ILWACO Following Monday nights Ilwaco City Council meeting, campers may soon expect to forgo their morning showers and their use of flushing toilets at Cape Disappointment State Park as the board recommended that Mayor Mike Cassinelli initiate action to demand overdue utility payments from Washington State Parks. 

Though initially estimated to owe approximately $24,000 in unpaid surcharges, on Tuesday, City Clerk PJ Kezele found that State Parks actually owes over $53,000 in wastewater surcharges, which she and Cassinelli say State Parks refuses to pay.

Kezele said the city added 50 percent surcharges to all utility customers outside the city limits back in December 2009, but staffing changes prevented the city from collecting those charges until October 2010. It was last fall when the city sent notices to State Parks and the Coast Guard to collect all of the water and wastewater surcharges owed up to that point. Kezele noted that it would be considered a gift of public funds if the city did not charge the two entities for the back charges.

The Coast Guard owed a little over $9,000 in surcharges for the January 2010 through September 2010 period. Those charges were paid on April 13. And while State Parks is protesting the wastewater surcharges, Kezele said the agency has been paying their accounts separate water surcharges all along.

With the action taken by the council on Monday, Kezele said the city will send State Parks a delinquency notice, which will give them 30 days to pay their debts. If State Parks doesnt respond after 30 days, the city will deliver a 48-hour utility shut-off notice.

At the meeting, city Councilman Butch Smith said the debts should be treated no differently than any other utility customer, You pay in protest, and if you win your case, you get your money back.

Cape Disappointment State Parks management could not be reached for comment.

 

City water plans

In other business, Cassinelli also opened a public hearing to receive input on the citys proposed water system plan prepared by city engineers Gray & Osborne. He explained that the Department of Health requires the city to create a water plan every six years to reflect changes in customer demand. The plan discusses how water should be conveyed to the city and which capital improvements are necessary to do so.

Rich Marshall, of MSW developers, stated that the plan could be more clearly written and accurate. He said that MSW invested in the Spring Street pump station and reservoir for their Discovery Heights development back in 2003, and felt the plan should establish that 450 Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) are reserved for the development. And since there is more tank capacity than expected, he asked the council to reserve an additional 70 ERUs for Discovery Heights. He suggested that the council insert footnotes into the document to clarify the ERU details.

Marshall said that he and his partners are diligently trying to find a developer with deeper pockets to build it out into something Ilwaco can be proud of, but so far, the developers they have contacted think the Discovery Heights project, at this point, is too small. 

The hearing was closed, and after much discussion, the council agreed to include the reserved 450 ERUs in the plan, as well as add Marshalls proposed footnotes to four tables in the plan.

The council also promoted David Gustafson to a wastewater plant operator II position; approved a $2,500 bid to purchase and move the Steed house at 112 Myrtle Street; and discussed cross connection services.