Politics & Government

VIDEO: All About Water: Representatives from Local Water Utilities Answer Questions

A question and answer session features representatives from Ronald Wastewater District, Seattle Public Utilities and Shoreline Water District

Some clarity was reached and confusion quelled—and more questions raised— for some Shoreline residents after a question and answer session Oct. 22 at Shoreline Center gave them the chance to find out more about what their local water utilities do.

Representatives from Ronald Wastewater District (Commissioner Brian Carroll, general manger Michael Derrick, and Scott Christensen of CHS Engineering, LLC), Shoreline Water District (Commissioner Ron Ricker, manager Diane Pottinger, operations manager Denny Clouse) and Seattle Public Utilities (policy analyst Judi Gladstone and engineer Eugene Mantchev).

See attached YouTube video for the content of the discussion.

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Proposition 1, which asks Shoreline voters to authorize the City of Shoreline to acquire SPU water services in Shoreline under Ordinance 644, was off limits for the panel and questioners because as the moderator explained the point of the evening was to be informational, not address the various panelists stances on the controversial political issue before voters.

Most of the questions ranged from who are you, what do you do, how do you bill, and what are your rates, to more detailed questions about what kind of districts they are and the difference between them, in a legal sense.

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Ronald Wastewater, for example, bills a flat rate for its services, which means a family of five in a single family home and an elderly couple or a single person in a home pay the same amount. The fee has not been raised for five years, Ronald's representatives said.

There was some frustration that Prop. 1 was off limits, given the fact that both the Shoreline Water District Board and Ronald Wastewater Board oppose it. 

Shoreline resident Art Maronek, a former engineer for Seattle Public Utilities water section, wanted Gladstone and Mantchev to discuss memos he says state their oppositon to Shoreline's attempt to provide service. Both declined, saying that they couldn't comment further because its against city policy, because they can't take a side on the political issue before voters. 

Derrick, the Ronald Wastewater District general manager, said after the meeting that eventually it might be desirable for the city to absorb the various water utilities like other cities do in the future but now is not the time. Shoreline Water District Commissioner Charlotte Haines, who was in the audience, said she believes the Shoreline City Council has too much on its plate now to effectively oversee a water utility on top its other duties.

Derrick said the federal government in many instances today is ordering cities to fix their infrastructure including the important water infrastructure because they have failed to do so. He made the case that special purpose districts like Ronald and Shoreline Water District can do the job efficiently and cost-effectively, more so than cities.

The City of Shoreline did not have a representative on the panel, but city analyst John Norris was there to listen.


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