Improvements To Tauranga County Roads In Interests Of Ratepayers' Children

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 15087, 22 September 1949, Page 3

Improvements To Tauranga County Roads In Interests Of Ratepayers' Children

}ie L oanJ2ii£^

nrrr o OF LOAN DISCUSSED WITH SETTLERS A sPb IN TE PUNA RIDING

(Times Special Reporter) mho need for embarking on comprehensive roads milt work in the Tauranga county was stressed by the provemenj w g oapamagian> when addressing a county c o n f^atep ayers in the Omokoroa Hall, held to discuss the c ounty' s |°J n^ 0P h ° e Sa si ; ated) were tOQ narrow fo r modern traffic °- Un iSnts and in the interests of safety, a number of dangerrequirero be eliminated> oUS Knirman referred to a recent accident he had witnessed 2 two motor trucks had collided on a corner of a in .nuntv road He had been following one of the vehicles, narrow com y following the collision, a school bus m th school children had appeared round the corner load MT I1 to to think what would have happened if the school , a hPHi involved in the collision," he added. Ratepayers bUS Jitv to see that the roads were safe for the transport of had a Q"y i«r children. |

Q fiTiff was attended by rr he meeting w« I * on ratepayers, ana mi -c- v tbout 30 ratep >y Following aa . Moloney P; fc the county chairman, presses o. v t lined the reasons tor br^^ekSn,andtheCoun(Mr N.G.Hansen) who Engm.ee iiM i be ed lealt p U na riding if the loan M m Irnved the meeting continued Pi PP nSon and answer basis. r the question gi Rep >S,d to what extent Iwho inq^ eCI could be t<T out for £IOOO on the learned out d th county kama Sed"ha? it was difficult engine what could be done for £IOOO. |to say wi^J^ ture of that sum, he Hlef wou£ make the bulk | of £ Snion that the Provision of him for sealing portion of the Koroa Main Highway was a l o 'f n"money, was expressed by fcu M CUnchie who added that the Ej' to the point catered only for explained that, the iomokoroa Main Highway carried a rnvernment 4 subsidy of. £3 tor £1 -- SSv found only €SOOO towards KSst oi the work and the Governbent provided £15,00U. Greater Subsidy I "Should not new roads Hiving acL« to settlers carry a greater subE?» was a question asked by Mr W. S Boyes. Replying, the County Clerk ?MrE M Fox) explained that durw the depression £2 for £1 and. in ome cases even £3 for £1 subsidies Ee made available by the Minister of Works in order to create ! constructional work and provide employment. When conditions improved, however, the subsidy policy was changed. It was no longer necessary to attract county councils to put up money for works in ; order to take advantage of heavier subsidy money. Today there was merely a £1 for £1 subsidy. The basis of the proposed loan, Mr. Fox pointed out, was to get money to put alongside subsidy money. A £3 for £1 subsidy was available for mam highways, but that subsidy came from the Main Highways Board and not the Ministry of Works. The loan, stated the county clerk in reply to another question, did not carry with it the right to purchase machinery out of the loan money. It was possible, if the need arose, to borrow from the loan to buy equipment, and then to repay back the cost of the machine. Even if the loan was not carried at the poll, the county would be well advised, in the near future, to invest in a power shovel and another grader, both of which could be obtained from Britain. Mr Hansen explained that, bridge work was not included in the loan ■proposal. The repair and construction of bridges came out of a special bridge loan. The county, added Mr Fox, coulrl proceed with rebuilding at least half of its bridges with loan money it had at present. An indication of the bridge position in the county was given by the county engineer. He stated that it was intended to build a new bridge

spent in their area at the expense of other parts of the county. He had wondered where was justice and co-operation in that attitude. Mr Fox stated that an area of 300 acres at Mount Maunganui which four or five years ago was paying altogether £l5O in rates was today paying £2700 in rates, and some of that rate revenue would have to be transferred back into the area. Mr Sims asked if the council had ever thought of opening up new link back roads to relieve the wear on the present roading system, as well as opening up thousands of acres of back country. Governed By Finance Agreement with the suggestion was voiced by the county chairman, but he pointed out that the scheme, although a very wise one, was

governed by finance. The council was well aware that the present herringbone system of roading in the county resulted in considerably more use of present roading. The next revaluation of the county, stated Mr Fox in reply to another question, would be in 1951. The law required a revaluation every five years. He added that the value of the county would increase by £1,500,000 due alone to the houses which had been built. Answering Mr Sims, the county engineer agreed that Te Puna quarry metal was poor. It was hoped as more metal became available from Aongatete to transport supplies into the Te Puna riding. It was possible, but not economical, to operate portable crushers on small metal deposits scattered throughout the county. The geograohic layout of the county made portable crushing plants uneconomical. . The county clerk pointed out that the council had been spending upwards of £BOOO a year on construction works. If the loan proposal was carried, that money would be released for additional maintenance work and in meeting loan charges. In answer to a final question, he stated that special rating areas were not favoured today. A special rating area could be formed in the case of water supply schemes, but it was not favoured for the carrying out of works such as road construction or improvements.

ReL p the brid S e loan on K? v. oad ' Ka *ikati. Tenders 3 6ej ?, called for the work lZ n° m ., be considered at the hIILST 1 " 1 meeting. That evening brS be ™ notified that the present "Wge on the road had collapsed. hart i!!.. Was the fifth bri dge which 55 2 S- Sed in the count y within fl ve months. hat if the loan was forcer? a ' - the co uncil would be PrSSn l rai l e the rates > wa s exTwStv y the count y chairman. ins h? J e fu. ago ' he told the meeta tent «J d hls brother had P itched distSnt ° n a a P ro P«ty in the Katikati totaled £?7 S tha i time the rates more" k?° in , ra , tes - " A nd what is a the M nn ¥?& " ! had t 0 vcte Ce s C s 0 S n table . cold-blooded » m oxvn ?• 2 n increase of m y °wn rates." fetere:ts of Whole County ciUor e s C thoiy man , stated as counDf the m( Worked the interests c °unciiw y u as a whcle. Several were served by a ! n no wavl! y £ r access and would incre ase i benefit > h ad voted for the SOu hd bu.ll J ates boca nse it was to take eSs and thc only course Th °i erk , stated that co9ouncil taS ■ keynote at the lm Portant wnU and where certain ? arr 'ed ou r? Was required to be lon § view '5 o*ne 0 * ne area then the Slaw S - taken an d money P ° r years k :rom other ridings ridina k'j' "e said, the Makptu if "ec" eatl £l \° 00 in ra " l l *»rk in If y about £SOOO worth fe etl spent fn U tS; Th e money had yanga e aroas close r to ; ? ima Pu riding repre- ??*>*\ h ri V ° ted P an of t £ f nd against the L he Wns h?3 e loan Proposal to a t Stated the chair " ng that money had been