North MorroW
Volume XXVIII Number 10
April 3, 2020
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City asks for May vote on GO Bond to extend water, sewer Information provided by the City of Boardman
Karen Pettigrew is a 43-year Boardman resident who ran a business with her husband for 30 years. For the last 12 years she has served as City Manager for the City of Boardman (COB) - a job she loves and delivers with passion. City Council has approved Pettigrew’s request to put the General Obligation (GO) Bond on the upcoming May 19th election ballot, understanding that with the aging and insufficient water and wastewater infrastructure, the cost of replacement and expansion of facilities is unavoidable. Making improvements now will yield cost savings. Pettigrew does not want to pass the responsibility to a future Boardman City Manager. “At this point in my career, I really want to serve the public and City Council with understanding the question ‘Why Now?’ as it is inevitable that facility replacements costs will go up...and must be done...” Here are some answers to questions recently asked of City Manager Pettigrew about the proposed May 19th GO Bond Ballot Measure: What is the history of the Boardman Water and Wastewater
40-year General Obligation Bond to expand the water system by adding the first Ranney collector well and water building. A Ranney Collector is a patented type of radial well used to extract water from an aquifer with direct connection to a surface water source like the Columbia River; in Boardman’s case, the well is drilled under the river. In 2000, the citizens of COB passed the current GO Bond to do a water and wastewater upgrade. In that GO Bond approval, COB sold the water bonds in 2000 to add the Karen Pettigrew, City Manager. second Ranney collector and upKaren’s expertise in grade the water pump station. Then, administration will be invaluable in 2003 the COB sold the wastewater during the GO Bond process. bonds and added a lagoon and upgraded the lift stations. Also, in 2000, the COB and Port Facilities? In the mid-1960s the US Army of Morrow entered into an agreement Corps of Engineers was building the where the Port of Morrow would John Day Dam and moving the small purchase a minimum amount of watowns along the Columbia River to ter, annually, guaranteeing City of new locations. The Army Corps put Boardman a steady income. This in the well, water tower, and piping agreement has worked well for the to replace what the city had in the City of Boardman. In 2018/19 the COB did a major old town. The founding City of Boardman leaders then sold the resi- water distribution expansion, to asdential lots for $1,000 and commer- sure accessible water delivery to the cial lots for $10,000 each to raise residents of Boardman, at nearly $3 money for a wastewater system. In million. This expansion was paid for 1976, the City of Boardman passed a out of money saved in the reserve account as mentioned prior. Prudent fiscal responsibility allowed this project to be completed without customers seeing an increase in their 2018/19 utility rates. Because of these decisions, the citizens of Boardman have enjoyed almost the lowest water and wastewater rates in the State of Oregon. Today, the City is asking for consideration of a new GO Bond, to maintain our water and wastewater infrastructure, keeping it up to date, and allowing for future growth. Why now? Boardman completed its Water Management and Conservation Plan Update in 2017 and has its Wastewater Facilities Plan draft ready to submit to the State of Oregon. Based
on the information collected for these plans, we know we are at capacity now. In November 2018 Boardman’s population was 3,690 and in November 2019 it was at 4,490. We are one of the fastest growing communities in Oregon and need to plan for future growth. What are the key elements of the Water Project? 1. Pump Station: Boardman needs a new pump station building with a larger diameter distribution discharge to furnish water during peak demands. 2. Reservoir: Boardman needs a million-gallon, above ground reservoir to give us storage capacity for future needs. Tank storage also allows for longer contact time with disinfectant, keeping the water clean and safe. 3. Collector Well: Boardman needs a new Ranney collector well installed. This project will allow us to complete certification of Boardman’s water rights by proving that we can use the full amount of water available to Boardman. The longer we wait to complete this project, the more restrictions we can expect. Currently we have 21 cubic feet per second (cfs) certified of the 36.5 cubic feet per second as allocated water rights for Boardman from the State of Oregon. 4. Staff Expertise: We would like to take advantage of Community Development Director, Barry Beyeler’s experience before he retires from the COB. Barry has been an employee for 39 years; his career began just after the first collector was finished. His input would be of great value during construction of the third collector. What are the key elements of the Wastewater Project? 1. Due for Updates: Wastewater Lift Stations were last upgraded in 2003. 2. Lagoon Capacity: As the city grows with new housing and busi-
nesses, we are running out of space in our three lagoons. With our evaporation lagoon system, the lagoons fill with sludge over time. The oldest lagoon cell is now full of sludge and it is most cost effective to purchase land and dig a new lagoon, letting the oldest dry out until it can be dredged again for future use. 3. Domestic Waste Only: The City of Boardman manages all domestic waste while the Port of Morrow takes care of all industrial waste.
Barry Beyeler, Community Development Director. Barry has worked at the City of Boardman for 39 years, and his expertise will be of great value during the water and wastewater project that is proposed.
What if I need more information? The Boardman Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a candidate forum on April 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm live on their Facebook page. City Manager Karen Pettigrew will also join to provide information about the GO Bond. If you have additional questions: please contact City Manager Karen Pettigrew at : pettigrewk@cityofboardman.com. Phone: 541.481.9252