COLLAPSED NEXT DAY.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 319, 19 December 1929, Page 8

COLLAPSED NEXT DAY.

THOUGH GOOD FOR YEARS. Hungahunga Drain. Reporting on the Peria road drain, a culvert of which has been a source

of dispute between the Matamata County Council and the Hungahunga Drainage Board, the chairman of the former body, Mr. J. W. Anderson, stated at the December meeting of the council that the Hungahunga Drainage Board had written stating that the culvert under this road was good for years, and that they were not prepared to contribute anything towards the cost of repairing it. Next day the culvert collapsed—(laughter)—and so something had to be done. Repairs had been effected to a certain degree, but the point as to who was responsible had to be settled. He had therefore consulted recognised experts in the law. on drainage matters, who were now negotiating with the board’s solicitors.

Cr. Moir: The culvert is an absolute disgrace; the surface is rotten. The engineer explained that the water was not going through the culvert, but through a tunnel underneath. The culvert would have to be ripped out and rebuilt. Cr. Cox pointed out the settlement of the question affected a lot of other drains in the county, and the sooner they got it settled the better. It appeared that they would have to have a friendly legal action in order to get the legal point settled by the court. The chairman stated the question was asked at the last meeting of the Hungahunga Drainage Board as to why the Matamata County Council could not work in with the Drainage Board as the Piako County Council did. The position was not the same, however, as Piako ratepayers and Hungahunga ratepayers were the same people, so it did not matter to them which body paid for the culverts. The road also benefited all the way. In the Matamata riding many of the ratepayers were up on hilly country and had no interest in drains. The action of the chairman in engaging counsel to prosecute the council’s case was confirmed.