Kansas Corporation Commission approves settlement to transfer Saline County trailer-park water system

The Kansas Corporation Commission on March 5 approved a proposed order adopting a unanimous settlement that will require Sundowners Inc. to transfer a Saline County trailer-park water and sewer system to an entity called Pleasant Hill, with the parties asking the commission to dismiss the docket and not impose fines if the transfer is completed.

Aaron Bailey, the presenter for the item, told commissioners that commission staff issued a show-cause order in February–March 2024 after receiving complaints about water quality at the trailer park. "Ultimately, staff recommended denying the certificate" for Sundowners because of "significant concerns regarding Sundowner's managerial and financial capacity to operate the system," Bailey said, summarizing staff's report and recommendation and the rounds of discovery that followed.

Bailey described the settlement as a negotiated resolution reached after intervention by multiple parties and rounds of settlement talks. "The settlement involves Sundowner transferring the system to an entity called Pleasant Hill to then eventually be transferred to a water improvement district," he said, adding that Pleasant Hill is the court-appointed receiver in a related lawsuit and recently received a temporary certificate in a related docket. Bailey said the settlement directs the parties to file notice after the transfer is complete so the docket may be closed.

Chair French commended staff and stakeholders for the work that led to the settlement. "It was a lot of travel. It was a lot of meetings. It was a lot of phone calls, to try to get some resolution here," Chair French said, acknowledging extensive staff efforts to find an acceptable outcome for those involved.

Commissioners voted to approve the proposed order unanimously. The transcript records the motion, a second (not attributed in the record), and three ayes; the meeting record does not specify individual vote names in the transcript. The order approves the unanimous settlement agreement and directs the parties to notify the commission when the system transfer is completed so the docket may be dismissed. The commission also passed a 16-item consent agenda at the start of the meeting after removing items 1 and 2 from the consent agenda for separate handling; the transcript reads those removed dockets as 26CONS3260CPEN and 26CONS3261CECPEN (as read on the record).

The commission concluded its noticed business and adjourned the meeting.