HAWERA COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1922, Page 7

HAWERA COUNTY.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Hawera County Council was held on Saturday. Present: Crs. ,T. B. Murdoch (chairman), Cecil Hawken, A. Larcom, R. J. Lynn, R. Douglas and Dunlop. CORRESPONDENCE. A letter was received from a ratepayer in the Omoana district, stating that owing to losses experienced recently he would not be able to pay his rates, but asking if the rates could be paid by work done on the road.—lt was decided to reply that the application would be considered favorably. A legal opinion as to whether the council was responsible for the lowering of a drain which was alleged' to be damaging the property of a ratepayer, was received. The opinion stated that the council was not responsible. A letter was received regarding the filling .up of a drain on the Waihi Road. It was decided that as the drain was of no further use to the county, and was a danger to life, it should be filled in. The chairman reported that he had attended the last meeting of the Counties’ Association, when it had been decided that the wages of the council’s employees should be reduced by Is per day, commencing in April.—-It was decided that this reduction should take place as recommended by the association. FOREMAN’S REPORT. The county foreman reported as follows: Tawhiti Road.—The corner of this road near the creek that was authorised to be metalled has been laid, knapped and rolled. Skeet Road.—The two feet concrete culvert at tte Te Ngutu factory is being proceeded with, and has proved to be a slow job on account of the logs, which were buried when the filling was first made there, having to be chopped through twice to make room for pipes, but it will be finished in a few days now. Paeroa Road.—Tte teams have graded this road, the work being done whilst the tides were unsuitable for getting shingle from the beach. A start has been made to get the crusher in readiness for the crushing of the stone at Walkeno. This will be finished In a few days, when delivery will commence again on the Wtureroa Road. A rather deep cutting, about two and a half chains long, had to be made, as the elevators that we have cause a lot of delay by being blocked, and each lorry had to wait for Its load to be crushed. This will be avoided on the present site, as a chute will be erected to hold six yards, so that as soon as a lorry backs In it can be loaded Waiongoro Bridge.—This bridge had to be closed for traffic for one day last month to allow for re-decking. This was necessary on account of the old planking running longitudinal and the new decking is diagonal. When the bridge was stripped the stringers of the land span on this end of the bridge were found to be in a bad way, and these have been renewed with iron bark. It took 5824 feet of eight by fours to do the decking. Mells Road.—A commencement has been made with procuring metal from a pit in Mr. Scott's place to metal the bad portion of this road. If this pit turns out as well as it is expected to It will save a lot of carting over the Noonan Gorge. GENERAL. A statement was presented by the x clerk, showing the cchincil's assets on January 14 to be as follows ;I-Depot consisting of six acres with buildings, £1300; cottages, £1150; office buildings and section, £2000; motor lorrieS, £4100; traction engine rollers, £1600; Marshall engine, £300; Ruston and Broctor engine, £150; tar sprayer, £1400; horses, drays and harness, £750 ; movable whares, £120; graders, ploughs, etc., £200; two oil engines at depot, £80; motor car, £500; stone crusher, £400; stocks of materials, £1550; total, £15,600. The rates outstanding on January 14 were £14,300, the Government subsidy due on March 31. 1022, £2500, and the amounts recoverable froun adjoining counties were estimated at £lOOO. The chairman said that if the amounts owing to the Council were in they could see when the assets, which had been paid for, were taken Into consideration, that the bank overdraft would stand at a very reasonable figure. Cr. Dunlop said they had been talking a good deal about economy. He would move that councillors’ fees be reduced from 15s to 10s per meeting, the old fee. This was seconded by Cr. Larcom, and carried without dissent.

The chairman said they would have to help In every way they could. Cr. Dunlop referred to people pulling ragwort and throwing it on the road, and also dumping old trees on the road. The chairman said that the latter was a great evil. He tad seen one tree recently right in the middle of the road. Cr. Dunlop instanced a case in which a cart-load had been dumped in one place. This was a little over the odds, he said.