Piako County Council. (From our own Correspondent)

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 376, 12 June 1889, Page 2

Piako County Council. (From our own Correspondent )

Spkoial Meeting. A special meeting of the above Council was held at Cambridge on Saturday, at II a.m., for the purpose of adopting 1 the balance-sheet for the yoar ending March 31st, 1889. Present: Councillors Chepmel (chairman), lion ell, Williams, Hunt, BiunskiH, Murphy, and Mill?. On the motion of the Chairman the balance-sheet was adopted.

Ordinary Meeting. The same Councillors were present at the ordinary monthly meeting, held immediately after the special meeting:. Minutes of the pievions meeting were rend nnd confirmed. Travelling Allowances of Councillors: Cr llorrell said he thought it would he well to cease paying travelling expenses to Councillors until a decision had been given by a Judge in Ihe South Island, before; whom a ease had been stated against the I Mnniototo Council for paying tiavelling expenses in a lump sum. Other Councillors, however, expressed the opinion that the Auditor would not have passed tho .Piako County travelling

oxpensep unless they hud been duly vouched for in proper fmrn. Completion of Thamea-Te A roha Railway A communication wag received from Ibo Public Works Depaitmenl. slotinu th.it the Council'ti petition re the Tlinin'ss-Te Arolia railway would receive attention when Puiliiiment mi j t. Road to Tamnangi Railway Station : A letter was lereired from Mr F. D. Rich, of Lu-hfield, stating that the Thames Valley Lund Company would he willing to pay 25 per cent of the cost of the road, as surveyed, from the Tautnangi station to the Oxford- Lieh field road, lie estimated the cost of making the road at £G5. On tlm motion of Cr Williams it wai decided to call for tenders for the woik. Road to Mr Heaney's, Maungawhare : Mr Win. lleaney, of* Maungawhaia, wiote asking the Council to make a road — about 18 chains long — to his property, from the Caiubridge-Taurnnga road . A lengthy discussion took place with respect to this application, and the position the Council ought to take up with lespect to it and similar applications that might be made. Ultimately it was decided to sui* vcy the load at Mr Head's expense. Condition of* Wniorongorn.n Township : Mr W. S. Collins wrote under date, May 15th: stating lie had been requested by savoral of the residents at Waiorongomai to dhect the attention of the Council to the urgent necessity of attending to the drains and footpath? of the street leading from Kilgour atreet to the Post Ollice. A petition from residents at Waiorongomai, on the same subject, .having twenty-three signatures attached, wa~ n ad. Mr Ilott, wrote . forwarding the following petition to the Chairman, which he bad b eu i'j<]> est d to present to the Counci 1 on behalf of tin petitioners, but being unable ; to attend the meeting, forwarded by post :—: — "We, the uudersignad, residents of Waiorongomai, beg respectfully to call the attention of your Council to tin very bad state of the roads, footpaths, and drains of the township The near approach of the -winter lenders it urgently necessary that Borne repairs b e effected, especially to the footpaths and drains, which in many places are absolutely dangerousWe desire particularly to call your attention to Kilgour and Kenrick streets as among those that require attention, as theee streets are the most frequented and lead to the Post Office, Public Hall, and the Te Aroha Company's Eattery, where a large number of men are employed. We believe that the outlay for the jeally neccssaiy work would not b9 large, but would suggest that your Council request the County Engineer to report on the actual lequirements and the ostimated cost thereof ; as he has stated that he would attend your meeting on the Bth instant. Hoping you will take this our earnest request into your favourable consideration, etc" Signet! : John Howell, Superin'.endarit Te Avoha S & G-.M, Company; S. T. Smardon ; John Gol.lpwoi'fchy ; W. S. Collins ; John Mace : Hy. Ciump ; D. E. Clerk ; Martin Murphy ; P. Ferguson ; 11. Baskivillo ; C. H. Bofiey ; A, A Wallace ;E, P Koberta ; etc., etc., etc., altogether 64 signatures being attached. Crs Murphy and Mills spoke in support of the prater of the petition being granted. Ci Murphy said some uoition of the A°'dfieldti' ic-vcnup should be spnnt upon the township. The olhcr Hidings derived equal benefit, and did not have their roads injuied. The Chaiinnn a'-k'jd where all themone}* that the Council had spent had £ono to. Cr Muiphy replied " in a speculation," Ci Mills B.iid it was becoming a burning qucstif.n in Te <vioba The ft-ilMy was :..:„(» Rnftlmit i month wlllOll .ll'l WCIlt over the roads The Town Bourn n^o vory pore about it. Cr Muiphv s.iid he should oppose anything being done to the io,ids. unless it came out of the revenue ; ho sho-ild, however, suppoit footpaths biing rnada. Tre Chairman said the other Ridings had contributed to thegoldfield.s, and now they were a^ked to keep the load in repair. Cr Murphy nsked how much the goldfit'lds revenue amounted to la-t year ? The Clerk : LC32. Ci Murphy : Over LI OO lequires to be spe..t. and it done out of a separate rate it will take two ye<>rs to pay it. The Engineer's estimate for forming and icpriiring footpaths and drains in Kilgour and Kenrick streets was £20. Tt was resolved that L2O be expended in effecting repairs in W.ii jrongomai township, Gordon Kpeci il Sfttli-inent Roid : Mr P. Gage Brown wrote on June Gl'i ;—"; — " I would draw your attention b the- fact that the Te Aroha-Gordon Settlement main mad through a part oi Mr E. F. Roches land, next my farm, is in danger of being closed altogether on account of Mr Eoche fencing boih sideß of it, Thcie are two deep gullies which need cutting down and filling up in order to make a pageable thoroughfare. One, close to thege two, has been cut down but is far too steep for wheeled traffic ; this needs two or threo feet to be taken off the top side to be of any use. I would therefore impress upon you the necessity of having the work done a once befoie the \vint?r rains set in. Now that the fiaxmill is ren/y to start operations it is all the more impoitant that the main road should be completed. Hoping this matter will recene favourable consideration, etc,' 1 The Engineer B".id the wotk would cost about £12. Cr Williams abked if it was necessj-ry for notice to be given when about to fence off a track that had been used for wheeled traffic for a nusiber oi" years. The Chaiiman said it was cnat'ofrr6ry as a matter of couitesy, but he did not think it was necessary . The Engineer was instructed to get the work done at 'i cost not exceeding .€l2. New Bridge at Waiorongomai Landing : The Engineer pioducid pi 'ins showing the of filling in required to be done on either side of the new biidge over the Waihou river at Waioiongoir.ai Landing. Tt was resolved that tenders be invited for eairying out the work. The Engineer and Cr Mills were authorised to open the tenders. Foimation of Thompson** Track/ Cr Williams stated the Tanunga County Council hnd "requested him to enquire it they would have to comply with requests made by settlcis on this side of the langc, viz,, "That Thompson's Ttack should be fenced on both sides, ai t\)Q work was done by a foreign Council." lie further stated thai the track was being made 1 in 24, and was now 4 miles this side the range. The Tuuranga Council wanted to know their exact position . The Chairman said if the Tamanga Council had got into any trouble they must settle it ; they had not applied to the Piako Council about making loads in the County. Road between Okoiiiro Hot Spiings and Station :— Two let t n is wore received in favour of making a toad from the Hot Spiings at Okoroir 0 to the railway station, from Messrs A. Isaacs and F D. Rich,respectively j and a petition was ieceivedfrom a \

number of ratepayers of the Riding praying Iliat the Council would not make the road. It was re -solved to leply that the Courcil had not tho funds available for the purpose. The dipcns'iou of a circular received from the Uult County Council, ro alteiing the licensing laws, so that County Councils should be the Licensing Committee for their districts, v?<"n a very animated one, the Councillors being divided in their opinions. A petition was forwarded for signature, wliich it was decided not to si^n, at'L^r an amendment had been proposed and lost. The discussion of! a proposed alteration in the Land Act, submitted by the Tatilanga County Council, was deferred till the next meetirg. The following tenders which had been let during the interim of the Council's meeting", weie now confirmed : No. 7 contract, LichfiekL-Te Arolwi road, \V. G. Walker, 3j Id per chain ; Waioionsomii track, J. Emmett. £17 ; Gordon Settlement ioad,J. Or, LIP. The following were granted slaughtering license : G. Floyd, T.tumarigi ; A. Tlmckray, Goidon Hettlemont ; R. Johnson, Matamata. Alf. Comes applied to have his license tiansfeired to new buildings, but no action was taken, there being nc pow^r to grant a transfer i from one place to another. It was resolved to forward a copy of the correspondence tlut had passed bet'veen the Council and the Auditor-General, re the audit fees, to the members of the district to lay before Pailiament ; and to ask them to strenuously oppose any attempt to make fresh legislation in this matter le— troHpective. The Engineer was instructed to get tho bridge over the Waitoa creek at Richmond repaired. The clerk was instructed to notify Mr 0. Murphy that the wib-^idv for working the punt at Waiorongomai would cease on the day that the new bridgo was formally opened. Tendeis for Cutting Flax on Chain Reserve : The tenders for cutting fl ix on tho banks of the Waihoii i iver for a term of one year were as follows : It. P. Gibbons, LlO4. 10b : B. Ward, L5O ; Firth, Green way, and Co., L75 ; W. T. Fiith, L4O ; S. B. Kosie, L6O : H. H Adams, L3l. Mr Gibbons' tender was accepted. Government Aid for a Piospecting Tiaok : Cr Mills moved that the Council ipplj to the Government for a grant of £500 to extend a tiack from thcTni hack, near the Premier mine, in a N.N T . IC. direction towards Katikati, Seconded b}' Cr Murphy, who said a track tour feet wide would bo sufficient to enable piospectors to take up " tuckci " and to bring down quaitz He suggested the^ should ask the assistance of the Tauranga County Council. The Engineer siid if the Government would foie»o the usu tl grade of 1 in TOit would co-(t about £80 per mile. The motion vva^ canicd, and it wis decided to communi'-ate with the Tauranga Council and Mi K>l)y, M. H.R., ie»tudmg it The following accounts were p-is^ed f >r navment: W. X, Carter, LI ss; T. Well", L 7 10s ; I Bate-, LI IN H\ ; W. M. Hay, LIO 18s 3d ; Waikato Tunt^, L 3 15s ;N. I. Hunt, L 7 18s ; C. I'uc-H, L 25 9s Ld ; F. Pavitt, L\d 16-. ; J. L-ivory, L3OO ; J. Robertson, LI ; C, T»ylnr, LJ 5s ; J. iCminet*-, LM lh M ; C. Ahiei. L 7 0^ 4.1 ; C. Bilcke. 10 o LM: C. Murphy, L 5 lilt. Total, L 407 i\),ld. Atd.iLu the balance in the Ivmk wa«. \i\ credit. L 52 14s lid ; after the accounts aie paid it will ho ab nit L3o'J in debit. 'Ihis was all the biibines3.