Two hundred ten water customers in the Holmes Harbor area may be sending off their water bills to go into a different pocket later this spring.
Last week, Freeland real estate agent Tom Handy received permission from the Holmes Harbor Sewer District to purchase the Harbor Hills Water Co., a private water system owned by Sikma Enterprises since 1993. Jack Sikma, a developer and former professional basketball star, is the president of that company.
In a Jan. 10 letter to the sewer district’s board of directors, Handy said he and his son, Tom Handy Jr., are “investigating” purchasing the 210-hookup water system from Sikma. Handy needed the sign off from the board because a 1993 contract between the sewer district and the water company requires it.
The water system primarily serves homeowners living within the sewer district’s boundaries.
Handy said earlier this month that he preferred to avoid talking about the proposed purchase publicly. In his letter to the sewer district board, he asked that the district keep his name and the sale out of the public eye. However, both the letter and the board’s Jan. 16 meeting were public record.
Handy would only speak generally about the water company.
“I think it’s a great little system,” he said.
Sikma was also tight lipped about the sale. On Friday, he had little to say other than the water company is on the market.
“It’s premature to comment on the water company sale,” he said.
Handy needs further approvals to purchase the water system. He wrote to the sewer district that he is in the process of asking permission from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and the Washington State Public Works Board to by the system.
Marilyn Meehan, a spokesperson for the UTC, said Thursday that the UTC’s board of commissioners has not yet taken the matter under consideration, but probably will in Feburary.
The water company operates three active wells with a capacity to pump 128,600 gallons of water per day. In all, the water system serves about 390 people in the Holmes Harbor area, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
Water system customers who wish to comment on the proposed sale may do so by calling the UTC at 800-562-6150.
