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Here are some reasons why we need to vote NO The Oak Lodge Sanitary District (OLSD Board of Directors are not unanimous in their support of closing the Oak Lodge sewer plant. The Clearwater project raised more questions than it answered. The County says this is about the need for additional sewer capacity. This is true countywide except Oak Lodge has ample capacity. Closing the Oak Lodge plant will mean Oak Lodge residents will need to spend millions of dollars to expand the sewer plant in Oregon City. This raises the question of growth and who pays for it. Growth should pay for growth Question: Should a mature Oak Lodge pay for the infrastructure needs in Damascus and the balance of East County? NO! OLSD is debt free; their facilities are readily upgradeable and have sufficient capacity to carry this community over the next 30 years. If it ain't broke, don't let government fix it!!! Pay close attention to who submitted the "Arguments in Favor" on this issue. · Do these people actually live in, or own a business in the OLSD area? · What kind of status, reputation or influence do they hold WITHIN the OAK LODGE COMMUNITY? · Are the persons submitting the Arguments in Favor involved in the political arena? · What do they gain from this consolidation, merger or whatever it becomes? We are your neighbors and local business owners who are trying to place some common sense into this issue. Our names are listed here: Dick Jones Jim Knapp, Jr H. Palmer Kellum, Jr Bob Waldt Patricia A Risley Terry Scott Punky Scott Jayson Scott Richard W Holmes Thelma Haggenmiller Michael D Borg George A Schneider Harold M Zinzer Please visit our website www.ortem.org/no for much more detailed information or call 503/654-4367 or write to PO Box 68085. Please vote NO on Measure 3-164 Join us in voting NO on Measure 3-164 Our facility (Oak Lodge Sanitary District) · Our Current Capacity will handle future population growth. · The population within the service boundaries is already about 85% of maximum. · The existing plant is designed to handle the sewage load that might be added by families moving into the 15% that remains. · Even if growth should exceed capacity, any expansion would be minor compared to what is proposed by Measure 3-164. · Our facility is physically and mechanically sound. · It should require only routine maintenance to be very serviceable well into the future. · Our facility is already paid for and there is adequate money in the bank to pay operating expenses with cash reserves (reportedly $4,000,000). · This is money you already paid, in good faith, for the operation of a local facility. · Measure 3-164 will demolish our debt-free, fully functioning Facility and our financial assets will be used to support growth in other parts of the County. Flaws with the concept · The project they are seeking to approve will unify countywide sewage treatment in a single large plant, and destroy ours. · Consider the environmental impact of a potential spill from a mega-plant. · Sound business practices mandates diversification not unification. · If there were really benefits of scale, General Motors would have a single assembly plant instead of the many they actually have. Bottom Line ü Vote NO to keep our facility in place and preserve the monies you have already paid for its operation. ü Vote YES to destroy our facility, allow your money to be used by other parts of the county and eliminate local control of your sewage treatment system. Join us in voting NO on Measure 3-164 Homer Jones, Ph.D. Resident and business owner Endorsed By: Frances Shauvin Roy Paola Douglas A Woods Roy J Smith William L Bader Please vote NO on Measure 3-164 The current Oak Lodge Sanitary District plant has treatment capacity far in excess of any future needs in the existing district. We will never need to enlarge it. It is completely debt free!!! § A few years ago a new diffuser was installed in the Willamette River. § Your district has constantly upgraded the facilities on a pay-as-you-go basis. § We have spent millions in the last few years placing new pumps, new electrical systems and new backup generators at each pump station. § Recently we have changed from a liquid to a solid disposal system. § Last summer the district installed a new oxygenating system that has been a great success. The Oak Lodge processing plant is up to date, efficient and debt free. Do you really want to pay to demolish it and go into debt for an expanded treatment plant in Oregon City? PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT! Join us in voting NO on 3-164 Dr. Elton Storment Carol Storment Thomas C Foeller Pat Kennedy David R Seigneur Please vote NO on Measure 3-164 As a resident of the Oak Lodge area for the past 40 years, I have taken a very protective attitude towards the proposed elimination of theOak Lodge Sanitary District (OLSD). The OLSD area citizens are being asked to give away their very valuable plant, buildings, 100 miles of sewer pipelines, 65 miles of surface water drainage systems, wastewater outfall permit, &5 million in cash and LOCAL CONTROL, for the promise, 30 years in the future, of rates that MIGHT BE slightly lower than if we go-it-alone. While some service areas may benefit from a consolidated plant in Oregon City, Oak Lodge Sanitary residents DO NOT! With a projected cost of consolidation over the next 20 years of $450 million, we cannot afford this gamble. Remember, we have no debt, $5 million in cash, an updated plant and equipment, a new office building and NO DEBT! We are a mature, 80% built out district with a plant with excess capacity and we have LOCAL CONTROL! I urge you to vote NO on this effort to give our very valuable asset away. Vote NO on 3-164! Wayne Hamersly Past Director, Oak Lodge Sanitary District Member - Complete Communities Committee for Clackamas County . |