MONTHLY MEETING OF THE MOTUEKA HIGHWAY BOARD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 34, 8 February 1877, Page 4

MONTHLY MEETING OF THE MOTUEKA HIGHWAY BOARD.

Present; AU the members except Mr Deqcker. After the confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting, the Secretary made the following report- — Ad ihstructe I last meeting I have examined the road near Mr Hale's, and estimate the cost of executing the necessary work, to "make it fairly passablei at about £12. Imet the secretary and overseer of the Waimea Road Board, by appointment, on the piece of unfinished, road between Oriooco and Dovedale, on the 28th uit., and showed them the line I pegged out, two years ago for the Provincial Government. They approved of the, same, audi see that tenders have been invited for the work. The valuation lists were delivered at my office by the 15th of last month, , and . I immediately sent to each ratepayer a notice of the valuation of his property. The cost of makiog the valuation ..atnouots to £54 12s, viz., Motneka Subdivision, £17 8a; Upper and Lower Moutere Subdivision^ £13 4s; Pangatotara. and Ngatimoti Subdivisions, £9; Riwaka Subdivision, £l5 r - : I ibave sent circulars to all ratepayers informing tbem that rates mnat be paid by tfce^lsl March ''next.' I have had the Wakarewa bridge - repaired, and the approaches to bridges at Riwakamade up. I have invited tenders fforr r several necessary works throughout' the district, and would recommend (hat tenders be invited by next meeting for some of the gravelling intended to be done before the rainy season sets in. I have visited Sandy Bay and found tbe track in good condition, with the exception of a few slips, which I Will bave removed as soon labor is available in that part. The Orinoco-Rosedale track is completed on the Orinoco bide of the watershed. I estimate the cost of finishing it, so as to join the Rosedale cart-road, at £120; biit think it might be made fairlyj. passable, at from £80 to £100. When available for traffic it will be a great boonr to;travellers between Ngatimoti and Nelson shortening the distance by abont eight miles. At Mf Blacket t's request,! am having two piles driven to test the bottom where the Motueka bridge is to be built. first pile has gone down 12£ ft, sinking from the commencement oi driving not more than balf an inch at a .blow: ■ The monkey belonging to tbe Board's pile-driver is not sufficiently heavy for driving large piles tbrough r a shjngle bed like the Motueka river. The seoond pile is now being driven through the same kind of stuff, about two and a half chaius from the Riwaka side. Reaolved — Tbat the Secretary have the road across the plain in front of Mr Hale's property put in good order. Letter- read from Mr Curtis, stating tbat the sums of £100 for defraying the cost . of building a foot bridge across the Riwaka river, and £288 for improving the Uiwaka-Tak«ka Track, had been placed to the Board's credit. Resolved, that the Chairman, Secretary, aud one or. more members of the Board, wait upon Messrs. Thomas Brothers and endeavor to arrange the amount of compensation to be paid for taking a road through their land where laid out by tbe Seoretary lost year, and tbat tenders be invited forasmuch of the work as the funds at tbe command of the Board will admit, so soon as said arrangements can be made. Resolved, That Mr Macmahon be paid the sum of £f oas compensation for the road through Section No. 72, Riwhka Valley. Resolved, That Mr Ryder's offer of £10 towards the construction of a road io Riwaka Valley be accepted. Resolved, That tenders be invited for opening the proposed new road in Riwaka Valley, aod that the cost (including cost of compensation for land for road) of the work* be defrayed out of the sum of £50, set apart for new^roads iv Riwaka, and the £10 promised by Mr Ryder. Letter' read from Mr A. Gower, stating that his brother would allow a deviation in the road through his land leading to section 41, Ngatimoti, on condition' that the portion of the road on the flat land be reduced iv width from one chain. to sixty links. Resolved (1), That the Secretary inspect "the road on the flat land, and should he find that a road sixty links widewill. be sufficient, the Board will agree that it Bhall be reduced to that width. (2), That Mr Gower be informed of the same, and that the road leading to section 41 be proceeded with in accordance with a resolution passed at a previous meeting. Letter read from Mr John Salisbury having reference to payment for work done by him to the road on the west bank of the Motueka river. Resolved, That Mr Salisbury be paid for the work the Board authorised him to execute. Resolved, That with reference to a request from R. Holyoake, jun., that the .Board would endeavor to provide a road through section No. 30, Sandy Bay, for him to have access to Section N0. ,87, the Secretary interview Mr R. M'Nabb, the owner of Section No. 30, and ascertain what arrangement can be made for a road when required. Letter read from the Clerk of the Waimea County Council, requesting the Bot^rd to furnish tne County Council with a.rctaf n of the^amount ot rates annually levied by the Board, and also ivith any information that may assist

the Council in determining the proportion in which moneys payable to the county shall be divided amongst the several road districts, and any outlying district therein. Reaolved, That the Secretary supply the required information. Several letters were read from ratepayers complaining of incorrectness in the number of sections and acreage of their properties, as shown in the valuation now ou view. Resolved, That the Chairman sign ao authority for the Secretary to apply to the Assessment Court to have any known mistakes or clerical errors corrected. Resolved, That the^Secretary furnish to the Board quarterly a Statement showing the amount to the credit or debit of each sub-district. Memorial read, aigned by a committee of fivs ratepayers (appointed at a meeting of ratepayers to investigate the valuation lists) praying the Board fo reject the valuation lists of the Motueka sub-division, on the grounds .that properties in such sub-division are valued at twice as much, and in some instances, more than properties of equal value in other sub-divisions of the district; and also that properties in the Motueka sub-division of equal value as to quality and position, in many instances are valued one doable thi. amount of the other. Resolved, after a division, four members voting for the motion and three against — That the memorialists do not show sufficient grounds why the: Board shpuld move the Assessment Court to set aside the valuation, prepared by Mr Edelsten. Resolved, That a. special meeting of the Board be held on Saturday, the 17th instant at half-past six o'clock p.m. ajnd r the next monthly on Saturday, tl a Srd of March. Resolved, That tenders be invited for the following works viz. : — FormiDg road from Ford by Mr G. Cook's, towards Ttitbery's ; gravelling abou.6 chains /oflower end of Swamp road ; gravelling about 10 chains of cross road, and road from S. Fowler's to Riwaka Pound ; forming road from Mr R. Fry's towards Little Sydney ; widening road opposite Mr Guy's, Ngatimoti ; building foot bridge across Orinoco river, near tbe mouth ; gravelling road for a few chains by doubie bridge, Ngatimoti ; protecting side of road, on Marshall's Bluff. TENDERS ACCEPTED. Tarring bridges and other wooden structures, J. L. Morley, £30 ; gravelling road near Brooklyn, John Macmahon, 23s 6d per chain , protecting hank of river, &c, Paogatora, H. Inwood, £24 ; forming road, Orinoco Valley, B. Harford, 12s per chain ; improving road on hill by Mr Bossleraan'., G. Sixtus and Co./ £7 18s 4d ; improving road on hill by Mr Dicker's G. Sixtus and Co., £3. Warrants were signed for £162 18s 4..