PORT HADLOCK — Marrowstone Island residents have until April 6 to decide the fate of a proposed $4.4 million water system which will be financed by property owner assessments.
Proponents say the water works will neutralize the effect of seawater intrusion in private wells and provide drinkable water, while opponents fear installation of the water system will generate growth in the rural area.
Jefferson County Public Utility District No. 1 commissioners Wednesday set the April 6 date for the public hearing and determined the methods residents can use to protest installation of the water system.
Commissioner David Sullivan cast the only no vote, saying he favored accepting signatures dated prior to May 21, 2003, on petitions fighting the water system.
Commissioners Wayne King and Dana Roberts argued against accepting signatures from then because it was the date the proposal for a public water system on the island was accepted by the utility board.
“They collected signatures in good faith,” Sullivan said in stating his case for accepting all names on the petitions.
“A signature has to count for something.”
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The rest of the story appears in Thursday’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition.
