WAITOMO COUNTY COUNCIL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 66, 24 January 1908, Page 3

WAITOMO COUNTY COUNCIL.

The usual monthly meeting of the County Council was held in Mr E. Kerr's Commercial Room, Te Kuiti, on Monday last. There were present : Crs Lusk (chairman), N. I. Hunt, Williamson, Scholes, Johnston, T. Hunt and Ormsby. CORRESPONDENCE. A letter from the Valuation Department in reply to a re-valuation and a new roll for Te Kuiti was received. The District Railway Engineer wrote with reference to the railway crossing and suggested repairs to King Street, Te Kyiti.*—Received. Messrs St. Hill and Thompson, engineers, of Hamilton wrote offering their services as consulting engineers to the Council. —Received. Mr R. H. Travers wrote requesting that the " thirds " on Pungarehu road should be scheduled for expenditure in widening the road as soon as possible. —Received. NIGHT SOIL. A further tender was received in connection with the night soil contract, but, as the conditions were vague, it was resolved, on the motion of Cr N. I. Hunt, seconded by Cr T. Hunt, that the matter of arranging for the removal of night soil, for a period of twelve months, be left in the hands of Cr Ormsby. It was also decided that the Clerk should be instructed to call for tenders for the supply of pans for the service. TE KUITI LOAN PROPOSAL. The Valuation Department wrote, in reply to an application for a revaluation for Te Kuiti township, and stated that the Department could not make the re-valuation during this year, but could provide for the work for the year 1909-10. With reference to the provision of a new roll, the Department could provide a more up-to-date roll than the one at present in force, which would include the owners of all leases taken up since March 31st, 1907.—The Clerk was instructed to write to the Department requesting to be furnished with the roll at the earliest opportunity. KING STREET RAILWAY CROSSING, TE KUITI. It was resolved that Cr Ormsby be authorised to confer with Inspector Sellars, of the Railway Department, with a view to having certain recommendations made to the District Engineer. PROPOSED NEW LEVEL CROSSING. Qn the application of Cr Qrmshy. the Clerk was instructed to request the District Railway Engineer to provide a crossing over the railway between PvOra and Carroll Streets, Te Kuiti, opposite the saleyards. MANGAPOHUE ROAD. Cr Johnston proposed that he should be authorised to expend £lO immediately from the general rate in repairing the road, the amount to be refunded as soon as the " thirds " on the road were available for expenditnre. —Seconded by Cr Williamson and carried. Cr Johnston was also authorised to expend the sum of £2O on the Hauturu road, on the same conditions as. in the case of the Mangapohne toac). SCHEDULING. " '< THIRDS.'.' Cr Williamson drew attention to the present method of getting the. Clerk to make all applications and fill in particulars, and suggested that the Councillors for the different ridings should do the work in connection with having the '" thirds " scheduled. —After some discussion a motion, in the direction suggested by Cr Williamson, was carried, LAND BOARD AND "THIRDS." The Chairman brought forward the question of the expenditure and ' thirds," and stated that it was necessary to have a definite understanding as to the position of the Land Board in connection with the subject. When the Council >yas first estab* ljshed he had an interview with the Commissioner, and pointed out that in many instances it was advisable that the " thirds " should be allowed to accumulate, either for the purpose of getting a decent sum to do work with, or for providing interest on loans raised in the district where the " thirds " were due. He thought this was understood, but he now believed the Board intended to take a hand in disposing of the accumulated "thirds." The Commissioner had been written to upon the subject, but no reply had been received. Cr Johnston said the matter required immediate attention, as the Rangitikei County Council had just had £IOOO of accumulated ''thirds" taken from them by the Land. Board, and had only had the amount returned, through Strang representations backed by political influence. Even then the position might have been different, but it was found that the Board had not given the necessary

six months notice. Kiwitea County Council had been placed in a somewhat similar position, and it behoved the Council to take steps to have the matter defined. The Clerk stated that no notice had been received from the Land Board as to their intention, and as he was going to Auckland during the week, he was instructed to interview the Commissioner on the matter. DOG TAX. It was resolved to call for tenders for collecting the dog tax, and also for the supply of dog Icollars for the ensuing twelve months. Tenders to be returnable on February sth.. The Chairman and Cr Scholes were authorised to sign the rate book. SLAUGHTERHOUSE LICENSE. The issue of a slaughterhouse license to R. and P. Cotter was approved. The next meeting of the Council was fixed for February 24th. SPECIAL MEETING. A special meeting of the Council was held for the purpose Jof confirming the Special rate of 2d in the £ in the Mangaorino special rating area. The necessary motion, proposed by Cr Ormsby and seconded by Cr Johnston, was duly carried. SANITARY BY-LAWS. The Sanitary By-Laws, as received by the Council, were, on the motion of Cr Johnston, seconded by Cr N. I. Hunt, passed and adopted.—lt was decided, on the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Cr N. I. Hunt, that public notice be given confirming the adoption of the by-laws, and residents of Te Kuiti to be notified that the said by-law will come into force on March Ist next. RATING. The levying of a general rate of %d injthe £ in the County, and a sanitary rate of Md in the £ for Te Kuiti, were duly confirmed.