Halifax County has submitted an $800,000 offer to buy the facility, which business owners say is no where near the value of what the town will lose financially if the offer is accepted.
Several business owners are expected to attend a special meeting Monday set for 1 p.m. at the Weldon town hall if, not for a chance to speak, then for a show of support against the proposal.
“I've been operating a business in Weldon for over 22 years and this is the most shortsighted proposal that I've ever seen the town consider,” said Jay Baker, who runs a laundry in town. “They're proposing to give up control of our most valuable asset for a little bit of money now without regard to what it's going to do to us in the future.”
Baker believes Mayor Julia Meacham was trying to keep the plan secret until after the election. “Even a lot of board members don't know what's going on or didn't know a lot about it. When they talk about the water plant, you don't ever hear about its big numbers on revenue. Where is the money going to come from to replace the revenue the water plant is generating right now?”
The town, Baker said, makes big money selling water to the co-generation plant and the county. “If we're not careful, the residents of Weldon are going to wake up and one day find our rates are in the hands of others who could care less about what we pay. It will be too late and there's nothing we can do about it.”
While Baker declined to go into specifics about the amount of water his Grant Park laundry uses, he said selling the plant would double his bill each month. “I cannot afford to absorb that. It will have to be passed on to my customers. Increased rates cost you a lot more and impact the people that can least afford it.”
Baker has discussed the matter with other business owners in the town. “They think it's a terrible idea. Anybody that knows anything about business knows it's wrong to sell a cash cow for pennies on the dollar.”
Baker says the water plant is the town's future. “You have municipalities across the United States that are fighting tooth and nail for water and here we're talking about basically giving it away. It's time for the town commissioners to start asking hard questions of its mayor. Weldon will lose control of its own destiny if we lose control of that water plant.”
Bill Blackwell, who runs a tire shop out of the old Coca-Cola bottling plant, also sees the proposal as shortsighted. “I think that town government is a business that has the responsibility to look out for the citizens' financial interest. Since it operates as a business, it is extremely shortsighted to take an asset that has paid dividends for years and, in the variety of different ways it benefitted the town and its citizens, sell it for a relative pittance.”
Blackwell said the current return on investments that the citizens enjoy is much larger than the return on the proposed sale price. “At a time when water nationwide is becoming a critical component of economic development, it seems foolish to separate yourself from your control of your financial future.”
Mike Patel built the Day's Inn in Weldon in 1987. Behind the co-generation plant and Baker's business, along with the hotel beside him, he is probably one of the biggest water users in the town.
“It's not a good idea for us,” he said of the proposal. “We're happy with the rates right now. Why they would want to give it to Halifax County is something I don't understand. If every thing is working fine why bother? Let it stay like it is.”
Patel believes Weldon is making money on the water plant and believes the proposal stands hurting Baker's business the most. “He will have to go up on his prices. People in Weldon are not as rich as people in Roanoke Rapids.”
A.J. Patel, who runs the Red & White in Weldon, is against the proposal. “I personally believe they shouldn't do it. Well first, it wouldn't be democratic control. The people in Weldon would have no control over the rate hikes in county. Taxpayers on this side would have no say on decisions.”
