CLIFTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 6 April 1907, Page 3

CLIFTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Clifton County Council was held tit Waitara on Friday. Present: Mr. J. W. Foreman (chairman), and Cvs. M:Kenzie, H. .Toll, Bishell, aud O. Gaustad. MANGAHIA ROAD. Four settlers on the Mangahia road, Uruti, asked for repairs to the road, which was now impassable owing to culverts being too rotten for trallic, and to the bad state of the road from McKellar's gate upwards.—The engineer will give the matter attention right away.

OAPUI ROAD. ' J The county solicitor reported that the : petition for a loan of £IOOO for metalling the Uapui road to Mr. Venerables' gate, a distance of about 100 chains, was nut in older, live out of seven assentiii" not giving the necessary majority of ratepayers. Mr. Venerables, one of the ratepayers interested, wrote that the opposition on the part of two ratepayers was probably due to a misunderstanding. He would interview them, and ccumunleate with the Council again. The Council will proceed with the necessary steps to raise the loan by poll.

COLESBY'S CONTRACT. Mr. J. H. Colcsby wrote that he was not satisfied with the resolution passed by the Council with regard of his metalling contract. He complained of the way the engineer was allowing the present eintractor to take gravel out of the pit he had condemned when he (Mr. Colesby) was proceeding with his contrait, and was allowing the present contractors to work a face forbidden to Mr. Colesby previously. He felt the engineer was uot treating all contractors alike. He was of opinion that the engineers sample taken from the pit for him (Mr. Colesby) to work was unreasoauble. Cr. .101 l said (he engineer had given Mr. Colesby permission to work the pit just as he liked, provided the gravel was up to the sample scratched out of the face in a haphazard fashion by the engineer in the presence* of the speaker and the contractor.

The engineer said Mr. Colesby had had a copy of the specifications. Mr. Colesby will be informed that the Council sees no reason to depart from its previous decision, and that a fresh copy of the specifications can be obtained from the clerk. HOSPITAL RATE.

The Hospital Board notified the amouat of the contributions payable in the forthcoming year. The amount has decreased by over £5 a year. URUTI ROAD. Cr. Mackenzie complained of the silting up of the side channels on the Uruti road, causing flood waters to run down the centre of the road, scouring it out. He had been told that in recent wet weather there was a big stream of water running down the roadway for fully half a mile. Councillors complained that the grader was not sufficiently deepening the watertables.

[ The engineer said that the difficulty was that every available man had been put on to the main road, and labor was too scarce to do all he had wished. The chairman said he had not been aware that side-roads had been so neglected and for so long. He favored the appointment of separate surfacemen for the -Mokau and Urenui ridings. Cr. Joll said the settlers should have complained of this neglect before. They could not expect members to be riding round always on these side-roads.

I The chairman said the foremen or surfacemen should have reported this to the engineer. The members spent sufficient time, he was sure, in attending to such matters. When neglect like this went on there was something wrong with the system. Cr. Joll said it was remarkable that the settlers had not complained to their own members insead of waiting for a member to come in from another riding. Left with the engineer. Mr. Tarry, of Cartwright and Tarry, contractors for the main road metalling (taken over from Mr. Coelsby), interviewed the Council. He asked, inter alia, that if the weather prevented him from completing his contract before the winter, the Council would take over the completed work, thus relieving him of the responsibility of maintenance. With fine weather he expected to complete it in a couple of weeks.—Consideration deferred. ENGINEER' REPORT. The county engineer, Mr. C. P. Dowsett, reported:—ln the Wailii Riding, on the main north road, E. W. Marsh had broken and carted out another 45 yards of stone, covering a distance of 'three chains. The grader was at present engaged ir. forming the Ohanga road to a width of 20 feet. He requested authority to giade a portion of the Turangi road between the main road and the beach. In the Tikorangi Riding ;)</., chains of Tikorangi road had been me" tailed, and formation work had been completed for the present on the Otaraoa road. He recommended the construction of another pipe culvert at the foot of Jackson's Hill. In Ngatimaru Riding, about 12 chains of metal had been placed on the Otaraoa road, and slips at the tunnel had also received attention. Contract work on the Pukeho road and at Purangi was proceeding. Numerous slips and wash-outs had occurred in the locality, but he had made arrangements for effecting repairs. In the Uivnui Riding, 0. Knuckey had completed his work of supplying maintenance metal for the Urenui and Mokau Ridings. Waite's contract on Mataro road bad been taken over, and Newstrowski's contracts were proceeding satisfactorily. As the result of the late rains there were about 300 yards of slips on the Mataroa road to be cleared. The grader liad been engaged on the Wilson, Kakapo, and Okoke roads. Mokau Riding: The total cost of work asked for by Mr. Kelsey on the Mangamacho road was estimated at £llO. Cartwright and Tarry's metal contract was proceeding fairly satisfactorily, despite alleged difficulties with the 'metal chute. The recent lloods had washed away fJiout 5(1 yards of recent gravelling and flooded some portions of the sand -.toping. He made suggestions '"or obviating trouble here.

It was decided not to grade the Turangi road at present. On the motion of Cr. doll, seconded by Cr. (Janstad, it was decided to obtain from the engineer an estimate of the cost of felling the bush along the course of the Mimi River, through the native reserve at L'rmi, and making deviations in the course of the stream, with a view of reducing dan»er from the tloc-ds. The matter of giving access to Mr. 'Kelsey's land was deferred. W. H. Foreman, contractor for sandstoning on the Pntiki road, will be instructed to proceed with the work, or the Council will take over the work and complete it by day labor, charging him with any extra cost; as recommended by tin engineer. Accounts, amounting to £933 2s fld. were passed for payment.