ADVANCE OVTERS OK WATER IMPROVEMENTS

ADVANCE -- In approving a half-cent sales tax and an $800,000 bond issue, Advance voters are looking at planned improvements in their water system.

Newly elected Advance Mayor James J. Harnes Sr. said the funding will "do many things" for local residents. The issues passed with more than 65 percent of the 390 votes cast.

Water system improvements will help the city keep and upgrade its fire protection rating from its current 8. The Insurance Services Office rates fire protection on a 10-point scale.

The improvements will include new water lines, fire hydrants and an 8-inch water main on the north and east sides of town. The system will be looped to eliminate dead end lines and the resulting dirty water, Harnes said.

The new water main will tie into the city's 10-inch main on the west side of town. With the city's two water towers, there should be adequate pressure for years to come, Harnes said.

"Everyone knew we had a problem with light pressure in the northeast part of town," Harnes said, adding that the improvements will allow for a 20-acre subdivision planned near the elementary school on Highway 91.

"Advance is expanding so much," Harnes said. "We're the only town in the immediate area that has consistently increased population in the last 20 years."

Harnes said the water system improvements are the "crowning achievement" for former mayor Bill Bradshaw, and Harnes intends to ask Bradshaw to serve as a co-chairman with Jim Rainey on the committee overseeing the water system improvements.

That committee will meet Friday at 1 p.m. at the Bank of Advance with representatives of the bonding company and engineering firm handling the project. The meeting will be open to all interested residents.

The improvements will mean an increase in water usage fees, Harnes said. Local residents have been paying $3 per month for up to 3,000 gallons since 1956.

Harnes and two new members of the board of aldermen will take office Monday night.

Harnes, 75, served as the appointed city clerk for many years. The mayor's seat is his first win after losing in previous elections for alderman and city collector.

The new Ward 1 alderman is George W. "Bill" Holder, who won as a write-in candidate on the west side of town, polling 125 votes to Diann Williams George's 96. George's husband, David, had drawn some criticism from area residents over his brusque treatment as a reserve police officer of motorists stopped for traffic violations.

The new Ward 2 alderman is David Singleton, a former city policeman who is suing Advance in federal court over his dismissal from that job. He outpolled Jack J. Brown, a retired California highway patrolman, 78-76.

Harnes, a lifelong Advance resident, expects the new board to work cooperatively and take some time to study what the town needs.

The new council is "vitally interested" in all aspects of the city, including economic development.

"One thing I want to get across is there will be cooperation," Harnes said. "There will be a pipeline of information to the citizens, letting them know where the money is coming from and where it is going."

Harnes intends to have open meetings.

He said he's heard complaints about secret meetings and decisions being made before board meetings. He wants everything open and local citizens to know what is going on.