DRAINAGE BOARD.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18671, 21 April 1926, Page 14

DRAINAGE BOARD.

——* . MONTHLY MEETING. The Christchurch Drainage Board met last night. Present: Messrs Walter Hill (chairman), 8. 0. Bingham, "W. B. Carey, E. H. S; Hamilton, W. 0. Large, H. G. Livingstone, A. T. Smith, W. J. Walter, and 11. J. Otley Apologies lor absence .were received from" Messrs H. Holland, M.P., and D. Bowse. The Finance Committee recommended that, loan of £25,000 be raised, at SI. per .cent., for jayirig -off"a- loan of similar amount 'featuring In December next,- and that a sink- ' ing fund ttoiepay the loan on maturity. Authority was asked to pay loan interest and repayment of principal-in Australia, free of exchange, if necessary.. The letter from the trustees of the Deans Estate,, asking - that certain lands . vested' in them bo created a - special' ratine' area for, the purpose of falsing a loan for the laying of sewers,*? was referred to the Board without recommenda:tlon. • Authoritywss requested'to apply for statutory authority to borrow amounts from time to time for the. reticulation of streets in the £700,000 loan area. which were sot formed at the time the poll was taken. Regarding the sewer on the south.side of Biccarton road, the. committee considered that .the cost of laying' it''was a fair - charge against the loan, and recommended that the' ~work bo carried on. , " The cfause referring to the Deans Estate special area was disousaed in committee, and on resuming M-wa's reported that it had been ' 'decided not to grant the request made by •the trustees.- ... Comi atl Betlcuifctlon, Diiouulon wnsned'on the committee's re- ' commendation regarding the ■ reticulation of streets formed- after the £700,000- loan was carried. . Mr. Hamilton said that'.tho,committer's method was the correct way to do the work. Mr Otley was strongly opposed to the p/oposal, and said. that- just as the municipality did not take over, new streets till they I wore formed,, they should .not.- be t-taken ovqr. the sewers were!laid in them, by. those making the subdivision. ' It' was not right to saddle the good-natured ratepayers who supported th« £700,000 loan with extra • ' rates.' ' . ' < :■ Mr Livingstone said that he hsd-support-ed .the principle in .the clause on - every . occasion, .it had been before the Bdard, and he considered from the .point ,of view of equity. The Church' Property Trustees had. been called upon to lay the sewer* in. their 1 St. Albans subdivision, and the Deans Estate had agreed to do so. . ' ■ Mr Smith asked if the amount spent by' the Church Property Trusteed would be refunded in the event of the committee's pro posal being agreed to. The chairman said that he did not want to see the Board stultify itself.' In February it was decided to ask for ; an amendment of the Board's Act to give it power to .compel subdividers to lay the -sewers. He knew the -.'difficulty experienced., ia getting Parliament to agree to increasing the amount to the borrower, and he did not think that Parliament would agree to the committee's proposal—at least, not till the whole of thought that it was a proper thing to call on subdividers to provide sewers. The sewers, when laid, increased the value of the land, and, he thought the aubdivider should bear _ the cost.' Replying to Mr Smith's question, ha said that if he were-In the position of a subdivider who had paid for seyers to -be laid, he would ask for a refund, seeing that the committee's proposal meant that the .sewqrs ' would be laid for all-comers. Mr Smith: They have sold the Factions loaded with .the cost of the sewers. Who is ' td get the' refundl'. On division, the committee's proposal was - rejected by 5 votes to 4. Regarding the subsidiary sewer on Kic.carton road, it - was stated that the esitmate was £3850, Mr Hamilton said that this subsidiary senwr would reduce the cutting up off the road to a minimum. The clause was agreed to, and the report, as amended, was'adopted. Works Committee. The Works Committee recommocded the acceptance of theWaimairi County Council's offer to construct the drain on Gardiner's road provided Jhe Board undertook Its future maintenance.' The' engineer had been instructed to call tenders for the Victoria street atormwater sewer. The Canterbury. Solejards Company's request to be permitted' to cover in a portion, _ and, possibly, tlio whole of an open drain in Ixxwe street, was granted, provided the work was done to the engineer's satisfaction. The report waa agreed to. Engineer's, Beport. The engineer reported that ttcady progress had been made-with, loan work con- . tracts during the month. Regarding the No. • -11 'pumping • station, the concrete bottom was placed two weeks ago, the concrete berns deposited under 18 feet of Water and levelled off -by a diverV this involved 41 hours continuous work. Tenders were being called ' for'stations N6S. 9, 13, wd 18. Plana and specifications were being prepared for the ,extension of No. 6.sewer, from Mays road to Giant's road. . ' ~• ■ ... -i .The ireport wa*., adopted,., and, on Mr ' Hamilton's motion, it was. decided to as* the engineer to bring down o itport showing the proposed reticulation work, «> ?.* Board can decide the order in which st was . to be done. , Regarding ' the engineer's report on Ihe •a, proposed improvement of drains and creeks. in the' Board's rural sub-districts, it wasJM* 6 * vi«it of inspection on. felsißm 1 ' pxoposad expenditure totals