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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| The Journal also warned of possible cost over runs increasing the total cost and they downplayed placing all of the blame on Detroit. |
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Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:43 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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That approach was somewhat different from an earlier editorial (February 14,1997, A4) "Push city-county water plan".
"it's nothing like being in control of your own destiny, or in the case of the City of Flint and Genesee County, your own water supply."
The editorial continues to indicate how discussions were beginning between the city and county due to another rate increase from Detroit.
"Since 1970 water rates have increased 16 times in Flint. A proposed 3.1% increase for the next year is pending approval by the Detroit city council next week.
Unlike most consumers, the City of Flint just can't shop around for better water rates. For one it's obligated to buy water from Detroit until 2001. After that, there are several options the city could pursue, one being to collaborate with the county in creating a city-county water board to oversee the construction and operation of a new pipeline directly from Lake Huron to Flint.
Meanwhile, Flint has been under pressure by the state to have a reliable backup water supply should its existing pipeline break. The city could draw water from the Flint River, but that system is in dire need of upgrading and would cost $30 million." |
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Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:55 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Journal emphasizes their support for a joint city-county solution.
"For Flint residents it would also mean fewer increases and more control. Besides Detroit has not put any money into the Flint system for the past 27 years, but has constantly increased rates, some years as high as 12.3 percent." |
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Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:02 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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"LAPEER LEADERS TO LEARN ABOUT WATER PIPELINE" Flint Journal, Ron Fonger, September 20, 1998
Flt and Genesee County officials were conducting meetings with Lapeer County and Oakland County to make the plan more feasible and cut costs.
Tim Herman, then Chairman of the Genesee County Commissioners and Flint Council President Scott Kincaid along with Flint water plant supervisor Bob Carlyon-all members of an eight member water pipeline advisory group- met to discuss plans with Lapeer County officials. Kincaid was upbeat about the discussions
Lapper Officials were also displeased with the rate increases from Detroit. Much of Lapeer was served by wells. |
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Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:10 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Flint Journal "PIPELINE PROJECT MAY GROW" Ron Fonger, September 10, 1998 C1
It appears some of the same arguments were being made by Flint officials that are being expressed now. Flint did not want to lose control, wanted to be an equal partner and did not relish the idea of a regional approach.
"Flint City Administrator David R. Ready warned that Flint must continue to be at least an equal partner and must not be "dwarfed" by Oakland County's political and economic muscle.
(Oakland County would change the dynamics of this", he said.
Then Genesee County Commissioner John Gleason welcomed the addition of other communities to reduce costs. |
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Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:20 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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What happened to stop the previous pipeline discussions around the 2000 election? Was it Wright's rejection of the pipeline as a dream? Here we are -over 15 years later- still arguing over a pipeline.
Flint is still posturing to be an equal partner despite having taken no initiative to start the process.
Has Wright taken the leadership role to promote the county?
Whatever, Flint is locked into this financial measure for the time being. Investigate for wrong doing and sue for repayment if kickbacks and other improprieties are found.
Flint officials cannot continue to look weak and indecisive as they did in the past. |
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Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:26 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint EM committed to join KWA year before council vote
Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press 5:39 p.m. EDT June 22, 2016
Gov. Rick Snyder has pointed to a March 2013 Flint City Council vote to join the KWA as precursor to Flint water crisis
LANSING — Former Flint emergency manager Michael Brown made a commitment in February 2012 — more than one year before the Flint City Council voted to join the project — that the city would purchase 20 million gallons of raw water daily from the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline, newly released records show.
The Feb. 13, 2012, letter, on City of Flint letterhead, from Brown to Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright, undermines repeated claims by the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder that it was a March 25, 2013, Flint City Council vote that started the chain of events that resulted in lead contamination of the city’s drinking water supply.
Brown added a footnote to the two-page letter, titled “Commitment to purchase raw water from the Karegnondi Water Authority,” that said any contract worth more than $50,000 would require approval of the state treasurer. But as the state-appointed manager of Flint, Brown was backing the $285-million KWA project, well in advance of the Flint City Council.
In his 2016 State of the State address, Snyder said:
"Let me walk you through the facts. First, this crisis began in the spring of 2013 when the Flint City Council voted 7-1 to buy water from the Karegnondi Water Authority. Former Flint Mayor (Dayne) Walling supported the move and the emergency manager approved the plan."
Anna Heaton, a spokeswoman for Snyder's office, which released the letter Tuesday along with about 300,000 other pages of Flint-related documents and e-mails, said Wednesday "the letter drafted by Michael Brown is not a binding commitment to the KWA, as it was not authorized by Treasurer Dillon."
"We stand by our timeline of events, as the official commitment to Karegnondi began in 2013 with the 7-1 vote of city council and subsequent approval of the state Treasury Department," Heaton said.
Brown said in a June 2012 letter to then Michigan Deputy Treasurer Roger Fraser that he gave the KWA a "non-committal" capacity amount as "a logical next step" in order to determine the construction cost of the project.
But in the February 2012 letter, Brown not only commits to purchasing a specific amount of KWA water each day, he sets out other "agreements and understandings" that apparently resulted from earlier discussions with Wright.
Flint's emergency manager wrote a 2012 letter committingBuy Photo
Flint's emergency manager wrote a 2012 letter committing to purchase water from the KWA. (Photo: Paul Egan/Detroit Free Press)
"It is understood that Flint will be exempt from any payment involved in the final 'go/nogo' engineering study that will be performed to determine final costs and details of the Karegnondi project," Brown said.
"It is agreed that the City of Flint will have 60 days to review the final engineering report prior to signing the actual KWA master contract."
Wright said Wednesday that the letter from Brown was part of the planning process for the KWA, which began under his predecessor in 1999.
The letter provided an estimate of "the water capacity Flint needed, in order to establish accurate cost estimates for the project," Wright said in a Wednesday e-mail to the Free Press.
"Regardless of any interest from any emergency manager in Flint to join KWA, I made it clear that the only way Flint would be able to join the authority was if the elected leaders at the time (Flint City Council), voted in favor of this commitment," Wright said.
Months after Brown wrote the letter, then Treasurer Andy Dillon commissioned an engineering study from Tucker, Young, Jackson Tull, which in February 2013 said it would be less costly for Flint to stay with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department than to switch to the KWA. Another engineering firm, Rowe Professional Services, which was working for the KWA, wrote a report identifying shortcomings with the Tucker Young study and Dillon got behind the KWA project in March 2013.
Complete coverage:Flint water crisis
Related: Mayor Weaver says Flint will stick with new KWA pipeline
Related: EPA chief: Big hurdles to long-term Flint water safety
Treasury officials did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about whether Brown checked with the Treasury Department before sending the 2012 letter to Wright, or whether the Brown letter made it more difficult for the state not to support the KWA in 2013.
An e-mail sent to Wright's office was not immediately returned Wednesday.
The lead contamination problem wasn't directly caused by Flint's decision to join the KWA. Lead began leaching into the water in April 2014, when Flint split with the DWSD as a cost-cutting measure and began drawing its water from the Flint River and treating it at the Flint Water Treatment plant as an interim measure while awaiting completion of the KWA.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged it made a disastrous mistake when it did not require Flint to add corrosion control chemicals to the water, which would have prevented harmful lead from leaching into the water.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. |
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Sun Jun 26, 2016 7:38 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Just setting things straight |
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Tue Dec 25, 2018 12:05 pm |
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