water and sewer turnover

Well, we took on another 10.5 million plus in debt to bring OUR sewer and water systems up to their minimum levels, so that the County would agree to take it over. The total cost is about 29 million, if you count the interest for 20 years in. At the rate of 3.92% (maybe) we may have a monthly reduction in our water bills. Of course, if they had amortized it for 30 years the monthly bills would be lower but the total costs would be MUCH higher. Eight million was our current balance on the sewers and water systems now. The bottom line is that we are SEVERAL MILLIONS of dollars further in debt once this goes thru. Can we afford several MORE millions of dollars of debt for a new gym? Are we getting ourselves in over our head? How much debt can we afford? The water and sewers are in bad shape from years of neglect and we don't really have another good choice. With the gym we DO have another good choice and its available with NO NEW DEBT!!!

If you take the loan duration out far enough you can reduce the monthly payments WAY down low, but the overall charges for the loan will skyrocket. Are they going to use this bait and switch approach to sell the financing on a new gym? This helps to make clear the current thinking of our Council. The water and sewer department was 22% of our total revenues and will have to be made up somehow. There was $400,000 in administration fees built into that dept. that will NO LONGER have to be paid because there IS NO DEPT to administer, right? So that will be a savings, right there. We will have obligated ourselves for $10.5 million NOW, not counting interest, for the next TWENTY YEARS.

The City manager read from an AOL article that said that significant water and sewer infrastructure will need to be done all over the USA. Councilman Dotson noted that our leaking sewers are costing us MILLIONS of gallons of water and MILLIONS of dollars every year. Since that is TRUE, why don't we have any serious water conservation plan in place? Why are we so environmentally unaware/unconscious/comatose?

In these times of a two-year drought wouldn't it make sense to conserve whatever water we can? Lake Okeechobee is 25 inches below normal for this time of year. We have had a drought for more the past two years and we are on water restrictions. Australia has had a TEN year drought. Governors of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee are squabbling over water rights.

Do we have to turn into a dust bowl before the City recognizes the situation environmentally? It is VERY clear that the environment is low-to-nonexistent on the priorities of our city officials ie there are TWO Ecology Board seats that have been vacant for over TWO YEARS and the Council has not directed the Board to look into anything for the past FIVE years, at least.

In these days of global warming, water restrictions, regional, national, and worldwide droughts, and inconvenient truths what has our Council done to help the residents and the environment? NOTHING. The two empty seats speak LOUDLY about where their priorities lie, or don't. They are either pleasantly oblivious to the world, national, state, and local situations, just unconscious(in a coma), or they don't care. I can think of no other explanations for their complete and TOTAL lack of action, or apparent concern.

There are ready, willing, and able volunteer residents who are willing to help address these problems but they are ignored or carelessly and cavalierly not staffed in the first place. Xeriscaping, rain barrels, low-flow shower heads, recycling education, and fluorescent lighting (CFLs) are just SOME of the areas where the volunteers could be helpful. Why use drinking water to wash your car or water your garden and plants when rain water will do the job just as well? Leave drinking water for drinking. This Council is just hopelessly out of touch with the realities of Life on Planet Earth !! They SAY they are aware, but action talks, BS walks.