LETTER

To the Editor,

Not surprisingly, the bond to fund the Coppei Creek levy improvements failed.

You might wonder why with my being an owner of two properties in the designated flood zone of Waitsburg, I would vote against it. In short, because it was not a part of a comprehensive flood plan. I was one of only five community members who attended the meeting that the Army Corps of Engineers held to inform Waitsburg residents about the proposed Coppei levy improvements.

The information I gleaned from this meeting was that while we could spend, with matching fund grants, some $4 million dollars to deal with Coppei Creek, half of the properties covered under the Coppei plan would be still be negatively affected by flood waters from the Touchet River. And while I would like to think the greater good would somehow trump my own personal situation, I couldn't in good conscience vote for a bond that would not take into account the levy along the Touchet River.

Right now, the levy along the Touchet River is considered by FEMA to be only minimally certified, which means we, in Waitsburg, could be facing the same situation that happened in Milton-Freewater. That city's levy was decertified, which in turn meant that anyone holding a mortgage on their property would be required to have flood insurance whether or not that property was in a designated flood zone.

Let me tell you, flood insurance is not cheap and requirements are such that the property owner is required to maintain an amount of coverage equal to the amount of replacement cost of that property. I, for example, for my two properties, spend close to $5,000 a year for flood insurance. So why would I vote for a bond that would increase my property tax and in turn do little or nothing to decrease my flood insurance premiums? Community spirit aside, the numbers didn't add up knowing that the downtown core that many of us have worked so hard to revitalize would be in little or no way positively affected by shoring up the Coppei Levy.

And while the Army Corps has engineered many great things, the idea of turning the Touchet and the Coppei rivers into Mill Creek does not fit with my image of the natural beauty that surrounds us here in Waitsburg.

What we need is a comprehensive flood plan that would take into account both waterways that includes regular maintenance and is economically, as well as ecologically, friendly. According to quotes in the Union Bulletin from the Waitsburg City Clerk, the Waitsburg City Council will not promoting any more bonds to improve the levy along Coppei Creek as "the electorate has spoken" I would like to suggest that our council, like the city officials up in Dayton are doing, meet with the Army Corps, as well as the departments of ecology and fish and wildlife, then come up a with a comprehensive and sustainable plan that will keep our entire town safe from whatever Mother Nature has to throw at us. If that were to happen, I would gladly vote to increase my tax burden knowing that the future for all of Waitsburg would be a successful one.

Ross Stevenson, Waitsburg