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Council
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rate for up to 3,000 gallons per month usage, then increasing step rates for usage above that, encourages conservation.
“In many systems, it seems that the bigger businesses get a cheaper rate. This way, the more you use, the more you pay,” Mr. Reynolds said.
“It will encourage conservation, and the frugal use of water. This is generally accepted as the most fair way to do it,” Mr. Fisher added. He said that, although the council regrets the necessity of raising water rates, the town’s residents are already paying a lot of hidden costs in repair bills for the present system.
Subdivision contemplated
Claybert Smoot informed the council that he would like to subdivide his property on North Main Street near the town boundary, to create a lot for his daughter to build a house.
However, Mr. Smoot said, he has run into problems because when the town’s boundary was adjusted, some of his property was moved from inside the town limits to outside, in the county.
Mr. Smoot told the council that he has not yet filed a formal request for the subdivision. Noting that he has already paid for two surveys of the property, “I’d like to know what I can do before I spend a lot more money on it.”
“I know how frustrating this is for you,” Councilman William Wickens said. “You want to know whether it will be approved or not. But, if we tell you that it is going to be approved, that would make the public hearing a sham — people will come and they don’t know that their comments don’t matter.
“Similarly,” Mr. Wickens told Mr. Smoot, “if we tell you tonight ‘No,’ it’s not fair to you because you have a right to be heard — just as your neighbors have a right to be heard. We can’t tell you in advance how it’s going to turn out.”
Mr. Wickens, seconded by Mr. Reynolds, suggested that Mr. Smoot must file a formal application. Then the town’s planning commission would hold a hearing and recommend approval or denial to the town council, which also must hold a hearing before making,a final decision.
“If there hadn’t been a change in the line, I would have had enough for two lots,” Mr. Smoot pointed out. “They told me that it wouldn’t make any difference, but it seems now that it will.”
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