Waitoa Drainage.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4425, 17 June 1909, Page 2

Waitoa Drainage.

No. 1 AND No. 7 ROADS. Tiik Waitoa Drainage Board has applied for an Order-in-Council, praying that the control of Nos. 1 and 7 Roads be placed within its jurisdiction. It is considered by a number of ratepayers that the Drainage Board has gone too far in making a special effort to get control of these two much talked of roads—so much so that at a recent meeting of ratepayers, held at IVaitoa, u petition signed by nearly forty ratepayers, was presented to the Chairman of the Board, requesting that the roads in question be not taken over from the Piako County Council, and that the Council be permitted to spend the money on these roads which it received from the Bank of New Zealand for this special purpose. The ratepayers, or a big percentage of them, contend that there is ample scope for the Board to work on without tresspassing on the Council’s pressrves. The Piako County Council objects to the said Waitoa Road Board taking over these two roads, mid have forwarded to Wellington the following objection, which was road at the Council’s meeting on Tuesday' last. It reads : In the matter of “The Land Drainage Act, 1908,” the Piako Couty Council objected to the Waitoa Drainage Board applying for an Order-in-Council vesting control of certain drains in the said Jjoard under Section 04 of the Act referred to. The Council objected to the Board talking ovpr No§. 1 and 7 Road drains fqr the following -ancf otherreasons ; -- 1. That the said drains are road drains, part of the solum of dedicated roads under control of the said \ County Council, existing for the maintenance and protection of the County Roads, and the Provision of §eetjop (j-f of tho Apt referred to, dpes nof apply to ftoffd Brains, but eont prn s only drains and drainage works for the drainage of land. 2. That for the pmpo.se of the Waitoa Drainage Board the said drains will require enlargement materially diminishing the width of the road, and such enlargement will be a continued and illegal and unwarranted jnf rference with the rights of mad pontrp} vp§tpd jn the County Oouu^ cij|j, Thq,t tbfj-e js no statutory or other authority whereby to grant or allow to two local bodies a divided control of the County Roads. 4. That for the purpose of tlic Waitoa Drainage Board extensive deepening, widening, and flu ring will be required upon the roads (which is jo Uot contemplated by the Board) rind that such deepening, widening, and fluming will be detrimental po the maintemnep of the roads, and a fjogrep of danger tq the public. ft. That shored such «U Order-dps 'Cpuijcjl bp gpxntpd it wiU * r, e imfjQssiblp tq discriiqiuu.lp bp tween the ipbiljties of tqp Bqard. (i, That it is improper and expedient to deprive the County Council of the control of its County Roads, or auy part thereof, more especially at the instance of a Board which may be abolished at any time, and the result of whose operations may becoms a burden on the Council.