CATCHMENT BOARD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 87, 6 July 1945, Page 5

CATCHMENT BOARD

PROSPECTS OF FORMATION JOINT MEETING AT OPOTIKf Apprehension of further increased rates on the already over-burdened 1 farming community was tly? domin- 1 ating thought at tlie combined meet,- f ing of Whakatane and Opotiki local < r bodies at Opotiki recently. The s meeting was called for the' purpose c of further considering the Minister 1 of Works letter of April last when t lie declined to. consider the suggest lion that the Whakatane (bounty Council be constituted a Catchment r Board to attend to its own individ- ; ual requirements of drainage and s protection works. r Those present were: Mr T. G. 1 Johnson (Mayor) f Messrs W. A. 1 Gault A. E. Martin ? R. A. Hcdlcy ' and W. W. Upton ' (County Kngin i neer) of Opotiki, INIr W. Sullivan t MP. and Messrs J. L. Burnett, W. * [Hunter, W. A. 11. F. Ward law A. F. McGougan C, H. , ! ? ' c |13rebncr (County Engineer) and C. } G. Lucas (County Clerk) of Whakatanc. ( A general discussion ensued on the. letter of January IS, 1945, from the , Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council and subsequent correspondence including matters arising from the meeting held in. Whakatane on February 28, 1945. It was finally resolved that: "That it be represented to the Opotiki Borough Council, the Opotiki County Council } the Whakatane Borough Council and the Whakatane County Council that this meeting of representatives from such bodies, affirm the principles contained in the resolution of the Whakatane County Council as communicated to the Hon. Minister of Works in the Whakatane County Council's letter to him of March 27 f 1945. "That if the Hon. Minister of Works maintains the attitude he lias adopted and is also determined to constitute a Catchment Board in this area then clarification of the following points be requested: (1) Whether the Lands and Surve3 r Department will continue to administer the area in the Rangitaiki Land Drainage District —an assurance to this end is; desired, and. (2) whether the Lands and Survey Department will continue to assume full financial responsibility lor all works on those portions of the rivers within, the boundaries, of the present Rangitaiki Land Drainage District— that the Chairman of the Opotiki and Whakatane County with Mr W. Sullivan M.P. repre-i sent the matters herein to the Wellington authorities wherw in Wellington in July at the County Conference."