Longview man with windmill takes city to task over charges

KATUnews.com ^ | 5/10/2012 | Thom Jensen,

[Baynative]

LONGVIEW, Wash. – Ken Spring of Longview says he does everything by the book.

He said all the buildings on his neatly tended property in Cowlitz County are permitted and he always tries to abide by the law.

But he also said he is willing to fight to keep a newly built, 30-foot tall windmill on his land.

“You'll find this hard to believe, but I'll die for that,” he said as the windmill spun around overhead. “I am fed up.”

[goodnesswins]

Secondly, how often (if you know) does a backflow that’s tested show a problem?

[SatinDoll]

{giggle} Yeah, I know! For a time, a very short time, the city had on there a a ‘usage fee’. So you were essentially charged three times for the same thing.

The screams at the city council’s meetings from city residents must have been terrible, because that was removed.

[Sea Parrot]

Just damn, why the huge expense for water?

I get concerned when our water bill goes up to 40 bucks a month when running the evaporative (swamp) coolers in the summer. This is from a small water company here in AZ.

[Tainan]

I wonder if Mr. John Brickey, Longview Community Development Director, is familiar with the novel "Unintended Consequences" ?

If not, I think he should familiarize himself with what petty little local tyrants might face.

[Baynative]

In any city or county where liberals dominate the government they have mismanaged things so bad they are all in budget trouble. So, the only way they know to try to make ends meet is to take more from people who can't fight them.

Our county just implemented a $5.00 per month "franchise fee" on TV cable users.

[cableguymn]

so for 30 a year you can pump nasty water back in to the system?

wonder what they are snooping around for when they “test” the valve. if they cared about the water supply you could not pay a fee to skip the test.

[goat granny]

just think this country was born out of a tax on tea...

[Eva]

There is a big move to regulate the construction of windmills in WA counties because the left wants to put them everywhere, but near them or in their view, on AG land or recreational land in areas that they would like to be off limits to human incursion (Agenda 21).

Last week we drove through Southern California to Arizona, where all those wind farms were built years ago. The wind was blowing about 50mph, couldn’t open the car door at the rest stop because the wind was blowing so hard. The windmills weren’t running, not like you would expect with that wind. On the way back, they weren’t turning at all.

[Eva]

The Lummis are installing windmills all over the reservation. No one knows where the transmission lines will come from. Evidently, all the money in erecting windmills is in the federal subsidies, like solar, so the Lummis are lining up for all the federal money they can get there hands on, with no concern about the residents of the reservation.

[2nd amendment mama]

$196 for two months of water & sewer? Are you serious? I pay approx. $25 per month for both!

[familyop]

"I wonder if Mr. John Brickey, Longview Community Development Director, is familiar with the novel "Unintended Consequences" ?

If not, I think he should familiarize himself with what petty little local tyrants might face."

Thanks, Tainan. Xie xie. The novel looks interesting. I might find and order a copy. With a likely bond crash and continuing rising fuel prices ahead, many of the NIMBY ("not in my back yard") folks will be moving away from rural places and back in the poorer parts of cities before long. Besides, most of them are getting old (mostly the older half of my fellow Baby Boomers). IMO, remote rural areas will be mostly for the younger few and immigrants more amenable to rural life (e.g. some folks originally from the Himalayas who purchased lots near me--very nice neighbors, if they decide to build).

BTW, anyone who wants to build a small, private wind turbine (plans for homebuilt alternator, tilt tower, etc.) might consider doing so with a tilt tower. It can be left in the lowered position against the ground (alternator stored out of the weather) until it's needed (e.g., later in the government default and depression process, when funding from foreign debt and Fed printing press for enforcement will be slim). Only certain areas have frequent and strong enough winds for such equipment to be of much benefit, though.

[Baynative]

I called the guy. He has always gone through the process for any permits he needed. But this time he was told (in the beginning) that they had no rules. So he moved on with his project.

He was a Tea Party founder in the area, so they are probably looking to put him in his place. I wonder if he'd be getting this treatment if he was an "Occupy" founder.

A letter to the editor would be a good show of support ...how 'bout it?

[Baynative]

See #32 above. My letter was sent this AM.

[Lurker]

Well done. I will do the same.

[Eva]

In Whatcom County, the county council members voted themselves the power of approval over everything that is not expressly convered by county code, which meant that small individual windmills on private property had to go through the county approval process and were just summarily turned down. You cannot legally turn over a shovel of dirt in Whatcom County without a permit. They did eventually pass regulations regarding small private windmills.

[Baynative]

They did eventually pass regulations regarding small private windmills.

Of course they did. As self generated energy reduction methods become popular the government will work hard to regulate and tax them. They have long been bugged about people moving off the grid. Look for more efforts to tax the essentials of life and more false or hollow subsidies for moving into the urban collectives of the liberal future.

[goat granny]

there was an article a while back on FR about a town that outlawed rain barrels, now don't go collecting God's water cause we need the tax money.....Its unbelieveable that these dumb arse towns election nazi's or else they turn into nazi's when elected....

I am not a townie, got 4 1/2 acres and a well. No tax on well water yet. The only problem is if the grid goes down and no electricity for days, its a problem. If I wasn't so cheap I'd get a generator....

[Rebelbase]

“He said he built it to avoid paying Longview’s expensive water and sewer bills.”

Follow the money...

[castlebrew]

I’ve not heard of one failing, but I’m sure that doesn’t mean that they don’t ever fail. Your water system manager or operator might be able to tell you.

You might also check with them about how to disconnect your yard sprinkler system to the degree needed to ensure them that it isn’t being used - that might be the avenue to getting away from a yearly backflow prevention assembly test...

[Eva]

No, the county council wasn’t anticipating people moving off the grid. The individlual windmills were mostly to run filter systems for ponds and things like that. No one was actually anticipating moving off the grid. The windmills that they wanted to build were not big enough for that. It was actually one of the county council members who wanted to erect a windmill on her own property to run the filter system on her pond that forced the vote.