Why is Jefferson County asking for bids related to the Hadlock sewer proposal when most of the people living in Port Hadlock are against this project? Do their voices not count? 

The last estimate for just the beginning of the project included $28,000 per residential hookup and no answers about who will pay to maintain the individual grinders to each home. These costs could drive people out of their homes in Port Hadlock, one of the more affordable housing areas of our county. Where is the community outreach? Citizens deserve to be heard and have their concerns addressed.

Is the county going forward on this sewer plan against the will of the people? If so, why?

I can’t help but wonder if there are investors, who have purchased lands around Port Hadlock hoping to profit if this sewer system is completed. Maybe they have dreams of developing a huge box store. In the meantime, most people who live there seem happy with the status quo.

Affordable housing has no real connection to this sewer proposal. We have a sewer system and plenty of land available in Port Townsend where apartments and other low income housing projects can be built. The state Department of Commerce recognized this when it awarded over $11 million to the Olympic Community Action Programs’ Seventh and Hendricks affordable housing project.

We could triple or even quadruple the affordable housing stock in Port Townsend with the money required to construct a new sewer system in Port Hadlock. Building affordable housing in Port Townsend is a much better use of resources. It will directly improve issues of homelessness and the need for affordable housing for young families and workers in our county. Let’s listen to the community and stop the forward march on this sewer proposal.

Pamela Roberts
QUILCENE