MANAWATU COUNTY.
ANNUAL MEETING OF iCOUNCII.
The adjourned annual meeting of the Manawatu County Council was held at Sandon on Wednesday, Cr. Barber being re-elected chairman. Also present were Crs. Hunt, Perrett, McKelvie, Pearce and Reid. ■REVIEW OF PAST YEAR,
In viewing the work of the past year, the chairman said that the Sandon-Bulls road had been very difficult to deal with, but was now equal to any road in the district, So far as he was able to judge, the council would have to consider leaving tar-sealing work and adopting the' jpenfctratio'n method, ifor roading. In the death of Mr. Hickford, the council had lost an efficient engineer, but, in the appointment of Mr. Bond as acting engineer, a wise move had been made. A draughtsman was also to be appointed to assist tbe engineer and to enable him to spend more time on outside work. During the year £12,368 had been spent on main highway roads. No doubt the position had been forced on the council on account ’of the heavy traffic. It was possible, however, that the position would improve greatly in the next 12 months. FUTURE EXPENDITURE.
Continuing, Cr. Barber said that the council was faced with an extremely heavy year of activities, possibly the heaviest in the history of the council, and he did not think that, considering the estimates, it would be possible to avoid an increase in the rates. The council was faced with the cost of the new Shannon bridge, repairs to the Bulls bridge, and, in the near future, the new bridge at Aorangi. These items would prove expensive, but it had been suggested by the Main Highways Board that the Feilding Borough Council
should take control of the latter bridge and this would be a wise move. Regarding new work, ho was of the opinion that that on,the Foxton-Himatangi road should be commenced immediately. COST OF METAL. A fair amount of plant had been purchased during the year and the saving in construction work had been considerable. A matter which required consideration, however, was that of cheapening the cost of production of metal. Under arrangements yet to be finalised, and by the purchase of extra plant, it would be possible to get the metal to the hoppers at a cost of 9d per yard, whereas formerly it had cost 3/3 per yard. In conclusion, the chairman thanked the council and the staff for their excellent and loyal suj>port. Cr. Perrett said that, in his opinion, the time had come when a comprehensive scheme of roading work should be considered, and that the sooner the roads wei'e tarsealed the sooner the cost of upkeep would be reduced. He thought the roads carrying heavy traffic should receive first and immediate attention. The cost of metal should also be carefully considered and all possible saving made. TREASURER’S REPORT. The treasurer, Mr. A. K. Drew,
reported on the year ended March 31, 1928, and submitted the estimates for the forthcoming year as under: —The finances of the county generally have gone back during the year, and, if -the programme as outlined is to be carried out, it will be necessary to raise the rates in a number of ridings. Main Highways.—The total amount expended on main highways maintenance for the past year was £12,368 11s 3d, an increase of £4,438 3s on the previous year. The Main Highways Board subsidy amount to £7569 10s 9d, all of which was paid bv March 31st, with the exception of £538 10s 4d. In the estimates for the current year, provision has been made for an expenditure of £10,346 of which amount the council will have to provide £4138, and the Main Highways Board £6208. This includes the newly declared Rongotea-Longburn Road. The acting-engineer’s estimates for expenditure on the various main highways are framed to allow for ordinary maintenance only, and no provision has been made for the carrying out of extra work) If it is proposed to do anything of this nature out of revenue, special provision will have to be made by way . of increased rates. The question as to what amount of construction work it is proposed to do out of loan money requires the council’s early attention, as the year’s programme will have to be submitted to the board in the near future.
Hospital Levy. —The increased amount required for hospital levies for the current year necessitates an increase of the hospital rate to 2-7 d in the £1 (previously it was id).
General Rates. —The position in regard to the collection of rates for the past year is dealt with in the rate collector’s statement. The situation generally infers the necessity of increasing the rates in the following ridings: Sandon, Waitohi, Kawakawa and Awahou. With the inclusion of RongoteaTangimoana Road on the list of highways, the Carnarvon Riding should just about be able to meet its obligations, but the finances of Waitohi, Kawakawa and Awahou are in anything but a satisfactory state.
Tramway.—The receipts for the year were £3587 3s 7d, and the expenditure £4Bll 6sy showing a debit balance of £1224 2s sd. Of this amount £192 11s was for new sheds at Sanson. In last year’s estimates it was stated that a loss of £IOOO
was inevitable. As the freight on metal has now been increased, ik is estimated that the debit on the working account for the current year will be reduced to about £SOO. ■Stone Crusher. —'For the year just ended, the stone crushing plant dealt with 14274 cubic yards of metal at a total working cost (including unloading from trucks) of £4135 9s 7d, or 5/9.fid per cubic yard. This is lOd less than the previous year’s cost. Plant Charges.—The net amount received for machinery and plant charges for the council’s machinery from the various accounts for the year was £4231 7s 3d. This sum represents the amounts added to hire charges for interest, sinking fund and depreciation. General. —The total amount of general payments for the ensuing year is estimated at £22,720 ss, and the total general receipts at £11,438 10s Od, leaving £11,281 15s to be provided out of rates and subsidy, equal to £4 8s 4.15 d per £IOOO of valuation. The total financial operations for the past year, without loan moneys, amounted to: Receipts £41,091 10s 5d and expenditure £42,305 4s.—— Adopted. ENGINEER’S REPORT. '
The following report was submitted by the acting-engineer, Mr. W. H. Bond:— Plant. —\Vle are now in a position where it is a matter of extreme urgency to secure adequate supplies of metal at a reasonable cost. Following upon my previous reports, I would now ask the council to consider the question of installing a half cubic yard slackline cable excavator for delivering metal into the hoppers at the, crusher. I estimate that the total cost of the machine installed ready for working would be £IOOO. If this course is taken, the metal could be delivered to the hoppers for about 1/- to 1/3 per cubic yard. I cannot stress the point too strongly that we are in danger of having our now only small metal reserves cut completely off, and, even if it is decided to purchase the above plant, it will be three months before it could be ready for work. Himatangi-Foxton Highway. —As instructed, I have prepared a tentative estimate for the reconstruction of this road, pending amended plans and quantities being prepared, but it will be quite safe to carry on with the work on the following figures: Re-forming road, including culverts and a six-inch coat of riverbed metal rolled in, £1560 per mile or £7BOO from Himatangi to Foxton. Sanson-Awahuri main highway: To build up haunches and bring the total thickness of metal up to seven inches, £IOOO per mile; total for four miles, £4400. Longburn bridge: This bridge needs minor repairs and painting at a total cost of £l3O. Whirokino bridge: The bridge wants painting and approach fences require extensive repairs, at a cost of £220. Approach to Longburn bridge: This approach is so steep that drivers of vehicles do not get a view of approaching traffic before they are actually on the bridge. 1 recommend tliat the approach be built up so that approaching traffic can be seen before the approach is entered. The cost of this work would be £9B. Buildings: Eosina cottage has no washhouse. The main roof is* leaking and the doors and sashes require adjustment owing to shrinkage, etc. This work would cost £3O. Cottage at Himatangi f The front hedge is so large and so close to the house that it is necessary to remove it owing to the light being obscured. This being the case, a porch is required on the front of the house. The main roof requires repairs and one tank is decayed. There is a bathroom, but no bath, and two rooms require papering. The cost of the work would be £SO. The cottage at Glen Oroua is badly in need of paint and two rooms require papering. There is no washhouse; a porch is required on the front and the doors and sashes require adjustment. The roof is leaking badly. The cost of this work would be £7O.
It was decided to purchase' a drag-line scoop as recomme/nded by the engineer, but the question of painting and repairing the Longburn and Wthirqkino bridges was left in abeyance. ESTIMATES FOR 1928-1929.
The following are the estimates for the forthcoming year:—Sandon Riding, £626 15s; Mt. Stewart, £530; Waitohi, £520; Rongotea, £683 6s 8d; Carnarvon, £634 18s; Kawa Kawa, £878; Awahou, £lOl9 4s.
The striking of rates for the forthcoming year is to be dealt with at the next meeting of the council.
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Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3800, 2 June 1928, Page 3
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1,618MANAWATU COUNTY. Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3800, 2 June 1928, Page 3
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