HAWERA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 May 1918, Page 3

HAWERA COUNTY COUNCIL.

j iliiXTin.Y MEKTINC '1 lie Jlawcm County Council met on Saturday. Pie-scnt: Cts. J\Junlodi, Linn, Washer, Winks. Williams, llawkeu, Tarrant, and Lysairht. Clifton County, Waitara, desired informafion ai to what system Jluwcra had of checking toil-g.ate revenue. The Clifton sysiyui left much to be desired; they had one toll-gate, and were paying (lie tollkee|ier (is. (id per day.—lnformation forwarded. Ceurge llurrell, Ararata, wrote relative to desired permission in erecting boundary fence on the, county property.--Cr. Lysrught promised to look into the matter when next in the vicinity, and a motion giving him power to art was carried. HOSPITAL LEVIES. ■ Hawera Hospital and Charitablg Aid Board notified that a levy of Is Id in the £IOO would be made on ail local bodies in its district. The valuation amounted to £7,217,138.—Eece-ived. » The chairman said that the levy last year was Is l'/ 2 d. He asked if anything further had been done by the board regarding the site of the new buildings. Or. Win'k3 said the board was negotiating, but 'nothing definite had been decided upon. WAGES PROBLEM. Eltliam County wrote inviting the council to a conference at Eltham on Monday, to further consider the wages question, and stated that 17 employees on the Eltham County had ceased work through the council refusing to depart from the conference's resolution to pay for time worked only. The chairman stated that the position that had arisen in Eltham was a peculiar one. That county admitted it was experiencing difficulty in 'getting men. From that he would see it looked a,s if the councils would have to go on their own. He was pleased to'say that the men employed on the Hawera County were contented, and one should hesitate about altering any decision that might create troubleCr. Winks said he was not in favor of a conference. Breaking away from any agreement meant "bursting up" the union of employers. TJie chairman said bis own opinion was that they should not bother. Labor troubles, or difficulty in getting men in the future, had to be carefully considered.

Cr. Linn moved—"That the chairman attend the conference, and support the resolutions adopted at the last conference."—Carried.

The Taranaki County stated it had <heen reported there that some of the South Taranaki counties were paying men 13s and 14s per day, and desired information if the council were paying in excess of the arrangement ()2s) arrived at the joint conference held at Hawera on October 27, 191". The chairman stated that this was similar to the last letter, and the matter would probably be reviewed at the conference. FOREMAN'S REPORT.

A. Muggridge, county foreman, re ported as under:

Since last meeting there has been very heavy floods in the Tongahoe river, and the creeks emptying into it, which had caused an enormous amount of damage to roads and hridges. The bridge over the river on the South road was shifted about 3ft out of plumb, and the traflic had to be limited in weight- The timber had all to be loosened, and several heavy pieces replaced, and. the whole structure was brought into position yesterday. When the now wind braces are in position it will be strong enough for all ordinary traffic. The bridge on the Ohangai road was swept clean away down the river, but the greater portion was recovered intact. The Public Worka Engineer had inspectted'it. but no recommendation could he made in regard to a new bridge before ho knew what the foundations were like, and the investigation had been going on for some tim e . The bridge on the Tongahoe Valley road was also swept away, leaving a gap of 53ft, and a very small portion of decking only had been recoveredThe bridge from the Ohangai road would •be very near enough to do this work, so if the council decided to do this it could be gone on with as soon as the work o n the Main South road was finished. The filling on the Tongahoe Valley road ov e r the Kiritae Creek was also swept away, leaving a gap of 75ft and about 35ft deep, and a bridge 90ft long would be required to span this gap. A n alternative worthy of consideration was to open the present tunnel to a width of 30ft, bridging that and filling the pres e nt gap up with earth. That would save a great amount of upkeep. On the same road, at the Kotukutuku creek, the .•same thing had happened, and it would take a bridge 46ft long to span this creek, but th fi banks were not so deep, being only 15ft. When the Government made the road they only put in a sft culvert, and there we're trees that size and about 40ft long coming down the creek. There were a good many large slips on the same road which would take a considerable amount oi time and money to shift.

Morea road.—There was a good deal of damag e 'lone on this road with slips, Hut the greater portion was now open for horse traffic.

Makino road.—There was a considerable amount of slips and two washouts on this road, which would be attended to as soon as possible. Meremere road.—The metalling on this road is all delivered, and the knap-» ping of the stone i 3 being proceeded with. The flood had taken all aviilable hands to open the roads for traffic, and in consequence all othe work had been suspended.

The small engine for hauling purposes has arrived and was in first-class eon--Irlion —Received.

The chairman, commenting on the j damage done by the floods, said the work of replacing s ome of the bridges was going to be very ex-pensive. They had had material ready for the work on the Tongahoe Valley, and as soon as the I Public Works Detriment's engineer liad I reported the council would know wliat to do with the matter. Since the last meeting he had discussed the question with Cr. Lysaght of building a lowlevel bridge Their foreman had reported he would do this by cutting down *ome locrs. and if thig was so he thought it advissiWc to postpone the concrete bridge for some time, as the year was too advanced for concrete work, and, with timber coming down, it would be dangerous. The engineer estimated a low-lcel bridce would cost between £25 ««i £3O.

I Cr. Linn suggested a ford, but the chairman stated this would be very costly, besides, there were a tremendous lot of sheep travelling. Mr Mugmidge's bridge ( vouM carry up to four t-r live toiia. Regarding the next bridge (Valley), the Umbel iroin (lie Ohangai road could lie used for the purpose. The piers were standing, and they had the material available. _Cr. Tarrant moved thai the construction be proceeded with. IVgsirdii.g the filling mi the Kiritea neck, the chairman stated a bridge i:-i-e.-,sary, He thought a tunnel should jio through <>. nd a bridge across, tilling the gap. This would "get away from the nec-.-asity of an expensive'bridge. Alter a little discussion, decision was held over for the present to consider whether a deviation would be preferable. GENERAL. Cr. Linn reported on the question of opening a road at Nor! yuiiby that had been fenced.—lt was resoived that the road be opened up for 13% chains and Burke oe given notice to remove all obstructions. On the motion of Crs. Linn and Williams, it was resolved that the council would cimtvfbuto half the cost of a footbridge across swamp, Ohangai road, Normaniby. Cr Tarrant complained of rubbish being deposited on" the roads. The chairman said if any councillor noticed anyone doing so, the council could proceed. He had observed benzine tins also lying on the roads, motorists evidently discarding their tins wherever they wiahod, and this should not be allowed. W. A. Quin, H&wera, desired permission to fill in a ditch (about 10 chains) along his boundary, Msnawapou road. The ditch was am eyesore, useless, and deteriorated the value of his land foj cutting-up purposes.—Left to the foreman to report. , A farmer named Dickson waited on the council and complained of stock being allowed to run o n the road at Hirstlands, near Normaniby. The chairman remarked that this was the first time the council had any knowledge of the ranger's neglect, and he would b P notified to give this locality more attention. Six cases of infectious diseases were reported to have occurred in the county since last meeting. ,