Expressed public concerns about trust in government were cited by the Jefferson County commissioners as another reason for residents to attend an ongoing series of community outreach meetings with county elected officials.

During the county commissioners’ Nov. 20 public comment period, Jon Cooke disputed the notion that Proposition 1, to establish a Home Opportunity Fund, failed because not enough voters understood it.

“I think it was a matter of trust,” Cooke said. “Those who live outside the city didn’t necessarily trust the steps between the county taking their money and the shovels hitting the ground. You can spend a lifetime building trust, and then lose it because of one bad decision. I think the county has some work to do in earning trust back.”

Commission chair Kathleen Kler and fellow Commissioner Kate Dean encouraged locals to attend the upcoming community outreach meetings in Chimacum, Brinnon, Quilcene, Port Ludlow and Port Townsend to hash out those same issues of trust.

“We’re trying to get the word out about these meetings however we can,” Kler said, as County Administrator Philip Morley passed out lists of the meetings on Nov. 21, Nov. 27 and Nov. 30, as well as Dec. 4 and Dec. 14. “Whatever the reasons for your mistrust, we hope we can change those perceptions through dialogue.”

Dean cited, as an “added incentive,” the fact that the commissioners would be held to three minutes each during the meetings, with the same timer that’s used for public comments during their Monday-morning meetings, “so we’ll be held to the same standard,” she said with a laugh.

Turning serious, Dean spoke of the need to “heal the divide” in the community, which she said is why she’s interested in hearing from the various communities with which the meetings are slated to take place.

“We need to continue to have these conversations,” Dean said, “and we need to be able to do so in a civil manner, so I hope we can expect everyone will be on their best behavior.”

SEWERS DISCUSSED

While the first of the community outreach meetings listed on the fliers was scheduled to take place at the Chimacum Fire Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 21, Kler reported that the commissioners had already conducted a separate community meeting in Quilcene the morning of Friday, Nov. 17, during which sewage treatment options for Quilcene were discussed.

“We explored feasibility studies and costs for certain numbers of hookups,” said Kler, who estimated that a system serving between 47 and 87 properties would run from $10 million to $12 million “in the low estimates.” At the same time, Kler said she “pray[s]” for better advances in technology to serve what she deemed “a human health need.”

Referring back to the Tri-Area’s prospective sewer system, which Cooke called for in his remarks, Tom Thiersch suggested either limiting it to building the core of such a system, or else adopting the same model as Carlsborg in Clallam County, which transports its sewage 15 miles to an existing treatment facility.

“To transport from Port Hadlock to Port Townsend would be 11 miles,” Thiersch said. “Carlsborg is able to keep its operating costs low. I hear skepticism about taxing the entire county to benefit just one area, but the whole idea of the [Urban Growth Area] was that it would benefit the entire county by increasing the availability of low-income housing.”

Commissioner David Sullivan clarified that he sees “direct and indirect benefits” to a Hadlock sewer system, and added his concerns about the capacity of the Port Townsend sewer system to support Port Hadlock, “since it’s my understanding that could pose a real challenge.”

Morley echoed Sullivan by explaining that he’d “rerun the numbers” for construction bonding and found that construction of the core of a Hadlock sewer system alone would run $43 million, with a levy rate between 57 and 61 cents for $1,000 of assessed property valuation.

“It’s a stretch to imagine Port Townsend and Port Ludlow paying for this, when they’re also paying for their own sewer systems,” Morley said. “I agree that this would have countywide benefits, but it would still be a stretch to sell.”

Although Morley estimated that a Carlsborg-like transmission line would “still be very expensive,” he did predict that 2018 would see the county conducting further analyses of its options, especially if advances in membrane systems allow for sewage plant sizes to be scaled down, and attendant costs with them.

“An incremental expansion of a sewage system could create increases in appetites for land and pressure on developers,” Morley said. “It’s been my experience that such incremental additions are relatively easy, but the first step is always difficult.”