DRURY ROAD BOARD.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 163, 20 January 1914, Page 2

DRURY ROAD BOARD.

The January Meeting.

Those present at Saturday's meeting of the Drury Road Board were Messrs Glasson (in the chair), McNaughton, Langford and Brocks. NOXIOUS WEED BED. G. D. Smith, of Papakura wrote saying that about 4 morths ago he offered to lease the quarry adjoining Gilbert Wilson's and his properties. The land was covered with gorse and blackberry which were spreading on his properties. He offered to lease it for 5 or 7 years at 10s per annum and promised to keep and leave it in better order than it had been for some time. He would sooner not lease it if the Board could keep the noxious weeds down.

The chairman said Mr McKirstry, senr., had a kind of nominal lease from year to year, but he did not know if there was a clause in it to keeo the weeds down. Mr Brooks said it was all weeds now.

Mr McNaughton thought that Mr McKinstry should he written to asking if he intended to take the place again.

Finally it was decided to call for tenders for the lease of this quarry reserve. ABOUT A CONTRACT. The clerk (Mr Feilding) reported that with the chairman's approval he had accepted Cossey Brothers' tender for spawli at 4s 6d per yard, 50 yards to go to Harry Ccssey's corner, 100 yards at Brooks' corner, and 100 yards at Feilding's corner.

The chairman said there was evidently a misunderstanding. He had never agreed that 50 yards should go to Cossey's. There was trouble at that end before and he would not do anything without the approval of the Board. He did not think it was worth 2s a yard to cart the stone to Cossey's corner. Besides that, the tender was to cart to Brooks' and to Feilding's; there was nothing in the previous decision of the Board to place metal at Cossey's That end of the road already had had rattling good treatment. The misunderetanding having occurred, and the clerk having communicated with Cossey Brother', it was decided not to go back upon what the clerk had written. The end of February was fixed as the period by which the stone is to be out. RAMA RAMA ROAD.

W. Warren and E. Fielding tendered to spawling and carting stone from Maxwell's quarry to Rama Rama road by Perry's property at 6s 6d per yard.

It was reckoned that the broken metal would work out at 10s or 11s per yard—about the usual thing. The chairman said they would first have to decide upon a quantity and to do that they must see where the money was to come from. Mr McNaughton said there was a grant of £IOO for that road at £ for £.

Mr Langford said it was a pity that the County Council had not taken this road over; it was as much a main road as Hunua road. He thought the only thing to be done was what he suggested at last meeting, namely, to get an overdraft and let the settlers on the road pay the interest. The chairman said the rates would be required, every penny of it, to keep the road up in future and he did not see how the overdraft would be wiped out.

Mr Langford said the three or four ratepayers could not raise a loan; the trouble was they were so few. The road was a disgrace to the district.

Mr McNaughton (to Mr Langford): You can't expect other districts to make your road. Mr Langford: It isn't my road. It's a county road and somebody ought to do something to it. If the old idea of only spending rates alongside where they were raised held good he thought the best thing to to was to wipe away the Road Board.

Mr McNaughton: You get a petition to the County Council up; I'll sign it. The chairman: If we could afford to do the whole of the work out of the general funds I would say nothing about it, but I don't like the overdraft idea. How long would they be willing to pay interest on an overdraft?

Mr Landlord: I could not say. They would sign to pay the inter est.

Mr McNaughton: Who would pay the principal? Mr Langford: That would have to come out of the funds later on. You can't expect three or four to make a county road. Mr McNaughton: Then I'm afraid you'll have to put up with the bad road,

The chairman: Suppose we took up £50 of the grant and the Board provided £50, would the settlers make up an amount? Mr Langford believed they would, and said he would go around and see what he could get. TENDERS FOR METAL.

Tenders were accepted for the supply of 120 yards of spawls for the Rama Rama road and 100 yards for Fitzgerald's Road in order to take advantage of a £50 government grant for the latter road. The usual round of general road business was transacted.