TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 117, 7 November 1911, Page 7

TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL

J MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Taranaki County Council was held yesterday. Present: Council lore J. Brown (chairman), •T. I!. Hill, G. V. Tate, D. >!<■ Allmm, C.l Andrews, M. Ilopson, and I!. Stevens.' Mr. Cholwill Billing, the new inenita' for llurworth riding, took his Heat, and was | -.elconied by the chairman. who referred to the amicable relation- which always existed, between the members. Mr. 13i 11 - in;; returned thank» briefly. j Then Cr. llill made a suggestion that the member* would be able to vote more intelligently on roading matters gencr-1 ally if they made at least two visits j a ye;ir as a council to every portion of the country. This was the signal for a round of speech-making, councillors con-, gratulating Mr. Billing on his election! to the seat resigned by Mr. G. W. Browne, and pluming themselves, on the fact that the ratepayers had, with this one exception, rocketed every member of the old council;. w-hicji.. they flattered themselves, showed that the ratepayers were well pleased with' th? work of the individual councillors during the term, just closing. The suggestion by Cr. MeAlluni that the unopposed elections were the result of apathy on the part of ratepayers was promptly scouted. Cr. Stevens congratulated the ratepayers on having-by their action saved-an expenditure of £SO, which would be available now for road improvement. A CHANGE OF ST A IT. Foreman Seamark reported having.-on sth October, taken .control of all roads in the-Omata riding, .acting on instructions received from the chairman and Cr. M'cAlhini. , I Cr. McAllum said that this action had 'be'en taiken because Foreman lluse deliberately re-metalled the road without first breaking up the old surface, in opposition to the Council's direct instructions to the contrary. He had accordingly suspended the foreman, and reported to the chairman, who confirmed his action and said he would have dismissed the man on the spot. | The chairman said the position was that the Council had to take some action to see that its orders were obeyed. i Cr. McAllum and the chairman both stated that Ha* was a good man on the roads, and that Foreman Seamark and lluse were both satisfied to go on •forking as they were now. ' > Foreman Seamark was given charge of the roads in the riding, and lluse will V employed under him at 8s (id a day. THE ROAD ROLLER. * | The chairman reported that, having visited Eltham and, by the courtesy of the Elt ham county engineer, seen its road-rollers at work, he was of opinion that the Council should procure a water*nrt for the road-rolling plant. I FOREMEN'S REPORTS. Foremen's report- generally were to the effect that roads were in from fair to good order. The exceptions were the «ases of the Egmont road and the Carrington road, the former on account of the diverted sawmill traffic. Foreman BroMian (Okato riding) reported that his time lmd. been taken upin Okato township in lowering and ree railing footpath. The footpath had Veil extended a further seven and a half 1 chains, and for this portion the 'lci'liing, ■ rails,' and bolts-were supplied free by .residents o£ Okato whose property fronts the footpath. The work was now completed, and the total length of footpath was .'ii'/o chains. The Kaihihi. Stony , IliVer and Plymouth road bridges Were nil l ow in good order. The Oakum l!o:ul . Board should be requested to cart three .'iir four loads 'of clay to both ends, of the , Plymouth road bridge to save jarring • .getting on to the decking as the fillings' have sunk down. Re Mr. Watson's com..p'aiiit re tunnel.—He had had as-mail and • . hinu-.elf for two days last month at- work- . ,in the tunnek and he could not see' any> ! • thiif«y>'-very iurious for Mr. .Watson t'd l ' • .gi'otvl- about. When the weather. bceamt> a bit wanner he would dam the wateT up •ftn<t<s«ouiit through. • , jsiifctentthit reeling and discussion.of. tpi'e I j Spurts -tlfe 'following decisions werfc ,ti--riv?d.'ati:«; -> : -i Jt.'was xfceided. on the,.report.of Cr. 1 iUuUSlinki to., metal eight chains >of fjhe't , Wivireka/i-oad,. leading- la Omita : M>hn<ii. > ■ . Jftv.wati decided to forwarde'to-?t!he' makers'<ag»Mit«-a-report on the broloen-' bushes on the axles of the road roller; . Instructiwp ■ -jvjU, -be .given to the driver to ral'tW-MWfcr Barrett road andthe Cortoctt road. A letter of condolence will be forwarded to iiolmes ouvthe death of. his son. , peykjng as|ied fnr by . .Bcn»' ' 'licit will bg-'snpri]ie<J,■ : ' ' * ManuLifli'roafMs {'o be lepair.d as rc-!i commeiKled by Foreman l.inklaier. Pipes will be supplied to lengthen cnl-r 'vert ftn • 'lower ■ Jlaijrett road and ftn ■main road Adjoining. i Mr.■■. Bond-;' bridge >forehva:i| ".'reported that, aecoi,ding to instructions,*>Mie hful inspected thcManganui bridge' On Tal'iki road, and found it in good coiiditiort. except for three -mall beams >tjig cement had. fallen awa v. iiHiich' 'could have no serious effect to ilie bridge tlran allowing llv girders exposed'tii'corrode.- He recommended that the .exposed ' iron be cleaned and given two coats' (if ' hot. Stockholm tar. Three culverts on'' | Mountain road- were all in a bad ;i ef)A(|i-1 tion, and 75 yards of screenings'wdulif l>e"' ntcessary to replace'them. '-■ j !l engineer's R.Ei'oirr.'' j " |;| - The engineer (Mr. Orhell) repo'rjetj tin ' Ibe erection of bridges in the Mon rifl- ' . iV ; j ilursthouse ro.id bridge: Mr. Rond eipeeis to complete this bridge'about tlit'' 'loth inst. A certain amount ofdetajy ! took place owing to the non-arriyal' « | some of the steel, and also to the wets ' weather. ' : ; N'g-itoro-iti bridge: While waiting for the steel for the llur>thouse road bridge a start was made with the foundations--1 for this bridg'. j | lleiiui bridge: The contractor for (Ills | bridge is making good progress, but the I weather since last meeting has been un- | fa vorable. I | Mangnm-alioc .bridge: 1 have instructed ; j the fore nan to proceed with the earth- : j work and metalling and open the bridge j > to traffic as soon as the work is comI j pleted. . 1 ij LEPPERTON RAILWAY i'R(IS«IN*«: | ! | Mr. I). I). McKee. of Lepperton, wrote: ; I with to the work now being done by the Kaiiiway Department nil tile 1 'Lepperton railway crossing. From what' he could b-a,ni the Department was only j lowering the bank with the object of giving a better view. .Now, the object, of the petition of the settlers was to : have the road made full width, without which it would always he a dangerous • place. lie thought that the Couneil should take steps to have tin* desire (if 1 the petitioners carrinl mil. "My reasijn for writing direct to you." continued the letter, "is because .1 consider the inei|i- ' be.rs for this riding are absoiu.teiy indjfferent as to the meds oi' the ratepayers | i in this locality." i I Cr. Tan* -:ii:1 he was lookii'g i:ilo tAe malii r. and would endeavor to lfflve t|e IS , road wiil.iied, a, was i OAKCRA ROAD DISTRICT. ! 3i The chairman of the (lakura Roijd ' Board (Mr. T. Smart) forwarded a "copy j of a resolution of the hoard agreeing to . the .transfer of the tipper Carrinatiin

plained that no action could he taken| before March lil, P.ll". Before that date the Oakuni Road Board would probably have ceased to exist. DEPI TATIOXS. The Messrs. Burke again waited on the' i Council and complained of the state of . the road leading to their farm from the Harrctt road,' which they considered too . ste;rp for traffic. They were anxious . that the Council should make a devia- • tion.—The Council again had to refuse i to meet the wishes of the deputation,1 owing fo the lack of funds for such a i purpose. J . I .Mr. Burke offered to pay the whole 1 I expense of acijuiring the land for the da-j ;l via tion of the road, but the chairman : said that the Council could not enter- j . I tain that matter at all. : | Subsequently, aifter a good deal of | : argument, it was decided that upon this offer being put in writing, the Council would carry out the deviation. I Mr. Clement, who constructed the . Waiwakaiho weir, and recently repaired it, \viutrd on the Council, and explained 1 that, owing to ail error, he had 1 neglected to state, when he offered 1,0 work for 10- a day, that he expected the' Council to pay his board. He now claimed £1 n week for six weeks' board. ' —The Council voted £5 j | DOC!-TAX. | ' it was decided to fix the dog-tax for the ensuing year at 2s fid a head for cattle dogs and 5s a head for all other dogs. An .amendment by Cr. Andrews to charge IDs fo.r sporting dogs lapsed for. want of a seconder. v ' ' I NGAMOTU ROAD. I Cr, McAllum brought up the matter of ■ the Ngamotii i ; oa'd, for the completion oPf \ I.ieh a (lovernment subsidy had bceii ; -.nted. 'Hie ex'plaiiit'd that,-this road , i through the Spotswood Settlement,' I. 1 wa.s made by the Government after, it purchased the property. At that time' an Act was in force making it com-| pulsory oil all owners of property cut-" ting up their sections ifor subdivision! purposes, where new roads had to be j made, to form and grade these roads one chain wide and metal the same to the satisfaction of the local authorities. The' local authority at the time mentioned, j was the Oniata Road Board, since | merged into the county, and it was noti- j fied by the Government that the control! , of the road was to be handed oyer to 1 the iboard' and would be gazetted • on a specilied date. Metal had been placed on both ends of the .road, i.e., at its junction with the Breakwater and JJainl , South roads, but a gap of some 25 or 30 I chains was left untouched in the middle.! The Omiita Road Board wrote the Gcjiy- i | ernment, pointing out that this road had] not been completed in accordance with] ' the Act, and protested strongly against] being saddled with the burden of its up-' keep, unless it was finished, but without] a-vail. To make matters worse, that board, and this Council also, was then,: j and was still, being robbed of some hun-, i dreds of pounds in rates by the peculiar methods of management, or lack of man-1 agement, of this Spotswood Settlement. ( As an instance, he mentioned that there were people to-day oecuping some otf the, land on the Spotswood Settleriient, mak-' ing a good living by dairying, and who] did not pay rates to this Council. The | Qovernnicut, had now placed oil the Esti- " mates .the sum of £IOO/on a £ for £ ] grant, and invited-this,Council to finish' tli* work, which should have been com-i pieted by it. Gentlemen 1 that road was . not ..going- to -be completed jf ! 'his vote had to decide it. A. Government that could make laws for its people and not observe those laws itself was, he thought,! setting a very bad example of honesty, j 1 It was decided to make representations ' to the Government on the matter. I ' TENDERS. i Numerous tenders were received for! supplies o£ maintenance metal, and were! "iaeeeptiK],as follows: ] . i'oriniition and metalling Carrington' . W'.d> r J.") Fresh tenders to be' ■ ''i'lll';,',!- ;50" yards metal, Maiiganui pit,' i *viv*"'!-.Thomason. (is !)d yard; 300' (t y«^ lt pit, ,1. Xielson, 4«l y-)/!: 1 ,'!' I, KiV yards, Tarata pit, J. | y;inl; UOO yards. Clarke's pit, l IttMVaH aiid Thomason, Ss yard; 4001 { \aixl.s, •^iil a -!uJ's d«pot, J. Xielson, 4s .Mangorei, 200 yards • and : £OO yards Inglewood, ■ lfitc.iin. .Kictory, ; Swann and Jlagop, 4s : ew! .yards, Mountain road, '"SwiUiii' ami 'Magee, Ds 5d yard; 2(io : yards, JlaJjootalii pit, \y jj, Cartwright, yards now on ( i-.);i,(t, Tlaskell and Co., 2s Od va.rd; ] Devon and Pa-1 rhite roads,.Haskell and Co., 3s !)d vard; I \ yards pit. metal, -Mountain road/CstrtVrigh't; 4s (d yard; 3.30 yards, Waiwakalho .depot,.,Egmont and Smart roads, •-'d yard; 450 yards, .'•Marsh s''deiW£y.Egmont road, Rowan and 'khirtna-'on,' -Is lit) yard; 1-00 yards, Will-'ing-'s ])lt;\S\y i i,nn.aJid Magee, ;js 8d yard; ai'd-,. f'il't's pit, Swann and Magee,) Is lt)d yard; 23(1 yards, Copußtake's pit,' ' ■m-anir aftd .\ta'gee, 4s 8d yard; 300 yards bmildirs, llurford road, E. George, j 2s )kl" y:ftrf;' 30 yards gravel, Harford road, E.- (JWrge, 1 (is yard; breaking 200 ywrdty i-lu-rfonl iVoad, llenricksen, 3s 3d i .dot), y/ards boulders, Carrington road,. C. Ke.nd-.ill, 3s 8d yard; 300 yards botiklers,;. Carrington roail, Sole and Oliver, <-s .>tl wird.- Tenilers for (iOO yards Dietai atiYogeltdwii- and Fi'ankleigh'l'ark , were referred to" th,* chairman and Cr. ] .Kijljng, and ,-it • ,whs decided t.i call for .it'esl.L tenders for.. supply of 354 yards ; fi:om,,Fwn'klf , }; j . wwl pit. I _ GENERAL i ,wrote returning an acj.KP«#:. lol 'WWil..'J» i Vithe county clerk for I l J , il i:- , W?"t."fi.'(^- , onu:tefi.tli share of cost, of publishing wiUifant.-giving the opinion of ( the .Borijugh.Coiiiicil that the £O3O con- ! fributed towards th.e co-t of the brid"es covered.nil liability. c -Mr. T drew attention to the state 'of King .road owing to water-taliles 'heii;g.'blocked and the cul-\ vurt at 'tli'r • bottom of the hill being '■ choked.'—•FoMnltn'l*) attend to the Toad. It-was d«'ld(;d , 'tlmt the Council had no fiimh' jiist 'now to' extend, the foot--.patli at "Fiiriki.--i Aecoitnls «i-i'e -passed lor payment as under: Administration. .Cl-Ki' 2s 4d; Moa riding; £llß IDs od; Waita'ra riding. XIII.V-3S 1'Od; Oniata- riding, £.70 7s Id; (I If a. to riding, £.V> (is 7ii; Hiti--worth riding, £(•« 12s fid; Moa ridin", bridge loan, f 1052 !ls Id;- total, £1(1, Os <!:!. ; I —-