WAITARERE ROAD.

Shannon News, 14 October 1924, Page 3

WAITARERE ROAD.

SYMPATHETIC. ATTITUDE OF COUNTY COUNCIL. i The• question of providing access to the tsettlei's, qn ; tliQ Waitaiei'e rou.u again came up for discussion, at Saturday's meeting' of the Horowhemia County Council as the result of a letter received i'roni Mr S. L. James asking that the,,'work he pushed qu eis soqn as possible, and that' if no more money were available the £IOO granted by the Council should be expanded. Cr. Harkness stated that the answer to the latter part of the application was that the'£loo spoken of was a contribution which was to subsidise money which the settlers were to raise by way of a. loan. To spend this amount by itself would he like tipping money" into a sink. \ The chairman stated that' the County Cierk was in Wellington recently and iiad interviewed the State Advances Department about the loan for this rotid and found that there, was no guarantee that, the money ! would be available before January. ' He (the chairman), had discussed the matter with the. clerk and it was thought that if a. guarantee oould he got that, the loan would he available within the financial year, tne County night then advance the money necessary out of revenue, and so lift the I subsidy from the. Government. Un-' til plans Ql. the work could he suhm/i.tted, this subsidy oould not be obtained. The work must he done in the dry weather, and the Council, could refund the advance later, when the loan money became available. Cr. Catiey asked if a committee oould not he set up tQ push, the matei: along. There was no, use spending money in dribs and drabs. The whole matter 'must he done at once.

The Engineer pointed , out that it wouild not be necessary to provide the whole of the £IOOO necessary for the. work out of revenue. If the Council'were to spend £SOO, they were entitled to a £for £ subsidy from the Public Works Department, and could lift this as soon as the work was done. . He had spoken to the District Engineer, who had promised, to help the matter along to the best of his ability. ■ Cr. Gatley asked if it would not be wise to, 1 stress to the Advances Department that the work must he done in the summer. The chairman said that he had already done this several times. The difficulty Was that money was not plentiful. He moved that an application be made to the Department that a definite "statement be made as to when the money would he available, and that if a favourable reply was received, the work he gone on with as soon' as revenue became available. This was carried. •■■-='