Papakura Town Board Meeting.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 291, 10 July 1917, Page 1

Papakura Town Board Meeting.

' To the Eifrroi:' Sir, —I regret that I must ask you to insert a lew lines, re report of above meeting as appearing in your issue of 6th inst. In one part of tho report you say " A letter was received from the Papakura Ratepayers' Association protesting against the site selected as a depot for night-soil and asking that a special meeting of the Board bo called to receive a deputation from the Association." Now, Sir, tbi3 is not correct. The letter icferied to was not on behalf of the Association, it distinctly stated that it was from a meeting of Ratepayers and [Householders, that is a public meeting, conveying their protest on the grounds mentioned and also the further resolution, which your report does not mention, " That the chairman of the Town Board bo requested to call a special meeting of the Board, in order to receive a deputation from this meeting." Now, Sir, in ignoring this request, the chairman was dealing with the ratepayers and householders, as a whole, not with the Ratepayers' Association, and in refusing to call a special meeting lie was perfeitl well aware that, with the exception of one member, it was practically impossible for tho deputation to attend tho ordimuy meeting of llm Boaid at tho ridicul us hour at which they now meet. When tho chairman stated ''that, when tho meeting was held, most of those present weio under a misapprehension as to the actual position of tiio depot," lie must have been referring tc tho meeting of tho Board oil the lltli June, when tho site was d cided oil and not to the public meeting on tho 1 Ith June, because at the hitter meeting every person present thoroughly understood the location and one or more had then been to look at it Had we still been in the dark tho eontiactor was present to enlighten us. If tho statement referred to tho I nublic mooting it woald tend to infer that it was d< signed by some of tho B,;ard members to koep the public in the dark as long as possible as to site. In a like positron to the other portion of tho Board.

As to the " Ratepayers' Associa •ion " not to be dictators to the Board, there should be no question nf dic f ation on either side, but that point should not have been introduced in this matter. As I have mentioned above the letter was from the public meeting and not the Ratepayers' Association. I notice in your issue of the 3rd inst., that the Papakura Town Bopvd liavo found a depot at Papakura Valley for the Papatoetoe district Alight not this have also dona for Papakva ? It is probably much nearer to Papakura than to Papatoetoe —I am, etc,, R. W. MEARS, Hon Sec Papakura Ratepayers' Association. 7/7 17.