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Council member: City has invested about $32.7 million in sewer work; calls for quarterly public updates
Summary
Council President Oliver Crawford reviewed a multi-decade record of sewer repairs and said he will propose a resolution requiring quarterly public updates; staff and residents urged clearer timelines and follow-up on bypass events and dye-testing results.
Council President Oliver Crawford told the Committee of the Whole on Jan. 28 that the city has invested about $32.7 million in sewer-system improvements and that he will propose a resolution to require quarterly public updates on major repairs and bypass events.
Crawford said the inventory he requested from Superintendent Camp and the mayor is meant to increase transparency about repairs, disconnections of illegal sanitary-to-storm connections, and “each and every major sewer repair or investment that we continue to do.” He asked that the administration publish a running record on the city website so the public can track work and costs.
The request traces work back to a dye-testing study from 2003 and, Crawford said, shows a concentrated period of bypass events roughly from February 2007 through February 2013 and more recent overflows tied to intense short-duration storms. Superintendent Camp and other staff provided the report materials referenced in the meeting.
Residents and advocates who spoke during the public-comment period pressed for clearer plans and faster action. Glenwall Littlebelly said he had asked the mayor and staff repeatedly for a plan and described receiving test results and ordinance language by email but not a forward-looking schedule. Littlebelly recounted that after a prior meeting a city official told him, “we're moving forward,” and said he wants concrete, public, written steps rather than verbal assurances.
Crawford and others on the council said the quarterly reporting resolution is intended to show work completed, current priorities and projected short- and medium-term timelines for repairs. Crawford also asked staff to include a summary of recorded bypass events and the city’s progress on correcting identified illegal connections.
Staff and several council members raised next steps that would come after the reporting proposal: a strategic plan for remaining large-scale projects and funding options for those projects. No formal vote on the proposed quarterly-report resolution occurred; Crawford said he will introduce it at an upcoming meeting.
Ending: Council members said they want the public record improved and more predictable timelines for major sewer repairs. Crawford asked staff to prepare the reports and supporting documentation the council requested and to post updates online once the resolution is drafted.
