work with the town,” Evelyn Willis said, “but doesn't

work with the town,” Evelyn Willis said, “but doesn't have the faintest idea what the town wants. I’m fairly sure that the council’s wishes are not being communicated to the planning board."

Mr. Smoot insisted that some decision be reached about his property. “I'd much rather have the .7 acre in town — you know what land is worth. They took our rights away, they robbed us, when they moved the boundary line.”

Mr. Reynolds said that the council sympathised with Mr. Smoot’s plight, “but like most zoning, if you grant an application and then get another that is similar you have a question of precedent. It may not be held to the same standards, but it may be.”

After further debate on the issue, Mayor Morehouse insisted that the council and the Planning Commission reach some decision on Mr. Smoot’s situation. “This is not any of Mr. Smoot's doing. It is up to us to straighten it out.”

Water rates hiked

Although Mayor Morehouse announced that the town’s application for a Community Development Block Grant to fund the major portion of the water system overhaul had been denied, the council voted to increase the water system’s rates to meet the financing agreement for its Farmers’ Home Administration loan.

Under the terms of the loan, the towrn must raise the $27,000 yearly payments on the loan strictly from receipts from water sales. Because of that, Water Authority head Brad Fisher explained, a rate increase is necessary.

He presented several options for rate scales, but the council favored a sliding scale which would encourage conservation by keeping rates low for small users and hiking the rate per 100 gallons only when the usage climbs above certain points. • The scale approved by the council sets a base rate of $10 per month for up to 3,000 gallons. For usage between 3.000 and 10,000 gallons, users are charged at the rate of 30