06-28-1999 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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. ;J1-J j; j ^ HeUo AgaiE, J'"'' ’ ^ ’^59 June 16.1999 cu Y Or c?;oi\'oI received today the letter written by the Cashmores (copy attached) and I think it brings up a lot of good points. Since it references my letter of earlier this week, I will do the best I canto better explain some of the points I made. I can understand their concerns, since they are some of the same concerns I had about the 5/1 letter, where there was little mention made of where their facts and figures came from. I will address the Cashmores letter hem by item. 1) Msntion %vas made of each property being uu.qiie. I couldn t agree more. Its a moot point anyway as far as Webber Hills and the sewer issue is concerned. Everyone will either have private septic or city sewer ultimately. The thing that I don ’t see happening is someone saying “Lets buy that house in Orono Orchards because it has city sewer and Webber Hills has private septic” 2) Construction costs should be challenged. Absolutely. I have included the fist of con^anies I received in the Summer of ‘97 on my septic inspection report (I received this even though I am compliant) for septic contractors. I chose the compames as follows. First, I wanted a bid from someone who was a State Licensed Septic Pumper ( 2 stars). T figured these people probably knew what they were doing. Second, I wanted people who had worked in Webber Hills before and were reasonably close by. By all means call and get additional info, I stopped at two bids because both were in the same ballpark. Construction costs for the grinder pump were taken directly from the city letters we have received. 3) Mound systems fail more in cold climates. Very possible. However, I vvould think that this is taken into account in the engineering phase. In any event, who said this, what is their qualification, and exactly why do mounds in cold weather fail more? Az)Smaller tractors can be used to did trenches. I agree. My point was not about the footprint left by tractors in the yard. Its about the trench dug. The cheapest and least likely to clog pipe connection from house to force main would be the shortest, least^ bending, most direct route. Its just that that direct route may go through someone ’s tree (or tree roots), flower bed, sidewalk, or drh'eway. And it only makes sense that the pipe would be below the frost line (3 or 4 feet?). h)Common trenches could be shared. Very Possibly. However, what happens when you sell either house? What do you think loan companies and prospective buyers would think of that? What if it breaks and then who would pay for it? What if one house has 4 occupants and the other 2, the larger household plugging the s>'stem? ^ One of the nice things about a private septic is that what ’s yours is yours and what s theirs is theirs. Everybody keeps their own problems. 5) Many trees could be destroyed. True. Fortunately trees are a renewable resource. They don ’t grow very fast, but I bet you could get a pretty nice sapling for SI00. All the trees in my back yard look the same and I keep cutting them down to try and carve a