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wm
wastewater
scuttle
Town
Council?
BY GERALD OCHS
Rappahannock News Writer
The Town of Washington has a wastewater problem that has and might continue to impact the effectiveness of the Town Council itself. Vice Mayor and Wastewater Study Committee member Steve Critzer has not been seen at council sessions since he walked out of the April meeting following public and some council members’ rejection of a plan to purchase a 21 acre parcel that might have been used for a town septic field or an additional well; Treasurer Elaine Viguerie has been most vocal in noting her disbelief of Wastewater Study Committee conclusions; Mayor Stu Willis has distanced himself from recommendations that were presumably agreed upon in closed sessions; Committee chair Charlie Tbmpkins has had to defend the Committee’s four years of work and, in general, the process of using committees rather than council sessions to investigate and make recommendations on issues of particular significance to the town.
At the June Town Council meeting the principals were true to their developing roles. Mr. Tompkins Wastewater Study Committee report was largely a continuation of his defense of committee work and conclusions, though he did stress the obligation of tjie Town Council to provide the leadership to assure a future for the town and its businesses. “We are not doing anything to create a stable economy for the town,” he said, “except to bicker over and squander the plunder from The Inn. We should have the leadership to invest what we now have in the future of the town. If we can believe any of this than it should be obvious that we need to maintain the viability of the historical center of town— these are the very lots that are threatened by wastewater problems.”
Mrs. Viguerie took exception to some of the language in the statement, and indicated that she would like to hear from PEC before moving forward on the wastewater issue.
PEC—the Piedmont Environmental Council—has offered, through its new Rappahannock County office, to provide an “independent analysis of the sewage disposal situation in the town of Washington.” Mrs. Viguerie has repeatedly indicated a lack of confidence with the Committee’s characterization of the wastewater problem, supports the “independent analysis” offered by the
See COUNCIL, Page A6
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