Mission moves forward with sewer system

The city of St. Ignatius is moving forward with plans for a new sewer system, but is meeting some opposition from property owners with land near the proposed system.

A two-to-one land swap was made with Doug Allard for his land by the airport, mayor John Connot announced at October's city council meeting, but users of the airport weren't exactly pleased with that.

"Allard owns the land behind the sewer lagoon and the only way to get to the land is through his property," council president Charles Gariepy said. "We are swapping him for land so that we can have that right-of-away."

The city council was met with opposition concerning the sewer project when Rick Newman said the planned land swap could be bad for the airport. Newman said he was voicing his concern on behalf of others who parked and stored their airplanes at the airport, as well as himself.

"Since I've been here there have been three land swaps with areas surrounding the airport," Newman said. "Down the road, if I ever sell this business it won't be worth much without the surrounding land. The 80 acres around the airport is disappearing. Will the city reimburse me if it's closed down and I can't sell it for what it's worth as an airport?"

The airport could lose its ability to be licensed as an airport if it doesn't meet the standards required to safely operate, Newman said. He said those requirements include keeping the surrounding areas free from interfering with the runway.

"With dogs, kids, and houses [around the airport], chopping it up is not the way to handle it," he said. "Eventually the feds will shut it down if we can't meet their standards."

The council sympathized with Newman's concerns and said they'd do what they could but they didn't think city residents would appreciate an even higher sewer bill to purchase a different piece of land to swap with Allard.

Fred Phillips of Great West Engineering said that halting the land swap would be a scheduling problem with the already existing measures in place.

"We own this land, and we'll have to come up with $75,000 more to continue with the project if we buy a different piece of land," Gariepy said. "We are doing this sewer project for the town. But it's not all about growth. We want to take care of the people that are here."

The town discussed some of its options to make the land around the airport safe, including creating high fences topped with barbwire.

The city clerk commented about the financial impact the new sewer system will have on the sewer bill that residents of St. Ignatius receive each month.

"The bill for sewer use will be increased, which started in 2005. It was increased from the previous $11.00 to $23.00 and will increase by an additional $34.00 for a total of $50.00 in 2006," city clerk Lee Ann Gottfried said.

"The problem with the old sewer is that it doesn't meet the discharge standards anymore," she said. "The town won't be under any discharge after the new sewer is in. We'll be holding it and it will be cleaned for irrigation."

The old system has been under a moratorium for several years and the town hasn't allowed any new connections, Gottfried said.

"Construction on the sewer will begin next summer and the final engineering design will be done soon. Then it will go out for bid and a company will get the contract," Gottfried said.

Council member Ilene Leishman noted that the town has been working on the sewer project for many years. At one point they lost their loans and had to start back at the beginning of the funding process.

"The moratorium is holding the city back as far a growth and once the new sewer is done several new subdivisions will be hooking up and creating much needed housing in the area," Leishman said.

As for the current work being done on the project, Phillips said he needed a survey for the land swap and would like the council to approve the survey contract.

"Hopefully we can afford this when we're done. We'll incorporate the stage grant money. We are really pressing to be able to bid this in February," Phillips said.

Energy efficiency is a priority, Phillips said.

"This system is by intent conservatively designed," said Phillips. "We've allowed for 30 percent growth or about 100 homes."

If the town takes off on a growth spurt, Phillips said there are a number of things the city can do to make the system go further. The problem is that it would only expand so far and whoever hooked up to the system first would get the service. If the town builds a hospital in the next 20 years that would use up all the sewer system's room for expansion, Phillips said.

In other city council news, two high school students would like to do their part to add to St. Ignatius and complete their senior year school project. Joseph Mitchell and Jake Bosley are planning their project to be a memorial for the city. Because it involves the city the students had to get the council's approval.

The memorial will be for the soldiers that have sacrificed their lives for our country and once lived in St. Ignatius. Planning for the project is in the works, they said.

"We will leave room for more names on the monument so it can be continued," said Mitchell.

"This is a very admirable project," council member Amy Miller said.

"This is very worthy, and on behalf of the town I wish you every success," Leishman said.

The project will be funded by donations that the two students are collecting from businesses and individuals.