OCR Text |
Show Sewer Board Solves Legality Question The recent controversy over the -legality of Snyderville Sewer Improvement District Board-members Board-members was apparently resolved re-solved Monday night, with the Board agreeing to let four of its members run for election and one member remain as an appointed Park City representative. Based on a consensus opinion between City Attorney Nick Colessides and Board attorney Don Strong, with consultation from the state Attorney General's office, the Board decided that two city representatives should join the two county members who were scheduled to face election. All four will face the voters during the upcoming $1.2 million bond election to finance the District's share of a $4.5 million regional treatment plant to be built in East Canyon. An opinion two weeks ago by County Attorney Bob Adkins had indicated that two City menbers might be required to resign by state law, which says that the City is only entitled to one appointed member. The opinion had raised doubts among some officials about wether the City would continue to participate in the district, since the resignation of two of its members would leave them with minority representation on the Board. Such a prospect would sab-atoge sab-atoge plans for the upcoming bond election. Monday's decision solves the problem by letting the City continue to have a majority on the Board, but designating only one of the three City members as an appointed representative. According to Adkins' opinion the elected members of the Board will have to face the voters soon, however, or their positions will "become vacant." The elected members should have faced eleciton during the District's first bond election last May, said Adkins, and may only hold office for a "reasonable" - grace period if they weren't elected at that time. No date has been set for the upcoming bond election, or-ginally or-ginally scheduled for late March. Long Awaited Study The Board was also presented long awaited comparative figures fi-gures Monday by Call Engineering En-gineering representative George Jorgenson showing the cost of a regional plant would be cheaper for Park City than upgrading its present plant. Jorgenson said it would cost Park City $1.5 million to upgrade its plant and improve its deteriorating pipelines. The regional re-gional plant, including the line improvements, would cost the Sewer District only $1.2 million. Jorgenson added that plans to upgrade the Park City plant would have to go through a lengthy approval process by the state Board of Health, which would raise the cost to an estimated $1.7 million from inflation in a year's time. The regional plant has already been approved by the state, as well as the Environmental Pro-teciton Pro-teciton Agency (EPA), which has agreed to pay 75 percent of cost to build the plant and improve Park City's lines. ; The EPA grant would also retire an estimated $330,000 debt remaining from financing the existing plant, built in 1965. In addition, the cost of the regional plant would include an eventual $328,000 trunk line to connect Summit Park into the system, said Jorgenson. Summit Park residents would have to finance a $1 million colleciton system before a connection conn-ection could be made, however, he said. This would cost an estimated $2000 for each of the 459 approved Summit Park lots. Cost of two Plants Jorgenson set the cost of building a regional plant system without Park City or the Summit Park trunk line at $2.6 million. If the trunk line is included, said Jorgenson, the cost of building two separate plants today would be combined total of $4.5 million, the same as the cost of the regional plant. He emphasized, however, that the total operation and maintenance maint-enance costs would be appreciably appreci-ably cheaper for the regional plant. Operation and maintenance costs for the regional plant would be $175,000 yearly, while two separate plants would cost $115,000 each every year. The $4.5 million figure for the separate plants also fails to take into account the inflation costs expected while the projects await approval from the state. "The longer you put it off, the more it's going to cost," said Jorgenson. Bond comparison Attorney Dick Christianson of Burrows and Smith law firm also gave an explanation of why the Sewer Board has chosen general obligation bonds instead of revenue bonds for the upcoming bond election. General obligation bonds would require a lower service charge to the average resident, he said, and would not lead to confiscation of personal property, as some people believe. The obligation bonds only need to cover the costs of interest and operation of the plant, said Christianson, while revenue bonds must cover the costs of an additional two expense and repair reserve funds, plus an extTa 50 percent "security" for all costs after operation and maintenance. Christianson added that 80 percent of all obligation bonds in Utah are "self-supporting" and are paid off by money generated primarily from connection fees and service charges. City RecorderTreasurer Recor-derTreasurer Bruce Decker said that even if the bonds aren't self supporting, the worst that could happen is that the district would impose a four mill levy to cover the cost of the bonds. This is the maximum they are allowed by law to levy, he said. Attorney Mary Lehmer pointed out that her property could be confiscated if she refused to pay such a levy, but City Attorney Nick Colessides said this would be the case for any non-payment of taxes not just a sewer district levy. Will Draw Straws The current members of the Sewer Board are: Chairman Mel Flinders and Judge James Kilby, representing Summit County; and City Councilmen Jack Green and Jan Wilking, and Planning Commission Co chairman Burn-is Burn-is Watts representing Park City. Under Monday night's agreement, agree-ment, the City will choose one of the three Park City members to be its appointed representative. All five will draw straws to determine the length of their initial term. Two will serve two years, two will serve four years and one will serve six years. At the end of the initial term, each position, whether appointed or elected, will have a six year term. |