STATE OF DISTRICT ROADS

Shannon News, 19 July 1929, Page 3

STATE OF DISTRICT ROADS

FURTHER DISCUSSED BY COUNTY COUNCIL.

LOAN PROPOSAL FOR FIVE ROADS IN WIROKINO RIDING.

-APPLICATION TO BE MADE TO LOANS BOARD.

District roads were again under discussion at , the meeting of the Horowhenua County Council on Saturday. Cr. Girnblett made a strong plea . tor repairs to Queen Street East and Gladstone Road and referred to the existence of big potholes. He asked it tnc machinery would, be taken away next season, leaving the country roads ic get into bad order. He .contended that in the past season the roads had been allowed to get into too bad a state before repair work was started on them. It was costing too much _to put the roads into good' , condition again. River metal was being used, and he maintained that it was not going to hold in the case of bag ruts. Fairfield Roa'd had been allowed to deteriorate too much before being attended to. He was not suggesting that every effort was not being made to keep the side roads in order, but he considered that the ruts were allowed to become too big. Cr. Oatley: Has anything been done to lower Queen Street recently? The Engineer (Mr Brewster): The grader has been put over it. Cr. Oatley: The boundary roads arc not under the Engineer's control. They are very bad. ■ The Chairman' (Mr Monk): It is a •common complaint with the macadam roads all over the country. Cr. Catley: I have had my attention drawn to Bartholomew Road. The Engineer must approach the Borough Council. The Engineer, replying to a question stated that the metalling of the Arawhata Road would be going on in the coming week. NINE "MOTOR TRUCKS W.ORKIN G

IN RIDING

Referring to Cr. Girnblett's remarks, the Engineer stated that on Friday there were nine motor trucks eligagec: in maintenance work in the Wirokinc. riding. If the Council wanted more work done than was being done at the present stage, they must show him ways and means of doing it. He was doing the best possible with the plant at his disposal. Nine ■ - motoi trucks were running on maintonanc. alone, and three others on construe tion. .

r Cr. Girnblett: If the plant is sent away to do other work, it is a loss to this riding to do it. I think tin Engineer has done especially well to put out the amount of metal he ha* done. Cry Catley.: If our present meant are (not sufficient, we shall have t. take other steps. The Chairman: I think there wit have to be another twopence a gab ( lon on the petrol. Cr. Catley: If the plant is not siyffic ient, let- the Engineer say so. Cr. Colquhoun: It is a credit to tin Engineer that the side roads have been: brought up to the condition they have. £ think that, if left to the Engineer. things will be alLright..Kimberley an.. Muhunoa East Roads 'have the crush er working, and we cannot expect them to be up to standard until the crushes is finished. We cannot keep the roadt up all the'time. If we want rnon money, it means increasing the rates They would rather have a few more potholes in the roads _ than have tin. rates increased. The Chairman: We are getting good value for the money. ("Hear, hear,'' from several Councillors). If it is not enough, we shall have to have more I ■ don't know how it is going to b, done, "but I have it in my mind thai something will have to be done. Tb< tendency is to take away from us th. heavy traffic fees, and if they do tha\ they will have to put more petrol tax on, because these side roads have t;> be catered for. Once they were use a by the. ratepayers residing there; now they are used by everybody. '■ ;Cr. Colquhoun: There is too much money going off the side roads on to the main road. The'Chairman: For every £1 the ratepayer puts on the main road the user is putting £2. Possibly they could still increase that. Cr. Catley: One of the most fortunate things we did was to tackie Hi' , Main Highway. The Chairman referred to Cr. Girnblett's complaint about the machinery being away from the Wirokino riding, ' *and said that the Council had not had a lorry working in the Tc Horo riding for many months. Cr. Catley: I point this out to every ratepayer who complains: that lie-must expect this while the Main Highway; scheme is going on. Cr. Ryder: You are all overlooking the fact that we have had more rain than usual, and that is the cause of the potholes. Roads in Otaki that were in good order a few months ago, nrs now disgraceful; and they have been putting a 1 good deal of metal on them. It is the weather. Cr. Jensen also testified to the effect of the wet weather on the roads. Ho went on to state that it was twelve months since the maintenance metal had been put down in the Te Horo riding' and the roads, were now in need of metal. He would like to know when the Engineer would be able to get in the year's supply of metal for that

' riding. . The Engineer: Wo are working clown • there now. We are on the Tc Horo Beach Eoad at present. A clause in the Engineer's monthly ' report, relating to the Wirokino ruling, stated that maintenance metal ■ had' been put on Main Highways, Fair- ■ field, Wallace, Arapaepae, Kimberley, Bruce, Bolton, Builer, Kawiu, Lindsay,

, ■new-* *r —'■■*i»> •'""'X^-—.~-. Ohau West, Soldiers' and Hogg's Roads, and on Queen Street. THE LOAN PROPOSAL. The Works Committee made the following ' recommendation: —"That in 'due course the necessary steps be taken to give public notice of the Council's intention to apply to the Local Government Loans Board for their consent to the raising of a loan for the necessary work, etc., which is required to be carried out in connection with the following roads: Ohau West (Saint's), Lindsay Extension, Kultutauaki, Mokio-Waitarere and Paiaka (Otawhiwhi) Extension." The Engineer reported that he ha 3 made an inspection of the above roarls and estimated their reconstruction and metalling to ' cost as follows: Saint'.s Road £333, Lindsay Road Extension £lB3, Kukutauaki Road £372, HokioVVaitarere Road £774, Paiaka Road Extension £189; total £1853. In the case of Saint's'Road, certain provision had" been made in the estimate for the purchase of land and fencing. Cr. Girnblett said he would like to see the recommendation held over in the meantime; but first he would like to know whether holding it over would affect the length of time it- would take tile Government to tell the Council whether a subsidy would be available. He was still of the opinion that the Council Qould njot. lpu/t the proposal through; but he' wa? also anxious to help the people living on those roads. Would the Government consider an application by the Council for thi subsidies on this work before the Council made application to the Loans Board? ' ■

The Chairman: I am not prepared to. say what the Government are likely to do. It does not necessarily mean that, we have to get authority to raise the loan before they make a grant. They will make a grant subject to our raising £1 for £l, and where we raise it does not /concern them. However, we.should know how much we are likely to get, and for that we want an estimate,/ which we have. Cr. Catley: This is only a preliminary step, and does not commit us to raising a loan if we decide not to do so. ' There is so much technical work to-do, that if we don't get on with it, it will be too late' to get the Government subsidy this year and we shall have to apply again. . S Cr. Girnblett said he. was in sympathy with Hokio-Waitarere as much as wita any road, but if the Council did it with loan money it would be the_ heaviest burden. The others were short roads, and were necessary, and if the Council could handle the scheme carefully they could deal with it. If they were to consider means other than by way of loan, they would be able to do something this year; but if they did not nove pretty quickly they.would not be able to do it.

/ QUESTIONS OP FINANCE. Cr. Catley: If we can do it as Cr. Girnblett suggests, there is nothing to stop us starting aft oncci Can he give us a rough estimate of the increase, ot rate that would be required to do it by way of loan, provided we get the; Government subsidy;-how much moi\; per £1 per capital value. Cr. Girnblett stated that, when the matter was previously before the Council, he moved' that £250 per annum be used. That represented a rate of l-16d. The Council,could not do it all in one .year. Cr. Colquhoun said he was of opinion that, if the Council went on with the procedure of raising a loan, the work would be held upat'or years. The people living on those roads were entitled to something. With careful consideration the Council could do some-' thing for them, and he thought that the Council ought to try. He did not consider that a, loan could be carried.

Cr. Catley: The loan will not be held up for years. • If the Board refuse the loan, that will be the'end of it and we can go on with it the other way. The burden on the ratepayers by tlu scheme That I outlined is 10-Jd per £IOOO of capital value, provided wo get the Government subsidy. Cr. Girnblett: It is only about two meetings ago that we had Word from the Board declining to sanction <\ loan in the Makcrua riding for the metalling of new roads. It would seem to them that we were, trying to use loan money to do work that should be done out of revenue. Cr. Catley: Supposition.

The Chairman: I have quite an open mind. If you put sufficient rate on, you can rais** money in this riding; but you have not none'that. We have had'discussion regarding the size and extent of potholes in this riding, and you have been told that, with more money and machinery, you can reduce them." As far as this riding, is concerned, it will take the whole of your allocation for maintenance this year, and probably a little more, so that puts it right out of court that you are going to do anything in the nature of new work out of your present revenue'. I quite agree with Or. Gimbictt that, if the riding strained a.point, it could be done out of revenue, but you have got to raise your rate to do it. If you raised it for a few years, you could then drop back to your old rate and carry on. It i 3 ;-ot going to cost us very much, and I think, now that this proposal of Cr. Catley's has gone so far, I am prepared to let it go on. If the Board do not turn it down and then the ratepayers reject it, that will not affect the subsidy. You will take other steps, and the man who is asked to pay 10id per £IOOO for 15 or 20 years will probably be asked to pay 2s 10$d and find it in two or three years. It becomes a question whether the ratepayers would like it brought down to three years and find the money straight out. RECOMMENDATION ADOPTED. The Works Committee '-s recommendation that the Loans Board be applied

to, was carried on a division, the voting being: Ayes: The Chairman and Councillors Jensen, Catley, Ryder and Whyte. Noes-. Councillors Gimblett, Colquhoim and Barber.