Bigfork Water and Sewer candidates answer questions at community forum

This is a transcript of the Bigfork Water and Sewer candidates' introductions and answers at the Candidate Forum hosted Thursday night by the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce and the ImagineIF Library Foundation. The event was moderated by Daily Inter Lake Director of Advertising Anton Kaufer. The views expressed are those of the candidates and not those of the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce, ImagineIF Library Foundation or the Daily Inter Lake. The hosting of this forum is not intended and is specifically disclaimed as an endorsement of any candidate.

Introductions

Paul Goodrich:

For decades now, the Bigfork Water and Sewer board has not held an election. When somebody retires from the board, the board appoints someone to fill the vacancy. In theory, that person should have to face the voters during the next election cycle, but if no other candidates step up at that time, the election is simply not held. The problem is that elections are the principal vehicle by which we customers can hold the board to account. For starters, they give us the opportunity to raise issues and ask questions, which is what we'll be doing tonight. For it to be self-perpetuating isn't super healthy, so in part, I’m running purely pro-forma so that there will be an election. The second reason though sort of stems from the first, and that is that as I have been talking to folks about the fact that I’m a candidate for the board, I always get a response that is sort of a Bigfork Water and Sewer story— I’m not soliciting them I just get a bunch of them. And there kind of seems to be a theme that is common to all of them, which there seems to be issues around the customer service focus. One family told us they were suddenly presented with a bill that was hundreds of dollars more than they would have ordinarily gotten. They called the office to see what was going on, and they were told, essentially, ‘well, your toilet is leaking,’ click, end of story, and they did the math and realized that toilet would have had to been running for a long time, so they kind of took a couple more calls and finally someone came out and read the meter and it had been misread. Well okay, the issue was resolved, but how different would it have been had the response been, ‘huh, you know usually when we get this kind of problem it’s because there’s a leak, but why don’t we send someone out to take a look and see what we can see from our side,’ the resolution would have been the same but, the customer experience would have been completely different. So, my second reason for running is that I’d like us to be able to form a really customer focused organization and I’d like to be part of that transformation.

Paul Holland:

Hi my name is Paul Holland and I’ve lived in Bigfork for 22 years. I’ve served on the Flathead Electric Board for 20 years and while I was on the board, we went from near bankruptcy to one of the most respected co-ops in the United States. I served on the Evergreen Rail and Industrial Center Board as the President, I served on the Montana Rural Electric Cooperative Association Board, I served on a couple Valley Electric boards in Alaska— so I have quite a few years of board experience. And I believe in neighbors helping neighbors. My wife and I have been active in community service for the 43 years we’ve been married and will continue to do so. Whether we like it or not our community is growing and we’re going to have to serve the growth with Bigfork Water and Sewer and try to maintain a clean environment. I just would like to see more service and lower rates myself, I think these rates are too high and they cost too much to upgrade them. Anyway, that’s what I got, thank you.

Joan Davis:

Hello, my name is Joan Davis and I feel woefully inadequate to be up here on this panel. However, I do have a lot of life experience even though I’ve never been on a utility board. I have 30 plus years in the real estate business dealing with utilities. I know the ends and outs of water and sewer and I strive for a win-win solution for the customer and the board. I think that’s very important. I also have 10 years managing a CPA firm, so I know the ins and outs of a budget as well and how important it is to balance one. Then I went into the private/corporate world and ran another business. So, I have a lot of managerial skills that I bring to the table for you folks. I could be one of you, I have no particular skills to be on this board but a desire to see it run well, and it has been run well, I was at a meeting recently where the engineers even said that Bigfork’s in good shape as far as the infrastructure. There are some issues I heard about while walking and passing out my fliers and getting to know my neighbors in downtown Bigfork. I heard a lot of complaints about customer service, that’s the main thing they were worried about and they would be, people are worried more about themselves than anything else. If their life is going smooth with water and sewer they’re happy, if it isn’t then not so much. So, yeah, I’m going to give it all I have, as I have all my life. I’m a hard worker and I’m easy to educate, I study, I get to know the way things are run and I try to make everybody win, win-win. These folks have a lot more experience and I’m sure they’re doing a great job but I think it is time to introduce some new thoughts, new ideas and that’s what I hope I can bring to the table. Thank you, thank you for listening, thank you for coming.

Alida Tinch:

Thank you Rebekah and the Chamber of Commerce for putting this together, and thank all of you for coming tonight. My name is Alida Tinch and with your vote, I’d like to continue the great work that has been done by visionary board members who have come before me. I moved here from Sweet Grass County about 10 years ago, and since then I have volunteered for the public and community for thousands of hours of my time. I believe in giving back. I moved here because of Flathead Lake— water is the most precious natural resource on the planet. I’ve held positions on a number of advisory boards, but Bigfork Water and Sewer is a public agency on which I currently serve. I was appointed in the last quarter of 2021 to this seat, which I’m asking to retain if you vote for me. I’ve attended every public meeting, every public forum and spent many hours learning how we do what we do, understanding our accomplishments and learning of our challenges. We are very fortunate to have the system and facilities we have today— just watch the news in the coming months and years. We have this because of wisdom and vision from prior board members. They might have been scoundrels and rascals, so the stories go, but we do owe them a debt of gratitude. I spent my career in the construction and materials industry in a rural part of a major metropolitan area. The technology and technical terms we discuss at board meetings are very familiar territory to me. I have experience with land, land use and water rights. If elected here’s what I can and will do: I can listen with understanding, I can educate myself when necessary, attend all meetings and make fair and balanced decisions based upon the information presented to me, always in the best interest of the stakeholders, the people and properties within the district, our employees, our resources, both fiscal and environmental. If elected here’s what I can’t and won’t do: I can’t get your rates lowered. The board doesn’t exactly have that superpower. We are a public agency, there are rules and regulations that govern how and what we charge for our services, all done in the best interest of the stakeholders with regulatory oversight and the policy of our district. What I won’t do is benefit financially because of the perceived opportunity that one might have as a board member. I don’t have any skin in this game, I am not a developer, I have no interest in benefitting myself off the backs of this community. Bigfork, I won’t file frivolous lawsuits against the Bigfork Water and Sewer District that cost stakeholders thousands upon thousands of dollars in legal defense because of my self-interests. Thank you all for coming tonight and have a great evening.

Tom Cahill:

Thank you Alida, I’m going to change it up a bit. My name is Tom Cahill, I’m actually very happy to be here tonight and I’m glad there’s people here. First of all, I’d like to thank Rebekah and the Chamber for putting this on, the Water Board and the School Board, and Anton as a moderator. I’m just going to tell you a little bit about myself. My wife and I moved here eight years ago and bought a house. We’ve been married for 53 years, I have three children, two of them live in Montana and one of them lives in Colorado. I’ve had two wonderful careers: my first one was in the military for 20 years, I’m a Vietnam vet, helicopter pilot, and my second career was 20 years as a Director of Public Works and I dealt with all kinds of water, sewer, storm, sanitary, golf courses, you name it. And I did that and enjoyed it, and spent a lot of time being part of the community. This is a community— I love Bigfork, my wife and for the last 30 years, first came here in 1988 and we’ve spent every single summer in the Flathead Valley. My children worked at Glacier Park and we love this area. I joined the Water Board in 2015 because I wanted to give back to the community. My education: I have an MBA from Lake Forest College- School of Business and I also have a Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical Sciences from Embry-Riddle. The only thing I can say about a contentious or an election in which we, um, that you all are going to vote for us— I appreciate that, I’d like to see all the Water Boards and everyone that you vote for us and it represents the community. I’m sure that over the years, I think it’s been 30 years since we’ve had an election for the Water Board. But I can assure you that when past boards have picked an individual such as myself, they didn’t do it lightly. We spent a lot of time looking at different people that have been on the board. I’ve been on it for seven years, I think I’m qualified as a past director of public works and I think the people we have chosen to be on that board were qualified. We don’t do this half-heartedly and we do this to represent you. So again, I’d like to thank you and if there’s any questions I will try to– when the questions come up I will try to answer them truthfully and as fully as I possibly can.

Gene Helberg: (was absent due to an illness but submitted a statement to read)

You may not recognize his name, but he has been a distinguished member of the Bigfork Water and Sewer District Board of Directors since 1998. Before retiring, he was involved in farm management, real estate and construction for much of his life. He brought experience from another water and sewer board when he retired to Bigfork. Besides attending regular monthly board meetings, Gene has served on many of the advisory committees over the years including employment compensation and insurance committee, where Gene helped develop and update the employee handbook, job descriptions and compensation packages. He assisted in recruiting, hiring and retention of qualified staff for the efficient operation of the water and sewer district. Gene met with staff to determine the equipment and vehicles needed to operate the water and sewer system in an increasingly stringent regulatory environment. He dedicated many hours to researching the best equipment, he worked with vendors to get state discounts and make best use of district resources. Also the Rate and Budget Committee, where Gene helped district staff review expenditures and develop rate structures and budgets. He helped insure strict accountability and the responsible use of district resources. While keeping reasonable and competitive rates for water and sewer service for customers, he helped ensure those rates are sufficient for meeting the following operating expenses and staffing for providing water and sewer services, debt service for existing debt and maintaining sufficient reserves for bond obligations and future asset replacement, rates sufficient to qualify for grants and loans for district projects. Also, he served on the Construction and Annexation Committee, where he helped develop and design construction standards to ensure that district and developer funded projects are constructed with durable materials and methods of constructing and testing to ensure infrastructure that stands the test of time. He advocated for good planning for the current and future needs of the district. As the Bigfork population expands and develops the community will continue to enjoy a clean, reliable and affordable water supply as well as providing water services that protect our rivers, lake and environment. Gene helped with planning for additional wells, storage tanks, rehabilitation of existing tanks at those stations and upgrading to a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant. Gene observed, photographed and reported on district and developer infrastructure projects too numerous to name. Most recent projects include the Bay Sewer Rehabilitation and the new water storage tank. Gene participated in many public meetings, informing customers about the importance of updating district infrastructure to meet current and future needs and regulatory requirements. On the Rules and Regulations Committee, Gene helped staff and the board develop and update rules and regulations to meet the needs of the community to follow state and local guidelines and to ensure the efficient operation of the district.

Bigfork Water and Sewer Q&A

Do you feel it is the responsibility of the Bigfork Water and Sewer to support affordable housing projects in the Bigfork area? And if so, in what ways?

Holland: I think that affordable housing is a complete issue onto its own, it doesn’t really have much to do with Bigfork Water and Sewer, except that it doesn’t need to, it needs to get its water and sewer from Bigfork Water and Sewer, and aside from that I can’t think of how they’re actually connected. But, it’s definitely two issues that I don’t think the Water and Sewer board would particularly have much to say about the way the thing is built.

Tinch: I don’t feel it’s the Bigfork Water and Sewer’s business to control or have anything to do with housing of any sort. I understand the ramifications and problems we have with the lack of affordable housing here, I think that’s dealt with at the county level and planning and land use and their designation about what can and can’t be built somewhere. It is our obligation to service as required within the bounds of the district regardless of the property type.

Cahill: Yeah I agree with both Paul and Alida, the only difference is affordable housing is going to be a house, it needs to be provided with sewer and water and that’s our job. So, we have a good cadre of individuals who take care of individual homes and whatever we can do to make sure that affordable housing is served properly with water and sewer then that should be the underwriting part of what the Water and Sewer Board should do. It’s mainly not-so-much the Water and Sewer Board that it is the employees to make sure hook-ups and things that are done are done properly. Again, whether they benefit from our knowledge, they definitely should and that’s what we do, that’s what four guys— the operators do. They try to do the best they can when we hook-up to water and sewer that it’s done right and so affordable housing will benefit from that.

Davis: I pretty much agree, I know there’s a huge problem for housing here. People with employees can’t afford to live here in Bigfork and that’s a problem. However, I think it goes through the county processes first, and that would include building department, planning/zoning, all of that. If it makes it that far, then I think Bigfork Water has a responsibility to give them water and sewer. But I agree, I too don’t think we have much to say about it actually. But I do support housing.

Goodrich: Yeah I don’t think we’re hearing a lot of differences from folks up here about this topic. The key word in that question is “affordable,” if we kind of take that out for a second, is it our job to support housing projects in the Bigfork Area? I believe the answer is yes. Specifically I think it’s the job as the board not to serve as a bottleneck on that, so if new housing is going in, I just think we need to be ahead of the curve on that rather than trying to catch-up because these projects don’t always happen in a hurry, so we need to make sure the infrastructure is in place. And the good news is that there is an engineering report, in fact there’s a meeting on Monday evening at the headquarters of Bigfork Water and Sewer, down the hill from the Flathead Pub. That report as of its first draft was pretty good, I think we’re well prepared for the projected growth, I think it may outgrow us, but that’s been a good report so far.

What do you feel your responsibility as a resident and board member is to the other residents of the Bigfork area, and how will you identify and avoid potential conflicts of interest?

Tinch: I will always avoid conflicts of interest because I have no skin in this game. I do not stand to benefit in any way, shape or form from my membership on the water board. As a resident and a board member, my responsibility to the community is to do my due diligence, study what we’re doing, understand what we’re doing, and understanding how it impacts the district, the environment, our fiscal situation and the citizens within the boundary of the district.

Cahill: To me this is not an easy question, I mean I’ve been on the board for seven years, I have no conflict of interests. There was one time where I thought I was going to be there with a conflict of interest because of an HOA, I actually quit the HOA. I think it’s very important at water and sewer, again I’m going back to 20 years of being a director of public works, I worked hard to make sure that what was happening in the community was done fairly and that I wasn’t jeopardizing my position on the board and for that matter as a resident of Bigfork. I’m proud to be here and I’m proud to work for the people of this community and I will continue, I hope, to do that for you.

Davis: I feel like my responsibilities would be first to protect the lake, protect the environment and to keep the customers happy. A little bit more on the last question about growth, I moved to Bigfork because it is a small, quaint community. I would like to keep it that way, so I think that I would try to do the best I could for customers, like I said I’ve heard a lot of complaints. I know my neighbors, I can go out and talk to them anytime and find out what the issues are and try to bring them to the board, deal with them somehow, not really sure yet.

Goodrich: So the question is: what is my responsibility as a resident and board member to other residents? I think this goes back to the fact that we’re all in this together. The board exists to serve or to oversee the district, and we’re part of the district because it makes sense to consolidate these resources. So, the problem with consolidating resources is that we get all of these other interested parties involved, and not everybody’s interests coincide. I’ve been part of other organizations where board meetings and other things got pretty contentious, but the issue I think is, ultimately: how are we all best served? And if there’s an area where I have a specific “skin in the game,” I guess is the term I believe it is, then my job is to continue to participate in the conversation but I would have to recuse myself from any vote. That would be my way of alleviating the issue.

Holland: Yeah I’m with Paul Goodrich here, if you have an interest in an issue that’s on the table, you can get into the conversation but when it comes to the making the motions and making the vote, you have to recuse yourself from the vote. Because that’s not fair, of course we’re all going to have issues be part of our personal lives coming from the board, you’d have to recuse yourself at any time.

How do you propose Bigfork Water and Sewer addresses the recent influx of new residents and the new demand for services now and into the future?

Cahill: It was mentioned before, we have a preliminary engineering report and we update that pretty much every four years, we are in the process of doing that. In the interim we have a Capital Improvement Plan. We know we have a tremendous amount of influx and we look at it all the time, whether we have capacity with sewer and water. As President of the board, I look at what particular areas are starting to build out. We have a number of subdivisions coming on board in the settlement— the landings, Mill Creek has started to build. We look at every possible change in the number of people that will be attached to our distribution system and our collection system, and we look at it at every board meeting because it’s going to be around for a long time as we all know.

Davis: I don’t think it’s Bigfork Water’s business about the recent influx of new residents. I mean, if they show up then we’ll have to provide water but there’s a lot of other things. I think we’re talking about building, builders, and developers. Like I said, I’m not for growing Bigfork big, I’d like to keep it small the way it is now and protect the lake, protect the environment. And then, because I know there’s problems where I live downtown, there’s problems with the infrastructure down there and I think you have to make sure the infrastructure can support any new growth. So, that would be my first concern.

Goodrich: Yeah, as much as we’d like to keep the place the way it is, it’s very difficult to preserve a community and it just doesn’t work. So there are going to be people that just show up and we will need to be able to provide the services. Like I mentioned before, I think we are on a good path to be able to support those new developments as they come online. Again, I think the key thing is to not be the bottleneck, not to be in the position of ever saying to a developer, “you just can’t build there,” that’s not our job, that’s a zoning issue that other people need to address. But, assuming that is an approved development, then we need to be out ahead of the curve and provide what’s needed when it’s ready to go.

Holland: Yeah, as far as connection to the backbone system, each new person is going to have to cough up the money and connect. As far as the backbone is concerned, of course you’re going to have to plan for that, and hopefully we can plan out good enough that we don’t get caught up in too many people coming in too fast and that causes a bottleneck. That’s what I’m thinking, each person would have to pay their own way when they come on the system.

Tinch: I’ve sat on a number of advisory boards and there are a number of areas that have these similar issues and having done the research and the homework I’ve done with Bigfork Water and Sewer employees, and reviewing things that we’ve done to be prepared for today, I am continually impressed. We are prepared for today, we are prepared for the incoming traffic, we are in the water district anyway. We are prepared for the growth— they were visionaries before us, I cannot emphasize that enough. They have done a major amount of planning for the future in this community. We are looking at things 20 years from now today, and that’s appropriate planning looking at the future.

What is your position on the current rates charged by Bigfork Water and Sewer and what changes, if any, would you propose? Please share the impact of any proposed changes.

Davis: I think the future is very important, but so is today. The comments I got out in the community were that they had problems. I am not sure if the rates are too high, I’m new, I would have to investigate that. But the district is running very well and they have taken care of the future. My thing is, let’s take care of now as well, there’s different ways to do it, I know they work real hard on grants and bonds. But there’s also such a thing as getting a long-term loan, so that the people that sign-in down the road can also pay their part of it— just a thought I had.

Goodrich: I have not encountered anybody who is happy with paying bills no matter to whom or how much, it’s just not a popular thing. But, overall, Bigfork tends to be a little higher in price than the rest of the valley. And my big concerns on that— there’s essentially two parts of the bills you pay: one is usage and one is the sort-of system fee that helps keep the thing going. Up to a certain point, you don’t see any difference, you can use this much or that much water, you can use this much or that much sewer and the bill is the same. So, there’s not really any motivation to do much other than avoid some sort of a super high usage level. And it’d be nice if it was a little more granular down at the level most of us are paying, but again, that’s one of those things that might be more complicated to administer, than it is to actually live with. So, my big concern would be that we are fair and that we don’t break the bank.

Holland: I think the prices that we have to pay for Bigfork Water and Sewer are exorbitant right now. They seem to be more in my house than my electric bill and I’m not sure why that would be. I remember 25 years ago when people were complaining about their electric bill going up $6 a month and I don’t see anybody complaining about their water bill going up $6 a month, but it has. It’s gone up a lot more than that. But, there might be some efficiencies that we can take care of that would eliminate some of the higher cost of doing business.

Tinch: After the homework I’ve done, I don’t think we’re paying exorbitant rates here at all. If you go look at problems in all of the communities in the Flathead have with their sewage and their water systems, you’ll understand why we pay what we pay for what we have. I can’t say we have a Cadillac or a Rolls Royce, but we have a very, very, very efficient system. We have intentions of being able to protect in the need of fire suppression. Those are things we don’t always think about in terms of water, when we turn on a faucet and water the grass. But fire protection is pretty critical in our community when you look at what we’re surrounded by. I don’t know if we have the ability to lower rates, I don’t know much rates of anything are going to go down in this environment we currently live in. But I do know our rates are tied with metrics to grants, loans, and those sorts of things that pay for our improvements and our maintenance of big expenditures. Sometimes we’re offered loan and grant forgiveness and that’s because of our rate structure. Thank you.

Cahill: Alida’s exactly right, we have a Bond Council when we establish our rates to make sure that when we have the appropriate rates the Bond Council tells us that we have met the requirements when we try to get grants from state and federal. I would love to lower the rates and I just think we’re as tight as we can be right now. The water rate is $23.75 per gallon, 5,000, and the sewer rate is 46. So the overall for 90% of the homeowners in the district is $69.55. We’ve tied that to our debt services and what the Bond Council tries to keep us on, so we can have the improvements to our system and have enough reserves to make sure that if there is a problem we can handle it.

There were several comments submitted referencing the transparency of Bigfork Water and Sewer, how would you work to make their projects, pricing and operations more transparent?

Goodrich: Historically, utilities tend to do that sort of thing, by inserting some sort of flier into your bill and I think if we were to do a show of hands right now, how many people are religious about reading those fliers? It’s probably not very many of us. But there are other opportunities for communication and it’s difficult for any sort of public board like this to over communicate or over educate about what’s going on. So, I suggest that on the website we should have, ‘here are the policies we follow, here are the projects that are pending, here are the costs that are associated, here’s the support we’re expecting to get from this, that, or the other funding source,’ and that’s relatively straightforward, the information exists already somewhere, but getting it out where the public can see it is a pretty important aspect of things.

Holland: I think we should work on the policy manual myself. I think the one we have right now is kind of a hodge-podge of different things. You find one place in there you can do this, you find another place in there that you can’t and it’s the exact same thing. So I think the whole policy manual needs to be cleaned up, so that anybody, even a person right from the street who has no idea what Bigfork Water and Sewer are all about, could read the thing and understand every little bit of the policies of the business.

Tinch: I’m all about communication. If you see me in town and have a question, please ask. My phone number personally out there for you to call me and ask me. Our meetings are public, you are welcome to come to any one of them any time you want. We share that information with the Bigfork Water and Sewer Facebook page, it’s shared on our website. We make every effort to educate the public when we have projects coming, there’s a meeting Monday night about the future and the PER reports. Tell us how we can communicate that better to you and we would be happy to do so. Nothing we do is secretive, it’s all out there for you to see and participate in should you wish to. Please tell me how we can better facilitate communication, we would be happy to do so, thank you.

Cahill: Yeah I think everybody’s covered it. I mean, how many people have an iPhone or an Android or whatever, I think 90% of the people in here. This is probably one of the best web pages you can find (referring to the Bigfork Water and Sewer website) there’s enough in here with links, what we do, how we do it, we put it on your bill— I know you don’t like looking at the bill, most of you if you have direct deposit, you probably don’t ever see a bill. But, that being said, we’re as transparent as it gets, it’s in the paper, it’s in the Eagle, it’s in the Beacon, it’s in the Inter Lake, it’s everywhere. When we have a meeting, you know about it, you should know about it, and if the issue is finding out about things, that’s you guys. It’s there, just come and get it. I’d be happy to talk to anybody, my name and number is on the web page and everywhere. Tom Cahill: 406-407-5294, I’ll answer anything.

Davis: I agree with everybody, it is out there. You do have to look for it, it doesn’t come to you directly, but anyways as far as transparency goes, I also have heard issues about transparency within the district. When a technician comes out to a house they will tell you one thing and down the road the office says something completely different. Or one technician says something different from the other technician, and when you ask for transparency, they’re doing the best they can, there are some marvelous technicians that come out to the house, they’re doing a great job. But, there’s conflict and I don’t know where the conflict starts or ends, but the customers are feeling the pinch.

What strategies or opportunities would you pursue to increase funding to allow for added capacity at Bigfork Water and Sewer?

Holland: Well, I think the best thing we can do there is plan, plan, plan. There is an engineering firm that works for Bigfork Water and Sewer and they are helping Bigfork Water and Sewer plan the future. And I think that’s the number one thing, we just got to get out ahead of it and make sure we’re going to be there when somebody shows up to need our services.

Tinch: As I think I’ve said a few times tonight, this board and this organization is all about planning for the future. Money that it takes to do that, the challenges we have geologically or physically we have in any way, shape or form, is currently under review, they are always under review. We are working on a 20 year plan right now. We look at those things at every meeting, there’s always a topic of conversation of those things, Morrison Maierle has done an amazing job helping us stay ahead of that curve, and ensuring we’re prepared for what’s coming down the pike, thank you.

Cahill: Water capacity, I’ll address that one, for those of who have maybe seen what’s happening off to the west side of Highway 35, we’re putting in a big gallon tank. The DEQ, which is the Department of Environmental Quality has suggested to us to get us up to a standard that will last for 20 years for our build out of the community, which is not as big as you all think it might be. But with our standpipe that’s up by the high school with 250,000 gallons, the Windsor Tank at 350,000 gallons, the new— what we’re calling the Ice Box Canyon will hold 1 million, we have the Bailey Tank … with 230,000 and we have 140,000 at Ranch. But, it’s all set-up that we talked about this at board meetings— we think ahead, 20 years ahead is about the normal, what most communities try to get across comprehensive in plans, it’s important that we have the capacity, sur-capacity is another thing, and I’d like to talk to anybody about that.

Davis: As far as increasing funding, I am dead set against taxes or rate increases. I think it’s, you know, a lazy way to do it, by increasing that. If you plan the project correctly and do it in a way that is good for the community, good for the environment, and good for the customers, then there’s other ways. I know I’m new, the reason I’m running is to look out for customers cause I’m one of them. I have met so many nice people in the last couple weeks that I’m looking out for you. Thank you.

Goodrich: Specifically, the question asks about increasing funding. Grants have been mentioned, bonds have been mentioned, the thing with some of those is that they come with strings attached, and in many cases the repayment period is much shorter than the expected life of whatever the improvement is, and to the point that was raised earlier, it would seem fair for a 30 year lifespan if the folks that are 15/20 years out could also be contributing for part of that process, as opposed to the folks that are here today having to pay for the whole thing. So, if we can look for opportunities to distribute the load more fairly over present and future customers, that would seem to be a win-win scenario.