ARARIMU.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 159, 28 March 1916, Page 1

ARARIMU.

SHOULD THE ROAD BOABD. MERGE ? COUNTY CHAIRMAN'S APPEAL For the purpose of placing before the ratepayers of the Opaheke Road Board's district arguments in fivnir of the Board merging into the Fianklin County, Mr J. Flanagan (chairman of the County Council) addressed a fair gathering of ratepayers in the Ararimu Public Hall on Wednesday night. Mr M. "Whelan was elected to the chair, and after introducing Mr Flanagan he remarked that he thought it unfortunate that the meeting was taking plac9 at night time, as there were 119 ratepayers in the district, many of whom owing to distance could not attend other than in the daytime. Mr Flanagan, at the outset of his remarks, said be was sorry if ha had inconvenienced any of the

settlers by bringing them out that evening. He had received a letter from the chairman of the Road Board (Mr M. Whelan) asking him to postpone the meeting, but as it had been already advertised he could not give effect to the request. Proceeding, Mr Flanagan stated that it was not his intention to cast any reflection on Road Boards, which with the small revenues at their disposal had accomplished much. Eleven out of the fifteen Road Boards in existence when the County was formed four years ago had merged, the ones remaining outside being t'ue Opaheke, Pokeno, Maungatawhiri and Karaka Boards and ho believed that the three latter would eventually merge. His particular plea for the Boards to merge was that instead of the Government subsidy being based on a maximum allowance of £SOO for all road districts merged and some £230 in respect of a half-share of the Road Boards' subsidies, making a total of £7MO the Council would if all the Boards were merged be entitled to a subsidy of about £2OOO by virtue of the extra subsidy payable to a County where uo Boards were in existence. He claimed that

the Councillors had beeu prudent and wise in their administration. The loan of £'2ooo i'or Pratt's Hill was at the Council's disposal and all arrangements to proc9ed with the work had been satisfactorily completed with the exception of the purchase of one section of land, the owner of which was absent from the district. The tender for the formation work was well within the engineer's estimated Although the capital value of the Drury district was £169,000 and the Opaheke was £52,000 less, thtre was more money expended in the latter district than in the former fince the Council came into existence. To bring about merging, Mr Flanagan explained that it would be necessary for a petition to be signed by more than half of the ratepayers representing more than half of the value of properties in the district. QUESTIONS. In reply to questions Mr Flanagan said that a sum of £-10 was originally granted by the Opaheke Road Board for formations and cuttings opposite Mr Markham's property but when the tenders came in for the work it was found that the Government grant of £IOO was sufficient; consequently the Council requested the Road Board to transfer the £4O towards the metalling of a portion of the main road near the Catholic Church at Arariuiu. The Eoad Board, however, declined to accede to that and desired the amount to be spent in formation works on the Main Road beyond the work adjacent to Mr Markham's property and the County had arranged for that to be doue. la tho event of tho Opaheke Board merging the Council would contiuue with the works the Board had in hand at the timo of merging. Mr Flanagan admitted that the cost of administration of Raglan County was less than that of Franklin County but pointed out that with a higher rateable value in Franklin more work was naturally done than in Raglau. Ho suggested that tho day for low rates had passed, and that if good roads were wanted sufficient rates would have to be struck ILo was prepared to have certain allocations earmarked for by-roads in the ovout ol' the district merging. He citod a ca-o of expenditure m tho Rama Rama district in which the amount expended was three times more than tho sum collected therefrom in rates. He said that it might bo possible in the event of the district merging to have a surfaceman to work three days in every week in tho district. NO FORMAL VOTE. It was decided that as the attendance was small and as thoro was a lietitiou going iouud tho district a vote should not be taken. A vote of thnuks was accorded Mr Flanagan for his adlress, ami on the conclusion of the meeting live tignatures were obtained lor tin 1 petition in favour of merging.