Waring: Henley: 'I get more disgusted every day'
By Lisa Carter Waring
I am not sure how former President Herbert Hoover felt about the dam that was named in his honor. I do know, however, how John Henley of Hope Mills feels about the spillway that was named to honor him.
"I'm grateful, but I am embarrassed," Henley says about the Hope Mills Lake spillway. "I hate to say that, but I am."
Henley, a former Hope Mills mayor, town commissioner, state representative and state senator, says he feels extremely frustrated about the situation with the town's failed spillway. The source of his frustration, he says, lies primarily with the countless problems encountered during its construction and the new uncertainties that surround the repair of the multi-million dollar spillway and the restoration of the town's lake.
"I get more disgusted every day," he says. "The whole process has been very frustrating from the very beginning."
Henley feels strongly that taxpayers should not be the ones burdened with the costs for the work needed to repair the Lakeview Road bridge or the new spillway. He thinks responsibility for those costs rests squarely with the professionals the town hired, trusted and paid to design and build the spillway.
Henley says he would like to see those professionals step up and take responsibility for the situation and for the costs to fix the problem.
"I am not blaming any one individual," Henley says "But it is their responsibility."
McKim and Creed Engineering, Crowder Construction and MacTec Engineering have agreed to pay, at least initially, for the costs associated with security fencing, stabilization of a sewer pipe and the demolition of a portion of the failed spillway to redirect water and prevent further damage to the structure. Work over the past month has been primarily focused on the Lakeview Road bridge, which was given top priority.
Currently, the town has projected that the bridge could be open by Aug. 25 when school begins. No plan or timeline has been given to restore the lake.
Henley agrees that the opening of the Lakeview Road bridge should be given first priority. He says a plan and a set timeline for the repair work on the spillway and the restoration of the lake should immediately follow.
"We don't want to see another series of delays like we had when the spillway was being built," Henley says.
After six years of struggles and the hefty price already paid for the new spillway, he says it is difficult for him to look out at an empty lake bed.
"It's ridiculous," Henley says. "Here we sit with nothing."
Lisa Carter Waring is a retired educator and consultant who lives in Hope Mills. She can be reached at LCart99@aol.com.