HAURAKI PLAINS COUNTY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4638, 14 December 1923, Page 4

HAURAKI PLAINS COUNTY

MEETING OF THE COUNCILThe. monthly meeting of the Hauraki Plains County Council was held on Tuesday last, there being, present ■ Crs. J. C. Miller (chairman), W. Madgwick, J. H. Nicholson, W. G, Hayward, F. J. Mayn, T.' McLoughlin, C. W. Parfitt, and H. J, Hare. . The clerk, Mr E. Walton, and the engineer. Mr J. Higgins, were also in attendance. FINANCE. The following recommendations of the finance committee were adopted in open , council: — That the. committee of the chairman, engineer, and clerk go into the matter of the charges of metal and report to the next meeting of the council; that the bitumen boiling tank be charged to the Turua Roads Loan suspense account. SURFACEMAN’S COTTAGE. IS. Ready; of Kaihere, waited upon the council in reference to the proposal; Ito acquire' a cottage from Mrs Hcoper to be used as a workman’s dwelling for the Patetonga and Ngatea ridings. In his opinion the‘house and. land was well worth the money. There- was <no' idoubt >it was a good, proposition for the county and one that should' not be • let pass. A thrifty man. could pay a. good rental; and do well out of. the. property as there was ample room to keep horses and cows ' and ' there were numerous fruit trees now< bearing.; The .chairman said that the matter would be considered later. HEAVY TRAFFIC. The superintendent of the N.Z. Cooperative .Dairy Company,. Ltd. wrote re the -cartingfof coal to the?Ngatea and Netherton. factories... He stated that in the opinion of the company the matter should be taken up with' the carting contractor. However, the matter had been given careful consideration, and provided satisfactory arrangements could be made witht the ; contractor the company would cease sending coal to Ngatea via Paeroa and would send Newcastle ; coal by scows. At Netherton, however, this-could, not be done, and it was suggested that the > contractor be urged to use a different type of waggon. Cr. Hayward moved that the Dairy Company be thanked for the < consideration given the question and asked, to further consider the matter in regard to Netherton.. Seconded by Cr. McLoughlin and carried.' It was decided that a committee, comprising the -chairman, Crs. Hare and Parfitt, and the engineer, assess the damage done to the roads by the coal cartage contractor. ' CAPTAIN COOK MEMORIAL. The Minister, of ■; Internal Affairs wr«te in reference to the naming of a road in commemoration of the landing of Catpain, Cookson the Plains, and stated that, it wass. a matter for the Councils.. The question of official-, ly recording, the. 1 spot and erecting a monument would receive careful consideration. METALLING. The Chief Drainage, Engineer, Auckland, wrote stating, that it was not the intention of' the department to.metnbthe roads referred to in Pipir roa and Rawerawe as. no. funds were available, ORCHARD EAST: ROAD. The Chief Drainage Engineer, wrote forwarding a statement of - the amount due and. asking-,-for, payment. The total amount was £1094 10s 7d. The clerk said th at. £2OO was. to be paid annually, ' The clerk was- authorised to pay the sum'when money became available. SAMPLING ,OF WATER. The Medical Officer of Health, Auckland, wrote, in reference to the sampling of water for the proposed water supply for Pipiroa, stating that it would be necessary to take samples both for bacteriological and chemical analysis. The cost "would be £5 5s for carrying out each test of every sample. If the Council was agreeable to paying these charges arrangements would be made to have the .samples taken. It was agreed that one sample should be taken from the stream. WATER SUPPLY. The Ohinemuri County Council wrote stating that as the county already had an adequate water sjlpply, which was likely to be sufficient for all requirements in the future, it was not considered necessary to go into the question of a further supply. MAUKORO QUARRY. The Commissioner of Crown Lands wrote suggesting two alternatives for dealing with the-question of,‘title to section 1 and 2,. block V, Waitoa Survey District. It was decided to leave the matter in the hands of the clerk. PUKAHU ROAD. Mr R. I. Roberts, on behalf of the settlers interested, wrote, as follows : “We, ,the settlers of. Pukahu and Stopbank Roads, desire to express our pleasure and approval of the commencement of the formation of the latter road by the Council. The deputation that , waited upon the Min-, ister of Lands and his party lately received so sympathetic a hearing that we feel confident we will obtain subsidies sufficient to enable u,s to form a rating area as suggested and metal both roads,-and we would suggest that- the Council' should not proceed with the sanding of the stopbank road in the meantime to enable us to endeavour to formulate plans for the larger scheme. It was decided tb srant the request. PUKE BRIDGE. The Ohinemuri County engineer wrote stating that the Plains Council’s larry had broken several planks in th® Puke bridge, apd it would be necessary, to place longitudinal decking. As this entailed extra cost he acquainted the Council of the fact. The engineer said that, he had noticed that new planks had been installed. The clerk stated that the two counties had to pay for the maintenance, and this was agreed to.

WILSON’S ROAD.. . . Much discussion took place regarding . the. payment for? the work; on. Wilson l ? Road. The clerk said that out of the loan of £2133, £l5OO had been spent last year dn grading.and,stumping.. There would, be .a deficit of about £lOOO if the work was now completed as suggested. It was, a legal point whether the grading cost could again be charged to the loan. However, there was, a dump. of ;875 yards of -metal at Paeroa, and 523 yards of metal tb be refunded in place of that borrowed tb do, ( -the, . Netherton Road. Cr. Harris moved that the engineer go into the whole.matter, and that he form and metal the road as far as the money was available. Cr. Parfitt seconded, and . the motion, wascarried. The engineer said that he would commence work at the Paeroa end, as the metai would come from there.. ROAD ROLLER. The engineer reported that it would be possible to borrow a roller from the Ohinemuri County Council. RATING} The clerk was authorised to write off, several small amounts of rates due in cases where the landowner had forwarded a cheque a few pence short. TENDERS. The tender of Mr G. W. Keith, of Hikutaia, for the punting of metal, from Puriri to Gumtown for 2s 6d per yard, including;the loading and trim-, mi ng at the hopper, on the understanding that'he-should have to pay half the cost of any necessary repairs to punts caused through any neglect- on- his- part)/ was accepted. MANGAWHERO ROAD. Cr: Mayn moved that ; the-Lands Drainage ■ Engineer be asked to form' and grade the road’between the Wai-taknruru-Morrinsville road and the; commencement of'the settlement: ■i Seconded-by : Cr.-Madgwick and ried.CATTLE' TICK; Cr. Madgwick asked if Anything was to betdone to keep the cattletick out of the .Plains. The,-tick; was now at Matatoki; and something should be' done: to support the Thames County in a move.to. get- a dip erected on the Thames-Coromandel county boundary., . The clerk pointed out, that it was illegal to pay money for the .erection of a dip outside, the county. NETHERTON ROADS. Cr. Hare said that the road from, Wilsons Road to the Puke bridge had recently been .scarified. With six inches of metal spread on the road; it would be put in good order. He. moved thatsix.inches of metal be put. on and blinded,, and; paid for out of; the loan. Seconded by Cr. Hayward and carried. PIPIROA WATER SUPPLY. Cr. Parfitt moved that the‘Minister fpr Lands.be asked to grant a subsidy of 5s in the £ for the Pipiroa water supply scheme. Seconded by Cr. Madgwick and carried.. WAGES. The chairman moved that if funds permit employees and contractors be paid December wages on the certificate of the engineer. MEETING. It was decided to hold the next. meeting on the third Tuesday in January.