WAIKOHU COUNTY COUNCIL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2556, 17 July 1909, Page 5

WAIKOHU COUNTY COUNCIL.

MONTHLY MEETING. Tho monthly mooting cf the Waikohu County Council was held at Te Kara'ka yesterday. There were present Or. Yv. D. S. MacDonald. M.P. (Chairman), Ors. Hutchinson, Tiffen, Lewis, Telford and Campbell. CORRESPONDENCE. ■ The Acting-Secretary to tho Postmaster General wrote in reference to the petition sent by the Council asking that the Te Karaka Post Office be removed from the railway station. The Council was informed that if the request was complied with- it would involve increased expenditure, which the business of the office did not warrant and the change could not be made. ■ Cr. Lewis said the reply was absurd, as the present Post Office was most inconveniently situated. The Council should impress upon the PostmasterGeneral that the importance of To Karaka necessitated that a Pest Office where stamps could bo purchased, and letters registered, should be in. a central position. Mr F. Smith wrote asking tho Council to repair the road leading to his property at Whatatutu so as to allow milk suppliers to get in and out. The Engineer was instructed to report on the amount of work needed. The Secretary to the Postmaster-Ge-neral wrote informing the 'Council that the request to have an office for the registration of births, deaths, and marriages opened at Te Karaka had been referred to the Registrar-General. The Chairman, said that a reply would probably be received from the Regist-rar-General. The Clerk to the, Opotiki County Council wrote stating that the Waikohu Council’s request for an. alteration in the boundary line between the two Councils had been referred to the Engineer to report. Mr J. Gardner, for Mr G. C. Williamson, applied for permission to erect a swing gate on the Ngatapa Tologa Bay road near the former site of the shepherd’s house. The request was granted Mr Robert Scott wrote asking the Council to improve the drainage of the road from the Kaitaratahi bridge through his property. The request was referred to the Engineer. REPORTS. The Sanitary Inspector reported that two cases of infectious disease had occurred at Gold Creek. The patients had been living in tents. The Clerk reported the following as the financial position of the Council: Credit balance, June 26th, £4279 8s lid; collected since, £330 7s 6d; accounts due, £664 9s 3d, balance £3945 7s 2d. Amounts spent on County roads: Karaka £3OO, back Motu road £233 8s 6d, main Motu £355 10s od, Tahora £6O 6s, Wliarekopae £22 19s, Tatangi £9 18s, Ngatapa £155 7s, Mangamia £23 Bs, Mnngahanuia £6l 14s, Waipaoa £lls 15s, Kanakanaia £62 Is, Whatatutu £217 18s 4d, Mangata £4B 12s, Waiapu £29 ss; total County expenditure .on roads £620. The debts due by Road Boards merged into the County were: Waipaoa £44, Waikohu £63, Mangatu £22. The County Engineer (Mr W. S. Charlesworthj reported that, with Mr Mooney lie had inspected different roads in the County. He recommended that a culvert be placed at Mrs Robert’s corner, Te Karaka, and at the railway corner, where the road should be made up. A lamp was also required on the corner. The Waikohu bridge required repainting and careful examination. and he recommended that the work be carried out. Malone’s drain, suha, required about 3! chains of pipes "to carry the surface water to the river, and the work should be done. He recommended that Graham’s road be repaired and drained at a cost of about £7. A new road wag needed to give access to Brown’s river at Whatatutu. The main roads required a considerable amount of work to be done upon them with a road grader. Especially was this work necessary on the Karaka-Wliatatutu road, where the side of the road had been scoured away. He recommended that the pile sheathing on the Kaitaratahi bridge be tarred and the bridge rescrewed up and painted. The small bridge at Small Creek Junction needed rebuilding. Telford’s bridge was also unsafe for traffic. He reemmended that a complete system of drainage with properly formed culverts should be carried out in Karaka township eo as to afford reasonable drainage for private dwellings, roads, and footpaths. The Overseer, Mr Mooney, also submitted a report dealing with the same requirements that were reported upon by the Engineer. The Engineer was instructed to mark out the Wharekopae road with pegs and to call for tenders for forming the road for about 31 miles. The work to be put in hand as early as possible so as to give work to unemployed roadmen. Crs. Hutchinson and Lewis were appointed to deal with the tenders. In dealing with the Engineer’s report the following matters were passed to be undertaken at opcc: Culvert at Robert’s corner. Karaka; that Mrs Price and Mr Carlyle be requested to put culverts in the drains opposite their properties; that new pipes be put in at Allen’s corner, Karaka; that Graham’s road be drained at a cost of £7 provided Mr Graham paid half the cost. A petition was received from a numbor of ratepayers at Whatatutu asking that the drainage of the township be attended to, and the engineer was instructed to visit the locality and to report as to what work was necessary. The Engineer was instructed to confer with Mr Armstrong as to permission to put in l a drain on the railway line to drain the water from tho road , near tho Karaka racecourse, and to report as to what work was necessary to put the bridge at x'uha leading to Whatatutu into proper repair. The Council also asked for an estimate of the cost of repairing Bryan’s road, Karaka, by next meeting of the Council and also of repairing the bridge. The need of repairs to the Kaitaratahi traffic bridge was considered, and the Engineer was instructed to confer with Mr. deG. Fraser, engineer to the Cook County Council, as to what repairs should be undertaken, as the Cook County is responsible for half the i cost of the "maintenance of the bridge. The engineer was also instructed to prepare plans and order the timber for a new bridge to replace Goldsmith’s bridge, Te Karaka. TENDERS. Tho tender 08 Mr. J. L. Thomson, at £34 6s, for forming the footpath past Mr. Lewis’ store, Te Karaka, was accepted on the, casting vote of the Chairman. LABORERS’ WAGES. Cr. Hutchinson expressed the opinion that the Council in paying workmen 9s a day paid on too high a scale, and lie moved that after September Ist the pay per day bo Bs, and 5s per horse.y Tho motion was seconded by Cr. Tiffen and carried. "

The Chairman said he did not wish it to ho thought tho Council was taking advantage of the unemployed difficulty; but the Government was only paying 8s a day, and the Council was of opinion that if the lower scale was paid they cou’ii give employment to a number of men who are wanting work. The agreement fixing the boundaries between tho Cook and Waikohu Counties was signed by the Chaim.::n, with tho consent of the Council.