Sewer advisory group creating big stink

City council divided over whether to join a countywide

By Kara Hansen

The West Linn Tidings, Oct 22, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (6 Reader comments)

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West Linn City Council members debating a proposed wastewater treatment advisory committee are up to their ears in, well, you know.

Questions over a document establishing the committee have divided the city council and exploded in a firestorm of community opposition.

On Monday, the council will vote on whether to join the new countywide group, an idea that has drawn heat from citizens concerned the costs of dealing with other cities’ effluent will seep into their sewer bills.

The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners is pushing the committee as a way to save money on long-term investments in its wastewater treatment districts. Those include the Tri-City Service District serving West Linn, Oregon City and Gladstone and Clackamas County Service District No. 1, which serves Happy Valley, Milwaukie, a portion of Damascus and unincorporated areas in northern parts of the county.

But while the agreement might look black and white, Mayor Patti Galle said the potential consequences are murky at best.

“And I’m not going to put the citizens at even a slight risk to have to pay,” she said.

Like Galle, many residents are worried they’ll see rates climb because of problems with the Kellogg Creek plant, which treats sewage for the other wastewater district. About a dozen people spoke against increased rates at a recent council meeting, and 75 more sent e-mails in opposition — even though public officials said the committee would have no effect on West Linn utility bills.

Unable to accommodate growth at Kellogg, Clackamas County Service District No. 1 has leased space at the Tri-City plant in Oregon City since 2000. It’s now footing the bill for the newer plant’s $85 million expansion, a cost passed on to the Clackamas district’s ratepayers. It’s unclear what will happen to the older plant, located in Milwaukie, or how much the project might cost.

Meanwhile, serving developing communities like Damascus will only increase the burden on the Clackamas district, said Matthew Green-Hite, a Gladstone accountant who said he has served on five government budget committees. By his estimates, West Linn residents’ bills would rise by $60 to $80 per month if Tri-City customers were forced to subsidize sewer needs outside of the city.

“The main purpose of this is to pay for Damascus,” he told the city council earlier this month.

Others are worried about paying for development in places such as Stafford Basin, the unincorporated area between Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West Linn.

“This could facilitate growth,” Bolton Neighborhood Association President Sally McLarty said.

Resident David Smith asked councilors to consider the implications higher sewer bills would pose for people living on fixed incomes, a sentiment echoed by Hidden Springs Neighborhood Association President Lynn Fox. “Retirees are leaving West Linn because they can’t afford to live here,” she said.

However, according to the city, the proposed wastewater committee has nothing to do with local sewer rates, which are based on charges for local wastewater collection and the subsequent cost of processing sewage at the treatment plant.

Councilor John Kovash urged citizens to read the committee’s drafted bylaws and resist speculation.

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