I am writing to express how disappointed I am in our City Council’s refusal to address my concerns or to respond in any way to my inquiries. My concerns involve the current extension of city water north on Summit Avenue to Twelve Mile Road. Last summer, I had a chance conversation with City Manager Thad Beard in which I mentioned that I had, months earlier filed a request per City Ordinance 2.2(B) that I not be required to connect to the main when it became available. Mr. Beard said that he had never seen my request but that he would deny all such requests, sight unseen. I felt that although he has the authority to reject such requests “based upon the circumstances presented”, for him to determine to reject all applications regardless of merit was improper. I then approached Mayor Konkle about this and had a nice discussion with him. He talked to Mr. Beard who refused to consider any change.
In a September 11 letter, Public Works Director Dan Apkarian wrote that a letter would be sent to residents when the water main was available and that we would have 60 days to connect to it. No such letter has ever been sent and Ordinance 2.2(B) clearly states that residents have 180 days to connect. He also wrote that my current well would be abandoned by a licensed well driller. No authority was cited and none exists for requiring my well to be capped.
I prefer to try to resolve matters quietly and privately and I have written each member of the Council at least twice since October 3, 2023 questioning the need and justification for forcing me to connect and questioning their authority to force abandonment of my well.
To date I have received no response from anyone and thus have determined that perhaps a more public approach might be needed.
I do not understand why the City feels the need to force me to connect to this main. My well has been tested and the PFAS level is not an issue. In fact, my only significant exposure to PFAS occurred from 1989 to 1993 when I was on Rockford city water which at that time was drawn directly from the Rogue. Rockford’s water, by their own published test is three times harder than my well water, which will force me to install a costly water softening system. My well affects no one but my family so there is no public health reason to require this. If the City intends to persist with this arrogant abuse of power, I wish they would at least have the decency to respond to my inquiries.
Robert Matthews