MOA ROAD BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81890, 19 November 1906, Page 2

MOA ROAD BOARD.

Th© ordinary monthly im. ng ■. the Moa Road Board w.i: :,u Kiiday. PrL'Suiu: Messr> 11. iVmb (chairman) ,Chamney. J.,iV.,i'„c Marsh, lioby and llenwood. The committee sct up 10 tcp»n u; the proposed contribution of ilie I);, roads to the upkeep of the Lincolnload, recommended ihat the Wortleyroad should contribute £3, Rich-mond-road .£2, and the Y'ork-road ,£0 The report was adopted. The chairman and Mr Marsh were appointed to sign the memorial in connection with the taking of land for the deviation of the Toe-toe road. Mr Pennington will be asked to furnish a valuation of the piece d 1 land to be taken for the deviation. Mr G. T. Murray, district road engineer, wrote that £27 additional was now available for metalling the Surrey-road.—Specifications of the work will be submitted to the Department.

Mr W. T. Jennings, M.H.R., forwarded the reply of the Minister o. the Board's request for a grant foi 'he Egrnont and Lepper roads, on account of the increasing touris: traffic. The matter "has been noted."—Received. Residents on the Surrey-road asked the Board to call alternative tenders for hand-broken and crushed metal, to see which was the cheaper. —Agreed to. DEPUTATIONS. A deputation of joiin's-road, the settlers from which had asked the Board to take steps to raise a loan for metalling the road, waited on '-he Board. The chairman stated the engineei I estimated cost at £IOO for laying the metal 10ft wide and loin deep.< I This cost would be reduced if good gravei could be obtained at the upper end of the road. In answer to the chairman, Mi Kendrick said the settlers would not be content with gravel. They wanted a good road whilo they were about it.

Mr Kenwood congratulated the settlers on their decision to have the job done properly. Mr Kendrick offered to waive his claim to royalty if suitable stone were found on his property. Steps will be taken to raise the loan as requested, and the supplies of stone will be investigated and reported upon. A deputation of settlers on the Upper Lepper and Upper Egmont roads, with Mr J. Williams as spokesman, offered to get metal out if the Board would cart it out and spread it on the roads. The Lep-per-road has completely worn through, and 'he milk suppliers had to corduroy the deep holes to get their carts to the factory. About 10 chains of drains on the Leppcrroad and 50 chains on the Egmonttoad had completely silted tip, and the water coursed down the rj.ul eeutre.

The Board will have the drains attended to, and the metalling done in terms of the deputation's offer. Ratepayers on the Motukawa-road petitioned for the expenditure of about /Jioo in metalling about nine chains of the road, six chains on -he Tarata side of the first bridge from the Junction-road, and three chains near Mr Virgin's house. Two milk carts were running on the road, and it was feared ii would become impassable next winter. The road had sufficient credit to stand the expense, and it would be necessary to charge ,625 again-t next year's rates.

The chairman moved that the application be not entertained. He objected to such spendthrift, extraordinary expenditure when there was no extraordinary work such as repairing a broken bridge or anyhing. ot that kind. He would be no party to placing the road in the same un"-. satisfactory financial position as many others in the district. This road, too, was subject to very bad slips. He remembered that quite recently the whole countryside there .seemed to have "turned iiquid, into j a pea-soupy substance," the creeks were filled in, and the road disappeared. This meant that there might be very heavy expenditure at any lime. The graining of the application would mean the anticipation of the whole of the next year's rates. He would recommend the settlers to wait till next year. Mr Hoby seconded.

Mr Chamney, who resided on the road, said he was against thy policy of allowing- roads to become overdrawn, although he sympathised with the settlers. The chairman had not mentioned that the Molukawa settlers had raised a loan to clear away the slips, but another road (Toe Toeroad), which was similarly subject to slips, had been allowed" to overdraw. The Motukawa-road had never been overdrawn, and it never would be, with his sanction', for ordinary repairs. Mr Henwood suggested that the sdtrlers shcfulcl subscribe, and ihen ask a subsidy from the Board. The motion iva carried.

At a later stage ii was found the road had £lO of "thirds" accruing', and it was decided to metal nine chains and spend £i in repairing work on the hill near Mr Virgin's house. TENDERS. The committee appointed to report On the amount of boulders required on various roads recommended thai die following- be obtained for use during the ensuing year:—Durhamload west, 100 yaids; Norfolk East, 40 yards; Norfolk West, Go yards; Rugby, 50 yards j Suffolk, 60 yards, part of this for new work ;' Surrey, 30 yards; Dud'ey West, shingle as required ; Efrm-jU' South, 30 yards gravel at upper end and 40 yards boulder* ai lower and; Windsor, 30 yards bouldeis; Kadnate West, 50 yurds gravel; Kaimata South, iuo yards Ijeukh-is; Ro s, 50 yards boul-{K-l'sj pepper-road, ,615 to be spent. Tenders will be railed, to be opened and aec-epied by ihe chaiiman and one member of (lie Hoard. It was decided to cal.' tenders for draining on the Egmont road South. FOREMEN'S REPORTS. Ralph Jones, foreman south division, reported that the drain on JohnWuad, about a mile long, was not big- enough to take all the water fiom the creek turned into it, and lira water was llowing- over the road. On the J Jut ham-road East, Mr A. Uoueh had agreed to cart stone ai

J y a raid; and on the Durham-road \\'e-t metal required raking- in. The foremen's ieeomm<--iul«ti..iis will be given effect to.

The foreman (A. Uuskiu) tenoited that decking- on the Bcdfoid-road bridge was unsafe for traffic—To be attended 10.

The same foreman report* d that a few days' water-tabling was required on each of Ihe following roads:— Leppcr South, Egmom, King, Hursthousc and Everett. A few bad places on lliu Egmont-roacl South required about 70 yards of metal. Bedford road South required 30 yards. and Richmond-road 40 to 50 yard-. Lincoln and Leppcr roads were in aj vcrv bad state.

These works will kv attended to as opportunity offers. The Hoard, on the motion of Mes is Chamncy and Kenwood, decided that all advertisements be inserted in the Inglewood Record, and the bigger enmracis in the Daily NKWS and the Budget.

Accounts am inning to fy', weie passed for payment.