Mayor comments on negotiation breakdown

To the Eagle:

News Flash: Puget Island will be building its own water treatment system. How do we know? Because PUD Commissioner Bob Jungers last Tuesday described the town council’s compromise proposal for a water deal using the tired rightwing cliché--a pig with lipstick. Thank you Mr. Jungers, the town council will take that as a “no.”

Having negotiated with the PUD for the better part of two years, my impression is that they came to the table with two objectives: either coax the town into giving the PUD our water system, or break from our system and building a water treatment plant of their own. They are now on the pathway to that second objective (payment for which Puget Islanders will be billed for later). Wahkiakum has so many contending fire departments, port districts and such because we, as a community, too often prefer to form splinter groups than compromise on issues over which we disagree.

The town's objective was straightforward: end the daily water subsidy both in-town and out-of-town water customers of our system pay to Puget Island. Why should residents of our neighborhoods, apartments, trailer parks – not to mention our school district – have their water revenues support expenditures that benefit Puget Island? By the numbers, the PUD is paying the town something like 50 cents per 100 cubic feet less for water than it costs us to produce and deliver that water. That means everyone else pays more than they should.

This is no secret. The town has contended for many years that we were being undercompensated by the PUD. In a break with tradition, I tried to change this status quo. So we negotiated for some 20 months, shared with the PUD (quite literally) every line item on our water system budget, and crafted a deal that looked to us as “win-win.” If accepted it would have meant a water cost increase for the average Puget Island customer of about $3.70 per month. Trust me, there is no way the PUD could develop an alternative for that cost, or 10 times that cost. But they are now going to try.

Here is how this break could impact the community. For starters, it is conceivable that the state’s Department of Health will place use limits on one or both systems. Indeed, they are coming to Wahkiakum next week to discuss just such a possibility. That would be a heavy blow for our local contractors, realtors and owners of undeveloped parcels to bear. Our pig-with-lipstick compromise aimed to prevent this eventuality.

Second, the town must substantially redraw its long-term water plan by removing now-unnecessary capital improvements like a secondary water source and more reservoir capacity (both of which the PUD will build on Puget Island). We will refocus our growth strategy to extend water service further up the Elochoman Valley and in both directions along SR4. The arrival of safe, clean and affordable water will spur growth in these areas, though the development timeline could run a decade or longer.

Third, Puget Island will enter uncharted territory regarding its long term plans. Longview’s Mint Farm fiasco is a cautionary example of what could be ahead. Our educated guess is that a modest water treatment plant could cost $6-7 million in today’s dollars. Divide that amongst just 533 households and the impact is obvious.

Lastly, there is always a risk of litigation –an outcome that, quite frankly, feathers nests within a certain political class in Wahkiakum County, while burning public money with little public benefit. Facilitators, mediators, litigators exist to step in when reasonable talking stops, and they all bill by the hour.

I consider the town’s inability to forge a new water accord with the PUD my greatest failure as mayor. I hope the community will understand that we did all we could to seal a fair deal. Our public works superintendent, the town council’s utilities committee and the town’s attorney all took up this challenge with grace and professionalism. But for agreements to be made, folks must meet each other half way, and although we walked to the middle of the Puget Island Bridge and then some, nobody showed up to greet us.

George Wehrfritz, Mayor, Town of Cathlamet