THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 13, 1995 TAG: 9510130013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
I doubt if the ink was dry on ``The Gaston pipeline'' (editorial, Oct. 2) when I received a letter from Patton Harris Rust and Associates. This company has been retained by Virginia Beach to design a water-distribution system for our area.
Within 30 days I must tell them where I want the water connected to my home. If I don't, the service connections will be placed at the center of my property.
I and many others like me have never wanted city water, but the bureaucrats in their wisdom said we have got to take it. Somehow I have been under the impression that there is a water shortage in this city.
Some years back, the city approached each section and asked the citizens to sign a petition if they wanted their section hooked up to city water. When they found out that some areas did not want city water, the bureaucrats played their old coercion game.
The game went something like this: If you don't vote for a city water hookup, you will be hooked up anyway and pay roughly double the normal connection fee. These were the areas that were close to main water lines, thus very profitable for the city. Some citizens thought it was a no-win situation and signed their names to something they did not want.
The areas that wanted city water and were much farther from the main lines were not a high priority for the city. This policy has also applied to sewage connections. It's the same old story: What is good for the city bureaucrats comes before what is good for the taxpayers.
JAMES E. LAUGHLIN
Virginia Beach, Oct. 4, 1995 by CNB