Although applauded by as many as six Harrison community residents, the $2.3 million project lacks sufficient justification for such a large expenditure and draws into question the true intentions of the project’s advocates. The stated purposes of the pipeline are to provide local poultry farmers and the Harrison Volunteer Fire Department with a larger water supply. This, however, is where the problem of valid justification arises. Poultry farmers are required by ordinance to establish a water source prior to the construction of chicken houses. In other words, local poultry farmers already have approved sources of water such as individual wells, making a pipeline unnecessary for the operation of their chicken houses.
Harrison Community resident Larry Cox feels the chicken farmers are nevertheless “in a bad way” due to the dryness of the area. Although he does not have chicken houses on the property through which the proposed line will run, Cox had been unsuccessful in extracting sufficient water pressure from wells for his Ginn Hill home, which was constructed to be the largest in the county. Furthermore, several community chicken house owners have acknowledged that their water supply is and has been sufficient, and that the pipeline seems unnecessary. The article states that the IDA recently approved dramatic increases in both meter deposits ($100 to $650) and price per 1,000 gallons ($5.50 to $9) for water in order to increase bulk sales. These increases, coupled with undoubtedly high tapping fees make it highly improbable to assume that other citizens of the Harrison community would utilize the water line at such high costs when they already have working wells.
Harrison community volunteer fire chief Wayne Smith feels the added water flow would benefit the area by improving the department’s Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating. While its ISO rating has much to do with its volunteer status, the Harrison Fire Department does have a cooperative agreement with the Franklin County Fire Department and can request their service at any time, a resource that the Harrison Fire Department has continually been reluctant, almost refusing to use. Notwithstanding, the volunteer fire department fills its trucks with local water from onsite locations (much like the two ponds that sit directly adjacent to Mr. Wayne Smith’s own chicken houses), following an incident so as to be prepared for the next call.
District 2 commissioner John Pethel, Sr. is in support of the action. Despite promises to reduce spending and focus on cutting taxes if re-elected, he is prepared to ask taxpayers to pay $1.6 million, provided costs remain at or below the estimate, in order to fund the project, which will span almost 10 miles in completing the entire loop back to Franklin County. This seems a rocky beginning to a term promising the elimination of unnecessary spending. As a concerned citizen, I ask this question: whom does this project truly benefit? It has been shown that there are no exponential benefits, if any at all, to either poultry farmers and/or the Harrison Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Larry Cox states the water is much needed and has been so for some time, so much so that “it is scary up there.” But is this the collective voice of poultry farmers in the Harrison community, or a homeowner who wants more water pressure for his exceptionally large house? My second question is this: Is it the job of a commissioner to represent with his voice his entire constituency or that of his strongest contributors?
Plainly put, this project is asking the citizens of Madison County to fund a water pipeline to a wealthy private homeowner, using poultry farmers and a volunteer fire department as justification. As citizens, it is necessary to read between the lines and as voters, necessary to prevent proposals that clearly benefit a select few at the cost of the whole.
Food for thought.
Sincerely,
Miguel Trujillo
The District 2 Commissioner,Mr. Pethel has no voice in the matter at all.
The truth of the matter is that Mr. Trujillo and every citizen living in the Harrison community would benefit from the public water in the most direct way possible-in their pocketbooks.(lower ISO rating).
Sooner or later public water will be a reality for Harrison. Much later has been the norm in the past.Hopefully sooner just this one time for Harrison.
the citizens of Harrison paid their fair share.
Now it's Harrisons turn to get some benefits of the tax dollars. Politics does not come into play on this. Just a desperate need for a life sustaining nourishment in the form of water.
I am A. Wayne Smith, fire chief of the Harrison Volunteer Fire Department. I am writing this response in regard to a letter from a citizen of the community on the water issue for Harrison Community. First let me tell you that the IDA (Industrial Development Authourity) has only made an application for a grant of 2.3 millon dollars for constructing a water system in the Harrison Community. We will not know if the grant will be granted by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) until the end of August. If the grant money is given, the construction of this line will be in three phases.
There will be a community meeting at the fire department on how the first phase of construction will be implemented, and then followed by the second and third. The water line will have hydrants every 1000 feet apart so it will put most homes within range of accessible water. With this water line in place, your ISO (Insurance Services Offices) classification will be that of the fire department. The fire department's class rating is a ISO 9, which is the rating that most rural fire department's possess. In order to lower our class rating without installing hydrants, we will need 6 or more dry hydrants. The survey that I have conducted is not our best way to get water . Most of the ponds in our area are located away from the road, behind someone's home or too low to be used to supply the dry hydrants. The fire department has only one dry hydrant, located in a pond on the Freedom Church Road Ext., and due to the constuction of a poultry house we need to move it for any future use.
A lower ISO rating is achieveable by being a volunteer fire department. In Madison County all the fire departments are of volunteer status. Some departments possess an ISO Class of 4. We would like to lower our ISO rating as much as possible. To better protect property and lives, a water line with installed hydrants will be needed. In the aforementioned letter, the citizen stated that we were reluctant to, or refused to, use the Royston Volunteer Fire Department as a supplement to our manpower and water supply. They are mistaken; we have depended on them when needed and they have depended on us. They also stated that we fill our truck with pond water. They are mistaken again. We have always filled our trucks in the city of Royston, as do several fire departments in Hart County.
A volunteer firefighter has a heart of gold. They are on call 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They will respond with no pay involved, at their expense. They only wish to help thier neighbors and aid their community. They receive nearly all of the same training as a paid fireman. I agree that we do not have large subdivisions or high-rise buildings to worry about, and am thankful that we live in a small rural area, but the fact of the matter is, we need this water line.
In poultry farming, we rely on drilled wells. I alone have 5 wells at my farm. At first, when the wells were drilled, I only had one well out of three that ran at about 15 GPM (Gallons Per Minute). This well has depleted its flow and is no longer used for the farm. I have drilled two more wells in the last five years, one runs at 12 GPM and the other runs at 8 GPM. Because of the high demand time placed on the 8 GPM well, and the effects of the drought, the well has slowed to a near unservicable amount. These two wells alone have cost me over $25,000, both being 500 feet deep. So, I will gladly welcome a water system to the community, as will every other poultry farmer. Today, a driller will drill you a well for about $10.00 a foot. After drilling you have to supply wires, pipes, and a plumbing structure. A city tap would be the most logical choice for the farmers, as water will be guaranteed. A great burden would be lifted from the farmers and the community if this water line were to be installed.
I hope and pray that this water line will be granted to the community. I support the IDA wholeheartedly, and sincerely hope the citizens of Harrison will do the same.
A. Wayne Smith, Harrison Volunteer Fire Chief,
Poultry Farmer, and concerned Harrison Community Citizen.
why anyone would not want a good water supply to the
fire department in their community. It could mean the
difference between life and death during a fire. To be
able to fill our trucks from a fire hydrant at our
fire dept [which is centrally located in our community]
would mean not having to go out of our district to
fill our truck during a fire. It only makes sense.
Poultry farmers do have a water supply before
they build poultry houses, but we are not able to
control the water in these wells. They go dry just
like anyone else's! To lose a water supple during
a flock of chickens [especially breeder hens] could
for some farmers cause them to lose their farm, as
we keep our flock 45 weeks compared to 6-8 weeks for
broilers! Alot of wells in Harrison are full of
Iron and other minerals, which causes the water to
look like mud. The only way to use this water is
to install a filter system which can be costly.
Without the filters it can cause problems with
the chickens, not to mention washing white clothes
is a challenge.
As for the cost of the water line, we are already
supporting the IDA and water lines are going in on the
other side of the county. It doesn't matter if the
person needing water has a large house or a small house
or poultry houses or cattle! It doesn't even matter what
side of the county you live on, the need is the
same.
As for this being political, BOTH candidates offered
to help in any way they can and were told it is NOT
a political issue, the IDA is in charge. No money
will be coming out of county funds.
For me during this time of drought a water supply from
Franklin County would be the answer to a lot of prayers,
some not even said yet....
Will your well or mine be the next to go dry?
used on the other side of the county for water lines.
Why can't we have the same privilege for our fire
department and neighbors?
It would benefit the fire department on fighting
fires.
We do use Royston to fill our fire trucks and have
to go out of our district.
the water systems on the other side of the county.
Why shouldn't we benefit from the water system also.
We donot fill our fire trucks from the fish ponds, we
have to go to Royston, out of our district.
All of our dry hydrants are dry due to the drought.
Our neighbors and fire department will be glad to
get the water.
we have always worked close together. When we need
them they are always there and the same goes for us.
And as for dryhydrants in a drout like we are in now
they are almost useless.Having a public water system
would greatly help as far as fire protection for this area.