The more Mayor Calhoun’s apparent shift in attitude regarding the town’s sewer woes is studied, the more it becomes apparent that both he and Lake View are between several different combinations of rocks and hard places. He has enemies on all sides with many leading voices on the anti-sewer side continuing to treat him as an enemy and the pro-White contingent on the Council beginning to make moves to exclude Paul Calhoun from the process of making decisions, especially regarding the sewer. He is also much akin to Captain Edward Smith as the RMS Lake View steers through the waters a federal lawsuit and other potential legal issues without the benefit of a town attorney; at this rate it’s only a matter of time until the town finds its own proverbial ice burg. There are a lot of pitfalls on the way to solving Lake View’s problems, however, as former mayor Joe Allcorn showed, the executive authority of the mayor’s office does provide a valuable set of tools to act against the sewer. The thing that sets the Mayor apart from the rest of the Council is the fact that he holds the entirety of the executive powers of the municipality. This generally relegates itself to signing checks and managing employees in the day-to-day operations of the town, but it also includes important duties such as utilizing town resources, such as the attorney, and faithfully executing contracts that the town has entered into. In regards to the sewer, that relies in executing the provisions of the sewer franchise agreement. Mike White is currently in violation of that agreement and Calhoun can, without any consent from the Council, have the town attorney pursue legal action on the basis of that breach of contract. This would ultimately lead to another legal battle, giving Lake View a war on two fronts in the courts, but ultimately it would result in Mike White being stripped of his control of the Tannehill Sewer System, which would be taken over by the State while White finds a buyer or Lake View finds another facility to enter into an agreement with. Of course the Council might vote not to pay the attorney, as they tried to do when Jon Terry went to Montgomery to stump for HB-428 on behalf of the mayor, but Calhoun could at least get the framework in place without Council involvement.
Another option is to take the next opportunity that presents itself to get the Council to approve the use of eminent domain powers to seize control of the sewer collection system and the correspondent rights-of-way. This would put the actual collection apparatus as well as the ability to set fees for the use of it, directly under the control of the town government, leaving White with only the treatment plant. He would then have to negotiate rates with the town directly and could see the town using his franchise violation as an excuse to connect the system to the Woodstock/West Blocton sewer. This would likewise result in a legal dispute between White and Lake View as he would certainly argue over “fair compensation” for the seizure, however, as the sewer system was sold to White by the GUSC in 1999 for $1 and other reasonable consideration”, it will be difficult for him to argue those grounds. He will have the mortgage against the GUSC to leverage, but the town has no obligation to pay GUSC debt and in a two bird with one stone solution, this could force the GUSC to file Chapter 7 and dissolve entirely.
Regardless of how Calhoun chooses to proceed, the mayor has a lot of hurdles to clear. The federal suit currently pending against the town will be a massive drain on the coffers and with no attorney, Lake View is in no position to fight it. The GUSC will certainly push for more illegal funds to be funneled their way from the town accounts in order to fight the same suit. Added to these is a rumor that is floating around the politically connected circles of Lake View that says yet another major legal action may be in the works against the town. Three six figure lawsuits would bankrupt the Lake View General Fund before a single dime is paid in damages. He must also contend with Brady, Bean, and Ray, who will continuously seek to manipulate the timing of meetings to get a 3-2 Council to unwind anything Calhoun does achieve. Finally, he has to fight a split in public support as those holding old grudges continue to undermine him despite his change in priorities. Finally, he has to continue to prevent Nancy Ray from getting Mike White’s hand-picked attorney hired by Lake View, which will result in him having to make several decisions regard these various legal matters without the benefit of counsel. Paul Calhoun is in a position to put pieces in place to end the sewer saga in Lake View so that we can all move on to growth and prosperity, but how he navigates the next several months will determine if that growth comes from a vital if beaten Lake View, or if that growth will come from the ashes of our bankrupt town.
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