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Post by sendain on Dec 6, 2013 11:26:57 GMT -4
I know this will be a not so popular subject
But please help me
I am considering running for county commissioner in district 4, and I need to know how people feel about the proposed sewer line for the south end of Kent Island.
I'm hoping to make this a poll
Yes or No will be fine please
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Post by jackbquick on Dec 6, 2013 11:44:58 GMT -4
I know this will be a not so popular subject But please help me I am considering running for county commissioner in district 4, and I need to know how people feel about the proposed sewer line for the south end of Kent Island. I'm hoping to make this a pole Yes or No will be fine please The county is doing their own survey of those who will be directly impacted. We will have an answer very shortly. BTW, I am also planning on running for commissioner to run against an anti-growth commissioner in district 4.
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Post by burnerbill on Dec 6, 2013 12:47:52 GMT -4
Sendain...
Talk about starting a poll about a very heated topic. What is most interesting about this matter is the limited areas on which those who are against this sewer focus versus the "big picture" the sewer line is designed to fix. It is not about "developers" who want to build new homes in SKI. There is a more serious problem at hand which is totally being ignored by the "NO" folks.
#1 - One element is totally understandable, and I am not immune to it, the COST! No one likes to see a new bill. But, it is clear the county is making all attempts to make this option most affordable to those residents who are impacted by this project. It is not going to be paid for by raising taxes on everyone in the county. The $100 a month figure being floated by the county is the total cost including fronting the money for hooking up to the sewer line and the monthly service fee. I have seen some comments that this is in addition to the 10's of thousands to hook up. Folks need to read the information on the county website and not read the KIDL and "Say NO to Rt 8 Sewer" propaganda.
#2 - Impact of new homes. Recently, the county has put forth a new ordnance to bring up to code those lots in the 9 affected communities which can be considered "buildable. Basically, each lot needs to be at least 20,000sf or meet certain setbacks requirements. For example, my home, as it sits on my lot, no longer meets the current set back code revised by the county after it was built. As a result I can't expand my home at all. Anyway, the result of this ordnance will potentially reduce the number of buildable lots to 650 or less. A far cry from the over 1600 the "no" folks scare everyone about. Keep in mind, the sewer is to run ONLY to the 9 impacted communities and is planned to take almost 20 years to fully complete to all 9 communities. It will not happen overnight as the scare mongers like to imply. There is no provision to provide service to any new developments nor are any new developments in the plans. Again, the scare tactic is developers will descend on SKI and fill all the farms with new developments.
#3 - ALL septic fields fail eventually! Read up on the life span of a typical septic field. Everyone at one time or another is going to need to fix, or even replace totally, their field. When it happens, the county will not be there to lend a hand or favorable interest rates to pay for it. A neighbor down my street had their field rebuilt a couple years ago at a cost in excess of $25,000 (yes, I asked them directly) Being able to "flush" your toilet does not mean your field is performing properly. That wet ground in your back yard after a heavy rain, may not be only water from rain. The gravity from what comes out of your home pushes it up to the surface outside and not necessarily into your home. My neighbors around my home dread this time of year as we enter the wet season and high water tables.
#4 - Quality of Life - Everyone around here benefits from the bay and the waters around us. The septic fields in SKI are draining directly into these waters as result of the high water table experienced every year during wet season and after heavy rains. All too often we have experienced that wonderful odor in the air after heavy rains. Is that what we want to live with year after year? To see the ditches around our homes filled with "brownish" water from septic field overflow in the spring? To say " It is not my septic field." does not make it better. This is the big picture and there are too many people, in my opinion, who do not live down in SKI who are trying to tell us what quality of life we want to live.
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Post by sendain on Dec 6, 2013 13:08:28 GMT -4
Burrnerbill I would love to talk to you more, how can I get a hold of you
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Post by burnerbill on Dec 6, 2013 13:12:41 GMT -4
sendain... I hope "ahole" is a typo!!!! I guess you meant get "a hold" of me? Let me know how you would like to talk.
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Post by alleycat on Dec 6, 2013 16:34:32 GMT -4
And pole should be poll, and wood should be would. Being literate could go a long way in helping your chances.
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Post by jackbquick on Dec 6, 2013 18:14:29 GMT -4
And pole should be poll, and wood should be would. Being literate could go a long way in helping your chances. Come on it is christmas!
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Post by Tommy on Dec 6, 2013 20:16:11 GMT -4
In my opinion the results of this poll will be meaningless. Its open to all residents of QA County and anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world who joins our group. I received a packet in the mail yesterday from AA Community College Center for the Study Of Local Issues. It was mailed to the residents of the nine affected communities only and, in my opinion, will better judge local response to this ongoing issue. I encourage all South Islanders to respond to the poll, whether pro or con and lets see what the actual sentiment on the sewer issue is. This poll is not open to north county "No Growthers" or Bay City & Love Point residents who got sewer and want to deny it to SKI. An informational workshop regarding this issue is scheduled to be held at 7 PM on Thursday, December 19 at Kent Island High School. By the way, my lot currently has no septic problem but I see this issue significantly affecting my property value.
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Post by alleycat on Dec 6, 2013 23:48:12 GMT -4
And pole should be poll, and wood should be would. Being literate could go a long way in helping your chances. Come on it is christmas! Oh, c'mon! I promised to stay out of this fight. You have to throw me a bone of some sort!
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Post by alleycat on Dec 7, 2013 15:38:22 GMT -4
And pole should be poll, and wood should be would. Being literate could go a long way in helping your chances. Come on it is christmas! I don't know what happened to my post, but... I told you I'd stay out of this, so you need to throw me a bone!
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Post by deputy on Dec 9, 2013 9:39:09 GMT -4
I know this will be a not so popular subject But please help me I am considering running for county commissioner in district 4, and I need to know how people feel about the proposed sewer line for the south end of Kent Island. I'm hoping to make this a pole Yes or No will be fine please All I'll say here is this Whatever you do, don't take all of your advice from the 2 main posters in your replys. This isn't just an "SKI" problem. It's a Queen Anne's county problem. Whatever happens WILL affect this county for the rest of OUR lives and beyond. Poll closed after 5 votes?
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Post by burnerbill on Dec 9, 2013 21:03:35 GMT -4
I know this will be a not so popular subject But please help me I am considering running for county commissioner in district 4, and I need to know how people feel about the proposed sewer line for the south end of Kent Island. I'm hoping to make this a pole Yes or No will be fine please All I'll say here is this Whatever you do, don't take all of your advice from the 2 main posters in your replys. This isn't just an "SKI" problem. It's a Queen Anne's county problem. Whatever happens WILL affect this county for the rest of OUR lives and beyond. Poll closed after 5 votes? Deputy... I know you are not necessarily in either corner in this matter, but, I would be curious how the SKI project impacts the ENTIRE county? Also, I have suggested the OP go to the QAC site for information in order to make an informed decision. You have a problem with that?
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Post by lainey on Dec 17, 2013 13:14:58 GMT -4
All I'll say here is this Whatever you do, don't take all of your advice from the 2 main posters in your replys. This isn't just an "SKI" problem. It's a Queen Anne's county problem. Whatever happens WILL affect this county for the rest of OUR lives and beyond. Poll closed after 5 votes? Deputy... I know you are not necessarily in either corner in this matter, but, I would be curious how the SKI project impacts the ENTIRE county? Also, I have suggested the OP go to the QAC site for information in order to make an informed decision. You have a problem with that? Burner Bill, It will affect the entire county when you need to widen Route 8 and when you need to build a new school. I wish it was as simple as hooking up existing Homeowners, but it is not. There are simply too many lots down there that will be built on when sewer comes down the road. I don't know why any of the SKI'ers don't seem to see this.
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Post by burnerbill on Dec 17, 2013 14:20:05 GMT -4
Lainey....
Route 8 is a STATE road, not a county road. At a recent meeting I attended, the state has already acknowledged Rt8 improvements are required from Rt50 and south with "rights of way" in place along its length to Kent Point Road.
Secondly, how many homes do you think is going to be built and within how many years? The ordnance the county has proposed is expected to limit new home growth to about 600 or so, most likely less, and it may take decades to happen. The SKI project is expected to take about 20 years to fully hookup all the impacted communities. Even now, without the SKI project, the new developments in the northern end of KI are expected to impact the school matter.
Please review the documents on the QAC site, quite enlightening.
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Post by jackbquick on Dec 20, 2013 8:58:17 GMT -4
I have been told that the majority of the respondents who returned the survey are in favor of correcting the failing septic issue once and for all. Now we have our true poll and the property owners in the impacted communities want sewer over failing septic and holding tanks. Now who is going to pay for it. Lainey, you have any ideas?
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Post by lainey on Jan 1, 2014 13:45:24 GMT -4
Lainey.... Route 8 is a STATE road, not a county road. At a recent meeting I attended, the state has already acknowledged Rt8 improvements are required from Rt50 and south with "rights of way" in place along its length to Kent Point Road. Secondly, how many homes do you think is going to be built and within how many years? The ordnance the county has proposed is expected to limit new home growth to about 600 or so, most likely less, and it may take decades to happen. The SKI project is expected to take about 20 years to fully hookup all the impacted communities. Even now, without the SKI project, the new developments in the northern end of KI are expected to impact the school matter. Please review the documents on the QAC site, quite enlightening. Burner, Yes, Route 8 is a state road. Has the state committed road funds to us for the widening of Rt 8? They can acknowledge it all day long, but unless they are committing dollars to it, it means nothing. Last I heard about rights of way for widening route 8, our existing rights were used to expand the walking trail. Now where will those extra lanes go? Unless the state is going to use state tax dollars to widen Rt 8, it will come from county dollars, not SKI dollars. As for the buildout, well, how many folks are itching to move here who already own lots? Give them sewer and they can build tomorrow. Why should they have to wait any longer than it takes for the line to run down to them? And then there are the developers who own lots, you know they want to build ASAP. Empty lots are costing them $$$$. It did not take Bay City or Cloverfields long to build out back when sewer went in there. Yes, you can still find one or two vacant lots in those communities, but to recognize how quickly it happened, I guess you just had to see it for yourself, as I did. I heard some of those same comments from the county back then about limiting growth and what not. It didn't happen then and I have seen nothing different to make me believe it will be any less of a giant cluster down SKI now either. In fact, this new proposed ordnance to combine lots and such, that just looks like more dumb lawyer bait to me.
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Post by cruzincat on Feb 14, 2014 10:39:29 GMT -4
In my opinion the results of this poll will be meaningless. Its open to all residents of QA County and anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world who joins our group. I received a packet in the mail yesterday from AA Community College Center for the Study Of Local Issues. It was mailed to the residents of the nine affected communities only and, in my opinion, will better judge local response to this ongoing issue. I encourage all South Islanders to respond to the poll, whether pro or con and lets see what the actual sentiment on the sewer issue is. This poll is not open to north county "No Growthers" or Bay City & Love Point residents who got sewer and want to deny it to SKI. An informational workshop regarding this issue is scheduled to be held at 7 PM on Thursday, December 19 at Kent Island High School. By the way, my lot currently has no septic problem but I see this issue significantly affecting my property value. What do you think it will do to your property values when there are 600 new homes available in the area? Existing homes will probably go down in value. Don't forget that the monthly cost will be there for many years and many owners to pay for the sewer as well. Consider the impact of increasing the HOA fee to over 100/month without adding any services. Would that make buying your home more or less appealing?
Then there is the period of construction. Let's hope you don't find yourself in need of selling while it is under way. Any benefit to home values won't be realized until after the project is over.
Do you believe that every potential buyer of homes considers the cost of having to replace their septic when they make a purchase?
I have mixed feelings about the project. I can see the value long term, but we have not enjoyed the upturn in home prices because of nearby foreclosures and forced sales. I don't know if I can put off retirement until we are back in a positive equity situation. I know I cannot wait until after this project is finished, though.
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Post by burnerbill on Feb 16, 2014 17:06:40 GMT -4
cruzincat... have you spoken to some realtors about the impact this issue is already having on the market in SKI? It has had an impact on home prices. Also, why do you think 600 more homes will drive down prices? This is 600 homes in NINE communities, not all in one area. If anything, with the proposed new ordnance requiring lots to conform to the current code of 20,000 s.f. building lots could result in larger homes being built. Hopefully, we'd see fewer ranchers, like in Kent Island Estates and Romancoke areas. I'd much rather see a 2 story colonial on almost a half acre than a shot-gun split on a postage stamp lot. That increases my home value. Take a drive through Queen Anne's Colony, lots of nice homes, few ranchers, on large lots.
Also, what HOA fee are you talking about being over $100 per month? Not having to worry about septic issues would appear to make your property more appealing than having to worry about ground water issues, failing fields and the like.
A potential buyer will obviously be concerned about whether or not the field of the home they would like to buy will pass the septic test. If it fails, and considering the county is not allowing fields to be repaired and require holding tanks, think about that impact. Even if the current owner has to pay to have the holding tank installed, the new owner now has to deal with the continual pump out expense. If it were to average $500 per month, that is $500 of a mortgage payment they could have afforded and will simply drop their offering price for the home to compensate.
Lastly, did you attend the meeting up at the high school? Lots of good information and the project will not be as disruptive as many originally thought. Somewhere there needs to be a meeting in the middle. The overall good this can do is far greater than the short term "pain" many are making this out to be. Also, speak to some folks who recently repaired their fields.. it is a lot more expensive than running the STEP sewer system.
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Post by cruzincat on Feb 16, 2014 20:55:15 GMT -4
I was just using the $100 HOA fee as an example of an extra payment each month, like paying for sewer over time, passing it on to each future buyer/owner for the next 30 years or so.
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Post by burnerbill on Feb 16, 2014 21:11:40 GMT -4
I was just using the $100 HOA fee as an example of an extra payment each month, like paying for sewer over time, passing it on to each future buyer/owner for the next 30 years or so. cruzin.. you just proved you did not attend the meetings or understood the issue. I do not know where you got the 30 years.. Appears you bit on the "no growth" propaganda to scare folks about this matter. The $100 is representative of what the county is trying to achieve with the costs for the sewer service. It consists of two parts: [HASH]1 - debt service for the connection; [HASH]2 - monthly service fee for treatment. The debt service, presuming a property owner wants to finance the connection fees, is a 20 year payment at an interest rate of 1.5% for a fee of $15K which represents an estimate of $70 a month. A homeowner can elect to pay this in other ways, such as paying it all up front and, therefore, they will not have this debt service at all. If they do, it is considered a lien on the property and can't be passed on to the future buyer. The service fees for house to street maintenance of the STEP system is expected to be about $30 a month. That is the only component that will go beyond the debt service and stays with the property hooked up to the STEP system. Hopefully this clears up your understanding of this part of this issue. Lastly, there are still some "no growth" folks still floating around false information there still will be 2000 - 3000 new homes to be built as a result. A letter to the Editor said as much in last week's Bay Times. More false propaganda. The county has plans in place to limit this to around 600. Again, scare tactics from the "no growth" folks.
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Post by cruzincat on Feb 17, 2014 1:28:47 GMT -4
You're right, I did not go to the meeting. Good to know that if we have to sell, I am even more in the hole for the 15K, if this goes through before my equity flips into a positive number again. So close to retirement, but so far away! At this point I don't see much difference between 600 or 3000 houses being built as far as our circumstances are concerned.
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Post by burnerbill on Feb 17, 2014 11:46:03 GMT -4
cruzin... you'd be more in the hole if your septic failed and you had to do what the county currently mandates. Anyway...
Most expect the housing market to improve in SKI when the septic issue is resolved. When such a cloud hangs over every property down there, what did you expect? The folks against it are generally those who will never move, couldn't care less about the health issues, are more concerned with "traffic" and don't believe a lot owner should be allowed to build their dream home.
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Post by uvrays on Feb 24, 2014 14:23:45 GMT -4
No mention of homeowner cost to upgrade "private" roads to County standards. This will have to be done IF/WHEN the septic issue is resolved.
IMO, current unimproved lots (lots that currently don't perk) should be paying 10x more than homeowners.
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Post by burnerbill on Feb 24, 2014 15:06:35 GMT -4
No mention of homeowner cost to upgrade "private" roads to County standards. This will have to be done IF/WHEN the septic issue is resolved. IMO, current unimproved lots (lots that currently don't perk) should be paying 10x more than homeowners. uvrays... due to the manner in which the STEP system is installed, using directional drilling to install the pipes, the need to upgrade private roads is not necessary. Directional drilling does not require any roads to be torn up as it is completed along side of the road. As for your comment about unimproved lots, I agree, they benefit the most from this matter. Running the sewer line hardly makes a dent in the value of my property as it is already "improved". It just means it will be easier to sell.
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Post by uvrays on Feb 25, 2014 11:43:24 GMT -4
Haven't heard the County state that private roads will not have to be upgraded. In the past, they have stated that sewer would require road upgrade.
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