Waimairi to sell property

Press, 23 July 1976, Page 15

Waimairi to sell property

The Waimairi County Council on Wednesday decided to sell property valued at about $500,000 to finance proposed extensions to its Fendalton offices and other possible capital works. Some of the proceeds of the sale will be reinvested in land. The decision to sell some of the county’s assets (now valued at about $11.5 million) was made after a long debate during which some councillors urged that the properties in question be retained as a hedge against inflation.

Other councillors, led by the chairman of a special sale of assets sub-committee (Cr P. J. Fisher), argued that the council would gain more by selling the properties. Cr Fisher said that the council was getting a return on the properties of about only 2 per cent. He said that if the council could raise a loan for the office extensions, it would pay between 9 and 10 per cent interest.

The chairman of the council (Cr D. B. Rich) said that the council had already decided at a previous meeting to proceed with the extensions and that it was now virtually impossible to raise a loan. He also said that money spent on the extensions would be an investment in an appreciating capital asset. Two councillors, Cr F. Chisholm and Cr W. T. Rice, asked that their votes against the decision to sell be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. A motion by Cr Rice, seconded by Cr Fisher, that half

of the proceeds of the sale, to a maximum of $200,000. be spent on road works was defeated. Cr Rice said that with an inflation rate of about 15 per cent, the council would recoup within three years more than it could hope to attract in subsidies for the reading. Cr Rich suggested that CtRice check his arithmetic. Cr Rich said that at the usual three-to-one subsidy. the council could attract $600,000 for $200,000 of its own moneyspent on roads. The properties to be sold are mainly in the Penn Place

and Wairakei Road industrial estates. The council decided to offer the properties initially to the present lessees.

The properties at Penn Place comprise seven lots valued at $124,000. The lessees are Cooke Brothers, Ltd, New Zealand Metal Smelters (South Island) Ltd, and R. J. Kingston, Ltd. At Wairakei Roc 1, 21 lots valued at $337,350 are involved. Lessees there who

have indicated an interest in the sale include Gilbertson Construction Company, Ltd. Young Brothers , Ltd, D. G. Malcolm, A. B, McLauchlan, Merrin Engineering, South Seas Trading Company, Ltd, J. H. Grainger, Robert J. Mitchell Contractors, Ltd, Lohrey Veneian Blinds, Ltd, F. J. Bierings (Tinctorial Arts), Ltd, Black Brothers, Ltd, and Jack Jones, Ltd. The council will also offer for sale a property at the corner of Belfast Road and Main North Road and another at the corner of Belfast Road and Marshland Road, together valued at about $40,000.