City makes new sewer offer to USFS

The Sisters City Council erased its line in the sand on Thursday, September 6, setting a new figure to hook the Forest Service compound up to the sewer system.

The city insisted last month on a "non-negotiable" figure of $98,948. After a discussion with District Ranger Bill Anthony last week, the council revised the amount to $72,088.

Anthony offered to pay only the compound's monthly per-EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) bill of $17,860.

The Forest Service is presently bidding out all the lateral construction on the compound, essentially readying the whole compound to simply "plug in" to the system.

"We're going to be well in excess of six figures to hook up that administrative site, to do all the laterals," Anthony said. "That's quite a chunk of change."

He argued that charges of $1,000 per EDU -- $17,860 total -- don't make sense because the Forest Service is doing all the lateral construction.

Councilor Lon Kellstrom argued that the $1,000/EDU charge is an access fee, not a charge for construction.

In their fresh proposal, the council insisted that the $17,860 in hook-up fees be paid. However, it deducted the amount from the $71,848 assessed for a main line run out to the Forest Service Kiosk bathrooms. The new proposal for the kiosk line is $53,988.

That line cost approximately $150,000 in total, but the city used it to pick up other sewer users as well as the bathroom.

The city also agreed to waive $9,000 in fees for re-engineering and surveying the layout of main lines across Forest Service property. Anthony argued that such costs are traditionally borne by the "applicant."

Anthony said he has allocated funds to pay for lateral construction and to cover the city bill.

However, he said, he has a few more questions for sewer engineer Dick Nored before a final decision to pay will be made.

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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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