utility bill wild goose chase

if you're like me, then you probably haven't ever looked deeply into your town utility bill. you just pay it each month and move on. but, with the stories from WHSV about high water bills, I decided to look into our monthly utility bill. 

The bill itself contains charges for water, sewer and garbage, meter number, previous and present meter readings (90 and 92--fictitious numbers), usage (2000--another fictitious number) and amount ($25.57 for water, $25.02 for sewer and $12.13 for garbage). There are several dates on the bill:

• billing date (02/28/2022) (appears twice)
• due date (03/20/2022) (appears twice)
• previous reading date (02/17/2022) (same as present reading date)
• present reading date (02/17/2022) (same as previous reading date)

does the same date for previous and present readings make any sense to you?

There's a message in red on the bill that reads "FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE REFERENCE THE UTILITY BILL ADJUSTMENT & WATER METER POLICY". since said policy wasn't on the bill, I went to the town's website and typed "utility bill adjustment & water meter policy" into the search block. "Invalid search" was the response. 

I then clicked on "Public Works + Utilities" under the "inside town hall" heading on the town's home page. Then I clicked on the "water and sewer rate information" block. under the "water and wastewater rate survey" heading it states: "Please see the Water and Wastewater Rate Survey prepared by Draper Aden Associates to see how Strasburg rates compare with other localities across Virginia: HERE ." The link took me to Draper Aden Associates' webpage where I requested the 2021 and 2020 Water and Waste Water reports. Each report has multiple pages of "water data" for numerous towns in Virginia--except Strasburg. ????

at this point I'm thinking that I'm on a wild goose chase--but, I continued on. 

At the bottom of the "water and sewer rate information" web page there are two hotlinks: "Water and Wastewater Rate Report" and "water bill unit calculator". when I clicked on the first I got Draper Aden Associates' 2019 report. if you're interested in out-of-date information, then you can download this report. You can click on the second hotlink too. I did--quite frankly, it raises more questions than it answers. 

• what is a "billing unit"? (answer: a fictitious number)
• why not compute the bill using actual meter readings? 
• why not show actual gallons used (present meter reading minus previous meter reading), rather than converting and rounding them into fictitious "billing units"?
• why does my utility bill show only two fictitious two-digit numbers for the meter readings? (meter readings in the sample "water bill unit calculator" chart show 6 digits--3 whole numbers and 3 digits after the decimal point.) 

and then there are questions about the dates:

• same date for both previous and present readings? needless to say, we didn't use 2,000 gallons (a fictitious number) of water in a single day!
• when was the previous meter reading (90, another fictitious number) actually read?
• when was the present meter reading (92, another fictitious number) actually read?
• what were the actual meter readings in decimals? 
• why aren't actual meter readings in decimals shown on the bill (like those shown in the "water bill unit calculator")?
• why aren't the actual gallons used shown on the bill?

by this time my head hurt with all of the errors, fictitious numbers, misinformation, contradictions, obfuscations and dead ends. 

all in all, trying to figure out our water bill was a complete waste of time--a wild goose chase. 

can you imagine doing business with a gas station that rounded up the amount of gas pumped to the next even gallon instead of showing the actual number of gallons of gas pumped in decimals? 

neither can I. strasburg's water bills don't pass the "smell test".

public domain

how safe is our water?

Some in Strasburg continue to see high water bills, changes coming   

the town says that it's leaking toilets that is causing the problems. if leaking toilets are causing huge spikes in water bills, then don't you think that the town could prove that by now? In view of the fact that some residents have contested their highly fluctuating water bills, and the town hasn't proved that defective meters or other flaws in the water or billing systems (e.g. missing or defective air release valves) are not the source of the fluctuations, then the town should reduce contested bills and immediately return payment (with interest) to customers for the unexplained peaks.

has the town placed temporary water meters (similar to those used on construction sites) on the water lines to check the permanent meters?

has the town searched the internet? 

• "Please fix this"; Norfolk residents say they're blindsided by high water bills 
• WATCH: Air trapped in pipe affects water metre reading | Northglen News 
• Air in water pipes: What is an air valve and how does it work? 
• https://burnshomeconstruction.com/sensus-water-meter-most-common-problems/ 
• Troubleshooting Common Water Meter Problems | DoItYourself.com 
• water meter accuracy testing equipment - Search 

when WHSV first reported this problem, I suggested that the town focus on their water system instead of blaming customers for spikes in their water bills (Strasburg VA underground: water bills mystery). in WHSV's followup to their story nothing has changed. the town is still blaming their customers for their high water bills. if the town is unable to solve this longstanding problem (since 2016), then how safe is our water? running water treatment and sewage treatment plants takes more smarts than figuring out what's causing huge spikes in water bills.

Kudos to WHSV for their continuing coverage of this story, as well as the Paul Rush story (Paul Rush's house was vandalized twice within a couple months in ugly incidents), the milk plant explosion, pollution alerts for the north fork of the shenandoah river, etc. Without WHSV's timely reporting it's unlikely that strasburg residents would know anything about these important news events.

election year

Strasburg councilman John Massoud not seeking re-election, plans to run for another office | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com   

business as usual? 

or is change coming? 

answer: it depends.

pay attention and vote, strasburg. 

keeper

Strasburg town manager settling into role of serving the citizens | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com  

an excellent article. 

however, one question that I would have liked to hear Coggsdale answer: 

how does the town keep its focus on serving its citizens with a town council that seems more interested in playing politics--similar to US congress?

strasburg's citizens want to know--so do citizens of the commonwealth and the USA. 

note to Coggsdale: in addition to working with shenandoah county and increased broadband capabilities, working with vdot to solve some of strasburg's more vexing problems may provide unexpected dividends.

survey

from our window this morning it appears that 90% of the people on our street have their trashcans out. obviously, they didn't get the word that the trash pickup schedule has changed. 

which only goes to prove the obvious:

• not everyone in town has facebook.
• people are not "spreading the word" like the town desires.
• not everyone has email.
• not everyone has a computer.
• it is NOT the responsibility of the town's citizens to "spread the word".
• it is the TOWN'S responsibility to provide timely information to each and every citizen of the town.

Tiny stephens city does it. LOTS of other towns provide their citizens with important information in a timely fashion. 

get with the program, town of strasburg.

chicken or pig?

there's an old story: 

Both a chicken and a pig look on at a family eating breakfast. The chicken comments how a chicken’s eggs allows it to participate (or involve) itself to help others. The pig then comments on the bacon/ham; pigs aren’t just “participating” or “involved”—they’re totally committed! 

if you're a resident of the town of strasburg, then you're committed--you live here. you want a different kind of information than that provided for those who don't live here. 

it's important for the town to feed the chickens--to try attract those who may want to live here. their taxes can help the town to grow and to provide for those who might move here. attracting tourism increases tax revenue too.

but, it's also important for the town to feed its residents too. they need a different kind of information. they need to know that the town is safe for all who live here. residents need to know that the town is providing clean, safe water and that they're being billed fairly. residents need to know in advance when trash won't be picked up on schedule. residents need timely information when there's a pollution alert for the river. residents need to know that the town is addressing safety and security issues for all of its residents.

tourists and potential businesses are "targets of opportunity". we already live here. for residents, there's a big difference between promoting the town and taking care of those who already live here. each resident of the town decides how many of those who represent and work for the town are truly committed to the welfare of those whom they represent and work for. how do you rate their performance? 

pathetic

 Strasburg Town Council denies Unity Resolution   

"Council members thanked Rush for their (?) courage to come forward and before voting (?), Boies said she wanted to remind residents that the town is a safe space despite how the vote went (?)."

so, what will people think? what do you think?

• some people will think that trespassing and vandalism of Paul Rush's home TWICE were despicable acts. some people won't.
• people will know that some people in strasburg are decent people--particularly those who helped Paul Rush remove the hateful LGBTQ slurs from his house--TWICE.
• people will know that no one(s) has been arrested for trespassing and vandalizing Paul Rush's home.
• people will know that the town council drafted a "unity resolution" and then debated it for weeks.
• people will know that the resolution didn't pass.

will people believe that the council is thankful that Paul Rush had the courage to come forward? maybe some will.

will people believe that strasburg is a safe place? maybe some will (as long as you're not different).

no one has to be "reminded" whether strasburg is a safe place or not. each person decides that for themselves. 

Strasburg Town Council Rejects Unity Resolution | News | dnronline.com 

"Ricard was first to speak on Tuesday in opposition of the resolution, saying it focused too heavily on Rush’s incidents when there have been other events."

"...there have been other events ... I just think it should be totally inclusive". so, don't pass a resolution that condemns bigotry? yeah, OK. barnyard logic.

“Human nature is something that is taught and learned, you can not change it by a piece of paper,” Cherrix said. “Us saying saying everybody be friends, hold hands, kumbaya, that’s all fine and dandy, but you can’t enforce that on everybody ... being inclusive more of one particular group than every group that we have in this town, will [divide] this town even more.”

Cherrix, Massoud, Monahan, Nicholson--more barnyard logic.

all of the bs doesn't change the facts--actions speak louder than words.

strasburg, are you satisfied with some of your "leaders"? (I'm not.)

vote them out.

PS it's small wonder that the town doesn't communicate more with its citizens. What town would want meetings like strasburg's broadcast?

water bills mystery

 Strasburg residents continue to see unusually high water bills  

I guess that I just don't understand.

I can understand consistent water bills when there's nothing unusual going on. I can understand a jump in the water bill if you're replanting your lawn. but what I don't understand is when water bills make huge jumps when nothing unusual is happening on the customer side. fluctuating water bills have been going on with some customers for years? blaming highly fluctuating water bills on customer leaks just doesn't make sense to me. if customer leaks were causing the problems, then water bills would remain high until the leaks are fixed.

Kim Painter makes an excellent point. 12,000 gallons one month to 32,000 gallons another after enrollment at St. Paul Lutheran Church and Child Care Center went from 70 children to 11. other residents also complain about "high monthly fluctuations". these fluctuations don't sound like water leaks to me. it just doesn't make sense. 

maybe the town should focus more on themselves and answer some obvious questions first:

• how often are water meters read? 
• are they being read correctly?
• has the town checked the suspect water meters? 
• are they operating correctly? 
• is the water line that connects the public water main to the house, business or other private customer leaking?

rather than insisting that customer leaks are the cause, maybe the town should think the problems through. blaming longstanding "dramatic increases and monthly fluctuations" on customer leaks just doesn't make sense. it's not rocket science. it doesn't take years to find out what's causing the water bill anomalies and to fix what needs fixing.

citizens of the town of strasburg,

what's wrong with this picture? (I'm not just talking about water bills.)

I started this "strasburg underground" blog nearly two years ago because of my frustration with the town's lack of communication with its citizens, misinformation and failures to address obvious problems. you know the story--that things were messed up at town hall with the previous administration shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

I encourage you to browse through this blog's posts from the beginning. are things still messed up at town hall? you bet they are!

Tell your friends and neighbors about "strasburg underground". the only way that things in strasburg will get unmessed up is if the citizens of this town demand from the mayor and town council that town hall gets unmessed up. 

I'm not running for office. I'm retired. I'm in the fourth quarter of my life. before I retired I spent many hours in meetings that accomplished little or nothing. I have no desire to do so now. 

there's a BIG difference between politics and life. politics is a game where both sides throw rocks at each other, both sides lie and there's no accountability. life is not a game. truth matters. disease, poverty, crime, greed, incompetence, injustice, etc. are real and people get hurt. no one person or group of people has all of the answers. in life actions speak louder than words. 

this is our town. I encourage those who want to tackle fixing town hall to do so. we will all be grateful for your service.

God bless you, the USA and the citizens of the town of strasburg.

PE retired

WTH

on 11/24 we mailed the second installment for our 2021 taxes to the town. 

on 12/6 we got the check back in the mail. 

we checked with the bank and even checked our credit card account. as we suspected, both confirmed that we had not paid the second installment for our 2021 town taxes--which was now overdue. 

we called the town. they said that they'd look into it and call us back. 

it turns out that, due to a clerical error, someone else's tax payment was credited to our account. 

the people that we talked to at the town were very nice. we were told to mail our check back to the town and we wouldn't be charged the late fee. 

alas, it seems to happen a lot--nice people--but, WTH. 

questions

it's been only a few months since the contractor completed the east king street improvements project. the top of the new freestanding post, that contains the pedestrian crossing activation button(s) (located at the northeast corner of east king street and massunutten street), is busted. the top of the post hangs precariously by a figurative thread. 

1. what happened? (it appears that maybe a vehicle with an oversized load, or a vehicle towing a trailer with an oversized load, or a tractor-trailer truck failing to stay in the roadway while making the right turn, may have hit it.)
2. why was the new pedestrian crossing post located unprotected at the curb?
3. why are there three different types of pedestrian crossing button post/poles at the ends of the two contiguous crosswalks?
4. how much will the repair/replacement cost?
5. who pays? (I suspect that the answer is "we will".)
6. how many more times will this newest of the three pedestrian crossing post/poles be struck and damaged? (especially considering the fact that it's already been hit after being in place for only a few months.)
7. who pays each time a post/pole is struck? (see question number 5) 
8. is anybody home at town hall? (it seems like nobody is.)

gerrymandering

Shenandoah County to adjust district boundaries following release of census data | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com  

Reduce political polarization and extremism by establishing independent redistricting commissions.

To maintain equal representation, states are legally and constitutionally required to redraw their congressional and state legislative districts every 10 years, accounting for population changes documented by the decennial census. In most states, the boundaries are set by state legislatures, leaving the process vulnerable to manipulation by the party that holds a legislative majority—a practice commonly known as partisan gerrymandering. The artificial creation of “safe” seats for a given party, where candidates can—and are sometimes incentivized to—take extreme positions to win intraparty primary contests without fear of meaningful competition in the general elections, is a key driver of polarization and dysfunction in US politics. It can also create large gaps between a party’s share of the overall popular vote and its share of seats after elections, which leave voters feeling disenfranchised. Partisan gerrymandering is essentially an inversion of democracy, with politicians choosing their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives. Polling has shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans (more than 70 percent) support removing partisanship from the drawing of legislative boundaries. To address this problem, all 50 states should establish independent redistricting commissions, designing them carefully to ensure impartiality, inclusivity, and transparency.  

From Crisis to Reform: A Call to Strengthen America’s Battered Democracy | Freedom House 

thank you, strasburg police and code red

for protecting our town.

farewell to a voice of reason

 Strasburg councilman resigning to return to farming | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com  

Godspeed, Paul Weaver. 

and good luck wrestling with those sheep. as you said, it's gotta be better than wrestling with cows. 

errata

Town of Strasburg closes street due to sinkhole 

there's a BIG difference between a sinkhole and a water main break. 

a sinkhole is a geologic occurrence. What is a sinkhole? it occurs naturally. 

the hole caused by a water main break is not a natural occurrence. it's a failure of a man-made road caused by the failure of a man-made and installed pipe. 

city folk misuse the term "sinkhole" all of the time when referring to water main breaks, potholes, etc. 

we here in limestone country ought to get it right. don't call the hole caused by a water main break a sinkhole. 

 

"actions speak louder than words"

Strasburg house vandalized with hateful words twice in two months 

I can't remember exactly when I first heard "actions speak louder than words", but I was very young--probably preschool.

For those who have never heard this expression: What Does Actions Speak Louder than Words Mean? - Writing Explained 

the best action that can be taken now is for law enforcement/justice system (police, FBI, court, etc.) to investigate these crimes, identify and arrest the perpetrator(s), charge them and try and sentence them. 

it's good to say that strasburg is outraged by these crimes. it's better to SHOW and PROVE that strasburg is outraged by these crimes.

creative commons

public servant?

the town has posted "HALLOWEEN NEWS". It begins:

"It is almost Halloween! Before all of the Halloween questions start, we would like to clarify some things!
Halloween is October 31st. To clarify further... While the Town of Strasburg does not have an ordinance that addresses Halloween or days and times of trick or treating... (blah, blah, blah) ..."

so, let me get this straight. "... we would like to clarify some things!..." ("we" being town government) "While the Town of Strasburg does not have an ordinance that addresses halloween or days and times of trick or treating", town government is going to tell its citizens who, when and how they should celebrate, and not celebrate, halloween. 

and, "Before all of the Halloween questions start..." well, EXCUUUUUSE me! (and those citizens of the town who would have the AUDACITY to ask the town a question). it sounds like the person who wrote "HALLOWEEN NEWS" needs an attitude adjustment. a "public servant" is a person who is employed by government to serve the public--not the other way around. most of the town's citizens aren't employed by the town to serve town government. 

but then, no harm, no foul. other than a few groupies, hardly anyone pays any attention to what the town says anyway. 

gadsden flag 

public domain

remember, you heard it first on strasburg underground

The Town of Strasburg will receive a $107,000 grant and $520,000 loan to make improvements to the town's wastewater collection system. Improvements include the removal and replacement of approximately 1,640 linear feet of gravity sewer pipe and concrete manholes; slip-lining approximately 140 linear feet of pipe; cleaning approximately 260 linear feet of sewer main; and other related items as necessary. This project will ensure the town's system is compliant with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regulations. It is estimated that this project will benefit approximately 6,800 people.

The USDA's Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas.

Mark R. Warner (via Public) / Warner, Kaine Announce more than $8.6 Million in Federal Funding for Water Improvement Projects in Virginia 

FYI

for those who may think that I'm one of "those hated foreigners" who came to strasburg from northern virginia and who have no "roots" in this area, you're both right and wrong. 

I was born in Georgetown hospital in DC and grew up in Arlington. I lived in northern virginia for most of my life.

the Koenigs, however, first came to frederick county 100 years ago.

Memorials in Sacred Heart Cemetery - Find A Grave 

Sacred Heart Cemetery - Google Maps 

PS  Mom and Pop Koenig had 7 children, not 4. in addition to those listed are Francis, Therese and Ysabel. When I was growing up, we (my mom and dad, my brother and my 4 sisters) went to the farm on canterburg rd. several times a year. During summers I'd spend a week there with my grandmother, cousin Bonnie and aunt Therese. 

 

tractor-trailer trucks and the troublesome intersection at massanutten st. (US route 11) and king st. (US route 55)

the intersection at massanutten st. (US route 11) and king street (US route 55) is arguably the most troublesome intersection in town. tractor-trailer trucks turning left from southbound route 11/55 to eastbound route 55 and the reverse movement are the most troublesome aspects of this troublesome intersection. occasionally a tractor-trailer truck gets stuck in the intersection and causes a traffic jam that can take a relatively long time to untangle. tractor-trailers making the right turn from east king st. on to northbound massanutten st. routinely block the through lane to make the turn.

one way to eliminate these troublesome movements is to prohibit them. southbound tractor-trailers on route 11/55 wishing to go east on route 55 would continue south and turn left on to east queen st. The intersection at massanutten and queen streets may need to be improved and additional rights-of-way may be needed. 

a new connector road between the current inactive railroad crossing on east king street and east of the milk processing plant to east queen st. could be built. tractor-trailer trucks would not be allowed (except by special permit) on east king street between connector road and massanutten street. 

westbound tractor-trailers on route 55 wishing to go north on route 11, or continue west on route 55, would turn left onto queen st. near town park and follow east queen street to massanutten st., turn right, and continue straight to route 11 northbound or route 55 westbound. 

has the town ever asked vdot to take a look at this troublesome intersection? 

my guess is that the answer to this question is "no".

an ugly incident

Strasburg Police investigating a hate crime after a house was vandalized   

thank you, WHSV, for your factual report. we don't get many of those here in strasburg. 

despite politicians and others who may wish to put a lid on ugly incidents, and if unsuccessful, attempt to put lipstick on the pig, the fact remains that it's still a pig. 

I'm puzzled by the statement from town police that "they will continue to investigate leads". does this mean that the police are relying on leads from the public to investigate trespassing and vandalism in this case? or are the police investigating these crimes independent of whether or not they get leads from the public? 

other questions:

• will law enforcement vigorously investigate this crime? or will it be "handled" with "a wink and a nod"?
• will the perpetrator(s) be identified and charged? 
• will they be tried? 
• will they be sentenced? 
• if so, will the sentence be "a slap on the wrist"?

answer: time will tell.

are racists, bigots, homophobes and white supremacists good people? trump would have you believe that they are by the remarks that he made concerning the unite the right rally in charlottesville on august 12, 2017 during which Heather Heyer was killed. trump said that there were "fine people on both sides". the facts are that there were racists, white supremacists, a murderer and other violent people on one side. these aren't "fine people". 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlottesville_%22Unite_the_Right%22_Rally_(35780274914).jpg

Anthony Crider, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The same is true of january 6 when violent criminals stormed the US capitol destroying property, threatening lawmakers and assaulting, injuring and murdering police. these violent criminals are not good people.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tear_Gas_outside_United_States_Capitol_20210106.jpg
Tyler Merbler from USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

the facts are that as long as racism, bigotry, homophobia, white supremacy, violence and murder are not roundly condemned publicly, then people in the USA and around the world will think that the USA tolerates racism, bigotry, homophobia, white supremacy, violence and murder. 

citizens have the responsibility to speak the truth publicly.