PAPATOETOE

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 372, 3 May 1918, Page 3

PAPATOETOE

FUTURE LOCAL GOVERNMENT. TOWN BOARD FWOURED. The annual meeting of ratepayers of the Papatoetoe Road Board was held in the Public Hall, Papatoetoe, on Wednesday evening last when there was a representative gathering, including several ladies. Unusual interest was attached to the meeting in view of the feeling that a change in the form of local government had become desirable with the progress of the district, alternative suggestions being that the Road District should be merged in the County Council or that a Town Board should be established. Mr E. Niccol (Chairman of the Road Board) presided and among others present were Messrs J. Wyllie, J. Bryant and A U. Timewell (members of the Board). Mr H. 0. Ernest (Clerk), Cr Waters represented the Manukau County Council.

The Chairman, in summarising the work of the Road Board for the past year, expressed pleasure in seeing such a large attendance of ratepayers that evening The progress of the district, he said, had reached a very important point and it augured well'that so much interest was being shown in local affairs. At the last annual meeting he had stated that there was a prospect of the Board being able to raise the loan for the purpose of building the long-looked-for Hall and they had been successful in raising the sum of £2500. They called for tenders for the building according to the plans submitted at the last annual meeting but as the tenders were higher than were expected they had to consider the alternative of not going on with the building or of cutting out some portion. After a lot of consideration they decided to go on with the main portion of the building and to erect a temporary stage which would meet all requirements for a couple of years. When the foundations were laid they came to the conclusion that the building would not be large enough so they decided to extend the body of the Hall another twelve feet and he was confident that they were wise in doing so. Other necessary extras were also carried out. To meet the increased expenditure they exceeded the loan by ten per cent, but Mr John Wyllie came to the rescue by taking up the £250. When they were considering the striking of the general rate they took into consideration the expenses in connection with the building and th.t furnishing of the hall and decdod to strike a rate of three-eighths of a p 'iiny in the £, whi h brought in £')77 18a. Although the Hall wasc'i ling a good deal at present he felt confident that it would pay irs way in a few years' time. During the year several new works wore undnrtaken, namely Scott Road, Gre><n Lane and O'Hara Roads Those were old dedicated road? which now becoming built on necessitated being put in order. One of the greatest felt wants in Papatoetoe in the past had b*en a metal quarry. They were offer-d and had agreed to buy a site of five acres on Mr McLiughlin's laud a* a cost of £SO per acre. The balance -beet showed an expenditure of £684 12s Id, which included £215 3s ■ r ><\ for scoria for patching and £l.'it 7s 7d for wages. There was also an amount of £1.32 17s 5.1 for furniture for the Hall and Board's office. Tn« Board closed the year with a credit balance of £lO3 l«s Id. In the matter of the sanitary arrangements they were unable to peciire a site tor a dump so nothing further had be-n done. They had had a lot of trouble in connection with rarging and impounding matters an! at present th»y were without the services of a ranger. j

Arising out of <ho reference in the report to the fact th it the Board had no iound keeprr or ranger, Mr

Isaac Gray, expressed the opinion that one of the difficulties was that the appointment had to be gazetted, which was a weak spot in connection with the Impounding Act. He considered that the Board should have power to go outside their district and appoint whatever person they liked and to pay him a good salary. The Chairman remarked that only recently he found as many as 25 animals grazing in the district. He wished the difficulty could be overcome, but so far neither position was sufficiently attractive to iuduce any person to accept the appointment. The report was adopted. THE POLICY OF THE FUTURE

The Chairman, dealing with the need for a change in tho affairs of the district ''as affected by local government administration, said they must not allow the progressive little place to come to a standstill. The time had come when a change was necessary. The residents of East Tamaki had been circulating a petition asking that the Ease Tamaki Road Board should merge in the Matukau County. Should that take place the Fapatoetoe Road Board District would be in a serious difficulty. The. fact of the East Tamaki Road Board not levying a rate wonld result in the County raising a rate for the whole district, which would be unfair. The time had come either to turn the Road Board into a Town Board or to form a Borough. With regard to the latter, legal advice had been obtained and the Board were advised not to seek such powers at present With that advice he ('he Chairman) agreed. He suggested that a Town Board should be preferred and should consist a certain area of from two to three square miles, and that the remainder of the Road Board's area should merge in the County. At the request of the Chairman Cr Waters explained the tinancial position of the County Council as, affected by the Riding, but in view of the fact that he had only been in office a short time he was unable to speak authoritatively as to what had been done prior to his taking office. Replying to a question as to (he financial position of the Riding, Cr Waters explained that they were about £426 better off than last year. There was room yet for improvement with regard to the County's administration and some change was being effected shortly in that respect. In time he felt sure matters would adjust themselves satisfactorily. With regard to the suggested Town Board area, the Chairman explained that although the area would be small (about two squire miles) as compared with the Road Board area of seven square miles the boundaries could be extended later. For the present he thought it would be better to be limited to two square miles but that would he for the new Road Board to consider. Mr Isaac Gray expressed himself strongly in favour of a Town Board and aaid the proposal had his heartiest support. Mr Bryant supported the Town Board scheme, remarking that about £2,000 would soon be required by the County for bridges in the Tamaki district. "If we can get out of it, the sooner the better," said Mr

Bryant, amid laughter. On the question raised by a ratepayer as to the relative cost of roads in East Tamaki and Papatoetoe, Cr Waters replied that while the mileage was less in Papatoetoe as compared with East Tamaki there were three cr four miles of footpaths ia Papatoetoe which cost approximately from £2OO to £3OO a year. On an opinion being expressed by a speaker that roads were better looked after under a Road Boaid than by the County, Cr Waters remarked that the County was a comparatively new one, having been formed only five years. Whilst he recognised there was reed f»r improvement he said it took time to carry out schemes. In the old Road Board days members kept down the rates and neglected the roads but he would point out that under County control they possessed greater power and had larger plant and machinery to carry out important works. After further informal discussion, Mr Watson proposed and Mr Hunter (seconded that it should be a recommendation to the incoming Road Board that steps should be taken to form a Town Board.

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was carried with only one dissentient. The Chairman then declared the meeting closed.