CLIFTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 January 1919, Page 3

CLIFTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

> MONTHLY MEETESS

The monthly meeting of the Clifton County Council was held at Waitara yesterday. There were present: Crs. R. H. Pigott (chairman), H. A. (Foreman, F. C. Jones, C. Muslcer, S. J ltennington, H- Bander, and T McKenzic.

ENGINEER'S itITPURI^

The engineer (Mr. C- F. Dowsett)) reported as follows: Waihi Riding.—Re-coating a section south of the Onaero bridge has been proceeding slowly. Nothing definite has reached me in connection with proceeding with the Ohanga Road gravelling. As soon as money is available tenders will be called for metalling the Nikorima Road. Various works on the back roads will shortly be attended to. Tikorangi Riding. —The work in connection with repairs to the Bertrand Road suspension bridge is now proceeding. The various metalling contracts should now he pushed on to completion. In view of the grant of £250 lor the Otaraoa Road, the worst grades can now be permanently improved.

Ngatimaru Riding.—Work has again been resumed on the Purangi bridge, and Its completion should shortly he announced- Two inspections were made of the gravel showing at Tarata, and a price accepted, subject to the approval of the council. The quotation includes

the formation of the access road and also royalty. The grader will be "engaged during the current month at the Tarata end, and transferred to Matau early in February-

Urenui Riding.—R. W- Burnett lias resigned his position, and is assisting settlers, who are short-handed, hut lias arranged to carry out small bridge repairs requiring early attention. , The Okoke district, being again without the services of a permanent man, the settlers will require to assist themselves as hitherto. This riding roqnires another permanent man tt» cop» 'with the work, and should be attached to the foreman, whose combined WOT* would embrace tho Main \crth ( Kaipikari, and Matara and an extension of .the Okoke Road. Subsidies appear for the Okoke and this Pifco Goads, and when funds are available work will be proceeded with. The bridge foreman has been engaged, on behalf of .the Urenui Domain Board, who an. responsible for the expenditure, hut he has again resumed his duties with the council.

ilokau Riding.—Arrangements have been made for all the necessary material for the erection of the fcrro-concrete bridge opposite Mount Messenger schooi. The scarifying and crushing at Uvuti will proceed as soon ft® labor is available. The Main Trunk millers state they are unable to supply any bridge timber within & reasonable time, and inquiiies are being made elsewhere. I understand th« Public Works Department, in view cf their larger scheme, will incorporate i.ie council's immetallcd portion of the Mimi-Moknu Road in their operations, which should be a guarantee of continuity and so he to advantage. A subsidy appears for the improvement of the Pnrininihi tunnel. This is in conjunction with the Awaiclno Council, who w;l! be approached %vhere the money is avail: able! Trie council are now requiring the services of four permanent men. and the districts lacking their assistance are at a disadvantage, and, in addition, works under contract are handicapped and held up. The report was adopted. MATARO ROAD LOAN PROPOSAL G. H. Herbert, of Onacro Road, Urenui. wrote in reply to an intimation from the council suggesting that iie s'auld call another meeting of settlers to consider 'the matter of the Mataro Road ioan puv posai, stating that lie hud referred ihe matter to most oi the ratepayers who signed the petition to the council, and the conclusion they had come to was that those who were objecting to the proposal should call any further meeting that was required. The petitioners were quite prepared to hear any counter-proposals and to try and meet them if possible. He pointed out, however, that only two qS the deputation that waited on the council ivere. ratepayers in the proposed new aTea, and they had been objectors all along. The petitioners helmed their petition valid, having the requisite number of signatures, and asked therefore that the council proceed to raise* the loan.

In considering the .matter, councillors expressed the opinion that the petitioners should have called a further meeting as requested. As this had not been done, it was decided to reply suggesting that the rating area boundary at the junction of the" Ruahine Road and Mataro Koad should include sections Ml and

25., ATJTAWA ROAD. , • Sis ratepayers of the Tarata district petitioned the council to grant a few chains of metalling to be done at the end of the Autav/a Road, to cover a bad spot where there is an everlasting spring. The locality was about 10 chains fvom the Junction Soad, close to Tarata, whesre tire gravel pit is. Some discussion tool: place on tin question of providing for such work as suggested in the" letter, in the course of which it was pointed out that similar re* quests had been made from other districts, where settlers had offered to contribute a third of the cost, and yet the applications had been declined. The chairman said that tiia council ought either to raise a loan or strike a higher rate for the purposes of carrying out such work. At present the rate struck was only sufficient for maintenance work, and it would be much better to ?trifce n higher Tate and have money with which to do these small formation works. i

Cr. Sandet said the position -was an unusual one. The position was only a little war off the main road, for which tl><» settlers paid rates. The road complained of served aetttlers who -owned several thousands of acres, and it was pretty hard on them to have to pay rates year after year and have nothing done to the road.

A motion to refer the matter to the engineer to attend to was defeated, and it was decided to a si: the member for the riding to confer with tho sattiera and report to the next meeting The question of the metalling of Mount Messenger was raised by Cr. Jones, \ylio suggested that as the work had been authorised by the Government, and the Minister had complained of the shortage of labor,, it might, expedite matters if the council was able to offer some help in this direction. He asked if the engineer thought that three men could bo spared in the coining dry weather to li»lp in spreading metal, if the Government "vpertcd up the quarries and trot the metal out. He thought it might assist &e-Go>tnuaeiit if ths&Jsaew, labor wm

available, and prevent the work from being further hung aj>. MO'UXT MESSENGER METALLING-

The engineer said ha did not think; with the resources available to the Government, the assistance of three rnec. from the council would be very material, while it Slight, cripple the eoun-, eil, which had been short of labor for a? very long time. He was not in favor of 1 offering labor to the Government as suggested. Personally, he did not feet a-tj all confident that the Government would get any metal on the road this reason.. There was a great deal to do before? metal was put on the road. Cr. Jones then mentioned tlie_ idea of tunnelling the hill instead of going right over the top with metal. He understood that the matter wan turned down 'be-fore on account of the idea that settlers believed cattle would not go through the tunnel. Thin was now net feared, and he thought something might be done. He said such a tunnel would be about SI cliat«6 la length. It would aavc a rise of 244 ft and 59 chains of metalling. The saving in metal would amount to £llOO, and the cost of the tunnel would 'be £1550, and, lie thought, for the extra £4OO the tunnel would he a good proj position. There would still be" the old road that could be used aa a cattle track I if cattle would not traverse the tunnel-

The engineer stated that the tunnel had been considered before and been vetoed. The Government had decided to metal Tight up to Awakino, and if the tunnel proposition was again introduced it might be used as am for delaying the whole work-

PIKG AND OKOKE ROADS.

The State Advances Department wrote that the board had decided to entertain the council's application for a loan for tho purpose of metalling (for the first time) a portion of the Piko Road ; A deputation, of which Mr. P. Darke was spokesman, waited on the council in regard to the proposed loans for the Piko and Okokc Roads, respecting the amounts to be spent on each road and the sections to be included in the different areas. After some consideration, t.hs ■whole matter was referred back to the deputation, with a suggestion that an endeavor should he made to come to an understanding amongst themselves, and, if possible, combine the two roads into one area, and apply for one loan for the whole work.

INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC.

The Hastings Borough Council wrote soliciting support in the direction of urging upon the Government the necessity _of strengthening the financial position of the Public Health Department, so as to extend its powers and functions to enable it to at all times successfully combat and control any epidemic that might attack the community; also, that a scheme be devised for the extension of the bacteriological work of the Department, and that such salaries be offered as would induce men of great scientific ability to offer their services.

It was decided to support the proposals. The Napier Borough Council wrote urging the appointment of a Boval Com mission to inquire into the circumstances relating to the recent influenza epidemic, and asked the council to support representations to the Government on the matter. It was decided, irs view of the foregoing resolution, to take no action is the matter.

GENERAL-

The Minister for Internal AiTafrS-fffrft.. to intimate that the Government had decided to leave local bodies free to make such arrangements as they Blight choose with regard to peace celebrations. All indication would hs given of ths form of celebrations to 1)3 adopted by the Government.

VF. H. Gibson, Okolce. wrote in rnplj to the engineer's letter revesting him to cut "oajk trees ovehangiag the road, stating that he suffered considerable annoyance and inconvenience through straying cattle on the road, and that he had spent more time in dealing with that nuisance and-in repairing damage done, thereby than would wive been required to do 'the cutting back of the trees- He did not think the council had a, right to .ask him to sat hack the trees under the circumstances. He also complained of the state of the road as the result of the traffic of straying cattle. Tti» tender of A. Shreibev, at' lis 64 per' yard, for supply and delivery of metal at Tarata, was'accepted. Accounts amounting to £722 17b 5d were passed For payment.