PUTARURU CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 146, 19 August 1926, Page 4

PUTARURU CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

MONTHLY MEETING. There was a very poor attendance j at the monthly meeting- of the above chamber, held in the Oddfellows’ Hall jlast Monday, there only a 1 bare quorum present at the com- f mencement. 1 OVERHEAD BRIDGE. i The Hon. Minister for Railways wrote in reply to a letter from th_ chamber, that he could not accede to j the request that a subway or ove.- j , head bridge be erected at the Puta- | < ruru station, but that the matter ! ( would be reviewed at a later date. j < On the motion of Messrs. Griffiths j ( and Darby it was decided to reply J i that the chamber regretted the decision, and in view of the fact that ] there was no outlet for pedestrian ; , traffic whatsoever with the exception ( . of traffic gates, that an officer of the department be detailed to wait on the ! chamber on the question. RAILWAY LIGHT. The Hon. Minister for Railways wrote stating that the request of the chamber for a light at the railway crossing in main street, Putaruru, would be granted in view of the ex- 1 ’ ceptional circumstances, and that the light would be erected at the expense of the department.—Received. ARAPUNI RESERVE. j Mr. E. J. Darby gave a detailed account of his efforts in regard to the preservation of a sufficient reserve round the future Arapuni Lake. The speaker stated that he had addressed / the Auckland Land Board and also interviewed the Surveyor-General. Since his return from Wellington he had received notification of support. • During his enquiries the speaker , stated that he had discovered that a reserve of five chains had been set aside by the Government of the day ; on the Waitaki river in 1899. He asked for the Chamber’s continued support.—Strong approval expressed. ' PUTARURU STATION. I A reply was received from the Minister for Railways stating that it would be impossible to provide a loop line at the Putaruru station to avoid congestion owing to the large cost involved in altering the present layout of the whole yard. It was decided to leave the matter in the hands of a committee. PUTARURU COURT. The chairman (Mr. J. W. Bari* Brown) reported that the chamber’s move to secure a monthly sitting of the Magistrate’s Court was opposed i by local members of the legal profession. After considerable discussion it was decided, on the motion of Messrs. Darby and Barr Brown, that representatives of the legal profession be asked to attend the next meeting to discuss the question. PUTARURU TOWN DISTRICT. Mr. Griffiths reported that the local committee set up to forward the proposal to secure a town board, had received notification that the petition had been granted. At the request of the committee the Matamata County . Council had agreed to the date of September 1. The secretary then read out the reI solution adopted by a public meeting in connection with rating on unimproved value. Mr. Wilson stated that Mr. Loch- 1 head had made a very able speech on ! the matter, but he would like to hear the other side. If Auckland and other cities adopted the annual value there must be good points in the system. Mr. Griffiths pointed out that it was not what was good for Auckland, but what was good for Putaruru, in which > town four-fifths of the land was not { built upon. Mr. Darby strongly supported this view, pointing out that if Putaruru was all built upon it would be a totally different question. He moved that the recommendation of the meeting be adopted. Mr. Wilson seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Brown asked Mr. Darby (councillor for the riding) what effect the formation of the board would have on the apportionment of the rates. Some people believed they had not had a fair deal from the county, and if the county collected rates on the new valuations they would secure a large sum of money. Mr. Darby explained that it was solely a matter of arithmetic. If the county had control for two months out of twelve then 10-12ths would belong to the board, Mr. Griffiths remarked that the procedure was automatic. It was laid down in the Act that one of the first matters to be attended to was the appointment of a committee to meet a i similar committee from the county to | (Continued in Next Column.)

I apportion all rates, liabilities under any loans, and any assets. Should these representatives fail to agree within a specified time then the Gov-ernor-General had power to appoint a commission to settle any differences. HOAD TO MAMAKU. Mr. Darby reported that with Mr. Spear he had inspected the proposed new route to Mamaku. Until the county engineer had approved of the route no further action would be taken. In his opinion, the route was an easy one, there being a broken space of only S to 10 miles. After passing Ngatira the route crossed the railway line and mounted a table-land by an easy grade, ft then practically followed the power lines on the flat to Arahiwi, where it joined a formed road. The chairman remarked that the engineer-in-charge of laying the power line had stated to him that lie wondered why the road to Arahiwi had not been continued as the grade was such an easy one.