In the absence of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, the Drainage Manager called for nominations for the election of a Chairperson for the meeting.

RESOLVED

THAT Keven Caddy be nominated as Chairperson for the meeting.

EPDD06/29 Speedy/Hunter CARRIED

RESOLVED

THAT the apology of I Troughton, B Flint and K Reid be received and sustained.

EPDD06/30 Hunter/Schouten CARRIED

There were no late items.

MEETING HELD TUESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2005

RESOLVED

THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Eastern Plains Drainage District Committee held on Tuesday 20 December 2005 be taken as read and confirmed.

EPDD06/31 Speedy/Hunter CARRIED

Discussion was held on an article reported in the Hauraki Herald recently regarding the identity of a noxious weed (Alligator Weed) found in pastures in the Waikato Region. A concern was raised that there is no literature available to provide the exact identity of the weed which is causing the problems.

A member re-stated an issue regarding the weed found growing on a farm in the district. The grass had been harvested for hay and trucked elsewhere resulting in the probability of the weed self seeding onto other properties. It was requested that the Drainage Overseer bring some pamphlets and further information to the next meeting to provide more accurate information on the weed.

A request has been received that the open drain located at the rear of the primary school be piped for safety reasons. An owner of an adjoining property (Mrs Fisher) has made the request due to the future plans programmed for development of the playground.

The Drainage Manager will respond to the letter, and arrange a visit to discuss the issues with the School, and the local committee.

DRAINAGE REPORT (45.498.002) (16KB)

The monthly report from the Drainage Manager was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

RESOLVED

THAT the report be received.

EPDD06/32 Schouten/Hunter CARRIED

Roger Hunter raised an issue over the spraying of drains. He noted that the report shows drains that have been sprayed, but do not appear to have a satisfactory weed kill.

The Drainage Overseer will investigate these discrepancies this week and notify members of the outcome.

Guy Speedy requested that all arterial drains be maintained to a consistently high standard. The Drainage Manager and Drainage Overseer will investigate the spraying of these arterial drains as additional maintenance will come at a cost.

The Drainage Manager commented on rural subdivisions requiring drainage easements. He outlined that in some cases owners of small lots do not have the means or inclination to maintain rural drains. He requested the Committee consider the best future options for providing these drainage connections.

Over the past five years there have been more than 30 subdivisions in the rural area, with approximately 20 requiring an easement to connect to the Council drain. The total length of drains within these easements was 10km. Maintenance of this additional length of drain will cause an increase in spray and machine cleaning costs.

Council may be able to charge a development levy to cover this additional cost for a period.

The matter will be raised with the other drainage committees, and a recommendation will be developed.

The Drainage Manager requested the Committee consider where the responsibility for the maintenance of some of the river scheme stopbank toe drains lay.

There appears to be different agreements in place in different parts of the district, or between the Piako and Waihou schemes.

It was suggested that the EPDD and WPDD meet with the Environment Waikato representatives to resolve this issue.

The Drainage Manager advised the members that nominations would close on 24 February.

The financial report for the 7 months ended 31 January 2005 was presented for members’ information.

RESOLVED

THAT the financial report on the operations of the Eastern Plains Drainage Committee for the 7 months ended 31 January 2005 be received.

EPDD06/33 Hunter/Schouten CARRIED

MEMBERS’ COMMENTS

G Speedy- advised that Oparia Road (Mill Creek) had considerable weed growth.

R Hunter – noted that the Shell Bank Drain and Green Drain have not been sprayed.

P Schouten - South catchment drain near his house needs spraying.

K Caddy – metal at rear of Ryan’s property to be turned into a race along the Board Drain - Drainage Overseer to investigate.

The Drainage Manager commented on an issue regarding stormwater disposal at the site due to the topography of the site.

Options to cater for runoff created by the development are being investigated. The view of the Committee is that the runoff be restricted and that Council drains are not to be overloaded with the additional runoff as they are only designed for rural activities. The Drainage Manager advised that the development is still at the design stage.

The April meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 April, as the Tuesday is Anzac Day.

Discussion was held regarding the proposal to schedule future EPDD meetings on the same day as, and following, the WPDD meetings. It was agreed that meetings of the Committee from now on could be held at 1.30pm following the WPDD meeting every second month.

The meeting closed at 11.45am.

CONFIRMED

K Caddy

April 2006