Archive: Opinions

While this isn't one of my passions, it's OK having a well and a septic system.  Except when they don't work.  And lately I have been thinking about how much easier it was when I lived in cities.  Because when the power went out I could still drink and flush.  And if something went wrong it could get fixed relatively quickly and inexpensively.

With the blackouts we have recently had I couldn't do either.  Because you need electricity to run the pump, and without the pump there is no water, and without water there is nothing to flush.  The last week the main line from my well to the house developed a rather dramatic leak, which made the water go somewhere, but not into my house.  Five days later we had water working again, but it was another few days before we got our plumbing unclogged and a filter working so that we could drink the water and not turn our sinks and tubs brown.

When you have a special district the people who benefit, ie. the people who live within the borders of the district, pay for it.  They pay for its construction and they pay a usage fee.  People outside the district do not pay, or have anything to do with it, really, unless they visit a friend within the district and have to use the toilet.  That's how it works for water districts.  That's how it works for sewer districts.

That's why I don't understand opposition to a small sewer system in a town center.  Three developers have agreed to split the cost of a small system and a package plant to process the sewage, and to extend infrastructure there, including roads, water and lighting.  People who buy homes there would pay for these things, and it would have the benefit of keeping development where we all want it (not on farms, not where it will cause traffic problems in existing neighborhoods).

I agree with the opponents that the Town should not be on the hook for money to develop.  But it makes sense for the Town to spend a little something now to make that happen, then recoup the money when it sells the land.  Ultimately no cost to current taxpayers, and maybe even a little profit.  Not to mention the new additions to the tax base.

I believe that at least some of the people who saw me after four days without a shower would agree.  On days when my water and septic are working as they should I list my infrastructure priorities in this order: Internet, electricity, water, septic.  But oh boy! when the water doesn't work it goes to the top of the list!  And I have to tell you, if I could have lived in a town center with water and sewer this past week I would have been a much happier man!

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