CLIFTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1918, Page 7

CLIFTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING, The monthly meeting o£ the Clifton County' •Council was held at Waltara yesterday. The chairman (Cr. E. H., Plggot) presided, and there were also present Crs. T. McKenzie, C. Musker, H. A. Foreman, E. C: Jones, S. J. Kenuingtou and H. Sander. SrECUL RATING AREAS. I Thirteen ratepayers of thejPnaero and Mataro Roads petitioned the council to take the necessary steps for-rnTsing a loan of £IOOO from the liovornmeiit to carry subsidy of £1 I for £1 by the Government, .for the purpose of I metalling about'..two iiiiles of the unmetalled portion of tlio mid front Mberan-4 Hill to Mr. Humball's gates lihey .-.also intimated their consent to the formation of a special rating uvea and Jo a ' special rate to met interest charges on the loan. '■'■•'■ A petition was also received from settlers on tho Upper Okoke Itoad, asking that steps he taken to raise a loan of" £IOOO, to carry subsidy of £1 for £1 by the Government, for the metalling of the Okoke Road from the I'tlco junction upwards. They consented to the constitution of the necessary special rating area, and also to the metalling out of the loan of. a portipn of nine chains of the road below the Plko junction, provided that the settlers metal the other 18 chainrs. T. H. W agreed to give the metal for the work free of royalty, provided, section 9 block 385 was not included in the rating area. Tho chairman, stated that in neither case did.the settlers intend going on with the work If tho Government would not subsidise, ..the loans, and he moved that the Minister of Public Works bo written to in Order to ascertain if a £ for £ subsidy would be available, her fore any other steps In ,regar,d to.tho matter were taken. The motion was then carried! • A deputation consisting of Messrs. F. Sarteh, O. S. Taylor, H. M. Purdie and J. Whitehead/ waited on the council with regard to the proposed area and the manner of expending the loan money, asking that some further sections should be included in the special area, and that instoad o.' the metalling of the last half mile of road to' Mr. Rumball's gate the • money for that bo expanded oa a bridge and the road improved further up. it waß decided to refer the petition, back. to. the settlers, with, a view to having the proposed area altered, and that a meeting of the settlers be held in order to have the matter fully discussed, ■it being understood that tho chairman would at- I tend and meet tho settlers. CORRESPONDENCE. From Elthara County Council, Intimating that a conference of tho Taranakl county councils .';nd road boards would be held at Eltham on November 5, to consider the question of uniform by-laws, and, any. other matters affecting the bodies concerned. The chairman was appointed to represent i the council. From P.angitike! County Council, in reference to the rate of wages on work subsidised by the Government. It was decided tn support the reauest of the Rangitlkei County Council ENGINEER'S REPORT. The engineer (Mr. C. P. Dowsett) reported, as follows: Walhi Riding.—A section between the 14 and teh 15-mlle pegs has been scarified, re-coated and rolled, and also a section improved between the 18 and 19-mile pegs. I am endeavoring to arrange for a Btipply of gravel to resurface a portion from tho Onaero Stream southward to the Maori settlement. Owing to the present cost of labor and material I And, after going into the quantities that the rejection of the Onaero bridge hi ferro-concrete, will bo too costly. I am therefore, making sundry small renewals in the meantime, and propose calling for tenders at a later date. Tikorangl: Hiding—The breaking up and recoating of the hills on the Tikorongi Road have been completed, and similar work is now in progress on the Inland North Road. Owing to the unsettled weather, tho metalling contracts have been in abeyance, but It is expected that they will be actively proceeded with at an early, date. Ngatimaru Biding.—A useful amount of permanent work has been completed on the Mangaoapa Road, and work ceased on October 81, pending the receipt of the ] oan money. Owing to it being impossible to. obtain either steel girders or hardwood for the Mangaoapa bridge, I have submitted a suggestion that it be erected, in totara and matai. The work of repairs to, tho Puraugi bridge has been resumed, but owing to the size of the truss and the nature and position of Its members re- | quiring renewal, the work must of necessity be slow. Foreman Topping is actively pursuing his duties at Tarata, and attending to immediate requirements. Urenui Riding.—The plant has been busy on the Main Road in rolling various sections, and Is ready to proceed northward to the crushing coiitructs. The Okoke and Piko Roads are suffering from the recent heavy rains, and a good deal requires to be done before anything like normal conditions are obtained. Repeated applications have failed to promote any advance In connection with the metal contracts. Haulage has now been obtained to clear the Okoke pit of the accumulated supplies. Tho top chords of the Urenui bridge require attention. The road through the township requires regrading, but owing to the shortage of labor and material, the present time is Inopportune. Mokau Riding—Tho new concrete culvert giving access to the metal quarry at Uruti has been completed, and, in addition, the flood opening between thf 32 and 33 mile pigs is receiving attention in connection with lis substitution for a monler pipe. The bridge near the Rl road was inspected, and repairs will be attended to In the near future. Fifty cement pipes were forwarded to Tongaporutu by boat for renewals on the Okau Road. The flood waters could be prevented passing up the .flood opening at Reas by malting a cut and diverting the river tit a cost of about £3O. All bridges between Okau and Kotare were examined; their names and estimated cost of repairs are as follows: Bower's, £75; Te Relnga £SO; Kiwi £77: Boar, £45; Kotare suspension, £72. Only necessary repairs will be undertaken, and this will make an expenditure of about.,£33s. The bridge foreman has been attending to repairs to the Uruti, Mlml, and Murray bridges, and on completion will be transferred to the Urenui district. The council is fortunate In obtaining the services of a waftsmnu of considerable experience rnd ability. Should the contractor for tho metalling at Wai-itl not be ready to proceed. It is Intended to push on to Uruti to complete that district first. My plans have been so laid that the plant has been readv to proceed direct to Wai-iti since October 19 last. The report was adopted, with tho exception of the recommendation in respect to the flood opening at Rae's, It being decided to, make an experiment in order to ascertain if the present pipe culvert was really capablo of. carrying away the flood water, by effecting a trap against the water in thei;: ; river banking up Into the valley. GENERAL. A deputation, consulting of Messrs. Honeylleld and Cole, waited on the council to-ask If the work done on the Ohonga Road, portions of which were metalled last year, could be completed, by the connecting up of (he two metalled portions. Last year the council subsidised the settlers' contributions at the rate of £2 for every, fit The settlors were prepared to contribute towards the work'now wanted at the same rate,: and to do any earthwork required. ■ . «>»-•»■ It was decided to hold the matter over Oil next meeting, pending inquiries as la' «iecost of the work by the engineer. -,(.-..• Accounts amounting to £4BB 13s 6d were" passed for payment The council then odjourned;U.in iirder ,to participate in the demonstration in connection with the news of the surrender of Otar-