COUNTY COUNCIL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4422, 2 June 1922, Page 3

COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY meeting. The June meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council-Was held in the County Chambers, Paeroa, yesterday, the following attending: Crs. A. R. Robinson (chairman), H. M. Corbett, J. Johnson, A. D. McGuire, W. F. Johnstone, and S. H. Morgan. SELLING MEAT. A letter from the Waihi Borough Council stated that it had come under their notice that certain persons ■were selling meat at Waikino which had not been inspected. by the Gov- . ernment. inspector. The letter asked ?if the. Council would be agreeable to either have Waikino brought into the -County Abattoir district or to allow Waikino to be included in the Waihi district. It was also reported that certain persons were killing stock •just over the three-mile boundary on the eastern side of Waihi, and it was 'suggested that in the event of the County Council deciding to include Waikino in its abattoir district that it should also include that portion of the county between Waihi and the * coast. ; the County Council were agreeable to the proposals it would be necessary for the two councils to confer and arrange suitable boundaries Cr. Morgan understood that there were two men killing at Waikino, but he did not know whether they killed regularly. I.t would be hard for a settler to go a long distance for meat when he could kill it himself. The matter required careful consideration. Cr. Corbett said that, in the Waihi abattoir district nobody was able to sell meat. He was against letting one portion of the conuty being included wUh Waihi. Cr. Johnstone moved that the Waihi Borough Council be aft vised that, the County Council was satisfied with affairs as they were at present. The motion was seconded and carried. POWER BOARD LEGISLATION. The Timaru Borough Council submitted the following copy of a resolution passed at a recent meeting of that council: “That the Government be asked to abolish the present undemocratic system of constituting Electric Power Boards on the petition of one if our th of the ratepayers and that the Government be asked to provide that all proposals to form electric power boards shall be decided by a poll of the ratepayers in each proposed constituent district, as a poll affords a better opportunity of discussing the pros and cons of the proposal, and as a result ascertaining the wishes of the ratepayers; and that all local authorities in the Dominion be asked to support this request” The chairman explained that as a power board had already been proclaimed in the valley, it did not concern them. NGAHINA BRIDGE. Advice received from the Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister of Public Works, stated that the Department had the construction work for the eastern extension of the Waihou River bridge at Ngahina already ip hand. When completed it would get over th 3 trouble complained of by the Council. The clearing away of the bridge filling to the eastern end as the bridge now stapds would be expedited so as to lighten the pressure against the abutment. A RATEPAYER’S GRIEVANCE. Mr. M. Fitzgerald, Mangaiti, wrote declining to pay any more rates until the Council had improved a road running through his property. Mr. Johnson upheld the contentions in the .letter that something should be done to that portion of road. T.he chairman thought that if Mr. Fitzgerald were made conversant of, the facts it would be a different matter. The engineer had prepared estimates for the road, but in the meantime the grant had been cut off. Cr. Corbett thought it should be pointed put that a man could not pay rates at his own will. The matter was referred to the engineer to ascertain what could be done to the road and to report on the position concerning land taken for a road. GENERAL BUSINESS. The N.Z. Employers’ Federation in a- circular letter referred to the comparatively early death of the late secretary, Mr W. Pryor. Unfortunately Mr. Pryor was' unable to leave his wife and family well -provided for, and the executive of the Federation felt it was encumbent on the employers to see that Mrs. Pryor and the younger children were provided for. —A donation of £2 2s was made. A communication flrojn Mr. Lt May, assistant engineer, Paeroa, advised that the Ngahina wharf gopds-shed was available for shipping. A telegram from the Hon. J. G. Coates stated that he had agreed to grant £5O towards clearing the slips at Docherty’s Creek. The Waihi Borough Council advised that it was agreeable to undertake temporary repairs which may be necessary to avoid accidents in bridges which had been mentioned by the County Council. Mr. C. Parkinson offered to find the labour, if the County Would find the pipes for a drain across the Te Arona Road. The request was granted. Three Waihi settlers offered, per ■“ letter, to spread metal free of charge on -the old Taurpnka Road between Taylor’s bridge and the corner of Pukewera Road if the Council would accept Mr. J. Patterson’s very reasonable offer to cart the metal to the road. —The offer was accepted. Eight Komata Reefs settlers petitioned the Council to • have some heavy metal put at the creek crossing near Mr. Patterson’s residence, as the crossing was impassable to motor traffic. The chairman said that the matter had already been attended to. An application for the Council to provide culvert pipes for a road near Waihi was made by six Waihi settlers, who said that they had taken over the land previously owned by Mr. J. Patterson and now divided into four sections. The settlers concerned offered to cart and put in the pipes free of cost. The engineer explained that he was applying for a

grant for this particular road? The matter was referred to the engineer. The Mangaiti Hall Committee applied for permission to put in a set of eight 9-inch pipes in front of the site for the Mangaiti Hall.—-The request was granted,. Cr. Johnson drew the Council’s attention to a pole in the middle of the road and in a dangerous position. It was decided to refer the matter to the engineer and to point the matter out to the Power Board. y The engineer was authorised to do work at the crossing at TJirohia.