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Hal Morris |
Beachwood Water Problems - Part One
Democrats Cite “Delays, Incompetence, Lack Of Interest”; They Say
Republicans “Give Us Only Excuses, Cost Overruns And More Dirty Water”
Alleged
Inattention To Serious Water Quality Problems In Beachwood Could Spell
Trouble In November For The Administration Of GOP Mayor Hal Morris As
Water Filtration Plant Reconstruction Delays Go On • • And On • •
And On
Beachwood:
For years, residents have complained that drinking water produced by
the Beachwood water utility is loaded with impurities, often smells
bad and looks muddy much of the time.
Beachwood
officials acknowledge that the filtration system is 25 years old and a
$259,900 contract was awarded two years ago to Ultra Contractors to
replace the old system. The Morris administration also says it is
going to drill a new well.
The
filtration system work has not started because when the contractor
showed up to begin the job, the borough “discovered” that repairs were
needed to the old building that houses the water plant before the
filter installation could begin.
Two
Years To Do Building Maintenance?
$84,000 Extra For The Filter Contract?
Residents
have questioned why it takes more than two years to do building
maintenance that should have been completed a long time ago, but there
have been no satisfactory answers.
Ultra
Contractors, who have not yet started installing the filtration system
from the two year old $259,900 contract, were recently awarded an
extra $84,100 to compensate them for the delay in fixing the old
building caused by the borough, making the total cost $344,000.
Morris
administration officials are now telling people that the new
filtration system will be in place by April of next year, but the
repairs to the building are still not complete, and no one has offered
a reliable answer as to when work can actually begin on the new
filters.
Democratic Mayoral Candidate Shiffermiller: “Beachwood
Has One Of The Highest Municipal Tax Rates In The County”
Democrats
say the whole project was “botched from the beginning”, that the
Republican administration “is better at wasting money than it is at
fixing anything”, and that “situations like this have given Beachwood
one of the highest tax rates in the county, for which residents get
excuses and dirty water”.
Democratic
Mayoral candidate Tom Shiffermiller says his team will present a plan
which will eliminate the dirty water problem temporarily until the new
filter plant installation is finally complete. “Our residents are
entitled to quick action on this, not just a bunch of excuses and cost
overruns”, he said.
The water
issue will be a factor in the November election which pits Mayor
Morris and GOP council incumbents Patricia Moran and Greg Feeney
against Shiffermiller, a former councilman, and his Democratic running
mates for borough council, Bill Byrnes and Joe Leo. (10/14/02)
Please
stay in touch with OCPolitics•Com for more on this vital issue.
Click Here For Part II |
