PLAINS COUNTY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5513, 13 December 1929, Page 4

PLAINS COUNTY.

MEETING OF COUNCIL. ROUTINE BUSINESS. The December meeting of the Hauraki Plains County Council was held yesterday, Cr. C. W. Harris presiding over Crs. W. Madgwick, W. McDuff, J. Motion, W. E. Hale, C. W. Paffitt, and F. J. Mayn. The engineer, Mr F. Basham, was also in attendance. Illness of Clerk. The chairman reported that Mr E. A. Mahoney, clerk, had been admitted to a private hospital at Thames on Tuesday suffering from acute appendicitis. All councillors would wish him a speedy recovery. Pipiroa Bridge. The Main Highways Board wrote regretting it was unable to approve the council’s application for a subsidy of £4 for £1 towards the cost of the Pipiroa bridge. The board could only pay the subsidy previously specified, namely, £2 for £1 on expenditure up to £lO,OOO and £3 for £1 in excess of that amount. Cr. Mayn said that according to the resolution of the council it would not now be necessay to set aside £lOOO per annum . for building the Pipiroa bridge. The minutes were looked up, and it was found that this was not so, much to the surprise of councillors, who had evidently become confused by the multiplicity of motions and amendments. Waitakaruru Drainage. The Hon. G. W. Forbes telegraphed that in response to the council’s representations he was having a report made by the Under-Secretary for Lands on the Waitakaruru-Miranda drainage scheme. The chairman mentioned that the council as the controlling authority was doing its utmost to push the matter on. Until the Lands Department made its report the loan procedure could not be commenced. Kaihere Ferry. The chief drainage engineer forwarded a statement of revenue from the Kaihere ferry for the twelve months ended October 30, 1929. The ferry was under the joint control of the council and the department, and the arrangement was to share equally in the profits or losses. As the revenue for the year exceeded the expenditure by £2B 15s 7d, despite an expenditure of £B5 10s 2d for the cost and erection of a power plant, it was suggested that the profit be retained and carried forward against the next year’s operations. The receipts totalled £397 Ils 3d. It was agreed to fall in with the suggestion and to continue the arrangement for another year. Kaihere Metalling. The chief drainage engineer wrote advising that the cost of metalling the main road between the Patetonga northern boundary and Kaihere Road was £9OO. „ Cr. Motion moved chat the council’s share be found out of the Ngatea Riding funds. Captain Cook Road. The assistant engineer, of the Public Works Department, Paeroa, advised that the free grant of £75 for Captain Cook Road would be made available on the basis of an estimated cost of £lBO over the full length. The proposal as submitted by the county engineer was satisfactory, but in order to lift the full £75 it was necessary to arrange for the expenditure of £lBO over the whole length. Cr. Madgwick said that the riding did not have the funds available. The council had been misled into thinking that the £75 was quite free of conditions, and it had spent £lO5. The riding member and the engineer were deputed to interview the resident engineer of the department at Paeroa and report to the council. Waitakaruru Bridge. In connection with the loan of £622 7s 4d granted by the Main Highways Board for the Waitakaruru Stream bridge on the Paeroa-Waitakaruru highway, the Public Works Department advised that owing to an error the council had been.asked to pay £lOl 19s 4d instead of £22 7s 4d. As a refund was not required by the council a fresh agreement had been made, under which the eleven annual instalments would be £69 0s lOd. It was agreed to execute the new agreement. Ohinewai Road. Cr. Motion advocated the application for a free grant for improving the Kaihere-Ohinewai road. This was agreed to on condition that the sum was outside the automatic allocation. Miranda Road. Cr. Hale drew attention to the fact that some months ago the council had instructed the chairman and engineer to report on a scheme for metalling the Miranda road. This report was long overdue, and the matter should be expedited, as the working season was passing; The chairman said that the matter would be attended to at once. There was £250 available. The engineer said that a subsidy could not be expected unless the whole road was metalled. Shell would not be subsidised. The chairman said that the existing metal could be linked up with six inches of shell for £250. The engineer said that this amount of shell would not carry the traffic for the whole of the winter. Cr. Parfitt considered that the best scheme would be to defer the metalling until next summer, when more money would be available. Cheap Ferry Fees. The secretary of the Alley Memorial Park Bowling, Tennis, and Croquet Clubs, Hikutaia, wrote asking that the council consider issuing concession tickets to members using the Netherton ferry. 1 > The chairman said that the council had no power to do this. Holiday Arrangements. It was resolved to close the c ounty office for the Christmas holidays from December 23 to January 11.

Authority was given to pay employees their wages prior to Christmas. January Meeting. It was agreed that the January meeting be held on the third Thursday instead of the second. Waiomio Park. Cr. Parfitt moved that standing orders be suspended to enable the council to consider a contribution to assist the Waiomio Park purchase. This was carried, and the disctission was taken in committee. On standing orders being resumed the following recommendation was adopted : “That no further steps be taken in the direction of organising a queen carnival, and that other steps be taken to raise the county’s quota.” Rebate on Rates. The granting of a rebate on rates for prompt payment was advocated by Cr. Madgwick, who pointed out that if 5 per cent discount was allowed the council would be saving 3 per cent if there was a bank overdraft. Cr. Parfitt pointed out that there was a big chance of the council going through the year without having a bank overdraft, as was the case last year. It was decided to ask the clerk to report on the matter to the next meeting. Sealing of Roads. Cr. Madgwick reported that the District Highways Council had expressed surprise that the Highways Board had refused to subsidise the sealing of metalled roads, as had been done in the case of the Turua-Nether-ton road between Troughton’s and Carter’s Corner. On his motion it was agreed to apply again, and to ask the Public Works Department to submit a specification.