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Dear Editor,
I currently reside in Elizabethtown on Glenwood Drive. Two years ago I bought a home two months before Hurricane Matthew moved through our town. During Hurricane Matthew my family and I experienced severe flooding around our house due to the negligence of the Town of Elizabethtown to repair a storm drain. The drain was reported in need of repair by the previous owner of the home. Also our neighbor is in desperate need of the Town to maintain the ditches for the entire neighborhood.
My husband went to the Town of Elizabethtown in June and talked to the Director over town maintenance. The director sent three contractors to our home to get an estimate to repair the drain. After inspection it was determined that the drain in my yard was fully compromised and needed attention asap. My husband was advised that the Director was going to instruct the town to complete the repair of our drain immediately as the first phase. Then the next phase was to repair other drains in our neighborhood and clean ditches out.
As Hurricane Florence approached our area my husband went back to the town on Monday and visited the same Director. He claimed that he had authorization and the money from the town to repair our drain. He had given the work order to a local contractor to repair. He claimed that he had seen this contractor a week ago and he claimed he would get around to the repair. There was no since of urgency from the Director or Contractor. It is the Directors job to make sure these projects are executed in a timely manner.
I am now sitting at my house this Saturday evening during a Hurricane.. I recently gave birth to a son last week and I also have a four year old, my husband, and two dogs. This is suppose to be a happy time for my family with an addition of a new child despite going through a Hurricane. Due to the negligence of the Town my family is facing decisions to stay in our home or leave. We pay our taxes on time every year as do most all neighbors in my neighborhood. We actually pay a high rate of tax compared to other municipalities across the state for the same size town. What does the town due with our tax money? I believe it is not used wisely as this has been an ongoing problem in our neighborhood for several years.
Sincerely,
Emily Willoughby
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