PAYING FOR HUTT BRIDGES

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 280, 20 August 1921, Page 3

PAYING FOR HUTT BRIDGES

—« COMMISSION OF INQUIRY WHO SHOULD BEAR THE BURDEN-? The Hutt Road Bridges Commission, set up by the Governor-General under section 119 of the Public Works Act, 1908, to inquire into the question of rerebuilding three bridges—Pakuratahi, Stoke’s Valley, and Miller’s Creek on the main East Road, in tho Hutt County, and whether such reconstruction should be at the expense of the various local bodies cited, resumed its sittings yesterday in the offices of this Hutt County Council. Mr. R. AV. Holmes, late Engineer-in-Chief, presided as Commissioner for the hearing. Tho local bodies were represented by Alessrs. A. do B, Brandon (Hutt County), J. O’Shea (Wellington City), H. Buddle (Eastbourne), R. C. Kirk (Petone), J. Mit. chell (Lower Hutt), 0. C. Alazengorb (Upper Hutt), and H. Shortt (Eastbourne). Others present included Messrs. AV. H. Morton (city engineer), H. F. Toogood (consulting engineer to the Hutt County), J. Cudby (Hutt County inspector), A. Cowie (engineer, Petone), J. F. Eames (town clerk. Lower Hutt), S. B. Dodge (general manager, Eastbourne), and Commissioners T. Quinn and L, Daroux (Upper Hutt). Thq estimated costs of constructing the new.bridges were stated to be:—Pakuratahi, .£3801; Stoke's Valley, A 2100; and Miller’s Creek (culvert), AlOO. Tho Government would pay J2l for £1 subsidy on the actual costs of . the works, and the Hutt County Council suggested that tlia balance of capital expenditure should be found by the imposition of the following levies: —AVellington City Council, 40 per cent.: Hutt County Coun. oil, 30 per cent.; Petone Borough Council, 10 per cent.; Lower Hutt Borough Council. 10 per cent.; Eastbourne Borough Council, 5 per cent.; and Upper Hutt Town Board, 5 per cent. Air. AV. H. Morton, city engineer, gave evidence. He looked on the whole business as a try-on by the Hutt County Council to rake in as many contributors us possible. He considered the Stokes Valley Bridge as particularly and solely a domestic affair. Miller's Creek was purely a culvert, and if the City Council was asked to contribute, there uas no knowing where it rtUs going to stop. Air. Brandon: I suggest the traffic is not so domestic over Stokes’s Valley bridge as to justify the county bearing all the expense. Mr. Alorton: I hold it is a purely domestic matter, and you cannot shake me on that, sir. Mr. Brandon: What about the golfers ? Mr. Alorton Well, I suppose they pay rates The Pakuratahi bridge was then discussed. Air. Alorton declared it was of general advantage as being on a main arterial road. It was a bridge winch should be considered os of national value. AVellington was concerned, but so was tho whole district, for that matter. / The proposals put forward were monstrous as regarded Wellington. Before proceeding to address the commission on behalf of the Eastbourne Borough, Air. Buddie asked’ for a return of the rates collected from Day’s Bay by the Hutt County Council and the amount spent on that part of the Day's Bay Road between Petone and Day’s Bay. This is to be procured. Mr. Buddle said that as far as Eastbourne Borough was concerned there was no justification for throwing on that borough any proportion whatever of the cost of-the bridges. Eastbourne had no real connection whatever with the Upper Hutt Valley. The revenue of the borough from rates was under .£2090, and the Hutt County was "a real good winner from Day’s Bay.” The county, he believed, collected aliout -8600 a year from Day’s Bay, and spent about .CoO a year on the road, lit had never yet been properly done up; it was the cars that got done up. (Laughter.) Air. Kirk said it was insult added to injury that the Borough of Petone, providing the upkeep for a mile of main , road to the city, should now be asked to contribute to such bridges ns Stokes s Valley or Aliller’s Creek. Tho Pakuratahi bridge was necessary to tho district. The traffic over Stokes’s Valley bridge was probably exceeded a hundred times by the traffic over the mile of main road through the Petone borough. Petone was not concerned with more than 1 per cent, 'of the traffic over the Stokes’s Valley bridge. He would ask the commission to deal with the question purely on what Lloyd George had called the geographical facts. Mr. Buddle sub mitted it was never intended that a local authority should undertake a public work and then look to outside local bodies for contribution to the cost. He would ask the Commissioner to lay down a principle that only in very rare cases, hardly conceivable, should the constructing body have a right to ask other local bodies for a part of the cost. The question was, What advantage or benefit did any body derive from the construction of the work? The onus was on the local authority to show I the advantage or benefit. Had not tho I county left “it to the Commissioner to I speculate or investigate what advantage ’ could be derived? Tteally. *tJbe Hutt ■ Borough should not be asked to disapI prove what had not been proved. I A similar pica was made by Mr. j Mazengarb on behalf of the Upper Hutt. I Direct advantage or benefit must be i shown to the general population of the I district —not odd instances of individual I benefit. Local bodies should not come ion their neighbours for proportions of tho cost of works like these. Air. O’Shea addressed the Commission on behalf of tho City of Wellington. .He mentioned that the Harbour P.oard paid I no rates, and if there was any institution that could afford to pay rates, it was that body silting at the receipt of Custom and' taking toll of trade either way. Tne milk traffic over the Pakuratahi bridge was onlv on Sundays during tho three winter months. The present winter the council had had a surplus of milk, and this was increasing. Tho city w, as bearing all its own burdens, and not begging of anybody. The city was not liable for culverts in the Hutt County, nor. fol domestic bridges like tho A'alley bridge. For the Pakuratahi bridge they wouk; not say it was exclusively a matter for , the Hutt County Council. All the districts round would benefit.