||| BY MATTHEW GILBERT, theORCASONIAN REPORTER |||
Toward the end of a presentation on approving the county’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) at Tuesday’s weekly County Council meeting, County Manager Mike Thomas addressed new developments affecting the plan to redevelop Prune Alley. It has to do with the main sewer line that runs the length of the road — it has to be moved, which didn’t make it into the current plan. As Thomas explains,
“One of the issues we’ve been discussing with the Eastsound Water & Sewer District (EWSD) is what to do with the sewer main that runs the length of the Prune Alley project. As a franchisee, it’s the responsibility of the district to move that line at their expense, [but] it didn’t anticipate having to move that line or having the funds available. The conundrum is moving it in a timely fashion and understanding the impacts on the design.”
The solution: loaning the district a sum “not to exceed $200k for design, relocation, and project management,” said Thomas. “Why? A lot of grant and other money is in play, it’s expedient, and it keeps things on schedule without further funding wrinkles.” (The county has already spent $650k this year on the design.)
The county’s involvement and the terms of the proposal (including the loan) would be detailed in an interlocal agreement. “It’s important for the sewer district to be the proponent of this plan and that the Council approves it,” added Colin Huntemer of Public Works.
ESWD board chair Greg Ayers described the current sewer line as “completely functional . . . We did not budget for capital improvements since it didn’t need it.” In addition, the current treatment plan expansion is using up much of their available capital. But in recent discussions with the county, he said, “we learned there were some conflicts with the Prune Alley design plan.”
In order to accommodate the county’s needs, Ayers said that the ESWD has three requests:
- The relocation becomes part of the county bidding process. “We can’t do it ourselves.”
- Financial, technical, and design assistance is provided to integrate their design into the current project. “There will be some costs associated with this.”
- A loan is provided with reasonable interest and repayment terms. “We would look at increasing the rates on the commercial core that will benefit from the project.”
Thomas explained that the county tried to accommodate the existing sewer line but was unsuccessful given various stormwater issues. Ayers confirmed that the district has money for repairs but not for something of this scope. When asked to clarify the district’s responsibility in this matter, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jon Cain confirmed that it needs to move the line “at their own expense. If it can’t, the county must terminate the franchise.” Huntemer added that the money has to come from someplace outside county road funds. The ESWD is a junior taxing district but does not have a levy in place.
Jamie Stephens lamented that, “We want to get Prune Alley done, but there are other projects that need to get done. We are opening up a new area, to say the least.”
Bill Watson asked that the conversation be moved to the Council’s next meeting on October 27, when the interlocal agreement may be available to review. “We’ve been talking about Prune Alley for decades now, and I’m a little frustrated that this is coming
up at the eleventh hour. …We need to get this moving forward so that this project might be done sometime this century since we missed the previous century.”
The entire thirty-minute discussion can be watched and listened to here. It starts at about the 1:02:00 mark.
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Deputy Prosecuting Attorney CAIN’s comment about TERMINATING THE SEWER FRANCHISE is laughable……please tell me again that the COUNTY is really going to tell the SEWER DISTRICT that ES&WD is ‘TERMINATED’. Now what happens?
The 40 year old (and in good condition) piping remains in the ground – and (presumably) all our effluent keeps flowing – until the COUNTRY removes the MAINS (at their expense). Then the entire town of EASTSOUND has no (or minimal) sewer capacity – I wonder how that helps people and the economy.
In a COVID world utilities are not allowed to charge late fees or terminate services – seems we have a problem in Friday Harbor.
$650K was spent THIS YEAR and no-one thought to ask, “what’s under the pavement?”
As always, quotes often need perspective and background information.
First, everyone in the community should be reassured that as soon as the issues between the sewer main and the storm water improvements were found, the county and ESWD worked together quickly to scope and plan for resolving the issues with the project. We continue to have weekly meetings to assure full and absolute coordination. The “snag” is under control, pending formal approval from county council and ESWD commissioners. This was the purpose of the discussion at the county council meeting.
ESWD resources are stretched. ESWD is working to expand our waste water treatment plant, which has absorbed our engineering and technical resources that would be used for the Prune Alley sewer main project. The timeline is also very tight to keep the project on track. Therefore, ESWD asked for county to support ESWD in the design and construction of the new sewer main. This action by ESWD and the county will both expedite the main relocation and maintain the schedule for Prune Alley. More important is that it will likely reduce ESWD costs, through economy of scale, in that the sewer can be installed at the same time as the other improvements being made to the storm water system. This is great news for the residents and business owners of Eastsound.
This is an unbudgeted expense as ESWD did not anticipate replacing the Prune Alley main for several decades. ESWD has both a capital reserve fund (discussed during the council meeting) and a general operating fund, used for sewer main repairs. The capital reserve fund is funded by new connections to the ESWD sewer system. Installing a “new” main is a capital improvement project for ESWD. Prune Alley properties, generally, are all already connected to a sewer main (the one to be relocated). Therefore, we need to look at all ways in which we can finance the “new” main, outside of new connections, and outside of our repair fund. Hence ESWD will review all options, including reviewing rates for businesses.
To bridge the gap, while determining the specific funding mechanism, ESWD asked the county for a loan. As there is a unforeseen urgent need to move the ESWD main and the activity is needed quickly to assure minimal impact to the Prune Alley project. A loan will allow ESWD to move more quickly to get the main replaced during the time that the overall project is completed.
The Prune Alley sewer main is a shining example as to how a public utility, that does not levy taxes, can work with a county to resolve an issue quickly to assure that a project of public interest can be completed without a snag.
Greg Ayers
Orcas Island
How much does it take to recognize that the original plan did not take al the expenses and inconvenience into consideration?
Is there a compelling reason or deadline to suddenly get this done? I have no doubt that this money could be better spent on other projects.
Wasteful and unnecessary when so many people are struggling and suffering. A superficial vanity project, and something stinks just below the surface.
Not a new idea in this comment thread
1:03:38 Mike Thomas: “One of the things that you find in designing a project is dealing with the utilities.” (I am charitable to oral statements, and I don’t know the documented evolution of the related, complex decisions.)
May I suggest we elevate the principle of dealing with the utilities so that it is considered earlier in the feasibility process?
Am I really reading this right? It doesn’t matter if the sewer line is in good condition… we will redo the road, plant trees, then tear it all apart in 20 yrs or less? THIS is exactly what is wrong with the UGA “planning” that is making this place a treeless wasteland. The county and PW seem hellbent on generating lots of state and federal grant monies to do hugely expensive projects, pushing our UGA to more and more ridiculous and environment-destroying proportions.
Moving the sewer line while the road is torn up is a no brainer – ONCE. Planting trees where they don’t have to continually be the victims of bad planning seems also like a no-brainer. Please, can we stop treating oxygen-giving, shade-giving, habitat-giving trees like some kind of innate thing – a commodity to cut down at whim? THIS is why we have no “rural character”
Meanwhile…. Can Public Works fix the potholes that they have put off fixing for what seems like a long time, while the dithering and bumbling continues on this project? Some of those holes can cause substantial damage to a car,. I have asked to no avail.
This is going to come back and bite us all in the rear end. Please don’t counter with the whole ” this was agricultural ditches” weak retort. What came before agriculture cut down the forests??? Climate change, climate change, climate change….manmade.