Shannon Street drain piped please, says board

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 641, 18 June 1996, Page 3

Shannon Street drain piped please, says board

Shannon Street' s open drain should be piped rather than moved, the Waimarino Community Board decided at their last meeting. The decision follows objections from Ohakune residents to the plan to shift the stormwater drain further away from the road but for it to remain an open watercourse. Work had already started on moving the drain, with the channel having been cleaned and a manhole and 10m of pipe installed. Piping the drain would cost a total of $26,000 with $15,000 already available, having been set aside for the shifting work. Board member Ellen Gould said the open drain is dangerous because the road parallel to it is narrow. The drain also looks unsightly, she said, Board chairperson Colin Webb said he understood the

project was to pipe the stormwater. He said if the north side of the street is developed at a later date then the drain would have to be piped anyway. An open drain was an ongoing source of maintenance problems so it should be piped, he said. There was some discussion on the estimates presented to the board. Member John Compton said the engineers' estimate of $8700 for the 300m pipes needed for the project was double what it should be. Deputy chief executive Chris Ryan said the board was discussing an estimate only, and was provided as a starting point for discussion. Board member Robert Horne said such figures do affect the board' s thinking and they should be "within cooee". The Ruapehu District Council will consider the board' s recommendation at their special meeting next week.