copy of a memorandum from the Departfnent of Justice to the Depa'rtment of Internal Affairs in connection With a presentment from the Grand Jury, Palmerston North, regarding the grading of metal on county roads. Evidently, an accident wRh which the Grand Jury was dea ing had been attributed to the ridge of metal in the middle of the road, he commented. The presentment read as -follows: "The Grand Jury wishes to draw the attention of the correct authorities to the dangerous practice followed by numerous county > councils and road boards of leaving a high ridge of metal in the centre of roads after grading. We . consider that this practice is liable to cause accidents and should be discontinued." It was quite a reasonable request, commented the chairman, but he did not think the counties alone were fesponsible. The communication was referred to the engineer for his information. Damage to Telephone Pole The Otaki postmaster, Mr. C. G. Anderson, said in a letter that it hkd been reported that a telephone pole and lines on Beach Road, Te Horo, had been broken by a grader . driven by a council employee. The council was being held responsible for the damage. In explanation, Mr. Fraser told the meeting that the grader had been turning when a brace which USUally stopped the wheels from taking too large a lock had broken and damaged the steering geer. The machine had run off the rcad and hit the pole, which had been broken. No wires had been snapped and the driver had helped restore the pole to" an upright position.The letter was received, Taking Over of Road Consequqnt on1 the recent con- ' struction of a private road through a farm at Tokomaru, a request was received from Mr. O. M. Crowther, of Palmerston North, for the council to take over the road, extend it to his property and declare it a public road. At present there was ,110 vehicle access( to his property and he wished to work his land, which was only possible from one end, said Mr. Crowther in his letter. He understood that there had been a proposal in 1932 to put a road through the area. It was decided to reply that at the present juncture the council was not prepared to consider the taking over of the road. Access to Section A resident of Waikanae Beach, Mrs. M. A. R. Drysdale, advised that she wished to subdivide a section, measuring five chains by one chain and fronting Moana Road, and sell the back portion to her son. . He wbuld have access to Moana Road by a road reserve alongside the property. Mrs. Drysdale inquired whether, in the event of the subdivision, there would be any difficulty in obtaining a permit to build on the back portion. The council had no jurisdiction over the reserve and, in any case, could not give permission for an access on a road reserve, sai'd Mr. Hudson. The engineer pointed out that a narrow kccess along the side of Mrs. Drysdale's property could be mahe. -It was" decided to reply. in accordance with these remarks.