EGMONT COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 April 1918, Page 3

EGMONT COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MKETING. The ordinary meeting of flie l-igmont County Council was held at Opunake yesterday, when there wore present: Crs. W. R. \Vright (chairman), S. U. Cornish, T. Harvov, 'l'. IT. H. Sinclair. W ('. Green, A. .1. Howe. A. 11. Holder, 11. \V. J. McNeill and M. O'Drien. ENGINEER'S REPORT. jVIr. A. C. Pease, county engineer, re-

ported: Oeo Riding (northern). —Cuttings have been widened en the Eliham P.o.id. between tlie Our! and Punchu bridges. Tlie ford at tlie Punehu bridge on the Ehhain Road had some attention, but since then the river has been partly in Hood, banking U]) boulders and shingle nt the ford. The boulders have since been removed by one of the road metal contractors, and instructions given to keep the lord passable. The foreman of the riding finished his duties on March 23, and I have since appointed a man from the Stratford county to fill the vacant position, and he will commence duties in a fortnight. In connection with contract No. 312, about 250 yards of boulder stone have been dumped on a site near the Ouri bridge, and the contractor has just completed the dumping of the remainder of the stone on a new crashing site near the Te Kiri store. The boulder stone for contract No. 31.1 lias all been dumped alongside the Oeo Road at the northern end. The dumping of COO yards of boulder stone at Awattmn for contract No. 317 will be completed this week, and the contractor has completed the dumping of about 200 yards at the northern end of Patiki Road on contract No. 310. Oeo Riding (southern). —With the exception of about 2 days. Hie men have been engaged on various contract works. Contract No. 324 on the Watino Road was completed, and the crushing plant taken back to the old site in the Puke tapu Road, where the stone for contract No. Slfl was crushed and laid on the bottom end of the Patiki Road, tlie materials used being 338 yards crushed boulder stone, 32 yards screenings and 48 yards pit gravel binding The men and plant then resumed work on contract No. 304, where they left oft when the crusher broke down on November 20 last, and finished the remetalling of the South Road from tlie Pihama store to the racecourse entrance gates. They are still engaged on contract No. 304 on tlie South Road, beyond the Oeo River, whore there are two heaps of 500 yards each to crush and lay down. The Puketapu Road was badly damaged on account of the crushing plant being set up there, and crushing nearly 1300 yards of stone, and on its removal we had to scarify a short length of the road and make good with 30 yards of crushed metal and fi yards of pit gravel binding. Between 50(1 and 000 yards of the 720 yards of boulder

stone required for contract No. 320 has been dumped at the crushing site in the gravel reserve south of the Tauugatara River on the South Road, and the contractor should finish the work of dumping about fiOli yards of boulder stone at the two crushing sites on the Skeef Road, under contract No. 32:'.

Opun Killing— Some patfiiinsr has I»cn done at several places on the Klikam Road, and a few very bad holes had to be filled in on llie South Road, south of the Waitoika bridge previous to (he day of the Opunake race*. A length of about 20 chains of the South Koad north of the Taungatara bridge which had recently been scarified and rolled in without new metal has been cowretl with clay binding, and some little time has beeii spent on the water tables on the Kltliam and South Roads near Opunake. For the greater part of the month some of the men were engaged on the work of cutting away the embankments on both sides of .the South Road, at the junction with Eltham Road.

Opunake Riding.—The work of lowering the Waiaua Hill on the South Road is being proceeded with. During the month IDS-!.] yard.-, of earth has been excavated and tipped in the old metal pit on the Harbor Board's reserve, and on both sides of the north approach to the Waiaua bridge The number of yards excavated and removed to date is lSSr>, at a cost of .£248 4s. The first half of thr; new eu'ting is practically completed, and we are putting bad: the old metal on the surface, in readiness for diverting the traffic through it; in the meantime the bank towards the council's engine shed is being lowered to the level of the surface of the road, to the new line suggested in my last monthly report. After the council's last meeting this work was inspected by the chairman and C'rs. Cornish, Green and Sinclair, who suggested that the cutting be made for the full width of the road from ban]; to bank This would give a clear roadway of about :!8 feet between the water tahlps, and would be a great improvement on my original sclfeme. On two occasions danger lamps which have been left bunting all night for the protection and guidance of the travelling public have been stolen from the site of these works.

Rahotu Riding.—A new culvert of thirteen 18-inch diameter concrete pipes has been put in under the South Road, north of the Waitekaure River. This was to replace an existing culvert, and has been put in at a depth of 2ft lower, to more efficiently drain the land on the east side of the road, and relieve the road side drains The pipes were supplied and carted to the site by the native landowner Ririkore Wharepouri, who also assisted with the work of lowering the outlet channel. The whole of the' start' were engaged for about six days cutting and grubbing blackberry and* gorse oil those frontages between the Parihaka and Xewall Roads where they have been most neglected by the occupiers. A good many of the occupiers in the locality are making some effort to deal with the'noxious weeds nuisance, and these frontages have been passed over to give them an opportunity to keep them cut down, but where there ha< been any real neglect instructions have been given to do the work and charge the cost to the occupiers. 1 have inspected the culvert at the end of Mr I'ierson's road, opposite Burgess Road, and find that the council is entirely responsible for the work, and recommend that the Parihaka Road P.oard's account for pipes be paid. Instructions have been given for a wooden crossing over the water table at the entrance to the Rahotu Hall About (iOO yards of boulder stone for contract No. .12!) at Puniho, have been dumped on the crushing site, and about 300 yards for contract No. 331 south of the'YV'aitnha. The whole of the roads throughout the county have suffered considerably during last month, owing to the continuous dry winds, followed by the severe storm oil the 19th and 20th of March, which was again followed by wind. It is difficult to estimate "" damage done, but it must be equal t one year's life of the total length of roads. Bridges—The . concrete construction work of the Waitotoroa bridge is nearing completion. The arch ring is finished and the ipandril walls are in. The para-

pets will soon be completed, when we will be ready for iilling in the bridge and roadway approaches on both sides of the river. A temporary bridge has been placed across the. Olahi strciim ns the pre.-enl wooden bridge, there will have, to be dismantled, anil part of the masonry abutments removed to provide for a safe till for the bearing of I he new reinforced concrete Hal slab top. The shingle and cement have been delivered on tlie site The bridge over the Puhina stream will be a far more expensive scheme than the one allowed for in the estimate for the borrowing powers. This was based on a pipe culvert, and the estimate was ;C35. but from information received from a reliable source as to the volume of water in the stream at Hood fime-5, we shall require a bridge (sft. wide in the clear, :;r>.d i... will cost about .Clio. On the

eivuing of March 13 Mr. Sharpe, the district engineer, called here re the I'unehu bridge on the Eltham Road and the Wiremu Road formation, when it was decided that 1 should write to him about the rate of wages it was proposed to pay the men employed on the bridge. This I did. but have not yet received a reply On the 3rd instant I met Mr. Sharpe ai the Punehu bridge for the purpose of showing him the site of the proposed bridge as pegged out by me, when he agreed that the site chosen was all that could be desired. He informed me that he was stilly awaiting an answer to my letter re wages, and that he would send an urgent wire the following morning, explaining the position and tlie desirability of the work being proceeded with at once, but so far I have not received any further word from him. J may say that I have let a contract tor the cement subject to the work being proceeded with, and the foreman appointed is waiting to come and take charge at any time.

Plant.—The new 350-gallon water cart has been put into use in the Oeo Riding (southern), and seems to do its work satisfactorily. The new power pumping plant has been delivered, and was used for the first time on the sth instant, on the South Road at Oeo. The plant was put down to a creek on the roadside, from which it filled the 350-gallon water cart in four minutes, which is equal to 5250 gallons per hour. I will have further tests made with a total head of water, including lift and delivery, of about 25 feet before recommending its acceptance. A new wind screen has been obtained for the Garrett roller for use when crushing stone, to keep fine grit from the working parts'.

WIREMU ROAD. The Under-Secretary of Public Works thanked tlie council for offering to underfake the expenditure of the money authorised for formation work in the Wiromu Road free of engineering and other preliminary expenses. He notified that the resident engineer stated that lie had had (he work laid out, had small contracts for the formation prepared for letting to settlers, and also proposed to publicly edvertise tenders for the erection of a bridge. As all the engineering work had already been carried oul, nothing would be gained by entrusting the expenditure of the money to the council, which could rest assured that everything possible would be done to expedite the construction of the road.

The engineer stated that he had seen the resident engineer, who hoped to call tenders for contracts in about'a week. PAYMENT OF NATIVE JUTES. The l"nder-Sccrctary of tlie Native Department notified that he had been directed by the Native Minister to state that the purchase officers for a considerable time have had definite instructions to arrange for the payment of rates, wherever possible, before paying over the purchase money to native vendors. In practice, considerable difficulty was experienced in carrying out this instruction, but the purchase officers were doing their utmost to collect rates in every case. He also asked information as to rates due against various subdivisions.

Tim county clerk stated that in Jannary last lie wrote to tlic Minister, pointing out .the disability under which the council was suffering* by reason of the Crown making purchases of native lands upon which rates were unpaid, and showing that for some two years past the Crown had been purchasing land, Lilt, as detailed subdivisions were not available, the council' had not been -,n a position to take any steps by way of registered liens or court proceedings to recover rates. The county clerk suggested that in all future purchases enquiries should first Iwvnade as to what rat-:s were owing, so that provision could be ninde for payment before the Crown became the owner.

The-clerk was given authority to obtain the information. HOSPITAL MATTERS. The Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board notified that the board had passed a resolution levying a rate of Is •id in the £IOO. The board also notified that (he council's resolution re free treatment, of soldiers' wives in the hospital had been considered, when it was reported that the Government was dealing I with the subject, so no action was taken pending a report being received from the Department. ROAD-MAKING MACHINERY. Messrs. Booth, McDonald and Co. forwarded quotations for winches suitable for raising stone from the beach. The chairman considered that at present the council was not in a position to undertake the purchase of any more machinery They would probably have to go in soon for a new machine, and though such a winch would be required later if they went in for tar-sealing, he thought the matter should be held over for the present. This was agreed to. THE PUNEHU BRIDGE. The chairman reported that, with Mr. 0 A. Wilkinson, M.P., and Mr A. C. Pease, county engineer, he had waited on the Minister of Public Works on l'Vuriiary 2S with regard to granting an increased subsidy for the Punelm bridge. After the matter had been fully discussed the,Ministcr said that at present his financial resources were all absorbed, but lie would give the Egmont County Council a letter that the increased s untidy asked for would he granted at the first favorable opportunity, and that they ought to proceed at once villi the erection of the bridge, the original £BOO being immediately available Roth Mr. Wilkinson and himself expressed satisfaction at the Minister's reply. The chairman asked if steps had been taken to raise the No. .1 bridge loan.

The clerk stated that all the necessary steps had been taken so far. but before the matter could he completed a special order levying the special rate would have to he adopted and other formalities would have to be complied with, A special order levying a rate of 7-39 d in the £ was carried. Tt was decided that the engineer make inquiries regarding a concrete mixer. PATIKI ROAD. Mr. A. McEwen waited on the council

in connection with the metalling of the Patiki Road, lie understood that 200 yards of stone was to be utilised for new work, but lie had since been informed that this 'had been used for re-inetalling from the Kit hum Road, lie was liable for two special rales, and thought that •after thirty years he was justified in asking that some new mclal should be put down. The engineer stated that it had been his intention to start repairs at the top end of each by-road and complete a length each year In this way he would :;ct through the roads in six; or seven vears. in this ease it had been decided to plare fome of the metal on the unmet." lied portion. Or. McNeill said about 10 or 12 chain* were unmetallecl. He 'had asked for four or five years that this should be metalled, but the council .would not agree, as they wished a patch left to prevent the road being used for heavy through traffic.

Eater it was resolved to call tenders for the necessary metal. THE ELTHAM ROAD. Or. Holder referred to the state of the ETtham Road near Awatuna. Ahout a mile required metalling, and would take 1000 yards. The engineer stated that at tlie present time funds would not permit of bo much work being done, hut he proposed obtaining 200 yards additional to carry the work as far as the Oeo Road. The chairman pointed out that the council was now in another financial year and the riding would be credited with an additional year's rates. Cr. Holder moved that an additional 1000 yards be obtained to complete the work. | Cr. Rowe seconded. The engineer stated that without any additional contracts the crusher would be very much behind his time-table, and it would be August before the crusher readied Opunake. Cr. Green thought the crusher was a long time in the southern end. If not capable of doing the work the crusher should be thrown out.

It was decided to procure the stone, the crushing to be left to the engineer.

ALTERATION OF RIDING BOUNDARIES. Or. O'Brien moved, pursuant to notice, that tile western boundary of the Opua riding be extended to ' the western boundary of the Oaormi ward of the Parihaka Road Distriet. Ue stated that this alteration would bring the valuation of the Opua Riding and the P/.hotu Riding somewhat nearly equal. He had not been able to ascertain the exact valuation, but the value of th e Oaonui ward was'£lßo,ooo and* the county rate should amount to £7'oo or £BOO. If (.hat were added to the Opua revenue it would put Opua iu a fair position and equalise matters. Opua would then have 15J miles of main road to maintain as against Rahotu's 10'/. miles. In the future, when the Wiremu Road was opened up, Opua Riding would have an additional 13 miles to maintain as against (i miles in Rahotu Riding. He therefore appealed to the council to place the Opua Riding in a sound financial position. They would find from the statement submitted by the secretary that Opua Riding had an overdraft of ;!:140S and Raliotu £5158. Rahotu's valuation was now one-third more than Opua, yet it only had two miles more road to maintain. This he considered was not a fair basis. Cr. McNeill seconded.

Cr. Harvey said that Opua's overdraft had piled- up because the, money had been expended on the roads, whereas the Rahotu riding had studied economy.

The chairman stated the roads in the northern portion of the riding \vere properly put down with water, a system he had always advocated.

Cr. Green pointed out that Opua roads had been re-metalled, whereas Raliotu riding had yet to be metalled, When this was done its overdraft would be larger. He considered the alteration would increase Opua's liabilities, as the further north one went the heavier became the traffic and the more cxpensivo the maintenance.

Cr. Sinclair did not favor the motion. He considered that the extra revenue gained would not compensate for the extra road taken over. It would relieve the Rahotu riding of considerable responsibility ny taking over sojne of its less valuable territory. Ho estimated that, it, would'mean a gain of only £l2 per mile.

The chairman pointed out that it would cost £4O to make the change. That portion of the road proposed to be taken over by Opua riding carried very heavy traffic and was costly to maintain. Moreover, Opua would have to take over three expensive bridges, one of which required re-building. So that if Opua took over the assets it would take, over considerable liabilities. He would favor the whole question of sub-division being thoroughly gone into with the idea of having nine ridings.

Cr. O'Neill could see no advantage In the change-

On being put to the meeting the motion was lost, Cr*. O'Brien, Rowe, and Holder voting in its favor. The engineer was instructed to report on the stability of the Heimama bridge. GENERAL. Mr. A. O'Brien, clerk to the Opunake Town Board, notified that part of the proposed town lighting and power scheme was to construct a, low weir across the river about 25 feet below the Waiaua bridge, so as to raise the level of the water about 4 feet in order to divert it into a, conduit, and he asked whether the council would offer any objection to the proposal.—The council resolved that it had no objection, provided the engineer approved the plans. Applications by Geo. Viekery and Parau Tamihana. for billiard-room licenses at Opunake were granted. The engineer was instructed to arrange for the deepening of the Otahi stream to prevent flooding the road.

The chairman's action in instructing jiho engineer to hire an engine from Messrs Andrews Bros, at £G per week was confirmed. Mr. TO Marshall wrote on behalf of Mr. John Oopky, owner of section 2, block i"i, in the Kanpokomii survey district, drawing attention to the state, of the upper part of the TCiri Road from Mr Coupe's "ate. T/he engineer is to report at next meeting. The chairman's action in instructing the engineer to continue the work of improving the road at the Waiau bridge was confirmedA committee consisting of the chairman, Cr. Sinclair, and the engineer was I appointed to go into the question of purchasing an engine on offer to the council. I Cr. Cornish was appointed the council's