Bob Boggs
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor
In a recent
letter to the editor, Mr. Paul Shagnot asked several reasonable questions about
the lodge and the proposed purchase of the Plant C water system in
Concerning
the lodge: All appropriate waivers of
lien were obtained on all contractors and subcontractors before payments were
made on the project. All construction costs have now been paid with the
exception of a $150,000 retention amount.
As with any new structure, there are corrections and repairs for which
the contractor must be called back. It
is expected that the bulk of the retention money will soon be released to the
contractor since most of the necessary repairs have now been made. The issues remaining involve the landscaping,
where some shrubs have died due to this year’s heat, and repairs to the pool,
which will be made this winter.
Concerning
Plant C: It is impossible to give
specific numbers at this time since the commissioners have not yet finalized an
agreement with First Energy. However I
can say that although there will be some additional funds needed for upgrading
the system and to pay for some environmental remediation, these costs will be
nowhere near the $12-$25 million that Mr. Shagnot suggested. Furthermore the purchase price of the
building will be significantly less than he mentioned.
It
is also important to point out that there are state and federal grants and loans
available to assist with this project. Moreover, the customers of the system
have been made aware that they, and not the taxpayers of