Eban appears to be two-faced

Dear editor:

The Mellen Sub Water is having elections in November. I'm writing this letter response to Bart Eben's letter, May 13, 2009.

My name is Ron Hazuka. I've been on the board for 10 years. I'm not speaking on behalf of the Westside Sewer District or Mellen Sub Water District. These are only my opinions.

Bart, you were one of the original people who got the well system started in 1993, which became the Mellen Sub Water District.

Why didn't you bring these concerns up when you were on the board? Each board member gets $100 for attending the monthly meeting. You know, not all meetings last 35 to 45 minutes, and there are things needing attention, between meetings by members. Isn't that one of the reasons you quit?

The district doesn't pay $500 every time the board meets. My job keeps me from home most of the time. In the last two years I've attended four meetings, that's $400 out of $2,200 a savings of $1,800 to the district. Another board member only attended four meetings this year, $400 out of a $1,000, another savings of $600.

The board has one of the original board members who served for years without compensation at all.

Bart you said, "Notice how many other boards ask for nothing." With that statement, I have to ask, what evil thing was in possession of you when you took those monthly checks from the district?

Who are those four people you found in less than 30 minutes? Are they shut-in's, or have they just been misinformed by you? Each bill has meeting place and date and phone. Yet they don't come to the meetings, nor do they call?

When you filed a complaint with the sheriffs office, you should have brought them to the board meetings! As president/chairman of the board for two years, you never made mention of any of these issues.

June 2003, at your first board meeting prior to accepting the job, as president/chairman you had two demands, that you alone would hire/fire all employees, and you will only vote if there is a tie. Motion agreed.

You are complaining about monthly payments to board members, when as president you cost the board $5,286.15 for penalties and interest, for not ensuring the secretary filed the taxes (2003/2004) on time.

July 2005, to retrieve the district's property from the secretary, I drove my car and got paid $21.60, for gas/mileage. Why did you, as a passenger get $21.60 as well?

December 2005, you quit as president and became backup well operator/maintenance, for $60 a month.

January 2007, your rental had a water leak. That bill was $431.89.

You asked to have the bill discharged for your previous services rendered. You refused to give an itemized list, and your request was denied. When your $431.89 was not discharged, you itemized your responsibilities, demanding to be paid for each task. These were already incorporated in the monthly $60. You presented your list to the board:

Yearly: HAA5/THNN water test $50, VOCS $30, Arsenic/Sodium $20. Monthly: Backup well operator $60, chloroforms $20, and site for drop box/display case $20. Service call, $35.00 each, and maintenance call per hour $28.

February 2007 you quit without notice as backup well operator/maintenance, because your demands were not meant.

Art Vagt, has done one heck of a job cleaning up the mess you left.

Sure sounds like Bart showed up at the party, with everything but a gun and a mask. Where was your sense of community service then?

Ron Hazuka