City to help fund Buck Run sewer

Construction of a new sewer line in the third phase of the Buck Run III subdivision will resolve a lingering controversy involving property owners who were not included in the original sewer system.

The Sisters City Council voted 2-1 Thursday, January 22, to charge six property owners on Tyler Avenue a reimbursement fee to install a sewer line along their street and connect it to the sewer line on Maple Street.

The city council agreed to work with the property developers to shoulder part of the cost to install the sewer system.

Councilor Lon Kellstrom voted against the decision because he said it takes too much taxpayer money to benefit a minority. Mayor David Elliott and councilors Deb Kollodge and John Rahm were absent.

The city council recently made a similar decision to install a sewer line on the neighboring Maple Street. Five Maple Street residents received a letter from the city informing them they would soon be required to pay $13,000 each to replace their existing septic system with a sewer line.

After they hired an attorney to protest the fees, the City Council voted 3-1 to approve an agreement that would cost the residents less money. Kellstrom also voted against that decision.

The approved Tyler Avenue agreement will require the residents to pay $17,000 for the sewer main line, said Eileen Stein, city manager.

Tyler Avenue residents are each paying $2,880 of the $17,000. The city will pay $17,000 and developers Rad Dyer, George Tosello and Mylon Buck will split costs for the remaining $17,000, which will save each resident about $5,500.

Still, each property owner will have to pay an additional $2,500 to $3,500 to install the service lateral, a $3,000 systems development charge and a $1,000 sewer connection fee, Stein said. Those fees in addition to the main charge will total $9,000 to $10,000 per resident.

"It is still a significant amount (for the residents), but it is not as much as it would be if there was not an agreement for all parties to share in the cost," Stein said.

"That cost is really the responsibility of the lot owners, but the city and the developer have chosen to participate."

The residents are required to pay for public improvements to their property, because they were not included in the city's original sewer plan.

The Tyler Avenue residents expressed frustration over reimbursing the city to tear out their working septic systems to install a sewer. The council agreed to allow the residents to continue to use their septic systems for up to seven years under the conditions that their septic permit is not revoked and the septic system does not fail or show signs of contaminating ground water.

The residents will not be required to pay any fees until they connect to the sewer line, Stein said.

No attorney was needed for this settlement, Stein said.

George Tosello, Buck Run developer and owner of affected properties on Tyler Avenue and Maple Street worked with the parties to put together the written agreement.

Construction for the Tyler Avenue sewer line will begin immediately after the construction of the Maple Street sewer line, which is slated for completion in the next two weeks, Stein said.