Friday, August 13, 1999
Some avoid waterline assessment
Only users pay in some spots
BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
WHITEWATER TOWNSHIP — As public water lines are installed in front of their Harrison Avenue homes, hundreds of residents will have the same access to an identical-quality water supply. Only their tax bills will be different.
At one end, every property owner will be assessed up to $34 per foot of frontage to pay for the county-sponsored public water-line extension.
At the other, only those who take advantage of the water service will be forced to foot the bill for the assessment fee. That phase of the project is being funded by Cincinnati Water Works, which can draw on the public Unincorporated Improvement Fund.
“I wish they had done that on all of Harrison, so those who want the water can have it, and those who don't and can't afford it don't have to pay for it,” said Township Trustee Hubert Brown. “There's some people who are angry about (the disparity), and they should be.”
The project is part of an effort by county officials to bring public services and private growth to western Hamilton County, the last undeveloped and unserved part of the region.
The funding decisions were made by the Hamilton County Commission.
Originally intending to bring public sewer and water service to Harrison Avenue from Ohio 128 in Miamitown to the edge of the Miami-Whitewater Forest, commissioners later scaled back the project by about two-thirds. They decided to proceed with the lines from Ohio 128 to a point 535 feet west of Buena Vista Drive, the distance needed to reach a new reservoir and water pumping station. That construction project begins Monday.
Commissioners have said they hoped that residents on the rest of the stretch of road, in “phase two,” would petition for a waterline extension — the one that they would have to pay for, since sewer projects are funded by the county.
48% wanted service
When only 48 percent of the property owners asked for water service, commissioners followed their tradition of acting according to majority rule: They voted it down.
That left Cincinnati Water Works to pick up the pieces. Needing enough customers to maintain the water flow and quality, the company decided to go ahead with the project on its own. Water lines will stretch to Miami-Whitewater Forest next year.
“I think the people at the bottom of the hill got (a raw deal) with having to be assessed. If we don't have to pay unless we tap into the water, then they shouldn't have to,” said Guy Fortner, who lives in the phase two zone. “You've got commissioners down there who are playing with people's lives. And it's not funny.”
None of the three county commissioners could be reached for comment Thursday.
No county request
Cincinnati Water Works Director David Rager said the county could have asked his agency to install the first phase as well. But commissioners never did, since more than half of those residents were willing to pay the assessment.
“It was the county commission basically that was steering the ship,” explained Dan Schaefer, Water Works supervising engineer. “They've been in the driving seat for a while.”
Residents such as Gina Schwegler, who live in the phase one area but never wanted the public water supply, feel a loss of control. She said her family cannot afford the extra tax payment, even if it is deferred for 20 years under a county program designed for such cases.
“It's just put us in a very bad financial bind. If worse comes to worst, we'll end up having to sell our home. We don't want to sell it. We like it where we're at,” Mrs. Schwegler said. “I think it's extremely unfair that we have to pay” when others don't.
The controversy has left neighbors at odds with one another.
Those who want the water lines, who have been counting for years on promises by county officials that they would be installed, are overjoyed.
Sympathizing with their less fortunate neighbors, they think the phase two payment plan is an ideal compromise. They only wish it had been made available in both areas.
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