septic tanks and feces

[Philip_Atlanta]

Interesting.. I don't know the whole of the story - but from the information here, I'd be embarrassed to be a Gulf Trace owner and begin taking some action.

Here are some tidbits from an article I found in the Walton Sun..

James Earl Ray, who owns several properties in Gulf Trace, said the Walton County Health Department regularly inspected the wells in the subdivision and found no problems with the water there.
?I?ve never heard of a person to get sick from a septic tank,? Ray said.
However, Walton County Health Director Jim Jones said at the meeting a failed septic system could cause a problem.
?Yes, there is a threat to the water,? Jones said.


?Gulf Trace is the only subdivision in the Regional Utilities service area without public sewer service,? Regional Utilities Operation Coordinator Ashley Dismukes wrote to Walton County Commissioner Cindy Meadows after Tropical Storm Arlene. ?This subdivision is also the only subdivision with septic tanks remaining on the beach.?
Dismukes noted 18 months earlier, Regional offered to provide water and sewer service to Gulf Trace residents, but of the 75 property owners, only 19 desired the services so the company did not move forward with the project.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Shame, Shame, Shame!!!!!

 

[Moondance]

Shame indeed. As a recent owner in Gulf Trace, I am stunned that septics are even allowed on or near the beach, and that my neighbors voted against adequate sewer and fire protection. Perhaps a relic of our (collective) ignorant past, who knows? Even so, there are certainly a number (more than 19...) of enlightened, motivated, committed and financed owners in Gulf Trace, with any number of vested interests in addressing and resolving this issue forever.

I am seeking information and legal review of the applicable homeowner "association" docs and will provide a fuller report on this thread. For now, it is my understanding that the developer maintains control of the private/common areas and owns a substantial number of the beachfront rentals in question.

I applaud the ordinance (update, please, from anyone with good info) and suspect that it may accelerate the acquisition of a collective concience in Gulf Trace. Please keep in mind that it has historically been an absentee owner/rental community. However, for myself and others, it has/will become at least as much a residential retreat as a rental one.

I will do my part as an owner, particularly if I can get moral and other support, in addition to outrage and indignation, which I share with my friends on this board. Let's get it fixed. I don't want my (or your) kids playing in a septic drain field.

 

[Paula]

Shame indeed. As a recent owner in Gulf Trace, I am stunned that septics are even allowed on or near the beach, and that my neighbors voted against adequate sewer and fire protection. Perhaps a relic of our (collective) ignorant past, who knows? Even so, there are certainly a number (more than 19...) of enlightened, motivated, committed and financed owners in Gulf Trace, with any number of vested interests in addressing and resolving this issue forever.

I am seeking information and legal review of the applicable homeowner "association" docs and will provide a fuller report on this thread. For now, it is my understanding that the developer maintains control of the private/common areas and owns a substantial number of the beachfront rentals in question.

I applaud the ordinance (update, please, from anyone with good info) and suspect that it may accelerate the acquisition of a collective concience in Gulf Trace. Please keep in mind that it has historically been an absentee owner/rental community. However, for myself and others, it has/will become at least as much a residential retreat as a rental one.

I will do my part as an owner, particularly if I can get moral and other support, in addition to outrage and indignation, which I share with my friends on this board. Let's get it fixed. I don't want my (or your) kids playing in a septic drain field.

Thanks. If there's anything people who don't live in SoWal can do to support you, just let us know. Is there any way to publicly identify the association owners who do support adequate sewer and fire protection and those who don't? Sometimes having one's views made public encourages people to make their views more socially appropriate. For example, do association meeting results (e.g., votes for or against adequate sewer and fire protection) have to be made public in any way?

 

[Miss Kitty]

You Go Moondance!!!! You'll probably be called the "little whippersnapper", etc., but I think you have to be correct that more than 19 homeowners are in favor of saving their neighborhood's reputation. Please be advised...I am speaking from the heart and not from being educated on the history or ordinances in effect...other than from what I have learned from others here.

 

[Beach Runner]

Speaking of septic tanks and feces, why does it always smell so badly on 395 just south of the Hammocks?

 

[Philip_Atlanta]

Moondance, I applaud your action. It seems you have an uphill battle, especially with Mr. Ray. Here is a quote that I found, to give you an idea of who you are fighting against...
______
Ray said Wednesday that he opposes the ordinance because the county has no business making Gulf Trace property owners connect to sewer. He added that he thinks Meadows just wants to cause trouble for Gulf Trace with the ordinance.

"This is a private subdivision," he said. "The biggest mistake that the county made was electing a female county commissioner. She's all talk and no action."

Meadows laughed when told of Ray's comments.

"To make this a personal and a sexist issue is almost as bad as letting your sewer run down into other people's lakes," she said.

 

[Smiling JOe]

...
Meadows laughed when told of Ray's comments.

"To make this a personal and a sexist issue is almost as bad as letting your sewer run down into other people's lakes," she said.

 

[EZ4144]

A lot of people feel that way aboutt her she is a joke that is not funny and nobody listens to her anyway except people that are unhappy. She always votes against the people and all the other comissioners.

 

[Smiling JOe]

A lot of people feel that way aboutt her she is a joke that is not funny and nobody listens to her anyway except people that are unhappy. She always votes against the people and all the other comissioners.

You are full of horse fecies.