Since it was noted that no one from the Citizen was present, we assumed that you received no notice of the meeting, just like 3/4 of the attendees who live around the proposed site for the sewer treatment plant.
A neighbor to the proposed site – Meadowwoods – discovered the proposed meeting and spread the word to all the surrounding residents who would be affected by the sewer plant, it’s proposed spraying of the treated “effluent” – using anhydrous chloride – and exposed to the odor of the effluent and chlorine as it sank into the ground and polluted their wells and water table. All of these residents are not residents of Fanning Springs, and are outside the voting district.
Interestingly, the proposed site is also not in the city of Fanning Springs, but has somehow been annexed by the city.
The meeting convened at Fanning Springs City Hall at 1 p.m. on August 25. Present were Mayor Cheryl Nekola, several council members, and Joe Mittauer, representing the sewer plant developer. Also present were approximately 50 people representing businesses and landowners of Fanning Springs and rural Fanning Springs.
The Mayor began the meeting by asking if everyone present had received notices in the mail about the meeting. Three fourths of those present said, “No, we received NO NOTICE. We were told by a neighbor!” She then asked if we saw the notice in the newspaper. Three fourths of those present again stated they saw no notice in the Chiefland Citizen.
She then moved on quickly to introduce Joe Mittauer to discuss the system, the cost, and the cost to homeowners using the system.
The cost of the sewer system and pipe laying will be approximately $6 million. The Mayor has received confirmation of one grant for $600,000 to date. Other grants and federal loans are in the works.
The plant will be able to accommodate 400 dwellings and businesses. At present, there are approximately 60 (?) dwellings and businesses to benefit from the sewer treatment plant. None of the dwellings surrounding the site will benefit, because they are not in the City Boundaries.
Joe Mittauer claimed that installation and hookup to most residents would be “free”, due to low household incomes. He could not produce the cutoff income to receive “free hookup”. Landowners with rental property in the area asked what the cost would be for hookups to their rental property. They were assured that the hookup to rental property would be based on the renter’s income and not the landowner. No one asked how that would be accomplished if the property was not rented at the time for hookup. I don’t think the landlords believed that one! Businesses asked what the hookup charge would be for them. That question went unanswered. They were asked what a monthly bill would be for an average business or home. No answer.
Several city residents and councilmen then expressed serious concern on the cost of this project at this time of slow economic development. They felt that it would overburden city residents and the city budget – especially if the balance of the funding was received as loans. It was also stated that the residents in the area to be serviced by the plant had already signed a petition to not be put on a sewer line.
Property owners surrounding the proposed sewer plant site then began expressing their concerns about having this plant in their “front yard.” They were assured that although the treated effluent would be sprayed out over 10-15 acres in front and near their homes, there would be no odor (chlorine and sewage doesn’t smell?).
No mention was made of possible health hazards from drifting aerosol to livestock, children, pets, or people with current lung and/or immune, allergy problems. Mr. Mittauer said that the residual sludge would be trucked away from the site. He did not say where it would be taken (Levy County dump?). This means that large tanker trucks would be coming into this residential area to remove the sludge.
The city had no geologist or engineering report on the quality of this site for the project. Mr. Mittauer did not discuss what would happen when this chlorinated aerosol seeped through the ground into our aquifer. He also did not discuss where the water for sewage treatment would come from. It is suspected that a large well would be dug on this property to provide the water. Between the sewer plant usage of water and the contamination of chlorine into the aquifer, the surrounding homeowners suspect that their wells will dry up. They are not happy.
City council met again on September 1 at 5:30 p.m. (?) for further discussion and/or voting. The residents of rural Fanning Springs plan to be there in force to vocalize their resistance to this project.
Mr. And Mrs. Carl Wryals
Rural Fanning Springs
