TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1917, Page 7

TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Taranafci County Council was hcldi in Hew Plymouth yesterday and attended by Crs. ■T- Connett (county chairman), J. Andrews. G. Capper, A. Morton, D. McAl!um, W. Binnie, J.' Simpson, and A. Laurence. Leave of absence was granted to Cr. Andrews, MAIN SOUTH KOAD. , The chairman reported tliat the questiou of arranging with tlio lieatur Company to start the tar-sealing work on the Main Soutli Road at Omata should be held up owing to the traffic restrictions on the railway, hut lie understood these were being removed as from yesterday. ■Or. Morton asked' if it would he wise to go on with this work, seeing that the season was so far advanced. The chairman said he felt it would he better to defer it, but Or. MaAlliun had seen him and was very anxious that it should be proceeded with. \ Crs. Binnie and Laurence expressed tlie opinion that the nvork should be held over.

Cr. McAllum strongly supported, proceeding with the work, contending that it was a matter of extreme importance to the whole county. The* chairman, said councillors were generally agreed as to the importance of the task, tihe only question being whether it should bo proceeded tvitli now or deferred till a more favorable season. After further discussion it was resolved, on the motion of Cr. Masters, seconded toy Cr. Binnie, to defer tha work till nert season.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT, The chairman reported that) the dispute re time work on the Mutton Track contract 'had been satisfactorily Bettled, the parties agreeing to the decision, of the crusher driver. With Cr. Morton and Mr. Ellis (clerk) lie had met the Mayor of New Plymouth, the borough engineer (Mr. Cook), and the town clerk (Mr. Bellringer.) on the matter of maintaining the boundary roads. Several tenders had been received for the supply Jof cement for twelve but) the prices submitted had! not warranted him in accepting any tender for the whole quantity. The Council's acceptance of a ipovtion of the business, however, had been confirmed. With Crs. Laurence and Capper he had inspected the Mftketawa river on the Junction Road and had found supplies' of good stone. The contract for metalling this road 1 could be done cheaper with Iboulders. 1I« had not been able to come to an agreement with 'Mr. Kennington with regard to the purchase of Clarke's pit. He had appointed Mr. J. Taylor asj| foreman on tho Lepper Road. With regard to the progress on Lepper Road ho reported that 40 chains required"to he done to complete the work.

MOTOR TRAFFIC. Cr. Simpson referred to the damage caused by motor traffic to the oounty roads, .particularly the upper Egmont Road leading from Egnjont Village to the radius line of ■fflie Mountain Reserve. Hundreds of motorists toured this road during the season, and it was not fair that the settlers should bear the. whole cost of the upkeep. He moved' that the Government be asked for financial aßsitance. On the suggestion of Cr. Morton, it was decided to apply to the Government for a specifio gfant of £2OO. FOREMEN'S 'REPORTS. Tliei following reports were read:— (Engine-driver Mackie reported that the crushing plant worked 19 days at Buniho, crashing 1340 yards. _ Moa Siding. ' Foreman Laurence: I had to employ labor to assist reinstate roads damaged by the flood. lam making good progress with the culvert near Rugby Road. Foreman Bennett: The greater part of my time has been taken up on the zig-zag, cutting down scrulb and! repair-, ing the road. Foreman Mallon: I have lengthened culvert near Farmers' saleyardis, but have some filling to do to complete the work. I am still employed on the Lepper Eoad. Foreman Heal: Most of my time has been taken up on tho Lepper Road rolling and blinding. , " Mangorei Siding,

■Foreman Batten: I have been engaged most of my time blinding and' assisting with the roller on Lepper Road. Foreman Kea&t: I anticipate that the roads during the coming wet season will require a great deal of attention. I have been assisting Foreman Batten, also working on the Lepper Road. (Mir. Hastings' hedge on corner of Kent and Junction Roads should l 'be cut down level to the ground, as it is clqse tp the metal and causes a' dangerous corner. Messrs V. Kearney and T. Pradcn should be requested to trim their hedges down to 4ft. on the sharp corners of the road. Foreman Spencer: I have constructed

the crusher site at Mr. Riley's gate and done a considerable amount of ftpawling, and am ready for the crasher. The Te Kiri bridge requires attention, some jof the wood work having decayed. The small fittings of the Momona bridge lying on the roadside requiro tarring, as they, arg rusting badly. \

Waitara Riding. Foreman J. Holmes: I have jbeen assiting the inspector on the bridges and general repair work. Foreman F. 'Holmes 1 : I have been assisting Foreman Proud on the lung, Upland, and Hursthouso Roads. Foreman 'Proud; During the month I have placed 480 yards on the King, Hursthouso, and Upland Koads and put in ft .'2ft. pipe culvert on the Hursthouso -Road. Foreman W. Holmes: I commenced my duties on the oth of April, and 'have been attending to the ordinary work and assisting tho inspector tarring the Snake bridge. Omata Riding. Foreman Seamark: My timei has been takeh up with the usual miscellaneous repairs.. I got puriri posts from Hurford Road and fenced Myers* pit with six wires. As there are no stone 'breakers available I am breaking tho stone on Hurford Road. 'j Foreman Eva: I have (been occupied cleaning water tables, patching and general work. ~.v ; : Okato Riding, • Foreman McGrath: I am at present engaged re-grading Croydon Roiul. I have put in the 2it. 6in. concrete pipe culvert on this road. . Foreman Sefton: I am still; engaged on the Puniho Road witlh the plant. Tho Greenwood for about i mile re-

quires rolling, as it is all working loose. 'Foreman Meredith:' My main road ia becoming very rough in places and requires scarifying and rolling. I am still assisting on the .Punihp Road. Foreman Hayes: I am still engaged with the plant on Puniho 'Road, where we have finished about three miles of road. The crusher is finished at the top end and -will 'be shifting at once to the main road depot to do the lower •portion of the road. I have replaced a washout with loin, pipes. The reports were adopted. Cr. Laurence moved that the metal required for the Tapki road be obtained from the ""anganui piti—Carried. An offer by Mr. Thomason to dump 400 yards of metal on the Mountain road, between Inglewood and Waiongo na, was accepted. It was decided to erect danger discs near Durham road and on the Junction road, near the corner of Dudley road. On the motion of Cr. Binnie, it was decided to put in hand the metalling of the- Lower Puniho road as previously authorised. It was decided to instruct Foreman Meredith to do the necessary formation 'on the Perth road, preparatory to metalling. On the motion of Cr. Laurence, seconded by Cr. Binnie, Cr. McAllum was authorised to confer with the road foreman in the Omata riding, relative to the necessary repairs to roads branching off the Main South road. Cr. Morton submitted to the council an offer by Mr. A. Wellington to deliver stringers for Hill Eoad bridge at' >£s each. If, said Cr. Morton, the council purchased these stringers it would obviate the necessity for re-building the bridge, in concrete, as proposed, for some years to come. The council resolved to accept the offer, and leave the necessary arrangements in the hands of the chairman and Cr. Morton. The action of the chairman and Cr. Laurence in authorising a concrete pipe culvert to replace the old wooden one near Rugby road, was confirmed. Cr, Binnie reported that he had authorised the laying of a pipe culvert to replace a wash-out on Puniho road.—Action confirmed. Tho chairman was authorised to arrange for breaking stone for Upper Pitone Road. A. Humphrey's offer to break stone by hand on the Hoani road at 3s 6d per yard was accepted. INSPECTOR'S REPORT. Inspector C. D. Grant reported as follows for the month of April:— On the Oth, 7th and 9th of April I made alterations to the shoot of crusher by making it two feet longer, so as to get better results to the screenings. I scraped and painted the Snake bridge at Lepperton. The timber for the Manganui, Mangaone and Tariki road bridges has come to hand, and' I am making a start on them right away. I examined the Mangaoraka bridge on Lepper road, on which I have reported. I have also inspected several other bridges in the course of the month, most of which I : will report on. On the 26th instant I attended court, to • prosecute three l persons for breaches of the County by-laws, all of whom were fined. The report was adopted. ' ENGINEER'S REPORT. Messrs Sladden and Palmer (county engineers) reported as follows: The Lepper road south metalling was proceeding satisfactorily under the immediate supervision of Foreman Mallon. On April 27 220 chains had been metalled, leaving about 02 chains to be completed. Up to the junction with the Bedford road, the road has been rolled and blinded, and rolling was proceeding as the metalling was completed. The jaws of the crusher required renewing, as the stone was not broken as well as it should be. The contract, with leasonable luck, should be completed this season—in three weeks if the weather holds.

The bridge over the Mangaoraka stream would require attention at an early date. The Oakura bridge had been inspected. In 1909 a report had been made by Messrs G. T. Murray and Sladden, bui unfortunately all the levels and measurements were destroyed by fire last year. As far as could be ascertained, the condition of the bridge was little, if any, worse now than in 1909. Possibly the crack in the southern abutment was rather worse to-day, but they could not detect any serious alteration. The cracks and general unsightly appearance of the walls at each end of the bridge made matters appear worse than they really were, and Bhould be filled up and plastered and new caps put on ■where

necessary. This would afford a means of judging what movement, , if any, was now taking place, as fresh' cracks would appear. At present it was impossible to say whether the old cracks were -worse than they were a few years ago. Certainly tho bridge had not moved northwards at all since 1909 and the depth of water at tiiQ foot of the southern abutment was

practically the same, indicating that no serious scour was taking place. Scour had taken place under the low retaining wall. It was not a matter of great importance at present, but the southern pier should be examined from time to

time in case it became wonse. The plans for the Msngaone culvert. Devon road, wore almost complete. They recommended that a concrete arch be constructed (not re-inforced) about 20 feet lower down the hill than at present. This would give a straight run for the water. It would necessitate arranging with the owners of tho land (Defence Department) for a right to cut tins channel, and it would also necessitate moving tho bridge on the road to the old slaughter yard, or otherwise give access. The whole cost of the work would amount to ''£3 so.

The Mangaone bridge (Junction road east) had not yet been inspected, but tin's would bo done early in the week. It was expected that tho concrete work in connection with repairs to the Waiwakaiho bridge would be completed within a fortnight. The filling at the

back of the abutment would then be made up to the road level. Work would then be stopped mitil the centering could bo removed, and the temporary structure taken away. It would be necessary to close tho bridge for some time to allow this to be done.

Cr. Morton reported regarding the pro- | fireas of the metalling contract on the Leppor road recently taken over from tho Moa Road Board. He also stated that he had given permission for some metal that had been thrown at the side of the road, to be carted to the junction of the main road, with the object of widening the approach.—Action confirmed. REPORTS ON BRIDGES. The, inspector, Mr. C. D. Grant, reported as follows on the various bridges in the county. The* Manutahi bridge is not in too -«»f e a condition, and required immediate

repairs, one of the approaches also re l ? •quiring attention. Six of the joists of the Mangaoraka bridge on the Devon road are in a lad state. Two sway bracea arc not in too good a condition, and many stringers need attention. A further report from Mr. Grant dealt at length with the repairs necessary to the Mangaoraka bridge on the Lepper road. Tho inspector was empowered to effect, the necessary repairs, and to employ extra labor for the purpose, AN OBSTRUCTED CREEK, Messrs John Moratti, W. Fabish, ana' R. H. Amycs, Tariki Road, asked the council to take steps to ensure the creek through Mrs. Harding's property beingkept in its proper channel instead of overflowing and damaging their proper • ties. Mr. Harding also waited on the council and asked that before taking any action the locality should be inspected. It was'' not fair to ask that he and others should, be called upon to pay nearly £3O each year to clean out the creek, since he contended such work was really not required. On the motion of Cr. Laurence, it. was decided that the chairman and members for the riding should inspect the creek, the settlers interested to be notified of their visit.

•BOUNDARY IiOABS.

The town clerk of New Plymouth submitted, for- record purposes, particulars of tho agreement between the Mayor and the county engineer as to boundary roads.

The chairman reported that the agreement arrived at with the 'New Plymouth Borough Council with regard to boundary roads was: (1) That the control of that portion of the Doralto road forming the boundary between tbe county and the borough be vested in the borough. (2/ That those portions of Frankley Tarahua, Carrington, and 'Avenue roads forming the boundary be vested in the county. (3) That half the cost of the annual maintenance, formation and metalling of tho boundary roads named be paid Iby the county and half by the borough. | (-1) That no new work of formation and metalling he effected 1 by ono 1 par},'/ without the consent) of the other. | (fi) That each party shall at the beginning of each financial year submit to the other party its proposals, together with estimates of costs of works on the boundary! roads. The agreement was subject to the approval of both councils. On the motion of Cr Lawrence, the agreement was confirmed. GENERAL. The Waipara County Council forwarded copy of resolution relativo to encouraging the cultivation of cereals.—No action taken. 'Mr Angus Fraser was granted permission to erect a fence on Tariki roadi, as it was dangerous to stock and traffic.— Foreman Lawrence reported that if Mr Fraser erected a/ fcnfce close to! the road it wquld 'be much sater for the travel/ ling public and! would keep cattle from treading the side of the road away. , Mr E. J. Smith, Lower Mangorei, wrote that he \vns prepared to spread, bank, and blind all metal provided by the Council on the road to his house.— Referred to the chairman. Mr E. J. Shrimpton, on behalf of the Omata School Committee, asked if the road through Mr Huse's property and bounding the school property had been closed, as the committee wished to erect a new; boundary fence.—-No action taken.

Mr O. N. Firth, local agent for Westport Coal Company, advised that in future the price of coal delivered to the County Council would be increased by 5s fid per ton> including an increase in the freight charge of 3».—Referred to the chairman. The Waitara West Road Board intimated that they had decided to disallow the merging "of Mr Bennett's sections, 159, 160, 161, and TO.- east of York road, and only to allow section 161 (Mr McFeteridge's) to merge.—Referred to the Moa Road Board.

Mr S. J. Kennington, Matau, wrote that he required fld per yard royalty on any metal taken from Clark's pits.—Xlo action taken/ ;

Foreman Sefton asked for an allowance of ISs per week while 'Working with the crusher aJbout 10 miles from his length of road.—lt was decided to grant Mr Sefton an allowance of 10s per weeW.

Mrs Sara Pedersen asked to be allowed to form an entrance to her property on Njianiotu road.—Granted, subject to Work being done to the satisfaction oi the foreman. The tender of Mr W. Thomason (£2SS) for the erection of a concrete arch near Whiskey Creek on the Junction road, was accepted, subject to certain conditions.

The Taranakl Hospital and Charitable Aid Board intimated that the levy for tho year on the county was £llO3 4s, and the monthly instalment £ISB 12s each.

The Board also invited the county chairman to inspect their books relative to charitable aid cases.

A request by the New .Plymouth Borough Council to cart cement and other materials by traction engine and trucks for the'purpose of repairing a partial collapse to the dam at the 'waterworks, Mftngorei, was granted, provided that all damage done to the roads foe made good. Accounts were passed for payment as follows:—General expenses, £228 7a 9di; Moa Ridip.r. £ W0 ISs'kl; Waitara. Riding, f£l3O(J (is (id; Ornata Riding, £9l Oa 3d; Okato Riding, £646 8s 4d; total, £2441 lilts lid.