By Michael Howell
At the request of the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton School District, the Ravalli County Commissioners agreed to terminate a memorandum of understanding between the entities to install a sewer main along Daly Avenue.
Hamilton School District Superintendent Tom Korst told the Commissioners that the cost to the school to participate in the sewer main project had escalated well beyond the initial estimates, growing from $250,000 to something closer to $380,000. Combined with the impact fees of $75,000, he said the cost of the project to the school district was approaching half a million dollars.
Hamilton City Public Works Director Donnie Ramer told the Commissioners that in the meantime, the City had gotten a TSEP grant that would allow the school to make the needed upgrade to its current treatment system at a cost of only $180,000.
Korst said that the school district made the decision to join in the MOU to construct the new sewer main because, at the time, “we thought we had no other choice. Now we have another option that will satisfy the school’s needs.”
Ramer said that the current plan for the sewer main did not include any stubs and no associated water line. He said those things should be considered. He said some of the improvements the school plans include preparing to connect to a gravity feed sewer line in the future but right now that was not an affordable option and there was another option now available. He said it did not mean that the sewer main connection was off the table for future development. But it would be years, perhaps, before the project was completed and the school should not be forced to wait for needed improvements that would serve them in the meantime. He said it would allow time to line up the grant funding really required to make the sewer main installation with stubs and with an associated water line.
Commission Chair Jeff Burrows said that the only impact it might have on the county is the way they look at doing road improvements in the meantime. He said they were under pressure from citizens to do something about the road, but they were not going to do any major paving or road improvement when they may have to tear it all up in four or five years to install a sewer main.
Nonetheless, the commissioners agreed to terminate the MOU at the request of the city and school district.