Articles written by greg wilder
Sorted by date Results 26 - 38 of 38
What drives closed process and misinformation?
The town of Coulee Dam recently held a meeting regarding the problematic sewer treatment plant project. The meeting was closed to the public and the mayor directed that “Greg Wilder was not to be admitted.” When I asked what wou... — Updated 4/3/2013 Full story
Tightly controlled meeting typical "public" process in town
The mayor of Coulee Dam has again defined his allegiance — that being with and for the engineer (Gray & Osborne). The townsfolk petitioned the mayor and council to roll back the ever increasing sewer rates and review other p... — Updated 3/13/2013 Full story
Citizens shouldn’t pay for engineering shortcomings
As best I can determine, we (the town of Coulee Dam) paid our engineer (Gray & Osborne) about $80,000 to prepare a Wastewater Facilities Plan. What did we get? We got a document replete with inaccurate planning assumptions,... — Updated 2/27/2013 Full story
Sleight of hand and food for thought
The town of Coulee Dam began increasing our sewer rate about a year ago. In December, 2011 we were paying a reasonable $37 a month — one month later, our rates were increased by 33 percent! Thinking that there must have been a g... — Updated 2/20/2013 Full story
Rebuff of generous offer another insult
The town of Elmer City has worked tirelessly to find financial assistance to help fund the improvements to the sewer treatment plant it jointly operates with Coulee Dam. And for good reason, they can’t afford what Coulee Dam is b... — Updated 12/19/2012 Full story
Positive approach energizes
Last week you published an article about the Coulee Dam/Elmer City sewer plant project that painted a very positive face on the Coulee Dam Town Council. And, as it was, they earned that praise — they deserved that praise! They w... — Updated 11/28/2012
Project shows government not at its best
As most of you know, the town of Coulee Dam is investing (spending) over $5 million to upgrade their “aging” sewer treatment plant. I’ve written letters about this before. The town continues to pursue a design that is both antiq... — Updated 11/14/2012 Full story
Arrogance or malfeasance?
The Colville Confederated Tribes took the high-road regarding the overly expensive Coulee Dam Sewer Treatment plant project. The tribe offered to help, in exchange for involvement … for a legitimate place at the table. In a l... — Updated 6/20/2012 Full story
Another option - a reasonable solution
Coulee Dam paid $70,000 to have its engineer prepare a facilities plan for the town’s sewer treatment system. The plan presented TWO viable build options: One was to go ahead and spend over $6.2 million dollars now for a project w... — Updated 5/23/2012 Full story
A tale of two cities … continued
The saga continues. At the advice and suggestion of the state Department of Ecology (DOE), Coulee Dam extended the Olive Branch to Elmer City… well, sort of; they suggested a meeting between the two towns’ mayors to “ex... — Updated 5/9/2012 Full story
A history of fiscal insults
My last letter to The Star editor helped define the reasons I am reviewing Coulee Dam town records … not a willy-nilly vendetta, as Mayor Snow has described it, but a real attempt to see how and why it is our cost for municipal ser... — Updated 3/14/2012 Full story
Re: “Town to hire records manager”
Given the recent decisions of the Coulee Dam Town Council, I must admit that I’m feeling empowered! That I could almost single handedly force the Town of Coulee Dam to create a new position to deal with their legal and ethical r... — Updated 3/7/2012 Full story
Mayor Snow solves water problem - leeks!
A number of months ago I requested water service for the home I’m building on Yucca Drive in Coulee Dam. I requested the same level of service as enjoyed by the town’s folks that live on the west side of the river. I received no an... — Updated 2/16/2012 Full story