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Residents and speakers urge caution on $2M sewer engineering; council says grant agreement still unsigned
Summary
Several residents urged the council to delay engineering work on a proposed villagewide wastewater system until more groundwater testing and peer reviews are completed; council staff said a $2 million design grant had not yet been signed by the state.
A recurring theme in public comment was skepticism about advancing a large, villagewide wastewater plan without additional technical work. Fred Hashimoto told the council that proceeding to a $2 million engineering design phase now would be "an unreasonable act" and risk wasting taxpayer money, arguing that a Stantec peer review showed no substantive evidence justifying a $16 million villagewide wastewater system and recommending a robust villagewide groundwater survey first.
"Moving ahead with a $2 million engineering design phase would be a significant breach in the village's responsibility to be a steward of public resources and monies," Fred Hashimoto said, urging the council to perform more testing and analysis before committing design dollars.
Council members asked staff for status updates. When asked about the $2 million wastewater fund design, Ron said the grant agreement from the state had not yet been signed and the village was waiting for the state to return the agreement. Other public commentors — including Johnny Martinez — urged the council to prioritize fire-suppression infrastructure (hydrants) and questioned the practicality and energy demands of pump/grinder-based sewer systems on narrow, historic roads.
Council did not vote on a plan authorization at the meeting. Several speakers requested further public outreach, peer review, and groundwater testing before the village continues into an expensive engineering design phase.
