Letter: New resident disillusioned by swale neglect

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Dear Editor:

Here are some small thoughts of a fairly new resident of this newfound City.

First, my impression of our first few months was somewhat impressive until I contacted the city in regards to serious undermining of our driveway by the non existent "swale." You see, it was only after receiving our first billing from the City that stormwater is billed at $28.34 per month that I thought, "No problem with this issue, it's covered." Without any hesitation I put in a request to have a "swale inspection" to be carried out on our property.

Luckily I was not holding my breath since some six months later I was told, yes the swale needs urgent attention, but that's all up in the air as to when this will be attended to since all the swales need attention in Palm Coast.

Not being a math professor I put in a sum based on the roughly 40,591 residential properties in the City, then multiplied by the $28.34 stormwater charge. I say the City of gold makes over a million per month scalping the locals for a job never done.

Unfortunately, I see many politicians rubbing their hands with glee. Having a real estate license or maybe even a broker license helps to elevate you to sit on the mayoral throne.

After traveling around many states I find my family stuck in a city of old, a city that fails in many ways to address simple issues. The amount of money gleaned from its citizens from this one issue would easily justify bringing in a workforce who in fact specializes in drainage and therefore aid the many locals who have serious drainage issues.

Have to say Palm Coast lives on from 20 years ago but only in the "old boys network." It clearly fails to deliver to its citizens.

Barry Neil

Palm Coast