High Noon for Council’s Sewer Plant Showdown

THOUSAND OAKS â€”  Week after week for the past two months, City Council members have repeatedly warned each other--sometimes politely, other times with venom--not to allow each meeting to disintegrate into yet another drawn-out debate over the upgrade of the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Just wait until Feb. 18, or so the admonishment went. That’s when we’ll have it out one more time.

But the seemingly inevitable fracas ensued nonetheless. And after accusations and personal attacks were through, the council’s contentious 18-month stalemate over the plant’s upgrade lingered.

Now it is here: Tonight’s study session at 6 at the Civic Arts Plaza’s Forum Theatre marks the official time and place for the Thousand Oaks’ sewage showdown.

With help from city officials and a bevy of consultants--even a professional facilitator--the City Council will again attempt to reach consensus on how to fix the outdated sewer plant, which is currently at about 83% of its 10-million-gallon daily capacity.

“I think the community expects us to solve this problem now,� Councilman Andy Fox said. “We cannot sit here again and defend the same old political positions. Residents expect the City Council to work toward decisions, not point fingers.�

Hoping to ease growing tensions, various council members have devised new strategies to confront the issue during the nightlong study session.

Councilman Mike Markey said he wants to resolve the long-standing dispute of how to pay for the improvements first, then discuss what needs to be done.

“The gist of this is how much is the council willing to raise sewer fees,� Markey said. “Because that’s all we’re going to be able to build. It may not be enough to take care of everything, but that will be someone else’s problem down the line. At least we can move forward and take care of the immediate health and safety problems.�

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Fox, Councilwoman Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Linda Parks favor the opposite approach, advocating a review of the sewer plant’s needs before the funding is ironed out.

“I don’t want to write a blank check,� Parks said. “I want to know exactly what the money is going to be used for.�

Mayor Judy Lazar could not be reached for comment last week.

Regardless of individual spin, one thing remains clear. The same two issues--whether Thousand Oaks needs a sewer plant upgrade of the size being proposed by city officials, and whether existing residents should pay for part of it--remain the crux of the impasse.

Built in the 1960s, the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant represents a multitude of problems. In addition to being near its capacity, much of the equipment is also outmoded or badly in need of repair.

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City public works officials have proposed a 15-year, $75-million plan to take care of Thousand Oaks’ long-term sewage needs. Existing residents would pay for about 30% of the plan, while future residents would pay for the rest in the form of the sewer connection fees they assume from developers as part of the cost of buying a home.

The funding mechanism was developed to comply with a state law--known as AB 1600, after its former legislative bill number--that requires cities to show a reasonable relationship between the amount they charge developers for public improvements and how much those developers benefit.

Zeanah and Parks consider the $75-million plan much more expensive than necessary. They have also questioned whether existing residents should have to pay for any of it, though both said in a news conference last month that they would agree to raise sewer fees for a smaller sewer plant expansion.

“I don’t want to overcharge residents just because we have a wealthy community and they can afford it,� Zeanah said.

State law requires a four-fifths vote to raise sewer rates. Thousand Oaks’ current average sewer rate of $12.30 per month is one of the lowest in Ventura County.

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Fox, Markey and Lazar have continuously expressed support for city staff’s $75-million plan, saying it is a worst-case scenario that would cover some potential federal regulatory requirements that may never happen. They say the plan was always meant to be subjected to a cost-cutting analysis anyway, and was intended to be evaluated every few years.

However, all three council members have said in recent weeks that they would consider alternative plans, if they meet the city’s needs and the law.

State law requires Thousand Oaks to expand the plant’s capacity and upgrade its components to meet health and safety standards. By failing to do so, the city could lose its permit to operate a sewer plant, which could result in a state-imposed moratorium on growth. It could also result in lawsuits from developers and businesses, who could argue that Thousand Oaks was illegally curtailing growth.

“Our General Plan says we will have 140,000 people, and that plant cannot handle 140,000 people,� Markey said. “If we don’t expand the plant, we’re inviting litigation. You can’t limit growth without getting sued.

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“Also, I don’t want to be the one to tell Amgen or some other big company that we don’t have room for them in Thousand Oaks because our sewer plant is too small.�

The State Water Resources Control Board has warned Thousand Oaks that it could be forced to repay up to $12.5 million in water quality grants if the city’s sewer plant is not fixed soon. Those same water officials concede, however, that such punitive action would not take place for years, if ever.

Markey and Fox questioned whether Zeanah and Parks would actually support a sewer fee increase. They pointed out that in December, Zeanah and Parks refused to accept an interim $2.50 sewer fee increase proposed by city officials.

The interim fee increase was a response to a recommendation by Price Waterhouse, which conducted an extensive audit of the sewer plant’s operation last year, to take a two-step approach to ending the stalemate. The first step was intended to pay for taking care of the obvious health and safety problems. The second was to address the remaining long-term waste water needs.

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“My other idea is, if we cannot agree on the whole upgrade, let’s take care of the immediate health and safety concerns,� Fox said. “But we already tried that, unsuccessfully.�

Parks and Zeanah reiterated last week that they would be willing to approve a moderate sewer fee hike if they were certain of where the money would be spent.

“I’ve gotten the distinct impression from some council members and [Public Works Director] Don Nelson that the impetus here is to raise money, not discuss the specific components of the sewer plan,� Zeanah said. “They’ve tried to do this before, and what they’re trying to do is phase sewer fee increases on residents.�

Parks and Zeanah contend that Thousand Oaks can take care of all its future needs with a sewer plant upgrade totaling about $40 million. They have used that figure because a previous sewer upgrade proposed in the 1980s by city officials only cost that much, and a technical consultant hired by Price Waterhouse suggested as much as $30 million could be shaved from the $75-million plan.

But Markey, Fox and Lazar have argued that state regulations have changed since the older plan. They have also pointed out that Dames & Moore, the engineering consultant hired by Price Waterhouse, stressed it was in no way suggesting any specific amount could be cut from the $75-million plan.

During a hearing to discuss the audit’s findings last year, the consultant told the City Council it was only suggesting that some components of the $75-million plan, such as disinfecting waste water with ultraviolet rays, may be more expensive than other alternatives, such as using chlorine.

Fox has said that such components represent efforts by city officials to use safer, more modern methods, and he will not compromise on such issues, regardless of potential savings.

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Zeanah said she is not sure if she would support chlorine herself, but wants to hear city officials discuss alternatives. Parks believes ultraviolet disinfectant facilities are still unproven, and are too expensive to maintain.

Debate on such specifics is the intended point of tonight’s study session. Fox said he hopes the facilitator, Mike Perrault, who recently helped the council during its goal-setting meeting, can help keep everyone focused on the issues, not on quibbling and personal attacks.

But Zeanah said she is concerned that Perrault’s presence could end up defeating the purpose of the study session.

“If there is not a full allowance for comment on controversial issues, the public is being betrayed,� Zeanah said.

“The council majority has already silenced my comments, saying the study session would be the place for me to express my views, so they better honor that.�