Mayor needs to go

By Bent Laursen, Stevensville

The Mayor of Stevensville is really messing up. He is ramrodding the Nicole Court development through without any regard to the citizens of Stevensville. He held a public meeting for “comments only.” He has said several times that this project is a done deal. It is obvious to us that he does not work for the citizens of Stevensville. Who DOES the Mayor work for?

Since we live in the neighborhood, our greatest concern is the water issue. But the issue is so much deeper than just the surface water. Literally speaking, the deep ground water is just as important as the surface water because the water table is just below the surface. Once these people bring their excavators in to bury the water lines, sewer lines, phone lines, and power lines, what happens to the ground water when that subsurface is disturbed? Bear in mind that in the spring the water table is only 3 or 4 feet below the surface. Does it magically disappear? The engineers (who don’t even live here) say that it will all be taken care of. Of course, it will be dry as a bone when they install all the utilities in September. What about March when the snow melt raises the water table to the surface? Add to that the spring rains and what have you got?

The City had to run a pump at the intersection of Pine Street and Eastside Highway in the spring of 2019 because of the runoff water. The people like the Mayor and the engineers who do not live in the neighborhood would say that was an unusual event but was it? Every year it gets wet in this neighborhood. Then again, it only takes one unusual event to cause major problems (Does anyone remember 1996?). Contrary to popular opinion, when a disaster happens not just the neighborhood but all the taxpayers of Stevensville get to pay for the cleanup.

We feel the Mayor does not have the experience or the integrity to oversee a project like this. He needs to go.