COUNTY ADMINISTRATION

Chronicle (Levin), 14 April 1949, Page 4

COUNTY ADMINISTRATION

Briefs From Conncii's1 April Meeting fhe usual month1 y- meeting of the Horowjhenua Cbunity' "Oouncil Was lield yesterday, the 'ehafrmant Mr. A, M. Colquhoun,* pi-'esidmg. | present were Crs. A. M. Atkins, J. E). Aitc'hison, J. H>, P. Liggins, W. Taylor, R. W. Jenkins, E. Wink-' ler^ L. F. prown" and D. ' Guy. Also Mr. J." Hudson (acting'clerk) and Mr. W. H. Fraser (engineer) . Sealing Of Beach Road. A petition from Mr. E. K. Gawler, of 'Te Horo, and 18 others asked the council to attend.to the sealing of Te Horo Beach' Road. ' It was' 10 years since the council had agreed ' o 'do this," commeiit'ed the petitiph. It wqs .acknowledged that the outbreak of war nreventea anv "wqrk being done' at that time, but after •: ihe war was over the matter 'had been raised, and the couhci! had said that as soon as the materiaL could be obtained the work wpuid be done. As materials had coipe to hand', it had been ssen that they were being used in other parts of the coi^ity, and it had not been until 1946 that some 45 chains had been done. It woul'd be readily realised that there was no chancc of sealing the road out of revenue, commented the Chairman. He would not like to iuggts'. that the council raise its rates for such work. •On the suggestioh of Cr. Aitchi:on, the matter was referred to the works committee with the recommehdation that a. survey of t'he -country roads to find out which were most entit:ed to sealihg chould be given first conside'ration. It was deci'ded to reply to tiie petition tha': an endeavour would be made to have the road declared a -subsidiary highway. Water Supply Gonnections. 1 The extraordinarily long period which elapse'd between the issuing of a permit for a water connection and 'ohe actual connection was the subject of a letter from the Waikanae Beach Progressive and Ratepayers' Association. From the inception of the scheme and through the war years the connec'Lions had been made with some promptitude! Now, however, four or five months elapsed before the job was done. The letter conciuded with the comment that if the council could restore the instahation service to its former speedy basis, the ratepayers of the district would greai-ly apprecfate it. Following a short discussion, it was decided to ask the association to furnish a case 'in point. The engineer, Mr. W. H.' Fraser, said Ihat at no time had there been a lapse of four or. five mon'Lhs before a connection was made. Sale Of Reserves. Asking that his protest be registere'd against any sale or- lessening qf public rights to the plantation reserves in Waimeha Township, Mr. W. S. Radcliffe, of "Ngaio', ' wrote pointing out that he had bought e section adjoining one* of the re-cerves-'some 20 years •ago on the assurance of the vendor tha't the reserve was vested in the Crown. There was a movement afoot to have these areas sold, to which he most strongly objected, and said he vrusted ' the council woul'd support him. It was decided to reply, stating that Mr. Radcliffe's objeetion ha^ been noted and that the' matter would be attended to shortly. Access Road Requested. Mr. R. M. Lange, of Renown Road, Raumati South, asked the council lo go further into the matter of providing an access road to the Tokomaru Valley. At present there was no legal access road. Tht writer enquired whether the road could be extended to serve all owners in the valley, which contained 12,000 acres of valuable milling timber. Following a short -discussion, during which the chairman remarked that it seemed a hopeless position to try to put a road in the position suggested, the matter was referred to the works committee. Tokomaru Drain Project. The secretary of the Tokomaru School Committee, Mr. K. C. Hislop, asked that the drain project in front of the school he proceeded with. He remarked that Cr. Liggins knew what was required. He understood that the committee was going to make some contribution to the work, said the chairman. On the suggestion of Cr. Liggins, it was decided to have the work done subject to the money being paid. Miscellaneous Matters. Mr. J. Nicholson, of Manakau, and two others petitioned the council to have the boxthprne on Gleeston Road torn out by the roots by a grader and burnt. He also asked for some three chains of the scrub to be cut to fence level to give a clear vision to car s coming from the south. On the recommendation qf the chairman, the matter was referred to the works committee. Mrs. M. Shirley, of Main Road, Weraroa, made " application for a culvert to be erected over the water-race in front of her property. The matter was referred to the engineer. * a" Appreciation of the improvement work done by the council's workmen in front -of the church gates was expressed in a letter from the secretary of the St.' Margaret's Church, Te Horo, Mrs. A. G. Walker. It was gratifying to re'ceive such a letter commented the chairman. Mr. T. R. Kelly, Tokomaru, made application for a culvert to be constructed between his front gate and the main road. The applicant had "come to the wrong place," commented the- chqirman. It was decided tb reply pointing out' that the property faced on to a main highway, and the matter was one for the Works Department.