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<br />As I said before; the system was:put in in the late thirties .and early <br />forties, and there was no plan to it. It was a11 cast iron, and most <br />of these mains were replaced by a mill levy about five years ago. We <br />put in new main lines because.these case iron lines - which I'll tell <br />you a little later what our problem there is. We replaced everything <br />except, and 'I' think there is approximately a mile"in town that has still <br />got the old pipes in it. Nobody planned anything in those days, and I <br />they had anywhere ,from an inch pipe-up to six-inch pipe in those~mains, <br />in town. " : , <br /> <br />Our tax base is small and at a high . level. 'We have a tax ba.se of approxi- <br />mately six hundred and twenty thousand dollars and we're at a twenty- <br />four _mill lev:y level, now, , and: you know how taxes are today. ' - <br /> <br />OUr number Qne well which we dug in i929, and it lasted forty-five years. <br />Number two well, last year we lost the'bottom four hundred feet of it. ' <br />Our wells are all nine hundred feet deep, and the bottom of this well <br />collapsed at about four hundred feet. We, don't knOW what's wrong with <br />it down there. <br /> <br />The number three well'was qug-in 1955 and it was revamped for a total - <br />amount of-about five or six thousand-dollars in 1974. Number four well <br />is our latest well. It was dug in 1962, and without this well; I don't <br />know what, we'd do. 'jVe had to revamp it aga~n in 1975. And if you're <br />all familiar with wells, you can't,pump them a hundred percent twenty- <br />four hours 'a day. They don't last very,16ng. And this has been a big <br />problem. . - We have had to pump our wells basically three months ,of the <br />year at'full'capacity at all times. To keep these three or four wellS <br />going, just ,the upEeep on these wells is' approximately- eight thousand, ' <br />dollars a year. ,," <br /> <br />In 1975, we had to turn away over three hundred homes to be built. -In <br />1976, we have' already got the word, we have got it: down to approxi-, <br />mately one hundred and seventy-five homes we couldn't. build this,year <br />due to fire protection and water shortage. We have our water. budget <br />set up for next year of thirty-four thousand dollars" and it takes_ <br />thirty-five thousand dollars to keep it going. So you can see our <br />pr~blem there ~ <br /> <br />All fire hydrants in toWn are subject to vandalism. We ,have: no shut <br />off for' them. The other night' we had a little prolonged Halloween, and <br />some of the boys from soiDe other: town came over and turned on all the <br />fire hydrants. We lost twenty thousand gallons of water in nothing <br />flat. We have no way to shut them off, because of poor planning in <br />prior years. ' <br /> <br />No paved streets. And so our water breaks are numerous and our streets <br />are a niess all the tiine. The Burlington Railroad goes through there <br />with their high speed trains. Our ground is very porous. It vibrates. <br />My place is about a block and a half ,frointhe railroad, and we shake <br />clear down there from the high speed freight trains and coal cars. I <br />know there are some other towns having trouble with coal cars. But we <br />have some lulus going through our town. And they go through there -at <br />high speed. <br /> <br />-28- <br /> <br />I <br />