Published: June 09, 2009 11:02 am      

LETTERS: June 9, 2009

Reader proffers opinion on Georgetown sewers

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to read that Georgetown’s attorney has asked Floyd County officials to withdraw from the negotiations currently under way to assist Georgetown in resolving its sewer plant dilemma.

I have read several articles recently where Georgetown officials have blamed their problem on the opposition of Edwardsville residents who, understandably, do not want Georgetown’s sewage being treated in their neighborhood. Really? So ... the obstinacy and arrogance of the prior administration had nothing to do with this?

Let’s remember that it was Georgetown’s council and former manager that made all of the arrangements and entered into the legally binding agreements that now burden Georgetown. I attended most of the meetings that Georgetown conducted on this matter and two things were readily apparent throughout this entire debacle:

• First, the prior council and manager had a set agenda and were absolutely opposed to even consider any options other than their dream of buying and using the O’Brien property. Their minds were made up long before they presented their plan to the public for consideration.

• Second, very little was heard from the residents of Georgetown until recently, after the realization that they might have to pay higher sewer bills or they might actually have to have their own sewer plant in their own neighborhood. At one meeting, the sole Georgetown resident in attendance admitted to me that he was only there to make sure the sewer plant wasn’t being located near his house.

Whether Georgetown (prior) council’s motives were to annex and develop the property along Ind. 64 or they just did not want to face their own constituents on this NIMBY, or not in my backyard, issue, their refusal to properly deal with this issue was irresponsible and has unfortunately left the residents of Georgetown in their current predicament.

If this is not about ulterior motives of developing a commercial corridor and if it is not a case of council being afraid of NIMBY backlash from their constituents, then the council should move to put this plant where engineering and fair play dictates that it belongs — the west side of Georgetown. If so, this entire problem could be solved much sooner and much, much cheaper.

— P.J. Moore, Georgetown



Poetic take on New Albany

What are the issues of our town?

I think most are our streets,

as anyone knows that drives around —

bumps, and cracks, and lumps over the railroad tracks —

I think, as anyone can see,

this is our city’s biggest tragedy!

And there there is our economy,

Taking police cars home may be a thing of the past,

unless our fine officers will buy their own oil and gas

sometimes.

A previous mayor let this be,

so prowlers could see

there were more police cars on the streets.

And it helped to remedy

some of the crime in our residential neighborhoods,

as thievery wasn’t as rampant as it has been.

So with our good officers,

I think our police cars,

maybe

they should send,

stipulating that driving them

around should be kept at a minimum

or in an

emergency.

— L.C. Leonhardt, New Albany