EGMONT COUNTY COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 February 1921, Page 8

EGMONT COUNTY COUNCIL.

THE MONTHLY MEETING. The Egmont County Council met at Opunake yesterday. Present: Crs. S. Campbell' (chairman), C. A. Trotter, R. Ferguson, A. F. Chapman, J. S. Tosland, M. O’Brien, and R. C. Watson. ENGINEER'>S REPORT. The engineer reported-:-Oeo Riding (Northern). —A considerable amount of clay blinding has been done to the Eltham Road; in places two coats of blinding have had to be laid on to keep the metal down during the very dry weather. If the amount of money which has to be spent annually was put to the purpose of providing tar and top-dressing material for those portions of the roads which are in a fit condition to be so treated, we should eventually have a. fair length of the roads permanently sealed. Patching has also been done to the Eltham Road at various places, some attention given to the decking on the Ouri Road,-, in addition to several short lengths of The Oeo Road has been patched where required and clay blinding has been put on it from the Railway Reserve to the Oeo bridge. A short length of the Patiki Road has been clay blinded and patching has been done to the Patiki, Stratford and Kiri Roads. A fair amount of metal worked loose on the last-mentioned road, which has been raked up and put into heaps for maintenance. The bridge near Hugtes and Dobson's house will shortly require attention.

Deo Riding (Southern). —A small cutting north of the Oeo Hill has been widened, and the material used for banking up a length of metalling. A length of road metal from the I Puketapu Hill for a distance of about seven I chains from the racecourse gate has had the ! sides banked up and the metal blinded. If i the banking has not settled before the Opunake race meeting it will need to be well ! watered early on the morning of that date to prevent accidents which might be’ caused | through excessive dust clouds. The Main I South Road, from A. Allan’s corner for a distance cf about 30 chains to the Watinp Road, has been clay blinded. The No. 2 crush- j ing plant was put into commission again on . the 17th of the month and started crushing •on the 20th. She. crushed 554 yards of metal which made 82 yards of screenings, and of this amount 350 yards metal and 48 yards screenings were laid down® on 30 tliains of Main South Road, at tlie boundary at Oeo, and 204 yards metal with 34 yards screenings were laid down on 21 chains of the same road near th’e Maori pah. The plant is at present engaged on the Nopera Road. Owing to the impossibility of obtaining coal we are compelled to use wood for steaming on three engines. Opua Riding (Southern). —The men have been engaged practically all the month on the work of clay blinding the Main South and Eltham Roads. One day wrspent in patching on the Ibaia - Road, whilst another day was occupied with the work of tar patching Main Street, in the Opunake Riding. I have so far been unable to obtain the use of the Waimate West's tar sprayer for the above work and similar work at Rahotu, on account of their new sprayer riot having arrived, but it is expected on the next boat from Home. Motor lorries are passing over several of the wooden bridges with excessive loads, and something should be done to regulate this traffic or appoint an inspector under the new by-laws who will have power to take proceedings where there is a contravention of the same. Opua Riding (Northern). —a considerable amount cf clay blinding has been done to the Main South Road between the Namu and Oaonui bridges, and noxious weeds cleared 1 from the land at the latter place. Patching and clay blinding have been done on Opua Road. A ditch, from a culvert in D. Markham’s property to a culvert under the Arawhata Road, has been cleaned out. Opunake Riding.—A fair amount of clay blinding has been spread on the Main South Road, and one full set of pipes made in Domett Street yard. Rahctu Riding (Southern). —The surface

iqen have been engaged for the greater part ot t-he month on the work of clay blinding the Main South Road, especially the portion which some time ago was scarified up and rolled in again without using new metal. About four days were spent on patching the ■ Upper Kina Road, and one day patching the Tirurua Road.

RaL’otJi Riding (Northern).—The first few days of the month were spent concluding the work of scarifying and re-rolling the Main South Road between Stent Road and Puniho. Unfortunately, just at the conclusion, the large “Fowler” engine broke through a large wooden culvert on the Main Road at Stent Road end. As soon as the engine was got out with the assistance of the Garrett roller, a gang of men started to tear up the old culvert and put in a line of ten 3ft. diameter pipes, which was managed in two days without stopping any traffic. The plant then started work on the Paora Road, where 17G cubic yards of crushed metal were delivered, most of which was laid down on about 15 chains of the road and the rest dumped for maintenance. From here the plant was taken to Newall Road for 200 cubic yards of crushed metal. About 150 yards were rolled into about 27 chains of the Newall Road, from the Carrington Road downwords, and 50 yards dumped for maintenance lower down. The contract was then increased by 134 yards, which was dumped for the repairs to the Newall Road above the Carrington Road, where the amount was again increased to the extent of 109 cubic yards of crushed metal, which Mr. Christoffel undertook to deliver on the upper portion of the Newall Road, but his lorries failed to put in an appearance until about 1.30 p.m., consequently more than half of the meal was dumped by the contractor’s carts on to the Carrington Road. On completion of the above the plant was taken round to the top end*of Warea Road, near the Waiweranui bridge, where 229 cubic yards of crushed metal were delivered and 17 chains qf the road scarified and refaced, and the rest dumped for repairs lower down the road. The next move was to the Stent Road, where at the end of the month 104 yards have been crashed and delivered io the top end of the road at the junction with the Main South Road.

General.—l beg to submit to estimates of the cost of road making macfiiner}’ required. amongst which you will notice I have Included a typewriting machine, which' is urgently needed. I would also ask you to consider the question of having the telephone fixed in my home, with the addition of an extension from the county clerk’s office to mine. We have had a lot of trouble recently with the elevator to one of our crushers, but after removing a soldier pedestal it seems to be working better. However, should further trouble arise I recommend that the elevator chain and buckets be renewed with rt set similar to the old-fashioned “Austin’’ critßfier. If the council so desire I can arrange with a firm of motor lorry agents for a demonstration of shifting and spreading road metal on a by-road free of cost. The plant working at Warea was stopped two days on account of the races at New Plymouth, and it is within the bounds of possibility that both plants will be stopped for the Hawera races. WIREMU (MANGAHUME TO IHAIA). Tl-e Works Committee, comprising the county chairman, Crs. R. C. Watson, M. O’Brien, A. F. Chapman, R. Ferguson, and C. A. Trotter, reported having mc-t on January 29, when a letter was received from the Public Works Department, Stratford, dated January 20, stating that the sum of £375 at present unauthorised was available for expenditure on the Wiremu (Mangahume to Ihaia). The county clerk stated that he had replied that thQ survey and laying off of tie road would require to be done before proposals for expenditure could be prepared. The Public Works Department had later replied that when the expenditure of Government money was undertaken by local bodies the engineering, survey, plans, etc., must be done by the county,engineer. The Works Committee recommended that the engineer obtain tracing • of the road rwid lay off proyofmd work. The recommendation was adopted, and the engineer was instructed to prepare plans as early* as possible. The Public Works Department forwarded authority for £999 10s for grading, formation, ditching and replacing culverts over 45 chains on the Wiremu Road,'from Ihaia Road amnion to 4rawliM* Hoad iqncUon. <

AUROA BOUNDARY ROAD. Messrs. Roj r and Nicholson advised that the council would not be successful in resisting the Eltham County Council’s demand for half cost of tar-sealing the Auroa boundary road on the ground of new liability therefor* under the Governor’s warrant. The Eltham County Council notified that the Egmont Counfy Council’s half share of the cost of the work on the road was £172 17s 3d. The amount was passed for payment. UPPER IHAIA RGAD. Cr. O’Brien reported that five settlers of the Upper Ihaia Road were willing to contribute £25 towards improving the road, providing the council voted them an additional sum of £lO. They were also prepared to undertake the work themselves. Councillors considered the offer was a very good one, and on tl:e motion of Crs. Trotter and Watson, it was resolved to vote £lO towards the work on the conditions stated. GENERAL. Vincent Harnett wrote drawing attention to the state of the Paora Road. The Works Committee will inspect the road as early as possible. Cr. W. R. Wright wrote resigning from the Finance Committee. The secretary of the Tiiranaki Counties’ Conference wrote forwarding a resolution passed at the last conference, to the effect that the previous standard of wages should be adhered to, as it was the opinion of the conference that the time for an increase of wages had gone by. The rate provided for a maximum of 15s per day for surfacemen and casuals for time worked. The conference also notified that the council’s share of the cost of the uniform bylaws was £153 Is lid. E. C. Johns, Warea, wrote protesting against the rates charged him on land on the Warea Road, as he understood that he was rated on his 160 acres nearly as much as all the others on the put together.—Received. The committee set up to consider the claim by the Taranaki County Council for payment of rates for 1918-1919 and 1919-1920 on the Puniho Road reported that the council was liable for the pajiment, and they reebmj mended that payment bo made. . The Finance Committee, comprising tjie chairman, Crs. M. O’Brien, and J. 8. Tosland, reported that at a meeting the finances were fully considered, ana it was decided to inform the Works Committee that no funds were available for anj- further contracts. The Public Works Department advised ’that proposals may now be submitted for expenditure of the grant oh the Kahui Road. The engineer was instructed to submit proposals. It was resolved to leave the matter of tenders for the Kahui Road in the hands of Cr. Chapman.