Walhalla’s “big decision” still months away

The big decision that’s in front of Walhalla’s elected leaders is still at least a couple of months away, the mayor said today. Mayor Edwards recently cautioned the city council that they are faced with deciding how Walhalla will pay to establish its future source of drinking water. But he says he will not request a vote at next week’s meeting. “We’re still working with the bonding company, the attorneys. There’s a lot of things we have to get settled,” Edwards said. The most likely path, as he explained today, is the sale of revenue bonds, for which the city would pledge its utilities operations to ensure that the debt is repaid. In framing the long talked about plans to build a new treatment plant on Lake Keowee, Edwards has described what faces his city this way: “Some of us are really concerned about 30 years of debt versus 30 years of prosperity, and are trying to find a line in the middle somewhere….”