MANAWATU COUNTY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 243, 11 September 1940, Page 4

MANAWATU COUNTY

COUNCIL BUSINESS. RANGIOTU BRIDGE PROBLEM. ; The Manawatu County Council met yesterday, those present being Crs AV. E. Barber (chairman), A. N. Morcom, J. Boyc-e, It. A. Wilson, H. J. Eagan and \V. E. Pearce. ' Tlie Treasury acknowledged receipt of the council’s letter covering an application for the sanction or the Loans Board to the raising of a loan of £IO.OOO for rural housing, and advised that sanction had been given. The Director of National Service (Mr, J. S. Hunter) forwarded copies of the Emergency Reserve Corps Regulations and Emergency Precautions Regulations, and advised that a meeting would be convened in the area at an early date to arrange for the establishment of local committees. A circular was also received dealing with the formation of an Emergency Reserve Corps. The chairman, Cr Boyce, the clerk (Air A. K. Drew) and the engineer (Mr H. V. Bond) were appointed to attend the meeting to be held in Palmerston North on Thursday to discuss the matter. , _ , Mr J. W. Keen an. Under-Sec rotary of the Department of Internal Affairs, wrote in connection with the petition presented by Louisa Grace Thompson and others praying for the exclusion of certain areas from the borough oi Foxton and their inclusion in the county. As objections had been lodged to the proposed alterations ot the boundaries, it was now. proposed to make arrangements to set up a commission as provided bv the Municipal Corporations Act. This commission would consist of a Magistrate, the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the land district and the District Valuer under the Valuation of Land Act. It was left to the chairman and the clerk to confer with the Borough Council about the matter. The Manawatu--Oroua River Board wrote asking the council to endeavour to come to some finality with the Kairanga County Council and the Main Highways Board to have the reconstruction of the Rangiotu bridge over the Oroua River put in hand, as it acted at present as a bottle-neck to flood waters in the Oroua River and was definitely hindering production. The chairman said that the only thing the council could do about the matter was to refer it to t'he Kairanga County Council, and this course was adopted. Cr Boyce was appointed the council s representative, on the electoral committee for the Board of Managers of the FeUding Agricultural High School. _ Tlie Mensiwatn branch of the Gnpoled Children Society wrote thanking the council for its grant of £•>• Air R. 0. Glovn, secretary ot tlie Ronc-otea Patriotic Committee, forwarded a resolution passed at a meetincr of the committee protesting against the price charged for the hire of t'ne Coronation Hall. Rongotea. for functions held under the auspices of the patriotic, committee and suggesting that the price charged he IK which would cover the cost of lighting It was decided to replv pointing out that if anv further reduction were matte in the cost tlie hall would not pav its wav and F'O council was not making money letting the hall at the present charge. The council could not_ see its wav clear to make anv reduction. Details of the methods to be adopted in the reclamation of waste material were received and the council decided to establish depots for receiving waste materials at Sanson, Rongotea and Oroua Downs. , The treasurer's report said there was

ia debit in the county fund account lof £SBIB, and in the -loan account ol £3l. Receipts since the last meeting totalled £3300, including rates £loßt, licenses £lO5, and miscellaneous £loo3. The drive made to collect outstanding rates had been very successful, the sum of £2195 having been collected since April The sum of £2Oll was now outstanding. Steps had been taken to recover this sum and it was anticipated that the hulk of the sum would lie paid. “I think it is more than satisfactory,” said the chairman, “and you will have our endorsement in whatever efforts you take to recover the outstanding balance.” A report on the financial position of the Rongotea Town Board showed , that the credit balance was £l6. There I was an amount of £9 still to be. collected for rates. . . The report on the working ot tlie tramway for August was as follows. Items of traffic: Metal, 35 c.yds. ; minerals. 40* tons; merchandise, three tons; manure, 113 tons; timber. oljJtt; General items, one ton. Tlie earnings were £3l 16s 5d and the running expenses £lOl 17s Bd. showing a debit balance of £7O Is 3d.