I give Greensboro Mayor Bill Knight and City Council member Zack Matheny credit for going to Raleigh and requesting a delay in implementing the Jordan Lake Rules. Sen. Don Vaughan was just as noncommittal as he was earlier this month, saying more or less he’ll think it over.
Sewer plant improvements could run between $70-$80 million, which would necessitate a raise in water rates or a property tax increase. With that in mind, remember what city water chief Allan Williams told* the City Council not quite four years ago as the bill was being making its way through the legislature:
“I cannot in good conscience, after 30 years of being in this business and in this position, sit here and tell you that what this bill is going to do is going to achieve anything near the benefit that the state proposes,” Williams concluded. “They’re making no guarantees that any of this billion dollars will achieve what they say the desired effect is.”
Yet Environment North Carolina director Elizabeth Ouzts says “(c)leaning up Jordan Lake means cleaning up the streams that feed it, which is good for Greensboro residents.” Seems like a tough sell these days.
*Allan Williams’ comments were during the July 17, 2007 City Council meeting, which can be found here. Item 49 on the agenda.
