Editor, The Smithfield Times:

I see that Smithfield continues to experience water challenges relating to the Red Point Taphouse. 

Maybe I do not understand the situation. A few local citizens combined their money and started a successful restaurant in a 1929 building that had been vacant for many years. Based on current city code, to keep the restaurant open, the Town Council requires it to connect to a water pipeline across South Church Street. The restaurant will not be able to afford the cost and may have to close. Jobs for locals will be lost as well as food tax revenue for the city.

Based on my limited knowledge of codes and such, it seems to me the word “grandfather” might be considered. Where did the owners of the store and gas station get their water 96 years ago, many years before the current code was enacted? I recognize the Pagan River is only 0.3 miles to the west, but that is still a long way to carry buckets of water up the hill.

Town Council thinking continues to be a mystery. Weekly we go to restaurants in Smithfield and Isle of Wight and drink local water. We experience no problems with fuzzy thinking or understanding priorities.  

 

Joseph L. Bass

Suffolk