Asheville's Water Problem

There is a way to find a solution to the water problem that is fair to the citizens of Asheville and Buncombe County.    That solution has to be totally based upon cost of providing the service.   First, the City of Asheville has given everything it has to make money away and they do not intend to give the water system away.  They, the City of Asheville, turned over the MSD (Metropolitan Sewerage District) because they did not want to increase the rates to rebuild a system that had also deteriorated because of no maintenance.  

They will not give up the water system.  It is the last source of funding except annexation.  The City's argument for charging more for water in the County is also the very argument that shows that annexation hurts every citizen of Asheville.  

With annexation, the density decreases and it costs more to send policemen, build sidewalks, lights, etc. and all of those things they are supposed to provide.   The residents must pick up the cost of decreased density in their taxes.   They are saying it costs more to pump the water further into the county;  how about the cost of all other services?   The City's very argument for increased cost of water in the County is the same argument that can be used against annexation.  

The fair charge for water should be the cost of providing the service.   There are four parts to the fair cost of providing water.   First, there is a fixed cost which is associated with the water treatment, maintaining the water treatment plant, and watershed.    This cost can be calculated from the cost figures.

Second, there is a cost of pumping water up a mountain.   It costs more to provide water to the mountaintops than in the valley.   The higher the mountain, the more the head pressure of force to push the water up to the top.   Should the citizens that live down lower subsidize the folks that live on top of the mountain?  If the City politicians want to be fair, they should consider that fact.

Third,  we also agree with the City and it does cost more to pump the water a long distance.  But, do not forget that as the City extends its boundaries, should they not charge more for the person that lives 10 miles away from the plant over someone that lives only 1 mile from the plant.   The City is already admitting that there should be a distance charge.   

Fourth, the replacement of water lines could be based upon the people that the line serves.  A bond could be floated to cover the cost of replacement and then no one would be subsidizing old lines where new multi-million dollar apartments are being constructed.  The cost could be added and paid off over several years.    

This proposed method is just a simple way to remove the cost of water from the political arena and place it in the realm of fine tuning and modifying as the system is managed by cost with a fair profit to whomever runs the system.

NEWS ALERT: ASHEVILLE, NC MENTIONED IN ILLINOIS SLEDGE CASE!

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Sledgehammer Time Again
by Gary Pearce

Comments in Red are Don Yelton’s comments and questions and add to the scope of this article.

Everybody who wants to know what's next in the Raleigh Scandals can get the preview by reading the following email sent out this morning by Joe (the Sledgehammer) Sinsheimer.

Inadvertently, I'm sure, Joe revealed the emails of everyone to whom he sent the statement. That makes interesting reading, but I'm not passing the list along, for fear of further angering the recipients.

Statement by Joe Sinsheimer:

"This week's indictment of State Rep. Thomas Wright is just one reminder that the Jim Black era in state government is not behind us and there still is a great deal of investigative and reform work left to do. This morning's Raleigh News and Observerbrings three additional reminders that we are only in the middle innings of understanding the multitude of ways that Jim Black and his cronies corrupted state government.

First, the N&O reports this morning that the State Bureau of Investigation has opened an inquiry into how the son of former House Speaker Jim Black received contracts to provide pest control at three state prisons.

Will the SBI investigate its own? The FBI told me they did not have time to investigate how Bill Stanley got his campaign paid for in 2000 yet spend 7 years on Bobby Medford’s case here in Buncombe. He is one of the three sheriffs referred to later in this article.

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/829770.html

Second, the N&O reports this morning the latest details in the ongoing Randy Parton Theater debacle. None of us should forget that former Speaker Black and his sidekick Meredith Norris were enthusiastic boosters of the project and provided important state support for this misguided venture. Black's interest in the project was directly connected to the fact that Meredith Norris's lobbying client, Rick Watson of the Northeastern North Carolina Regional Economic Development Commission, was one of the brainchilds of the project and that Watson was an active fundraiser for Black.

Wonder if anyone will connect Advantage West with similar activities here in WNC where we have Cherokee owning ½ of the high speed internet company in WNC-Eastern Tennessee and Northern Georgia… wonder if there is a possibility of video gambling run by Cherokee. It has been reported that Meredith Norris and Wanda Green both have roots in Haywood County. Just maybe WNC is closer to Eastern NC than we realize. Maybe the East and West are already connected by corrupt politicians and it is time for the good people to get control…

Third, the N&O this morning carried press reports of the latest indictments by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Western District of North Carolina in its ongoing investigation of how video poker operators bribed a number of western North Carolina law enforcement officials including at least three county sheriffs. As the video poker's industry legislative sugar daddy, Black deserves part of the blame for letting this industry flourish. But we also should remember that thirty-seven (37) different members of the House Democratic Caucus accepted $86,000 in contributions from the video poker industry in 2003-2005 and served as Jim Black's enablers in this scandal.

Was Goforth on that list?

If the General Assembly is serious about putting this era behind us, they should use the upcoming February 2008 special session of the General Assembly to pass a law allowing investigative grand jury powers in political corruption cases. Both Attorney General Roy Cooper and Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby have spoken out about the need for this critical law enforcement tool. It is time for the General Assembly to act on this issue and prove that legislators want to fight political corruption in the state."

They need to plow real deep and get the rocks and the people under the rocks…and they reside in a big house in Asheville.

When the dust clears I predict that the Republicans will have less go down than the Democrats if they plow good and deep. It is up to the FBI and sure not the SBI. Keep it up Joe

It is funny how Cherokee just keeps popping up!! You know ever since that 47 million was found in an account in Cherokee and the state and Easley asked for 50 million for the health fund the problems started. They were to get live dealers for the money. Is it possible that the Feds were looking at Cherokee all of the time and found all of this, Jim Black and even connections with bigger fish. Some of these politicians are stepping out of the political lime light due to the corruption associate with Indian gaming, lobbying and golf outings. Keep plowing.

Don Yelton

Founder Citizens Speak