County Roads.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 15 January 1918, Page 4

County Roads.

| At Saturday's meeting of the I County Council, the Engineer's , report on road-making was consid. ! ered.

Tiie chairman moved that the first recommendation—the appointment of a working foremian to supervise the road roller—he adopted. He thought this was necessary and they should ofEer a wage of £4. Cr Catley said he objected to the appointment of a foreman. The first thing to do was to decide what work they were going to do. The appointment of an overseer would mean taking the responsibility of£ the engineer. Surely the men could do under Mr Malcolm's instructions just as well as under an overseer. From their experience in Te Horo, he hoped J it would be a long time before l they saw the roller back in the * riding. He could not see the need of a foreman when they had their Engineer. 1 Cr. Broadbelt suggested that • the first thing, was to set out their line of work. They would require a gang of men and a competent foreman to govern them uni der the Engineer. He objected [ to the roller being used for roll- [ ing in patches- They should sel. ect certain roads iand do them from beginning to end. Cr. Murray said he had come to the conclusion they had better sell the roller if they did not work it in the best way. He therefore favoured the appointment of a foreman. Cr. Catley gave them the best reason for . this course when he referred to the manner in which the metal was put on at Te Horo. If they had had an overseer there would have been too ground for complaint. Cr. Whyte thought it was essential they should have a good working foreman or overseer to get the best out of the roller. Cr Catley said he would not like to see the roads that had been down for years with a good foundation torn up in order to make new ones. The chairman suggested tile road between Levin and Ohau as a good one to use'the roller on. As for Cr. Catley's remarks, he was satisfied df they used the right material the work at Te Horo would li'ave been alright. The Council was experimenting there. He protested against refusing the Engineer the first thing he asked for. If they did that they could not expect him to become responsible for the road-making. On the otlier hand, if the Council gave the Engineer his requirements, they would know wha.t to do in the case of failure and whom to place the blame upon. "Don't clip the Engineer's wings at the cutset" said the chairman. Speaking from experience and knowlodge gained in Taranaki he would sa.y a good overseer was essential. After further discussion the chairman, suggested that perhaps the best course would be for the Engineer to bring down a report as to what he intended to do, and for the appointment of a foreman to be held over in the meantime. He was anxious to see an overseer appointed, but was willing to postpone it for the present. He proposed to call a special meeting shortly to discuss other matters and would ask the Council to come to a decision when it had a further report from the Engineer as to what he intended to do. This suggestion was adopted. The Engineer was instructed to call for tenders for the erection of coal depots for the road roller in the various ridings, and to consult with the Crs, for the ridings as to the

ENGINEER'S REPORT

Wirokino riding —All the roads in the riding were in fair order but the Fox ton, but as soon as the teams jreturaed from Tokomaru this would be the first job. Since the holidays he had been getting the new roads, Kawiu, McLeavey and Tamrua road, rolled. He would like the Council to see the improvement. Instead of heaps of jnew metal they are now good motor roads. Tokomaru.—The stone crusher is still in Shannon and will remove to Tokom'ajru about the middle of next week. As soon as it goes he would get the large culvert at Miranui laid and the traffic planking on the Otauro Bridge renewed. He suggested ascertaining from the Public Works Department whether anything was to be done to the Tokomaru Valley road this year. He understood it was the first work in connection with the power scheme. There wa® a dangerous bridge at the bottom of the Yalley which would have to be pulled down or re-decked if the Department did nothing. In answer to Or. Broadbelt the Engineer said it would be a fortnight before the contracts waiting in the Wirokino riding could be proceeded with. The County men were still at the northern end of the district. Cr. Broadbelt reminded the Engineer of a dangerous double turn on the Arapaepae road Avliich needed two pipes. On his motion, seconded by Cr. Murray, the Engineer was instructed to do the work.