Water system infrastructure a top issue in Peck mayoral race

The Peck mayoral race pits two longtime residents of the tiny town — an 18-year incumbent and a political newcomer — against each other.

The bucolic town sits along Big Canyon Creek off U.S. Highway 12.

Cheryl L. Carson moved there as a single mom in 1999, raised three children and recently retired from the Idaho Department of Correction following a 28-year career. She wants to bring the community together and address critical infrastructure.

“My first priority is the water system. I want to work on grants so we can get it replaced instead of repaired and patched,” she said. “It’s outdated. We are having water main breaks once or twice every three months.”

She said residents were under a boil water order three times within 45 days this fall.

“This is something if we do not get it fixed, I firmly believe Peck will not exist,” she said. “Our property values will go down and we just won’t have a town anymore. Not everybody can afford to drill a well.”

Upgrading the water system will be expensive. Carson said a $700,000 bond for a partial replacement of the system failed. A full replacement is likely far beyond the town’s capacity to pay.

“We don’t have that kind of money in our accounts without grants,” she said.

Nancy Greene has been mayor of the town for nearly two decades and knows the woes of the water system well. She said a lot of people have a Peck mailing address but there are only 166 people within the city limits, limiting its tax base.

“We are pretty small, we don’t really have any businesses here, there are a few home-based businesses. We have a school and a library and a post office,” she said. “Really, this is a bedroom community for folks who commute to Orofino or Lewiston.”

If reelected, Greene said the water system will continue to be a top priority. While it does need to be replaced, Greene said that may be impossible and a more realistic goal is to keep it operating. Replacement would require loans and grants, two things difficult for a tiny town.

“Peck doesn’t have success in grants because we have very little match money,” she said.

Greene has lived in Peck with her husband, Scott Greene, a member of the Peck City Council, and their son, Jeff, since 1991. Scott Greene grew up in the town. Nancy Greene also hopes to promote volunteerism and participation in city government and events if elected to another term.

“One of my focuses for the next four years if I am reelected is to get more folks interested in Peck and get involved in whatever you can do,” she said. “We just don’t have folks come to our council meetings. We are going to have to get the next generation involved to make Peck be successful.”

Greene named restoring the town’s library as another priority. The structure was built in 1909 as an American Woman’s League Chapter House — one of only two constructed in Idaho and the only one still standing.

“I would love if we could have folks know how special it is, but it takes money to do what you need to do,” she said.

Carson wants to bring back popular, family-oriented community events of the past, such as its Easter egg hunt, and maybe add some new ones.

“I want to bring the community together, like it was when I first moved to Peck.”

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.