RANGITIKEI COUNTY COUNCIL

Taihape Daily Times, 6 June 1918, Page 3

RANGITIKEI COUNTY COUNCIL

The Council met on Saturday last. Cr. B. P. Lithbridge being in the chair # The following correspondence was read: From Messrs. Arrowsmith and Loughman, disputing on behalf of J. Duncan an item of £3 7s 6d. charged by the Council for rent of roadman's cottage. —Council unable to make any remission in rent. From T Phelan and C. Transom, complaining, respectively, of stock on roads about Utiku and horses on Tuhoe road. —Resolved Crs. Gibbs and Brown That the Council take energetic steps to clear all the roads of wandering stock by day or night. Slaughtering licenses were granted to G-. Parker and the Otaihape Freezing Company.

ENGINEER'S REPORT. Tckapua Riding —Gravel repairs at Pukeroa have had to be suspended till better weather, as the road into pit is now impassable. I have made an estimate to join the Pukeroa metal with the Koeka end, A distance of 900 chains on Mangamahoe road requires gravelling,- at an estimated cost of £131,500. A portion up to .Pohonui school, can I think, be done with metal but the upper end will have to be burnt papa. Gravel repairs on Hurray's track have been completed. The grader is at work reforming Kaka .road; •"" ' . 1 ''A'warua Riding.' —The bad weather has caused, a fair amount of damage on the back roads of this Riding I have been over the portion of Kotukuracroa road which the settlers asked to be formed. The distance is about 62 chains and the cost would be about £3OO. "However, it is now proposed to''gfve access to the settlers via Papaltai road and as soon as the necessary plans of road are obtained from Wellington I propose to inspect, and form'an''estimate of the work rebuircd Gravel repairs on Torere road have been' completed. Owing to bud weather contract! for gravelling . Makino .road has been suspended till next summer. Fair progress hns been made.with Toe Toe bridge ' over Rangitik.ci and . it 'should be completed during the month. ! The contractor for Toe Toe road extension has' made fair progress, ...and should'.b'e'completed during month, dwihg to delay in getting road legalised I waited on Mr. O r Eorkc, of Otaki who is ail interested party. He has now agreed to'tFe road subject to certain conditions, which have been submitted 'to , Mr. Chas. McKinnon through whose land the road passes, and he has accepted them. I made enquiries re cost of wjire for fencing this road, and find it is not procurable under £54 per ton on the job. After consulting Coun-, cillor Gibbs I accepted Mr. McKinnon's offer re fencing, provided he fences as soon as wire is £4O per ton, or within .six months after peace is dfciarcd. r 'The Public Works Depart•jneht has r asked Council to undertake ,th.e, construction of Rifle Range road, • Pouwhakaroa Block, Mangaweka. The I sum of £3OO is available for the work as a Government grant. With permission"" of Council I can put the work in ■hand at once.

Erewhon Biding Gravel repairs are in hnad on Taihape-Moawhango road. A request has been made that Trhfle/; ( tegfMs are in this locality 16, chains of Pokaka road be gravelled. The work would cost about £SO. As instructed I made an inspection of Moawhang'o-Erewhon road to Kangitikei River. At the time the road was in good'order, it being fine weather. However, it requires a good many culverts ; and in many places the watertables require picking down, as continual maintenance with grader has lowered the soft places', and the hard places shed the w.ater into the wheel tracks. Much damage is also caused by erratic bullock wagon traffiic from settlers in the Hawke's Bay County. Pipes for culverts arc now being delivered, and active repairs will be carried out ias soon as labour is available