The senior editor is relaying the Bookseller's live report from the city council chamber and tonight's work session about Georgetown, New Albany and the sewer system that binds.
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Don Lopp, county planner, is designated to speak for the county. This despite the fact that Georgetown has asked the county to butt out of the matter.
Lopp: We've applied for federal money. Minimum 7 months, practically 13 months before they can proceed to purchase properties, which the county has agreed to pay for under the settlement agreement dumping the Edwardsville/O'Brien property that faced such opposition by residents who opposed annexation...and that Judge Cody pretty much supported under the law.
Three western sites have been identified. Stimulus funds answer should come in ????? Site reviews, geology, environmental impact statement PROCESS has been initiated. 7 of 9 of the processes are under way....DNR, etc.
Lopp: County invited River Hills to contribute an income survey to get entitlement (CDBG) monies. Claims that Georgetown is just short of qualifying for CDBG money unless they find more poor people.
Locating plant outside corporate limits is no longer being litigated. Settlement pays for site acquisition.
Lopp still speaking: Riverboat money will pay for site up to $1.4 million. If rural development money is available, perhaps an option to buy $350,000 site for land acquisition.
Caesar: We need unified government. But...is $1.4 million enough to do this? Lopp: That price buys out the O'Brien property AND the site acquisition, plus $1 million already expended by Georgetown (which is built into the current rates to households).
Andrews assures that a revenue bond, supported by rates, will be forthcoming once a site is acquired.
Gonder: What about the bad, low-flow, tiny pipes? Andrews: Over time, we'll have to rip up the whole city and re-pipe it. Cost - $3.5 million just to build the sewer plant.
Messer: How close to making this happen? Andrews/Lopp: Town is holding up the rural development application. The county has done everything necessary to get the River Hills money.
Price: Sounds to me like they can't afford this. Commissioners, have you considered a global problem.
Freiberger: That's why we opposed the O'Brien site. The western side of Georgetown is where you want to put a FLoyd County sewer plant.
Messer: How long until plant is running? Andrews: Best case, three years, and we've already begun.
Coffey defers to sewer board to decide whether an accommodation can be made.
Much discussion of "secret" proposals made by Georgetown, which council, council's counsel, and sewer board president say they've never seen these secret proposals.
Coffey DECLARES 60-day moratorium on imposition of billing to Georgetown. No one seems to object, except Lopp insists that county be included in negotiations.
Stewart: If we can take away the fine of $450,000...
Messer says you've been given a break already.
Gary Brinkworth (sewer board member), explains the so-called "penalty." Georgetown decided to stay on the system. Pay $800,000 to extend, then pay us for the sewer credits we've given up. This is not a fine. It is the cost of sewer credits. Part of the $450,000 is a $100,000 arrearage unpaid, but delayed. So now it's $350,000, instead of $700,000 that would have been paid to set up Georgetown for full capacity.
This is not a penalty. It's the unpaid billing that would have been forgiven if Georgetown got off of New Albany's system.
And that's it. Fairly anticlimactic, yet filled with interesting tidbits of attitude, fact, and long-term political objectives.
I hope I've given you a fair verbatim recap of the evening.
No one spoke for the residents of New Albany. I would invite readers to mine the gems from this.
Unfortunately, this city has no verbatim transcript that is publicly available. No radio, no TV, just the minutes taken by an overburdened transcriber, the city clerk.
As Mr. Suddeath said this week, too bad no one from New Albany was present. Lots of folks from the origin city of NAC's senior editor, but no stories from them.
hnnnnnnnnnnnnh.
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4 comments:
My right wing, reactionary, and ill informed side says that we should just go and turn the valve to off. Maybe Georgetown can make up their minds then.
Obviously that won't work for reasons both legal and ethical.
The ball is Georgetown's court, IMO. I'm really tired and pissed at this problem being portrayed by Georgetown AND the County, as having been caused by New Albany.
Thanks, Randy, for the reports. I really wanted to be there but(dare I say it?)shit happens.
You mentioned that no one spoke for the residents of New Albany. Was this because there was no one there that wanted to speak? Or, because there was no provision for a NA resident to speak?
Think C-SPAN. Only invited guests spoke. This was a hearing, not a work session. The public was allowed to watch.
Yep, thanks for the coverage and relay.
I still maintain that Stan Robison is smarter than the rest of us. He's figured out a way to make money from the inanity and gets to ask the most germane questions for fun.
"Why are were here?" is the line of the night.
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