MASTERTON COUNTY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 March 1940, Page 7

MASTERTON COUNTY

MEETING OF COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE. RESTORATION OF OPAKI WATER RACES. Mr H. H. Mawley presided over the monthly meeting of the finance committee of the Masterton County Council held this morning, there being alsi present Councillors R. E. Gordon Lee W. I. Armstrong. J. W. Colquhoun. P. R. Welch. G. Moore and A. Donald. The treasurer Reported the state o 1 the several county accounts to be ai follows: County fund, cr £420 14s sd. Bridge Loan <1938 a/c), cr £10.079 18; 7d; Workers' Dwelling Loan, cr £ll5l 4s; Bridges Fund a/c. cr £756 12s lOd, 'lmprest a/c, cr £5OO. The receipt:since the last meeting totalled £6,26-1 17s Id, £4.387 10s lid of which repre sented subsidies paid by the Main Highways Board for road maintenance and construction work. The total subsidy outstanding at this date, and due by the Main Highways Board and Public Works Department for road main' tenance and construction worked totalled £2.622 13s.

The riding balances, all of which were in credit were shown as follow Opaki, £562 18s 9d; Rangitumau. £551 18s 8d: Upper Tauru. £404 10s; Tc Whiti, £ll 10s lOd; Uriti, £202 18s. Waiouoru, £312 3s lid. It was decided to instruct the count' solicitors to take proceedings to recover all rates outstanding. Accounts for £12.113 were passed. The county engineers. Messrs Seaton Sladden and Pavitt, reported on the work completed to date in connection with the restoration of the water race: in the Opaki area to a reasonable condition to enable a satisfactory supplj of water to be available for farm properties. The county clerk. Mr J. C. D. Mackley, stated that he estimated that tin present monetary authority allocated for that particular work would be expended by the end of the curren' month.

It was decided to make application to the Government for additional money to enable the proposed work tc be completed. In that connection application will be made also for additional assistance towards the improvement to the water supply in the Upper Plain district. The tender of Messrs McCalmoni Bros was accepted for the construction of a bridge over the Wangaehu River on the Te Ore Ore Settlement Road. The District Engineer, Public Works Department wrote concurring in the acceptance of the tender, indicating that the county already held monetary authority for the construction of the bridge, with a subsidy up to £250 o< £1 for £1 and the matter of the balance of the authority was receiving the Department’s attention. Mr V. Grantham’s tender for the metalling; of the Homewood. Kawhiti Riversdale and Waiorongo roads wa c accepted. It was decided to grant employees i paid holiday on the day of the local Centennial celebrations, and the matter of arranging suitable representation in the procession, by an exhibition of ancient and modern road-making machinery, was left in the hands of the county clerk. The usual Easter holidays, namely, Friday, March 22 to Tuesday, March 26 inclusive, were fixed.