Editor, The Smithfield Times:

Last Thursday, Randy Keaton put on a political master class by placing a lengthy presentation about the crumbling Windsor sewer system before the Tidewater Logistics Center (TLC) vote.

The presentation was excruciating in detail. Yet, it failed to describe the complexity and financial responsibilities of the various systems that handle waste across multiple neighborhoods in Windsor. The key point Mr. Keaton wanted to make is the county is financially on the hook for a portion of the sewer system due to a 1990s deal with no sunset clause. Supervisor Renee Rountree locked in on the perceived unfairness of this agreement for her constituents, and the TLC dominos started to fall.

Usually, the Windsor sewer debate would be worked through in an intergovernmental meeting between the county and the town. However, the Windsor Town Council is going through a leadership crisis primarily due to our mayor’s petulant behavior toward his constituents and the Town Council. Add Mr. Keaton’s loathing of anything south of the courthouse, and the result is a failure of local cooperation, which Mr. Keaton turned into an opportunity to manipulate the Board of Supervisors.

There was a last gasp of hope for Windsor as Mrs. Rountree and Supervisor Thomas Distefano questioned the viability of a proffer to negotiate a future cost-sharing agreement between the developer and the county to bring sewer to the homes surrounding TLC. Anyone knowledgeable about the situation knows the cost would be extraordinary, and there will be no future cost-sharing deal, especially after the county lost all leverage with the developer by approving TLC before coming to an agreement. 

Mrs. Rountree recognized the proffer’s flaws, alluding to her neighborhood’s fight with a developer weaseling out of weak proffer statements. However, through their silence, Mr. Keaton and the developer signaled the proffer was just for show. Freed from the risk of the county being intertwined into subsidizing another Windsor sewer system and the fresh sting of the perception Windsor was free-riding on the backs of our northern county brethren, Mrs. Rountree could justify a “yes” vote.  

It was game, set, match for Mr. Keaton. Windsor wins a gateway of warehouses on 460 to welcome visitors into the county. 

 

Lewis Edmonds

Windsor