HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-09-08 Letter, Sewer ProjectFred Blench
3965 Bayside R?.
Long Lake, MN 55356
Seatember 8, 1989
Mayor,lernes C-Mek &
Ctty Council Members
City of Orono
P 0. Box 66
Cr4stat eag, MN 6532=
:ear 4eycr and C^unci I MAr'",,%?r?:
4b
"on Juii; 217, 1. M9 t attsrroed s meeting-9oleraing a propose: sanitary
surer *rstallatlor rn ,he north S"itICI °ay one. After r!f!ictlen upon t.4
•n!orntettort �reseritel and researching some figures, t renectfulig ask
!tial �uu consicer exc'#jatng rn; lot -- 1657 of Auditor'? aunt
-- from t!tfs project followi!fa reasons.
!. !t wall deyalue my lcme.
2. it *01 cause coneideraole peraoral sccnomic harosrt;.
3. impose ;for merry opers to come) a substantial increr_e on traffic-
notse, dust, and headlights.
a. Cause the loss of -rt econemic "C esthettc asset to me.
5. It 2s at t"e Yerg sage of the project (rlemitating a costly spur).
6. It will destroy the pastoral appearance of the rood to the public.
7. My current septtc system performs normally.
0. Should my present system malfunction, there is enougn room on my lot
to install an approved system.
The following are details and exhibits in support of the aboye reasons.
I. DEVALUATION OF HOM - Even though situated on a moderately well
traveled county highway, (County *a4) my home is sheltered from traffic
not and traffic dirt by a heavy screen of trees. unfortunately, merry of
Blanch letter re proposed sewer (Sept. .5, 19B9) page 21
tine iergest border the road. Should mu iot oe,.ome a part of the ^roposed
sewer project, all of tre trees adjacent to the road would be removed and
;hese .!cse tc the �itr;I, could ;rct idly be :estroye,a.
M.ucn is the ircre-i5e in'ioise find Girt wouio oe a proeleri, the most
nr.li! -95ult "r^iii; ne me loss ')! prv,QC's. Mg house is ,,elative y
;mall math mostiy ;mail ;ms; its most appeasing 3soect s .,at,
netwithstsnding its jocetion, it is relativej.! orivate. It hed Beer for sale
for ne'.r''� !wn Sears 'Y^en ' ^.!:!';i 3e3� �•, 'iC iOui)L a r9f!ec:ior. ^f
unsuitability for families.
The point is, in olaer name in tre Croro !rea -..Pith sr '!ir�edu restricted
"lar`<e! needs `.?'seep'ts cocd ncmts `e-,iomtain 44%. ,Ir!ap
•iw� wnne, iiia -'res, "ling to one .Yis the si!!nc of trees �h
front of the hcuse. i
Please refer to the pnotosraoh marked Exhibit :i, Lou can se's tnet the
i�ge" .:n�':1Ot0� j ^uSC'J'� '.i'u 1111 J�p ir� Iia fii` is it e`iwr►�^i.ee Irn ♦�►e
West.
'ers::?e the home is built into the site of i hill, the second floor is the
only sree really suited for Hvirg 'though a portion of the oeserent/gsrourid-
'e,)e► floor is finished). also. because of t`,e oie-shaDed conf;ouration of the
jet and the curve of the hignway, the house oyerloc.Ks :no ?ices Directly onto
the county hignwag is !t tresses west Lake Street.. This pies the !iving area
in a direct line with traffic as it moves in an easterly direction; a ratifier
unusual setting for a home (particularly in Oronoi but not a-rob;em as lura
as the stand of trees acts as a screen.
Of course, digging s ccnnecting sewer iir+e to the rr.ain in trie .11119911
will take more !rees, perhaps most of ire rest of !hem, ;because of the
pie -shape of the !ot).
To whatever 9,itent that more road dust would filter onto my property,
because of the loss of the protecting trees, it will be more difficult for me
heolthwtse. I am an asthmatic and particularly off ected by dust.
2. ECONOMIC HARDSHIP - My only out -of -home employment consists of
teaching one night per week (if enough students sign up) at Hennepin
Technical College. My financial resources are fairly limited; I am hoping to
make them last until my social security begins (which will be in about a
year•and-"I f ).
The Social Security Administration reports that my soc. sec. income
will be about =604/month. According to the figures presented at the July
27, 19e9 meeting, the cost to me would translate to about one quarter of my
social security income for the next fifteen years.
The estimate provided by the city (=10,750) plus installation (=1,600 -
$2,000 bectnume of my long lot) plus the SAC charge (6700) comes to a total
8larch letter re proposea sewer (Sept. 8, 1989) pegs 3
-- using the smallest installation figure -- of S 13,050. At 9X over fifteen
;errs that omoulr+t comee to $132.00/,ronth; odd to this the sewage
transport and burning fee and it comes to $1 50.00/month: one quarter of rry
sec. sec. rettrement ±.✓►come. Aral !ic can �rsdict that 3rej of these costs
will not go up? if history is any guiae, they will certainly not Lome sown.
3. INCREASED NOiSE, DUET & HEAvliGHT-2 - I da not know if a
homeowner's discomfort is a relevont Issue or not. i assume everyone bears
some distress during the sewer installation process yet, in most cases,
there is probably no long lasting effect; once the sewer is in, tele „ es3 and
4"cenyenierse ere gone. ' do belieye. howeyer Inv 'nclualnc m 1Ct 'r• t"
sewer pro+ect, as presently :t1•.14nes. ',Yoljla :reate !n ergo,,^c ;^rool9m fC"
me.
T4 removal of my trees chat currently Serve as a oar^er to roac noise,
dust and headlights would const;tute the f.,reatior of 71-9 lasting Droblem
for me. There ere only three vale? t1 -lu lot; -! .*Wer site 's
an t"e tong side end, looking :c, •Yn !ts long slope, a siae to winch my nome
faces !see Exhibit •2), the jtsencv of trees would sub;sct me ►.0 continual
road din, extra dirt and, at nignt, constant bomoardment of headlights.
It offers somewhat the seine ?✓aspects is a noisy, around-the-clocx
factory moving in across the street from me; certainty not mat ! nepefl for
when moving to Orono. When the sewer plan could be , in my opinion)
executed so logically without the inclusion of my lot, 1 am in hopes that tl^e
above problems will count as a factor in your considerations.
A !_OSS OF ECONOMIC & E`rT=E, ,C .41SEET - !rresoective of t^e loss of
,slue to my home, the loss of trees and shrubs, requirea by the installation
of proposed sewer line, -mould represent a corsiderbls asset ',oss m and of
themselves.
An initial determination of the value of tree and shrub loss (by Mr.
Herold Batter, PhD, landscape 49pr'aisel Consultant) Yras i 15,A00 for only
the directly affected areas. Subsidiary losses, due to root damage,
contagion, etc. was not included in the above figure, nor was the loss of
trees "rtd to hook up to the sewer line.
The dirrctly effected area includes species such as White Oak, Burr
Oak, (some with 20 inch or so diameters) Hard Maple, Ironwood, Dogwood,
Arrowhtad, BpCkthom, etc. inesmuch as the soil has been largely
undisturbed in this smell area, spring ephemerals like Hepatica, Denterle,
Beliwort, 9loodroot, Solomon's Seal and others grow. Replacing these native
species would to a nearly impossible task. Replacing the native species
with nursery plant)"s, in ort effort to relandscepe, would be like replacing
one's children with Cabbage Patch dolls.
Blanch letter re proposed sew*.r (Seat. 8, 19(19) page d
5. EDGE Of PROPOSED PROACT - I snould think, fr,3m an engineering point
of ytew, that there is as much yogic to exclude my lot from the pred
project as to include it. By refemng to Exhibit 103, one can see that a r'r•b'„~
s:ctersl,te (and th.ererore, I sssurre, exw-stwe) spur -rust to constructed in
order to service my iot (noted oV blue aiagonal lines). As a matter of fact,
my lot is not gyen a pert of the �iilside rarK suodivision Out 057 of
Auditor's Subdivision •2tJ3.
'1. DESTROY gOAD APPEARAKE TO PU8LIC - For nowever much the opinion
of the public is valued, 1 suggest that the toss of trees along the oorder of
my lot %,fill represent that smcwnt. At the ootnt of my horse, the lake cannot
oe seen and the graceful s. m of tree !V"atened +ly this project) must
surely �'d to the pieesurs of the ^I.ny •,►sike*s srd 'ogger? -- •.o "eu notrmnc
of the'iterally Uvousencs ^f bicgVers •,Ync pass-ny name eacn year, MI. ng
the route, I suMse, because of the beauty afferaed by the area in gerwal.
?. CURRENT SEPTIC SYSTEM - My seotic system was updated in 1974 rd
"urea -I s normally. 11ive alone and do not have an +n -sink 7erte” grinder
nor do i use an automatic dtsn washer. i don't believe that ' out mucn of a
load on the system. it w?.s inspected three years ago arta found to bs
sattsfectory.
9. REPLACEME!IT OF SE?TIC SYSTEM - Should my pr!sent septic syst9n
rw fail, there is enougr room -,n. ,y ;ot to install a new mound s_ --stem t".,t
meets the cta'rent codes; this eccording to Mr. Mike Saffron, Orono City
Engtnaer, who, at my request following os July 27, 1989 meeting, came Jut
and looked over try situattan.
I would welcome the opportunity to appear bafor•e the Council to discus$
this matter. Thank you for your consideration. I am
Sincerely yours,
7�� /oavie,
Fred Blanch
enc: three P": Exhibits •1, 102 & 03
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