City, Forest Service resolve sewer bill

A year-long wrangle over sewer hook-up charges between the City of Sisters and the Sisters Ranger District is over.

Mayor Steve Wilson and District Ranger Bill Anthony signed an agreement last month under which the U.S. Forest Service will pay the city $47,860 for sewer hook-ups.

The bill reflects a charge for 17.86 "equivalent dwelling units" (EDU) in water usage at $1,000 per EDU. The Forest Service will also pay $30,000 for a sewer main line that serves the East Portal Kiosk restrooms.

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

The $30,000 figure was a compromise based upon the estimated cost to run a line from the kiosk to the city sewer if the main line had not been built past the kiosk.

The $47,860 agreement is the end result of negotiations that started over a year ago with a $250,669.26 charge to the Forest Service for sewer services. The situation was complicated by confusion over the ranger district's actual water usage and whether the kiosk represented "new construction."

"Both Bill Anthony and myself agreed that the issue should have been more clearly determined before the line went in," Mayor Wilson said.

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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