To the editor:

 

Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve seen a past disaster unfolding in the present right before your eyes, but in a different venue? I have and it’s happening right here in Polk County.

At the national political level we had the deal with Iran jammed down our throats by Obama and his cohorts. Most people knew it was a bad deal for America but that didn’t stop them. So why did they do it? My guess is because they, including previous administrations, had done such a poor job in dealing with the issue of stopping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon in the past that they had backed themselves into a corner whereby they were forced to take any agreement in order to save face from their lack of past due diligence.

At our local political level we have the deal with ICWD being jammed down our throats by the BOC and their supporters. Most people know it’s a bad deal for Polk County but that’s not stopping our leaders.

So, why are they hell bent on going forward with this poor contract? My guess is it’s because they and some past BOC members have done a poor job in planning for the implementation of the water supply they purchased years ago. Personally I think it was a good idea to plan for a possible drought disaster. However, it seems to me that there wasn’t much done internally since the time of purchasing the water and the current agreement with ICWD for distribution of same.

There are a number of questions that could shed some light on why we are in the current situation:

1) Prior to purchasing the water rights to Lake Adger did we obtain a cost estimate for constructing a water treatment plant?

2) Did we also get a cost estimate for water line distribution?

3) When we purchased the water rights were we aware of the dam maintenance and dredging requirements associated with stewardship of this valuable asset, including costs for same?

4) I understand that a previous BOC did allocate budgeting money for future financial requirements but for some unknown reason implementation of same did not take place. Why?

I can surely understand if any or all of the above items were not fully addressed by past or current BOC’s then it’s reasonable to understand why the county can’t afford to provide a county operated water system to its citizens today.

The way I see it, our leaders have backed themselves into a corner whereby they are relenting to the ICWD on many important issues in order to save face from past omissions.

So there you have it, my assessment on why we as a nation and a county are faced with bad decisions by our leaders. At the national level we have passed the point of no return, our leaders have failed us. However, at our local level, it’s not too late if our leaders will just listen to reason and step back to reassess the true value of our water and negotiate a contract which is in the best interests of its citizens, both near-term and long-term.

Hello commissioners, is anybody out there listening?

 

Karl Kachadoorian
Tryon, N.C.