Sewer board tables refunds to the cities

A snag developed last night on the proposition that the county sewer authority send refunds to its member cities—Seneca, Walhalla, and Westminster. The regular meeting of the Joint Regional Sewer Authority ended with a question un-answered. Raised by Walhalla’s Lamar Bailes, the question focused the commission on whether the JRSA can afford to return upwards of $5 million and still have enough left to fix the inflow and infiltration problems in its own sewer lines. The three member cities have been anxious to receive their pro rata shares of the refunds so that they can address the I-and-I problems within their own lines. In the discussion that followed Bailes’s question, Seneca’s Scott Moulder said he’s not comfortable with sending refunds to the cities until the JRSA knows what it’s going to cost to address its own lines and whether it has enough money to do that. Moulder then withdraw his second of the motion to approve the refunds, and the issue of refunds was tabled for further consideration at the next meeting in July.