Commissioners, council member discuss sewer issue

Will Wahkiakum County come to the aid of the Town of Cathlamet in an effort to increase connections to the town's sewer system?

Council Member Dick Swart and the county board of commissioners broached that subject Tuesday at the commission's weekly meeting.

Swart had reported that the council is studying its water and sewer rates, with increases coming soon. One report to the council stated rates would have to increase 110 percent to keep the sewer system solvent.

"One of the underlying issues, at least for sewer rates, is the small customer base," Swart said. "I will be proposing, after the election, that we form a work group of the council, county, PUD and possibly the Chamber of Commerce."

The council would like to increase the number of connections to the sewer system to spread the costs around.

The county helped finance an extension from the location of the new sewer plant up SR 4 to Boege Road about 10 years ago, but the recession of 2008 hit not long after it was completed, and there have been few connections to the line. The connection fee includes payments to both the town for service and to the county to repay the financing.

Commissioner Dan Cothren commented that a little over a year ago he had met with Mayor Dale Jacobson and the late David Goodroe, then a council member, and discussed these issues. He expected the town to call a town hall meeting to discuss Boege Road connections, but it hasn't happened.

Cothren said that at a subsequent meeting, he had suggested lowering hookup fees to encourage new connections, but the idea was rejected.

Now, the people in the Boege Road/Rosedale Heights area have improved their septic systems and don't want to pay to connect to the town's system, he said.

"To me, the city shot themselves in the foot," he said. "The door's still open, Dick. If you guys want to discuss that, we'll discuss it.

Swart responded that the council had dropped connection fees to $100 and left that offer in place for two years without gaining connections. The offer expired after two years, and the council hasn't renewed it.

"I was off the council at the time," Swart said. "I would be willing to try it again."

Another enticement could be deferred connection fee, he said.

Cothren said the county and town should work together on the issue, but the town needs to take the lead.

"It's up to the city to be more proactive," he said. "It's their sewer."

Swart responded that there was hope that the county, by ordinance, would require people living within a certain distance of a sewer line to connect to it.