I’m a Winslow ratepayer and I care deeply about the issue of an upgraded sewer plant and water/sewer infrastructure in downtown Winslow.
Further, I live near Eagle Harbor so water quality of the harbor is of particular concern to me. Like most, I was shocked to hear of the sewer pipe breakage and sewer discharge into Eagle Harbor.
Having said that, I’ve concluded that the Ratepayer’s Alliance (RPA) does not represent my interests. We have close personal friends on both sides of this issue, which makes it a bit delicate, socially speaking.
First things first: aged, leaky and broken sewer pipes are an urgent public health issue. Virtually everyone I have consulted agrees. Further, public health trumps all other matters in this dispute.
Therefore, everything else should be set aside. The RPA should drop its lawsuit now. The city, especially council members who have been on the council for several years and have had ample time to fix this problem, should apologize to the public and make haste to get this problem fixed immediately.
The second point is different in substance but has the same urgency as the public health threat: there are four financial factors that we should take advantage of right away.
The city is eligible to secure bonds in the next few months, after which that opportunity disappears or becomes much more expensive.
The actual cost of making the necessary repairs to the sewer plant and Winslow Way infrastructure has never been lower than now. The reduced cost projections are the result of the depressed regional and national economy.
Meanwhile, the public is incurring costs in two forms. Contractors will start billing the city for delays in construction contracts very soon and the city’s cost in defending the RPA lawsuit is already approaching one hundred thousand dollars.
The last factor is the cost of muni bonds. It’s a buyer’s market at the moment, but those rates could increase quickly. Due to these four separate factors, a compelling case is made for acting now, not next year or the year after.
The RPA, in its legal brief including its recent amended briefs, charges the city with various forms of fiscal malfeasance. I’ve listened to both sides.
The RPA might be correct, even though the city contends that it has consulted the state auditor and that all the money transfers and rate schedules and other financial decisions have been made in conformance with established rules and regs.
The matter is much too complicated for an average lay person to make a judgment about.
But these very complex fiscal matters, as important as they are, should not hold up the completion of the water/sewer repairs, especially at this time, given the financial factors stated above. The issue of fiscal mismanagement should be turned over to a professional mediator or binding arbitration.
Let’s not dilly-dally any more. Our collective health is at stake.
Roger Lauen
Lovell Avenue
