Sewer foes request denial of grant

A group opposed to Sisters' proposed sewer system is trying to convince the Oregon Economic Development Department not to help fund the project.

In a letter to OEDD dated July 28, Joseph and Libby Bottero, Pam and Ken Emmrich, John and Virginia Groom and City Council President Gordon Petrie and his wife Shirley asked that "OEDD consider not funding the present HGE (Engineering) sewer project for the City of Sisters."

Voters in May, by a 2-1 margin, authorized $7 million in bonds to fund part of the project. The balance of the $12.8 million project is to be funded through grants such as those OEDD offers.

Libby Bottero has advocated "low-cost alternative sewer systems" for Sisters. According to the letter, "these alternatives were never seriously considered by HGE or the proponents of the system."

The letter also argued that "Sisters voters were misled about the need for the large, expensive HGE proposal."

Bottero drew a distinction between the voters' approval of the bonds for the sewer system and their commitment to the system proposed by HGE, Inc., the city's engineering firm.

"I think the voters said they would be willing to pay $7 million for a sewer system," Bottero said.

"I don't think I'm trying to overthrow the vote of the people," she said. "Just the opposite. I think it's in the best interests of the citizens to look at all the options."

Mayor Steve Wilson believes the letter represents an effort to "blow up the grant process" and prevent a sewer from being built.

"How can that be viewed as anything else than an attempt to overturn the election?" Wilson said. "I'm disappointed, obviously. I thought - and I think the rest of the community would agree - that the facts were presented, the people voted and said they wanted this type of system and were willing to pay the stated cost."

Ken Emmrich of Sisters was initially reluctant to speak about the letter.

"I think it would be a better use of your time to talk to the others involved. I see no benefit in talking to The Nugget about this," he said.

Emmrich explained he had not seen any response to the letter from the Oregon Economic Development Department.

"I do not feel comfortable communicating about this until I see correspondence in return," he said.

Asked if he thought the elimination of the grant money from the state would kill the sewer, Emmrich said, "No."

The Grooms and the Petries were not available for comment at press time.

OEDD has asked the city to respond to the letter during the month of September, according to Wilson.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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