Editor,
It is getting late in the game to save the Ozarks from ourselves. We support the sales and use tax that has been proposed by Mayor Butch Berry and the Eureka Springs City Council.
Their investigation of the chronic underfunding of the City water and wastewater infrastructure and courage in facing the problem are commendable. Ordinance 2244 deserves the support of all who love Eureka Springs. The green image of our city is belied by what lies beneath – the dark reality of a failing underground infrastructure. Public Works needs full support. Our track record of unresolved regulatory actions and endless delays must end. Time and again we have used taxpayer funds to build an image of charm and natural beauty, to the neglect of our aging water and sewer systems.
If not now, when do we stop digging a hole in our future?
It is time for us to address underground infrastructure repairs and improvements that have been underfunded over the decades.
Leaking and broken water and sewer mains and pipes, the underfunded sewer plant costs and upgrades, and degrading services are escalating future costs and causing a downward financial and environmental spiral. Our leading citizens and newspapers have provided informed support. And yes, quality of Public Works and public health cost money. If we don’t act, the water quality of the springs that built our city, our karst groundwater, Leatherwood Creek, and Table Rock Lake at Holiday Island will continue to worsen. Time is running out, and the consequences of a “No” vote will cast a brown shadow over our beloved Ozark hills and valleys and our tourist economy.
Let us heal “healing waters.” Let’s build a future where the reality of our historic city matches the image that draws residents and tourists. Let us accept responsibility for the actual costs of living in harmony with Nature in the 21st Century.
Think like cool clean water, think about the critters and people living downstream.
VOTE “YES” FOR A CLEAN GREEN FUTURE!