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The Council has had three public hearings concerning the sale of our water and sewer systems to Honea Path or to any other entity. Council has soon got to make up their minds on this issue. It’s a big decision and one that I have given a great deal of thought to and I’m sure other members of council has as well. What bothers me is whether our citizens can afford to be charged what it will take to make the necessary improvements if the town maintains ownership or even if we sell the systems. If we sell, say to Honea Path, any rate increases will have to be spread over both our residents and Honea Path residents. If we keep the systems, our residents will have to absorb the additional upgrade costs. Therefore, one would logically assume that it would be in our best interest to sell. Well, this may or may not be the truth. If we sell, we will lose control. However, if we sell, we MUST require the buyer that both water and sewer rates will be the same for all users of the systems. Presently, Honea Path has a much cheaper water rate than we do, while their sewer rate is about three times higher than ours. Assume an individual uses 10,000 gallons of water. The Honea Path customer’s water and sewer bill will be about $9.50 cheaper. If our decision is to sell, I will insist that our rates be the same. If not, I will not support the sell and nor do I think other members of council will. Whether we sell or keep the systems, rates will have to go up in order for us the make the necessary and, in some cases, required upgrades.
Why are the upgrades and improvements needed? I like to use the example of a person who owns a home. If this individual makes no improvements or repairs to his home over a 20 year span, it’s going to run down and run down quickly. In addition, and because of the owner’s neglect, it’s going to cost more for the needed repairs. Such is the case with our water and sewer systems, especially our waste treatment plant. There’s no question that these systems were neglected over the years. The real sad part of this is that the Town was receiving enough water and sewer revenues to make the necessary improvements in the late 1990’s and the early to mid 2000’s. Instead of spending the water and sewer revenues on water and sewer improvements, these revenues were diverted to other areas such as our police, fire, administration and public works departments. This is not exaggeration on my part. It’s a fact and one that cannot be disputed by anyone. As a result, we find ourselves in this situation.
We will be meeting with Greenwood County Council on Wednesday, July 7th to determine whether they will be able to financially assist us in these upgrades/improvements to the waste treatment plant. The County should have a vested interest in our waste treatment plant for industrial growth purposes. Maintaining the sewer line and lift stations from Hodges to our Town limits is a big expense to our residents. Since Sara Lee closed, the flow of waste through the line is greatly under capacity. In spite of this, we must maintain the line and the lift station indefinitely.
So this is our situation. I encourage any suggestions and input from any resident of our Town. I will keep you posted as we move forward.
Sonny Frederick
Mayor
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