Since reading reports of Tuesday's Council Meeting in yesterday's papers I've been asking myself what's up with Councilman Don Brown? He never seemed like a fellow that would disregard the health & well being of others. I've always had a lot of respect for Don but he's taken himself down a couple of notches on my respectability scale with his "nay" vote a couple of weeks ago to by-pass the bidding process so they can get the digester tanks cleaned in a hurry.
From what I learned from reports in the papers and from others those tanks are regularly emptied to the tune of several thousand gallons a month. After being treated in the digesters the "stuff" is dried out and then shipped to an EPA approved landfill. However the tanks are not completely emptied. There is always some left in the bottom plus a residual build up on the inside walls of the tanks. It's this residue that needs to be cleaned out. That's what is causing the stench that is making life miserable for village residents, especially those folks that live close to the filtration plant. You get "stuff" like that and the hot weather we've been having and you got conditions that are quite offensive. It's evidently making some sick. For me that is reason enough to get something in motion to get the problem taken care of as soon as humanly possible. If it takes by-passing business as usual then that is what has to be done. People's health & well being has to come first.
Former Mayor Nunzio Lombardozzi questioned Councilman Brown on his negative vote on this at Tuesday's meeting. Brown was quoted as saying he "wanted the right people with the right equipment" in the MJ. In the ER he was quoted as saying "that he wanted to go through the bidding process in order to ensure a quality job was done for an appropriate price". Appropriate price my rosy cheeks! I'm getting the impression that Mr. Brown's callous attitude has more to do with politics than being worried about getting our money's worth. That ain't right when you have health issues at stake. It makes me wonder where Mr. Brown's interest really lay.
I've been told that the machine to get the digesters cleaned arrived in the ville today. It takes a special machine to get the job done. The machine came from Carson, California and it was being assembled this afternoon. Tomorrow they are going to get the electricity hooked up and hopefully will get started on the job. Wonder if they are going to use Saracco's new generator? At any rate the job should be accomplished within the next week or so. Relief is coming to those folks that are affected with this situation. If Mr. Brown had his way we'd still be waiting for getting the legislation drawn up, voted on and then maybe by Thanksgiving put it out for bid.
In other council news there seems to be some finger pointing going on about the shelter repair costs up in Hammond's Park. Here we go, another shelter incident. I have to wonder why the construction company that did the work is balking at providing an itemized bill. The cost increased somewhere around $4,500 from the original estimate because a generator had to be purchased. Maybe we went with the wrong construction company if they didn't have the tools to do the job. I'm sure we'll hear more about this. The bill was tabled until an itemized bill is received.
Thanks to the ladies that reported on the council meeting for writing up Fiscal Officer Dale Davis' explanation on what a "then and now purchase order" is. According to Mr. Davis that assures us that the funds were available when the purchase was made and are still available to pay the bill once council approves it. If the bill is under three grand it can be paid without a vote of council. If I'm reading it correctly it is similar to using a petty cash fund for things that need taken care of right away. Most businesses have a petty cash fund for fixing things that go awry like a plumbing problem.
Speaking of things going awry I'm hearing that a manufacturer's rep is coming in to check out our street sweeper. Hopefully the repairs won't be cost prohibited and they can get that thing running. I remember when General Lee Martin use to run a street sweeper years ago. He did a heckuva job and it made a remarkable difference in the appearance of our streets.
In closing I would like to say I've been hesitant to write my thoughts on our legislators and executives doings in the village lately. Just mention the name Joe Surace and the bashers come out. Although I think it is pretty much the same people all the time they don't give up. Lately it's been about the mayor not being in the office a whole lot. Some even think he should be there 24/7. They are the people that won't admit that the mayor is not required to be there at all times. I'm sure he is in contact via cell phone at the least if something arises. The last few months he's been doctoring to find out why he's been feeling punk. Now he has a surgical procedure coming up but like an old Timex watch he keeps ticking. The surgery is minor or so I've been told. The point is he'll probably be a target once again when that time comes.
My feeling is that once the elections are over the politics in a small village such as ours should be put aside. Everyone should be pitching in and working together to make our home the best it can be. I get weary of all the negative stuff. I'm not a quitter. I'll keep plugging away. This village we call home isn't perfect but it's still a darn nice place to live. Those that won't let go of things in the past are really missing out on a good thing. There will be other elections but in the meantime enjoy what we got. Life is too short to pass up the good things we got in this piece of God's country.
ole nib
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7 comments:
You know the old saying, "Don't believe everything you read."? Well buying a generator is one. Mr. Saracco never said they bought one he said they had to get one from the fire department because there was people using one of the pavilions at the park and only one outlet was working. The cost of securing the pavilion's framing and doing some electrical work was $5,600 and council is questioning why there was no purchase order prior to the project and why Cataldo Construction refuses to provide an itemized bill.
As for Mr. Brown, I say kudos to him for being a good steward of the taxpayers dollars! The stench of the digesters has been going on for quite some time and the "cleaning" was suppose to be bidded out the way it has been done in the past. The digesters haven't been done since around 2001-2002. I think Mr. Brown smells a rat and he wants to make sure that the people of this fair village gets the job done right for a fair price. Shame on Mr. Lombardozzi for waiting for two weeks to ask Mr. Brown why he voted the way he did. If he was so concerned, he should have just asked him right after the meeting when he voted no. Keep in mind that Mr. Brown has served on the sewage committee for quite some time. It was only an attempt to make Mr. Brown look like he didn't care about the health of the people and nothing could be further from the truth if you know the man!
Peas - Thanks for offering another view point on both subjects.
Before writing this article the thought crossed my mind about the WFD having a generator. You helped clarify that situation. Until I can arrange my schedule so I can attend council meetings I have to depend on what's in the papers. One of them quoted Saracco as saying the costs went up because he had to buy a generator. Now the question comes to mind - was Saracco mislead by the councilman that advised him beforehand? Jim's on the hot seat for this one and for the good of the village I hope it all gets aired out. Maybe we can use this as a lesson to avoid future snafus.
I too have a lot of admiration for Don Brown. However his timing was lousy and his no vote makes him look bad. Pray tell if he was knowledgeable about the digesters why did he keep quiet for so long? I'm sure budget considerations had a part on getting the tanks cleaned but if the funds were available what took all this time to get it done? This could have been bid out in January and the job could have been done long before the summer heat made it a health problem. It don't make sense to me. The cleaning should be regularly scheduled and budgeted for. Why did the Sewage Committee sit on this for so long? Administrations come and go but some council members are around for a long time. We have to depend on them to take care of routine chores.
nib
Well Ole' Nib here's why planning never happens....nobody listens. Don told them some time ago, when the stink first started, that the digesters needed cleaned again. According to the ORC, the village administrator is over any utility that the village owns. Mr. Saracco is over sewage and there was previous talk about bidding the project out. Apparently we either have some serious procrastinators or they decided they wanted certain individuals to get the job. Ask anyone who lives downtown or downwind and they can tell you that this smell didn't start just two or three weeks ago.
Mr. Brown has been there long enough to know that you are suppose to hire an engineer and have projects like this bidded out and this is why he voted no.
P&AC - So,in essence, you're saying Don brought this up once & then sat on it? That indicates to me his intent was to make Saracco look bad instead of looking out for our interest. That's not only playing politics that's dirty politics. If he was truly looking out for the interest of the village he should have hammered away constantly until something got done. At the very least he should have brought this up at every council meeting. Like you said he's been there long enough. He knows how the game is played.
nib
Mr. Brown can talk till he is blue in the face, but one council person can't act alone. Stop and think about it Ole' Nib, how many people go in and out of village hall on a daily basis? They all can smell as far as we know. To blame one council person seems a little extreme.
You stated before that you need to attend council meetings and maybe you should try to fit this into your schedule. You have to look at the whole picture and not just a news paper article here and there. If you know Mr. Brown you know that he has been a good council person over the years and wouldn't cast a vote out of spite. Come to think of it, I bet if you called him or approached him on the street and asked exactly why he voted no, you may have a different opinion on this.
What did they do with the generator?
If the cost increased because they had to buy a generator, did they give the generator to the city?
Obviously they bought it.
Then why would it have to shown on the bill?
The bottom line is people are getting sick. Brown has been disgruntled and at odds with some people at city hall for quite awhile. The immediate welfare of people should be first priority. It probably would have been if Mr. Brown had to smell that every day. He doesn't, but a lot of children who live down there do.
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