AKA AKA

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 144, 11 February 1916, Page 3

AKA AKA

PKOPOSED LOAN FOE ROAO- - Objections lodged to tbe special roll of ratepayers in tbe proposed Special Aka Aka Rating District were yesterday considered by Mr E Page, 8 M., at tbe Pukekobe Magistrate's Court. Two objectors, Messrs R. Lever and E. Bent appeared. Cr R. Higginson, member for tbe Waiuku Riding and the County Clerk, Mr Alan P. Day, were also in attendanc». In reply to the Magistrate Mr Day reported that it was proposed to raise a loan of £2OOO for the formation and metalling of a road from southwestern corner, section 21Q, Waiuku West Parish, to northeastern corner of section 254, of tbe same Parish. The capital value of land included in the rating area was £37,442 and in the event of authority being obtained to raise the loan a special rate of Id. in the £ would be required to be struck as security. It depended on the rate of interest at which the loan would be obtained as to the amount of special rate that would actually be collected.

Mr R. L9ver objected on the ground that the road would be of no benefit to him, and that he would be paying rate 3 on two-thirds of his farm if half the rateable value were included. He also considered it would be a waste of public money ».o metal the road as there was rot enough traffic to warrant such an outlay. In answer to the clerk of the County, Mr Lever admitted that ha was the lessea of the property and not the owner, and that his lease would expire in three years Mr E T Bent's grounds of objection were that his property as a whole would not directly benefit from the proposed expenditure, inasmuch as the access thereto was cut off by a large drain, 14 feet by 6 le.t, that the proposed allocation of the rateable value was unfair and inequitable seeing that one equal half of the capital value ot the whole property was being pledged as security for the propored loan. Mr Bent asked why it was proposed to go outside tbe Government for the loan

Mr Day stated that application would of course be first made to the Government

Mr Bent said to bridge the dram to give bim access to tbe proposed road would cist about £SO

Cr Higginaon did not think it would cost that amount Both Mr Bent and Mr Lever maintained that they already had sufficient metal road access by the road tbat ran along the northern side of their properties and that tu rate them now on balf tbe value ot their property tor tbe metalling of tbe back road was unreasonable

In reply to that contention, Ct Higginson and Mr Day urged that the metalled road which the objectors hid aljng the front ot their properties had been provided by a loan raised over the whole of the Aka Aka Swamp and that with the exception of three properties in the Fura I'ara loan areas all the property in the proposed rßtmg area was now paying towards this l r ao. Mr Day pointed out that only three out ot seven ratepayers on the topside with frontages to the existing metalled road were objecting, and he instanced tha properties ot Mr T D Keid and Mr K Higginson as already having metalled road access and still they were prepared to assist in raising the proposed loan, to doubt recognising that the ratepayers who were going to receive the most benefit from the proposed work had all along been paying their ehare towards the cost of the existing metalled roads on the Swamp Cr Higginson considered that the apportionment of halt-rateable value on the properties ot the objectors wa9 fair and reasonable., and that they would be deriving benefit accordingly. Mr Day pointed out the likelihood of the properties of the objectors being at some tuture date sub-divided on to the back road The Magistrate, Mr Page, arranged to visit the locality tomorrow