Lynne Danielson Elected President
Lynne Danielson, Commissioner, Tahuya River Valley Water District was elected President of
the Washington Association of Sewer and Water Districts for 2001-2002 term. Lynne is the sixth
president of the Association since its inception in 1996. She is employed as the Office Manager
of Olympic View Water and Sewer District in Edmonds.
Larry Jones, Commissioner, Alderwood Water & Wastewater District was selected by the
members to serve as Vice President. Larry is the Assistant Manager for Coal Creek Utility District.
Larry also chairs Section III meetings each month as the At-Large-Board Member.
Ken Goodwin, Commissioner, Woodinville Water and Wastewater District was elected to the
Board by the membership and elected to serve as the Associations Treasurer for the coming year.
Ken is employed by Alderwood Water & Sewer District as its Director of Finance. Ken is also the
President of the Water & Sewer Risk Management Pool.
Matt Warner, Commissioner, East Wenatchee Water District was was elected to the Board by
the membership and elected to serve as the Association’s Secretary. Matt has served as a Douglas
County Commissioner and as a Director of N. Central Washington Take Pride in America.
Five Elected to Board of Directors
Five positions were up for election at this fall’s annual meeting. Two water only, two
sewer only, and one combined district position. Water only positions were filled by Matt
Warner, East Wenatchee Water District, and Marcus Hoffman, Silverdale Water District. Sewer
only saw Dean Takko, Beacon Hill Sewer District returned to the seat he was appointed to earlier
in the year, and Art Wadekamper, Ronald Wastewater District elected to the other position. Ken
Goodwin returned to the Board when he was elected to fill the combined district seat. Each of
these members of the Board were elected for three year terms. Their first Board of Directors
meeting will be on October 22 at Silverdale Water District.
Annual Meeting Saw Changes in Bylaws
and Adoption of new Budget
The members adopted the 2002 annual budget which is essential the same as the 2001
budget with few changes. The budget development process this year was different than in years
past. The various Association standing committees responsible for activities that spend or earn
money were asked to develop their portions of the 2002 budget. Government relations,
Conference, Education, PublicPresident’s Corner
It has been a few years since your Association President has utilized our newsletter to discuss
issues and directions with the members. One of my first actions as President is to reinstitute a
monthly column in the PIPELINE. I will address challenges facing the Association, emerging
issues, and ideas for improving our Association.
At the Fall Conference Banquet in Wenatchee I stressed that committees will be playing an everimportant role in the operations of the Association. I know time is a premium for each of us, but
your contribution, by participating on a committee, is invaluable. Members of the Board of
Directors will be convening each committee within the next 4-6 weeks.
Whether you are a district commissioner, a district employee or one of our many associate
members I invite each of you or a member of your organization to reveiw the attached
committee list and select a committee to serve on. I am looking forward to a productive year.
Bylaws, Relations, and Employee Level Management committees each reviewed their budget
needs and contributions prior to the final development of the budget. As a result more members
than ever before were engaged in the development of the Associations annual budget.
Several new bylaws amendements were also adopted during the meeting. Most significant were
amendments consolidating and eliminating some of the many of the Association’s standing
committees. Government Relations and ESA Committees were combined, Personnel and Finance
committees became one, and the Conference and Education committees were brought together as
the new Leadership Development Committee.
The membership also approved the contined development of a commissioners leadership
development program. The work of compleating this project will now fall to the Leadership
Development Committee.
The awards program was moved from the Executive Committee to the Nominating Committee
and finally the title of the Assocation’s Executive Administrator was changed to Executive
Director to be accordance with other similar positions in other associations.
Lynne Danielson
President
WATER-SEWER DISTRICTS: GET YOUR
COMP PLAN APPROVED RIGHT!
By Hugh Spitzer, Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC
A legal detail frequently overlooked by water and sewer districts is the proper approval of
district general comprehensive plans – and amendments too.
Chapter 57.16 RCW provides an arduous scheme for adopting a district’s sewer or water “comp
plan”:
· Investigation, planning and engineering
· Adoption by district board resolution
· Submission to the county engineer for approval, conditional approval or rejection
within 60 days
· Submission to the county health director for separate approval, conditional approval
or rejection within 60 days
· Additional 60 days given to county engineer and health director if they find that
sufficient time is not available to adequately review the proposed plan
· Approval, conditional approval or rejection by the county legislative authority within
90 days of submission (with an extra 90 days if the county legislative authority finds
that time is insufficient to adequately review the proposed plan)
· Approval, conditional approval or rejection by the council of each city or town in which the
district lies, within 90 days unless an extra 90 days is necessary because of inadequate time for
review
· Submission and approval by “any state agency whose approval may be required by
applicable law” (i.e., the State Department of Health or the State Department of
Ecology, depending on project type)
RCW 57.16.010 requires that these steps be repeated each time the District amends its water or
sewer comp plan.
These hoops are complicated. They are bothersome. They are time-consuming. They frustrate
special district board members, their staff and their engineers.
But there’s a reason for this detailed approval process. The Legislature has consistently
determined that key land use decisions are to be made by general purpose governments like
counties and cities, not by special purpose utility districts. During the 1960’s and 70’s, there
were instances of water and sewer lines being extended into new areas without proper advance
planning. This contributed to zoning incongruities, congestion and unplanned sprawl. The comp
plan approval requirement was meant to assure that utility expansion would go hand in hand with
appropriate zoning and with planning for roads, stormwater and other infrastructure
improvements.
The water and sewer district law also requires that connection charges be based on an adopted
comprehensive plan, although a recent Court of Appeals decision in which Foster Pepper &
Shefelman represented a district, held that plan approval by the County was not necessary for
purposes of rate setting pursuant to the plan. Adoption by the District’s board was sufficient.
Silver Firs Town Homes, Inc. v. Silver Lake Water District, 103 Wash. App. 411 (2000).
But for construction, failure to comply with the complicated requirements of Chapter 57.16
RCW will result in a loss of legal authority to spend money on a project (RCW 57.16.015) or an
inability to issue bonds for project construction (RCW 57.16.010; 57.20.018).
A district may do preliminary engineering, surveying and other planning work prior to adoption
of the comp plan or an amendment. But it can be exceedingly frustrating for a District to have a
project stopped dead in its tracks because the district did not start the approval process early
enough to have all the county letters and resolutions in place by the time a financing is to take
place or construction is to begin.
Engineers and staff often believe that if they have an approval letter from the Department of
Ecology, the Department of Health and the applicable County agency, nothing else is necessary.
This is dead wrong.
The statute is crystal clear. The steps must be followed to the letter. And please don’t blame the
general counsel or bond lawyer for calling the statute to the district’s attention. (It’s not fair to
murder the messenger!)
The key is early planning and coordination with county and city officials. Our experience is that
most jurisdictions are ready, willing and able to help so long as they receive adequate notice.
That enables everyone to do their jobs and keep needed projects rolling forward.
2001 Fall Conference Sponsors
The following firms contributed $500 or more in support of the Association’s 2001 Fall
Conference.
Your continued support for these firms is appreciated and we urge you to thank them next time
you have the opportunity
Annual Awards
The Washington Association of Sewer and Water Districts’ annual awards were presented during
the Fall Conference off-site dinner at Red Tail Canyon Farm. This year’s award winners are:
Commissioner of the Year
John Thompson, Commissioner, King County Water District # 125 received the 2001
Commissioner of the Year Award. John was recognized for his support of his District’s
ratepayers and the Association. John Chairs the Associations Long Range Planning Committee
and serves on a host of other committees. John has served his ratepayers for 8 years as their
water district commissioner and also represents their interest as a citizen advisor to the local
sewer district. John is also recognized as one of our country’s leading restorer and collecter of
Tonka toys.
Manager of the Year
The 2001 Manager of the Year Award was presented to Dean Thiem, Manager, Penn
Cove Water and Sewer District. Dean originally served as a Commissioner of Penn Cove Park
Sewer District & Penn Cove Park Water District.. As a sewer commissioner he was instrumental
in upgrading the system. When the neighboring Penn Cove Park Water District found itself in
trouble and on the verge of losing all its commissioners, Dean stepped up and assisted the district
in appointing a new board of commissioners including accepting one of the seats himself. He
then worked to merge the two districts into a new combined district doing much of the merger
work himself. After the completion of the merger Dean then resigned his seat as a commissioner
and became the District’s first manager. Dean has found time to work on behalf of the
Association by presenting a workshop at the Annual Commissioners’ workshop and was
instrumental in starting the Association’s surplus property program.
Another Dry Winter In Store ???
By Ted Buehner
That is the question on many minds as September ends on a dry note, with early October
following suit. Here’s the straight skinny.
After two years of La Nina conditions in the tropical Pacific in 1998-99 and 1999-2000,
producing above normal precipitation in Washington state, a weak La Nina produced our second
driest winter in 106 years last year. Water conditions are at their lowest levels since our worst
dry winter on record in 1976-77.
Well, no La Nina for this winter, and no El Nino as well! “Neutral” conditions or near-normal
sea surface water temperatures exist in the tropical Pacific. This condition means Washington
state will have more variable weather conditions with equal odds of above, near, or below
normal temperatures and precipitation.
So, what does all that mean! First, there is no physical reason for a repeat of last winter’s dry
conditions - that is good news! Second, we can expect more snow in the mountains than last
winter by next spring - more good news! Third, of the 25 wettest winters in the last 50 years, 18
of them were in “neutral” years - even more good news!
Highly variable conditions means just that, expect periods of wet weather, dry weather, warmer
than normal weather, and cooler than normal weather throughout the winter. And do not be
surprised if we get one or more arctic outbreaks from Canada, or a wind storm or two in western
Washington. Are you ready for potential electric power outages from these storms?
The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) of the National
Dry Winter, continued
Weather Service issues the seasonal outlooks you’ve seen me present at your fall conference in
the past. The outlooks are on the web at www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov , and updated during the third
week of each month. The next update is scheduled for October 18th. You will also find the
latest discussion on any evolving La Nina or El Nino conditions, plus much more.
Finally, and of specific interest to us for this winter, the folks at CPC are watching the potential
for an evolving El Nino event for the winter of 2002-03. What makes this so significant is that
our history shows we tend to get a “pineapple express” heavy rain event in the winter BEFORE
an El Nino winter. So, we are on the lookout for event and its accompanying major river
flooding this winter. Our flood season (outside of the snowmelt season east of the Cascades in
late spring) is November through February, and it peaks in November.
For your latest weather forecasts and conditions, monitor your local NOAA Weather Radio
station and our web sites in Washington at
www.wrh.noaa.gov/seattle
www.wrh.noaa.gov/spokane
www.wrn.noaa.gov/portland
www.wrh.noaa.gov/pendleton
Be safe this winter!
Ted Buehner
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
National Weather Service - Seattle/Tacoma
District of the Year
Karcher Creek Sewer District (formerly Kitsap Sewer District #5 received the 2001 District
of Year Award for the inovative way they have addressed problems faced by most sewer utilities
and for their support of the Association. Both the District’s manager and one of the Commissioners
have served on Department of Ecology’s Water Quality Partnership committee for many years.
District staff and consultants have presented workshops at Association Conferences over the years
on some of the inovations they have put in place in their District. The Distict has supported
Commissioner Jim Hart’s years of service on the Association’s Board of Directors.
Distinquished Service Award
Alderwood Water and Wastewater District is recognized with the 2001 Distinguished
Service Award for their support of the districts and communities surroundingAlderwoods service
area. The District supports its many employees as they serve on Special Purpose Water/Sewer
Districts in King and Snohomish Counties. For their efforts as one of the first utilties in
Washington to meet the project restrictions introduced by the Endangered Species Act, and for
their efforts in taking the sewerage tax issue to the Washington Supreme Court.
Association members are urged to begin considering award nominees for next years awards. The
Executive Committee will no longer be tasked with selection of award recipents. The recent
amendments to the Bylaws shifted that responsibility to the Nominating Committee.
Awards criteria was changed for the year 2002 and beyond. Rather than limiting Commissioner,
Manager, and District of the Year Awards to those who have most supported the Association, the
Awards will also recognize those who have made significant contributions to their ratepayers or
the community in addition to their support for the Association.