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Uproar at town meeting

Evening's meeting at the Dog Trot Middle School library brought a good turnout and a number of questions, but few answers to questions of concerned residents. Residents are upset that the DTUB (Dog Trot Utilities Board) had erected a water tower spoiling the view of the ridge near an established housing development. The community meeting organized by County Commissioner Jacob Levi drew a small crowd of concerned citizens and county officials including the Fire Marshal, Todd Crumpet. The meeting was intended to address citizens' aesthetic concerns about the new DTUB water tower and talk about alternatives to the location of the tower. It ended instead with more questions about the plans approval process and a sense that nothing could be done about the location of the tower. Jacob Levi and many of the commissioners voiced their dismay at the lack of public input regarding the water tower's design and placement. The DTUB spokesman acknowledged that there was not a lot of advance notification....but defended the plan as necessary. He promised that in the future they would work more closely with the county officials and bring public notification and discussion closer to the forefront.

The Fire Marshall explained that the DTUB could find no other way to have adequate fire water pressure available other than to install electromechanical booster pumps in a waterline from the water plant which would be too expensive. The development the water would serve could not go forward with such a huge expense. On top of that Commissioner Jacob Levi stated he believed this system would be much less reliable that the gravity system provided by the tower. Two pumping systems would have to be installed without the tower. A high pressure system for fire protection and high flow rates, and a low pressure system for normal use would be required without the tower.
Finally the two hour meeting evolved into a discussion about how the Planning Commission could name a subcommittee to take up issues related to ridge top zoning and development. The meeting adjourned with much confusion and the group seemed to realize it was a complex mix of tough decisions to maintain a balance of safety, service and scenery.

As Walter Tubb left the meeting he was mad. He had hardly said a word and only heard one key point that caused him to decide what he should do next. That point was that the water tower would serve all requirements. He pondered how that could be because gravity would only provide one pressure, whatever that would be, and could in no way provide a high and a low pressure. As he fired up his F250 four-wheel drive he became angrier as he drove along. He drove to the top of the ridge where he could see the water tower... now about half full of water. He studied the design and backed close to one of the three support legs. He had a huge abrasive power saw in the back of his pick up for cutting steel and concrete. In the dark of night high atop the ridge, he cranked up his saw and began to cut into the steel support. Sparks flew and finally the support gave way sending the tower collapsing down the ridge. He had never seen such a splash.

He calmly got into his truck and drove home. The damage was discovered the following morning and many people were summoned to view the damage. The crumpled tower lay mangled over the hillside. There were many theories about how this could have happened. Faulty engineering seemed to be the prevailing idea as to the cause, although some figured foul play was involved. The headlines in the following morning paper read, "Water Tower Collapses under Weight of Discussions." As Walter Tubb drew his bathwater he thought of ways he could get the public involved in new site selection plans.