Small Town News

Is it in the water?

---

Do yourself a favor and check out the Belfair Water District story on the cover of this week's Herald.

For those of you who have been following the shenanigans at the water district for the past year or so, the story may not come as a total surprise. It might blow your mind, but that's what the water district does on a consistent basis.

Things at the tiny district just get weirder with each passing day and their most recent "public" meeting was par for the course. You couldn't make this stuff up.

The water district came onto everyone's radar when it filled in some sensitive Hood Canal wetlands behind its office in plain view of any passing motorist on State Route 3. Things have only gone downhill since then.

Three particular examples are especially egregious.

Romance Hill: When Greg Waggett discovered a year ago that, due to a county error, his parcel of property and several other Clifton Ridge parcels were not in fact a part of the Belfair Water District, he and his neighbors went through the process to have themselves properly annexed. The water district board voted to annex in every piece of property except for the Waggett's, which many attributed to the fact that Waggett had run for a commissioner position in the district that eventually went to Mike Pope.

The county chose not to approve the annexation because of the "random" exemption and the issue has been tabled at the BWD, never to be brought up again.

Fire hydrant locks: This summer, water district manager David Tipton placed locks on 50 hydrants in Belfair, without giving any notice to Mason County Fire District 2.

The lack of communication anc acrimony between the two agencies has gotten out of hand, but there are some remediation efforts going on.

Even if the water district had a valid reason to lock the hydrants the way in which it went about communicating its stance to the public, the fire district and the county only alienated the district further from all three of those other groups.

Restraining orders: This year both Tipton and Commission Chair John Phillips have sought restraining orders for harassment they allegedly endured by members of the water district. Tipton's restraining order against Greg Waggett was not renewed last week, and Phillips' against Lynn Stevenson was rejected out of hand. Mason County District Court Judge Victoria Meadows advised Phillips to get a lawyer and look into issues of free speech. In both of these cases, these two men have resorted to legal action to silence dissenting opinions; in the case against Stevenson, Phillips' arguments were shown to have been patently false. Like we said, you couldn't make this stuff up.



Copyright 2010 Shelton-Mason County Journal, Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 Shelton-Mason County Journal Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from Shelton-Mason County Journal