FOXTON HARBOUR BOARD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1592, 29 July 1916, Page 3

FOXTON HARBOUR BOARD.

THE WHARF ACQUISITION.

A special mooting of the Foxton Harbour Board wes held at Palmerston on Thursday afternoon, for the purpose of discussing the report of the recent Commission, and considering the question of the rating area. It will be remembered that the Commission recommended that the Railway Department should hand the control of the Foxton wharf and harbour over to the Harbour Board upon the payment of the sum of £5,000, and that the Board should create a rating area that was capable of producing £4OOO per annum as a guarantee of the Board’s financial stability. Those present at the meeting were; Messrs P. J. Hennessy (chairman), T. J. Clapham,' W. E. Barber, A. Jenks, J. Robertson, J. A. Nash, and W. Bock (secretary). The Chairman, in his opening remarks, said no doubt the members of the Board were well acquainted with the finding of the Commission in regard to the acquisition of the Foxton harbour by the Harbour Board. The business of the meeting was to consider matters in connection with the conditions which the Commission had imposed, and the question naturally arose as to how they were going to get the rating area which the Commission said they were to get before the Government handed over the wharf. The Board had not been able to approach the Minister for Railways yet, and they would have to consider matters as they presented themselves at present. The Chairman said he had just returned from “Wellington, where he had interviewed the members for the districts interested Messrs Newman, Buick, Guthrie and Field. They had sulngested that a conference of local bodies be held, when their opinions could be ascertained as to the support they were willing to give and if the different districts were prepared to do their share in the matter.

Mr Nash was of opinion that, as the Board bad been elected by the electors and not by local bodies, ho did not think such a conference would have any jurisdiction. Personally, he thought the formation of the rating area was going to raise objections in some quarters, and if that was so it would be a good idea for a deputation from the Board to go to such places, call a public meeting, and explain the position. For instance, Feilding was always opposed to a harbour board rating area. Therefore, they should invite the Mayor of Feilding to call a meeting of citizens, which the Board’s delegates could attend, and the matter could be gone into. As far as Palmerston was concerned, he did not think there would bo any objections to the rating ai’ea. Mr Clapham (Feilding) asked if the Government’s part regarding the acquisition of the wharf by the Board was at an end now that the Commission’s report had been made. The Board should ascertain that before going further. With regard to Feilding being included in the rating area, he had seen Mr Ongley, the Mayor, and asked him to bring the matter before the Council. The Chairman said as far as the rating area was concerned, that was definitely settled by the Commission, and the area would have to be defined, and the proportion of

rating fixed. Mr Robertson agreed with Mr Nash’s remarks with reference to calling public' meetings. When the rating' area was fixed, the Go\omment’s next step would lie to put a Bill through Parliament legally defining the area. The Board should come to some conclusion as to the information they should lay before the proposed public', meetings. He also thought they should get a definite statement from the Minister for Railways regarding the Department’s operations with the wharf.

Mr Nash enquired if there was any possibility of reducing the amount of revenue required from the

rating area. The Chairman replied that he had asked Mr Buick that question, and he had said he did not think so. Mr Newmian was not hopeful, but Mr Field said he was not going to throw up the sponge yet. The Chairman went on to say, in reply to a further question, that the rate would not be collected. The forming of the rating area was only a matter of form. Mr Jenks considered if that was so the district would be standing in their own light if it opposed the rating area.

Mr Barber did not think there would be any opposition from the Manawatu County Council.

Mr Nash proposed that the Board should visit Fell ding, Levin, Palmerston, Kairanga, and Sandon. The Board should carry out that idea.

The Chairman agreed if they could get the local bodies not to oppose the rating area, the Board was all right, otherwise they would have some trouble. He would'support a motion that meetings be held. Mr Nash then moved, that public meetings, under the auspices of the local bodies in the districts concerned be called, and that there be put before such meetings the proposed rating area question in connection with the acquisition of the wharf. The motion was seconded by Mr Barber, and carried. _ In reply to a question by Mi Clapham, the Chairman said, in his opinion, with all the preliminaries settled, it would be twelve months before the necessary Bill was put through Parliament. FIXING THE RATE.

The question of what proportion of rates should be levied on the different districts was considered in

committee, a Her which the following motion was adopted, on the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr Nash; That the principle of differential rate be adopted, to provide the security required by the anal report on the Commission’s linding, and that the Board does not propose borrowing more than £!(>,- 000 for the purchase of the wharf and a. dredge.

The Chairman said that the Commission required that the Board should pay the Railway .Department £5,000 for the wharf, hut if the wharf was not taken over for twelve months or more the accumulating profits would be placed to the credit. of the Board. With a dredge costing about £B,OOO, and after paying £5,000 for the wharf, there would still he a fair amount to work upon if the £IO,OOO loan were raised.

On the motion of Air Robertson, the Chairman and Air J. A. Nash in company with the Board’s representative of the district interested, holding the meetings in the various centres of the proposed rating areas.