ROADING BACKBLOCKS

Taranaki Daily News, 7 October 1929, Page 2

ROADING BACKBLOCKS

MANGAEHU RIDING AFFAIRS PROPOSED MERGER ABANDONED. LOAN OF £B7OO APPROVED. BIG MEETING AT TUTUTAWA. Feeling that if they remained in the Mangaehu riding of the Stratford County, on which the general rate is. already 5d in the £l, it would be impossible to pledge themselves for any special rates in order to secure a tarred road as far as Tututawa, 32 settlers in th© southern portion of the riding framed a petition asking to be merged in the East Riding, where the general rate is only 2d in. the £l.. The .fact .of: the petition having been signed by so many settlers caused a ’ certain amount of -consternation ' among settlers in. the northern end, who could foresee a very difficult' time ahead if about half the ratepayers ''merged,” and steps to counter the effect of the petition were immediately taken. Ex Cr. J. Jacobsen was the moving spirit behind the petition and Cr. L. Bunn marshalled the forces in opposition. . . . Following a meeting of settlers, at Puniwhakau earlier in the week, indications of a rupture in the riding became apparent, but last Friday evening, when tlie engineer (Mr. J. W. Spence) and Crs. T. T. Murray and W. H. Were attended a meeting of about 50 ratepayers in the Tututawa hall, representing both camps, and amicable settlement was reached. Cr. T. T. • Murray presided. Mr. Spence read a lengthy report on the affairs of the riding, placing the pros and cons settlers at the request of the riding member. There was then a great deal of well informed discussion and. as a result, both of the engineer'sfindings and- the statements of the councillors'present,'that’on the evidence' before them they could not support the request contained in the petition when it caine before the council, signatories to the petition agreed to drop the movement. Cr. Bunn gave particulars of a proposed special loan of £B7OO to bring fhe bitumen as far as Tututawa, assist in bituminising the balance of Ohura Road and reface the Mangaehu Road as far as Puniwhakau. It was explained that by 1933 special loans amounting to about £9OOO would be paid off, so that by raising a special loan spread over four years ratepayers would be in roughly the same position with rates, but. would have the bitumen road. More argument followed, but finally unanimous endorsement was given the loan proposals and ex-Cr. Jacobson was the first to come forward and sign the loan proposal petition which had been prepared in anticipation of such a decision. REVIEW BY ENGINEER. The first' part of the engineer's report dealt with particulars of the merger petition requested by a portion of the riding, and summarised the effect of the Puniwhakau meeting. It then went on to state: — There is no doubt that the petition has been the cause of raising considerable interest in the Mangaehu riding, the result being that the rather hopeless position of this riding under present conditions is being ventilated. At first sight it would appear that the merger proposal was a fair one when the responsibilities proposed to be taken over were considered. After very extensive consideration the opinion has been arrived at that the balance or outer area would be very seriously affected and would from a council point of view place what would remain of the Mangaehu riding in an almost impossible position. The total revenue derived from the whole riding is £1751 7s 2d, including the bridge rate, or £1659 on a 5d general rate, administration costs are £360, leaving a balance for road works of £1299. Revenue from fhe proposed merger portion is £1163, administration costs £240 and road works £923. The outer area revenue is £495, administrations cost £l2O, and road works £376. The debt on the riding on March 31 last was £l6OO. The portion which the merger would probably be saddled with would amount to £1066, leaving a debit balance of £534, with only £376 to maintain . roads and wipe off a debt considerably greater than the total amount available under- the suggested alteration. , An estimate has been made of the work which those in the merger area have signified their intention of rating themselves for,: the amount being £7200. The interest and sinking fund on this amount would under present regulations be approximately £648 per year, and would require a rat© of 2fd in the £ being struck over the merger area. It has been suggested that if the applications made to the Highways Board that the portion of Ohura Road from the Mangaotuku junction to Strathmore be taken over as a Government road and the Mangaotuku Road ?4| miles) declared a highway the position would be greatly improved. This cannot be questioned, but if it improves the position for the proposed “mergers,” the same must apply to the riding as a whole. From information to hand, little or no hope can be entertained of the Highways Board granting these . requests. The council has been, advised that while main highways subsidies are not-.being reduced, the reverse has been the case as affecting secondary highways. Road works on the latter will this year have to be greatly curtailed. A further argument has been raised that it might be possible to get a P.W.D. grant for remetalling the Mangaotuku Road. This also may be set aside. So far no grants have beep obtained for remetalling, and practically all subsidies obtained during the past 10 years have been granted for new metalling on back country roads. The Mangaehu riding ratepayers have obtained a very large share of these suosidies and are now hoping to obtain

further subsidies for bridge renewals during the present year. In the discussion upon the engineer’s report, Mr? Jacobsen said the figures submitted had undoubtedly placed- the, merger proposals in a different light. He pointed' out that in ■ view ; of-the report it was only fair for anyone who had signed’ the petition to be given an opportunity of withdrawing should he so desire. The chairman: Settlers have tlie choice of either dropping the merger# proposals or leaving the decision with the County Council. It is no use saying one thing and meaning another. I say quite frankly that in my opinion the council, •with the evidence that will be placed before it, can have no option but to withold its sanction to. this merger. A voice: The council will turn it down whatever we do? The chairman: I am afraid that is what will happen. Cr. Bunn, who had come well supplied with facts and figures, gave details of the “almost impossible” position in which the balance of the riding would be placed if the merger were effected. He was warmly applauded by northern ratepayers. x Many settlers-spoke at this stage, and’ most of them disclosed a keen knowledge of locdl body practices, coupled' with a very full appreciation of the affairs of the Mangaehu and neighbouring ridings. The chairman said the council as a whole had adopted a very considerate attitude towards the riding. It recognised its handicap and sympathised with its difficulties. Last year, at the late riding member’s request, other councillors had refrained from pushing the claims of their own ridings and had allowed Mangaehu to put in the only request from the Stratford County for declaration of its chief road as a secondary highway. The council, however, had just been advised that the Main Highways Board had turned down the roads and had declined to declare them secondary highways. When the time came round again he had no doubt the council would again nominate the Mangaotoku and Mangaehu Roads. Cr. Brown: After Cr. Murray’s earlier ■remarks I think'the petition should be dropped. Cr. Murray: Remember that was only iny own personal opinion. A voice: It gives a pretty plain indication as to the fate of the petition. Mr. Jacobsen asked for Cr. Were’s opinion, which was similar to that expressed by the chairman. Cr. Bunn: If ratepayers who signed the petition will withdraw now, wei can proceed to discuss the loan proposal. Mr. S. Dons: You. can take my name off right now. Finally, as all signatories were not present and it was felt that withdrawal could not be accepted unless the decision was unanimous, it was decided to leave the fate of the petition to the council, those present understanding ' that this meant the matter would g<> no further. NEW LOAN PROPOSALS. The suggested raising of the £B7OO loan was then discussed and at once the difficulty arose of rating the whole riding, because certain settlers, notably those at Douglas and along the Toko Road near Huinga, depended for access upon roads in other ridings and were already contributing to special rates in the east riding. Mr. G. E. Brooking subsequently moved that there be no exemptions to rating for tlie proposed loan, but this was very decisively lost. Cr. Bunn explained that by 1934, that was, when the full amount of the proposed loan would be taken up, a sum of £9623 represented by old loans would be paid off. Hence, in four years, even if approval were given to the raising of the £B7OO loan, the riding would actually be £923 better off and would have its bitumenised road. To show how badly the riding was situated financially through having to maintain metalled roads, he said in 1928 the debit was £l4OO and in 1929 the overdraft had increased to £l6OO, while the completion of a certain metalling contract would b.ing this figure to nearly £2OOO. Ratepayers, he said, should certainly support the loan proposal and hasten the advent of bitumen.

Mr. T. Brough moved that ratepayers in the riding request the council to take steps to raise a special loan of £B2OO and exempt from the special rating area those properties enumerated by the engineer. This was enthusiastically carried, whereupon the engineer explained that the loan would be raised in th© proportion of £2OOO each year from 1930to 1932 inclusive, and" £2700 in 1933 if necessary. Should the council succeed in getting the roads declared secondary highways in the meantime, ratepayers would be saved about £2400 in subsidies.

The. full object of the loan is to remetal and seal with two coats of bitumen 41 miles of the Mangaotuku Road from the junction with the Ohura Road to Tututawa, to reface the Mangaehu Road from Tututawa to Puniwhakau and provide, a share of the cost of remetalling and scaling the balance of the Ohura Road from Douglas to the boundary of the Whangamomona County. About ten properties will be exempted from the rating area. Hearty votes of thanks were accorded the engineer, visiting councillors, the chairman and the Daily News. THE RATING POSITION.

No doubt a rate of 5d in the £1 sounds very heavy following a 3d rate. In striking the general rate, the council found that the current one will bring in £4l more than that collected last year; In the majority of cases the ratepayers ar© paying less than previously. This is partly accounted for by some of the special rates running out. Some of the higher valued lands are found to be in a less fortunate position. No relief will be obtained in a number of eases a© the properties are outside the loan areas on which the special rates have been levied, which are fast falling in. Dealing with* special rates, it has been found that loans amounting to £Bll7 will terminate in February, 1932, with a further amount of £987 which will run out in the same month of £1933. Attention is drawn to the first named amount, which is very similar to the estimate ( £8700) for the share of the Ohura Road remetalling and sealing; also that of 4J miles of Mangaotuku and 6 miles of the Mangaehu Road (remetalling only) terminating at Puniwhakau. Th© inference to be drawn from the above figures is that if a loan is raised for £B7OO the necessary rates attached thereto would practically take the place of those on loans lapsing during the next two years. Under the circumstances it' would b& possible for the ratepayers to have much improved roads at practically the same rate© they are at present paying. .Should the rate-

payers favourably consider the £B7OO loan it probably would not be necessary ti lift more than £2ooo' for each on the first three years when the final £2700 could be secured in the fourth year, when £9104 in expiring special rates would have been finished with. One matter that presents itself is that certain ratepayers ar© unlikely to participate in any benefits from the suggested road improvements. Some properties in the riding have no community of interest in the Ohura, Mangaotuku or Mangaehu Roads, and are at present paying into a special loan for metalling done on other roads, and should they wish to have the metal extended would require to still further rate themselves. In other cases the ratepayers in the more highly valued country are paying special rates for metalling their frontages. Still further cases present themselves of those who have lands of high value© and have substantially contributed towards the remetalling and sealing of the portion of the Ohura Road past their frontages. Attention is further drawn to the fact that the rates paid by holder© of sections fronting the Ohura Road contribute approximately one third of the rates collected over the whole riding.