News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters City Council decided Thursday, September 26, not to put the $110,000 contract for Phase II of the city's Comprehensive Waste Management Plan out for a Request for Proposal. HGE, Inc. conducted Phase I of the study and the decision left Phase II in their hands as well.
That decision reversed an August 22 decision to put the contract out for bids.
Councilors Sheryl Whent and Gary Miller voted in favor of sending the contract out for a Request for Proposal because of the amount of public money involved. Both indicated that they had no concerns about the quality of HGE's work.
Councilor Jean Cooper contended in a pre-meeting workshop that the original proposal for Phase I assumed that the same firm would continue the work on the second phase. She believes the city has a contract with HGE, Inc.
Cooper and Councilor Kathy Pittman opposed putting the contract out for proposals and Mayor Dave Moyer cast the deciding vote against doing so.
In the August 22 council meeting, the city's legal counsel stated that the city was not bound to put the contract out for proposals, though as a matter of policy "it never hurts" to shop for bids.
Phase II of the study will take the city through the Department of Environmental Quality and Environmental Protection Agency permitting process. The study will provide a cost estimate for constructing a wastewater management facility and determine what kind of system is most appropriate for Sisters. The study will also determine hook-up and monthly service fee costs for Sisters residents.
The U.S. Forest Service is contributing 80 percent of the $110,000 grant fund and Deschutes County is contributing 10 percent. The City of Sisters will contribute $10,000 and $1,000 in in-kind services.
The decision as to whether or not Sisters will actually install a sewer system will be left up to a vote of the people.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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