OHINEMURI COUNTY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5123, 9 May 1927, Page 4

OHINEMURI COUNTY.

MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING. ■ ROUTINE BUSINESS. I The .monthly meeting of the Ohine- | muri County Council-was held at Pae- < roa on Thursday last, the chairman j (Cr. H. M. Corbett) presiding over the following : Crs. C. Mason, W. F. Johnstone, R. R. Morrison, A. R. Robinson, F. C. Hubbard, C. E. Mace, and Messrs R. W. Evans (clerk) and L. E. Shaw (acting engineer). | ROAD ACCESS. With reference to the. road access to O’Brien’s property, near Turner’s Hill, the Commissioner of Crown i Lands forwarded a plan for emlorse- ( ment.- Agreed to. I WAIKINO RAILWAY STATION. I A letter was received from Mr A. MI Samuel, M.P., with reference to the 1 rumour that the Railway Department proposed to make Waikino a (iagI station, advising that representations ► had been made to the- Minister of g Railways on the matter. The Minister of Railways also wrote in connection witli the matter, and said that there was no intention of removing the tablet-porter from Waikino at present. With the increased business which it was expected would be handled on the Waihi branch railway when the extension of tlic line to Tahawai was opened shortly, it was hoped that traffic would warrant the retention of the tablet porters on the Waihi line ; but should it be necessary to review the position later, tne council’s representations would not be lost sight of. | The letters were received, and it was resolved to thank Mi- Samuel for his efforts. TE TAWA BRIDGE. The. resident Public Works Department engineer 'wrote advising that- ' plans and estimates bad been approved for the erection of the Te Tawa bridge at Komata, in connection with the. Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Scheme. The bridge would be a reinforced concrete slab of 18ft spans and 18ft roadway, with a bituminous carpet on concrete abutments, and was estimated to cost .£530, the. county’s share being £265. Operations would be commenced as soon as the county’s contribution was received. PAEROA-TAURANGA ROAD. In connection with the maintenance of the- Paeroa-Tauranka road, and the contribution to the Main Highways Board, the Waihi Borough Council wrote advising that the matter had been to a committee to be dealt with. The chairman said that the matter of the borough paying its contribution had been held up for a long time, and the amount was increasing all the time. It was unfair that the borough should delay so long, as the county had to bean its cost towards the upkeep of the main road, and it was only right that the adjoining council which also used the. road, should pay its share, without undue delay. CLOSING OF ACCESS. The Whangamata Settlers’ Association wrote advising that Mr W. H. Alley, Hikiitaia, intended closing a piece- of road which ran through his property and which was used by the settlers of the distinct as an outlet. The area in question was in the Ohinemuri County, being roughly on the southern si.de of the Hikutaia stream, which was the boundary between the Ohinemuri and Thames counties. While the settlers had an alternative outlet on the northern side of the stream in the. Thames County, it was only a bridle, track and had not been used for the last 12 years, and consequently was in a bad state of repair. It would take an expenditure of. hundreds of pounds to make the. track passable for traffic at present. Mr Alley was prepared to accept £25 for the land on the other side, one chain wide from the Hikutaia stream to the Maratoto road, and both sides of the road to be fenced. The area included would be approximately one acre, and the fence should not be costly. The- Thame.s County had also been written to on tHe matter in the hope that the two local bodies might be able to reach an agreement and e.nablei the settlers’ to continue- to use the outlet. Cr. Robinson stated that he knew the locality well, and the position was as stated. He moved that the matter lie. deferred until such time as the chairman, engineer, Cr. Morrison, and he- could inspect the locality. He thought that the Thames County would probably assist in purchasing the section.

The chairman said he thought the move should first come from the Thames County. However., the resolution was satisfactory, and the council would then be in a better position to consider the request.

The motion was seconded by Cr Morrison and carried.

HUBBARD’S ROAD DRAIN.

A request was received from Mr H. Poland for the work of cleaning Hub-bard’s-Puke road drain as soon as possible. In making the request he stated that when Hubbard’s Road was taken it cut his outfall drains in two and prevented tire draining of the upper ‘half of his farm. To preserve the road and provide a fresh outlet the road drain referred to was constructed, and the council had recognised its obligation to maintain it.

On the motion of Cr. Hubbard it was resolved to call tenders for the -cleaning of the drain, which had not been cleaned for two years. BOUNDARY FENCE.

A protest was received from Mr F. W. Manning, Mang'aiti, with reference to the erection of a fence by the. ■county along his boundary. The contention was that the fence was inferior, bad been erected without any definite agreement being made, and that tlie winter had not received his half share of the old fencing material. As a consequence he was holding back a sum of 19s from his lialf-cost of the share of the fence until tlie matter was satisfactorily settled. Or. Mace said that the old material comprised a few old posts and a. few battens which were of no use to anyone. The new fence was placed in a

line with the survey pegs, and he did not think the council need worry over the matter. The writer had received a fair share of the material, which had been thrown on to his side of the property but had become overgrown with grass. The matter was a petty one, but he would look into it ami advise tlie council before Mr Manning was replied to formerly. TIROHIA STATION ROAD. On behalf of Cr. McGuire a request was made by Cr. Mace for repairs to be done to the track leading from the store to the Tirohia railway station. By putting the track in order nearly a mile of travelling by the main road would be saved. The engineer said that the track, which years ago had been the main road, had since ben closed and had consequently become overgrow n with scrub and was in a state of disrepair. It was resolved that the engineer should look into the position and ascertain the cost and advisability of improving the track. PUKEWERA ROAD. Cr. Mason drew attention to the state, of Pukewera Road. Waitawheta. which gave access to two settlers. One settler was in the habit of driving a big herd of cows along the lower portion of the road, with the result that it had become a guagmh’e ami was impassable for traffic. It was resolved that the clerk write to the settler concerned’and request him to keep his herd to tlic vacant section alongside as nearly as possible, so as to relieve the wear on Pukewera Road. FINANCE. Accounts amounting to £lO3l 4s Sd were passed for payment. The receipts for April amounted to £632 13s