The Lexington Water Department knew that leaks claimed a large percentage of the water purchased from Tim Shelton, but had few means to seek out and repair the damaged forty year-old pipe. It was also apparent that such leaks weakened the system's water pressure, most noticeably on its outer edges.
Rascaltown, Tennessee, first noticed a dramatic decrease in water pressure early in 2005, and by June 2006 the water had ceased to flow altogether. Tim Shelton trucked in water to the remote community, while the town of Lexington initially noticed little difference.
When the main pump malfunctioned early in July, the water department activated its back-up, only to discover it was clogged with mud and small gravel. Now Rascaltown wasn't the only community without water. Mayor Herman Jaggers ordered bottled water purchased for Lexington residents--something he hadn't bothered to do for those in Tennessee who could not vote in Lexington elections. City employees handed out the Wal-Mart water by the case, while fielding the questions of irritated residents.
The arrival of a third pump restored water to the entire Lexington system, but did nothing to lessen the 1.3 million dollar USDA loan. After four years in office, Jaggers decided not to seek re-election, and only former Mayor Bobby McGuire qualified, winning the position by default.
In January of this year, the Lexington Water Department added a $5.00 charge to each of the 940 households subscribing to city water, whether in reach of the sewer system or not. The town's yearly payment on the government loan is just under $84,000.00, and was not up to date at that time.
In February, McGuire requested a $500,000.00 grant from NACOLG to install a new well filtration system, as well as an additional $300,000.00 for an upgrade to the wastewater lagoon, an expense that had not been calculated when the initial sewer budget was established. This month McGuire has requested a third grant from NACOLG in the amount of $271,000.00 to purchase an additional well in Greenhill for supplementary water.
Assuming all three grants are secured, this would afford the Lexington Water Department an additional $1,071,000.00 in funding for its seemingly bottomless water pit. One local attorney who has worked with the town has been quoted as saying the small town would be better off to revoke its charter and revert to an unincorporated community. The same source has indicated that Mayor Bobby McGuire may resign in July due to personal issues.
Whatever direction the town may take, a decade has passed, millions of dollars have been spent, and a faulty sewer has been installed. So far, no new national chains have established themselves in Lexington. The town's citizens have a right to know what went wrong.
What's up with this: Area judges appear to be handing down more severe penalties for sex crimes. Let's hope Lauderdale County jurists follow their example.
While Lexington, Alabama, has been chartered as a municipality and later disbanded several times over its existence, the 1950s saw the last and current charter. By the 1960s, the town saw the need for a central water system to replace a myriad of small wells that were often the breeding ground for various diseases.
Having taken out a low-interest, long-term government loan, the town began the arduous task of running cast iron pipe to every home and business (pictured at right is the Lexington Post Office of the 1950s). Due to the small number of businesses located within the town limits, revenue collections were sparse, resulting in small payments on the water system loan. Apparently because of the low interest rate, the city fathers worried little over the loan balance, an amount that was periodically renegotiated.
By the 1990s, Gerald McGee was both mayor of the small town and head of the local water board. McGee realized Lexington was growing at a much slower rate than the nearby communities of Killen and Rogersville and theorized the lack of a sewer system held the community back. The mayor began to campaign for a sanitary sewer system, placing advertisements in the local newspaper promoting the project. McGee, who held several public meetings concerning the proposed project, was met with nothing but positive feedback; however, apparently many of the town's residents were not fully aware of the system's cost or how the project would be financed.
Once the project was underway, many Lexington residents noticed the workers were mainly Hispanic, but their fears were allayed by construction company managers who promised quality work for a low price. Once the sewer system was completed, the residents soon realized what the town had actually purchased was inferior work resulting in sewer lines that would run only downhill and back up during heavy rains.
However, for some residents shoddy construction was only a minor worry. While the sewer didn't reach all incorporated areas, any homes it did reach were charged for sewer usage whether attached to the system or not. Lexington already had the highest water rates in Northwest Alabama, and now many residents were not financially able to pay their monthly bills. Residents contacted various media outlets to express their rage, and, according to Wilsey Mashburn of The Suburban News, some town council members engaged in fist fights after the heated monthly meetings.
The town council eventually relented, accepting only water bill payments from local citizens, while falling behind on both the USDA sewer loan and payments to Tim Shelton's company that provided the town's water. Rumors of missing water department funds of at least $40,000.00 did nothing to quell the anger of Lexington residents, but sewer board chairman James W. Truitt failed to push for a forensic audit. No yearly audits of either entity had been completed since McGee had left the water department, and the town's accounting firm stated requests for paperwork went unanswered.
During this period, the town sold its medical clinic to Dr. Diana McCutcheon, a move that angered many of the residents. The town also initiated a municipal court and garbage collections in an attempt to increase revenue. Using these funds, Lexington paid the tens of thousands owed to Springfield Premium Water, but failed to bring payments up to date with the USDA. Faced with the possible Federal takeover of the town, many citizens blamed Gerald McGee. McGee had already stepped down from his position as head of the Lexington Water Board and subsequently lost his bid for re-election to Herman Jaggers who campaigned on a platform of water and sewer reform.
Upon his election, accountant Herman Jaggers immediately raised the minimum water bill by $10.00, announcing that it was only the beginning. Jaggers also reinstated the monthly sewer charges and retained a collection agency to assist with all past due bills. Herman Jaggers was said to have announced he might not be the best liked mayor in the history of Lexington, but he would be the one who would put the water and sewer departments in the black. Then came the summer of 2006.
Next: Wal-Mart water
"Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink." - Lexington, Alabama, Summer of 2006It was late June in 2006, and the citizens of Rascaltown had been without water for over four weeks; to be more exact they had been without water pressure in the pipes that connected their homes to the Lexington, Alabama, water lines that served them. Residents toted buckets three miles to Blue Water Creek to secure water to flush their toilets and bathed their children with moist baby wipes. Temperatures soared, but there was no end in sight.
Tad Cole, Lexington Water Department Manager, assured the 50 affected families that the situation was only temporary, but as weeks dragged on and temperatures continued to rise, the citizens of Rascaltown approached members of the media for help. That was when Tim Shelton became aware of the community's plight.
The owner of Springfield Premium Water, Shelton provided Lexington with wholesale water, as well as distributing bottles of his product to retail outlets. The Springfield businessman immediately loaded a truck with five-gallon bottles of water (pictured above) and sent them to Rascaltown free of charge. Thereafter, he continued to send a tanker of water twice a week until the situation was resolved.
Unfortunately, resolution didn't come until the town of Lexington itself was plunged into the same waterless plight as the dog days of summer took hold. Only then did Mayor Herman Jaggers and members of the water and sewer boards take action. That was almost three years ago, and judging by current Mayor Bobby McGuire's recent public statements concerning continuing water problems in Lexington, Tim Shelton is still not being credited with his unprecedented altruism in an almost untenable situation.
However, McGuire's mindset isn't that rare in a town where water problems date back to the 1960s. Lexington, Alabama's water woes have been 50 years in the making, and for the past decade have focused on the blame game. Like a beleagured CEO addressing stockholders, Bobby McGuire again this week spoke of improvement and the good times that are just around the corner, but are they really?
Tomorrow: The genesis of the white elephant known as Lexington Water & Sewer
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