Just wanted to reach out to set the record straight.
I did approach the Commission Monday evening regarding funding options for the Mount Zion PSD as most of you know by now. I was giving some options of looking into water funding grants with MOVRC who I have been working on with the mapping of the water system so that was great. Good to see Andy last night too. I was also told maybe we need to increase rates which I am not currently in favor of. Though that may need to happen eventually, I have a tough time going back to our customers with rate increases to address maintenance issues that were inherited from the previous team who may have mismanaged funds for repairs. I do not know all of the back history, but I do know what I walked into (a mess) and the fair thing for us to do is to look to be more efficient as a team so we can cut costs that way and look for outside help in the way of grants or other options. I still care about customer service as well as providing customers with what they are paying for. Call me weird.
As far as being disappointed in working to get the Mount Zion water system operational, that may have been taken the wrong way. The system is operational but in need of some major loving. If I was disappointed in working to get the system operational, I wouldn’t. But I am donating my time flushing hydrants which there is no record of doing, cleaning out offices, garages, working on pumps and leaks and trying to guide our team in the correct direction. A major leak sprung up Sunday which was repaired yesterday along with another nuisance leak on that pump and we got our spare pump back in service that has been out of service since before I started this adventure. Thank You to our operators as well as the Pleasant Hill operators for making it happen with no disruption to our customers. Team work makes the dream work.
On the teamwork note. It has been brought to my attention that the new mayor was not happy with me approaching the commission and mentioning a leak adjustment. The text I seen from the mayor was not professional and I surely wasn’t to quote him ” Talking shit behind his back “. I simply brought up a leak adjustment that was not a new issue. I emailed the town regarding this issue a few months ago and was told it would be looked into. The mayor said publicly that all leak adjustments from the Grantsville pressure issue would be looked at. It wasn’t, but it wasn’t because of the mayor. The Mount Zion PSD has not followed up on this issue either. Simply because it is a minor issue in my eyes with everything else going on in the county right now. But I didnt want it to be forgotten about. Nothing personal. I also have questioned working together since we all do it, but no one keeps track of it, which cost Mount Zion money in overtime wages that are not accounted for. The O&M needs to be a team venture I feel.
This also brings me back to something I have had issues with from everyone. Communication. Everyone involved with this county loves to group chat or utilize Fakebook for communication. I do not have Fakebook and will not get one to communicate with anyone. I honestly do not think any local government should chat through Fakebook or any other social media sites. Simply for security reasons. Email or text are safer in my eyes, plus you can get something productive accomplished if you get off Fakebook. It has made local authorities put policies into place to protect people from each other because of the childish behavior and name calling. Totally unacceptable to me, but not to anyone else. So to get back to the mayors quote of why wasn’t this brought up at the O&M Meeting? I was unaware of the O&M Meeting until the last minute, why? Because I wasn’t included in group chat or Fakebook post. I did call into the meeting and listened to people talking over each other in what sounded like udder chaos, not a meeting. So if I had been included in the invite, I would have been there and some of these questions. Communication breakdown month after month. I have been vocal about this to everyone including the Commissioners before last night. Yet it continues.
On a bright note, I did receive an email about a September O&M Meeting, so maybe we can head in a new direction now. Thank you Eric for addressing that. Now we need to remember to reply all so we can all discuss moving forward.
The 5 hydrants out of service so far. Two of them were out of service prior to us flushing. Most likely for years. One hydrant I broke at Family Dollar trying to shut it off after we flowed it. This is why testing is necessary. I’d rather break it testing than see it break in an actual fire event. The other two were hit by vehicles recently. We have received materials and those hydrant repairs will start in September. As will the last leg of flushing from Miller’s to Grantsville. Reminder. If you have a hydrant near you, it would be great to weed wack around it and shovel around it in the winter time. Not to save us on duties, but to save a fireman time if they need it to fight a fire for you or a neighbor. Also, the amount of trash that is collected around the hydrants we have flushed is sad. Get involved in September and help the county clean up trash. Contact the Commissioners for more details. Or, if you see a piece of trash, pick it up. Only takes a second
We have purchased parts for leaking pumps and some new valves which we are just waiting on some of the parts to arrive so those repairs can be addressed. But as our members will agree, came with a bit of struggle to get to this point.
Thank you,
Jason Firestine
Email: jfirestine@tragofire.com
717-327-0759 Cell
I don’t know the writer of this article but you done a great job explaining the situation. No matter who’s been in charge or involved with the PSD, I’ve heard the same story time and time again. it’s a mess. So I’d like to commend you for trying to fix the issues, not joining the noise in the social media circus, and getting straight to the point. Great letter
It’s not going to get fixed overnight. We are trying to move forward and do the best we can to make the needed repairs so we can maintain the system and upgrade what we need to in the future. Funding is always the issue, but I’m sure things will continue to get better and we will continue to work on funds from other sources if possible before we go to our customers for rate increases. We are still learning to work together with basically a whole new team, but we continue to move forward piece by piece. Thank you for the kind words and stay away from that social media circus. It’s not productive. Actually talking human to human can be productive if done with respect.