FENDALTON DISSATISFIED.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15511, 11 January 1911, Page 11

FENDALTON DISSATISFIED.

proposal' to torm- a borough. APPROVER BY FIFTY RATEPAYERS. Residents in tho Fendalton rid ins of the Waimairi County ha.ro made a Rood deal of complaint recently regardrag the neglected' condition of their thoroughfares 1 ' and other-, public serTicos. A. further meeting of .ratepayers was held l&sttevenirig, and they definitely decided .to.-jse.gedo from the \Vaijnairi County Council, and assume control' of their own interests by forming a borough to embrace the whole riding. About fifty ratepayers were present, and Mr S. Bullock, tho convenor of the meeting, presided. „ , , , Mr Bullock said that .Fendalton had been neglected for many years, both by the Riccarton Hoard Board and its successor, the VTeimairi County Council. An instance of the neglect was the Fendalton Road, which had not been shingled for fifteen years, and had .never been metalled. Tho ratepayers Jiad hoped fdr better things under County Council control,' but tho experience of the past, six months had. only convinced them that they must undertake ,the . care of tho district themselves.' In his opinion, a mistake had been made in amalgamating two districts with such dissimilar interesTs a.= Riccarton, which was largely residential. and Avon, which .was mainly agricultural. There were 555 ratepayers in- the Fondalton nding, ami the 'present ’ valuation was . over 400,000, te that-the riding had to. bear one-sixth uf;th© countv expenditure.. It had contributed in that proportion to the expenditure ■ by tho County Council ot 151200 bn main roads, .and its share, amounting to'. £260. on other roa ..s had boon virtually absorbed by wages only, With little benefit, to the riding. Other works-of which tho riding had received only . 1 a very. . , small share liad absorbed £IBOO,. of which £3OO had been provided by fendalton. The-hiding’s .share of. county, ujcoip® -ia's approximately £1950, and toe itatepariers might .have expected that about, iiIQOO, which would remain after the payment..-.pf its share of tho general expenditure, would be used for the benefit of the district.. Its share ■of tjie assets of tho Solwyn Countv Council, £250,. had been appropriated for the .erection of county offices, at Rapanui, oosting, with tho site. £2337. It seemed that t,lie only manner m which the ratepayers of Fendalton could obtain a larger expenditure in their Tiding"was bv the payment of a heavier rate, and ho maintained that the present rate of three farthings on the capital value was sufficient to cover the maintenance of all roads and footpaths 3nd of the sanitary services of tho riding, . After fully considering the position and deliberating the various • courses open to the ratepayers, a committee had affirmed the desirability of forming a borough. A*.sub-commit-tee had been appointed to consider huestions of ways and means, and, after consulting, Mr H. G. EUO-M.P;, ■it had presented a report, which led the committee to recommend the ratepayerstto carry..-the proposal into efFept: • The sub-committee-had reported that, the jiforiorbion- of- .the assets of.the Whimain County- Council-/ to which the new borough' would be entitled, would-he sufficient to meet all the initial. expenditure; One result of the proposed change of-control would he That the State subsidy on rates-would bo reduced to half that received by"a

County Council. The amount of rates collected on the present valuation would bo £I2BO, on which the subsidy would be £l6O. Receipts from other sources were' estimated at £6O, in addition to which the share of the plantation . reserves belonging to the Selwyn County Council would produce £I.OO, making tho estimated income £1540. The salary of a clerk would be from £l5O to £2OO. office expenses wodld amount to £6O, the present cost of street lighting Was £6O, niid the contribution for hospital maintenance and charitable aid £240, a total of £550. Ho moved. ‘‘ That this meeting approves of the recommendation of tho comriiittee, and that- tho necessary steps be taken immediately te fonn the Fendalton riding of the Waimairi County mte a borough.” (Applause.) Tho motion was seconded by Air F. Ravie. Mr TV. Wray opposed the proposal on the ground that he was satisfied with the control by the TVaimairi Council. He objected to the inclusion of his agricultural land in a borough. Mr J. Taylor thought the proposal premature, as tho effectiveness of tho Council’s control had not boon given sufficient trial. Air J. Marshall heartily supported tlie. proposal. He was averse to amalgamation, with Christchurch on tho ground that the rating would, bo" much heavier. He paid £7 in rates on one acre in Fendalton. while the amount collected on an adjoining acre section, which was in tho City area., m £IG 10s. In reply to several questions. Mr •J. M’Combs explained that special rating areas could be proclaimed within a borough for the prosecution, of special works. .Mr O. Simpson suggested that, the area, of- tho ruling .should be- extended to Papanui Road. Ho owned-oj acres near-the- present -boundary of the ridr ing. and was desirous tliat his property should be included in the borough. Asked whether -he could present any argument in favour of the Tiding remaining in the TVaimairi County Air Fv Sisson, a member of the Council, said that, it was apparent that the meeting had decided the matter. Its opinions could not be changed by a Ciesar. (Laughter). . - The motion was carried,- only throe dissentient votes being given, and the committee was asked to-carry tho proposal into effect.