Mayor: Let utility-takeover ruling stand

The mayor of Liberty Lake wants his city to abide by a court decision that halted its takeover of Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District and called for a public vote.

“My recommendation is not to appeal the lawsuit,” Mayor Steve Peterson said.

Superior Court Judge Michael P. Price ruled that city ordinance No. 120, which started the “assumption” process, was invalid. He also required the city to conduct a study under the State Environmental Protection Act and let voters within the city decide who they want to control their utility – the city or the district.

“Those are two pretty clear courses of direction from the court,” Peterson said. “It’s up to the people to decide which way they want to go.”

State law allows cities to take over special purpose utility districts if 60 percent of a district’s assessed value falls within city limits. However, Price determined the city didn’t follow proper procedures for doing so.

The ruling clarified a mishmash of conflicting expert opinions that the city had gotten regarding the laws concerning such takeovers.

The city’s next move will hinge on the results of a feasibility study by Economic and Engineering Services. City officials hope to use the study to determine if the city should negotiate a franchise agreement to provide services – like the one that Avista Utilities has with Spokane – or pursue annexation again.

The study, approved by the City Council last February, will determine costs and potential savings associated with taking over the utility district.

Peterson said the draft isn’t yet final because the district refused to provide the consultant with a recent ratepayer study that is key to the report. The district did, however, provide a rate study that is three years old.

Frank Boyle, sewer district commissioner, denied that the district withheld anything.

“We’ve given them everything that they’ve requested,” he said.

However, Boyle explained, a ratepayer study being conducted by another firm hasn’t been completed because the firm miscalculated revenue from hookup fees.

That error stems from a complicated stakeholder relationship that was based on a group of developers who joined with local citizens to invest in building the sewer plant 30 years ago. In exchange for their money, developers got to own a portion of the then-new plant, including hookup rights in developments like Legacy Ridge.

Boyle said the rate study overcalculated district revenue because it figured in hundreds of hookup fees on lots that are owned by developers who already own connection rights.

In the meantime, a draft of the feasibility study has circulated among council members, who met in executive session to discuss it with engineer John Maxwell of EES.

Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District and The Spokesman-Review have both filed public records requests for copies of the draft.

Without the missing piece, Peterson said, the study is obviously incomplete.

“It’s hard to get your arms around that information.”