IS IT TRUE May 28, 2012
IS IT TRUE there is much wailing and whining about the recently announced increases in the water rates in the City of Evansville?…even the guy who is in charge of the utility has gotten into the act of marketing the coming increases saying they are “neededâ€?…â€needed†is the understatement of the decade when it comes to the services provided by the City of Evansville when it comes to sewer and water?…that those who read between the lines on the recent press release regarding looming increased noticed that 600 miles of cast iron pipes are in need of replacement and that a well run water provider in a city the size of Evansville “should†have been replacing 10 miles of the old pipes per year at a cost in today’s dollars of $750,000 per mile or a budget of $7.5 Million per year?…the total immediate needs seem to be 60 years of deferred maintenance that will cost an estimated $450 Million in 2012 dollars?…that this is not something that can be blamed on Mayor Winnecke, Mayor Weinzapfel, even Mayor Russ Lloyd Jr.?…this is a collective failure of all of the people who have worn the hat of Mayor of Evansville and all of the people who have been citizens of Evansville since the 1950’s?…the condition of the infrastructure of Evansville and some other cities is absolutely appalling and the chickens are coming home to roost?…that this is just the tip of the iceberg?
IS IT TRUE that City of Evansville is under order of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do improvements required to stop dumping raw sewage into the Ohio River and the yards of the citizens of some Southside neighborhoods every time it rains more than an inch an hour?…that this cost has been estimated to be between $500 Million and $700 Million in 2008 dollars?…that the mounting cost to do two simple things that will enable the City of Evansville to deliver good potable water to its citizens and avoid fines from the EPA over Calcutta type conditions in the sewer system is now well over $1 Billion?…that rather than do the things that we need our City government has invested $127 Million in a temple to sport and is planning to dump another $80 Million so that they can read the water meters through the internet?…facility after facility from Roberts Stadium, to the parks, to the recently disclosed failure to spend a paltry $100,000 to paint and bleach Mesker Amphitheatre has fallen into disrepair as the sewers and water pipes have?… the state of the infrastructure in the City of Evansville has the appearance of willful and intentional neglect?
IS IT TRUE if Evansville is to even purport to be a city at all well over $1 Billion in deferred or neglected maintenance will have to be done in the relatively near future?…the EPA has roughly a 20 year window in which this can be done to avoid fines?…a fixed rate bond over 30 years for $1 Billion will add roughly $150 per month to the water and sewer burden of every house in the City of Evansville?…as much as the CCO feels for the household budgets and business budgets of Evansville this must be done and the people who choose to live here will have to pay for it?…the only real way to reduce the monthly burden is to increase the number of households substantially to spread the cost over more housing units?…that unless there is a commitment to get this done, jobs will not be prone to come here, educated professionals will not choose to live here, and the decline of the last 60 years shall continue?…it is crunch time when it comes to Evansville infrastructure?
I noticed the summertime essence of poo emitting from the storm drains over the last few days as I have been walking my dogs around the second ward. I thought this had already been taken care of, but I guess I’ll have to await a good thunderstorm to wash the sewers.
If Evansville infrastructure is in such bad shape, shouldn’t we tear down the town? Maybe first the mayor can appoint a blue ribbon committee to see if anyone has any ideas about saving Evansville from the wrecking ball. You think?
I believe we would be money ahead bulldozing a large part of the 4th and 2nd wards.
Apparently you don’t hang out much in the 4th ward, because there huge tracts of empty lots south of Washington Avenue, and most of the last block of Blackford Avenue is empty lots.
Remember the movie “Magic Town” ?
It was supposedly Muncie Indiana, I think.
Magic Town residents reflected an exact picture of what any city in America thought or felt on average.
It seems to me Evansville is the new “Magic Town”.
The decline, corruption, and general malaise is perfectly proportionate to the country at large.
Maybe we could sell this to the pollsters ,media, et al, and make some bucks off it.
Editor: very well-written article about the deplorable lack of management skills shown by our city leaders for decades. An Arena has the “sizzle”, but what we needed, as is painfully aware now, was the “steak” (upgraded and maintained Sewer and Water systems). I understand that the current administration isn’t to blame, but the idea that we attack all of these past problems ALL AT ONCE is as stupid as the mismanagement which got us here. There is going to have to be some type of Bond “Superfund” which goes out a couple of generations to solve these long-term issues (CSO, cast iron pipe). The thought of the ratepayers being able to fund this with rate increases on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis is whimsical, magical thinking. The non-essentials, such as the frivolous and likely fraudulent Johnson Controls project, need to be crossed off the ‘To Do’ List. We already have one unneeded bauble (Arena), can’t afford another (automated meter readers).
We need to get focused on these water matters:
1) Need a City Council resolution: 100 % of the profits from Ford Center used to pay down CSO obligations (new caption: “Stadium before Sewers, so that we can then fix the Sewers”);
2) Change the name of the City to “Waterville”, maybe trick Jimmy Buffett to coming here to play benefit concerts to pay down the debt (“wasted away again in Waterville . . . “);
3) Change the name of the Ford Center to CSO Assembly Hall, and ask the EPA to pick up naming rights.
I understand your point about “increase the number of households substantially to spread the cost over more housing units?”, but I choose to live in the county because I don’t want anything to do with the wasteful, mismanaged, and corrupt Evansville politics. If the city/county consolidation passes, I will move to the St. Philips area of Posey County.
If you chose to live in the county, you should have a septic tank and a well so the city dwellers wouldn’t have to be concerned with your infrastructure
BP, you may want to attend the IURC public field hearing 6:00 p.m., Monday, June 4, 2012, at Bosse High School, 1300 Washington Ave., Evansville. You may want to ask the water and sewer utility reps whether they plan to charge the 35% surcharge to county residents on top of the water rate increases. Of course if you’re on well water and septic tank, that does not apply to you, only to your county neighbors and friends who are on city water/sewer.
Why do you keep saying “county residents” as if that doesn’t include people living in the city? If you mean to say those living outside city limits, then say that. But don’t confuse it with “county residents” which includes everyone.
River Rat: You are correct if being 100% correct is uber important to you. I was speaking in terms generally used: “city residents” vs “county residents.” That generally has the the local colloquial usage, and is widely understood by most readers familiar with the issues. Also, I understand not everyone is familiar with local speak, so many times I do type “residents living outside the city limits,” and you would know that if you read my back comments. This morning I simply resorted to short, common usage since I was walking out the door and in a hurry. Please forgive me, and I will surely now go make my novena.
The only person in Vanderburgh County with the “County Resident” rant is Jonny Weaver. Give it up Jon, your manta is annoying.
Yes sir, Dr. Yawn the Night Light Flipper.
on a hot summer day howell park has a nice sewage aroma
Does anybody know how many households outside the city limits are on sewer? Those will be the ones whose rates are “equalized” if the foeced merger passes. Their bills will probably go up15 to 25% while the majority of users[city residents] bills will go up 50 to 60%. A politians learns how to talk around the facts.
The cost of the $1 billion upgrade of the EWS is the reason why consoldiation is being pushed…you willwill find that it will very hard to sell bonds if 1) you can not accurately measure water usage in a verifible manner and 2) you have a multi tiered rate structure for a population this size. If can sell it it will cost more due to its complexity and increased chance of disagreement over rates…bond owners like stability.
Anybody remember Obama’s Build America Bonds? Probably would have been a better idea to bond tbe city into oblivion at those cheap Destroy America Bond rates than build the Ford Center with them.
I have already read where people are starting to blame the private company that ran the EWS for several years and that dog don’t hunt…anyone ever heard of a capital improvements fund…50 years of running the EWS like a cost center is what we are reaping…Mounts must have had his epiphany sitting on the toliet wiping with the Courier if he just realized that our water system has 100 year old pipes that need replaced and that this costs money…the sewer plant welcoming vistors to downtown is not the only thing reaks. If anything more private sector knowledge is needed to get this project under control.
Where are the people like a Bosse, Reitz, Enlow, Mesker or McCurdy in this city to lend their talents to manage something like this…Elvis has left the building I guess. There needs to really be a blue ribbon commission to deal with this..no more dog and pony shows like with the Ford Center without a referendum..no more half truths about cost…this is not monopoly money
Absolutely. Evansville needs all the talent and intelligence it can muster with this huge, complex and expensive problem. But I am not sure we have leaders willing to set up good working relationships in a constructive way with the brains that are so desperately needed to run this show. If such a plan could come together, it would save Evansville quite a bit of money although it would still be very expensive.
The powers that be will need an Indy company to research & recomend an Indy construction company. THEN after over-paying a sizable chunk for the work to cover kickbacks, the work will proceed. The sewers are paid by user fees not taxes, the sewer bills will resemble may / nov tax bills only every month.
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