GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1749, 12 June 1888, Page 2

GERALDINE ROAD BOARD.

The monthly meeting of, this Board was < held yesterday. Present—Messrs W.Postlathwaite (Chairman), ?. MoShaae, F. B. Flatman, W. U. Slack,'and J, Kellsndr . MINUTES,, ETC.. . ~,, The minutes of the previetii misting ware read, and before they were confirmed Mr Flatmah said he wished to make a few remarks. There had been a good deal said about the legality oft. the late election,* and he thought it best! to speak now. He eon- ” ■idered he had been legally elected and intended to keep his seat. ; i t . : : The Oharman said that he might eay the same. A legal opinion had beentaken upon the matter, and that opinion was that tha election had been perfectly legal, < and the members were entitled to hold their seats. ‘ chairman's statement. The Chairman stated what ; he had done with regard to the laud required from Me Hewson at the river encroachment near the Orari Bridge. He had arranged for the purchase of three acres. The work at the encroachment was progressing favorably.—The action of the Chairman was approv'd of. He further stated that he had jrisjted the Bangitata road where the Government are carting stone to the protective works. It was very evident the Government dreys wsre doing a graat amount of damage, as.up to the point where they were travelling bri the road it was very muoh out up, but where they ceased to travel upon the road it was in very good , order. They were carrying between four and fire tons on drays with tires of ordinary width,. and t)w cbniequenoa; was they were catting the toad u p in manner. He stated therb appeared it# be a clause in the Public Works. Act by which thsy,eould compel those us|ng the road with heavy loads to put on tiers 'of a certain width. It was a. question. whHhejrnthe Government did not (tend in the lam#' position as a private individual, Arid ’whether tha Board could ribt compel them to .rapair the road, or put ,on tires, of ,a ..greater, width. Further than that, the crossings efthb waterrace were-being’out rip', !aad'.t wal : . was thus sent down the road. The Government drays had put insome brhk«n!mekal [of tha Board’*, aud it was a question if the Board should not ask tha County Council to pitch the road as . they had done inrother places. The pitching would be miM better than t any bridge, they could/put over, which would ;be awkward for stock,‘ etc, and the pitching would not interfere withthrroad. He thought the time had'now’ come to do ■omethirig. in the matter. He would be'going to Wellington next week, arid if < the? Board wished well be would interview, the Minister of Public Work* and point out to I him tha clause under = which;ithey (could;-compel them to repair the road, or to use wider tires. Mr Flatman asked if. the ’ Chairman had any idea how much longer thecarting would be going on. - ; 1 ! The Chairman did not/know; bat £13,000 had been thrown-away- there,-and-they. could fibd soma of the stone put in lying down on the beach. . , . Mr Slack Asked would it not be advisable to suggest to the Minister of Public Works the desirability, of-taking! this opinion of men living in the locality before entering into these expensive workel 1 ■ 7 "‘ nr ' !l The Chairman thought it would be desirable to get aa independent* opinion, as at present the oounbtyVmoney Wasbeibg squandered there. The settlers in ths district held the opinion that the. river was letting in above the works. being done, and;4n the event of that the case, would be worse than ever. . Mr Flatman was convinced the. work now being dona was no good. No matter how large the atones put in were 1 they ‘.would not stand. The bottom was' nothing ' but loose shingle, and the heavy eoour continually washed the shingle out'j arid whatever their airs, rolled- away.,. ,H« instanced the case of the large oanofeil blocks put in for protection some years ago) each of which weighed two ’tons,land were now to be seen scattered all down the river. The members wore, gll of opinion that the Government had gone to a great* deal of unnecessary expense in oonneotion with tha work. Tbe thirteon-stalled stable that had been erected was one of the best bury, in fact, the wholp of the arrangements, building*, etc., in connection with the work had been carried out as if it was to go oa for yearsi ■ ,f The Chairman stated among, other things that the observation was v maide to the Overseer of the work while 8* (the Chairman) was present, that-they dud threwn £.12 000 away* there, and -the had been " You may as%ell throimt away here as anywhere else, it makes work.” Members Were decidedly Of opinion that a great deal of useless waste wae going on, and that some steps i should be taken fin the matter,•' •,:> |' . It was finally decided that thejTChairman should interview the Minister- pf Public Works with regard to the, work, j TENDERS., , : Tenders for the following wot ks. were then . opened and dealt with ae under J} Contract No 240—Forma*ion and repairs to road near Qapes’s Bush : D.Gregan, £l9; J. H. F. TiiSg, £l9 j Sugkue, £lß} I'. Mulvahill, £I6J. Brokley, £ls ; lift Lawlor, £l3 (accepted) J.Deari, £l2loi. No. 250—Outting, Geraldine Downs: J, Plefield, £27 ; f Ri 'O’Npil/.£22-: 18i fid; D. Gregan, £l7 10s : ; T. Mulvahill, £ls; B. Trtfrnper, >£l4 15s ; J. Beckley, £lfi 16 ; J. Dean,*£l3 (aoojpled). ; i No. 251—Cuttings and formation, near Batty’s, Orari : R. O'Neil, £8 ; B.;Trumper, £7 } J. Picfield, £7 ; J. P. Kalarigher, £7 ; J. Beckley, £6 18s ; M. Lawlor, £3 10, (accepted).

No. 288—' Binding' saipisnnon v TddtKnd|%* Kakahu :: B. BiVj £46 18i 6d j BjUffeyi'and Pi«ioy,*» 6aV Wi "Fletcher, «26;* J. P. Kelaugher, £2O (accepted). COBRESFONDENOK.

Comipoadence was read and dealt with a> follows, w . From Messrs Meason and Marcnant, Timaru, in reply to the Board, stating that they were not aware the water-race crossings on the Bangitata Station Bead were in bad order, and they would give instructions to have them repaired at once.—lt was .decided to give the County Council notice that the Bangitata Boad had beep damaged by makfords, and luggcit that the fords be pitched with stone j and the Board aufgMtea that for the future when irrigation works are being carried out that the Overseer be asked loyiew the fords with the Council’* Clerk of Works with the object of passing the work ** From Mr F.lrown, Bslfleld, asking the Board tohaye the ford on the Downs Boad im proysd, and the bridge near his place repaired j also drawing attention to cattle herded on the road treading in the drams and destroying them.—lt was decided to proyid# planks 18ft long, and to point out to Mr Brown that when - allowing traction engines to pass over he must so protect the. planks as to ayoid breakage. The Board did ’ sot'Consider the ford required deepening, and declined to do so. It was decided to giye tho ponhdkeeper notice to clear the road complained of. ~ _ , From Mr J, M. Barker, asking the Board to have the stones removed from the side of the road near hie place, as he wished to grub the gorse,—The Overseer to attend to the same. From Messrs J. and K Bowie, nurserymen, Timaru, quoting prices for trees suitable foi planting,-?A'.short disousiion took place on the ol planting, and it was finally in watit of trees for planting. From Mr J. Boyd, enclosing account for enryeyjng work done.—rEeceived. From Mr M.. Quinn asking for Mr G. Winter’s name to bis pieced upon the rate roll for section No. 82497 in lieu of his.Th* application, being indorsed by Mr Winter, was granted. ' , " From Meeire Smith, Raymond, and Wilson , Smith* solicitor*, ‘ Geraldine and_ Timaru, notifying the Board of this dissolution of the firm of Messrs While; Baymond, and Smithson, and the formation of tho firm mentioned above. , _ . From W. Gtusn, chemist, Timaru, offering to supply the Board with strychnine at per unco. :• , From Mr; Brooks; quoting prices for poisoned wheat, and also for iltyohnine.— It was decided to call for tenders for a supply of strychnine, >■ /; ' f „ .h, , from i Clerk; 5.0.1 Hospitkl and Charitable Aid Board, requesting that the Beard’s half-yearly' contribution amounting to £7l 8s 9d be paid into the Bank of N.Z , Getaldiße.*-Pas*ed; «>■; * From the Geraldine County t Council, aiking the Board to furnish them; with the date upon which the Kakahu road upon which the footbridge wsi proposed to, be placed was proclaimed a , main road, and gajutted.'; also thei locality ef the proposed bfldgfcaethe Oouhqil *eie doubtful as to it»?Deing a main road and desired'further ipfotmation.—lt was'decided to furnish the information asked for ! From F. Dierok, Geraldine, offering the Board blue etoce spalls and broken metal at s pertain prico.—The Board decided, to offei Mr Dierok 4s fid' per yard for metal broken to 2)in. gauge,carted to such places as shown by the Overseer, From Mr 0. G. Bradley, Hilton, intimating hie intention to; apply !or. a ; elaughtermg lieense- for-/Section No. 16649. in Keeling’* tru»t»*Ut*,and aiking if the Board would hare any objeeliobs, as hie nearest neighbors did':not object. He also asked for a few loedi of shingle in front, of his store and the yrliter'-table to be lowered.—Granted. f from Mr 1. Bnekley asking for his nam# to be placed on the rate roll in place of Mr j, j), Scobie for his property at Kakahu.— -Agiped'tp* , -> !' i A petition was received from eight rata- ; -pajiera at Belfield asking the Board, to re move the pipe onlrert adjoining Palmer s 1 ind Sugrue’s land, also to replace ic. with a, fordJMsthe.present;culvert not carry the; ' j,w»ter.--Eord to bo ", „ ,V ’ ; * *’.• :•->» ' ' o , !«»81V18W3.,, f •... , ( Mr J. Allen waited upon' the Board and asked that a road running through ms property near the Dairy Factory bo closed as it was never used, and was only a herd for stray cattle'and kept him grubbing gorse.; Ho did ndt- think his neishbori would object to its being closed and he would be willing to take J|t over at,Hie Government was advised to make his ■; application jin writing, when the proper steps would be to have the road closed. . ' | Messrs Toomey and Buckley, Kakahu, waited upon the Board,- and asked for a •mall footbridge to be placed across the Kakahu Eiver, to enable them to,get to their property, at they had to crow the river daily. The distance was about a chain, and the bank on either eide about 7ft high.—The Biard f.;?decid*d to consider the matter,, and the withdrew. After a short du it was decided that the Overseer report on the same at the next sue*r inf. s v; OVERSEER'S REPORT, The following is the Overseer’s report, and resolutions passed upan it: gj E) _iI have the honor to report for the information of the Board as under : j., - .Skinner’s Road—This work has been com--5 ' pleted during the month. If any penalty is to be ; deducted from balance due on the : 1’ contract, I would ask the Board to fix the amount so that a cheque can bs drawn in final payment. • , Cutting and Ford near Cochrane s—- ’ As instruoted, I ha v 4 made an estimate 5 ' of the cost of improving the crossing at the oreek and reducing the grade of the cutting. The cost would be —, but on account of the sharp angle of the road at . this point, and difference of level between the X-, 3 two roads, it is a difficult place to deal with. ||||i*.an alternative, I would suggest that the “feSfoad be diverted at this particular plao. I haye, in company with the Chairman, visited spot; ■ and interviewed Mr. J. Connolly 'isn J. the matter. He has made an offer to the Board of the land required, and I am of opinion this weuld be to the Board’a interest tw accept, rather than spend money on the •' old'rdkd, which can never be made satisfactory ■ on aecount of the creek crossing. Black Creek—l al-o got permission from ') Mr Connolly to clean out the Black Creek, ; . vud Blase a flood gate at the oroesing lo preT ent the water flooding and damaging the werks, Orari Bridge The. Vi - -Willow: slake* for protective works have been l . delivered, and the work will be completed T, tbi, week. I have had several channels *' scooped in the riverbed to divert the water r ' ■' '-from the north terrace, so as to be able to get the will o * 9 down - The land purchased from iMr O. Hewson has been fenced off, and the road opened for traffic below the bridge. - ip.Roadway -lo .make up the roadway at the e&rd snoroachment above the bridge to the original formation, width, and level, would •.c—eosfc , and to pitch the slope one foot. - -.deep,with riverbed boulders, an additional ' ' j;o' protect the terrace below 'the :;V;. bridge' with- boulders gathered from the a riverbed and tipped over the terrace Would cost, lay —« ’

' ’'Hatigitita Station road—On visiting this road I found the portion from the station upwards for about three miles to be very ■such cut up, owing to the heavy traffic caused by oartingl rook to the protective works on the river. The water-race crossings are also left in a very unfinished state. If ; this stone traffic is to continue, the road will require to be repaired with broken metal at ten yards per chain for the distance carted over by the Government trucks. I have put a man on this road to fill ruts and effect temporary repairs. Gravel Beserve No. 1573—Mr L. Grant having rn-oonsidered the matter re exchange of land for tins reserve, now offers four acres of R.S. No. 21000 as a shingle pit in exchange for the abeve reserve, the Board to fence one boundary and pay all costs of transfer. Reserve fences I should advise that tenders be invited next month for trimming gorse fences at various reserves. Peckbam’s crossing—As the Waihi is now very low, I think it would be advisable to put in a few willows at the road crossing on the eastern bank- of the river to protect the roadway. The road cutting could then be made straight ip line with the road. Pipes—A fresh supply of 9in. pipes are required. Rates —I have collected the whole of the general rate, with the exception of £9 Os 4d. About £3 of the amount outstanding i» due from one property, and .1 would ask what steps are to be taken to recover this amount. W. Shxbbs, Clerk and Overseer.

Re Kkinner’s Road—The Board were unanimously of opinion that a fine should be imposed, and deliberated some time as to the amount. They : .regretted, that flUO k • stO P was necessary, but felt that they wera bound to do their duty to the public and to other contractors. Mr Fiefield, who was in attandative, was called in, and told told that he should consider himself very fortunate indeed to get off cheaply. He, would be fined £2. which was the very lightest they could m ike it consistent wish their duty.

Ra Cutting at Cochrane’s—lt was decided to kccept, Mr Connolly’s offer to sell the Board two acres of land at Redcliff at £7 per acre.

The clearing of the Black Creek was approved of. Re the Orari Bridge—lt was decided to shingle the track at present used, no steps to be taken at present to fillup the gap formed by the river. Mr Grant’s offer was ordered to stand cvei* at present. lit was decided to plant sime willows at crossing, and also to take steps to outstanding rates. 'V LOCAL ELECTIONS ACT. It was -moved .by Mr Flatmau, seconded by Mr Kelland, and earned—“ That the members for South. Canterbury be asked to get the* “ Local Elections Act ’?■ amended, so as to allow elections' to be held in the Boad Board offices where districts have been severed by Town Boards.” ; ACCOUNTS. Accouats amountiag tr £299 8s 8d were passed for payment, and the Board adjourned, at 4.15 p.to.