Seeley Lake Sewer
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board was informed at their monthly meeting, Aug. 17 that this fall’s planned notice and protest might be delayed. The Board’s public outreach meetings scheduled for Aug. 23 and Sept. 21 will go on as planned. Residents at the meeting took the opportunity to ask questions during public comment.
District Manager Greg Robertson explained that the notice and protest period cannot happen until they receive a status on the district’s most recent application for additional funding. The application to Rural Development (RD) is to gain funds to cover the increase in the construction estimate.
Robertson was told, in a conversation with RD, what the regional office requested from RD headquarters in regards to the grant to loan ratio. Robertson didn’t share what the ratio was however he will use that ratio to produce monthly estimates for the upcoming public outreach meetings but the number needs to be nailed down for the notice and protest to take place.
RD gave Robertson no indication as to when the funding offer would be received.
Public comments and questions:
Who came up with the business properties getting twice the influence or votes as residential property owners during the notice and protest? The resident went on to explain that there has been nothing in the meeting minutes or agendas explaining how the board came up with this methodology. “We didn’t have a decision on that. Just like the vote [debt election November 2016], we didn’t have a decision on that either. Other people come up with the ideas of how this is going to happen,” said Board President Mike Boltz.
Boltz suggested that it was probably something from RD but he would try to find out.
The district’s website seeleysewer.org explains that business properties will pay twice the rate therefore would receive twice the influence but doesn’t explain how that methodology was selected.
During the notice and protest period, where will property owners send in letters of protest: the sewer district, the elections office or some other third party? Robertson said it has not been determined yet.
A third party or the elections office should receive and count the protests to make sure it is fair. “I don’t think it was ever intended to mail [protests] back to us [the board],” said Boltz. “I really do believe that this is where we were heading anyway, to send this back to an independent review and so I don’t think we’re going out of line there at all.”
From C Street, down Boy Scout Road toward the highway, how does the district plan to get the residents water to make the sewer system work? Nothing would change as to where the residents’ water is coming from. The water and sewer are separate. If they currently get water out of the lake then that is where they would continue to get it.
Will the Committee for Sensible Wastewater Solutions be permitted to hand out fact sheets at the district’s public information meetings? That would be a question for the public relations firm putting on the meeting.
Boltz suggested handing the information outside.
Who is presenting at the public outreach meetings? The meeting will include a number of professionals with the sewer district, a representative from the county health department and an engineer from Great West Engineering. Great West has designed the proposed treatment plant and collection system.
If a grinder pump is required at the house being hooked up, who pays for the pump, the electricity to run it and the maintenance of it? Boltz said he thought it would probably be the landowner’s responsibility just like if they had a pump in their current septic tank. Board member Mike Lindemer though that it is a good question and it should be directed to the engineers because he didn’t know.
The next sewer board meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21 at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. At 6 p.m. there will be a public outreach meeting in the same location.
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