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Council approves sewer conversion agreement for Seventieth Avenue mobile home park
Summary
The City of Tumwater unanimously adopted a development agreement to convert a 39-unit mobile home park from septic to city sewer service, using a $500,000 Department of Ecology grant plus city sewer funds; the project is staged as a pilot to inform future septic-to-sewer work in high-density areas.
The Tumwater City Council on April 15 approved a development agreement with Seventieth Avenue LLC to convert the Belkombe/Velkombe mobile home park’s on-site septic systems to city sewer service.
City staff framed the measure as a pilot project aimed at converting high-density septic neighborhoods more quickly than the current one-by-one approach. Patrick Soderberg, Water Resources and Sustainability Program Manager, told the council the city has identified nearly 1,000 septic systems inside the city and that conversions at the current pace would take many decades to complete. He said the city sought grant funding and is pairing the Department of Ecology Centennial Clean Water Grant with sewer-utility funds to make a larger, bundled conversion feasible.
The project covers 39 existing units on the park site. Seventieth Avenue LLC (owner Greg Pantanita) will recruit and contract design and construction firms, bring the park up to city development standards for the newly connected pads, and document best practices. City staff will administer the Ecology grant, handle quarterly reporting and reimbursements to the owner, and develop a “blueprint” and social-marketing approach the city can reuse for future conversions.
Greg Pantanita said owners previously paid for septic maintenance and have modified leases so residents will pay sewer fees instead of a rent increase; he said the park is notifying residents and will steer eligible low-income households to a city program that halves sewer bills for qualifying customers. Pantanita gave the council a project total of about $2,000,005.20 (gross), said the city’s passthrough or fee impacts include about $435,000 in fees, and stated the city cost per new pad in his calculations is $9,255. He also said the project includes installing up to eight additional pads (the park is approved for ten) and that new homes planned for those pads would be three-bedroom, two-bath units priced under $250,000.
Councilmember Eileen Swartham moved adoption of Resolution R2025-008 and the development agreement; Councilmember Angela Jefferson seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The council and staff emphasized this project is intended as a model. The Department of Ecology grant provides $500,000 toward the effort; remaining costs will be covered by the sewer utility and the park owner with grant reimbursement where eligible. City staff said eligibility under the grant can cover abandonment of septic systems, construction of sewer laterals and lines, grant administration, and outreach. Staff and the owner said they hope to complete construction this year because the grant agreement ends in November 2025.
Why it matters: Tumwater officials described the pilot as a way to protect groundwater and aquifers in areas where high-density septic systems overburden soil filtration. Officials said the blueprint developed from this project will be shared with regional partners and used to pursue additional conversions more efficiently.
Votes at a glance: Resolution R2025-008 (development agreement with Seventieth Avenue LLC) — Mover: Councilmember Eileen Swartham; Second: Councilmember Angela Jefferson; Outcome: approved (unanimous).
