RIVER PROTECTION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 210, 5 August 1937, Page 9

RIVER PROTECTION.

MORE FUNDS NEEDED. MANAWATU-OROUA BOARD. The monthly meeting of the Mana-watu-Oroua River Board was held today, Mr A. A. Mitchell presiding. Also present were Messrs H. J. Lancaster, J. Callesen, H. Seifert, W. Jackson, It. J. Law and B. G. Gower. It was reported that the work above the Whirokino bridge, willbw planting and general protection, had not been completed, and that the board had run out of funds. A loan of £6OO had been raised for the work and £629 had been spent, which, with the Government subsidy of £7341, made the total expenditure £1363. It was decided to approach the Government for a straight-out grant to complete the work, or for labour under scheme No. 13 of the employment promotion proposal. It was pointed out that the estimate had been exceeded through increased labour cost and the refusal of the Government to subsidise the engineer’s expenses. The balances of the various areas were announced as follows:—No. 1, £l5O in debit; No. 2. £69 10s in debit; No. 3. £lO7 in credit; No. 4, _ £2BB in debit, with £llß outstanding in rates.

The chairman said that in striking the rate for the current year an endeavour should be made to wipe out the debit balances; perhaps not in the one year, but over a period. The rates were fixed on the same basis as last year’s, with the exception that a maintenance rate of eightpence per acre was plaoed on No. 1 area and a reduction of Id per acre made in No. 3 area.