HAURAKI DRAINAGE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume VLI, Issue 3322, 24 April 1935, Page 3

HAURAKI DRAINAGE.

THE UNITED BOARD. APRIL MEETING. The Hauraki United Drainage Board held its April meeting on Wednesday last, Mr H. H. Hicks presiding over Messrs F. L. Hamilton, R. Baker, P. G. Pearce, S. G. Williams, S. S. Murray and D. J. Law (trustees) and J. E. Green (clerk). Balance Sheet. The Audit Office returned the Board’s balance sheet certified as correct. The chairman stated that he had met the auditor recently and he had stated that there -was never any trouble with the Hauraki Board’s accounts . The clerk said that there had not been a “tag” on the balance sheet since he had been the clerk and the auditor’s charge was now very small. Burning of Trees. . Two claims were received from settlers whose trees had been damaged by fires lit by drain cleaners. The clerk reported that in each case the contractors had been penalised £l, this being the sum agreed upon between them and the landowners. In one case the landowner had agreed to accept young trees from the Board’s plantation for the £l. The chairman observed that it was gratifying that the claims had been lodged before the contractors had been paid off for it had enabled the matters to be cleaned up. * A Voice from the Past. “Your Board agreed in 1929 to maintain my bridge for 20 years,” wrote S. G. Baigent, Orongo, who pointed out that the structure was now in need of repairs. The clerk said that the bond had been given in view of the fact that the Board had removed a permanent concrete culvert. It was agreed that the foreman effect repairs. Overdue Rates. The clerk was instructed to take legal proceedings to obtain judgment against all landowners whose rates were three years in arrear. Drainage Board Election. According to the decision of the recent legislation sitting members of drainage boards have their term of office extended for six months for the next election is to be in May, 1938, instead of in November, 1937. A member: Another injustice to the ratepayers. It looks as though the move was to have local bodies amalgamated by 1938. Stopbank Work.

Considerable correspondence between the Board and the Unemployment Department relative to the supply of men for coroperative contract work on stopbanks, was read, the final arrangement being that the men were made available from the Thames labour bureau instead of from Auckland as formerly, the men to be transported to and from Thames daily instead of living in a camp. The clerk said that the Lands Drainage Department had these men on its Orongo stopbank work, the Department and the. Unemployment Board each paying half of the £1 per day transport cost. The foreman said that the bus system would be preferable to a camp from the point of view of getting the work done. The bus could bring 25 men daily but there was the question of whether the Board could afford the cost of transport. It was decided' to have the work put. in hand in terms of the offer and to take up with the Unemployment Board the question of transport.