Sewer board says project dead, maybe

The president of the Paradise sewer board said the move toward installing a community sewer system is gone, for now. But despite rumors to the contrary, the Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise is continuing as a board, said Janie McFadgen, the board president.

Board member Terry Caldwell announced at the meeting last Monday that two of the funding agencies had pulled their funding, something McFadgen confirmed at the meeting at the United Methodist Church clubhouse.

"We don't have the funding anymore. Two of our grants are gone," said McFadgen. However, a day later, she found out that none of the six grants had been pulled. She thought that the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) grant of $1,437,881 and the TSEP (Treasure State Endowment Program) grant of $750,000 were no longer available because no progress was being made toward getting the sewer system even started. The sewer board had previously requested and received two extensions, but McFadgen said even if the funds are still there, she believes at least one will go away soon because the board will be unable to get the buy/sell agreement before any extension deadline. She doesn't know why Caldwell said two had pulled out.

"I think there's still a little bit of a chance. I just don't know," said McFadgen. "They're not seeing any progression, and Bridger (Bischoff) is not going to sell without the free EDUs [equivalent dwelling unit]," she said, adding that the board can't promise the EDUs. One of the roadblocks in obtaining the Bridger Bischoff property was the supposed free EDUs, which had been part of the bargain with him in the two previous agreements in negotiations to purchase his property for the system drain field. Caldwell said it was illegal for the board to offer the EDUs to Bischoff for free. However, Commissioner Tony Cox and Collette Anderson, the municipal business unit manager for Great West Engineering, the firm hired for the project, said Bischoff was going to be paying for the hookups.

"Rural Development would not have awarded funding to this project if the EDUs allotted for Bridger in the original MOU were illegal," said Anderson. "Additionally, the EDUs for Bridger's future development are not being given to him for free. Rather, the original MOU required that he pay the same assessment as each property owner in the community for every EDU, which equates to approximately $7,400 per year for the life of the loan," she said.

Nineteen people attended the meeting to get the latest on the board's plans after it turned down the county's offer of $550,000 to help finance the operation. Missing at the meeting were Cox and Commissioner Claude Burlingame or any of the commissioner candidates that had been attending meetings. "We made a valid offer and they rejected it. It didn't make sense," said Cox. "It's just sad for Paradise, because they had a golden opportunity. I'll never understand. It's mind boggling."

Caldwell blamed the former sewer board and interference from county commissioners, though he added that he wouldn't point fingers, for the failure in getting a sewer system. Former Commissioner Carol Brooker has taken some of the heat from board members, but she said the commissioners have supported the project from the start.

"If it wasn't for the commissioners, they wouldn't have gotten that great funding package. I wrote letters and testified at the legislature. Those people are not in touch with reality," said Brooker, who retired in December but attended nearly every meeting to assist and answer questions from the board and general public in attendance before she retired. "I hope the next sewer to go out costs the owner $10,000 to get a new one in. At some point, DEQ will step in and say enough is enough. It will make me smile. Just hope it is someone that was saying 'no' the loudest," she said.

Caldwell also stated at the meeting that he didn't believe the commissioners were really going to give them the $550,000, calling it a carrot, but Cox said they offered the money in good faith to help the residents of Paradise. "It's a pretty sad day for Paradise, and it didn't need to be," said Cox, who added that those on the board who think it will be less expensive in the future are irresponsible, don't want the system, or both.

Caldwell said the plan is to wait three to five years and try again.

"How can you get any cheaper than free? They had the money to get the entire thing done," said Cox, who did not understand why none of the board members participated in the last two conference calls with the funding agencies. In addition, Cox said that if the project finished, the remaining fund money, which is somewhere around $3,345,000, would be returned to the lenders. It is unsure how the water board will get its approximately $50,000 that it had loaned the sewer board, but sewer board member Dewey Arnold said the board was looking into the situation and hopes to have it resolved by the July 8 meeting, which will be at the clubhouse at 6 p.m.

McFadgen said she's looking into whether or not the board, which is an elected entity, will remain or fold. She said the board has now halted its efforts to get a sewer system in place and that negotiations with Bischoff are done. She said they still have work to do, such as making sure the water board gets paid back. She also said that she and board member Pernel Elaine Chapman are making themselves available to help residents who are in need of a new septic system but can't afford one fill out applications to get financial aid, or to find grant money to help with individual systems.

The American Legion was also waiting to find out if a centralized sewer system was going to be installed, and it is having difficulties with its septic system, according to Shawn Sorenson, Sanders County's sanitarian. Sorenson said that rumor that the county sanitarian might be condemning people's property with failed systems is false.

"My job is to work with landowners and site evaluators to determine the best solution for a given piece of property. Paradise is challenging, and replacing failed systems is a case-by-case process," said Sorenson, who added that the Legion has a temporary system, part of which was installed without a permit, and that's being discussed at the commissioner level.

McFadgen said the board will continue to research new grant agencies, other engineering firms, and another property that could be used for the drainfield. She also announced at the meeting that the board still needs another member to replace Don Stamm, who resigned and moved to Missoula. She said Cody Lampman, a former appointed board member, showed interest, but no one has filed an application.

Anderson said that Great West is not furthering its work on the project and is awaiting direction from the sewer district. Mark Sheets, the mayor of Thompson Falls, has said that if the ARPA funds designated for Paradise are no longer going toward that project, he will be requesting them for Thompson Falls.