Clarke Courier

CAREFUL PLANNING...

Through the efforts of Mayor Harris, and the Town Council who have been working with the J. B. McCrary engineering firm of Atlanta, Georgia, the application for the Sewerage disposal plant of Berryville has been approved.

That the application has been sanctioned by the PWA authorities speaks well for the accuracy with which the mass of technical details, engineering data and scientific requirements were answered by the McCrary Company who have been wisely selected by the Mayor and the Town Council as the best possible representative to complete the necessary steps with the Government officials.

Berryville having now been given the opportunity to have an improved sewerage plant by an outright grant from the Federal Government of $34,000 and a loan of $42,000 should consider seriously the various elements involved in this project. The mere fact that the Federal officials have seen fit to approve the plan does not mean necessarily that the sewerage plant with the loan which it entails is an accomplished fact.

Local contractors will have a chance to submit bids for the construction of the system and from the estimates received, an exact summary of the cost can be ascertained. Although the appropriation calls for a project providing $76,000 it is thought probable that it will be possible to construct the plant for around $50,000. This would mean a bond issue of $27,500 to be paid back over a period of years at the rate of four percent.

There can be no doubt that a sewerage system which would include a main pipe line leading to a disposal plant some six miles outside of the town limits would be a splendid benefit to Berryville. In the future the possibility of disease would be greatly lessened through an improved sanitation system. The more immediate outlook would mean employment for local labor and additional funds in the hands of local people to be spent in this vicinity.

In computing the probable cost of installation, it would be safe to put the necessary bond issue at $30,000. The maximum interest at 4 percent plus a provision to retire $1,000 of the principal each year would make the total annual cost $2,200, which would decrease as the principal was reduced. As there are 450 water users, fifty cents a month would provide $2,700 a year or more than enough to take care of the loan.

The tax rate would thus be raised but the cost of having the cesspools cleaned out each year probably amounts to more than this additional taxation. It should, however, be the determination of every community to make every effort to keep down the taxes as high taxes affect the desirability of real estate. The problem is one, therefore, for careful consideration before the residents will be called upon to vote on this project at a special election.