POKENO ROAD BOARD.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 134, 19 January 1916, Page 2

POKENO ROAD BOARD.

Montnly Meeting. fhe ii- Jil monthly meeting ol tie above autlnrily was held on Monday. Present: Messn K McKetzie, chairman, J Mc'Jaw, it Lyons, C O'Lcary and V Wymsn K'JAU IMI'KOVEMENTJ KEQUIKED An applicaton was received from Mrs J Brownlce aakirg tint improvements bz made to a road adjtcent to her property in the I'okeno Valley, which had beta (Touched. Lin stated that rain was washiog it away.- Messrs 0 Leary and JVkCaw were deputed to interview the applicant in connection with the matter Mr J Caie, Maurgaiawhiri Valley, wrote drawing the Board' 3 attention to a road that runs through his and Mr D McWillianis" prooerties in the Valley, which he stated required reforming and metalling. He further reminded ttie Board of their promise, male last year, to do some metalling on the road. — It was reached t> writ) and icquset th: applicant to make tse of pipes which the Board had given him and to make feirttr.r application liter "I have made repeated applications to the Boaid for improvements to the only available entiance to my sections, Nos 20 and IH2, at Merer, and have teen paying ratei fir tha past 2'J yea's, si 1 consider that it is time the Board moval in the matter and relieved me of havi'g to trespass on p:jvall. property," was the lament contained in a ietier received from Mr W il Ueaii, of Mercer.—Mr Lyons said ihe matter was before the Board some tew years past, when it was decided ta allow pipes for the wo'k, on condition tbat Mr Dean undertook to lay them, but lie coulJ not spare the tim?. Mr Lovna considered that if the same offer was again made it would meet the applicant's requirements. —lt was agre?d that a suggestion to that effect be forwarded to Mr Dean

THE MEKGING QUESTION A letter pointing out the advantage ol the Uoard merging into the Frsuklin Cornty Council was received from the latter authority. It stat d n conntction with the amounts received by way of Government subsidy throughout the Co'iDty that under i!;j Appropriation Act tin Cruncil rcc ived half and the Hold Hoards the oilier tali nf Hn subsiiy iiayable m rates levid ' by the Kjad Boarfs, but to: the 1 remainder of ihc County, \i.., tin ! outlying dialli■ ■ t or .ill tint portion | of the County uutejde t!,<.' Koad

Board district?, the Council received a maximum of only £SOO on all the rates cjll-jcted by it. By taking a late of threefarthwgs on (hat valuation the £SOO being obt<ired worked out at about Is 7|d in the £, hut if (he Koad Boards mere all merged 5s in the £ could be obtained tor those districts. The Government subsidy that would be obtai'ed on the 1915-16 rates levied by the Road Boards and County was estmated at approximately £O7O, whereas if all the Hoard* were merged the subsidy the Council would receive would be approximately £2OOO Air Lyons said that i: stead of coll cting £2OOO the County was only receiving £9OO, and such would continue while a Koad Board remained in existence. The merging would not hinder the proposal to form a new county The chairman asked if the Council wouH give the Koad Board an assurance that if they decided to merge the Cuncil would not oppose thj formation of a new County

Mr Lyons said that he personally would support a movement to form a new county, and suggested that the Council should be asked to give the assurance referred to. He proposed that the Council be wiitten to staling that the Board had under consideration the formation of a row county and asking that if in the event of tie Board mergirg would any objection be offered to the movement

Mr McCaw rugg?stcl that the ma tor ehoull be placed before the rat payers Mr Lyons: The chairman of the Council has offered to address a mee'i'g at Poke/.o ti deal with the BUbj.'ct Mr O'Lemy enquired if a reduction in the rates would tnllow tr.e Board merging Mr Lyons pointed ont to.t as the wages for labour had increased there was little chance of that happening Mr Wyman coieidercd that without hish ratei gcod wo ks 3ere impossible

The chairman: If the Council offered no objection to the proposed formation ot a new county he would be in favour cf merging. The ratepayers should, however, have a say h the matter. Mr Lyons remarked that there was no! the slightest doubt hut that tbe County vsas far too unwieldly ar.d that the Bad Boards we'e ten small.

Mr Lyons' motion was rani d unanlmusly MISCELLANEOUS

Mesars O'Leary and McCaw were deputed ti inspect and report on several roads iti tie Pokeno Valley which required repairing THE CEMETEKY

A me.ting cf tte Cemetery Committee followed, and Mr Lyons reported that new gates had been erected at the entrance to the cemetery THE RABBIT PEST

At the conclusion of the proceedings it was decided that the Babbit Committee be written to and asked to take steps to resume poisoning generally throughout the district, as the rabbits were again becoming very much in evidence