STRATFORD COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 June 1922, Page 6

STRATFORD COUNTY.

PAST MONTH’S WORK. MEETING OF THE COUNCIL. The monthly meeting of the Stratford County Council was held on Saturday. Precent: Councillors E. Walter (chairman), S. Pitt, M. Davis, J. Jacobsen, W. H. Were, J. O’Neill, T. R. Anderson, J. H. Thomas, J. T. Belcher. The engineer, Mr. J. W. Spence, reported for the month as follows: North Riding (East). —A considerable portion of the past month has been occupied in general maintenance work on the Croydon West Road, including the filling over the new concrete culvert and the metalling of roadway over same. The Beaconsfield, Stanley and Salisbury Roads have also received attention, and a start has been made with the small crusher on the shellrock on the Stanley Road taken out of Mr. Oldridge’s pit. For some time complaints have been made in connection with the steepness of the grade on the north side of the first hill on the Stanley Road, and offers have been made by several of the residents and users of this por- ! tion of the road to give a certain amount of gratuitous labor, providing the council would favor the reducing of the grade on the steepest part. A section of levels has been taken, and it is found that the existing grade of one in six can be reduced to one in ten and a-half. If this work is carried out, much better and safer turns will be obtained. Both piers of the Esk Road Bridge has been carried up to stringer level and the timbering work in connection with the boxing for the stringers is well in hand.

North Riding (West). —Surface work has been done on the York, Rutland, Monmouth and Radnor Roads. Three hundred and thirty-six yards of metal have been crushed, spread and rolled on the Upper Pembroke Road. Further crushing is being done on the Pembroke Road, to reface the portion near the school, and for maintenance.

South Riding.—The old metal on the Wingrove Road has been gathered up, the horseshoe bend, near Pukengahu Road, has been scarified for a length of 25 chains, the old metal placed on the road, tolled in and blinded, and an extra set of 9-inch pipes have been placed on this piece of road.

East Riding (Toko). —The remetalling of the Toko Road near the Huinga Factory has been completed, 353 yards of metal being used on this work. The grading of the clay portion of the Toko Road is almost completed, the formation has been widened to 12 feet, in some parts the width of the road was found to be little more than seven feet. The stone on the Beaconsfield Road, 396 yards, has been crushed and used in refacing about 40 chains of the Ahuroa Road. The metalling contract on the New Road has been completed. The work of re-timbering part of the tunnel on the Mangaehu Road is being carried out. East Riding (Douglas).—The quarried shell rock at Gordon Road pit has been 1 crushed, part being used for repairing the Gordon Road, the balance being distributed on the Toko, Ahuroa, Maiwiri, Ohuraj Mangaehu and Douglas South roads, for maintenance purposes. Further maintenance metal is being crushed from the stone at the Douglas railway station yard. East Riding (Huiroa) .—Patching, watertabling and fern-cutting have been done on the metalled portion of the Makun Road; water-tabling on the Douglas North and Mohakau roads, and fern-cutting and water-tabling on the Akama Road. On this road three sets of 9-inch pipes have been put in. West Riding.—Of the metal crushed on ’ the Cardiff Road, 442 yards were used in metalling the clay portion of this road, 110 ■ yards were dumped for bridgework, and 125 j yards have been used and dumped for maintenance work. | Mangaehu R.iding.—Besides water-tabling - abd metal-patching, a number of_ white pine poles were cut and forwarded to the bridge foreman for use at the Esk Road ■ bridge. | THE GENTLE ANNIE BRIDGE. At the request of the council, a deputation, headed by Mr. R. A. Belcher, waited ■ on the meeting with referenae to the collapsed Gentle Annie bridge, on the Cardiff Road. Negotiations for the rebuilding of • the bridge have been going on between the council and the three settlers concerned for some time, the council advising the raising of the special loan for the purpose, but offering to subsidise the settlers to the extent of two-thirds for one-third. Mr. Belcher said the settlers were opposed to the principle of raising a special loan for the building of the bridge, and thought the council should have formulated a more comprehensive scheme. They , would be agreeable to supporting a bridge loan spread over the whole riding. ' A member of the deputation contended ' that the bridge would not have collapsed had not the council’s heavy motor-lorry , passed jover it. ’ The chairman said the timber was rot- , ten, and it was only a matter of time before it would have given way. Both parties came to a deadlock, and the matter was dropped.

ANTECEDENT LIABILITIES. The Thames Borough Council forwarded a circular soliciting the co-operation of local bodies in urging upon the Government to raise an adequate amount by way of loan to meet the needs of local bodies in the matter of their antecedent liabilities. The chairman said the idea was all right, but the Government had, apparently, turned it down. He did not anticipate any trouble so far as Stratford’s liability was concerned. It was resolved that the resolution be supported and that the Stratford member , be so informed. AHUROA ROAD MATTERS. I L. H. Putt, H. E. Putt, A. J. Chainey, J. Coffey, H. J. Bennett and G. W. Burg- | ham wrote agreeing to do certain work on | the Ahuroa Road, provided the council | undertook to also do certain work.—The ■ petitioners later waited on the council as a deputation and detailed the work required to be done. It was decided that the chairman, Councillor . ere and the engineer meet the petitioners on the spot and arrange for the work to be done. GENERAL. A petition was received at last month’s meeting from four residents in the Huiroa district, asking that the .road foreman in

that district be removed. At Saturday’s meeting a counter-petition, signed by 24 ratepayers, was received praying that the foreman's services be ’ retained, and the council decided to take no action. 1 The Waimea County. Council asked support to a resolution that the tyre tax should be equitably allocated between all counties and road boards (where the Counties Act is not in force), and made available during the current year for maintenance, repair and control of all the main roads used for motor traffic.—Received. Commenting on the report of the Boundaries Commission, regarding the suggestion that the existing boundaries between the Eltham and Stratford counties at hie Finnerty Road should be altered, the chairman said he was pleased that the commission recommended no alteration. Other councillors commented that the petitioners had been unable to prove that there had been any neglect on the part of the Stratford Council.

A grant of £5O was allocated to improve a steep grade on the Stanley Road, the ratepayers to find any additional funds necessary. Councillor Jacobsen moved that the £BO lying to the credit of the Puni Road on the old book accounts be spent on the road, but the motion was lost. : It was pointed out that there was £l9 9s 6d accrued thirds available for this road. The inspector reported a number of breaches of the lighting by-laws, and the cases are to be placed in the hands of the solicitor. The chairman remarked, when a motion to this effect was carried: “You have done your duty, gentlemen.” A statement submitted by the clerk showed the financial position in the various ridings as follows:—North Riding, estimated expenditure £3075, actual expenditure, £3210; South Riding, £l9OO (£909 6s 9d); East Riding, £2900 (£3080); West Riding, £2225 (£1164); Mangaehu Riding, £l7OO (£1348).