Developing land is not his desire
6/26/2003Dave Krohn is a homebuilder, but he likes country living and said he fears proposed public water lines will bring development that he doesn't want.
He's also unhappy with what he calls “unaccountability and mismanagement” by the water board and said he thinks assessments would be more fairly based on property frontage rather than per dwelling.
Without public water, development in the area is limited, he said, adding that he considers the water line project a brainchild of residents hoping to develop farmland.
Mr. Krohn, 45, who has lived on County Road D for 22 years, said he thinks the board is spending far too much money on engineering, legal fees, interest, and other administrative costs of the proposed project.
He fears, he said, that the assessed costs for installing water lines would be just the beginning. The area would be at the mercy of Toledo.
“It's going to be an overpriced commodity,” he said. “You wait and see what Toledo's going to do to Swancreek Township and [its] water bill.”
Mr. Krohn said he's never had problems with his 18-year-old surface well and believes that residents who say they don't have enough water have not thoroughly investigated their options.
He's a spokesman for the nine-member opposition group, Concerned Citizens of Swancreek Township, which claims to represent the majority of the water district's 544 property owners, and said the group would like to link people unhappy with their water up with contractors who can do the job.
“We will do whatever it takes to get people water, to find them alternative sources,” he said, to the point of even financially supporting that.
Mr. Krohn, whose home and 22 acres are valued at $135,700 by the Fulton County auditor, predicts the cost of installing public water lines will be more than any resulting appreciation in his property value.
To him, a far better use of public money would be work to preserve the quality of ground water from the threat of agricultural chemicals and other contaminants.