Water rate hike is approved in a divided council vote over residents' objections
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
The vote to raise water rates 5.5% was approved by the Independence City Council in a split ballot Tuesday night, with the mayor breaking the tie – despite objections by numerous residents and after city Manager Kenna West blamed some of the city’s fiscal strain on previous administrations.
Following an announcement that a $50 million water-treatment plant is needed, West explained that water rights acquired years ago weren’t acted on. “Unfortunately, because the water funds had been siphoned off by prior management into the general fund, we were unable to put those rights into an official use,” she said. The city now needs to show progress toward using them, she added.
Pulling money from the water fund, as was done previously, was hiding the cost, she stressed. “We are no longer hiding the cost,” West said.
In fact, West’s immediate predecessor, former City Manager Tom Pessemier, clarified water costs to Trammart News, among others, during his three-year tenure with the city, which ended in 2021.
About 17%, or $17.80, of a typical water bill – which was running about $105 on average at that time – was earmarked for repayment of debt. About $6.50 went to debt for the Independence Civic Center and $10 was assigned to MINET. Now MINET is paying its own way, according to a recent report. The rest of the bill was largely attributed to labor and operational costs.
West’s observations drew a response from former City Manager David Clyne, who has described public works as taking a “Cadillac” approach, carrying out “many, many upgrades” on projects that otherwise would have been available for repair. That’s been demonstrated in actions ranging from buying expensive landscape equipment to dismantling the city pool, Clyne said.
Another of West’s predecessors, Greg Ellis, was contacted about her assertions but no reply to the voicemail message has been received.
A $10 million loan for the new water-treatment plant was taken out several weeks ago but to qualify for the larger, additional $40 million lending agreement, the city needed to raise water rates, explained Steve Donovan, the water engineering consultant who presented the rate increase at the city council meeting.
West was notified this week of repeated attempts by Trammart News seeking the city’s perspective – without any response to the inquiries from Independence’s communications coordinator.
Several residents voiced their opposition to the water-rate increase in public testimony at the city council meeting.
“We need to start living within our means,” said Richard Webb, who lives in north Independence. “You are going to price us out of this town,” added Jerry Pryce, a neighbor of Webb’s. Shane Caraballo told the council that “it isn’t just water rates going up,” that gas, food and other costs have ticked up, as well. The toll on families is hard, he said.
The new Independence water-treatment plant appears to be poised for large use. The water-treatment plant planned by the city is a “campus” that includes possible police substation, new public works shops and facilities and a stretch of land that could serve as a helicopter landing area in the event of an urgent need for an airlift, confirmed Gerald Fisher, the city’s public works director.
Though small-scale treatment plants reportedly cost between $3 million and $10 million, medium-sized plants can range about five times that much.
Polk County also has water rights on the Willamette River that are set to expire within the next several years, said Austin McGuigan, the county’s director of community development. The Independence plan appears to be scaled to allow a regional solution to meet water needs.
“In order to qualify for extensions and ultimately (preserve) those water rights, it makes sense to collaboratively work together to achieve an economy of scale that will better benefit our citizens,” McGuigan said. However, there have been no formal agreements about the proposed collaboration, “including what each jurisdiction would be willing to commit and what that commitment would be for,” McGuigan said.
Several water agencies that were queried by Trammart News said they have no plans for utilizing Independence’s water-treatment facility. Monmouth was asked this week if the city officials had decided to consider a partnership. “I have not heard any updates on this but if I do, I will let you know,” stated Sabra Jewell, the city’s communication coordinator.
West warned during the city council meeting that the water-treatment plant was essential. “Unless you want to look like Flint Michigan and have the value of your houses go down, we have to have that water,” she said.
The water-treatment plant would meet the town’s drinking water needs for the next 20 years, according to the city – and current treatment capacity is feared to be running out due to growth, potentially by 2028.
However, there is some evidence that growth has stopped as a result of recently adopted city building fees that now exceed $50,000 per new home.
Developers have pulled out, such as Larry Dalke, of Salem-based Dalke Construction. Dalke, the main developer of Brandy Meadows in Southwest Independence, ceased moving forward on two pending phases of the subdivision after system development charges were implemented that pushed the cost for new houses to more than $50,000-per-home in building fees. He is now at work on a 19-lot tract in Sublimity, where SDCs are around $21,000.
"I hope to come back to developing in Independence in the future," he said, when contacted after the meeting. When the expense isn't as high as it is now, "I really want to go back," Dalke said.
The vote by the city council to raise water rates included three “no” votes by Dawn Roden, Sarah Jobe and Kathy Martin-Willis, whose vote was recorded against the resolution due to her absence. Councilors Kate Schwarzler, Shannon Corr and Marilyn Morton voted in favor of the hike. The tie was broken by Mayor John McArdle, with a yes vote, and the increase was adopted. It is scheduled to go into effect July 1. ▪
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
The vote to raise water rates 5.5% was approved by the Independence City Council in a split ballot Tuesday night, with the mayor breaking the tie – despite objections by numerous residents and after city Manager Kenna West blamed some of the city’s fiscal strain on previous administrations.
Following an announcement that a $50 million water-treatment plant is needed, West explained that water rights acquired years ago weren’t acted on. “Unfortunately, because the water funds had been siphoned off by prior management into the general fund, we were unable to put those rights into an official use,” she said. The city now needs to show progress toward using them, she added.
Pulling money from the water fund, as was done previously, was hiding the cost, she stressed. “We are no longer hiding the cost,” West said.
In fact, West’s immediate predecessor, former City Manager Tom Pessemier, clarified water costs to Trammart News, among others, during his three-year tenure with the city, which ended in 2021.
About 17%, or $17.80, of a typical water bill – which was running about $105 on average at that time – was earmarked for repayment of debt. About $6.50 went to debt for the Independence Civic Center and $10 was assigned to MINET. Now MINET is paying its own way, according to a recent report. The rest of the bill was largely attributed to labor and operational costs.
West’s observations drew a response from former City Manager David Clyne, who has described public works as taking a “Cadillac” approach, carrying out “many, many upgrades” on projects that otherwise would have been available for repair. That’s been demonstrated in actions ranging from buying expensive landscape equipment to dismantling the city pool, Clyne said.
Another of West’s predecessors, Greg Ellis, was contacted about her assertions but no reply to the voicemail message has been received.
A $10 million loan for the new water-treatment plant was taken out several weeks ago but to qualify for the larger, additional $40 million lending agreement, the city needed to raise water rates, explained Steve Donovan, the water engineering consultant who presented the rate increase at the city council meeting.
West was notified this week of repeated attempts by Trammart News seeking the city’s perspective – without any response to the inquiries from Independence’s communications coordinator.
Several residents voiced their opposition to the water-rate increase in public testimony at the city council meeting.
“We need to start living within our means,” said Richard Webb, who lives in north Independence. “You are going to price us out of this town,” added Jerry Pryce, a neighbor of Webb’s. Shane Caraballo told the council that “it isn’t just water rates going up,” that gas, food and other costs have ticked up, as well. The toll on families is hard, he said.
The new Independence water-treatment plant appears to be poised for large use. The water-treatment plant planned by the city is a “campus” that includes possible police substation, new public works shops and facilities and a stretch of land that could serve as a helicopter landing area in the event of an urgent need for an airlift, confirmed Gerald Fisher, the city’s public works director.
Though small-scale treatment plants reportedly cost between $3 million and $10 million, medium-sized plants can range about five times that much.
Polk County also has water rights on the Willamette River that are set to expire within the next several years, said Austin McGuigan, the county’s director of community development. The Independence plan appears to be scaled to allow a regional solution to meet water needs.
“In order to qualify for extensions and ultimately (preserve) those water rights, it makes sense to collaboratively work together to achieve an economy of scale that will better benefit our citizens,” McGuigan said. However, there have been no formal agreements about the proposed collaboration, “including what each jurisdiction would be willing to commit and what that commitment would be for,” McGuigan said.
Several water agencies that were queried by Trammart News said they have no plans for utilizing Independence’s water-treatment facility. Monmouth was asked this week if the city officials had decided to consider a partnership. “I have not heard any updates on this but if I do, I will let you know,” stated Sabra Jewell, the city’s communication coordinator.
West warned during the city council meeting that the water-treatment plant was essential. “Unless you want to look like Flint Michigan and have the value of your houses go down, we have to have that water,” she said.
The water-treatment plant would meet the town’s drinking water needs for the next 20 years, according to the city – and current treatment capacity is feared to be running out due to growth, potentially by 2028.
However, there is some evidence that growth has stopped as a result of recently adopted city building fees that now exceed $50,000 per new home.
Developers have pulled out, such as Larry Dalke, of Salem-based Dalke Construction. Dalke, the main developer of Brandy Meadows in Southwest Independence, ceased moving forward on two pending phases of the subdivision after system development charges were implemented that pushed the cost for new houses to more than $50,000-per-home in building fees. He is now at work on a 19-lot tract in Sublimity, where SDCs are around $21,000.
"I hope to come back to developing in Independence in the future," he said, when contacted after the meeting. When the expense isn't as high as it is now, "I really want to go back," Dalke said.
The vote by the city council to raise water rates included three “no” votes by Dawn Roden, Sarah Jobe and Kathy Martin-Willis, whose vote was recorded against the resolution due to her absence. Councilors Kate Schwarzler, Shannon Corr and Marilyn Morton voted in favor of the hike. The tie was broken by Mayor John McArdle, with a yes vote, and the increase was adopted. It is scheduled to go into effect July 1. ▪
Independence's $2 million biosolid removal at the sewage lagoons remains unfinished
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
A mysterious stench that occurred a few weeks ago during a brisk wind has been identified – it was from “poop floating” on one of the city’s sewage-treatment lagoons, according to Independence City Manager Kenna West.
During an address to city councilors at their last meeting, she explained that, due to past practices, sewer-rate revenue was diverted, lowering funds for the cleaning project at the lagoons. “If we had had those sewer rates over all of those years instead of being funneled off, we could have made it so that poop is not floating on Lagoon One,” she said.
At the meeting, West also announced $2 million has been spent so far on work to improve the sewage lagoons. More removal is required, she said.
However, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality listed the cost at $1.65 million. “The DEQ is working with the city to determine the scope and completion schedule for this task,” according to Dylan Darling, public affairs specialist for the Western Region at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The city removed 1,805 dry tons of biosolids from Lagoon Number 2 last year, according to DEQ, which noted that that this “removal may be sufficient to improve operations and allow the city to focus on other improvements.”
An inquiry to the city’s communication coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, went unanswered when odors were first attributed to the site a few weeks ago.
Goicochea had created a video of the biosolids removal by the city’s contracted firm. He was recognized by the Oregon chapter of the American Public Works Association for his media efforts, receiving the association’s “Bulldog Award” in 2023.
On the video, Public Works Director Gerald Fisher predicted the biosolids would be cleared from two lagoons during the process, but only one was completed. There are a total of four lagoons at the site, which is in the northeastern section of the city.
DEQ had fined the city $8,377 a year ago, for allegedly allowing sewer-tainted water to overflow into the Willamette River. The violations were detailed in a letter sent to West by Kieran O’Donnell, manager of the DEQ’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement.
The lagoon biosolid removal was undertaken after the letter was received. ▪
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
A mysterious stench that occurred a few weeks ago during a brisk wind has been identified – it was from “poop floating” on one of the city’s sewage-treatment lagoons, according to Independence City Manager Kenna West.
During an address to city councilors at their last meeting, she explained that, due to past practices, sewer-rate revenue was diverted, lowering funds for the cleaning project at the lagoons. “If we had had those sewer rates over all of those years instead of being funneled off, we could have made it so that poop is not floating on Lagoon One,” she said.
At the meeting, West also announced $2 million has been spent so far on work to improve the sewage lagoons. More removal is required, she said.
However, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality listed the cost at $1.65 million. “The DEQ is working with the city to determine the scope and completion schedule for this task,” according to Dylan Darling, public affairs specialist for the Western Region at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The city removed 1,805 dry tons of biosolids from Lagoon Number 2 last year, according to DEQ, which noted that that this “removal may be sufficient to improve operations and allow the city to focus on other improvements.”
An inquiry to the city’s communication coordinator, Emmanuel Goicochea, went unanswered when odors were first attributed to the site a few weeks ago.
Goicochea had created a video of the biosolids removal by the city’s contracted firm. He was recognized by the Oregon chapter of the American Public Works Association for his media efforts, receiving the association’s “Bulldog Award” in 2023.
On the video, Public Works Director Gerald Fisher predicted the biosolids would be cleared from two lagoons during the process, but only one was completed. There are a total of four lagoons at the site, which is in the northeastern section of the city.
DEQ had fined the city $8,377 a year ago, for allegedly allowing sewer-tainted water to overflow into the Willamette River. The violations were detailed in a letter sent to West by Kieran O’Donnell, manager of the DEQ’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement.
The lagoon biosolid removal was undertaken after the letter was received. ▪
American Legion Post 33 in Independence pressing forward to bring "The Wall That Heals" to town
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
A replica of the most visited war memorial in the United States may be visiting Independence, thanks to the men and women of American Legion Post 33 – and one man in particular.
Billy Whisenant, a Vietnam Veteran, along with others, has moved the town one step closer to seeing the “The Wall That Heals” up close and on display. Whisenant, along with others, collected funds and letters of support for the project. Last week, an application was submitted in the hope of bringing the iconic wall to Independence.
The effort started almost a year ago, making last week an anniversary of sorts for the concept. “I was watching the Memorial Day national concert last year and noticed that there was a lot more emphasis on the Vietnam War,” Whisenant recalled. “It was at that time I thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to try to get ‘The Wall That Heals’ to visit Independence.”
Last summer, Whisenant spoke with Mayor John McArdle about that possibility, who was receptive to the idea. “He thanked me for putting it on the radar,” Whisenant recalled.
Whisenant contacted the program director for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund who advised him “what it would take to get the wall here,” he said. Subsequently, Whisenant received “a lot of material containing a lot of information.”
The result: A co-chair for the hosting committee John McArdle and an agreed-upon site, the sports park. The Independence Heritage Museum is serving as a partner.
“We've done all that we can to this point,” Whisenant said. “I guess we will just have to wait and see.” ▪
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
A replica of the most visited war memorial in the United States may be visiting Independence, thanks to the men and women of American Legion Post 33 – and one man in particular.
Billy Whisenant, a Vietnam Veteran, along with others, has moved the town one step closer to seeing the “The Wall That Heals” up close and on display. Whisenant, along with others, collected funds and letters of support for the project. Last week, an application was submitted in the hope of bringing the iconic wall to Independence.
The effort started almost a year ago, making last week an anniversary of sorts for the concept. “I was watching the Memorial Day national concert last year and noticed that there was a lot more emphasis on the Vietnam War,” Whisenant recalled. “It was at that time I thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to try to get ‘The Wall That Heals’ to visit Independence.”
Last summer, Whisenant spoke with Mayor John McArdle about that possibility, who was receptive to the idea. “He thanked me for putting it on the radar,” Whisenant recalled.
Whisenant contacted the program director for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund who advised him “what it would take to get the wall here,” he said. Subsequently, Whisenant received “a lot of material containing a lot of information.”
The result: A co-chair for the hosting committee John McArdle and an agreed-upon site, the sports park. The Independence Heritage Museum is serving as a partner.
“We've done all that we can to this point,” Whisenant said. “I guess we will just have to wait and see.” ▪
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