Residents will review proposal at meeting Wednesday
By GAYLE SARAN
Staff reporter
Coming soon to the Clinton Progressive Hall is the next installment of the Clinton Sewer plan starring the Clinton Water District board and its consulting engineer.
The draft comprehensive sewer plan has been completed and will be made public on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the hall.
Interested residents will have the opportunity to preview the draft plan produced by a Bellevue engineering firm in cooperation with the Clinton Water District.
But according to Mike Helland, the water district’s manager, the rest of the story is up to local residents.
“Our job is done. Now it is up the residents to decide whether they are interested in pursuing the project any further,” Helland said.
Helland will lead next week’s meeting with consulting engineer, Tim Harrigan, whose Bellevue firm developed the plan.
Helland said by completing the plan, the district is not mandating sewers.
“A sewer system isn’t something the Clinton Water District is pushing one way or the other,” he said. “The board has no desire to force a system on the community if the majority of people are against it.”
For the purpose of the study, boundaries for the system were set and include an estimated 500 customers to the Clinton Water District. The district has a total of 700 hookups.
Helland says he sees the plan as an opportunity for residents to investigate and evaluate where the community is on wastewater management.
That investigation is not coming cheap. Drawing up the plan — which may never be used — cost $60,000, $45,000 of which was funded by a federal grant.
Development of a wastewater system has not been a popular idea among Clinton residents. In November, nearly 100 people attended the first meeting about the plan. Of those who spoke, most were opposed to the idea.
Fearing increased development and excessive hookup fees, residents asked the district to stop pursing the project.
The plan, in draft form, will be presented to the community with opportunity questions. If necessary, a second meeting will be planned.
Helland says he hopes people will take time to make an informed decision. Water district customers would vote over whether to form a utility local Improvement district for the project.
