City to share sewer costs with residents

After weeks of postponement, the Sisters City Council cast a 3-1 vote Thursday, October 9, to approve a sewer connection and reimbursement agreement with residents of Maple Street in the Buck Run Phase III subdivision.

The approved measure was the least costly to the residents of a pair of options under consideration by the council.

Councilor Lon Kellstrom voted against the decision because he believes it takes too much taxpayer money to benefit a minority. Councilor Deborah Kollodge was absent.

All five of the property owners signed documents confirming their consent to pay an estimated $26,000 or a third of the estimated $80,000 city project to replace their existing septic systems with 426 linear feet of an eight-inch sewer pipe. The city will also cover a third of the cost.

Buck Run developer Mylon Buck agreed to pay an additional $8,000 and property owner George Tosello agreed to pay an additional $8,000. The developers of the adjacent Coyote Springs subdivision agreed to pay a $15,000 flat fee. They need the sewer to move forward to complete their development.

The sewer will be located on the east side of Maple Street, between Tyee Drive and Coyote Springs Drive.

The residents were not included in the city's original sewer plan for the City of Sisters, which only charged residents up to $3,000.

This agreement charges each property owner an estimated $4,400 per lot (one person owns two lots), which is $9,000 less than what they would have paid if they had not protested the city's initial proposal in August.

"We really didn't have any other choice but to do this," said Virginia Gundersen, a property owner. "We were discriminated against. The rest of the city already got their sewer. When we built our property three years ago, we were told that we would only have to pay a $3,000 Systems Development Charge. We're not being treated fairly like the rest of the city.

"At least it's done with. It was too much of a hassle to go on with it. We're retired residents; we don't have that much money."

The residents hired attorney Michael Peterkin to represent them in August, after each resident received a letter from the city stating they might be charged $13,000 to reimburse the city to build a sewer which would allow the second phase of the Coyote Springs subdivision to proceed.

Kellstrom objected to what he considers a taxpayer-funded subsidy.

"I just don't think you should take taxpayer money from a majority to benefit a minority," Kellstrom told The Nugget. "The residents were not included in the original sewer project because the city had to make an estima-tion on how much the city population would grow by a certain date (and it had to stop somewhere)."

Kellstrom said the city will also now end up using another chunk of taxpayer money to install a sewer on Tyler Avenue for a small number of residents. The city is estimated to pay about $20,000 for the estimated $60,000 project, Kellstrom said.

Bob Boyd, a property owner on Tyler Avenue, said he will end up paying about $9,000 for the sewer with the $4,400 charge plus undetermined fees for hook-up, the Systems Development Charge and laterals. Still, he said he appreciates the city's help.

"It was a very hard decision for everybody to make," Boyd said. "The city contributed, (as well as) the developers and the homeowners. It's not easy for anyone, including the city because they have another one coming down the road on Tyler.

"We're appreciative of the council's work and the developer's contribution and we're very happy it's behind us," he said.

"It was not a satisfactory decision for any of the parties, but it was the right thing to do," Boyd said.