“The problem with the Global Village is all the Global Village Idiots.” (Wired Magazine)

Lane/Tommy: Did you read what the Windham Town Council decided to commit Windham to during the council meeting of Dec. 12? Well, it certainly isn’t paying for outhouses but it might just drive someone to the poorhouse real soon. What the town council did was commit Windham to spend $2 million which is Windham’s share of extending a sewer pipe from Windham through Gorham to the Westbrook treatment plant.

South Windham shares a small treatment plant with the Little Falls section of Gorham. Because of the new housing facility for seniors in South Windham, the plant is now at full capacity. Since there is more development proposed in the area around Keddy Mill, the cheapest solution for wastewater treatment is extending a sewer line to Westbrook. We certainly don’t want raw sewerage dumped into a river.

Tommy: What needs to be explained as new development takes place in South Windham is why should we subsidize private business and future owners. Extending the pipe from South Windham through Gorham down Route 237 and connected to the Westbrook treatment plant is cheaper than rebuilding the present plant in Gorham. Gorham’s cost is approximately $4 million. Windham’s cost is around $2 million. The correctional facility located in South Windham has a cost of a little over $200,000. Something needs to be justified as far as Windham’s cost.

There are now around 50 users of the treatment plant from Windham. Aren’t there around 600 resident inmates at the correctional facility in South Windham? Why is Windham’s share of the cost 10 times that of the correctional facility when Windham has less than one tenth of a percent of users when compared to the correctional facility? If more development takes place in South Windham will user fees rise to pay for the total cost of sewerage?

Lane: Will the developer(s) pay all or part of the cost of extending the sewer pipe? Why should we, the taxpayers, continue to finance the profits of a private corporation? The second problem I have with the proposed new housing in South Windham is will it really happen? We all know that the housing market has declined. Will the development take place and if it doesn’t will our town management place an unfair burden on the taxpayer? Our town leaders often use the term of “best scenario” which I personally believe is that they don’t have a clue.

Lane/Tommy: As in typical Windham tradition, did the town management, which includes the town manager, town council and economic developer, once again wait to the last possible moment to spring this $2 million cost on the residents of Windham? How could there be enough time for public input when the workshop was on Dec. 5 and the council approved it on Dec. 12 because of the looming deadline of Dec. 27? Remember that we are forbidden to speak at workshops. Our time to speak at council meetings is three minutes. Yeah, that’s real democracy. It is evident this is “mind over matter.” They don’t mind and we don’t matter.

Tommy: The real question is how this $2 million is going to be paid for. The only forthcoming answer by the council and manager is that Windham has options. Don’t the residents of Windham deserve a better explanation of what options mean before the debt was approved? What is perplexing about the sewer rates is that they have not increased in 13 years. Have your taxes, electric bills, etc., increased in that time frame?

Lane: Our town charter states anything appropriated over $25,000 must go to the voters for approval. Are our town council and manager sidestepping the provisions of our town charter? Another part of the discussion should be if the development at the Keddy Mill did not take place, the taxpayers of Windham would foot the bill for the removal of mill and hazardous waste. Really? What irresponsible public official placed this burden on us or is it an urban myth to convince us to pay for something we shouldn’t be responsible for? Who owns this property? If the answer is the town of Windham, we must really bring forth who got us into this mess!

Lane/Tommy: A comment was made that the stars are lining up in South Windham. We believe that the taxpayers are going to be punched and will be seeing stars. There also has been no mention of who will pay for the removal of the present sewerage treatment plant in Gorham. Oh that’s right, it’s in Gorham so let them pay. Do you like the idea if someone flushes their toilet you pay for it?

Lane and Tommy now appear (no kidding here, folks) on WJZF, 97.1 FM Lakes Region Radio several times a week with a program called On the Right Track. As this is a low-power FM station, if you cannot hear the broadcast please go to www.wjzf.org for the scheduled times of the show. This Web site includes a link to listen to WJZF live on the Internet in CD quality. If you want to be a guest on our show, call 893-1589.