There has been much misunderstanding, some half-truth reporting, and “braying” by one city councilman regarding the Scenic Heights sewer project. The impression has been left that we who live southwest of town are somehow benefiting at the expense of the rest of Oak Harbor citizens. At issue is the earlier LID attempt to install a sewer. As a resident of the area affected please let me clarify the situation.

After an initial contact with city staff some preliminary engineering was done and a meeting was called at which about 60 residents were present. The estimated costs were outlined and we were told that the estimated cost per household would be about $15,000. We were nearly unanimous in agreeing to this so city staff initiated the process of establishing an LID. For reasons unknown to us, the desire of the city, however, was to expand the length of the lie continuing up Waterloo Avenue to Highway 20. This included several small acreage tracts not in the original area requesting service.

At that point a consulting firm was brought in and advised the cost per property owner should be based on potential appreciation in property value as a result of the sewer. Several acreage tract owners were to be assessed from $200,000 to $250,000 even though they had no desire to develop. In addition many of the property owners on the waterfront side of Scenic Heights were to be assessed from $25,000 to $45,000 because their lots were thought to be large enough to subdivide (even though much of their property is under water at high tide). In my own case our assessment for just a house and lot would have been about $7,000, less than half of what we had been quoted. The problem with the LID was the near doubling of the distance of the sewer line and the method of assigning cost to the property owners. Even those of us who were billed much less saw the inequity of it and opposed it.

Ideally in a situation like this the developer installs the sewer lines and factors into it the cost of property. Much of the homes in Flowers Heights and along Scenic Heights have been in existence for years. Yet Oak Harbor annexed this area into the city nearly 10 years ago. We have city water and need city sewer. If the city does not want to service us with sewer as well, we should not have been annexed into the city. There is no developer here to pay for it.

The problem is that the residents want and need sewer and it is very difficult to find an equitable way to pay for it. We commend the city for all of the work which has and will be done on this project. Yet, most of us who initially requested the sewer line will not be serviced by it because the current project primarily puts in a line and pump station needed to serve existing lines and prospective developments far from Scenic Heights. When, and if, we ever get sewer service to our home in Flowers Heights, it will cost us plenty!

Barney Beeksma

Oak Harbor