Kerby water project has detractors
(Photo by Wally Aiken)
From our weekly issue dated December 19, 2007
Although still at least a year away from delivery to subscribers, the Kerby Water District (KWD), many years in the planning, could be said to be in the home stretch.
Finding a location for a reservoir and linking to the city of Cave Junction municipal water supply are among the final steps in securing reliable domestic water for many Kerby residents.
Through aerial and on-the-ground surveys, a site zoned and approved by Josephine County Planning Dept. for this use was chosen for the new storage tank. KWD Executive Director John Plute said that the location was chosen because it is at a suitable elevation to take water on an on-demand basis from the Cave Junction system.
Of all eligible sites, Plute said, one property owner was really receptive to locating a tank on his property.
However, not all is flowing nicely. Because of a plan to place the 125,000-gallon storage tank on the ridge above Glendon Road, tensions erupted during a KWD board meeting Wednesday night, Dec. 12 at the RCC Kerby Belt Bldg.
Some Glendon residents have been circulating a petition to prevent KWD from locating the tank on the ridge above their homes. Among those neighbors, Mike McNelly says that his concerns are about the design of the connection and safety of the towering structure (24 to 30 feet tall) during a massive seismic event.
Furthermore he contends in so many words that the tank is bound to be a property-value wrecking eyesore straddling a denuded hillside.
The tank itself would not have been an issue, Plute said, but the state wants the reservoir for fire protection. The water district, he explained, had eliminated a reservoir from its plans, as the 1-million gallon tank envisioned was quite expensive.
“The state actually offered to increase our Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to include a reservoir,” he said.
McNelly said he learned of the decision to locate the tank on a Glendon property a few weeks ago; when, he said, on the date comments were due, he received a letter requiring him to reply with his concerns to KWD.
“I have no objection to the reservoir, just the decision of where to put it,” McNelly said. “Why put this right over people’s heads?”
McNelly said he suspects that the water district took that route because it saves money. Otherwise, it would have to purchase a piece of property for this purpose.
Said McNelly, “The only reasoning behind where they’re putting the tank is how cheaply they’re getting the land to put it on.
“The property owner is desperate,” McNelly said, “and not too bright.”
Glendon resident Wally Aiken, a correspondent for Illinois Valley News, who has agreed to allow the tank to be built on his property, was pleased enough with the plan that he offered to donate to KWD half the value of the required quarter-acre. KWD declined, Aiken said, because it didn’t want to foot the cost of hiring an assessor to help complete that transaction.
KWD will pay Aiken market value for the property, as well as build a road and pad for the tank. But he admits not all of his neighbors are happy with this idea.
“They tell me,” he said, that ‘We’re not part of Kerby.’ And I say “I’m part of a larger community.
“I think the tank will be beneficial to the community,” Aiken said. “It will allow for five fire hydrants through Kerby, and that would be a huge help, for instance, if the burl shop caught fire again or something. There will be water available to fight it.”
Aiken admits that the cash (approximately between $6,000 and $7,000) is something of a minor windfall, and that he had plans of his own to build a road to the top of the ridge, so he is happy with the water district’s plan.
He said that the tank will sit below the top of the ridge, and probably will be difficult to see. As for his neighbors’ safety concerns, Aiken trusts that there are enough checks in place to prevent a mishap
“(Commissioner Dave) Toler told me the county would never sign off unless the geologists and engineers agree that it’s safe. I trust the experts,” he said.
“As far as addressing their safety concerns,” Plute said, “everything will be engineered to the latest USDA requirements.” The project is funded primarily through a grant from USDA for rural development. The remaining 20 percent of the cost will be repaid through a general obligation bond agreed to by those property owners who signed on with KWD.
“We’ll do our engineering,” said Plute, “then it will have to go through state and federal approval. I’m sure that because government money is involved all standards will be met.”
Next step is to determine if the hillside can even support the reservoir.
“We have geologists coming to take core samples,” Plute said. “Only bad geology will stop this thing.”
But McNelly insists: “Bottom line: you don’t need a geology report for an eyesore.”
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