Monterey Mayor Questions Accuracy Of 2010 Census

Monterey, VA – Mayor Janice Warner expressed her concerns about the accuracy of the recent census report to the Town Council at its meeting last Thursday evening.

“We got the census report, but I don’t think the census is right” says Warner. “They have us with six kids under five years old in the town of Monterey, which I don’t think we have. They have the Town of Monterey with thirteen Hispanics and three of another race, and we don’t have any.”

She also noted that by her reckoning, the data on the number of Monterey residents over 65 is also incorrect. The Mayor plans to confer with County Administrator Roberta Lambert to check on the accuracy of the county data and then she will contact the Census Department to see about getting the information corrected.

According to the Mayor, census workers who spoke to her during the data collection period did not seem to know the town boundaries and they were counting people outside the boundary as town residents. Accurate census data is important for the county since some types of state funding depend on those numbers.

The new waste water treatment plant’s ultraviolet anti-bacterial system is now up and running. Mike Isles is receiving training in doing the E. coli testing and has some additional training to complete before he can be certified as qualified in the testing procedures. In the spring the Mayor plans to schedule an open house for county residents to come see the new plant and testing lab.

Littleton, the contractor for the plant, has agreed to come back in the spring to correct the drainage problems on the plant grounds and to reseed the grass.
In the continuing work improve the town sewer lines, the Mayor noted a new development in the process.

“One of the things that Mr. Robison came and told me [is] that when the former owner took trailers out he didn’t cap those places off, so that has to be where we’re getting well water” says Warner.

The town plans to fix those lines as soon as weather permits. The town expects to hear soon about the grant from the Virginia Department of Health to study extension of town water lines south on Airport Terrace Road. Virginia Department of Health inspectors were in Monterey recently looking over the town’s water system. The town still has some work to do before the water system permit will be issued. Mike Isles and Mayor Warner comment on that work.

“James did comment that we cannot have our new water permit issued” says Isles. “Richmond will not release that to us until the cross-connection control is done.”

“I talked to Melissa [Town Attorney Melissa Ann Dowd], she has that ready, she’ll bring it to the meeting next month for us to look at” says Warner. “Hopefully we can take care of that, and it won’t be any problem for us to get whatever we need.”

Town Attorney Melissa Dowd has been working on a cross connection control ordinance for the town so that residents with their own water supply will know that they are required to have backflow preventer valves in their systems.

The next meeting of the Monterey Town Council is scheduled for Thursday, February 3 at 7:30 PM in the Highland Public Library.